“Nobody’s said so,” answered Jim. “But we may wait for the Redlanders. Those East Texas folks want a chance, don’t they. And Austin’s looking powerful sick. We hear tell he offered the job of commander-in-chief to Houston, but Houston wouldn’t take it without being regularly elected. Anyway, I reckon Houston and a lot others’ll have to go in to San Felipe to that consultation. It meets on the first.”
“I don’t reckon we’ll retreat east of the Guadalupe, just the same,” asserted Leo, doggedly. “We ought to clean up Bejar, so we all can go home for Christmas. _Sabe_ that?”
At any rate, the order came to move forward to the old mission Espada, where Colonel Bowie had reconnoitered and obtained the promise of provisions. The full name of the mission was San Francisco de la Espada――Saint Francis of the Sword. It had been located here in 1731, or more than one hundred years ago, but now was abandoned; the priests and the Indians their pupils had gone, and only a few Mexican _paisanos_ and _rancheros_ remained. By the empty mission building flowed the San Antonio River; and less than eight miles northwest up the river was Bejar.
In fact, here along the crystal San Antonio River there were a number of these old missions, forming a group. The Mission de la Espada, thence up the river the Mission La Purisima Concepcion de Acuna, the Mission San Juan Capistrano; just across the river from Bejar (or Bexar) itself, the Mission San Antonio de Valero which was now known as the Alamo, some said because of the _alamos_ or cottonwood trees, and others because of the Mexican troops who were from the town Alamo of Parras; and in Bejar itself, the Mission San Xavier de Naxera. The presidio or fort, San Antonio de Bejar, had been supposed to guard all these missions.
The old mission la Espada proved a very pleasant camping place, and the Mexican country people were friendly. But, of course, as Jim Hill said, one never could tell who were spying and who were not. The chances were that everything the army did was reported at once to General Cos in Bejar. But it also was reported, to General Austin, that the troops in Bejar were much alarmed by the rapid way in which the Texan army grew, and that General Cos had decided he would do better to fight from behind walls.