Ole Devil at San Jacinto (Old Devil Hardin Western Book 4) (6 page)

‘
I
appreciate
that,
sir,’ Ole Devil stated. ‘But, by taking Paul, I’ll show him
that I and, more important,
you
have no doubts about his courage.’

‘
That’s all very well, Devil,’ Colonel
Fog remarked. ‘But he might do something reckless to try and prove
how brave he is.’

‘
Not while he’s with me, sir,’ Ole
Devil contradicted. ‘He knows I don’t doubt him. And I’d rather
have him where I can keep an eye on him than leave him with the
Company. He’s growing increasingly touchy and, in my opinion, it’ll
be better for all concerned if he’s kept occupied. On top of that,
he knows the country between here and Santa Anna’s column better
than I do.’

‘
It’s your assignment, Captain
Hardin,’ Houston declared, nodding in grim approval. The young
Texian’s summation strengthened his belief that he had selected the
best man for the task. ‘So I’m not going to try and tell you who to
take, or how it should be done. All I can say is, go and do it any
way you see fit.’

‘
Thank you, sir,’ Ole Devil responded,
hoping that he was not showing the pride and satisfaction he was
feeling. ‘When shall we leave?’

‘
Can you be on your way before noon
tomorrow?’ Houston wanted to know.

‘
Easily, sir,’ Ole Devil
promised. ‘Something told me that we’d be sent out on a patrol
after that trouble at the hotel
—’

‘
Something,
or
somebody
?’
the General growled, glancing at his chief of scouts who
assumed a far from convincing air of injured innocence.

‘
It seemed likely that
you’d want to separate us from the Wildcats until tempers cooled
down a mite, sir,’ Ole Devil countered. He and Smith had envisaged
this possibility during their discussion on how to deal with the
situation that had arisen between the
Creoles
and Dimmock. ‘So I told Mr. Blaze to
start making ready to leave, and I sent Sergeant Smith to fetch
back the foraging detail.’

‘
Smart thinking,’ the
General praised. ‘Now, captain, only we four here know what I’m
sending you to do. You’ll
have to tell Mr. Dimmock and that man of
yours—’

‘
May I tell Mangrove
Hallistead, sir?’ Ole Devil put in.
‘There are a couple of things he
might be able to help me with.’

‘
I trust him, but don’t
tell him any more than is absolutely necessary,’ Houston
replied.
‘It’s imperative that no mention of this gets out and I
don’t mean just so Santa Anna doesn’t hear about it. None of our
people must know. I don’t need to explain why, do I?’

‘
No, sir!’ Ole Devil stated and the
grin which came to his face made it seem even more Satanic. ‘The
Government aren’t going to be any too pleased if they learn what
you could be letting them in for. Of course, by the time they find
out, it would be too late for them to try and stop it. But it’s
still better that they don’t hear until it’s over.’

‘
You’re not wrong
about
that,
boy,’ Smith chuckled, savoring the thought of how the
politicians at Harrisburg would react if they were aware of
Houston’s scheme. ‘What they don’t know won’t cause ’em to lose
sleep at nights, nor make fuss for us fellers who’re doing the
fighting.’

‘
Is there anything else you need me
for, sir?’ Ole Devil asked, deciding that his uncle and the General
shared, even if they did not express, similar sentiments to those
of the old scout. ‘I’ve some extra preparations to make now I’ve
been given this assignment.’

‘
Go and do what needs doing, boy. And
if you need anything, don’t hesitate to ask for it,’ Houston
authorized. ‘You can collect your Company’s orders and this
document in the morning.’

‘
Yo!’ Ole Devil said, saluting as he
gave what had already come to be accepted as the cavalryman’s
response to a command.

‘
Good luck, boy,’ Smith drawled and,
after the young captain had left, he continued grimly, ‘That’s one
hell of a wild notion you’ve come up with, Sam. But, like I said
when you told me about it, if anybody can pull it off, he
can.’

‘
I’ll have sent him to his death if he
can’t,’ Houston answered quietly. ‘And the damnable thing about it
is that he might still pull it off by getting killed.’

‘
M’sieur
Hardin!’
called a young voice which carried what seemed to be a
quiver of nervous tension. ‘I wish to have a word with
you!’

Noticing the way in which his name had been
spoken, Ole Devil Hardin had a premonition of what was coming.
Turning his attention away from the man to whom he had been
talking, he looked to see where the words had originated. Even
before his gaze reached the three figures who were emerging from
the front entrance of the Grand Hotel, his ears identified the
speaker’s accent.

It was that of a
well-educated
Creole
!

Although the Texian recognized Lieutenants
Gerard Jaloux and Marcel Pierre-Quint, members of the party with
whom he had earlier been in conflict, the way they were behaving
informed him that they had not spoken. They were walking slowly,
allowing their companion to draw ahead of them.

Somewhat shorter and more
stockily built than either Jaloux or Pierre-Quint, the third of the
group had not been with them in the hotel’s barroom. However, his
attire suggested that he was another member of the New Orleans’
Wildcats. In his late
’teens, he was younger than his companions and had
grown a mustache in the hope of creating the impression that he was
older. Possibly for the same reason, he had conformed to the
Texians’ habit of going armed. There was a fine looking caplock
pistol tucked into his trousers’ waistband. While he moved with a
stiff and purposeful erectness, to Ole Devil’s experienced gaze,
his posture suggested a tension similar to that which had tinged
his voice.

An annoyed hiss burst from the
Texian as, coming to a halt, he took in the sight. The last thing
he wanted, with matters of importance demanding his full attention,
was a
further
altercation with the
Creoles.

After being dismissed from Major
General Samuel Houston’s office, Ole Devil had returned to his own
quarters in a pensive frame of mind. On his arrival, he had
relieved Lieutenant Mannen Blaze’s anxiety over the result of the
interview. Then he had told his cousi
n of the task to which Company ‘C’ had
been assigned, and also that he would not be accompanying them to
carry it out. That he refrained from mentioning the nature of his
own mission did not imply a lack of faith in the burly redhead’s
discretion. He knew that Mannen was completely reliable and would
not speak of it. However, he had been ordered to limit the number
of people to whom he divulged the details and that was sufficient
to ensure his reticence.

Nor, in spite of being curious,
had the
redhead attempted to elicit the information. No matter how
he generally looked and behaved in public, he was anything but the
somnolent dullard he frequently pretended to be. His long
association with Ole Devil suggested that there was something of
greater importance than a routine scouting mission that was going
to separate him from the Company. Appreciating also that
his cousin would
have told him if it was permissible, he was
content to carry out his own orders
and have his superior officer—for whom, his comments at the hotel
notwithstanding, he had the greatest respect, admiration and
affection—to do whatever was required elsewhere.

Although Ole Devil had not been able to take
Mannen into his confidence, he had realized it was advisable, in
fact necessary, to tell Tommy Okasi what they were being sent to
do.

On the surface, the Texian’s first choice of
a companion for such an important and perilous venture seemed to
have no justification.

Under five foot six inches in
height, although possessing a sturdy physical development, Tommy
Okasi did not look impressive. In his early twenties, with a sallow
complexion and almond eyes, his features betrayed Oriental blood.
He rarely wore a hat and his black hair was kept closely cropped.
His garments consisted of a loose fitting black shirt hanging
outside baggy trousers of the same material which were tucked into
matching Hessian boots. Even the
pair of long hilted, slightly curved
swords with small circular
guards that were dangling—the shorter at the
right—by slings attached to his broad leather waist belt did little
to explain the reason for his selection.

As there was only limited contact between
his homeland, Japan, and the Western Hemisphere at that period,
Tommy was generally assumed to be Chinese. Many people expected him
to display a meekness similar to that of members of the latter
race. Nor, unless he was provoked or some other need arose, did he
do anything to disillusion them.

However, although for personal
reasons Tommy no longer retained the traditional
costume and hair
style, he was a fully trained
Samurai
^xiv
warrior. In spite of his willingness
to be regarded as no more than Ole Devil’s valet, his martial
education made him a very effective fighting man who was able to
offer useful suggestions on how to succeed in their various
missions.

Knowing that the Mexicans employed spies and
wanting to avoid any chance of being overheard while they were
talking, Ole Devil had left the organization and preparations for
their departure in his cousin’s capable hands. As he and Tommy
strolled together in search of the man he wished to consult, he
passed on the details of their unusual and dangerous assignment.
They had been told that Mangrove Hallistead was staying at the
Grand Hotel and were making their way there. Remembering Colonel
Dumoulin’s assurances and knowing that the New Orleans’ Wildcats
were camped on the other side of the town, the Texian did not
consider the possibility of meeting any of them. The interruption
came while Tommy was suggesting that they might achieve their
purpose by utilizing his skill as an archer and employing some of
the specialized arrows peculiar to his nation.

‘
Well?’ Ole Devil asked, employing a
coldly forbidding tone which would have served as a warning to
anybody who had been acquainted with him for even a short time.
Tommy, who knew him very well, glanced at him and drew back a
couple of steps. ‘What can I do for you?’

While speaking, the Texian
devoted some of his attention to the two older
Creoles.
He noticed that, although neither had
been armed at the earlier meeting, they had now remedied the
situation. Each had the epee type of sword hanging from the
military style belt he was wearing and had a pistol tucked through
it. Most significantly, the firearms were obviously a matched pair.
Like the swords, they had been designed for a more specific purpose
than mere defense.

‘
My name is Alphonse Jules
Dumoulin,
m’sieur
,’
the youngster answered, advancing another four paces after
his companions had stopped. ‘I am a lieutenant in the New Orleans’
Wildcats.’ His words were coming out in a jerky fashion, almost as
if he was repeating something which he had been instructed to say.
‘It has been brought to my notice that you assaulted several of my
brother officers and comrades-in-arms—’

‘
Has
it also been brought
to your notice,
lieutenant,
that your colonel has received an explanation. He accepts
that the incident was a regrettable accident and, as such, in the
interests of the cause for which we are fighting, should be
forgotten by all concerned.’ Ole Devil could see that his words
were having a disturbing effect upon the youngster who, he guessed,
was closely related to the commanding officer of the New Orleans’
Wildcats. ‘Furthermore, if your brother officers and
comrades-in-arms desire to continue the issue contrary to your
superior’s
instructions,
don’t you consider that it should be for them to
do so personally.’

‘
As you can see, sir,’ Dumoulin
answered, turning slightly to indicate Jaloux’s completely closed
right eye and the sling supporting Pierre-Quint’s right arm, ‘They
are temporarily unable to demand satisfaction and know you would
not wish to take advantage of their incapacitation. So, as we have
heard that, like ourselves, you are leaving for an indefinite
period, we feel that you should grant them satisfaction. As the
honor of our regiment is involved, I have been selected to
represent them.’

‘
Have you?’ Ole Devil
said, after what seemed to Dumoulin, a
very
extended period of silence. His voice
was as chilling as the inside of an ice-house.

For all his desire to display
the composure which he believed was expected of a grown man in such
conditions, the
Creole
youngster was feeling increasingly perturbed. Somehow, the
confrontation was not progressing as his companions had told him it
would. To hear them talk, delivering a challenge was an
exhilarating and noble experience; the ultimate test of
manhood.