San Antonio Rose (Historical Romance) by Constance O'Banyon Page B

the
command of General Urrea and will go toward
the Gulf Coast with instructions to close all
ports. The force under the command of Santa
Anna consists of four thousand men, fourteen
cannon, nineteen hundred pack mules, fortyfour wagons, and two hundred and thirty
carts."
    Houston gasped at the magnitude of the
army. "Is this list reliable?"
    "I took it from Santa Anna's pocket. I am
sorry to say that I have become a thief."
    "I'm not even going to ask how you got that
close. Have a care, senorita. You trifle with a
dangerous man. And you are so young for such
a mission. There is a part of me that wants to
spare you, and another part that knows I need
your help."

    She handed him the list and moved to the
door. "It is you who should have a care, Houston. As I said, my bedroom looked out on your
training ground. I have seen your soldiers, and
I have seen Santa Anna's forces-you do not
stand much of a chance against him." She
opened the door. "Until next time." And she
was gone.
    Houston went to the window to watch her
mount her horse. His eyes went to the huge
man who rode at her side. Although the man
had gray hair, his arms were muscled, and he
looked as though he could crush a man with
his bare hands. He had his claw, and the San
Antonio Rose had her watchdog.
    Ian came onto the porch and watched Emerada ride out of the compound. Houston
emerged from the cabin to join him.
    "I don't think your little senorita likes me,
General."
    "Perhaps not. But I need you to be my claw
again. Stay close to her if you can. I have a feeling that she needs friends more than she will
admit."
    Ian watched her ride away, feeling somehow
empty inside. "Who do you suppose she is?"
    "I don't know. I have a feeling we won't learn
about her until she's ready for us to-if we
ever do."
    "What do you suppose she's after?"
    Houston shook his head. "I'm damned if I know. You'd better leave now if you want to
keep her in sight."

    "She won't be hard to find," Ian said bitingly.
"She'll hightail it back to her lover, Santa
Anna."
    Houston turned his eyes on his young officer. Ian's father had been one of his closest
friends, and he'd promised Ian's mother that
he would look after her son. Yeah, he thought,
I've taken care of him, all right. I've gotten him
involved in a situation that might just cost Ian
his life.
    "Don't always believe what your eyes see. If
you do, you might miss what common sense
tells you." Motioning for Ian to follow him,
Houston went back inside the cabin and turned
his attention to the map on his desk. "If you find
out anything about the woman, send me word.
Afterward, go directly to San Antonio and see
what's going on. There seems to be some sort of
fracas going on between Travis and Bowie. If
you think it's necessary, take command yourself. Do what you can to restore order."
    "Bowie and Travis are both good men. They
just have different views on how this war
should be fought, and therein dwells the conflict. I would not want either of them to think I
was trying to take over."
    "Damn it, Travis has locked his men in some
broken-down old mission, and they can't move
around. I gave him a direct order to blow it up
and get the hell out, but apparently he dis obeyed my orders. That place can't be defended, and Santa Anna's on his way there. He's
probably already there. Tell them to get the hell
out."

    "How do you know about Santa Anna, sir?"
    Houston handed Ian the document that
Emerada had given him. "You can read Spanish, can't you?"
    Ian quickly scanned the list. "It looks real."
    "It should be. Your little dancer took it off
Santa Anna himself."
    Ian felt the bitter taste of disappointment gutdeep every time he heard about Emerada and
the Mexican president. "I'll do what I can, sir."
    "Get going then! And make Bowie and
Travis see the futility of fortifying that old
mission."
    As Ian stepped off the porch, he gazed up at
the gathering clouds. It seemed that Emerada