of the church were thrown open,
and the officers and many soldiers appeared. Young Urrea was foremost
among the officers, and, in a loud voice, he ordered all the prisoners
to come out, an order that they obeyed with alacrity and pleasure.

Ned marched forth with the rest, although he did not speak to any of
those about him. He looked first at Urrea, whose manner was polite and
smiling, as it had been the night before, and then his glance shifted to
the other officers, older men, and evidently higher in rank. He saw
that two, Colonels by their uniforms, were quite pale, and that one of
them was biting savagely at his mustache. It all seemed sinister to Ned.
Why was Urrea doing everything, and why were his superiors standing by,
evidently a prey to some great nervous strain?

The recruits, under Urrea's orders, were formed into three columns. One
was to take the road toward San Antonio, the second would march toward
San Patricio, and the third to Copano. The three columns shouted
good-by, but the recruits assured one another that they would soon meet
again. Urrea told one column that it was going to be sent home
immediately, another that it was going outside the town, where it was to
help in killing cattle for beef which they would eat, and the third that
it was leaving the church in a hurry to make room for Santa Anna's own
troops, who would reach the town in an hour.

Ned was in the largest column, near the head of it, and he watched
everything with a wary eye. He noticed that the Mexican colonels still
left all the arrangements to Urrea, and that they remained extremely
nervous. Their hands were never quiet for a moment.

The column filed down through the town, and Ned saw the Mexican women
looking at them. He heard two or three of them say "pobrecitos" (poor
fellows), and their use of the word struck upon his ear with an ominous
sound. He glanced back. Close behind the mass of prisoners rode a strong
squadron of cavalry with young Urrea at their head. Ned could not see
Urrea's face, which was hidden partly by a cocked and plumed hat, but he
noticed that the young Mexican sat very upright, as if he felt the pride
of authority. One hand held the reins, and the other rested on the
silver hilt of a small sword at his side.

A column of Mexican infantry marched on either side of the prisoners,
and only a few yards away. It seemed to Ned that they were holding the
Texans very close for men whom they were to release in