The prisoners were marched through the town, and to the church.  All the old Spanish or Mexican towns of Texas contained great stone churches, which were also fortresses, and Goliad was no exception.  This was of limestone, vaulted and somber, and it was choked to overflowing with the prisoners, who could not get half enough air through the narrow windows.  The surgeons, for lack of bandages and medicines, could not attend the wounded, who lay upon the floor.

Where were the fair Mexican promises, in accordance with which they had yielded?  Many of the unwounded became so weak from hunger and thirst that they, too, were forced to lie upon the floor.  Ned had reserves of strength that came to his aid.  He leaned against the wall and breathed the foul air of the old church, which was breathed over and over again by nearly four hundred men.

The heavy doors were unbarred an hour later, and food and water were brought to them, but how little!  There was a single drink and a quarter of a pound of meat for each man.  It was but a taste after their long fast, and soon they were as hungry and thirsty as ever.  It was a hideous night.  There was not room for them all to sleep on the floor, and Ned dozed for a while leaning against the wall.

Food and water were brought to them in the same small quantities in the morning, but there was no word from the Mexicans concerning the promises of good treatment and parole that had been made when they surrendered.

Ned was surprised at nothing.  He knew that Santa Anna dominated all Mexico, and he knew Santa Anna.  Promises were nothing to him, if it served him better to break them.  Fannin demanded writing materials and wrote a note to General Urrea protesting strongly against the violation of faith.  But General Urrea was gone after Ward’s men, who were surrounded in the marshes of the Guadalupe, leaving Colonel Portilla in command.  Portilla, meanwhile, was dominated by the younger Urrea, a man of force and audacity, whom he knew to be high in the favor of Santa Anna.

Captain Urrea did not believe in showing any kindness to the men imprisoned in the church.  They were rebels or filibusters.  They had killed many good Mexicans, and they should be made to suffer for it.  No answer was returned to Fannin’s letter, and the men in the somber old limestone building became depressed and gloomy.

Ned, who was surprised at nothing, also hoped for nothing, but he sought to preserve his strength, believing that he would soon have full need of it.  He stretched and tensed his muscles in order to keep the stiffness from coming into them, and he slept whenever he could.

Two or three days passed and the Mexican officer, Holzinger, came for Fannin, who was now recovered largely from his wound.  The two went away to Copano on the coast to look for a vessel that would carry the prisoners to New Orleans.  They returned soon, and Fannin and all his men were in high hopes.