THE FALL OF JANJALLA.
They mount the ramparts, and they man the walls,
Resolved to keep the climbing foe at bay,
The hot-mouthed cannon hurl a thousand balls,
A thousand swords flash forth to wound and slay.
Down in the fosse the planted ladder falls,
And smoke sulphurous spreads its veil of grey;
Like incense from an altar up it rolls,
To tell the war-god that a thousand souls
Are to his honour sacrificed this day.
Oh, Mars! Oh, red Bellona! he or she,
Though fallen your shrines, we bend yet 'neath your yoke;
Born later than the Greeks, we seem to be
Not much more civilised than were those folk,
Instead of spears, and shields, and cutlery,
Revolvers, rifles, guns, spit fire and smoke.
For ye, blood-thirsty pair, we yet retain
Our ancient love, and hence on battle plain
With myriad victims we your names invoke.
The siege of Janjalla lasted five days, and during that period the
town was completely invested by the troops of Xuarez. As had been
foreseen by him, the _Columbus_, acting as a decoy, had drawn away the
ships of the Junta from protecting the harbour, and that same night
Xuarez, under cover of darkness, landed four thousand troops from his
transports. By an inconceivable oversight on the part of the
engineers, the city walls were unprovided with search-lights and
electric apparatus, so Don Hypolito was enabled to land boat-load
after boat-load of men without hindrance. By dawn six thousand men
were encamped on the beach, under the very guns of the forts.
Had Xuarez attacked the capital, he would have been easily repulsed,
for in Tlatonac all the latest inventions for defence were to be found.
Krupp's guns pointed from the forts, powerful electric lights swept the
harbour, and the bed of the ocean in front of the sea-line was one vast
mass of torpedoes. The flower of the Cholacacan army were behind the
walls, armed with the latest invented rifles, and altogether a siege of
the capital would have lasted months. Don Hypolito, however, was too
crafty to waste his time so fruitlessly, and artfully attacked the
Republic in her weakest part.
Janjalla was but ill defended by walls and cannon and but ill
garrisoned with capable men. By throwing on the devoted town an
overwhelming mass of troops he could hope to capture it within a few
days. Then making it his head-quarters, could gradually advance along
the plain towards the capital, eating up a town at every twenty miles.
He was already master of Acauhtzin in the north, and if he could only
reduce Janjalla and the four inland towns, he would be in complete
command of the whole inner country. Then, besieging Tlatonac by land
and sea, he could starve the capital into surrender.
Promptness was Xuarez' great characteristic, and so rapidly had he
accomplished the transference of active operations from north to south
that he had completely taken the Junta by surprise. It was a fatal
mistake on the part of the Governmental party in leaving such an
incapable man as Gomez at the head of affairs. If, relying on the
strength of the capital to protect herself, he had sent all his
available soldiers to garrison Janjalla and defeat the rebels before
they could get a footing in the south, he would have probably crushed
the rebellion in the bud. Victorious in the lower part of the country,
he could have then reduced Acauhtzin at his leisure, and thus ended the
war within a few weeks.
Unfortunately, Gomez lost his head at the critical period, and proved
himself quite unable to cope with the masterly activity of the rebel
leader. First of all, he committed the mistake of not concentrating his
troops at Janjalla, and then sent a few hundreds of men down at a time.
General Gigedo therefore found himself shut up in Janjalla with
scarcely a thousand troops, few guns, and insufficient ammunition. The
telegraph-wires having been cut, he was unable to communicate promptly
with the capital, and being in urgent need of reinforcements, was in
absolute despair as to what would occur in the near future. It was true
that Gomez had promised another thousand men in ten days; but, even if
they arrived earlier, it would be too late, as with the small garrison
at his disposal, it was impossible that he could hold out against a
force of six thousand for any lengthened period.
He would have sent messengers to Tlatonac for aid, but the troops of
Don Hypolito completely encircled the city, and it was worse than
useless to try and break through that girdle of steel. He held a
council of war, but no decision could be arrived at, save that Janjalla
should hold out, if possible, until reinforcements arrived from the
capital. Day after day Gigedo and his staff swept the ocean with their
glasses, looking for the torpederas and the cruiser. None of them
appeared, and it could only be conjectured that they had captured
_The Columbus_, and taken her at once to Tlatonac, in the harbour
of which they were now doubtless lying.
Meanwhile, the garrison fought with desperate valour, and with great
difficulty managed to keep the rebels at bay, but it could be easily
seen that such a state of things could not last. On the fourth day
preparations were made by Xuarez for a final assault, and everyone
instinctively guessed that the end had come. _The Cortes_ was lying
with the transports out of range of the fort-guns, and, by means of
their glasses, those shut up in the town could see that the warship
was making ready to bombard the city.
Don Hypolito had come south again, with his new troops, and could be
now seen riding about the camp with a brilliant staff, seeing that all
things were ready for the assault. Jack, who, in company with Philip,
was leaning over the ramparts, noted the audacious rebel, and remarked
on his presence before the walls of Janjalla.
"There goes the brain of the rebellion," he said touching Philip on the
shoulder. "If he could only be disposed of, the war would be over."
"No doubt. But Xuarez knows his own value too well, and will therefore
keep out of danger. He has evidently made up his mind to finish the
siege to-day."
"Unless help comes, I think he will succeed," replied Jack, gloomily.
"I cannot conceive what the President or Maraquando can be thinking
about to thus neglect Janjalla. If this town falls into the hands of
Xuarez, as it must do, unless a miracle takes place, Don Francisco will
find the war longer than he expects."
"Gomez is a fool," said Philip, stamping his foot. "What the deuce is
the use of keeping all the army in the capital? There must be ten
thousand soldiers shut up in Tlatonac, and his Excellency evidently
intends to keep them there till Xuarez and his victorious troops arrive
before the walls."
"Very likely the Indians are before the walls now, and are waiting for
Xuarez to join them."
"It's not improbable. Things don't look promising for the Junta, and
all because they let Gomez muddle the business. See, the rebels are
marching up to the sea-gate. It is now noon. Before sundown they will
be within the walls, and masters of the city."
"What about the garrison?"
"Their lives depend on the caprice of Xuarez," said Philip, after a
pause. "He may let Gigedo march out with the remains of his troop, or
massacre every one of us."
"I don't intend to be massacred," replied Jack, dryly; "and, what is
more, I don't intend to be seen by Xuarez. He must know by this time,
through his spies, that I escaped from Totatzine, but he is probably
ignorant that I am in Janjalla. I must escape unseen, Philip, else he
will send me back to be slaughtered by Ixtlilxochitli."
"Hardly, Jack, while Tim is at hand!"
"What do you mean?"
"Don Hypolito," said Philip, sagely, "wishes to stand well with the
world. Tim is the medium through which his actions are reported to the
world. Were he to send an Englishman to be offered up by savages to a
barbaric deity, there would be trouble with England. Xuarez can't
afford to risk that, so he will let you go free."
"He didn't do that in Acauhtzin."
"In Acauhtzin, my friend, you were supposed by us to be killed in the
riot. He could do as he pleased with one, who, to the world was
practically a non-existing person. Here it is different. You are alive,
you are with your friends, one of whom is a correspondent of a great
English journal. He dare not seize you for his own ends in broad
daylight. No, my dear Jack, while we are beside you, Xuarez will think
twice before repeating his treachery of Acauhtzin. He will have to look
for a new victim for Ixtlilxochitli."
"I fervently hope and trust so," answered Jack, looking at his revolver
to see that it was loaded. "And now I suppose we had better go to the
Plaza. The troops must be assembling just now. Hark! there goes the
trumpet. Where is Tim?"
"In the telegraph-office, with Peter, wiring news to his paper."
"Poor Peter," said Duval, as they left the ramparts; "he came here to
collect beetles, and finds himself plunged into an unpleasant war."
"Never mind. There's nothing like experience, Jack. Peter will recount
his deeds of valour, even unto the third generation. We will come out
safe in the end. You will marry Dolores, I Eulalia, and all will be gas
and gaiters, _videlicet_ Nicholas Nickleby."
Philip's gaiety was infectious, and Jack burst out laughing at his last
remark. They had no time, however, for further conversation, as the
trumpets were calling loudly in the Plaza, and they hurried to that
portion of the town to find the troops rapidly falling in. General
Gigedo made a speech to encourage his soldiers, assuring them that he
had communicated with Tlatonac, and that relief would shortly come to
the besieged town.
"Is that true, or a lie?" asked Jack of Don Sebastian, who stood beside
him.
"True," replied the Spaniard, smiling. "This morning carrier pigeons
were sent to his Excellency with messages of our deplorable state. We
shall certainly be relieved in a few days."
"A few days!" echoed Philip, with a sneer. "My dear Señor de Ahumada, a
few hours will see our troops evacuating Janjalla."
"If we are forced to do that, Señor, we can fall back on Centeotl."
"What, with a few hundred men, and the Indians scouring the country?"
"They are further north."
"I assure you they are not," replied Cassim, emphatically. "We were
attacked near Centeotl, and by this time the savages are between that
town and this. Señor de Ahumada, I assure you that if we evacuate
Janjalla, we shall fall into the hands of the Indians."
"Dios!" cried Don Sebastian, suddenly. "_The Cortes_ has started
bombarding." Even as he spoke a bomb burst in the air directly over the
Plaza. At once Gigedo gave the signal to the troops to march to the
ramparts. In the distance they could hear the fierce cries of the
rebels as they marched out of camp, and a tremour passed through the
whole of the city as those within its walls recognised the desperate
state of affairs. Bomb after bomb exploded with deafening noises, the
troops manned the walls, the besiegers hurled themselves against the
sea-gate and planted ladders against the walls. The assault had
commenced. It was the beginning of the end.
The full force at the disposal of General Gigedo, excluding the sick
and wounded, amounted to some nine hundred men. He divided this into
two portions: five hundred held the sea-facing portion of the town,
four hundred were stationed at the inland gate. Xuarez attacked the two
gates of the town simultaneously, and trusted, in the event of entering
at either portal, to be enabled to attack the loyalists in the rear,
and thus crush them between two armies.
On the ramparts it was not so difficult to keep the foe back as it was
below. They planted ladders, and these were hurled with their burden
of climbing men into the ditch below. An incessant fusillade of
musketry crackled along the walls, and the cannon with depressed
muzzles hurled their balls with more or less damaging effect into the
dense throng massed on the beach below. The bombs from _The Cortes_
did their deadly work skilfully, and the besiegers kept themselves as
widely apart as possible, so as to neutralise the effect of the shells
on compact masses.
It was outside the sea-gate, however, that the siege was pressed most
hardly. Xuarez had cannon planted at the gate, to break down, if
possible, the huge wooden valves, clamped with iron. Through the
loop-holes low down in the walls the besiegers fired incessantly,
killing the rebel gunners as they strove to discharge the cannon. Above
the city hung a thick cloud of grey smoke, and at intervals, through
the misty veil, flared the red flame of a bomb bursting overhead. The
rattle of musketry, the booming of cannon, the cries of the wounded,
the shouts of besieged and besiegers, all made an infernal din
deafening to the ear.
Tim and Peter were at the land-gate in company with Captain Velez and
Colonel Garibay, while Jack and Philip fought side by side in repelling
the attack from the sea front. After an incessant cannonading lasting
two hours, the rebels managed to smash the gates down with their
artillery, and rushed in only to find themselves confronted by a dense
mass of resolute soldiery.
From the sea-gate the street arose suddenly, and on the top of the
incline Gigedo had planted cannon which cut lanes in the throng of
rebels pressing through the gate. At last the battle resolved itself
into a hand-to-hand fight in which the loyalists strove to beat back
the rebel forces from the gate. Xuarez saw this, and signalled to _The
Cortes_ to stand in closer and drop her shells into the centre of the
besieged. At once the warship did as she was commanded, and in a few
moments bombs were creating fearful havoc in the ranks of the
loyalists. In answer, the guns of the forts speedily opened fire on
the warship, but did little damage, as the besiegers were too busily
occupied in repelling the foe as they swarmed up the walls, to take
careful aim.
What with the dense crowd pressing from without, the loss of men caused
by the incessant bursting of the bombs in their midst, the loyalists
began to fall back, and, in spite of the most desperate resistance,
were thrust beyond the line of cannon at the top of the street. A horde
of rebel soldiery rushed inside the gate, and proceeded to scale the
ramparts in order to aid their comrades who were climbing the outer
walls, and to silence the guns playing on _The Cortes_.
Skilfully making use of all material he found to hand, Xuarez turned
the cannon taken from the loyalists on themselves. In the hurried
retreat, they had been unable to spike the guns, and now these, loaded
and fired by the rebels, were mowing them down in dozens. The soldiers
on the ramparts were either killed or beaten back, and the whole of the
sea front of Janjalla was in complete possession of Xuarez. One comfort
had the loyalists, namely, that they were protected in the rear by
their men defending the land-gate.
Shortly, however, a roar of rage, and the cheers of the besiegers
announced that the town was captured on that side. The soldiers
retreated towards the Plaza in the centre of the town, and there found
their comrades who had fallen back from the sea-gate. Here there was
this handful of men shut up in the square, surrounded on all sides by
the victorious rebels. They could not possibly hold out long against
the dense masses converging to that centre from all parts of the town,
and it could be easily seen that the siege was practically over.
During the fighting night had fallen, and now the battle was going on
in the dim twilight, rendered still darker by the heavily hanging
clouds of smoke enwrapping the town. Jack had received a nasty cut on
the shoulder; but Philip was unwounded, and in the general scrimmage
they managed to keep well together. When beaten back into the Plaza,
they made for the telegraph-office, where they hoped to find Tim and
Peter. This was the rendezvous appointed by Tim in case the battle went
in favour of the rebels, as he wished to send a final message to his
paper before clearing out of the town. With a handful of men,
principally those belonging to their own regiment, Philip and Jack
managed to throw themselves into the telegraph-office, and shortly
afterwards were joined by Tim.
"Where's Peter?" asked Jack, as he saw the huge form of his friend
dashing through the door.
"Just behind, with Don Sebastian," gasped Tim, throwing himself into a
chair. "It's all up, boys; the Opposidores are in full possession of
the land-gate."
"And the sea-gate also," said Philip, who was reloading his revolver.
"All our men are in the Plaza, and can't hold out much longer. Whew!
there's another bomb."
"We'd better get out of Janjalla, and make for Centeotl," cried Don
Sebastian, entering with his sword smashed in two; "all is over!"
"Gigedo?"
"Killed! Garibay is wounded, and taken prisoner!"
"Where is Don Pedro?"
"Here I am," cried Peter, darting into the room and closing the door.
"There's a regiment of rebels cutting their way through the crowd to
take the telegraph-office. Xuarez has particularly commanded it."
"Anyhow, I'll have time to send another telegram, if I die for it,"
said Tim, who was hastily scribbling notes. "Where's Manuel?"
Manuel had vanished; so Tim, with a growl, sat down to work the
instrument himself.
"Keep those devils out, with your men," he said to Philip, who was
barricading the windows with Jack. "I'll send one telegram, saying
Janjalla has fallen, and then we'll go off."
"How the devil are we to get away?" asked Philip, angrily.
"Easily. The cavalry barracks are behind here. We'll get round by the
back way and seize the horses, then cut our way out by the land-gate.
Once across the river, and we are safe."
Philip did not wait for the conclusion of this speech, but, with a few
men, dashed out at the back of the house to see if the horses were
still there. Jack would have followed, but Peter stopped him.
"I have my medicine-chest here. Let me bind up your shoulder." Jack was
unwilling, protesting he did not feel the wound.
"Bosh, my dear boy, you are excited. You will feel it afterwards. If we
are to ride to Centeotl, you will need all the blood you have. Don
Sebastian can hold the telegraph-office."
Don Sebastian had posted his men at the windows, and was firing at the
mass of rebels, now trying to take the house by storm. All this time
Tim was working the instrument and wiring the news of the fall of the
city to his editor. Through the yells outside, the rattle of the
musketry, and the curses of Don Sebastian could be heard the incessant
click, click, click of the telegraph-instrument.
A bomb exploded on the roof of the house, and a few yards of plaster
fell from the ceiling. Peter had finished binding up Jack's wound, and
now they were both defending the windows and doors of the mansion.
"How long, Jack?"
"In two minutes the door will be down," cried Jack. "Do leave that
d----d instrument, Tim, and look for Philip."
"I'll go!" said Peter, as Tim refused to leave his post. He turned to
make for the back way, when Philip came back with a radiant face.
"Here is a dozen horses just outside, all saddled and fresh as daisies!
Come, Tim, quick! Jack. De Ahumada."
"A moment," said Tim, and went on with his clicking.
Crash! The door was down, and a number of fierce faces appeared at the
door. The room was full of smoke, and the rebels were firing freely
through the windows. Sebastian and his men threw themselves in front of
those trying to face the door, and Philip, seizing Tim by the shoulder,
dragged him away from the instrument.
"Tim, you cursed fool. Come along!"
"Just a second!"
He turned back to the instrument in spite of Philip's protest, but had
just clicked twice when Don Sebastian and his men were forced back and
a crowd of the enemy rushed into the room. Philip, Jack, and Peter had
already disappeared through the back, and Tim was left alone with Don
Sebastian and the soldiers. The rebels threw themselves forward with
yells of delight, when Tim, catching up a heavy table, flung it fair on
the advancing mass, then bolted through the back door, dragging Don
Sebastian after him. Two of the soldiers followed, and promptly closed
the door when on the right side. At once the rebels commenced to beat
it down with the butts of their rifles, but the Irishman and his friend
had reached the back street.
Here they found their friends already mounted and waiting for them.
"Tim. De Ahumada! Mount at once!" cried Philip, pointing to three
horses waiting under the shelter of the wall. "Make for the land-gate,
and straight for the river."
In another moment they were clattering towards the lower part of the
town, keeping close together for safety. The street down which they
were riding was quite deserted, as the fighting was principally
confined to the main thoroughfares of the town. They could hear the
brisk fire of musketry still kept up, the booming of the cannon, and
the bursting of the shells. Shrieks of women, and yells of the victors
broke incessantly through these noises, and the whole city was draped
in a thick veil of stinking smoke.
"Oh, those poor women!" cried Philip, as he spurred his horse towards
the gate. "Now they are in the clutches of those fiends."
"I'm glad we're not," muttered Dr. Grench, thankfully.
"Anyhow," said Tim, cheerfully, "I've sent the fall of the city to the
paper."
"Oh, hang your paper," said Jack, whose wound was making him fractious.
"Come along, De Ahumada."
"Dios! How we have been beaten."
Suddenly the street turned a sharp angle, and they found themselves
before the gate. Most of the attacking party had marched towards the
centre of the town to complete their victory, and only a few scattered
soldiery were on guard. These yelled loudly as they saw the small party
dash towards the gate. The valves were broken down; beyond was the
country, and between this and safety was but a score of men.
Philip drew his sword, spurred his horse to its full speed, and made
for the gate, cutting down a man who tried to stay him. Jack emptied
two barrels of his revolver, and killed one man, wounding another. The
rebel soldiers fired freely, and breaking Sebastian's arm, also tumbled
one of his company off his horse. Tim seizing Peter's bridle-rein,
galloped wildly through the spare crowd, cursing freely.
In their rush for the portal, they scattered them all. There were a few
musket-shots, a howl of rage from the disappointed rebels, and at top
speed they tore out of the gate, and made for the open country.
"Twenty miles," cried Philip, settling himself in his saddle. "We can
do that easily. Hurrah!"
"Provided we don't fall into the hands of the Indians," said Jack,
sagely.
As for Don Sebastian, he turned round and shook his fist at Janjalla.
"Carajo!"