Castenada, with the soldier beside him, came forward.  He was rather a handsome young man of the dark type.  As the two little parties met midway between the lines, the forces on the hill and on the plain were alike silent.  Every trace of the fog was now gone, and the sun shone with full splendor upon brown faces, upon rifles and lances.

Castenada saluted in Mexican fashion.

“What do you want?” he asked in Spanish, which all understood.

“Your surrender,” replied Moore coolly, “either that or the sworn adherence of you and your men to Texas.”

Castenada uttered an angry exclamation.

“This is presumption carried to the last degree,” he said.  “My own honor and the honor of Mexico will not allow me to do either.”

“It is that or fight.”

“I bid you beware.  General Cos is coming with a force that all Texas cannot resist, and after him comes our great Santa Anna with another yet greater.  If the Texans make war they will be destroyed.  The buffalo will feed where their houses now stand.”

“You have already made war.  Accept our terms or fight.  We deal with you now.  We deal with Cos and Santa Anna later on.”

“There is nothing more to be said,” replied Castenada with haughtiness.  “We are here in a strong position and you cannot take us.”

He withdrew and Moore turned back with Ned and Obed.

“I don’t think he ever meant this parley for anything except to gain time,” said Moore.  “He’s expecting a fresh Mexican force, but we’ll see that it comes too late.”

Then raising his voice, he shouted to his command: 

“Boys, they’ve chosen to fight, and they are there on the hill.  A man cannot rush that hill with his horse, but he can rush it with his two legs.”

The face of the Ring Tailed Panther became a perfect full moon of delight.  Then he paled a little.

“Do you think there can yet be any new trick to hold us back?” he asked Obed anxiously.

“No,” replied Obed cheerfully.  “Time and tide wait for no Mexicans, and the tide’s at the flood.  We charge within a minute.”

Even as he spoke, Moore shouted: 

“Now, boys, rush ’em!”

For the third time the Texans uttered that deep, rolling cheer.  The cannon sent a volley of grape shot into the cluster on the mound and then the Texans rushed forward at full speed, straight at the enemy.

The Mexicans opened a rapid fire with rifles and muskets and the whole mound was soon clothed in smoke.  But the rush of the Texans was so great that in an instant they were at the first slope.  They stopped to send in a volley and then began the rush up the hill, but there was no enemy.

The Mexicans gave way in a panic at the very first onset, ran down the slope to their horses, leaped upon them and galloped away over the prairie.  Many threw away their rifles and lances, and, bending low on the necks of their horses, urged them to greater speed.