Juan Seguin by Robert E. Hollmann Page A

Travis said. “He doesn’t look very good.”
    “I guess this puts you in command of all the troops,” Juan said.
    Travis rubbed his eyes. “I guess so. I’m going to need your advice more than ever, Juan. You know the people of this area and whom they’ll support. I must write a letter now asking for more troops. Will you come by my room later so we can talk?”
    Juan nodded. “I’ll be there later. I’m going to check on my men now. We’ve been lucky so far. No one’s been hurt by the cannons. I’ll see you later.”
    We walked across the courtyard, dodging a few cannonballs that hit in the open space. We found our men sitting behind a wall where they were safe from the enemy’s fire.
    “What happened, Juan?” one of them asked.
    “Jim Bowie’s real sick. I don’t think he’ll be fighting anymore.”
    “Does that mean Travis is in charge now?”
    Juan nodded. “Colonel Travis is in command of all the troops now.”
    The men looked at one another. They all ducked as a cannonball thudded into the wall. Rock chips from the wall flew into the courtyard.
    One of the men brushed dust from his shirt. “Are we going to stay here, Juan? We’ve been watching Santa Anna’s troops march into San Antonio all day. They’re still coming and I think more are on the way. If we leave now we can still get away.”
    Juan shook his head. “Andres, we’re here to fight for Texas. I don’t think any of you want to live under Santa Anna’s rule. If you want to leave, go ahead, but I’m going to stay and do what I can to stop Santa Anna right here. Travis is writing a letter to send to the people in the settlements, asking for more troops. I believe that more men will come. Look what happened at Gonzales last fall. People came to help them. If we can hold on here a few days, I believe we’ll have plenty of troops.”
    A man ran out of Travis’s office and mounted a horse. He rode up to the gate and said something to the man on guard. The man opened the gate and the messenger galloped away.
    Juan pointed to the rider. “See. There goes the messenger. In a few days we should see men coming to help us.”
    The men watched the messenger ride out of view. They didn’t say anything, but I could tell that they were not as sure as Juan that help would come. Juan stood and brushed the dirt from his pants.
    “I must go talk with Travis. I’ll check with you later. Keep your heads down.”
    Juan and I walked toward Travis’s room. I looked back at the men. They were watching us. I turned toward Juan.
    “Do you think the men will stay?”
    Juan took a deep breath. “I think so. They’re good men. I know they love Texas. It’s not unusual for them to be asking questions now. They can see what’s happening. But in a few days, when the others come, they’ll feel better.”
    We reached Travis’s room. Juan walked in. I stopped and turned to look at the men across the courtyard. They were still watching us. A cannonball hit the wall and the men ducked. Rocks and dirt flew over the men. I watched as they brushed the dirt from their clothes. I hoped that more men would come soon.

Chapter Nineteen
    The weather turned cold. A norther swept across the prairies and dropped the temperature. A howling wind blew over the walls where the men huddled as much for protection against the cold as for protection from the enemy cannonballs. Juan and I spent a lot of time walking around the walls checking on the men. Some of them had blankets and some built small fires to try and keep warm.
    The enemy still received reinforcements, and we watched every day as new troops marched into San Antonio. Travis scanned the horizon, watching for signs of men marching to reinforce the Alamo. Surely the messengers had reached the government by now. Surely Colonel Fannin was marching toward San Antonio with his army. Travis sent out more messengers, and we all settled down to wait.
    One day Travis called us to his office. It felt good to get out of