had turned to silver, and the sun's red rim was just showing above the eastern horizon. The Texan cannon were silent, too. The rifles were now doing all the work. The volume of their fire 5 never diminished. Ned saw the field covered with slain, and many wounded were drifting back to the shelter of the earthworks and the town. Duque's column was rallied, but the column on the east and the column on the west were also driven back, 10 and Santa Anna rushed messenger after messenger, hurrying up fresh men, still driving the whole Mexican army against the Alamo. He shouted orders incessantly, although he remained safe in the rear. Ned felt an immense joy. He had seen the attack 15 beaten off at three points. A force of twenty to one had been compelled to recoil. His heart swelled with pride in those friends of his. But they were so few in number! Even now the Mexican masses were reforming. The officers were among them, driving them 20 forward with threats and blows. The great ring of Mexican cavalry, intended to keep any of the Texans from escaping, also closed in, driving their own infantry forward to the assault. Ned's heart sank as the whole Mexican army, gather25 ing now at the northern or lower wall, rushed straight at the barrier. But the deadly fire of the rifles flashed from it and their front line went down. Again they recoiled, and again the cavalry closed in, holding them to the task. There was a pause of a few moments. The town had been silent for a long time, and the Mexican soldiers themselves ceased to shout. Clouds of smoke eddied and drifted about the buildings. The light of the morning, first gray, then silver, turned to gold. 5 The sun, now high above the earth's rim, poured down a flood of rays. Everything stood out sharp and clear. Ned saw the buildings of the Alamo dark against the sun, and he saw men on the walls. He saw the Mexican columns 10 pressed together in one great force, and he even saw the still faces of many who lay silent on the plain. He knew that the Mexicans were about to charge again, and his feeling of exultation passed. He no longer had hope that the defenders of the Alamo could 15 beat back so many. He thought again how few, how very few, were the Texans. PART III Learn the meanings of the following words before reading Part III: of greatest danger to the defenders of the Alamo. the great tragedy (trăj'e-dí): redoubt (re-dout'): the space in- | culminating moment: the time. side the wall around the Alamo. sally port: a gateway in a wall out of which defenders may rush to make an attack on those making an assault. convent yard: a part of the open space near the Alamo inside the protecting wall. the killing of all the defenders. inferno: the scene of the fighting, which, with its flame and smoke from guns, resembled the infernal regions. magazine (mǎg-a-zen'): the room where the gunpowder was kept. Mrs. Dickinson : the only woman in the Alamo during the fight. She lived for many years in San Antonio after the battle. seven score: a score is twenty; therefore, one hundred and forty persons. The silence endured but a moment or two. Then the Mexicans rushed forward in a mighty mass at the low northern wall, the front lines firing as they went. Flame burst from the wall, and Ned heard once more the deadly crackle of the Texan rifles. The ground was littered by the trail of the Mexican fallen, but driven by their officers, they went on. Ned saw them reach the wall and plant the scaling ladders, many of them. Scores of men swarmed up the ladders and over the wall. A heavy division forced 10 its way into the redoubt through the sally port, and as Ned saw it he uttered a deep gasp. He knew that the Alamo was doomed. And the Mexicans knew it, too. The shrill screaming of the women began again from the flat roofs of the houses, and shouts burst from the army 15 also. "We have them! We have them!" cried Santa Anna, exultant and excited. Sheets of flame still burst from the Alamo, and the rifles still poured bullets on the swarming Mexican 20 forces, but the breach had been made. The Mexicans went over the low wall in an unbroken stream, and they crowded through the sally port by hundreds. They were inside now, rushing with the overwhelming weight of twenty to one upon the little garrison. They seized the Texan guns, cutting down the gunners with lances and sabers, and they turned the captured cannon upon the defenders. 5 Some of the buildings inside the walls were of adobe, and they were soon shattered by the cannon balls. The Texans, covered with smoke and dust and the sweat of battle, were forced back by the press of numbers into the convent yard, and then into the church 10 and hospital. Here the cannon and rifles in hundreds were turned upon them, but they still fought. Often, with no time to reload their rifles, they clubbed them, and drove back the Mexican rush. The Alamo was a huge volcano of fire and smoke, 15 of shouting and death. Those who looked on became silent again, appalled at the sights and sound. The smoke rose far above the mission, and caught by a light wind drifted away to the east. The Mexican generals brought up fresh forces and drove them at 20 the fortress. A heavy column, attacking on the south side, where no defenders were now left, poured over a stockade and crowded into the mission. The circle of cavalry about the Alamo again drew closer, lest any Texan should escape. But it was a useless pre25 caution. None sought flight. In very truth, the last hope of the Alamo was gone, and perhaps there was none among the defenders who did not know it. There were a few wild and desperate characters of the border, whom nothing in life became |