ase. There isn't any rock here, but sooner this rock shall
fly from its firm base than the Texans will yield their cannon when they
are sure to be attacked by Indians and maybe Mexicans too."

Ned walked down to the edge of the river and the officer, whom he
rightly supposed to be Castenada, dismounting, came to the shore at an
opposite point.

"What do you want?" cried Ned in pure Spanish across the water.

"Are you empowered to speak for the people of Gonzales?"

"You hear me speaking and you see the other Texans listening."

"Then I have to say that on the order of General Cos I demand your
cannon in the name of General Santa Anna and Mexico."

"We've made up our minds to keep it. We're sure to need it later on."

"This is insolent. If you do not give it we shall come and take it."

"Tell him, Ned," growled the Ring Tailed Panther, "that we just hope
he'll come an' try to take it, that I'm here roarin' all the time, that
I've filed my teeth an' nails 'till they're like the edge of a razor,
an' that I'm just hungerin' to rip an' claw."

"The men of Gonzales mean to defend their cannon and themselves,"
called Ned across the river. "If you come to take the gun it means war.
It means more, too. It means that you will lose many of your soldiers.
The Texans, as you know, are both able and willing to shoot."

"This is rebellion and treason!" cried Castenada. "The great Santa Anna
will come with a mighty force, and when he is through not a Texan will
trouble the surface of the earth."

A roar of approval came from the men behind the Mexican captain, but Ned
replied:

"Until the earth is rid of us we may make certain spots of it dangerous
for you. So, I warn you to draw back. Our bullets carry easily across
this river."

Captain Castenada, white with rage, retired with his troop beyond the
range of the Texan rifles.

CHAPTER XV

THE FIRST GUN

"Well, Ned, it's sometimes ask and ye shall not receive, isn't it?" said
Obed White, looking at the retreating Mexicans.

But the Ring Tailed Panther growled between his shut teeth. Then he
opened his mouth and gave utterance to his dissatisfaction.

"It's a cheat, a low Mexican trick," he said, "to come here an' promise
a fight an' then go away. I'm willin' to bet my claws that them Mexicans
will hang around here two or three days, without tryin' to do a thing."

"An' won't that be all the better for us?" asked Ned. "We're only
eighteen and we surely need