Page:The Fall of the Alamo.djvu/233

 Then, Alsbury, conduct him to the camp, While farther we pursue our scouting-tour. No, no. Sir Scout, ye all must come with me, For every gallant arm is needed there. 'T is useless quite for you to search for news That mine would not exceed a hundred-fold By weightiness and accurate account. But ere we go, my friends, let us destroy This bridge, to thwart the enemy's hasty flight; The swampy shores will stay their horses' feet, The swollen waves defy their strength to cross. So go to work; then I shall follow you. Thou, a deserter, unknown and despised, Commandest here, as if thou wert our master; And yet I know not what it is that prompts me Implicitly thy order to obey. If I believed in visions, I should ween Thou wert an angel sent from heavenly realms, Disguised in beggar's dress, to aid our cause By thine advice; so beams thy eye inspired. And so assuring sounds to me thy voice. So, friends, make haste to hurl these planks and beams Into the waves; for if that man tells true, Our arms are needed in the camp to-day. [They throw the planks into the river.]