He would not desert the one whom he had come to serve.
Stephen Austin, the real founder of Texas, had now been in prison in Mexico more than a year.

Coming to Saltillo to secure for the Texans better treatment from the Mexicans, their rulers, he had been seized and held as a criminal.

The boy, Edward Fulton, was not really his nephew, but an orphan, the son of a cousin.

He owed much to Austin and coming to the capital to help him he was sharing his imprisonment.
"They say that Santa Anna now has the power," said Ned, breaking the somber silence.
"It is true," said Stephen Austin, "and it is a new and strong reason why I fear for our people.

Of all the cunning and ambitious men in Mexico, Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna is the most cunning and ambitious.