CHAPTER XII
Guarding the By-ways
Grouped together in three separate squares, Tom's Spanish commandawaited the onset of the French horse, each man gripping the musketsupplied to him by his British allies, and, in the case of thosein our hero's own particular square, awaiting his orders beforedischarging the weapon. Nor had the lesson of the shooting of the manwho had fled from the ranks been lost on his comrades. There may havebeen others inclined to show cowardice; but such a salutary examplechecked them.
"Kneeling rank make ready!" shouted Tom, when the eyes of theoncoming troopers were visible. "Fire!"
A storm of bullets sped from the square, while the company nearestopened on the enemy at the same moment.
"Reload!" bellowed Tom, peering through the smoke. "Now those who arestanding take aim. Fire!"
The volleys rang out in rather quick succession, and were followed atonce by the ring of ramrods. And all the while there came to the earthe thunder of horses' hoofs and the shouts of excited men. Tom sawthrough the billowing smoke a number of dark figures which flashedpast the square as if borne on a gale. A few of these same figuresseemed to struggle against the current that bore them, and then, asthe smoke blew aside, and one could see better, they appeared asindividual troopers or officers who had reined back their horses.Then with loud and angry shouts they dug spurs deep into the flanksof the gallant beasts they rode, and, swinging their sabres, dashedmadly at the nearest face of the square.
"Ready!" shouted Tom. "Fire individually. Keep them at a distance."
Once more there was a sharp fusillade; while, to the consternationof more than one of the men, bullets from the adjacent square, aimedno doubt at the enemy, swept overhead, narrowly missing friends. Asfor the French, foiled in this their first attempt, they drew off andre-formed at a distance. Tom at once climbed into his saddle and rodeout to Alfonso's square.
"Bravely done, men!" he called out, reining in close at hand. "I seeyou did some execution; but you must be careful next time with yourbullets. You sent a number just over our heads. Now, Alfonso, drawoff your men by squares till we reach that broken ground. If we marchas we are you will lead the way; Jack will come next, and my littlelot will act as rearguard."
He rode across to Jack's company and congratulated them also. Then herejoined his own men, while Alfonso set the whole command in motion.Taking care to keep the distances between the companies, the wholeforce marched away from the French, till a shout and a shrill whistlefrom the young Spaniard commanding the force caused all to halt.Looking over his shoulder, Tom saw that the Frenchmen were advancingagain, and at once drew his own men compactly together.
"Remember that you are acting as the rearguard, and bear yourselvesaccordingly. Obey my orders and you will come out of the conflictvictoriously. Let each man wait till he gets the word to fire."
It was as well, perhaps, that the men had had some previousexperience of fighting; and though this was actually the first dayon which they had come in conflict with the enemy, the recent chargeof the French, and the manner in which they had been driven away,had heartened them wonderfully. Even so, this second occasion proveda greater ordeal for Tom's own particular company; for the Frenchseemed to have decided to hurl all their weight on one square, withthe object of defeating the three companies in detail. Drawing intheir ranks now, they set their horses at Tom's square with animpetuous dash that elsewhere had sent Spaniards fleeing. Oncemore Tom saw the commander stand in his stirrups, fling his sabreoverhead, and yell the command to charge. Then the mass came forwardat speed, looking as if they would ride over the square and stampevery living man there out of existence. Crisp and cool came Tom'sorders.
"Kneelers, fire!" he bellowed. "Now, those standing--reload!"
Very rapidly he had altered to a slight degree the formation of thesquare, throwing the corner at which the French attack was aimedfarther outward, making the angle, in fact, much sharper, and soenabling more men on either face to take effective aim. The flashof the muskets was answered at once by shrieks and shouts, and bythe neighing of horses. Men fell from their saddles, maddened beastscrashed to the ground, rolled over, and lay frantically plunging.Then the bulk of the enemy, hit hard by the second volley, swept pastthe square like a torrent, and galloped away to a distance. Tom atonce stepped outside the square, and, with the help of a couple ofthe men, liberated a trooper who was pinned beneath his horse.
"There, _mon brave_," he said, with a smile, "go to your commanderand tell him not to make the attempt again; these Spaniards are wellable to look after themselves."
To his amazement the man clutched him by the hand and then grinnedwidely. Looking closely into his face, beneath its thatch of ruffledhair, Tom recognized one of the troopers who had helped to defend thechurch, and promptly shook his hand eagerly.
"TO HIS AMAZEMENT THE MAN CLUTCHED HIM BY THE HAND"]
"_Ma foi!_ and so soon," gasped the fellow. "See, monsieur, a littlewhile ago, two months perhaps, you and I and the others do our bestto cut the throats of a common enemy. Now we would cut one another's.Truly war is a farce, and here am I your prisoner, whereas you weremine but a while ago."
The absurdity of the change tickled the man, and, though shaken byhis fall, he laughed uproariously. Then, aided by Tom again, heclambered into the saddle borne by another horse resting beside itsslain master, and rode away, thanking Tom profusely. Nor was thatthe last seen of him, for almost before Alfonso had put the threecompanies in motion again half a dozen Frenchmen were seen to bespurring towards them. One detached himself then from the number, andpresently was seen to be the officer. Fearless, as were these Frenchcavalrymen, he rode right up to the squares, lifting his hat as hecame.
"Monsieur," he began, addressing Alfonso, while the Spaniards in theranks gazed at him open-mouthed, "have I the honour of addressingMonsieur Tom Clifford?"
Alfonso at once pointed to our hero, for he understood the language.Then once more, when the officer had arrived at the last of thesquares, he repeated his question.
"At your service, Capitaine," replied Tom.
"The Monsieur Tom Clifford who defended the church against those_canaille_ of Portuguese, and commanded French troopers?"
Tom bowed. "The same," he said. "Glad if I was of service."
"Then permit me to apologize for this attack," came the answer, whilethe French officer swept his hat from his head again and bent overthe pommel of his saddle. "The tale of that fighting of monsieur,and of the command he took, has gone through the French army.Napoleon himself, the Emperor, has heard and commended. Monsieur,we fight with the British, and with these _canaille_ of Portugueseand Spanish; but we do not fight with monsieur. I have the honour toobserve that, though I have strong reinforcements at hand, I shallretire, trusting that you will do so also. To fight with such afriend is not _comme il faut_."
Off went the hat again. The officer saluted, while Tom returned thecompliment. And then the officer was gone. They watched him ride awaywith his command, and saw some five hundred other troopers join him.They never renewed the attack, but, clapping spurs to their horses,rode away out of sight, magnanimously declining to fight against ourhero.
"And a jolly lucky thing for all of us!" declared Jack, when the menwere back in their bivouacs, and had broken their ranks. "Our fellowsdid grandly, and are wonderfully heartened at their success; but theyrealize, just as we realize, that an attack by the whole force ofcavalry would have overwhelmed us. Wonder how our Portuguese fellowswould have behaved under similar circumstances. Wish we had had themhere and put them to the test."
But Jack need have had no fears that the command generally wouldnot soon be engaged, for that very evening brought a galloper infrom headquarters. Tom tore open the official envelope, and read thecontents with gusto.
"To Lieutenant T. Clifford," it went. "You will report at once atheadquarters, and will take steps to concentrate your command on thefrontier. This message is urgent."
"Then off we go!" Tom cried eagerly
. "Alfonso, you will march yourmen to the frontier to-night, and will bivouac wherever suitable.March at dawn again, till you have covered some thirty miles in all,then halt and wait for our signals. Jack and I will be off at once."
That was the best of youth and energy. It carried the two youngfellows away at once, with Andrews in attendance. Nor did they halttill darkness compelled them to do so. Rapping at the door of anisolated farm, they were welcomed at once, leaving after a refreshingsleep at the first streak of dawn. The following evening found themat headquarters, where Tom at once reported himself.
"Ah, you have come quickly!" was his greeting from the chief ofstaff. "Now, Mr. Clifford, I will see if his lordship can receiveyou."
In the course of a few moments our hero found himself once more inthe presence of the great general, who greeted him with a smile.
"Been defending any more churches, or commanding other Frenchmen?" heasked, with a quizzing smile that became downright laughter when hesaw how Tom was blushing. "Now, confess."
Tom had already reported the raising of the Spanish force, and lamelyadmitted that they had been engaged with the enemy. "We beat them offtwice, sir," he said. "Then they received reinforcements, and matterswould have been ugly."
"Ah, would have been!" smiled the general. "How did they clear up,then? You had an agreement with the enemy?"
"I met a friend," admitted our hero, with rising colour; "one ofthe troopers who helped to defend the church. Then the officer cameforward and told us to move off, and declined to fight further."
"And a gallant fellow he was, too!" laughed Wellington. "However, youcannot always hope for such fortune, though I congratulate you onthe behaviour of your Spaniards. How I wish all would act likewise,instead of being for the most part wholly unreliable! But now for amission--it means danger."
Tom drew himself up and saluted. "Quite so, sir," he said cheerfully.
"It is a species of forlorn hope; discovery means death."
"What are the orders, sir?" asked Tom respectfully, never flinching.
"And success means much to me. I want reliable information as to thedefences of Ciudad Rodrigo. I rely absolutely on the discretion ofthe officer I employ, for my intention of attacking that place mustnever be guessed at. I want that information, and I want to learn howit is that certain of our secrets have reached the enemy. There, Mr.Clifford; I give no orders; volunteers alone undertake the forlornhope."
"Then I volunteer now, sir," exclaimed Tom promptly. "Am I to makewhat use I like of my men?"
"You are to dispose them so as to prevent anyone entering or leavingCiudad Rodrigo without observation," came the sharp answer. "Goodevening, Mr. Clifford!"
Our hero saluted with precision, turned about with the smartness thatbecame a soldier, and hurried away.
"Well?" asked Jack, all eagerness.
"Let the men make ready for an early start. Draw rations andammunition for a couple of weeks; I'll be back in an hour."
Tom swung himself into his saddle and rode away to the outskirts ofthe cantonments; for the troops were now in winter quarters, andalready the weather had been severe.
"Now, how's it to be done?" he asked himself. "I've to get intoCiudad Rodrigo, which I know swarms with French soldiers, and I am tointercept messages that appear to be going to the enemy. How's itall to be done?"
Walking his horse well away from the vicinity of the troops, hethought the matter out, and returned to his own command just asdarkness was falling.
"Let the men eat," he said abruptly. "We will march when darknesshas fallen, and so attract no attention. There may be people aboutwatching our troops."
It was two hours later when the men fell in at Jack's whistle. Theymarched from the cantonments in absolute silence, each man bearingrations and ammunition on his shoulders, while still more was carriedin a couple of carts. Taking a track that led to the mountains, andbeing guided by one of the men who knew the ground intimately, thelittle force marched steadily forward and upward till they were wellwithin a deep fold of the ground that entirely hid them from theirlate comrades. Not that there was much chance of their being seen,for it was now very dark. But their signals might have attractedattention, and, if news were being taken to the enemy, Tom was wiseenough to know that those who sent it must be somewhere in thevicinity of our camps.
"We'll take every precaution to bamboozle 'em," he told Jack, withwhom he had discussed matters. "They're hardly likely to notice ourabsence from the camp; for 4000 Portuguese irregulars were encampedbeside us, and drew rations with us. Then, if they haven't seen usmove off, and don't see our signals, we shall be in a position tolay a snare to catch any who may be making for Ciudad Rodrigo. Nowfor a couple of fires."
Two flares were lighted almost at once, and, having been allowed toblaze for a few minutes, were stamped out again. Almost immediatelyan answering fire was seen right away above them. An hour or morelater Alfonso put in an appearance with his command.
"We'll march directly up the valley, the Portuguese going first,"said Tom. "Then we'll camp for the night. To-morrow we can introducethe men and make our plans for the future."
"What's the work?" asked Jack, whose interest and curiosity werekeen. "Special orders?"
"Yes, there's news getting into Ciudad Rodrigo."
"Ah! Not surprised. We've heaps of loafers always round our camps,and a sly fellow might easily pick up information and take it to theenemy. You'll hunt round Ciudad Rodrigo, I suppose?"
"No," declared Tom abruptly. "I shall watch the outskirts of ourcamps. If a man leaves, he will be followed. If he comes in thedirection of Ciudad Rodrigo, the information will be signalled toyou. You will arrest and search him."
"I? You mean that you will," exclaimed Jack, for he was ever ready toconcede the post of leader to his chum.
"No; you."
"But," began Jack, "why not you?"
"Because I shall be in Ciudad Rodrigo."
"In the town, behind the defences! That's risky, ain't it?" asked hisfriend.
"Orders," declared Tom light-heartedly. "I'm telling them to youin confidence. See here, Jack. Wellington has given us a nicelittle job, and we've to pull ourselves together and carry it out;information of our troops' movements is leaking out, and Wellingtonwishes to keep them very secret; for he intends to take CiudadRodrigo by assault. We've to cloak his movements by capturing alltalebearers, and we've to get inside knowledge of the defences ofCiudad. Got it?"
Jack had. He pondered for a little while, and then approached thesubject again. "How'll you fix the men?" he asked. "It's cold;there's been snow already."
"Then we must find quarters for all. I shall divide the force up,putting a hundred Portuguese in this neighbourhood, a hundred fartheron, and the remainder spread away on the mountains, so that everypass is under observation. It will take a few days to fix matters,and then we shall really begin our work."
They lay down in their blankets that night, the two halves of theforce, Portuguese and Spanish, being divided. Early on the followingmorning, when a meal had been cooked and eaten, the men were formedup, the two separate bands facing one another. Tom harangued them,telling the Portuguese how the Spanish half had conducted itselfunder the fire of the enemy, and how they had resisted an attackby cavalry. To the Spaniards he spoke of the hardihood of thePortuguese, and their courage, though he omitted to mention thecircumstances of the attack they had made on the church. Then hespoke of their mutual interests, and having called upon all to dotheir best, he dismissed the men for half an hour.
"Let them get together and compare notes," he said.
"It will make fast friends of them," agreed Alfonso. "You mustremember that my men live right on the frontier, and yours also,so that they all speak a patois which is understood by the peoplein these parts. Let them talk. The fact that they have a Britishstaff officer in command, with another to help him, and two Britishriflemen, will help not a little."
When the force moved off again there was no doubt that the men hadf
raternized wonderfully. To look at them there was very littledifference in their appearance. All were well-built, hardy fellows,with fresh complexions, showing that they were accustomed to anopen-air life. Short for the most part, they displayed wonderfulactivity, and were evidently at home in the mountains. It was threehours later when Tom halted the force, and let the men fall out toeat and rest.
"Here's where we place the first lot of our outposts," he told Jack,pointing to some cottages lying under the brow of a rise. "Those aredeserted, and will shelter our men well. Andrews will stay withthem; for he has learned a little of the language. We will givethem a share of the rations, and then push on. I have already givenAndrews his orders. He is to post his men, half at a time, on everyheight commanding the roads from our camps, is to capture all whocome this way, and, if a number are seen, is to signal by lighting afire."
"And what happens when he's captured a man?" asked Jack.
"He sends him along to us."
"But you said 'you' a little while ago," Jack reminded him, with agrin.
"Us at first, you afterwards," said Tom ambiguously. "I dare say thatpuzzles you; wait till we catch a fellow and you'll see."
Three days later saw the whole of the force disposed, and when Tomand his two lieutenants reviewed the posts, they could not help butagree that they controlled all the roads communicating with CiudadRodrigo, and likely to be used by anyone leaving Wellington's camp.It was a week later when news reached our hero that a capture hadbeen made. He was then within sight of Ciudad Rodrigo, hidden on aheight from which he could look down at the fortress and town. Somesix hours later Andrews arrived, having left his brother rifleman incharge of the post.
"Well?" asked Tom, as the man drew himself up and saluted.
"Captured a ruffian coming through our way early this morning, sir."
"And searched him?"
"Found these papers on him, sir. He did his best to get away, andwhen he saw we were bound to capture him, tried to destroy thepapers; but our lads were too quick for him."
"Where is he?" asked Tom. "Bring him forward."
A rough, broad-shouldered individual was ushered into his presencebetween an escort of four of the Portuguese, and stood scowling atTom.
"Portuguese?" asked our hero.
"No."
"Then Spanish?"
"No," came again the curt answer.
"Then what?"
"Spanish father, Portuguese mother. By what right do your meninterfere with me?"
Tom ignored the question, and carefully investigated the papersAndrews had placed in his hands. There were a couple of rough maps,showing the British cantonments occupied by Wellington's troops, anda few lines of writing, drafted in a clear, good hand, and telling ofthe suspicion of the writer that Wellington was preparing to attackCiudad Rodrigo.
"You have been then to Ciudad before?" asked Tom severely.
"That's my affair," came the rough answer.
"And you call yourself a patriot? Who were these papers to be takento? There is no address on the envelope."
A smile of triumph, and then a scowl, crossed the ill-favoured faceof the man. It was obvious that he meant to give no information.
"Take him away," commanded Tom. "Mr. Barwood, put the prisoner upagainst that rock, and shoot him five minutes from now. Choose fourof the men to carry out the sentence. There is not one who will notwillingly obey and help to shoot a traitor."
He repeated the words in English to the astonished Jack, and thenturned away abruptly. But a moment later a cry brought him facinground again, to discover the renegade on his knees, begging for hislife.
"I will tell all," he wailed.
"Then speak, and take care that it is the truth, for you will be kepthere for a while, and shot if we have doubts. Now, you have been toCiudad Rodrigo before?"
The man shook his head emphatically.
"For whom were the papers intended?"
"For the general in command. But I was to deliver them to one wholives at a cabaret in the street of St. Angelo, and who would answerto the name of Francisco."
"And then?"
"I was to seek a lodging at the far end of the town, wait for aletter, and then return."
"To whom?" asked Tom curtly, while the men about strained their earsto hear what was passing.
"To my employer, _senor_."
"And he is----?"
"One whom I never met before. He lodges in a house in Oporto, andthere I met him. His name I never heard. He is young and thin anddark. That is all I can tell you."
Tom stood thinking for a while, and then walked to a distance withJack Barwood.
"Well?" he asked. "What would you do?"
"Send along to Oporto," declared his adjutant. "Get hold of thisemployer."
"And what about these papers?" asked Tom.
"I'd dispatch them to headquarters."
"Quite so; and then?"
"Then?" asked Jack, a little troubled. "Then I'd set the watch againand see if I could catch others."
"Good!" agreed Tom. "We'll do all that. Alfonso shall take a party toOporto, carrying this fellow with him, with orders to scare him if heshows signs of lying. You shall send the papers to Wellington, withan explanation I shall write, and then I----"
"Yes?" gasped Jack, conscious that his friend had all the while beenleading up to the declaration of some plan.
"I shall borrow this fellow's clothing. I'll write up a yarn whichwill do just as well as his papers, and then I'll seek out theowner of the cabaret in the street of St. Angelo, the man known asFrancisco, and there discover all that there is to be learned withregard to Ciudad Rodrigo."
It was a daring scheme to attempt; but then Tom had his orders.The following morning, in fact, found him stripped of his handsomestaff uniform, and dressed in the clothes of their captive. He badeadieu to his comrades, went off down the height, and some two hourslater was seen accosting the outposts placed by the French about thefortress. Jack and his friends, watching from above, saw their friendand leader disappear within a wide gateway. Thereafter, though theystrained their eyes, there was not so much as a sign of him. He wasgone altogether, swallowed by the massive defences of Ciudad Rodrigo,cut off from his friends, and surrounded by enemies who, if theydiscovered his disguise, would treat him as a spy and promptly shoothim.