by Smith, Skye
"It's criminal what the stables are able to rent out these days,” Sam, the youngest of the Blake brothers called out.
"She's mine, and she's a sweetie,” Daniel replied so Femke wouldn't take offense. He mounted her and whispered into her ear. "You'll show them when we hit that steep bit going down." And Femke certainly did. Being compact and light did not mean she was not strong. She easily took him down the dusty slippery steepest part of the trail in her sure footed gait, while most of the others had to dismount and lead their bigger animals. Once they reached the foot of the trail and turned along a cart track, Daniel pulled up beside Robert and asked, "So what is happening?"
"You've heard of Lord Digby, the king's henchman?" Robert asked.
"Aye, we captured him in disguise up in Hull and then let him go, but that is another story for another day."
"Sherborne is Digby's town, which is why the king's army has made it their headquarters in the south. It has two fortified palaces, one on either bank of the River Yeo, and they have strengthened the walls of the old one so they can use it as a castle. Taking the town shouldn't have been a problem."
"But..."
"But they have field guns and grape, and our general, the Earl of Hertford, knows nothing about laying a siege,” Robert told him. "In truth he knows nothing much about anything other than hunting foxes and cocking his leg over kitchen maids. The idiot ordered the militia to charge the grape, and when the militia refused such a stupid order, he gave up the siege saying that he couldn't trust his men to follow his orders."
"So why are you climbing around on these ridges?"
"I lead one of The Pistoleer flying squads. You'll have met most of my men before in Bridgwater. We've been sent out to scout Babylon Hill. Our old friend Ralph Hopton has over two hundred men up on the hill above Yeovil and they are making it dangerous to cross the river bridge. I've been scouting to see if there was any way we could convince them to go back to Sherborne."
"And is there?"
"We have no choice. If he sends to Sherborne for field guns he will be able to destroy the bridge and half of Yeovil at will. The bridge is key. From Yeovil we can stop Bedford's army from moving towards Portsmouth, but only if we can use the bridge."
"So what is your plan?" Daniel asked. Robert always had a plan.
"If our idiot general gives me two full troops of pistoleers, I will bring them up Bradford Hollow and block Hopton off from Sherborne. When I say block, I mean lay an ambush on the road along the hill, Babylon Hill road. If our army feigns a run across the bridge en masse just before sunset, then Hopton will not risk camping overnight and so he must return to Sherborne along Babylon Hill road into my trap."
"Sound's good. Will the general agree?"
"So long as it doesn't interfere with him bollocking the kitchen maids, no. Even if he doesn't agree, John Horner will see the sense in it, and he leads enough men to carry it off."
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"I don't care what the general says, I'll only do it if Captain Vanderus leads the other flying squad,” Blake's voice rose stubbornly.
John Horner wasn't impressed. "The men are Alex Popham's. It is his decision."
"Alex hasn't ridden the hollows that lead to the ridge like Daniel has."
"It's his decision."
Blake looked towards Popham. "Danny and I rode side by side as pistoleers for years in the Netherlands. We know how each other thinks. We know how each other reacts. We know what each other are capable of. That is why I want him leading the other flying squad. We are going to have two flying squads up there in two separate ambushes, in bad light, under stress. I don't want any accidents or mistakes."
Popham held up his hands in resignation. "Go on then. Do it. I'll stay here."
That argument was nothing compared to the argument he had with Daniel after he got the permission.
"I didn't come here to fight. This is not my battle. I'm supposed to be on my way to Bermuda. I only came to search for you."
"Danny, I can't do it without you. I have three captains under me, Aiscogh, Tomson and Balfour, but none of them have Dutch experience as you do."
"I said no."
"Lunsford may be up on the hill. This time I'll let you kill him."
Daniel took a breath. There was more to this than Rob was saying. "What has he done."
"He ambushed a militia regiment from Dorchester. Twenty men were killed."
"So I heard. It's war Rob. What do you expect?"
"Only two men died outright. The other eighteen bled to death because Lunsford wouldn't allow anyone to help them."
"And Lunsford may be with Hopton on the ridge?"
"He could be,” Robert told him and immediately asked sweet Jesus to forgive him for telling a half truth to his friend. Lunsford was the castellan of Sherborne Castle so it was very unlikely that he would be up on the ridge.
"Let's go,” Daniel told him, "before I change my mind, and before we lose the light."
They left Yeovil on the southern road, the Dorchester road, so that they would have the trees of Newton Copse to shield them from being seen by Hopton's lookouts on top of Babylon Hill. At the village of Stoford they turned east on the Bradford track, and from that village began the climb up Bradford Hollow. Of all of the hollows this was the widest and faced south so it was lush with trees and bush and good cover. By late afternoon they were hidden in a copse of trees just south of Babylon Hill Road and Blake had the men tie up their horses so he could go over the details of his plan with the men.
While he spoke he passed out long strips of white bandages. "You will need two of these bandages each, one tied around your left arm and one tied to your horse's bridle."
"Oh, that's just fine,” one of the older riders said, mocking, "So you expect us all to be wounded so you are already passing out bandages. What kind of plan is this?" He stopped speaking when Blake shot him 'the look'.
"We are not interested in Hopton's infantry. They will be a mix of gentlemen's grooms, camp porters, and farm lads pressed into service. In about an hour Hopton will see half the bloody army streaming across the Yeovil bridge, and he will flee back to Sherborne along the high road. This means he will send his infantry ahead while his cavalry shield them from behind. By the time the infantry has passed this hollow we will be in twilight but these bandages will stand out in the dark and mark you and your horse as a friend."
Blake pointed towards two heavy coils of rope carried by a pack horse. "As soon as the infantry are passed us, one of those ropes will be strung across the road. Daniel's squad will be holding this end of the trap, so they will string the rope. At horse chest height, so not a tripping rope and not a garroting rope, but a fence to keep the horses from racing towards Sherborne. My squad will have worked our way closer to Yeovil and once the rear guard is passed us, will string our rope behind them.
In between the ropes is the killing road. There are rocks, ledges, brambles and trees on both sides of the killing road so as long as Hopton's men keep to their saddles they are trapped. Let me repeat that. We want them to stay in their saddles, so this is not a usual pistoleer attack where our first sorties are to get the cavalry off their horses. On this hill, in bad light, in this trap a man on foot has the advantage, so do not injure the horses. Aim for the men, especially any men who dismount."
"So we'll be on foot?"
"Aye, we'll be on foot up above the road. There are sixty of us, so ten men at each end to protect the ropes from being cut, and the other forty in bands of four spread all along the high ground above the road. No one must be seen until the infantry is passed us, and the rope at this end is set and defended. Then shoot at will. Use your carbines, if you have them, or your killing pistols. Since we don't want to injure the horses, keep your dragons in your belt. Save their load to save our own. Any questions?"
"Where will our horses be?"
"Here." Blake told them. "It would be better to have them with us on the other side of the road, but the chances of getting s
o many horses across that road unseen are almost nil. It will be hard enough to get the men across unseen. Besides, if we need to retreat it will be safer for us to continue up and over the hill in terrain that does not suit horses. Any more questions? No? Remember, as long as they stay in their saddles they will race back and forth between the ropes like cattle in a corral. Eventually they will see the need to cut the rope at this end, but by that time the rest of us will have squeezed them into a box. The final fight will be for the rope between them and Sherborne."
"Why not fell trees instead of using the rope?"
"Oh goodie, you brought your magic axe along. You know, the one that chops trees without making a sound." Blake said sarcastically, and then called in a loud whisper, "My squad to me. We'll cross the road first and work our way towards Hopton's position. Someone grab a rope." His thirty men sloped along behind him working their way up the hollow to the road. Here in the hollow there were thick stands of trees on both sides of the road, which made crossing the road unseen as simple as making sure that no one was coming up or down the road.
Daniels squad stayed behind with the horses. Their first task was to keep the horses quiet until the infantry had finished marching by. Hopefully the infantry would have a good head start on their march back to Sherborne. Meanwhile he spoke to these mostly untested lads about what to expect. "The richest of them will be wearing metal armour like mine so killing them with guns will be difficult. Leave them to the men with carbines.
The poorer men will be wearing armour made from boiled horse hide like some of you wear." He looked around. Half of them had no armour at all. "For a ball to stab through hide armour you need to hit it flat on. If you hit it at an angle or on a curved piece, then the ball will ricochet away. My advice for shooting anyone in armour is not to bother with a killing shot. A man is a much smaller target than a horse, and the killing places are hard to hit especially on a moving target with an old fashioned pistol"
Most of these men carried older pistols, but at least they were flinters and not matchlocks. In old flinters the half a moment between the flint striking steel to flash the pan, and the explosion inside the barrel was a long enough delay for you to lose your aim. "Instead of a killing shot, aim for a crippling shot. The easiest hit on a mounted man is the thigh, and most thigh hits at least cripple the man, and more than you would think end up bleeding to death.
You will be in groups of four. As Blake said, keep your Dragons loaded and use them to save your own lives. With your other guns, don't shoot unless you are sure of the shot, and don't all of you try for the same shot at the same time. Having mates around you means you will be safe enough to do a good job of reloading. If you think one of your mates is a much better shot, then hand him your guns and act as his loader. And no heroics. Keep to cover and stay off the bloody road. They won't have a chance to reload their guns, but they will all have sabres because they are gentlemen and the sons of nobility."
He hushed while they listened for the sound of marching feet. Nothing yet. "The ten men guarding the rope must especially stay off the killing road, but you may need to run out on this side of the rope. The rope will be hung loose not taught for a taught rope is too easily cut with a sabre. This means that the rope will be lower in the center of the road than at each verge. Those riding hunters may try to jump the rope, and they will do that in the center where it is lowest. Running out on the safe side of the rope may be enough to make the horse shy from the jump." He hushed again. This time there was a rhythmic sound from up on the road. Marching boots.
As soon as the infantry was out of sight on the Sherborne side of the hollow, Daniel's men sprang into action. Twenty of them snuck across the road to the high ground led by a young Scottish captain by the name of Balfour. They did this in groups of four, and then began to make their way along the cover on the other side. Daniel stayed with the rope men and tied the rope off himself using ships knots. Even after the rope men were hidden behind good cover, Daniel stayed with them, for this end of the trap would see most of the butchery. Again they went silent, waiting. Nervously waiting.
Daniel checked his carbine. It was ready. His would be the first shot. The first shot at the first rider who discovered the rope and therefore the trap. Hopefully it would be Colonel Lunsford, and if not he, then Colonel Hopton.
The lad beside him nudged him, and then handed Daniel his carbine and his killing pistol. "They are my fathers guns, and they are almost new,” he told his Captain. "These first shots will be the most important. You take them. I will load for you." They nodded to each other.
Four of the lads guarding the rope carried hunting bows rather than carbines and Daniel called them over to him. "You must have arrows nocked and ready in case the first riders are scouts riding ahead of the rest. This trap will work better if the sound of gunfire did not warn the main troop." The archers nodded knowingly at him and remained close by where the rope was tied off to a tree. To get a good shot with their bows they would need to run clear of the bushes and into the road on the safe side of the rope.
* * * * *
* * * * *
The Pistoleer - Edgehill by Skye Smith Copyright 2013-14
Chapter 15 - Trap on Babylon Hill, September 1642
The first riders to the rope were two scouts. The rope was in the deep shadows of twilight so they didn't see it until they were almost upon it. By then it was too late to save themselves. Four men leaped out on the far side of the rope and let loose at them with arrows. One of the scouts went down with a lucky shot, well unlucky for him for it hit him in the upper chest just above his boiled hide armour. The arrows missed the other man, and he immediately made the decision to desert his comrade and make a run for it back to his own troop.
With a lurch up from kneeling, and a sprint forward, Daniel broke his own rule as he ducked under the rope and entered the killing road. He had dropped his carbine and picked up his battle axe and now it was a foot race between him and the horse. The first swing of his axe was a wild attempt to slice the horses rear leg, but it connected and the horse was immediately lame. He twisted his grip so the back swing from that first slice hit the rider's leg just above his cavalry boot. Blood spurted and the man cried out so it must have been a deep cut.
The horse had slowed almost to a stop and was twisting trying to see its injured leg, and by the look of its bared teeth it was mad with rage and ready to gnash at anything within reach, such as Daniel. Above him Daniel saw metal flash so he ignored the horse's teeth and raised his axe in a defensive arch above his head. Just in time, because a sabre hit the wide axe head. Wide because it was an axe blade on one side of the handle and a pointed hook on the other. The hook saved his life.
The horse was circling around him. This could end very badly for him. He had crouched to absorb the power of the sabre hit, and now he sprang up high as if his boots were springs. When he came down, so did his axe from on high, but he had twisted the head so the hook would snag, hopefully would snag, on the rider or his armour so he could pull him out of the saddle, or at least pull him off balance so he couldn't strike out again with his sabre.
The hook slid down the man's armour and hooked sod all. Now he really was in trouble because his axe was out of position and there was nothing between the sabre and his head but his thin helmet. And then one, two, three, four arrows struck the man in the boiled hide armour. At least one of them must have defeated the hide, because the man cried out and fell from his horse.
Daniel scrambled out of the way of the falling rider and the gnashing horse teeth and looked towards the bowmen. They were running towards him with their daggers drawn ready to finish the job. He held up his hand with his palm forward in the time honored signal to halt. As he trotted passed them back into deep cover he hissed to them, "Leave them. Get off the effing road and out of sight."
Not a moment after Daniel had picked his carbine up again, did a column of riders five wide come into sight. A few of them rode forward to investigate the loose ho
rses, and only then did they see the dying men laying in the roadway. Their call back to the others in the column that it was a trap was redundant, because at least twenty guns went off with noise and smoke and killing balls. Everyman in close range had tried for a kill, for this would be their best chance at a still target.
Immediately men and horses were in motion, making a quick turn and racing back the way they had come. Daniel yelled out the redundant command, "Reload, reload, they will be back in minutes, and at full speed." As they all reloaded, they heard a full volley from the other end of the trap for Blake would want them to believe that Bedford's full army had caught up to them already. In truth, the army would be back in Yeovil by now, having a meal before it got too dark to see exactly what it was that was floating in the stew.
This time the column came at a run. All of them had sabres in their hands so they must have spent their pistol shots already. Those in the lead were on a mission. To leap the lowest point of the rope and then to swing back around to cut down the men who would be defending it. The lad who was loading for Daniel stood up and grabbed up two saplings he had ready. With them held over his shoulders he ran out into the road on the safe side of the rope and shook them in the path of the first two racing hunters. Both horses shied from the jump early, skidded to slow themselves and turned just before the rope. Luckily they turned away from each other, else they would have collided.
There was another hunter racing behind the first two, but the lad with the saplings had also shied and he was a tangle of leaves and twigs rolling away from the center of the road. Another lad leaped forward with a sapling, but he was too late to scare the horse so he flipped the sapling about and jabbed up into the belly of the jumping horse with the cut end as if it were a pike. It was an amazing horse to have cleared a rope fully four feet off the ground, but the jab at his belly ruined his landing and he went down hard in a tangle of six legs and two arms.
