Chapter 8: A Smart Engagement.
After pushing the boat out into the stream, Terence and hiscompanion allowed it to drift quietly for some distance; and then,getting out the oars, rowed hard until they were beyond the mouthof the river. The tide was, they thought, by the level of the waterwhere they had embarked, within an hour or two of flood. Theytherefore determined to shape their course to the north of thepoint where they believed Jersey to lie, so that when tide turned,it would sweep them down upon it. The wind was too light to be ofany assistance, but the stars were bright, and the position of thenorth star served as a guide to the direction they should take.
It had taken them some considerable time to launch the boat, andthey calculated that it was nearly midnight when they left themouth of the river. There was no occasion to row hard for, until itbecame daylight and they could see the island of Jersey, they couldnot shape their course with any certainty; and could only hope thatby keeping to the north of it they would not find, in the morning,that the tide had taken them too far to the south.
"We are very lucky in our weather," Terence said as, afterlabouring at the heavy oars for a couple of hours, they paused fora few minutes' rest. "If it had been a strong wind, it would neverhave done for us to have started. I believe in bad weather thereare tremendous currents about the islands, and desperately roughwater. A fog would have been even worse for us. As it is, it seemsto me we cannot go very far wrong. I suppose the tide is aboutturning now; but if by daylight we find that we have been carried along way past the island, we shall soon have the tide turningagain, which will take us back to it.
"I am more afraid of falling in with a French privateer than I amof missing the island. There are sure to be some of them atGranville, to say nothing of Saint Malo. I don't suppose any ofthose at Granville will put out in search of us, merely to pleasethe Maire; but if any were going to sea, they would be sure to keepa lookout for us."
"If they did see us, we should have no chance of getting away,Terence. This boat is not so big as the one we stole at Bayonne,but it rows much heavier."
"There is one thing--even a privateer could not sail very fast inthis light wind and, if it freshens in the morning, we can get upthe sail."
"Then I hope it will get up a bit," Ryan said, "for after anotherfive or six hours' rowing, with these beastly oars, my hands willbe raw; and I am sure my back and arms will be nearly broken."
"We must risk that, Dick. We calculated fifteen miles in a straightline across to Jersey, so that we must jog along at the rate of acouple of miles an hour to get far enough to the west. Now then,let us be moving again."
The night seemed interminable to them; and they felt relieved,indeed, when morning began to break. In another half hour it wouldbe light enough for them to see for a considerable distance.Unshipping their oars, they stood up and looked round.
"That must be Jersey," Terence exclaimed, pointing to the north."The current must have taken us past it, as I was afraid it would.What time is it, Dick?"
"Nearly eight."
"Then tide must be turning already. The island must be six milesaway now. If we row hard we shall know, in half an hour, whether weare being carried north or south."
"But we must be going north if tide has turned, Terence?"
"I don't know--I remember that the mate of the Sea Horse said that,in the Channel, the course of the current did not change at highand low water; so there is no saying what way we are going, atpresent. Well, there is a little more wind, and I suppose we hadbetter get up our sail. There is Jersey, and whether we get there alittle sooner or a little later cannot make much difference. I amsure we are both too tired to row her much faster than we cansail."
Terence agreed, and they accordingly stepped the mast and hoistedthe sail. At first the boat moved but slowly through the water, butthe wind was freshening and, in half an hour, she was foamingalong.
"Tide is against us, still," Terence said presently. "I don't thinkwe are any nearer Jersey that when we first saw it."
"Look there!" Ryan exclaimed, a few minutes later, "there is alugger coming out from the direction of Granville."
"So there is, Dick, and with the wind behind her, she won't be verylong before she is here. I should say that she is about six orseven miles off, and an hour will bring her up to us."
"I will get out an oar, Terence. That will help us a bit. We canchange about, occasionally."
Terence was steering with the other oar, while he held the sheet.The boat was travelling at a good rate, but the lugger was fastrunning down towards them.
"There is a schooner coming out from Jersey!" Terence exclaimed,joyously. "If she is a British privateer we may be saved yet. I hadjust made up my mind that we were in for another French prison."
Ryan looked over his shoulder.
"She is farther off than the lugger," he said.
"Yes, but the current that is keeping us back is helping her ontowards us. It will be a close thing; but I agree with you, I amafraid that the lugger will be here first.
"Change seats with me. I will have a spell at the oar."
He was a good deal stronger than Ryan, and he felt comparativelyfresh after his hour's rest, so there was a perceptible increase inthe boat's speed after the change had been effected. When thelugger was within a mile of them, and the schooner about doublethat distance, the former changed her course a little, and bore upas if to meet the schooner.
"Hurrah!" Ryan shouted. "The Frenchman is making for the schoonerand, if the Jersey boat don't turn and run, there will be a fight."
"The lugger looks to me the bigger boat," Terence said, as hestopped rowing for a moment. "However, we are likely to be able toslip off while they are at it."
Rapidly the two vessels approached each other and, when within amile, a puff of smoke broke out from the lugger's bow; and wasanswered almost instantly by one from the schooner. Running fastthrough the water, the vessels were soon within a short distance ofeach other. Terence had ceased rowing, for there was no fear thatthe lugger, which was now abeam of them, would give another thoughtto the small boat.
The fight was going on in earnest, and the two vessels pouredbroadsides into each other as they passed; the lugger wearing roundat once, and engaging the schooner broadside to broadside.
"The Frenchman has the heavier metal," Terence said. "I am afraidthe schooner will get the worst of it. The lugger is crowded withmen, too. What do you say, Dick? Shall we do our best to help theschooner?"
"I think we ought to," Ryan agreed, at once. "She has certainlysaved us, and I think we ought to do what we can."
Accordingly he brought the boat nearer to the wind. The two vesselswere now close-hauled, and were moving but slowly through thewater. The boat passed two or three hundred yards astern of thelugger, sailed a little farther; and then, when able to lay hercourse for the schooner, went about and bore down towards her. Justas they did so, the halliards of the schooner's mainsail were shotasunder, and the sail ran down the mast. There was a shout oftriumph from the lugger, and she at once closed in towards hercrippled adversary.
"They are going to try and carry the schooner by boarding," Terenceexclaimed. "Keep her as close as she will go, Dick," and, seizinghis oar again, he began to row with all his might.
By the time they came up, the two vessels were side by side. Theguns had ceased their fire, but there was a rattle of pistol shots,mingled with the clash of arms and the shouts of the combatants.Running up to the schooner's side, Terence and Ryan clambered onthe channel and sprung on to the deck of the schooner.
A desperate fight was going on forward, where the two vesselstouched each other. There was no one aft. Here some fifteen ortwenty feet of water separated the ships, and even the helmsmen hadleft the wheel to join in the fight. About half of the lugger'screw had made their way on to the deck of the schooner, but theJersey men were still fighting stoutly. The rest of the lugger'screw were gathered in the bow of their own vessel, waiting untilthere should be a clear enough spac
e left for them to join theircomrades.
"Things look bad," Terence exclaimed. "The French crew are a greatdeal stronger. Lend me a hand to turn two of these eight-poundersround. There are plenty of cartridges handy."
They drew the cannon back from their places, turned them round,loaded them with a charge of powder, and then rammed in two of thebags of bullets that were lying beside them. The schooner stoodhigher out of the water than the lugger, and they were able totrain the two cannon so that they bore upon the mass of Frenchmenin the latter's bow.
"Take steady aim," Terence said. "We are only just in time; ourfellows are being beaten back."
A moment later the two pieces were fired. Their discharge tookterrible effect among the French, sweeping away more than half ofthose gathered in the lugger's bow.
"Load again!" Terence exclaimed. "They are too strong for theJersey men, still."
For a moment the French boarders had paused; but now, with a shoutof fury, they fell upon the crew of the schooner, driving them backfoot by foot towards the stern. The cannon were now traineddirectly forward and, when the crowd of fighting men approachedthem, Terence shouted in French to the Jersey men to fall back oneither side.
The captain, turning round and seeing the guns pointing forward,repeated the order in a stentorian shout. The Jersey men leapt toone side or the other, and the moment they were clear the twocannon poured their contents into the midst of the French; who hadpaused for a moment, surprised at the sudden cessation ofresistance.
Two clear lanes were swept through the crowd; and then, with ashout, the captain of the schooner and his crew fell upon theFrenchmen. Ryan was about to rush forward, when Terence said:
"No, no, Ryan, load again; better make sure."
The heavy loss they had suffered, however, so discouraged theFrench that many at once turned and, running back, jumped on to thedeck of the lugger; while the others, though still resisting, weredriven after them.
As soon as the guns were reloaded they were trained, as before, tobear on the lugger's bow and, as the French were driven back, theywere again fired. This completed the discomfiture of the enemy and,with loud shouts, the Jersey men followed them on to the deck oftheir own ship.
Terence and Ryan now ran forward, snatched up a couple ofcutlasses, and joined their friends; and were soon fighting in thefront line. But the French resistance was now almost over. Theircaptain had fallen and, in five minutes, the last of them threwdown their arms and surrendered; while a great shout went up fromthe crew of the schooner. The French flag was hauled down and, assoon as the prisoners had been sent below, an ensign was broughtfrom the schooner, fixed to the flag halliards above the tricolor,and the two hoisted together.
The captain had already turned to the two men who had come soopportunely to his assistance.
"I do not know who you are, or where you come from, men, but youhave certainly saved us from capture. I did not know it was theAnnette until it was too late to draw off, or I should not haveengaged her; for she is the strongest lugger that sails out ofGranville, and carries double our weight of metal, with twice asstrong a crew; but whoever you are, I thank you most heartily. I amhalf owner of the schooner, and should have lost all I was worth,to say nothing of perhaps having to pass the next five years in aFrench prison."
"We are two British officers," Terence said. "We have escaped froma French prison, and were making our way to Jersey when we saw thatlugger coming after us, and should certainly have been captured hadyou not come up; so we thought the least we could do was to lendyou a hand."
"Well, gentlemen, you have certainly saved us. Jacques Bontemps,the captain of the Annette, was an old acquaintance of mine. Hecommanded a smaller craft before he got the Annette, and we havehad two or three fights together.
"So it was you whom I saw in that little boat! Of course, we madeout that the lugger was chasing you, though why they should bedoing so we could not tell; but we thought no more about you afterthe fight once began, and were as astonished as the Frenchmen whenyou swept their bow. I just glanced round and saw what looked liketwo French fishermen, and thought that you must be two of thelugger's crew who, for some reason or other, had turned the gunsagainst their own ship.
"It will be a triumph, indeed, for us when we enter Saint Helier.The Annette has been the terror of our privateers. Fortunately shewas generally away cruising, and many a prize has she taken intoGranville. I have had the luck to recapture two of them, myself;but when she is known to be at home we most of us keep in port, forshe is a good deal more than a match for any craft that sails outfrom Saint Helier.
"She only went into Granville yesterday, and I thought that therewas no fear of her being out again, for a week or so. When I sawher, I took her for a smaller lugger that sails from that port, andwhich is no more than a match for us. The fact is, we were lookingat her chasing you, and wondering if we should be in time, insteadof noticing her size. It was not until she fired that firstbroadside that we found we had caught a tartar. We should have run,if there had been a chance of getting away; but she is awonderfully fast boat, and we knew that our only chance was toknock away one of her masts.
"And now, we will be making sail again. You must excuse me for afew minutes."
In half an hour the main halliards had been repaired, and the sailhoisted. When other damages were made good the captain, with halfhis crew, went on board the lugger; and the two vessels sailedtogether for Jersey. Terence and his companion had accompanied thecaptain.
"Now, gentlemen, you may as well come down with me into the cabin.It is likely enough that you will be able to find some clothes, inBontemps' chest, that will fit you. He was a dandy, in his way. Atany rate, his clothes will suit you better than those you have on."
They found, indeed, that the lugger's captain had so large a storeof clothing that they had no difficulty, whatever, in riggingthemselves out. While they were changing, the captain had leftthem. He returned, presently, with a beaming face.
"She is a more valuable prize than I hoped for," he said. "She isfull almost to the hatches with the plunder she had taken in herlast cruise. I cannot make out what led her to come out ofGranville, unless it was in pursuit of you."
"I expect it was that," Terence said. "We were arrested by theMaire of Granville, and had to tie him and one of his officials up.He was a pompous little man; and no doubt, when he got free, wentdown to the port and persuaded the captain of the lugger to putout, at once, to endeavour to find us. I expect he told him that wewere prisoners of importance, either English spies or Frenchemigres.
"Well, Captain, I am glad that the capture has turned out well foryou."
"You certainly ought to share it," the captain said; "for if it hadnot been for you, matters would have gone all the other way, and weshould have undoubtedly been captured."
"Oh, we don't want to share it! We have helped you to avoid aFrench prison, but you have certainly saved us from the same thing,so we are fairly quits."
"Well, we shall have time to talk about that when we get into port.In the meantime we will search Jacques' lockers. Like enough theremay be something worth having there. Of course, he may have takenit ashore, directly he landed; but it is hardly likely and, as hehas evidently captured several British merchantmen while he hasbeen out, he is sure to have some gold and valuables in thelockers."
The search, indeed, brought to light four bags of money, eachmarked with the name of an English ship. They contained, in all,over 800 pounds; with several gold watches, rings, and othervaluables.
"Now, gentlemen," the captain said, "at least you will divide thismoney with me. The Annette and the cargo below hatches arecertainly worth ten times as much, and I must insist upon yourgoing shares with me. I shall feel very hurt if you will not doso."
"I thank you, Captain," Terence said, "and will not refuse youroffer. We shall have to provide ourselves with new uniforms, andtake a passage out to Portugal, which is where our regiments are,at present; so the money will be very useful."
/> "And I see you have not a watch, monsieur. You had better take oneof these."
"Thanks! I parted with mine to a good woman, who helped me toescape from Bayonne; so I will accept that offer, also."
In two hours the schooner entered the port of Saint Helier; thelugger, under easy sail, following in her wake. They were greetedwith enthusiastic cheers by the crowd that gathered on the quays,as soon as it was seen that the prize was the dreaded Annette--whichhad, for some months past, been a terror to the privateers andfishermen of the place--and that she should have been captured bythe Cerf seemed marvellous, indeed.
A British officer was on the quay when they got alongside. He cameon board at once.
"The governor has sent me to congratulate you, in his name, CaptainTeniers," he said, "on having captured a vessel double your ownsize, which has for some time been the terror of these waters. Hewill be glad if you will give me some particulars of the action;and you will, when you can spare time afterwards, go up and givehim a full report of it."
"I owe the capture entirely to these two gentlemen, who areofficers in your army. They had escaped from a French prison, andwere making for this port when I first saw them this morning, withthe Annette in hot chase after them. It did not strike me that itwas her, for it was only last night that the news came in that shehad been seen, yesterday, sailing towards Granville; and I thoughtthat she was the Lionne, which is a boat our own size. I came upbefore she had overhauled the boat and, directly the fight began, Icould see the mistake I had made. But as she was a good deal fasterthan we were, it was of no use running. There was just a chancethat I might cripple her, and get away."
He then related the incidents of the fight.
"Well, I congratulate you, gentlemen," the officer said, heartily."You have indeed done a good turn to Captain Teniers. To whom haveI the pleasure of speaking?"
"My name is O'Connor," replied Terence. "I have the honour to be onSir Arthur Wellesley's staff; and have the rank of captain in ourarmy, but am a colonel in the Portuguese service. This isLieutenant Ryan, of His Majesty's Mayo Fusiliers."
The officer looked a little doubtful, while Terence was speaking.It was difficult to believe that the young fellow, of one or twoand twenty, at the outside, could be a captain on Lord Wellington'sstaff--for Sir Arthur had been raised to the peerage, after thebattle of Talavera--still less that he should be a colonel in thePortuguese service. However, he bowed gravely, and said:
"My name is Major Chalmers, of the 35th. I am adjutant to thegovernor. If it will not be inconvenient, I shall be glad if youwill return with me, and report yourselves to him."
"We are quite ready," Terence said. "We have nothing to do in theway of packing up, for we have only the clothes we stand in; whichwere, indeed, the property of the captain of the lugger, who waskilled in the action."
Telling Captain Teniers that they would be coming down again, whenthey had seen the governor, the two friends accompanied theofficer. Very few words were said on the way, for the majorentertained strong doubts whether Terence had not been hoaxing him,and whether the account he had given of himself was not altogetherfictitious. On arriving at the governor's he left them for a fewminutes in the anteroom; while he went in and gave the account hehad received, from the captain, of the manner in which the luggerhad been captured; and said that the two gentlemen who had playedso important a part in the matter were, as they said, one of theman officer on the staff of Lord Wellington and a colonel in thePortuguese army, and the other a subaltern in the Mayo Fusiliers.
"Why do you say, as they said, major? Have you any doubt aboutit?"
"My only reason for doubting is that they are both young fellows ofabout twenty, which would accord well enough with the claim of oneof them to be a lieutenant; but that the other should be a captainon Lord Wellington's staff, and a colonel in the Portugueseservice, is quite incredible."
"It would seem so, certainly, major. However, it is evident thatthey have both behaved extraordinarily well in this fight with theAnnette, and I cannot imagine that, whatever story a young fellowmight tell to civilians, he would venture to assume a militarytitle to which he had no claim, on arrival at a military station.Will you please ask them to come in? At any rate, their story willbe worth hearing."
"Good day, gentlemen," he went on, as Terence and Ryan entered. "Ihave to congratulate you, very heartily, upon the very efficientmanner in which you assisted in the capture of the French privateerthat has, for some time, been doing great damage among the islands.She has been much more than a match for any of our privateers hereand, although she has been chased several times by the cruisers,she has always managed to get away.
"And now, may I ask how you happened to be approaching the island,in a small boat, at the time that the encounter took place?"
"Certainly, sir. We were both prisoners at Bayonne. I myself hadbeen captured by the French, when endeavouring to cross thefrontier into Portugal with my regiment; while Lieutenant Ryan waswounded at Talavera, and was in the hospital there when theSpaniards left the town, and the French marched in."
"What is your regiment, Colonel O'Connor?"
"It is called the Minho regiment, sir, and consists of twobattalions. We have had the honour of being mentioned in generalorders more than once; and were so on the day after the firstattack of Victor upon Donkin's brigade, stationed on the hillforming the left of the British position at Talavera."
The governor looked at his adjutant who, rising, went to a table onwhich were a pile of official gazettes. Picking out one, he handedit to the governor, who glanced through it.
"Here is the general order of the day," he said, "and assuredlyLord Wellington speaks, in the very highest terms, of the servicethat Colonel O'Connor and the Minho regiment, under his command,rendered. Certainly very high praise, indeed.
"You will understand, sir, that we are obliged to be cautious here;and it seemed so strange that so young an officer should haveattained the rank of colonel, that I was curious to know how itcould have occurred."
"I am by no means surprised that it should seem strange, to you,that I should hold the rank I claim. I was, like my friendLieutenant Ryan, in the Mayo Fusiliers; when I had the good fortuneto be mentioned, in despatches, in connection with an affair inwhich the transport that took us out to Portugal was engaged withtwo French privateers. In consequence of the mention, General Faneappointed me one of his aides-de-camp; and I acted in that capacityduring the campaign that ended at Corunna. I was left on the field,insensible, on the night after that battle.
"When I came to myself, the army was embarking; so I made my waythrough Galicia into Portugal and, on reaching Lisbon, wasappointed by Sir John Craddock to his staff; and was sent by him ona mission to the northern frontier of Portugal.
"On the way I took the command of a body of freshly-raisedPortuguese levies, who were without an officer or leader of anykind. With the aid of a small escort with me, I formed them into areliable regiment, and had the good fortune to do some service withthem. I was therefore confirmed in my command, and was givenPortuguese rank. Sir Arthur Wellesley, on succeeding Sir JohnCraddock in the supreme command, still kept my name on theheadquarter staff, thereby adding greatly to my authority; andcontinued me in the independent command of my regiment.
"After Talavera we were despatched to aid the Spaniards in holdingthe pass of Banos but, before we arrived there, Soult had crossedthe pass and, being cut off by his force from rejoining the army, Idetermined to cross the mountains into Portugal. In so doing wecame upon a French division, on its march to Plasencia, and thecompany of my regiment with which I was were cut off, and takenprisoners."
"Forgive me for having doubted you, Colonel O'Connor. I should, ofcourse, have remembered your name. In his report of his operations,before and subsequent to the battle of Talavera, Lord Wellingtonmentions, more than once, that his left during his advance wascovered by the partisan corps of Wilson and O'Connor; and mentions,too, that it was by messengers from Colonel O'Connor that he
firstlearned how formidable a force was in his rear, and was thereforeable to cross the Tagus and escape from his perilous position. Ofcourse, it never entered my mind that the officer who had renderedsuch valuable service was so young a man.
"There is only one mystery left. How was it, when you and Mr. Ryanescaped from Bayonne, that you are found in a boat in the Bay ofSaint Malo?"
"It does seem rather a roundabout way of rejoining," Terence said,with a smile. "We escaped in a boat and made along the north coastof Spain but, when off Santander, were blown out to sea in a gale,and were picked up by a French privateer. We were supposed to betwo Spanish fishermen and, as the privateer was short of boats,they took ours and enrolled us among their crew. They were on theirway to Brest, and we took an opportunity to desert, and made ourway on foot until we reached the mouth of the river Sienne; andmade off in a boat, last night. This morning we saw the privateerin chase of us, and should certainly have been recaptured had notthe Cerf come up and engaged her. While the fight was going on wehad gone on board the schooner, unperceived by either party, andtook what seemed to us the best way of aiding our friends; who weregetting somewhat the worst of it, the crew of the lugger being verymuch stronger than the crew of the schooner."
"Well, I hope that you will both, at once, take up your quarterswith me as long as you stay here; and I shall then have anopportunity of hearing of your adventures more in detail."
"Thank you very much, sir. We shall be very happy to accept yourkind invitation; but I hope we shall not trespass upon yourhospitality long, for we are anxious to be off, as soon aspossible, so as to rejoin without loss of time. I am particularlyso for, although it will be two or three months before there is anymovement of the troops, I am afraid of finding someone elseappointed to the command of my regiment; and I have been so longwith it, now, that I should be sorry indeed to be put to any otherwork."
"That I can quite understand. Well, there is no regularcommunication from here, but there is not a week passes withoutsome craft or other sailing from here to Weymouth."
"We would rather, if possible, be put on board some ship on her wayto Portugal," Terence said. "If we landed in England, we shouldhave to report ourselves, and might be sent to a depot, and bemonths before we got out there again. I spoke to the captain of theCerf about it, this morning; and he was good enough to promisethat, as soon as he had repaired damages, he would run out into theBay, and put us on board the first ship he overhauled bound for thePeninsula."
"That would be an excellent plan, from your point of view," thegovernor said. "Teniers is one of the best sailors on the island,and has several times carried despatches for me to Weymouth. Youcould not be in better hands."
Four days later the schooner was ready to sail again.
"This will be my last voyage in her," the captain said. "I have hadan offer for her, and shall sell her as soon as I come back again,as I shall take the command of the Annette. I ought to do well inher, for her rig and build are so evidently French that I shall beable to creep up close to any French vessel making along the coast,or returning from abroad, without being suspected of being anenemy. Of course, I shall have to carry a much stronger crew thanat present; and I hope to clip the wings of some of these Frenchprivateers, before long."
They had, on the day of their landing, ordered new uniforms, andhad purchased a stock of underclothing. They were fortunate inbeing able to pick up swords and belts, and all were now ready forthem and, on the fifth day after landing, they said goodbye to thegovernor, and sailed on board the Cerf.
When twenty-four hours out the vessel lay to, being now on thetrack of ships bound south. On the following day they overhauledsix vessels and, as the last of these was bound with militarystores for Lisbon, Terence and Ryan were transferred to her. With ahearty adieu to the skipper, they took their places in the boat andwere rowed to the vessel; being greeted, on their departure, by aloud and hearty cheer from the crew of the privateer. There were nopassengers on board the store ship, and they had an uneventfulvoyage, until she dropped anchor in the Tagus.
After paying the captain the small sum he charged for theirpassage, they landed. They first went to a hotel and put up. Onsallying out, Ryan had no difficulty in learning that the MayoFusiliers were at Portalegre.
Terence took his way to headquarters. The first person he met, onentering, was his old acquaintance Captain Nelson, now wearing theequipments of a major. The latter looked at him inquiringly, andthen exclaimed:
"Why, it is O'Connor! Why, I thought you were a prisoner! I amdelighted to see you. Where have you sprung from?"
"I escaped from Bayonne and, after sundry adventures, landed anhour ago. In the first place, what has been done with my regiment?"
"It is with Hill's division, which is at Abrantes and Portalegre."
"Who is in command?"
"Your friend Herrara. No British officer has been appointed in yourplace. There was some talk of handing it over to Trant in thespring but, as nothing can be done before that, no one has yet beennominated."
"I am glad, indeed, to hear it. I have been fidgeting about it,ever since I went away."
"Well, I will take you in to the adjutant general, at once. I heardhim speak, more than once, of the services you rendered by sendingnews that Soult and Ney were both in the valley, and so enablingLord Wellington to get safely across the Tagus. He said it was aninvaluable service. Of course Herrara reported your capture, andthat you had sacrificed yourself, and one of the companies, tosecure the safety of the rest. Now, come in."
'This is Colonel O'Connor, sir.']
"This is Colonel O'Connor, sir," Major Nelson said, as he enteredthe adjutant general's room. "I could not resist the pleasure ofbringing him in to you. He has just escaped from Bayonne, andlanded an hour ago."
"I am glad to see you, indeed," the adjutant general said, risingand shaking Terence warmly by the hand. "The last time we met wason the day when Victor attacked us, in the afternoon, after sendingthe Spaniards flying. You rendered us good service that evening,and still greater by acquainting the commander-in-chief of thelarge force that had gathered in his rear--a force at least threetimes as strong as we had reckoned on. A day later, and we shouldhave been overwhelmed. As it was, we had just time to cross theTagus before they were ready to fall upon us.
"I am sure Lord Wellington will be gratified, indeed, to hear thatyou are back again. I suppose you will like to return to yourcommand of the Minho regiment?"
"I should prefer that to anything else," Terence said, "though, ofcourse, I am ready to undertake any other duty that you mightintrust to me."
"No, I think it would be for the good of the service that youshould remain as you are. The difficulty of obtaining anything likeaccurate information, of the strength and position of the enemy, isone of the greatest we have to contend with; and indeed, were itnot for Trant's command and yours, we should be almost in the dark.
"Please sit down for a minute. I will inform Lord Wellington ofyour return."