The plans of Corunna and Saragossa are copied, by kind permission of
Professor Oman and the Delegates of the Clarendon Press, from the
former's "History of the Peninsular War", Vols. I and II.
*CHAPTER I*
*Corporal Wilkes wants to know*
An International Question--Discipline--An Onlooker--Lumsden of the
95th--Dogged--A Six Days' Ride--Puzzlement
"What I want to know," said Corporal Wilkes, banging his fist on the
table in front of him--"what I want to know is, what you Dons are doing
for all the coin we've spent on you."
He was seated with a few other stalwarts of the 95th under the eastern
colonnade of the Plaza Mayor, in Salamanca; a nondescript group of
Spaniards, stolidly curious, blocked up the footway, and stood lounging
against the balustrade. Getting no answer to his question, and probably
expecting none, the corporal jerked his chin-strap under his nose,
glared comprehensively around, and continued:
"I asked before, and I ask again, what has become of the ship-loads of
honest British guineas you Dons have been pocketing for I don't know how
long? Tell me that! What have you got to show for 'em, eh?--that's what
I want to know. Here are we, without a stiver to our name, no pay for
weeks, and no chance of seeing any. And look at this: here's a boot for
you; that's what your Spanish mud makes o' good Bermondsey leather; and
rain--well, of all the rain I ever see, blest if it ain't the wettest!"
He paused; the knot of Riflemen grunted approval. The Spaniards, who had
by this time become aware that his remarks were aimed directly at them,
turned enquiringly to one of their number, who shrugged, and gave them
in Spanish the heads of the speaker's argument. Perceiving that he had
made some impression, the corporal proceeded to follow up his advantage.
"What I want to know is, what 'ave we come here for? They did say as we
were sent for to help you Dons fight the French. That's what they said.
Well, the French are all right; but what are you doing? We showed you
the way at Vimeiro; that's a long time ago now--what have you done
since? Where are all the armies and the generals you talked so much
about? What's become of them? Tell me that! Here we've been in
Salamanky a matter of fourteen days, but we ain't seen none of them.
There's plenty of you Dons about, sure enough, but you don't look to me
like fighting-men. Where are you hiding 'em?--that's what I want to
know."
There was no mistaking the glance of withering contempt with which the
speaker pointed his questions; a movement of resentment was already
visible among his mixed audience. The interpreter, whose dress
proclaimed him a seaman from one of the Biscayan ports, was now volubly
rendering the gist of the Englishman's taunts, to an accompaniment of
strange oaths and ominous murmurs from the crowd. Warming with their
sympathy, he became more and more excited, passed from explanation to
denunciation, and then, turning suddenly from his compatriots, clenched
his fist and poured out a torrent of abuse in a lurid mixture of Basque
and Billingsgate. The corporal, recognizing phrases that could only
have been picked up at Deptford or Wapping, smiled appreciatively, and,
with a wink at his companions, said:
"Ain't it like home? He ought to be a drill-sergeant--eh, boys?"
A shout of laughter greeted this sally. The Spaniard, his complexion
changing from olive to purple, strode forward and shook his fist within
an inch of the corporal's nose. Wilkes, greatly tolerant of foreign
eccentricity, preserved an unwinking front; but his bland smile was too
much for the Spaniard's fast-ebbing self-control. With a snarl of rage
he plucked a knife from his sash and aimed a blow at the Rifleman,
which, had it taken effect, would assuredly have put an end to his
interrogative career. But the corporal's left-hand neighbour, who had
been lolling against a post, flung out his arm and arrested the stroke;
almost at the same instant Wilkes himself got home a deft right-hander
beneath his assailant's chin that hurled him senseless across the table.
In a moment a score of Spaniards with drawn knives were surging around
the little group. Being without arms the Riflemen had slipped off their
belts and closed up to meet the attack. The colonnade now rang with
fierce shouts, and from all quarters of the large square there was a
hurry-scurry of idlers attracted by the noise of the fray. Cheerfully
confident, the half-dozen British soldiers, their backs against the
wall, kept the throng at arm's-length with the practised swing of their
long belts. But the odds against them were heavy. It could only be a
few moments before the Spaniards must get in with their knives, and then
the 95th would be six men short on parade. One or two of the Spaniards
had been hard hit; but the rest were drawing together for a rush, when
suddenly, above the din of the melee, rang out the clear authoritative
word of command:
"Attention!"
The habit of discipline was so strong that the British soldiers on the
instant dropped their belts and stood rigid as statues. On the
Spaniards the effect of the interruption was equally remarkable.
Surprised at the sudden change of attitude, they looked round with a
startled air to seek the cause of the Englishmen's strange quiescence.
A horseman had reined up opposite the scene of the scuffle--a tall
youthful figure, wearing the headgear of the 95th and a heavy cavalry
cloak.
"Stand easy!" he cried to the Riflemen, over the heads of the crowd,
"and don't move an eyelash."
With a dozen Spanish knives flashing before their eyes, the command was
a severe test of discipline; but in the British army a hundred years ago
rigid training had made instant unquestioning obedience an instinct.
While the Spaniards were still fingering their weapons, and hesitating
whether to finish off their work, the officer began to address them in
pure Castilian.
"Pardon me, Senores," he said, "for interrupting what I am sure was a
pastime. I am an English officer, as you see, and I fear that my men,
ignorant of your customs and traditions, might have taken seriously what
was no doubt begun in sport. There is no need for me to say a word,
Senores about your valour; is not that known to all the world? and I am
sure you would be the last to do anything to endanger the friendly
alliance between your country and mine. The French are your enemies,
Senores; they are ours too. We are fighting shoulder to shoulder in a
noble cause. Confusion to the invader, say I! Hurrah for the
independence of Spain! Cry Viva la Espana with me!"
Then turning suddenly to the Riflemen, he cried:
"Now, men, give three rousing cheers."
Wilkes and his friends cheered half-heartedly and with an air of
endurance; but the Spaniards were not discriminating, and responded with
shrill vivas.
"Thank you, my friends!" said the officer, when the tumult had subsided.
"And now, as I have a few words to say to my men before I ride off, I
will bid you good-day."
In a few moments the pacified crowd dispersed in small knots, discussing
with interested curiosity the young officer whose courteous firmness and
fluent Spanish had produced so remarkable an effect. When, last of all,
the interpreter, having recovered from the blow, had made his way across
the square, the horseman called up Corporal Wilkes, who advanced with a
somewhat guilty air and saluted.
"Now, Corporal Wilkes, what do you mean by this? Have you forgotten the
general's orders about brawling with the Spaniards?"
The corporal shifted his feet uneasily, and began to mumble an
explanation in his slow ponderous way.
"That'll do," said the officer, cutting him short. "You're always in hot
water. Get off to your quarters, and report yourself to me in the
morning."
"Very good, sir."
With a look of injured innocence he saluted and slouched off with his
companions, while the officer, touching his horse's flanks with the
spur, cantered away. At the angle of the colonnade the crestfallen
Riflemen were confronted by a tall stately figure in cocked hat and long
military cloak, who had for some time been quietly watching the scene
from an inconspicuous post of observation.
"Who's your officer, my man?"
The Riflemen halted in a line, struck their heels together, and brought
their hands to the salute like automata.
"Mr. Lumsden, your honour," replied Wilkes, looking as though he would
have liked to be elsewhere.
"Oh indeed! Thank you!"
The commander-in-chief acknowledged their salute and turned on his heel.
The men stared after him for a few moments in silence; then Wilkes
turned to his comrades, and said with a rueful look:
"By gum! How much of that 'ere rumpus did Johnny see?--that's what I'd
like to know."
Meanwhile Lumsden of the 95th had trotted off, across the great square,
past the church of San Martin, towards the University and the Tormes
bridge. He was bound for a farmhouse some five miles south-east of the
city, where it had been reported that a considerable quantity of flour
could be purchased for the troops. Since the arrival of his regiment in
Salamanca a fortnight before, he had been employed continuously on
commissariat business, and was the object of envy to his
fellow-subalterns, who would gladly have found some special work of the
kind to vary the monotony of life.
It was the 28th November in the year 1808. Salamanca was full of
British soldiers, who had marched in on the 13th amid a drenching
rain-storm and the cheers of the inhabitants. They comprised six
infantry brigades and one battery of artillery, among the former being
the famous 95th Rifles under Colonel Beckwith, in which Jack Lumsden was
a second lieutenant. The main artillery force, with its escort, was
near the Escurial, a few miles from Madrid, under Sir John Hope, who was
intending to march northwards to join his chief; while Sir David Baird
lay at Astorga, with three batteries, four infantry brigades, and a
force of cavalry under Lord Paget. The infantry had marched from Lisbon
under Sir John Moore, who had succeeded to the chief command of the
British forces in the Peninsula recently vacated by Sir Hew Dalrymple.
At Salamanca Sir John expected to receive news of the approach of a
Spanish force under the Marquis of La Romana, to co-operate with him in
offensive movements against the French. The march had been particularly
arduous and uncomfortable; rain had fallen in torrents for the greater
part of the way, and owing to lack of supplies the men were in a sorry
state as regards clothes and equipment. But they nourished high hopes
of soon inflicting a heavy blow on the French invaders; and though the
delay, due to want of definite information about the movements of the
Spaniards and the position of the French, was telling somewhat on the
spirits of the force, Sir John Moore was so popular with all ranks, and
enjoyed their confidence so thoroughly, that discontent had only shown
itself in half-humorous protests like that of Corporal Wilkes.
Jack Lumsden rode easily through the darkening streets, passed the
sentry at the bridge head, and cantered along the sodden road leading to
Alba de Tormes. Three miles out of Salamanca he struck off to the left,
and, carefully picking his way among the ruts and depressions, reached
his destination just as the black darkness of a November evening fell.
His errand with the farmer occupied some little time. He then accepted
the refreshments pressed upon him with true Castilian hospitality; and
at length, towards seven o'clock, set off on the return journey.
The moon was rising behind him, throwing a dim misty radiance over the
bare fields to right and left. As he reached the cross-roads, and
wheeled round into the highway towards Salamanca, he saw, some hundred
yards ahead, several dark forms on both sides of the road, creeping
along with stealthy movements in the same direction. Carrying his gaze
beyond them, he descried a man leading a horse, who, he instantly
concluded, was being followed by a gang of foot-pads, or of the brigands
who notoriously infested every part of Spain. Almost involuntarily Jack
pricked his horse forward; he saw that the furtive band were rapidly
lessening the distance between them and the walking horseman, who every
now and then half-turned to look at them, and then resumed his slow
progress.
The road was so soft, and the men were so intent upon their expected
prey, that they did not hear the sound of Jack's approach until he was
within a few yards of them. Then a sudden splash in a large puddle
caused them to stop and look round; Jack galloped up, and as he passed
them, ostentatiously held his pistol so that a glint of moonlight fell
on the barrel. At the same moment the dismounted rider heard the pad of
his horse's hoofs; he paused, still holding the bridle, and turned
towards Jack, who pulled his horse across the road and glanced back at
the brigands. They had now formed a group, and stood in the middle of
the road. Jack clicked the lock of his pistol. After an instant's
hesitation the men turned in a body and vanished into the darkness.
"Many thanks!" said the pedestrian. "I was never more glad to see a
British officer. Those bandits have been following me up for some
minutes. My horse is lame, as you see, and though I've a couple of
pistols handy I'm afraid I'd be no match for eight big fellows with
their knives. And I've a particular reason for avoiding risks."
"They've had the discretion to sheer off," said Jack, turning again
towards Salamanca. "It's unlucky your horse is lamed. Have you been
riding far, sir?"
"About five hundred miles," was the reply.
Jack stared.
"No wonder your horse is lame--though you didn't ride the whole distance
on the same beast, I suppose."
"No indeed; but I've scarcely been out of the saddle for six days--"
"Six days! Hard riding that, sir."
"True. The fact is, I've most important despatches for Sir John Moore,
and haven't wasted a minute more than I could help."
Jack was off his horse in a moment.
"In that case, sir, pray take my horse and finish your ride with equal
speed. If you bring news for the general, no one will be more delighted
to see you. It's only about three miles, and the road's straight ahead;
I'll follow with your horse."
"That's very good of you. I didn't like the idea of trudging in in this
lame fashion. You're sure you don't mind? Those brigands, eh?"
"Not a bit. They won't show their noses again."
By this time the stranger had mounted Jack's horse, and was preparing to
ride off.
"By the way," he said, "to what address shall I return the horse?--a
pretty animal, begad!"
"I'm quartered at a worthy alderman's in the Calle de Moros--El Regidor
Don Perez Gerrion; my name's Lumsden."
"Lumsden!" repeated the stranger with a start, letting the reins fall on
the horse's neck.
"Yes," said Jack, looking up in surprise. "Why?"
"Oh! Excuse me now. I have my despatches to deliver, and then I will
call on you at the regidor's. I have a communication, probably, to make
to you. Au revoir!"
With a wave of the hand he galloped off, leaving Jack to tramp along
behind him, in some wonderment as to what communication a despatch-rider
could have to make to a subaltern of the 95th.
*CHAPTER II*
*Some Introductions*
The Grampus--A Turn with the Foils--An Interruption--Enter a
Regidor--Flour and Water--A Soft Answer--Pepito--Biographical--Captain
O'Hare--Mr. Vaughan is announced
It began to rain when Jack was still two miles out of Salamanca, and he
was wet and chilled when, having put up the stranger's horse, he entered
the regidor's house and sought the general room, where, as he knew from
the sounds of laughter proceeding from it, his friends and comrades were
assembled. There was a universal shout as Jack pushed open the door.
"Here's the commissary-general!" cried a tall, fair-headed subaltern of
seventeen years. "Look here, Jack, if this corn-chandler business of
yours gets you promotion before me, I'll--I'll punch your head."
"Thanks! Pommy, my dear, unless you're careful, respectful, you know,
you'll find your next billet will be a stable or a pig-stye; you can
take your choice. A pig-stye would be the easier got, perhaps--this
country teems with porkers; but there are plenty of mules too, and one
more won't matter."
"All the same, Lumsden," said Harry Smith, a lieutenant of twenty-one,
"I don't wonder Pomeroy's jealous. We didn't all have the luck to be
babies in Spain! But let me introduce a friend of mine--an old
school-chum. Lumsden--Dugdale, Percy Dugdale, otherwise the Grampus."
Jack found his right hand engulfed in a huge fist, and shaken almost to
a jelly. It belonged to a tall young man in civilian dress, stout,
massive, broad-shouldered, with a rubicund, open, ingenuous face, and a
smile that bespoke friendliness at once.
"Heard of you," said Dugdale cordially. "Heard of your little bet.
Reminds me of my wager with Blinks of Merton when I was a freshman. Bet
me a pound to a polony I wouldn't screw up a proctor; loser to eat the
polony. I won--and bought a champion polony in St. Aldate's. Blinks
stood us a supper to be let off. Ha! ha!"
The Honourable Percy Dugdale's chuckle had a quality of its own. While
it seldom resulted from what others would have regarded as wit or
humour, it never failed to breed sympathetic laughter, and the room rang
with appreciative merriment.
"What's this bet of yours, Lumsden?" asked Bob Shirley, lieutenant in
Jack's company.
"Oh, a little affair with Pomeroy! He's so desperately cocksure of
everything, and what is worse, he will talk, you know. Said he'd hold
me at boxing, at wrestling, at swimming, at every mortal thing,
including fencing, so I bet him before we left Alcantara that I'd give
him points at them all, and we're going to begin with the foils."
"What are the stakes?" asked Shirley. "Why didn't I hear of this?"
"It's a guinea to a Bath bun. Pomeroy's amazing fond of Bath buns; and
as at present I haven't a guinea, at least to spare, and he hasn't a
bun, we're going to settle up when we get back to London, and you
fellows can come to Gunter's and see Pommy shell out twopence, if you
like."
"No time like the present," said Smith. "We've half an hour before
supper, and nothing to do. If you fellows are game we'll make a ring
now."
"I'm ready," said Pomeroy, pulling off his jacket, "if the corn-dealer
is."
"By all means," retorted Jack, laughing; "but I hope, for the sake of
the company, your riposte is better than your repartee."
"No more cackle!" cried Smith. "Let's get to business. Where are the
foils?"
At a word from Jack, a tall, strapping Rifleman, who had followed him
into the room, disappeared for half a minute, and returned with a couple
of foils in his hands. He handed one to his master, who had meanwhile
peeled, and the other to Reginald Pomeroy. The two faced one another;
they were of equal height, but otherwise presented a strong contrast.
Both were tall, but Jack was slight and lissom, with dark hair, brown
eyes, and clear-cut features, while Reginald Pomeroy was heavier in
build, fresh-complexioned, with blue eyes and light curly hair. In
brief, if Jack was Norman, Pomeroy was as clearly Saxon, and as they
stood there, they were worthy representatives of the two fine strains of
our present English race. They were always sparring, always girding at
each other, but at bottom they were the best of friends, and had indeed
been inseparable chums ever since they entered the Charterhouse
together.
"Gad, reminds me of the mill between Jones of Jesus and De Crespigny of
the House, in Merton meadow," said Dugdale with his capacious chuckle.
"'His eyebrow dark, and eye of fire,
Shows spirit proud, and prompt to ire,'"
quoted Shirley, amid a chorus of groans.
"Shut up, Shirley!" cried Jack; "if you begin spouting poetry you'll
shatter my nerve."
"Yes, by George," said Smith, "we had enough of _Marmion_ on the way
out. Shirley's a long way too fond of poetry. Now, you two, are you
ready? Buttons on the foils? That's right. Now then!"
"Charge, Chester, charge; on, Stanley, on!'"
shouted Shirley, who was irrepressible, and who, indeed, was said to
have got _Marmion_ by heart a week after it was issued, in February of
this year.
The duel began. The combatants were pretty evenly matched, and as the
spectators watched thrust and parry, lunge and riposte, now cheering
one, now the other, the air became charged with electric excitement.
Right foot well forward, left arm well behind his head, Jack watched his
opponent with the keenness of a hawk, and for a time seemed to content
himself with standing on the defensive. He knew his man, and held
himself in with the confident expectation that Pomeroy would by and by
become reckless.
"Two to one on Pomeroy!" shouted Dugdale, who was growing excited.
"Done!" said Smith. "Name your stakes."
"Anything you like; I'm not particular. I want a new pair of breeches.
Yours won't fit me, but mine'll fit you with a little trimming'. Gad,
Lumsden was nearly pinked that time. Make it two pairs!"
"D'you mind moving aside?" said Shirley, who, being head and shoulders
shorter than Dugdale, found his view obstructed by six feet two and a
back broad in proportion.
"Sorry; get on my back if you like," said Dugdale. "Won a bet by running
a race with young Jukes of Pembroke on my back. I don't mind."
But Shirley contented himself with edging in to a place beside the big
sportsman.
The foils clashed; Pomeroy made a rapid lunge at Jack, who instantly
straightened himself, and before his opponent could recover his guard,
Jack's foil was out, and slid along the other, and with a dexterous turn
of the wrist he sent the weapon flying out of Pomeroy's hand, over the
ring of onlookers, to the other end of the room, where it clattered
against the wall and fell with a clash to the floor.
"Oh, come now! I never lose my wagers. I make a point of it," said
Dugdale with a rueful look.
"End of the first round; that's Lumsden's," said Smith quietly. "Five
minutes' rest, then to it again. Give you six to one next round."
"No, thanks! I'll wait a bit. Can't afford to part with all my pants.
What's that?"
Above the voices of the officers discussing the details of the match
rose the clamour of a repeated battering on the door.
"Oh, I say!" cried Dugdale, "we can't have this interrupted. Is the
door locked?"
"Fast," replied Shirley, adding:
"'And neither bolt nor bar shall keep
My own true--love--from--'"
The quotation remained unfinished, for Jack laid Shirley on his back and
sat on him. The knock was repeated again and again, with increasing
loudness; the door was rattled with ever-growing vehemence.
"Set your back against the door, Giles," said Jack. "It'll take some
force to move your fourteen stone of muscle."
The big Rifleman set his straight back against the door, planted his
feet firmly on the floor so that his body formed an obtuse angle, and
crossed his arms on his breast. The knocking continued.
"Can't come in," shouted a shrill-voiced ensign. "We're busy."
From outside an angry voice bawled in reply.
"Be quiet, you fellows," cried Smith. "Let us hear who it is."
The noise inside the room was hushed, and through the door came muffled
tones of angry and excited remonstrance.
"It's very bad language, but I can't understand it," said Smith, who now
had his ear against the oak. "Here, Jack, you're the only fellow who
knows the lingo; leave that drain-pipe and see if you can make anything
of it."
Jack rose from his wriggling seat, and, going to the door, shouted "Who
are you?" in Spanish. A moment later he turned to the company and said:
"By George! it's the regidor himself. We'd better let him in."
"Not till I've licked you," said Pomeroy. "Let the old boy wait."
"That's Pommy all over," said Smith; "I'm Reginald Pomeroy, and hang
civility! The regidor's our host, and we owe him a little
consideration."
"Exactly," put in Jack. "Heave over, Giles, and let me open the door."
He turned the key, threw the door open, and gave admittance to the
oddest figure imaginable.
"Pommy's Bath bun--underbaked!" said Shirley under his breath. The rest
of the company were too much surprised for speech or laughter. The
intruder was presumably a man, but he was so completely covered with an
envelope of paste that form and feature were undiscoverable. Two
unmistakable arms, however, were wildly gesticulating; an equally
obvious fist was being shaken towards the group; and a human voice was
certainly pouring out a stream of violent language, of which no one
there, not even Jack, could make out a word.
"Come, Senor Regidor," said Jack in Spanish, "what is the matter?
Really, you talk so fast that I cannot understand you."
He laid his hand on the regidor's arm, but drew it back hastily; it was
covered with wet flour.
"Shut the door, Giles," he said, wiping his hand; "this needs an
explanation. In fact" (he gave a quizzical glance from the floor to the
company) "it needs clearing up!"
Taking the fuming regidor gingerly by the hand, he led him to the middle
of the room, where, with Pomeroy's assistance, he set to work to scrape
away the clinging paste that swathed the poor man from head to foot.
The first shock of surprise being over, the rest of the officers were
now fairly bubbling with merriment, for the regidor was too angry to
keep still, and never ceased from objurgating some person unknown.
Dugdale had stuffed a handkerchief into his mouth to stifle his
laughter, and Smith was thumping Shirley vigorously on the back. After
some minutes' scraping with the foils, the new-comer was revealed
standing in a circle of clammy flour--a little, round, pompous
individual, with a very red and wrathful face, made ludicrous by the
stiff moustache, to which a coating of flour obstinately adhered.
"Now, Senor Regidor," said Jack soothingly, "tell us all about it. I
hope the mischief has gone no deeper than your clothes."
And then the little alderman unfolded his pitiful story. It appeared
that he had gone round his premises in the rain, to see that all was
safely locked up for the night, when he found that his barn at the back
of the house had been left open--not only the lower door, but also the
upper door, through which sacks of flour entered the loft. It was very
dark, and he had been unable in the rain and wind to obtain a light.
Feeling his way into the barn, he had crept up the ladder leading to the
loft, stumbling as he did so over an empty sack that covered the last
two or three steps. Then, arrived at the top, he had lifted the
trap-door, and raised head and shoulders above the opening, when without
warning he was smothered by an avalanche of flour, which took him so
entirely by surprise that he had fallen backward, and only saved himself
from a headlong descent to the foot of the ladder by clutching at a rope
that dangled a few inches in front of him. It was no accident, he
declared, for he had heard the scurry of some living creature moving in
the loft. On recovering from his shock he had mounted again and
searched the place as thoroughly as he could in the darkness, but
without success. He had then locked up the barn securely, and being
convinced that he was the victim of a practical joke on the part of one
of the subalterns billeted upon him, he had come to demand satisfaction
for the insult, and compensation for the irreparable damage done to his
clothes.
Such was his story, told at much greater length, and punctuated with
many violent gestures and still more violent expletives. Jack listened
to him patiently, while the rest of the company stood in a ring about
them, striving with ill success to hide their merriment. When lack of
breath at length brought the little man to a stop, Jack spoke to him
consolingly, assuring him that he was mistaken, and that no British
officer would so far have forgotten the courtesy due to their obliging
host. The regidor was not appeased; he was on the point of recommencing
his denunciation of the culprit, when Jack stopped him, and said that he
would question his brother officers and convince the regidor that he was
mistaken. He then briefly told his companions the outlines of the story
he had heard. Just as he came to the point where the shower of flour
had descended on the unfortunate regidor, he was annoyed at hearing a
loud chuckle.
"Pomeroy, that's too bad," he exclaimed. "How can I persuade our host
that we have had nothing to do with his plight if you disgrace yourself
like that?"
"Look here, Lumsden," said Pomeroy, "I'm not going to be lectured. As a
matter of fact, I didn't make a cheep."
"Sorry, Pommy," said Jack, with a glance at Dugdale. "Well now, I can
assure the regidor, on your honour, that none of you had a hand in
this?"
Every officer present gave his word. Then Jack put on his coat, and,
slipping his arm within the regidor's, led him off with a promise to
investigate the matter, and see whether any of the officers' servants
had been in fault. The moment their backs were turned, the same loud
chuckle was heard, followed by an unmistakable guffaw. Giles Ogbourne,
Jack's big servant, while maintaining a rigid position against the wall,
was putting his broad face through the oddest contortions of amusement.
"What are you grinning at?" cried Pomeroy angrily. "Was it you who gave
that oily chuckle just now?"
"Beg pardon, sir," said Ogbourne, endeavouring to look grave. "I really
couldn't help it. 'Tis a trick of that young varmint Pepito; I be sure
'tis."
"That imp of a gipsy! I told Lumsden he'd be sorry he ever set eyes on
the creature. Why do you think he is at the bottom of it?"
"Why, sir, I seed the boy bummelled out of the kitchen, and prowling
around by the barn, and, sakes alive, 'tis he and no one else."
"Who's Pepito?" asked Dugdale.
"A young sprat of a gipsy Jack picked up outside Queluz soon after we
left Lisbon. Here, Ogbourne, you know more about him than I do. Speak
up."
"'Tis just as you say, sir. Mr. Lumsden found the critter on the
roadside, a'most dead, and took'm up and fed him, sir. A thoroughbred
gipsy, sir. His band had been cut up by the French after the fight by
Vimeiro; every man of 'em was killed dead except this mortal boy, and a'
got a cut in th' arm from a sabre. Mr. Lumsden gave him a good square
meal, sir, and next day a' hitched hisself on to us, followed us all
along, went a-fetching and a-carrying for Mr. Lumsden, for all the world
like a little dog. Mr. Lumsden says to me: 'Giles,' says he, 'there's
enough women and childer along of us without this young shaver; what'll
we do with him?' I couldn't think of anything, so Mr. Lumsden he takes
him to a Portuguese barber and hands him over some money for the boy's
keep, and tells him to make a barber of him. Bless you, next day the
varmint turns up again, and we can't shake him off nohow. If a' goes
away for a day, back a' comes the next, as perky as a Jack-in-the-box."
"A sort of millstone round Lumsden's neck," said Shirley.
"Not but what he's useful," added Ogbourne. "He's first-rate at shining
buttons and cleaning swords, and all sorts of little odd jobs. Only
he's so full of monkey tricks, you can't believe. One night a' put two
live toads in my bed, a' did; another night a' mixed some dubbin wi' my
soup. I tanned him, I did, but though a' blubbered hard enough, next
minute his wicked little black eyes were as mischievous as ever. Mr.
Lumsden's got a handful, sir, and that's gospel truth."
"If that's his character, depend upon it he's responsible for the
regidor's whitening," said Smith. "We'll have to abolish the boy; don't
you think so?"
"Oh, I say!" struck in Dugdale, "never mind about a scrubby gipsy. I
wish Lumsden would hurry up. I want to see Pomeroy lick him."
"You'll lose this time," said Smith.
Dugdale made a wry face. "Didn't know he was such a paragon. Speaks
Spanish as well as the Don. Learnt it for a bet, I suppose."
"No," said Pomeroy, laughing. "He lived at Barcelona till he was
eleven."
"Where on earth's Barcelona? Is it where the nuts grow?"
"Yes--in the big square!" said Smith with a smile.
Dugdale grunted. "But what was Lumsden doing there?" he asked.
"Eating, and growing, and learning the lingo, of course," said Pomeroy.
"His father's a partner in some Spanish firm whose head-quarters are at
Barcelona, and lived there, as I say, until Jack was eleven. Then, as
the kid was more or less running wild, I suppose, Mr. Lumsden returned
to London as head of the branch there, and sent Jack to the
Charterhouse, and that's where I licked him first--"
"Now, Pommy, at it again!" said Jack's voice.
Dugdale chuckled, and Pomeroy looked aggressive; but immediately behind
Jack, as he re-entered the room, came a figure at the sight of which the
whole group broke out in exclamations of welcome.
"Peter!" said Smith to Dugdale in a stage whisper.
The new-comer was a tall man of some thirty-six years, wearing a big
greatcoat and a peaked cap drawn over his brow. His face was
particularly ugly, but redeemed by a pair of bright
good-tempered-looking eyes. He stood for a moment quizzing the company,
while the water streamed from his coat and made a pool on the floor.
"Bedad," he said, observing the pasty mixture there, "sure if it's roast
beef that it is, it's myself that's thankful; but the flure's a queer
place to mix the Yorkshire."
"No such luck," said Pomeroy. "No chance of that this side of
Portsmouth; it's only a toad-in-the-hole this time."
Captain Peter O'Hare laughed when they told him of the regidor's plight.
"And who was the blackguard that did it?" he asked, suddenly looking
serious. "Such conduct is terribly unbecoming an officer and a
gentleman."
"It was Pepito," exclaimed Jack; "that little scamp of a gipsy who's
been shadowing me since we left Lisbon. I found him crouching in the
regidor's stable, smothered in flour from head to foot. It appears he
had made for the loft as the only dry place, and emptied a bag of flour
on the regidor in sheer self-defence, being afraid of a walloping if he
was caught. He jumped out of the upper door and slid down a
gutter-pipe. I'm afraid that young man will prove a thorn in my side."
Captain O'Hare having by this time removed his dripping garments, Smith
took the opportunity to introduce his friend Dugdale.
"He's just escaped from Oxford, O'Hare; heard the bugles sounding and
couldn't sit still."
"What regiment, sir?" said the captain, shaking hands. "I knew a Dugdale
in the 85th."
Dugdale chuckled.
"My brother Tom, no doubt. Laid him a poodle to a pork-pie that I'd be
at the front first, and here I am."
"Ah! an amachure, I preshume," said Captain O'Hare, glancing at his
civilian costume. "Sure, an' I hope you'll like it, for 'tis not all
beer and skittles. And that reminds me; 'tis time we cleared the decks
for supper. You'll stay and take pot-luck, Mr. Dugdale?"
"Thank you, sir! but, you see--well, we had a little wager--in short,
thank you, sir!"
O'Hare looked puzzled, and still more as he noticed a smile on the faces
of the rest of the company.
"Never mind, Grampus," said Smith with a nudge, "they can fight it out
another time, and meanwhile you've saved your breeches."
At this moment Rifleman Giles Ogbourne entered the room.
"Please, sir," he said to Jack, "there's a Mr. Vaughan at the door as
would like to see you. I was to say 'twas he that borrowed your horse a
while ago."
"Show him in," said Jack.
"Beg pardon, sir, but he says as he would like to see you alone."
"Oh, very well!" said Jack, rising, and he followed Giles from the room.
*CHAPTER III*
*Palafox the Man, Palafox the Name*
A Letter from Saragossa--An Invitation--Bad News--Spanish
Apathy--Bonaparte--Jockeying a Nation--A Message from
Head-quarters--More Puzzlement
The visitor was awaiting Jack beneath a dim lamp in the vestibule.
"You won't mind coming into my bedroom?" said Jack, after an interchange
of greetings. "It's the only place where we can be alone."
He led the way, struck a light, and noticed that the stranger was
bespattered with mud from head to foot.
"I'm scarcely fit to come into a house at all," said the latter
apologetically; "but as things are, no doubt you'll excuse me. I had
better introduce myself. My name is Vaughan, and I am acting as private
secretary to Mr. Stuart, our minister at Madrid. As I told you, I have
ridden in with important despatches for Sir John Moore; I happened to be
with Castanos' army, and as I came through Saragossa on my way to Madrid
I was entrusted by General Palafox with a letter to you, which I
promised to deliver to you in person if I should come across your
regiment. Here is the letter."
He handed the paper to Jack, who looked at it in surprise.
"General Palafox!" he said. "I don't know him. He is the Spanish
general who defended Saragossa recently, isn't he?"
"Yes. I assure you it was he who gave me the letter."
"Will you sit down while I look at it?"
Jack hastily broke the seal.
"I should add," said Vaughan, who had thrown himself wearily into a
chair, "that if I failed to find you, I was to carry the letter to your
father in London, whither I am proceeding at once."
Meanwhile, Jack had opened the letter, which was written in a crabbed
and shaky handwriting. "My dear friend Jack," it began; and then Jack
turned to the signature, and read "Fernan Alvarez". A light dawned upon
him; his look of bewilderment vanished, and he turned back to the
beginning with eager curiosity. The letter ran as follows:--