, members of the
patrol that had been left by General Urrea. He did not think it a
difficult thing to cut through this patrol, but the Texans, in their
flight, must become disorganized to a certain extent. Nevertheless it
was the only alternative.

The men were drawn up at the appointed time, and Ward told them briefly
what they were to do. They must keep as well together as possible, and
the plan was to make their way to Victoria, where they expected to
rejoin Fannin. They gave calabashes of water and provisions to several
men too badly wounded to move, and left them to the mercy of the
Mexicans, a mercy that did not exist, as Urrea's troops massacred them
the moment they entered the church.

Luckily it was a dark night, and Ned believed that they had more than
half a chance of getting away. The great door was thrown silently open,
and, with a moving farewell to their wounded and disabled comrades, they
filed silently out, leaving the door open behind them.

Then the column of nearly one hundred and fifty men slipped away, every
man treading softly. They had chosen a course that lay directly away
from the Mexican army, but they did not expect to escape without an
alarm, and it came in five minutes. A Mexican horseman, one of the
patrol, saw the dark file, fired a shot and gave an alarm. In an
instant all the sentinels were firing and shouting, and Urrea's army in
the wood was awakening.

But the Texans now pressed forward rapidly. Their rifles cracked,
quickly cutting a path through the patrol, and before Urrea could get up
his main force they were gone through the forest and over the prairie.

Knowing that the whole country was swarming with the Mexican forces,
they chose a circuitous course through forests and swamps and pressed on
until daylight. Some of the Mexicans on horseback followed them for a
while, but a dozen of the best Texan shots were told off to halt them.
When three or four saddles were emptied the remainder of the Mexicans
disappeared and they pursued their flight in peace.

Morning found them in woods and thickets by the banks of a little creek
of clear water. They drank from the stream, ate of their cold food, and
rested. Ned and some others left the wood and scouted upon the prairie.
They saw no human being and returned to their own people, feeling sure
that they were safe from pursuit for the present.

Yet the Texans felt no exultation. They had been compelled to retreat
before the Mexican