I have said that you would go to Vera Cruz and take the hospitality that my brother, Cos, will offer you, but there is an alternative." He stopped as if awaiting a natural question, but still Ned did not speak.

A spark appeared in the eye of Santa Anna, but it passed so quickly that it was like a momentary gleam.
"I would make of you," continued the dictator in his mellow, coaxing tone, "a promising young member of my staff, and I would assign to you an immediate and important duty.

I would send you to the Texans with a message entirely different from the one you wish to bear.

I would have you to tell them that Santa Anna means only their greatest good; that he loves them as his children; that he is glad to have these strong, tall, fair men in the north to fight for him and Mexico; that he is a man who never breaks a promise; that he is the father of his people, and that he loves them all with a heart full of tenderness.

To show you how much I trust and value you I would take your word that you would bear such a message, and I would send you with an escort that would make your way safe and easy." Again he sent his piercing gaze into the eyes of the boy, but Ned was still silent.
"You would tell them," said Santa Anna in the softest and most persuasive tones, "that you have been much with me, that you know me, and that no man has a softer heart or a more just mind." "I cannot do it," said Ned.
"Why ?" "Because it is not so." The change on the face of Santa Anna was sudden and startling.