s, and they could not forget King and his men, and
those whom they had left behind in the church. Ned, in his heart,
knowing the Mexicans so well, did not believe that a single one of them
had been saved.

They walked the whole day, making for the town of Victoria, where they
expected to meet Fannin, and shortly before night they stopped in a
wood, footsore and exhausted. Again their camp was pitched on the banks
of a little creek and some of the hunters shot two fine fat deer further
up the stream.

Seeking as much cheer as they could they built fires, and roasted the
deer. The spirits of the young recruits rose. They would meet Fannin
to-morrow or the next day and they would avenge the insult that the
Mexicans had put upon them. They were eager for a new action in which
the odds should not be so great against them, and they felt sure of
victory. Then, posting their sentinels, they slept soundly.

But Ned did not feel so confident. Toward morning he rose from his
blankets. Yet he saw nothing. The prairie was bare. There was not a
single sign of pursuit. He was surprised. He believed that at least the
younger Urrea with the cavalry would follow.

Ned now surmised the plan that the enemy had carried out. Instead of
following the Texans through the forests and swamps they had gone
straight to Victoria, knowing that the fugitives would make for that
point. Where Fannin was he could not even guess, but it was certain that
Ward and his men were left practically without ammunition to defend
themselves as best they could against a horde of foes.

The hunted Texans sought the swamps of the Guadalupe, where Mexican
cavalry could not follow them, but where they were soon overtaken by
skirmishers. Hope was now oozing from the raw recruits. There seemed to
be no place in the world for them. Hunted here and there they never
found rest. But the most terrible fact of all was the lack of
ammunition. Only a single round for every man was left, and they replied
sparingly to the Mexican skirmishers.

They lay now in miry woods, and on the other side of them flowed the
wide and yellow river. The men sought, often in vain, for firm spots on
which they might rest. The food, like the ammunition, was all gone, and
they were famished and weak. The scouts reported that the Mexicans were
increasing every hour.

It was obvious to Ned that Ward must surrender. What could men without
ammunition do against many times their number, well armed?