The Warlords
Page 25
“Well, pardner, no doubt of that,” Maddox said. “Haven’t had so much fun since heck was a pup. Hate to see you leave.”
“Never know,” Gordon said. “You might see me sooner than you think. I’ve gotten to like Texas.”
“Why do I get the feeling you’re talkin’ about Guadalupe?”
“No reason you shouldn’t be the first to know. I’m planning to marry her.”
Maddox didn’t believe a word of it. He’d seen white men get sweet on hot-eyed señoritas any number of times, and it rarely led to wedding bells. He was of the opinion that Brownsville, and Guadalupe Palaez, would soon be a distant memory for Gordon. He decided to keep his opinion to himself.
“Look me up if you need a best man. I’m always available for a shindig.”
“Hoyt, I’d count it a honor.”
Gordon extended his hand. They shook with the warmth of two men who had shared a dangerous time and found a bond that would last a lifetime. Maddox thought it was unlikely they would ever meet again, for señoritas, in his experience, were most often out of sight, out of mind. A roguish smile tugged at the corner of his mouth.
“Watch yourself,” he said. “Don’t let them Germans get on your blind side.”
“I’ll sleep with one eye open.”
Gordon walked to the express car. As he stepped inside, the express guard slammed and locked the door. The locomotive billowed steam, driving wheels grinding, and the passenger coaches rocked forward, windows glinting in the sunlight. The engineer tooted his horn as the train slowly pulled away from the depot.
A place had been cleared at one end of the express car. There were four chairs and a couple of folding cots, with pillows and blankets. The soldiers would alternate guard duty, two on their feet at all times, positioned to watch the prisoners. Von Kleist and Mueller were seated, and as the train lurched into motion, Gordon took a chair across from them. His gaze was direct, impersonal.
“Gentlemen, there is one rule aboard this train. If you try to escape, these soldiers have orders to shoot you. No exceptions, no second chances. Understood?”
“Quite clear,” von Kleist said with a sanguine expression. “But why would we attempt to escape, Mr. Gordon? We will be returned to Germany in good time.”
“Colonel, the only place you’re going is prison. Violation of the Neutrality Act carries a sentence of ten years.”
“I assure you we will never be imprisoned.”
“What makes you think so?”
“Diplomacy,” von Kleist said with a sardonic smile. “Neither of our governments can afford an international incident. The situation is too delicate.”
Gordon gave him a quizzical look. “You’re talking about the war in Europe?”
“Actually, I refer to our respective leaders. Kaiser Wilhelm and your President Wilson would prefer that the United States remain neutral. Why should American boys die to save England and France?”
“Americans died here in Texas. We can document your conspiracy with Huerta and Garza, and the Army of Liberation. Perhaps you overrate the power of diplomacy.”
“No, I think not,” von Kleist said. “A pact will be arranged for the deportation of Captain Mueller and myself. All quite discreetly, of course.”
“Colonel, if it happens,” Gordon said evenly, “take a message to the Kaiser. Tell him to stay out of Mexico or he will see Americans in Europe. Nothing could be more certain.”
Von Kleist shrugged. “There are no certainties in war, Mr. Gordon. Look to the fields of France if you need proof.”
Gordon saw nothing to be gained in debate. He rose and walked to the barred window that allowed the express guard to look outside. The countryside was dotted with chaparral and mesquite, and the sight somehow reminded him of all that had happened since he’d arrived in Texas. The death and destruction seemed to him an appalling waste, provoked by warlords who sought supremacy whatever the cost in human life. The futility of it all was marked by their failure.
President Woodrow Wilson, acting swiftly, had defused the situation. In a strongly worded communiqué, he warned Venustiano Carranza that Mexico risked war with the United States unless the raids into Texas were halted. Carranza, who at last recognized the danger to his own shaky regime, directed his military commanders into the field. Their orders were to disband the Army of Liberation.
The rebel brigade in Monterrey was now commanded by a Colonel Hilario Hinojosa. With Huerta’s arrest in New Mexico, and Garza’s death on the streets of Matamoras, Hinojosa deferred marching on Texas. His attention turned instead to Mexico, and the bitter civil war, and upon hearing that Carranza’s generals had taken to the field, all his options were closed. He joined forces with Pancho Villa, and the Army of Liberation rode off to fight in the Revolución. The invasion of Texas, once all but certain, ceased to be a threat.
The train rattled on through the countryside. Gordon stood looking out the window, images of the raids, the brutality and wanton death still vivid in his mind. Yet, for all he’d seen on the Rio Grande, there was an overriding sense of vindication. A last laugh of sorts.
The warlords, in the end, were like ashes scattered to the winds.
Texas was safe.
Epilogue
Colonel Franz von Kleist and Captain Otto Mueller were deported to Germany in October 1915. Upon their arrival in Berlin, Mueller was assigned to the Western Front, where he was killed by artillery fire a week later. The German General Staff offered von Kleist a choice of court-martial and disgrace, or an honorable solution. He shot himself on October 21, 1915.
Five months later, in March 1916, Pancho Villa crossed the border with five hundred men. He attacked the town of Columbus, New Mexico, destroying property and killing civilians and soldiers. On orders from President Wilson, General John “Black Jack” Pershing invaded Mexico with a cavalry regiment. He persued Villa through the state of Chihuahua until early 1917, fighting countless skirmishes without capturing the revolutionary leader. American intelligence agencies believed that Villa’s raid was yet another conspiracy instigated by German provocateurs. The stage was set for war.
In January 1917, the MI-6 British intelligence service intercepted a coded telegram from German Secretary of State Arthur Zimmermann to Venustiano Carranza, President of Mexico. In the event the United States entered the European conflict, Zimmermann proposed that Mexico declare itself an ally of Germany. The telegram offered massive financial aid and German military assistance for “Mexico to reconquer its former territories in Texas, New Mexico, and Arizona.”
The Zimmermann Telegram, as it became known, was decoded and forwarded to President Woodrow Wilson. The release of the telegram to the press on March 1 confirmed yet another foreign conspiracy and resulted in a public outcry for war against Germany. President Wilson went before Congress, and after a month of debate, the United States formally declared war on Germany on April 6. Venustiano Carranza denied ever receiving the Zimmermann Telegram, and publicly proclaimed Mexico’s friendship for the United States. In Washington, the lie was accepted to prevent a war with Mexico.
General John “Black Jack” Pershing, commander of the American Expeditionary Force, arrived in France in June 1917. Forward elements were soon deployed, and by August 1918, over 2,000,000 Doughboys occupied the trenches along the Western Front. On September 26, the British, French, Belgian and American armies began a joint offensive against the Hindenburg Line, Germany’s final line of resistance. By October 2 the line was broken and the Allies advanced on a wide front toward the German frontier. Victory was but a matter of time.
On November 9, Kaiser Wilhelm II abdicated the throne as ruler of the German Empire. The following day, with the German army in full retreat, he departed Berlin by train and sought exile in Holland. One day later, on November 11, armistice was declared and the guns at last fell silent on the Western Front. On June 28, 1919, in the Hall of Mirrors at Versailles, France, the peace treaty between the Allies and Germany was signed. The World War was over.
&nbs
p; The Texas Rangers continued to patrol the border throughout the war. For a time, in the spring of 1917, there was widespread fear that Mexico, acting in concert with Germany, would declare war on the United States. Hoyt Maddox, who never trusted the leaders of Mexico, remembered all too well the summer of 1915 and the Army of Liberation. Yet the peace held, and Maddox, who served out the war on the Rio Grande, was eventually promoted to a captain of the Rangers. He retired with honors in 1931.
President Wilson awarded Frank Gordon a commendation for valor in October 1915. The next day, though his future was assured in Washington, Gordon requested a transfer to Texas. He was reassigned to the Dallas office, and in November, with Hoyt Maddox as his best man, he married Guadalupe Palaez. Gordon adopted Antonio, and by the end of the war, Guadalupe gave him three daughters. Hector Martinez, Manuel Vargas, and Hoyt Maddox were their godfathers.
During the Roaring Twenties, Frank Gordon was instrumental in combating the resurgence of the Ku Klux Klan throughout Texas and Oklahoma. The U.S. Bureau of Investigation, under the directorship of J. Edgar Hoover, ultimately became the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Gordon, who routinely refused offers of promotion to Washington, ended his career as Special Agent in Charge of the F.B.I. field office in Houston. He and Guadalupe and their children never left Texas.
Today, at the F.B.I. headquarters in Washington, there is a plaque commemorating Frank R. Gordon. He is remembered as the man who brought peace to the Rio Grande.
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