summaryrefslogtreecommitdiff
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Title: The Bravest of the Brave
       or, with Peterborough in Spain

Author: G. A. Henty

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</pre>


<h1>The Bravest of the Brave;</h1>
<br><br>
<h2>or, With Peterborough in Spain,</h2>
<br><br>
<h3>by G. A. Henty.</h3>
<br><br><br><br>

<h3><a href="#CHAPTER_I">CHAPTER I: THE WAR OF THE
SUCCESSION</a></h3>

<h3><a href="#CHAPTER_II">CHAPTER II: IMPRESSED</a></h3>

<h3><a href="#CHAPTER_III">CHAPTER III: A DOMESTIC STORM</a></h3>

<h3><a href="#CHAPTER_IV">CHAPTER IV: THE SERGEANT'S
YARN</a></h3>

<h3><a href="#CHAPTER_V">CHAPTER V: THE PIRATE HOLD</a></h3>

<h3><a href="#CHAPTER_VI">CHAPTER VI: A COMMISSION</a></h3>

<h3><a href="#CHAPTER_VII">CHAPTER VII: BARCELONA</a></h3>

<h3><a href="#CHAPTER_VIII">CHAPTER VIII: A TUMULT IN THE
CITY</a></h3>

<h3><a href="#CHAPTER_IX">CHAPTER IX: THE ADVANCE INTO
VALENCIA</a></h3>

<h3><a href="#CHAPTER_X">CHAPTER X: AN ADVENTURE IN THE
MOUNTAINS</a></h3>

<h3><a href="#CHAPTER_XI">CHAPTER XI: VALENCIA</a></h3>

<h3><a href="#CHAPTER_XII">CHAPTER XII: IRREGULAR
WARFARE</a></h3>

<h3><a href="#CHAPTER_XIII">CHAPTER XIII: THE FRENCH
CONVOY</a></h3>

<h3><a href="#CHAPTER_XIV">CHAPTER XIV: A PRISONER</a></h3>

<h3><a href="#CHAPTER_XV">CHAPTER XV: THE RELIEF OF
BARCELONA</a></h3>

<h3><a href="#CHAPTER_XVI">CHAPTER XVI: INGRATITUDE</a></h3>

<h3><a href="#CHAPTER_XVII">CHAPTER XVII: HOME</a></h3>

<p>PREFACE</p>

<p>My Dear Lads:</p>

<p>There are few great leaders whose lives and actions have so
completely fallen into oblivion as those of the Earl of
Peterborough. His career as a general was a brief one, extending
only over little more than a year, and yet in that time he showed
a genius for warfare which has never been surpassed, and
performed feats of daring worthy of taking their place among
those of the leaders of chivalry.</p>

<p>The fact that they have made so slight a mark upon history is
due to several reasons. In the first place, they were
overshadowed by the glory and successes of Marlborough; they were
performed in a cause which could scarcely be said to be that of
England, and in which the public had a comparatively feeble
interest; the object, too, for which he fought was frustrated,
and the war was an unsuccessful one, although from no fault on
his part.</p>

<p>But most of all, Lord Peterborough failed to attain that place
in the list of British worthies to which his genius and his
bravery should have raised him, because that genius was directed
by no steady aim or purpose. Lord Peterborough is, indeed, one of
the most striking instances in history of genius and talent
wasted, and a life thrown away by want of fixed principle and by
an inability or unwillingness to work with other men. He
quarreled in turn with every party and with almost every
individual with whom he came in contact; and while he himself was
constantly changing his opinions, he was intolerant of all
opinions differing from those which he at the moment held, and
was always ready to express in the most open and offensive manner
his contempt and dislike for those who differed from him. His
eccentricities were great; he was haughty and arrogant, hasty and
passionate; he denied his God, quarreled with his king, and
rendered himself utterly obnoxious to every party in the
state.</p>

<p>And yet there was a vast amount of good in this strange man.
He was generous and warm hearted to a fault, kind to those in
station beneath him, thoughtful and considerate for his troops,
who adored him, cool in danger, sagacious in difficulties, and
capable at need of evincing a patience and calmness wholly at
variance with his ordinary impetuous character. Although he did
not scruple to carry deception, in order to mislead an enemy, to
a point vastly beyond what is generally considered admissible in
war, he was true to his word and punctiliously honorable in the
ordinary affairs of life.</p>

<p>For the historical events I have described, and for the
details of Peterborough's conduct and character, I have relied
chiefly upon the memoir of the earl written by Mr. C. Warburton,
and published some thirty years ago.</p>

<h1 align="CENTER"><a name="CHAPTER_I"></a>CHAPTER I: THE WAR OF
THE SUCCESSION</h1>

<p>"He is an idle vagabond!" the mayor of the good town of
Southampton said, in high wrath -- "a ne'er do well, and an
insolent puppy; and as to you, Mistress Alice, if I catch you
exchanging words with him again, ay, or nodding to him, or
looking as if in any way you were conscious of his presence, I
will put you on bread and water, and will send you away for six
months to the care of my sister Deborah, who will, I warrant me,
bring you to your senses."</p>

<p>The Mayor of Southampton must have been very angry indeed when
he spoke in this way to his daughter Alice, who in most matters
had her own way. Especially did it show that he was angry, since
he so spoke in the presence of Mistress Anthony, his wife, who
was accustomed to have a by no means unimportant share in any
decision arrived at respecting family matters.</p>

<p>She was too wise a woman, however, to attempt to arrest the
torrent in full flood, especially as it was a matter on which her
husband had already shown a very unusual determination to have
his own way. She therefore continued to work in silence, and paid
no attention to the appealing glance which her daughter, a girl
of fourteen, cast toward her. But although she said nothing, her
husband understood in her silence an unuttered protest.</p>

<p>"It is no use your taking that scamp's part, Mary, in this
matter. I am determined to have my own way, and the townspeople
know well that when Richard Anthony makes up his mind, nothing
will move him."</p>

<p>"I have had no opportunity to take his part, Richard," his
wife said quietly; "you have been storming without interruption
since you came in five minutes ago, and I have not uttered a
single word."</p>

<p>"But you agree with me, Mary -- you cannot but agree with me
-- that it is nothing short of a scandal for the daughter of the
Mayor of Southampton to be talking to a penniless young rogue
like that at the garden gate."</p>

<p>"Alice should not have met him there," Mistress Anthony said;
"but seeing that she is only fourteen years old, and the boy only
sixteen, and he her second cousin, I do not see that the matter
is so very shocking."</p>

<p>"In four more years, Mistress Anthony," the mayor said
profoundly, "he will be twenty, and she will be eighteen."</p>

<p>"So I suppose, Richard; I am no great head at a figures, but
even I can reckon that. But as at present they are only fourteen
and sixteen, I repeat that I do not see that it matters -- at
least not so very much. Alice, do you go to your room, and remain
there till I send for you."</p>

<p>The girl without a word rose and retired. In the reign of King
William the Third implicit obedience was expected of
children.</p>

<p>"I think, Richard," Mrs. Anthony went on when the door closed
behind her daughter, "you are not acting quite with your usual
wisdom in treating this matter in so serious a light, and in
putting ideas into the girl's head which would probably never
have entered there otherwise. Of course Alice is fond of Jack. It
is only natural that she should be, seeing that he is her second
cousin, and that for two years they have lived together under
this roof."</p>

<p>"I was a fool, Mistress Anthony," the mayor said angrily,
"ever to yield to your persuasions in that matter. It was
unfortunate, of course, that the boy's father, the husband of
your Cousin Margaret, should have been turned out of his living
by the Sectarians, as befell thousands of other clergymen besides
him. It was still more unfortunate that when King Charles
returned he did not get reinstated; but, after all, that was
Margaret's business and not mine; and if she was fool enough to
marry a pauper, and he well nigh old enough to be her father --
well, as I say, it was no business of mine."</p>

<p>"He was not a pauper, Richard, and you know it; and he made
enough by teaching to keep him and Margaret comfortably till he
broke down and died three years ago, and poor Margaret followed
him to the grave a year later. He was a good man -- in every way
a good man."</p>

<p>"Tut, tut! I am not saying he wasn't a good man. I am only
saying that, good or bad, it was no business of mine; and then
nothing will do but I must send for the boy and put him in my
business. And a nice mess he made of it -- an idler, more
careless apprentice, no cloth merchant, especially one who stood
well with his fellow citizens, and who was on the highway to
becoming mayor of his native city, was ever crossed with."</p>

<p>"I think he was hardly as bad as that, Richard. I don't think
you were ever quite fair to the boy."</p>

<p>"Not fair, Mary! I am surprised at you. In what way was I not
quite fair?"</p>

<p>"I don't think you meant to be unfair, Richard; but you see
you were a little -- just a little -- prejudiced against him from
the first; because, instead of jumping at your offer to
apprentice him to your trade, he said he should like to be a
sailor."</p>

<p>"Quite enough to prejudice me, too, madam. Why, there are
scores of sons of respectable burgesses of this town who would
jump at such an offer; and here this penniless boy turns up his
nose at it."</p>

<p>"It was foolish, no doubt, Richard; but you see the boy had
been reading the lives of admirals and navigators -- he was full
of life and spirit -- and I believe his father had consented to
his going to sea."</p>

<p>"Full of life and spirit, madam!" the mayor repeated more
angrily than before; "let me tell you it is these fellows who are
full of life and adventure who come to the gallows. Naturally I
was offended; but as I had given you my word I kept to it. Every
man in Southampton knows that the word of Richard Anthony is as
good as his bond. I bound him apprentice, and what comes of it?
My foreman, Andrew Carson, is knocked flat on his back in the
middle of the shop."</p>

<p>Mrs. Anthony bit her lips to prevent herself from smiling.</p>

<p>"We will not speak any more about that, Richard," she said;
"because, if we did, we should begin to argue. You know it is my
opinion, and always has been, that Carson deliberately set you
against the boy; that he was always telling you tales to his
disadvantage; and although I admit that the lad was very wrong to
knock him down when he struck him, I think, my dear, I should
have done the same had I been in his place."</p>

<p>"Then, madam," Mr. Anthony said solemnly, "you would have
deserved what happened to him -- that you should be turned neck
and crop into the street."</p>

<p>Mrs. Anthony gave a determined nod of her head -- a nod which
signified that she should have a voice on that point. However,
seeing that in her husband's present mood it was better to say no
more, she resumed her work.</p>

<p>While this conversation had been proceeding, Jack Stilwell,
who had fled hastily when surprised by the mayor as he was
talking to his daughter at the back gate of the garden, had made
his way down to the wharves, and there, seating himself upon a
pile of wood, had stared moodily at the tract of mud extending
from his feet to the strip of water far away. His position was
indeed an unenviable one. As Mrs. Anthony had said, his father
was a clergyman of the Church of England, the vicar of a snug
living in Lincolnshire, but he had been cast out when the
Parliamentarians gained the upper hand, and his living was handed
over to a Sectarian preacher. When, after years of poverty, King
Charles came to the throne, the dispossessed minister thought
that as a matter of course he should be restored to his living;
but it was not so. As in hundreds of other cases the new occupant
conformed at once to the new laws, and the Rev. Thomas Stilwell,
having no friends or interest, was, like many another clergyman,
left out in the cold.</p>

<p>But by this time he had settled at Oxford -- at which
university he had been educated -- and was gaining a not
uncomfortable livelihood by teaching the sons of citizens. Late
in life he married Margaret Ullathorpe, who, still a young woman,
had, during a visit to some friends at Oxford, made his
acquaintance. In spite of the disparity of years the union was a
happy one. One son was born to them, and all had gone well until
a sudden chill had been the cause of Mr. Stilwell's death, his
wife surviving him only one year. Her death took place at
Southampton, where she had moved after the loss of her husband,
having no further tie at Oxford, and a week later Jack Stilwell
found himself domiciled at the house of Mr. Anthony.</p>

<p>It was in vain that he represented to the cloth merchant that
his wishes lay toward a seafaring life, and that although his
father had wished him to go into the ministry, he had given way
to his entreaties. Mr. Anthony sharply pooh poohed the idea, and
insisted that it was nothing short of madness to dream of such a
thing when so excellent an opportunity of learning a respectable
business was open to him.</p>

<p>At any other time Jack would have resisted stoutly, and would
have run away and taken his chance rather than agree to the
proposition; but he was broken down by grief at his mother's
death. Incapable of making a struggle against the obstinacy of
Mr. Anthony, and scarce caring what became of himself, he signed
the deed of apprenticeship which made him for five years the
slave of the cloth merchant. Not that the latter intended to be
anything but kind, and he sincerely believed that he was acting
for the good of the boy in taking him as his apprentice; but as
Jack recovered his spirits and energy, he absolutely loathed the
trade to which he was bound. Had it not been for Mistress Anthony
and Alice he would have braved the heavy pains and penalties
which in those days befell disobedient apprentices, and would
have run away to sea; but their constant kindness, and the fact
that his mother with her dying breath had charged him to regard
her cousin as standing in her place, prevented him from carrying
the idea which he often formed into effect.</p>

<p>In the shop his life was wretched. He was not stupid, as his
master asserted; for indeed in other matters he was bright and
clever, and his father had been well pleased with the progress he
made with his studies; but, in the first place; he hated his
work, and, in the second, every shortcoming and mistake was
magnified and made the most of by the foreman, Andrew Carson.
This man had long looked to be taken into partnership, and
finally to succeed his master, seeing that the latter had no
sons, and he conceived a violent jealousy of Jack Stilwell, in
whose presence, as a prime favorite of Mistress Anthony and of
her daughter, he thought he foresaw an overthrow of his
plans.</p>

<p>He was not long in effecting a breach between the boy and his
master -- for Jack's carelessness and inattention gave him plenty
of opportunities -- and Mr. Anthony ere long viewed the boy's
errors as acts of willful disobedience. This state of things
lasted for two years until the climax came, when, as Mr. Anthony
had said to his wife, Jack, upon the foreman attempting to strike
him, had knocked the latter down in the shop.</p>

<p>Mr. Anthony's first impulse was to take his apprentice before
the justices and to demand condign punishment for such an act of
flagrant rebellion; but a moment's reflection told him that Jack,
at the end of his punishment, would return to his house, where
his wife would take his part as usual, and the quarrels which had
frequently arisen on his account would be more bitter than
before.</p>

<p>It was far better to get rid of him at once, and he
accordingly ordered him from the shop, tore up his indenture
before his eyes, and bade him never let him see his face again.
For the first few hours Jack was delighted at his freedom. He
spent the day down on the wharves talking to the fishermen and
sailors. There were no foreign bound ships in the port, and he
had no wish to ship on board a coaster; he therefore resolved to
wait until a vessel sailing for foreign ports should leave.</p>

<p>He had no money; but a few hours after he left the shop Mrs.
Anthony's maid found him on the wharf, and gave him a letter from
her mistress. In this was inclosed a sum of money sufficient to
last him for some time, and an assurance that she did not share
her husband's anger against him.</p>

<p>"I have no doubt, my dear Jack," she said, "that in time I
could heal the breach and could arrange for you to come back
again, but I think perhaps it is better as it is. You would never
make a clothier, and I don't think you would ever become Mayor of
Southampton. I know what your wishes are, and I think that you
had better follow them out. Alice is heartbroken over the affair,
but I assure her that it will all turn out for the best. I cannot
ask you to come up to the house; but whenever you have settled on
anything leave a note with Dorothy for me, and I will come down
with Alice to see you and say goodby to you. I will see that you
do not go without a proper outfit."</p>

<p>It was to deliver this letter that Jack had gone up to the
back gate; and seeing Alice in the garden they had naturally
fallen into conversation at the gate, when the mayor, looking out
from the window of his warehouse, happened to see them, and went
out in the greatest wrath to put a stop to the conversation.</p>

<p>Jack had indeed found a ship; she had come in from Holland
with cloth and other merchandise, and was after she was
discharged to sail for the colonies with English goods. She would
not leave the port for some weeks; but he had seen the captain,
who had agreed to take him as ship's boy. Had the mayor been
aware that his late apprentice was on the point of leaving he
would not have interfered with his intention; but as he had
peremptorily ordered that his name was not to be mentioned before
him, and as Mrs. Anthony had no motive in approaching the
forbidden subject, the mayor remained in ignorance that Jack was
about to depart on a distant voyage.</p>

<p>One day, on going down to the town hail, he found an official
letter waiting him; it was an order from government empowering
justices of the peace to impress such men as they thought fit,
with the only restriction that men entitled to vote for members
of parliament were exempted. This tremendous power had just been
legalized by an act of parliament. A more iniquitous act never
disgraced our statutes, for it enabled justices of the peace to
spite any of their poorer neighbors against whom they had a
grudge, and to ship them off to share in the hardships of
Marlborough's campaign in Germany and the Low Countries, or in
the expedition now preparing for Spain.</p>

<p>At that time the army was held in the greatest dislike by the
English people. The nation had always been opposed to a standing
force, and it was only now that the necessities of the country
induced them to tolerate it. It was, however, recruited almost
entirely from reckless and desperate men. Criminals were allowed
to commute sentences of imprisonment for service in the army, and
the gates of the prisons were also opened to insolvent debtors
consenting to enlist. But all the efforts of the recruiting
sergeants, aided by such measures as these, proved insufficient
to attract a sufficient number of men to keep up the armies at
the required strength.</p>

<p>Pressing had always existed to a certain extent; but it had
been carried on secretly, and was regarded as illegal. Therefore,
as men must be had, the law giving justices the authority and
power to impress any men they might select, with the exception of
those who possessed a vote for members of parliament, was passed
with the approval of parties on both sides of the House of
Commons.</p>

<p>There was indeed great need for men. England had allied
herself with Austria and Holland in opposition to France, the
subject of dispute being the succession to the crown of Spain,
England's feelings in the matter being further imbittered by the
recognition by Louis XIV of the Pretender as King of England.
Therefore, although her interests were not so deeply engaged in
the question as to the succession to the throne of Spain as were
those of the continental powers, she threw herself into the
struggle with ardor.</p>

<p>The two claimants to the throne of Spain were the Archduke
Charles, second son of Leopold, Emperor of Austria, and Philip,
Duke of Anjou, a younger grandson of Louis. On the marriage of
the French king with Maria Theresa, the sister of Charles II of
Spain, she had formally renounced all claims to the succession,
but the French king had nevertheless continued from time to time
to bring them forward. Had these rights not been renounced Philip
would have had the best claim to the Spanish throne, the next of
kin after him being Charles of Austria.</p>

<p>During the later days of the King of Spain all Europe had
looked on with the most intense interest at the efforts which the
respective parties made for their candidates. Whichever might
succeed to the throne the balance of power would be destroyed;
for either Austria and Spain united, or France and Spain united,
would be sufficient to overawe the rest of the Continent. Louis
XIV lulled the fears of the Austrian party by suggesting a treaty
of partition to the Dutch states and William the Third of
England.</p>

<p>By this treaty it was agreed that the Archduke Charles was to
be acknowledged successor to the crowns of Spain, the Indies, and
the Netherlands; while the dauphin, as the eldest son of Maria
Theresa, should receive the kingdom of Naples and Sicily, with
the Spanish province of Guipuscoa and the duchy of Milan, in
compensation of his abandonment of other claims. When the
conditions of this treaty became known they inspired natural
indignation in the minds of the people of the country which had
thus been arbitrarily allotted, and the dying Charles of Spain
was infuriated by this conspiracy to break up and divide his
dominion. His jealousy of France would have led him to select the
Austrian claimant; but the emperor's undisguised greed for a
portion of the Spanish empire, and the overbearing and unpleasant
manner of the Austrian ambassador in the Spanish court, drove him
to listen to the overtures of Louis, who had a powerful ally in
Cardinal Portocarrero, Archbishop of Toledo, whose influence was
all powerful with the king. The cardinal argued that the grandson
of Maria Theresa could not be bound by her renunciation, and also
that it had only been made with a view to keep separate the
French and Spanish monarchies, and that if a descendant of hers,
other than the heir to the throne of France, were chosen, this
condition would be carried out.</p>

<p>Finally, he persuaded Charles, a month before his death, to
sign a will declaring Philip, Duke of Anjou, grandson of his
brother in law Louis XIV, sole heir of the Spanish empire. The
will was kept secret till the death of the king, and was then
publicly proclaimed. Louis accepted the bequest in favor of his
grandson, and Philip was declared king in Spain and her
dependencies.</p>

<p>The greatest indignation was caused in England, Holland, and
the empire at this breach by the King of France of the treaty of
partition, of which he himself had been the author. England and
Holland were unprepared for war, and therefore bided their time,
but Austria at once commenced hostilities by directing large
bodies of troops, under Prince Eugene, into the duchy of Milan,
and by inciting the Neapolitans to revolt. The young king was at
first popular in Spain, but Cardinal Portocarrero, who exercised
the real power of the state, by his overbearing temper, his
avarice, and his shameless corruption, speedily alienated the
people from their monarch. Above all, the cardinal was supposed
to be the tool of the French king, and to represent the policy
which had for its object the dismemberment of the Spanish
monarchy and the aggrandizement of France.</p>

<p>That Louis had such designs was undoubted, and, if properly
managed and bribed, Portocarrero would have been a pliant
instrument in his hands; but the cardinal was soon estranged by
the constant interference by the French agents in his own
measures of government, and therefore turned against France that
power of intrigue which he had recently used in her favor. He
pretended to be devoted to France, and referred even the most
minute details of government to Paris for approbation, with the
double view of disgusting Louis with the government of Spain and
of enraging the Spanish people at the constant interference of
Louis.</p>

<p>Philip, however, found a new and powerful ally in the hearts
of the people by his marriage with Maria Louisa, daughter of the
Duke of Savoy -- a beautiful girl of fourteen years old, who
rapidly developed into a graceful and gifted woman, and became
the darling of the Spanish people, and whose intellect, firmness,
and courage guided and strengthened her weak but amiable husband.
For a time the power of Spain and France united overshadowed
Europe, the trading interests of England and Holland were
assailed, and a French army assembled close to the Flemish
frontier.</p>

<p>The indignation of the Dutch overcame their fears, and they
yielded to the quiet efforts which King William was making, and
combined with England and Austria in a grand alliance against
France, the object of the combination being to exclude Louis from
the Netherlands and West Indies, and to prevent the union of the
crowns of France and Spain upon the same head. King William might
not have obtained from the English parliament a ratification of
the alliance had not Louis just at this moment acknowledged the
son of the ex-king James as king of England. This insult roused
the spirit of the English people, the House of Commons approved
the triple alliance, and voted large supplies. King William died
just after seeing his favorite project successful, and was
succeeded by Queen Anne, who continued his policy. The Austrian
Archduke Charles was recognized by the allies as King of Spain,
and preparation made for war.</p>

<p>An English army was landed near Cadiz; but the Spaniards
showed no signs of rising in favor of Charles, and, after
bringing great discredit on themselves and exciting the animosity
of the Spaniards by gross misconduct, the English army embarked
again. Some treasure ships were captured, and others sunk in the
harbor of Vigo, but the fleet was no more effective than the
army. Admiral Sir John Munden was cashiered for treachery or
cowardice on the coast of Spain, and four captains of vessels in
the gallant Benbow's West India fleet were either dismissed or
shot for refusing to meet the enemy and for abandoning their
chief.</p>

<p>In 1703 little was done in the way of fighting, but the allies
received an important addition of strength by the accession of
Portugal to their ranks. In 1704 the allies made an attempt upon
the important city of Barcelona. It was believed that the
Catalans would have declared for Charles; but the plot by which
the town was to be given up to him was discovered on the eve of
execution, and the English force re-embarked on their ships.
Their success was still less on the side of Portugal, where the
Duke of Berwick, who was in command of the forces of King Philip,
defeated the English and Dutch under the Duke of Schomberg and
captured many towns.</p>

<p>The Portuguese rendered the allies but slight assistance.
These reverses were, however, balanced by the capture of
Gibraltar on the 21st of June by the fleet under Sir George
Rooke, and a small land force under Prince George of Hesse.
Schomberg was recalled and Lord Galway took the command; but he
succeeded no better than his predecessor, and affairs looked but
badly for the allies, when the Duke of Marlborough, with the
English and allied troops in Germany, inflicted the first great
check upon the power and ambition of Louis XIV by the splendid
victory of Blenheim.</p>

<p>This defeat of the French had a disastrous effect upon the
fortunes of Philip. He could no longer hope for help from his
grandfather, for Louis was now called upon to muster his whole
strength on his eastern frontier for the defense of his own
dominion, and Philip was forced to depend upon his partisans in
Spain only. The partisans of Charles at once took heart. The
Catalans had never been warm in the cause of Philip; the crowns
of Castile, Arragon, and Catalonia had only recently been united,
and dangerous jealousy existed between these provinces. The
Castilians were devoted adherents of Philip, and this in itself
was sufficient to set Catalonia and Arragon against him.</p>

<p>The English government had been informed of this growing
discontent in the north of Spain, and sent out an emissary to
inquire into the truth of the statement. As his report confirmed
all that they had heard, it was decided in the spring of 1705 to
send out an expedition which was to effect a landing in
Catalonia, and would, it was hoped, be joined by all the people
of that province and Arragon. By the efforts and patronage of the
Duchess of Marlborough, who was all powerful with Queen Anne, the
Earl of Peterborough was named to the command of the
expedition.</p>

<p>The choice certainly appeared a singular one, for hitherto the
earl had done nothing which would entitle him to so distinguished
a position. Charles Mordaunt was the eldest son of John Lord
Mordaunt, Viscount Avalon, a brave and daring cavalier, who had
fought heart and soul for Charles, and had been tried by Cromwell
for treason, and narrowly escaped execution. On the restoration,
as a reward for his risk of life and fortune, and for his loyalty
and ability, he was raised to the peerage.</p>

<p>His son Charles inherited none of his father's steadfastness.
Brought up in the profligate court of Charles the Second he
became an atheist, a scoffer at morality, and a republican. At
the same time he had many redeeming points. He was brilliant,
witty, energetic, and brave. He was generous and strictly
honorable to his word. He was filled with a burning desire for
adventure, and, at the close of 1674, when in his seventeenth
year, he embarked in Admiral Torrington's ship, and proceeded to
join as a volunteer Sir John Narborough's fleet in the
Mediterranean, in order to take part in the expedition to
restrain and revenge the piratical depredations of the barbarous
states of Tripoli and Algiers.</p>

<p>He distinguished himself on the 14th of January, 1675, in an
attack by the boats of the fleet upon four corsair men o' war
moored under the very guns of the castle and fort of Tripoli. The
exploit was a successful one, the ships were all burned, and most
of their crews slain. Another encounter with the fleet of Tripoli
took place in February, when the pirates were again defeated, and
the bey forced to grant all the English demands.</p>

<p>In 1677 the fleet returned to England, and with it Mordaunt,
who had during his absence succeeded to his father's title and
estates, John Lord Mordaunt having died on the 5th of June, 1675.
Shortly after his return to England Lord Mordaunt, though still
but twenty years old, married a daughter of Sir Alexander Fraser.
But his spirit was altogether unsuited to the quiet enjoyment of
domestic life, and at the end of September, 1678, he went out as
a volunteer in his majesty's ship Bristol, which was on the point
of sailing for the Mediterranean to take part in an expedition
fitting out for the relief of Tangier, then besieged by the
Moors. Nothing, however, came of the expedition, and Mordaunt
returned to England in the autumn of 1679.</p>

<p>In June, 1680, he again sailed for Tangier with a small
expedition commanded by the Earl of Plymouth. The expedition
succeeded in throwing themselves into the besieged town, and
continued the defense with vigor, and Mordaunt again
distinguished himself; but he soon wearied of the monotony of a
long siege, and before the end of the year found opportunity to
return to England, where he plunged into politics and became one
of the leaders of the party formed to exclude the Duke of York
from the throne.</p>

<p>Although a close friend of Lord Russell and Algernon Sidney he
had fortunately for himself not been admitted to the fatal
privilege of their private councils, and therefore escaped the
fate which befell them. He continued his friendship with them to
the last, and accompanied Algernon Sidney to the scaffold. But
even while throwing himself heart and soul into politics he was
continually indulging in wild freaks which rendered him the talk
of the town.</p>

<p>On the accession of King James he made his first speech in the
House of Peers against a standing army, and distinguished himself
alike by the eloquence and violence of his language. He was now
under the displeasure of the court, and his profuse generosity
had brought him into pecuniary trouble. In 1686, therefore, he
quitted England with the professed intention of accepting a
command in the Dutch fleet then about to sail for the West
Indies, When he arrived in Holland, however, he presented himself
immediately to the Prince of Orange, and first among the British
nobility boldly proposed to William an immediate invasion of
England. He pushed his arguments with fiery zeal, urged the
disaffection of all classes, the hatred of the Commons, the
defection of the Lords, the alarm of the Church, and the wavering
loyalty of the army.</p>

<p>William, however, was already informed of these facts, and was
not to be hurried. Mordaunt remained with him till, on the 20th
of October, 1688, he sailed for England. The first commission
that King William signed in England was the appointment of Lord
Mordaunt as lieutenant colonel of horse, and raising a regiment
he rendered good service at Exeter. As soon as the revolution was
completed, and William and Mary ascended the throne, Mordaunt was
made a privy councilor and one of the lords of the bedchamber,
and in April, 1689, he was made first commissioner of the
treasury, and advanced to the dignity of Earl of Monmouth. In
addition to the other offices to which he was appointed he was
given the colonelcy of the regiment of horse guards.</p>

<p>His conduct in office showed in brilliant contrast to that of
the men with whom he was placed. He alone was free from the
slightest suspicion of corruption and venality, and he speedily
made enemies among his colleagues by the open contempt which he
manifested for their gross corruption.</p>

<p>Although he had taken so prominent a part in bringing King
William to England, Monmouth soon became mixed up in all sorts of
intrigues and plots. He was already tired of the reign of the
Dutch king, and longed for a commonwealth. He was constantly
quarreling with his colleagues, and whenever there was a debate
in the House of Lords Monmouth took a prominent part on the side
of the minority. In 1692 he went out with his regiment of horse
guards to Holland, and fought bravely at the battle of Steenkirk.
The campaign was a failure, and in October he returned to England
with the king.</p>

<p>For two years after this he lived quietly, devoting his
principal attention to his garden and the society of wits and men
of letters. Then he again appeared in parliament, and took a
leading part in the movement in opposition to the crown, and
inveighed in bitter terms against the bribery of persons in power
by the East India Company, and the venality of many members of
parliament and even the ministry. His relations with the king
were now of the coldest kind, and he became mixed up in a
Jacobite plot. How far he was guilty in the matter was never
proved. Public opinion certainly condemned him, and by a vote of
the peers he was deprived of all his employments and sent to the
Tower. The king, however, stood his friend, and released him at
the end of the session.</p>

<p>In 1697, by the death of his uncle, Charles became Earl of
Peterborough, and passed the next four years in private life,
emerging only occasionally to go down to the House of Peers and
make fiery onslaughts upon abuses and corruption. In the course
of these years, both in parliament and at court, he had been
sometimes the friend, sometimes the opponent of Marlborough; but
he had the good fortune to be a favorite of the duchess, and when
the time came that a leader was required for the proposed
expedition to Spain, she exerted herself so effectually that she
procured his nomination.</p>

<p>Hitherto his life had been a strange one. Indolent and
energetic by turns, restless and intriguing, quarreling with all
with whom he came in contact, burning with righteous indignation
against corruption and misdoing, generous to a point which
crippled his finances seriously, he was a puzzle to all who knew
him, and had he died at this time he would only have left behind
him the reputation of being one of the most brilliant, gifted,
and honest, but at the same time one of the most unstable,
eccentric, and ill regulated spirits of his time.</p>

<h1 align="CENTER"><a name="CHAPTER_II"></a>CHAPTER II:
IMPRESSED</h1>

<p>When the Mayor of Southampton opened the official document
empowering and requesting him to obtain recruits for the queen's
service he was not greatly pleased. This sort of thing would give
a good deal of trouble, and would assuredly not add to his
popularity. He saw at once that he would be able to oblige many
of his friends by getting rid of people troublesome to them, but
with this exception where was he to find the recruits the queen
required? There were, of course, a few never do wells in the town
who could be packed off, to the general satisfaction of the
inhabitants, but beyond this every one taken would have friends
and relations who would cry out and protest.</p>

<p>It was likely to be a troublesome business, and the mayor
threw down the paper on the table before him. Then suddenly his
expression changed. He had been thinking of obliging his friends
by sending off persons troublesome to them, but he had not
thought of his own case. Here was the very thing; he would send
off this troublesome lad to fight for the queen; and whether he
went to the Low Countries under Marlborough, or to Spain with
this new expedition which was being prepared, it was very
unlikely that he would ever return to trouble him.</p>

<p>He was only sixteen, indeed, but he was strong and well grown,
and much fitter for service than many of those who would be sent.
If the young fellow stopped here he would always be a trouble,
and a bone of contention between himself and his wife. Besides,
for Alice's sake, it was clearly his duty to get the fellow out
of the way. Girls, Mr. Anthony considered, were always falling in
love with the very last people in the world with whom they should
do so, and out of sheer contrariety it was more than possible
that Alice might take a fancy for this penniless vagabond, and if
she did Mrs. Anthony was fool enough to support her in her
folly.</p>

<p>Of course there would be trouble with his wife when she found
what had happened to the lad -- for the mayor did not deceive
himself for a moment by the thought that he would be able to
conceal from his wife the cause of Jack's absence; he was too
well aware of Mrs. Anthony's power of investigation. Still, after
it was done it could not be undone, and it was better to have one
domestic storm than a continuation of foul weather.</p>

<p>Calling in his clerk the mayor read over to him the order he
had received, and bade him turn to the court book and make out a
list of the names of forty young men who had been charged before
him with offenses of drunkenness, assault, battery and
rioting.</p>

<p>"When you have made up the list, Johnson, you will go round to
the aldermen and inform them of the order that I have received
from the government, and you can tell them that if there are any
persons they know of whom they consider that Southampton would be
well rid, if they will send the names to me I will add them to
the list. Bid them not to choose married men, if it can be
avoided, for the town would be burdened with the support of their
wives and families. Another ten names will do. The letter which
accompanies the order says that from my well known zeal and
loyalty it is doubted not that Southampton will furnish a hundred
men, but if I begin with fifty that will be well enough, and we
can pick out the others at our leisure."</p>

<p>By the afternoon the list was filled up. One of the aldermen
had inserted the name of a troublesome nephew, another that of a
foreman with whom he had had a dispute about wages, and who had
threatened to proceed against him in the court. Some of the names
were inserted from mere petty spite; but with scarce an exception
the aldermen responded to the invitation of the mayor, and placed
on the list the name of some one whom they, or Southampton, would
be the better without.</p>

<p>When the list was completed the mayor struck out one of the
first names inserted by his clerk and inserted that of John
Stilwell in its place. His instructions were that he was to
notify to an officer, who would arrive with a company of soldiers
on the following day, the names of those whom he deemed suitable
for the queen's service. The officer after taking them was to
embark them on board one of the queen's cutters, which would come
round from Portsmouth for the purpose, and would convey them to
Dover, where a camp was being formed and the troops
assembling.</p>

<p>Upon the following day the company marched into the town, and
the officer in command, having seen his men billeted among the
citizens, called upon the mayor.</p>

<p>"Well, Mr. Mayor," he said, "I hope you have a good list of
recruits for me. I don't want to be waiting here, for I have to
go on a similar errand to other towns. It is not a job I like, I
can tell you, but it is not for me to question orders."</p>

<p>"I have a list of fifty men, all active and hearty fellows,
who will make good soldiers," the mayor said.</p>

<p>"And of whom, no doubt, Southampton will be well rid," the
officer said with a laugh. "Truly, I pity the Earl of
Peterborough, for he will have as rough a body of soldiers as
ever marched to war. However, it is usually the case that the
sort of men who give trouble at home are just those who, when the
time comes, make the best fighters. I would rather have half a
dozen of your reckless blades, when the pinch comes, than a score
of honest plowboys. How do you propose that I shall take
them?"</p>

<p>"That I will leave entirely to you," the mayor said; "here is
a list of the houses where they lodge. I will place the town
watch at your disposal to show you the way and to point out the
men to you."</p>

<p>"That will be all I shall require," the officer said; "but you
can give me a list of those who are most likely to give trouble.
These I will pounce upon and get on board ship first of all. When
they are secured I will tell my men off in parties, each with one
of your constables to point out the men, and we will pick them up
so many every evening. It is better not to break into houses and
seize them; for, although we are acting legally and under the
authority of act of parliament, it is always as well to avoid
giving cause of complaint, which might tend to excite a feeling
against the war and make the government unpopular, and which,
moreover, might do you harm with the good citizens, and do me
harm with those above me. I am sure you agree with me."</p>

<p>"Quite so, quite so," the mayor said hastily; "you speak very
prudently and well, sir. I hope you will honor me by taking up
your abode in my house during your stay here; but may I ask you
not to allow my wife, who is inquisitive by nature, to see the
list with which I furnish you? Women are ever meddling in matters
which concern them not."</p>

<p>"I understand," the officer said with a wink, "there are names
on the list of which your wife would not approve. I have known
the same thing happen before. But never fear, the list shall be
kept safe; and, indeed, it were better that nothing were said of
my business in the town, for if this get abroad, some of those
whose conscience may tell them that they will be likely to be
chosen for service might very well slip off and be out of the way
until they hear that I and my men have left."</p>

<p>Two days later, when, as the evening was falling, Jack
Stilwell was walking up from the wharf, where he had been
watching the unlading of the vessel in which he was to sail, he
came upon a group of four or five soldiers standing at a corner.
Then a voice, which he recognized as that of the foreman, Richard
Carson, said:</p>

<p>"That is your man, officer;" and the soldiers made a sudden
rush upon him.</p>

<p>Taken by surprise he nevertheless struggled desperately, but a
heavy blow with a staff fell on the back of his head, and for a
time he knew nothing more. When he recovered his consciousness he
was lying almost in complete darkness, but by the faint gleam of
the lantern he discovered that he was in the hold of a ship.
Several other men were sitting or laying near him. Some of them
were cursing and swearing, others were stanching the blood which
flowed from various cuts and gashes.</p>

<p>"What does all this mean ?" he asked as he somewhat recovered
himself.</p>

<p>"It means," said one, "that we are pressed to serve as
soldiers. I made a fight for it, and just as they had got the
handcuffs on some citizens came up and asked what was doing, and
the sergeant said, 'It is quite legal. We hold the mayor's
warrant to impress this man for service in the army; there is a
constable here who will tell you we are acting on authority, and
if any interfere it will be worse for them.'"</p>

<p>Jack heard the news in silence. So, he had been pressed by a
warrant of the mayor, he was the victim of the spite of his late
employer. But his thoughts soon turned from this by the
consciousness that his shirt and clothes were soaked with blood,
and putting his hand to the back of his head he found a great
lump from which the blood was still slowly flowing. Taking off
his neck handkerchief he bound it round his head and then lay
down again. He tried to think, but his brain was weak and
confused, and he presently fell into a sound sleep, from which he
was not aroused by the arrival of another batch of prisoners.</p>

<p>It was morning when he awoke, and he found that he had now
nearly twenty companions in captivity. Some were walking up and
down like caged animals, others were loudly bewailing their fate,
some sat moody and silent, while some bawled out threats of
vengeance against those they considered responsible for their
captivity. A sentry with a shouldered musket was standing at the
foot of the steps, and from time to time some sailors passed up
and down. Jack went up to one of these.</p>

<p>"Mate," he said, "could you let us have a few buckets of water
down here? In the first place we are parched with thirst, and in
the second we may as well try to get off some of the blood which,
from a good many of us, has been let out pretty freely."</p>

<p>"Well, you seem a reasonable sort of chap," the sailor said,
"and to take things coolly. That's the way, my lad; when the
king, or the queen now -- it's all the same thing -- has once got
his hand on you it's of no use kicking against it. I have been
pressed twice myself, so I know how you feel. Here, mates," he
said to two of the other sailors, "lend a hand and get a bucket
of fresh water and a pannikin, and half a dozen buckets of salt
water, and let these lads have a drink and a wash."</p>

<p>It was soon done. The prisoners were all glad of the drink,
but few cared to trouble about washing. Jack, however, took
possession of a bucket, stripped to the waist, and had a good
wash. The salt water made his wound smart, but he continued for
half an hour bathing it, and at the end of that time felt vastly
fresher and better. Then he soaked his shirt in the water, and as
far as possible removed the broad stains of blood which stiffened
it. Then he wrung it out and hung it up to dry, and, putting on
his coat, sat down and thought matters over.</p>

<p>He had never had the idea of entering the army, for the
measures taken to fill the ranks rendered the military service
distasteful in the extreme to the English people. Since the days
of Agincourt the English army had never gained any brilliant
successes abroad, and there was consequently none of that
national pride which now exists in its bravery and glorious
history.</p>

<p>Still, Jack reflected, it did not make much difference to him
whether he became a soldier or a sailor. He had longed to see the
world, to share in deeds of adventure, and, above all, to escape
from the dreary drudgery of the clothier's shop. These objects
would be attained as well in the army as in the navy; and,
indeed, now that he thought of it, he preferred the active
service which he would see under Marlborough or Peterborough to
the monotony of a long sea voyage. At any rate, it was clear that
remonstrance or resistance were vain. He as well as others were
aware of the law which had just been passed, giving magistrates
the power of impressing soldiers for the service, and he felt,
therefore, that although his impressment had no doubt been
dictated by the private desire of the mayor to get him out of the
way, it was yet strictly legal, and that it would be useless his
making any protest against it. He resolved, therefore, to make
the best of things, and to endeavor to win the goodwill of his
officers by prompt and cheerful acquiescence in the
inevitable.</p>

<p>Presently some sailors brought down a tray with a number of
hunks of black bread, a large pot filled with a sort of broth,
and a score of earthenware mugs. Jack at once dipped one of the
mugs into the pot, and, taking a hunk of bread, sat down to his
breakfast. A few others followed his example, but most of them
were too angry or too dispirited to care about eating; and,
indeed, it seemed to them that their refusal to partake of the
meal was a sort of protest against their captivity.</p>

<p>Half an hour afterward the sailors removed the food; and many
of those who had refused to touch it soon regretted bitterly that
they had not done so, for as the time went on hunger began to
make itself felt. It was evening before the next meal, consisting
of black bread and a great piece of salt beef, was brought down.
This time there were no abstentions. As the evening wore on fresh
batches of prisoners were brought in, until, by midnight, the
number was raised to fifty. Many of them had been seriously
knocked about in their capture, and Jack, who had persuaded his
friend the sailor to bring down three or four more buckets of
salt water, did his best, by bathing and bandaging their wounds,
to put them at their ease.</p>

<p>In the morning he could see who were his companions in
misfortune. Many of them he knew by sight as loafers on the
wharves and as troublesome or riotous characters. Three or four
were men of different type. There were two or three respectable
mechanics -- men who had had, at various times, drawn upon them
the dislikes of the great men of the town by insisting on their
rights; and there were two idle young fellows of a higher class,
who had vexed their friends beyond endurance.</p>

<p>Presently the officer in charge of the recruiting party, who
had now come on board, came down into the hold. He was at once
assailed with a storm of curses and angry remonstrances.</p>

<p>"Look here, my lads," he said, raising his hand for silence,
"it is of no use your going on like this, and I warn you that the
sooner you make up your minds that you have got to serve her
majesty the better for you, because that you have got to do it is
certain. You have all been impressed according to act of
parliament, and there is no getting out of it. It's your own
fault that you got those hard knocks that I see the marks of, and
you will get more if you give any more trouble. Now, those who
choose to agree at once to serve her majesty can come on
deck."</p>

<p>Jack at once stepped forward.</p>

<p>"I am ready to serve, sir," he said.</p>

<p>"That's right," the officer replied heartily; "you are a lad
of spirit, I can see, and will make a good soldier. You look
young yet, but that's all in your favor; you will be a sergeant
at an age when others are learning their recruit drill. Now,
who's the next?"</p>

<p>Some half dozen of the others followed Jack's example, but the
rest were still too sore and angry to be willing to do anything
voluntarily.</p>

<p>Jack leaped lightly up on deck and looked round; the cutter
was already under weigh, and with a gentle breeze was running
along the smooth surface of Southampton waters; the ivy covered
ruins of Netley Abbey were abreast of them, and behind was the
shipping of the port.</p>

<p>"Well, young un," an old sergeant said, "so I suppose you have
agreed to serve the queen?"</p>

<p>"As her majesty was so pressing," Jack replied with a smile,
"you see I had no choice in the matter."</p>

<p>"That's right," the sergeant said kindly; "always keep up your
spirits, lad. Care killed a cat, you know. You are one of the
right sort, I can see, but you are young to be pressed. How old
are you?"</p>

<p>"Sixteen," Jack replied.</p>

<p>"Then they had no right to take you," the sergeant said;
"seventeen's the earliest age, and as a rule soldiers ain't much
good till they are past twenty. You would have a right to get off
if you could prove your age; but of course you could not do that
without witnesses or papers, and it's an old game for recruits
who look young to try to pass as under age."</p>

<p>"I shan't try," Jack answered; "I have made up my mind to it
now, and there's an end to it. But why ain't soldiers any good
till they are past twenty, sergeant? As far as I can see, boys
are just as brave as men."</p>

<p>"Just as brave, my lad, and when it comes to fighting the
young soldier is very often every bit as good as the old one; but
they can't stand fatigue and hardship like old soldiers. A boy
will start out on as long a walk as a man can take, but he can't
keep it up day after day. When it comes to long marches, to
sleeping on the ground in the wet, bad food, and fever from the
marshes, the young soldier breaks down, the hospital gets full of
boys, and they just die off like flies, while the older men pull
through."</p>

<p>"You are a Job's comforter, I must say," Jack said with a
laugh; "but I must hope that I shan't have long marches, and bad
food, and damp weather, and marsh fever till I get a bit
older."</p>

<p>"I don't want to discourage you," the sergeant remarked, "and
you know there are young soldiers and young soldiers. There are
the weedy, narrow chested chaps as seems to be made special for
filling a grave; and there is the sturdy, hardy young chap, whose
good health and good spirits carries him through. That's your
sort, I reckon. Good spirits is the best medicine in the world;
it's worth all the doctors and apothecaries in the army. But how
did you come to be pressed? it's generally the ne'er do well and
idle who get picked out as food for powder. That doesn't look
your sort, or I'm mistaken."</p>

<p>"I hope not," Jack said. "I am here because I am a sort of
cousin of the Mayor of Southampton. He wanted me to serve in his
shop. I stood it for a time, but I hated it, and at last I had a
row with his foreman and knocked him down, so I was kicked out
into the streets; and I suppose he didn't like seeing me about,
and so took this means of getting rid of me. He needn't have been
in such a hurry, for if he had waited a few days I should have
gone, for I had shipped as a boy on board of a ship about to sail
for the colonies."</p>

<p>"In that case, my lad, you have no reason for ill will against
this precious relation of yours, for he has done you a good turn
while meaning to do you a bad un. The life of a boy on board a
ship isn't one to be envied, I can tell you; he is at every one's
beck and call, and gets more kicks than halfpence. Besides, what
comes of it? You get to be a sailor, and, as far as I can see,
the life of a sailor is the life of a dog. Look at the place
where he sleeps -- why, it ain't as good as a decent kennel. Look
at his food -- salt meat as hard as a stone, and rotten biscuit
that a decent dog would turn up his nose at; his time is never
his own -- wet or dry, storm or calm, he's got to work when he's
told. And what's he got to look forward to? A spree on shore when
his voyage is done, and then to work again. Why, my lad, a
soldier's life is a gentleman's life in comparison. Once you have
learned your drill and know your duty you have an easy time of
it. Most of your time's your own. When you are on a campaign you
eat, drink, and are jolly at other folks' expense; and if you do
get wet when you are on duty, you can generally manage to turn in
dry when you are relieved. It's not a bad life, my boy, I can
tell you; and if you do your duty well, and you are steady, and
civil, and smart, you are sure to get your stripes, especially if
you can read and write, as I suppose you can."</p>

<p>Jack nodded with a half smile.</p>

<p>"In that case," the sergeant said, "you may even in time get
to be an officer. I can't read nor write -- not one in twenty can
-- but those as can, of course, has a better chance of promotion
if they distinguish themselves. I should have got it last year in
the Low Country, and Marlborough himself said, 'Well done!' when
I, with ten rank and file, held a bridge across a canal for half
an hour against a company of French. He sent for me after it was
over, but when he found I couldn't read or write he couldn't
promote me; but he gave me a purse of twenty guineas, and I don't
know but what that suited me better, for I am a deal more
comfortable as a sergeant than I should have been as an officer;
but you see, if you had been in my place up you would have
gone."</p>

<p>The wind fell in the afternoon, and the cutter dropped her
anchor as the tide was running against her. At night Jack
Stilwell and the others who had accepted their fate slept with
the troops on board instead of returning to rejoin their
companions in the hold. Jack was extremely glad of the change, as
there was air and ventilation, whereas in the hold the atmosphere
had been close and oppressive. He was the more glad next morning
when he found that the wind, which had sprung up soon after
midnight, was freshening fast, and was, as one of the sailors
said, likely to blow hard before long. The cutter was already
beginning to feel the effect of the rising sea, and toward the
afternoon was pitching in a lively way and taking the sea over
her bows.</p>

<p>"You seem to enjoy it, young un," the sergeant said as Jack,
holding on by a shroud, was facing the wind regardless of the
showers of spray which flew over him. "Half our company are down
with seasickness, and as for those chaps down in the fore hold
they must be having a bad time of it, for I can hear them
groaning and cursing through the bulkhead. The hatchway has been
battened down for the last three hours."</p>

<p>"I enjoy it," Jack said; "whenever I got a holiday at
Southampton I used to go out sailing. I knew most of the
fishermen there; they were always ready to take me with them as
an extra hand. When do you think we shall get to Dover?"</p>

<p>"She is walking along fast," the sergeant said; "we shall be
there tomorrow morning. We might be there before, but the sailors
say that the skipper is not likely to run in before daylight, and
before it gets dark he will shorten sail so as not to get there
before."</p>

<p>The wind increased until it was blowing a gale; but the cutter
was a good sea boat, and being in light trim made good weather of
it. However, even Jack was pleased when he felt a sudden change
in the motion of the vessel, and knew that she was running into
Dover harbor.</p>

<p>Morning was just breaking, and the hatchways being removed the
sergeant shouted down to the pressed men that they could come on
deck. It was a miserable body of men who crawled up in answer to
the summons, utterly worn out and exhausted with the seasickness,
the closeness of the air, and the tossing and buffeting of the
last eighteen hours; many had scarce strength to climb the
ladder.</p>

<p>All the spirit and indignation had been knocked out of them --
they were too miserable and dejected to utter a complaint. The
sergeant ordered his men to draw up some buckets of water, and
told the recruits to wash themselves and make themselves as
decent as they could, and the order was sharply enforced by the
captain when he came on deck.</p>

<p>"I would not march through the streets of Dover with such a
filthy, hang dog crew," he said; "why, the very boys would throw
mud at you. Come, do what you can to make yourselves clean, or I
will have buckets of water thrown over you. I would rather take
you on shore drenched to the skin than in that state. You have
brought it entirely on yourselves by your obstinacy. Had you
enlisted at once without further trouble you would not have
suffered as you have."</p>

<p>The fresh air and cold water soon revived even the most
exhausted of the new recruits, and as soon as all had been made
as presentable as circumstances would admit of, the order was
given to land. The party were formed on the quay, four abreast,
the soldiers forming the outside line, and so they marched
through Dover, where but yet a few people were up and stirring,
to the camp formed just outside the walls of the castle. The
colonel of the regiment met them as they marched in.</p>

<p>"Well, Captain Lowther, you have had a rough time of it, I
reckon. I thought the whole camp was going to be blown away last
night. These are the recruits from Southampton, I suppose?"</p>

<p>"Yes, colonel, what there is left of them; they certainly had
a baddish twelve hours of it."</p>

<p>"Form them in line," the colonel said, "and let me have a look
at them. They are all ready and willing to serve her majesty, I
hope," he added with a grim smile.</p>

<p>"They are all ready, no doubt," Captain Lowther replied; "as
to their willingness I can't say so much. Some half dozen or so
agreed at once to join without giving any trouble, foremost among
them that lad at the end of the line, who, Sergeant Edwards tells
me, is a fine young fellow and likely to do credit to the
regiment; the rest chose to be sulky, and have suffered for it by
being kept below during the voyage. However, I think all their
nonsense is knocked out of them now."</p>

<p>The colonel walked along the line and examined the men.</p>

<p>"A sturdy set of fellows," he said to the captain, "when they
have got over their buffeting. Now, my lads," he went on,
addressing the men, "you have all been pressed to serve her
majesty in accordance with act of parliament, and though some of
you may not like it just at present, you will soon get over that
and take to it kindly enough. I warn you that the discipline will
be strict. In a newly raised regiment like this it is necessary
to keep a tight hand, but if you behave yourselves and do your
duty you will not find the life a hard one.</p>

<p>"Remember, it's no use any of you thinking of deserting; we
have got your names and addresses, so you couldn't go home if you
did; and you would soon be brought back wherever you went, and
you know pretty well what's the punishment for desertion without
my telling you. That will do."</p>

<p>No one raised a voice in reply -- each man felt that his
position was hopeless, for, as the colonel said, they had been
legally impressed. They were first taken before the adjutant, who
rapidly swore them in, and they were then set to work, assisted
by some more soldiers, in pitching tents. Clothes were soon
served out to them and the work of drill commenced at once.</p>

<p>Each day brought fresh additions to the force, and in a
fortnight its strength was complete. Jack did not object to the
hard drill which they had to go through, and which occupied them
from morning till night, for the colonel knew that on any day the
regiment might receive orders to embark, and he wanted to get it
in something like shape before setting sail. Jack did, however,
shrink from the company in which he found himself. With a few
exceptions the regiment was made up of wild and worthless
fellows, of whom the various magistrates had been only too glad
to clear their towns, and mingled with these were the sweepings
of the jails, rogues and ruffians of every description. The
regiment might eventually be welded into a body of good soldiers,
but at present discipline had not done its work, and it was
simply a collection of reckless men, thieves, and vagabonds.</p>

<h1 align="CENTER"><a name="CHAPTER_III"></a>CHAPTER III: A
DOMESTIC STORM</h1>

<p>Great was the surprise of Dame Anthony when, on sending down
her servant with a letter to Jack Stilwell, the woman returned,
saying that he had left his lodging two days before and had not
returned. All his things had been left behind, and it was evident
that when he went out he had no intention of leaving. The woman
of the house said that Master Stilwell was a steady and regular
lodger, and that she could not but think something had happened
to him. Of course she didn't know, but all the town were talking
of the men who had been taken away by the press gang, and she
thought they must have clapped hands on her lodger.</p>

<p>Dame Anthony at once jumped at that conclusion. The pressing
of fifty men had indeed made a great stir in the town during the
last two days. The mayor's office had been thronged by angry
women complaining of their husbands or sons being dragged away;
and the mayor had been the object of many threats and much
indignation, and had the evening before returned home bespattered
with mud, having been pelted on his way from the town hall by the
women, and having only been saved from more serious assaults by
the exertions of the constables.</p>

<p>Dame Anthony had been surprised that her husband had taken
these things so quietly. Some of the women had indeed been seized
and set in the stocks, but the mayor had made light of the
affair, and had altogether seemed in an unusually good state of
temper. Dame Anthony at once connected this with Jack's
disappearance. She knew that the list had been made out by the
mayor, and the idea that her husband had taken this means of
getting rid of Jack, and that he was exulting over the success of
his scheme, flashed across her. As the mayor was away at the town
hall she was forced to wait till his return to dinner; but no
sooner had the meal been concluded and Andrew Carson and the two
assistants had left the table than she began:</p>

<p>"Richard, I want to look at the list of the men who were
pressed."</p>

<p>The request scarcely came as a surprise upon the clothier. He
had made up his mind that his wife would be sure sooner or later
to discover that Jack was missing, and would connect his
disappearance with the operations of the press gang.</p>

<p>"What do you want to see that for?" he asked shortly.</p>

<p>"I want to see who have been taken," his wife said. "There is
no secret about it, I suppose?"</p>

<p>"No, there is no secret," the mayor replied. "According to the
act of parliament and the request of her majesty's minister I
drew up a list of fifty of the most useless and disreputable of
the inhabitants of this town, and I rejoice to say that the place
is rid of them all. The respectable citizens are all grateful to
me for the manner in which I have fulfilled the task laid upon
me, and as to the clamor of a few angry women, it causes me not a
moment's annoyance."</p>

<p>"I don't know why you are telling me all this, Richard," his
wife said calmly. "I did not cast any reflections as to the
manner in which you made your choice. I only said I wished to see
the list."</p>

<p>"I do not see that the list concerns you," the mayor said.
"Why do you wish to see it?"</p>

<p>"I wish to see it, Richard, because I suspect that the name of
my Cousin Jack Stilwell is upon it."</p>

<p>"Oh, mother!" cried Alice, who had been listening in surprise
to the conversation, suddenly starting to her feet; "you don't
mean that they have pressed Jack to be a soldier."</p>

<p>"Leave the room, Alice," her father said angrily. "This is no
concern of a child like you." When the door closed behind the
girl he said to his wife:</p>

<p>"Naturally his name is in the list. I selected fifty of the
most worthless fellows in Southampton, and his name was the first
which occurred to me. What then?"</p>

<p>"Then I tell you, Richard," Dame Anthony said, rising, "that
you are a wretch, a mean, cowardly, cruel wretch. You have vented
your spite upon Jack, whom I love as if he were my own son,
because he would not put up with the tyranny of your foreman and
yourself. You may be Mayor of Southampton, you may be a great man
in your own way, but I call you a mean, pitiful fellow. I won't
stay in the house with you an hour longer. The wagon for
Basingstoke comes past at three o'clock, and I shall go and stay
with my father and mother there, and take Alice with me."</p>

<p>"I forbid you to do anything of the sort," the mayor said
pompously.</p>

<p>"You forbid!" Dame Anthony cried. "What do I care for your
forbidding? If you say a word I will go down the town and join
those who pelted you with mud last night. A nice spectacle it
would be for the worthy Mayor of Southampton to be pelted in the
street by a lot of women led by his own wife. You know me,
Richard. You know when I say I will do a thing I will do it."</p>

<p>"I will lock you up in your own room, woman."</p>

<p>"You won't," Dame Anthony said scornfully. "I would scream out
of the window till I brought the whole town round. No, Mr. Mayor.
You have had your own way, and I am going to have mine. Go and
tell the town if you like that your wife has left you because you
kidnapped her cousin, the boy she loved. You tell your story and
I will tell mine. Why, the women in the town would hoot you, and
you wouldn't dare show your face in the streets. You insist,
indeed! Why, you miserable little man, my fingers are tingling
now. Say another word to me and I will box your ears till you
won't know whether you are standing on your head or your
heels."</p>

<p>The mayor was a small man, while Dame Anthony, although not
above the usual height, was plump and strong; and her crestfallen
spouse felt that she was capable of carrying her threat into
execution. He therefore thought it prudent to make no reply, and
his angry wife swept from the room.</p>

<p>It was some time before the mayor descended to his shop. In
the interval he had thought the matter over, and had concluded
that it would be best for him to let his wife have her way.
Indeed, he did not see how he could do otherwise.</p>

<p>He had expected a storm, but not such a storm as this. Never
before in his fifteen years of married life had he seen his wife
in such a passion, and there was no saying whether she would not
carry all her threats into execution if he interfered with her
now. No. It would be better to let her go. The storm would blow
over in time. It was natural enough for her to go over and stay a
few weeks with her people, and in time, of course, she would come
back again. After all, he had got rid of Jack, and this being so,
he could afford for awhile to put up with the absence of his
wife. It was unpleasant, of course, very unpleasant, to be called
such names, but as no one had heard them but himself it did not
so much matter. Perhaps, after all, it was the best thing that
could happen that she should take it into her head to go away for
a time. In her present mood she would not make things comfortable
at home, and, of course, his daughter would side with her
mother.</p>

<p>Accordingly, when the carrier's wagon stopped at the door the
mayor went out with a pleasant countenance, and saw that the
boxes were safely placed in it, and that his wife was comfortably
seated on some shawls spread over a heap of straw. His attention,
however, received neither thanks nor recognition from Dame
Anthony, while Alice, whose face was swollen with crying, did not
speak a word. However, they were seated well under the cover of
the wagon, and could not be seen by the few people standing near;
and as the mayor continued till the wagon started speaking
cheerfully, and giving them all sorts of injunctions as to taking
care of themselves on the way, he flattered himself that no one
would have an idea that the departure was anything but an
amicable one.</p>

<p>A week later a letter arrived for Dame Anthony and the mayor
at once recognized the handwriting of Jack Stilwell. He took it
up to his room, and had a considerable debate with himself as to
whether he would open it or not. The question was, What did the
boy say? If he wrote full of bitter complaints as to his
treatment, the receipt of the letter by his wife would only make
matters worse, and in that case it would be better to destroy the
letter as well as any others which might follow it, and so put an
end to all communication, for it was unlikely that the boy would
ever return to England.</p>

<p>Accordingly he opened the letter, and after reading it
through, laid it down with a feeling of something like relief. It
was written in a cheerful spirit. Jack began by saying that he
feared Dame Anthony and Alice would have been anxious when they
heard that he was missing from his lodgings.</p>

<p>"I have no doubt, my dear cousin, you will have guessed what
has befallen me, seeing that so many have been taken away in the
same way. I don't think that my late master acted handsomely in
thus getting rid of me; for, as the list was made up by him, it
was of course his doing. But you will please tell him from me
that I feel no grudge against him. In the first place, he did not
know I was going away to sea, and it must naturally have angered
him to see one known to be connected with him hanging about
Southampton doing nothing. Besides, I know that he always meant
kindly by me. He took me in when I had nowhere to go, he gave me
my apprenticeship without fee, and, had it not been that my
roving spirit rendered me disinclined for so quiet a life, he
would doubtless have done much for me hereafter. Thus thinking it
over, it seems to me but reasonable that he should have been
angered at my rejection of the benefits he intended for me.</p>

<p>"In the next place, it may be that his action in shipping me
off as a soldier may in the end prove to be for my welfare. Had I
carried out my intention and gone as a sailor, a sailor I might
have remained all my life. It seems to me that as a soldier my
chances are larger. Not only shall I see plenty of fighting and
adventure, which accords well with my spirit, but it seems to me
-- and a sergeant who has shown me much kindness says that it is
so -- that there are fair chances of advancement. The soldiers
are for the great part disorderly and ignorant men; and, as I
mean to be steady and obedient so as to gain the goodwill of the
officers, and as I have received a good education from my dear
father, I hope in time to come to be regarded as one somewhat
different from the common herd; and if I get an opportunity of
distinguishing myself, and do not get killed by a Spanish bullet
or pike thrust, or by the fevers which they say are not uncommon,
then it is possible I may come back at the end of the war with
some honor and credit, and, the sergeant said, may even obtain
advancement to the rank of an officer. Therefore my late master,
having done me many good turns, may perhaps find that this last
one -- even though he intended it not -- is the best of all. Will
you make my respects to him, dear cousin, and tell him that I
feel no grudge or ill will against him? Will you give my love to
my Cousin Alice? Tell her that I will bring her home some rare
keepsakes from Spain should they fall in my way; and you know I
will do the same for yourself, who have always been so good and
kind to me."</p>

<p>"The boy is not a bad boy," the mayor said, well pleased as he
laid down the letter. "It may be that I have judged him too
harshly, seeing that he set himself against what was best for his
welfare. Still, one cannot expect men's heads on boys' shoulders,
and he writes dutifully and properly. I believe it is the fault
of Andrew Carson, who was forever edging me on by reports of the
boy's laziness and carelessness. He certainly has a grudge
against him, and he assuredly exceeded his place and authority
when he lifted his hand against my wife's cousin. It seems to me
truly that I have acted somewhat hastily and wrong headedly in
the matter. I shall give Master Carson notice that at the end of
a month I shall require his services no longer -- the fellow puts
himself too forward. That will please Mary; she never liked him,
and women in these matters of likes and dislikes are shrewder
than we are. Perhaps when she hears that he is going, and reads
this letter, which I will forward to her by the carrier, she may
come back to me. I certainly miss her sorely, and the household
matters go all wrong now that she is away. She ought not to have
said things to me; but no wise man thinks anything of what a
woman says when she's angry; and now that I think things over, it
certainly seems to me that she had some sort of warrant for her
words. Yes, I certainly don't know what can have come over me,
unless it was that fellow, Andrew Carson. Richard Anthony has not
been considered a bad fellow else he would never have become the
Mayor of Southampton; and for fifteen years Mary and I have got
on very well together, save for the little disputes which have
arisen from her over masterful disposition. But she is a good
wife -- none could wish for better -- though she is given to
flame out at what she considers unrighteous dealings; but every
woman has her faults, and every man too as far as that goes, and
upon the whole few of them have less than Mary. I will write to
her at once."</p>

<p>The mayor was not a man to delay when his mind was once made
up, and sitting down at a writing desk he wrote as follows:</p>

<p>"DEAR WIFE: I inclose a letter which has come for you from
your Cousin Jack. I opened it, and you will think poorly of me
when I tell you that had it been filled with complaints of me, as
I expected, it would not have come to your hands; for your anger
against me is fierce enough without the adding of fresh fuel
thereto. But the lad, as you will see, writes in quite another
strain, and remembers former kindnesses rather than late
injuries. His letter has put it into my head to think matters
over, and in a different spirit from that in which I had
previously regarded it, and I have come to the conclusion that I
have acted wrongly; first, that I did not make allowances enough
for the boy; second, that I insisted on keeping him to a trade he
disliked; third, that I have given too willing an ear to what
Andrew Carson has said against the boy; lastly, that I took such
means of freeing myself from him. I today give Andrew Carson
notice to quit my service -- a matter in which I have hitherto
withstood you. I am willing to forget the words which you spoke
to me in anger, seeing that there was some foundation for them,
and that when a woman is in a passion her tongue goes further
than she means.</p>

<p>"Now, as I am ready to put this on one side, I trust that you
also will put aside your anger at my having obtained the pressing
for a soldier of your cousin. You can see for yourself by his
writing that he does not desire that any enmity shall arise out
of the manner of his going. For fifteen years we have lived in
amity, and I see not why, after this cloud passes away, we should
not do so again.</p>

<p>"I miss you sorely. Things go badly with us since you have
gone. The food is badly cooked, and the serving indifferent. If
you will write to tell me that you are willing to come back, and
to be a loving and dutiful wife again, I will make me a holiday
and come over to Basingstoke to fetch you and Alice home again. I
am writing to Jack and sending him five guineas, for which he
will no doubt find a use in getting things suitable for the
adventure upon which he is embarked, for the payment of her
majesty to her soldiers does not permit of the purchase of many
luxuries. On second thoughts I have resolved to pay Andrew Carson
his month's wages, and to let him go at once. So that if you
return you will not find one here against whom you have always
been set, and who is indeed in no small way the author of the
matters which have come between us, save only as touching the
impressment, of which I own that I must take the blame solely
upon myself. Give my love to Alice, and say that she must keep up
her spirits, and look forward to the time when her Cousin Jack
shall come back to her after the killing of many Spaniards."</p>

<p>Having signed and carefully sealed this letter, with that from
Jack inclosed within it, the mayor then proceeded to write the
following to the young soldier:</p>

<p>"MY DEAR COUSIN JACK: I have read the letter which you sent to
my wife, and it is written in a very proper and dutiful strain.
Your departure has caused trouble between my wife and me; but
this I hope will pass away after she has read and considered your
letter. She carried matters so far that she is at present with
your Cousin Alice at the house of her parents at Basingstoke.
Having read your letter, I write to tell you that I feel that I
am not without blame toward you. I did not see it myself until
the manner of your letter opened my eyes to the fact. I have
misunderstood you, and, being bent on carrying out my own
inclinations, made not enough allowance for yours. Were you here
now I doubt not that in future we should get on better together;
but as that cannot be, I can only say that I recognize the kind
spirit in which you wrote, and that I trust that in future we
shall be good friends. I inclose you an order for five guineas on
a tradesman in Dover with whom I have dealings. There are many
little things that you may want to buy for your voyage to
supplement the pay which you receive. Andrew Carson is leaving my
service. I think that it is he greatly who came between us, and
has brought things to the pass which I cannot but regret."</p>

<p>A week later the cloth merchant's shop in the High Street was
shut up, and the mayor, having appointed a deputy for the week he
purposed to be absent, took his place in the stage for
Basingstoke, when a complete reconciliation was effected between
him and his wife.</p>

<p>The starting of the expedition was delayed beyond the intended
time, for the government either could not or would not furnish
the required funds, and the Earl of Peterborough was obliged to
borrow considerable sums of money, and to involve himself in
serious pecuniary embarrassments to remedy the defects, and to
supply as far as possible the munition and stores necessary for
the efficiency of the little force he had been appointed to
command. It consisted of some three thousand English troops, who
were nearly all raw and undisciplined, and a brigade, two
thousand strong, of Dutch soldiers.</p>

<p>Early in May the regiment to which Jack Stilwell belonged
marched for Portsmouth, where the rest of the expedition were
assembled, and embarked on board the transports lying at
Spithead, and on the 22d of the month set sail for St. Helens,
where they were joined on the following day by their general, who
embarked with his suit on board the admiral's ship. On the 24th
the fleet sailed for Lisbon.</p>

<p>Fond as Jack was of the sea, he did not find the change an
agreeable one. On shore the constant drill and steady work had
fully occupied the men, and had left them but little time for
grumbling. On board ship things were different. In those days
there was but little of the strict discipline which is now
maintained on board a troop ship. It was true that the vessels in
which the expedition was being carried belonged to the royal
navy; but even here the discipline was but lax. There were many
good sailors on board; but the bulk of the crew had been pressed
into the service as harshly and tyrannically as were the soldiers
themselves, and the grumblers of one class found ready
sympathizers among the others.</p>

<p>The captain was a young man of good family who had obtained
his appointment solely by interest, and who, although he would
have fought his ship bravely in an action with the enemy, took
but little interest in the regular work, leaving such matters
entirely in the hands of his first lieutenant. The military
officers were all new to their work. On shore they had had the
support which the presence of a considerable number of veteran
troops in garrison in the castle gave them; but they now ceased
to struggle against the difficulty of keeping up discipline among
a large number of raw and insubordinate recruits, relying upon
bringing them into order and discipline when they got them ashore
in a foreign country. Beyond, therefore, a daily parade, and half
an hour's drill in the handling of their firelocks, they
interfered but little with the men.</p>

<p>Sergeant Edwards with twenty of his men had at the last
minute, to Jack's great satisfaction, been drafted into the
regiment, and accompanied them on their voyage.</p>

<p>"Ay, they are a rough lot," the sergeant said in answer to an
observation of Jack as to the grumbling of the men after they had
been at sea a few days; "but what can you expect when you take
men from their homes against their will, pick out the worst
characters in each town, make up their number with jail birds,
and then pack them off to sea before they have got into shape?
There's nothing tries men more than a sea voyage. Here they are
packed up as close as herrings, with scarcely room to move about,
with nothing to do, and with food which a dog would turn up his
nose to eat. Naturally they get talking together, and grumbling
over their wrongs till they work themselves up.</p>

<p>"I wish the voyage was over. It wouldn't matter if we had a
good steady old crew, but more than half of them have been
pressed; many of them are landsmen who have been carried off just
as you were. No doubt they would all fight toughly enough if a
Frenchman hove in view, but the captain couldn't rely on them in
a row on board. As long as the fleet keeps together it's all
right enough. Here are nine vessels, and no one on board one
knows what's going on in the others, but if the captain of any
one of them were to hoist a signal that a mutiny had broken out
on board, the others would be round her with their portholes
opened ready to give her a dose of round shot in no time."</p>

<p>"But you don't think that it is really likely that we shall
have any trouble, sergeant?"</p>

<p>"There won't be any trouble if, as I am telling you, the
weather holds fine and the fleet keeps together; but if there's a
gale and the ships get scattered, no one can't say what might
come of it."</p>

<p>"I can't think how they could be so mad as to get up a
mutiny," Jack said; "why, even supposing they did take the ship,
what would they do with it?"</p>

<p>"Them's questions as has been asked before, my lad, and
there's sense and reason in them, but you knows as well as I that
there's many a craft sailing the seas under the black flag. There
isn't a ship as puts to sea but what has half a dozen hands on
board who have been in slavers, and who are full of tales of
islands where everything grows without the trouble of putting a
spade in the ground, where all sorts of strange fruit can be had
for the picking, and where the natives are glad enough to be
servants or wives, as the case may be, to whites. It's just such
tales as these as leads men away, and I will warrant there's a
score at least among the crew of the Caesar who are telling such
tales to any who will listen to them. Well, you see, it's a
tempting story enough to one as knows no better. On the one side
there is a hard life, with bad food and the chance of being shot
at, and the sartainty of being ordered about and not being able
to call your life your own. On the other side is a life of
idleness and pleasure, of being your own master, and, if you want
something which the islands can't afford you, why, there's just a
short cruise and then back you come with your ship filled up with
plunder. I don't say as it's not tempting; but there's one thing
agin it, and the chaps as tells these yarns don't say much about
that."</p>

<p>"What is it, sergeant?"</p>

<p>"It's just the certainty of a halter or a bloody grave sooner
or later. The thing goes on for some time, and then, when
merchant ship after merchant ship is missing, there are
complaints at home, and out comes a ship or two with the queen's
pennant at the head, and then either the pirate ship gets caught
at sea and sunk or captured, or there's a visit to the little
island, and a short shrift for those found there.</p>

<p>"No, I don't think it can pay, my lad, even at its best. It's
jolly enough for awhile, maybe, for those whose hearts are so
hard that they think nothing of scuttling a ship with all on
board, or of making the crew and passengers walk the plank in
cold blood. Still even they must know that it can't last, and
that there's a gallows somewhere waiting for them. Still, you
see, they don't think of all that when a chap is atelling them of
these islands, and how pleasant the life is there, and how easy
it would be to do for the officers, and take the command of the
ship and sail away. Two or three chaps as makes up their mind for
it will poison a whole crew in no time."</p>

<p>"You speak as if you knew all about it."</p>

<p>"I know a good deal about it," the sergeant replied gravely.
"It's a tale as there ain't many as knows; but you are a sort of
lad as one can trust, and so I don't mind if I tell it you.
Though you wouldn't think it, I have sailed under the black flag
myself."</p>

<p>"You, sergeant!" Jack exclaimed incredulously; "do you mean to
say you have been a pirate?"</p>

<p>"Just that, my boy. I don't look like it, do I? There ain't
nothing buccaneering about my cut. I looks just what I am, a
tough old sergeant in a queen's regiment; but for all that I have
been a pirate. The yarn is a long one, and I can't tell it you
now, because just at present, you see, I have got to go below to
look after the dinners of the company, but the first time as we
can get an opportunity for a quiet talk I will tell it you. But
don't you go away and think till then as I was a pirate from
choice. I shouldn't like you to think that of me; there ain't
never no saying at sea what may happen. I might tumble overboard
tonight and get drowned, or one of the convoy might run foul of
us and sink us, and tomorrow you might be alive and I might be
dead, and I shouldn't like you to go on thinking all your life as
that Sergeant Edwards had been a bloody pirate of his own free
will. So you just bear in mind, till I tells you the whole story,
as how it was forced upon me. Mind, I don't say as how I hadn't
the choice of death or that, and maybe had you been in my place
you would have chosen death; but, you see, I had never been
brought up as you were. I had had no chances to speak of, and
being only just about your age, I didn't like the thought of
dying, so you see I took to it, making up my mind secret at the
same time that the first chance I had I would slip away from
them. I won't tell you more now, I hain't time; but just you bear
that in mind, in case of anything happening, that if Sergeant
Edwards once sailed under the black flag, he didn't do it
willing."</p>

<p>The sergeant now hurried below, leaving Jack wondering over
what he had heard. Some days elapsed before the story was told,
for a few hours later the sky clouded over and the wind rose, and
before next morning the vessel was laboring heavily under double
reefed topsails. The soldiers were all kept below, and there was
no possibility of anything like a quiet talk. The weather had
hitherto been so fine and the wind so light that the vessels had
glided over the sea almost without motion, and very few indeed of
those on board had experienced anything of the usual seasickness;
but now, in the stifling atmosphere between decks, with the
vessel rolling and plunging heavily, the greater part were soon
prostrate with seasickness, and even Jack, accustomed to the sea
as he was, succumbed to the unpleasantness of the
surroundings.</p>

<p>On the second day of the storm Sergeant Edwards, who had been
on deck to make a report to the captain of the company, was
eagerly questioned on his return below on the condition of the
weather.</p>

<p>"It's blowing about as hard as it can be," he said, "and she
rolls fit to take the masts out of her. There don't seem no
chance of the gale breaking, and none of the other ships of the
fleet are in sight. That's about all I have to tell you, except
that I told the captain that if he didn't get the hatches lifted
a little we should be all stifled down here. He says if there's a
bit of a lull he will ask them to give us a little fresh air, and
in the mean time he says that any who are good sailors may go up
on deck, but it will be at their own risk, for some of the seas
go pretty nearly clean over her."</p>

<h1 align="CENTER"><a name="CHAPTER_IV"></a>CHAPTER IV: THE
SERGEANT'S YARN</h1>

<p>Jack Stilwell and a few of the other men availed themselves of
the permission to escape for a time from the stifling atmosphere
below, and made their way on deck. For a time the rush of the
wind and the wild confusion of the sea almost bewildered them.
Masses of water were rushing along the deck, and each time she
rolled the waves seemed as if they would topple over the
bulwarks. Several of the party turned and went below again at
once, but Jack, with a few others, waited their opportunity and,
making a rush across the deck, grasped the shrouds and there hung
on. Jack soon recovered from his first confusion and was able to
enjoy the grandeur of the scene.</p>

<p>Small as was the canvas she was showing, the vessel was
traveling fast through the waves, sometimes completely burying
her head under a sea; then as she rose again the water rushed aft
knee deep, and Jack had as much as he could do to prevent himself
being carried off his feet. Fortunately all loose articles had
long since been swept overboard, otherwise the risk of a broken
limb from their contact would have been serious.</p>

<p>In a quarter of an hour even Jack had had enough of it and
went below, and, having changed his drenched clothes, slung his
hammock and turned in. The next day the gale began to abate, and
by evening the wind had nearly died away, although the vessel was
rolling as heavily as before among the great masses of water
which rolled in from the Atlantic.</p>

<p>The hatchways, however, were now removed, and all below
ordered on deck, and after awhile a party was told off to sluice
down their quarters below. The men were all weakened by their
confinement, but their spirits soon rose, and there was ere long
plenty of laughter at the misfortunes which befell those who
tried to cross the deck, for the ship was rolling so heavily that
it was impossible for a landsman to keep his feet without holding
on.</p>

<p>The next morning, although a heavy swell was still rolling,
the ship assumed her normal aspect. The sailors had removed all
trace of disorder above, clothes were hung out to dry, and, as
the ship was still far too unsteady to allow of walking exercise,
the soldiers sat in groups on the deck, laughing and chatting and
enjoying the warm sun whose rays streamed down upon them. Seeing
Sergeant Edwards standing alone looking over the bulwark, Jack
made his way up to him.</p>

<p>"It has been a sharp blow," the sergeant said, "and I am glad
it's over; the last four days have been enough to sicken one of
the sea for life. I suppose you think this is a good opportunity
for my yarn."</p>

<p>"That is just what I was thinking, sergeant."</p>

<p>"Very well, then, my lad, here goes. I was born at Poole. My
people were all in the seafaring line, and it was only natural
that, as soon as I got old enough to stand kicking, I was put on
board a coaster plying between Poole and London. It was pretty
rough, but the skipper wasn't a bad kind of fellow when he was
sober. I stuck to that for three years, and then the old craft
was wrecked on Shoreham beach. Fortunately she was driven up so
far that we were able to drop over the bowsprit pretty well
beyond the reach of the waves, but there was no getting the Eliza
off. It was no great loss, for she would have had to be broken up
as firewood in another year or two. About six hours out of every
twenty-four I was taking my turn at spells at the pump.</p>

<p>"Now the Eliza was cast away, I had to look out for another
ship. I had had enough of coasters, so instead of going home I
tramped it up to London. Having got a berth on board a foreign
bound vessel I made two voyages out to Brazil and back. A fine
country is the Brazils, but the Portuguese ain't the fellows to
make much out of it. Little undersized chaps, they are all
chatter and jabber, and when they used to come alongside to
unload, it were jest for all the world like so many boatfuls of
monkeys.</p>

<p>"Well, I starts for my third voyage, being by this time about
sixteen or seventeen. We got out to Rio right enough; but we
couldn't get a full cargo back, and the captain determined to
cruise among the West Indy Islands and fill up his ship. We were
pretty nigh full when one morning the lookout hailed that there
were two vessels just coming out of an inlet in an island we were
passing some three miles on the weather bow.</p>

<p>"The captain was soon on deck with his glass, and no sooner
did he make them out than he gave orders to clap every sail on
her. We hadn't a very smart crew, but there are not many British
ships ever made sail faster than we did then. The men just flew
about, for it needed no glass to show that the two vessels which
came creeping out from among trees weren't customers as one
wanted to talk to on the high seas. The one was a brig, the other
a schooner. They carried lofty spars ever so much higher than an
honest trader could want; and quick as we had got up our sails,
they had got their canvas spread as soon as we had.</p>

<p>"The ship was a fast sailer, but it didn't need half an hour
to show that they had the legs of us. So the skipper called the
crew aft. 'Now, my lads,' he said, 'you see those two vessels
astern. I don't think it needs any telling from me as to what
they are. They might be Spaniards or they might be French, or
they might be native traders, but we are pretty well sure they
ain't anything of the kind. They are pirates -- I guess the same
two vessels I heard them talking about down at Rio. They have
been doing no end of damage there. There were pretty nigh a dozen
ships missing, and they put them all down to them. However, a
couple of English frigates had come into Rio, and hearing what
had happened had gone out to chase them. They hadn't caught them,
and the Brazilians thought that they had shifted their quarters
and gone for a cruise in other latitudes.</p>

<p>"'The description they gave of them answered to these two -- a
brig and a schooner, with low hulls and tall spars. One of them
carries ten guns, the other two on each side, and a heavy piece
mounted on a swivel amidship. It was said that before they went
down to Brazil they had been carrying on their games among the
West India Islands, and had made it so hot for themselves that
they had been obliged to move off from there. It was like enough
that, now the hue and cry after them had abated, they would
return to their old quarters.</p>

<p>"'Well, my lads, I needn't tell you what we have to expect if
they take us. Every man Jack will either get his throat cut or be
forced to walk the plank. So we will fight her to the last; for
if the worst comes to the worst, it's better to be killed
fighting like men than to be murdered in cold blood. However, I
hope it won't come to that. We carry twelve guns, and they are
heavier metal than most merchantmen have on board. We are more
than a match for either of them alone; and if we can manage to
cripple one, we can beat the other off.</p>

<p>"'At any rate we will try our best. Thank God we have no women
on board, and only ourselves to think of! Now, my lads, cast the
guns loose and get the ammunition on deck; run two of the guns
aft and train them over the stern. As soon as they come within
range we will try and knock some spars out of them. Now, boys,
give three cheers for the old flag, and we will swear together it
shall never come down while there's one of us to fight the
ship.'</p>

<p>"The men gave three cheers and then went off to their quarters
at the guns. They were quiet and grave, and it was easy enough to
see that they did not like the prospect. An Englishman always
goes into action, as far as I have seen, with a light heart and a
joke on his lips when he's fighting against Frenchmen or
Spaniards or any other foe, but it's a different thing when it's
a pirate he has to deal with. Every man knows then that it's a
case of life or death, and that he's got to win or die. The enemy
made no secret of what they were, for when they got within a mile
of us two black flags ran up to their mastheads.</p>

<p>"The captain he trained one of the stern chasers hisself, and
the first mate took the other. They fired at the same moment,
both aiming at the schooner, which was getting the nearest to us.
They were good shots both of them. The mate's ball struck the
water some twenty yards in front of her forefoot, and smashed her
bow planking some three feet above the waterline; while the
captain's struck her bulwark, tore along her deck, and went out
astern, doing some damage by the way, I reckon.</p>

<p>"We could see there was some confusion on board. They hadn't
reckoned that we carried such heavy metal, and our luck in
getting both shots on board must have surprised them. Then her
bow paid off, there was a puff of smoke amidship, and a ball from
the long swivel gun buzzed overhead, passing through our mainsail
without touching mast or stay.</p>

<p>"So far we had the best of it, and the men looked more
cheerful than they had done from the first moment when the
pirates showed from among the trees. After that we kept up a fire
from the stern guns as fast as we could load. I could not see
myself what damage we were doing, for I was kept hard at work
carrying ammunition. Presently the broadside guns began to fire
too, and taking the chance for a look round I saw that the
pirates had separated, and were coming up one on each side of
us.</p>

<p>"So far they had not fired a shot after the first. I suppose
they didn't want to lose ground by yawing, but as they came
abreast of us they both opened fire. Our chaps fought their guns
well, and I expect the pirates found they were not getting much
the best of it; for one of them made a signal, and they both
closed in to board. We hadn't had much luck after our first shot.
We had hulled them over and over again and spotted their sails
with shot. Many of their ropes were hanging loose, but we hadn't
succeeded in crippling them, although almost every shot had been
aimed at the masts; for every man knew that our only chance was
to bring them down.</p>

<p>"As they came up close to us they poured in a volley of grape,
and a minute later they grated alongside and a crowd of men
swarmed on board over the bulwarks. Our fellows fought to the
last, but the odds were five to one against them. The skipper had
been killed by a grapeshot, but the mate he led the men; and if
fighting could have saved us the ship would not have been
captured. But it was no use. In two minutes every man had been
cut down or disarmed. I had laid about me with a cutlass till I
got a lick over my head with a boarding pike which knocked my
senses out of me.</p>

<p>"When I opened my eyes I was hauled up to my feet and put
alongside the mate and six others, all of whom was bleeding more
or less. The rest had all been chucked overboard at once. In a
minute or two the captain of one of the pirates, a little dapper
Frenchman, came up to us. 'You have fought your ship well,' he
said to the mate, 'and have killed several of my officers and
men; but I bear you no malice, and if you are ready to ship with
me I will spare your life.' 'I would rather die a hundred times!'
the mate said. The pirate said nothing, but just nodded, and four
of his men seized the mate and flung him over the bulwarks. The
same question was asked of each of the men; but each in turn
refused, and an end was made of them. I was the last.</p>

<p>"'Now, my boy,' the captain said, 'I hope you won't be stupid
like those pig headed fellows. What do you say -- good treatment
and a free life on the sea, or the sharks?'</p>

<p>"Well, lad, if my turn hadn't been last I would have said 'no'
like the others. I wouldn't have shown the white feather before
any of my shipmates; but they had gone -- there wasn't one to
cast a reproachful look at me or to taunt me with cowardice. I
just stood alone; there weren't no one to back me up in choosing
to die rather than to serve, and so I says, 'I will join you,
captain.' I don't say I was right, lad; I don't say I didn't act
as a coward; but I think most young chaps with my bringing up,
and placed as I was, would have done the same. There's many as
would have said 'no' if they had had comrades and friends looking
on, but I don't think there's many as would have said 'no' if
they had stood all alone as I did.</p>

<p>"I can't say as I blame myself much about that business,
though I have thought it over many a score of times; but anyhow,
from the first I made up my mind that at the very first chance I
would get away from them. I knew the chance wasn't likely to come
for some time -- still there it was; and during all the black
scenes I took part in on board that ship I was always telling
myself that I was there against my will.</p>

<p>"It was the brig as I was to go in. And as soon as that little
matter of the crew was settled all hands set to work to shift the
cargo from the ship aboard the pirates. Wonderful quick they did
it too; and when I thought how long that cargo had taken to get
on board, it was wonderful how soon they whipped it out of her.
When they had stripped her of all they thought worth taking, they
ran one of the cannon to the open hatch, loaded it and crammed it
full of balls to the muzzle; then they pointed it down the hold
and fired it, and were soon on board their own craft.</p>

<p>"The charge must have torn a great hole in the ship's bottom,
for I could see she was settling down in the water before we had
left her five minutes, and in a quarter of an hour she gave a
sudden lurch and sank. As I was in for it now, I knew the best
thing was to put a good face on it, so I lent a hand at shifting
the cargo and did my best to seem contented. We sailed off in
company, and in the morning when I came on deck I found the two
craft riding side by side in a land locked harbor.</p>

<p>"A few minutes later the boats were lowered and the work of
getting the cargo on shore began. It was clear enough that this
was the pirates' headquarters; for there were lots of huts built
on the sloping sides of the inlet, and a number of men and women
stood gathered on the shore to receive us as we landed. The women
were of all countries, English and French, Dutch, Spaniards, and
Portuguese, with a good sprinkling of dark skinned natives. All
the white women had been taken prisoners at some time or other
from vessels which had fallen into the pirates' hands, and though
most of them must have been miserable enough at heart, poor
creatures, they all made a show of being glad to see the men back
again. It was but a week, I learned, since the pirates had
sailed, and it was considered a great stroke of luck that they
should so soon have effected a capture.</p>

<p>"No one attended to me, but I worked hard all day with the
others rowing backward and forward between the shore and the
ship. When it became dusk they knocked off work, and the men went
off to their huts, for it seemed that each of them had a wife,
brown skinned or white. Seeing that nobody paid any attention to
me, I went off to the little captain, who was making his way up
to a hut of a better class than the others.</p>

<p>"'What is to become of me, captain?' I asked. 'Ah! I had not
thought of you,' he said; 'well, you can go up with me and get
some supper, and you can have a blanket and sleep on my veranda
for tonight; we will see where you can be lodged in the morning.'
I followed him into his house, and was astonished as I entered at
the luxury of the apartment, which far exceeded anything I had
ever seen before. The plank walls were concealed by hangings of
light green silk, a rich carpet covered the floor, the furniture
was most handsome and massive, and had no doubt been intended for
the palace of the Spanish governor of some of the islands. A pair
of candelabra of solid silver stood on the table, and the white
candles in them, which had just been lighted, threw a soft glow
of light over the room and lighted up the table, on which was a
service, also of solid silver, with vases and, lovely flowers. A
young woman rose from a couch as he entered: 'I have been
expecting you for the last half hour, Eugene. You have worked
longer than usual this evening; if the fish are spoiled you must
not blame Zoe.'</p>

<p>"The speaker was a tall and very handsome woman, and I now
understood how it was that my captor spoke such excellent
English. There was a deep expression of melancholy on her face,
but she smiled when speaking to the pirate, and her tone was one
of affection.</p>

<p>"'I have brought home a countryman of yours, Ellen. I forgot
to allot him quarters until it was too late, so please give him
over to the care of Zoe and ask her to give him some supper and a
blanket; he will sleep in the veranda.'</p>

<p>"The first look which the woman gave me as the captain spoke
made me wish that instead of speaking to the captain I had lain
down fasting under a tree, there was so much contempt and horror
in it; then, as I suppose she saw I was but a boy, it changed,
and it seemed to me that she pitied me from her heart; however,
she clapped her hands and a negress entered. She said something
to her in Spanish, and the old woman beckoned me to follow her,
and I was soon sitting in front of a better meal than I had
tasted for many a month, perhaps the best meal I had tasted in my
life.</p>

<p>"As she couldn't speak English there was no talking with the
old woman. She gave me a tumbler of stiff rum and water to drink
with my supper, and after I had done she handed me a blanket,
took me out into the veranda, pointed to the side where I should
get the sea breeze, and left me. I smoked a pipe or two and then
went to sleep. I was awakened in the morning by some one coming
along the veranda, and, sitting up, saw the lady I had seen the
night before. 'So you are English?' she said. 'Yes, ma'am,' says
I, touching my hat sailor fashion. 'Are you lately from home?'
she asked. 'Not very late, ma'am,' says I; 'we went to Rio first,
and not filling up there were cruising about picking up a cargo
when --' and I stopped, not knowing, you see, how I should put
it. 'Are there any more of you?' she asked after awhile in a low
sort of voice. 'No, ma'am,' says I; 'I am the only one.' 'I did
not ask,' she said almost in a whisper, and I could see her face
was 'most as white as a sheet, 'I never ask. And so you have
joined them?' 'Yes,' says I, 'I couldn't help it, ma'am. I was
the last, you see; if there had been any one else to have
encouraged me I should have said no, but being alone --' 'Don't
excuse yourself, poor boy,' she said; 'don't think I blame you.
Who am I that I should blame any one? It is little I can do for
you, but if you should want anything I will do my best to
befriend you.' I heard the captain's voice calling. Suddenly she
put her finger to her lips, as a hint to me to hold my tongue,
and off she went.</p>

<p>"I don't know whether the captain's wife spoke to him about me
or not, but at any rate he didn't tell me off to any of the huts,
but kept me at the house. I used to go down in the day to work
with the other men unloading the ship and stowing away the
stores, but they only worked for a few hours morning and evening,
lying in hammocks slung under the trees during the heat of the
day. I made myself useful about the house, helped the old woman
to chop wood, drew water for her, attended to the plants in the
little garden round the house, trained the creepers up the
veranda, and lent a hand at all sorts of odd jobs, just as a
sailor will do.</p>

<p>"When, ten days after we arrived, the ships got ready for
another cruise, I was afraid they would take me with them, and I
lay awake at nights sweating as I thought over the fearful deeds
I should have to take part in; but the captain gave me no orders,
and to my delight the men embarked and the ships sailed away
without me. I found there were some forty men left behind, whose
duty it was to keep a sharp lookout and man the batteries they
had got at the entrance to the cove in case any of our cruisers
came in sight.</p>

<p>"The man who was in command was a Spaniard, a sulky, cruel
looking scoundrel. However, he didn't have much to do with me; I
took my turn at the lookout with the rest of them, and besides
that there was nothing to do. The men on shore had all been in
one or other of the ships when I was taken; for I found there
were about a hundred and sixty of them, and a quarter stayed at
home by turns, changing after each cruise, whether it was a long
or short one.</p>

<p>"The captain's wife often spoke to me now; she would come out
and sit in the veranda while I was at work. She asked me what
part I came from, and where I had sailed, and what friends I had
at home. But she never said a word to me about the capture of the
ship. She always looked sad now, while she had been cheerful and
bright while the captain was on shore. In time she got quite
friendly with me, and one day she said, 'Peter, you will have to
go to sea next time, what will you do?'</p>

<p>"'I must do as the others do, God forgive me,' says I; 'but
don't think, ma'am, as ever I shall do it willing. It may be
years before I gets a chance, but if ever I does I shall make a
run for it, whatever the risk may be. I speaks free to you,
ma'am, for I feel sure as you won't say a word to no man, for it
would cost me my life if they thought that I wasn't with them
willing.'</p>

<p>"'I will not tell any one, Peter, you may be sure,' she said;
'but I do not think you will ever have a chance of getting away
-- no one ever does who once comes here.'</p>

<p>"Well, in time, lad, she lets out bit by bit a little about
herself. She had been on her way out to join her father, who was
an officer of the East Indy Company, when the ship was taken by
the pirates. The men was all killed, but she and some other women
was taken on board the pirate and at last brought there. The
French captain took a fancy to her from the first, and after she
had been there a year brought a Spanish priest they captured on
board a ship and he married them. The pirates seemed to think it
was a joke, and lots of them followed the captain's example and
got married to the women there. What they did with the priest
afterward, whether they cut his throat or landed him in some
place thousands of miles away, or entered him on board ship, is
more nor I know.</p>

<p>"There's no doubt the captain's wife was fond of her husband;
pirate as he was, he had not behaved so bad to her -- but except
when he was with her she was always sad.</p>

<p>"She had an awful horror of the life he led, and with this was
a terror lest he should fall into the hands of a cruiser, for she
knew that if he hadn't the good luck to be killed in the fight,
he would be tried and hung at the nearest port. It was a kind of
mixed feeling, you see; she would have given everything to be
free from the life she was leading, and yet even had she had the
chance she would not have left her husband. I believe he had
promised her to give it up, but she must have knowed that he
never would do it; besides, if he had slipped away from the ship
at any place where they touched he could not have got her away,
and her life would have paid for his desertion.</p>

<p>"But I don't think he would have gone if he could, for, quiet
and nice as he was when at home, he was a demon at sea. Ruffians
and scoundrels as were his crew, the boldest of them were afraid
of him. It was not a word and a blow, but a word and a pistol
shot with him; and if it hadn't been that he was a first rate
seaman, that he fought his ships splendidly, and that there was
no one who could have kept any show of order or discipline had he
not been there, I don't believe they would have put up with him
for a day.</p>

<p>"Well, lad, I sailed with them for three voyages. I won't tell
you what I saw and heard, but it was years before I could sleep
'well at night, but would start up in a cold sweat with those
scenes before my eyes and those screams ringing in my ears. I can
say that I never took the life of a man or woman. Of course I had
to help to load the cannon, and when the time for boarding came
would wave my cutlass and fire my pistols with the best of them;
but I took good care never to be in the front line, and the
others were too busy with their bloody doings to notice what
share I took in them.</p>

<p>"We had been out about a fortnight on my third voyage, and the
schooner and brig were lying in a little bay when we saw what we
took to be a large merchant ship coming along. She was all
painted black, her rigging was badly set up, her sails were dirty
and some of them patched, she was steering east, and seemed as if
she was homeward bound after a long voyage. Off we went in
pursuit, thinking we had got a prize. She clapped on more sail,
but we came up to her hand over hand. She opened fire with two
eight pounders over her stern. We didn't waste a shot in reply,
but ranged up alongside, one on each beam. Then suddenly her
sides seemed to open, fifteen ports on each side went up, and her
deck swarmed with men.</p>

<p>"A yell of dismay went up from the schooner which I was on. In
a moment a flash of fire ran along the frigate's broadside; there
was a crash of timber, and the schooner shook as if she had
struck on a rock. There was a cry, 'We are sinking!' Some made a
wild rush for the boats, others in their despair jumped
overboard, some cursed and swore like madmen and shook their
fists at the frigate. It seemed no time when another broadside
came.</p>

<p>"Down came the foremast, crushing half a dozen men as she
fell. Her deck was nearly level with the water now. I climbed
over the wreck of the foremast, and run out along the bowsprit. I
looked round just as I leaped. The pirate captain was standing at
the wheel. He had a pistol to his head, and I saw the flash, and
he fell. Then I dived off and swam under water as hard as I could
to get away from the sinking ship. When I came up I looked round.
I just saw the flutter of a black flag above the water and she
was gone. I was a good swimmer, and got rid of my shoes and
jacket, and made up my mind for a long swim, for the frigate was
too busy with the brig for any one to pay attention to us, but it
did not take long to finish it.</p>

<p>"In five minutes it was over. The brig lay dismasted, and
scarce a dozen men out of the forty she carried were alive to
throw down their arms on deck and cry that they surrendered. Then
the frigate's boats were lowered; two rowed in our direction,
while two put off to the brig. There were only nine of us picked
up, for from the first broadside till we sank a heavy musketry
fire had been poured down upon the deck, and as we were not more
than fifty yards away from the frigate, the men had been just
mowed down. We were all ironed as soon as we were brought on
board. After that we were brought up one by one and
questioned.</p>

<p>"'You are young to be engaged in such work as this,' the
captain said when my turn came.</p>

<p>"'I was forced into it against my will, sir,' I said.</p>

<p>"'Yes,' the captain said, 'I suppose so; that's the story each
of the prisoners tells. How long have you been with them?'</p>

<p>"'Less than six months, sir.'</p>

<p>"'How old are you?'</p>

<p>"'I am not seventeen yet. I was boy on board the Jane and
William. We were taken by the pirates on our way back from Rio,
and all except me killed or thrown overboard.'</p>

<p>"'And you bought your life by agreeing to sail with them, I
suppose?' the captain said contemptuously.</p>

<p>"'I did, sir,' I said; 'but I was the last they asked; all the
others had gone, and there warn't no one to back me up.'</p>

<p>"'Well, boy, you know what your fate will be,' the captain
said; 'there's no mercy for pirates.'</p>

<p>"The next day the captain sent for me again, and I took heart
a little, for I thought if they had made up their minds to hang
me they wouldn't have questioned me.</p>

<p>"'Look here, lad,' the captain said; 'you are the youngest of
the prisoners, and less steeped in crime than any here, therefore
I will at once make you an offer. If you will direct us to the
lair of the pirates, I promise your life shall be spared.'</p>

<p>"'I don't know the latitude and longitudes sir,' I said, 'and
I doubt if any besides the captain and one or two others do, but
I know pretty well whereabout it is. We always set sail at night
and came in at night, and none was allowed on deck except the
helmsman and two or three old hands till morning; but when I was
ashore and on duty at the lookout I noticed three trees growing
together just at the edge of the cliff at the point where it was
highest, two miles away from the entrance to the cove. They were
a big un and two little uns, and I feel sure if I were to see
them again I should know them.'</p>

<p>"'Very well,' the captain said, 'I shall make for port at
once, and hand over the prisoners to the Spanish authorities,
then I will start on a cruise with you, and see if we can find
your trees.'</p>

<p>"From the description I could give him of the islands we
passed after we had been at sea a few hours, and the time it took
us to sail from them to some known points, the captain was able
to form a sort of idea as to which group of islands it belonged
to, and when he had reached port and got rid of his prisoners,
all of whom were garroted -- that's a sort of strangling, you
know -- by the Spaniards, a week afterward, we set out again on
our search for the island."</p>

<h1 align="CENTER"><a name="CHAPTER_V"></a>CHAPTER V: THE PIRATE
HOLD</h1>

<p>"The frigate was again disguised as a merchantman, as, if she
had passed within sight of the island looking like a ship of war,
it would have put the pirates on their guard, and I had told the
captain there were guns enough at the mouth of the cove to blow
the ship's boats out of the water. As to the frigate getting in,
I knew she couldn't, for there was only just enough water at the
entrance for the pirate vessels to enter in. I was not in irons
now, but spent my time on deck; and a wretched time it was, I can
tell you, for not a sailor on board would speak to me.</p>

<p>"For three weeks we cruised about, sailing round island after
island, but at last as we were approaching one of them I saw the
three trees.</p>

<p>"'That's the place,' I said to the boatswain, who was standing
near me, and he carried the news to the quarterdeck, and brought
back word I was to go to the captain.</p>

<p>"You are sure those are the trees?'</p>

<p>"'Quite sure, sir.'</p>

<p>"'They answer to your description certainly,' the captain
said. 'Keep her away, master, I don't want them to think we are
steering for the island.'</p>

<p>"The ship's course was altered, and she sailed along parallel
with the coast.</p>

<p>"'I beg your pardon, sir,' I said, touching my hat, 'but they
have got some wonderful good glasses up at the lookout, and if I
might make so bold I should say that they will make out that we
have got a lot more men on deck than a merchant ship would
carry.'</p>

<p>"'You are right, lad,' the captain said, and he at once gave
orders that all hands with the exception of half a dozen should
sit down under the bulwarks or go below. The captain and first
lieutenant kept a sharp lookout through their glasses until we
had passed the end of the island. I pointed out to them the exact
position of the cove, but it was so shut in that even when I
showed where it was, it was as much as they could do to make it
out.</p>

<p>"'Now, lad, do you know of any other landing places on the
other side of the island?'</p>

<p>"'No, sir, and I don't believe there is any,' says I. I know
the captain said to me the first day I was on shore, 'It's no use
your thinking of making a bolt, for there ain't no other place
but this where you could get to sea -- not though you had twenty
boats waiting to take you off.' I expect that's why they chose
it. Anyhow, there never was any watch kept up on shore, though. I
have no doubt there was many a one who had been pressed into
pirating just as I was, to save their lives, would have made off
had they seen ever such a little chance of getting away.</p>

<p>"'Just come into the cabin with me,' says he; 'I want you to
show me exactly where are these batteries, and the position of
the village on shore.'</p>

<p>"The first lieutenant came too, and I drew them out a chart as
well as I could, showing them the position of things, and told
them that every evening a boom was floated across the
entrance.</p>

<p>"'What sentries are there on at night?'</p>

<p>"'Four, sir; two close down to the water, one each side of the
cove, and two in the batteries at the top. That's the watch, but
besides there are six men sleep in each of the other batteries,
and six in each of the batteries inside.'</p>

<p>"'Tell me more about the place and the life you led there,'
the captain said, 'and then I shall understand the position of
things better.'</p>

<p>"So I spun him a regular yarn about the place and the people.
I told him about the captain's wife, and she being an English
woman, and how she was taken, which indeed was the way of most of
the women there.</p>

<p>"'I suppose that a good many of the men were pressed too,' the
captain said.</p>

<p>"'I expects so, sir; but when we were together on guard or on
board a ship I noticed we never talked of such things. It seemed
to me as if every one was trying to forget the past, and I think
that made them more brutal and bloody minded than they would have
been. Every one was afraid of every one else guessing as he
wasn't contented, and was wanting to get away, and so each
carried on as bad as he could.'</p>

<p>"'I dare say you are right, lad; it must be a terrible
position for a man to be in; but you see the law can make no
distinctions. If it wasn't thoroughly understood that if a man
took up the life of a pirate, whether willingly or unwillingly,
he would assuredly be executed if he was caught, we should have
the sea swarming with pirates. Now, lad, you know how this boom
was fastened; can you suggest any way that we could get over it
or loosen it without giving the alarm?'</p>

<p>"'There is no way, sir. One end is fastened by a big chain
which is fixed to a great shackle which is let into a hole in the
rock and fastened in there with lead; that's the fixed end of the
boom. The other end, which is swung backward and forward when the
ships go in port, has got a big chain too. It goes under an iron
bar which is bent, and the two ends fastened in a rock. When they
want to fix the boom the end of the chain is passed under this
iron loop and then fastened to some blocks and ropes worked from
the battery above, and the end of the chain is drawn up tight
there, so that there is no loosing the chain till that battery is
taken.'</p>

<p>"'And you say the guns of the lower batteries at the inner
point sweep the entrance?'</p>

<p>"'They do, sir. There are ten of them on each side, twelve
pounder carronades, which are always charged, and crammed up to
the muzzle with bullets and nails and bits of iron. The batteries
on the top of the cliff at the entrance are the heaviest metal.
They have got twenty guns in each of them. They are loaded with
round shot to keep a vessel from approaching, though of course
they could fire grape into any boats they saw coming in.'</p>

<p>"'This does not seem an easy business by any means, Mr.
Earnshaw,' the captain said.</p>

<p>"'It does not, sir,' the lieutenant agreed in a dubisome sort
of way; 'but no doubt it can be done, sir -- no doubt it can be
done.'</p>

<p>"'Yes, but how?' the captain asked. 'You will be in command of
the boats, Mr. Earnshaw, and it will never do to attack such a
place as that without some sort of plan.'</p>

<p>"'What is the boom like, my lad?' the lieutenant asked; 'is it
lashed together?'</p>

<p>"'No, it is a solid spar,' I said. 'The entrance is not more
than forty feet wide, and the boom is part of the mainmast of a
big ship.'</p>

<p>"'It seems to me,' said the lieutenant, 'that the only way to
get at it would be to go straight at the boom, the two lightest
boats to go first. The men must get on the spar and pull the
boats over, and then make a dash for the batteries; the heavy
boats can follow them.'</p>

<p>"'It would never do, Mr. Earnshaw,' the captain said. 'You
forget there are twelve guns loaded to the muzzle with grape and
musketballs all trained upon a point only forty feet across.
Would it be possible to land just outside the boom, lad, on one
or both sides, and to keep along the edge, or wade in the water
to the batteries?'</p>

<p>"'No, sir, the rock goes straight up from the water both
sides.'</p>

<p>"'Well, the two sentries, how do they get down to the water's
edge?'</p>

<p>"'They are let down by rope from above, sir, and the rope is
hauled up as soon as they are down.'</p>

<p>"'This is a deuce of a place, Mr. Earnshaw,' the captain said.
'We must do nothing hastily in this matter, or we shall only be
throwing away the lives of a lot of men, and failing in our
object. I was intending to sail on and not return for a week, for
no doubt they will be specially vigilant for a time after seeing
a large ship pass them. As it is, I will return tonight to the
back of the island, and will there leave the cutter and my gig.
You will be in charge of the cutter, and Mr. Escombe will take
the gig. I shall then sail away again before daylight; for
although from what the lad said there is no watch kept on that
side of the island, it cannot be more than three miles across,
and any of the men or women might stroll across or might from any
high point in the island obtain a view that way. You will make a
thorough survey of all that side. The cliffs certainly seem, so
far as we could see them as we left the island, as perpendicular
as they are on the side we passed; but there may be some place
easier than another -- some place where, by setting our wits to
work, we may make a shift to climb up. Get into the island I
will, if I have to blast a flight of steps up the cliff.'</p>

<p>"'I will do my best to find a place, sir,' the lieutenant
said; 'and, if there isn't one, I will make one.'</p>

<p>"The lieutenant told me that I was to accompany him in the
cutter, and all was got ready for the trip. Water and a week's
rations of food were placed on board the boats; for in that
climate there was no saying when a gale might spring up, or how
long the vessel might be before she got back to pick up the
boats.</p>

<p>"When we were fairly out of sight of the island we lay to till
it got dusk, and then her head was pointed back again. There was
scarce a breath of wind stirring, and the vessel went through the
water so slowly that a couple of hours later the captain ordered
the boats to be lowered, for he saw that if the wind didn't
freshen the ship could not get to the island, much less get away
again, before daylight. The oars were got out and off we started,
and after four hours' steady rowing, the lieutenant, who was
steering by compass, made out the land looming high above us.
Another quarter of an hour's row and we dropped our grapnels
close to the foot of the cliffs, and the men were told to get a
sleep as well as they could till morning.</p>

<p>"As soon as it was daylight we were off again and rowed to the
end of the island; for, as Mr. Earnshaw said to the third
lieutenant, we had best begin at the end and do the work
thoroughly. When we got to the point we turned and rowed back,
keeping about two hundred yards from the cliff, so that we could
see well up. They were about a hundred feet high -- sometimes a
little less, sometimes a good bit more, and they went as straight
up from the water's edge as the cliffs at Dover, only there
weren't no beach. It was deep water right up to the foot.</p>

<p>"We went along very slowly, the men only just dipping their
oars into the water, and all of us watching every foot of the
cliffs. Sometimes we would stop altogether while the officers
talked over the possibility of any one climbing up at some place
where the water trickling down from the top had eaten away the
face a little; but not a goat in the world could have climbed up
them, not to say men. So we kept on till we got to the other end
of the island, which must have been five miles long. Not a place
could we see.</p>

<p>"'Unless we are going to do as the captain said -- blast steps
up the face of that rock -- I don't believe it's to be done,'
Lieutenant Earnshaw said to Mr. Escombe. 'Well, there's nothing
to do, lads, but to row in and drop your grapnels again and wait
till we see the ship's lights tonight.'</p>

<p>"Although we rowed in to within an oar's length of the cliff,
there was eight fathoms of water when we dropped the grapnels. We
had been lying there an hour when the third lieutenant said:</p>

<p>"'I should think, Mr. Earnshaw, that if we were to bring the
pinnace with that four pounder gun in the bow and up end it, and
with a small charge fire a ball with a rope fastened to it up
into that clump of trees we saw just about the middle of the
island, it might get caught.'</p>

<p>"'So it might, Escombe, and the idea is a good one; but I
doubt whether there's a man on board ship could climb a rope
swinging like that against the face of those cliffs.'</p>

<p>"'He might if we used a knotted rope,' Mr. Escombe said.</p>

<p>"'I wouldn't mind making a try, yer honor,' one of the sailors
said, and half a dozen others volunteered their readiness to make
the attempt.</p>

<p>"'I will put it to the captain,' Mr. Earnshaw said; 'if he
agrees, as you were the first to volunteer, Jones, you shall have
the chance.'</p>

<p>"The day was dead calm, so was the night that followed it; and
although we rowed back to the end of the island from which we had
come, no lights were to be seen that night.</p>

<p>"The next day passed slowly. The sun was hot; but toward
evening the lieutenant gave permission for the men to bathe; but
warned us that no man must go far from the boats, because there
might be sharks about. However, we didn't see none, and we
enjoyed the dip, and were in better humor still when we found
that a light breeze was springing up. It might have been about
midnight when the men on watch made out a light to seaward, and
we weren't long in getting up our grapnels and sitting our oars.
In half an hour we were on board, and were soon sailing away from
the island again.</p>

<p>"The next night in we came again, and I saw that the third
lieutenant's plan was going to be adopted; in fact, I guessed so
before; for the sail makers had been at work with two light ropes
making a rope ladder, and the ship's smith had got some empty
shells on deck, and had made a shift to screw some iron eyes into
them for fixing ropes to. The gun was taken out of the pinnace
and a little mortar fixed in her, and half a dozen ropes, each a
hundred fathoms long, had knots put in them every two feet.</p>

<p>"The launch and the two cutters were lowered as well as the
pinnace this time, and the crews were armed with cutlass and
pistol. I went with them as before, as I should be wanted to
guide them when they got near the village. It was a bright
starlight night without haze, so that when we got close we could
make out the outline of the cliffs, and could see the thick wood
growing on the top. When we got within about a hundred yards of
the cliffs the boat stopped rowing.</p>

<p>"'Don't use more powder than you can help, gunner,' Mr.
Earnshaw said. 'In the first place, we don't want to do more than
carry out the rope to its full length; in the next place, we
don't want to make more noise than we can help. What wind there
is is fortunately blowing seaward, and being so close under the
cliff the sound will be echoed back. At the same time the less
noise the better.'</p>

<p>"'I will begin with very little, sir. If the ball don't go to
the top of the cliff I shall put a trifle more into the gun next
time; it's better to make a mistake on the right side.'</p>

<p>"A small quantity of powder was put in the mortar, which was
only a four inch one. Then a wad was put in, and a shell with one
of the knotted ropes fastened to it dropped in the top. The rope
had been coiled in a tub so as to run out easily. The gunner
applied the match. There was a dull report, and every man held
his breath to listen. There was a thud high up on the cliff and
then a splash.</p>

<p>"'A few feet short of the top, I should say, gunner. You must
put in more next time, for the shell must go well up over the
trees and drop among them; otherwise it won't catch.'</p>

<p>"The gunner by the light of the lantern measured out half as
much powder again as he had used before, and then fired. This
time we heard no sound till there was a faint splash in the
water.</p>

<p>"'The rope's gone, sir,' the gunner said, looking into the
tub. 'There was a little too much this time.'</p>

<p>"'I don't think so,' Mr. Escombe said. 'I think that splash
was the end of the rope touching the water. In that case it will
be just right, a hundred feet up the cliffs, and five hundred
feet among the trees. No fear of the rope coming back to us.'</p>

<p>"It took us a quarter of an hour's search in the dark to find
the rope; but at last we came upon it, and sure enough there was
only four or five fathoms in the water.</p>

<p>"'Now, Jones,' Mr. Earnshaw said, 'it's your turn. Put that
light line over your shoulders, and when you get to the top haul
on it till you get up the rope ladder, and fasten that to a stout
trunk and give a low hail. We will hold the rope as steady as we
can below while you mount.'</p>

<p>"'Ay, ay, sir,' said the man, who was an active young chap; 'I
will be up there in a jiffy.'</p>

<p>"We fastened the lower end round one of the thwarts of the
boat, and then he began to climb. It was near five minutes before
he got to the top, for there were some nasty places where the
cliff jutted out, and the rope was hard against it; but presently
the shaking ceased, and a minute later the light line was hauled
tight. There was a low cheer in the boats, and then up went the
rope ladder. A minute or two later there was a hail from the
top.</p>

<p>"'All taut, sir.'</p>

<p>"'I will go first,' Mr. Earnshaw said.</p>

<p>"Accordingly up he went, and one by one we followed, each
waiting for the signal that the one before him had got up, till
all had gone except the two told off as boat watch. Then the men
of the launch and cutters followed, and in about two hours they
were all at the top, and a lantern was shown to tell the ship we
were there.</p>

<p>"We started at once across the island, Mr. Earnshaw keeping
the line by a pocket compass. It was rough work, though, and at
last the lieutenant said:</p>

<p>"'We make such a noise going through the bushes that we had
better wait till daylight, so just halt where you are, lads.'</p>

<p>"As soon as the first ray of light showed we were off again,
and an hour later reached the edge of the slope down to the
cove.</p>

<p>"'Now, remember,' the lieutenant said, 'that no woman is to be
hurt. All the men who resist are to be shot or cut down; but you
are to take prisoners all who throw down their arms. Some of them
may be able to prove themselves less guilty than the rest. At any
rate, there is no fear of the Spanish authorities being too
merciful. These pirates have been the scourge of these seas for
the last six years.'</p>

<p>"Well, lad, there ain't much more to tell you. We took them
completely by surprise, and the men in the village were all
knocked down and bound, without firing a shot. The men in the
batteries tried to slew their guns round, but we didn't give 'em
time. They fought desperately, for they knew what their doom was,
and there weren't any prisoners taken there. As soon as the
village was taken I went straight with Mr. Escombe to the
captain's house. His wife was standing at the door, and she gave
a little cry as she saw the British uniforms, and ran a step or
two to meet us, then she stopped, and her arms dropped by her
side.</p>

<p>"'What! you, Peter!' she said as we came up. 'Is it you who
led them here?'</p>

<p>"'Yes, ma'am, it was me,' says I, 'and the best thing I could
do for you, for you could not wish to stay here all your life
with just the people that are here.'</p>

<p>"'But what has happened?' she said. 'How is it you are here?
What has become of the schooner?'</p>

<p>"'The schooner is sunk, ma'am, and the brig is captured.'</p>

<p>"'And my husband?'</p>

<p>"'Well, ma'am, don't you take on, but your husband went down
with the schooner.'</p>

<p>"She tottered, and I thought she would have fallen, but Mr.
Escombe put his arm round her and led her to the house and left
her there, putting two sailors on guard to see as she wasn't
disturbed. An hour or two later the frigate was off the cove, and
the captain landed. We stopped a week there, and carried off all
there was worth taking; and I tell you there was enough to give
every man Jack on board a handsome share of prize money when the
things came to be sold afterward.</p>

<p>"Money, there was lots of it, all stored away in what they
called the treasure house, for money was no good there. Jewels
and ornaments, watches, and the things which they uses in them
Catholic churches, and all kinds of valuable things, and stores
of silks and velvets and all kinds of materials; and as to wine
and such like, there was enough to have lasted them for years,
for from first to last it was shown afterward that those fellows
must have captured more nor fifty vessels. Why they shouldn't
have stopped ashore and enjoyed what they got was a mystery to
me. But I suppose they couldn't do without excitement, and though
every man talked of the time when the treasure would be divided
and they were to scatter, I don't suppose as one ever expected as
the time would really come.</p>

<p>"Well, arter everything was on board, and the women and
children, the place was burned, and we sailed for the nearest
Spanish port. We had had a sort of court martial on board the
frigate, and two or three young chaps like myself, and two men as
was proved to have been captured in the pirates' last cruise, and
who hadn't been to sea with them or taken part in any of their
bloody doings, was kept on board ship, and the rest was handed
over to the Spanish authorities. Most of them was garroted, and a
few was condemned to work on the roads for life. I and the others
was taken back to England in the frigate, whose foreign time was
up, and when we got to Portsmouth we was drafted into a regiment
there, and lucky we thought ourselves to get off so easy. The
captain's wife and some of the other white women came home to
England on board the frigate. She was very low at first, but she
brightened up a good deal toward the end of the voyage, which
lasted two months. She grieved over her husband, you see, but she
couldn't but have felt that it was all for the best. I heard
afterward as how two years after she married Mr. Earnshaw, who by
that time had got to be a captain. So that, you see, my lad, is
how I came to fight under the black flag first and then to be a
soldier of the queen. I didn't mean it to be sich a long yarn,
but when I once began it all came back to me, and you see, I
haven't spoken of it for years. You don't think altogether as I
was very wrong, I hope."</p>

<p>"I thank you very much for your story, sergeant," Jack
replied. "I only wish it had been longer; and although it's very
easy to say that a man ought to die rather than consent to be a
pirate, I don't think there are many lads who would choose death
if they were placed as you were."</p>

<p>"I am glad you think that, young un; it's always been a sore
point with me, I have done my duty since, and no one can say as
he's ever seen Sergeant Edwards show the white feather. But the
thought that that once I did not act as a brave man would have
done has always troubled me."</p>

<p>The next day, as the sea went down, and the recruits recovered
from the effects of the confinement and sickness, they again
began to talk among themselves. The fact that all the other
vessels of the fleet were out of sight naturally encouraged them.
Jack observed, however, that the call to parade on deck was
answered with more quickness than before, and the exercises were
gone through with a painstaking steadiness greater than had been
shown since the embarkation. When the men were dismissed from
parade Jack remarked this to the sergeant.</p>

<p>"Ay, ay, lad, I noticed it too," the sergeant said, shaking
his head, "and in my opinion it's a bad sign. They want to throw
the officers off their guard. It's a pity you have been seen
talking so much to me, because, of course, they won't say
anything when you are listening; but one or two of the men who
came into the regiment with me have dropped a word as they
happened to pass this morning that they wanted to have a word if
they could get one without being noticed, so I hope to hear a
little more tonight."</p>

<p>That evening, before going below, Jack had an hour's talk with
Sergeant Edwards.</p>

<p>"It's just as I thought," the latter said, "they've got an
idea of seizing the ship. The men I spoke of managed to get a few
words with me this evening. They don't know anything about
piracy. All they have heard is that there is a proposal to seize
the ship and to carry her into one of the northern ports of
Spain, where the men will land and give up their arms to the
Spanish authorities, and then either disperse and make their way
home by twos and threes as best they can, or they will take
service with the King of Spain, who, they think, will pay them a
deal better than the English government.</p>

<p>"A part of the crew are in the scheme. These, the men tell me,
do not intend to land, but only tell the others that they shall
sail away. That's about what I thought would be. The greater part
of these fellows only wants to get quickly home again, while the
sailors, who may want to go abuccaneering, would not care about
having the soldiers with them. I shall give a hint to the captain
of my company tonight as to what is going on, but I don't much
expect he will pay any attention to it. Officers never believe
these things till it is too late, and you see I can't give them
any names yet or prove what I say; besides, likely enough, any
inquiry set on foot would only bring the matter to a head. We
must wait till we know something sure.</p>

<p>"You keep your ears open, my boy, and your eyes too, and I
will do the same. If it comes, and you see a chance of warning
the captain of the ship or the first lieutenant in time, you do
it; but don't you do it if you don't think there's time enough,
or if you can't do it without being seen. If it's too late, and
you are found out, they would just chuck you overboard or knock
you on the head, and you will have done no good after all, and
perhaps only caused bloodshed. Like enough, if matters go
quietly, there won't be no bloodshed, and the officers and those
who stick to them will just be turned adrift in the boats, or
maybe handed over to the Spanish at the port they go into as
prisoners."</p>

<p>Jack promised to follow the sergeant's instructions, and went
below. He thought that the men were unusually quiet, and taking
his blanket -- for although some of the soldiers slept in
hammocks, the majority lay on the deck wrapped in their blankets
-- he lay down by the side of a gun whose port had been opened to
admit air between decks. After thinking the matter over for some
time, and wondering what would be the end of it, he dropped off
into a light sleep.</p>

<p>Presently he was aroused by a confused sound. Looking round
cautiously, he saw by the dim light of the lantern that most of
the men were on their feet. Some of them were taking down their
firearms from the arm racks; small groups were stooping over some
of the sleeping figures; and to the mast, close to which one of
the lanterns hung, two or three men were bound, and two soldiers
with pikes were standing by them. The crisis, then, had come, and
Jack at once proceeded to carry out the plan he had thought out
after he lay down.</p>

<p>Very quietly he crawled out through the porthole, and then
raised himself and stood on the muzzle of the gun. There he could
reach the foot of the shrouds of the foremast, which happened to
be immediately above the port. He swung himself up, and, placing
his hands on the edge of the bulwark, cautiously looked over.</p>

<p>At present all was quiet there; the signal from below had not
been given, and the troops on deck -- for, owing to the numbers
on board, one fourth were always on deck in fine weather -- were
standing about or sitting in groups. Keeping his feet on the
ledge which ran round level with the deck, and his fingers on the
top of the bulwark, Jack managed to edge his way aft until he
reached the line of the quarterdeck. Here the line of the bulwark
ceased, the cabins of the officers rising, as was usual in those
days, in a double tier high about the waist.</p>

<p>The nearest porthole, which was open, was but three feet long,
and Jack, reaching forward, put one hand in it and continued his
way. The porthole was but just large enough for him to squeeze
through. Looking in before he attempted it he saw an officer
asleep immediately below him. It was the ensign of his own
company. Leaning in he touched him gently. After one or two
attempts, the young officer opened his eyes, saying, "What is it?
It's not morning yet."</p>

<p>"Hush, sir," Jack said earnestly; "I am Jack Stilwell of your
company. There is a mutiny, sir, forward. Please help me in, I
want to warn the captain of the ship, and he will know what to
do."</p>

<p>The young officer leaped from his bunk and assisted Jack to
enter.</p>

<p>"I will come with you," he said, hastily dragging on his
trousers and coat. "Are you sure of what you say?"</p>

<p>"Quite sure, sir; the noncommissioned officers are bound; it
may begin at any moment."</p>

<p>The ensign led the way to the captain's cabin, which he opened
and entered without ceremony.</p>

<p>"What is it?" the captain exclaimed. The ensign said who he
was, and Jack repeated his story.</p>

<p>"The dogs!" the captain said, "we will teach them a lesson.
Let me see, the second lieutenant is on duty; rouse all the other
officers;" and he himself assisted them to do so. In a minute or
two they were gathered hastily attired, with sword and pistol, in
the captain's cabin.</p>

<p>"Do you, Mr. Hartwell," the captain said, addressing the first
lieutenant, "go below and rouse the boatswain and petty officers,
and bid them get together all the men they can depend upon, arm
them quietly, and be ready to rush on deck the instant a stir is
heard forward among the soldiers. Any man who disobeys orders,
shoot him instantly. Do you, sir," he said to the second officer,
"go to the magazine with four of the midshipmen, open it and
bring up charges of grape for the guns on the quarterdeck. Be as
quick as you can. Now, gentlemen, the rest of us will make our
way up quietly, one by one, to the quarterdeck. Go well aft, so
that the men in the waist will not notice you. Directly the
cartridges come up we will load the guns, and be in readiness to
slew them across the deck; and in the mean time, if they should
attack before we are ready, we must hold the ladders to the
last."</p>

<p>One by one the officers stole out from the cabin with bare
feet, and made their way up to the quarterdeck, until some thirty
of them were gathered there, being all the officers of the
regiment, the naval officers, and midshipmen. The night was a
dark one, and this was accomplished without the movement being
noticed by any of those in the waist of the ship.</p>

<h1 align="CENTER"><a name="CHAPTER_VI"></a>CHAPTER VI: A
COMMISSION</h1>

<p>The moments passed slowly and anxiously, for if the mutineers
were to pour up from below before the cartridges arrived and the
lieutenant had got the petty officers and men on whom they could
rely ready for action, it was improbable that the officers would
be able successfully to oppose the rush of the men, armed as
these would be with matchlock and pike.</p>

<p>The mutineers, however, believing that there was no occasion
to hurry, were quietly carrying out their intentions. The
noncommissioned officers had all been seized, tied, and placed
under sentries, whose orders were to pike them if they uttered a
word. A strong guard had been placed at the foot of the gangway
to prevent any of the soldiers who were not in the plan from
going on deck and giving the alarm. The muskets were not loaded,
as on embarkation all ball cartridges had, as usual, been stowed
away in the magazine; but they reckoned upon obtaining possession
of this at the first rush. The ringleaders proceeded to form the
men in fours, so that they could pour on to the deck in military
order. The men of each company were told off to separate work.
Two companies were to clear the decks, where, on their
appearance, they would be joined by their comrades there, and to
overpower any sailors who might offer resistance.</p>

<p>Another company was to run down and secure the magazine, and,
breaking it open, to serve out cartridges to all. Two other
companies were to rush aft and overpower the officers; the sixth
and seventh were to form round the head of the hatchway leading
to the decks where the sailors slept, and to allow only those to
come on deck who had entered into the plot. The other three
companies were already on deck. The arrangements were excellent,
but the care taken in preparing for them, and the necessity for
doing this in silence lest the stir should be heard and an alarm
be given on deck, occupied time which the officers were turning
to advantage.</p>

<p>As soon as the captain and naval men had gained the
quarterdeck they threw off the lashings of the guns, and had all
in readiness for running them in and taking them aft to the edge
of the quarterdeck. There was a deep sensation of relief as one
after another the midshipmen joined them, each carrying three
cartridges of grape, and followed by the gunner with four more.
The lieutenant was to stay below to lead the sailors on to the
deck.</p>

<p>The gunner brought a message saying that all was well. Many of
the sailors were found to have turned into their hammocks without
undressing, and to have hand pikes or cutlasses concealed beneath
the clothes. These, however, had been surprised and taken without
the slightest noise; as, on finding a lantern on one side of
their heads and a pistol on the other, each had submitted without
the slightest resistance. All these had been sent down to the
hold below, and a guard placed over them. The guns were loaded
and the whole of the officers divided among them in readiness to
run them forward. Four or five minutes passed, then a shout was
heard forward and a low rush of many feet.</p>

<p>In an instant the four guns on the quarterdeck were run
across. While this was being done there was a clashing of swords,
shouts, and a noise of conflict heard forward, and at the same
time a loud cheer arose, while from the after hatchway a dark
body of men rushed up on to the deck and formed across it. Some
midshipmen, who had been told off for the duty, ran up from the
officers' cabin with lighted lanterns, which were ranged along at
the edge of the quarterdeck.</p>

<p>There was a rush aft of the mutineers, but these recoiled
astonished at the sight of the pikes which confronted them, and
the line of sailors four deep across the deck, while at the same
moment the light of the lanterns showed them the officers on the
quarterdeck, and the four guns pointed threateningly toward them.
For a moment a silence of astonishment and dismay succeeded the
uproar which had preceded it, then the captain's voice was
heard:</p>

<p>"Down with your arms, you mutinous dogs, or I will blow you
into the air. It is useless to resist. We are prepared for you,
and you are without ammunition. Throw down the arms on the decks,
every man of you, before I count three, or I fire. One -- two
--"</p>

<p>There was a loud clattering of arms, mingled with shouts of --
"We surrender; don't fire, sir, don't fire."</p>

<p>"It's all over," the captain said grimly. "Mr. Hartwell, march
your men forward, shoot any scoundrel instantly whom you find
with arms in his hands, collect all the weapons and bring them
aft.</p>

<p>"Now, Colonel Clifford," he said, turning to the officer in
command of the regiment, "if you go below with the officers, you
can unloose the noncommissioned officers; they will be able to
point out to you the ringleaders in this business. They had
better be ironed at once and put into the hold. You will have no
more trouble now, I fancy."</p>

<p>In ten minutes the whole of the arms had been collected and
stored up, the noncommissioned officers had pointed out some
twenty of the ringleaders, and these were safely in irons below,
while a strong guard of armed sailors was placed between decks to
see that there was no renewal of insubordinate conduct. There
was, however, no fear of this; the men were thoroughly cowed and
humiliated by the failure of their plan, and each was occupied
only in hoping that he had not been sufficiently conspicuous to
be handed over in the morning to join the prisoners below.</p>

<p>There was no more sleep that night on board the ship. After
breakfast two courts martial were held, the one by the naval, the
other by the military officers. The latter sentenced two men, who
were convicted on the testimony of the noncommissioned officers
as having been the leaders, to be hung, and the sentence was at
once carried out. The regiment was formed in close order on deck
unarmed and witnessed the execution of their comrades, who were
hung up to the extremities of the main yard. The other prisoners
were sentenced to two hundred lashes apiece -- a punishment which
was, according to the ideas of the time, very lenient, such a
punishment being frequently administered for comparatively
trifling offenses, and the prisoners considered themselves
fortunate in escaping hanging, for which, indeed, they had
prepared themselves.</p>

<p>Previous to the administration of their punishment the colonel
addressed the men, and told them that all the ringleaders had
been found guilty and sentenced to death, but that the members of
the court martial had agreed with him that, considering the youth
and inexperience of the offenders and the whole circumstances of
the case, it would be possible to remit the death sentence,
confident that the prisoners and the whole of the regiment would
recognize the leniency with which they had been treated, and
would return to their duty with a firm and hearty determination
to do all in their power to atone for their misconduct, and to
show themselves true and worthy soldiers of the queen. If this
was the case, no further notice would be taken of the error; but
at the same time he warned them that he had by him a long list of
men who had taken a prominent part in the affair, and that the
first time any of these misconducted themselves they might be
well assured that no mercy would be shown to them.</p>

<p>The naval court martial showed no greater severity than that
administered by the military officers. The vessel was short
handed, and moreover the officers did not wish the stigma to
attach to the ship of a serious mutiny among the crew. Had any of
these been hung, the matter must have been reported; but as none
of the crew had absolutely taken part in the rising, however
evident it was that they intended to do so, no sentences of death
were passed. But a number of the men were sentenced to be flogged
more or less severely, those who had but lately been pressed
getting off with comparatively light punishments, while the
heaviest sentences were passed on the older hands concerned in
the affair.</p>

<p>The arms of the troops continued to be kept under a strong
guard until, ten days later, the rest of the fleet were seen,
just as the northern point of Portugal was made out. A few hours
later the fleet was united; and the next day, the wind dying
entirely away, Colonel Clifford proceeded in a boat to the
flagship to report to the Earl of Peterborough the mutiny which
had taken place in his regiment, and its successful
suppression.</p>

<p>Immediately the mutiny had been put down Jack Stilwell had
stolen away and rejoined the soldiers forward; and although there
was much wonder among the men as to how the affair had been
discovered, none suspected him of having betrayed them, and
believed that the officers must have been warned by some word
incautiously let drop in their hearing. Only to Sergeant Edwards
did Jack reveal what had taken place.</p>

<p>"Do you know, lad, I guessed as you had had a hand in the
business somehow. When I was standing tied up against the mast I
had to keep my mouth shut; but I had the use of my eyes, and I
could not make you out among them. I might have missed you, of
course; but your company was formed up close to where I was
standing, and I thought I should have seen you if you had been
there. I could not think what had become of you; but when the men
came pouring down again without their arms, and I heard them
cursing and swearing because the sailors and the officers and all
was found in readiness to receive them, it somehow came to my
mind as that you was at the bottom of it -- though how, I could
not for the life of me make out, for I knew you had gone below
when I did."</p>

<p>"I wish, sergeant, that when you are examined, as you will be
about this affair, you will ask Captain Curtis to ask the colonel
not to let it be known publicly that it was I who warned him, for
my life would be unbearable among the men if they knew it. And if
it didn't happen before, it would be certain that the first time
we went into action I should get a bullet in my back."</p>

<p>"You are right there, my lad. I will tell the captain. You may
be sure your conduct won't be overlooked; but at present, as you
say, the less said about it the better."</p>

<p>An hour after Colonel Clifford had gone on board the flagship
the boat returned with orders that Private Stilwell, of D
Company, was to go back with them. The order was given to Captain
Curtis, who sent first for Sergeant Edwards.</p>

<p>"Go forward, sergeant, and tell Stilwell that he is to go on
board the flagship. No doubt the colonel has spoken to the
general. Tell the lad apart, and let him make his way aft here to
the gangway quietly, so that he won't be noticed. If any of the
men happen to see him going off in the boat, they may suppose
that the colonel has only sent for some man who can write; and
naturally if the captain had ordered me to choose a man, I should
have picked him out."</p>

<p>On reaching the deck of the flagship Jack was conducted to the
admiral's cabin. At the head of the table was seated a man whom
Jack recognized at once, from the description he had heard of
him, as the Earl of Peterborough. He was small and very spare in
person, his features were pleasant, his nose somewhat prominent,
his eye lively and penetrating. He had laid aside the immense wig
which, in accordance with the custom, he wore when abroad or at
court in England; and Jack saw his hair, which was light brown
and somewhat scanty. The admiral of the fleet sat next to him;
for although Peterborough had the command of the expedition both
at land and sea, an admiral was in command of the fleet under
him. Colonel Clifford was seated on the earl's left, and several
other naval and military officers were at the table.</p>

<p>"Well, young man," Peterborough said, "Colonel Clifford has
been telling us that it is due to you that I have not a regiment
the less under my orders, and that her majesty has not lost a
ship from the list of her navy. He says that the whole thing was
so quickly done that he has not been able to learn the full
particulars from you, and that he has abstained from questioning
you because you did not wish any suspicion to be excited among
the men of the part you played in it. Now, please to tell me the
whole history of the affair."</p>

<p>Jack thereupon related how his suspicions had been aroused by
Sergeant Edwards, who was only waiting for sufficient opportunity
and a certainty of information to divulge the plot to the
officers. He then related his awaking as the mutiny began, and
the steps he had taken to warn the officers. When he had done,
the earl said:</p>

<p>"You have acted smartly and well, young man; you have shown
promptness, courage, and fidelity. You speak above your rank.
What is your parentage?"</p>

<p>"My father was a clergyman, sir," Jack said, "but being
dispossessed of his living in the troubles, could not make his
case known on the return of King Charles; but he supported
himself by teaching, and gave me such education as he could, in
hope that I too should enter the ministry. But my thoughts did
not incline that way; and when he died, and also my mother, I
thought of going to sea, when it happened that I was pressed for
a soldier. And seeing that it was so, I made up my mind to make
the best of things."</p>

<p>"And you have done so, young man; and right glad am I that
your education and parentage are such that I can reward you as I
should wish. I give you a discharge now from your regiment and
appoint you ensign. You will at present form one of my staff; and
glad am I to have so dashing and able a young officer ready to
hand for any perilous service I may require."</p>

<p>On the 20th of June the fleet sailed up the Tagus.</p>

<p>Jack had not returned on board his ship.</p>

<p>"Better stop here," the earl said. "If you went back, and they
heard you were promoted, likely enough some of them might toss
you overboard on a dark night. We will set the tailors at once to
work to rig you up an undress uniform. You can get a full dress
made at Lisbon. Not that you will be wanting to wear that much,
for we have come out for rough work; still, when we ride
triumphantly into any town we have taken, it is as well to make a
good impression upon the Spanish donnas. And, say what they will,
fine feathers go a long way toward making fine birds. Do you
write a good hand?"</p>

<p>"I think I write a pretty fair one, sir."</p>

<p>"That is good. I write a crabbed stick myself, and there's
nothing I hate more than writing; and as for these young
gentlemen, I don't think they will be of much use for that sort
of thing. However, I shan't have a great deal of it. But you
shall act as my secretary when necessary."</p>

<p>The earl's orders to the tailors were peremptory to lose no
time in fitting Jack with an undress suit, and in twenty-four
hours he was able to join the mess of the young officers and
volunteers who accompanied the general. These were all young men
of good family; and having heard how Jack had saved the ship from
mutiny, they received him among them with great heartiness, which
was increased when they found that he was well educated and the
son of a gentleman.</p>

<p>It was a great satisfaction to Jack, that owing to the
kindness and generosity of the earl, he was able to pay his
expenses at mess and to live on equal terms with them; for the
general had dropped a purse with a hundred guineas into his hand,
saying:</p>

<p>"This will be useful to you, lad, for you must live like the
other officers. I owe it to you many times over for having saved
me that regiment, upon whose equipment and fitting out I had
spent well nigh a hundred times that sum."</p>

<p>Some of the officers were but little older than Jack, and by
the time the ship dropped anchor in the Tagus he was quite at
home with them.</p>

<p>"What a lovely city!" he said as he leaned over the bulwark
and looked at the town standing on the steep hills sloping down
to the river.</p>

<p>"Yes, indeed," Graham, one of the young officers, agreed. "But
I fancy the Portuguese are but poor creatures. The Earl of Galway
writes in his dispatches that they are great at promises, but he
finds he can expect little assistance from them."</p>

<p>"Have you any idea whether we are going to land here?"</p>

<p>"No; wherever we land, you may be sure it won't be here. The
Earl of Galway has been here two or three months, and he has some
good regiments with him. Our chief would be losing his position
did we land here, as he has a separate command, and would of
course be under Galway if the forces were joined. The Dutch fleet
is to be here in a day or two, and the Archduke Charles sailed a
fortnight before we did; and as we have made a very slow voyage
of it, he ought to have been here long ago. What a talk there
will be! What with the archduke, and the Portuguese, and the
Dutch, and the Prince of Hesse Darmstadt, and the Earls of Galway
and Peterborough, and probably every one of them with his own
ideas and opinions, it will be hard to come to any arrangement.
Besides there will be dispatches from the British court, and the
court of the Netherlands, and the Austrian emperor, all of whom
will probably differ as to what is the best thing to be done.
There will be a nice to do altogether. There's one thing to be
said, our chief can out talk them all; and he can say such
disagreeable things when he likes that he will be likely to get
his own way, if it's only to get rid of him. There goes his boat
into the water. What an impatient fellow he is, to be sure."</p>

<p>No sooner had Peterborough landed than he turned all his
energies to obtain the supplies which had been denied to him at
home, and after much difficulty he succeeded in borrowing a
hundred thousand pounds from a Jew named Curtisos on treasury
bills on Lord Godolphin, with the condition that the lender
should be given the contract for the supply of provisions and
other requisites for the army. The day that the earl had carried
out this arrangement he returned on board radiant. Hitherto he
had been terribly out of temper, and Jack, who had become his
amanuensis, had written at his dictation many very sharp notes to
every one with whom he had come in contact. As soon as he came on
board he sent for Jack to his cabin.</p>

<p>"Sit down, Mr. Stilwell. I have a dispatch for you to write to
the lord treasurer. I have got my money, so that difficulty is at
an end. It is glorious! I couldn't get a penny out of them before
I sailed, now I have got as much as I want. I would give a
thousand guineas out of my own pocket to see Godolphin's face
when he reads my dispatch, and finds that he's got to honor bills
for a hundred thousand pounds; it will be better than any comedy
that ever was acted. How the pompous old owl will fret and fume!
But he will have to find the money for all that. He can't begin
the campaign by dishonoring bills of her majesty's general, or no
one would trust us hereafter. You haven't seen my lord treasurer,
Mr. Stilwell?"</p>

<p>"No, sir, I have not been at court at all."</p>

<p>"That's a pity," the earl said; "for you lose the cream of the
joke. Now, I shall go on shore tomorrow and get everything that
is wanted, and then the sooner we are off the better; we have
been here a fortnight, and I am sick of the place."</p>

<p>Jack was by no means sick of Lisbon, for he enjoyed himself
vastly. The town was full of troops -- English, Dutch, and
Portuguese. Of an evening there were fetes and galas of all
kinds, and as the earl always attended these, Jack and the other
young officers were permitted to go ashore either in full uniform
to take part in the fetes, or to enjoy themselves according to
their fancies.</p>

<p>As Graham had predicted, it was some time before any
conclusion was arrived at as to the destination of the fleet.
Several councils were held, but no decision was come to.
Peterborough's orders were so vague that he could use his own
discretion. He had, indeed, been recommended to prevail upon the
Archduke Charles to accompany him and to proceed to Italy, where
he was to form a junction with Victor Amadeus, Duke of Savoy, who
was sorely pressed by the armies of France.</p>

<p>A messenger, however, arrived by sea with an order from the
queen that the fleet should proceed to the coast of Catalonia, in
consequence of information which had been sent to the British
court of the favorable disposition of the Catalans toward the
Archduke Charles. This was in accordance with the counsel which
the Prince of Hesse Darmstadt had been strenuously urging, and
his recent success in the capture and subsequent defense of
Gibraltar gave weight to his words and effaced the recollection
of his failure before Barcelona in the previous year.</p>

<p>The final decision rested in a great measure with the Archduke
Charles, who at last decided to proceed with Lord Peterborough
and land upon the coast of Spain and test the disposition of his
Valencian and Catalan subjects. The reasons for Peterborough's
falling in with the decision to move on Barcelona are explained
in a dispatch which he dictated to Sir George Rooke on the 20th
of July.</p>

<p>"Upon the letter of my Lord Godolphin and the secretary of
state, the King of Spain, his ministers, and my Lord Galway and
myself have concluded there was no other attempt to be made but
upon Catalonia, where all advices agree that six thousand men and
twelve hundred horse are ready expecting our arrival with a
general goodwill of all the people. The Portuguese have entirely
refused to join in any design against Cadiz, and by a copy of my
Lord Galway's letter you will find he is in an utter despair of
their attempting anything this year, and that by our instructions
it will appear that there is no other enterprise left for our
choice."</p>

<p>Peterborough's military force was, however, wholly
insufficient for such an enterprise. He prevailed upon Lord
Galway to give him a part of Lord Raby's and General Cunningham's
regiments of English dragoons, although the Portuguese
strenuously opposed this being done. Their conduct, indeed, at
this time was very similar to that which they adopted a hundred
years later toward the Duke of Wellington, throwing every
conceivable obstacle in the English commander's way, and opposing
every plan of action which he suggested. Many of the dragoons
were without horses, but Lord Peterborough mounted them on
animals which he bought with some of the money he had procured
from Curtisos.</p>

<p>The Prince of Hesse Darmstadt went on ahead to Gibraltar to
arrange for a portion of the garrison to accompany the
expedition. On the 28th of July the Archduke Charles embarked
with Lord Peterborough on board the Ranelagh, and an hour later
the fleet put to sea. Off Tangiers they were joined by the
squadron under Sir Cloudesley Shovel, and a few days later they
reached the Bay of Gibraltar.</p>

<p>Here they found that the Prince of Hesse Darmstadt had
arranged that the battalion of the guards, with three other
veteran regiments that had borne part in the gallant defense of
the fortress, were to be embarked, and two of the newly raised
corps Lord Peterborough had brought out from England were to take
their place in the garrison. The regiment to which Jack had
belonged was one of these. As soon as he heard the news ho took
the first opportunity of speaking to the earl.</p>

<p>"I have a favor to ask, sir."</p>

<p>"What is that, lad?"</p>

<p>"It is, sir, that Sergeant Edwards, who, if you remember,
advised me about warning the officers of the mutiny, should be
transferred to one of the regiments coming on board."</p>

<p>"Certainly, my lad; I had not forgotten him. I truly wish that
he had sufficient education to give him a commission. I sent to
inquire of his colonel, but finding that he could not read or
write, and that he would be out of place among the officers, I
could not do it; but I will gladly take him with us on active
service. It would be hard on a good soldier to be left behind
with that mutinous set of rascals."</p>

<p>Jack had already heard from Sergeant Edwards, whom he had met
several times on shore at Lisbon, and who had rejoiced most
heartily at his promotion, that Lord Peterborough had sent him,
through the colonel, a purse of fifty guineas as a reward for his
conduct.</p>

<p>Jack immediately proceeded in a boat to his old vessel, with
an order from the earl that the sergeant should be at once
transferred into one of the regiments coming on board. The
sergeant was delighted, for orders had already been received for
the regiment to disembark and form part of the garrison.</p>

<p>An hour later the Archduke Charles landed, amid the thunder of
the guns of the fleet and fortress, for here for the first time
he was acknowledged as and received the honor due to the King of
Spain. There was but little delay -- Lord Peterborough's energy
hurried every one else forward, and on the 5th of August the
fleet again put to sea, the king and the Prince of Hesse
Darmstadt accompanying it.</p>

<p>The winds were contrary, and it was not till the 11th that
they anchored in Altea Bay, at the mouth of the Guadalaviar, on
the Valencian coast. On the other side of the roadstead stood the
castle and village of Denia. The expedition was received with
good will by the people, who hated the ascendency of France at
Madrid and were bitterly jealous of Castile.</p>

<p>As soon as the fleet anchored Peterborough caused a manifesto
to be distributed among the people disclaiming any idea of
aggrandizement on the part of Great Britain or her allies, or any
intention of injuring the persons or property of Spaniards who
were the lawful subjects of King Charles III.</p>

<p>"We come," said he, "to free you from the insupportable yoke
of the government of foreigners, and from the slavery to which
you have been reduced and sold to France by ill designing
persons."</p>

<p>Several of the Spanish followers of the king landed to
encourage the people, among them General Basset y Ramos, an
active officer who was a Valencian by birth. The people rapidly
assembled from the surrounding country and lined the shore
shouting "Long live King Charles III!"</p>

<p>Abundant supplies of provisions were sent off to the fleet,
for which, however, Peterborough insisted upon liberal payment
being made.</p>

<p>A detachment of British infantry was landed to cover the
operation of watering the fleet. The insurrection spread rapidly,
and a thousand of the peasants seized the town of Denia for the
king. A frigate and two bomb vessels crossed the bay and
threatened the castle. This, although a magnificent pile of
building, was but weakly fortified, and after a few shots had
been fired it surrendered, and General Ramos with four hundred
regular troops from the fleet landed and took possession, and
amid the enthusiasm of the population Charles III was for the
first time on Spanish ground proclaimed King of Spain and of the
Indies.</p>

<p>The Earl of Peterborough now proposed a plan of the most
brilliant and daring kind, and had his advice been taken the war
would probably have terminated in a very short time, by securely
seating Charles III upon the Spanish throne. Madrid was distant
but fifty leagues from Altea Bay. Requena was the only town of
strength that lay in the way; the rich country would have
afforded ample provision and means of transport, and these the
friendly portion of the people would have placed at the disposal
of the army.</p>

<p>In the whole of Central Spain there was no force which could
oppose him. All the troops of Philip were either on the frontier
of Portugal or occupying the disaffected cities of the north. At
Madrid there were but a few troops of horse; in a week then, and
possibly without shedding a drop of blood, Charles might have
been proclaimed king in the capital of Spain. The plan was, of
course, not without danger. Marshal Tesse, with an overwhelming
force, would threaten the left of the advancing army, and the
garrisons of the northern cities, if united, could march with
equal superiority of force upon its right; but Tesse would be
followed by Lord Galway and the allied and Portuguese army, while
Barcelona and the other strongholds of Catalonia would rise if
their garrisons were withdrawn.</p>

<p>Even in the case of failure Peterborough could have retired
safely through Valencia and have re-embarked on board the fleet,
or could have marched to Gibraltar. The scheme was at once daring
and judicious, but the Archduke Charles was slow and timid, and
was controlled by the advice of his even slower and more cautious
German advisers, and neither argument nor entreaty on the part of
Peterborough could suffice to move him. The earl was in despair
at so brilliant an opportunity being thrown away, and expressed
himself with the greatest of bitterness in his letters home as to
the impossibility of carrying out movements when embarrassed by
the presence of the king and by the incapacity of the king's
advisers.</p>

<p>However, finding that nothing could be done he re-embarked his
troops, and the fleet sailed for Barcelona. It was not however,
thought probable that a successful attempt could be made upon so
strongly fortified a city, and it was determined that if upon
inspection the chances of success should appear slight, the fleet
and army should at once proceed, as originally intended, to the
assistance of the Duke of Savoy.</p>

<h1 align="CENTER"><a name="CHAPTER_VII"></a>CHAPTER VII:
BARCELONA</h1>

<p>The city of Barcelona, one of the most populous and important
in Spain, is not naturally a place of great strength. It is
situated on a plain close to the sea, and its defenses, although
extensive, were not very formidable against a strong army
provided with a siege train. To hold them fully required a much
larger force than was disposable for the defense. The garrison
was, however, fully equal in strength to the force of
Peterborough, and should have been able to defend the city
against an army vastly exceeding their own numbers. Ten bastions
and some old towers protected the town toward the north and east;
between the city and the sea was a long rampart with an
unfinished ditch and covered way; while to the west, standing on
a lofty elevation, the castle of Montjuich overlooked and guarded
the walls of the city.</p>

<p>From the center of the sea face a mole projected into the
water, guarding a small harbor. The country round the town was
fertile and beautiful, carefully cultivated and watered by
streams flowing from the neighboring mountains. At the distance
of about a league from the shore the land rises into an
amphitheater of hills thickly dotted with small towns, villages,
and country seats.</p>

<p>As soon as the allied fleet had anchored the garrison
commenced a cannonade from the mole and from a battery close to
the sea upon some of the transports nearest to the shore; but
their shot did not reach the vessels, and the fire soon ceased.
The east wind, however, proved more troublesome than the enemy's
fire, and the ships rolled heavily from the sea which came in
from the east.</p>

<p>The Prince of Hesse Darmstadt with two frigates put into the
harbor of Mataro for the purpose of obtaining intelligence. He
found that in the neighboring town of Vich the people had risen
for King Charles, and putting himself in communication with their
leaders he advised them to march upon the coast and cooperate
with the forces about to land. On his way to rejoin the fleet the
prince chased two Neapolitan galleys, which managed to get safely
into Barcelona.</p>

<p>They had on board the Duke and Duchess of Popoli, M. d'Abary,
a French officer of distinction, and forty other young gentlemen,
partisans of the Duke d'Anjou, and destined for employment in
different parts of Spain. They were now, however, detained in the
city by the governor to assist in its defense.</p>

<p>The first glance into the state of affairs gave the Earl of
Peterborough such an unfavorable impression that he at once
objected to the proposed attack.</p>

<p>The governor, Don Francisco Velasco, was a brave and
distinguished officer, the garrison equaled his own force in
numbers, the town was well supplied with provisions and stores,
and, in order to add to the difficulties of the besiegers, orders
had been given to destroy all the forage in the surrounding
country which could not be conveyed within the walls. Any
Austrian sympathies the inhabitants might possess were
effectually suppressed by the power and vigilance of the
governor. The besieging army was far too small to attempt a
blockade, while the chances of an assault upon an equal force
behind well armed defenses seemed almost desperate.</p>

<p>The engineers declared that the difficulties of a regular
siege were enormous, if not insurmountable, and that the only
vulnerable point was covered by a bog, where the transport of
cannon or the formation of works would be impossible. Above all,
the principal hope of the expedition had failed. The adherents of
Charles had assured him that the whole country would rise in his
favor on the arrival of the fleet, and that the town itself would
probably open its gates to receive him. These promises had, like
all others he had received from his Spanish friends, proved
delusive. Few of the peasantry appeared to receive them on the
coast, and these were unarmed and without officers.</p>

<p>The earl's instructions, although generally quite indefinite,
were stringent upon one point. He was on no account to make the
slightest alteration in the plans of the expedition, or to take
any decisive step for their accomplishment, without the advice of
the council of war. This would have been in any case embarrassing
for a general; in the present instance it was calculated
altogether to cripple him. There was but little harmony among the
chief officers. The English military officers were by no means on
good terms with each other, while the naval officers regarded
almost as an insult Lord Peterborough's being placed in command
of them. The English hated the German officers and despised the
Dutch. Lord Peterborough himself disliked almost all his
associates, and entertained a profound contempt for any one whose
opinion might differ from that which he at the moment might
happen to hold.</p>

<p>It was impossible that good could come from a council of war
composed of such jarring elements as these. However, Lord
Peterborough's instructions were positive, and on the 16th of
August, 1705, he convened a council of war on board the
Britannia, consisting of nine generals and a brigadier, with two
colonels on the staff. The king and the Prince of Hesse Darmstadt
were present, but took no part in the deliberations. Singularly
enough the council proved unanimous in their opinion that
Barcelona should not be attacked. The reasons for the decision
were drawn up and put on record. The council pointed out all the
difficulties which existed, and declared the strength of the
allied army to be only nineteen battalions of foot and two
cavalry regiments, of whom no more than seven thousand men were
fit for action, and only one hundred and twenty dragoon horses
had survived the voyage in serviceable condition.</p>

<p>The decision of the council was most opposed to the hopes and
wishes of Charles and the Prince of Hesse Darmstadt, and they
addressed letters of strong remonstrance to Lord Peterborough,
urging that to abandon the expedition at this juncture would be
alike fatal to the common cause and discreditable to the British
arms.</p>

<p>Meanwhile, however, the greater part of the troops had landed
without opposition; but the sea broke with such force on the
beach that much difficulty had been experienced in getting
ashore. The landing place had been well chosen by Lord
Peterborough and Sir Cloudesley Shovel. It was about two miles
east of the city, near a place called Badalona, and close to the
mouth of the little river Basoz. The transports were moored in as
close as possible, and the boats of the fleet carried three
thousand men ashore each trip.</p>

<p>In five hours fifteen battalions were landed without the loss
of a man. A strong natural position about a mile from the city
was chosen for the encampment; its left rested on the sea, its
right was covered by several abrupt hills and defiles through
which the river Basoz flowed. The front was, however, much
extended, but this mattered the less, as the people from the
neighboring villages began to assemble when the landing took
place, and welcomed the allies of King Charles with joy. A number
of these were employed by Lord Peterborough in guarding the
advanced posts and covering the numerous roads leading from the
city toward the camp.</p>

<p>On the 22d another council of war was held at the Dutch
General Schratenbach's quarters in the camp to consider two
letters of the king, in which he again urged the allied generals
to attack the city. He proposed that a battery of fifty guns
should be erected to breach the wall between two of the bastions,
and that the whole strength of the army should be thrown upon an
assault. He acknowledged the force of the several objections to
the attack, but urged that in such a case vigorous action was the
safest. He dwelt upon the ruin that must fall upon such of his
subjects as had declared for him if abandoned to their fate, and
concluded by declaring that he at least would not desert
them.</p>

<p>The appeal failed to move any of the council with the
exception of Peterborough himself, and he alone voted, although
in opposition to his own judgment, in compliance with the king's
plan. Notwithstanding the adverse decision of the council the
horses and dragoons were landed on the 24th.</p>

<p>On the 25th, the 26th, and the 28th the council again
assembled to deliberate upon an earnest request of the king that
they should attempt the siege for a period of eighteen days. The
first decision was adverse, two only voting with Lord
Peterborough for the siege. At the second council, his influence
succeeded in obtaining a majority; but at the third, they agreed
to abandon the attempt, even the commander in chief
concurring.</p>

<p>The cause of this sudden reversal of their opinion was that
none of the workmen whom they had demanded from the leaders of
the Catalan peasantry had appeared, and they felt it impossible
to carry on the works and erect the siege batteries without such
assistance. Nevertheless the peasantry gave effectual aid in
landing the artillery, tents, ammunition, and stores. On the 28th
the king landed amid a great concourse of people, who received
him with every demonstration of enthusiasm, and he could with
difficulty make his way through them to the camp prepared for him
near San Martino.</p>

<p>The presence of the king on shore added to the difficulties of
the situation. He and his following of German courtiers
complained bitterly of the disinclination of the allies to
undertake the siege, while the allies were incensed against those
who reproached them for not undertaking impossibilities.
Dissension spread between the allies themselves, and the Dutch
general declared that he would disobey the orders of the
commander in chief rather than vainly sacrifice his men.</p>

<p>Peterborough was driven nearly out of his mind by the
reproaches and recrimination to which he was exposed, and the
quarrels which took place around him. He was most anxious to
carry out his instructions, and as far as possible to defer to
the opinion of Charles, but he was also bound by the decisions of
the councils of war, which were exactly opposite to the wishes of
the king.</p>

<p>The Prince of Hesse Darmstadt enraged him by insisting that
fifteen hundred disorderly peasants whom he had raised were an
army, and should be paid as regular soldiers from the military
chest, while they would submit to no discipline and refused to
labor in the trenches, and an open rupture took place, when the
prince, in his vexation at the results of the councils of war,
even went so far as to accuse the earl of having used secret
influence to thwart the enterprise.</p>

<p>To add to the difficulties of the commander in chief the
English troops were loud in their complaints against him for
having landed and committed them to this apparently hopeless
enterprise; but they nevertheless clamored to be led against the
town, that they might not be said to have "come like fools and
gone like cowards."</p>

<p>Lord Peterborough confided his trouble and vexation freely to
his young secretary. Jack was sincerely attached to his generous
and eccentric chief, and the general was gratified by the young
officer's readiness at all times and hours to come to him and
write from his dictation the long letters and dispatches which he
sent home. He saw, too, that he was thoroughly trustworthy, and
could be relied upon to keep absolute silence as to the
confidences which he made him.</p>

<p>In the midst of all these quarrels and disputes the siege was
carried on in a languid manner. A battery of fifty heavy guns,
supplied by the ships and manned by seamen, was placed upon a
rising ground flanked by two deep ravines, and on several of the
adjacent hills batteries of light field guns had been raised.
Three weeks were consumed in these comparatively unimportant
operations, and no real advance toward the capture of the place
had been effected. Something like a blockade, however, had been
established, for the Catalan peasants guarded vigilantly every
approach to the town.</p>

<p>The officers of the fleet were no less discontented than their
brethren on shore at the feeble conduct of the siege, and had
they been consulted they would have been in favor of a direct
attack upon the city with scaling ladders, as if they had been
about to board a hostile ship. But Peterborough and his officers
were well aware that such an attack against a city defended by a
superior force would be simple madness, and even an attack by
regular approaches, with the means and labor at their disposal,
would have had no chance of success. But while all on shore and
in the fleet were chafing at the slowness and hopelessness of the
siege, Jack Stilwell was alone aware that the commander in chief
did not share in the general despair of any good arising from the
operations.</p>

<p>Lord Peterborough had little communication with the other
generals; but, alone in his tent with Jack and an interpreter, he
occupied himself from morning till night in examining peasants
and spies as to every particular of the fortifications of the
city, of the ground near to the walls, and of the habits and
proceedings of the garrison. At last he resolved upon an attempt
which, in its daring and enterprise, is almost without parallel.
Indeed its only hope of success lay in its boldness, for neither
friend nor foe could anticipate that it would be attempted. It
was no less than the surprise of the citadel of Montjuich.</p>

<p>This formidable stronghold covered the weakest part of the
defenses, that toward the southwest, and far exceeded in strength
any other part of the lines. It had been most skillfully
designed. The ditches were deep, and the walls firm; the outworks
skillfully planned; the batteries well armed, and the inner
defenses formidable in themselves. It was, in fact, by far the
strongest point in the position of the besieged. Standing on a
commanding height, it was abundantly capable of defense even
against a regular siege, and its reduction was always regarded as
a most formidable enterprise, to be undertaken at leisure after
the capture of the town. Its only weakness lay in the fact that
surrounding it on every side were numerous ravines and hollows,
which would afford concealment to an assailant, and that trusting
to the extraordinary strength of their position the garrison of
Montjuich might neglect proper precautions.</p>

<p>One morning before daybreak the earl, accompanied only by Jack
and a native guide, left the camp on foot, having laid aside
their uniforms and put on the attire of peasants, so that the
glitter of their accouterments might not attract the attention of
the enemy's outposts. Making a long detour they approached the
castle, and ascending one of the ravines gained a point where,
themselves unseen, they could mark all particulars of the
fortifications. Having carried out his purpose the earl returned
to camp with his companion without his absence having been
observed. The observations which Peterborough had made confirmed
the reports of the peasants, that the garrison kept but a
negligent watch, and he at once resolved upon making the attempt;
but to none of his most intimate friends did he give the
slightest hint of his intentions.</p>

<p>To disguise his views he called councils of war both in the
camp and fleet, wherein it was resolved, with his full consent,
that the siege of Barcelona should be abandoned, and that the
army should be immediately re-embarked and conveyed to Italy.
Accordingly the heavy artillery was conveyed on board ship, the
warlike stores collected, and the troops warned to be ready for
embarkation. A storm of reproaches was poured upon the earl by
Charles and his courtiers. The officers of the fleet protested
openly, declaring that an assault ought to be attempted, and that
it was too late in the season to attempt operations
elsewhere.</p>

<p>To Jack's surprise his commander, usually so hasty, irritable,
and passionate, bore with the greatest calmness and patience the
reproaches and accusations to which he was exposed. No one
dreamed that behind these preparations for embarkation any plan
of attack was hidden.</p>

<p>On the 13th of September the army received orders to embark on
the morrow, while within the town the garrison and the
inhabitants, who were, or pretended to be, well affected to the
Bourbons held high rejoicing at the approaching departure.</p>

<p>On the afternoon of that day a detachment of English and Dutch
troops twelve hundred strong was ordered to assemble in the
allied camp for the purpose, as was supposed, of covering the
embarkation. Scaling ladders and everything necessary for an
assault had already been privately prepared by the Catalan
peasants under Peterborough's instructions.</p>

<p>About six o'clock in the evening four hundred grenadiers of
the party assembled under the command of Hon. Colonel Southwell,
and were ordered to march by the Serria road, as if en route to
Taragona to meet the fleet and embark in that harbor. The
remainder of the detachment followed in support at some little
distance. At nightfall the Prince of Hesse Darmstadt was
surprised by Lord Peterborough's entrance into his quarters.
Since their rupture all intercourse had ceased between them.</p>

<p>"I have determined," the earl said, "to make this night an
attack upon the enemy. You may now, if you please, be a judge of
our behavior, and see whether my officers and soldiers really
deserve the bad character which you of late have so readily
imputed to them." He then explained that the troops were already
on their march to Montjuich.</p>

<p>The prince immediately ordered his horse, and the two gallant
but impulsive and singular men rode off, followed only by Jack
Stillwell and the prince's aide de camp. At ten o'clock they
overtook the troops, and Peterborough ordered a total change of
route, he himself leading.</p>

<p>The roads were winding, narrow, and difficult. For a great
part of the way there was only room for the men to march in
single file. The night was very dark, and the detachment many
hours on the march, so that daylight was just breaking when they
reached the foot of the hill on which the fort of Montjuich
stood.</p>

<p>The troops under Peterborough's command now perceived the
object of their march, and imagined that they would be led to the
attack before the day had fairly broke; but the general had well
considered the subject, and had determined to avoid the risk and
confusion of a night assault. He called his officers together and
explained to them why he did not mean to attack till broad
daylight.</p>

<p>His examination of the place had shown him that the ditches
could be crossed, no palisades or barriers having been erected.
He had noticed, too, that the inner works were not sufficiently
high to enable their guns properly to command the outer works
should these be carried by an enemy. He had therefore determined
to carry the outworks by assault, judging that if he captured
them the inner works could not long resist. In case of a reverse,
or to enable him to take advantage of success, he told them that
he had ordered Brigadier General Stanhope to march during the
night with a thousand infantry and the handful of cavalry to a
convent lying halfway between the camp and the city, and there to
hold himself in reserve.</p>

<p>Peterborough now silently and coolly completed his
arrangements for the assault. He divided the body of troops into
three parties; the first of these, two hundred and eighty strong,
were to attack the bastion facing the town, which was the
strongest part of the defense. He himself and the Prince of Hesse
accompanied this party. A lieutenant and thirty men formed the
advance, a captain and fifty more were the support, and the
remaining two hundred men were to form in the rear.</p>

<p>The orders were that they should push forward in spite of the
enemy's fire, leap into the ditch, drive the garrison before
them, and if possible enter the works with them; but, if not, to
obtain at least a firm footing on the outer defenses. The second
party, similar in strength and formation, under the command of
the Hon. Colonel Southwell, were to attack an unfinished
demibastion on the extreme western point of the fort and
furthermost from the town. The remainder of the little force,
under a Dutch colonel, were to be held in reserve, and to assist
wherever they might be most useful. They occupied a position
somewhat in rear of and halfway between the two parties who were
to make the assault.</p>

<p>Soon after daylight Peterborough gave the order to advance,
and in the highest spirits, and in excellent order, the soldiers
pushed up the hill toward the fort. Some irregular Spanish troops
were the first to perceive them. These fired a hasty volley at
the British troops as they ascended the crest and then retreated
into the fort. Seizing their arms the garrison rushed to the
ramparts and manned them in time to receive the assailants with a
sharp fire. The grenadiers who formed the leading party did not
hesitate for a moment, but leaped into the unfinished ditch,
clambered up the outer rampart, and with pike and bayonet
attacked the defenders.</p>

<p>The captain's detachment speedily joined them. The defenders
gave way, broke, and fled, and in wild confusion both parties
rushed into the bastion. Peterborough and the prince with their
two hundred men followed them quickly and in perfect order, and
were soon masters of the bastion. The earl at once set his men to
work to throw up a breastwork to cover them from the guns of the
inner works; and as there was plenty of materials collected just
at this spot for the carrying out of some extensive repairs, they
were able to put themselves under cover before the enemy opened
fire upon them.</p>

<p>The attention of the garrison was wholly occupied by this
sudden and unexpected attack, and the Prince della Torrella, a
Neapolitan officer in temporary command of the fort, ordered all
his force to oppose the assailants. This was what Peterborough
had expected. He at once sent orders to Colonel Southwell to
commence his attack upon the now almost undefended west bastion.
The order was promptly obeyed. At the first rush the ditch was
passed, the rampart gained, the outer walls scaled, and three
guns taken without the loss of a man.</p>

<p>The defenders hastened at once to meet this new danger. They
opened a heavy fire upon the British, and sallying out,
endeavored to retake the outer rampart with the bayonet. A
desperate contest ensued; but though many of the English officers
and soldiers fell, they would not yield a foot of the position
they had captured. Colonel Southwell, a man of great personal
strength and daring, was in the struggle three times surrounded
by the enemy; but each time he cut his way out in safety.</p>

<p>The sally was at last repulsed, and the English intrenched
their position and turned their captured guns against the fort.
While both the assaulting columns were occupied in intrenching
themselves there was a lull in the battle. The besieged could not
venture to advance against either, as they would have been
exposed to the fire of the other, and to the risk of a flank
attack.</p>

<p>Peterborough exerted himself to the utmost. He ordered up the
thousand men under General Stanhope and made prodigious exertions
to get some guns and mortars into position upon the newly won
ramparts.</p>

<p>Great was the consternation and astonishment in Barcelona when
a loud roar of musketry broke out round the citadel, and Velasco,
the governor, was thunderstruck to find himself threatened in
this vital point by an enemy whose departure he had, the evening
before, been celebrating. The assembly was sounded, and the
church bells pealed out the alarm.</p>

<p>The troops ran to their places of assembly, the fortifications
round the town were manned, and a body of four hundred mounted
grenadiers under the Marquis de Risbourg hurried off to the
succor of Montjuich. The earl had been sure that such a movement
would be made. He could not spare men from his own scanty force
to guard the roads between the city and the castle, but he had
posted a number of the armed Spanish peasants who were in the pay
of the army in a narrow gorge, where, with hardly any risk to
themselves, they might easily have prevented the horsemen from
passing. The peasants, however, fired a hurried volley and then
fled in all directions.</p>

<p>Lord Peterborough learned a lesson here which he never forgot,
namely, that these Spanish irregulars, useful as they might be in
harassing an enemy or pursuing a beaten foe, were utterly
untrustworthy in any plan of combined action. The succor,
therefore, reached Montjuich in safety; two hundred of the men
dismounted and entered the fort; the remainder, leading their
horses, returned to Barcelona.</p>

<p>The Marquis de Risbourg had no sooner entered the fort and
taken the command than he adopted a stratagem which nearly proved
fatal to the English hopes of success. He ordered his men to
shout "Long live Charles the Third !" and threw open the gates of
the fort as if to surrender. The Prince of Hesse Darmstadt, who
commanded at this point, was completely deceived, and he ordered
Colonel Allen to advance with two hundred and fifty men, while he
himself followed with a company in reserve, believing that the
Spanish garrison had declared for King Charles.</p>

<p>The British advanced eagerly and in some disorder into the
ditch, when a terrible fire of musketry was suddenly opened upon
them from the front and flank. In vain they tried to defend
themselves; the brave prince was struck down by a mortal wound
while endeavoring to encourage them, and was carried to the rear,
and Allen and two hundred men were taken prisoners. The prince
expired a few minutes later before there was time for a doctor to
examine his wound.</p>

<p>Peterborough, who had come up just at the end of the struggle,
remained with him till he died, and then hurried off to retrieve
the fortune of the day, which, during these few minutes, had
greatly changed. Velasco had dispatched three thousand men, as
fast as they could be got together, to follow Risbourg's dragoons
to the succor of the fort, and these were already in sight. But
this was not all. One of the strange panics which occasionally
attack even the best troops had seized the British in the
bastion.</p>

<p>Without any apparent cause, without a shot being fired at them
from the fort, they fell into confusion. Their commander, Lord
Charlemont, shared the panic, and gave orders for a retreat. The
march soon became a rout, and the men fled in confusion from the
position which they had just before so bravely won.</p>

<p>Captain Carleton, a staff officer, disengaged himself from the
throng of fugitives and rode off to inform the earl, who was
reconnoitering the approaching Spaniards, of what had taken
place. Peterborough at once turned his horse, and, followed by
Carleton and Jack Stilwell, galloped up the hill. He drew his
sword and threw away the scabbard as he met the troops, already
halfway down the hill, and, dismounting, shouted to them:</p>

<p>"I am sure all brave men will follow me. Will you bear the
infamy of having deserted your post and forsaken your
general?"</p>

<p>The appeal was not in vain. Ashamed of their late panic the
fugitives halted, faced about, and pressed after him up the hill,
and, on reaching the top, found that, strangely enough, the
garrison had not discovered that the bastion had been abandoned,
for in their retreat the English were hidden from the sight of
those in the inner works.</p>

<p>The Marquis de Risbourg, instead of following up his
advantage, had at once left Montjuich at the side near the city,
taking Colonel Allen and the prisoners with him, and pushed on
toward Barcelona. Halfway down he met the reinforcement of three
thousand men. The prisoners, on being questioned, informed the
Spanish commander that Lord Peterborough and the Prince of Hesse
led the attack in person.</p>

<p>Thereupon the officer commanding the reinforcements concluded
that the whole of the allied army was round the castle, and that
he would be risking destruction if he pushed on. He therefore
turned and marched back to the city. Had he continued his way
Peterborough's force must have been destroyed, as Stanhope had
not yet come up, and he had with him only the little force with
which he had marched out from camp, of whom more than a fourth
were already captured or slain. Such are the circumstances upon
which the fate of battles and campaigns depend.</p>

<h1 align="CENTER"><a name="CHAPTER_VIII"></a>CHAPTER VIII: A
TUMULT IN THE CITY</h1>

<p>As the Spanish column retired to Barcelona under the idea that
the whole English army was on the hill, the Miquelets, as the
armed bands of peasants were called, swarmed down from the hills.
Incapable of withstanding an attack by even a small force, they
were in their element in harassing a large one in retreat.
Halfway between Montjuich and the town was the small fort of San
Bertram. The garrison, seeing the column in retreat toward the
town, pursued by the insurgent peasantry, feared that they
themselves would be cut off, and so abandoned their post and
joined the retreat.</p>

<p>The peasants at once took possession of San Bertram, where
there were five light guns. As soon as the news reached
Peterborough he called together two hundred men and led them down
to the little fort. Ropes were fastened to the guns, and with
forty men to each gun these were quickly run up the hill and
placed in position in the captured bastions. So quickly was this
done that in less than an hour from the abandonment of San
Bertram by the Spanish the guns had opened fire upon
Montjuich.</p>

<p>While the troops worked these five guns and the three captured
in Southwell's first attack Jack Stilwell was sent off on
horseback at full speed with an order for the landing of the
heavy guns and mortars from the fleet. The news of the attack on
Montjuich and the retreat of the Spanish column spread with
rapidity through the country, and swarms of armed peasants
flocked in. These the earl dispersed among the ravines and groves
round the city, so as to prevent any parties from coining out to
ascertain what was going on round Montjuich, and to mask the
movements of the besiegers.</p>

<p>Velasco appeared paralyzed by the energy and daring of his
opponent, and although he had in hand a force equal if not
superior to that which Peterborough could dispose of, he allowed
two days to pass without attempting to relieve Montjuich. In
those two days wonders had been performed by the soldiers and
sailors, who toiled unweariedly in dragging the heavy guns from
the landing place to the hill of Montjuich. The light cannon of
the besiegers had had but little effect upon the massive walls of
the fortress, and the Prince Caraccioli held out for two days
even against the heavier metal of the mortars and siege guns that
were quickly brought to bear upon him.</p>

<p>On the 17th, however, Colonel Southwell by a well aimed shot
brought the siege to a close. He noticed that a small chapel
within the fort appeared to be specially guarded by the besieged,
and ordered a Dutch sergeant of artillery, who was working a
heavy mortar, to try to drop a shell upon it. The artilleryman
made several attempts, but each time missed the mark. Colonel
Southwell undertook the management of the mortar himself, and
soon succeeded in dropping a shell upon the roof of the building,
which proved, as he had suspected, to be in use as a magazine.
There was a tremendous explosion, the chapel was shattered into
fragments, Caraccioli and three other officers were killed, and a
great breach was blown in the main rampart.</p>

<p>A loud cheer broke from the besiegers, and Colonel Southwell
at once put himself at the head of the men in the trenches and
advanced to storm the breach before the enemy could recover from
their confusion. The disastrous effects of the explosion had,
however, scared all idea of further resistance out of the minds
of the defenders, who at once rushed out of the works and called
out that they surrendered, the senior surviving officer and his
companions delivering up their swords to Colonel Southwell, and
begging that protection might at once be given to their soldiers
from the Miquelets, whose ferocity was as notorious then as it
was a hundred years afterward.</p>

<p>Peterborough appointed Colonel Southwell governor of
Montjuich, and at once turned his attention to the city. The
brilliant result of the attack on the citadel had silenced all
murmurs and completely restored Lord Peterborough's authority.
Soldiers and sailors vied with each other in their exertions to
get the guns into position, and the Miquelets, largely increased
in number, became for once orderly and active, and labored
steadily in the trenches.</p>

<p>The main army conducted the attack from the side at which it
had been originally commenced, while General Stanhope, his force
considerably increased by troops from the main body, conducted
the attack from the side of Montjuich. Four batteries of heavy
guns and two of mortars soon opened fire upon the city, while the
smaller vessels of the fleet moved close in to the shore and
threw shot and shell into the town.</p>

<p>A breach was soon effected in the rampart, and Velasco was
summoned to surrender; but he refused to do so, although his
position had become almost desperate. The disaffection of the
inhabitants was now openly shown. The soldiers had lost
confidence and heart, and the loyalty of many of them was more
than doubtful. The governor arrested many of the mutinous
soldiers and hostile citizens, and turned numbers of them out of
the city.</p>

<p>On the 3d of October the English engineers declared the breach
on the side of Montjuich to be practicable, and Peterborough
himself wrote to the governor offering honorable terms of
capitulation, but declaring that if these were rejected he would
not renew his offer.</p>

<p>Velasco again refused. He had erected a formidable
intrenchment within the breach, and had sunk two mines beneath
the ruins in readiness to blow the assailing columns into the
air.</p>

<p>The guns again opened fire, and in a very short time a Dutch
artillery officer threw two shells upon the intrenchment and
almost destroyed it, while a third fell on the breach itself, and
crashing through the rubbish fired Velasco's two mines and
greatly enlarged the breach. The earl could now have carried the
town by storm had he chosen, but with his usual magnanimity to
the vanquished he again wrote to Velasco and summoned him to
surrender.</p>

<p>The governor had now no hope of a successful resistance, and
he therefore agreed to surrender in four days should no relief
arrive. The terms agreed upon were that the garrison should march
out with all the honors of war, and should be transported by sea
to San Felix, and escorted thence to Gerona; but as a few hours
later the news arrived that Gerona had declared for King Charles,
Velasco requested to be conveyed to Rosas instead. The
capitulation was signed on the 9th of October, and the garrison
were preparing to march out on the 14th, when, in the English
camp, the sound of a tumult in the city was heard.</p>

<p>"Quick, Stilwell!" the earl cried, running out of his tent,
"to horse! The rascals inside are breaking out into a riot, and
there will be a massacre unless I can put a stop to it."</p>

<p>The earl leaped on to his horse, called to a few orderly
dragoons who were at hand to accompany him, and ordered that four
companies of grenadiers should follow as quickly as possible.</p>

<p>Galloping at full speed Peterborough soon arrived at the gate
of San Angelo, and ordered the Spanish guard to open it. This
they did without hesitation, and followed by his little party he
rode into the city. All was uproar and confusion. The repressive
measures which the governor had been obliged to take against the
disaffected had added to the Catalan hatred of the French, and
the Austrian party determined to have vengeance upon the
governor. A report was circulated that he intended to carry away
with him a number of the principal inhabitants in spite of the
articles of capitulation. This at once stirred up the people to
fury, and they assailed and plundered the houses of the French
and of the known partisans of the Duke d'Anjou.</p>

<p>They then turned upon the governor and garrison. The latter
dispersed through the city, and, unprepared for attack, would
speedily have been massacred had not their late enemy been at
hand to save them. Peterborough, with his little party of
dragoons, rode through the streets exhorting, entreating, and
commanding the rioters to abstain. When, as in some cases, the
mob refused to listen to him, and continued their work, the
dragoons belabored them heartily with the flats of their swords;
and the surprise caused by seeing the British uniforms in their
midst, and their ignorance of how many of the British had
entered, did more even than the efforts of the dragoons to allay
the tumult. Many ladies of quality had taken refuge in the
convent, and Peterborough at once placed a guard over this.</p>

<p>Dashing from street to street, unattended even by his
dragoons, Peterborough came upon a lady and gentleman struggling
with the mob, who were about to ill treat them. He charged into
the thick of the tumult.</p>

<p>His hat had been lost in the fray, and the mob, not
recognizing the strange figure as the redoubted English general,
resisted, and one discharged a musket at him at a distance of a
few feet, but the ball passed through his periwig without
touching the head under it.</p>

<p>Fortunately two or three of his dragoons now rode up, and he
was able to carry the lady and gentleman to their house hard by,
when, to his satisfaction, he found that the gentleman he had
saved was the Duke of Popoli, and the lady his wife, celebrated
as one of the most beautiful women in Europe.</p>

<p>Jack Stilwell had soon after they entered the town become
separated from his general. Seeing a mob gathered before a house
in a side street, and hearing screams, he turned off and rode
into the middle of the crowd. Spurring his horse and making him
rear, he made his way through them to the door, and then leaping
off, drawing as he did so a pistol from his holster, he ran
upstairs.</p>

<p>It was a large and handsomely furnished house. On the first
floor was a great corridor. A number of men were gathered round a
doorway. Within he heard the clashing of steel and the shouts of
men in conflict. Bursting his way in through the doorway he
entered the room.</p>

<p>In a corner, at the furthest end, crouched a lady holding a
little boy in her arms. Before her stood a Spanish gentleman,
sword in hand. A servant, also armed, stood by him. They were
hard pressed, for six or eight men with swords and pikes were
cutting and thrusting at them. Three servants lay dead upon the
ground, and seven or eight of the townspeople were also lying
dead or wounded. Jack rushed forward, and with his pistol shot
the man who appeared to be the leader of the assailants, and
then, drawing his sword, placed himself before the gentleman and
shouted to the men to lay down their arms. The latter, astounded
at the appearance of an English officer, drew back. Seeing he was
alone, they would, however, have renewed the attack, but Jack ran
to the window and opened it, and shouted as if to some soldiers
below.</p>

<p>The effect was instantaneous. The men dropped upon their
knees, and throwing down their arms begged for mercy. Jack
signified that he granted it, and motioned to them to carry off
their dead and wounded comrades. Some of the men in the corridor
came in to aid them in so doing. Jack, sword in hand, accompanied
them to the door, and saw them out of the house. Then he told a
boy to hold his horse, and closing the door returned upstairs. He
found the gentleman sitting on a chair exhausted, while his wife,
crying partly from relief, partly from anxiety, was endeavoring
to stanch the blood which flowed from several wounds.</p>

<p>Jack at once aided her in the task, and signed to the servant
to bring something to drink. The man ran to a buffet and produced
some cordials. Jack filled a glass and placed it at the lips of
the wounded man, who, after drinking it, gradually recovered his
strength.</p>

<p>"My name, sir," he said, "is Count Julian de Minas, and I owe
you my life and that of my wife and child. To whom am I indebted
so much?"</p>

<p>Jack did not, of course, understand his words, but the title
caught his ear, and he guessed that the Spaniard was introducing
himself.</p>

<p>"My name is Stilwell," Jack said; "I am one of General
Peterborough's aides de camp. I am very glad to be of assistance;
and now, seeing you are so far recovered, I must leave you, for
there is much to do in the town, and the general has entered with
only a few troops. I think you need not fear any return on the
part of these ruffians. The English troops will enter the town in
the coarse of a few hours."</p>

<p>So saying Jack immediately hurried away, and mounting his
horse rode off to find the general.</p>

<p>The news that Lord Peterborough and the English had entered
spread rapidly through the city, and the rioters, fearing to
excite the wrath of the man who in a few hours would be master of
the town, scattered to their homes, and when all was quiet
Peterborough again rode off to the camp with his troops and there
waited quietly until the hour appointed for the capitulation. The
Spanish then marched out, and the earl entered with a portion of
his troops.</p>

<p>He at once issued a proclamation that if any person had any
lawful grievances against the late governor they should go to the
town house and lay them in proper form, and that he would see
that justice was done. An hour later some of the principal
inhabitants waited upon him, and asked which churches he desired
to have for the exercise of his religion. He replied:</p>

<p>"Wherever I have my quarters I shall have conveniency enough
to worship God, and as for the army they will strictly follow the
rules of war, and perform divine service among themselves without
giving any offense to any one."</p>

<p>This answer gave great satisfaction to the people, as the
French had spread a report among them that the Protestants, if
they captured the town, would take their churches from them.</p>

<p>In the evening the earl gave a great banquet, at which he
entertained all the people of distinction of both parties, and
his courtesy and affability at once won for him the confidence of
all with whom he came in contact. The next day the shops were all
opened, the markets filled, and there were no signs that the
tranquillity of Barcelona had ever been disturbed. Soon after
breakfast Jack, who was quartered in the governor's palace with
the general, was informed that a gentleman wished to speak to
him, and the Count de Minas was shown in. He took Jack's hand and
bowed profoundly. As conversation was impossible Jack told his
orderly to fetch one of the interpreters attached to the
general.</p>

<p>"I tried to come last night," the count said, "but I found
that I was too weak to venture out. I could not understand what
you said when you went away so suddenly, but I guessed that it
was the call of duty. I did not know your name, but inquiring
this morning who were the officers that entered with the general
yesterday, I was told that his aide de camp, Lieutenant Stilwell,
was alone with him. That is how I found you. And now, let me
again thank you for the immense service you have rendered me and
my wife and child. Remember, henceforth the life of the Count de
Minas and all that he possesses is at your service."</p>

<p>When the interpreter had translated this, Jack said in some
confusion, "I am very glad, count, to have been of service to
you. It was a piece of good fortune, indeed, on my part that I
happened so providentially to ride along at the right moment. I
was about this morning to do myself the honor of calling to
inquire how the countess and yourself were after the terrible
scene of yesterday."</p>

<p>"The countess prayed me to bring you round to her," the count
said. "Will you do me the honor of accompanying me now?"</p>

<p>Jack at once assented, and, followed by the interpreter,
proceeded with the count to his house. The room into which the
count led him was not that in which the fray had taken place the
day before. The countess rose as they entered, and Jack saw that,
though still pale and shaken by the events of the previous day,
she was a singularly beautiful woman.</p>

<p>"Ah, senor," she said, advancing to meet him, and taking his
hand and laying it against her heart, "how can I thank you for
the lives of my husband and my boy! One more minute and you would
have arrived too late. It seemed to me as if heaven had opened
and an angel had come to our aid when you entered."</p>

<p>Jack colored up hotly as the interpreter translated the words.
If he had expressed his thoughts he would have said, "Please
don't make any more fuss about it;" but he found that Spanish
courtesy required much more than this, so he answered:</p>

<p>"Countess, the moment was equally fortunate to me, and I shall
ever feel grateful that I have been permitted to be of service to
so beautiful a lady."</p>

<p>The countess smiled as Jack's words were translated.</p>

<p>"I did not know that you English were flatterers," she said.
"They told us that you were uncouth islanders, but I see that
they have calumniated you."</p>

<p>"I hope some day," Jack said, "that I shall be able to talk to
you without the aid of an interpreter. It is very difficult to
speak when every word has to be translated."</p>

<p>For a quarter of an hour the conversation was continued, the
count and countess asking questions about England. At the end of
that time Jack thought he might venture to take his leave. The
count accompanied him to the door, and begged him to consider his
house as his own, and then with many bows on each side Jack made
his way into the street.</p>

<p>"Confound all this Spanish politeness!" he muttered to
himself; "it's very grand and stately, I have no doubt, but it's
a horrible nuisance; and as to talking through an interpreter,
it's like repeating lessons, only worse. I should like to see a
man making a joke through an interpreter, and waiting to see how
it told. I must get up a little Spanish as soon as possible. The
earl has picked up a lot already, and there will be no fun to be
had here in Spain unless one can make one's self understood."</p>

<p>The next day there were rumors current that the population
were determined to take vengeance upon Velasco. The earl marched
eight hundred men into the town, placed the governor in their
center and escorted him to the shore, and so took him safely on
board a ship. He was conveyed, by his own desire, to Alicante, as
the revolt had spread so rapidly through Catalonia that Rosas was
now the only town which favored the cause of the Duke
d'Anjou.</p>

<p>The capture of Barcelona takes its place as one of the most
brilliant feats in military history, and reflects extraordinary
credit upon its general, who exhibited at once profound prudence,
faithful adherence to his sovereign's orders, patience and self
command under the ill concealed hatred of many of those with whom
he had to cooperate -- the wrong headedness of the king, the
insolence of the German courtiers, the supineness of the Dutch,
the jealousy of his own officers, and the open discontent of the
army and navy -- and a secrecy marvelously kept up for many weary
and apparently hopeless days.</p>

<p>On the 28th of October King Charles made his public entry into
Barcelona, and for some days the city was the scene of continual
fetes. The whole province rose in his favor, and the gentlemen of
the district poured into the town to offer their homage to the
king. Only about one thousand men of the Spanish garrison had to
be conveyed to Rosas in accordance with the terms of
capitulation, the rest of the troops taking the oath of
allegiance to King Charles and being incorporated with the allied
army.</p>

<p>Jack Stilwell entered into the festivities with the enjoyment
of youth. The officers of the allied army were made much of by
the inhabitants, and Jack, as one of the general's aides de camp,
was invited to every fete and festivity. The Count de Minas
introduced him to many of the leading nobles of the city as the
preserver of his life; but his inability to speak the language
deprived him of much of the pleasure which he would otherwise
have obtained, and, like many of the other officers, he set to
work in earnest to acquire some knowledge of it. In one of the
convents were some Scottish monks, and for three or four hours
every morning Jack worked regularly with one of them.</p>

<p>Although Lord Peterborough threw himself heart and soul into
the festivities, he worked with equal ardor at the military
preparations. But here, as before, his plans for energetic action
were thwarted by the Germans and Dutch. At last, however, his
energy, aided by the active spirit of the king, prevailed, and
preparations were made for the continuance of the campaign. The
season was so late that no further operations could be undertaken
by sea, and the allied fleet therefore sailed for England and
Holland, leaving four English and two Dutch frigates in support
of the land forces at Barcelona.</p>

<p>Garrisons of regular troops were dispatched to the various
towns which had either declared for the king or had been captured
by the Miquelets headed by the Marquis of Cifuentes, engineer
officers being also sent to put them in a state of defense. Of
these Tortosa was, from its position, the most important, as it
commanded the bridge of boats on the Ebro, the main communication
between Aragon and Valencia. To this town two hundred dragoons
and one thousand foot were sent under Colonel Hans Hamilton. The
king turned his attention to the organization of the Spanish
army. He formed a regiment of five hundred dragoons for his
bodyguard, mounting them upon the horses of the former garrison,
while from these troops, swelled by levies from the province, he
raised six powerful battalions of infantry. He excited, however,
a very unfavorable feeling among the Spaniards by bestowing all
the chief commands in these corps upon his German followers.</p>

<p>But while the conquest of Barcelona had brought the whole of
Catalonia to his side, the cause of King Charles was in other
parts of Spain less flourishing. Lord Galway and General Fagel
had been beaten by Marshal Tesse before Badajos, and the allied
army had retreated into Portugal, leaving the French and Spanish
adherents of Philip free to turn their whole attention against
the allies in Catalonia.</p>

<p>Weary weeks passed on before Lord Peterborough could overcome
the apathy and obstinacy of the Germans and Dutch. At a council
of war held on the 30th of December Peterborough proposed to
divide the army, that he in person would lead half of it to aid
the insurrection which had broken out in Valencia, and that the
other half should march into Aragon; but Brigadier General
Conyngham and the Dutch General Schratenbach strongly opposed
this bold counsel, urging that the troops required repose after
their labors, and that their numbers were hardly sufficient to
guard the province they had won. Such arguments drove
Peterborough almost to madness; the troops had, in fact, gone
through no hard work during the siege of Barcelona, and two
months and a half had elapsed since that city surrendered.
Moreover, far from being reinvigorated from rest, they were
suffering from illness caused by inactivity in an unhealthy
country.</p>

<p>Already all the benefits derivable from the gallant capture of
Barcelona had been lost. The enemy had recovered from the
surprise and dismay excited by that event. The friendly and
wavering, who would at once have risen had the king boldly
advanced after his striking success, had already lost heart and
become dispirited by the want of energy displayed in his after
proceedings, and from all parts of Spain masses of troops were
moving to crush the allies and stamp out the insurrection.</p>

<p>In Valencia only had the partisans of Charles gained
considerable advantages. In the beginning of December Colonel
Nebot, commanding a regiment of Philip's dragoons, declared for
Charles, and, accompanied by four hundred of his men, entered the
town of Denia, where the people and Basset, the governor, at once
declared for Charles.</p>

<p>On the 11th Nebot and Basset attacked the little town of
Xabea, garrisoned by five hundred Biscayans, and carried it, and
the same night took Oliva and Gandia. The next day they pushed on
through Alzira, where they were joined by many of the principal
inhabitants, and a detachment of the dragoons under Nebot's
brother, Alexander, surprised and routed three troops of the
enemy's horse, captured their convoy of ammunition, and pursued
them to the very gates of Valencia.</p>

<p>On the night of the 15th the main body marched from Alzira,
and appeared next morning before Valencia and summoned the town
to surrender. The Marquis de Villa Garcia refused, but Alexander
Nebot put himself at the head of his dragoons and galloped up to
the gates shouting "Long live the king!" The inhabitants
overpowered the guard at the gate and threw it open and Valencia
was taken. When the news of these reverses reached Madrid the
Conde de las Torres, a veteran officer who had seen much service
in the wars of Italy, marched from Madrid in all haste to prevent
if possible the junction of the forces of Catalonia with the
Valencians.</p>

<p>He at once marched upon San Matteo, which lay on the main line
of communication, and commenced a vigorous siege of that city.
The king received the news on the 18th of January, 1706, and
wrote at once to Peterborough, urging him to go to the relief of
San Matteo, but giving him no troops whatever to assist him in
his enterprise; and Peterborough's difficulties were increased by
General Conyngham, who commanded a brigade at Fraga, hastily
falling back upon Lerida upon hearing exaggerated rumors of the
strength of the enemy.</p>

<p>Peterborough, however, did not hesitate a moment, but mounting
his horse, and accompanied only by his aides de camp, Jack
Stilwell and Lieutenant Graham, rode for Tortosa. Changing his
horse at the various towns through which he passed, and riding
almost night and day, he reached Tortosa on the 4th, and at once
summoned the magnates of the town to give information as to the
real state of things. He then found, to his astonishment, that
the details which the king had sent him respecting the force of
the enemy were entirely incorrect. Charles had written that they
were two thousand strong, and that sixteen thousand peasants were
in arms against them, whereas Las Torres had with him seven
thousand good troops, and not a single peasant had taken up
arms.</p>

<p>General Killigrew, who now commanded the two hundred dragoons
and the thousand British infantry at Tortosa, together with his
officers, considered that under such circumstances it was
absolutely hopeless to attempt any movement for the relief of San
Matteo; but Peterborough did not hesitate a moment, and only said
to his officers:</p>

<p>"Unless I can raise that siege our affairs are desperate, and
therefore capable only of desperate remedies. Be content; let me
try my fortune, whether I cannot by diligence and surprise effect
that which by downright force is apparently impracticable."</p>

<p>The officers had unbounded confidence in their general, and
although the enterprise appeared absolutely hopeless, they at
once agreed to undertake it. Accordingly the three weak English
regiments marched from Tortosa under Killigrew, and the next day
the earl followed with the dragoons and a party of Miquelets, and
overtook the infantry that night. The next morning he broke up
his little army into small detachments in order that they might
march more rapidly, and, dividing the Miquelets among them as
guides, ordered them to assemble at Fraiguesa, two leagues from
San Matteo.</p>

<p>The advance was admirably managed. Small parties of dragoons
and Miquelets went on ahead along each of the roads to occupy the
passes among the hills. When arrived at these points they had
strict orders to let no one pass them until the troops appeared
in sight, when the advance again pushed forward and secured
another position for the same purpose.</p>

<p>Thus no indication of his coming preceded him; and the troops
arriving together with admirable punctuality before Fraiguesa,
the place was taken by surprise, and guards were at once mounted
on its gates, with orders to prevent any one from leaving the
town on any excuse whatever. Thus while the English force were
within two leagues of San Matteo, Las Torres remained in absolute
ignorance that any hostile force was advancing against him.
Graham and Jack were nearly worn out by the exertions which they
had undergone with their indefatigable general. They had ridden
for three days and nights almost without sleep, and on their
arrival at Tortosa were engaged unceasingly in carrying out their
chief's instructions, in making preparations for the advance, and
in obtaining every possible information as to the country to be
traversed.</p>

<p>Both the young officers had now begun to speak Spanish. A
residence of four months in the country, constant communication
with the natives, and two months and a half steady work with an
instructor had enabled them to make great progress, and they were
now able to communicate without difficulty with the Spaniards
with whom they came in contact.</p>

<h1 align="CENTER"><a name="CHAPTER_IX"></a>CHAPTER IX: THE
ADVANCE INTO VALENCIA</h1>

<p>The Earl of Peterborough had not satisfied himself with
depriving the enemy of all information as to his advance. He took
steps to confuse and alarm them by false news. By means of large
bribes he prevailed upon two peasants to carry each a copy of the
same letter to Colonel Jones, who commanded in San Matteo. He
took the further step of insuring their loyalty by arresting
their families as hostages, and, moreover, took care that they
should know nothing as to the real state of things that they
could report if treacherously inclined.</p>

<p>He arranged that one of them should go in first and, passing
through the besiegers' lines, should arouse their suspicions, and
should then, when arrested, give up the letter concealed upon
him, and should also betray the route by which his companion was
endeavoring to reach the city, so that the second messenger would
also be captured and his letter be taken. The letters were as
follows:</p>

<p>"To COLONEL JONES: You will hardly believe yourself what this
letter informs you of, if it come safe to you; and though I have
taken the best precaution, it will do little prejudice if it
falls into the enemy's hands, since they shall see and feel my
troops almost as soon as they can receive intelligence, should it
be betrayed to them. The end for which I venture it to you is
that you may prepare to open the furthest gate toward Valencia,
and have four thousand Miquelets ready, who will have the
employment they love and are fit for, the pursuing and pillaging
a flying enemy. The country is as one can wish for their entire
destruction. Be sure, upon the first appearance of our troops and
the first discharge of our artillery, you answer with an English
halloo, and take to the mountains on the heights with all your
men. The Conde de las Torres must take the plains, the hills on
the left being almost impassable, and secured by five or six
thousand of the country people. But what will gall him most will
be the whole regiment of Nebot, which revolted to us near
Valencia, is likewise among us.</p>

<p>"I was eight days ago myself in Barcelona, and I believe the
Conde de las Torres must have so good intelligence from thence
that he cannot be ignorant of it. What belongs to my own troops
and my own resolutions I can easily keep from them, though
nothing else. You know the force I have, and the multitudes that
are gathering from all parts against us, so I am forced to put
the whole into this action, which must be decided to give any
hopes to our desperate game. By nine or ten, within an hour after
you can receive this, you will discover us on the tops of the
hills, not two cannon shot from their camp.</p>

<p>"The advantages of the sea are inconceivable, and have
contributed to bring about what you could never expect to see, a
force almost equal to the enemy in number, and you know that less
would do our business. Besides, never men were so transported as
to be brought in such secrecy so near an enemy. I have near six
thousand men locked up this night within the walls of Traguera. I
do not expect you will believe it till you see them.</p>

<p>"You know we had a thousand foot and two hundred dragoons in
Tortosa. Wills and a thousand foot English and Dutch came down
the Ebro in boats, and I embarked a thousand more at Tarragona
when I landed at Vinaroz, and the artillery from thence I brought
in country carts. It was easy to assemble the horse. Zinzendorf
and Moras are as good as our own, and with our English dragoons
make up in all near two thousand. But the whole depends upon
leaving them a retreat without interruption.</p>

<p>"Dear Jones, prove a good dragoon, be diligent and alert, and
preach the welcome doctrine to your Miquelets, plunder without
danger.</p>

<p>"Your friend, PETERBOROUGH."</p>

<p>The two letters fell into the hands of Las Torres, and so
artfully had the capture been contrived, that it never occurred
to him to doubt the truth of these mendacious documents. Orders
were instantly given to prepare for a march, and almost at the
same time two events occurred in the siege works which caused
confusion of the troops. Several mines had been unskillfully sunk
and charged; one of these prematurely exploded and destroyed
forty of the workmen. The remaining mines Colonel Jones contrived
to swamp by turning the course of a brook into them, thus
rendering them harmless. While the troops were confused with
these disasters, the news of the contents of the intercepted
letters spread through the camp, causing a general panic; and
almost immediately afterward the advance guard of Peterborough's
force were seen, according to the promise contained in the
letters, on the crests of the hills.</p>

<p>By able management the twelve hundred men were made to appear
vastly more numerous than they were. The dragoons showed in
various parties at different points of the hilltops, and, after
pausing as if to reconnoiter the camp, galloped back as if to
carry information to a main body behind; while the infantry
availed themselves of the wooded and uneven ground to conceal
their weakness. It seemed, indeed, to the enemy that the tops of
all the hills and the avenues of approach were covered by
advancing columns. Las Torres, unsuspicious of stratagem, was now
convinced that his position was one of extreme danger, while
confusion reigned in the camp. The tents were hastily struck, the
guns spiked, and in a few minutes the Spanish army started along
the Valencia road in a retreat which might almost be called a
flight.</p>

<p>Colonel Jones, seeing the confusion that reigned, instantly
sallied from the town with his whole force in pursuit, and
followed Las Torres for nearly two leagues to Penasol, inflicting
a loss of nearly three hundred men upon the Spaniards; while
Peterborough on the other side marched his force through the
abandoned intrenchments and into the town. Scarcely halting,
however, he made a show of pursuit as far as Albocazer, but
always keeping to the hills with such caution that in case the
enemy should learn his weakness, his retreat would still be
secured. While on the march a courier overtook him with two
dispatches -- the one from King Charles, the other from the
English resident with the court at Barcelona.</p>

<p>The king told him that he would be obliged to countermand the
reinforcements he had promised him for the relief of San Matteo,
in consequence of the unfavorable state of affairs elsewhere. It,
however, conveyed to Peterborough something which he valued more
than reinforcements, namely, full power to act in accordance with
his own discretion. The dispatch from the British resident told
him that news had come that the Duke of Berwick, with the main
army of France, freed by the retreat of Lord Galway from all
trouble on the western side of Spain, was in full march for
Catalonia.</p>

<p>The Prince of Serclaes, with four thousand men, watched the
small garrison at Lerida; the Duke of Noailles, with eight
thousand French troops from Roussillon, threatened Catalonia on a
third side; while Philip and Marshal Tesse had collected ten
thousand men at Madrid. The letter concluded with the words:
"There is nothing here but distrust, discontent, and
despair."</p>

<p>The responsibility left by the king's letter upon Peterborough
was great indeed. On the one hand, if he did not return to the
defense of Catalonia, the king might be exposed to imminent
danger; and, on the other, if he repassed the Ebro he might be
accused of having left Valencia and its loyal inhabitants to
their fate, and would have forfeited all the advantages that his
audacity and skill had already gained.</p>

<p>His difficulties in any case were enormous. His infantry were
marching almost barefooted; they were clothed in rags. The season
was inclement, the country mountainous and rough, and the horses
of the dragoons so exhausted that they could scarcely carry their
riders. In obedience to his instructions, here, as at Tortosa, he
assembled his officers in a council of war and asked their
opinion. They were unanimous in saying that, with the small and
exhausted force under his orders, no further operation could be
undertaken for the conquest of Valencia, but that the little army
should post itself in such a position as might afford the
greatest facility for protecting the king.</p>

<p>Peterborough had thus on one side not only the difficulty of
the position, but the opinion of the council of war against a
further advance; but on the other hand he knew the anxiety of the
king that help should be given to the Valencians. He therefore
announced to his officers a resolution as desperate as that ever
formed by a sane man. He had listened gravely and in silence
while the officers gave their opinion, and then ordered that the
footsore infantry, with a few of the horse, should march back to
Vinaroz, a little town on the seaside a day's journey from
Tortosa, where in case of necessity they might embark in boats
and be taken off to the ships. Then, to the stupefaction of his
officers, he announced his intention of himself proceeding with
the remaining dragoons, about a hundred and fifty in number, to
conquer the province of Valencia!</p>

<p>In vain the officers remonstrated, the earl was firm. The
council then broke up, and the troops prepared for their march in
opposite directions.</p>

<p>The parting of Peterborough and his officers was very sad, for
they doubted not it was a final one.</p>

<p>"I will yet endeavor," he said, "however our circumstances
seem desperate, to secure the kingdom of Valencia; and since the
king has thought conquest possible in this present case, he
cannot complain of my motions, however rash they might appear. I
am resolved, therefore, never to repass the Ebro without positive
orders from him."</p>

<p>Before starting the earl wrote to Charles and explained fully
his intentions. It is evident from the tone of his letter that
Peterborough did not expect to survive this extraordinary
expedition. The language is grave and firm, and, though
respectful, full of stronger remonstrance and more homely advice
than often reaches kings. It concluded:</p>

<p>"I have had but little share in your councils. If our advance
had been approved, if your majesty had trusted us . . . if your
majesty had permitted me to march into the kingdom of Valencia,
when I so earnestly desired it, without making me stay under
pretense of the march of imaginary troops; if your majesty would
have believed me on that occasion, your majesty would have had
this time not only a viceroy of Valencia but the kingdom. With
what force I have I am going to march straight to Valencia. I can
take no other measures, leaving the rest to Providence. The time
lost (so much against my inclination) exposes me to a sacrifice,
at least I will perish with honor, and as a man deserving a
better fate."</p>

<p>The earl now again sent orders to one thousand Spanish foot
and three hundred horse, which had before been nominally placed
at his disposal, but had never moved from the town in which they
were garrisoned, to follow him into Valencia; and at the same
time he wrote to Colonel Wills to march immediately with a like
number of English horse and foot to his assistance.</p>

<p>The king, on the receipt of Peterborough's letter, issued
positive and peremptory orders that the Spanish troops were at
once to be set in motion. Colonel Wills wrote in reply that an
important action had taken place at San Esteban de Litera on the
26th and 27th of January, between General Conyngham with his
brigade and the Chevalier d'Asfeldt, in which, after a bloody
contest, the French were driven from the field with a heavy loss
of killed, wounded, and prisoners, the allies had also suffered
serious loss, and General Conyngham had received a mortal wound.
The command, therefore, had devolved upon himself.</p>

<p>Having seen the infantry march off, Peterborough, attended
only by his two aides de camp, took his place at the head of his
handful of cavalry and proceeded on his desperate enterprise --
an enterprise the most extraordinary that has ever taken place
between enemies of an equal degree of civilization. It was a war
of a general with a small escort, but literally without an army,
against able officers with thousands of disciplined troops and
numerous defensible towns and positions, against enormous
difficulties of country, against want and fatigue in every shape,
and above all, against hope itself.</p>

<p>And yet no one who had witnessed that little body march off
would have supposed that they were entering upon what seemed an
impossible expedition -- an expedition from which none could come
back alive. Worn out and sorry as was the appearance of the
horses, ragged and dirty that of their riders, the latter were in
high spirits. The contagion of the extraordinary energy and
audacity of their chief had spread among them; they had an
absolute confidence in his genius, and they entered upon the
romantic enterprise with the ardor of schoolboys.</p>

<p>Not less was the spirit of the two young aides de camp. Before
starting the earl had offered them the option of marching away
with the infantry.</p>

<p>"It is not that I doubt your courage, lads, for I marked you
both under fire at Montjuich, but the fatigues will be terrible.
You have already supported, in a manner which has surprised me,
the work which you have undergone. You have already borne far
more than your full share of the hardships of the campaign, and I
have, in my dispatches, expressed a very strong opinion to the
government as to the value of the services you have rendered. You
are both very young, and I should be sorry to see your lives
sacrificed in such an enterprise as that I am undertaking, and
shall think no less of you if you elect now to have a period of
rest."</p>

<p>The young men had, however, so firmly and emphatically
declined to leave him that the earl had accepted their continued
service.</p>

<p>The cavalry, instead of keeping in a compact body, were broken
up into parties of ten, all of whom followed different roads,
spreading, through every hamlet they passed, the news that a
great army, of which they were the forerunners, was following
hotly behind. So that should any peasants favorable to Philip's
cause carry the news to Las Torres, that general would be forced
to believe that he was being pursued by a veritable army. Many
stragglers of the retreating force were picked up and handed over
to the peasantry to be sent as prisoners into Catalonia.</p>

<p>For the most part the little parties of cavalry were well
received by the populace; the majority of Valencians were in
favor of King Charles, and that night, when they halted, the
weary horses obtained ample supplies of grain and forage, and the
troopers were made welcome to the best the villages afforded.</p>

<p>A few extra horses were purchased by Peterborough during the
day, and it was well for his aides de camp that it was so, for
scarcely had they finished their meal than Peterborough ordered
them again into the saddle. They were to ride by crossroads right
and left to the villages where the different detachments had been
ordered to halt, and to tell them the routes marked out for them
by which they would again concentrate at midday, so as to ride in
comparatively strong force through a small town on the main road,
whence news might, not improbably, be sent on to Las Torres.
After that they were again to disperse and pervade the
country.</p>

<p>Jack and Graham carried out these orders, taking guides from
each village through which they passed to the next, and it was
near midnight before they had finished their work. At four in the
morning every detachment was in motion, and at noon the troop was
again concentrated. Here the earl learned that a detachment of
the enemy had remained behind at Alcala, and, instead of carrying
out his previous plan, he rode straight with the whole of his
dragoons to that town. When he approached it he divided his force
into three bodies, which entered the place simultaneously by
different gates, and the Spanish detachment, two hundred strong,
at once laid down their arms.</p>

<p>Evening was now approaching, and as the horses and dragoons
were utterly worn out, Peterborough halted for the night. He at
once called together the principal inhabitants, and informed them
that he required all the horses in the town, with such saddlery
as they could obtain, to be collected and forwarded for his use
to a point he named.</p>

<p>The next morning the march was continued. Las Torres had
continued his flight, and this was hastened when he heard of the
capture of Alcala. He pushed through the town of Borriol and
hastened on to Villa Real, a town strongly favorable to King
Charles. It opened its gates, however, on the solemn promise of
Las Torres to respect the life and property of the inhabitants;
but no sooner had his troops entered than he gave the order for a
general massacre and the sack of the town. This ferocious order
was executed, and very few of the inhabitants escaped with their
lives.</p>

<p>The following day, on the news coming in from various points
in his rear that the enemy were pressing after him, he marched
his dispirited army to Nules, where the inhabitants were well
affected. In answer to his appeal a thousand of the citizens
enrolled themselves and undertook to defend the town till the
last against the English. Having assured himself of their
earnestness Las Torres inspected the muster, and, having viewed
all the dispositions for defense, continued his flight. Nules was
fortified by strong walls flanked with towers, the fortifications
were in an excellent state of defense, and the town could have
resisted a siege by a considerable army.</p>

<p>On arriving at Villa Real the British were horrified at the
hideous massacre which had taken place. They went from house to
house and found everywhere the bodies of the slaughtered
inhabitants, and the ardor of the dragoons was, if possible,
heightened by the sight. They made but a short stay here and then
galloped on to Nules. As they neared the town a fire of musketry
was opened from the walls, but, wholly disregarding this, the
earl at the head of his men dashed up to the gates and demanded,
in an imperious tone, that the principal inhabitants should
assemble and hold parley with him.</p>

<p>The boldness of the earl's manner and the imperative tone in
which he spoke so astonished the citizens on the walls that they
ceased firing, and sent for their magistrates and priests. When
these assembled on the wall Peterborough told them in an angry
tone that he gave them only six minutes for deliberation, and
that if they offered the slightest resistance he would repeat at
Nules the massacre which Las Torres had carried out at Villa
Real. He added that, unless they instantly surrendered, he would
blow down their walls the moment his artillery and engineers
arrived. The terror stricken magistrates at once summoned the
town council, and, upon their repeating Peterborough's terrible
threats, it was resolved at once to surrender, and the six
minutes had scarcely elapsed when the gates fell back on their
hinges, and Peterborough and his dragoons entered the town in
triumph.</p>

<p>Here the wearied band enjoyed a rest for some days,
Peterborough spreading the alarm, which his presence excited, by
giving orders that great quantities of provisions and forage
should be brought in from all directions for the supply of the
large army which he stated to be following at his heels. As it
never occurred to any one that he could be pursuing an army of
seven thousand men through a hostile country with only a handful
of dragoons, his statements were not doubted. The requisitions
were complied with, and provisions and stores poured into the
town.</p>

<p>Las Torres at Almenara, where he had again perpetrated a
horrible massacre, heard the news of great preparations that
Peterborough was making for the supply of his army, and
considering his position to be unsafe again retreated
hastily.</p>

<p>At Nules two hundred horses were found and at once
appropriated for the use of the army. With a portion of his force
Peterborough rode out to Castillon de la Plana, an open town of
some size, where the people were well affected to the Austrian
cause. Here he secured four hundred more horses, at the same time
assuring both friends and foes that his army was driving the
enemy out of the kingdom. On entering Nules, Peterborough had
sent orders for Lord Barrymore's regiment of British infantry, at
that time under the command of Colonel Pierce, to march from
Vinaroz, where they had been sent with the rest of the infantry
from San Matteo to Oropesa, a town about nine miles from
Castillon, where he had collected all the horses he had obtained
during his march.</p>

<p>When the news reached Nules of the arrival of this regiment at
Oropesa, Lord Peterborough at once rode over. The regiment was
formed up for his inspection; it had marched with the greatest
speed, and the men were worn out and footsore with their long
tramp over the stony hills. After inspecting them the earl paid
them a high compliment upon their past achievements, and
concluded by expressing his wish that they had but horses and
accouterments to try whether a corps of so high a character would
maintain their reputation in the novelty of mounted service.</p>

<p>The joke of their eccentric general seemed but a poor one to
the footsore and almost shoeless men, but they were astonished
when Jack rode forward and presented to each of the officers a
commission, which he had drawn out in the earl's name, as cavalry
officers. Their astonishment was changed to delight when
Peterborough marched them to the brow of the hill where they
stood, and they saw eight bodies of horses drawn up in order
ready for their eight companies. Among these were set apart three
good chargers for each captain, two for lieutenants, and one for
cornets. He ordered the regiment to mount, and, immensely amused
at their sudden elevation to the cavalry service, the troops rode
back to the town.</p>

<p>From the moment when he started from San Matteo Peterborough
had, in spite of his incessant exertions and multifarious cares,
been quietly making preparations for this event. He had sent to
Barcelona for the necessary accouterments for these men and for
the dismounted British dragoons. The accouterments had been sent
from Barcelona to the nearest port on the seacoast, and by
continually urging on the local carriers the earl had, in nine
days after leaving San Matteo, collected them in readiness at his
depot at Castillon, and thus raised his little band of horse to
nearly a thousand men. These he dispersed at once among the well
affected towns of the neighborhood, whose walls would render them
safe from the attack of an enemy unsupported by artillery, moving
them constantly from place to place, partly to accustom them to
their new duties, partly to confuse the enemy as to their
numbers.</p>

<h1 align="CENTER"><a name="CHAPTER_X"></a>CHAPTER X: AN
ADVENTURE IN THE MOUNTAINS</h1>

<p>"Mr. Stillwell," the earl said, a few days after his arrival
at Castillon, "will you take twenty dragoons and ride out to the
village of Estrella? The district round it is extremely hostile,
and they prevent supplies being brought in from that direction.
Get hold of the principal men in the place, and tell them that if
I hear any more complaints of hostility in that neighborhood I
will send out a regiment of horse, burn their village, and ravage
all the country. I don't think you need apprehend any opposition;
but of course you will keep a good lookout."</p>

<p>"Am I to return tonight, sir?"</p>

<p>"Let that depend upon your reception. If the inhabitants show
a fairly good disposition, or if you see that at any rate there
is a considerable section of the population well disposed to the
cause, stay there for the night, and in the morning make a wide
circuit through the district before returning. If you perceive a
strong hostile feeling it were best not to sleep there; with so
small a force you would be liable to a night attack."</p>

<p>Twenty minutes later Jack rode off with his party, having
first obtained directions from the natives as to the best road to
Estrella. The village was but some fifteen miles off, and lay in
the center of a fertile district on the other side of a range of
lofty hills. The road they were traversing ran through the hills
by a narrow and very steep valley.</p>

<p>"This would be a nasty place to be attacked," Jack said to the
sergeant, who was riding just behind him.</p>

<p>"It would, indeed, sir; and if they were to set some of those
stones arolling they would soon knock our horses off their
legs."</p>

<p>A mile or two further on the road again descended and the
valley opened to a fertile country. Another half hour's sharp
riding brought them into Estrella. Their coming had probably been
signaled, for the inhabitants evinced no sudden alarm as the
little troop rode along the principal street. The women stood at
the doors of the houses to look at them, the men were gathered in
little knots at the corners; but all were unarmed, and Jack saw
at once that there was no intention of offering resistance. He
alighted at the door of the village inn, and in a few minutes two
or three of the chief men in the village presented
themselves.</p>

<p>"The English general," Jack said, "has heard that the people
of your neighborhood are hostile, and that those who would pass
through with animals and stores for the army are prevented from
doing so. He bids me say that he does not wish to war with the
people of this country so long as they are peaceful. Those who
take up arms he will meet with arms; but so long as they
interfere not with him he makes no inquiry as to whether their
wishes are for King Charles or Philip of Anjou; but if they
evince an active hostility he will be forced to punish them. You
know how Marshal Tesse has massacred unarmed citizens whom he
deemed hostile, and none could blame the English general did he
carry out reprisals; but it will grieve him to have to do so. He
has therefore sent me with this small troop to warn you that if
the people of this village and district interfere in any way with
his friends, or evince signs of active hostility, he will send a
regiment of horse with orders to burn the village to the ground,
and to lay all the district bare."</p>

<p>"Your general has been misinformed," the principal man in the
place said. "There are, it is true, some in the district who hold
for Philip of Anjou; but the population are well disposed to King
Charles, and this village is ready to furnish any supplies that
the English may require. If your honor will give me a list of
these I will do my best to have them in readiness by tomorrow
morning, and I trust that you will honor us by stopping here till
then."</p>

<p>Jack hesitated; he did not much like the appearance of the man
or the tone of humility in which he spoke; still, as he offered
to furnish supplies, he thought it well to accept the same.</p>

<p>"What horses could you let us have?" he asked.</p>

<p>"We could supply ten horses," the man said, "fit for cavalry,
four wagons of grain, and twenty barrels of wine."</p>

<p>"Very well," Jack said; "if these are ready by tomorrow
morning I will accept them as an earnest of your goodwill, and
now I require food for my men."</p>

<p>"That shall be ready for them in an hour," the man
replied.</p>

<p>Jack now gave orders to the sergeant that the girths to the
saddles should be loosened, and the horses fastened in readiness
for service in the street close to the inn. Four men were then
posted as pickets at the distance of a quarter of a mile on each
side of the village. Corn was brought for the horses. The women
and children gathered round to gaze at the foreign soldiers, and
Jack was convinced that there was at any rate no intention to
effect a surprise while he remained in the village. In an hour
the dinner was served, and there was no reason to complain of the
quantity or quality of the provisions.</p>

<p>An hour after dinner the troop again mounted and took a detour
of some miles through the district, passing through several other
villages, in none of which were the slightest signs of hostility
met with.</p>

<p>"Sergeant," Jack said, after they had returned to Estrella,
"everything looks very quiet and peaceful; but, considering what
we have heard of the feeling in this district, it seems to me
that it is almost too peaceful. I can't help feeling somewhat
uneasy. When it gets dark divide the troop into two parties; keep
one constantly under arms; place sentries in pairs at each end of
the village, and keep a most vigilant watch. Do not let the
others scatter to the quarters the mayor has provided; but let
all lie down here in the inn ready to turn out at a moment's
notice. They are a treacherous lot, these Spaniards, and we
cannot be too strictly on our guard."</p>

<p>The night passed, however, without an incident, and in the
morning, the five wagons with grain and wine, and eight horses,
were brought in.</p>

<p>Jack, rather ashamed of his suspicions on the previous night,
thanked the mayor warmly. Eight of the troopers took each a led
horse. The four countrymen in charge of the wagons shouted to
their oxen, and the party moved out from Estrella.</p>

<p>"There are very few men about the village, Mr. Stilwell," the
sergeant said, as Jack reined back his horse to speak to him.
"Did you notice that, sir?"</p>

<p>"Yes," Jack said; "I did notice it; for except a few old men
and boys, there were none but women and children gathered round
or standing at their door. There were plenty of men about
yesterday; but perhaps they have all gone up to work in the
fields; however, we will keep our eyes open. You had best ride
forward, sergeant, to the two men in front and tell them to keep
a sharp lookout."</p>

<p>They were proceeding only at a slow walk in order to keep pace
with the wagons, and it was an hour and a half after leaving
Estrella before they entered the hills.</p>

<p>Jack noticed that although many women and girls could be seen
working in the fields, not a man was in sight.</p>

<p>"It is curious, sergeant, that there are no men about, and I
can't help thinking that all is not right. Do you take four men
with you and ride straight on through that nasty narrow valley we
noticed as we came. Keep a sharp lookout on both sides, for there
are rocks enough on those hills to hide an army."</p>

<p>Jack halted the detachment when the scouting party went
forward. In three quarters of an hour the sergeant returned with
his men, saying that he had ridden right through the valley and
could see no signs of life whatever.</p>

<p>"Very well, sergeant, then we will proceed. But we will do so
in groups. If we are to be attacked in that valley, we could make
no fight of it were we ten times as many as we are; and if we
must be caught, they shall have as few of us as possible;
therefore, let a corporal with four men go on a good quarter of a
mile ahead, so that he will be past the worst part before the
next body enter. Then do you take ten men and go next. I will
follow you at the same distance with the other five men and the
wagons. Order the corporal if attacked to ride through if
possible; if not, to fall back to you. Do you do the same. If you
are nearly through the valley when you are attacked, dash
straight forward. I shall see what is going on, and will turn and
ride back with my party, and making a sweep round through the
flat country find my way back by some other road. In that case by
no possibility can they get more than a few of us."</p>

<p>These orders, which were well calculated to puzzle a concealed
enemy, were carried out. The corporal's party were just
disappearing round a turn at the upper end of the valley when the
main body under the sergeant entered it. Jack was not quite so
far behind, and halted as he entered the valley to allow those
who preceded him to get through before he proceeded. They were
still some two hundred yards from the further end when a shot was
heard, and in an instant men appeared from behind every rock, and
the hillside was obscured with smoke as upward of two hundred
guns were fired almost simultaneously. Then there was a deep
rumbling noise, and the rocks came bounding down from above.</p>

<p>The sergeant carried out Jack's orders. At the flash of the
first gun he set off with his men at a gallop; and so quick and
sudden was the movement that but few of the bullets touched them,
and the rocks for the most part thundered down in their rear. Two
or three horses and men were, however, struck down and crushed by
the massive rocks; but the rest of the party got through the pass
in safety and joined their comrades who had preceded them. They
rode on for a short distance further, and then there was a halt,
and wounds were examined and bandaged.</p>

<p>"It is well that we came as we did," the sergeant said to his
corporal; "if we had been all together, with the wagons blocking
up the road, not a man Jack of us would have escaped alive. What
an escape it has been! the whole hillside seemed coming down on
us."</p>

<p>"What will Mr. Stilwell do, sergeant?"</p>

<p>"He said he should ride back into the plain and take some
other way round," the sergeant replied; "but I fear he won't find
it so easy. Fellows who would lay such an ambush as that are
pretty sure to have taken steps to cut off the retreat of any who
might escape and ride back. I am sure I hope he will get out of
it, for he is a good officer, and as pleasant a young fellow as
one can want to serve under; besides, there are five of our chaps
with him."</p>

<p>Jack had halted his men the instant the first shot was fired.
"Shall I shoot these fellows, sir ?" one of the troopers asked,
drawing his pistol and pointing it at the head of one of the
peasants leading a yoke of oxen.</p>

<p>"No," Jack said; "they are unarmed; besides, they are plucky
fellows for risking their lives on such a venture. There! the
sergeant's troop have got through; but there are two or three of
them down. Come along, lads, we must ride back, and there is no
time to lose. Keep well together, and in readiness to charge if I
give the word. It is likely enough our turn may come next."</p>

<p>They rode on without interruption at full gallop till they
neared the lower end of the valley. Then Jack drew up his horse.
Across the road and the ground on each side extended a dozen
carts, the oxen being taken out, and the carts placed end to end
so as to form a barricade. A number of men were standing behind
them.</p>

<p>"I expected something of this sort," muttered Jack. He looked
at the hills on either side, but they were too steep to ride up
on horseback; and as to abandoning the animals and taking to the
hills on foot, it was not to be thought of, for the active
peasants would easily overtake them.</p>

<p>"We must ride straight forward," he said; "there is no other
way out of it. There is level ground enough for a horse to pass
round the left of the wagons. Ride for that point as hard as you
can, and when you are through keep straight forward for a quarter
of a mile till we are together again. Now!"</p>

<p>Giving his horse the spur, Jack dashed off at full speed,
followed closely by the troopers. As they approached the line
guns flashed out from the wagons, and the bullets sang thickly
round them; but they were going too fast to be an easy mark, and
the peasants, after firing their guns, seeing the point for which
they were making, ran in a body to oppose them, armed with pitch
forks and ox goads; few of them had, however, reached the spot
when Jack and his troopers dashed up. There was a short sharp
struggle, and then, leaving five or six of the peasants dead on
the ground, the troopers burst through and rode forward. One man
only had been lost in the passage, shot through the head as he
approached the gap.</p>

<p>"So far we are safe," Jack said, "and as I expect every man in
the country round was engaged in that ambush, we need not hurry
for the present. The question is, Which way to go?"</p>

<p>This was indeed a difficult point to settle, for Jack was
wholly ignorant of the country. He had made inquiries as to the
way to Estrella, but knew nothing of any other roads leading from
that village, and indeed, for aught he knew, the road by which he
had come might be the only one leading to the south through the
range of hills.</p>

<p>"We will turn west," he said, after a moment's thought, "and
keep along near the foot of the hills till we come to another
road crossing them."</p>

<p>So saying, he set forward at an easy trot across the fields of
maize and wheat stubble, vineyards, and occasionally orchards.
For upward of two hours Jack led the way, but they saw no signs
of a road, and he observed with uneasiness that the plain was
narrowing fast and the hills on the left trending to meet those
on the right and form an apparently unbroken line ahead.</p>

<p>The horses were showing signs of fatigue, and Jack drew rein
on somewhat rising ground and looked anxiously round. If, as it
seemed, there was no break in the bills ahead, it would be
necessary to retrace their steps, and long ere this the defenders
of the ravine would have returned to their homes, and learned
from the men at the carts that a small party had escaped. As the
women in the fields would be able to point out the way they had
taken, the whole population would be out in pursuit of them.
Looking round Jack saw among some trees to his right what
appeared to be a large mansion, and resolved at once to go
there.</p>

<p>"The horses must have food and a rest," he said, "before we
set out again; and though it's hardly probable, as the peasants
are so hostile, that the owner of this place is friendly, I would
even at the worst rather fall into the hands of a gentleman than
into those of these peasants, who would certainly murder us in
cold blood."</p>

<p>Thus saying, he rode toward the mansion, whose owner must, he
thought as he approached it, be a man of importance, for it was
one of the finest country residences he had seen in Spain. He
rode up to the front door and dismounted and rang at the bell. A
man opened the door, and looked with surprise and alarm at the
English uniforms. He would have shut the door again, but Jack put
his shoulder to it and pushed it open.</p>

<p>"What means this insolence?" he said sternly, drawing his
pistol. "Is your master in?"</p>

<p>"No, senor," the man stammered, "the count is from home."</p>

<p>"Is your mistress in?"</p>

<p>The man hesitated.</p>

<p>"I will see," he said.</p>

<p>"Look here, sir," Jack said. "Your mistress is in, and unless
you lead me straight to her I will put a bullet through your
head."</p>

<p>Several other men servants had now come up, but the four
troopers had also entered. The Spaniards looked at each other
irresolutely.</p>

<p>"Now, sirrah," Jack said, raising his pistol, "are you going
to obey me?"</p>

<p>The Spaniard, seeing Jack would execute his threat unless
obeyed, turned sullenly and led the way to a door. He opened it
and entered.</p>

<p>"Madam the countess," he said, "an English officer insists on
seeing you."</p>

<p>Jack followed him in. A lady had just risen from her seat.</p>

<p>"I must apologize, madam," he began, and then stopped in
surprise, while at the same moment a cry of astonishment broke
from the lady.</p>

<p>"Senor Stilwell!" she cried. "Oh! how glad I am to see you!
but -- but --" And she stopped.</p>

<p>"But how do I come here, countess, you would ask? I come here
by accident, and had certainly no idea that I should find you, or
that this mansion belonged to your husband. You told me when I
saw you last, a fortnight before I left Barcelona, that you were
going away to your seat in the country. You told me its name,
too, and were good enough to say that you hoped when this war was
over that I would come and visit you; but, in truth, as this is
not a time for visiting, I had put the matter out of my
mind."</p>

<p>"And do you belong, then," the countess asked, "to the party
who we heard yesterday had arrived at Estrella? If so --" And she
stopped again.</p>

<p>"If so, how have I escaped, you would ask? By good fortune and
the speed of my horse."</p>

<p>"What will the count say?" the countess exclaimed. "How will
he ever forgive himself? Had he known that our preserver was with
that party he would have cut off his right hand before he would
have --"</p>

<p>"Led his tenants to attack us. He could not tell, countess,
and now I hope that you will give your retainers orders to treat
my men with hospitality. At present my four troopers and your men
are glowering at each other in the hall like wolves and dogs
ready to spring at each other's throats."</p>

<p>The countess at once went out into the hall. The servants had
now armed themselves, and, led by the majordomo, were standing in
readiness to attack the dragoons on the termination of the
colloquy between the officer and their mistress.</p>

<p>"Lay aside your arms, men," the countess said imperiously.
"These men are the count's guests. Enrico, do you not recognize
this gentleman?"</p>

<p>The majordomo turned, and, at once dropping his musket, ran
across, and, falling on his knees, pressed Jack's hand to his
lips. The servants, who had at first stood in irresolute
astonishment at their mistress' order, no longer hesitated, but
placed their arms against the wall.</p>

<p>"This," the majordomo said to them, rising to his feet, "is
the noble English lord who saved the lives of the count and
countess and my young master from the mob at Barcelona, as I have
often told you."</p>

<p>This explained the mystery. The servants saluted Jack with
profound respect, for all were deeply attached to the count and
countess, and had often thrilled with fury and excitement over
the majordomo's relation of that terrible scene at Barcelona.</p>

<p>Jack in a few words explained to the troopers the reason of
the change in their position. The dragoons put up their swords,
and were soon on the best terms with the retainers in the great
kitchen, while Jack and the countess chatted over the events
which had happened since they last parted.</p>

<p>"I shall always tremble when I think of today," the countess
said. "What a feeling mine would have been all my life had our
preserver been killed by my servants! I should never have
recovered it. It is true it would have been an accident, and yet
the possibility should have been foreseen. The count knew you
were with the Earl of Peterborough, and the whole English army
should have been sacred in his eyes for your sake; but I suppose
he never thought of it any more than I did. Of course every one
knows that we belong to Philip's party. It was for that, that the
mob at Barcelona would have killed us; but my husband does not
talk much, and when he left Barcelona no objection was raised. He
did not intend to take part in the war, and he little thought at
that time that an enemy would ever come so far from Barcelona;
but yesterday, when a message came that a small party of the
enemy had entered the valley, and that the peasants had prepared
an ambuscade for them on their return, and that they hoped that
the count their master would himself come and lead them to
annihilate the heretics, the simple man agreed, never thinking
that you might be among them. What will his feelings be when, he
learns it!"</p>

<p>Late in the afternoon the count arrived. One of the servants
who had been on the lookout informed the countess of his
approach.</p>

<p>"I will go myself to meet him," she said. "Do you stay here,
senor, where you can hear."</p>

<p>The count rode up at full speed, and as the door opened ran
hastily in.</p>

<p>"What has happened, Nina?" he exclaimed anxiously. "I have had
a great fright. We have been following a small party of the enemy
who escaped us from Estrella, and just now a woman returning from
work in the fields told us she had seen five strange soldiers
ride up here and enter."</p>

<p>"They are here," the countess answered complacently. "They are
at present our guests."</p>

<p>"Our guests!" the count exclaimed, astonished "What are you
saying, Nina? The enemies of our country our guests! In what a
position have you placed me! I have two hundred armed men just
behind. I left them to ride on when I heard the news, being too
anxious to go at their pace, and now you tell me that these men
of whom they are in search are our guests! What am I to say or
do? You amaze me altogether."</p>

<p>"What would you have me do?" the countess said. "Could I
refuse hospitality to wearied men who asked it, Juan?" she
continued, changing her tone. "You have to thank Providence
indeed that those men came to our door instead of falling into
the hands of your peasants."</p>

<p>"To thank Providence!" the count repeated, astonished.</p>

<p>"Come with me and you will see why."</p>

<p>She led the way into the room, her husband following her. The
count gave a cry as his eye fell upon Jack, and every vestige of
color left his face.</p>

<p>"Mary, mother of heaven!" he said in a broken voice, "I thank
thee that I have been saved from a crime which would have
imbittered all my life. Oh, senor, is it thus we meet, thus, when
I have been hunting blindly for the blood of the man to whom I
owe so much?"</p>

<p>"Happily there is no harm done, count," Jack said, advancing
with outstretched hand; "you were doing what you believed to be
your duty, attacking the enemy of your country. Had you killed me
you would have been no more to blame than I should, did a chance
shot of mine slay you when fighting in the ranks of the soldiers
of Philip."</p>

<p>The count was some time before he could respond to Jack's
greeting, so great was his emotion at the thought of the escape
he had had from slaying the preserver of his wife and child. As
soon as he recovered himself he hurried out to meet the peasants,
whose shouts could be heard as they approached the castle. He
soon returned and bade his servants take a cask of wine into the
courtyard behind the house, with what bread and meat there might
be in the larder.</p>

<p>"You had no trouble with them, I hope?" Jack asked.</p>

<p>"None whatever," the count said. "As soon as I told them the
circumstances under which you saved the life of the countess, my
boy, and myself, their only wish was to see you and express their
gratitude; they are simple fellows, these peasants, and if fairly
treated greatly attached to their lords."</p>

<p>"It's a pity their treatment of the prisoners is so savage,"
Jack said dryly.</p>

<p>"They are savage," the count said, "but you must remember that
the history of Spain is one long story of war and bloodshed. They
draw knives on each other on the slightest provocation, and in
their amusements, as you know, there is nothing that in their
eyes can rival a bullfight; it is little wonder, then, that in
war they are savage and, as you would say, even bloodthirsty.
This is not so in regular warfare. Whatever may have been the
conduct of some of our irregulars, none have ever alleged that
Spanish troops are less inclined to give quarter to conquered
foes than others; but in this rough irregular warfare each
peasant fights on his own account as against a personal enemy,
and as he would expect and would meet with little mercy if he
fell into the enemy's hands, so he grants no mercy to those who
fall into his. Indeed, after the brutal treatment which Marshal
Tesse has, I am ashamed to say, dealt out to those who opposed
him, you can scarcely blame peasants for acting as they see
civilized soldiers do."</p>

<p>A short time afterward Jack went out with the count into the
courtyard, and was received with the most hearty and cordial
greeting by the men who were an hour before thirsting for his
blood. Among them was the village mayor.</p>

<p>"Ah, sir," he said, "why did you not tell us that you had
saved the life of our lord and lady? You should have had all the
horses in the district, and as many wagons of wine and grain as
we could collect. We are all in despair that we should have
attacked our lord's preserver."</p>

<p>"I could not tell you," Jack said, "because I was in ignorance
that the Count de Minas was your lord; had I known it I should
have assuredly gone straight to him."</p>

<p>"We shall never forgive ourselves," the man said, "for having
killed four of your honor's soldiers."</p>

<p>"I am sorry that it was so," Jack said, "but I cannot blame
you; and I am sorry that we on our part must have killed as many
of yours."</p>

<p>"Six," the mayor replied. "Yes, poor fellows, but the count
will see to their widows and orphans, he has promised us as much.
I drink to your health, senor," and all present joined in the
shout, "Long live the preserver of the count and countess!"</p>

<p>Jack and the count now returned to the house, and the next
morning, after a cordial adieu to the host and hostess, he rode
back with his men to Castillon.</p>

<p>"Welcome back, Mr. Stilwell," the general said as he entered;
"I have been very uneasy about you. Your men returned at noon
yesterday and told me of the ambush in which they had been beset.
Your arrangements were excellent except for your own safety. How
did you manage to get out? By the way, I was astonished by the
arrival here an hour since of the horses and wagons. The men who
brought them could give me no account of it, except that the
Mayor of Estrella returned late yesterday evening and ordered
them to set out before daybreak. It seemed to me a perfect
mystery. I suspected at first that the wine was poisoned, and
ordered the men who brought it to drink some at once, but as they
did so without hesitation or sign of fear, I concluded that I was
mistaken. However, I have kept them captive pending news from you
to enlighten me."</p>

<p>"I am not surprised you were astonished, sir, but the matter
was simple enough ;" and then Jack related the circumstances
which had befallen them.</p>

<p>"Bravo!" the earl said; "for once, Mr. Stilwell, a good action
has had its reward, which, so far as my experience goes, is an
exception."</p>

<p>The earl at once called in a sergeant and ordered the release
of the men who had brought the horses and wagons, and gave ten
gold pieces to be distributed among them. Jack also went out and
begged them to give his compliments and thanks to the mayor.</p>

<p>"I am heartily glad the adventure ended as it did," the earl
said when he returned, "for, putting aside the regret I should
have felt at your loss, it would have been a difficult business
for me to undertake, with my present force, to chastise the men
who attacked you, who must be bold and determined fellows, and
capable of realizing the advantages of this mountainous country.
If all Spaniards would do as much it would tax the power of the
greatest military nation to subdue them; and yet I could hardly
have suffered such a check without endeavoring to avenge it; so
altogether, Mr. Stilwell, we must congratulate ourselves that the
affair ended as it did. In any case you would have been in no way
to blame, for your dispositions throughout appear to have been
excellent, and marked alike with prudence and boldness."</p>

<h1 align="CENTER"><a name="CHAPTER_XI"></a>CHAPTER XI:
VALENCIA</h1>

<p>While occupied in preparing for his advance, the general sent
letter after letter to Valencia, bidding the citizens to keep up
their courage, and promising to hasten to the relief of that
city. Ordering Jack to continue the correspondence in his name,
so as to delude both friends and foes that he was still at
Castillon, he took post secretly and hurried away back to Tortosa
to see after reinforcements. He still doubted whether the Spanish
troops, which the king had promised should be at his disposal for
the campaign in Valencia, had got into motion, and in case they
had not done so he determined to post to Colonel Wills and bring
up that officer with his brigade.</p>

<p>At Vinaroz he found that the Spanish troops had already
entered Valencia, and that some of the militia of that province
and of Catalonia were also in motion to join him. He therefore
concentrated his little force at Castillon, to which place he
returned as rapidly as he had left it. When it was assembled it
consisted of a thousand horse and two thousand infantry, being
one English and three Spanish battalions of regulars. Besides
these were about three hundred armed peasants, whom the earl
thought it better not to join with his army, and therefore
quartered them at Almenara.</p>

<p>Although he had accomplished marvels, there was yet much to
do. The Duke of Arcos had succeeded the Conde de las Torres in
the chief command, the latter having been superseded after his
signal failures. The duke had ten thousand men placed under his
orders, of whom some thirty-five hundred were in possession of
the strong town of Murviedro, which covered the approach to
Valencia, while with the main body he marched upon Valencia and
commenced the siege of that city. The magistrates, knowing that
they could expect but little mercy should the town be taken, made
vigorous preparations for defense, and dispatched some messengers
to Peterborough imploring him to come to their assistance. He was
now in readiness to do so, and on the 1st of February marched
from Castillon with his army.</p>

<p>Having unlimited powers, the earl, before starting, presented
to his two aides de camp commissions as captains, as a reward for
the services they had rendered.</p>

<p>Although so inferior in numbers the little army advanced
toward Valencia with an absolute confidence of victory. The
successes gained by their leader with a handful of cavalry over
an army of seven thousand men had been so astounding that his
troops believed him capable of effecting anything that he
undertook. They had seen him ride off from San Matteo with his
little body of horse upon what seemed an impossible enterprise;
they had met him again after having conquered half a province;
and if he had accomplished this with such scanty means, what was
not possible now when he had three thousand men at his
disposal?</p>

<p>But the earl trusted fully as much to his talents in the way
of deceiving the enemy as to his power of defeating them by open
force in the field. His eccentric genius appeared to revel in the
mendacious statements by which he deceived and puzzled both
friend and foe; and although the spreading of a certain amount of
false news for the purpose of deceiving an enemy has always been
considered as a legitimate means of warfare, Peterborough
altogether exceeded the usual limits, and appeared to delight in
inventing the most complicated falsehoods from the mere love of
mischief. At times Jack was completely bewildered by his general,
so rapid were the changes of plans, so changeable his purposes,
so fantastic and eccentric his bearing and utterances. That his
military genius was astonishing no one can for a moment question,
but it was the genius rather of a knight errant than of the
commander of great armies.</p>

<p>As a partisan leader Peterborough is without a rival in
history. Whether he would have succeeded equally well as the
commander of great armies he had never an opportunity of proving,
but it is more than doubtful. Rapid changes of plan, shifting and
uncertain movements, may lead to wonderful successes when but a
small body of troops have to be set in motion, but would cause
endless confusion and embarrassment with a large army, which can
only move in accordance with settled plans and deliberate
purpose.</p>

<p>It must be said, however, that this most eccentric of generals
proved upon many occasions, as at the siege of Barcelona, that he
was capable of adapting himself to circumstances, and it is
possible that had he ever been placed in command of a great army
he would have laid aside his flightiness and eccentricity, his
love for theatrical strokes and hair breadth adventures, and
would have exhibited a steadfast military genius which would have
placed his name in the annals of British history on a par with
those of Wellington and Marlborough. Never did he exhibit his
faculty for ingenious falsehood more remarkably than at
Murviedro, where, indeed, a great proportion of his inventions
appear to have been prompted rather by a spirit of malice than by
any military necessity.</p>

<p>Murviedro was the Saguntum of the Romans, one of the strongest
cities in Spain. The force there was commanded by Brigadier
General Mahony, an officer of Irish descent. He had under him
five hundred regular cavalry and a battalion of eight hundred
trained infantry; the rest of his force consisted of Spanish
militia. The town itself was fairly strong and contained a large
population. It was separated from a wide plain by a river, on the
banks of which redoubts mounted with artillery had been thrown
up.</p>

<p>Here the Valencian road wound through a pass, above which, on
the crest of a lofty overhanging hill, were the ruins of ancient
Saguntum. Peterborough had no artillery save a few Spanish field
guns; the enemy's position was formidable both by formation and
art, and his force was altogether inadequate for an attack upon
it. So hopeless did the attempt appear to be that Peterborough's
officers were unanimous in the opinion that it would be better to
make a wide circuit and avoid the place, and to march directly
upon Valencia and give battle to the Duke of Arcos under its
walls. Peterborough, however, simply told them to wait and see
what would come of it, and in the mean time he continued to
bewilder his foes by the most surprising romances.</p>

<p>His agents were for the most part a few sharp witted dragoons,
and some peasants whose fidelity was secured by their families
being held as hostages. He had already contrived to bewilder the
division of Las Torres before it reached the main body under the
Duke of Arcos. A spy in his pay had informed the Spanish general
that the British were close upon him, and he had accordingly at
once broken up his camp and marched all night.</p>

<p>In the morning the spy again presented himself and stated that
the British were pushing on over the mountains to his left to
occupy an important point and to cut off his retreat to the
Valencian plains. As it seemed absolutely impossible that they
could have pressed forward so quickly, Las Torres refused to
credit the story. The spy, as if indignant at his truth being
doubted, pledged himself at the hazard of his life to give proof
of the assertion to any officer who might be sent to ascertain
it.</p>

<p>Two officers in plain clothes were accordingly sent with him
in the direction where he stated the English to be; but when they
stopped for refreshment at a village on the way they were
suddenly pounced upon by a picket of English dragoons, who had
been sent there for the purpose. After a time the spy pretended
to the two officers that he had made the guard drunk and that
they could now make their escape, and leading them stealthily to
the stable showed them two of the dragoons lying in an apparently
drunken sleep. Three horses were quietly led out of the stable,
and the three men rode off, some of the dragoons making a show of
pursuit.</p>

<p>This incident, of course, established the credit of the spy.
Las Torres was convinced that his retreat was really threatened,
and hurried on again with all speed, while all this time the
English army was really many miles away near Murviedro. Other
dragoons were induced to feign desertion, while some permitted
themselves to be taken prisoners, and as each vied with the
others in the extravagance of his false information, the Spanish
generals were utterly bewildered by the contradictory nature of
the lies that reached them.</p>

<p>While Las Torres was hastening away at full speed to join the
Duke of Arcos, Peterborough was occupied in fooling Mahony. That
officer was a distant relation of Lady Peterborough, and the earl
sent to demand an interview with him, naming a small hill near
the town for the purpose. When the time for the interview
approached the earl disposed his army so as to magnify their
numbers as much as possible. Some were posted as near the town as
they could venture along the pass; others were kept marching on
the lower slopes of the hills, their numbers increased in
appearance by masses of the armed peasantry being mingled with
them.</p>

<p>Mahony having received the earl's word for his safety rode out
to the appointed place to meet him, accompanied by several of the
principal Spanish officers. Peterborough first used every
persuasion to induce Mahony to enter the service of King Charles,
but the Irish officer refused to entertain the tempting offers
which he made. Peterborough then changed his tone, and said with
an air of kindly frankness:</p>

<p>"The Spaniards have used such severities and cruelties at
Villa Real as to oblige me to retaliate. I am willing to spare a
town if under your protection. I know that you cannot pretend to
defend it with the horse you have, which will be so much more
useful in another place if joined with the troops of Arcos to
obstruct my passing the plains of Valencia. I am confident that
you will soon quit Murviedro, which I can as little prevent as
you can hinder me from taking the town. The inhabitants there
must be exposed to the most abject miseries, and I can in no way
preserve it but by being bound in a capitulation, which I am
willing to give you if I have the assurance of the immediate
surrender of the place this very night. Some cases are so
apparent that I need not dissemble. I know you will immediately
send to the Duke of Arcos to march to the Carthusian convent and
meet him there with the body of horse under your command."</p>

<p>The earl further offered, in the same apparent spirit of
frankness, to show Mahony all his troops and artillery, as well
as the large resources he had upon the sea, which was only six
miles off. Mahony was entirely deceived by the manner of the man
he regarded as a relative, and laughingly acknowledged that he
had, in case of necessity, intended to fall back with his cavalry
upon the Duke of Arcos. The interview ended by Mahony retiring to
the town, agreeing to send back an answer in half an hour. At the
end of that time he sent out a capitulation by a Spanish
officer.</p>

<p>Had Peterborough's scheme ended here he would not have
exceeded the bounds of what is regarded as a fair method of
deceiving an enemy, but his subsequent proceedings were
absolutely indefensible, and are, indeed, almost incredible on
the part of the man who in some respects carried the point of
honor almost to an extreme. His notion, no doubt, was to paralyze
the action of the enemy by exciting suspicions of treachery among
their leaders, but the means which he took to do so were base and
unworthy in the extreme.</p>

<p>He began with the Spanish officer who had brought the
capitulation, giving him a garbled account of his interview with
Mahony, and then endeavoring to bribe him to desert to the
Austrian cause, insinuating that he had succeeded by this means
with Mahony. As the earl expected, he failed to induce the
Spaniard to desert, but he succeeded in his purpose of filling
his mind with suspicions of treachery on the part of Mahony.</p>

<p>Mahony had conducted the negotiations in a manner worthy of a
loyal and skillful officer; he had stipulated not to leave the
town till one o'clock in the morning, and that Peterborough
should not pass the river until that hour.</p>

<p>This he had arranged in order to allow the Duke of Arcos time
to reach the plains, where he was to be joined by the horse from
Murviedro. But Peterborough's machinations had been effectual;
the Spanish officer, on his return, informed his countrymen that
Mahony had betrayed them, and the troops and populace became
enraged against the unfortunate Irishman and threatened his life.
Peterborough, who, in spite of his perverted notions of honor,
would not on any account have passed the river before the time
stipulated, heard the neighing of horses in the town and supposed
that some of the troops were leaving it. In order, therefore, to
create suspicion and confusion among the enemy, he ordered a body
of men near the river to fire straggling shots as if small
parties were engaged at the outposts.</p>

<p>Mahony hearing these sounds sent word that whatever collision
might have occurred it was the result of no breach of the terms
of capitulation on his part, and that, depending implicitly on
the honor of an English general, he could not believe that any
foul play could take place. Peterborough sent back his
compliments by the officer who brought the message, with
expressions of gratification at the good understanding which
prevailed between them, and at the same time he proposed that
Mahony, for the security of the inhabitants of Murviedro, and to
prevent his troops being molested as they retired from the town,
should permit a regiment of English dragoons to cross the river
and to form a guard at the gates, offering at the same time to
deliver up a number of his officers as hostages to the Spanish
for the loyal fulfillment of the terms.</p>

<p>In an evil hour for himself Mahony consented to the proposal.
When the Spaniards saw Peterborough's dragoons advancing without
opposition through the difficult pass, and up to the very gates
of the town, their suspicions of the treachery of their leader
became a certainty. The Spanish officers each got his company or
troop together as quickly as possible and hurried across the
plain to the camp of the duke, where they spread a vague but
general panic. The officers accused Mahony of treachery to the
Spanish general, and the national jealousy of foreigners made
their tale easily believed; bat Peterborough had taken another
step to secure the success of his diabolical plan against the
honor of his wife's relative.</p>

<p>He made choice of two Irish dragoons, and persuaded them by
bribes and promises of promotion to undertake the dangerous part
of false deserters, and to tell the tale with which he furnished
them. They accordingly set out and rode straight to the camp of
the Duke of Arcos and gave themselves up to the outposts, by whom
they were led before the Spanish general. Questioned by him, they
repeated the story they had been taught.</p>

<p>The statement was that they had been sitting drinking wine
together under some rocks on the hillside, close to where the
conference was held, and that Peterborough and Mahony, walking
apart from the others, came near to where they were sitting, but
did not notice them, and that they saw the earl deliver five
thousand pistoles to Mahony, and heard him promise to make him a
major general in the English army, and to give him the command of
ten thousand Irish Catholics which were being raised for the
service of King Charles. They said that they were content to
receive no reward, but to be shot as spies if Mahony himself did
not give proof of treachery by carrying out his arrangements with
the earl, by sending a messenger requesting the duke to march
that night across the plain toward Murviedro to the Carthusian
convent, where everything would be arranged for their destruction
by a strong ambush of British troops.</p>

<p>Scarcely had the men finished their story when an aide de camp
galloped in from Mahony with the very proposition which they had
reported that he would make. Arcos had now no doubt whatever of
Mahony's treason, and instead of complying with his request,
which was obviously the best course to have been pursued, as the
junction of the two armies would thereby have been completed, the
duke broke up his camp without delay and fell back in exactly the
opposite direction.</p>

<p>This was exactly what Peterborough had been scheming to bring
about. Mahony, with his cavalry, having delivered over the town,
marched to the Carthusian convent, and there, finding themselves
unsupported, rode on to the spot where the duke had been
encamped, and finding that his army was gone, followed it. On
overtaking it Mahony was instantly arrested and sent a prisoner
to Madrid.</p>

<p>It is satisfactory to know that he succeeded in clearing
himself from the charge of treachery, was promoted to the rank of
major general, and was sent back with Las Torres, who was ordered
to supersede the Duke of Arcos.</p>

<p>The success of the earl's stratagem had been complete. Without
the loss of a single man he had obtained possession of Murviedro,
and had spread such confusion and doubt into the enemy's army
that, although more than three times his own force, it was
marching away in all haste, having abandoned the siege of
Valencia, which city he could now enter with his troops. The
success was a wonderful one; but it is sad to think that it was
gained by such a treacherous and dastardly maneuver, which might
have cost a gallant officer -- who was, moreover, a countryman
and distant connection of the earl -- his honor and his life.</p>

<p>The next day the earl entered the city of Valencia in triumph.
The whole population crowded into the streets. The houses were
decorated with flags and hangings. The church bells pealed out
their welcome, and amid the shouts of the people below and the
waving of handkerchiefs from the ladies at the balconies, he rode
through the streets to the town hall, where all the principal
personages were assembled, followed by the little army with which
he had performed what appeared to have been an impossible
undertaking.</p>

<p>After their incessant labors during the past two months, the
rest at Valencia was most grateful to the troops. The city is
celebrated as being one of the gayest and most delightful in all
Spain. Its situation is lovely, standing within a mile and a half
of the sea, in a rich plain covered with vines, olives, and other
fruit trees, while beyond the plains rise the mountains, range
after range, with the higher summits covered with snow. The
people, at all times pleasure loving, gave themselves up to fetes
and rejoicings for some time after the entrance of the army that
had saved them from such imminent danger, and all vied in
hospitality to the earl and his officers.</p>

<p>King Charles, astonished and delighted at Peterborough's
success, appointed him captain general of all his forces, and
gave him the power of appointing and removing all governors and
other public servants, as he might consider necessary for the
good of the cause, while from London the earl received a dispatch
appointing him plenipotentiary at the court of King Charles.</p>

<p>Here as at Barcelona the earl entered with almost boyish
animation into the gayety of which he was the center. With the
priests and ladies he was an especial favorite, having won the
former by the outward respect which he paid to their religion,
and by the deference he exhibited toward themselves.</p>

<p>Valencia prided itself on being one of the holiest cities in
Spain, and no other town could boast of the connection of so many
saints or the possession of so many relics. The priesthood were
numerous and influential. Religious processions were constantly
passing through the streets, and in the churches the services
were conducted with the greatest pomp and magnificence.</p>

<p>Peterborough, knowing the value of the alliance and assistance
of the priests, spared no pains to stand well with the Church,
revenging himself for the outward deference he paid to it by the
bitterest sarcasm and jeers in his letters to his friends at
home. Believing nothing himself, the gross superstition which he
saw prevailing round him was an argument in favor of his own
disbelief in holy things, and he did not fail to turn it to
advantage.</p>

<p>With the ladies his romantic adventures, his extraordinary
bravery, his energy and endurance, his brilliant wit, his
polished manner, his courtesy and devotion, rendered him an
almost mythical hero; and the fair Valencians were to a woman his
devoted admirers and adherents.</p>

<p>But, while apparently absorbed in pleasure, Peterborough's
energy never slumbered for a moment. His position was still one
of extreme danger. The force of Las Torres, seven thousand
strong, recovering from their panic, had, a day or two after he
entered the town, returned and taken post on some hills near it,
preparatory to recommencing the siege. Four thousand Castilians
were marching to their support by the road leading through Fuente
de la Higuera, while at Madrid, within an easy distance, lay the
overwhelming forces of the main army under Marshal Tesse.. To
cope with these forces he had but his little army in the town,
amounting to but three thousand men, deficient in artillery,
ammunition, and stores of all kinds.</p>

<p>Had Marshal Tesse marched at once to join Las Torres
Peterborough's little force must have been crushed; but the court
of King Philip decided to dispatch the marshal against Barcelona.
Fortunately Peterborough was well informed by the country people
of everything that was passing, for in every town and village
there were men or women who sent him news of all that was going
on in their neighborhood.</p>

<p>It was but a week after they entered Valencia that the earl,
happening to pass close by Jack Stilwell at a brilliant ball,
paused for a moment and said:</p>

<p>"Get away from this in half an hour, find Graham, and bring
him with you to my quarters. Before you go find Colonel
Zinzendorf and tell him to have two hundred men ready to mount at
half past one. He is here somewhere. If you find he has left you
must go round to the barracks. Tell him the matter is to be kept
an absolute secret. I know," the earl said gallantly to the lady
on his arm and to Jack's partner, "we can trust you two ladies to
say nothing of what you have heard. It is indeed grief and pain
to myself and Captain Stilwell to tear ourselves away from such
society, and you may be sure that none but the most pressing
necessity could induce me to do it."</p>

<p>Jack at once led his partner to a seat and set out on the
search for Graham and the colonel of dragoons. He was some time
finding them both, and it was already past one when the three
issued together from the palace where the fete was held, and
hurried off, the two young officers to Peterborough's quarters,
the colonel to his barracks.</p>

<p>The earl was already in his chamber. He had slipped away
unobserved from the ball, and had climbed the wall of the garden,
to avoid being noticed passing out of the entrance. His great wig
and court uniform were thrown aside, and he was putting on the
plain uniform which he used on service when his aides de camp
entered.</p>

<p>"Get rid of that finery and gold lace," he said as they
entered. "You have to do a forty mile ride before morning. I have
received glorious news. One of my partners told me that she had,
just as she was starting for the ball, received a message from a
cousin saying that a vessel had come into port from Genoa with
sixteen brass twenty-four pounder guns, and a quantity of
ammunition and stores, to enable Las Torres to commence the
siege. The stores were landed yesterday, and carts were collected
from the country round in readiness for a start at daybreak this
morning. As these things will be even more useful to us than to
the Spaniards, I mean to have them now. Be as quick as you can. I
have already ordered your horses to be brought round with
mine."</p>

<p>In five minutes they were in the saddle and rode quickly to
the cavalry barracks. The streets were still full of people; but
the earl in his simple uniform passed unnoticed through them. The
dragoons were already mounted when they reached the barracks.</p>

<p>"We will go out at the back gate, colonel," the earl said.
"Take the most quiet streets by the way, and make for the west
gate. Break your troop up into four parties, and let them go by
different routes, so that any they meet will suppose they are
merely small bodies going out to relieve the outposts. If it was
suspected that I was with you, and that an expedition was on
foot, the Spaniards would hear it in an hour. Loyal as the
population are here, there must be many adherents of Philip among
them, and Las Torres no doubt has his spies as well as we
have."</p>

<p>The earl's orders were carried out, and half an hour later the
four parties again assembled at a short distance outside the city
gates. Peterborough placed himself at their head and rode
directly for the sea.</p>

<p>"The Spaniards are sure to have outposts placed on all the
roads leading inland," he said to Colonel Zinzendorf, "and the
Spanish irregulars will be scattered all over the country; but I
do not suppose they will have any down as far as the
seashore."</p>

<p>When they reached the coast they followed a small road running
along its margin. Two or three miles further they turned off and
rode inland till they struck a main road, so as to avoid
following all the windings of the coast. They now pushed on at a
sharp trot, and just at four o'clock came down upon the little
port.</p>

<p>Its streets were cumbered with country carts, and as the
dragoons dashed into the place a few shots were fired by some
Spanish soldiers belonging to a small detachment which had been
sent by Las Torres to act as a convoy for the guns and stores,
and who were sleeping on the pavement or scattered among the
houses in readiness for a start at daybreak. The resistance soon
ceased. Before entering the place Peterborough had placed a
cordon of dragoons in a semicircle round it to prevent any one
passing out.</p>

<p>No time was lost; the carts were already loaded, and a troop
of cavalry horses stood picketed by the guns. These were soon
harnessed up, and the few other horses in the place were seized
to prevent any one riding off with the news. The order was given
to the peasants to start their carts, and in ten minutes after
their entering the place the convoy was on its way with its long
row of carts laden with ammunition and its sixteen guns.</p>

<p>The cordon of dragoons was still left round the town, the
officer in command being ordered to allow no one to pass for an
hour and a half, after which time he was to gallop on with his
men to overtake the convoy, as by that time it would be no longer
possible for any one to carry the news to Las Torres in time for
him to put his troops into motion to cut off the convoy from
Valencia. The journey back took much longer than the advance, for
the carts, drawn for the most part by bullocks, made but slow
progress. Three hours after the convoy started the dragoons left
behind overtook them. When within three miles of the town, they
were met by a small party of the enemy's Spanish militia; but
these were at once scattered by a charge of the dragoons, and the
convoy proceeded without further molestation until just at noon
it entered the gates of Valencia, where the astonishment and
delight of the inhabitants at its appearance were unbounded.</p>

<p>In a few hours the cannon were all mounted in position on the
ramparts, adding very much to the defensive power of the town,
which was now safe for a time from any attempt at a siege by Las
Torres, whose plans would be entirely frustrated by the capture
of the artillery intended for the siege.</p>

<p>But Peterborough was not yet contented. The junction of the
four thousand Castilians, of whose approach he had heard, with
Las Torres would raise the force under that general to a point
which would enable him to blockade the town pending the arrival
of artillery for siege works; and no sooner had the earl returned
to his quarters, after seeing the cannon placed upon the walls,
than he began his preparations for another expedition. He ordered
Colonel Zinzendorf to march quietly out of the city at eight
o'clock with four hundred of his dragoons, and four hundred
British and as many Spanish infantry were to join him outside the
walls. The colonels of these three bodies were ordered to say
nothing of their intended movement, and to issue no orders until
within half an hour of the time named. At the same hour the rest
of the troops were to march to the walls and form a close cordon
round them, so as to prevent any one from letting himself down by
a rope and taking the news that an expedition was afoot to Las
Torres.</p>

<p>At a few minutes past eight, eight hundred foot and four
hundred horse assembled outside the gates, and Peterborough took
the command. His object was to crush the Castilians before they
could effect a junction with Las Torres. In order to do this it
would be necessary to pass close by the Spanish camp, which
covered the road by which the reinforcements were advancing to
join them.</p>

<p>In perfect silence the party moved forward and marched to a
ford across the river Xucar, a short distance only below the
Spanish camp. Peterborough rode at their head, having by his side
a Spanish gentleman acquainted with every foot of the country.
They forded the river without being observed, and then, making as
wide a circuit as possible round the camp, came down upon the
road without the alarm being given; then they pushed forward, and
after three hours' march came upon the Castilians at Fuente de la
Higuera. The surprise was complete. The Spaniards, knowing that
the Spanish army lay between them and the town, had taken no
precautions, and the British were in possession of the place
before they were aware of their danger.</p>

<p>There was no attempt at resistance beyond a few hasty shots.
The Castilians were sleeping wrapped up in their cloaks around
the place, and on the alarm they leaped up and fled wildly in all
directions. In the darkness great numbers got away, but six
hundred were taken prisoners. An hour was spent in collecting and
breaking the arms left behind by the fugitives, and the force,
with their prisoners in their midst, then started back on their
return march. The circuit of the Spanish camp was made, and the
ford passed as successfully as before, and just as daylight was
breaking the little army marched into Valencia.</p>

<p>The news rapidly spread, and the inhabitants hurried into the
streets, unable at first to credit the news that the Castilian
army, whose approach menaced the safety of the town, was
destroyed. The movement of the troops on the previous night to
the ramparts and the absence of the greater part of the officers
from the festivities had occasioned some comment; but as none
knew that an expedition had set out, it was supposed that the
earl had received news from his spies that Las Torres intended to
attempt a sudden night attack, and the people would have doubted
the astonishing news they now received had it not been for the
presence of the six hundred Castilian prisoners.</p>

<p>These two serious misadventures caused Las Torres to despair
of success against a town defended by so energetic and
enterprising a commander as Peterborough, and he now turned his
thoughts toward the small towns of Sueca and Alcira. Below these
towns and commanded by their guns was the important bridge of
Cullera, by which by far the greater portion of the supplies for
the town was brought in from the country. Las Torres therefore
determined to seize these places, which were distant about
fifteen miles from his camp, and so to straiten the town for
provisions.</p>

<p>As usual, Peterborough's spies brought him early intelligence
of the intended movement, and the orders issued by Las Torres
were known to the earl a few hours later. It needed all his
activity to be in time. Five hundred English and six hundred
Spanish infantry, and four hundred horse, were ordered to march
with all speed to the threatened towns; and, pushing on without a
halt, the troops reached them half an hour before the Spanish
force appeared on the spot. On finding the two towns strongly
occupied by the British, Las Torres abandoned his intention and
drew off his troops.</p>

<p>A portion of the Spanish army were cantoned in a village only
some two miles from Alcira, and a few days later Peterborough
determined to surprise it, and for that purpose marched out at
night from Valencia with an English force of a thousand men, and
reached the spot intended at daybreak as he had arranged. The
Spanish garrison of Alcira, also about a thousand strong, had
orders to sally out and attack the village at the same hour. The
Spaniards also arrived punctually, but just as they were
preparing to burst upon the unconscious enemy, who were four
thousand strong, they happened to come upon a picket of twenty
horse. An unaccountable panic seized them; they broke their ranks
and fled in such utter confusion that many of the terror stricken
soldiers killed each other. The picket aroused the enemy, who
quickly fell into their ranks, and Peterborough, seeing that it
would be madness to attack them with his wearied and unsupported
force, reluctantly ordered a retreat, which he conducted in
perfect order and without the loss of a man.</p>

<p>This was Peterborough's only failure; with this exception
every one of his plans had proved successful, and he only failed
here from trusting for once to the cooperation of his wholly
unreliable Spanish allies. After this nothing was done on either
side for several weeks.</p>

<p>The campaign had been one of the most extraordinary ever
accomplished, and its success was due in no degree to chance, but
solely to the ability of Peterborough himself. Wild as many of
his schemes appeared, they were always planned with the greatest
care. He calculated upon almost every possible contingency, and
prepared for it. He never intrusted to others that which he could
do himself, and he personally commanded every expedition even of
the most petty kind.</p>

<p>His extraordinary physical powers of endurance enabled him to
support fatigue and to carry out adventure, which would have
prostrated most other men. The highest praise, too, is due to the
troops, who proved themselves worthy of such a leader. Their
confidence in their chief inspired them with a valor equal to his
own. They bore uncomplainingly the greatest hardships and
fatigues, and engaged unquestioningly in adventures and exploits
against odds which made success appear absolutely hopeless. The
hundred and fifty dragoons who followed the Earl of Peterborough
to the conquest of Valencia deserve a place side by side with the
greatest heroes of antiquity.</p>

<h1 align="CENTER"><a name="CHAPTER_XII"></a>CHAPTER XII:
IRREGULAR WARFARE</h1>

<p>From the moment that the news of the loss of Barcelona had
reached Madrid, Philip of Anjou had labored strenuously to
collect a force sufficient to overwhelm his enemies. He had,
moreover, written urgently to Louis XIV for assistance, and
although France was at the moment obliged to make strenuous
efforts to show a front to Marlborough and his allies, who had
already at Blenheim inflicted a disastrous defeat upon her, Louis
responded to the appeal. Formidable French armies were assembled
at Saragossa and Roussillon, while a fleet of twelve ships of the
line, under the command of the Count of Toulouse, sailed to
blockade Barcelona, and the Duke of Berwick, one of the ablest
generals of the day, was sent to head the southern army.</p>

<p>In January the French army of Catalonia, under Marshal Tesse,
reached Saragossa, where the arrogance and brutality of the
marshal soon excited a storm of hatred among the Aragonese. The
towns resisted desperately the entry of the French troops;
assassinations of officers and men were matters of daily
occurrence, and the savage reprisals adopted by the marshal,
instead of subduing, excited the Spaniards to still fiercer
resistance. But savage and cruel as was the marshal, he was in no
haste to meet the enemy in the field, and Philip, who was with
him, had the greatest difficulty in getting him to move
forward.</p>

<p>It was in the last week of February that the news reached the
Earl of Peterborough that Marshal Tesse had left Saragossa, and
was marching toward Lerida. This was two days after the
unsuccessful attempt to surprise the enemy's camp near Alcira;
and, menaced as Valencia was by a force greatly superior to his
own, he could not leave the city, which in his absence would
speedily have succumbed to the attack of Las Torres. He walked
quickly up and down his room for some minutes and then said:</p>

<p>"Captain Stilwell, I cannot leave here myself, but I will send
you to the Marquis of Cifuentes. You have shown the greatest
activity and energy with me, and I do not doubt that you will do
equally well when acting independently. I will give you a letter
to the marquis, saying that you are one of my most trusted and
valued officers, and begging him to avail himself to the fullest
of your energy and skill. I shall tell him that at present I am
tied here, but that when the enemy reach Barcelona, I shall at
all hazards march hence and take post in their rear and do what I
can to prevent their carrying on the siege. In the mean time I
beg him to throw every obstacle in the way of their advance, to
hold every pass to the last, to hang on their rear, attack
baggage trains, and cut off stragglers. He cannot hope to defeat
Tesse, but he may wear out and dispirit his men by constant
attacks. You speak Spanish fluently enough now, and will be able
to advise and suggest. Remember, every day that Tesse is delayed
gives so much time to the king to put Barcelona in a state of
defense. With my little force I cannot do much even when I come.
The sole hope of Barcelona is to hold out until a fleet arrives
from England. If the king would take my advice I will guarantee
that he shall be crowned in Madrid in two months; but those pig
headed Germans who surround him set him against every proposition
I make. You had better start tonight as soon as it gets dark, and
take a mounted guide with you who knows the country
thoroughly.</p>

<p>"It will be a change for you, from the pleasures of Valencia
to a guerrilla warfare in the mountains in this inclement season,
Stilwell," Graham said as they left the general. "I don't think I
should care about your mission. I own I have enjoyed myself in
Valencia, and I have lost my heart a dozen times since we
arrived."</p>

<p>"I have not lost mine at all," Jack said laughing, "and I am
sick of all these balls and festivities. I was not brought up to
it, you know, and rough as the work may be I shall prefer it to a
long stay here."</p>

<p>"Yes," Graham agreed, "I should not care for a long stay, but
you may be quite certain the earl will not remain inactive here
many weeks. He is waiting to see how things go, and the moment
the game is fairly opened you may be sure he will be on the
move."</p>

<p>"Yes, I don't suppose you will be very long after me," Jack
said; "still, I am not sorry to go."</p>

<p>At seven o'clock in the evening Jack set out, taking with him
two dragoons as orderlies, the earl having suggested that he
should do so.</p>

<p>"Always do a thing yourself if it is possible, Captain
Stilwell; but there are times when you must be doing something
else, and it is as well to have some one that you can rely upon;
besides, the orderlies will give you additional importance in the
eyes of the peasants. Most of the men have picked up some
Spanish, but you had better pick out two of my orderlies who are
best up in it."</p>

<p>Jack had spent the afternoon in making a round of calls at the
houses where he had been entertained, and after the exchange of
adieus, ceremonial speeches, and compliments, he was heartily
glad when the gates closed behind him and he set out on his
journey. As the road did not pass anywhere near the Spanish camp
there was little fear of interruption in the way. The guide led
them by little frequented tracks across the hills, and by morning
they were far on their road.</p>

<p>They were frequently obliged to make detours to avoid towns
and villages favorable to King Philip. Why one town or village
should take one side, and the next the other, was inexplicable to
Jack, but it was so, and throughout the country this singular
anomaly existed. It could be accounted for by a variety of
causes. A popular mayor or a powerful landed proprietor, whose
sympathies were strong with one side or the other, would probably
be followed by the townspeople or peasants. The influence of the
priests, too, was great, and this also was divided. However it
was, the fact remained that, as with Villa Real and Nules,
neighboring towns were frequently enthusiastically in favor of
opposite parties. As Jack had seen all the dispatches and letters
which poured in to the earl, he knew what were the circumstances
which prevailed in every town and village. He knew to what
residences of large proprietors he could ride up with an
assurance of welcome, and those which must be carefully
avoided.</p>

<p>In some parts of the journey, where the general feeling was
hostile, Jack adopted the tactics of his general, riding boldly
into the village with his two dragoons clattering behind him,
summoning the head men before him, and peremptorily ordering that
provisions and forage should be got together for the five hundred
horsemen who might be expected to come in half an hour. The
terror caused by Peterborough's raids was so great that the mere
sight of the English uniform was sufficient to insure obedience,
and without any adventure of importance Jack and his companions
rode on, until, on the third day after leaving Valencia, they
approached Lerida. Groups of armed peasants hurrying in the same
direction were now overtaken. These saluted Jack with shouts of
welcome, and he learned that, on the previous day, Marshal Tesse
with his army had crossed from Arragon into Catalonia, and that
the alarm bells had been rung throughout the district.</p>

<p>From the peasants Jack learned where the Count of Cifuentes
would be found. It was in a village among the hills, to the left
of the line by which the enemy were advancing. It was toward this
place that the peasants were hastening. Jack had frequently met
the count at the siege of Barcelona, and had taken a strong
liking for the gallant and dashing Spanish nobleman. The village
was crowded with peasants armed with all sorts of weapons --
rough, hardy, resolute men, determined to defend their country to
the last against the invaders. A shout of satisfaction arose as
Jack and his two troopers rode in, and at the sound the count
himself appeared at the door of the principal house in the
village.</p>

<p>"Ah, Senor Stilwell," he said, "this in an unexpected
pleasure. I thought that you were with the earl in Valencia."</p>

<p>"So I have been, count, but he has sent me hither with a
dispatch for you, and, as you will see by its contents, places me
for awhile at your disposal."</p>

<p>"I am pleased indeed to hear it," the count said; "but pray,
senor --"</p>

<p>"Captain, count," Jack said with a smile, "for to such rank
the earl has been pleased to promote me as a recognition for such
services as I was able to perform in his campaign against
Valencia."</p>

<p>"Ah," the count said, "you earned it well. Every man in that
wonderful force deserved promotion. It was an almost miraculous
adventure, and recalled the feats of the Cid. Truly the days of
chivalry are not passed; your great earl has proved the
contrary."</p>

<p>They had now entered the house, and, after pouring out a cup
of wine for Jack after the fatigue of his ride, the count opened
the dispatch of which Jack was the bearer.</p>

<p>"It is well." he said when he had read it. "As you see for
yourself I am already preparing to carry out the first part, for
the alarm bells have been ringing out from every church tower in
this part of Catalonia, and in another twenty-four hours I expect
six thousand peasants will be out. But, as the earl says, I have
no hope with such levies as these of offering any effectual
opposition to the advance of the enemy.</p>

<p>"The Miquelets cannot stand against disciplined troops. They
have no confidence in themselves, and a thousand Frenchmen could
rout six thousand of them; but as irregulars they can be trusted
to fight. You shall give me the advantage of your experience and
wide knowledge, and we will dispute every pass, cut off their
convoys, and harass them. I warrant that they will have to move
as a body, for it will go hard with any party who may be detached
from the rest."</p>

<p>"I fear, count, you must not rely in any way upon my
knowledge," Jack said. "I am a very young officer, though I have
had the good fortune to be promoted to the rank of captain."</p>

<p>"Age goes for nothing in this warfare," the count said. "The
man of seventy and the boy of fifteen who can aim straight from
behind a rock are equally welcome. It is not a deep knowledge of
military science that will be of any use to us here. What is
wanted is a quick eye, a keen spirit, and courage. These I know
that you have, or you would never have won the approbation of the
Earl of Peterborough, who is, of all men, the best judge on such
matters. Now I will order supper to be got ready soon, as it
must, I am sure, be long since you had food. While it is being
prepared I will, with your permission, go out and inspect the new
arrivals. Fortunately, ten days ago, foreseeing that Tesse would
probably advance by this line, I sent several wagon loads of
provisions to this village, and a store of ammunition."</p>

<p>Jack accompanied the count into the street of the village. The
latter went about among the peasants with a kindly word of
welcome to each, giving them the cheering news that though the
great English general was occupied in Valencia, he had promised
that, when the time came, he would come with all haste to the
defense of Barcelona, and in the mean time he had sent an officer
of his own staff to assist him to lead the noble Catalans in the
defense of their country. On the steps of the church the priest,
with half a dozen willing assistants, was distributing food from
the wagons to the peasants.</p>

<p>"Don't open the ammunition wagon tonight," the count said.
"The men must not take as much as they like, but the ammunition
must be served out regularly, for a Catalan will never believe
that he has too much powder, and if left alone the first comers
would load themselves with it, and the supply would run short
before all are provided."</p>

<p>The count then entered the church, where a party of men were
occupied in putting down a thick layer of straw. Here as many as
could find room were to sleep, the others sheltering in the
houses and barns, for the nights were still very cold among the
hills. Having seen that all was going on well, the count returned
to his quarters, where a room had been assigned to Jack's two
dragoons, and the sound of loud laughter from within showed that
they were making themselves at home with the inmates.</p>

<p>A well cooked repast was soon on the table, and to this Jack
and his host did full justice.</p>

<p>"This wine is excellent; surely it does not grow on these
hills!"</p>

<p>"No," the count said, laughing. "I am ready to run the risk of
being killed, but I do not want to be poisoned, so I sent up a
score or two of flasks from my own cellars. The vineyards of
Cifuentes are reckoned among the first in this part of Spain. And
now," he said, when they had finished and the table had been
cleared, "we will take a look at the map and talk over our plans.
The enemy leave Lerida tomorrow. I have already ordered that the
whole country along their line of march shall be wasted, that all
stores of corn, wine, and forage which cannot be carried off
shall be destroyed, and that every horse and every head of cattle
shall be driven away. I have also ordered the wells to be
poisoned."</p>

<p>Jack looked grave. "I own that I don't like that," he
said.</p>

<p>"I do not like it myself," the count replied; "but if an enemy
invades your country you must oppose him by all means. Water is
one of the necessaries of life, and as one can't carry off the
wells one must render them useless; but I don't wish to kill in
this way, and have given strict orders that in every case where
poison is used, a placard, with a notice that it has been done,
shall be affixed to the wells."</p>

<p>"In that case," Jack said, "I quite approve of what you have
done, count; the wells then simply cease to exist as sources of
supply."</p>

<p>"I wish I could poison all the running streams too," the count
said; "but unfortunately they are beyond us, and there are so
many little streams caused by the melting snow on the hills that
I fear we shall not be able greatly to straiten the enemy. At
daybreak tomorrow I will mount with you, and we will ride some
twenty miles along the road and select the spots where a sturdy
resistance can best be made. By the time we get back here most of
the peasants who are coming will have assembled. These we will
form into bands, some to hold the passes and to dispute the
advance, others to hang upon the skirts and annoy them
incessantly, some to close in behind, cut off wagons that break
down or lag by the way, and to prevent, if possible, any convoys
from the rear from joining them."</p>

<p>This programme was carried out. Several spots were settled on
where an irregular force could oppose a stout resistance to
trained troops, and points were fixed upon where breastworks
should be thrown up, walls utilized, and houses loopholed and
placed in a state of defense.</p>

<p>It was late in the afternoon before they rode again into the
village. The gathering of peasants was now very largely
increased, and extended over the fields for some distance round
the place. The count at once gave orders that all should form up
in regular order according to the villages from which they came.
When this was done he divided them into four groups.</p>

<p>The first, two thousand strong, was intended to hold the
passes; two others, each one thousand strong, were to operate
upon the flanks of the enemy; and a fourth, of the same strength,
to act in its rear.</p>

<p>"Now, Captain Stilwell," he said, "will you take the command
of whichever of these bodies you choose?"</p>

<p>"I thank you, count, for the offer," Jack said, "but I will
take no command whatever. In the first place, your Catalans would
very strongly object to being led by a foreigner, especially by
one so young and unknown as myself. In the second place, I would
rather, with your permission, remain by your side. You will
naturally command the force that opposes the direct attack, and,
as the bulk of the fighting will fall on them, I should prefer
being there. I will act as your lieutenant."</p>

<p>"Well, since you choose it, perhaps it is best so," the count
said. "These peasants fight best their own way. They are given to
sudden retreats, but they rally quickly and return again to the
fight, and they will probably fight better under their own local
leaders than under a stranger. You will see they have no idea of
fighting in a body; the men of each village will fight together
and act independently of the rest. Many of them, you see, are
headed by priests, not a few of whom have brought rifles with
them. These will generally lead their own villagers, and their
authority is far greater than that which any layman could obtain
over them. I must appoint a leader to each body to direct their
general movements; the village chiefs will do the rest."</p>

<p>While the count had been absent several other gentlemen of
good family had arrived in the village, some marching in with the
peasants on their estates. Three of these were appointed to lead
the three bands destined for the flank and rear attacks. The next
three hours were devoted to the distribution of provisions and
ammunition, each man taking four days' supply of the former, and
receiving sufficient powder and bullets for forty rounds of the
latter. All were ordered to be in readiness to march two hours
before daybreak.</p>

<p>The count then retired to his quarters, and there pointed out
on the map to the three divisional leaders the spots where he
intended to make a stand, and gave them instructions as to their
respective shares of the operations. Their orders were very
general. They were to post their men on the side hills, and as
much behind cover as possible, to keep up a galling fire at the
column, occasionally to show in threatening masses as if about to
charge down, so as to cause as much alarm and confusion as
possible, and, should at any point the nature of the ground favor
it, they were to dash down upon the baggage train and to
hamstring the horses, smash the wheels, and create as much damage
as they could, and to fall back upon the approach of a strong
body of the enemy. Those in the rear were to press closely up so
as to necessitate a strong force being kept there to oppose them.
But their principal duties were to hold the passes, and to
prevent any convoys, unless very strongly guarded, from reaching
the enemy from his base at Saragossa.</p>

<p>After these instructions had been given supper was spread, and
some fifteen or twenty of the principal persons who had joined
were invited by the count, and a pleasant evening was spent.</p>

<p>It was interesting to Jack to observe the difference between
this gathering and that which had taken place in the Earl of
Peterborough's quarters on the evening before the attack on San
Matteo. There, although many considered that the prospects of
success on the following day were slight indeed, all was
merriment and mirth. The whole party were in the highest spirits,
and the brilliant wit of the earl, and his reckless spirit of
fun, had kept the party in continual laughter.</p>

<p>The tone on the contrary at the present gathering was quiet
and almost stiff. These grave Catalan nobles, fresh from their
country estates, contrasted strongly with the more lively and
joyous inhabitants of Valencia. Each addressed the other with
ceremony, and listened with grave attention to the remarks of
each speaker in turn.</p>

<p>During the whole evening nothing approaching to a joke was
made, there was scarcely a smile upon the countenance of any
present; and yet the tone of courtliness and deference to the
opinions of each other, the grave politeness, the pride with
which each spoke of his country, their enthusiasm in the cause,
and the hatred with which they spoke of the enemy, impressed Jack
very favorably; and though, as he said to himself when thinking
it over, the evening had certainly not been a lively one, it had
by no means been unpleasant.</p>

<p>Two hours before daybreak the bell of the church gave the
signal. As the men had only to rise to their feet, shake
themselves, take up their arms, and sling their bags of
provisions round their necks, it was but a few minutes before
they were formed up in order. The count saw the three divisions
file off silently in the darkness, and then, placing himself at
the head of the main body, led the way toward the spot which he
and Jack had selected for opposing the march of Tesse's invading
column.</p>

<p>Daylight was just breaking when they reached it, and the count
ordered the men to pile their arms and at once to set to work.
The road, which had been winding along in a valley, here mounted
a sharp rise, on the very brow of which stood a hamlet of some
twenty houses. It had already been deserted by the inhabitants,
and the houses were taken possession of by the workers. Those
facing the brow of the hill were loopholed, as were the walls
along the same line. Men were set to work to build a great
barricade across the road, and to run breastworks of stones right
and left from the points where the walls ended along the brow.
Other parties loopholed the houses and walls of the village, and
formed another barricade across the road at the other end. With
two thousand men at work these tasks were soon carried out; and
the count then led the men down the hill, whose face was covered
with loose stones, and set them to work piling these in lines one
above another.</p>

<p>At ten o'clock in the morning the work was complete. The count
told the men off by parties, each of which were to hold one of
the lines of stones; each party was, as the French charged, to
retire up the hill and join that at the line above, so that their
resistance would become more and more obstinate till the village
itself was reached. Here a stand was to be made as long as
possible. If the column advanced only by the road, every house
was to be held; if they spread out in line so as to overlap the
village on both sides, a rapid retreat was to be made when the
bugler by the count's side gave the signal.</p>

<p>The men sat down to breakfast in their allotted places, quiet,
grave, and stern; and again the contrast with the laughter and
high spirits which prevail among English soldiers, when fighting
is expected, struck Jack very forcibly.</p>

<p>"They would make grand soldiers if properly trained, these
grave, earnest looking men," he said to himself. "They look as if
they could endure any amount of fatigue and hardship; and
although they don't take things in the same cheerful light our
men do, no one can doubt their courage. I can quite understand
now the fact that the Spanish infantry was once considered the
finest in Europe. If they only had leaders and discipline Spain
would not want any foreign aid; her own people would be more than
a match for any army the French could send across the northern
frontier."</p>

<p>The meal was scarcely finished when, at the end of the valley,
some three miles away, a cloud of dust was seen to rise with the
sparkle of the sun on arms and accouterments.</p>

<p>"There are Tesse's cavalry!" the count exclaimed. "Another
half hour will cause a transformation in this quiet valley."</p>

<p>The head of the column came on but slowly, the cavalry
regiment forming it accommodating their pace to that of the
infantry and baggage wagons in the rear. Slowly they moved on,
until the bottom of the valley appeared covered with a moving
mass extending from the end, three miles away, to within half a
mile of the foot of the hill on which the Spaniards were posted.
Suddenly from the hillsides on the left puffs of smoke darted
out, and instantly a similar fire was opened on the right.</p>

<p>"They are at work at last," Jack exclaimed as the rattle of
musketry sounded loud and continuous. "I wondered when they were
going to begin."</p>

<p>"I told them to let the column pass nearly to the head of the
valley before they opened fire," the count said. "Had they begun
soon after the enemy entered the valley, they would have left all
their baggage behind under a guard, and the infantry would have
been free to attack the hills at once. Now they are all crowded
up in the valley -- horse, foot, and baggage. The wounded horses
will become unmanageable, and there is sure to be confusion,
though perhaps not panic. See, they are answering our fire! They
might as well save their powder, for they are only throwing away
ammunition by firing away at the hillside."</p>

<p>This indeed was the case; for Jack, although in the course of
the morning he had frequently watched the hillside for signs of
the other parties, had not made out the slightest movement, so
completely were the men hidden behind rocks and bushes.</p>

<p>Strong bodies of infantry were thrown out by Tesse on both
flanks, and these began to climb the hills, keeping up a heavy
fire at their concealed foe, while the main column continued its
way.</p>

<p>Not a shot was fired by the Spanish until the head of the
column was within a hundred yards of the foot of the rise, and
then from the whole face of the hill a heavy fire was opened. The
enemy recoiled, and for a time there was great confusion near the
head of the column; an officer of high rank dashed up, and the
troops formed out into a line across the whole width of the
valley and then moved forward steadily; so heavy were their
losses, however, that they presently came to a standstill. But
reinforcements coming up, they again pressed forward, firing as
they went.</p>

<p>Not until they were within twenty yards did the Miquelets
lining the lower wall of rocks leave their post, and, covered by
the smoke, gain with little loss the line next above them. Slowly
the enemy won their way uphill, suffering heavily as they did so,
and continually being reinforced from the rear. At the last wall
the peasants, gathered now together, maintained a long
resistance; and it was not until fully four thousand of the enemy
were brought up that the position was seriously threatened. Then
their leader, seeing that they would sustain very heavy loss if
the enemy carried the wall by assault, ordered his trumpeter to
sound the retreat. It was at once obeyed, and by the time the
French had crossed the wall the peasants had already passed out
at the other end of the village.</p>

<p>As the French cavalry had not been able to pass the lower
walls there was no pursuit. The peasants rallied after a rapid
flight of a mile. Their loss had been small, while that of the
French had been very considerable; and the marshal halted his
troops round the village for the day.</p>

<p>The result of the fighting added to the resolution of the
peasants, and as soon as the French continued their route the
next morning the fighting began again. It was a repetition of
that of the preceding day. The enemy had to contest every foot of
the ground, and were exposed to a galling fire along the whole
line of their march. Many times they made desperate efforts to
drive the peasants from the hillsides; sometimes they were beaten
back with heavy loss, and when they succeeded it was only to find
the positions they attacked deserted and their active defenders
already beyond musket fire. At night they had no respite; the
enemy swarmed round their camp, shot down the sentries, and
attacked with such boldness that the marshal was obliged to keep
a large number of his men constantly under arms.</p>

<p>At last, worn out by fatigue and fighting, the weary army
emerged from the hills into the wide valleys, where their cavalry
were able to act, and the ground no longer offered favorable
positions of defense to the peasantry. Seeing the uselessness of
further attacks, the Count of Cifuentes drew off his peasants;
and Tesse marched on to Barcelona and effected a junction with
the troops from Roussillon under the Duke de Noailles, who had
come down by the way of Gerona. The town was at once invested on
the land side; while the Count of Toulouse, with thirty French
ships, blockaded it from the sea.</p>

<h1 align="CENTER"><a name="CHAPTER_XIII"></a>CHAPTER XIII: THE
FRENCH CONVOY</h1>

<p>A report having arrived at the camp of the Count of Cifuentes
that the peasants around Saragossa had risen in insurrection,
Jack thought that he should be doing more good by discovering the
truth of the rumor, and by keeping the earl informed of the state
of things in the enemy's rear, than by remaining with the count.
He hesitated whether he should take his two orderlies with him,
but as they were well mounted he decided that they should
accompany him, as they would add to his authority, and would, in
case of need, enable him the better to assume the position of an
officer riding in advance of a considerable force.</p>

<p>After a hearty adieu from the Count of Cifuentes, he started
soon after daybreak. After riding for some hours, just as he
reached the top of a rise, up which he had walked his horse, one
of the orderlies, who were riding a few paces behind him, rode
up.</p>

<p>"I think, Captain Stilwell," he said, "I hear the sound of
firing. Brown thinks he hears it too."</p>

<p>Jack reined in his horse.</p>

<p>"I hear nothing," he said, after a pause of a minute.</p>

<p>"I don't hear it now, sir," the man said. "I think it came
down on a puff of wind.. If you wait a minute or two I think you
will hear it."</p>

<p>Jack waited another two minutes, and then was about to resume
his journey, when suddenly a faint sound came upon the wind.</p>

<p>"You are right, Thompson," he exclaimed, "that's firing, sure
enough. It must be a convoy attacked by peasants."</p>

<p>He touched his horse with the spur and galloped forward. Two
miles further on, crossing the brow, they saw, half a mile ahead
of them in the dip of the valley, a number of wagons huddled
together. On either side of the road men were lying, and the
spurts of smoke that rose from these, as well as from the wagons,
proved that they were still stoutly defending themselves. A light
smoke rose from every bush and rock on the hillsides around,
showing how numerous were the assailants. Leaving the road, Jack
galloped toward the hill. Presently several balls came singing
round them.</p>

<p>"They think we are French, sir," one of the troopers said. "I
guess they don't know much about uniforms."</p>

<p>Jack drew out a white handkerchief and waved it as he rode
forward, shouting as he did, "English, English." The fire ceased,
and the little party soon reached the spot where the peasants
were lying thickly in their ambushes.</p>

<p>"I am an English officer," Jack said as he leaped from his
horse. "Where is your leader?"</p>

<p>"There is one of them," a peasant said, pointing to a priest,
who, with a long musket in his hand, rose from behind a log.</p>

<p>"Reverend father," Jack said, "I have come from the Earl of
Peterborough with a mission to understand how matters go in
Arragon, and to ascertain what force would be likely to join him
in this province against the invader."</p>

<p>"You see for yourself how things go," the priest said. "I am
glad to see an officer of the great Earl of Peterborough, whose
exploits have excited the admiration of all Spain. To whom have I
the honor of speaking?"</p>

<p>"I am Captain Stilwell, one of the earl's aides de camp; and
you, father?"</p>

<p>"I am Ignacio Bravos, the humble padre of the village of San
Aldephonso. And now, Captain Stilwell, if you will excuse me till
we make an end of these accursed Frenchmen, afterward I will be
at your service."</p>

<p>For another two hour's the conflict continued. Jack saw that
the fire of the defenders of the wagons was decreasing, and he
was not surprised when a white handkerchief was raised on the top
of a bayonet and waved in the air in token of desire to parley. A
shout of exultation rose from the Spaniards. The priest showed
himself on the hillside.</p>

<p>"Do you surrender?" he shouted.</p>

<p>"We surrender the wagons," an officer called back, "on
condition that we are allowed to march off with our arms without
molestation."</p>

<p>A shout of refusal rose from the peasants, and the firing was
instantly renewed. Jack went and sat down by the side of the
priest.</p>

<p>"Father," he said, "it were best to give these men the terms
they ask. War is not massacre."</p>

<p>"Quite so, my son," the priest replied coolly. "That is what
you should have told Marshal Tesse. It is he who has chosen to
make it massacre. Why, man, he has shot and hung hundreds in cold
blood in and around Saragossa, has burned numerous villages in
the neighborhood, and put man, woman, and child to the
sword."</p>

<p>"Then, if this be so, father, I should say, by all means hang
Marshal Tesse when you catch him, but do not punish the innocent
for the guilty. You must remember that these men have been taken
away from their homes in France, and forced to fight in quarrels
in which they have no concern. Like yourself, they are Catholics.
Above all, remember how many scores of villages are at present at
the mercy of the French. If the news comes to the marshal that
you have refused quarter to his soldiers, he will have a fair
excuse for taking vengeance on such of your countrymen as may be
in his power."</p>

<p>"There is something in that," the priest said. "For myself I
have no pity, not a scrap of it, for these Frenchmen, nor would
you have, had you seen as much of their doings as I have, nor do
I think that any retribution that we might deal out to the men
could increase Tesse's hatred and ferocity toward us."</p>

<p>"Still, it might serve as an excuse," Jack urged. "Remember
the eyes of Europe are upon this struggle, and that the report of
wholesale slaughter of your enemies will not influence public
opinion in your favor."</p>

<p>"Public opinion goes for nothing," the priest said
shortly.</p>

<p>"Pardon me, father," Jack replied. "The English and Dutch and
the Duke of Savoy are all fighting in your favor, and we may even
boast that had it not been for the Earl of Peterborough and the
allies the chains of France would be riveted firmly round your
necks. You will tell me, no doubt, that they are fighting for
their own political ends, and from no true love for the Spanish
people. That may be so, but you must remember that although
governments begin wars it is the people who carry them on. Let
the people of England and Holland hear, as they will hear, of the
brutal ferocity of the French marshal on a defenseless people,
and their sympathies will be strongly with you. They will urge
their governments to action, and vote willingly the necessary
sums for carrying on the war. Let them hear that with you too war
is massacre, that you take no prisoners, and kill all that fall
into your hands, and, believe me, the public will soon grow sick
of the war carried on with such cruelty on both sides."</p>

<p>"You are right, my son," the priest said frankly. "Young as
you are, you have seen more of the world than I, who, since I
left the University of Salamanca, have never been ten miles from
my native village. I will do what I can to put a stop to this
matter. But I am not solely in command here. I lead my own
village, but there are the men of a score of villages lying on
these hills. But I will summon all the chiefs to a council
now."</p>

<p>The priest called half a dozen of the peasants to him, and
dispatched them with orders to bring all the other leaders to
take part in a council with an English officer who had arrived
from the great Earl of Peterborough.</p>

<p>In half an hour some twenty men were assembled in a little
hollow on the hillside, where they were sheltered from the fire
of the French. Four or five of these were priests. There were two
or three innkeepers. The remainder were small landed proprietors.
Father Ignacio first addressed them. He stated that the English
officer had come on a mission from the earl, and had arrived
accidentally while the fight was going on, and that he was of
opinion that the French offer of surrender should be accepted. A
murmur of dissent went round the circle.</p>

<p>"I was at first of your opinion," the priest said, "but the
reasons which this English officer has given me in support of his
advice have brought me round to his way of thinking. I will leave
him to state them to you."</p>

<p>Jack now rose to his feet, and repeated the arguments which he
had used to the priest. He gathered from the faces of his hearers
that, although some were convinced that mercy would be the best
policy, others were still bent upon revenge. Father Ignacio then,
in language which he thought best suited to touch his hearers,
repeated Jack's arguments, urging very strongly the vengeance
which the French marshal would be sure to take upon the Spanish
population of the country through which he was passing when he
heard the news.</p>

<p>"Besides," Jack said, when he had finished, "you must remember
you have not conquered the enemy yet. I see the officer has
withdrawn all his men among the wagons, where their shelter will
be nearly as good as yours. They have, doubtless, abundant stores
of ammunition in those wagons, together with food and wine, and
if you force them to fight to the last man they can hold out for
a very long time, and will inflict a heavy loss upon your men
before they are overcome."</p>

<p>"But why should they take their weapons with them?" one of the
men said; "they will be useful to us. Why should we let them
carry them away to kill more Spaniards?"</p>

<p>"The reason why I would let them take their arms is this,"
Jack said. "Unless they march away armed you will not be able to
restrain your followers, who will be likely to break any
convention you may make and to massacre them without mercy. As to
the arms being used again against you, I will put the officers
under their parole that they and their men shall not take any
further part in the war until they are exchanged for an equal
number of prisoners taken by the French."</p>

<p>"Who would trust to a Frenchman's word?" a man asked
scoffingly.</p>

<p>"I would trust to a French officer's word as much as to that
of an English officer," Jack replied. "You would expect them to
trust to your word that they should be safe if they laid down
their arms; and yet, as you know, you might not be able to keep
it. Better a thousand times that a handful of French officers and
men should be allowed to join the enemy's ranks than that the
national honor of Spain should be soiled by a massacre
perpetrated just after a surrender."</p>

<p>"The Englishman is right," Father Ignacio said positively.
"Let us waste no further words on it. Besides, I have a reason of
my own. I started before daybreak without breakfast and have got
nothing but a piece of dry bread with me. If we don't accept
these fellows' surrender we may be on the hillside all night, and
I told my servant that I should have a larded capon and a flask
of my best wine for dinner. That is an argument, my sons, which I
am sure comes home to you all; and remember, if we accept the
surrender we shall soon quench our thirst on the good wine which,
I doubt not, is contained in some of the barrels I see down
yonder."</p>

<p>There was a hearty laugh and the question was settled; and it
was arranged at once that Father Ignacio, one of the other
leaders, and Jack should treat with the enemy. The other leaders
hurried away to their respective sections to order them to cease
firing when a white flag was raised; and, having given them
twenty minutes to get to their several posts, a white
handkerchief was waved in the air. The Spanish fire ceased at
once, and as soon as the French perceived the flag they also
stopped firing.</p>

<p>"We are coming down, three of us, to discuss matters with
you," Father Ignacio shouted out.</p>

<p>The three accordingly descended the hill, and when within a
short distance of the wagons were met by the officer in command
of the convoy and two others.</p>

<p>"We have come to discuss the terms of your surrender," Jack
said. "I am Captain Stilwell, one of Lord Peterborough's aides de
camp. You see your position is desperate."</p>

<p>"Not quite desperate," the French officer replied; "we have
plenty of ammunition and abundance of provisions, and can hold
out for a long time, till rescue comes."</p>

<p>"There is little chance of rescue," Jack said. "Your marshal
has his hands full where he is; and even did he hear of your
situation and detach a force back to your rescue, neither of
which he is likely to do, that force would have to fight every
foot of its way, and assuredly not arrive in time. Nor is there
any more chance of your receiving succor from the rear. You have
made a gallant defense, sir, and might perhaps hold out for many
hours yet; but of what use is it sacrificing the lives of your
men in a vain resistance?"</p>

<p>"What is your proposal?" the officer asked.</p>

<p>"We propose," Jack said, "to allow you to march out with your
arms and five rounds of ammunition to each man, on you and your
officers giving me your parole to consider yourselves and your
men as prisoners of war, and not to serve again until
exchanged."</p>

<p>The terms were far better than the French officer had looked
for.</p>

<p>"I may tell you," Father Ignacio said, "that for these terms
you are indebted solely to this English officer. Had it depended
upon us only, rest assured that no one of you would have gone
away alive."</p>

<p>"You will understand," Jack said, "that you will be allowed to
take your arms solely as a protection against the peasants, who
have been justly enraged by the brutal atrocities of your
general. You know well that even could their leaders here obtain
from their followers a respect for the terms of surrender, your
men would be massacred in the first village through which they
passed were they deprived of their arms. My friends here are
desirous that no stigma of massacre shall rest upon the Spanish
honor, and they have therefore agreed to allow your men to keep
their arms for purposes of defense on their return march."</p>

<p>After a few words with his fellow officers the commander of
the convoy agreed to the terms. "You will, however," he said,
"permit me to take with me one or more wagons, as may be
required, to carry off my wounded?"</p>

<p>This was at once agreed to, and in ten minutes the two
companies of French infantry were in readiness to march. There
were forty wounded in the wagons, and twenty-seven dead were left
behind them. The French officer in command, before marching off,
thanked Jack very heartily for his interference on their
behalf.</p>

<p>"I tell you frankly, Captain Stilwell," he said, "that I had
no hopes whatever that I or any of my men would leave the ground
alive, for these Spaniards invariably massacre prisoners who fall
into their hands. I could not have left my wounded behind me; and
even if I had resolved to do so, the chances of our fighting our
way back in safety would have been small indeed. We owe you our
lives, sir; and should it ever be in the power of Major Ferre to
repay the debt, you may rely upon me."</p>

<p>"I trust that the fortune of war may never place me in a
position when I may need to recall your promise," Jack said,
smiling; "but should it do so, I will not fail to remind you if I
get a chance."</p>

<p>All was now ready for the march. Two wagons which had been
hastily emptied were, with the wounded men, placed in the center,
and the French, numbering now less than a hundred, started on
their march. The Spanish peasants remained in their places on the
hillside till they had departed, as the leaders had agreed that
it was better they should be kept away from the vicinity of the
French, as a quarrel would be certain to take place did they come
to close quarters. The peasants were indignant at what they
deemed the escape of their enemies; but the desire of plunder
soon overcame other considerations, and as soon as the French had
marched off they poured down from the hills. Their leaders,
however, restrained them from indiscriminate plundering. There
were in all eighty-seven wagons loaded with wine, corn, flour,
and provisions for the use of the army.</p>

<p>An equal division was made of these among the various bands of
peasants in proportion to their strength. A few casks of wine
were broached. The peasants then buried their own dead -- who
were very few in number, so securely had they been sheltered in
their hiding places -- and then the force broke up, each party
marching with its proportion of wagons back to its village.</p>

<p>"Now, Signor Capitano," Father Ignacio said, "I trust that you
will come home with me. My village is six miles away, and I will
do my best to make you comfortable. Hitherto you have seen me
only as a man of war. I can assure you that I am much more
estimable in my proper character as a man of peace. And let me
tell you, my cook is excellent; the wine of the village is famous
in the province, and I have some in my cellars ten years
old."</p>

<p>"I cannot resist such a number of good arguments," Jack said,
smiling, "and till tomorrow morning I am at your service; but I
warn you that my appetite just at present is ravenous, and that
my two dragoons are likely to make a serious inroad upon the
larders of your village, however well supplied."</p>

<p>"They will be welcome," the priest said, "and I guarantee the
larders will prove sufficiently well stocked. Fortunately,
although nearly every village in the neighborhood has been raided
by the French, owing to our good fortune and the interposition of
the blessed San Aldephonso our village has escaped a visit."</p>

<p>The party under Father Ignacio soon turned off from the main
road, and, with the six wagons which fell to their share,
journeyed along a. rough country road until they reached the
village. Father Ignacio sat on the leading wagon, and Jack rode
alongside chatting with him. The priest was a stout built man,
with a good humored countenance and merry twinkle of the eye, and
Jack wondered what could have been the special wrong that induced
him to take up a musket and lead his flock to the attack of a
French convoy.</p>

<p>"Katherine!" he shouted as the wagon stopped in front of his
house and a buxom serving woman appeared at the door, "dinner as
quickly as possible, for we are starving; and let it be not only
quick, but plentiful. Lay a cover for this gentleman, who will
dine with me; and prepare an ample supply of food in the kitchen
for these two English soldiers, who have come across the sea to
fight for the good cause.</p>

<p>"And now," he said to Jack, "while dinner is preparing I must
distribute the spoil."</p>

<p>The wagons were unloaded and their contents divided among the
men who had take a part in the expedition, his flock insisting
upon the padre taking a bountiful share.</p>

<p>The mules and bullocks in the wagons were similarly divided,
in this case one being given to each family; for there were but
thirty animals, while the fighting contingent from the village
had numbered nearly eighty men. There were five or six animals
over when the division had been made, and these were given, in
addition to their proper share, to the families of three men who
had been killed in the fight.</p>

<p>"Now, my sons," the padre said when all was done, "take your
axes and fall upon the wagons. A wagon is a thing to swear by.
Every man knows his own goods; and should the French ever visit
our village again these wagons might cost us dear. Therefore let
them be made into firewood as quickly as possible, and let them
all be consumed before other fuel is touched. And now, capitano,
I think that Katherine will be ready for us."</p>

<p>So saying he led the way back into his house. A capital meal
was provided, and Jack found that the priest had by no means over
praised either his cook or his cellar. After the meal was over
and the two had drawn their chairs up to the hearth, on which was
blazing brightly some wood which Jack recognized as forming part
of one of the wagons, and the priest had placed on a small table
close at hand a large flask which he had himself gone into the
cellar to fetch, Jack said:</p>

<p>"How is it, father, that, as you told me, you have seen such
acts of brutality on the part of the French as to cause you to
wage a war without mercy against them, when, as you say, they
have never penetrated to your village? Your reasons must be
strong, for your profession is a peaceful one. You do not look
like a man who would rush into deeds of violence for their own
sake, and your cook and your cellar offer you strong inducements
to remain at home."</p>

<p>"That is so, my son," the priest said with a laugh. "I am, as
you may see, an easygoing man, well contented with my lot, and
envy not the Bishop of Toledo; but you know it is said that even
a worm will turn, and so you have seen the peaceful priest
enacting the part of the bloodthirsty captain. But, my son," --
and his face grew grave now -- "you can little imagine the deeds
which the ferocious Tesse has enacted here in Arragon. When
warring with you English the French behave like a civilized
nation; when warring with us Spanish peasants, who have no means
of making our wrongs known to the world, they behave worse than a
horde of brutal savages. But I will tell you the circumstances
which have driven me to place myself at the head of my
parishioners, to wage a war of extermination with the French, and
to deny mercy to every one of that accursed nation who may fall
into my hands. I have a brother -- or rather I should say I had
one -- a well to do farmer who lived at a village some six miles
from Saragossa. He had an only daughter, who was to be married to
the son of a neighboring proprietor. A handsome, high spirited
lad he was, and devoted to Nina. They were to have been married
some three months ago, and they wrote to me to go over to perform
the ceremony.</p>

<p>"I went; the wedding day arrived, and all was ready. It was a
holiday in the village, for both were favorites. The bride was
dressed; the village maidens and men were all in their best; the
procession was about to set out, when a troop of dragoons rode
suddenly in from Saragossa. A shot or two had been fired at them
as they rode through a wood. When they arrived they dismounted,
and the commander ordered the principal men of the village to be
brought to him. My brother and the father of the bridegroom were
among them.</p>

<p>"'My troops have been fired at,' the Frenchman said, 'and I
hold you responsible.'</p>

<p>"'It was no one from this village,' my brother said; 'we have
a wedding here, and not a soul is absent.'</p>

<p>"'I care not,' the officer said; 'we have been fired at, and
we shall give the people of this district a lesson.'</p>

<p>"So without another word he turned to his soldiers and ordered
them to fire the village from end to end.</p>

<p>"'It is outrageous,' my brother said, and the others joined
him in the cry. I, too, implored him to pause before having such
an order carried into execution. His only reply was to give the
order to his men.</p>

<p>"The six principal men were seized at once, were set with
their backs against the wall of a house, and shot."</p>

<p>"You cannot mean it!" Jack exclaimed indignantly. "Surely such
an outrage could never be perpetrated by civilized soldiers?"</p>

<p>"I saw it done," the priest said bitterly. "I tried to throw
myself between the victims and their murderers, but I was held
back by force by the soldiers. Imagine the scene if you can --
the screaming women, the outburst of vain fury among the men, The
bridegroom, in his despair at seeing his father murdered, seized
a stick and rushed at the French officer; but he, drawing a
pistol, shot him dead, and the soldiers poured a volley into his
companions, killing some eight or ten others. Resistance was
hopeless. Those who were unwounded fled; those who fell were
bayoneted on the spot. I took my niece's arm and led her quietly
away. Even the French soldiers drew back before us. You should
have seen her face. Madre de Dios! I see it now -- I see it
always. She died that night. Not one word passed her lips from
the moment when her father and her affianced husband fell dead
before her eyes. An hour later the troop rode off, and the people
stole back to bury their dead among the ashes of what had been
their homes. I went to Saragossa after reading the funeral
service over them. I saw Tesse and told him of the scene I had
witnessed, and demanded vengeance. He laughed in my face. Senor,
I persisted, and he got angry and told me that, were it not for
my cloth, he would hang me from the steeple. I called down
Heaven's curse upon him, and left him and came home. Do you
wonder, senor, that I found it hard to spare those Frenchmen for
whom you pleaded? Do you wonder that I, a man of peace, lead out
my villagers to slaughter our enemy?"</p>

<p>"I do not, indeed!" Jack exclaimed warmly. "Such acts as these
would stir the blood of the coldest into fire; and, priest or no
priest, a man would be less than a man who did not try to take
vengeance for so foul a deed. Have many massacres of this sort
been perpetrated?"</p>

<p>"Many," the priest replied, "and in no case has any redress
been obtained by the relatives of the victims."</p>

<p>"And throughout all Arragon, does the same hatred of the
French prevail?"</p>

<p>"Everywhere," the priest said.</p>

<p>"Then King Charles would meet with an enthusiastic welcome
here!"</p>

<p>"I do not say that," the priest answered. "He would be well
received, doubtless, simply because he is the enemy of the
French; but for himself, no. We Arragonese cannot for the life of
us see why we should be ruled over by a foreigner; and in some
respects a German king is even less to be desired than a French
one. The connection between the two Latin nations is naturally
closer than between us and the Germans, and a French king would
more readily adapt himself to our ways than would a stiff and
thick headed German.</p>

<p>"Apart from the recent doings of the French army Arragon would
have preferred Philip to Charles. Moreover, Charles is looked
upon as the choice of the Catalans and Valencians, and why should
the men of Arragon take the king others have chosen? No, King
Charles will doubtless be received well because he appears as the
enemy of the French; but you will not find that the people of
Arragon will make any great sacrifices in his behalf. Let a
French army enter our province again, every man will rise in arms
against it; but there will be little disposition to raise troops
to follow King Charles beyond the limits of the province. Castile
is strong for Philip; the jealousy there of the Catalans is even
greater than here, and the fact that Arragon will go with
Catalonia and Valencia will only render the Castilians more
earnest in the cause of Philip. There have been several
skirmishes already between bands of our Miquelets and those of
Castile, and the whole country along the border is greatly
disturbed."</p>

<p>"It is a pity that Spaniards cannot agree among themselves as
to who shall be king."</p>

<p>"Ah, my son, but it will be very long yet before. Spaniards
agree upon any point. It is a mistake to think of us as one
nation. We are half a dozen nations under one king. If you are
asked your nationality, you reply an Englishman. If you ask a
Spaniard, he will reply, I am a Castilian or a Catalan, an
Arragonese or Biscayan -- never I am a Spaniard. We hate each
other as you Scotchmen and Englishmen hated each other a hundred
years back, and even now regard yourselves as different peoples.
What connection is there between the hardy mountaineer of the
northern provinces and the easygoing peasant of Valencia or
Andalusia? Nothing. Consequently, if one part of Spain declares
for one man as a king, you may be sure that the other will
declare against him.</p>

<p>"As long as we had great men, Spaniards, for our kings -- and
the descent went in the regular way from father to son -- things
went smoothly, because no pretender could have a shadow of claim.
As between two foreign princes, each man has a right to choose
for himself. Were there any Spaniard with a shadow of claim, all
parties would rally round him; but, unfortunately, this is not
so; and I foresee an epoch of war and trouble before the matter
is settled. For myself, I tell you I would not give that flask of
wine were I able to put the crown upon the head of one or other
of these foreigners. Let whoever gets the crown govern well and
strongly, tax my villagers lightly, and interfere in no way with
our privileges, and I shall be well content, and such you will
find is the opinion of most men in Spain. And now, tell me if
there is aught that I can do for you. You say you must be on your
way by daybreak. Tell me in which direction you journey, and it
will be hard if I cannot find a friend there with whom my
introduction will insure you a hearty welcome."</p>

<p>"If you can tell me where are the largest gatherings of
Miquelets, I can tell you which way I shall ride," Jack replied.
"My mission is to ascertain what aid the king can rely upon in
this province."</p>

<p>"Three days ago there were many thousands of men under arms,"
the priest replied; "by tonight there will be less than as many
hundreds. The day Tesse crossed the frontier with his army the
greater portion of the bands went to their homes, and their arms
will be laid aside until the news comes that the French army is
on its return from Barcelona. I fancy there is but little chance
of our seeing King Charles among us. In another day or two Tesse
will be before Barcelona; and joined, as he will be there, by the
French army marching down from Roussillon, he will make quick
work of that town, and King Charles will have the choice of going
to Valencia to be hunted shortly thence, or of sailing away again
from the country in your ships."</p>

<p>"It would seem like it," Jack agreed; "but you are reckoning
without the Earl of Peterborough."</p>

<p>"Your English general must be a wonder," the priest said, "a
marvel; but he cannot accomplish impossibilities. What can he do
with two or three thousand trained troops against twenty thousand
veteran French soldiers?"</p>

<p>"I cannot tell what he will do," Jack laughed; "but you may
rely upon it that he will do something, and I would take fair
odds that he will somehow or other save Barcelona and rid
Catalonia of its invaders."</p>

<p>"That I judge to be altogether impossible," the priest
replied. "Anything that man could do I am ready to admit that
your general is capable of; but I do not judge this to be within
the range of possibilities. If you will take my advice, my son,
you will not linger here, but will ride for Valencia and embark
on board your ships with him when the time comes."</p>

<p>"We shall see," Jack said, laughing. "I have faith in the
improbable. It may not be so very long before I drop in again to
drink another flask of your wine on my way through Arragon with
King Charles on his march toward Madrid."</p>

<p>"If you do, my son, I will produce a bottle of wine to which
this is but ditch water. I have three or four stored away in my
cellar which I preserve for great occasions. They are the remains
of the cellar of my predecessor, as good a judge of wine as ever
lived. It is forty years since he laid them by, and they were, he
said, the best vintage he had ever come across. Had the good old
man died ten years earlier, what a heritage would have been mine!
but in his later years he was not so saving as it behooves a good
man to be, and indulged in them on minor occasions; consequently,
but two dozen remained when I succeeded to the charge twenty
years ago. I, too, was not sufficiently chary of them to begin
with, and all but six bottles were drunk in the first ten years.
Since then I have been as stingy as a miser, and but two bottles
have been opened."</p>

<p>"I hope, father, that you have laid in a similar supply for
whomsoever may come after you."</p>

<p>"Surely I have, my son. Fifteen years ago I had a hogshead of
the finest vintage in the neighborhood bricked up in my cellar. I
had an inscription placed on the wall by which, should I be taken
suddenly, my successor may know of the store that awaits him. At
present you would not find the inscription did you search for it;
for when those troubles began I filled up the letters in the
stone with mortar, and gave the wall two or three coats of
whitewash. I did not choose to run any risk of my grand wine
going down the throats of thirsty French soldiers. It would be an
act of sacrilege. When matters are settled, and we are at peace
again, I will pick out the mortar from the letters; but not till
then. I have often reflected since how short sighted it was not
to have stowed away another hogshead for my own consumption. It
would have been something to have looked forward to in my
declining years."</p>

<p>"Ah, father, who knows what may happen before that? The wall
may fall down, and then naturally you would wish to see whether
the wine is in as good a condition as it should be. Besides, you
will say to yourself, why, when my successor left me but a
miserable two dozen of that grand wine of his, should I bequeath
a whole hogshead to him who may come after me, and who, moreover,
may be so bad a judge of wine that he will value my treasure no
more than an equal quantity of the rough country vintage?"</p>

<p>"Avaunt, tempter!" the priest said, laughing. "But," he added
more seriously, "you have frightened me. I never thought of that.
I have always pictured my successor as a man who would appreciate
good wine as I do myself. Truly, it would be a terrible
misfortune did he not do so -- a veritable throwing of pearls
before swine. Now that you have presented this dreadful idea it
will be ever in my mind. I shall no longer think of my hogshead
with unmixed satisfaction."</p>

<p>"The idea is a terrible one, truly," Jack said gravely, "and
to prevent it I would advise you when the time of peace arrives
to open your cave, to bottle off your wine, and to secure its
being appreciated by indulging in it yourself on special
occasions and holidays, taking care always to leave a store equal
to, or even superior to, that which you yourself inherited."</p>

<p>"I will think it over, my son, and it may be that I shall take
your advice. Such a misfortune as that which you have suggested
is too terrible to think of."</p>

<p>"It is so, father, terrible indeed; and I feel confident that
you will do the best in your power to prevent the possibility of
its occurrence. Besides, you know, wine may be kept even too
long. I judge you not to be more than forty-five now; with so
good a cook and so good a cellar you may reasonably expect to
live to the age of eighty; there is, therefore, plenty of time
for you to lay in another hogshead to mature for your
successor."</p>

<p>The priest burst into a roar of laughter, in which Jack joined
him.</p>

<p>"Your reasoning powers are admirable," he said when he
recovered his gravity, "and you have completely convinced me. An
hour ago if it had been suggested to me that I should open that
cellar I should have viewed the proposal with horror; now it
seems to me that it is the very best thing that could be done for
all parties, including the wine itself."</p>

<p>There was some further chat as to the course which Jack would
follow in the morning, and he decided finally to ride to the
borders of Castile in order that he might learn as much as
possible as to the feeling of people in that province. Father
Ignacio gave him a letter of introduction to the priest in charge
of a village a mile or two within the border of Arragon, and the
next morning Jack started at daybreak, after a hearty adieu from
his host, who insisted on rising to see him off.</p>

<h1 align="CENTER"><a name="CHAPTER_XIV"></a>CHAPTER XIV: A
PRISONER</h1>

<p>Jack, with his two troopers, rode away from the hospitable
cottage of the priest in high spirits. He determined to avoid
Saragossa, as he was not charged with any direct mission from the
earl, and wished, therefore, to avoid any official intercourse
with the leaders of the province. As soon as the marshal had
marched, the people there had risen, had driven out the small
French garrison left, and had resumed the management of their own
affairs. Jack learned, however, that the city had not formally
declared for King Charles. As the priest had told him would be
the case, Jack encountered no bodies of armed men during the day;
the country had a peaceful aspect, the peasants were working in
the fields, and at the villages through which he passed the
English uniforms excited a feeling of curiosity rather than of
interest. He stopped at several of these and entered into
conversation with the inhabitants. He found everywhere an intense
hatred of the French prevailing, while but little interest was
evinced in the respective claims of Charles and Philip.</p>

<p>After a very long ride he arrived, at nightfall, near the spot
to which he was bound. In this neighborhood he observed a greater
amount of watchfulness and preparation than had prevailed
elsewhere. The men, for the most part, remained in their
villages, and went about armed. Jack learned that an inroad by
the Miquelets of Castile was deemed probable, and that it was
thought possible that another French force might follow Tesse
from Madrid to Barcelona.</p>

<p>It was late in the evening before Jack reached his
destination, where, on his presenting his letter of introduction,
he was most heartily received by the priest.</p>

<p>"Father Ignacio tells me," he said when he had read it, "that
you are not only to be welcomed as an officer of the great
English general, but that you are in every way deserving of
friendship; he adds, too, that you are a first rate judge of
wine, and that you can be trusted as an adviser upon knotty and
difficult matters."</p>

<p>Jack laughed. "I only gave the good father my advice upon two
points," he said; "the first was the admitting to terms of
surrender of a body of French troops with whom he was engaged in
battle when I arrived; the second was upon the important question
of broaching or not broaching a hogshead of particularly good
wine."</p>

<p>"If you advised that the hogshead should be broached," the
priest said, smiling, "I can warrant that my good brother Ignacio
followed your advice, and can well understand the respect in
which he seems to hold your judgment. But do not let us stand
talking here.</p>

<p>"Your men will find a stable behind the house where they can
stand the horses. Alas! it is uninhabited at present, for my
mule, the gentlest and best in the province, was requisitioned --
which is another word for stolen -- by the French as they passed
through. My faithful beast! I miss her every hour of the day, and
I doubt not that she misses me still more sorely. Tell me, senor,
my brother Ignacio writes me that he has captured many animals
from the French -- was Margaretta among them? She was a large
mule, and in good condition; indeed, there was some flesh on her
bones. She was a dark chestnut with a white star on the forehead,
a little white on her fore feet, and white below the hocks on the
hind legs; she had a soft eye, and a peculiar twist in jerking
her tail."</p>

<p>The manner of the priest was so earnest that Jack repressed a
smile with difficulty.</p>

<p>"I did notice among the mules in one of the wagons one marked
somewhat similarly to your description, and, if I mistake not,
it, with another, fell to the share of the good priest; but I
cannot say that it had much flesh upon its bones; indeed, it was
in very poor case. Nor did I notice that its eyes were
particularly soft, or that there was any peculiarity in the
twitching of its tail."</p>

<p>"It may be Margaretta," the priest said with some excitement;
"the poor beast would naturally lose flesh in the hands of the
French, while as to the switch in the tail, it was a sign of
welcome which she gave me when I took an apple or a piece of
bread into her stable, and she would not be likely so to greet
strangers. I will lose no time in writing to Ignacio to inquire
further into the matter. Verily, it seems to me as if the saint
had sent you specially here as a bearer of this good news."</p>

<p>Jack spent a pleasant evening with the priest, and learned
much as to the state of things upon the frontier. The priest
represented the Castilians as bitterly opposed to the claims of
Charles; they had no grievances against the French, who had
behaved with strict discipline in that province, and had only
commenced their excesses upon crossing the frontier into Arragon.
This they regarded, though wrongfully, as a hostile country; for,
previous to their arrival, the people there had taken no part
either way in the struggle, but the overbearing manner of Tesse,
and the lax discipline of his troops, had speedily caused an
intense feeling of irritation. Resistance had been offered to
foraging parties of the French army, and the terrible vengeance
which had been taken by Tesse for these acts had roused the whole
province in a flame of insurrection.</p>

<p>"There are several bodies of French cavalry across the
frontier," the priest said; "occasionally they make flying raids
into Arragon, but, as you see, the people are armed, and
prepared, and ready to give them a hot reception. The Castilians
are like ourselves; if at any time an army should march in this
direction against Madrid, the Miquelets will oppose them just as
we should oppose the French, but they will not leave their homes
to interfere with us, for they know well enough that did they do
so we also should cross the line, and fire and destruction would
be carried through all the villages on both sides of the border.
So at present there is nothing to fear from Castile, but if your
English general were to drive the French out of the country, he
would have hard work ere he overcame the resistance of that
province."</p>

<p>Just as day was breaking the next morning Jack was aroused by
shouts in the streets, followed by the heavy trampling of horse.
He sprang from the bed and threw on his cloak; as he was buckling
on his sword one of the dragoons rushed into his room.</p>

<p>"We are surrounded, sir! I have just looked out, and there are
French cavalry all round the house."</p>

<p>As he spoke there was a tremendous knocking at the door. The
priest ran into the room. "We are betrayed," he said; "some one
must have carried away the news last night of your arrival here,
and it has come to the ears of the French cavalry on the other
side. I ordered some men out last night to watch the road across
the border, but the enemy must have ridden too fast for them to
get here first."</p>

<p>"It cannot be helped," Jack said; "you had best open the door,
or they will break it in in another minute. Make no resistance,
lads," he said to the dragoons, for the second orderly had now
joined them; "lay your swords down on the bed; we are caught this
time, and must make our escape when we can. It is better, anyhow,
to have fallen into the hands of the French than of the
Spanish."</p>

<p>The sound of the knocking had ceased now, and there was a
trampling and clamor of voices as the French soldiers poured into
the house. Steps were heard ascending the stairs, the door
opened, and the priest, accompanied by a French officer and
followed by a number of soldiers, entered the room.</p>

<p>"You are my prisoner, sir," the French officer said.</p>

<p>"I am afraid there is no doubt of that," Jack said, speaking
in Spanish; "here is my sword, sir. These two men are my
orderlies, and, of course, also surrender. You will observe that
we are all in uniform, that we are taken on the soil of Arragon,
and that I am here in pursuance of my duty as an officer of the
English army."</p>

<p>"You are alone?" the officer asked.</p>

<p>"Yes," Jack said; "there are, so far as I know, no other
British but ourselves in Arragon."</p>

<p>"Then we were misinformed," the officer said; "the news was
received last night that the Earl of Peterborough was himself
here; and although it was but in the afternoon that we had heard
that your general was at Valencia, his movements are so swift and
erratic that, if we heard of him in Portugal one hour we should
not be surprised to find him here the next." He stopped as shots
were heard fired in the streets.</p>

<p>"You must excuse ceremony, sir," he said, "and mount at once
with your men and accompany me. In ten minutes we shall have the
whole country buzzing round us like wasps; and now that the
object of my ride is accomplished, I don't wish to throw away my
men's lives."</p>

<p>The horses were saddled without loss of time, and in two or
three minutes Jack was trotting down the village in the midst of
the French cavalry amid a scathing fire from behind the houses
and walls.</p>

<p>The French officer rode at the head of his troop till well
beyond the village, then reining in his horse, joined his
prisoner.</p>

<p>"And now," he asked, "whom have I the honor of capturing?"</p>

<p>"I am Captain Stilwell," Jack replied, "one of the Earl of
Peterborough's aides de camp."</p>

<p>"I am Captain de Courcy," the French officer said; "happily,
although the French and English have taken opposite sides on this
question, we can esteem and honor each other as brave and
civilized adversaries. As for these Spanish scoundrels, they are
no better than banditti; they murder us in our beds, they poison
our wine, they as often as not burn us alive if we fall into
their hands; they are savages, neither more nor less; and why
Philip of Anjou, who could have had all the pleasures of life as
a prince of the blood at Versailles, should covet the kingship of
this country, passes my understanding. And now tell me about that
paladin, your general. Peste, what a man! And you are one of his
aides de camp? Why, if he drags you about everywhere with him,
you must lead the life of a dog."</p>

<p>"When I last heard of the general he was at Valencia," Jack
said. "But that was ten days since."</p>

<p>"Ten days!" the Frenchman said; "then by now he may be in
London, or in Rome, or at Paris."</p>

<p>"With the wind favoring him he might be at Rome, but he could
scarcely have arrived at either London or Paris."</p>

<p>"There is no saying," the French officer laughed. "Has he not
three leagued boots, and can he not step from mountain to
mountain? Does he not fly through a storm on a broomstick? Can he
not put on a cap and make himself invisible? For I can tell you
that our soldiers credit him with all these powers. Can he not,
by waving his hand, multiply three hundred men into an army,
spread them over a wide extent of country, and then cause them to
sink into the ground and disappear? Our soldiers are convinced
that he is in league with the evil one, even if he be not the
gentlemen in black himself."</p>

<p>Jack joined in the laugh. "He is a wonderful man," he said,
"though he cannot do all you credit him with. But he is
absolutely tireless, and can do without sleep for any time; and
yet to look at him no one would think that he was in any way a
strong man. He is small, thin, and worn looking -- in fact,
almost insignificant in appearance, were it not for his keen eye
and a certain lofty expression of face. My post is no sinecure, I
can assure you, for the general expects all to be able to do as
well as himself. But with a chief who never spares himself all
are willing to do their best. Extreme as has been the labor of
the troops, severe as have been their hardships, you will never
hear a grumble; the men have most implicit confidence in him, and
are ready to go anywhere and do anything he orders them."</p>

<p>"He is a marvel," the French officer said. "The way he took
Barcelona, and then, with a handful of men, hunted our armies out
of Catalonia and Valencia, was wonderful; and though it was at
our cost, and not a little to our discredit, there is not an
officer in the army but admires your general. Fortunately I was
not in Barcelona when you laid siege to it, but I was with Las
Torres afterward when you were driving us about like sheep. I
shall never forget that time. We never knew when to expect an
attack, what force was opposed to us, or from what direction you
would come. I laugh now, but it was no joke then."</p>

<p>Three hours' riding took them into the little town from which
the French cavalry had started in the middle of the night. On
arriving there the French officer at once sent off a trooper to
Madrid, reporting the prisoners he had taken, and forty-eight
hours later he received orders to himself conduct his prisoners
to Madrid.</p>

<p>Upon arriving there Jack was at once taken before the Duke of
Berwick, who received him courteously, and asked him many
questions concerning the force under the earl, the intentions of
Barcelona to resist the two French armies now hurrying before it.
To these questions Jack gave cautious answers. As to matters
concerning which he was sure that the French must have accurate
information, he replied frankly. Fortunately he was, as he truly
said, in entire ignorance as to the plans of the earl, and as to
Barcelona, he knew nothing whatever of what had taken place there
from the day when he suddenly left with Peterborough.</p>

<p>"I would place you on your parole with pleasure," the duke
said, "but I tell you frankly that in the present excited state
of public feeling I do not think it will be safe for you to move
through the streets unprotected. So many of our officers have
been murdered in Saragossa and other places that the lower class
of Spaniards would think it a meritorious action to take
vengeance on an English officer. Of course I am well aware that
the English have nothing to do with these atrocities, but the
people in general are not able to draw nice distinctions. I shall
send you to France on the first opportunity, to remain there till
exchanged."</p>

<p>"Thank you, sir," Jack said; "I should prefer not being put on
my parole, for I shall certainly escape if I have the
opportunity. I should tell you, sir, that I have ridden through
Arragon, and though I do not wish to excuse the murders
perpetrated by the Spaniards, I must tell you that I cannot blame
them; for, horrible as are their deeds, they are simply acts of
retaliation for the abominable atrocities which Marshal Tesse
allows and encourages his troops to perpetrate upon the
population. I have the highest respect, sir, for the French
nation, but if I were the Earl of Peterborough, and Marshal Tesse
fell into my hands, I would hand him over to the Spaniards to be
torn in pieces as he deserves."</p>

<p>"You speak boldly, sir," the duke said sternly.</p>

<p>"I feel what I say, sir," Jack replied. "I think it well that
you, a general high in command under the French king, should know
the atrocities perpetrated in his name by this man upon
defenseless people. I could tell you, sir, a score of stories
which I heard in Arragon, although I was but two days there, of
massacre and murder which would make your blood run cold. I
confess that personally I have no greater interest in King
Charles than in King Philip. I have seen so much of the Austrian
and his advisers that I believe that if the Earl of Peterborough
were to seat him on his throne here tomorrow, he would be driven
from the country a fugitive before many weeks were over; but in
the same way I am convinced that Philip of Anjou will never be
accepted by the Spanish as their king if his cause be stained by
such atrocities as those carried out by Marshal Tesse in his
name."</p>

<p>The duke then asked Jack if he had any objections to state the
particular object for which he was sent into Arragon by his
general; and Jack was glad to be able to say truthfully that the
earl knew nothing of his being there, he having sent him simply
to assist the Count of Cifuentes in barring the advance of the
French army into Catalonia, and that when he had carried out that
order he had ridden into Arragon on his own account, in order
that he might, on his return to the earl, be able to give him an
accurate description of the state of affairs in that
province.</p>

<p>"Then so far as you know, Captain Stilwell, the Earl of
Peterborough is still at Valencia, and has no intention of
leaving that province at present."</p>

<p>"I can say truly, sir, that so far as I know the general had
no intention of leaving Valencia; but as his decisions are
generally taken instantaneously, and are a surprise to all about
him, I should be sorry to assert that the earl remained in
Valencia a quarter of an hour after I quitted the city."</p>

<p>"It matters little," the duke said, "the affair is rapidly
approaching an end. Barcelona must surrender as soon as Tesse and
the Duke de Noailles appear before it; the breaches are open, and
there are not a thousand men in garrison. Barcelona once fallen,
the cause of the Austrian is lost. Your general is already
watched by an army four times as strong as his own, and the
twenty thousand men under the marshal will compel him to take to
his ships, and will stamp out the last embers of the
insurrection. You agree with me, do you not?" he asked as Jack
remained silent.</p>

<p>"Well, sir, it seems that it must be as you say, and I have
only to reply that you have not reckoned upon the Earl of
Peterborough. What he will do I do not pretend to say, but
knowing him as I do, I can say that he will give you trouble. I
don't think that anything can be considered as a certainty in
which you have the Earl of Peterborough to reckon with."</p>

<p>"He is a great man," the duke said -- "a great man, and has
performed marvels; but there is a limit to the possibilities
which one man can perform, and here that limit is passed. I shall
give orders, Captain Stilwell, that your imprisonment is made as
little disagreeable as possible, and that you have everything you
require."</p>

<p>Jack expressed his thanks and retired. On leaving the room he
was again taken charge of by Captain do Courcy and four of his
troopers, and was conducted by him to the citadel.</p>

<p>The quarters assigned to Jack were by no means uncomfortable.
A good meal was placed before him, and after he had finished it
the governor of the citadel called upon him and told him that he
was at liberty to go where he would within the walls, and that
any wishes he might express he would do his best to comply with.
Jack at once availed himself of his liberty by going out into the
courtyard and thence on to the walls of the citadel. It was a
strongly fortified and gloomy building, which has now ceased to
exist. It covered a considerable portion of ground, and had at
one time been a royal residence; the walls were strong and high,
and sentries were placed on them at short intervals.</p>

<p>Jack saw at once there was little possibility of escape
thence, and decided that he might as well abandon any idea of
evasion for the present, and would trust to luck in escaping from
his escort on the road to the frontier, or, if no opportunity
then presented itself, from his prison in France. A week after
his arrival he was surprised by being told that an officer wished
to see him, and a minute later Major Ferre entered the
apartment.</p>

<p>"I only arrived an hour ago," he said, "and learned that you
were prisoner here. Who would have thought when we parted last,
and you gave me my liberty, that on my arrival here I should find
that you had already been a week a prisoner? Horses' legs move
faster than men's, you see."</p>

<p>"It is the fortune of war," Jack said, smiling. "I am glad to
see that you got out of Arragon safely."</p>

<p>"It was thanks to your seeing that we were provided with
ammunition," the major said. "The peasants swarmed round us hotly
more than once, and it was the fact that we had our arms and were
ready to use them, quite as much as my assurances that we were
prisoners on parole, and had promised not to serve in Spain until
exchanged, that kept them from making an attack upon us; as it
was we nearly came to blows several times. I marched that day
till the men were ready to drop, and camped at a distance from a
road in a lonely place. I dared not scatter my men in a village.
The next day we kept steadily on and crossed the frontier into
Castile, pretty well worn out, just at nightfall. I had to give
my men two days' halt before we could go further, and we have
since come by easy stages, which accounts for your being here so
long before us. And now, is there anything that I can do for you?
If there is, command my service to the utmost. I shall see the
duke this afternoon, and shall tell him that I and my party are
indebted to you for our lives. It is well for me that he is in
command here instead of the marshal; he is a gentleman, and will
respect the parole I gave for myself and my men; if it had been
Tesse I might have had trouble, for as likely as not he would
have scoffed at my promise, and ordered me and my men back to the
front again, and then I should have been placed in a nice
fix."</p>

<p>"The best thing you could do for me," Jack said, "would be to
suggest to the marshal that he should exchange me against you. If
he will let me take my two troopers I would throw in all your
men. There will be no occasion to arrange it with our general;
you gave your word to me, and I can give it you back again. As I
am of no use to him, and you are, I should think he would
consent."</p>

<p>"I should think so too," Major Ferre said, "and should be
delighted, on both our accounts, if it could be managed."</p>

<p>Three hours later the major returned in high spirits.</p>

<p>"I have arranged the matter," he said, "and we are both free
men. You can't stir out of here at present, because it would not
be safe for you to go about Madrid; but I have orders to march
tomorrow morning, in command of a convoy, to join Las Torres
outside Valencia, so you can ride with me till we get near the
town, and then join your people."</p>

<p>Jack was delighted, and the next morning set out with the
convoy. His appearance, as he rode by the side of Major Ferre
with his two orderlies behind him, excited the greatest surprise
and curiosity in the various towns and villages through which
they passed. The journey was a pleasant one, Major Ferre exerting
himself in every way to make it as pleasant as possible. After
four days' journey the convoy arrived within sight of Valencia.
When they came to a place where the roads forked the major
said:</p>

<p>"That is your way, my dear Stilwell. I hope that some day the
fortunes of war will throw us together again, in some pleasant
position where we can renew our friendship. Two miles on is a
ford across the river, where, as the peasants tell me, two of
your vedettes are posted; another hour's ride will take you to
Valencia."</p>

<p>With a hearty goodby on both sides, Jack and his two dragoons
rode off, and soon astonished the English vedettes by their
appearance on the opposite bank of the river. A few words in
English convinced the soldiers that it was no trick that was
being played with them, and Jack rode across the ford and then
galloped on to Valencia.</p>

<p>"Well, Captain Stilwell," the earl said as Jack entered his
apartment, "what news do you bring me from Barcelona? I hear that
Tesse has invested the town."</p>

<p>"My last news is from Madrid, general," Jack said; "I have had
to stay a week in that city."</p>

<p>And he then proceeded to relate the series of events which had
happened from the time he joined the Count of Cifuentes.</p>

<p>"I know I exceeded my duty, general," he said when he
finished, "in going up into Arragon without orders; but I felt
that I was of little use with the count, who handles the
Miquelets well, and I thought that you would be glad of
trustworthy information of the state of feeling in Arragon, and
perhaps of Castile."</p>

<p>"You were quite right," the earl said, "and have done
exceedingly well. Yours has been an adventure after my own heart,
and you have just arrived here in time, for I am on the point of
starting to do what I can to harass the besiegers of
Barcelona."</p>

<h1 align="CENTER"><a name="CHAPTER_XV"></a>CHAPTER XV: THE
RELIEF OF BARCELONA</h1>

<p>Although for months it was evident that the French were
preparing to make a great effort to recapture Barcelona, Charles
and his German advisers had done nothing whatever to place the
city in the position to resist a siege. The fortifications
remained just as they had been when Peterborough had captured the
city. The breaches which had been made by the English cannon were
still open, and even that in the all important citadel of
Montjuich remained as it had been left by the explosion of the
magazine.</p>

<p>Not until Tesse was pressing down from Lerida and de Noailles
from Roussillon did the king awake to his danger. Orders were
sent out to recall all the troops who were within reach, the
country people were set to work collecting provisions, and the
king made an urgent appeal to the citizens to aid in repairing
the fortifications. The appeal was responded to; the whole male
population took up arms, even priests and friars enrolling
themselves in the ranks. The women and children were formed into
companies, and all Barcelona labored in carrying materials and in
repairing the breaches. The king had received a letter from
Peterborough proposing the plan of which he had spoken to his
aides de camp, and which, had it been carried out, would have
changed the fate of Spain. His suggestion was that Charles should
at once make his way by sea to Portugal, which, as the blockade
had not then commenced, he could have easily done, there to put
himself at the head of the allied army, twenty-six thousand
strong, and march straight upon Madrid. This could have been done
with a certainty of success, for the west of Spain and the
capital had been denuded of troops for the invasion of Catalonia
and Valencia, and no more than two thousand men could have been
collected to oppose the invaders.</p>

<p>"If your majesty will undertake to do this," wrote the earl,
"I will undertake to maintain the province here, and perhaps to
open a way to Madrid."</p>

<p>But now, as before, this bold but really safe counsel was
overruled by Charles' German courtiers and he resolved to remain
in Barcelona and wait a siege.</p>

<p>As soon as Peterborough received the answer, he left a small
garrison in Valencia, and marched away with all the force he
could collect, which, however, numbered only two thousand foot
and six hundred horse, while de Noailles had no less than twenty
thousand gathered round Barcelona. Peterborough moved rapidly
across the country, pushing forward at the utmost speed of the
troops till he arrived within two leagues of Barcelona, and took
up a strong position among the mountains, where he was at once
joined by the Count of Cifuentes and his peasant army.</p>

<p>"Ah, count," the earl said as he rode into his camp, "I am
glad to see you again. You did not succeed in stopping Tesse, but
by all accounts you mauled him handsomely. And now, what are our
prospects?"</p>

<p>"Indeed, sir, they are not over bright, and I do not see that
we can effect much to aid the king. My men will fight well
enough, as Captain Stilwell has witnessed, when they choose their
position and shoot behind shelter, but they would be of no use
whatever in a regular action; and as to advancing into the plain
to give battle with you against twenty thousand regular troops,
they would not attempt it, even if you were to join your orders
to mine."</p>

<p>"We will not ask them, count," Peterborough said. "I know the
Miquelets by this time. They are admirable for irregular war, but
worse than useless for anything else. All we will ask of them,
count, is to scatter in strong bodies over the hills, to guard
every road, and cut off any parties of the enemy who may venture
to go out to gather provisions or forage. If they can manage
occasionally to threaten an attack upon the French camp, so much
the better."</p>

<p>The next morning a strong body of the French took post round
Montjuich, and at nine o'clock a force of infantry, supported by
two squadrons of horse, attempted to carry the western outworks
by storm. This was the weakest part of the citadel, and was
manned by only a hundred men of Colonel Hamilton's regiment, who
had arrived the night before, having in two days ridden seventy
miles on mules.</p>

<p>As the French advanced they received them with great
determination, and poured in so sharp a fire that the assailants
speedily retired with considerable loss. As they fell back the
English threw up their caps and raised loud shouts, which so
exasperated the enemy that they reformed and returned several
times to the assault, but only to be repulsed as on their first
attempt. This was a sharp check to the French, who had expected
to find the place guarded only by the usual garrison of forty
Spaniards.</p>

<p>When the sound of firing was heard in the town the whole
garrison turned out and marched to support Montjuich, only twelve
men being left behind for a guard to the king. This repulse of
the first attempt of the enemy raised the spirits of the
townsmen, and bands of them ventured beyond the walls, and,
sheltering in the gardens and groves, maintained a strong fire
upon the French.</p>

<p>Finding that Barcelona was not to be taken as easily as they
had expected, the French generals extended their camp so as to
completely surround the town. On their side the citizens were not
inactive, and, sallying out, managed to cut off and drive in a
flock of seven hundred of the enemy's sheep and twelve of their
mules.</p>

<p>The following night the besieged sustained a severe loss by
the treacherous surrender, by its commander, of Fort Redonda,
which stood on the seashore and commanded the landing. The enemy
at once profited by this advantage and began landing their
provisions, guns, and ammunition. This misfortune was, however,
balanced by the enterprise of Brigadier Generals Lord Donegal and
Sentiman, with two English and two newly raised Catalan
battalions. They received the king's orders to return to
Barcelona too late to reach the town before its investment, but
now managed, under cover of night, to elude the enemy and enter
the city in safety.</p>

<p>When the enemy received news of the success of this attempt
they closed in their left wing to the eastward, in hopes of
preventing further reinforcements from entering the town. But
they had not reckoned upon the Earl of Peterborough, who had
received news that the garrison of Gerona, after evacuating that
town on the approach of the army of the Duke de Noailles, had
embarked in small boats and were about to attempt a landing near
Barcelona, on the north side. On the receipt of the news he
started as night fell with his whole force from his camp in the
mountains, and having, after a march of nearly twenty miles,
arrived at the spot named for the debarkation just as the boats
were nearing the shore, and having escorted the Gerona men past
the enemy's outpost and into the town, without the loss of a man,
he again retired to the mountains. These accessions of strength
raised the force of troops in the besieged town to upward of
three thousand.</p>

<p>The next day a case of treason was discovered among the
Spaniards in the garrison of Montjuich. A boy confessed that he
had been hired by one of these men to put out all the gun
matches, and to throw the priming powder out of the matchlocks
that night. He was told to do this on the weakest side of the
works, where the attack would probably be made.</p>

<p>The discovery of this intended treason, following so closely
on that at Fort Redonda, excited suspicions of the loyalty of the
Spanish Governor of Montjuich, and he was superseded and the Earl
of Donegal appointed to the command. For the next six days the
French continued to raise battery after battery around Montjuich.
Lord Donegal made some gallant sallies and several times drove
the besiegers from their works, but in each case they returned in
such overwhelming force that he was obliged to abandon the
positions he had won and to fall back into the citadel.</p>

<p>The Miquelets, of whom there were many in the town, aided the
besieged by harassing the French. Every night they stole into
their camp, murdered officers in their tents, carried off horses,
slew sentries, and kept the enemy in a perpetual state of
watchfulness.</p>

<p>At eight o'clock on the morning of the 15th of April the
besiegers made a furious attack on the western outwork of
Montjuich, having ascertained that it was defended only by a
party of one of the newly raised Spanish regiments. They captured
the post without difficulty, the Spaniards flying at the first
assault, but on the inner ramparts they were met by Donegal and
his grenadiers, and a desperate struggle took place which lasted
for two hours.</p>

<p>The English fought with the greatest obstinacy, and frequently
flung back among their assailants the grenades which the latter
showered among them, before they had time to explode, Lord
Donegal himself setting the men the example. But though able to
prevent the French from advancing further, the English could not
recover the outpost which the Spaniards had abandoned, and the
French formed intrenchments and mounted a battery upon it.</p>

<p>In spite of the continued fire which the besiegers now poured
in upon it from all sides, Lord Donegal held out bravely. The
little force under his command was much reduced in numbers, and
so worn out by constant exertion and loss of sleep that men
frequently fell asleep while under arms under the heaviest fire.
The besiegers were not idle in other directions. Several mortar
vessels moved close in shore and threw shells into the town,
while the batteries poured in red hot shot. This spread great
alarm throughout the town. The people could he hardly induced to
continue working on the defenses, and many took refuge in cellars
or in the churches. Ammunition began to fail, and despair was
taking possession of the defenders, when, at two o'clock in the
morning of the 21st, a galley ran safely into the harbor bearing
a supply of powder and encouraging messages from Lord
Peterborough.</p>

<p>Three days later he managed to throw a body of Neapolitan
troops into the town, embarking them in boats at Matero, a small
port a few miles to the northeast of the town. He sent them close
along the shore in order to pass the enemy's fleet, if possible,
unobserved. They found, however, that a line of boats had been
drawn across the harbor to blockade the entrance. They attacked
the boats, and after a sharp fight, which lasted over an hour,
four hundred men succeeded in forcing their way through, and the
rest returned to Matero in safety.</p>

<p>Peterborough now determined to endeavor to relieve the town by
the desperate expedient of attacking the enemy's camp with his
little force. In order to do this with any prospect of success it
was necessary to warn the king of his intentions, so that the
garrison of the town could issue out and attack the enemy at the
same moment from their side. He committed the dispatch to Captain
Graham, who succeeded in making his way through the enemy's lines
to the city. The king agreed to join in a combined attack, and,
having arranged all his plans, gave the dispatch to Graham to
carry back to the earl.</p>

<p>On the way out he was less successful than he had been in
entering. He was seized upon by a body of French before he could
destroy the paper. Tesse was accordingly warned of the earl's
plans, and at the hour appointed for the attack drew up his army
in order of battle. Peterborough was ready to advance, and the
besieged were all in arms on the ramparts, but seeing that the
enemy were fully prepared the project was abandoned, and the
troops returned to their quarters.</p>

<p>But the fall of Montjuich was at hand. The besiegers secretly
massed a large force in the trenches. At midday on the 22d a
salvo of four mortars gave the signal. The French rushed in with
loud shouts and effected a complete surprise. Before the troops
could get under arms two bastions were captured.</p>

<p>So sudden was the affair that many of the English officers,
hearing the firing, ran out from the keep, and seeing some
foreign troops drawn up in the works joined them, concluding that
they were Dutch, and were only undeceived by finding themselves
taken prisoners. The men were so confused by the loss of many of
the officers that, had the French pushed in at once, they would
have been able to carry the main body of the works with but
little resistance. They halted, however, in the bastions they had
won. The next morning the people of Barcelona, headed by their
priests, sallied out to effect the relief of Montjuich, but were
easily driven back by the besiegers. The little garrison of the
castle sallied out to meet their friends, but when these
retreated to the town they had to fight their way back to the
castle, which they regained with great difficulty, the gallant
Earl of Donegal and many of his officers being killed.</p>

<p>Finding that their position was now desperate, the remnant of
the British troops abandoned the castle they had so stoutly
defended, and succeeded in making their way safely into the city.
Tesse now pushed on the siege of the town with vigor. Batteries
of heavy guns were raised opposite the newly mended breaches, and
so close did he plant his guns to the walls that the artillery of
the besieged could not be depressed sufficiently to play upon
them, while so heavy a fire of infantry was kept up upon the
walls that their defenders were unable to reply effectively with
their musketry.</p>

<p>The walls crumbled rapidly, and the defenders busied
themselves in raising inner defenses behind the breaches. Had the
French been commanded by an enterprising general there is little
doubt that they could have carried the town by assault, but
Tesse, in his over caution, waited until success was a certainty.
The alarm in Barcelona was great, and the king sent messenger
after messenger to Peterborough to urge him to come to his
relief; but, daring as was the earl when he considered success to
be possible, he would not venture his little force upon an
enterprise which was, he felt, hopeless, and he knew that the
only possible relief for the city was the arrival of the English
fleet.</p>

<p>Early in March Admiral Sir John Leake and Baron Wassenaer had
sailed from Lisbon with the combined fleet in accordance with
Peterborough's orders; but the wind was contrary, and it was
fully six weeks after starting that they reached the Straits,
where they were joined by Captain Price with a small squadron, on
board of which were two English regiments. It was not until the
24th of April that they sailed from Gibraltar.</p>

<p>On reaching Altea they received news that another squadron had
sailed from Lisbon to join them, and in spite of the warm
remonstrances of General Stanhope, who commanded the troops on
board, the Dutch and English admirals determined to await the
arrival of the reinforcements before sailing to give battle to
the fleet of the Count of Toulouse before Barcelona.</p>

<p>On the 3d of April Sir George Byng arrived at Altea with some
ships from Ireland, and the next day Commodore Walker, with the
squadron from Lisbon, also arrived; but the wind was now
contrary, and although the fleet set sail, for three days they
made no progress whatever, and each hour so wasted rendered the
position of the besieged at Barcelona more and more desperate.
While lying at Altea General Stanhope had sent a message to Lord
Peterborough telling him that he would use every means in his
power to hasten Sir John Leake's movements, and that he would
give him timely notice of the approach of the fleet.</p>

<p>He said that as it was of the utmost importance that the enemy
should remain in ignorance of the approaching succors, his
messenger should carry only a half sheet of blank paper, so that
if he were taken by the enemy they would learn nothing from his
dispatch. When the fleet sailed he sent off a second messenger,
who got safely to the earl, and delivered his blank dispatch.
With the exception of his aide de camp, who was always in his
confidence, he told no one the meaning of this blank dispatch,
and his officers were surprised when orders were issued for the
little army at once to prepare for a night march. Officers and
men had, however, most implicit confidence in their general, and,
doubting not that some daring enterprise was at hand, they
started in high spirits.</p>

<p>All through the night they marched in a southwesterly
direction over the hills, and at daybreak reached the little
seaport of Sitjes, some seven leagues from Barcelona. Ordering
the wearied soldiers to encamp behind some low hills, the
indefatigable general rode with Jack Stilwell into the little
port, and at once, by offering large rewards, set the sailors and
fishermen at work to collect the boats, barges, and fishing
smacks along the neighboring coast, and to bring them to
Sitjes.</p>

<p>In two days he had succeeded in collecting a sufficient number
to carry the whole force. The news of the work upon which the
general was engaged soon spread among the force and caused the
greatest astonishment. Jack Stilwell was overwhelmed with
questions as to the intentions of the general.</p>

<p>"What on earth are we going to do next, Stilwell?" one of the
colonels said to him. "We are all ready, you know, to do anything
that the chief bids us, but for the life of us no one can make
this business out. The only possible thing seems to be that the
chief intends to attack the French fleet, and desperate as many
of his exploits have been, they would be as nothing to that. Even
the earl could surely not expect that fifteen hundred men in
fishing boats and barges could attack a fleet of some thirty men
of war. The idea seems preposterous, and yet one does not see
what else he can have got in his head."</p>

<p>"Of course, colonel," Jack said, laughing, "you do not expect
me to tell you what are the general's plans. You may be quite
sure that, whatever they are, there is nothing absolutely
impossible about them, for you know that although the general may
undertake desperate things, he never attempts anything that has
not at least a possibility of success; in fact, as you know, he
has never yet failed in any enterprise that he has
undertaken."</p>

<p>"That is true enough," the colonel said; "and yet for the life
of me I cannot make out what else he can be thinking of.
Certainly to attack Toulouse would be madness, and yet there is
no one else to attack."</p>

<p>"Well, colonel, I can only say that time will show, and I
don't think you will have to wait very long before you know as
much about it as I do."</p>

<p>Jack was right in this, for on the night of the second day the
earl called his officers together, and informed them that he was
waiting to join the English fleet, which might at any moment come
in sight. As hitherto nothing had been known about the arrival of
reinforcements, the news excited the greatest joy. The earl had
hoped that at daybreak the fleet would be in sight, and as soon
as it was light he mounted a hill which gave him a wide view over
the sea, but to his deep disappointment not a sail appeared above
the horizon. Knowing the desperate state of the garrison at
Barcelona, and that at any hour he might receive news that an
assault had been delivered and the city captured, his
disappointment at the delay in the appearance of the fleet was
unbounded.</p>

<p>The roar of the distant guns around Barcelona came distinctly
to his ears, and he was almost wild with impatience and anxiety.
On reaching the shore again he found that a fast sailing felucca
had just come in from Barcelona. She had managed to evade the
blockading fleet, and bore an urgent letter from the king,
praying Peterborough to come to his assistance. The earl did not
hesitate a moment, but determined to set sail at once to find the
fleet, and to bring it on to Barcelona with all speed.</p>

<p>The astonishment and dismay of his officers at the news that
their general was about to leave them and embark on such an
enterprise were very great, but the earl explained to the leaders
the reasons for his anxiety to gain the fleet. His commission
appointed him to the command at sea as well as on land, and on
joining the fleet he would be its admiral in chief. He feared
that at the sight of so powerful an armament the Count of
Toulouse would at once decline battle and make for France. He
determined, therefore, to advance only with a force considerably
inferior to that of the French, in which case Toulouse, rather
than abandon the siege of Barcelona just when success seemed
assured, would sail out and give battle.</p>

<p>Should he do so the earl, however inferior his force, had no
doubts as to obtaining victory. Accompanied only by Jack
Stillwell and by Captain Humphrey, who had taken the place of
Graham, he embarked on board the little felucca and put to sea.
The weather was cold and stormy, and the master of the boat did
not like putting out far from shore; but the earl was peremptory,
and the felucca stood well out to sea. Night came on without any
signs of the fleet being discovered. The hours of darkness passed
slowly, for the boat was undecked and afforded no shelter, and
the heavy seas which broke over her kept all on board wetted to
the skin.</p>

<p>At daybreak, to their great joy, they perceived a British man
of war approaching. They at once made for her, and found she was
the Leopard, commanded by Captain Price. The astonishment of that
officer, and of all on board, was unbounded at being boarded at
break of day almost out of sight of land from an open boat by the
admiral of all the fleets. The earl's stay on board was but a
short one. As soon as he had learned the whereabout of the rest
of the fleet, and given instructions to Captain Price, he again
embarked in the felucca, and sailed for Sitjes.</p>

<p>The joy of the troops was great at the return of their
general, for the night had been so stormy that there were great
fears for his safety; but he was not to remain with them long,
for, having given orders that the whole disposable force, about
fourteen hundred men, should embark in the boats before daybreak
next morning, and follow the fleet to Barcelona, he again with
his aides de camp took his place in the felucca and sailed for
the fleet.</p>

<p>In the middle of the night he came across them, and boarding
the Prince George, hoisted his flag as admiral of the fleet on
the maintop, and took the command. He then sent a boat to Sir
John Leake to acquaint him with his orders and intentions, and
another boat to advise General Stanhope of his arrival; but the
darkness delayed the delivery of these messages till nearly
morning, and when day appeared the whole fleet was amazed at
seeing the flag of the admiral in chief flying on the Prince
George. The wind was strong and favorable, and the fleet crowded
on all sail; but when within about eighteen miles of Barcelona
one of the French lookout ships sighted them, and made a signal
to a consort further along. She in turn passed on the news until
it reached the Count of Toulouse, who, without waiting to
ascertain the strength of the approaching squadron, at once
signaled to his fleet to weigh anchor, and, putting to sea,
sailed for France.</p>

<p>The disappointment of the earl was great, as he had fully
calculated upon gaining a great naval battle in sight of the city
he had come to relieve. On the afternoon of the 8th of May the
leading vessels anchored off Barcelona, and preparations were at
once made for the landing of the troops. The first to set foot on
shore were the earl's veteran troops, who had according to his
orders accompanied the fleet from Sitjes. The succor was welcome,
indeed; the breaches were no longer defensible, and an assault
was hourly expected. The king himself came down to receive the
earl and his army; the city went wild with joy.</p>

<p>For a few days the French made a show of carrying on the
siege. They were still enormously superior in force; but the
energy and skill of Peterborough counterbalanced the inequality.
He worked day and night in superintending the works of defense,
and in placing the troops in readiness for the expected assault.
Philip and many of his officers were still in favor of an attack
upon the city; but Tesse as usual was opposed to anything like
vigorous measures, and his views were adopted by a council of
war.</p>

<p>At one o'clock on the morning of the 11th of May the besiegers
broke up their camp, and in great confusion made their way toward
the French frontier, for Tesse preferred even the ignominy of
falling back into France with his unsuccessful and dispirited
army to retracing his steps toward Saragossa, where his
devastations and cruelty had caused the whole population to rise
in insurrection as soon as his army had passed into Catalonia.
Besides which, he had received news that Peterborough had caused
every pass and town on his way to the west to be fortified and
held by the Miquelets. Philip accompanied the retreating army to
Roussillon. The downfall of his hopes had been utter and
complete. But a few weeks before it had seemed that Spain was
his, and that the forces at his disposal were ample to crush out
the insurrection in Barcelona, and to sweep into the sea the
handful of the invaders. But all his plans had been baffled, all
his hopes brought to naught by the genius and energy of one man,
in spite of that man being thwarted at every turn by the imbecile
German coterie who surrounded the king, and by the jealousy and
ill will of his fellow generals.</p>

<p>Bad news met the fugitive at Roussillon. There he heard that
his countrymen had suffered a disastrous defeat at Ramillies;
that nearly all the Netherlands had been wrested from France;
that a heavy defeat had been inflicted upon her at Turin, and
that Italy was well nigh lost. It needed, indeed, but the
smallest amount of unanimity, enterprise, and confidence on the
part of the advisers and generals of King Charles to have placed
him securely and permanently upon the throne of Spain.</p>

<p>When the flight of the besieging army was discovered after
daybreak by the besieged, they poured out from Barcelona into the
deserted camp. All the ordnance and stores of the French had been
abandoned. Two hundred heavy brass guns, thirty mortars, and a
vast quantity of shot, shells, and intrenching tools, three
thousand barrels of powder, ten thousand sacks of corn, and a
vast quantity of provisions and stores were found left behind in
the camp. Tesse had left, too, all his sick and wounded with a
letter to the Earl of Peterborough begging him to see that they
were well cared for.</p>

<p>The news of the hasty retreat of Marshal Tesse from before
Barcelona caused a shock of surprise throughout Europe. In France
it had never been doubted that Barcelona would fall, and as to
the insurrection, it was believed that it could be trampled out
without difficulty by the twenty-five thousand French veterans
whom the marshal had at his disposal. As to the handful of
British troops whose exploits had occasioned such astonishment,
none had supposed for a moment that they would be able to effect
anything when opposed to so overwhelming a force of the
disciplined troops of France.</p>

<p>Peterborough himself had hardly hoped to save Barcelona, but,
unlike his enemies, he had not considered that the fall of that
city would necessarily entail the final defeat of the cause for
which he fought. While busying himself with the marches and
achievements of the troops under his command, he had never ceased
to take measures to provide for the future. His marches and
counter marches had made him thoroughly acquainted with the
country, and he had won the entire confidence of the people.</p>

<p>He had, therefore, taken measures that even if Barcelona fell
Philip should not march back again to his capital. From the day
Tesse advanced he had had thousands of the country people at
work, under the direction of a few of his own officers, rendering
each of the three roads by which the French army could march from
Barcelona to Madrid impracticable. Gorges were blocked with vast
masses of rock rolled down from the mountain side at spots where
the road wound along on the face of precipices; and where it had
only been made by blasting, it was by similar means entirely
destroyed. Bridges were broken down, every castle and town on the
lines of retreat placed in a state of defense, and the cattle and
provisions driven off to places of safety.</p>

<p>Thus while the earl was himself engaged in the most perilous
adventures, he neglected nothing that the most prudent and
cautious general could have suggested to insure the success of
his plans. Even when affairs looked most unpromising in Barcelona
the earl wrote cheerfully to the Duke of Savoy, saying that the
circumstances were much better than were generally supposed; and
that the French officers, ignorant of the situation of the
country, would be astonished at the difficulties that would be
opposed to them on advancing even after success; and that if the
siege were raised they would be forced to abandon Spain, while
all the western frontier would be clear for the progress of Lord
Galway and Das Minas to Madrid.</p>

<p>A few days after the retreat of Marshal Tesse, to Jack's great
pleasure Graham came into Barcelona. He had, in the confusion of
the retreat, had little difficulty in slipping away from his
captors. His only danger had been from the peasantry, at whose
hands he had narrowly escaped death, as they took him for a
French officer; but, upon being convinced by his assurances that
he was an Englishman and an aide de camp of the Earl of
Peterborough, they had provided him with a horse to make his way
back to Barcelona.</p>

<h1 align="CENTER"><a name="CHAPTER_XVI"></a>CHAPTER XVI:
INGRATITUDE</h1>

<p>Barcelona rescued, Peterborough at once urged the king to
march upon Madrid and have himself proclaimed king in his
capital. There was no force which could oppose his advance, and
Lord Galway and the Portuguese could move unresisted from the
west and meet him there. But it was a long time before Charles
and his counselors would listen to his advice; and although at
last they agreed to follow it, their resolution was short. In the
first place, they determined to leave so large a force to
garrison Catalonia that the army available for the advance on
Madrid would be very seriously weakened -- fifteen hundred
English and eleven hundred Spaniards were to be left at
Barcelona, sixteen hundred English and Dutch and fifteen hundred
Spanish at Gerona, eight hundred and fifty Spanish and Dutch at
Lerida, and five hundred Spanish at Tortosa.</p>

<p>This left but sixty-five hundred men available for service in
the field, and even this number was subsequently diminished by
the vacillating Charles to forty-five hundred.</p>

<p>As Peterborough wrote to Lord Halifax: "We have saved kingdoms
in spite of the king, who would abandon them, and we have waged
more dangerous war with ministers than with enemies. Lord Galway
and the Portuguese generals pass all understanding."</p>

<p>No wonder the earl was astounded by the incompetence of Lord
Galway and the Portuguese generals. They had twenty thousand men,
while to oppose them there were but five thousand under the Duke
of Berwick; and yet after entering Spain they fell back, without
doing anything, into Portugal -- their retreat beginning on the
11th of May, the day on which Philip retreated from Barcelona. So
that on the opposite side of Spain two large armies
simultaneously retired before others vastly weaker than
themselves. When the news of Tesse's retreat to France reached
Portugal they again advanced. Berwick was too weak to oppose
them, and on the 25th of June the advance guard of the allies
occupied Madrid, and there proclaimed Charles as king.</p>

<p>Had Galway and his colleagues now shown the slightest energy,
and moved against Berwick's little force, with which was Philip
himself, they could have driven them across the frontier without
striking a blow, and the French cause would have been lost in
Spain; but, having reached Madrid, they remained there doing
absolutely nothing -- leaving ample time to Philip to repair his
misfortunes, receive aid from France, and recommence the campaign
with vigor. As Peterborough wrote indignantly to General
Stanhope: "Their halt is as fatal as was Hannibal's at
Capua."</p>

<p>As soon as the movement upon Madrid had been decided upon,
Peterborough sailed with the English and Dutch infantry to
Valencia, where he was received with enthusiasm by the
inhabitants. He at once set to work to raise a regiment of
dragoons, and organized them in three weeks. The very day they
were mounted he marched them upon Castile. During this time not
only had Lord Galway made no movement, but he had joined in the
German intrigue by which Charles was induced to abandon the plan
of marching to his capital under the escort of Peterborough.</p>

<p>The allied generals at Madrid were indeed basely jealous of
the brilliant conqueror of Catalonia and Valencia. His deeds had
thrown theirs entirely into the shade. With utterly insufficient
means he had done everything; with ample means they had effected
nothing, and had only been enabled to enter Madrid by the fact
that he had drawn off the army which had successfully opposed
them.</p>

<p>After incessant labor in organizing his force, the earl sent
two thousand men, under the command of Lieutenant General
Wyndham, to besiege the towns of Requena and Cuenca -- two places
of some strength which blocked the road between Valencia and
Madrid.</p>

<p>Wyndham easily accomplished the task; and the road being thus
secured, Peterborough wrote to Charles that "nothing remained to
hinder him from entering Madrid with even a small escort of
horse." The earl had everything prepared along the road for the
passage of the king; but although he wrote over and over again
urging him not to delay, Charles refused to stir, and told
General Stanhope (who backed Peterborough's entreaties) that he
had "no becoming equipment with which to enter his capital."</p>

<p>"Sire," the English general exclaimed in indignant
astonishment, "our William the Third entered London in a hackney,
with a cloak bag behind it, and was made king not many weeks
after."</p>

<p>A month after the date originally settled Charles set out and
proceeded to Taragona, but then, to the astonishment of the
English general and envoy, they learned he had altered his mind
and taken the route to Saragossa. When he heard the news,
Peterborough sent couriers day after day with urgent letters to
the king. He prevailed upon a deputation of the Valencian
nobility to follow with the same purpose, and transmitted the
opinion of a council of war, which was unanimous in entreating
the king to stay his steps. The king again hesitated, and was
about to follow Peterborough's advice, when a French officer in
the Portuguese service arrived from Galway and Das Minas, again
urging him to move by the route which they had suggested.</p>

<p>Charles again hesitated, the Count of Cifuentes (who was with
him) gave his advice in favor of the Saragossa route, and the
king decided on that line.</p>

<p>On the 26th of July the earl summoned a council of war,
including the Governor of Valencia, two Spanish generals, and his
own officers. They agreed unanimously that Peterborough should
march his army to Madrid or join the army in Portugal, as
circumstances might require. Just before they started letters
came in from the king desiring that Peterborough should send the
forces under his command either to relieve the Duke of Savoy or
to capture the Balearic Isles.</p>

<p>The earl declined to follow this ungrateful suggestion, which
was manifestly intended by Charles and his advisers, English,
Portuguese, and German, to send away from his kingdom the man who
had won it for him. Being fortunately independent of orders,
Peterborough marched for Castile, as he and the council of war
had previously determined.</p>

<p>Charles was not long in regretting that he had not followed
Lord Peterborough's advice. Instead of the triumphant procession
from Saragossa to Madrid, which he had been promised, he was met
with the most determined opposition.</p>

<p>Every town and village in the center and south of Spain rose
against him; Salamanca and Toledo declared for Philip, and
Andalusia raised eighteen thousand men. The troops of Las Torres
from Valencia, and those who had retreated under Tesse to
Roussillon, had joined Berwick at Xadraque, and Philip had placed
himself at the head of this formidable army. Charles was obliged
to send in the utmost haste to ask the Earl of Peterborough to
extricate him from the position in which he had placed himself by
neglecting his advice.</p>

<p>The earl instantly complied with the request, and marching
with all speed overtook the king on the 4th of August at
Pastrina, and thence on the following day escorted him in safety
to the army of Portugal at Guadalaxara.</p>

<p>The total strength of the united allied army was eighteen
thousand men -- a force inferior, indeed, to that with which
Berwick confronted them; and that portion brought by Lord Galway
and the Portuguese General Das Minas was not to be relied upon,
having fallen into a state of great indiscipline owing to the
tedious delays, the frequent retreats, and the long inactivity to
which it had been subjected by the incompetence of its leaders.
That this was so was evident by the fact that the day after the
king's arrival the French made a partial attack, and many of the
allied battalions at once fell into complete confusion. But this
was not the greatest drawback to the efficiency of the allied
army; they were paralyzed by the dissensions of their commanders
-- Galway, Das Minas, and the Dutch Count de Noyelles. Each and
all declined to acknowledge Peterborough as commander in chief.
The earl then offered to waive his own rights entirely and to
fight as a simple volunteer, and that Das Minas, Lord Galway, and
the Dutch general should each command their own forces, receiving
their orders from the king.</p>

<p>This offer was, however, refused by the three generals. The
partisans of the various leaders shared their animosity. The
English troops of Peterborough claiming, and justly, that
Catalonia and Valencia had been gained and won by him, and that
to him alone the king owed his crown, were furious that those who
had shown naught but incapacity from the commencement of the
campaign should now refuse to recognize his authority. While the
disputes continued Berwick had nearly succeeded in surprising
Galway, and a disastrous defeat had only been prevented by the
gallant defense made by Lord Tyrawley of an outpost which he
commanded, and which he held for two hours against all the
efforts of the French, and so gave time for the army to make a
hasty retreat.</p>

<p>The army was, moreover, straitened by want of provisions; Lord
Galway and his colleagues had made no arrangements whatever for
its supply. Day and night the German favorites of the king, who
had ruined their master's cause by dissuading him from following
the advice of Lord Peterborough, now labored with the king still
further to destroy his confidence in Peterborough; and finding
himself treated coldly by the ungrateful monarch, who owed
everything to him, opposed at every turn by the other generals,
and seeing that his presence was worse than useless, Peterborough
announced his intention of obeying the orders from Queen Anne,
dated the 12th of June, and repeated on the 17th, to proceed to
the assistance of the Duke of Savoy.</p>

<p>On the same evening a council of war was held. The king
formally laid Peterborough's announcement before the generals,
who, delighted to get rid of their rival, unanimously recommended
that he should depart.</p>

<p>On the 11th of August, full of mortification and disgust at
the treatment that he had experienced and the base ingratitude of
the king, Peterborough rode from the camp at Guadalaxara. As if
to humiliate him as far as possible, he was given only an escort
of eighty dragoons, although there were serious difficulties to
be encountered on the road to Valencia. His two favorite aides de
camp, Stilwell and Graham, were the only officers who accompanied
him. It is satisfactory to know that from the moment of the
earl's departure misfortune and disaster fell upon the fortunes
of King Charles, and that the crown which he had received from
the English earl was wrested from his unworthy grasp.
Peterborough had gone but a short distance when he heard that all
his baggage, consisting of eight wagon loads and of the value of
eight thousand pounds sterling, had fallen into the hands of the
enemy. When he left Valencia to extricate the king from his
difficulties he had ordered it to be sent after him to
Guadalaxara. When it arrived at Cuenca, General Wyndham, who
commanded there, forwarded it with a small escort; but it was
attacked while passing through the town of Huete by a party of
the Duke of Berwick's troopers.</p>

<p>The earl was furious at the news. Not only were all his
personal effects, jewels, and uniforms lost, but his spare
horses, carriages, and mules. Upon making inquiry he found that
the troopers of Berwick had been aided by the inhabitants of
Huete, who had given information to the troopers and shared in
the plunder. His first impulse was to burn the town to the
ground, and as when he arrived there he was joined by Wyndham's
force, he had ample power to do so.</p>

<p>He immediately summoned the magistrates and clergy to meet
him, and told them in decided terms that they must find his
baggage and the rogues that had stolen it. After making a search
in the town they were able to find but a small portion of it.
They then offered to pay him ten thousand pistoles for his loss,
or any other sum which he might choose to name; but the earl,
with that singular generosity which formed so marked a part of
his character, declined the offer, and said:</p>

<p>"I see you are honest gentlemen; for my part I will sit
content with my loss if you will bring all the corn of the
district to the army."</p>

<p>The townspeople were delighted at this clemency, as corn was
much more easy to procure than money, and it was accordingly sent
to Lord Galway's camp, where it sufficed to supply the whole army
for six weeks.</p>

<p>This was an act of almost unparalleled magnanimity and
generosity to the generals whose jealousy and machinations had
driven him from the army; but the earl was so satisfied at thus
heaping coals of fire upon the heads of his rivals that he
continued his journey in the highest state of good humor in spite
of the loss which he had suffered, and which, as he was by no
means rich, was a very considerable one. He took with him
Killigrew's dragoons and sent on Wyndham's brigade to join Lord
Galway. On the way he encountered several adventures.</p>

<p>One night when he arrived at the little town of Campillo, he
heard of a barbarous massacre that had that day been perpetrated
in a neighboring village upon a small detachment of English
soldiers, who had just been discharged from the hospital at
Cuenca, and were proceeding under the command of an officer to
join Wyndham's battalion of the guards, to which they belonged.
They had slept at the village, and were marching out unconscious
of danger, when a shot in the back killed their officer, and the
peasants at once rushed in upon the men and killed several of
them, together with their wives who had accompanied them. The
rest were dragged up a hill near the village, and then one by one
thrown down a deep pit.</p>

<p>No sooner did the earl hear of the outrage than he ordered the
trumpets to sound to horse. The dragoons, who, weary with their
long march, had just unsaddled, turned out wondering at the
order; but when they heard what had happened, they mounted with
an impatience for vengeance equal to that of their general.
Arriving at the village they found, to their great
disappointment, that the murderers had fled, and that hardly any
of the inhabitants remained. They found, however, hidden in the
church, the clothes of some of the murdered guardsmen. The
sacristan of the church was alleged by the inhabitants, who were
narrowly examined, to have taken an active part in the slaughter,
and the earl ordered him to be hung up at once to the knocker of
his own door. The troops then rode up to the top of the hill, and
the earl and his aides de camp dismounted at the edge of the pit.
They had procured a rope at the village, although the inhabitants
insisted that no one could be found alive, as the pit, which was
a disused one, was of vast depth.</p>

<p>"Is any one alive down there?" the earl shouted.</p>

<p>"Yes, yes," a voice cried a short distance below them. "Thank
God friends have come; but help me quickly, for I cannot hold on
much longer."</p>

<p>Jack seized the rope and twisted one end round his body.
Several of the soldiers lowered him down, and some twenty feet
below the edge he came upon the man who had spoken. As he fell he
had caught some bushes which grew in the side of the old pit, and
having managed to find a ledge on which to place his feet, had
maintained his grasp in this perilous position the whole day. As
the rope was amply strong enough to hold two, Jack clasped his
arms around the man's body and called to those above to haul up.
They were soon at the surface.</p>

<p>The soldier, who had fainted when he found himself in safety,
was laid down and brandy poured down his throat, and Jack, to his
astonishment and satisfaction, recognized in him his old friend
Sergeant Edwards. He did not wait, however, for him to recover
sensibility, but at once told the troopers to lower him again to
the end of the rope. This they did, and Jack then shouted several
times, but received no answer. He then dropped a small stone he
had brought down with him, but no sound came back in return, and,
satisfied that none of the soldiers could have survived the fall,
for he was already more than sixty feet below the surface, he
shouted to those above to draw him up. He found that Edwards had
now recovered his senses, and was giving to the earl a detailed
account of the massacre, which so exasperated him that he gave
orders that the village should be burned to the ground, a command
which was willingly carried out by the troopers. Edwards was
delighted at recognizing Jack, and when, after the destruction of
the village, the party rode back to Campillo for the night, the
two old friends had a long chat as to the events which had
happened since they last parted at Barcelona.</p>

<p>"Is it true, sir, that the general has resigned his
command?"</p>

<p>"Quite true, Edwards."</p>

<p>"And is he going home, sir?"</p>

<p>"No; he will sail to aid the Duke of Savoy; at least that is
the present intention; but I should not be surprised if he is in
England ere many months are over."</p>

<p>"Well, sir, I should like to get my discharge and go home too;
being chucked down that pit has given me a regular sickness of
campaigning among these savages. Talk about pirates, Captain
Stilwell, why, I had rather fall among pirates any day than among
these bloodthirsty wretches. Calls themselves Christians too! The
pirates wasn't hypocrites, in that way, anyhow; they didn't bow
down on their knees before every little trumpery doll stuck up by
the wayside, and then go and cut a man's throat afterward -- it
was all fair and square with them. Anyways, it don't matter to
me, as I see, whether they has King Charles or King Philip to
rule over them; I wishes him joy of the job, whichever it may be;
but I don't see no call to be risking my life in being shot, or
chucked down pits, or stabbed in my bed, for such a lot of
varmint any longer. I have served my full time, and can take my
pension; besides, I have got something like a thousand pounds
stowed away in a snug hiding place near Barcelona."</p>

<p>"You have, Edwards? I am glad to hear it; I had no idea you
were such a rich man,"</p>

<p>"It's prize money, sir, lawful earned prize money, though I
don't know between ourselves as the colonel would have approved
of it; so I stowed it away and says nothing till I gets a chance
to lift it before I set sail. It's been rather worrying me in
case we should be ordered to take ship at some other port."</p>

<p>"Well, but how did you get it, Edwards?"</p>

<p>"Well, sir, I know that I can tell you, 'cause I am sure it
won't go no further. Just afore the French came down to besiege
Barcelona I was up with the brigade at Lerida. The people were
pretty much divided up there, but the news as the French was
coming to drive us into the sea made the folks as was against us
very bold. The sentries had to be doubled at night, for lots of
our men were found stabbed, and it was dangerous to go about
outside the town except in parties. Well, sir, Sergeant Adams of
ours, as smart a soldier as ever wore pigtail, had fallen in love
with the daughter of an innkeeper at a place four miles from
Lerida.</p>

<p>"It wasn't much of a village, but there was a big convent
close by, one of the richest in Spain, they said. The girl was
fond of Adams, and had agreed, so he told me, to cut and run when
the regiment marched away, and to be spliced to him. I rather
tried to dissuade him from the affair, for, as I pointed out, how
would a Spanish woman get on in barracks with the other
sergeants' wives, specially if she was as pretty as the whole lot
put together? However, of course, he wouldn't listen to that --
no chap ever does when he's downright in love; so he asked me one
afternoon if I would go out with him and Sergeant Saunders to the
village, so that while we were having our glass he could manage
to get a few words with the girl to arrange about her joining
him, for the French were only two or three marches away, and we
might have to fall back any day.</p>

<p>"I didn't much like the job, for it was a risky business three
of us going so far; but he pointed out that we needn't start till
it got dark, so nobody would see us till we got to the village,
and we needn't stay there above a quarter of an hour, and could
be off before any one who meant mischief could find out that we
were alone; besides, hitherto the people there had always been
friendly, for, being just the right distance for a walk, and the
wine there being good, our fellows went over there a good deal:
so the long and short of it was we went.</p>

<p>"We got there all right, and walked into the wine shop as
usual and sat down and called for wine. There were half a dozen
fellows sitting there drinking. They were talking aloud when we
entered, but stopped at once as we came in, and looked as men do
when you come across them just as they are saying something as is
no good about you. We passed the word as usual, and were soon
chatting with them. They didn't seem very free and friendly, and
asked several questions about the French army, and whether we had
any troops coming up to help us hold Lerida. I said we expected
five or six thousand in a day or two, which seemed rather to take
them by surprise.</p>

<p>"Well, presently Adams got up quietly and went out of the
door, and I knew he was going round to the back to meet his girl.
I had seen a look pass atween them when she brought in our wine.
We went on talking quiet for some time; four or five other men
dropped in, and some of them got talking together in low tones,
and I began to wish we were well out of it, and to wonder how
much longer Adams was going to be before he came back. Suddenly
we heard a loud scream, and Manola -- that was the girl's name --
came rushing in from behind. 'He's killed him,' she screamed, and
she fell down as if she had been killed too. As I heard
afterward, her old rascal of a father had for some time suspected
something was up between her and Adams, and when he missed him
had stolen out behind and came upon them just as he was kissing
her and saying goodby. Then he whipped his knife out, and before
Adams had time to turn round, stabbed him in the back, and the
sergeant fell dead without a word.</p>

<p>"Close behind the girl rushed in the innkeeper, swearing and
cursing and calling us heretics, and dogs, and robbers, and every
other bad kind of name. The men got up and began to stamp and
shout, and seeing that it was no time for argument I said to
Saunders, 'We had best make a bolt of it, Bill.' So we out swords
and made a dash for the inner door, for they had closed in at the
other with their knives out. We got safely through the house.
Just outside the back door we came upon the body of Adams. We
stopped a moment and turned him over to see if he was dead, but
it was all up with him.</p>

<p>"It didn't take a moment to look; but, before it was done,
they were upon us, both from behind and running round from the
front of the house. We cut and slashed for a moment and then
bolted with them at our heels. We got separated in a minute. I
turned in among some bushes and lost Saunders. I heard afterward
he was killed before he had run fifty yards. Luckily they missed
me for the moment, and I lay down among the bushes and thought it
over. The whole village was up by this time, as I could hear by
the shouts; and after thinking it over I concluded that there was
no chance of my making my way back to Lerida, and that my best
plan would be to go up to the convent and ask for shelter there.
I knew well enough that once inside I should be safe from the
peasants.</p>

<p>"Well, I crawled along for some distance. Half a dozen times
they was nigh stumbling over me as they searched about in the
gardens and vineyards; but at last I made my way safe up to the
convent and rang at the bell. Presently the little window in the
door opened, and a monk said, 'Who is there?' I kept out of his
sight and said in Spanish: 'A fugitive who seeks sanctuary.'
Thinking I was only somebody who had stabbed three or four men in
a row, the monk opened the door. He gave an exclamation when he
saw my uniform when I entered, and would have slammed the door in
my face; but I pushed in. Then he gave a shout, and five or six
other monks came running up and set up a jabbering, and stood
staring at me as if I had been a wild beast. Then they wanted to
turn me out; but I wouldn't budge, and as I had my sword still in
my hand they didn't know what to do.</p>

<p>"At last some chap in authority came down. He talked to me and
tried to persuade me to leave; but I said, 'No, I claim
sanctuary;' and as they were ready to give sanctuary to the worst
of murderers, I didn't see as they could deny it to me who had
committed no crime whatever. He went away and came back again
after some time, and then told me to sheath my sword and follow
him. This I did, and he led the way to a sort of cell where there
were some rushes laid on a stone bed, and told me that I could
remain there.</p>

<p>"Thinking it was all right I lay down and went to sleep, but
was presently woke by half a dozen monks, who were tying my hands
and feet with cords. It was no use struggling, so I lay quiet;
and when they had done, they carried me away, took me some
distance, and went down a flight of stairs; a door was unlocked,
and then I was pitched down on the ground as if I had been a log
of wood. I didn't move much that night.</p>

<p>"In the morning there was just enough light came through a
little slit high up in the wall to show me that I was in a place
about six feet square. It was perfectly bare, without as much as
a bit of straw to lie on. Presently two monks came in. One of
them untied the cords which fastened my hands. They placed some
black bread and a jug of water by me, and then went out again.
There they kept me for six days. At the end of that time they
told me to come along with them. I had, of course, taken the
cords off my legs when I had got my hands free, and I followed
them, wondering what was to come next. I was taken to the door of
the convent, and there I saw a party of French troopers, to whom
the monks handed me over. I mounted behind one of them, and was
taken to Marshal Tesse's camp near Lerida, and a couple of days
afterward sent back to Saragossa.</p>

<p>"I didn't stop long in the prison there, for the next day the
people rose, turned the French from the citadel, and opened the
prison doors and let out all the prisoners. They made a good deal
of me, as I was the only Englishman there, supplied me with money
and clean clothes, and provided me with a guide and a mule to
take me by round about byroads so that I should avoid the French
army. I put my regimentals in a bag, which I carried behind me,
and at last got down to Barcelona the very day before the French
arrived there.</p>

<p>"I found my regiment already there. I got a rare blowing up
from the colonel for having gone out from Lerida without leave;
but as he said he thought I had been punished enough already, and
bore a good character, he overlooked it, of which I was glad
enough, I can tell you, for I expected nothing less than
reduction to the ranks.</p>

<p>"Well, after Lord Peterborough arrived with the fleet, and the
French bolted as hard as they could to France, Wyndham's brigade
went up again to Lerida. I got chatting the affair over with Jack
Thompson, who was General Wyndham's servant, and we agreed
between us that we would give those monks a fright, and perhaps
get some compensation out of them. So we got hold of four of
Killigrew's dragoons, who, when they heard what was wanted, was
ready enough for the spree. So one day when General Wyndham had
gone off with a party for the day, Thompson borrowed his hat and
plumes and his cloak, and hiding them up, went out of camp with
me to a place a quarter of a mile away, where the four troopers
with two spare horses were waiting for us. Thompson put on the
general's hat and cloak, and mounted one horse, while I got on
the other, and away we rode out to the village.</p>

<p>"First of all we went to the inn and seized the innkeeper.
Manola wasn't there, and I never heard what became of her --
whether her father had sent her to a convent or killed her, I
don't know. However, we held a court regular. Thompson he was the
judge, and I gave evidence as to the innkeeper having murdered
poor Adams, and Thompson sentenced him to death, and we hung him
up over his door. When we had set that job right we went to the
convent and rang the bell. They opened quick enough this
time.</p>

<p>"'Tell the prior,' Thompson said, 'that the Earl of
Peterborough is here, and desires to see him instantly.'</p>

<p>"Mighty frightened the monk looked, I can tell you, as he went
off to give the message, and came back in a minute, asking
Thompson to follow him. We all dismounted. Two of the troopers
stopped to look after the horses, and the others with drawn
swords followed Thompson and me. We were shown into the prior's
room, which was fit for a prince. The prior looked mighty pale,
and so did two or three other chaps who were with him.</p>

<p>"'Look here,' Thompson said in an angry tone of voice, 'I am
the Earl of Peterborough, and I hear from this man, Sergeant
Edwards, of the king's regiment of grenadiers, that he was basely
and treacherously made a prisoner by you; that he was confined in
an underground cell and fed with bread and water for a week, and
then handed over to the French. Now, sir, I give you an hour to
clear out with all your gang from this convent, which I intend to
destroy. You will remain in the courtyard as prisoners. You will
then be tried for this treacherous act against one of the King of
England's guards, and all found to have had a hand in the
proceeding will be hung.'</p>

<p>"Well, sir, yon may just guess the fright they were in. They
knew that the earl was just the sort of man to carry his threat
into execution, and they thought their last day was come. You
never saw such a set of cowardly wretches in your life. I am
blessed if they didn't go down on their knees and howl. At last
Thompson began to think he had worked them up enough, and he said
stern:</p>

<p>"'Well, I am disposed to have mercy, and if in half an hour
you pay down the sum of five thousand pounds as a ransom for the
convent and your wretched lives I will be merciful.'</p>

<p>"Then there was a fresh howling. They swore by all the saints
that such a sum as five thousand pounds was never heard of.
Thompson gradually dropped his demands to three thousand; still
they swore they hadn't got it, and he said sternly to one of the
troopers:</p>

<p>"'Ride back and fetch up the regiment which is a mile outside
the village.'</p>

<p>"Then there was more howling, and at last they offered to give
seven hundred pounds, which was all the money which they had in
the treasury, and to make it up in precious stones. After a deal
of haggling Thompson consented, and I believe if he had stood out
for three times as much he would have got it, for the convent was
rich in relics, and no end of precious offerings were stored away
in their chests; however, he didn't wish to push matters too far,
and in half an hour they brought the money, and a handful of
diamonds and rubies, and things they had picked out of their
settings in the vases and crucifixes and vestments, and what
not.</p>

<p>"We didn't know if they were real or not; but Thompson told
them he should give them to a jeweler to value, and if he found
they had cheated him by giving him false stones he would come
back and hang the lot of them. So off we rode again.</p>

<p>"When we got back to Lerida we took two or three of the stones
to a jeweler and found that they were all right. Then we divided
the swag into three parts as we had agreed. Thompson took one, I
took another, and the other was divided among the four troopers,
who were not running such a risk as we were. I never heard
anything more about the matter, as far as I was concerned, though
there was a row. The prior heard that Peterborough had never been
near Lerida, and came over and saw General Wyndham.</p>

<p>"Killigrew's dragoons were paraded, but the prior couldn't
spot any of them. We had chosen four fair fellows, and they had
all darkened themselves a bit before they went. Luckily the prior
did not say anything about me. I expect he was afraid that when
Wyndham heard how I had been treated there he might have
inflicted a fresh fine on the convent; however, I was not there
at the time, for I had a touch of fever the day after the affair,
and made myself out a bit worse than I was, and so got sent down
to Barcelona, where I buried my share of the plunder four or five
inches deep in a corner of the hospital yard. As to Thompson,
there wasn't any reason why suspicion should fall upon him. Soon
after I got back to my regiment I got ill again and was left in a
hospital at Cuenca, and had a narrow escape of it this
morning."</p>

<p>"It was a risky business," Jack said, "and it would have gone
very hard with you and Thompson if you had been found out."</p>

<p>"So it would, sir. I knew that; but you see, it was only right
and just those fellows should pay for their treatment of me. If I
had laid the case before General Wyndham, no doubt he would have
punished them just as severe as I did, only the fine would have
gone into the army treasury, instead of going to the right
person."</p>

<p>"I am afraid, Edwards, that you have not got rid of those
loose notions of morality you picked up among the pirates," Jack
said, smiling.</p>

<p>"Perhaps not, Captain Stilwell. You see, bad habits stick to a
man; but I have done with them now. When I get back to England I
shall buy a snug public house at Dover, and with that and my
pension I shall be in clover for the rest of my life."</p>

<p>It was not until the voyage home that Jack, after obtaining a
promise of secrecy, related to the earl the liberty which had
been taken with his name. It was just a freak after
Peterborough's heart, and he was immensely amused.</p>

<p>"The rascals!" he said, "they deserved hanging, every one of
them; but the story is a capital one, and I should like to have
been there myself to have seen the fright of the prior and his
assistants. They richly deserved what befell them and more for
betraying sanctuary. If it had been a scoundrel who had cut his
wife's throat, and stabbed half a dozen men, they would have
refused to give him up to the civil power, and would have stood
on the rights of sanctuary of the Church. I think they were let
off very easily. Let me see, is not that the same fellow that I
exchanged into the grenadiers at Gibraltar at your request, for
his conduct in that business of the mutiny on board your
ship?"</p>

<p>"The same man, sir. He has led a queer life. He was a sailor
originally, and was taken by pirates and forced to join them, and
had a narrow escape of being hung when the vessel he sailed in
was captured by an English cruiser; but his life was spared, and
he was drafted into the army, and he is a willing and faithful
soldier of the queen, and really a worthy fellow."</p>

<p>"He is evidently an arrant old scamp, Stilwell. Still, as long
as we recruit our army as we do, we cannot look for morality as
well as bravery, and I dare say your fellow is no worse than the
rest. If you ever run against him in London you must bring him to
me, and I will hear his story from his own lips."</p>

<h1 align="CENTER"><a name="CHAPTER_XVII"></a>CHAPTER XVII:
HOME</h1>

<p>Upon the arrival of the Earl of Peterborough at Valencia he
was received with the profoundest sympathy and respect by the
people, who were filled with indignation at the treatment which
the man whose daring and genius had freed Catalonia and Valencia
of the French had received at the hands of their ungrateful
monarch. Finding that a portion of the fleet had been ordered to
the West Indies, the earl was obliged to abandon his project of
capturing Minorca and then carrying substantial aid to the Duke
of Savoy. He, however, went to Genoa, and there borrowed a
hundred thousand pounds, which he brought back to Valencia and
sent to the king for the use of the army.</p>

<p>The cause of Charles was already well nigh desperate. Castile
was lost, and the enemy were pressing forward to recover
Catalonia and Valencia. Affairs were in the utmost state of
confusion. Peterborough's rivals having got rid of him now
quarreled among themselves, or their only bond of union was their
mutual hatred of the earl.</p>

<p>The king himself, while he pretended to flatter him, wrote
letters behind his back to England bringing all sorts of
accusations against him, and succeeded in obtaining an order for
his return. Before leaving he implored the king and his generals
to avoid a battle, which would probably be disastrous, and to
content themselves with a defensive war until Eugene of Savoy and
the Duke of Marlborough broke the power of France elsewhere. His
opinion was overruled, and the result was the disastrous battle
of Almanza, in which the hopes of Charles of Austria of obtaining
the crown of Spain were finally crushed.</p>

<p>Peterborough embarked on the 14th of May on board the
Resolution, man of war, commanded by his second son Henry.</p>

<p>The Resolution was accompanied by two frigates, the Enterprise
and the Milford Haven. The King of Spain's envoy to the court of
Savoy also sailed in the Resolution. The earl took with him his
two aides de camp, who were both too indignant at the treatment
which their chief had received to desire to remain with the army
in Spain. The little squadron sailed first for Barcelona, where
it only remained a few hours, and then set sail for Italy.</p>

<p>On the fifth day at sea they fell in with a French fleet of
six men of war. Two carried eighty guns, two seventy, one
sixty-eight, and the other fifty-eight. The Resolution was a slow
sailer, and the French, who at once gave chase, gained rapidly
upon her. As resistance against such overwhelming odds seemed
hopeless, Peterborough determined to go with the Spanish envoy
and the state papers on board the Enterprise. There was little
time for reflection. A small boat was lowered, and the earl, with
a hasty adieu to his son, Jack, and Graham, descended the ship's
side with the Spanish envoy and rowed away to the Enterprise.</p>

<p>"We are fated to see the inside of a French prison, after
all," Jack said to Graham.</p>

<p>"I don't know, Stilwell. We have both been in their hands
once, and did not stay there long. I can hardly believe that our
luck's going to desert us at last."</p>

<p>"I don't see much chance of our escape this time, Graham. Six
ships against one are too great odds even for English sailors.
The smallest of them carries as many guns as we do, and once a
prisoner on board a ship there is no slipping away."</p>

<p>"We are not prisoners yet, Jack, and I don't think that
Mordaunt will strike his flag without a struggle, though they are
six to one. He is just his father over again as far as courage
goes."</p>

<p>"Well, I hope, anyhow, the earl will get away," Jack said. "If
it hadn't been for all those state papers he is burdened with I
am sure he would have stuck to the Resolution and fought it out.
It would be just the kind of desperate adventure to suit him.
See, he has reached the Enterprise, and she and the Milford Haven
are spreading every sail; but although they will leave us behind
I question whether they will outsail the French. They are coming
up fast."</p>

<p>"It will soon be dark," Graham said, "and they may be able to
slip away. You may be sure the French will attend to us first, as
being the most valuable prize."</p>

<p>"Well, gentlemen," Captain Mordaunt said, coming up to them,
"you are going to have a piece of new experience. I know you have
been through some apparently hopeless conflicts on land with my
father, but I don't think you have ever seen a sea fight."</p>

<p>"Are you going to fight them all, sir?" Jack asked.</p>

<p>"I am going to try," the captain said. "My orders were to go
to Leghorn, and to Leghorn I mean to go if the ship floats; but I
tell you honestly I do not think there is much chance of our
getting there. Still, as long as the ship floats, the British
flag will float over her."</p>

<p>"Is there anything we can do, sir?" Jack asked. "We shall be
happy to serve as volunteers in any capacity in which you think
we may be useful."</p>

<p>"Until it comes to boarding I fear that you cannot help," the
captain said, "except by walking about between decks and cheering
and inspiriting the men. The presence of officers looking cool
and confident among them always does good. If the enemy try to
board us you shall fight by my side."</p>

<p>The two fastest sailing French vessels were so close when
night fell that it was hopeless to try to evade them either by
changing the ship's course or by lowering the sails. At ten
o'clock they were less than a mile astern, one on either quarter.
The ship had long since been ready for action, and the men were
now called to the guns; but the enemy did not open fire, but
could, by the night glasses, be seen somewhat to shorten sail so
as to keep about the same distance behind the Resolution.</p>

<p>"Cowardly dogs," the young captain said, "they do not mean to
fight until the whole of their consorts come up. However, we
ought not to grumble, as every hour takes us so much nearer
port."</p>

<p>He then ordered the men to lie down by the guns and get what
sleep they could until the enemy opened fire. Jack and Graham,
finding that there was nothing to be done, threw themselves into
their hammocks, and slept till five o'clock in the morning. They
were then aroused, and went on deck. The six French ships had now
all come up, and were coming on in a body.</p>

<p>"Good morning, gentlemen," the young captain said gayly. "We
have a fine morning for our amusement. I wish the wind would
freshen a little more so as to take this lubberly old ship faster
through the water."</p>

<p>At six o'clock the leading vessel of the French squadron
opened fire, and at the signal her consorts all followed her
example. Some of them were now almost abreast of the Resolution,
and the iron shower tore through her sails and cut her rigging.
She answered with a broadside from both sides, and the battle
commenced in earnest.</p>

<p>In all the annals of British seamanship there is no more
heroic story than that of the fight between the Resolution and
the six French men of war. From six in the morning until half
past three in the afternoon she maintained the unequal contest,
still keeping on under full sail toward her port, only yawing
occasionally to pour a broadside into one or other of her foes.
They were now running along the coast, and the peasants on the
distant hills must have watched with astonishment the unequal
fight as the vessels pressed on past them. By half past three the
Resolution was little more than a wreck. Her sails were riddled
with holes, many of her spars shot away, her sides ragged and
torn, and many of her crew killed, but the remainder of the crew
still fought their guns unflinchingly.</p>

<p>"We can do no more," Captain Mordaunt said to Jack. "The
carpenter has just reported that the mainmast is so seriously
injured that at any moment it may go over the side. It is
impossible to hope any longer to reach Leghorn, but my ship I am
determined they shall not have."</p>

<p>So saying, he gave orders to the first lieutenant, and the
vessel's head was suddenly turned straight toward the shore. The
French, astonished at so desperate a course, did not venture to
follow her, and the Resolution threaded her way through the
dangerous reefs till at last she brought up with a sudden crash
which sent her tottering mainmast over the side.</p>

<p>The French advanced cautiously until nearing the reefs, and
then opened a distant fire, which the Resolution did not return.
The captain ordered the exhausted crew from their guns, a strong
allowance of grog was served out, and after a meal the men felt
again ready for work. Jack and his companion were at dinner with
the captain, when the officer in charge of the deck reported that
the French ships were lowering their boats.</p>

<p>"Let the men rest as long as possible, Mr. Darwin, but when
you see the boats fairly on their way toward us beat to
quarters."</p>

<p>A few minutes later the roll of the drums was heard. "Now,
gentlemen, we will go on deck," the captain said, "since they
will not let us alone. But if their ships could not take us I do
not think that their boats will have much chance."</p>

<p>Dusk was closing in when they went on deck and saw all the
boats of the six French men of war, crowded with men, rowing in a
line toward them. The captain gave the order for the men to load
with grape. As soon as the French flotilla came well within range
the word was given, and a storm of balls swept their line.</p>

<p>Several of the boats were sunk at once, the others paused to
pick up their comrades from the water, and then again dashed
forward; but by this time the guns were again loaded, and the
hail of iron again crashed into them. With splendid bravery the
French still advanced until close to the ship. Then Captain
Mordaunt ordered all the lower deck guns to be run in and the
ports closed, and the crew to come on deck. While some worked the
upper guns, others kept up a heavy fire of musketry upon the
boats, which swarmed round the ship.</p>

<p>Again and again the French made determined efforts to board,
but they were unable to climb the lofty sides of the ship. At
length, after suffering terrible loss, the French sailors gave up
the attempt and rowed sullenly off to their ships, covered by the
darkness from the English fire. Captain Mordaunt took off his cap
and gave the signal, and a hearty cheer arose from the crew. The
night passed quietly, the terribly diminished crew lay down as
they stood by the guns, in readiness to repel another attack,
should it be attempted. The next morning one of the French eighty
gun ships got under way, and, with merely a rag of canvas shown,
and her boats rowing ahead and sounding to find a channel through
the reefs, gradually made her way toward the Resolution.</p>

<p>"Well, gentlemen," the captain said, "I think you will agree
with me that nothing further can be done. The ship is already
half full of water, the magazine is flooded, and the whole of the
powder wetted. The ship is a wreck, and I should be only throwing
away the men's lives uselessly by attempting further
resistance."</p>

<p>The officers thoroughly agreed, and with the greatest coolness
the captain gave his orders for the abandonment of the vessel.
Although the French man of war had now opened fire, all the
wounded, the whole of the crew, the flags, papers, and everything
of value were placed in the boats, and the vessel was then set on
fire in a dozen places.</p>

<p>After superintending everything personally, and making sure
that the fire had obtained such a hold that it could not be
extinguished, Captain Mordaunt ordered the officers to descend
into the boats. Just as he was about to leave the deck himself,
the last man on board the ship, a cannon shot from the French man
of war struck him in the leg. The officers ran back and raised
him from the deck.</p>

<p>"It might have been worse," he said cheerfully. "Now,
gentlemen, will you carry me down and place me in my gig, and
then take your boats as arranged? Be careful, as you row toward
shore, to keep the Resolution between you and the Frenchman's
guns."</p>

<p>Everything was done steadily and in order, and the survivors
of the crew of the Resolution reached the shore without further
loss. The Resolution was now in a blaze from end to end, and by
eleven o'clock she was burned to the water's edge. Mordaunt and
his crew were kindly received by the people of the country. As
the captain himself would not be able to move for some time, Jack
and Graham said adieu to him and posted to Turin, where the earl
had told them that he should go direct from Leghorn.</p>

<p>They arrived before him, but twenty-four hours after they had
reached the capital of Savoy the earl arrived. He had already
heard rumors of the desperate fight between the Resolution and
the enemy, and that his son had been wounded. His aides de camp
were now able to assure him that, although serious, Captain
Mordaunt's wounds were not likely to be fatal, and Peterborough
was delighted with the narrative of the gallant achievement of
his son. Shortly afterward an imperative order for his return
reaching the earl, he set out for England through Germany with
his two aides de camp. Peterborough was suffering from illness
caused by the immense exertions he had made through the campaign,
and traveled but slowly. He visited many of the German courts,
and went for a few days to the camp of Charles of Sweden in
Saxony.</p>

<p>After this, by special invitation, he journeyed to the camp of
the Duke of Marlborough at Genappes, where he was received with
much honor by the great commander. He presented to him his two
aides de camp.</p>

<p>"They have, my lord duke," he said, "been my faithful friends
throughout the whole campaign in Spain, they have shared all my
dangers, and any credit I may have gained is due in no small
degree to their zeal and activity. It is unlikely that I shall
again command an army in the field, and therefore I would
recommend them to you. They will accompany me to England, for
they, too, need a rest, after their exertions; after that I trust
that they may be sent out to fight under your orders, and I trust
that you will keep them in your eye, and will give them the
advantage of your protection and favor."</p>

<p>The duke promised to do so, and, after a few days' stay in the
camp, the earl with his two followers started for England, where
he arrived on the 20th of August, 1707, nearly two years to a day
from the date when he had appeared, with a force under his
command, before Barcelona. But the campaign itself, so far as he
was concerned, had lasted less than a year, as it was in August,
1706, that he rode into Valencia, after having been deprived of
his command.</p>

<p>In that year he exhibited military qualities which have never
been surpassed. Daring to the point of extreme rashness where
there was a possibility of success, he was prudent and cautious
in the extreme when prudence was more necessary than daring. With
absurdly insufficient means he all but conquered Spain for
Charles of Austria, and would have succeeded in doing so
altogether had he not, from first to last, been thwarted and
hampered by jealousy, malignity, stupidity, and irresolution on
the part of the king, his courtiers, and the generals who should
have been the earl's assistants, but who were his rivals,
detractors, and enemies.</p>

<p>It must be owned that Peterborough owed this opposition in
some degree to himself. He was impatient of fools, and took no
pains to conceal his contempt and dislike for those whose
intellects were inferior to his own. His independence of spirit
and eccentricity of manner set the formal German and Spanish
advisers of the king against him, and although adored by the
officers and men who served under him, he made almost every man
of rank approaching his own who came in contact with him his
personal enemy. Among the bulk of the Spanish people of the
provinces in which he warred he was beloved as well as admired,
and even to this day legends of the brilliant and indefatigable
English general are still current among the people of Catalonia
and Valencia. No man ever served the cause to which he devoted
himself with greater zeal and sincerity. He was lavish of his own
private means in its interest, and, even when his advice and
opinion were most slighted, he was ready to sacrifice himself,
his rank, and dignity to the good of the cause. Had he had the
good fortune to command an army of his own countrymen unfettered
by others, it is probable that he would have gained a renown
equal to that of the greatest commanders the world has known.</p>

<p>The great services which he had rendered were warmly felt and
acknowledged by the people of England on his return, and the
attempts of his enemies to undermine his reputation were confuted
by the papers which he brought back with him. For a time
Peterborough took a considerable part in politics, and his
acrimony in debate so enraged his enemies that his conduct during
the war in Spain was called into question. A debate on the
subject took place. In this he successfully defended himself from
the attacks made against him, and a formal vote of thanks to him
was passed.</p>

<p>Some years afterward he retired altogether from public life,
and privately married Miss Anastasia Robinson, his first wife
having died many years before. Miss Robinson was a singer of the
highest repute, of the most amiable character, and kindest
disposition. There was no reason why the match should not have
been publicly acknowledged, as the lady was held in universal
esteem; but, with his usual eccentricity, the earl insisted on
the marriage being kept a secret, and did not announce it until
on his death bed in the year 1735. Lady Peterborough lived in
profound retirement, universally beloved and honored, to the age
of eighty-eight.</p>

<p>Upon arriving in London Jack stayed for a few days with his
friend Graham, whose family lived there. The earl had told the
young officer that he would introduce them to the queen, but, on
their calling by appointment on him at his hotel on the third day
after their arrival in town, Peterborough said:</p>

<p>"You had best go about your own business for a time; the queen
is out of temper. The ears of ministers have been poisoned by
lying letters from my enemies in Spain, but it will all come
right in time. As you know, I have papers which will clear me of
every charge that their malignity may invent. When I am in favor
again I will let you know, and will present you to the queen and
minister of war; at any rate, you will like a rest at home before
you set out for the Netherlands, so there will be plenty of
time."</p>

<p>The next day Jack took his place on the coach for Southampton.
He arrived there after fourteen hours' journey, and put up at a
hotel for the night. The next morning he dressed himself with
greater care than usual, and started for the well remembered shop
in the High Street. He knocked at the private door, and inquired
if Mistress Anthony were in.</p>

<p>"Will you say that a gentleman whom she knows wishes to speak
to her?"</p>

<p>Jack was shown into the parlor, and in a minute or two Mrs.
Anthony appeared, looking a little flustered at hearing that a
grand looking officer wished to see her. Jack advanced toward her
with a smile.</p>

<p>"Why, Jack!" she exclaimed with a scream of delight, "is it
you?" and the good woman threw her arms round his neck and kissed
him as if he had been her own son.</p>

<p>"Of course we got your letters," she said, "telling us how you
had been made an officer and then a captain. The last letter we
had from you was from Italy; telling us about that great sea
fight, and that you were coming home, but that's eight months
ago. We knew you were with my Lord Peterborough, and we saw in
the Intelligencer about his being in Germany, and last week they
said he had come home. We were talking about you only yesterday,
and wondering whether you would come down to see us, and whether
you would know us now you had grown such a fine gentleman, and
being written about in Lord Peterborough's dispatches, and
accustomed to all sorts of grand society."</p>

<p>"You knew I would," Jack said; "why, where should I go if not
here? And Alice is quite well, I hope, and grown quite a
woman."</p>

<p>"Not quite a woman yet, Jack, but getting on." She opened the
door and called Alice, and in a minute the girl ran down. Her
mother saw that she had guessed who the caller was, for she had
smoothed her hair and put on a bright ribbon which her mother had
not seen for three years, and which Jack himself had given her.
She paused a moment shyly at the door, for this young officer, in
all the glories of the staff uniform, was a very grand figure in
her eyes.</p>

<p>"How do you do, Cousin Jack?" she said, coming forward, with a
bright color and outstretched hand.</p>

<p>"How are you, Cousin Alice?" Jack said, mimicking her tone;
"why, you little goose," he exclaimed, catching her in his arms
and kissing her, "you don't suppose I am going to be satisfied
with shaking your hand after being nearly three years away."</p>

<p>"Oh, but you are so big, Jack, and so grand, it seems
different altogether."</p>

<p>"You are bigger than you were, Alice, but it does not seem in
the least different to me."</p>

<p>"Well, I thought you would be quite changed, Jack, and quite
different, now you are a captain, and famous, and all that, and
you have seen so many grand ladies in all the countries you have
traveled that -- that --" And she hesitated.</p>

<p>"Well, go on," Jack said gravely.</p>

<p>"Well, then, that you would have forgotten all about me."</p>

<p>"Then you are a very bad little girl, Alice, and not half so
good as I thought you were, for you must have a very bad opinion
of me, indeed, if you thought all that of me."</p>

<p>"I don't think I quite thought so, Jack. Well, I told myself
it was only natural it should be so."</p>

<p>"We will argue that out presently," Jack said; "and now, where
is Mr. Anthony?"</p>

<p>"I will call him, Jack," Mrs. Anthony said. "You have no ill
feeling, I hope, toward him, for you know he really has been very
sorry about the part he took in getting you away, and has blamed
himself over and over again."</p>

<p>"I never have had," Jack said; "it has been the best thing
that ever happened to me. If I had had my own way I should still
be working before the mast instead of being a captain in the
army."</p>

<p>Mr. Anthony was soon called in from the store. At first he was
a little awkward and shy, but Jack's heartiness soon put him at
his ease.</p>

<p>Jack stayed a fortnight at Southampton, and then, on the
receipt of a letter from the Earl of Peterborough, went up to
town, where he was presented to the queen and afterward to the
minister of war by the earl.</p>

<p>A week later he and Graham sailed for the Netherlands and
joined the army of the Duke of Marlborough, and served under that
great commander until, three years later, the war was brought to
a conclusion. They were attached to the staff of one of the
generals of division.</p>

<p>The duke kept his promise to the Earl of Peterborough, and
kept his eye on the young officers. Both distinguished themselves
in the hard fought battles in Belgium, and the end of the war
found them both colonels. There being no prospect of further wars
the army was greatly reduced, and Jack was retired on half pay,
and as soon as matters were arranged in London he again made his
way down to Southampton, and at once asked Mr. Anthony's
permission to pay his addresses to his daughter.</p>

<p>The ex mayor consented with delight, and, as Alice herself
offered no objection, matters were speedily arranged. Jack's half
pay was sufficient for them to live on comfortably, and Mr.
Anthony, in his gratification at a marriage which he considered
did him great honor, presented her with a handsome sum at her
wedding, and the young couple settled down in a pretty house a
short distance out of Southampton.</p>

<p>Jack was never called out again for active service, and lived
in the neighborhood of Southampton until the end of his long
life, buying a small estate there, when, at the death of Mr.
Anthony, the handsome fortune which the cloth merchant had made
came to his daughter, subject to an annuity to Mrs. Anthony, who
took up her abode for the rest of her life with her son-in-law,
her daughter, and their children. For many years Colonel Stilwell
sat in parliament as member for Southampton, and maintained a
warm friendship with his ancient commander until the death of the
latter, in 1735.</p>

<p>THE END.</p>








<pre>

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