Home of the Brave (20 page)

Anahuac Presidio, Coahuila,
Mexican Province of Tejas

Colonel Juan Davis Bradburn
was seated behind his desk when an angry Thomas Van Buskirk was
ushered in. “What is the meaning of this?” Thomas demanded in
Spanish.

“Meaning of what?” Bradburn
asked in American accented English.

“My sister, her infant child
and my father-in-law arrived at Galveston this morning from New
Jersey,” Thomas said, switching to English, “but your soldiers have
refused to let them pass up the river.”

“Perhaps you are unaware
of the Law of April 6
^th
.”

“I’ve never heard of any
such law. What is it?”

“President Anastasio
Bustamante has issued a prohibition against further immigration to
Texas from the United States.”

“Surely that can’t apply to
families of those of us who are already here.”

“An exception might be made
for legal settlers, but a legal settler, you are not.” He raised
his hand to stop Thomas from replying. “However because I served
with your father in New Orleans I will, for the time being, turn a
blind eye on your illegal encroachment.”

“Thank you,” Thomas said,
trying to control his temper.

“However,” Bradburn began
with an unfriendly smile, “your newly arrived family must return to
the United States immediately.”

Thomas shook his head.
“That’s not going to happen.”

“You have no
choice.”

“I have a hundred and fifty
armed men. They give me several choices.”

“Are you threatening me?”
Bradburn started to get to his feet.

“Yes.” Thomas drew his
pistol. “You will sign an order permitting my party to proceed up
the Trinity.”

“You can’t get away with
this.” Bradburn sat back down. “I have a garrison of three hundred
in this fort.”

“Horseshit. You have a
hundred fifty, with perhaps twenty muskets and a few pistols.”
Thomas aimed the pistol at Bradburn’s head. “When I kill you the
shot will be the signal for my men to annihilate the garrison and
burn the town.”

“You sir, are a brigand,”
Bradburn spluttered.

“Indeed. Sign the order and
live or don’t sign and die.” Thomas cocked the pistol. “Those are
your choices.”

June 2, 1830

Two Alone Ranch, Coahuila,
Mexican Province of Tejas

Thomas shook hands with
Captains Whipple and Lagrange then closed the door to his
incomplete office. “I’m afraid I’ve stirred up a hornet’s nest.” He
sat down at the table and waited for the two Rangers to take a
seat. “The Mexican government’s stopped American immigration into
Texas. They’re building a new fort on the bluff over the Trinity
River to collect taxes on imports and to prevent immigrants from
the United States.”

“How did y’ get yer sister
and yer father-in-law past it?” Whipple asked.

“I bluffed,” Thomas said.
“That’s the hornet’s nest I stirred up.”

“What exactly do you mean by
bluffed, sir?” Lagrange asked.

“The fort’s commanded by a
Colonel Juan Davis Bradburn,” Thomas said. “He’s a former American
citizen.”

“I knew him as John Bradburn
at New Orleans,” Lagrange said.

“What happened?” Whipple
asked, annoyed by the superfluous comments. “A fight?”

Thomas shook his head. “I
just threatened to kill him and all his men and he let me
through.”

Whipple laughed.

“It may not be so funny when
the whole Mexican army shows up,” Thomas replied. “You men need to
pull out and get as far away from here as you can as soon as you
can.”

“We’ve got orders to protect
the settlers here and neutralize the Indians,” Lagrange
answered.

Whipple nodded agreement.
“You gettin’ into a tussle with some tax collector don’t change
that, Tom.”

“I don’t want to involve
anyone else in my fight.”

“It ain’t just your fight,”
Whipple said. “There’s maybe fifty families up here
now.”

“That many?” Thomas asked in
surprise.

“Most are small farms,”
Lagrange said.

“Bradburn mentioned that my
ranch is illegal and he implied that the Mexican government wasn’t
going to let me stay.”

“This is our post,” Lagrange
said emphatically. “We’ll defend it and any settlers against any
threats.”

“Right,” Whipple agreed. “If
Bradburn or any other turncoat bastard comes here to do our people
wrong, we kill ‘em. Simple as that.”

June 16, 1830

Two Alone Ranch, Coahuila,
Mexican Province of Tejas

“Come in.” Anna, wearing a
cut off chemise, was on her bed reading.

Jane came in and closed the
door. “How did you know who it was?”

“Who what was?” Anna
asked.

“How did you know it was me
when I knocked?”

Anna looked puzzled. “I
didn’t. What are you talking about?”

“You’re nearly naked,” Jane
said, pointing at Anna’s bare legs.

“I’m nearly cool too. How do
you stand it in that dress? It must be a hundred.”

“What if it had been Charlie
or Josiah?” Jane asked, ignoring Anna’s comments.

“Josiah would have leered
and Charlie would have blushed,” Anna said. “Neither would have
made a move. Damn them both.”

Jane pulled out the desk
chair and sat down. “What’s the matter, Anna?”

“The matter?” Anna closed
her book and sat up. “The matter is that I need a man.”

Jane opened her mouth as if
to say something but changed her mind and closed it.

“What? No outrage? No
accusations? No remonstrations against my flagging morality?
”

Jane shrugged. “I know how
you feel but I don’t have any advice.”

“I’d slip out into the barn
with one of the vaqueros but there’s no way to keep a secret
here.”

“I’m afraid that’s true. If
you want a man for your bed you’ll just have to marry
him.”

“Any
suggestions?”

“Charlie’s the obvious
choice. He’s educated and good looking.”

“He’s also oblivious to
women.”

Jane shook her head. “He’s a
regular visitor to Tent City.”

“Really?” Anna giggled. “How
do you know?”

“Let’s just say I heard it
from the horse’s mouth.”

Jane giggled. “Which
horse?”

“I’d rather not say. But she
described Charlie as a man of great appetite and skill.”

“Skill?”

Jane shrugged. “Her
words.”

“Hmm. That sounds promising
but, unfortunately, Charlie hardly even looks at me.”

“You’re Tom’s sister and
therefore off limits. You’ll have to show him that you’re not.”
Jane walked to the window and looked out.

“What’s all the noise
about?” Anna got up and joined her.

“They’re closing the gates.
Get dressed.”

“Where’s Quincy?” Anna
hurried to her closet and stepped into a pair of
trousers.

“Downstairs, with my father.
I’ll take him to the cellar.”

~

“How many?” Thomas asked as
he reached the upper platform of the main guard tower.

Whipple lowered the
binoculars then handed them to Thomas. “A regiment at least. He
might be holdin’ some back beyond the ridge.”

Thomas swept the binoculars
along the Mexican troops that were facing the stockade. “Any
cannon?”

“Not that I saw.”

Thomas stopped scanning and
focused on Colonel Juan Davis Bradburn who was on the ridge with a
sizeable entourage of mounted men. “Giving myself up may be our
best option.”

“We can whip these bastards,
Tom,” Whipple argued.

“I know we can. But if we do
we’ll be facing the entire Mexican army next month and we can’t
whip them.”

Whipple leaned out of the
window to look down at the gate. “Ah shit.”

“What?” Thomas looked down
as Anna, who had come out of the door in the gate, strode up the
hill toward the ridge where the Mexican command was watching. “Ah
shit.”

“She’s damn near neked on
top,” Whipple gasped.

Thomas walked to the back of
the platform and looked down into the stockade. “Somebody better
explain to me what just happened,” he bellowed.

“I’m coming.” Jane was
running down from the house.

Thomas walked back to the
front of the tower and watched his sister as she drew closer to the
Mexican commanders. “How far are they?”

Whipple shrugged. “Five
hundred yards at least. We’ve got two buffalo rifles that might
make that range but there’s too many Mess-kins up there for two
rifles.”

“Go set them up. If anyone
puts a hand on my sister, kill him and we’ll take whatever happens
next as it happens.”

Whipple walked to the ladder
but had to wait for Jane to climb up before he could climb down.
“What the hell is Anna wearin’?” he demanded of Jane as he helped
her onto the platform. “She looked plumb neked.”

“Get your mind on business
and off my sister’s tits, Josiah,” Thomas snarled.

Whipple grumbled something
and slid down the ladder.

Jane took the binoculars
from Thomas and focused them on Anna who had nearly reached
Bradburn. “I tried but I couldn’t stop her, Tom.”

“What does she think she’ll
accomplish?”

“She thinks she’ll keep you
from surrendering.” Jane lowered the glasses and looked at her
husband. “That is what you were planning to do, is it
not?”

“How is she going to
accomplish that?” he asked, ignoring her question.

“I have no idea. That’s all
she told me.”

“You should have stopped
her.”

“I told you that I tried,”
Jane said shrilly.

“You didn’t try hard
enough,” Tom snapped.

“I ripped off her blouse and
had her by the hair,” Jane sobbed. “But she punched me and knocked
me down the cellar stairs.” She showed him her bruising cheek. “I
hit my head and by the time I managed to get back to the top of the
stairs she was gone.”

Thomas smiled, touched her
cheek tenderly and took the glasses back from Jane. “I apologize.
Whatever happens isn’t your fault.” He watched as Bradburn
dismounted and walked toward Anna.

Jane looked down into the
compound. “Josiah. Open the gun ports and show them the
cannons.”

Thomas turned to look at
her. “I’ll give the orders, Jane.”

“Then give some.” Jane took
the glasses from him.

“I have.”

“What orders have you
given?”

“To shoot anyone that
touches Anna.”

“To shoot them with
what?”

“Buffalo guns.”

“How many do we
have?”

“Two.”

“They have five hundred men
out there, Thomas.”

“I’m well aware of that,
Jane. But our standard rifles won’t reach that far and our cannons
don’t have the precision to pick off Bradburn and leave Anna
unharmed so the two buffalo rifles are all we have at the
moment.”

Jane shaded her eyes.
“What’s she pointing at?”

Thomas swiveled the
binoculars to his right and scanned the horizon.
“Comanches.”

“How many?”

“Four hundred. Maybe more.
It must be Buffalo Hump.”

“Are you sure they’re
Comanches? Buffalo Hump doesn’t have half that many
warriors.”

“I’m sure. He’s bluffing
with women and children on horseback to make his force look
bigger.”

Jane was watching Anna.
“Your sister’s bluffing too. She’s telling the Mexicans that the
Comanches are here to reinforce us.”

“She might be telling the
truth,” Thomas said, still watching the Indians. “We have an
unwritten truce with Buffalo Hump and as long as we’re here he’s
safe from the Mexican government.”

“It worked,” Jane
gasped.

Thomas turned back toward
the Mexicans and saw Anna walking in the direction of the stockade
as Bradburn began to move his forces off the ridge. “Ha. My
sister’s a Van Buskirk after all. Bless her heart.”

“You bless her heart,” Jane
grumbled, “I’m going to kick her butt.”

August 23, 1830

Two Alone Ranch, Coahuila,
Mexican Province of Tejas

Anna, with Quincy on her
hip, waved goodbye to Jane and Thomas then waited until they
disappeared into the huge dust cloud that the herd was creating
before turning back to re-enter the stockade.

“There’s no need to look so
blue, Miss Anna,” Ranger Captain Charles Lagrange said. He signaled
the men to close the gates.