Free Jim Bowie by Robert E. Hollmann Page B

could talk him into going.”
    “Why don’t you want to go, Juan?” Jim asked.
    “Jim, I have many friends here. I can’t go and leave them. Some of these men followed me here. What would they think if they saw me ride away? There are other men who could carry the message.”
    “Juan, I told you why I want you to go,” Travis said. “You are familiar with the country. You speak Spanish. You have the best chance to get the message through the enemy lines. After you see General Houston, you can bring me his answer. It’s important that we get more men. I think you’re the one to bring them back to us.”
    “He’s right, Juan,” Jim said. “No one will think badly about you. We’ll look forward to you coming back with more men.”
    Juan sighed. “All right. I’ll go, but I need to borrow your horse, Jim. Mine’s lame.”
    “Sure, Juan. I’ll be glad to let you use him. Good luck.”
    Juan shook Jim’s hand. “I’ll be back soon.” The men left the room. In a little while the gate opened and we listened to the sound of the horse’s feet pounding on the road. Soon the hoof beats faded away. I lay down in a corner of the room. The enemy cannons continued to pound the walls. I hoped Juan would bring more men soon.

Chapter Twenty-Four
    The weather was colder now. The men standing on the walls blew on their hands and lit small fires to keep warm. I stayed in the room most of the time. I lay next to the fire and tried to keep warm. Juana and Gertrudis took turns watching Jim. They fed him soup and would always bring me a bone or some meat scraps. The enemy cannons fired all the time. They damaged some of the walls, but none of the men had been hurt. Colonel Travis sent out more messengers. So far none of the messengers had come back, so we did not know if anybody was coming to join us.
    One night the door to the room opened. Davy Crockett walked into the room. He walked over to Jim’s bed and smiled down at him.
    “How do you feel, Jim?” he asked.
    “I feel pretty good right now. I’m tired of laying in this bed.”
    “Well then, I have a treat for you.” He motioned to the door and four men walked in. They each picked up a corner of the bed and started to carry it outside.
    Juana ran and stood in front of the door. “What are you doing?” she asked.
    Davy laughed. “John MacGregor and I have a bet about who can play the loudest. He has his bagpipes and I have my fiddle. I thought Jim would like to judge the contest.”
    Juana shook her head. “I don’t think Jim should be outside in this cold weather.”
    “We have some extra blankets outside. We’ll keep him warm,” Davy told her.
    “It’s all right, Juana. I want to go outside. I’ll be fine. It’ll be fun to judge the contest.”
    Juana stood aside as the men carried Jim outside. I walked next to her as we followed them. A group of men was gathered around a fire in the courtyard. Some of the women had come out of the chapel and were watching. I saw Colonel Travis come out of his room and walk over to the group. The men placed Jim down close to the fire. Davy Crockett stepped in front of the men and raised his hand.
    “Tonight we’re going to have a contest. I have my fiddle and John MacGregor has his bagpipes. The contest is to see who can play the loudest. The judge of the contest is Jim Bowie.”
    The men cheered and clapped. Davy picked up his fiddle and nodded to John MacGregor. The men began to play. The noise sounded like cats fighting in a bag. The men began to cheer and called for the musicians to play louder. Suddenly it was possible to hear a tune coming from the noise. Davy and MacGregor began to play a song. The men clapped their hands and stomped their feet in time to the song. A few of the men walked over to the women who were watching and began to dance. Soon everyone was laughing and yelling. It seemed that they were having the best time of their lives. The loud music drowned out the sound of the cannons. Jim was