On August 15th at eight o’clock in the morning the Army of the West reached Las Vegas, eighty miles east of Santa Fe. General Kearny and his staff accompanied the alcalde of the town to the roof of a one-story building overlooking the plaza. The people pressed in on all sides to hear what Kearny had to say. He held out his hands and in a loud clear voice began to recite his proclamation.
“Mr. Alcalde and People of New Mexico: I have come amongst you by the orders of my government, to take possession of your country and extend over it the laws of the United States. We consider it, and have done so for some time, a part of the territory of the United States. We come amongst you as friends, not as enemies; as protectors, not as conquerors….”
The speech went on, outlining Kearny’s plans for a civilian government. One of those who listened, standing quietly among the staff members in the plaza, was Kelly Morgan.
He had recovered fully now, had regained most of his weight, his old look of restless, animal vitality. But there were marks of his imprisonment that would never die. The twinkle was gone from his eyes and there were lines about his mouth, deep and compressed, robbing it of the earthy humor that had lurked about the edges even when his face was in repose.
Despite his burning desire to join the Army of the West in Kansas, he had been forced to rest at Whitworth’s home in San Antonio for several weeks after his landing at Corpus Christi. Strong enough to travel at last, he had made the long overland journey to the Missouri. Arriving at Fort Leavenworth in June he had signed on as a scout for the First Dragoons.
The march to Santa Fe had followed, a cruel trek through the scorching summer desert and the mountains around Bent’s Fort. But there had been no action up to now. The few small towns they had passed through surrendered without battle.
As General Kearny was concluding his speech, Kelly saw Danny O’Brien ride into the plaza with an escort of dragoons. The trader gaped at Kelly, then forced his horse through the crowd, frowning deeply.
“Man,” O’Brien said vehemently, “how did you get here?” Kelly told him briefly and O’Brien shook his head. “I wish I’d seen you yesterday. Not knowing about you’s been like a knife in Teresa’s back.”
The thought of Teresa went poignantly through Kelly. “She’ll know soon,” he said grimly.
O’Brien frowned, obviously thinking deeply about something. Finally he glanced up at General Kearny, then muttered, “Will you come with me?”
Wonderingly, Kelly trailed the horse to the building. Kearny and his staff descended after he finished speaking. O’Brien dismounted and spoke to the general for a few moments, glancing several times at Kelly. Then he beckoned Kelly to follow and they entered the door. It was a store, smelling of dried apricots and musty dry goods, a dim place of whitewashed walls and narrow windows. Kearny put his back to the counter, studying Kelly with shrewd eyes. Then he said:
“I sent Mr. O’Brien on a confidential mission to Santa Fe to meet with Governor Amado and assess the situation there. Officially, the picture hasn’t changed. But in Mr. O’Brien’s opinion Amado might—under certain circumstances—be willing to capitulate. According to O’Brien there’s only one person left capable of holding things together and stopping us.”
Kelly knew who they meant. He moistened his lips. “Teresa Cavan?”
O’Brien nodded. He twirled his watch chain, watching the bright links flash in the dim light. “You know Teresa’s been the one who kept the balance of power in Santa Fe for years. Part of her strength lies in the army. Anyone who has Colonel Perea has the troops. And Teresa’s the only one he’s loyal to.”
“This spy system’s another dangerous weapon,” Kearny said. “Apparently she knows more about the Army of the West than I do myself.”
Kelly knew. They didn’t have to go down the list. What about the Assembly? Her influence there was as important as control of the army. With Gomez in exile and Biscara out of the capital she had the rest under her thumb. She’d given half the Assembly their seats and had enough against the other half to hang them if they didn’t jump through the hoop.
“All of which leads us to her power over Amado,” O’Brien said. “He wouldn’t be governor if it wasn’t for her, and he knows it. I think she can make him believe almost anything she tells him. But he’s ready to abdicate, Kelly. I saw him yesterday and I’m convinced of it. Teresa’s the only one capable of changing his mind.”
“Will she?”
“We aren’t sure. The one thing we do know is that if she isn’t there to hold Amado—he’ll capitulate.”
“The minute that happens the fight for power begins,” Kearny said. “Everything she’s held together will come apart. It will be Biscara and his Lower River against Perea and the army. It will split the whole town wide open. By the time we get there we won’t have anybody to fight.” The general paused, then said, “We’ve got to be blunt, Morgan. O’Brien tells us this woman is in love with you. Is that right?”
Kelly looked slowly around the circle of their faces. Then he said, huskily, “Damn right.”
“Then, if you reached Santa Fe, say, a day ahead of our army, could you get her out of there?”
Kelly did not answer. His blunt cheekbones seemed to push against the prairie-burnt skin of his cheeks till they shone like a drumhead. The only sound in the room was the husky rasp of his breathing. Then O’Brien began to twirl his watch chain again.
“In other words, Teresa Cavan holds the key to Santa Fe.” The Irishman smiled at Kelly. “And you hold the key to Teresa Cavan.”