by J. T. Edson
‘They’ll have to be given accommodation,’ Alvarez replied. ‘And, as he is to serve with the Tamaulipa Lancers, he may as well meet the other officers. So I suggest that you invite him to join us at dinner this evening.’
‘Of course,’ Urrea agreed, with the air of having had such an intention from the start. ‘They’re in your charge, Carlos. Take care of them.’
‘Si, senor,’ Badillo answered, but it was obvious that he did not care for the way the responsibility had been thrust upon him. ‘I’ll put him in Escalier’s room, if that’s all right with you?’
‘It is,’ Urrea confirmed, but not until after he had once more sought surreptitious advice from the Paymaster.
‘Come with me, Captain Smithers,’ Badillo ordered, darting a triumphant glance at Saucedo who was not troubling to try to hide his disapproval. ‘I’ll see to you.’
‘Gracias, major. Excuse me, Senora Alvarez, General,’ Ole Devil answered and went on in English, ‘Let’s go, men.’
‘I don’t like that damned gringo,’ Saucedo announced in his usual hard and carrying tones, almost as soon as the door had closed behind them. ‘Why didn’t he tell you who he was in the first place, senora?’
‘He had to use the name that was on Santa Anna’s pass,’ Beatriz replied, but her attitude implied that she did not care to be reminded of how she had been taken in by “Smither’s” false identity.
‘I suppose it’s genuine?’ the colonel asked, having no wish to antagonize the woman. ‘The pass, I mean.’
‘It’s Santa Anna’s signature,’ Alvarez declared, waving a hand at the documents which his wife had brought in as proof of the two Texians’ “identity”. ‘And I know that he did issue such things to renegade leaders.’
‘I’m satisfied with him. I think he’ll be useful to us,’ Urrea put in firmly, speaking for once without first having sought guidance from his Paymaster. He still remembered the young Texian’s admiration and complimentary comments regarding his brilliance. ‘And there’s certainly nothing he can do to harm us.’
‘He might be a spy for Santa Anna,’ Saucedo warned, never being willing to give up something that he had started.
‘He might,’ the General conceded, scowling unpleasantly at the continued protests. ‘But even if he is, there’s nothing he can do with el Presidente in the Texians’ hands.’
‘We’ve only his word for that,’ Saucedo pointed out.
‘May I make a suggestion?’ Alvarez requested, and went on without waiting to be given permission. ‘Even if he is working for Santa Anna, we can make use of him by giving him false information. In any case, it would be better for us if he is kept here. He’s already seen and heard too much for us to let him go.’
‘Why not shoot all three of them and make sure they can’t do anything—?’ Saucedo began.
‘Because I don’t want him shot!’ Urrea barked, coming to his feet. Although he had no great objection to having executions carried out, he was determined to enforce his will. ‘Is that clear, colonel?’
‘It is,’ Saucedo replied sullenly, stiffening into a brace. ‘With the General’s permission, I’ll retire.’
Instead of escorting the two Texians and Tommy Okasi to their quarters, Badillo had stopped just outside the door as soon as the little Oriental had closed it behind them. Motioning for the others to remain, and looking around the entrance hall to make sure he was not observed, the major moved close enough to the door to be able to hear what was being said in the room they had just left.
‘You’ve made a bad enemy in Saucedo,’ Badillo warned, hurriedly ushering the other three across the hall, after having heard enough to suggest that the interview in the General’s office would soon be over. ‘He wants to have you all shot.’
‘That doesn’t surprise me,’ Ole Devil admitted. ‘Damned peon upstart. They’re all the same when you give them a little authority.’
Satisfied that he had gained a useful ally in his feud with Saucedo, the major escorted Ole Devil and his companions up the main stairs. On the way, he gave them the gist of what he had overheard, with the exception of Alvarez’s suggestion. He laid great stress on the fact that the majority of the objections had come from Saucedo.
‘This will be your quarters, captain,’ Badillo concluded, throwing open a door. ‘I’ll have Escalier’s gear taken away.’
‘This’s really fine,’ Ole Devil enthused, advancing and looking around the large and well-appointed room. ‘Far better than I’ve been used to recently.’ He paused, then continued, ‘It might be as well if I have my cousin and the “Indian” staying here with me. That way, Saucedo will have less chance of getting at any of us. You can say that it was your idea. That you think it will be easier that way to keep an eye on us.’
‘That’s a good idea,’ the major praised. ‘They can stay, if you don’t mind having the “Indian” with you.’
‘I’ve grown used to it, and he can be very useful to have around,’ Ole Devil replied. ‘They can eat in the kitchen, or have their meals fetched up here, whichever is most convenient for you.’
‘I’ll make arrangements for their food to be fetched up,’ Badillo promised. ‘And it will help if you all go out together. I’ll have some of my troop close by when you do, just in case you should need help.’
‘I’m obliged to you, major,’ Ole Devil said, speaking with such sincerity that he might have been speaking the truth.
‘If you’re satisfied, I’ll go and get ready for dinner,’ Badillo answered. ‘If you’ll do the same, I’ll come and collect you on my way down. My rooms are just across the hall. Until later, senor.’
‘That’s where he’s gone,’ Tommy stated, having opened the door for the major and closed it only far enough to allow him to make sure that Badillo had gone across the hall. ‘But I’ll keep watching to make sure he stops there.’
‘You don’t reckon as how he’d’ve lied so he could sneak in next door and listen to us, do you?’ Mannen inquired sleepily.
‘Very old and wise Japanese saying,’ Tommy began.
‘Which you’ve just made up,’ the cousins chorused.
‘When you find an enemy has become your friend,’ the little Oriental continued, clearly having grown used to such interruptions and making no attempt to contradict their justified claim regarding the age of the “saying”, ‘watch him very carefully to make sure that he is friendly.’
‘Now that’s real old and wise,’ Mannen declared with lethargic solemnity. Then he became serious, although the change was only noticeable to men who knew him as well as his companions. ‘It’s all gone off pretty well so far, but I get the feeling we’re a long ways from being out of the deep, dark and piney woods.’
‘Keep thinking that way,’ Ole Devil ordered. ‘It’s a good way to stay alive. We’re still living on a knife’s edge.’
‘Should I slip, I’m going to make sure both feet go down the one side,’ Mannen said quietly. ‘Otherwise, it could ruin my chances of raising a family.’
‘They’re not what I’d call good right now,’ Ole Devil pointed out.
‘I wouldn’t know about that,’ Mannen protested. ‘Why I’ve been told by more than one lil ole gal—’
‘Why sure,’ Ole Devil interrupted, starting to unbutton his jacket. ‘What do you make of them, Cousin Mannen?’
‘There’s a man coming from the officer’s room!’ Tommy warned before the burly Texian could reply. Closing the door, he went on, ‘He’s coming this way.’
Opening the door at the man’s knock, Tommy allowed him to enter. He had on the uniform trousers of a Tamaulipa Lancer, but his white shirt, sandal-covered feet and general appearance gave a clue to his status even before he introduced himself as Badillo’s orderly, Tomas. Nothing the Texians or Tommy could detect from his behavior and expression suggested that he might have noticed he had been seen coming from his superior’s quarters.
‘Major Badillo says that I’m to have hot water and anything else you might need
sent up to you, senor,’ the orderly announced, addressing Ole Devil. ‘I will also arrange for your property and another bed to be brought in.’
‘Two beds,’ the slender Texian corrected.
‘Two, senor?’ Tomas asked.
The “Indian” needs one,’ Ole Devil pointed out.
‘Si, senor,’ the orderly grunted, but was too good a servant to show his real feelings on the matter of supplying an “Indian” with a bed. ‘I’ll arrange for it and for somebody to attend to you during your stay.’
‘That won’t be necessary, he does it,’ Ole Devil answered, indicating Tommy with a jerk of his thumb. Then a harder, more commanding note came into his voice and he went on in English, ‘Go and fetch the water.’
‘S—!’ Tomas, at whom the words had been directed, stopped, then said. ‘I’m sorry, senor but I don’t understand.’
‘Show the “Indian” where to get my hot water,’ Ole Devil repeated in Spanish. ‘And hurry. I don’t want to keep the major waiting.’
‘Si, senor,’ the orderly assented and looked at Tommy. ‘Come with me.’
‘He doesn’t speak Spanish,’ Ole Devil warned. ‘But don’t let anybody play tricks on him. Those two swords are very sharp and he doesn’t hesitate to use them if he gets angry.’
‘I’ll remember and tell the other servants, senor,’ Tomas promised, studying the little Oriental and edging by him as if afraid that he might explode. ‘Ask him to come with me, please.’
‘Know something, Cous—Count—’ Mannen began, after Tommy and the orderly were out of the room. ‘What in hell do I call you now?’
‘Cousin will do, so long as you don’t take it any further, or at least make it “Cousin Jack”,’ Ole Devil replied. ‘We can get away with “Count” by saying you got used to using it while we were with Santa Anna.’
‘Likely,’ Mannen drawled. ‘Anyways, I think that Tomas hombre might have been lying when he said he couldn’t speak English.’
‘So do I,’ Ole Devil admitted, tossing his jacket on to the bed and drawing the pistol from its belt loop. ‘What do you reckon so far, Cousin Mylo?’
‘That’s one hell of a name you picked for me,’ Mannen protested, then started to answer the question.
While waiting for the hot water to arrive, the cousins carried on a quietly spoken discussion. Ole Devil found, not unexpectedly, that Mannen’s summation of the situation and general conclusions were much the same as his own. Nor was the similarity caused by a sycophantic desire to please a superior. The burly Texian was shrewd and a fair judge of human nature. What was more, having taken so little part in the conversation at Urrea’s office, Mannen had been able to devote all his attention to studying the Mexicans’ reactions to the various points as they were made. For the most part, Ole Devil had been compelled to concentrate upon the person he was addressing. So Mannen had formed a much better general impression of how the different aspects had been received.
‘I got more than a tiny feeling that Saucedo and Badillo don’t know about the money Fannin paid to Urrea as ransom for his men,’ Mannen commented.
‘I’ll go along with you on that,’ Ole Devil agreed. ‘Alvarez didn’t want too much talk about whether they could afford to buy the rifles or not. And it seems like they didn’t get anywhere near as much support as they expected in Matamoros.’
The return of Tommy with hot water brought an end to the conversation. Nor, with a constant flow of servants fetching and removing property under the supervision of Badillo’s orderly, did the cousins find an opportunity to resume it before Ole Devil was collected to go downstairs for dinner.
Chapter Thirteen – What The Hell Are You Doing Here?
While Ole Devil Hardin and Mannen Blaze were holding their discussion, another conversation on practically the same subject was taking place in General José Urrea’s hacienda. The two young Texians would have found it interesting, enlightening, and probably a little disturbing if they had been in a position to overhear what was being said, particularly with regard to themselves.
‘That damned stupid, fat, useless fool!’ Beatriz Alvarez spat out furiously, hurling her hat across the bedroom of the suite which she and her husband occupied. She had just dismissed her maid and his orderly, telling them not to return for an hour. ‘It’s no wonder that the people I consulted in Matamoros are so reluctant to support him. I doubt if I’d have collected as much money as I did if the news of Santa Anna’s defeat hadn’t arrived.’
‘What was the reaction to it?’ Major Francisco Alvarez inquired, but with none of his usual obsequious manner, as he began to unbutton his tunic.
‘Just about the same as I told them downstairs when Urrea complained about how little money I’d brought back,’ Beatriz replied, starting to undress with considerable haste. ‘The few people who’d heard didn’t seem prepared to believe it was true, and the alcalde did his best to keep them thinking that way.’
‘That’s to be expected,’ the Paymaster said soothingly, knowing where the political sympathies of the mayor of Matamoros lay. ‘He’s Santa Anna’s man and would want to do all he could do to prevent the news from spreading.’
‘He did,’ the woman confirmed. ‘Santoval was there when he questioned the soldier. He said the alcalde warned him that he’d have him shot if he spoke of it after leaving his office. When we told the rest of our supporters about it, the general response was that they preferred to wait for more definite and reliable information.’
‘I don’t suppose we can blame them for being cautious,’ Alvarez declared philosophically, dropping his tunic to the floor and peeling off his shirt. Although they were not bulky, there were hard and powerful muscles under his pallid skin. ‘They’d wonder if it was possible that Santa Anna had guessed why the Tamaulipa Brigade had returned to Mexico and, by pretending to be defeated, was trying to trick them into showing where their sympathies lay. Don’t forget, querida, we’re dealing with businessmen, not idealistic dreamers, or liberals who pretend they’re trying to make the world a better place for the poor people.’
I’ve already found that out,’ Beatriz declared bitterly, continuing to discard her garments with rapid and eager abandon. ‘The Coun—“Smithers”—isn’t the only one to suggest that what happened at Goliad will have an adverse effect on our future relationship with the United States. According to Santoval, the businessmen we were counting upon for financial support are afraid that public opinion in the United States will force Congress to ban all trade with Mexico if Urrea becomes Presidente. Damn it, ’Cisco, if it wasn’t for that, with Santa Anna defeated—’
‘You did well to persuade them to part with as much money as they did, querida,’ Alvarez stated, having no wish to continue discussing a subject which implied that he had made an error of judgment in suggesting to Urrea that the prisoners were massacred. He considered it advisable to ensure that his wife retained her respect for his omniscience.
‘Getting it wasn’t easy,’ the woman admitted, showing relief and pleasure at the praise. She waved a hand to her luggage, which had been fetched up from the coach but was not yet unpacked. ‘Our share of it is in my trunk. I’d liked to have kept more, but there wasn’t that much—’
‘You made the right decision, as always, querida,’ the Paymaster assured her, sitting on the edge of the bed. His eyes roamed over her gorgeous body, now clad only in a pair of flimsy white drawers. Raising his right leg, he went on, ‘Pull off my boots for me.’
If any of the men with whom she had flirted in the interests of her husband’s scheming had seen how swiftly, and eagerly Beatriz started to carry out the menial task, they would have been amazed. It might have suggested to them that her apparently dull and uninteresting husband possessed unsuspected qualities that they themselves lacked.
Standing astride Alvarez’s elevated leg, the woman grasped the heel of his boot in both hands. Helped by a shove from his other foot, she drew it off. Having repeated the process and set the boots aside with a greater ca
re than she had shown to her own clothing, she flung herself on top of her husband as he sprawled supine on the bed.
‘Mother of God! How I’ve missed you, ’Cisco!’ Beatriz gasped, following an embrace which lasted for close to a minute. They reversed their positions, so that her arms were round him and her naked and imposing bosom was ground into his chest. ‘There’s not another man in the world can come up to you—not that any of them have ever—’
‘I don’t doubt that, querida,’ Alvarez said reassuringly as his wife’s words trailed to an uneasy end.
‘You can’t imagine how it infuriates me when I see how people treat you,’ Beatriz went on, nuzzling at her husband’s face. Wanting to give further proof of her devotion, for she knew just how dangerous he could be when crossed or suspicious, she continued. ‘Look at “Smithers” just now, giving Urrea credit for the things you had deduced and planned. It was you who realized how badly Santa Anna was conducting the campaign, possibly even leading the Army into a trap—’
‘What do you make of “Smithers”, querida?’ the Paymaster interrupted, drawing away slightly.
‘Well—’ Beatriz began cautiously. ‘I haven’t had much time to get to know—’
‘You must have some ideas about him!’ Alvarez growled, irritated by the evasive response. ‘I’ve always valued your judgment. Is he what he claims to be?’
‘He’s been raised a gentleman, if his manners mean anything,’ the woman decided, taking warning from the way her husband had spoken. ‘Certainly his class is closer to Badillo’s than Saucedo’s. He’s intelligent and, from the way he treated Escalier, arrogant and quick tempered. Such a man might easily have done something which would force him to flee to Texas. As you’re satisfied that his pass is genuine, he must have worked for Santa Anna. El Presidente used renegades and “Smithers” would be clever enough to appeal to him as one who would be very useful.’
‘Could he still be working for him?’