*CHAPTER XII*
It was three days before Quarovitch returned with the details which Ihad desired him to obtain. He was in a state of mind bordering upondismay, that such a place should have existed without his knowledge. Hewas amazed, disgusted, and yet pleased, for the report he brought backshowed that he had a fair inkling of what I intended to do.
Silently we prepared for war, mobilising quietly and quickly, withoutany undue haste, but with careful attention to details.
I interviewed the Press. Thank God they were all loyal, and were onlytoo pleased to fall in with the scheme I proposed to them: which was torefrain from mentioning any movements of troops, or details of militaryimport. I promised them that, whenever it was possible, news that theycould print should be given to them; they also agreed to write articles,strongly advocating Peace.
As soon as I had Quarovitch's report, I called a Council of War. It wascomposed of Count von Belen, Prince von Zeula, Prince von Venoff,General von Vorkovitch, Prince Kleber, General Avilinoff, General vonScutane, and Colonel von Quarovitch. Mr. Neville was there to act assecretary, for we wished to keep our plans known to as few people aspossible.
I am sure there was a strong current of excitement running through us aswe settled ourselves down to examine the large maps of Rudarlia, whichwere spread on the table.
"Gentlemen," I said, "we all know the strained feeling now existingbetween this country and our neighbour Bornia; their mobilisation pointsto serious possibilities, I may say probabilities. I have thereforecalled this Council to deliberate upon the steps we must take to preparefor war.
"I may tell those of you who are not in the Ministry that we havereceived information that the great Powers will not interfere in thiswar--if it should come to war. With this assurance, which as you knowis of vast importance, we can rest satisfied. The main issue willtherefore rest upon the skill with which we meet the enemy. If ourstrategy is superior to that of the Bornians, all will be well. Irefuse to allow for one moment the idea that it may be inferior,therefore we will not waste time in discussing that eventuality.
"In the Councils we have held in the past, it has been generallyconcluded that any invasion by Bornia would come from the west, as itdid before; and certainly the number of troops massed there point to theprobability of the suggestion.
"The military experts among us point out that the Ruln, Agrade, andKarena line is the only possible means of conveying heavy guns to attackour fortified capital, which is most likely the correct opinion; but itmust be remembered that there are other ways of reaching Karena. PrinceKleber is the only one who suggests that the attack may be made throughSoctia, but I am afraid that there the wish is father to the thought."
"That is so," said the Prince, so glibly that we all smiled.
"That being so, I think we can trust our troops in Soctia to repulse anyraid through Garace, which, on account of the nature of the ground tothe north, would be of no real import to the general plan of theBornians, save as the means to create a panic, and draw troops from moreimportant places.
"Now, there is another way into Karena which has not as yet been hintedat as a possible line of attack. All of you, with courteousconsideration for my feelings, have refrained from any adverse criticismregarding certain fortified places to the north of Karena. But I haveno doubt that you have often considered the money spent as so muchwaste; it may be so, but it was spent with the idea of preventing anattack in that direction. The road from Melanov to Karena is theshortest way from Bornian frontiers to our capital."
"Does your Majesty know the road from Melanov to Karena?" askedVorkovitch.
"Very well, General. I have walked it twice with my eyes open."
"Would your Majesty consider that an attack could be made from there?"
"I trust so, since I have counted upon such an attack being attempted."
"But it would be madness to advance that way, there are no roads tospeak of; we could mass our men, so that the enemy would not be able toadvance half a dozen miles. The Bornians must know that and they arenot mad."
"And yet it is the shortest way to Karena from the frontier."
"It would not be if we were in between."
"Perhaps not; but did you intend being in between? I have not heard thesuggestion made."
"No, your Majesty, I did not mention it, as it would be absurd to wastetroops in that direction, when the frontier guard would be sufficient."
"Very well, is that the general opinion?"
"It appears to be, your Majesty," said Prince Zeula.
"Are there no dissentients?"
"Three, your Majesty: Count Belen, Colonel von Quarovitch, and myself."
"You agree with me then, Colonel von Quarovitch?"
"I do, your Majesty, and should like to mention that some years ago Isent in a report to that effect. At that time, I am convinced, theycould have marched through, that is, if they had taken us by surprise."
"You think then they will try a surprise to the north; on what groundsdo you base your supposition?"
"The south and west have been fortified since the last invasion. Theyknow that, therefore it must strike them that they will meet with greatopposition in those quarters. This opposition, however, would betremendously lessened, if not completely upset, by a striking success tothe north."
"Then what do you imagine would be their plan of attack?"
"I think, your Majesty, that their main forces will strike along theRuln-Agrade line, and at the same time they will throw a column throughMelanov."
"Pshaw!" said Vorkovitch.
"What is your objection to Colonel von Quarovitch's argument?"
"My chief objection is that he takes the Bornians for fools, and argueson that premise. I maintain that no sane general would try to deliver amain attack through such country as that between Melanov and Karena."
"Colonel von Quarovitch did not suggest a main attack by the north, buta flying column; personally, I should be inclined to think that theywould send a larger force than that."
With the exception of Quarovitch, the military element were against me.It was easy to see that their thoughts ran along preconceived lines ofstrategy, which I think is rather a failing among military men. Itseems to me that they go too much to the great generals of past times,whereas no two battles have ever been exactly similar.
On former occasions, when we had held a Council, the soldiers had agreedmost easily, but then we had not discussed the prospect of immediatewarfare. Now, when we should all have been eager to find the bestpossible defence, each of these same Generals wanted his own plan to beadopted.
I listened to each proposition, carefully weighing it; I did notcriticise, there was no need, with the other Generals there.
More than once I introduced the subject of Melanov, but each time it metwith almost unveiled scorn. So finally I said no more; but I had my ownideas, and I intended to carry them out.
The advance from Ruln was the great topic of discussion, it was therethat the opinions differed: one proposed this, another that, until I wasweary listening to their wrangling.
Quarovitch said little, being only a Colonel, and I almost regretted nothaving raised him in rank before this.
The result of this Council was nil. We sat again that evening, also thenext morning; and still they argued, and argued.
At this meeting General von Vorkovitch fell ill; he was a very old man,and the strain had proved too much for him. He retired from theCouncil, and I sent a car to take him to his home near Damretch.
When he had gone I decided to take matters into my own hands, for timewas flying, and we were hardly any nearer the solution of our problem.We were receiving reports continually from the border of fresh troopsarriving in the neighbourhood of Ruln; it was evident that their mainattack would come that way. I had my spies, too, on the Melanov border,but so far nothing was reported save a certain restlessness at Nerane,and certain tracks which could not be accounted for
by ordinary traffic.I sent Piotr to try his luck, and see what he could discover.
Now we had decided that the Ruln-Karena line was where our chieffighting must be done, and upon this point General Avilinoff and Iagreed. General von Scutane had sided with General von Vorkovitch. Theywished to offer a tremendous defence at Ruln itself, even to advanceinto Bornia, their reasons being that in that way we should be fightingupon the enemy's soil, which is always encouraging to the soldiers.This was not at all what I wished. It was too much like stalemate, thatis, granting that we could hold Ruln. It seemed to me that, even if wecould, nothing decisive could result, for we were not in a position toinvade Bornia. On the other hand, if we allowed them to force a wayslowly into Rudarlia, there would be more chance of victory. With oursmall army we could wage a defensive campaign, where we could hope fornothing from the offensive. We should be fighting on our own territory,of which we should know every inch; and, as to the morale of our troops,well, I had always understood that men would fight to the death indefence of their own.
It was then decided that our policy should be a slow strategic retreatto our own chosen positions.
We were just about to adjourn for an hour, when an urgent message wasbrought to me by Woolgast; it ran:
"I have news of the utmost importance to your Majesty, and to theCouncil now sitting. I await your Majesty's orders.--RUPERTCARRUTHERS."
"Admit him, please," I said, and waited.
There must be something serious afoot, or he would never have been soformal, nor would he have interrupted our Council. He had not wastedmuch time in coming over, and, perhaps, on his way he had gathered news.I wondered whether he had come through Nerane.
He entered the room and saluted.
I felt inclined to jump up and seize his hand, and laugh with pleasureat sight of him, but of course I could not, so had to content myselfwith a good look at him. He really was a splendid looking man, theideal soldier; and it was strange that at that moment I wondered whetherhe was ever going to be married, and whether there was no Rudarlian girlto tempt him to matrimony.
"Ah, Monsieur Carruthers, you have news, you say, of importance to us.I shall be pleased to hear you."
"I come from Nerane, sir"--it was almost ludicrous to see the startwhich nearly every one gave, the word "Nerane" seemed to act as aspur--"being desirous of arriving here as soon as possible, I hired ahorse and, in trying a short cut, lost my way; in seeking the road againI blundered upon a body of Bornian troops not more than seven miles fromMelanov."
"What's that?" I cried, and I saw General von Soutane's hands clench, asthey rested on the table. "Bornian troops, sir. I estimated theirnumber to be about ten to fifteen thousand. They are bivouacked in adefile to the east of the road, well hidden from any ordinarypasser-by."
"Ah! did you observe any details, monsieur? Had they guns?"
"Only horse artillery, but in Nerane I saw heavier weapons."
"Openly displayed?"
"No, sir, they were hidden in a small farm to the south of the town;observing heavy tracks, I walked up to the house to ask for a drink ofwater. The guns were covered with masses of hay."
"And what made you suppose them to be guns?"
"At first it was a surmise on my part, as, in England, haystacks are notguarded by armed soldiers. Afterwards I made sure, as one of them wascarelessly covered."
I smiled at this, knowing Rupert's inordinate curiosity, and almostsuperhuman dexterity in ferreting out what he wished to know.
"Was there not considerable risk in walking to the house as you did?Surely it would have been better to have ridden up as any travellerwould?"
"I had not my horse then, sir."
"I thought you said you had hired a horse."
"It was at the farm that I obtained my horse, sir."
Rupert allowed a grin to twist his lips, so I said no more about thehorse, but I knew there was a story attached to the possession of it. Iturned to Avilinoff.
"What do you say now, General?"
"Can Monsieur Carruthers give any reason for supposing that theintentions of these troops were other than pacific?"
"They were carrying ball cartridges, General."
"Then, your Majesty, I say that I was wrong about the north."
"You mean that Colonel von Quarovitch may be right?"
"More than that, I say that he _is_ right. They evidently propose araid; how big, of course it is impossible to say until we know more.Could Monsieur Carruthers give us more details?"
"I had not much time, General, but I saw an aeroplane with the troops,and there were signs of great activity in Nerane. I only got through bypretending to be the nephew of Sir George Curtiss."
We adjourned after this for an hour, Rupert breakfasted with me, andtold me the truth about his horse. It appeared that as he was leavingthe farm, he met an officer leading his horse; this officer stopped him,and asked his business. Carruthers had calmly knocked him down, placed athousand franc note in his pocket, and confiscated his horse. The moneyhe had left was what he described as payment for the hire of the animal.He also described the payment as: "A d--d sight more than the beast wasworth."
That same day we worked out the full scheme of our south-easterndefence, and I appointed Avilinoff as Commander-in-Chief. The north Ireserved. I had made up my mind to conduct that campaign myself. Itwas perhaps conceited, idiotic, even criminal, that I, a ridiculouslyyoung King, should take into my own hands the leadership of an army, butI had faith in myself, and in my soldiers. I did not presume to pose asa tactician, but the strategy should be mine, for I felt it. Perhaps itwas some spark inherited from a soldier ancestor, I do not know.
We had, when fully mobilised, an army of one hundred and thirty thousandmen; this number did not include the garrisons of such places as Soctia,Poiska, or Orvlov. It was the actual fighting force that reached thatnumber. Of these I retained forty thousand; the other ninety thousandwere under the command of Avilinoff.
Our railways were never idle, and in order to confuse the enemy's spiesvery few people knew of the ultimate destination of the troops, thesebeing moved backwards and forwards; but gradually they were drafted offto the frontier, or as near to it as Avilinoff wished.
I made Quarovitch a General, for I intended giving him a large commandin the north, and he and I worked hard together concocting our plan, anddeciding on the composition of the forces necessary to carry it out.
Forty thousand men may have seemed a large proportion of our fightingforce to have kept for the north, and I believe it was greatlycriticised, but my reasons were these: we did not know how many of theenemy would be opposed to us, I wished to have the numerical superiorityover any probable force.
I wanted to gain a victory, of a decisive kind, quickly, and also Ithought that, after a victory in the north, the troops, when they didreach the southern army, would leaven that in a most satisfactory way,especially as Avilinoff's army would have been retreating for some time.
For some days small bodies of troops left Karena, after dark, for adestination known only to the officer in charge, and Quarovitch. Ofcourse, I was aware that they went, and where; but, then, I was supposedto know everything.
A shooting affray in which a Bornian officer was wounded, a fishing boatseized by our coast guard, were the two excuses our enemy needed; thesetwo things happened simultaneously, and within twenty-four hours theyhad presented an ultimatum.
That same night Piotr returned. He had ample information, and of such anature that I blessed the thought that had induced me to retain so manytroops in the north. He left again some hours later with Quarovitch.
Between Prince Venoff and the Bornian Minister, there was a great dealof going to and fro. Our Foreign Minister, full of wiles, played hispart to perfection. He asked for more time, appeared to meditatecompliance with the terms of the ultimatum, suggested compromises withevery sign of nervousness; but all to no avail, the Bornian wasrelentless.
I cannot remember meetin
g a man so born to be duped. He was enormouslyconceited, overbearing, and haughty. He only possessed a modicum ofthose qualities a Minister needs.
Had he been a wiser man, our course of procedure would have been verydifferent, but as it was he was fooled completely, and the more fooledhe was the more pressing he became in his demands.
At last we could hold him off no longer, even if we had wished to; andhe was recalled upon war being declared.
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