Ole Devil at San Jacinto (Old Devil Hardin Western Book 4) (18 page)

Seeing Tommy had that aspect under control,
Dimmock ran to and started to calm down the rest of the animals.
Having paused to see whether the disturbance had been heard and
attracted unwanted attention, Ole Devil hurried after the
lieutenant to lend him a hand. They had brought their mounts under
control when the little Oriental returned at the successful
conclusion of his pursuit.

‘
He was going up the side, but I
stopped him before he reached the top,’ Tommy announced. ‘While I
was up there, I looked over. If anybody heard the horses, they
aren’t bothering to come and see what caused it.’

‘
That’s fine,’ Ole Devil replied. ‘Go
and keep a look out, though. We’ll stay here until the horses are
fully recovered, then we’ll push on.’

Even as he was speaking, Ole
Devil glanced at the body of the jaguar. If it had not been for the
little Oriental’s
quick grasp of the situation, courage and skill with
the
tachi,
their mission could have received complications which would
have made it impossible to complete.

‘
There’s the sentry,’ Ole Devil Hardin
breathed, halting and peering through the darkness. ‘Standing
between the two wagons!’

‘
Here,’ answered Tommy Okasi, in no
louder tones, holding out his long bow which was now strung and
ready for use. ‘I’ll take care of him.’

Unfastening and lowering the
quiver of arrows to the ground, the little Oriental slipped
the
wakizashi
from its sheath. Then he went forward with the intention of
removing an obstacle to the mission he and the Texian were hoping
to accomplish.

Once the horses had recovered
from their fright, Ole Devil, Tommy and Lieutenant Paul Dimmock had
wasted no time in setting off to conduct a further reconnaissance
of the area. Still using the dead
vaqueros’
mounts and leading their own, they had
been able to travel at a much faster pace than
Presidente
Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna and
his column. Picking a route which offered the most opportunities to
avoid being seen, while keeping as close as possible to the trail,
they had maintained an even more careful watch upon their
surroundings. They had seen no further signs of the enemy, but did
not regret the extra effort taking the precautions had
entailed.

As there had not been anywhere
suitable between the draw and the woodland for what they meant to
do, Ole Devil had decided to utilize the remaining short period of
daylight to find out what the terrain beyond the trees might offer.
He had agreed with Dimmock that Santa Anna would halt for the night
on reaching the small creek, but he wanted more information before
considering how to deal with the situation. The assignment upon
which they were engaged was of great importance and he did not
intend that they should fail through a lack of foresight. So the
trio had
pushed on. After covering about three quarters of a mile,
they had emerged on to rolling and fairly open range. In the
distance, the trail disappeared from view after ascending what the
lieutenant had claimed was a very steep slope.

With the darkness closing in, although Ole
Devil had questioned Dimmock about the nature of the ground on
either side of the ascending section of the trail, the three young
men had not attempted to make a visual inspection. Instead, they
had sought for a safe haven in which to spend the night. As Ole
Devil had pointed out, while the Mexicans were unlikely to march
through the woodland before morning, some of them were sure to
enter for the purpose of gathering fuel, or in search of food. So
making camp in the shelter of the trees was out of the
question.

Fortune had favored the trio. Noticing a
fold in the ground not too far from the edge of the woodland, they
had discovered that it would satisfy all their requirements. There
was good grazing for the horses and a small stream to supply water,
but the surrounding terrain would make it difficult for anybody to
approach undetected.

Giving thought to the prevailing
conditions and what he intended to do, Ole Devil had ordered that
the horses were to be unsaddled and hobbled. While restricting
their movements and preventing them from straying far, the latter
would allow them to rest and graze far more adequately than if they
were secured in any other way. Not until the hobbling had been
completed, using strips cut from the
serape
Dimmock had been wearing, had he and his
companions attended to their own needs.

While making a meal from some of
the jerky,
^xxxix
which was the only food they had
brought with them, Ole Devil had informed his companions of what
they were going to try and do that night. It was an audacious,
carefully considered and anything but ill-conceived scheme. Dimmock
had not been pleased to learn that he was being assigned to a
passive role, but he realized it was one which could not be
omitted.

It might have been possible to
approach and even enter the Mexicans’ encampment on horseback, but
the primary
purpose of the visit could only be achieved on foot. So Ole
Devil had elected to make the whole of the journey in the latter
fashion, which had meant that somebody must stay behind and take
care of the animals. He had also pointed out that Tommy alone
possessed the necessary skill as an archer to fulfill his
intentions. Hoping to be allowed to accompany the little Oriental,
the lieutenant had hinted that, as senior member of the party, it
was Ole Devil’s duty to delegate such a dangerous assignment to
those of his subordinates who would be less of a loss if things
went wrong.

‘
At
least
,’ Dimmock had concluded hopefully, ‘That’s what I’ve
always been told is the ranking officer’s
responsibility.’

‘
Rank doesn’t only have
its responsibilities, Paul,’ Ole Devil had countered, in a gentle
tone which robbed the words of any sting.
‘It has its
privileges too and that’s why I’ve picked me to go instead of
you.’

Carrying some of the ‘reward
posters’ and the original document supposedly issued by the
Republic of Texas’s Government, although Ole Devil had hoped that
neither would be required, he and Tommy had made their way towards
the Mexicans’ encampment. The little Oriental was carrying his bow,
and the quiver of arrows, which had hung from his saddlehorn while
he was wearing the now discarded
serape
and
sombrero,
on his back. For his part, Ole Devil retained the
borrowed garments and had the Browning Slide Repeating rifle, a
magazine installed, across the crook of his left arm.

As Ole Devil had anticipated, there had
still been a number of foraging parties among the trees. However,
none of them had shown any indication of going far enough to
continue their searching in a way that might take them to the
horses. One of the factors he had considered was that, provided the
foragers did not hear the animals, there was nothing on the open
range to make them feel it was worthy of investigation. On the
other hand, the noise the foragers had been making enabled them to
keep out of their way. Their presence had even made the final
stages of the task easier. The few sentries who were posted had
seen nothing suspicious about two men coming from the woodland.

Even before they had reached the
shallow creek, Ole Devil and Tommy had been able to identify their
destination. The large striped marquee that Santa Anna had
been
using
during the reconnaissance of February had been set up close to the
opposite bank. What was more important, his quarters, the large
tent behind them serving as a kitchen, his personal carriage and
baggage wagons were separated from the rest of the encampment by
his bodyguard of Popocatepetl Dragoons’
remuda
and bivouac.

Nor had arriving in the
immediate vicinity of
el Presidente’s
headquarters posed any great problems for
the intruders. By choosing an area of darkness between the glows of
two fires, they had waded unnoticed across the creek and had
circled around to approach by what they considered to be the most
advantageous route. Having anticipated the presence of sentries,
they had kept a careful watch and discovered that one was posted
between them and their objective.

There were, Ole Devil and Tommy
realized as they studied the sentry, certain factors in their
favor. In the first place, the sentry was neglecting his duty.
Positioned between the wagons to keep watch for intruders like
themselves, he was standing and looking in the opposite direction.
His gross dereliction was made worse by the fact that he had leant
his carbine against the side of one vehicle so he could bury his
hands in the pockets of the cloak he had on. Secondly, disposing of
him was made easier because of the way he was dressed. The Dragoons
only wore the heavy metal helmets and breastplates when mounted, or
if
el
Presidente
wished to impress some important guest he was entertaining.
So the man had only a cloak, tunic and thin shirt to protect
him.

Advancing with great stealth, Tommy drew his
conclusions as to how the removal of the sentry could be achieved.
One thing was obvious. Whatever the means employed, it must be done
with the minimum of noise.

Only seventy-five yards beyond
the inner end of the baggage wagons, completely unaware that two
enemies were so near, Santa Anna was entertaining members of his
staff to dinner. They were in the well illuminated marquee,
gathered around a table laden with food. Although he did not
consider his guests sufficiently important to rate the sentries
wearing full dress uniforms, the table was covered by a white lace
cloth and set with his fine monogrammed china crockery, silver
tea
—or
coffee-pots, sparkling wine glasses and crystal
decanters.

Nor, despite the rest of his
force being so poorly provided
for, did
el Presidente
seem worried by the possibility of it being seen
that he had a far superior standard of provisions; unless he was
relying upon the errant sentry to keep off any spectators. The
flaps at the center of the side wall nearest to the wagons were
drawn back to form a door through which the servants could come and
go.

Nearer and ever nearer crept Tommy, blessing
the fact that his disguise had called for him to wear moccasins.
They allowed him to move even more silently than would have been
possible with his Hessian boots. Oblivious of his peril, the sentry
continued to gaze enviously at the glow of light and listen to the
sounds of cheerful conversation. He was to pay a very high price
for his behavior.

Having come close enough, the little
Oriental struck with deadly efficiency.

Clasping his left hand over the
sentry’s mouth, Tommy succeeded in drawing back the head as well as
preventing any outcry. Working with smooth co-ordination, the right
fist passed the
wakizashi
over the man’s shoulder. The turned up collar of the cloak
might have been capable of keeping the wind from the back of his
neck, but it offered no protection against the attack. Swiftly
Tommy’s blade sank into the area at the base of the throat and just
above the collarbones which gave access to the windpipe. A quick
slash, a spurting of blood and, in a few seconds, it was all over.
Nor, apart from a soft scuffling as the stricken sentry struggled
briefly and futilely, had there been anything to be
heard.

Lowering the lifeless body of the Dragoon to
the ground, the little Oriental moved forward a few steps. There
was nothing to suggest that the killing had been seen or heard.
However, as he gazed through the open flaps of the marquee, he gave
a low hiss of annoyance. Although Santa Anna was seated facing the
opening, he was practically concealed by two of the men on the
nearer side of the table. Dealing with him as had originally been
arranged was no longer possible, but Tommy felt confident that the
difficulty was far from insurmountable.

Although neither the little
Oriental nor Ole Devil had ever heard the word ‘psychology’, they
possessed a practical working knowledge of its application. Before
leaving on the mission, Tommy had made a selection from the various
kinds of Japanese arrows which were with his other property
in the Texas Light
Cavalry’s baggage train. An expert
kyudoka
^xl
he had considered that one fitted
with a
wata-kusi
point would produce the most satisfactory
effect.

Studying the situation, Tommy
realized that he could not employ a
wata-kusi
with
el Presidente
seated in such a manner. However, he had yet
another kind of shaft which he believed could solve the
dilemma.

While the little Oriental was carrying out
his reconnaissance, Ole Devil rolled his victim’s body beneath the
left side wagon. Then the Texian took up a position which he hoped
would make anybody who happened to look into the dark space assume
he was the sentry.

Rejoining his employer, Tommy picked up but
did not immediately swing the quiver across his shoulders. Instead,
while whispering a description of what he had seen in the marquee,
he took an arrow from the right side and laid it carefully on the
ground.