Jim Bowie by Robert E. Hollmann Read Free Book Online Page B

crouched as low as I could to the ground as a cannonball passed over my head. I heard the ball thud against the side of the mission.
    “Stay down, men,” Jim shouted.
    The cannon fired again.
    “There it is,” one of the men yelled.
    Jim called to two of the men to join him. He pointed to the spot from where the cannon had fired.
    “Be ready. When they fire again, aim for the gunners. We need to stop that cannon from firing.”
    The men watched until the cannon fired again. They fired at the blast from the cannon. I heard the sound of feet running away in the fog. The cannon did not fire again. The rest of the men were firing at the charging enemy. Soon the enemy stopped their charge and looked for places to hide. I could hear their officers yelling for them to charge again, but the fire from the Texans kept the enemy lying down behind whatever cover they could find.
    The battle lasted for several hours. Suddenly the enemy soldiers got to their feet and ran back into the fog, leaving their cannon behind. Jim and the others stayed behind their cover until they were sure that the enemy had left. Jim had the men hitch the cannon to some horses, and we pulled it back to where Stephen Austin and the rest of the army were waiting. Jim reported what had happened.
    “That’s good, Jim,” Austin said. “I’ve found out that Santa Anna’s brother- in-law, General Cos, is in San Antonio with his army.”
    “What are your plans?” Jim asked.
    “I’m going to attack General Cos and force him and his army out of Texas. I hear they’re in an old mission called the Alamo. I don’t think it can stand up to a strong attack.”
    “I’m familiar with the Alamo,” Jim said. “It’s a ruin. Unless they’ve done a lot of repairs, it’s not a good place to try and fight from.”
    “I agree,” Austin said. “We’re going to march to San Antonio tomorrow. Let your men rest. They have been fighting hard and they’re probably tired.”
    Jim nodded. “They’re tired. But we’ll be ready tomorrow.”
    I walked beside Jim as we found a spot under a large tree. Jim sat down and leaned against the tree while I lay beside him and put my head in his lap. Soon we were both asleep. I was dreaming of eating a large, juicy steak when I heard someone shouting Jim’s name. I looked up and saw Juan Seguin running toward us.
    “Wake up, Jim,” Juan shouted.
    Jim stood up and rubbed his eyes. “What’s the matter, Juan?”
    Juan came to a stop in front of Jim. “Austin wants to see you right away.”
    Jim looked around. “It’s not morning yet, Juan. He said to get some rest because we were leaving in the morning.”
    “Yes, I know. But word has just come from town that a pack train is heading toward San Antonio.”
    “So what?” Jim said as he sat back down. “The pack train won’t reach San Antonio until tomorrow.”
    Juan grabbed Jim’s hand and pulled him to his feet. “Jim, this is not an ordinary pack train.”
    Jim brushed off his pants. “Well what makes this one so special?”
    “Someone from San Antonio came to see Austin. They told him that this pack train was carrying a large shipment of gold for the enemy army.”
    Jim was wide-awake now. “Gold? What does Austin want me to do?”
    “He wants you to take your men and go get the gold. We need it for our own army.”
    Jim started walking toward Austin’s tent. He turned back to me.
    “Come on, Gator. If that train is carrying gold, I’ll be able to buy you all the steak you can eat.”
    I ran ahead of Jim. If getting that gold meant I was going to eat steak, I was going to see that we found that pack train before it reached San Antonio.

Chapter Seventeen
    “Did you find the gold, Grampa?” Princess asked.
    “I would rather have all the steak,” Butch said.
    The old dog shook his head. “If you two will hush for a minute, I’ll tell you…”
    We rode through the countryside as fast as we could, trying to reach the enemy caravan before it arrived in