Hernando laughed softly. “Bugger the General, my friend. You need it more than he does and anyway if you’re going to hang for horse thievery… well, you might as well steal the best, right?”
Arturo shook his head, with a grin, at his audacity. Examining the pistol, the pair noticed tears welling up in Arturo’s eyes. “This is your personal pistol, Hernando. I can’t possibly take it. Just give me some old rifle or something. This is way too good for me.”
Minda placed her hand gently on Arturo’s arm. “Artie,” she cajoled, “just shut up and be grateful to my husband, eh! I told you he was a nice guy.”
A deep inhalation of breath, followed by a nod of his head and a grin indicated Arturo acceded to accepting the wonderful gift from his friends. “Okay, so I’m ready to go. I can’t express how grateful I am to the pair of you. You’ve literally saved my life.”
Hernando swallowed the emotional lump in his throat before gently embracing Arturo. “Okay, I better get this show on the road. You be ready to leave right behind us, okay?”
Nodding, Arturo clambered onto the horse’s back and sitting upright in the saddle, snapped a salute at Hernando. “Colonel de Abreu, it has been my honour and privilege to know and love you and your wife. Hopefully, when all this is over and we have our freedom, we can meet again as friends and fellow Filipino’s. You, Sir, are the true epitome of a Spanish gentleman and I am humbled and proud to call you my comrade and friend.”
Overcome by Arturo’s eloquent speech, Hernando grabbed Minda around the waist and pulled her tight to him. With his voice cracking, he responded. “Just be safe Art… just be safe.” Taking a deep breath he added, “Okay! Let’s stir this place up a bit, shall we?”
Knowing that Arturo’s escape would look suspicious if Hernando had raised the alarm, he had organised a group of village elders in Pandi to set fire to several of the derelict sheds and barns on the outskirts of the town. The fires were assumed, by the sentries, to be the work of advancing Spanish troops and the general alarm was raised by them. Hernando quickly grabbed his men from their barracks and they prepared to head out to supposedly meet the Spanish forces. As he rode out the gate at the head of his Company, with Minda at his side, he was sorely tempted to glance behind him to make sure Arturo had made it out as well, but he resisted the enticement and kept his eyes front as his men turned left, heading for the forest that would take them to the outskirts of the town of Pandi. If indeed, there truly were Spanish forces burning the town, he would take them by surprise by riding directly out from the woods.
***
Arturo’s escape was the subject of a formal investigation by the General. To suggest he was livid would be an understatement. Hernando guessed it wasn’t so much losing the prisoner that had raised the General’s ire, more the loss of his prize stallion. Although it was clear the guard on duty that evening would pay some price for allowing Arturo to overpower him, something Hernando felt terrible about, the General was more interested in discovering if there was some larger conspiracy underway in the prisoner’s escape.
Fortunately, or unfortunately, depending on how you view these things, the General’s investigation was to soon be overtaken by more sinister and dangerous events, as word began to filter through the spy network that a Spanish garrison was on the move and they were heading towards them, determined to take and destroy Fort Kakarong de Sili, to claim a great victory for the Spanish oppressors and to strike a vicious blow to the fledgling Philippine revolution and their first Philippine Republic. The war was about to get very personal.
***
THE SPANISH ARE COMING:
Three days after Arturo’s dramatic escape from Fort Kakarong de Sili, Minda, Hernando, Carlos, Lieutenant del Pilar, General Roque and President Villanueva were clustered around a small table, discussing the latest intelligence that was coming in from nearby towns and villages. It was obvious that the Spanish were planning to send a major fighting force to Kakarong de Sili.
“Gentlemen and lady,” the General demurred to Minda, “I’m not liking what I’m hearing from our scouts.” He paused to wipe his brow with his bandanna. “The latest reports I’m getting tell of a massive force of Spanish soldiers heading directly towards us.”
Lieutenant del Pilar interrupted the General. “Sir, do we know how many soldiers they have and when they are expected to arrive here?”
Grimacing, General Roque turned to his officer. “It’s all bad news as far as I can tell. Reports vary between five and ten thousand men, but however many, it is quite a force and they are well armed and well supplied according to the reports I’ve been getting. They’re probably just one day’s march away from us. We need to get ready…” His voice trailed off as he appeared to be downhearted. “I don’t know if we can hold them off if I’m totally honest.”
“Sir,” Hernando interjected. “Do we know who their commander is?”
Turning to him, the General replied. “By all accounts, his name is Commandante José Olaguer Feliú. I haven’t heard of him before, but perhaps you have Hernando?”
Hernando stroked his beard thoughtfully. “Feliú Sir? Yes, I have come across the name before. The man was in charge of the Manila Regiment when I first arrived here. My understanding was that he was more of an administrator than a fighting soldier, so… perhaps all is not lost. Sir, I think it is important that we take a fighting force outside of the fort and meet this army head-on before they reach here.”
General Roque scowled. “I don’t want to leave the fort unprotected de Abreu. Are you sure that’s the best option.”
“Well Sir, it seems to me that if five, six, seven, or God knows how many, thousand soldiers turn up outside of our walls, we won’t be able to hold them for long anyway. I know we have the tactical advantage in here and the higher ground, with the gantry around the entire fort, but really Sir, their sheer weight of numbers will almost certainly overwhelm us, once they get here.” Rubbing his face with his hands, Hernando added, “just imagine, Sir, that number of soldiers pressing on our gates. They would be almost certain to collapse. No, if we are to have a chance of saving this fort, we must confront them before they get here and try and whittle down their strength. It’s our only chance.”
Looking around the table, the General asked, “comments?”
Carlos spoke up. “I’m with the Colonel, Sir. We have to engage them before they reach the fort.”
Lieutenant del Pilar added, rather shakily. “Look, Sir, I have absolutely no battle experience, so I’m inclined also to agree with what Colonel de Abreu is proposing. After all, Sir, with all due respect he’s the only one here with any ‘real’ military training.”
Embarrassed by his Lieutenant’s frank assessment, the General coughed, saying, “no need to ask your thoughts, young Lady. I am sure you back your husband a hundred percent on this. Hmmm...”
Minda merely nodded her agreement at the General’s assessment.
“Okay,” the General emphatically stated. “That’s what we’ll do then. Colonel de Abreu, I want you to take a force of two thousand soldiers out to meet the Spanish force. You’ll have to box pretty clever, mind, as they will outnumber you three to one at least. See if you can inflict some serious losses on them before they arrive here.” The General turned to his Lieutenant. “Del Pilar,” he began. “I want you to stay here with me and oversee the preparations for our defence. I’m sure we can shore the gates up to make them stronger and also place barricades all over the roads. They will be sitting ducks, even if they get inside the fort.”
Gregorio snapped to attention and saluted. “Yes, Sir!”
Turning to Hernando, the General told him, “Colonel, you have my full permission to use whatever tactics you think will work to slow down and cripple this Spanish force. You are in command and you will react to the situation as you see fit.” The General’s face devolved into a frown. “Don’t kid yourselves though; this is going to be a ‘suicide mission’ for many of your troops. Just do the absolute best
you can.”
Hernando, likewise, snapped to attention and saluted the General. “Yes, Sir!”
Sighing General Roque ended the meeting by instructing Hernando to choose two thousand men, including all his own original Company from Santa Maria and to prepare to leave that evening. “You don’t have much time to get organised, man, but remember this is for the freedom of our Country and for the future of the Filipino people.” He relaxed into a smile. “I know you all will do us proud. Godspeed and may the morning bring us the glorious victory this country so desperately needs.”
Hernando, Minda, and Carlos in unison snapped to attention, saluting the General and chorusing, “Yes Sir!”
***
The intense training Hernando had conducted over the past months finally came to some fruition. To organise, equip and assemble over two thousand troops in just one day was a logistical nightmare, but everything seemed to run like clockwork and by six that evening, the full deployment were assembled outside the gate and ready to leave. Hernando had gone to great pains to ensure that only people who volunteered for this task were selected. Amazingly, the hardest part for Minda and Carlos had been to choose those that would go, out of the overwhelming number of volunteers. Almost every soldier in the fort had volunteered and those that had missed out were feeling dejected. Hernando had spent a considerable time reminding them of their duties at the fort and that they were the last line of defence for the Republic. “If the Republic Kakarong de Sili falls, we are back to square one in our Revolution. You must hold off the invaders.”
His words had drawn great cheers of acclaim from those being left behind and now, as Hernando surveyed his assembled men, he felt the need to also try to give some words that would prepare them for the trials that lay ahead. He wanted them to be in no doubt of the enormity of the task that confronted them and the importance of what they were trying to do. Drawing up to the front of the massed soldiers, on his horse, removing his hat before running his fingers through his hair, he smiled at the expectant faces gazing up at him. “Men…” he began. When someone in the front row coughed loudly, he turned to Minda, grinning. “…and woman,” he added. “The task we have been set by the General is no easy one. I won’t lie to you. Many of you will not return from this mission, but I want you to know that the work you do here over the next day will stand throughout history as the first real blow struck against the Spanish usurpers by the Filipino people. This is your shout for freedom!” He paused as the soldiers raised their rifles and cheered. “All the General asks of you… all I ask of you… is that you give your all in this battle for Fort Kakarong de Sili. Your heritage, your pride and your future depends on it.” Again, the soldiers cheered. Once the noise had died down to a manageable level, Hernando flourished his hat, placing it back on his head and bellowed. “Right! Let’s go and kick some Spanish butt, shall we!?”
Wheeling his horse around, he motioned Minda and Carlos in the row beside him and the large contingent of soldiers began to march slowly toward their date with destiny. Behind him, fading slowly into the background, Hernando could hear the continuing cheers of those left behind, many of who had clambered up the ramparts to see the departure of their brave comrades.
Looking across at Minda and Carlos, Hernando flashed them a confident smile, but all the while his stomach was churning with the force of a million butterflies. Just the mere knowledge, that all these men were putting their complete faith and trust in him, was almost more than he could bear. He silently prayed to a God he didn’t really believe in anymore. “Heavenly Father, make me worthy of their trust.”
***
THE BATTLE:
Hernando’s army had travelled slowly through the night, fording several small rivers, but without encountering any real resistance, especially not armed resistance. He had sent scouts out to search for the Spanish forces, which intelligence had suggested were definitely in the vicinity. He’d called his men to a halt, in a large clearing between two swathes of forest. He knew, on the other side of this forest was open farmland, with little cover for his troops, so the most important thing, for now, was to find the Spanish forces and determine the best place and method of ambush. Because they were hopelessly outnumbered, Hernando knew the only chance they had was the element of surprise and he was not going to do anything to jeopardise the secrecy of their movements.
Finally, two of the scouts returned with a positive sighting of the Spanish Column. Calling his officer’s together, they listened as the scouts breathlessly told them of their discovery.
“Sir, the Spanish are sticking to the main road to Pandi. They are marching six abreast and appear to have no concerns about their safety at all.”
The second scout added, “it seems like they don’t even have their own scouts posted, Sir. Pueblo and I were able to get really close to their column without them ever realising we were there.”
“Were you able to get an estimate of their numbers, Private?” Hernando asked.
Both Scouts shook their heads. “They were still passing us when we decided we should get back here and tell you where they were. There’s an awful lot of them, Sir, that much I could tell. Sorry, Sir,” one of them replied.
Hernando clapped him on the shoulder. “No, Son, don’t apologise you did the right thing in coming back to inform us. Well done!”
Having dismissed the scouts, he turned to his officers. “Okay, well, them sticking to the roads is going to work in our favour, I think. As far as I can see, there is only one suitable spot between where they are and Pandi, for us to ambush them and keep the element of surprise.” Hernando unfolded a map he had in his saddlebags and spread it on the ground. “If they stay on that main road, there is one section, about a mile before the town, where the road cuts between two hills. If we can stop them there somehow and a third of our men can pick them off from the brow of the hill, whilst the other two thirds separately attack the column from the front and the rear, then possibly we can catch them unawares?”
Looking around he tried to gauge the response, but nobody spoke, all of them going through a variety of facial expressions as they tossed the reality of what he was suggesting, around in their minds.
“Well?” Hernando queried. “I’m open to ideas, criticism, suggestions… hell Guys, right about now I’m open to anything.”
The comment brought a slight chuckle from Carlos, who leant in and looked carefully at the map. “Well, Sir,” he began. “We do have some dynamite that might be useful. If we could explode it just outside of the cutting, as the first mounted troops reach it; one, we might kill a few of their Officers and two, we might panic the remaining horses into turning back on the soldiers behind them and creating havoc.”
Getting into the swing of it, Minda quickly added, “why not place explosives at both ends of the cutting and explode them simultaneously? Would that not create even more panic and aid our cause?”
“Nah,” Carlos responded. “We probably don’t have enough explosives to do both ends… and anyway, since we don’t know how many soldiers they have, there’s the possibility not all of them will have entered the cutting before the front of the column begins to exit it.” He scratched his head. “No, I think we just have to go for the one, massive explosion and then attack under the cover of the Spanish panic.”
Hernando nodded his head. “Yes, I like the sound of that. What I’m thinking is we give our men on the hill maybe two minutes of taking pot shots at the Spanish, who will no doubt be scrambling for cover and then our two forces attack from either end.” He looked around. “Everyone on board with that?” A general nodding of heads confirmed their support for his plan. “Right, let’s get a move on then. We have a lot to do before they arrive.” He paused, before adding, “Carlos, I want you to take control of the troops on the hill. Make sure they are well hidden and know that as soon as their two-minute ‘turkey shoot’ is over they need to rush down and join us in the battle.”
Hernando grimaced, as he looked at his wife. �
��Honey,” he began. “I can’t believe I’m going to say this, but you will command the forces that attack from the rear and I will lead the frontal assault.” His face screwed up in consternation. “There’s no way I want to split us up, but the reality is we need trained, experienced fighters leading these men and there’s just you and me to do it, on the ground.”
Breaking all military protocol, Lieutenant de Abreu drew Colonel de Abreu into her arms and kissed him forcefully on the lips. Carlos briefly turned away from the pair, out of discretion for their emotions. “We do what we have to do, darling. This is our life and this is our freedom,” she whispered, as they broke their embrace.
***
The ambush was carefully set, with the explosives primed and ready to be lit, when the Spanish forces arrived. The hidden rebels heard the approaching Spanish column long before they saw them. They were clearly so confident in their immense firepower that they had no qualms about making themselves heard. In fact, the rebels could hear the foot soldiers singing an old Spanish marching song as they clomped along. Hernando turned to his Sergeant. “Right, Alfonso, do the men all understand that as soon as the explosives go off, we wait for a few minutes and then charge directly at the leading column?”
The grizzled Sergeant nodded his head sagely, before spitting his half-smoked cheroot onto the ground. “We’re ready, Sir. As soon as it blows, we’ll be ready to go, Sir.”
Hernando relaxed and smiled back at the man. He had quickly come to feel like he was one with them and totally accepted by his men, as a rebel. The dedication and passion of these Filipinos, who just months earlier were wielding a scythe in the rice fields and now carried rifles, swords and crossbows, with pride, accuracy, and skill, still filled him with admiration.
The wait was not long and as Hernando saw the first horses clopping through the cutting and out into the open ground leading into the town of Pandi, an enormous flash, cut through the morning, followed seconds later by the shockwave sounds of thunder. He watched in amazement as horses and men were blown into the sky with such force that body parts were ripped from them. He watched as volleys of rifle-fire poured down from the hillside, decimating the scrambling Spanish soldiers. Swallowing his fear and gorge at the carnage, Hernando waved his sword above his head and screamed the rallying cry; “Charge!”
Love Beyond: Walang Hanggang Pagmamahal Page 22
