Ned that there was the faintest touch of irony in his last
word or two, but he was not sure. He was never sure of Santa Anna, that
complex man of great abilities and vast ambition. And so after his
fashion when he had nothing to say he said nothing.

"You are silent," said Santa Anna, "but you are thinking. You of the
north are silent to hide your thoughts, and we of the south talk to hide
ours!"

Ned still said nothing, and Santa Anna examined him searchingly. He sent
his piercing gaze full into the eyes of the boy. Ned, proud of his race
and blood, endured it, and returned it with a firm and steady look. Then
the face of Santa Anna changed. He became all at once smiling and
friendly, like a man who receives a welcome guest. He put a hand on
Ned's shoulder, and apparently he did not notice that the shoulder
became rigid under his touch.

"I like you," he said, "I like your courage, your truth, and your
bluntness. You Texans, or rather you Americans,--because the Texans are
Americans,--have some of the ruder virtues which we who are of the
Spanish and Latin blood now and then lack. You are only a boy, but you
have in you the qualities that can make a career. The Texans belong to
Mexico. Your loyalty is due to Mexico and to me. I have said that you
would go to Vera Cruz and take the hospitality that my brother, Cos,
will offer you, but there is an alternative."

He stopped as if awaiting a natural question, but still Ned did not
speak. A spark appeared in the eye of Santa Anna, but it passed so
quickly that it was like a momentary gleam.

"I would make of you," continued the dictator in his mellow, coaxing
tone, "a promising young member of my staff, and I would assign to you
an immediate and important duty. I would send you to the Texans with a
message entirely different from the one you wish to bear. I would have
you to tell them that Santa Anna means only their greatest good; that he
loves them as his children; that he is glad to have these strong, tall,
fair men in the north to fight for him and Mexico; that he is a man who
never breaks a promise; that he is the father of his people, and that he
loves them all with a heart full of tenderness. To show you how much I
trust and value you I would take your word that you would bear such a
message, and I would send you with an escort that would make your way
safe and easy."

Again he sent his piercing gaze into the eyes of the boy, but Ned was
still silent.

"You