Then, along in the afternoon, a shadow seemed to pass over the busy camp. Ernest sensed it; so did Jim; so did Sion and Leo. The men were still determined, but the word was passed about that William Wharton, the judge-advocate, and several other officers questioned whether it was wise to storm the fortifications, quite yet――and that Sam Houston, the new commander-in-chief, had written a letter advising against it.
“He says it’ll take two thousand men,” was the report. “He ought to know――he’s a military man. Austin isn’t commander-in-chief any longer.”
“Maybe we ought to wait for more reinforcements.”
“If we’re going to wait, we needn’t wait in this place. I don’t want to camp out in many more northers. I near plumb froze.”
“Those fellows make me tired,” complained Jim. “They’ve been itching to fight and be done, and now they’re kicking. What do we care about Houston and Wharton and the rest? We’ve got enough men to take Bejar. Houston isn’t there and we are.”
Late that afternoon it was rumored that John W. Smith, an American surveyor of Bejar, had smuggled out to General Austin a complete plan of the fortifications in the town, and that Dr. James Grant, another engineer, had pronounced them excellent as a guide.
In spite of the grumblings, the two divisions of the army were paraded under arms and inspected, at sun-down; General Austin made a speech of encouragement; and upon dismissal the company commanders were ordered to turn their commands out before dawn and assemble them at the old mill at three o’clock.
After the dismissal of the parade, another strange thing occurred. Sion trudged over from his mess, in the dark, against orders, to debate the matter with his two cronies. In fact, the whole camp was uneasy, and sleeping not at all.
“Hello,” greeted Sion. “Say, did you fellows get asked by any officer whether you’d attack Bejar or not?”
“We sure did,” responded Jim. “And we said ‘yes.’ But a lot of ’em crawfished. I reckon we’re going, just the same.”
“I dunno,” opposed Sion, gloomily. “A lot of our fellows are on the fence, too. They think maybe we’re in a little too much hurry――had better wait a bit and make certain with more troops and cannon that Houston’s collecting. If we got wiped out in this one scrimmage that’d hold Texas for a while. Santa Anna’d simply smother what was left of us, and we’d never have another chance. Well, I can’t stay. I’m supposed to be where I belong, ready for three o’clock. See you in the morning.” And he trudged away.