Young Ole Devil (10 page)

‘
Well,’ the soldier began, his eyes taking on an avaricious
glint. ‘The cap’n did say three now I come to think back on
it…’

‘
Three
it is,
senor,’
Juglares declared without hesitation.

Walking to the rack in which
the bottles of whiskey were stored, the
major domo
felt relieved and cheerful. He was
sure that the soldier had lied to him, but he did not care. The
information he had already garnered was worth far more than the
three bottles he had been asked for. Once he had handed them over,
the
gringo
would go. What was more, he would be unlikely to mention
that he had found anybody in the cellar as he should not have been
there himself. When tike soldier had left, Juglares hoped to resume
the eavesdropping and find out if there was anything else to be
learned.

Before the
major domo
could take out the first
bottle, he heard heavy and authoritative footsteps descending the
stairs and crossing the basement. So did the soldier and an
expression of consternation came to his face. It grew rather than
diminished as the burly figure of First Sergeant Gladbeck loomed
through the open door

‘
What’s all this?’ boomed the non-com, looking from the
soldier to Juglares and back.

‘
I
heard a noise in here and come to see who it was, serge,’ the
soldier answered. ‘Found this feller here. He allows it’s all right
for him.

‘
It
is,’ Gladbeck stated, having recognized and identified the Mexican.
‘But you’d best get going afore I grow all suspicious and ask what
you was doing down here in the first place.’

‘
Sure,
serge,’ the soldier replied and scuttled hurriedly away.

‘
What
was he after, liquor?’ the first sergeant inquired, turning his
attention to Juglares.

‘
Si
senor,
the
major domo
agreed. ‘He said he’d been sent to collect three bottles of
whiskey.’

‘
Three, now that’s what I call being greedy,’ Gladbeck
grinned. ‘Have you got everything you need for tonight? The
General’s entertaining his senior officers to dinner, there’ll be
eight of them.’

Since the
non-com
’s
arrival, Juglares had been thinking fast and had revised his line
of action. While he had hoped to continue listening to what was
said in the General’s office, he had now decided against taking the
chance. He already knew when and where the shipment of arms would
arrive, that the officer charged with receiving it would go first
to the town of Gonzales, and that he did not consider it necessary
to take a military escort Such information was far too valuable for
him to risk being caught eavesdropping. What was more, he had just
been given a perfect excuse for leaving the mansion and passing on
his findings.

‘
Eight
extra,
senor,’
the
major domo
said doubtfully. ‘In that case, I’ll have to go into town
and make some purchases.’

As Juglares and the first
sergeant left the cellar, Ole Devil Hardin was finishing outlining
his plans for the collection of the shipment. Houston agreed that,
as only he and the young man were aware of the date and place where
it would arrive, the line of action which had been proposed stood
every chance of succeeding
.

Although the rain had ceased to
fall about half an hour earlier, Ole Devil Hardin and Tommy Okasi
were still wearing the waterproof
ponchos
which they had donned to keep their
clothing, saddles and other equipment as dry as possible. The moon
had broken through the clouds and its pallid light was sufficient
for the two young men to make out some details of the small hamlet
at which they were intending to spend the night

Having followed General Samuel
Houston
’s
advice and allowed their horses to rest at Shelby’s Livery Barn
overnight, Ole Devil and Tommy had left San Antonio de Bexar early
that morning. Instead of accompanying them, Mannen Blaze had
returned to the Texas Light Cavalry so that he could take command
of Company “C” during his cousin’s absence.

Ole Devil had had no idea that his
conversation with the General had been overheard and reported to
the enemy. Nor did he suspect that plans were already in motion to
circumvent him on the assignment, but he and Tommy were too
experienced as campaigners to ride along the main trail which
connected San Antonio and Gonzales.

All of the Mexican
army
’s
garrisons might have been driven out of Texas, but that did not
mean military activity was at an end. Some of Santa Anna’s
volunteer cavalry regiments, the Rancheros Lancers for example,
were comprised of
Creole
^xii
hacienda
owners’ sons and their
vaqueros.
Hard-riding, tough
and capable fighting men, they were sufficiently enterprising to
carry out raids north of the Rio Grande. There were also groups
of
Chicanos
who supported
el Presidente
and were always ready to strike at any
unwary Texians with whom they came into contact In addition,
marauding bands of
Comancheros
and white renegades roamed in search of loot and
plunder.

Any such foes could be expected
to watch a trail that carried traffic between two fair-sized towns.
So, even though they had not been able to make such good time, Ole
Devil and Tommy had ridden parallel to, but out of sight of it.
That meant they were approaching the hamlet from across country.
With the wind blowing from the east, the scent of them and their
horses was being carried way from the buildings. Due to the rain,
the ground was soft and their mounts
’ hooves were making little
noise.

‘
There’re some horses in the lean-to at the back of
the
cantina,’
Ole Devil warned quietly, bringing his line-backed dun
gelding to a halt about two hundred yards from the nearest
building. ‘But the rest of the town looks deserted.’

‘
Perhaps they belong to some of the men who have stayed
behind to guard their homes,’ Tommy suggested, stopping his bay
gelding. His sibilant tones were no louder than those of his
companion. ‘Or they could be a patrol who have taken shelter from
the rain.’

The two young men were not worried by the
deserted aspect of the town. They found that less disturbing than
the presence of the horses. On passing through while going to
report to General Houston, they had found its population on the
point of leaving for the greater security offered by the larger
town of Guadalupe.

‘
It
could be either,’ Ole Devil agreed. ‘But, if it is a patrol, is it
from our army or Santa Anna’s?’

‘
A
wise man would make sure before letting them know he is close by,’
Tommy pointed out

‘
You’re riding with a wise man, believe it or not,’ Ole
Devil declared, swinging to the ground and removing his hat. ‘I’ll
drift on over and take a look.’

While Tommy was dismounting,
Ole Devil hung his hat by its
barbiquejo
chinstrap on the saddlehorn and shrugged off
his
poncho.
Folding and tucking it between the cantle and his bed roll,
he removed the powder horn and bullet pouch which were slung across
his shoulders and suspended them from the hilt of his saber. There
was an oblong leather pouch attached to his belt in the centre of
his back. Although it held the means to load his rifle, he left it
in place. To have removed it would have entailed drawing the belt
through the loops of his breeches and the slot of the pistol’s
carrier. He had not worn the pouch in San Antonio, but had fixed it
into position before leaving that morning.

During the removal of these
items which would be an encumbrance to swift and silent movement,
the young Texian was examining the hamlet on the off chance that he
might discover something to supply a clue to the identities of the
horses
’
owners. He failed to do so, but did not advance immediately.
Instead, he waited while his companion prepared to cover him as he
was carrying out the scouting mission.

When the rain had started,
Tommy had removed the string from his bow to prevent it from
getting wet. The six foot long weapon
—which had its handle set two-thirds of
the way down the stave instead of centrally, as was the case with
Occidental bows—was hanging in two loops attached to the left side
of his saddle’s skirts. To keep the flights of the his arrows dry,
he had suspended the quiver from the saddlehorn and covered them
with his
poncho.

Allowing his horse to stand
ground-hitched by its dangling, split-ended reins, Tommy duplicated
Ole Devil
’s
actions by removing hat and
poncho.
Then he retrieved his quiver and swung it across
his back so that the flights of the arrows rose above his right
shoulder and would be readily available to his ‘draw’ hand. With
that done, he restrung the bow and nocked an arrow to the
shaft

‘
Are
you taking your rifle?’ Tommy inquired, when his companion made no
attempt to pull the weapon from its saddle-boot

‘
I can
move faster and quieter without it,’ Ole Devil replied and nodded
to the bow. ‘If you
have
to use that heathen device, try not to stick the arrow in
my butt end will you?’

‘
I’ll
try,’ Tommy promised, grinning as he heard what had come to be the
usual comment under such circumstances.

Despite his remark, the Texian
had complete confidence in
his
companion’s ability as an archer. It was, in fact,
very comforting to know that Tommy was ready to cover him if it
should prove necessary. While the odds were in favor of the horses
behind the
cantina
being owned by friends, Ole Devil did not discount the
possibility that they might belong to enemies. If so, and if he got
into some kind of trouble, he might need all the help he could
get

Tommy might be small, but Ole
Devil knew he was
completely reliable. He was as deadly effective with the
bow as he was with the
daisko,
the matched pair of slightly curved, long hilted
swords which he carried; the thirty inch long
tachi
hanging by the slings at the left
side of his belt and the eighteen inch blade
wakizashi
dangling on the
right.

Walking forward with his eyes
continually raking the buildings for any sign of danger, Ole Devil
found himself revising his opinion regarding the wind being from
the west Earlier he had cursed it when it had occasionally
contrived to send some of the rain down the back of his neck. Now
he had to admit that it was coming from an advantageous quarter. It
was not carrying their scent to the horses behind the
cantina
nor had it caused
their mounts to become aware of the other animals.

Leaving his big bowie knife sheathed and the
Manton pistol in its belt-loop, Ole Devil drew nearer to the
lean-to without being challenged. Aware of the danger, he took
precautions against startling the horses. Hissing gently through
his teeth, he alerted them to his presence and arrived without
causing them to take fright and betray him. After giving his
surroundings a thorough scrutiny and satisfying himself that he was
not being watched by the owners of the animals, he stepped
underneath the roof.

‘
Easy
now, boy,’ Ole Devil breathed, going up to the nearest horse in a
calm and unhurried manner. Laying his left hand gently on its
flank, he stoked it and went on, ‘You’re cool now, but I’d say you
were out in the rain for a time.
^xiii

Having made this deduction, the
Texian turned his attention to the horse
’s saddle. It was still in place,
with the single girth
^xiv
tight enough for the animal to be
ridden. The large horn and bulging fork wooden tree covered by
sheep-vellum and lined with wool, to which the girth and stirrup
leathers were attached by simple straps, was typically Mexican in
origin.

However, on going to the next
animal, Ole Devil found that it was carrying a different kind of
rig. Even before the conflict of interests had caused hostility
towards the Mexicans, Texian saddlers had begun to develop their
own type of horse
’s equipment They were already producing a saddle with a
smaller horn, little swelling at the pommel, a very deep seat, wide
fenders to the stirrups and double girths. The horse was fitted
with such a rig and, like all the others, had a bed roll strapped
to the cantle.

Continuing with his
investigation, Ole Devil discovered one more Texas
‘slick fork’. The
other three horses had on double girthed rigs, but with a quilted,
hammock-type seat and no horn, of the style made popular around
1812 in the Eastern United States by James Walker, a Philadelphia
saddler. Unfortunately, the diversity of types supplied little or
no information regarding the identities of the men who had ridden
on them.