“Give it to ’em, boys!” rose the shout. And, “Give ’em the cannon!” Rifles uselessly cracked; Jim lifted his—but another cry sped hither-thither: “No! No! Wait!”
For from the Mexicans a man came running, with hand lifted.
He was William Smithers, of Gonzales and Bejar both; and he shouted: “Don’t shoot, boys! Don’t shoot! I’ve got a message!”
Now the sun abruptly shattered the fog, driving it asunder. Behind Bill Smithers rode out Lieutenant Castañeda. Colonel Moore advanced to meet him.
Lieutenant Castañeda asked Colonel Moore why the Mexican soldiers were being attacked in this manner.
Colonel Moore replied that the Texans had been ordered by the lieutenant to surrender the cannon which had been loaned them for their own defense and had been told that if they didn’t surrender it, the soldiers were coming to take it; the order had been issued by direction of the Santa Anna government, which was the enemy of the constitution and therefore was the enemy of Texas; so Texas was determined to fight instead of yielding.
“No, señor,” replied the lieutenant—who was a very polite young man. “You are mistaken when you class us with enemies of the constitution. I am a republican, and so are two-thirds of the people of Mexico. But we are good Mexicans, all, and I am an officer of the government. To be sure, the government has been changed, with the approval of the majority of the Mexican states, and the hope is that Texas also will accept the change. I have no intention to oppose the brave Anglo-Mexicans, with arms. My instructions are simply to demand the cannon; and if it is not delivered to me, to wait for further orders.”
“Well, you can’t wait here,” bluntly answered Colonel Moore. “If you don’t want to fight, you can either surrender with your troops, or else join us as a republican and patriot, retaining your full rank and pay in the cause of liberty. Otherwise, we’ll attack you immediately.”
“Impossible, señor,” gravely answered the lieutenant. “I must obey orders.”
With that he saluted, and galloped back. Colonel Moore saluted, and he galloped back.