The Furies Read Online Free PDF Page B

she understood. “Well, Sam Houston and the others at Washington”—she meant Washington-on-the-Brazos, the provincial capital that had been established after the outbreak of hostilities—“may have different ideas by the time they’ve finished their deliberations. Santa Anna will never give in to demands that the constitution of twenty-four be put back into effect. Coming here with his army is proof of that. So maybe it is time for another declaration of independence.”
    “So we can join the United States?”
    “Or become an independent republic.”
    “Well”—Bowie sighed, closing his eyes a moment—“however it works out, we won’t know.”
    Behind her, Amanda heard Sam’s sudden intake of breath. Occasionally during the thirteen days of the siege she had witnessed similar reactions from others at the Alamo, as the possible finality of their position struck home.
    “We had to make the stand, Jim,” she said. “It was that or surrender. Or run.”
    “I know. But sometimes it seems downright idiotic to die in a broken-down church. This place is of damn little military importance and everyone knows it.”
    “Yes, but as Colonel Travis says, it’s how we fight, not where, that counts most. If General Santa Anna pays highly for a victory, he’ll think twice before he tries to win another.”
    A moan from the chapel made her start. Only Angelina Dickinson, she realized. She knotted her hands in her lap. The lantern light glinted on her dark hair as she gazed at Bowie.
    “I’m sounding a lot braver than I really am, Jim.”
    “But you still came into the mission.”
    “Because of you. Your illness. And—well, there’s no getting around it, and I don’t mean to sound overly sentimental. But I am an American, just like most of the settlers in this part of the country. I’ve kept track of what’s happened these past couple of years. I happen to think the settlers are right, asking for reinstatement of the constitution they lived under when they first came out here. If it comes to fighting and I have to choose sides, why would I choose any side but my own?”
    A moment’s silence. Bowie closed his weak hand around hers. “You’re a strong woman, Mandy. Some would just give up and let it go at that.”
    She smiled. “The people in my family may get scared to death, but one thing they don’t do is give up easily—”
    She heard the slave Sam, mumbling fearfully to himself. She tried to offer some words for his benefit. “But I really think that red flag must be a bluff.”
    “Wouldn’t count on it.”
    “Aren’t there any rules in warfare? I mean about sparing noncombatants? The nigras? The children—?”
    “ ’Course there are. Santa Anna knows the military customs. But he won’t offer terms. There’s been an open rebellion. His country stands to lose all of Texas. He means to prevent that— and punish us. Hard. If some innocent people are hurt, he’ll shrug and look the other way. That’s the kind of unprincipled son of a bitch he is—”
    A series of loud sounds brought Bowie’s drowsy eyes fully open. Sam yelped in alarm. Amanda jumped up, ran to the door of the baptistry—
    Out in the darkened chapel, a woman was wailing. Boots hammered on the ramp leading up to the cannon platform. She heard Almeron Dickinson shout, “They’re coming! From all quarters. The foot—the cavalry too. They’re coming! ”
iv
    At last Amanda heard it for herself: the low, tumultuous drumming of men—a great many men—running over hard ground beyond the walls. The noise flooded into the roofless chapel from all directions.
    On the gun platform, Captain Dickinson was cursing someone, demanding that he wake up, pronto. Amanda realized her original guess had been correct—silence to allow the defenders to doze off must have been part of Santa Anna’s strategy. Dickinson’s oaths and yells proved the Texans were less than ready for the assault—
    A squirrel gun banged from the other side of the