He was no coward, and Ned knew that the gleam was in anticipation of the coming attack.
"The time is at hand," he said, "and it will be your wonderful fortune to see how Mexico strikes down her foe." His voice, pitched high, showed excitement, and a sense of the dramatic.
Ned said nothing, and his own pulses began to leap again.

The strip of gray in the east was broadening, and he now saw that the whole town was awake, although it was not yet full daylight.

Santa Anna had been at work in the night, while he lay in that feverish sleep.

He heard everywhere now the sound of voices, the clank of arms and the beat of horses' hoofs.

The flat roofs were crowded with the Mexican people.