wait to be attacked. Houston said but little, yet by his face he showed that some plan of action was forming in his brain.
The council over, the commander called two trusty scouts to him, and sent them off with axes on a secret mission, which was to cut away the bridge by which both armies had reached their present encampments. This done, neither could retreat, so the fight would have to be "to a finish."
"To arms!" came the call in the middle of the afternoon, and the solitary drum the Texans possessed began to roll. Then, as the men formed to march, the single fifer struck up the popular tune of the day, "Will You Come to the Bower?"
"Dan, be careful of yourself!" cried Amos Radbury, as he pressed his son's hand. "Be careful for my sake!" And then he rushed off to lead his men forward. Dan's face was pale, but his clear eyes shone with a determination that could not be mistaken. He would do his duty, come what might.
"Vance's bridge has been cut down!" came the cry. "You must fight now to a finish! Remember the Alamo!"
"Remember the Alamo!" came back wildly. "Remember the Alamo! Down with Santa Anna!" And then the long lines rushed on, straight for the barricades which the Mexicans had erected.
