by G. A. Henty
Chapter 15: Treachery.
At this moment an officer came down, and said that the governorwished to see Colonel Mendez and Major Kennedy, at once. As theyentered the room, they saw the governor walking up and down in astate of great agitation.
"I hear, Colonel Mendez," he said, stopping before that officer,"that you have, on your own authority, placed several of thecommissariat storekeepers under arrest. What does this mean, sir?"
"It means, sir, that Major Kennedy has discovered enormousdeficiencies in the stores, and there can be little doubt that anumber of persons must have been concerned in the matter, besidesthose in charge of the storehouses. Wholesale bribery must havebeen practised, by those who supplied the goods to those whoseduty it was to receive them."
"I shall order a commission of enquiry to sit at once, and begthat you, Colonel Mendez, will send me in a detailed report of thematter, which is, I need hardly say, one of extreme gravity."
"I was right," Colonel Mendez said, as they left the governor'shouse. "I suspected that something was wrong, ever since herefused to allow me access to the magazines. I have no doubt thathe has been acting in collusion with the contractors, though hemay not have been aware of the extent of their rascality, for hissubordinates may not only have accepted bribes from thecontractors to carry out the frauds to which the governor may haveconsented, but may also have taken money from these to allow ofstill greater ones to be perpetrated."
"What will he do, do you think, Colonel?"
"He will endeavour, by every means in his power, to prevent anyword of your discovery from leaking out. And, if I may advise you,I should say it would be well that you should take everyprecaution for your own safety. His position is a desperate one,for one cannot doubt that your report will be followed by hisremoval from his post, his dismissal from the army, and theconfiscation of everything of which he is possessed. Therefore, itis almost a matter of life and death to him to prevent your reportfrom being sent to headquarters, and to have you removedaltogether. This done, the facts might not leak out. It would besupposed, at Madrid, that you had been stabbed by some streetruffian. And, although another officer might be sent down toreport, it is by no means likely that he would go so rigorouslyinto matters as you did, but would be contented merely to countbarrels and bales, without troubling to investigate theircontents."
"But your evidence would be as strong against him as mine."
"Yes; but that evidence is not yet given. He can, in the firstplace, and I have no doubt will, suppress my report to him. In thesecond place, he would consider it unlikely that I should ventureto make the matter public, for he has powerful friends at court.He is connected with many of the leading families in the province,and might rely upon being able to hush the matter up, so long asit was known only to the heads of our army, who are not unawarethat, although the pay of a commander of a fortress is not morethan sufficient to maintain his position, they, like most other ofour officials, generally retire with considerable fortunes.Therefore, any interference on my part would be more disastrous tomy prospects than to his.
"It is humiliating to say so, Major Kennedy, but both our civiland military systems are rotten to the core. There are, of course,honest men in both services, but as a rule corruption is almostuniversal. Still, although he cannot fear me as he must fear you,it is possible he may endeavour to make himself safe by removingme also from his path; and for a time I shall take good care toremain in my own barracks, as much as possible."
"I will be careful also," Desmond said, "and I thank you much forthe warning, which was needed, for it would never have struck methat he would even attempt to suppress the information that I havegained; but I see that it will be necessary to be very careful,especially in the manner of sending off my reports."
"If I were in your place, I should mount my horse at once, andwith the troopers of the escort ride straight for Madrid."
"I cannot do that, Colonel, for the examination into the state ofthe stores here was only a part of my instructions, and I must, ifpossible, carry these out to the letter before leaving for Madrid.I might, however, send off my despatch by two of the troopers withme."
"I think you may take my word for it, Major, that they would neverreach their destination. Even while we are speaking, a messengermay be sent off either to one of these bands in the mountains, orto two or three of the contractors--who are, of course, as deeplyinvolved as the governor, for there is no doubt of their guilt,while no proof can be given to his being a party to it--tellingthem that it is a matter of life and death to them to prevent youor your messengers from reaching Madrid."
"The lookout is certainly far from comfortable," Desmond admitted,"and I must, tonight, think it over in every way, and decide uponwhat course I had best pursue."
When he reached the hotel, he told Mike what Colonel Mendez hadsaid.
"By the powers, your honour, it is a nasty scrape that we seem tobe in, almost as bad as when you were shut up in that prison inLondon."
"Worse, Mike; for then we knew that we should be tried, but hopedthat Louis would interfere in our favour, and by threateningreprisals obtain our liberty; whereas here we have only ourselvesto depend upon, and the blow may come at any moment."
"Well, at any rate, your honour, we will see that none get at youunbeknown. I will lie down in your room against the door, and ifthe sergeant places a man on guard outside, it is hard if anyonegets at you."
"I hardly think the precaution necessary; but there is no sayingwhat this man might not do in so desperate a situation, so I willtell the sergeant to place a sentry at the door, and to relievehim every two hours. I shall think the matter over, and bytomorrow morning shall decide whether I had best remain here andcomplete my work, or ride at once to Madrid."
At about two o'clock in the morning Desmond, who had but justdropped off to sleep, was aroused by hearing the sentry outsidehis door challenge. There was no answer. All remained quiet. Mikeleapt to his feet and opened the door.
"What is it?" he asked the sentry.
"I saw two or three men at the end of the corridor. It was toodark to make them out clearly. They were coming this way. Ilevelled my carbine and cried, 'Who comes there?' and at once theystole away. They could have been after no good, for their stepswere noiseless, and they must have come up without boots."
"Keep a sharp lookout, sentry," Desmond said, "and see that theydon't steal up to you, for if they do, you may be stabbed beforeyou have time to turn round.
"It is lucky that I carried out your suggestion, Mike, and posteda sentry at the door. Of course, these men the sentry saw may nothave been coming here, but at any rate their conduct wassuspicious."
In a few minutes Desmond was again asleep. He had had a long day'swork, and believing that the affair was over, at least for thenight, he did not even try to keep awake.
As soon as Mike heard, by his breathing, that he was asleep, hegot up noiselessly and seated himself near the open window, with aloaded pistol. An hour passed, and then he heard a slight stir inthe street. He did not look out, but grasped his pistol tightly.
Their room was on the first floor. Presently, he heard a gratingsound against the window. It was very dark, and he knelt down sothat he would be able to make out any figure that showed above thewindowsill. He thought first of rousing his master, but as he hadanother pistol in his belt, and his sword leaned against the wall,ready to his hand, he thought it better to let matters take theircourse.
He had heard no further sound, but presently a round objectappeared in sight. Stretching out his arm, he fired without amoment's hesitation. There was a sound of a heavy fall below,followed by some muttered exclamations. In a moment, Desmond wason his feet, a pistol which he had laid by his pillow in hisgrasp.
"What is it, Mike?"
"It is only a gentleman who had a fancy for looking in at thewindow, your honour, and I have no doubt would have come in,without saying by your leave, if I had not cut the matter short byputting a bullet into his forehead. He had
some friends downbelow. He came up on a ladder."
He looked out of the window.
"They are taking it down now, your honour. Shall I give themanother shot?"
"No, Mike; let them go. The lesson has been good enough."
The sentry had also run into the room, on hearing the shot.
"It is all over," Desmond said. "Seeing that you prevented themfrom getting in at the door, they tried the window. Mike has shotone of them."
There was a sound of feet and loud talking in the passage, and asDesmond went out, the landlord, two of the serving men, andseveral of those staying at the hotel ran up.
"What is it, senor? We heard a shot."
"Yes; a fellow tried to enter my window, by means of a ladder; butfortunately my man heard him, and shot him before he came in. Nodoubt it was some prowling marauder, who, seeing my window open,thought that there was a chance of plunder."
"Carrambo!" the landlord exclaimed, "then we shall have enquiries,and all sorts of trouble."
"I don't think you will," Desmond said quietly. "I fancy he hadsome friends down below, and they will probably carry his body andthe ladder away, and, if you hold your tongues, nothing more willbe heard of it.
"Mike, do you and the sentry take a lantern and go down and see."
The landlord looked out of the window.
"As far as I can see, everything is quiet there," he said. "Areyou sure that your servant was not dreaming?"
"That you will soon ascertain, if you go down with him," Desmondsaid. "I fancy that you will find some traces of the affairthere."
The landlord, followed by his two servants, went down with thesoldiers, and then, lighting a lantern and handing it to them,went out, keeping carefully behind them.
"There," Mike said, when he stopped under Desmond's window; "doesthat look like a dream?" and he pointed to a patch of blood on thepavement.
"It is true enough," the landlord said.
"Pedro and Lopez, fetch pails of water and brooms, and get rid ofthis blood, otherwise we shall be having enquiries made in themorning."
Mike returned to his master, at whose door the sergeant and theother troopers were standing.
"There is no occasion, sergeant," Desmond had just said, "to keepa sentry at the door any longer. We can be quite sure that weshall not be disturbed again before morning, and indeed, I am notlikely to sleep after this."
"Very well, sir; but if you don't mind, I will keep a sentry onwatch."
"Just as you like, sergeant, but I feel sure there is no occasionfor it. Still, after what has happened, it may perhaps be wise todo so."
"Well, Mike," Desmond said, when they were again alone, "thecampaign has opened with spirit. This is something like thatjourney with the Baron de Pointdexter, when we expected to beattacked every minute."
"Well, we got through that all right, your honour, and it is hardif we don't get through this."
At six o'clock, a volley of musketry was fired.
"They are practising early, sir," Mike said.
"It can't be that, Mike. It is too close. They would go beyond theouter works to practise, and, by the sound, it is certainly muchnearer than that, though possibly just outside the walls."
"I will go out and enquire, your honour. When one is at war, it isas well to know exactly what the enemy are doing."
"Take one of the troopers with you, Mike. Pierre speaks Spanishwell."
Mike returned in an hour.
"They have shot all the prisoners we took yesterday," he said. "Ihear they held a sort of court martial in the evening, at thegovernor's. It did not sit more than ten minutes. They were allfound guilty of fraud and treachery, and were shot this morning."
"Worse and worse, Mike! Evidently, the governor is determined toget rid of all whose evidence might throw any light on thismatter. After what has happened here, and these summaryexecutions, I feel very uncomfortable as to Colonel Mendez. Willyou go to the artillery barracks with a message from me that, as Ihave my first report to write out, I shall not continue theinvestigations today? Take Pierre with you again."
When Mike returned, Desmond saw that his news was bad.
"The colonel had not been seen when I got there, and his servantwent up to his room and found him lying dead, stabbed to theheart."
"Another witness gone," Desmond said. "An honourable gentleman,and a pleasant one. Well, Mike, the matter becomes more and moreserious. After this there is but one thing open to me, and that isto return to Madrid at once. When I relate the circumstances tothe duke, he will see that, had I endeavoured to carry out therest of his instructions, the chance of my report ever coming tohand would have been slight indeed, and it is all important thathe should get it.
"The question is, shall we mount and ride at once, or shall I goand take leave of the governor?"
"Of course, your honour, you can do as you like, but I should saythat the sooner we are out of this, the better. The longer we stayhere, the more time he will have to take care we don't get backalive.
"There was another thing I did not tell you, sir. As we went tothe barracks, we passed some cavalry men talking. They werearguing that the enemy must be marching this way, for at twoo'clock last night ten troopers were suddenly called up and sentoff, the gates being opened for them by order of the governor."
"Just what I expected, Mike. He has written to warn the variouscontractors that the frauds have been discovered, and, no doubt,telling them that all messengers from here must be stopped andsearched, and all reports and documents taken from them; that if Icome myself, I am to be put out of the way; and that if this canbe done the matter can be hushed up, as he has taken measures tosilence all those who know anything about the affair.
"Well, I think you are right. We need not mind saying goodbye tothis scoundrel, as it would only give him time to perfect hisarrangements. I have no doubt that he would pretend to be ill, orto be engaged in some business that would detain him, and manageto keep me waiting some hours before he saw me. Order the sergeantto saddle up at once. Let the men eat a meal as quickly aspossible, and let each put a bottle of wine and a loaf of breadinto his valise, so that we shall be able to ride without stoppinganywhere. Say that we shall mount in twenty minutes, and they mustnot wait to polish up their accoutrements. Tell them to put plentyof forage before the horses, and not to put the bridles in theirmouths until the last thing. Let each pour four or five feeds ofcorn into his forage bag.
"When you have given the orders, have your own breakfast. I willgo downstairs and get something there. I packed my valises whileyou were away."
Exactly twenty minutes later the little troop started. The menhad, at Desmond's orders, loaded their pistols and short guns.Avoiding the principal streets, they rode by narrow lanes untilthey emerged close to the eastern gate. Through this he and hisfollowers rode, without question, at a quiet pace until beyond theexterior fortifications, across the bridge over the Guadiana, andthen broke into a canter.
The sergeant and men were not a little surprised at the suddendeparture, for they had supposed that they would remain for sometime at Badajos. Desmond called the sergeant up to his side.
"I dare say you are surprised at this sudden move, but you knowthat two attempts were made upon my life last night, and I have nodoubt that these would be repeated, and perhaps with greatersuccess, had I stayed there. You were present yesterday, with twoof your men, when we discovered that large portions of the storeswere mere dummies filled with earth. Whether or not the governorwas a party to the fraud I cannot say, but this morning he had allthe storekeepers who were arrested shot, and Colonel Mendez, whowas present at the investigation, was murdered during the night.It is evident, therefore, that many people are interested inpreventing the discovery we made from getting known. Of course,the soldiers who assisted would be aware of it, but they would notventure to speak, and it is only I and your men and my servant whohave still to be silenced.
"I tell you this, in order that you may impress upon the men thenecessity fo
r the greatest vigilance, such as they would use iftravelling through an enemy's country. Messengers were, I hear,sent off yesterday evening in various directions, and I have nodoubt that these were to the various contractors concerned in theplot, urging upon them the necessity of preventing the news fromreaching Madrid; and perhaps to some of the robber bands in thesierra. Therefore, instead of keeping the main road up the valley,we will ride by country tracks and avoid all large towns. We willnot put up anywhere, but will bivouac in the open. In this way Ihope that we shall yet avoid any parties of men who may be lyingin wait for us.
"The most dangerous part of the journey will, of course, be thepassage of the mountains. We must there travel by one or other ofthe roads through the defiles, and it is possible all these may bewatched. If we are attacked, we must endeavour to ride throughthem. If this is impossible, we will sell our lives as dearly aswe can."
"You may trust us for that, Major," the sergeant said. "I have nolove for these Spaniards, and we are all discontented at beingkept down here to fight the King of Spain's battles, instead ofbeing up in the north, where every man is wanted to prevent theenemy marching to Paris."
They struck off from the road when nearing Merida, and followed acountry track until they came upon the road between that town andTorre Mocha. Avoiding the latter place, they took the road toTruxillo, and, late in the afternoon, approached that town andhalted in a wood two miles distant from it.
Here Desmond consulted his map. There were two roads fromTruxillo. Crossing the sierra, the main and shorter road came downupon the Tagus at Almarez. The other passed through Deleytoza, andcame down upon the bridge at Condo. Beyond Deleytoza it appearedto be a mere mule track.
"If there are any parties watching," he said to Mike, "they willexpect that my messenger, or I myself, will travel by the mainroad to Almarez, for not only is it better, but it is shorter. Butagain, they might think that, if I suspected we might be attacked,I should take the road through Deleytoza, and would, at any rate,make matters safe by watching both roads. It is a difficultquestion which to choose."
"Well, your honour, if you have got to fight, it would be best todo so on a good road. Our horses would be of no use to us, if wewere going single file along a bad road; while on a good road wecould charge the spalpeens, and cut our way through."
"You are quite right, Mike, and we will take the main road. Theywill not be mounted, and I don't think they would stand before acharge of seven men; but they may shoot some of us as we come downupon them.
"See here, Mike, this is my report that I wrote out yesterdayevening;" and he took a packet from the inside of his coat. "Whenwe start tomorrow morning I shall put it in my left holster. If Iam shot, you will not wait for a moment, but will snatch it outand ride on to Madrid, and deliver it to the duke there. I have,this morning, added a few lines relating the murder of ColonelMendez, the hurried trial and execution of the storekeepers, andthe attempts upon my life, and said I have not the least doubtthat the governor is at the bottom of it all."
"If your honour is killed, I will carry out your orders, but if itis only wounded you are, I will try to take you off with me."
"You must do as I order you."
"I obey your honour's orders when they are reasonable," Mike saiddoggedly; "but leave you behind, to have your throat cut by thosevillains! I would not do such a thing, so there is an end of it."
Desmond smiled at the earnestness of his faithful follower.
"Well, Mike, you must be guided by circumstances; but remember, itis of extreme importance that this report should reach the Duke ofOrleans. Unless he has it we may lose Badajos, and the causesuffer irreparable injury."
"To the devil wid the cause," Mike said. "The cause doesn'ttrouble me one way or the other. I don't care a brass farthingwhether Philip or Charles reigns over the Spaniards. It is not anice job they will be taking on, any way, and not worth a drop ofIrish blood. Well, if your honour should have the bad fortune tobe hit, I shall either carry you off, though there's not a breathin your body, or else go down with you."
As there was no doubt that Mike meant what he said, Desmond didnot press the matter further.
The next day they set out at daybreak, and, in two hours, weremounting the slope of the sierra. There were no signs of any menbeing about, until they reached a point where the road ran betweensteep hills.
"There they are," Desmond exclaimed, reining in his horse. "Thereare some thirty or forty of them on the road.
"Now, my men, we will ride forward to those boulders you see, ahundred yards this side of them, and then we will dismount andgive them a volley. If you keep that up, it will soon be too hotfor them to remain on the road; while we, sheltered behind therocks, will be safe from their shot. It is certain that your gunswill carry farther and shoot straighter than theirs, as theSpanish powder is so much inferior to the French."
Accordingly, they rode forward at a canter to the heap ofboulders, then suddenly left the road, dismounted, and took coveramong the rocks.
"Take steady aim, men," Desmond said, "then you can hardly misshitting some of them, standing close together as they do."
The bandits had waited, undecided, at the sudden disappearance ofthose whom they had regarded as a certain prey; and before theycould form any plans, five muskets flashed out, and four of theirnumber fell. A cry of rage burst from them, and there was ageneral discharge of their guns, the balls pattering thicklyagainst the stones.
The soldiers now fired as quickly as they could load, doingconsiderable execution. Their foes left the road, and imitatedthem by taking shelter behind stones. For ten minutes the combatcontinued, and then a party of men were seen, mounting the hill oneither side.
"That is just what I hoped for," Desmond said. "Fire at them, soas to force them to climb a little higher up the hill. As soon asthey are pretty well out of gunshot, we will mount and charge downthe road. There cannot be many men left there."
His orders were followed. Some of the men on the hillside dropped,and the others continued to mount the slopes. When, as theybelieved, out of fire, they moved forward so as to take thedefenders of the rocks in flank.
"Now, fire a volley among the men in front of us," Desmond said."We are not likely to hit any of them, but it is sure to drawtheir fire, and there will not be many unemptied guns as we passthem."
As he expected, the volley was answered by a general fire fromtheir hidden foes. Then the party leapt into their saddles, and,pistol in hand, galloped up the road. Several hurried shots werefired from the front, and then, at a shout from their leader, sometwenty men leapt from their hiding places and ran down into theroad.
Desmond was supported on one side by Mike, and on the other by thesergeant. He dropped his reins--the horse had learned to obey themotions of his knees--and, drawing his sword, rode straight at thebandits. Only a few muskets were discharged, and these sohurriedly that the balls missed their aim, and, with a shout, theparty fell upon the brigands. The pistols of the troopers and Mikecracked out, but they had no need to draw their swords, for therush of the horses struck such a panic into the Spaniards thatthey sprang from the road, leaving the path clear, and the partythundered past them without a check.
"Is anyone wounded?" Desmond asked, when they had passed beyondgunshot of their assailants.
"I have a ball in my shoulder, Major," one of the troopers said.The rest were silent.
"Well, we have been fortunate," Desmond said. "I will see to yourwound, my man, when we get a little farther. If those fellows hadnot been so scared with our sudden charge that they fired almostat random, we might have lost half our number."
They stopped half a mile farther, and Desmond examined thetrooper's arm.
"The ball has gone through the flesh," he said, "without touchingthe bone, so you will soon have the use of it again."
He bound the wound tightly up with the soldier's sash; and thenmade, with his own, a sling.
"You may as well put the other arm in your jacket," he said, "andI will
tie it round your neck. The air is cold upon the hills."
"We did that well, sir," the sergeant said, as they rode on again."If you had not thought of taking shelter, and shaking them up, weshould all have been shot down before we reached them.
"Is there any chance of another attack, sir?"
"None at all. I should think a messenger was sent to them,yesterday, telling them our strength; and no doubt they thoughtthat, with sixty men, they would be certain to overpower us. Thatis probably the whole of the band, and in any case, as they wouldnot imagine that we could pass them, they are not likely to haveset another ambush."
They slept that night at Almarez, made a short journey to Oropesa,and a long one on the following day to Toledo, where Desmonddismissed his escort, with a handsome reward for their services,and upon the next afternoon rode with Mike into Madrid. The Dukeof Orleans looked astonished when he entered the room.
"What! Back already, Major Kennedy? Surely you cannot have carriedout all the work that I entrusted to you?"
"By no means, Your Royal Highness; but what I did carry out was soimportant that I deemed it my duty to ride back at once, toacquaint you with what I have discovered. There is the report,sir."
The duke took it.
"It is a bulky one," he said. "Tell me its purport in as few wordsas possible."
"I have discovered, sir, that the report sent by the governor ofthe supply of provisions and stores in Badajos is altogetherinaccurate, that frauds to an enormous extent have beenperpetrated, that the supply of powder and cartridges is less bytwo-thirds than was represented, and that similar deficienciesexist in every department."
"This is indeed serious," the duke said. "The possession ofBadajos is essential to us. It blocks the way to an enemy'sadvance, and indeed, they can scarce move forward until it iscaptured. Now, tell me more about it; or no, I will read yourreport, and then question you concerning it."
A heavy frown settled on the duke's brow, as he perused thedocument.
"Infamous!" he exclaimed, when he had finished. "And you say thattwo attempts were made to murder you that night, and that theSpanish colonel who gave you so much assistance was assassinated,and the commissaries shot the next morning? It shows how anxiousthe governor was to remove from his path all those who couldinculpate him.
"And how did you manage to get out of the toils? For it wasclearly of no use killing the minor witnesses, and allowing you toride here to report the facts."
"I saw that, sir; and as I learned that eight or ten troopers hadbeen sent off, late the night before, I concluded that the roadwould be sure to be beset, for doubtless some of the contractorswould feel it as essential as the governor did, that my mouthshould be silenced and my report suppressed. I therefore startedearly. Keeping by byroads, we were not molested until we hadnearly reached the summit of the sierra, when we found a party ofsome sixty men barring the road. We had a fight with them, andsucceeded in getting through with no further damage than a ballthrough the arm of one of my escort, and that, fortunately, wasonly a flesh wound."
"But tell me how it was that so small a party escaped so easily?"
Desmond then recounted the incidents of the fight.
"Admirably contrived, sir!" the duke said warmly. "Excellentgeneralship! You first attack their centre and drive them off theroad, then you compel them to weaken themselves by throwing outflanking parties. You keep these out of musket shot, and thencharge on their weakened centre after drawing their fire. I am notsurprised that, with such generalship, you got off almostscatheless.
"And now, sir, I must ask you to come with me to the king. Thematter is too serious for a moment's delay. I must lay the wholecase before His Majesty."
Leaving Desmond in the antechamber, he went in to the king, readthe full report to him, and added the details he had heard fromDesmond.
"I have met with many bad cases of Spanish corruption andpeculation," the king said, when he had finished, "but this is byfar the worst. Steps must be taken instantly to secure thegovernor, arrest the contractors, and fill up the magazines. Whatdo you propose?"
"I think, sir, that if we send forward, at once, a regiment ofFrench soldiers from Toledo, accompanied by Colonel Crofton'sregiment of dragoons, there is no likelihood that any resistancewill be offered--indeed, I should imagine that the governor willhave taken to flight, as soon as he learns that his plans for theassassination of Major Kennedy have failed."
"So I should think," the king said; "and certainly he will havewarned his accomplices, the contractors; and probably, by thistime, they are all on their way either into Andalusia or to thenorth. Any that are found shall certainly be hanged.
"This young officer of yours must be a wonderfully shrewd fellow.I should like to question him as to how he discovered thesefrauds."
Desmond was called in.
"This is Major Kennedy, Your Majesty," the duke said. "That is histemporary rank, which I bestowed upon him in order to add weightto his mission."
"I have noticed him before, cousin," Philip said, "when I had goneto your quarters, and wondered to see so young a man in theuniform of a captain.
"Now, sir, will you give me an account of how you discovered thesefrauds?"
Desmond then related how he had caused the piles of barrels to beopened out, so that he could examine those next to the wall aswell as those in front; and how he had similarly examined theother stores.
"Very good, indeed, sir," the king said. "Most officers would havecontented themselves with, at most, counting the number of barrelsand sacks; and that you should have so thoroughly investigated thematter shows both zeal and shrewdness."
"He has shown that on various occasions," the duke said, "as youmay judge from the promotion that he has received. As you see, bythe loss of his hand, he has suffered as well as fought on behalfof France. When Your Majesty is at leisure I will, some evening,relate to you a story which I heard from the king himself, of themanner in which he, twice, rescued a fair damsel from anevil-minded noble who carried her off."
"I shall hear it with pleasure, cousin. You say he holds onlytemporary rank. I think that, after the signal service he hasrendered, it should be made substantial."
"I certainly intend to make it so," the duke said.
"Pardon, sir," Desmond said, "but, while thanking you for yourkindness, I would beg to be allowed to remain a captain. Already Ihave obtained more promotion than others have done, after manyyears of good service, and I should regret very much passing overthe heads of so many of my old companions."
"It is the first time that I have had promotion declined," theduke said, smiling. "However, for the present, at least, I willlet the matter remain so."
With an expression of warm thanks, Desmond retired.
"We must lose no time over this matter," the king said. "For aughtwe know, this scoundrel may be in communication with the enemy,and may be prepared to open the gates of the fortress at the firstsummons."
"I will act at once," the duke replied. "I will, this evening,send orders to Toledo for a regiment to march at nine o'clocktomorrow morning, and, if you will send a similar order to ColonelCrofton, he will overtake the infantry before they get toAlmarez."
"I will do so, and will also send with them three field officers,with full power to arrest, try, and execute all those who havetaken part in this treacherous fraud."
On the duke leaving the king, Desmond joined him in theantechamber, and as they walked towards the French headquarters,said:
"I hope, sir, that you will permit me to start tomorrow with anyforce you may be sending, as I wish to carry out the rest of themission with which you entrusted me."
"By all means, do so if you wish it," the duke said. "ColonelCrofton's regiment will start at nine o'clock tomorrow morning,and you may accompany it. On the road it will overtake one of ourregiments from Toledo."
