houses, and collected all the stores at hand,
including a number of bushels of wheat and some dried fruits.

In the meantime Santa Anna's army had marched into San Antonio, and
taken possession. This done, the general held a consultation with his
leading officers, and sent out a flag of truce toward the mission.

"Flag of truce," announced one of the guards.

"Very well, we'll see what they demand," said Lieutenant-Colonel
Travis, and despatched Major Morris and Captain Marten to hold the
interview.

"General Santa Anna demands the immediate surrender of the mission,"
said the official sent out by the Mexican president.

"We will convey your message to our commander," replied the major of
the Texans, and withdrew.

Travis received the message with all the quiet dignity for which he was
noted.

"I will send him his answer at once," he replied, and ordered a
cannon-shot to be fired over the heads of the Mexican army.

This threw the Mexicans into a rage, and they quickly hung a blood-red
flag from the tower of the San Fernando Church in San Antonio. This
flag meant "no quarter," and, as it went up, several cannon-shots were
aimed at the Alamo; and thus was the battle begun.

CHAPTER XXVIII.

WITHIN THE WALLS OF THE MISSION.

The Alamo church, the principal building of the mission, was built in
the form of a cross, of rough stone, with walls several feet thick. At
the time of the battle which was to witness its downfall the centre of
the structure was roofless, but the ends were well covered. The sides
of the church were over twenty feet high, and the windows were
exceedingly narrow, for the building had been built to resist attacks
by the Indians. It faced both the river and San Antonio proper.

Attached to the left wing of the church was a large square called the
convent yard, with walls of heavy stone sixteen feet high. Spread out
in front of this yard, and beyond it, was the convent, two stories
high, and nearly two hundred feet long. In front of the convent was a
long and broad plaza, covering over two acres, and surrounded by walls
at either end and by the convent in the rear, and a house and wall in
the front. On the right of the plaza was a small prison and a gateway,
and from the corner of the prison there was a stockade of cedar logs
extending to the nearest corner of the church.

For this extensive fortress, if such we may call it, Lieutenant Travis
had less than twenty cannon, and the co