John T. McIntyre

“ But the backwoodsman who had spoken to Walter smiled approvingly as he watched him.
“Not too quick with your judgments, gentlemen,” said he. “You’ll see something before long. Barker’s got some one at last who fights him in the right way.”
Like a bull, the bullet-headed bruiser lurched after his nimbly stepping opponent. His arms swung wildly and savagely. Suddenly grasping an opportunity, Walter stepped in and drove his right fist into the other’s short ribs. Barker’s heavy face twitched with pain, and he wavered for an instant. ”

“ Ethel Norton was as shocked at the news [200] as they were, for the boys had been telling her of the backwoodsman’s good nature and rare qualities of heart.
“And to think,” said she, the big tears starting in her eyes, “that all his high hopes should end in death.”
“But it will not be for nothing,” said Walter Jordan. “Men like Colonel Crockett and Travis and Bowie do not die this way without making a stir. Who knows but their death will so arouse Texas and the Texans that they will not wait to be attacked—that it may make them carry the war to Santa Anna, and so set their country free.” ”

“ Three rifles cracked; and the Comanche threw up his arms and sank back.
Seeing the deadly nature of the white men’s marksmanship, the savages grew wary. Only now and then an arrow flew; occasionally a bullet lodged in the ground or in a tree trunk.
An hour passed in this way. It was now almost three o’clock; and Davy Crockett as he crouched behind his tree grew both weary and restless.
“They are cunning varmints,” said he, “and they are holding off until nightfall. Under cover of darkness they’ll creep up on us and beat us down by weight of numbers.” ”

“ I dislike a man who sets out to insult some one whom he’s opposed to, and then steps aside so that some one in his pay may do the dirty work.”
“What’s that?” snarled Barker, rising to his feet.
“Your plan, Colonel Huntley,” went on Walter Jordan, disregarding the bullet-headed young man entirely, and addressing himself to his principal, “is rather a good one, as plans go. You would get the result you are after, and yet would not actively figure in the matter. I suppose Sam Davidge arranged that with you in the secret consultations you’ve been having in the last little while.” ”

“ The men’s cabin was crowded with all sorts of travelers; and the clatter and rumble of voices went on with the regularity of the engine’s throb. Almost every walk of life was represented among the passengers. Planters on the way down the river to Natchez or New Orleans; sharpers on the lookout for some easy means of gaining money; slave dealers, the sellers of plantation requirements, steamboat men, drovers, adventurers and desperadoes on their way to the new country—Texas. ”

“ Still another class possessed the hunting shirt, deerskin leggings and coonskin cap of the backwoodsman. All were armed with pistol, knife and rifle; and all had the free, loud, independent ways of their kind.
“Texas,” declared the man with the strong voice which the lads had heard while upon the deck, “was never made for Mexicans. It’s a great country, and none but white men are fit to own it. I, for one, am going down there with a rifle that can snuff out a candle at fifty yards, and I’m going to have a personal word for Santa Anna if I ever run across him.” ”

“ Force was what usually told; the man who fought the most savage and relentless battle was almost invariably the victor. Skill was little considered, as is usually the case in the outposts of the world; the man with the bulging muscles and the flail-like arms was the man figured on to conquer; and now as young Jordan and Barker prepared for the fight there were few who considered that the former had a chance to escape being maimed.
“Barker’s like a bull,” said an interested river-man. “There’s no one between here and New Orleans that’s got a chance with him. ”

“ The planter looked amazed.
“Why, you don’t mean to tell me you were defeated for reëlection in your district,” said he.
“I tell you just that,” said Colonel Crockett.
“Well, I’d never believed it,” said Burr, looking at his friends, wonder in his face. “Why, colonel, you were the most popular candidate that ever stumped Tennessee.”
Davy Crockett smiled, good-naturedly.
“Yes; the boys set some store by me,” said he. “And they liked to hear me talk. But politics is a queer kind of thing. The man who gets the votes may not always win.”
Mr. Burr looked grave. ”

“ Next the lads bought themselves a rifle each. Both knew the use of the weapon, having hunted in the Kentucky mountains and woods many times. Also they purchased good, heavy, broad-bladed hunting knives and a couple of small hatchets, such as are used by woodsmen.
“And don’t forget a derringer each,” said Colonel Crockett. “It’s a small thing, has very little weight, and can be carried in the pocket without trouble. It’s a weapon that’s saved more lives at time of sudden danger than any other I know of.” ”

“ For fellows like Barker seldom pick a man they’re not sure of.”
“I take it,” said the steamboat man, “that you’ve seen him fight.”
“Lots of times,” said the other, smiling. “In fact, anybody in the habit of seeing young Barker at all must have seen him fight. For it’s the thing he’s usually doing.”
The planter with the wide-rimmed hat surveyed the man in the hunting shirt.
“I think,” said he, “Barker’s going to come out on top.”
The backwoodsman fixed his keen eyes on Walter, who stood with his arms folded across his chest listening to Ned’s last words. And then he smiled. ”

“ The lawless character who is always to be found on the outskirts of civilization also came into his conversation.
“Wherever you go in the southwest country, you run across him,” said Colonel Crockett. “He’s to be found in every settlement, in every camp, traveling every trail. He’s always armed, he’s usually got courage, he never fails to cause trouble.”
“I’ve met that sort of fellow myself,” nodded the planter, Burr. “He’s to be avoided.” ”

“ A shout went up from the adventurers, rifle butts rattled upon the cabin floor and brawny fists thumped tables and the arms of chairs.
“Now you’re shouting!” cried another man, a lank backwoodsman in a fringed buckskin shirt. “Let them stop palavering and get to work. Greasers’ll never do [31] anything but talk if you talk with them. Lead’s my way of conversing with such folks—lead out of a rifle barrel, and with a good eye behind it.” ”

“ In the rear of the Mexicans raced a pony which bore upon its back, evidently tightly bound to the saddle, an American boy of about sixteen years.
“A prisoner,” said Jed Curley, throwing forward his deadly rifle.
“Take care, Jed,” warned Crockett. “Don’t kill or cripple the mustang so that it’ll fall! The boy might be hurt; for tied up as he is, he can’t help himself.” ”

“ What I want to see, and what thousands of others want to see, is Texas, a republic itself, entirely free of Mexico, or else Texas, a state in our own Union.”
This saying met with much favor; the babble of voices arose, mingled with the clapping of hands.
“For,” went on the speaker, raising his voice that he might be heard, “as long as they stick to Mexico, just that long will they keep in hot water. Santa Anna may be, at this minute, marching against them with an army. And he will keep on marching against them until they make themselves altogether independent of him and his gang.” ”

“ Walter looked puzzled.
“But,” said he, “Colonel Huntley is on board this boat; he’ll arrive at New Orleans as quickly as we shall. There’s nothing that I know of to hinder his pressing on to San Antonio with as much speed as we can make—perhaps more.”
“That’s true enough,” said Crockett. “In the natural course of things he might get better mounts than you boys, and so cross the Injun country ahead of you. But,” with a quizzical look in his eye, “why let things take their natural course? That’s what the fellow does who picks out a shady place under a tree—he lets things take care of themselves. ”

“ And, accordingly, here I am on my way to Texas to join Sam Houston and the rest against Santa Anna and his crew.”
“There seems to be a strong tide set in toward that country,” spoke another of the party. “I hear that there’s hundreds go down the river every week.”
“They’ll be needed,” nodded Colonel Crockett. “Everything looks promising for a long war; and Texas, so I’ve heard, is just the place where one can be carried out to any length by men who fight and run as the Mexicans do.” ”

“ A party of almost a score of horsemen were advancing, the sun striking their rifle barrels. But it was the glitter of the points of long lances they carried that had attracted the attention of the band under Crockett.
[167] “Mexicans,” said old Dolph as he took a long look at the party. “No one else carries a spear, except the Comanche; and these ain’t redskins.”
“Well,” said Colonel Crockett, and he turned his eyes from the oncoming horsemen to the country round about, “I reckon the Mexicans, as a class, ain’t any too well disposed toward Americans. ”

“ Acting upon one impulse the passengers streamed out upon the deck; there was a hurrying of deck hands, a sharp calling of orders and the jingling of the pilot’s bell. Then with a great splashing of her wheels and a straining of hawsers, the “Mediterranean” lay quietly at the wharf.
Instantly the gangplank was run out and the singing negroes began to roll on [47] the cargo. Walter Jordan and Ned vaulted over the rail; a horde of passengers followed, among them being Colonel Huntley and Barker. ”

“ He scooped the hound up [87] as a squirrel scoops up a nut; and he hugged him tight. The hound yowled something scandalous; and his comrade barked fit to split. As they were down on the ground through this part of the affair I couldn’t see much of them because of the denseness of the thicket. But, thinking I was about to lose a pretty fair kind of a hound, I dropped my rifle, drew my knife and tomahawk, and with one in one hand, and one in the other, I broke my way toward the place of action.”
“I suppose there wasn’t much left to the hound by that time,” said Burr. ”

“ Interfering with the natural course of things is what we call work; and work is the thing that gets results.”
“But,” said Ned Chandler, “just how shall we go to work to win, in this matter, do you think?”
“Why not take a leaf from Huntley’s book?” suggested Crockett. “He had the right kind of a notion. He wanted to stop you from getting into Texas. So why not do the same thing for him—only in another way?”
“Good!” Walter Jordan slapped Ned upon the back with a force that made that young gentleman cough. “That’s it. We’ll carry the war into Africa, and give Davidge, Huntley and Co. ”

“ Noting the boat’s proximity to the shore, Colonel Huntley said something to Barker [46] in a low voice. Barker’s eyes went to a cabin window as though in reply to some suggestion and an evil look came into his dull face.
“Let us see,” said he to Walter, “if you are as ready with your fists as you are with your tongue. The officers of the boat don’t care to have any trouble aboard, so, as we’ll tie up to a wharf in a few minutes, let’s take our affairs ashore, and have it out without any interference.”
“Good!” cried Ned Chandler. “That suits us down to the ground. ”

“ Their nodding eagle feathers, their fringed buckskin leggings and beaded moccasins, their quivers of arrows and their long bows and sheathed knives gave them a wild and savage look. There were also many Mexicans in Nacogdoches, and their picturesque costumes, huge, jingling spurs, great sombreros, and viciously careening horses, contrasted strongly with the red or blue shirts of the American adventurers, their long boots, and [132] modern equipment of arms and horse gear. Also there were a number of men in the backwoods garb of Crockett and the boys. ”

“ One of those who stood gazing at the preparation for battle was a tall, raw-boned [51] man of almost fifty, with a good-natured face, and a manner which was upon the verge of the eccentric. He wore a coonskin cap, a long fringed hunting shirt of buckskin, leggings and tanned moccasins. In the hollow of his arm he carried a handsome rifle. He had been one of those who stood upon the wharf awaiting the tying of the “Mediterranean,” apparently for the purpose of taking passage. ”

“ He’s giving his money and his time and his learning to do a thing which will never bring him a penny of gain. He’s sending you on a mission to a distant place like Texas, just because he wants to see right done. And to hear [27] people say things, like those Huntley and Barker have said, is hard to bear. But you must bear it.”
“I will not!” said Walter steadily, his eyes still searching the cabin for the two men.
As a rule, young Jordan was the cooler and more thoughtful of the two boys. Ned was the impulsive one, the plunger into adventure, a rollicking, harum-scarum youngster. ”

“ They know the places where the good grass grows.”
There was a silence for some little time, and then Ned Chandler said:
“I’ve heard a good deal about buffalo hunting, and I’d like to have a try at it before we reach San Antonio.”
[153] “So should I,” spoke Jed Curley. “It seems as though it would be fine sport.”
“Well,” said Davy Crockett, “as I’ve said, I shouldn’t despise the chance myself, boys. It’s been many a year since I’ve had a run after a herd of buffalo, and if we sight any, we’ll take half a day off our journey and have a shot at them.” ”

“ The boys looked at him quickly, for there was something in his voice which caught their attention.
“There is one thing that’s sure,” said the backwoodsman, “and that is that Davidge [109] and Huntley will keep you youngsters in view until they see you have set out for San Antonio. If you stick to the ‘Mediterranean’ all the way down the river, they will too. At New Orleans they’ll follow you; they’ll find out that the girl is there. And so you’ll lose all the advantage which Dolph’s information has given you.” ”