Lorenzo's Revolutionary Quest (22 page)

The Hancock family would be disappointed to receive Thomas's letter and learn he had become a full-fledged American rebel. The British would be even more upset to lose a talented little agent.

“Molly and I have some shopping to do before the trip,” Bill said. “If you will excuse us.” He and Molly headed into town, away from the execution site.

The sound of hooves, tramping feet, and a drumbeat sounded to the right. People stood on tiptoe and craned their necks to watch the procession. Spanish soldiers on horseback, led by the executioner, marched down the road.

A priest rode beside Saber-Scar, giving him last rites, although the condemned man had stated he didn't want them.

The redcoat captured by Soledad sat in the New Orleans jail. He had been in uniform and, according to the rules of war, would be exchanged for an American prisoner. Saber-Scar, however, wasn't so lucky. He had been given a trial and been found guilty for the deaths of the vaqueros and Miguel's soldiers.

“Diplomatic privilege is not a license to ignore the law and commit crimes,” Colonel De Gálvez had pointed out when he sentenced Saber-Scar to die.

Saber-Scar's horse was led forward and positioned
beneath the noose, facing the crowd.

Greasy, unkempt hair framed Saber-Scar's face. He had a jailhouse pallor. Dark rings circled his eyes. He scanned the crowd.

“Does the prisoner have any final words?” the executioner asked.

Saber-Scar's gaze, a look as hard as flint, rested on Lorenzo.

The executioner started to put a hood over Dunstan's head.

“Wait. I do have something to say.” He scanned the crowd again, slowly from left to right. An evil grin grew. “May everyone in this accursed town rot in hell.”

In unison, the crowd gasped.

Lorenzo was surprised, but knew he shouldn't have been. Saber-Scar's heart was black. He would die as he lived. With no sorrow for his own actions. With scorn for all.

“Let's get out of here,” Lorenzo said to Thomas. “This is not a sight for a young boy's eyes.”

The words stopped him cold. That was exactly what his father had said to him when Miguel came for an examination. Lorenzo suddenly realized that Papá lived on through him. He hoped he could be the kind of father Papá had been.

Lorenzo, Eugenie, and Thomas walked away.

There was the sound of a hand slapping a horse's rump, a whinny of surprise, then the snap of rope. Timber creaked and shivered as Saber-Scar's body swung back and forth.

Thomas lowered his head, but kept on walking. He muttered something Lorenzo didn't quite catch. It sounded like, “I told thee God would not go with thee.”

Lorenzo's enemy was dead. Sergeant Dunstan Andrews, the erstwhile Saber-Scar, had proven a worthy opponent. What a shame he was on the wrong side. What a wasted life. Lorenzo felt no joy, only pity.

El Camino Real, the King's Highway, is the oldest highway in the United States. It still exists. Today's travelers can trace Lorenzo's route from San Antonio, Texas, to Natchitoches, Louisiana, by taking State Highway 21, sometimes called the Old San Antonio Road.

Texas Daughters of the American Republic (DAR) chapters and members have been instrumental over the years in placing commemorative markers along this road.

Nacogdoches is the oldest town in Texas. Visit
www.visitnacogdoches.org
for more information or write the Nacogdoches Convention and Visitors Bureau, 200 East Main, Nacogdoches, Texas 75961. If you visit in person, be prepared to spell Nacogdoches and Natchitoches correctly. The museum curator asked me to do just that! (Natchitoches is pronounced Nak-uh-tish.)

Oddly, Los Adaes, the first capital of Texas, is located in Louisiana, just outside Robeline. Fort Saint Jean Baptiste is a short distance away in Nachitoches, Louisiana.

Mission San Antonio de Valero was founded in 1718. Commonly known as the Alamo, it has been under the care of the Daughters of the Republic of Texas since 1905. On the internet, go to
www.nps.gov/saan
for more information or write: Superintendent, San Antonio Missions National Historical Park, 2202 Roosevelt Avenue, San Antonio, Texas 78210.

An excellent website by reenactors of La Compañía de Caballería de San Antonio de Béjar is located at
www.soldados.org/Bejar
. It offers pictures of
soldados de cuera
and focuses on the years 1767–68.

For several years, Rick and I talked about writing a book together, but we never could find a subject we both liked. Then one night, about 2:00 in the morning, Rick shook me awake with a burning question. “Did you ever hear about the Spanish contribution to the American Revolution?”

Not being at my brightest at that time of night, I squinted up at him and said, “What?”

“I found something on the Internet. I'll bookmark it. Look at it tomorrow.”

The next day, after he left for work and the children headed to school, I went on the Internet and read the one-paragraph blurb that told about a secret flatboat mission in 1776 delivering Spanish supplies to George Washington. I called my husband at work. “I have a Ph.D. in Spanish,” I said, “but I never heard about this.”

“That's the subject for our book,” he replied.

A little later, he went to the University of Texas and checked out books on the American Revolution. He spread them out on the dining room table and found a line here and there. When I looked at what he had done, I realized that he had outlined a series of books on the American Revolution outside the original thirteen colonies.
Lorenzo's Secret Mission
was the first book in the series.

At present, we are working on the next book. It begins in 1779 with a hurricane that rips through New Orleans, leveling the city and leaving the people vulnerable to a British attack.

Rick and I write historical novels because there are scads of stories that need to be told. Our research often uncovers startling, little-known facts. A good example is “355,” George Washington's female spy. Rick and I have a long list of subjects we want to write about.

We like to hear from our readers and enjoy talking to them. Contact us by email at
[email protected]
. Please visit
www.talk.to/lila
for more information.