CHAPTER XVI
A SIEGE AND A SORTIE
Tim had learnt his lesson against premature exultation. He did not atthe barracks, as at the hacienda, allow his wits to be lulled by theheady incense of success. The flight of the troopers, the securebarring of the gates, gave him a breathing space in which he envisagedvery clearly the dangers of his situation.
He was not much troubled about the men whom he had just defeated. Theywould probably take no further action until rejoined by the strong partywho had ridden out to the hacienda. How long would that be? Nobody atthe house would tell them in what direction the insurgents had marched.The Peruvian officer might suppose that they had fled to the hills, andif he pursued, it would be many hours before he could return with histroopers to San Rosario. But it was not unlikely that they had heard thesounds of firing, which would travel far across the open country in thenight. In that case the party would gallop back at once. No doubt amessenger had already ridden from the town to acquaint them with whathad happened, so that in all probability they would return within twohours. It was now nearly nine o'clock; by eleven the combined force,outnumbering Tim's band, would for their own credit's sake try torecapture the barracks. Behind walls Tim felt that he had a fair chanceagainst them.
But this was only the first and the least of the dangers he had toanticipate. There were two hundred or more men in Mollendo's old campin the hills: the news of the outbreak at the hacienda might alreadyhave been conveyed to them, with a summons to ride back to the town. Ifthey started as soon as the call reached them, they might arrive by sixor seven o'clock; but Tim hoped that with Spanish procrastination theywould put off their departure until the morning. There was a much morepressing peril. San Juan was only thirty miles away--ten miles nearerthan the Inca camp. The Prefect was there! Doubtless he was possessedof full information, flashed to him from San Rosario by telegraph.Spanish though he was by blood and habit, he was prompt and vigorous inaction; and with his present authority and future security at stake hewould surely set off within a little of receiving the news--perhaps wasalready hurrying across the hills. The road was bad; a march by nightcould not be fast; but even at the worst, by five o'clock anoverwhelming force might be pouring into the town.
Tim wished that he had had the forethought to send a man to cut thetelegraph wire. That would have gained five hours at the least. But hecould not think of everything; he was as yet a novice in thingsmilitary; and he had had no one with whom to take counsel. He reflectedbitterly on Romana's desertion. Romana was not a soldier; but he wastwice Tim's age; he had had some experience with the Mollendists, andwas shrewd and far-seeing. Tim was surprised and angry to find that theman was apparently a coward.
Thrown upon his sole resources, Tim tried to think of some means ofmeeting the threatening dangers. His case would be hopeless as soon asthe Prefect arrived with his main body of troops, unless--Tim graspedeagerly at an idea that had flashed upon him. If he could send a messageto his father, the Mollendists, though ill-equipped and weak in numbers,might push down from the hills by way of the river bed and reach SanRosario in time to give him help. But they were twenty miles beyond theInca camp, and could not arrive before the Prefect unless the approachof the force from San Juan could be hindered. That was not impossible.A few men posted on the hill road just above the place where theMollendists had snapped up the gobernador could hold in check a muchlarger number in the darkness, and gain a few precious hours. Timresolved to attempt both--to despatch a messenger to his father, and alittle band to the defile on the high road to San Juan.
He had just risen from his seat in the guardroom to select men for thesetasks when there was a commotion below--a shout of alarm, followed by amoment's silence, then a cheer. He looked over the balcony, and sawRomana pushing his way from the patio through the crowd of Japanese andCholos to the foot of the staircase.
"You are safe, senorito?" Romana called, seeing Tim looking down at him.
Tim did not reply: he felt hurt and indignant.
"You come when the fight is over," he said, when Romana joined him. "Ithought I could trust you."
"Caramba, senorito, what do you mean?" cried Romana, his usualforbearance giving way under a rush of hot blood. "Do you take me for acoward? I have saved you from making a thorough mess of your own hastyscheme. You did not think of the telegraph wire: I did. That is all."
"You have cut it?"
"Yes. I galloped straight to the road. I hope I cut the wire beforePardo reached the town."
"Forgive me, Nicolas," said Tim penitently, grasping his hand. "I am anass. I ought to have known you had not deserted me."
"Say no more, senorito," said Romana, cooling at once. "I am rejoicedat your success. But there is still much to do."
"How did you get in?"
"I climbed the wall and got over the stable roof. That must be guarded,senorito. When the men come from the hacienda they will certainly try toget in. The Prefect will hang them if they do not recapture the place."
"It shall be done: I ought to have seen to it before, but I have beenthinking of other things."
He went on to tell Romana his recent decisions.
"I thought of both, senorito," said the man. "I debated whether to rideat once from the road to Senor O'Hagan; it would have gained much time;but I felt that I must first see what had become of you. The duty ismine: I know the way: no one else does. Give me a dozen men; we willsally out on horseback down the street and get away before the men inthe plaza are ready to pursue us. Galdos has my horse in the wood halfa mile away, but I need a fresh one."
"What about the supplies?" asked Tim, remembering the errand on whichthey had come.
"I took out two laden mules to the place where we had arranged to meet.Finding that you were not there, I tied them up in the wood and went tothe house to fetch petrol, as I promised. Little did I imagine what Ishould see there!"
"I got tired of waiting and went myself. There are several petrol cansin the shrubbery. Of course I had no intention of fighting; but Isimply couldn't stand Pardo thrashing Asumi, and when the other Japsbegan to attack I saw a chance. It was a mad thing to do: I didn't lookahead."
"It may turn out to be the best thing that could possibly have happened.But I must go, senorito; time is precious."
They went down to the stables together, and chose twelve of the besthorses. Then they selected eleven of the Cholos, who were quite at homeon horseback. Tim explained the nature of the service required of them.They were eager to start. The lamp in the entrance was extinguished.Tim kept watch on the street from the window of the guardroom, withseveral men armed with rifles. The bars were quickly removed; the gateswere thrown open; and the twelve men sallied out, turned to the right,and galloped at full speed down the street. There was instantly a rushfrom the plaza. But a volley from the windows checked the oncomers, andthey fell back. Tim knew that before they could ride through the plaza,and down a side street in pursuit, the fugitives would have a start ofat least half a mile. The gates were again closed and barred, andsilence fell once more upon the scene.
Tim had little anxiety about Romana. On reaching the outskirts of thetown, he would follow a track parallel with a stream--the same whichflowed past Romana's cave--cross it a few miles to the west, thenproceed across open country until he came to a wooden bridge over theriver. He would then take to the high road, and in the course of littlemore than two hours arrive at the defile where Senor Fagasta had beencaptured. There posting the men, he would return to the river, and ridemore rapidly upon the hard sand at the edge of the channel. In five orsix hours he should reach the Mollendist camp. With nearly sixty milesto march, Mr. O'Hagan could not reach San Rosario before late on thenext afternoon, even if he started with his mounted men only. But ifthe men posted at the defile were successful in delaying the Prefect'sadvance, the time gained might be enough to allow the Mollendists tosecure the town.
When the gates had been secured, Tim had the lamp relit and called aparade of his men in the patio. His losses had been slight. Of theeighty-two left to him, seventy-five were still fit for service. Allbut eight were now armed with rifles; for the eight there were swords,bayonets, and lances, if they wished for other weapons than their ownbill-hooks. A large proportion of the Japanese, having served in theirnational army, were expert with the rifle; and as there was plenty ofammunition in the armoury, and food in the stores on the ground floor,Tim felt himself very well situated, whether to withstand a siege or torepel an attack.
After parading the men, he told off a number of them to hold the roof ofthe stables on three sides of the patio. The rest were posted at allthe windows overlooking the street. The rooms were left in darkness.
About an hour after Romana's departure the sounds from the plaza, whichhad died down into a dull murmur, suddenly revived. Shouts and cheersmingled with the clatter of hoofs and the jingle of accoutrements. Theparty from the hacienda had returned. Tim sent word to the men on thestables to be on the alert.
Some time passed. The plaza had again relapsed into silence. Timguessed that the enemy were organising an attack. He wondered whetherthey would attempt an assault on the gates, or trust to escalading thepatio walls. The gates were of hard wood studded with iron; the barswere stout; it would not be easy to break them down. If the enemy onceforced their way in and made good their position, they would havecommand of the stores, for Tim could not risk a hand-to-hand fight inthe entrance porch. The party from the hacienda, combined with thosewho had been patrolling the plaza and probably with a certain number ofthe Prefect's supporters in the town, would outnumber his own men by atleast three to one. Tim thought his best plan in the event of an inroadwas to hold the balconies and staircases, and keep the enemy at bayuntil they were forced to retire by exhaustion of their ammunition.
He soon found that the danger was to be faced both in front and rear.Warning came first from the stables. The silence was broken by a suddenclamour. From the surrounding gardens men were attempting to scale thewall on all sides--an impossible feat in face of the forty men at theirposts of vantage on the stable roof. But this attack was only designedas a means of occupying the defenders while the main assault wasproceeding in front. Looking up the street, Tim saw a number of darkshapes rushing from the plaza along the opposite side. He had orderedhis men to hold their fire until the enemy were well in view. But theattackers did not come far down the street. They suddenly turned totheir left, and disappeared within a doorway. Their object was soonevident. In a few minutes there was a burst of flame from the housesexactly opposite the barracks, and bullets flew through the open windowsat which Tim and his men had posted themselves. At the same moment amuch larger body of men, all on foot, came dashing along from the plaza,keeping on the near side of the street. It was plain that under coverof the rifle fire opposite a determined attempt was to be made to breakin the gates.
Tim ordered half his men, taking what cover was possible, to reply tothe fire across the street, and the other half to be ready to shoot downupon the enemy below. He saw at once that at the windows his secondparty would be at a great disadvantage, because they could not fireeffectively without exposing themselves. So he sent them up a woodenladder to the roof, where they would be in less danger themselves, whilebetter placed for dealing with the assailants.
Soon both patio and street were ringing with the noise of battle. Atthe rear and sides the troopers who tried to mount the walls, some onladders, some by clambering up the stonework, were hurled down by themen above them. In the front, bullets rang across the street inopposite directions, and poured from the roof upon the dense mass now atthe gates. Tim heard a resounding crash below; the enemy had broughtwith them a heavy beam which they were using as a battering ram. In thealmost total darkness it was impossible to discover the effect of thefire from the roof. That it was comparatively ineffectual was soonproved. Three times the thundering blows rang on the gates; at thethird one of the wings gave way, and with a yell of triumph men began topour into the porch.
Tim at once called his men from the windows and posted them on thebalconies overlooking the entrance, whence they fired on the crowdsurging in. Some of the men on the stable roof, seeing by the light ofthe lamp what had occurred, began to shoot across the patio. Taken thusbetween two fires, the front ranks of the enemy lost heart and tried topush back to the street. They were checked by their comrades stillpressing forward, and for a minute or two the porch was filled with asolid mass of men, into which the Japanese poured their shot as fast asthey could load. The enemy were thrown into utter confusion and panic.With yells of rage and pain they struggled among themselves, fightingeach other in their desperate efforts to get through the half-open gateinto the street. But for the steady shooting of the men on the roof,which cleared the ground opposite the entrance, not one would haveissued forth alive. An advance of their comrades had been checked. Thepressure relaxed; the way was open; and in five minutes after the gatewas broken the survivors of the fight were rushing headlong back to theplaza, driving the mob before them, and pursued by shots from the men onthe roof.
Tim ran downstairs and across the patio to learn how his men were faringthere. The assailants had been beaten back all along the wall, and wereslinking away through the gardens to rejoin their friends. There hadbeen much commotion among the horses in the stables, and a good deal ofdamage done by their heels when they lashed out in terror of the shots.On looking in at the quivering animals Tim was seized with an idea: whynot keep the discomfited enemy on the run? They had had two rather sharplessons: a charge on horseback might have at least the effect ofdiscouraging another attack on the barracks. By starting at once hemight even yet overtake the fugitives before they all reached the plaza.
He called up the twenty Cholos he had left; in half a minute they hadled all the remaining horses into the patio, and without waiting tosaddle, sprang upon their backs and followed Tim to the gate. As theycame to the street, Tim saw that fortune favoured him. The men who hadbeen firing from the opposite houses were at that moment issuing fromthe doorway some distance away, and moving off towards the plaza. With awild whoop Tim led the charge. The enemy instantly picked up their heelsand dashed for safety. Their comrades in the plaza were gloomilydiscussing their defeat. Only a few men who had been patrolling thesquare were mounted; the horses of the rest were ranged in a long lineopposite the gobernador's house. At the sound of Tim's party gallopingand the cries of the fugitives the whole body made a rush for theirhorses; but before they could cross the plaza the pursuers were uponthem.
TIM LEADS A CHARGE]
The place was ill lighted; the Prefect's men, even if they had not beenflustered and disheartened, could scarcely have seen how small was theband clattering across the cobbles. The noise made by Tim's men,indeed, was worthy of a regiment, and being mingled with shouts andscreams from the people who had been pushed back to the openings of thestreets, the coolest of soldiers might have been deceived. Thesehirelings were not cool. One or two succeeded in mounting; the resttook panic and ran in all directions. Their horses caught theinfection, and galloped riderless across the plaza, dashing in blindfear among the shrieking people. Men and animals fled he
lter-skelterinto the dark streets and out into the open country. In a few minutesthe whole garrison of San Rosario as a mounted force had ceased toexist.
Tim was prudent enough not to leave the plaza. He did not yetappreciate the full extent of his success. When the square was clear ofthe enemy, he hastened back to the barracks, blocked up the damagedgateway as well as he could, and then, feeling that he was safe for therest of the night, sent his men to find a supper.
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