ell. Santa
Anna was making the most beautiful and convincing promises. He himself
was going to Texas. He was the father of his people. He would right
every wrong. He loved the Texans, these children of the north who had
come to his country for a home. No one could ever say that he appealed
in vain to Santa Anna for protection. Texans would be proud that they
were a part of Mexico, they would be glad to belong to a nation which
already had a glorious history, and to come to a capital which had more
splendor and romance than any other in America.

Ned literally withdrew his soul within itself. He sought to shut out the
influence that was radiating from this singular and brilliant figure,
but he saw that Mr. Austin was falling more deeply under it.

"Look!" said Santa Anna, taking the man by the arm in the familiar
manner that one old friend has with another and drawing him to the
window. "Is not this a prospect to enchant? Is not this a capital of
which you and I can well be proud?"

He lifted a forefinger and swept the half curve that could be seen from
the window. It was truly a panorama that would kindle the heart of the
dullest. Forty miles away the white crests of Popocatepetl and
Ixtaccihuatl still showed against the background of burning blue, like
pillars supporting the dome of heaven. Along the whole line of the half
curve were mountains in fold on fold. Below the green of the valley
showed the waters of the lake both fresh and salt gleaming with gold
where the sunlight shot down upon them. Nearer rose the spires of the
cathedral, and then the sea of tile roofs burnished by the vivid beams.

Santa Anna stood in a dramatic position, his finger still pointing.
There was scarcely a day that Ned did not feel the majesty of this
valley of Tenochtitlan, but Santa Anna deepened the spell. Could the
world hold another place its equal? Might not the Texans indeed have a
glorious future in the land of which this city was the capital? Poetry
and romance appealed powerfully to the boy's thoughtful mind, and he
felt that here in Mexico he was at their very heart. Nothing else had
ever moved him so much.

"You are pleased! It impresses you!" said Santa Anna to Austin. "I can
see it on your face. You are with us. You are one of us. Ah, my friend,
how noble it is to have a great heart."

"Do I go with your message to the Texans?" asked Austin.

"I must leave now, but I shall come again soon, and I will tell you
all. You