“She’d certainly admire to be put,” encouraged Jim. “But first——” and suddenly he ducked, with a howl.
“Are you hit, Jim?”
“No,” he grumbled, rubbing his eyes. “Some hombre yonder pitched a lot of dust into my face.” For a bullet had scraped along the parapet, right under his nose. “Come on. Let’s go down. It’s too crowded up here. Every good place has somebody lying on it.”
Back they went, through the hole, into the smoke.
The day passed, with the Milam column holding the de la Garza house and the Johnson column holding the Veramendi house. Nobody could cross Soledad Street, from house to house, because the Mexican cannon raked it. Several men on the roof and at the loopholes were wounded, and were sent to camp. From camp General Burleson forwarded supplies of food and ammunition.
Finally dusk settled, and the constant fire slackened. Henry Karnes and a force with the crowbars and with picks and spades that had been found were set to work, after dark, at digging a trench across the street; and made one deep enough so that men could dodge through, out of sight, by stooping. Word was received that the Johnson division was all right; had only one killed. The Milam division had nobody killed, as yet. But Deaf Smith had been wounded, on the Veramendi roof, and the firing had been so severe there that nobody had been able to stay up long. Dr. Grant had been wounded, too.
Yes, Sion was alright. He sent word through the trench.
The digging of the trench had made the Mexicans very angry, and throughout the night they hurled grape and canister at it. In the morning the roof-tops fairly bristled with their musketeers; they had cut many more loopholes, during the night, in the parapets, and had transferred their artillery to better positions. The Alamo, also, was hammering away with solid shot, bombarding the Texan end of the town and the trail between town and camp.
Something must be done; unless the main plaza was won and the Mexicans driven from this central stronghold, the Texans would soon be trapped in crumbling walls. The main streets and the cross-streets were being raked by the cannon; the only way to advance was through the houses. Lieutenant Bill McDonald volunteered to lead a squad and break into a small house, just across a narrow little street and kitty-corner to the right. This he did, and lost not a man. Colonel Milam promptly sent reinforcements to him, and thus the column was a step nearer to the plazas.
The trench to the Veramendi house was dug deeper and longer; and the six-pounder and twelve-pounder were mounted behind barricades and used. So the day passed.