Chapter 14: A Mission.
On arriving at Madrid in the first week in December, 1708,Desmond, after putting up at an hotel, and changing the uniform inwhich he travelled for his dress suit, proceeded to theheadquarters of the Duke of Orleans, and sent in his name,together with Berwick's letter of introduction. In a few minuteshe was shown into his room. The duke looked at him in somesurprise.
"Are you Captain Kennedy?"
"I am, Your Royal Highness."
"The Duke of Berwick has very strongly recommended you to me,saying that you had performed excellent service under him, andthat he parted with you, with regret, at the express wish of HisMajesty. He speaks of you as a young officer, but I was hardlyprepared to see one so youthful. He says that you are devoted toyour work, active and intelligent as well as brave; and as suchyour arrival is very welcome to me, for although excellent inbattle, I own that my officers are less devoted to the hard workand detail that are as necessary as bravery on a general's staff.
"By the way, I seem to have heard your name before. Let me see, itwas in connection, was it not, with that affair of the Marquis deTulle and Baron de Pointdexter's daughter?"
"I certainly had the good fortune to take part in that affair,sir."
"The king himself was pleased to tell me the details of thatadventure, and to speak very highly of your courage and energy incarrying it out. And so, you are really the hero of that affair?He said that you were a young ensign in O'Brien's Irish regiment.You have risen rapidly, sir, for it is but eighteen months sinceit took place."
"His Majesty graciously promoted me to the rank of lieutenant whenI was appointed by the Duke of Berwick to his staff. I obtained mynext step after the battle of Oudenarde, for carrying a despatchto the force cut off in the village of Diepenbeck, in whichservice I received a wound which resulted in the loss of my lefthand. I was several weeks in hospital, and then obtained sickleave and went down for two months to Baron de Pointdexter, whichvisit resulted in my complete restoration to health. At the end ofthat time the Duke of Berwick, who had also returned from thearmy, was good enough to recommend me to His Majesty, and hethereupon promoted me and appointed me to join your staff."
"If Marshal Berwick spoke approvingly of your conduct, CaptainKennedy, it is in itself a sufficient recommendation, for the dukeis not easily satisfied. I am sure that I shall find you avaluable acquisition to my staff."
The duke invited Desmond to dine with him that evening, andpresented him to several of his staff who were among the company.These were, for the most part, personal friends and associates ofthe duke; gallant gentlemen, but wholly ignorant of war, andadverse to hard work, and it was not long before Desmond foundthat his services were called into requisition whenever it wasnecessary that a despatch should be carried to a distance. He wasby no means sorry that this should be the case, for he soon tiredof the stiffness and ceremony of the Spanish Court, and of theconversation (chiefly relating to ladies in Paris, whose verynames were unknown to him) among the French officers, and it was arelief to him, indeed, when he could get away from attendance atheadquarters, and enjoy an evening's talk with the officers of oneor other of the four Irish regiments there.
Many of these expeditions were attended by considerable danger,for the wars that had for some years devastated the country hadresulted in general disorder. Armed bands, under the pretence ofacting in the interest of one claimant or other to the throne,traversed the country, pillaging the villages, driving off flocksand herds to the mountains, and ruthlessly slaying any whoventured to offer the smallest opposition. Catalonia and Valenciahad been the scene of the greater portion of the conflicts betweenthe rival claimants. Throughout the rest of the country thepopulation looked on apathetically at the struggle for mastery,caring but little which of the two foreign princes reigned overthem; but, in the out-of-the-way districts, the wilder spiritsleft their homes in numbers, enticed by the prospects of plunder,under the leading of one or other of the partisan chiefs.
Desmond had, from the moment of his arrival, spent the greaterportion of his spare time in the study of Spanish, and, aided muchby his knowledge of French, had made rapid progress, and in threemonths was able to converse fairly in it. It was, indeed,essential for his work, as without it he could not have made hisway about, and safely delivered the orders of which he was thebearer.
In the beginning of March, the duke sent for him.
"I have been greatly pleased, Captain Kennedy, with the activitythat you have displayed, and am going to make a further call uponyou. This mission is of greater importance than any on which youhave hitherto been engaged, and is one which, ordinarily, would beentrusted to an officer of higher rank; but I feel that I cannotdo better than place it in your hands. From what we learn, Ibelieve that it is the intention of the enemy to commence thecampaign by crossing the frontier, near Badajos. By so doing, theycan either follow the valley of the Guadiana to the sources of theriver, and then come down into Valencia; or they could cross thesierras, come down into the valley of the Tagus, and march onMadrid.
"In the first place, I wish a report as to the state of thefortifications of Badajos, and the efficiency of its garrison. Iam, of course, acquainted with the official reports, sent by theSpanish commander of the town to his Government, but I have cometo place no faith whatever in Spanish reports, which, for the mostpart, are a tissue of falsehoods. Your first duty, then, will beto give me as complete a report as possible of the state of thingsthere; of your impressions of the capacity of the governor, asshown by his preparations; also of the morale of the troops. Inthe next place, I shall be glad of any information you can gatherof the country beyond the frontier, and the state of the roads inall that neighbourhood. Here, again, the native reports areabsolutely untrustworthy. The line of the enemy's advance would beeither direct from Lisbon through Vicosa, or up the Tagus, whichoffers them great facilities for carriage, and down throughPortalegre and Alvas.
"During the past four years, there has been a good deal offighting near the frontier, but the reports of the officerscommanding the Spanish forces there are devoid of any practicalinformation as to the roads on our side of the boundary. As it hasbeen resolved to give the enemy battle, as soon as he crosses thefrontier, it is most important that I should know the best linesby which troops can move, the state of the bridges, and thepositions in which a battle on a large scale can best be fought.
"You see, the mission is an important one, and I selected you forit as a proof of the confidence I feel in your ability. Whilecarrying out this duty you shall have the temporary rank of major,as it will less ruffle the susceptibility of the Spaniards, if anofficer of that rank be employed, than if a captain be sent toinstitute such enquiries.
"You will, of course, be provided with a letter to the Governor ofBadajos, couched in such terms that he will not consider yourmission has any reference to himself, its object being to discoverwhether the magazines at Badajos are sufficiently well supplied toadmit of their being, if necessary, drawn upon for the subsistenceof the army; also, whether the garrison needs strengthening, incase the enemy should lay siege to the town before our army is athand to give battle. Thus you will ostensibly confine yourenquiries to the amount of provisions and ammunition, and consultthe governor as to whether he considers the force at his disposalsufficient for the defence of the fortress against a vigorousattack. Fortunately, the Spanish methods are so slow that, beforeyou get these particulars, you will have ample time to ascertainthe points as to which I am chiefly concerned.
"You will be furnished with a native guide, well acquainted withthe passes of the sierras between the Tagus and the Guadiana. Thispart of your journey will not be unattended with danger, for themountains swarm with bands of partisans; that is to say, bandits.I shall, however, give you an order, to the officer in command ofthe garrison at Toledo, to furnish you with an escort of tentroopers under an officer, to conduct you across the mountains.Four of these will accompany you to Badajos, and remain with youuntil you return to Tole
do. Once in the valley of the Guadiana,you should have little chance of falling in with any bands ofguerrillas, but an escort will add to your weight and importancein the eyes of the Spaniards."
"I feel greatly honoured, Your Royal Highness, by your selectingme for the mission, and will carry it out to the best of myability."
"In an hour the papers will be ready for you, and you can start atdaybreak tomorrow."
"We are going on a long trip this time, Mike."
"Back to France, your honour?"
"No; we are going to the western frontier, by Badajos."
"It makes no difference to me, sir, where we are going; but, intruth, I shall be glad to go anywhere, for I am mightily sick ofthis town, where the people have no great love for the French, andthe best part of them seem to look down upon us soldiers, as if wewere dirt under their feet. It is unsafe to go through the streetsalone at night. A score of men have, since we came here, beenfound lying dead with a knife between their ribs."
"Yes; the population here is very much divided, Mike, and even thosewho are favourable to Philip have no love for the foreign soldierswhose bayonets keep him on the throne. The duke has, many times,made formal complaints to the king and the city authorities. Philiphas given strict orders for the arrest of bad characters, but thecity civil authorities protest that they cannot lay hands upon them,and I believe have never taken the slightest trouble to do so."
"How long shall we be away, your honour?"
"I should say, a month. I am to have temporary rank as major,while engaged on this business. Anyone under that grade wouldreceive but little courtesy from the Spaniards."
"They are a mighty haughty lot," Mike grumbled. "I believe theythink that, when the flood came, the Spanish grandees had an arkall to themselves, as they could not be expected to put up with aconveyance full of animals."
Desmond laughed.
"They haven't yet taken in the fact that Spain is no longer thegreat power she was when she was mistress of half of Europe. Theywere fine fighters then, Mike. For my part, I own that I cannotunderstand how it is they have fallen off in that respect; forcertainly, without our troops, they would make but a poor standagainst the Portuguese, backed up by the English and Dutch."
"I have not seen them fighting yet, sir, but to my mind people sofond of using their knives are not likely to be of much account,when it comes to manly, straightforward fighting.
"Well, your honour, if you are to go as a major, you will needsome slight alterations in your uniform--more gold lace, and suchlike. So I had best see about it, at once."
"I did not think of that, Mike; but you are right. I don't knowwhether, as I only hold temporary rank, I have a right to wear theuniform of a field officer; but, as the duke wishes me to be ableto speak with some authority, there can be no harm in making thechange, and the additions can easily be taken off, upon myreturn."
"The duke ought to have given you the full rank, instead of thetemporary one, sir. You have done more work, since you came here,than all the colonels and majors on his staff."
"As far as work goes that may be so, Mike; but as the workconsisted in carrying despatches about on horseback, it certainlyaffords no claim for promotion. And, indeed, I have no wishwhatever for it. I am already the youngest captain in the service,except the young nobles who got their commissions as colonels,without even serving a day in inferior rank. I feel uncomfortablenow when I go to our regiments, to see men who have been years inthe service, and gone through many a desperate action, stilllieutenants; while I, after two years' service, and still undernineteen, am a captain."
"Yes, sir; but you know that you saved eight or ten thousand mento France at Oudenarde, and you lost a hand in the service of thecountry. That would count for a great deal."
"It counts for something, no doubt, Mike, but many of theseofficers have risked their lives a score of times, and beenwounded frequently, though they may not have lost a limb."
"Ah well, sir!" Mike said, philosophically, "Luck is everything.And who would go soldiering, if it was not so? When going intobattle, everyone knows that a lot of his comrades will be killed,but he trusts to his luck to get through safely. One man getspromoted and another doesn't, and he hopes that luck will come hisway next time. I don't say that your honour's promotion has beenluck, but you have had luck in being on the staff of the Duke ofBerwick, and everyone knows that it is the staff officers who getthe credit and promotion, while the men who do most of thefighting get passed over. There would be nothing to say againstthat if, as in your honour's case, a man was chosen for the staffbecause he had done something that showed that he was fit for it.But it isn't so here. If a man belongs to a good family, and hasinterest, he gets a good appointment; and it is mighty seldom thata man is taken from his regiment, and put on to the staff, becausehe has done something which showed he was a good soldier."
"That is so, Mike. There is no denying it. And I believe it is onereason why so many disasters have befallen the French army. Thegenerals are, as a rule, good, and the soldiers are excellent, butthe staff are generally altogether incompetent, and seem toconsider that the fact that they are nobles renders it unnecessaryfor them to give attention to details, or to be more thanornamental figures in the general's train. And when we see theauthority of Vendome overruled by a young prince, who is grandsonof the king, and nothing else, one must not be surprised that itis the same all through the army."
That evening, Desmond received a packet containing his appointmentas major while on special service, details of instructions as tothe points to be attended to, and letters from the duke to thecommandant of the garrison at Toledo, and from Philip to theGovernor at Badajos.
The next morning he started at daybreak, accompanied by Mike, andarrived that evening at Toledo. Here he presented his letter tothe commandant.
"Very well, sir," the officer said, when he had read it. "At whathour do you wish the escort and guide to be ready in the morning?"
"I should like to start as early as possible, Colonel. I myself,being well mounted, might cross the sierra in a day; but thetroopers' horses could not do that."
"You would not gain anything if they could, Major Kennedy, foreven if your horse could carry you over sixty or seventy miles ofmountain roads in a day, you would certainly need a couple ofdays' rest before proceeding farther. If you get as far asEnmedio, which is in the heart of the sierra, you will have donewell. You will then have another long day's ride down to CiudadReal, from which place the officer with six of the troopers willreturn. The general says nothing about a noncommissioned officer,but I shall take it upon myself to send one to accompany you, withthe four men. It will take a good deal of trouble off your hands."
"I am much obliged to you, Colonel."
"Now that we have finished business," the officer said, "we cantalk of other things. You will, of course, put up here. I have twoor three spare rooms, and the accommodation at the inns iswretched. I am always very glad when an officer rides through,because we hear little enough about what is passing, and as thereis no sort of sociability among the Spaniards, life is very dullhere, and one is very glad of the change."
"Thank you, Colonel. I will gladly accept your invitation."
The colonel rang a bell, and ordered a servitor, who answered, toshow Major Kennedy's servant where to put up his master's horsesand his own, to bring up the officer's valises, and to make thesoldier comfortable below.
"We shall sup in half an hour," he said to Desmond, when the manhad left. "Two of my majors are going to share the meal."
As soon as the valises were brought up, Desmond changed hisuniform, got rid of the dust of the road, and was just ready whena servant knocked at the door and said that the supper was served.The meal was a pleasant one. The three French officers wereanxious to hear the last news that had reached Madrid from France.The conversation did not flag for a moment during the meal.
After this was over, and cigars were lighted--for the officers hadall adopted the custom of the country--the
colonel saidcourteously, "Would you mind telling us, Major Kennedy, how it isthat you, who by your name are Irish, although you speak excellentFrench, have made your way so rapidly as to be already a major?"
"Not at all, Colonel. I am, myself, as much surprised at it as youmay be. But, really, my present rank is only temporary. I am goingdown to Badajos, on a special mission for the Duke of Orleans, andas he thought that I should be received better were I a fieldofficer, instead of captain, he has given me the temporary rank ofmajor while so employed.
"I will briefly tell you how I obtained the other steps. The firstwas given me, by the king, on my appointment as aide-de-camp tothe Duke of Berwick; His Majesty being good enough to take aninterest in me, owing to a little adventure in which I had becomeinvolved. It concerned, I may say, the almost accidental rescue ofa lady, who had been carried off by a nobleman of the court."
"I remember now," the colonel said. "The lady was Mademoiselle dePointdexter, and her abductor Vicomte de Tulle. It happened amonth or so before our regiment left Paris for Spain, and was thechief topic of talk. I recall your name, now, in connection withthe affair, and how warmly everyone spoke of your gallantry. Well,Major, how did you gain your next step?"
"I had the good fortune to be the only one who survived, of fouraides-de-camp who were sent off by the Duke of Berwick, atOudenarde, to make their way through the allied lines with orders,to the division cut off from the rest of the army in the villageof Diepenbeck, to disperse and make off across the country, asbest they could. My comrades were all killed, but I was luckyenough to succeed in reaching the village uninjured, with theexception of a ball in the wrist, which caused the loss of myhand, and, I may say, almost of my life. It was because of thefavourable report, which the duke was pleased to make of thisservice, that I received my rank as captain."
"It was well earned, too, sir," the colonel said warmly. "Iconfess, I thought when you arrived that, although Irish by name,you must have had some very powerful influence at your back tohave risen so early. Unhappily, promotion often bears no relationwhatever to merit; and one sees young nobles, with no otherrecommendation than that of their birth, placed over the heads ofofficers of five-and-twenty years service. No one is jealous of aman who owes his rise to brilliant deeds of courage, or signalability; but it is galling to see these young popinjays thrustforward, simply by family influence."
In passing over the hills the next day, a large party of armed menmade their appearance, suddenly, on a height above; but, seeingthat an attack was likely to meet with a stout resistance, and aslittle booty would be obtainable, they did not interfere withtheir passage. Desmond congratulated himself on having an escort,for it would have gone hard with him, had he been accompanied onlyby Mike.
On the fifth day after leaving Madrid he arrived at Badajos, with thesergeant, the four troopers, and Mike. After some formalities--forthe town, being close to the frontier, was liable at any moment to besuddenly attacked--Desmond was conducted to the governor, a pompousSpanish officer.
"Are you yourself Major Kennedy?" he asked, looking with somesurprise at his young visitor.
"My name is Kennedy, sir, and I have the honour of being major,and to serve on the staff of his grace, the Duke of Orleans. I amthe bearer of a letter to you from His Majesty, King Philip."
The Spaniard took the letter and read it, and Desmond could see,by the expression of his countenance, that he was by no meanspleased.
"I do not understand," he said coldly, "why an officer should havebeen specially despatched to obtain information which I havealready duly furnished."
"I understood from the Duke of Orleans, sir, that as news has beenreceived that the enemy's plans were to cross the frontier nearthis town, it became a matter of special importance to see that itwas sufficiently supplied with provisions, and munitions of war tostand a siege. It has been found more than once that, owing to theculpable neglect of subordinates, fortresses when besieged were byno means so well supplied with provisions, powder and shot, as hadbeen supposed. Naturally, the governor of a fortress like this,with a considerable garrison, is too much occupied to personallysuperintend all these matters, and must leave them in the hands ofhis subordinates, who on their part commit them to those ofsergeants and storekeepers; so that, while everything is reportedto be ready, there are really deficiencies. A waste often takesplace in the distribution of stores, and the matter was soimportant that the king requested the duke to send one of hisstaff to give you every assistance, and to receive yoursuggestions, which will be complied with to their full extent. Asyour last report was sent in some three months back, necessarilyconsiderable changes have taken place, in that time."
"Well, sir, I will obey His Majesty's orders, and give you everyfacility. My officers shall be instructed to open such magazinesas you may select, and you will be then able personally to judgeas to the quantity and condition of the stores. It will, ofcourse, be impossible, unless with an immense expenditure oflabour, to go through the whole of the magazines and to reckon uptheir contents; but as many as you wish shall be opened, and aparty of soldiers told off to count the bales and cases."
"A very few will suffice, sir. Of course, in the event of a battlebeing fought and a reverse occurring, the enemy might sit downbefore your town. You would be exposed to a long siege, for itmight be some time before the army was again in a position toadvance and fight another battle, or raise the siege. I havelittle doubt that everything will be found in excellent order, butshould there be any deficiencies, the duke assured me that theywould be at once made good."
"If you will call tomorrow morning, sir," the governor said, "Iwill have some of the officials, in whose charge these mattersare, placed at your disposal; but I am convinced that you willfind that my reports on the stores and ammunition in hand arefully borne out."
"The governor is, as I expected, a good deal put out, Mike,"Desmond said as he rejoined his follower, who was waiting outsidewith the horses. "Now, let us find out the best hotel."
"Didn't he ask you to stay with him, your honour?" Mike asked insurprise.
"No. He is much too grand a man for that, and besides, he may havehis wife and children with him; and however much a Spaniard mayplace his house and all within it at your service, it is veryseldom that he invites a stranger to enter it. Moreover, glad asthey may be to have French help in fighting their battles, theylook with suspicion and dislike upon an individual Frenchman.
"Besides, I fancy I shall find that these stores and magazines byno means tally with the report sent in by the governor. I heardthe Duke of Berwick one day speaking about it, and he said therewas corruption and dishonesty among their officials, from thehighest to the lowest. It is probable that both the king and theDuke of Orleans have the same opinion, and that it was for thisreason that they sent me here, in order to assure them that thefortress is as well supplied as has been stated. With the otherpapers, I have received a copy of the governor's report, althoughI did not think it necessary to tell him so."
The next morning, on going to the governor's, Desmond found anumber of officials assembled there.
"These are the officers in charge of the stores and magazines,"the governor said. "Colonel Mendez will accompany you, and willsee that everything is done to facilitate your examination."
The governor bowed formally. Desmond returned his salute, and thenwent down with the Spanish colonel, the other officials following.He saw that there was an expression of malicious pleasure in thecolonel's face, and guessed that he was, by no means, sorry at theinvestigation that was to take place.
"I think, sir," Desmond said, "that it will not be necessary forus to have all these officials going round with us. It will beimpossible, in one day, to do more than examine one department. Asammunition is the most important of all stores, I would suggestthat we take only those in charge of the war material."
"Very good;" and, turning to those behind, he said: "For today,all those save the officers in charge of the magazines can berelieved from this duty.
Their turn will come tomorrow, or nextday."
With the exception of five or six, all moved away.
"We have three magazines in the town," the colonel went on, "so asto lessen the chance of our resources being destroyed by a singleblow. There is the Central magazine, another that is known as theSan Juan magazine, and the Western magazine."
"We may as well visit the Central one first, as, no doubt, that isthe most important one."
As they went on, a party of twenty soldiers, who had been drawn upthere, fell in behind, while Mike and two troopers of his escortalso, at his orders, accompanied them. The magazine was formed inwhat had formerly been an old castle, but which was now used foranother purpose, that of a store, its thick walls affordingprotection against any but very heavy missiles. On entering whathad been the courtyard, Desmond saw that the greater portion of itwas occupied by storehouses, massively built, and covered by somefive or six feet of earth.
"The first of these on the right contains musketry ammunition,"Colonel Mendez said, "the next two contain cannonballs; powder isstored in the three houses at the farther end, and the three onthe left side contain hand grenades, fuses for mines, signalrockets, and other miscellanies, such as brimstone."
"We will examine number one first," Desmond said. "Which is theofficer in charge?"
One of the officials stepped forward, with a key. Desmond saw thathis face was pale, and that he had a sullen look.
"I will ask you, before we enter," he said, "how often do you takestock of your stores? I suppose when the governor sends in hishalf-yearly report?"
"We do not do it that way at all," the man said. "I have a book.It was given to me by the officer I succeeded. Here it is. Youwill see that he handed over so many barrels of cartridges. On oneside of the page I put down the number of barrels issued, and onthe other the number I receive, and thus, at any time, withoutdisturbing the contents of the store, I can state the number ofbarrels it contains."
"Then how long have you held this position, sir?"
"I have been in charge of this store, and of those used for powderin the cellars underneath the castle, for ten years."
"The man whom you succeeded--how long had he been here?"
"I believe he had been here for twenty years, or more."
"And his system of keeping account was the same as yours?"
"Precisely. He handed his books to me, and I have kept mine in thesame way."
"Then it is a fact, if I understand you rightly, that there hasbeen no taking of stock for the past thirty years?"
"It was not necessary," the officer said, in a surly tone. "Therecan be no mistake possible, considering the way in which we madeour entries."
They now entered the store. It was some sixty feet long and fortyfeet wide, with pillars of masonry along the centre to support theweight of the roof. It was lighted only by small loopholes in thethick walls. Four of the soldiers carried lanterns, and they wereabout to enter, when Desmond said:
"There is no loose powder lying about, I suppose?"
"None," the officer replied. "The barrels were all carefullyexamined before being taken into the store. They are, as you cansee, strongly made. A leakage is out of the question, unless byany accident one should fall off the pile and burst; but such athing has never happened, as far as I know."
"I see, by your book, that there should be three thousand fourhundred and eighty-two barrels, each containing five hundredcartridges. Certainly an ample supply, even for a prolongedsiege."
The barrels were piled in four tiers, one above another, forming awall on each side of a central path, seven feet wide.
"Give me your hand, Mike," Desmond said to his follower, and,standing upon it, he was able to scramble on to the top.
"Twelve barrels deep," he said, as he descended. "Now, let uscount the number in each line."
The wall of barrels extended only some two-thirds of the length ofthe stores, and there were thirty barrels in each line. He made arapid calculation.
"That is three thousand two hundred, but I see that, in addition,there is a small pile on each side, beyond the others, which wouldabout make up the correct total. Your record is strictlyaccurate."
The official took up the lantern, as if the matter was nowfinished, but Desmond said:
"No, sir. I have but begun; and my instructions were to see howmuch musket ammunition there was here, at present. I only know howmany barrels there are.
"And now, Colonel, I will ask you to call your men in, and setthem to work. I wish two passages made through each of these pilesof barrels. Three feet wide will be sufficient."
"It would be very dangerous to move them," the official saidhastily.
"Not if it is carefully done. You tell me the barrels are strong,and that there is no leakage. Even if this should not be the case,there is little fear of the powder coming in contact with thecandles in these lanterns; and besides, as the powder is incartridges, it would not leak out even if one of the barrels wereto burst."
The soldiers had set to work at four points, chosen at hazard byDesmond. The barrels, as they were taken down, were ranged alongon each side of the central path. When three lines had beencleared out, one of the soldiers gave an exclamation.
"This is lighter than the one I carried out last!" he said.
"Carry it out into the courtyard," Desmond said. "I should like tolook at the contents."
It was taken out to the courtyard, and one end carefully takenout.
"You see, Colonel," Desmond said, as he looked at its contents,"you would have been reduced to great straits, long before youexpected it."
The colonel, who belonged to the artillery, looked into thebarrel, which was full of earth.
"Empty it out!" Desmond ordered.
They did so. There was not a single cartridge in it.
"This is scandalous!" the colonel exclaimed. "I did not expectthat everything would be found right, but I had no idea of suchvillainy as this!"
He turned to the men.
"Arrest the commissary, at once," he said.
But that official was nowhere to be found. He had slipped away, assoon as the men began to take down the barrels. Some soldiers wereat once sent off in search of him.
"We will continue the work," Desmond said, "and see howextensively this fraud has been carried on."
The same result was met with in each of the openings. The firstthree lines consisted of barrels filled with cartridges; the sevenlines behind contained nothing but earth.
"You see, Colonel, instead of having over three thousand twohundred barrels of cartridges, you have less than a thousand. Itis almost beyond belief! It is clear that this fellow, andprobably the man who was in charge before him, have been incollusion with the contractors for these cartridges, and allowedthem to send in seven barrels of earth for every three ofcartridges. No doubt, they calculated that there was little chanceof the fraud being detected--never, indeed, until there was aprolonged siege--for they would naturally serve out the barrelsfrom the front row, as they were required, filling their placeswith fresh ones as supplies came in."
The other storehouses were now examined. The number of cannonballalone tallied with the account. There were large deficiencies inthe store of powder, and, indeed, among almost all the othermunitions.
"It is infinitely worse than I thought," the colonel said, "and Ifear that the storekeepers are not the only people concerned inthese frauds."
"Now, Colonel, if you do not mind, I should like to go to one ofthe provision stores at once. Possibly, after what we havediscovered, some pretext to stop further examination may beinvented, if we wait till tomorrow."
Great as had been the fraud in the magazines, that in the suppliesof provisions was even greater. There was a deficiency of manyhundreds of sacks of flour and beans. The meat stores wereentirely empty, although they should have contained a large numberof tierces of salted beef. This was a matter of minor importance,for in case of the approach of an enemy, the people of the countryround wou
ld drive their cattle into the town, and, indeed, theallowance of meat to a Spanish soldier was so small that he coulddo well without it, existing entirely upon bread and fried beans.Of wine there was scarce half the amount indicated. A great numberof the barrels had been filled only with water.
It was late in the afternoon when the work ceased.
"I should require a fortnight," Desmond said, "to get accuratefigures. This, however, is comparatively unimportant. It is quitesufficient to know that in no case is there half the amount,either of ammunition or of provisions, given in the governor'slast report, and that fraud on a large scale has been carried on;and I cannot but think that some men, at least, of higher rankthan these storekeepers must have been privy to the affair."
"There has certainly been something wrong in the supply ofclothes, Major Kennedy. My men have had no new ones served out tothem for the past year and a half, although I have made repeatedapplications during the past two months."
"Yes; I noticed when I walked about in the town, yesterday, thatmany of the troops were almost in rags, and I have no doubt therehas been fraud in the clothing department, as well as in all theothers."
"Well, sir, as a Spaniard I lament this terrible exposure. Blame,however, must not be laid entirely upon the military. The supplyof provisions of all kinds, of cloth for clothing, and, indeed, ofeverything but guns and ammunition, is in the hands of the juntaof the province, and of the civil authority here. Many of themembers must be concerned in the matter, and I have no doubt thatthe officials here are heavily bribed to shut their eyes, and toarrange matters so that the frauds may escape attention.
"I know that once, when I proposed to the governor to examine someof the barrels of cartridges as they came in, he answered me verysharply, and told me that my business was to work the guns, andnot to meddle with the duties of the storekeeper."
"Then do you think, Colonel?--"
"I think nothing," the officer replied. "The governor is thegovernor, and it is not for me to discuss his conduct in any way,nor even to admit the possibility of his knowing of this affair."
Only two or three of the storekeepers had been arrested. The resthad slunk away, as soon as they saw how matters were going.