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“Did you ever see Santa Anna?” asked Ernest, curiously.

“No, I never did. But Ben Milam and several other men I know have seen him. Milam fought along with the patriots in 1821, when Mexico freed herself from Spain and became a republic. Santa Anna was a colonel then, on the patriot side, although he was born in Spain and was in the Spanish regular army. When the new president, named General Iturbide, turned about and proclaimed himself emperor, Milam and a lot more who opposed him were put in jail; but Santa Anna headed another revolution that deposed Iturbide, restored the republican government, and of course freed Milam and the rest. Santa Anna has always been ag’in a monarchy or a despotism—look what he did in 1832 when Bustamante tried to seize the reins—and we all have thought he would be just the man to understand the Texas ideas. But he’s surely acting suspicious now. He’s a brainy man, and not big to look at. About five feet five, I hear, small-boned, dark complexioned, Spanish type, with good head and smart face, and fine manners. Aged about forty-five. And he’s quite a soldier, too. He’s always been successful in his fighting, to date.”