Free Young Ole Devil by J.T. Edson Page A

him. It’s no good going along and
expecting him to doff his hat, touch his forelock, say “Yes sir,
captain,” and take your orders. He’s too cantankerous for that and,
the way he sees it, as they’re his mules, neither you, I, nor anybody else can tell him how to use
them.’
    ‘ There’s some might say that it’s his duty to use them,
sir,’ Hardin commented.
    ‘ If
they did say it, he’d tell them to go straight to hell and take
their notions of duty with them.’
    ‘ Isn’t
he for the Republic, sir?’
    ‘ Old
Ewart’s never been for anything in his whole life,’ Houston warned with a grin.
‘He’s always against. Bear that in mind when you get to his place at Gonzales and
you’ll get along fine.’
    ‘ Will
he be there, sir?’ Hardin inquired.
    ‘ Di
sent word he would be, getting everything ready to fall back with
us.’
    “‘ Di”,sir?’
    ‘ Ewart’s granddaughter. Her name’s Charlotte Jane Martha,
but I wouldn’t advise you to call her any one of them. He’s reared
her since the Kiowas killed her momma and daddy back in
‘Twenty-Two. They do say she can throw a diamond hitch faster,
tighter and better than any man. That’s where the “Di” comes from.
Old Ewart thinks the world of her. So if you can get her on your
side that’ll be as good as half the battle,’
    ‘ I’ll
keep it in mind, sir,’ Hardin promised.
    ‘ You
do that, boy,’ Houston ordered, but in a friendly manner. ‘Now,
about an escort. I can get you as many men as you think you’ll need
from one or other of the outfits who’re in town.’
    ‘ I’d
sooner not do that, sir,’ Hardin objected. ‘For one thing I’d
rather not be using men I don’t know and who don’t know me. And,
anyway, to get them we’d have to explain to their officers why
they’re wanted. I think the fewer who know about the shipment the
better. There’s less chance of word getting to the Mexicans that
way.’
    ‘ I’ll
go along with you on that, boy,’ Houston conceded, nodding his
approval. ‘So far, at this end only you, Colonels Travis, Bowie and
I know about it. And they don’t know when or where if s due to
arrive.’
    ‘ In
that case, sir, I’d rather not take an escort from town. It would
attract too much attention. From all I’ve heard, Ewart Brindley and
his muleteers are pretty tough hombres.’
    ‘ They
are,’ the General confirmed. ‘They’ve taken mule trains through
Indian country more than once and come back with their
hair.’
    ‘ Which
means they can hold up their end, comes shooting,’ Hardin said with
satisfaction. ‘If it’s all right with you, sir, I’ll not take an
escort from town.’
    At that moment, Juglares heard
the handle of the cellar door being turned. With a surge of alarm
he realized that whoever was outside would be able to enter. Such
was his eagerness to overhear as much as possible of the
General ’s
conversation, that, on arriving, he had merely closed the door
behind him—
    And had left
t he key in
the lock!
    Even as the door began to creep
slowly open, Juglares acted with commendable speed. He knew that he
could not stay where he was and hope to remain undetected. Although
it was late afternoon, the window in the outside
trapdoor —through which barrels of wine were lowered into the
cellar—was still letting in too much light. Nor could he think of
any acceptable reason for being on top of the rack and the tumbler
might give away his true purpose.
    Swiftly, but quietly, Juglares
rolled across the rack and lowered himself to the floor with it
between him and the door. Having achieved this without making
enough noise to betray himself, he peered between two of the
shelves to find out who had disturbed him .
    The intruder proved to
be a thin,
sharp-featured infantry soldier. Before entering, he looked back
into the basement in a furtive manner. Apparently satisfied that he
was not being observed, he advanced, subjecting the cellar to a
similar cautious scrutiny. His whole