Under Wellington\'s Command

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"I have no doubt that is so, Garcia; and that, if the regiments
were trained by British officers, as some of the Portuguese now
are, you would fight well. Unfortunately, as you say, your generals
and officers are chosen, not for their merits, but from their
influence with the Juntas, whose object is to have the army filled
with men who will be subservient to their orders.

"Then there is another thing against you: that is, the jealousy of
the various provinces. There is no common effort. When Valencia is
invaded, for example, the Valencians fight; but they have no idea
of going out from their homes to assist Castile or Catalonia and
so, one after another, the provinces are conquered by the French."

"That is so," Garcia said thoughtfully. "If they were to rise here
I would fight, and take my chance of being killed; but I should not
care to risk my life in defence of Valencia, with which I have
nothing whatever to do. I don't see how you are to get over that,
so long as we are divided into provinces."

"Nor do I, Garcia. In times of peace these various governments may
work well enough; but nothing could be worse than the system, when
a country is invaded.

"What time do you start, tomorrow?"

"As soon as the gates are open. That will be at five o'clock. It is
eleven now, so we had better get some sleep. In the morning I must
see that your dress is all right. Nita has given me a bottle of
walnut juice, to stain your face and hands.

"Do you lie down on the bed, senor. I will wrap myself up in this
cloak. I am more accustomed to sleep on that than on the bed."

Terence removed his outer garments and, in a few minutes, was sound
asleep. At four o'clock Garcia roused him. The morning was breaking
and, with the assistance of the muleteer, he made his toilet and
stained his face, neck, and hands, and darkened his hair. Then they
each ate a piece of bread with a bunch of grapes, took a drink of
red wine, and then sallied out; Garcia carrying his sheepskin
cloak, and Terence the three coloured blankets. A quarter of a mile
farther, they came to an inn frequented by muleteers.

"I have told my mate about you," Garcia said, "so you need not be
afraid of him; nor indeed of any of us. There is not a muleteer who
would not do what he could to aid the escape of a British officer."

Most of the mules were already saddled, and Garcia went up with
Terence to a man who was buckling a strap.

"Sanchez," he said, "this is our new comrade, Juan, who I told you
would accompany us this journey."

The man nodded.

"It will be all the better," he said. "Twelve mules are rather too
much for two men to manage, when we get among the mountains."

Garcia and Terence at once set to work to assist, and in ten
minutes the cavalcade started. Garcia rode the leading mule, three
others being tied in single file behind it. Terence came next, and
Sanchez brought up the rear. The animals were fine ones, and Garcia
was evidently proud of them; showing their good points to Terence,
and telling him their names. The mules were all very fond of their
master, turning their heads at once when addressed by name; and
flapping their long ears in enjoyment, as he rubbed their heads or
patted their necks.

The town was already astir and, as they reached the gates, country
carts were pouring in, laden with fruits and vegetables for the
market. Garcia stopped for a moment, as an old man came along with
a cart.

"How are you, father?"

"How are you, Garcia? Off again?"

"Yes; I am going to Xeres for wine, for the French general."

"I see that you have got a new comrade."

"Yes; the journey is a long one, and I thought that it was as well
to have another mate."

"Yes, it is dangerous travelling," the old man said. "Well,
goodbye, and good fortune to you!"

Garcia put his mules in motion again, and they passed through the
gate and soon left Salamanca behind. There was little conversation
on the way. The two Spaniards made and smoked cigarettes
continually; and Terence endeavoured to imitate them, by addressing
the endearing words they used to their animals, having learned the
names of the four of which he was in charge. At first they did not
respond to this strange voice but, as they became accustomed to it,
each answered, when its name was called, by quickening its pace and
by a sharp whisk of the tail, that showed it understood that it was
addressed.

Terence knew that his escape would not be discovered until eight
o'clock, when the doors were opened and the prisoners assembled in
the yard for the roll call. Should any pursuit be organized, which
was unlikely, it would be in the direction of Ciudad; as it might
be supposed that an escaped prisoner would naturally make for the
nearest spot where he could join his friends. One prisoner more or
less would, however, make but little difference; and the
authorities would probably content themselves with sending a
message by a trooper, to all the towns and villages on that road,
to arrest any suspicious persons travelling without proper papers.

On the line they were pursuing, the risk of interference was very
small. The marshal's pass would be certainly respected by the
officers of the corps under his command; and it was not until they
fell in with parties of Soult's troops that any unpleasantness was
to be apprehended; though even here the worst that could be looked
for, if they met any large body of troops, would be that the mules
might be taken, for a time, for service in the army.

After a long day's journey they halted, for the night, at a
village. Here they found that the troops marching south had
encamped close at hand for the night, and the resources of the
place had been completely exhausted. This mattered but little, as
they carried a week's store of bread, black sausage, cheese,
onions, garlic, and capsicums. The landlord of the little inn
furnished them with a cooking pot; and a sort of stew, which
Terence found by no means unpalatable, was concocted. The mules
were hobbled and turned out on to the plain to graze; for the whole
of the forage of the village had been requisitioned, for the use of
the cavalry and baggage animals of the French column.

On the following morning they struck off from the road they had
been following and, travelling for sixteen hours, came down on it
again at the foot of the pass of Bejar; and learned from some
peasants that they had got ahead of the French column, which was
encamped two or three miles down the road. Before daybreak they
were on their way again, and reached Banos in the afternoon. There
were but few inhabitants remaining here; for the requisitions for
food and forage, made by the troops that had so frequently passed
through the defiles, were such that the position of the inhabitants
had become intolerable and, when they learned from Garcia that two
divisions of French troops would most probably arrive that evening,
and that Marmont's whole army would follow, most of the inhabitants
who remained hastily packed their most valuable belongings in
carts, and drove away into the hills.

The landlord of the largest inn, however, stood his ground. He was
doing well; and the principal officers of troops passing through
always took up their quarters with him, paid him fairly for their
meals and saw that, whatever exactions were placed upon the town,
he was exempted from them. Therefore the muleteers were able to
obtain a comfortable meal and, after resting their animals for
three hours, and giving them a good feed of corn, went on a few
miles farther; and then, turning off, encamped among the hills.
They were about to wrap themselves in their cloaks and blankets,
and to lie down for the night, when a number of armed men suddenly
appeared.

"Who are you, and whither are you going?" one, who appeared to be
their leader, asked.

"We are bound for Xeres," Garcia replied, rising to his feet. "We
are commissioned by Senor Moldeno, the well-known wine merchant of
Salamanca, to procure for him--as much good Xeres wine as our mules
will carry."

"It is a pity that we did not meet you on the way back, instead of
on your journey there. We should appreciate the wine quite as
thoroughly as his customers would do. But how do you propose to
bring your wine back, when the whole country south swarms with
Soult's cavalry?"

"Don Moldeno obtained a pass for us from Marmont; who, I suppose,
is one of his customers."

"We could not think of allowing wine to pass for the use of a
French marshal," the man said.

"It is not likely that he will drink it for some time," Garcia
said, carelessly; "for he is marching in this direction himself.
Two of his divisions have probably, by this time, reached Banos;
and we heard at Salamanca that he himself, with the rest of them,
will follow in a day or two."

"That is bad news," the man said. "There will be no travellers
along here, while the army is on its march. Are your mules carrying
nothing now?"

"Nothing at all. The mules would have been requisitioned two days
ago, as were most of the others in Salamanca; but Marmont's pass
saved us."

"Are you carrying the money to buy the wine with?"

"No, Don Moldeno knew better than that. I have only a letter from
him to the house of Simon Peron, at Xeres. He told me that that
would be sufficient, and they would furnish me with the wine, at
once, on my handing the letter to them."

"Well, comrades," the man said, to the others gathered round, "it
is evident that we shall get no booty tonight; and may as well be
off to our own fires, where supper is waiting for us; and move away
from here at daybreak. The French may have parties of horse all
over the hills, tomorrow, searching for provisions, cattle, and
sheep."

"That was a narrow escape," Garcia said, as the brigands moved off.
"I wonder they did not take our mules; but I suppose they had as
many as they want--three or four would be sufficient to carry their
food, and anything they may have stolen--more than that would only
be a hindrance to them in moving about, especially now they know
that the French may be in the neighbourhood in a few hours, if they
have not arrived already.

"Well, senor, what is the next thing to be done?"

Terence did not answer for some little time.

"It is not easy to say," he replied at length. "Seeing that Marmont
and Soult are practically united, there can be no doubt that our
troops will have to fall back again to Portugal. The whole country
is covered with French cavalry and, in addition, we have to run
risks from these brigands; who may not always prove so easy to deal
with as the men who have just left us. What do you think yourself?
You know the country, and can judge far better than I can as to our
chance of getting through."

"I don't think it will be possible, senor, to carry out the plan of
trying to cross into Portugal, in this direction. It seems to me,
now that Soult is engaged, and there can be no large bodies of
French near Seville, our best plan would be to make for that town;
whence, so far as we know, the country is clear of the enemy down
to Cadiz; and when we reach that port, you can take ship to
Lisbon."

"But in that case I shall not be able to get the money to pay you,
for I shall not be known; and although I could doubtless get a
passage, I do not think that I could obtain any funds."

"Do not speak of it, senor. The British will be in Salamanca one of
these days, and then you will be able to pay me; or, if I should
not be there at the time, you can leave the money for me with Nita,
or her father. It was for her sake that I undertook the business;
and I have no doubt, whatever, that you will discharge the debt
when you enter Salamanca."

"That I certainly will, and to make it more certain I will ask one
of the officers of my old regiment to undertake to find her out,
and to pay the money; in case I may be with my own men, in some
other part of the country."

"That will be quite enough, senor. Do not trouble yourself further
on the matter. We will start for Seville at daybreak."

Travelling rapidly, the little party kept along the range of the
sierras; and then proceeded by the valley of the Tagus and crossed
the river at Talavera; and then, keeping nearly due south, struck
the Guadiana at Ciudad Real and, crossing La Mancha, gained the
Sierra Morena; held west for some distance along the southern
slopes; and then turned south and struck the Guadalquivir between
Cordova and Seville, and arrived safely at the latter town. They
had been obliged to make a great number of detours, to avoid bodies
of the enemy; but the muleteer had no difficulty in obtaining
information, from the peasants, as to the whereabouts of the French
and, after reaching the plains, always travelled at night. They
fell in twice with large parties of guerillas; but these were not
brigands for, as the country was still unconquered, and the French
only held the ground they occupied, the bands had not degenerated
into brigandage; but were in communication with the local
authorities, and acted in conformity with their instructions, in
concert with the Spanish troops.

It was, however, nearly a month from the date of their leaving
Salamanca before they arrived at Cadiz. Terence had, during the
journey, greatly improved his knowledge of Spanish by his
conversation with the muleteers and, as the language was so similar
to the Portuguese, he soon acquired facility in speaking it. They
put up at a small fonda, or inn, frequented by muleteers; and
Terence at once made his way to the house where he heard that the
British agent resided. The latter, on hearing his story, was
surprised, indeed, that he should have made his way through Spain
from a point so far away as Salamanca; and occupied, for the
greater portion of the distance, by the French.

"A sloop-of-war is sailing tomorrow for the Tagus," he said, "and I
will give you a letter to her captain; who will, of course, give
you a passage."

Terence informed him of the great services the muleteer had
rendered him, and asked him if he could advance him sufficient
money to repay the man.

"I certainly have no funds at my disposal for such a purpose,
Captain O'Connor,"--for Terence had said nothing about his
Portuguese rank, finding that its announcement always caused a
certain amount of doubt--"but I will strain a point, and grant you
thirty pounds, on your bill upon your agent at Lisbon. I have no
doubt that it will be met on presentation. But should, for example,
your vessel be wrecked or captured, which I am by no means
contemplating as likely, the amount must go down among subsidies to
Spaniards who have rendered good service."

"Thank you, sir. That will be sufficient, not to reward the man for
the risk he has run and the fidelity that he has shown, but it will
at least pay him for the service of his mules. I do not suppose
that he would earn more, and it will be a satisfaction, to me, to
know that he is at least not out of pocket."

The agent at once handed him a bag of silver, together with a
letter to the officer in command of the Daphne. He hired a boat and
was rowed off to the ship; which was lying, with several other
small British warships, in the port. When he ascended the side the
officer on duty asked him somewhat roughly, in bad Spanish, what he
wanted.

"I have a letter for Captain Fry," he replied in English, to the
surprise of the lieutenant. "I am a British officer, who was taken
prisoner at the battle of Fuentes d'Onoro."

"You must not blame me for having taken you for a Spaniard," the
lieutenant said in surprise, as he handed the letter Terence held
out to the midshipman, with a request to deliver it to the captain.
"Your disguise is certainly excellent and, if you speak Spanish as
well as you look the part, I can quite understand your getting
safely through the country."

"Unfortunately, I do not. I speak it quite well enough for ordinary
purposes, but not well enough to pass as a native. I travelled with
a muleteer, who did all the talking that was necessary. I have been
a month on the journey, which has greatly improved my Spanish. I
knew little of it when I started, but I should not have got on so
quickly had I not been thoroughly up in Portuguese; which, of
course, helped me immensely."

The midshipman now came up and requested Terence to follow him to
the captain's cabin. The captain smiled as he entered.

"It is well that Mr. Bromhead vouched for you, Captain O'Connor;
for I certainly should have had difficulty in bringing myself to
believe that you were a British officer. I shall, of course, be
very glad to give you a passage; and to hear the story of your
adventures, which ought to be very interesting."

"I have had very few adventures," Terence replied. "The muleteer
knew the country perfectly; and had no difficulty in obtaining,
from the peasants, news of the movements of the French. When I
started I had no idea of making such a long journey; but had
intended to join Lord Beresford in front of Badajos, if I could not
manage to cross the frontier higher up; but Marmont's march south
rendered that impossible, and I thought that the safer plan would
be to keep well away from the frontier; as of course things are
much more settled in the interior, and two or three muleteers with
their animals would excite little attention, even if we passed
through a town with a large French garrison; except that the mules
might have been impressed and, as I had no means of recompensing my
guide in that case, I was anxious to avoid all risk.

"When do you sail, sir?"

"At eight o'clock tomorrow. You cannot very well go in that
attire," the captain said, smiling. "I shall be glad to advance any
sum that you may require to procure clothes. You can, no doubt, pay
me on your arrival at Lisbon."

Terence gladly accepted a loan of ten pounds and, with it, returned
to shore. On reaching the little inn, he at once handed thirty
pounds to Garcia. The man, however, absolutely refused to accept
it.

"No, senor; since you have got money, I will take fifty dollars to
pay for food and forage on my way back; although really you have
cost me nothing, for I had to make the journey on business. But
even did you owe me the money, I would not take it now. I may not
be so lucky on my way back as we have been in coming, and might be
seized by brigands; therefore I would, in any case, rather that you
left the matter until you come to Salamanca."

"But that may not be for a long time. It is quite as likely that we
may be obliged to quit Portugal, and embark for England, as that we
shall ever get to Salamanca."

"Who knows, senor! Luck may turn. However, I would rather that it
were so. I have had the pleasure of your having made the journey
with me, and I shall have pleased Nita. If you come, well and good.
If not, it cannot be helped, and I shall not grieve over it. If I
had money with me I might lose it, and it might cost me my life."

Terence had again gone out, and purchased a suit of clothes
befitting a Spanish gentleman. He took the muleteer with him. They
had no longer any reason for concealing their identity and, should
he find it necessary to announce himself to be a British officer,
it might be useful to have corroboration of his story. He also laid
in a fresh stock of linen, of which he was greatly in need and,
next morning, after a hearty farewell to Garcia, he went down to
the port in his new attire and, carrying a small valise containing
his purchases, took a boat to the ship.

The evening before he had called in at the agent's, to thank him
again, when the latter told him that he had some urgent despatches
from the junta of Cadiz to that of Seville; and some despatches of
his own to persons at Cordova, and others in Madrid, who were in
communication with the British government; and he offered a sum,
for their safe delivery, that would recompense the muleteer for the
whole of his journey. This Garcia had gladly acceded to, on
condition that he might stop for a day, to get the wine at Xeres.

The voyage to Lisbon lasted three days, and was a very pleasant one
to Terence. On his arrival there he at once repaid the captain the
loan he had received from him, having over thirty pounds still in
hand. He next saw the agent, and requested him to pay the bill when
presented and, after waiting three days to obtain a fresh uniform,
started up the country and rejoined Wellington, who had been
compelled to fall back again behind the Coa. He reported himself to
the adjutant general.

"You have just arrived in time, Captain O'Connor," the latter said,
"for your regiment is under orders to start, tomorrow, to join the
force of the guerilla Moras who, with two thousand men, is in the
mountains on our frontier near Miranda; and intends to threaten
Zamora, and so compel Marmont to draw off some of his troops facing
us here. Your regiment is at present on the Douro, fifteen miles
away. How have you come here?"

"I travelled by a country conveyance, sir. I am at present without
a horse, but no doubt I can pick one up, when I have obtained funds
from the paymaster."

"I will give you an order on him for fifty pounds," the adjutant
said. "Of course, there is a great deal more owing to you; but it
will save trouble to give you an order for that sum, on account. I
don't suppose you will want more. I will have inquiries made about
a horse. If you return here in an hour, I daresay I shall hear of
one for sale.

"Your regiment has not done much fighting since you left it, but they
behaved well at Banos, where we had a very sharp fight. They came up
just at the critical moment, and they materially assisted us in beating
off the attack of the French; who were in greatly superior force, and
nearly succeeded in capturing, or exterminating, the light division."

On his return, Terence found that one of the officers on the
adjutant general's staff knew of a horse that had been captured, by
a trooper, in a skirmish with French dragoons three days before. It
was a serviceable animal and, as the soldier was glad to take ten
pounds for it, Terence at once purchased it. The adjutant told him
that, on mentioning his return, Lord Wellington had requested him
to dine with him; and to come half an hour before the usual time,
as he wished to question him with reference to the state of the
country he had passed through, and of the strength and probable
movements of the French troops in those districts.

"I am glad to see you back again, Colonel O'Connor," the general
said, when he entered. "Of course, I heard how you had been captured,
and have regretted your absence. Colonel Herrara is a good officer
in many ways, and the regiment has maintained its state of efficiency;
but he does not possess your energy and enterprise, nor the readiness
to assume responsibilities and to act solely upon his own initiative--a
most valuable quality," he said, with one of his rare smiles, "when
combined with sound judgment, for an officer commanding a partisan
corps like your own; but which, if general, would in a very short time
put an end to all military combinations, and render the office of a
commander-in-chief a sinecure.

"Now, sir, will you be good enough to point out, on this map,
exactly the line you followed in travelling from Salamanca to
Cadiz: and give me any information you gained concerning the roads,
the disposition of the people, and the position and movements of
the French troops."

Terence had anticipated that such information would be required of
him; and had, every evening when they halted, jotted down every
fact that he thought could be useful and, on the voyage to Lisbon,
had written from them a full report, both of the matters which the
general now inquired about, and of the amount of supplies which
could probably be obtained in each locality, the number of houses
and accommodation available for troops, the state and strength of
the passes, and the information that Garcia had obtained for him of
mountain tracks by which these passes could be turned, by infantry
and cavalry in single file.

"I have brought my report, sir," he said, producing it. "I
endeavoured to make the most of my opportunities, to gain all the
information possible that might be useful to myself, or the
commander of any column moving across the same country. I fear that
it is far from being perfect but, as I wrote it from my notes, made
at the end of each day, I think it will answer its purpose, as far
as it goes."

Attached to each day's journey was a rough sketch map showing the
crossroads, rivers, bridges, and other particulars. The general
took the bulky report, sat down and read a page here and there, and
glanced at the maps. He looked up approvingly.

"Very good, indeed, Colonel O'Connor. If all officers would take
advantage of their opportunities, as you have done, the drudgery my
staff have to do would be very much lightened, and they would not
be constantly working in the dark."

He handed the report to the adjutant general.

"This may be of great utility when an advance begins," he said.
"You had better have two or three copies of it made. It will be
useful to the quartermaster's department, as well as to yourself;
and of great assistance to the officers in command of any detached
parties that may be despatched to gather in supplies, or to keep in
check an enemy advancing on our flank. Some day, when I can find
time, I will read the whole report myself.

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