Date: Tue, 21 Mar 2017 23:03:44 +1300
From: arthur carkeek <artcart65@gmail.com>
Subject: drummer boy II chpt 14

DRUMMER BOY
CHAPTER 14
BOOK 2
THE ROAD NORTH
BY ARTHUR


CONATCT AUTHOR:
artcart65@gmail.com


It was midmorning when Thomas and the others of the column spied the
advance scout waiting for them just across a small stream. The column was
now as close to Miranda as they wanted to be without being noticed by any
guards that Samosa may have set.

By midday it was a tired, wet and cramped column that finally stopped in a
deep ravine where they would make their final camp; from here they would
try to attack the home base of Senor Samosa but first they had more
scouting to do on the town.

As dark approached the last of the canvas shelters was raised and the men
settled down for the first hot meal in two days. The ravine was deep and
narrow and afforded them good cover and an easy defence should it be
needed. Miranda town was less than three hours away but with the winter
weather being so contrary Thomas felt they were safe for the short time
they planned to be there.

As the Senior Officers sat over the warming food they discussed what to do
next; it was imperative that they had more detailed information on the town
now that winter had closed in. Although Sergio and Carlito quickly
volunteered for that duty, Thomas felt they had done enough and it was
decided that six of Lorenco's scouts would go out to watch the town for the
next two days; with luck on their side Thomas hoped to make his attack in
the early hours of the third day.

For the next two days and nights, the weather stayed settled and it was
only the cold wind off the mountains that caused any discomfort. Thomas was
sitting in his heavy winter cloak when the six scouts returned with their
final report.

From what the scouts had seen, Senor Samosa did not think he needed much of
a guard at this time of year and so there were only ever two men at the
southern end of town to watch the road that went from south to
north. Behind the town on the northern side the road disappeared into a
narrow pass that was just wide enough for two wagons to pass but was
bounded by high steep sides.

Two of the scouts had ventured into the pass to look it over; it appeared
to be the only way for Samosa and his men to escape if Thomas attacked from
the south. To the east and west were low ridges that gave the town an
appearance of being nestled in a shallow bowl. For Thomas and his men there
was only one problem that they had to work on; if Samosa and most of his
men escaped to the north then Thomas's army would still be under the threat
of attack at a later date.

The men's report told Thomas that it appeared that Samosa and his men had
full control over the town; most of the outer homes seemed to be empty of
any life and only the very centre around the church and the municipal
building were in use along with some of the closer houses and shops. All
appeared to be used for accommodation for Samosa's men.

In the evenings the central square was where they all congregated to eat
and party into the late hours of every night; the general feeling seemed to
be that they were safe from any form of attack and especially more now that
winter had moved in. It was the northern escape route that worried Thomas
the most; after listening to a detailed and vivid description by the two
scouts that had looked the pass over; Thomas decided on a bold move.

Thomas called for Major Carterton who was both Colour Commander as well as
Engineer; he had something special for him to do. After a short discussion
the plan to stop the escape of Samosa and his men was finalised and the
preparations were begun. In the early hours of the evening, Thomas went
over the final plan for a last time.

Craven Morgan would set two batteries of five guns, one on top of the rise
to the east and the other on the rise to the west and they would open fire
in the early hours of the morning while the men below were still in their
beds. Major Carterton and his men along with six extra scouts would lead
two mules with four kegs of powder into the pass while it was still dark
and find a place where they could blow the steep sides of the pass to cause
a blockage so there could be no escape for the men in the town when the
guns opened up.

Thomas and Estaban would form up the two companies of Cavalry in four ranks
one behind the other across the road to the south, when Samosa and his men
came out of the town they would be met by a force of two hundred mounted
and well armed Cavalry; with the double barrelled muskets the Cavalry would
present four hundred loaded barrels at the towns force.

Thomas now knew that a number of men had left the town for the winter; the
scouts had said there appeared to be about thirty men that left with large
packs and they turned to the north. The guns would open up on Thomas's
command in the very early hours and the signal would be the explosion from
the pass to the north. The guns would have to be set up in the dark of
night and as quietly as possible; Craven Morgan would have to judge his
range as best he could through Thomas's spy glass and his own dead
reckoning.

Craven had decided to set his guns only six hundred yards from the edge of
town; in the darkness they would remain unseen but he had his men cover
anything that may rattle or squeak so that they could not be heard in the
night. Every man's powder was checked as was that of the guns; the wax
paper they used for their cartridges made it far easier than the old
fashioned idea of powder horn and separate shot. For those few that found
damp powder they soon set about replacing it as the night moved in and the
camp made ready to move slowly and quietly into position.

The first to leave were the small party of men that made up the force under
Major Carterton. It was barely dark when they left and they hoped to have
their charges laid before the middle hours of the night. Two hours after
Major Carterton had left; Major Craven Morgan left with his guns. While
Craven Morgan had to move much slower than he liked, it was the only way to
keep any stray noise to a minimum in the silence of the night. Thomas and
Estaban followed only minutes later and they kept their horses off the road
and on the softer ground along the verges.

Midnight found Craven and Thomas's forces settled into their positions; the
heavy guns had had to be manhandled up the small rises in the dark as the
horses only slipped on the wet sloping ground. Thomas and Estaban sat their
horses huddled in their heavy winter cloaks as they waited for the signal
from the north; there was little doubt in anyone's mind that they would
hear the explosion; four kegs of powder made a lot of noise in the silence
of the night and the narrow pass would channel the sound directly towards
them.

Major Carterton and his small force were forced to swing wide of Miranda
and tuck in close to the mountains so they could pass by without being
seen. While it added a little more mileage to their mission it also gave
them far better footing than travelling further out on the softer plains
and with only two mules there was little chance of cutting up the ground
until it was impassable.

As they moved through the darkness, Major Carterton and his small party
could hear the sounds of revelry from the far off town; it was almost
comforting as they knew it meant there was little chance of being seen as
they moved towards and then into the pass.

Major Carterton led his party deeper into the dark pass as he looked for a
suitable place to set his charges. They had travelled about a half mile
into the pass and just turned a bend in the rough road when Major Carterton
saw what he was looking for. The bend had caused the road to narrow and the
sides were steep and covered in what appeared to be scree and small scrub
trees. There were a large number of big rocks that appeared to be finely
balanced and it was only their size and weight that kept them in place;
this was the place he had been looking for.

It did not take many words to get the men working as he pointed out where
he wanted the four charges laid and where they would be most advantageous
for what they had planned. Three of the men were sent back around the bend
to keep watch as the others set to work with spades and bars to create a
hole large enough to set the four kegs in.

Two were set on the east side of the pass where it was hoped they would
cause a major fall of loose scree and larger rocks. The other two kegs were
to be set under a large overhang that protruded out over the road; if he
managed to blow the overhang then the pass would be blocked for a long time
to come. The digging and setting of the charges took three hours before
Major Carterton was happy with the results and the last keg was pushed into
place and covered with the loose stones and gravel that had been removed to
make the hole.

Major Carterton sent all but one of the men back around the bend; he and
the other man would lay the fuse and set it alight before running for cover
with the others; they would not wait to see if the charges did their job
but instead make a hasty retreat into the night and head back towards where
the rest of the army waited.

Thomas sat his horse beside that of Estaban and waited for the sound that
would tell them Major Carterton had been successful. The revelry in the
town had died down and now there were only the occasional flickering torch
in the square to indicate that there had been people around earlier. Craven
Morgan had welcomed the party in the town as it gave him plenty of light to
range all his guns; he was confident that he could now wreck havoc even
when darkness shrouded the centre and square.

Thomas raised his spy glass and took another look into the gloom; he could
just barely make out the two huddled figures in their cloaks as they tried
to keep the chill of the night off them while they stood on guard in a
doorway on the edge of the town.

Thomas thought it was about two hours until dawn when he heard the rumbling
sound of the explosions in the pass to the north of Miranda. Had no one
known what had caused it the rumbling could easily be mistaken for the
sound of thunder off in the distant mountains; for Thomas and the others it
was the sound they had been waiting for and it was less than a minute
before another rumbling sound filled the early morning air.

Thomas was still watching the hunch men at the edge of town when Craven's
guns opened up with the first salvo of the five guns from the eastern rise;
it was only seconds later when the five on the west also opened up. The
darkness of the night was split asunder as the bright flashes and whistling
cannon balls filled the morning air. Thomas watched as the two man guard
jumped to their feet and looked to the east only to be surprised once again
as the five guns were answered in kind from the west.

As Thomas knew he would, Craven Morgans shot landed in the centre of the
town and began to wreck havoc as the balls crashed and careened in to and
along the cobble stone streets; the small fountain at the centre of the
square was the first thing to succumb to the hot cannon balls and was soon
followed the walls of buildings and showers of roof tiles.

Craven's guns kept up a steady barrage of shot as the sleeping men in the
town tried to find cover from the sudden and deadly attack; those who had
over-indulged the night before paid with their lives as they were trapped
inside the houses they had taken over as their own. The two men on guard
had stood in shock as the second salvo crashed into the town before they
both took to their heels to find cover.

Thomas and Estaban led their four ranks of waiting Cavalry forward under
the guns above them and then took up a station about three hundred yards
from the southern exit of the town, the front rank taking the extra time to
once again check their muskets and pistols, all of which had been double
charged for what was soon to come.

From inside the town Thomas and his Cavalry could hear the sounds of fear
and the even louder sound of someone trying to restore some sort of order
as more shot landed in amongst them and the town now began to take on a
look of a major battle site as more houses and buildings crumbled under the
force of the cannon balls that seemed endless for those still inside the
town.

Many fires had been started and the town was now lit as though in daylight;
shadowy figures could be seen running for their lives as the buildings
crumbled around them and the screams of the wounded filled the air. Thomas
was startled when Estaban called for him to look ahead, Thomas had been
sweeping his spy glass to the west when the call came.

As he looked back to the southern exit of the town, Thomas saw a large
group of men trying to form some sort of ranks and were definitely turned
in their direction; they were close enough to be seen from the burning town
and it appeared that they would be set on a course of revenge for the
sudden and bloody attack.

The man at the head of the enemy riders was not hard to guess; his large
bulk and distant angry words left little to guess work; it was Stephano
Samosa himself. Thomas and Estaban called their men to the ready even as
the guns of Craven Morgan continued to pound the town below them, the many
fires now making it easier to range their guns in the now dawning light.

Thomas did not see the sudden arrival of Major Carterton and his small
party as they had moved to take a position behind the guns on the western
rise and had been covered by the last of the darkness before Stephano
appeared and tried to organise his men for an attack on Thomas's four ranks
of waiting Cavalry. Thomas had to guess at the numbers that faced him but
he knew it could not be more than a hundred men; most of which were on foot
and many of them seemed to be without muskets as he looked them over with
his spy glass.

Estaban took over the ranks and, in no uncertain terms; told Thomas to
stand by the fourth rank and not in the front line as he so desperately
wanted to do. Estaban's look brooked no argument and Thomas had to pull his
horse back to the fourth rank; his swear words did not go unnoticed by
those close to him and many broke out into smiles as he rode back grumbling
about his place in the line.

The unruly gang of men led by Stephano Samosa looked to be exactly what
they were; disorganised, unruly and thinking only of escape from the
continuous pounding of the guns on the two hill tops. Stephano Samosa did
his best to get a little order in his men and had not as yet seen the full
extent of the numbers he was facing in the dim grey light of dawn.

Estaban gave the order to move forward as the rabble in front of them tried
to find and escape route away from the guns. It was not until a pause in
the cannon fire that Samosa heard the approaching sound of many hooves
coming from the dimness and the vague dark shapes of well drilled Cavalry
moving in four straight ranks towards him and his men.

The intent of the oncoming Cavalry was plainly obvious as he saw them break
into a trot and the now more visible front rank rise in their saddles and
lift a musket to their chests in readiness to lift them further to their
shoulders as they broke into a canter. The black clothed Cavalry was now
less than one hundred and fifty yards away and Samosa was trying his best
to call his men to some sort of order.

Samosa and about thirty of his men were the only ones mounted on horses but
they were no competition for the well drilled ranks coming towards them at
a fast pace. Before the Cavalry even got within firing range a large number
of Samosa's men on foot began to break back towards the town in something
of a panic, they had never faced such a well drilled force before and to
stay and try to fight two hundred well drilled and mounted troops was
almost certain death.

Stephano Samosa knew that he was in a hopeless position as the first rank
of charging Cavalry raised their muskets to their shoulders and fired the
first volley as they galloped closer; it was only a few seconds later when
the second barrel was fired again in volley and Stephano knew he could not
stay and hold his ground. As the first rank divided at the centre and rode
to the east and west, the second rank which was only fifty yards behind now
came into full view.

Stephano did not wait to see what had happened after the first two volleys
and spun his horse back towards the town even though the guns above were
still firing down on them; there was only one way out of the killing flied
and that was to ride as hard and fast as he could for the northern pass and
escape back into Navarre, around him the ground was already showing the
dark patches of blood and the writhing bodies of the wounded and yet the
riders still came on without pause.

Even in his haste to get away, Stephano Samosa had to begrudgingly admire
the discipline and well drilled ranks that thundered down on him and his
men. Every horse somehow kept its place in the straight line even though
they were no longer under the control of the reins and only the leg
pressure of the riders was being used to direct them. A sudden flash of
insight caught Stephano by surprise as the thought of what he could have
achieved with such a well drilled force but for now his own life was
paramount.

Stephano spun his horse and kicked it into a gallop; he was quickly joined
by what was left of his mounted men which number about twenty five. For
those on foot there was little escape and the second rank of Cavalry opened
fire on those trying to run for their lives back into the town.

From his place beside Diego on the end of the fourth rank, Thomas saw the
whole debacle of Stephano's men running for cover, many of those who had
tried to return fire found that there muskets either misfired because of
damp powder or fired wide of the moving targets that were galloping down on
them. The first rank under the orders of Estaban, had now ridden wide on
both sides of the town, the second rank under Pablo's orders spun left and
right to join his cousin as they reloaded and Thomasino led the third rank
forward.

By the time Thomasino had taken his place as the front rank there were no
targets left for him, those of Samosa's men that had escaped the vicious
volleys of the first two ranks were now running for their lives through the
town even as more cannon shot landed among them.

From his high point above the town, Craven Morgan saw the broken lines of
Samosa's men take to their heels in an attempt to escape the early morning
mayhem; it was time to stop firing and get his guns off the rise and rejoin
his General down on the plain for more orders. Craven lifted a small red
flag and waved it back and forth as a signal for the other battery to also
cease fire and hook up their guns and return to the plain in front of the
town.

It was plainly obvious in the stronger morning light that Stephan Samosa
and his men were trying to make a break for the pass and there was no
attempt to defend the town; their only concern was for their own safety and
that meant immediate escape to the north.

Thomas pulled his sweating horse to a halt just inside the now empty town;
the air was full of dense smoke both from the burning shops and houses as
well as the heavy sharp tang of powder. The air was filled with dust and he
could still hear cries from the wounded and trapped inside the town. Thomas
was quickly surrounded by Thomasino and Diego's men as they stooped on the
very outskirts of the now broken town; Estaban and Pablo were covering the
east and western sides but made no attempt to follow the fast retreating
men towards the pass.

The first dim streaks of the dawn light found the town silent except for
the sound of crackling fires and moans of those wounded in the cannon
salvoes or crushed under the walls or roofs of the buildings that had been
devastated by the continuous barrage.

Thomas waited for the Officers to join him just inside the town; once the
guns had come down from the rise to the east and west he would formulate
the last of his plan to rid the country of Stephano Samosa. There was no
feeling of guilt for his actions as he was sure in his own mind that the
man Samosa would have done even worse to him and his men had he had the
chance to attack Thomas's camp first.

Thomas called for Major Carterton to join him so he could get a report on
the conditions in the pass; as yet he had not heard whether the blocking of
the pass had been successful or not or if it would contain Stephano Samosa
while Thomas and his men got ready for the final fight.

Once Thomas had heard what Major Carterton had to say and the probably
result of the explosion, Thomas called the others for ideas before finally
giving the orders to make for the entrance to the pass. Once there he would
have his men stop at the entrance and call for Stephan Samos to surrender;
Craven Morgan would arrange his ten guns at the entrance and wait to see
what happened.

Lorenco offered to take his men into the town and look for any that
remained and then rejoin Thomas at the pass; they did not want anyone to
their rear that could cause problems while trying to get Samosa out of the
pass.

An hour later and Thomas's men were ready; his Cavalry had remained mounted
but about one hundred yards back from the entrance into the pass. Carven
Morgan had arranged his guns less than fifty yards from the opening and was
being instructed by Major Carterton where the best place to aim them for
maximum effect should Samosa refuse to surrender.

The plan was simple, Thomas would call for Samosa's surrender and if it was
refused he would let Craven use his guns to fire as high up into the walls
of the pas in the hope of causing even more slips; as a last resort he
would use canister above the narrow road of the pass to rain down on any
who thought they could hide away in the rocks and scrub that abounded the
sides of the pass.

Thomas used his spy glass to look down the length of the pass before he
went a little close to call out to Stephano; ten of the Cavalry riders were
close by his side as he stopped his horse just fifty yards from the
entrance and less than fifty yards in front of Craven's guns. There was
little sign of Samosa or his men in the pass but that did not mean he was
not watching what was going on from some place of hiding.

As he sat watching the pass, Thomas could occasionally hear the faint echo
of a hot from the town behind him; he pushed any thoughts of what it might
mean to the back of his mind, what lay ahead at the moment was far more
important.

"Stephano Samosa, I am calling for you to surrender to us; if you do so
then I will guarantee that you will be heard and then your fate decided; if
you refuse to come out now then I will take all and any actions I see fit
to end your bandit raids on the innocents of Spain."

Thomas sat and waited for a reply; he just knew the man had to be hiding in
the pass and could not escape; or hopefully not escape. Thomas waited for
another few minutes without a reply from the pass; as a last effort he
called one more time.

"Time is running out Samosa; come out or I will open fire."

Thomas had barely finished when he saw several puffs of powder smoke from
further along the pass; it was a reflex action that made him duck just as
something whistled by above his head; he had his answer.

Thomas turned his horse and led his guard back behind Craven's guns before
turning his horse and calling out.

"Mister Morgan, your guns can open fire. When you are satisfied with solid
shot then change to canister; I want that pass to look like a tilled field
when you are done."

Craven saluted and then called for his gunners to prepare to fire. Within a
minute the sound of ten guns opening fire crashed and reverberated down the
pass and out into the open plain. When the first of the powder smoke
cleared and while the gunners were reloading for the next salvo, Thomas
looked into the pass to see large gouts of stones and rocks erupt skyward
as the heavy shot drove into the walls of the pass less than five hundred
yards away.

As stones and rocks rained down into the pass and clouds of dust rose in
the sky; Thomas saw a small part of the left bank of the pass begin to
crumble and then slide down onto the road; he was also sure he saw at least
one body amongst the rubble as it slid downward.

The second shattering salvo filled the pass with more sound, smoke and dust
as the ten reports echoed in the early morning stillness; Thomas was sure
there would be little to survive the pounding that Craven Morgan was
sending into the confines of the pass. The third salvo did even more damage
to the pass and then Craven called for a change to canister.

While his first three salvoes had been aimed to where the bend in the road
disappeared down the pass, his canister was going to be fired as high as he
could raise his guns; the extra height would see some of the canisters fly
past the bend and explode high in the air; anyone below was in for a torrid
time. Just as the first salvo of canister was fired into the pass; those
watching saw a mass of horses come galloping towards them in what appeared
to be utter fear; there were no riders and the horses were running wild as
they swept past the line of heavy guns and out into the freedom of the
plains.

Thomas was watching the effects of the bombardment standing beside Craven
Morgan; he had his spy glass to his eye as the first salvo of canister
exploded high above the road of the pass. Even from his place a good five
hundred yards from the explosions he could still hear the whistling balls
of the canister as he ricocheted off rocks and blasted down on anyone that
could be hiding below.

Before the second barrage of canister could be fired, Thomas saw what
looked to be a white rag or shirt tied to the barrel of a musket being
waved back and forth from behind a large boulder near the bend in the
road. Thomas called for a halt to the barrage and then, along with his ten
man guard, rode forward and called out to the flag waver.

"Come out now or I will continue to fire."

Thomas waited and watched and it did not take long before a number of very
frightened men began to appear through the settling dust; some walked under
their own steam but others were being held by their friends as they had
received wounds from the canister and shot. Thomas watched as fifteen
broken men struggled towards him through the large boulders and masses of
small stones and rocks that now littered the bottom of the pass. There was
no sign of Stephano Samosa.

Estaban moved one rank of Cavalry closer to the opening to cover the
approaching men and keep his General safe just in case one of the men had
ideas of taking advantage of the situation. Slowly the small group of men
struggled and limped their way forward until they were standing only yards
away from the black clad forces waiting for them. Thomas looked down at
what appeared to be thoroughly demoralised and beaten men; looking at the
man carrying the musket with the white rag flag, he asked.

"Where is Samosa?"

"He is dying further back in the pass; he tried to escape by climbing the
blockage but was caught when those last shots exploded. I don't think he
will last much longer. What do you want of us Senor El Toro?"

"Give up all of your weapons and wait here under guard until I return, if
you cause no trouble while I look for Samosa then you will be released to
return to your homes but, if I catch any of you anytime in the future you
will not walk away. Now give up any weapons you have, including knives and
wait here until I return."

Thomas watched as the few survivors removed all of their weapons and then
sat off to the side with Pablo and his men watching them like hawks. Thomas
and his ten guards rode on towards the pass to try and find Samosa and make
sure the man was not just trying to escape over the blockage in the pass
while his men surrendered.

Thomas and his guard slowly made their way through the rubble that now
covered the road and occasionally had to ride around a particularly large
boulder that had been loosened from the side of the pass. After riding
around the bend in the road, Thomas and his guards saw the devastation that
Major Carterton's powder kegs had created.

The pass would not be used for a long time to come as a large part of the
walls had collapsed and completely blocked the pass from top to bottom; it
was a loose dam rising almost sixty feet in the air and contained boulders
that must have almost been the size of a small house and interspersed with
the larger boulders were huge rocks and a mass or finer rubble.

Thomas estimated that the pass would not be used for any trade for some
time to come and that any thought the French may have had to transport
their supplies via this pass were now long over. As they pulled their
horses to a halt, Thomas saw three figures lying only yards above the
bottom of the pass; two were obviously dead as there was little left of
them after what must have been a very close, if not direct hit by the
canister shot.

Below the two bodies was the bloody figure of Stephano Samosa; his chest
was covered in fresh blood, his left arm hung uselessly and his left leg
was almost unrecognisable as a limb. Stephano Samos was just barely
conscious as Thomas dismounted and slowly worked his way up to the dying
man; his right hand always close to the Manton pistol at his back.

Thomas stood above the dying man and looked into the pain filled eyes; even
though Samosa must have known he was dying, he still held Thomas's look
with a glare of what could only be called, hatred. Even as Thomas watched,
Samosa tried to lift the pistol in his right hand and aim it at his nemesis
El Toro, the foreign boy who had somehow become the Hero of Spain.

Thomas stood unflinching as he watched Stephano Samosa try to lift the
pistol but his serious injuries had taken all the strength from his one
remain hand and he coughed as blood formed on his spittle covered lips as
he tried to speak.

"Is this what you wanted, to see the end of our family line. Does your
revenge reach so far that you must kill all of the Samosa family?"

"Senor Samosa, had you not made your demands when we first met, there would
have been no today. This is what you brought down upon your own head and
was not my wish, just as your cousin made his own decisions and had to pay
the price for his demands. My men and I are here to try to defeat the
French; we never wanted to fight those who could have helped to rid Spain
and Portugal of the French."

"Your words are nothing more than platitudes; I know you foreigners, you
just want what is ours and you think you can do it by killing off anyone
who opposes you." Stephano coughed up more blood as he made his accusations
but Thomas found he could hold little pity for the man, regardless of the
words Samosa spoke; his actions had already told Thomas the true nature of
the man's heart.

Thomas stood and watched as Samosa was again wracked by a heavy coughing
fit and then it was only seconds before the blood covered man's head
dropped back onto the stones and a last sigh escaped his bloody
lips. Stephano Samosa was dead and somehow Thomas felt little for the man
that had chosen to take the path of a bandit when he could have had the
people of Spain behind him had he chosen to stand against their enemies.

Thomas took a last look before turning around and making his careful way
back to his waiting guards; there was work to do and the French were
waiting for his personal attention.

On returning to where the fifteen prisoners were waiting, Thomas issued
orders for the survivors to leave for other parts of the country, his final
warning about seeing any of them again was reinforced and then he sat with
his men as they watched the remnants of Stephano Samosa's band limp and
stumble their way towards some unknown place; what their fate was did not
concern Thomas or his men, they had much more important things to think of;
the least of them the possibility of a new French Supply Depot somewhere in
the south.

The long road back to their camp was a little more leisurely although
everyone still kept their eye and senses alert for any possible danger. The
weather was now into full winter and, where they had once been able to make
good time now became an almost daily battle to make headway. After leaving
Miranda to the vagaries of the war and battling fourteen days of bad roads,
weather and conditions, Thomas and his tired and dirty column finally came
in sight of their camp.

It was almost as though the whole column sighed with relief all at the same
time as those who had stayed in camp came out to greet them back to their
temporary home. In all the time he had been away from the camp, Thomas had
not thought except in passing, about his scouts that were sent to the
south; as he stepped from his horse he saw one of the young men waiting for
him so he could report their observations.

The young man took one look at the condition of the new arrivals and called
out that he would tend his report in the morning. For that small gesture
Thomas could only smile; he and the returnees were in no real condition to
listen or make plans until they had rested and eaten a decent meal which
would have been the first full hot meal in over six days.

Thomas awoke the next morning to not only find he was still fully dressed
but to the sound of heavy hail on his tent. As Thomas tried to move so he
could get redressed in fresh clothes he suddenly felt the pull in his left
shoulder. His wound while healed, still reminded him when the weather was
cold and damp, that he should take better care of himself. Thomas rubbed
his shoulder as he swung his legs over the side of the bed, the thought of
having to strip down while outside the wind blew the cold mountain air
through the flap of the tent took away any chance of him smiling to greet
the new day.

Somehow Fairley seemed to know that Thomas was awake and up as he pushed
aside the flapping tent flap and came in with a large bowl of steaming
water for Thomas to wash in. Thomas could still smell the old sweat and
dirt that covered his body as Fairley placed the bowl of hot water on the
small table at the centre of the tent; Fairley then stood back and waited
for his General to strip off the worn and dirty clothes so he could take
them away to somehow clean them.

Thomas almost groaned as he stripped the filthy clothes from his still
aching body until he was standing in the cold air only in his underclothes;
they too would have to be replaced by clean ones once Fairley had found
them in the only clothes chest that Thomas had brought with him.

Thomas did not think of the embarrassment as he slipped off the dirty
underclothes, the goose bumps quickly forming on his skin from the cold
only made him move faster as Fairley quietly left the tent so Thomas could
get clean and change into fresh clothes in peace.

A half hour later and Thomas was starting to feel more like his old self,
the fresh smell of soap and clean clothes brought a smile to his lips as he
placed his battered old black hat on his head and made ready to greet a new
day. The hail had finally stopped and now there was just the cold wind to
contend with but it was easily solved with the use of his heavy winter
cloak; it was time to get back to business.

The camp was slowly coming to life as Thomas stepped from his tent to see
all the cooking fires doing their best to throw out heat in the cold wind
and cook the large amount of food needed to keep his small army moving. It
was a welcome relief when he finally sat at the table as his other Officers
began to show up for breakfast, there were plans to make and reports to
listen to.

With breakfast over and most of the men and boys looking to their
equipment, Thomas asked for the scout to report what he had seen to the
south.

"So what did you find for us Sergeant?"

"We found their depot Sir but I think it's a lost cause if you wanted to
try to attack them. It's very well defended by some thirty heavy guns and
well constructed barricades, there are also three companies of Chasseurs
and at least a full Regiment of Infantry camped close by but, it does look
like one of their largest depots that we have ever seen."

"Where is it exactly?"

"It's placed south of Lerma and bordered on two sides by the mountains, the
plain to the north is wide open and I would say almost impossible for us to
attack without having large losses. I'm afraid Sir that this is one we
can't get at, not without huge losses."

"Did you happen to notice where their supplies were coming from or have we
closed off their supplies with closing the pass at Miranda?"

"We watched for any supply trains and those we saw all seemed to come
through the mountain passes to the north east via Burgos or possibly even
further east. I think the closing of the pass at Miranda will make the
French have to use the roads across the Ebro and through Logrono. We
ventured into Navarre for a short distance and most of their roads were
carrying supplies but they were having trouble with the weather and
conditions so I think it will be slow going until the summer is here."

"Thank you Sergeant, you and your men go and get some more rest while I
think this one over."

The young Sergeant saluted and left the Officers to their planning, there
was still his equipment and horse to tend to. Thomas turned to the others
and raised an eyebrow in inquiry for some suggestions as to what they
should now do. With the depot so well defended it was obviously a foolhardy
gesture to try to attack it, there had to be something else they could do
to harry the French over the winter months.

The time seemed to pass quickly as the men discussed and then rejected plan
after plan until it was time for lunch, again it was the kitchen boys that
lifted the spirits of the small army with their efforts to keep them all
well fed during the cold damp months of winter.

During lunch Thomas decided to call a general meeting of all the men; he
wanted new ideas on how to attack the French and thought, as he had
previously, that his men often came up with ways and ideas the Officers had
not thought of.

Thomas sent word that there would be a general meeting before dinner that
evening and that he wanted all the men to put their thinking caps on to see
what they could come up with to make the French pay.

It had already been noticed and decided that the biggest burden the army
had was movement. With the winter storms and bad road conditions it was at
times almost impossible to move in any numbers and the distances they were
capable of moving were now cut down to less than half in a day's journey
and that was not always an easy journey.

The mainstay for Thomas's army was its mobility and the wet and often muddy
roads lost them that advantage and so now they had to be twice as careful
about what and where they formed and attack. There was no denying that the
large depot posed a tempting target but Thomas was not about to make his
men stand as they had in the valley before Albuera and suffer as they all
had that day.

Late in the afternoon as the sun tried to push its watery light through the
thinning cloud cover; Thomas stood and watched as all his men began to
assemble for the meeting, he was thankful that the wind had eased and at
the moment there was little sign of more rain. The men found semi dry rocks
or just squatted as best they could in some dry place as they formed a
large circle around Thomas and his Officers.

At times like these, when it was a General meeting; there were no ranks,
each and every man could have his say no matter what it was and all were
accorded the respect of being heard fully before others raised questions or
gave their own opinions. Once they all knew the full reason for the general
meeting, the ideas started to form and be made known to those listening.

It was almost dusk before the meeting came to an end and the general
consensus was for more patrols to go out and see what could be found that
did not entail a large force to be moved through the winter
conditions. Thomas had divulged to the men that the opinion of Prince
Pimentel was that the English would probably attack towards Burgos in the
spring and it was then agreed they should perhaps look more to the north
than the south for their targets.

By the end of the meeting it was finally decided that the idea of more
patrols to the north would be more to their advantage and to this end new
plans were going to be drawn up as there were still several more passes
leading through the Asturian and Cantabrian mountains that they may be able
to use for their raids on the French.

Leaving the heavily defended south to the vagaries of winter and the
possibility of an English attack in the spring seemed a better and safer
idea for the small army; it was now time for more detailed plans and
patrols to be made and then any finally decisions would be taken. The
meeting adjourned just as the evening cooking fires sent out their smells
of fresh food and the men went off to look for their plates; even the
weather seemed to have decided to play nice as the once overcast sky
suddenly cleared and the first stars of the night began to show in the
darkening sky.



TBC.