"You see," Leigh said, when the patrol had ridden on, "the real
soldiers do not like the work they are called upon to do, and they
have no belief in the National Guards, or in the new levies. It
will make all the difference, in their own fighting, when they know
that they cannot rely upon some of the troops working with them. I
have no doubt that what they say of the National Guards is true.
They have had to come out because they are summoned, but they can
have no interest in the war against us and, doubtless, many of them
hate the government in Paris just as much as we do, and would give
a great deal to be back again with their homes and families. It is
just as hard for them to be obliged to fight us, as it is for us to
be obliged to fight them."
It was late in the afternoon before Andre and Pierre returned. By
the time they did so, the various cavalry patrols had all gone back
to Thouars. From time to time, boys had come in from the other
roads. One or two patrols, only, had gone out by each of the lanes
on which they were posted. It was evident that the main road was
considered of the most importance, and it was probable that the
greater portion of the enemy's force would move by it.
"Well, what is your news?" Leigh asked, as his two lieutenants came
down from the wood behind. "I hope all has gone well with you."
"Yes, captain," Andre replied; "we have had no difficulty. The
troops in the villages on the other side of the town did not even
glance at us, as we went through; supposing, no doubt, that we
belonged to the place. Thouars was crowded with soldiers, and we
heard that two thousand more are to arrive from Saumur, this
evening. We heard one of the officers say that orders were expected
for a forward movement, tomorrow; and that all the other columns
were to move at the same time, and three of them were to meet at
Chemille."
"That is enough for the present, Andre. You have both done very
well, to pick up so much news as that. We will be off, at once."
Messengers were at once sent off, to order in the other parties
and, as soon as these joined, they returned to the village, where
they passed the night. On arriving there, Leigh wrote a report of
the news that he had gathered; and sent off one of the band, who
had remained all day in the village, to Cathelineau, and the other
to Monsieur d'Elbee at Chollet.
The next day's watch passed like the first. Two or three officers,
however, trotted along the main road with a squadron of cavalry,
and rode to within a few miles of Chemille, and then returned to
Thouars.
The next morning Leigh and his band were out before daybreak and,
making their way to within a short distance of Thouars, heard drums
beating and trumpets sounding. There was no doubt that the force
there was getting into motion. The band at once dispersed, carrying
the news not only to every village along the road, warning the
women and children to take to the woods, and the men to prepare for
the passage of the enemy, but to all the villages within two or
three miles of the road, ordering the church bells to be sounded to
call the peasants to arms; while two lads started to carry the news
to Cathelineau and d'Elbee. When once the bells of the churches
near the road were set ringing, they were speedily echoed by those
of the villages beyond; until the entire district knew that the
enemy were advancing.
On the way from Chemille, Leigh had kept a sharp lookout for points
where an enemy might be checked; and had fixed upon one, about
halfway between the two towns. A stream some four feet in depth
passed under a bridge, where the road dipped into a hollow; beyond
this the ground rose steeply, and was covered with a thick wood, of
very considerable extent. As soon as he reached this point, he set
his band to work to destroy the bridge. As groups of peasants came
flocking along, and saw what was intended, they at once joined in
the work.
As soon at it was done, Leigh led them to the spot where the forest
began, some thirty yards up the hill, and set them to fell trees.
This was work to which all were accustomed and, as many of them
carried axes, the trees nearest to the road were felled to fall
across it; while on each side facing the stream, they were cut so
as to fall down the slope, and so form an abattis.
Before the work was finished, to a distance of two or three hundred
yards on each side of the road, several hundred peasants had come
up. Of these, about a third were armed with muskets. Seeing the
advantage of the position; and that, in case it was forced, the
forest offered them a means of retreat, all prepared for a
desperate resistance. The men with firearms were placed in the
front rank. Those with pitchforks, and other rural weapons, were to
keep at work till the last moment, cutting underwood, and filling
the interstices between the boughs of the fallen trees, so as to
make it extremely difficult to force. They were ordered to
withdraw, when the fight began, to a distance of two or three
hundred yards; and then to lie down, in any inequalities of the
ground, so as to be safe from cannon shot Only when the defenders
of the abattis were forced back, were they to prepare to charge.
A young fellow with a cow horn took his place by Leigh's side. When
he blew his horn, the front rank were to run back, and the reserve
to come forward to meet them; and then they were to rush down again
upon their assailants who had passed the abattis, and to hurl them
into the stream.
The peasants all recognized the advantages of these arrangements.
Those who had come first had found Leigh in command and, by the
readiness with which he was obeyed by his own followers, saw at
once that he was in authority. As others came up, he showed them
Cathelineau's circular. These recognized its order, and informed
the later arrivals that the young officer, who was giving orders,
was specially empowered by Cathelineau to take command; and Leigh
was as promptly obeyed as if he had been their favourite leader,
himself. They saw, too, that he knew exactly what he wanted done,
and gave every order with firmness and decision; and their
confidence in him became profound.
It was three hours after he arrived at the river when a party of
horse came down the opposite slope. Leigh had ordered that not a
shot was to be fired, until he gave the signal. He waited until the
enemy came to the severed bridge, when they halted suddenly; and as
they did so he gave the word and, from the long line of greenery,
fifty muskets flashed out. More than half the troop of horse fell;
and the rest, turning tail, galloped up the hill again, while a
shout of derision rose from the peasants.
[Illustration: A scattered fire broke out from the defenders.]
Half an hour passed, then the head of the column was seen
descending the road. It opened out as it came, forming into a thick
line of skirmishers, some two hundred yards wide. Moving along,
Leigh spread the musketeers to a similar length of front. At first,
the enemy were half hidden by the wood at the other side of the
slope; but as they issued from this, some twenty yards from the
stream, a scattered fire broke out from the defenders.
The Blues replied with a general discharge at their invisible foes,
but these were crouching behind the stumps or trunks of the felled
trees, and the fire was ineffectual. Leigh's own band were lying in
a little hollow, twenty yards behind the abattis; their pistols
would have been useless, until the enemy won their way up to the
trees, and until then they were to remain as a first reserve.
Exposed as they were to the steady fire of the peasants, the
assailants suffered heavily and, at the edge of the stream, paused
irresolutely. It was some fifteen yards wide, but they were
ignorant of the depth, and hesitated to enter it; urged, however,
by the shouts of their officers, who set the example by at once
entering the stream, and by seeing that the water did not rise
above their shoulders, the men followed. But as they gained the
opposite bank, they fell fast. At so short a distance, every shot
of the peasants told; and it was some time before a sufficient
number had crossed to make an assault against the wall of foliage
in their front.
Fresh troops were constantly arriving from behind and, encouraged
by this, they at last rushed forward. As they did so, Leigh called
up his own band; and these, crawling forward through the tangle as
far as they could, opened fire on the enemy, as they strove to push
their way through the obstacle.
For a quarter of an hour the fight went on. Then the assailants,
having with great loss succeeded in passing over or pulling aside
the brushwood, began to pour through. The moment they did so,
Leigh's horn sounded; and at once the defenders rushed up the hill,
pursued by the Blues, with exulting shouts. But few shots were
fired, for the assailants had emptied their muskets before striving
to pass through the obstacle.
Leigh and his men had run but a hundred yards into the wood when
they met the main body of the peasants, rushing down at full speed.
Turning at once, his party joined them, and fell upon the advancing
enemy. Taken wholly by surprise, when they believed that victory
was won, the two or three hundred men who had passed the abattis
were swept before the crowd of peasants like chaff. The latter,
pressing close upon their heels, followed them through the gaps
that had been made.
The panic of the fugitives spread at once to those who had crossed
the river, and were clustered round the openings, jostling in their
eagerness to get through and join, as they believed, in the
slaughter of those who had caused them such heavy loss; and all
fled together. The peasants were at their heels, making deadly use
of their pitchforks, axes, and knives, and drove the survivors
headlong into the river. The horn again sounded and, in accordance
with the strict orders that they had received, they ran back again
to their shelter; a few dropping from the scattered fire that the
troops on the other side of the stream opened against them, as soon
as the fugitives had cleared away from their front.
Scarcely had the peasants gained the shelter when six pieces of
cannon, that had been placed on the opposite slope while the fight
was going on, opened against them.
Leigh at once ordered the main body back to their former position,
scattering his hundred men with guns along the whole line of
abattis, whence they again opened fire on the troops on the
opposite side of the river. These replied with volleys of musketry;
but the defenders, stationed as they were five or six yards apart,
and sheltering behind the trees, suffered but little either from
the artillery or musketry fire; while men dropped fast in the ranks
of the Blues.
The cannon were principally directed against the trees blocking the
road. Gradually these were torn to pieces and, after an hour's
firing, were so far destroyed that a passage through them was
comparatively easy. Then the enemy again began to cross the stream.
As soon as they commenced to do so, Leigh called up the men with
muskets from each flank, and sent word to the main body to descend
the hill again, as the cannonade would cease as soon as the attack
began. Three times the assault was made and repulsed, the peasants
fighting with a fury that the Blues, already disheartened with
their heavy losses, could not withstand. As they fell back for the
third time, Leigh thought that enough had been done, and ordered
the peasants at once to make through the woods, and to proceed
by-lanes and byways to join Cathelineau; who, he doubted not, would
by this time have gathered a considerable force at Chemille.
By the time that the Blues were ready to advance again, this time
in overwhelming force, the peasants were well away. The wounded, as
fast as they fell, had been carried off to distant villages; and
when the enemy advanced they found, to their surprise, that their
foes had disappeared, and that only some thirty dead bodies
remained on the scene of battle.
Their own loss had exceeded three hundred, a large proportion of
whom were regular soldiers; and the National Guards, and the new
levies, were profoundly depressed at the result of the action.
"If," they said to themselves, "what must have been but a
comparatively small number of peasants have caused this loss, what
will it be when we meet Cathelineau's main body?"
There was no thought of pursuit. A regiment was thrown out in
skirmishing order, and advanced through the wood, the rest
following in column along the road. General Berruyer had joined
General Menou the evening before, with the force from Saumur and,
as they moved forward, the two generals rode together.
"This is a much more serious business than I had expected,"
Berruyer said. "I certainly imagined that, with such forces as we
have gathered round La Vendee, the campaign would be little more
than a military promenade. I see, however, that I was entirely
mistaken. These men have, today, shown themselves capable of taking
advantage of the wild character of their country; and as to their
courage, there can be no question, whatever. If this is a fair
sample of the resistance that we have to expect, throughout the
whole country, we shall need at least fifty thousand men to subdue
them."
"Fully that," Menou said, shortly. "There is no doubt that we blame
the National Guards, who were so easily routed by the peasants on
the tenth of March, more severely than they deserve. I rode forward
to encourage the men, at their last attack. I never saw soldiers
fight with such fury as did these peasants. They threw themselves
on the troops like tigers, in many cases wresting their arms from
them and braining them with their own muskets. Even our best
soldiers seemed cowed, by the fierceness with which they were
attacked; and as for the men of the new levies, they were worse
than useless, and their efforts to force their way to the rear
blocked the way of the reinforcements; who were trying, though I
must own not very vigorously, to get to the front.
"The peasants were well led, too, and acting on an excellent plan
of defence. They must have been sheltered altogether from our fire,
for among the dead I did not see one who had been killed by a
cannonball. The country must possess hundreds of points, equally
well adapted for defence; and if these are as well and obstinately
held as this has been, it will take even more than fifty thousand
men to suppress the insurrection."
"The Convention is going to work the wrong way," Berruyer said.
"The commissioners have orders to hang every peasant found in arms,
and every suspect; that is to say, virtually every one in La
Vendee. It would have been infinitely better for them to have
issued a general amnesty; to acknowledge that they themselves have
made a mistake; that the cures of Poitou and Brittany should be
excepted from the general law, and allowed to continue their work
in their respective parishes without interruption; and that for a
year, at least, this part of France should be exempt from
conscription. Why, if this campaign goes on, a far larger force
will be employed here than the number of troops which the district
was called upon to contribute, to say nothing of the enormous
expense and loss of men.
"It is a hideous business altogether, to my mind. I would give all
I possess to be recalled, and sent to fight on the frontier."
Two hours after the fight, Leigh with his band, of whom none had
been killed, although several had received wounds more or less
serious, arrived at Chemille. They had been preceded by many of the
peasants, who had already carried the news of the fight, and that
the column from Thouars had been delayed for three hours, and had
suffered very heavy losses.
"It was all owing, Monsieur Cathelineau," the head of one of the
peasant bands said, "to the officer you sent to command us. He was
splendid. It was to him that everything was due. He was cutting
down the bridge when we came up, and it was by his orders that we
felled the trees, and blocked the road, and made a sort of hedge
that took them so long to get through. We should have been greatly
damaged by the fire of their guns and muskets; but he kept us all
lying down, out of reach, till we were wanted, while the men with
the guns defended the line of fallen trees. When we were wanted, he
called us up by blowing a cow horn, and then we drove the Blues
back into the stream, and returned to our shelter until we were
wanted again.
"We did not lose more than thirty men, altogether; while more than
ten times that number of the Blues have fallen. We thought at first
that you had chosen rather a strange leader for us; but as always
you were right, for if you had been there, yourself, things could
not have gone better."
"But I sent no one as your commander," Cathelineau said in
surprise.
"He had a paper that he read out, saying that he was acting on your
orders. As I cannot read, I cannot say that it was written down as
he read it; but if you did not send him, God must have done so."
"It is strange, Bonchamp," Cathelineau said to that officer, "for I
certainly did not send anyone. I never thought of defending the
passage of that stream. However, whoever it is who has commanded
has done us great service, for that three hours which have been
gained will make all the difference. They cannot arrive, now, until
after dark, and will not attack before morning; and by that time,
our force will have doubled."
"Here comes our officer, monsieur!" the peasant exclaimed; as
Leigh, with his party, came down the street, loudly cheered by the
peasants who had fought under him.
"Why, it is Jean Martin's young brother-in-law!" Monsieur Bonchamp
exclaimed and, raising his voice, he called to Jean, who was
talking to a group of other officers near.
Jean ran up.
"Monsieur Martin, it is your young Englishman who has held Berruyer
in check, for three hours; see how the peasants are cheering him!"
Cathelineau advanced to meet Leigh, who halted his band and saluted
the general. The latter stepped forward, and returned the salute by
lifting his hat.
"Monsieur Stansfield," he said, "I salute you, as the saviour of
our position here. Had Berruyer arrived this afternoon, we must
have retired; for we are not yet in sufficient force to withstand
his attack. Tomorrow we shall, I hope, be strong enough to beat
him. I have been wondering who this officer could be who, with but
three or four hundred men, held the principal force of our foes,
led by their commander-in-chief, in check for three hours; and, as
I hear, killed three hundred of his best troops, with a loss of but
thirty of ours. I ought to have thought of you, when they said that
you read them an order, saying that you were acting in my name."
"It was great presumption on my part, general," Leigh said, "and I
know that I had no right to use it for such a purpose; but I felt
how important it was that you should have time to prepare for
defence, and I thought it my duty, as there was no one else to take
the matter in hand, to do so myself."
"You have done magnificently, sir, and the thanks of all La Vendee
are due to you.
"I see that several of your lads are wounded," for five of them
wore bandages, and a sixth was carried on a rough litter, by four
of his companions. "Lads," he said, "I salute you. You have done
well, indeed, and there is not a boy of your age in La Vendee but
will envy you, when he hears how you, under your brave young
commander, have today played the chief part in checking the advance
of an army of five thousand men. I shall publish an order, today,
saying that my scouts have rendered an inestimable service to their
country."
"Well, Leigh," Jean Martin said, after the little band had fallen
out, and one of the surgeons had taken charge of the wounded, "you
have indeed distinguished yourself. I certainly did not think, when
I persuaded your sister to let you go, that you were going to match
yourself against the French general, and to command a force which
should inflict a heavy check upon him. Cathelineau has asked me to
bring you round to his quarters, presently, so that you can give
him the full details of the affair; saying that a plan that had
succeeded so well might be tried again, with equal effect. I cannot
stay with you now, for I am going, with Bonchamp, to see to the
work of loopholing and fortifying the church."
"I am going to look after my boys, Jean. They have had nothing to
eat this morning, except a mouthful or two of bread each, and they
have been up since two hours before daylight. Do you feel sure that
the Blues will not attack tonight?"
"Yes, I think so. After the lesson you have given Berruyer of the
fighting qualities of the peasants, it is pretty certain that he
will not venture to attack us after a hard day's march, and a fight
that must have sorely discouraged his men."
That evening, news came in from several quarters. Leigonyer had
marched from Vihiers by three roads, directing his course towards
Coron. Two of the columns had been attacked by the peasants and,
being largely composed of new levies, had at once lost heart and
retreated; the central column, in which were the regular troops,
being obliged in consequence also to fall back. Another column had
crossed the Loire and taken Saint Florent, without any very heavy
fighting; and Quetineau had advanced from Bressuire to Aubiers,
without meeting with resistance.
The news was, on the whole, satisfactory. It had been feared that
the force at Vihiers would march north, and join that of Berruyer;
and that they would make a joint attack upon the town. The disaster
that had befallen them rendered this no longer possible. There was
disappointment that Saint Florent had been recaptured, but none
that Quetineau had advanced without opposition to Aubiers; for the
whole of the peasantry from that locality were with Cathelineau.
In point of fact, Berruyer had not ordered the force at Vihiers to
march to join him. On the contrary, he had intended, after
capturing Chemille, which he expected to do without serious
trouble, to march south and effect a junction with Leigonyer at
Coron. He halted four miles from Chemille, harangued the new
levies, reproaching those who had shown cowardice during the day's
fighting, and exhorting them to behave with courage on the
following day. No inconsiderable portion of them belonged to the
force that had marched down from Paris, and these heroes of the
slums, who had been foremost in the massacres in the prisons, and
in their demand for the blood of all hostile to them, behaved
throughout with abject cowardice, whenever they met a foe with arms
in their hands.
After having had an interview with Cathelineau, and relating to him
full particulars of the fight, Leigh, having nothing to do,
strolled about the town. Presently he came upon a group of three or
four peasants, who had been drinking more than was good for them.
One of them, whose bearing and appearance showed that he had served
in the army, was talking noisily to the others.
"You will see that I, Jacques Bruno, artilleryman, will be a great
man yet," he said. "I shall soon be rich. I have had enough poverty
since I left the army, but I shall have plenty of gold yet. You
will see what you will see."
"How can you be rich?" one of the others said, with an air of
drunken wisdom. "You are lazy, Jacques Bruno. We all know you. You
are too fond of the wine cup It is seldom that you do a day's
work."
"Never mind how I shall get rich. I tell you that it will be so,
and the word of Jacques Bruno is not to be doubted;" and he turned
away, saying, "I shall go for a few hours' sleep, now, to be in
readiness for tomorrow."
"Who is that man?" Leigh asked sharply, going up to the others.
The scarf that he wore showed him to be an officer, and the
peasants removed their hats.
"It is Jacques Bruno, monsieur. He is in charge of our guns. He is
an old artilleryman. Cathelineau has appointed him to the post, as
it needs an artilleryman to load and point the guns."
Leigh moved away. This fellow was half drunk, but not too drunk to
know what he was saying. What did he mean by declaring that he
would soon be rich? The peasants had said that he was lazy, and
fond of the wine cup He could hardly be likely to acquire wealth by
honest labour.
Perhaps he might be intending an act of treachery. Putting aside
other considerations, he, as an old soldier, would scarcely care to
mow down his former comrades, and his sympathies must be rather
with the army than with the peasants. He had no personal interest
in this revolt against conscription, nor was it likely that the
cause of the cures concerned him greatly. He might, however,
meditate some act of treachery, by which he would benefit his
former comrades and gain a rich reward.
At any rate, it would be worth while watching. He returned to the
room where his band were quartered.
"Andre," he said, "I want you and two others to keep watch with me
until midnight, then Pierre and two of his party will relieve you.
At that hour you will send one of your party, to guide Pierre to
the place where I shall be. You will bring your pistols and knives
with you, and if I come down and tell you to move forward, you will
do so as noiselessly as possible."
"Shall we come at once, captain?" Andre asked.
"No, you had better lie down, with the two who are to come with
you, and sleep till nine o'clock. I will come at that hour. We will
say one o'clock instead of twelve for the watch to be changed; that
will make a more even division for the night."
Going out again, Leigh inquired where the cannon had been placed.
They were on an eminence outside the town, and commanded the road
by which Berruyer's column would advance. Strolling up there, he
saw Bruno lying asleep between two of the guns, of which there were
five.
"It seems all right," he said to himself, "and as he cannot walk
off with them, I don't see what his plan can be--that is, if he has
a plan. However, there is no harm in keeping watch. The guns are
against the skyline and, lying down fifty yards away, we shall be
able to see if he does anything with them. Of course he might spike
them, but I don't suppose that he would risk that, for the spikes
might be noticed the first thing in the morning. I don't think that
it would do for him to try that. It seemed a stupid thing even to
doubt him but, half drunk as he was, he certainly was in earnest in
what he said, and does believe that he is going to be a rich man;
and I don't see how that can possibly come about, except by some
act of treachery. At any rate, we will keep an eye upon the fellow
tonight, and if we are not posted in any particular spot tomorrow,
I will be up here with my band when the firing begins, and keep my
eye on him."
He spent three or four hours with Jean Martin, and then went back
to his quarters. Andre and two of the lads were in readiness. They
moved out quietly, for the street was thick with sleeping peasants.
There were no sentries to be seen.
"If the enemy did but know," he muttered to himself, "they might
take the place without firing a shot."
Presently, however, he came upon an officer.
"Where are you going?" he asked sharply.
"I am Leigh Stansfield, and am going, with three of my party, to
keep watch near the guns."
"That is good," the officer said. "I am on duty here, and Jean
Martin has just ridden out. He is going a couple of miles along the
road, and will give the alarm if he hears any movement of the
enemy. When he gets within half a mile he is to fire off his
pistols, and I shall have time to get the men up, long before their
infantry can arrive. We have tried, in vain, to get some of the
peasants to do outpost duty. They all say that they will be ready
to fight, when the enemy comes; but they want a good sleep first,
and even Cathelineau could not move them. It is heartbreaking to
have to do with such men."
"I do not think that it is laziness. It is that they have a fixed
objection to doing what they consider any kind of soldier work.
Their idea of war is to wait till the enemy comes, and then to make
a rush upon them; and when they have done that, they think their
duty is ended. Some day, when the Blues have a sharp commander, and
have gained a little discipline, we shall suffer some terrible
disaster from the obstinacy of the peasantry."
With a word of adieu Leigh turned off the road, and made his way
halfway up the eminence. Here the guns could be plainly made out.
Leaving Andre and his two followers, he went quietly up the slope,
to assure himself that the artilleryman was still there. Had he
missed him, he was determined to go at once to Cathelineau, and
state his suspicions, and his belief that Bruno had gone off to
inform Berruyer that, if he advanced, he would find the place
wholly unguarded, and would have it at his mercy. He found,
however, that the artilleryman was still asleep, and returned to
Andre.
"Now," he said, "there is no occasion for us all to watch. I, with
one of the others, will keep a lookout for the next two hours and,
at the end of that time, will rouse you and the others."
Leigh's watch had passed off quietly. There was no movement among
the guns and, from the position in which Bruno was lying, his
figure would have been seen at once, had he risen to his feet.
"If the man up there stands up, you are to awaken me at once,
Andre," he said.
Overcome by the excitement and the heat of the day, Leigh dropped
off to sleep almost immediately. An hour later, he was roused by
being shaken by Andre.
"The man has got up, sir."
The artilleryman, after stretching himself two or three times, took
up something from the ground beside him, and then went some
distance down the side of the hill, but still in sight of the
watchers.
"He has got something on his shoulder, sir. I think it is a shovel,
and he has either a cloak or a sack on his arm."
"He is evidently up to something," Leigh replied, "but what it can
be, I cannot imagine."
Presently the man stopped, and began to work.
"He is digging," Andre said, in surprise.
"It looks like it certainly, but what he can be digging for I have
no idea."
Presently the man was seen to raise a heavy weight on to his
shoulders.
"It was a sack he had with him," Andre said, "and he has filled it
with earth and stones."
Leigh did not reply. The mystery seemed to thicken, and he was
unable to form any supposition, whatever, that would account for
the man's proceedings. The latter carried his burden up to the
cannon, then he laid it down, and took up some long tool and thrust
it into the mouth of one of the cannon.
A light suddenly burst upon Leigh.
"The scoundrel is going to draw the charges," he said, "and fill up
the cannon with the earth that he has brought up."
Andre would have leapt to his feet, as he uttered an exclamation of
rage.
"Keep quiet!" Leigh said, authoritatively. "We have no evidence
against him, yet. We must watch him a bit longer, before we
interrupt him."
After two or three movements, the man was seen to draw something
from the gun. This he laid on the ground, and then inserted the
tool again.
"That is the powder," Leigh whispered, as something else was
withdrawn from the gun; "there, you see, he is taking handfuls of
earth from the sack, and shoving it into the mouth."
This was continued for some time, and then a rammer was inserted,
and pushed home several times. Then he moved to the next cannon.
"Now follow very quietly, Andre. Busy as he is, we may get quite
close up to him, before he notices us. Mind, you are not to use
your knife. We can master him easily enough, and must then take him
down to Cathelineau, for his fate to be decided on."
[Illustration: Leigh gave the word and, leaping up, they threw
themselves on the traitor.]
Noiselessly they crept up the hill. When within five or six paces
of the gun at which Bruno was at work, Leigh gave the word and,
leaping up, they threw themselves on the traitor; who was taken so
completely by surprise that they were able to throw him, at once,
to the ground. Snatching up a rope that had been used for drawing
the guns, Leigh bound his arms securely to his side; and then,
putting a pistol to his head, ordered him to rise to his feet.
"Shoot me, if you like,"' the man growled. "I will not move."
"I will not shoot you," Leigh replied. "You must be tried and
condemned.
"Now, Andre, we must carry him."
The four boys had no difficulty in carrying the man down. As they
passed the officer on sentry, he said:
"Whom have you there, Monsieur Stansfield?"
"It is Bruno, the artilleryman. We have caught him drawing the
charges from the guns, and filling them with earth. We must take
him to the general."
"The villain!" the officer exclaimed. "Who would have thought of a
Vendean turning traitor?"
Cathelineau was still up, talking with some of his officers as to
the preparations for the battle. There was no sentry at his door.
Leigh entered and, tapping at the door of the room in which he saw
a light, went in. Cathelineau looked up in surprise, as the door
opened.
"I thought you were asleep hours ago, monsieur," he said.
"It is well that I have not been, sir."
And he related the conversation that he had overheard, and his own
suspicions that the man Bruno meditated treachery; the steps they
had taken to watch him, and the discovery they had made.
Exclamations of indignation and fury broke from the officers.
"Gentlemen," Cathelineau said, "we will at once proceed to try this
traitor. He shall be judged by men of his own class.
"Monsieur Pourcet, do you go out and awaken the first twelve
peasants you come to."
In a minute or two the officer returned with the peasants, who
looked surprised at having been thus roused from their sleep.
"My friends, do you take your places along that side of the room.
You are a jury, and are to decide upon the guilt or innocence of a
man who is accused of being a traitor."
The word roused them at once, and all repeated indignantly the word
"traitor!"
"Monsieur Stansfield," he said to Leigh, "will you order your men
to bring in the prisoner?"
The man was brought in and placed at the head of the table,
opposite to Cathelineau.
"Now, Monsieur Stansfield, will you tell the jury the story that
you have just told me?"
Leigh repeated his tale, interrupted occasionally by exclamations
of fury from the peasants. Andre and the other lads stepped
forward, one after the other, and confirmed Leigh's statement.
"Before you return a verdict, my friends," Cathelineau said
quietly, "it is but right that we should go up to the battery, and
examine the cannon ourselves; not, of course, that we doubt the
statement of Monsieur Stansfield and the other witnesses, but
because it is well that each of you should be able to see for
himself, and report to others that you have been eyewitnesses of
the traitor's plot."
Accordingly the whole party ascended to the battery. There lay the
spade and the sack of earth. The tool with which the work had been
done was still in the mouth of the second cannon and, on pulling it
out, the powder cartridge came with it. Then Leigh led them to the
next gun, and a man who had a bayonet thrust it in, and soon
brought some earth and stones to the mouth of the gun.
"We have now had the evidence of Monsieur Stansfield, and those
with him, tested by ourselves examining the guns. What do you say,
my friends--has this man been proved a traitor, or not?"
"He has!" the peasants exclaimed, in chorus.
"And what is your sentence?"
"Death!" was the unanimous reply.
"I approve of that sentence. March him down to the side of the
river, and shoot him."
Three minutes later, four musket shots rang out.
"Thus die all traitors!" Cathelineau said.
Bruno, however, was the sole Vendean who, during the course of the
war, turned traitor to his comrades and his country.