“What did they arrest him for?”
“Mostly on account of that letter he wrote to San Antonio, advising Texas to get together and form its state government. The mayor sent the letter to the capital, saying he disapproved——”
“The scoundrel!”
“And Farias [the vice-president], who didn’t like some things that Austin had said, anyway, dispatched orders post-haste to have him arrested and turned back. So he was stopped down at Saltillo, and charged with treason to Mexico; and back he’s gone.”
“Did you talk with him, Ben?”
“I did. He was coming home because he thought that everything was all right. Matters had quieted around the capital, and in November Santa Anna called a meeting of his council to hear what Texas had to say. So Austin said it—told why he had brought the petition, and why Texas objected to being joined with Coahuila. Everything went off nicely. The council didn’t think that Texas was ready, quite yet, to be an independent state; but they agreed with Santa Anna that the law against colonization by Americans should be repealed, and they promised a lot of other reforms. That of course was after Austin had written the letter to San Antonio. He claims that he wrote it for fear Texas would take to arms instead of organizing civilly, and would lose all chances. Now that the petition had been acted on at last, in a friendly manner, in December he started home; got as far as Saltillo, and was arrested. He lays it to Farias, rather than to Santa Anna, who’d gone back to his rancho and left Farias in charge.”
“Then as soon as Santa Anna knows, he’ll release him.”
“He’s friendly to Texas, is Santa Anna. We helped him, and he’ll help us.”
“He likes Austin, too. He’ll not see Texas and Steve Austin mistreated.”
Many were such expressions of hope, in Gonzales, that Santa Anna the president would countermand the orders of Farias the vice-president, that Stephen Austin would be released at once, and that all would come out well for Texas. As onward through Texas rushed the tidings of the arrest, other people were hopeful, too. But the hope rode on a great wave of angry protest.