Date: Thu, 6 Apr 2017 01:27:33 +1200
From: arthur carkeek <artcart65@gmail.com>
Subject: Drummer Boy II Chpt 16

DRUMMER BOY
CHAPTER 16
BOOK 2
THE ROAD NORTH
BY ARTHUR


CONTACT AUTHOR:
artcart65@gmail.com


Thomas watched as his first patrol left the ravine; around him he could
hear the groans of those who had spent most of the night huddled in their
thick capes around small fires, the ground was still cold in these early
hours but the faint hint of sunlight began to send slow warmth into aching
bones.

As the fires were built up for the breakfast cooking, Thomas called for his
Officers; it was time to make what plans they could and await for the
return of the patrol. It was only two hours later when the patrol came back
hurriedly with their report. A convoy of ten fully loaded wagons were
making their way south through the pass and it appeared to be heavy going
for the four horse teams.

The wagon guards were lighter than Thomas thought the French would provide
in that there was only a single soldier sitting alongside the driver with
two more sitting on top of the load on each of the wagons; there appeared
to be no Cavalry escort.

Thomas thought over these facts and could only surmise that the French felt
very safe so far behind the front lines and felt they had no need for
mounted escorts for such a small convoy. The Officers pulled out Major
Smithson's maps of the area and looked at what they may have to work with;
in less than an hour they had a plan made and ready to put into action.

The plan called for all three Companies of Cavalry to take part. Pablo
would lead his Company to the left of the muddy road and dismount his men
to take up positions among the snow covered rocks and scrub. Thomasino
would lead his Company to the right of the road and do the same while
Estaban and Thomas would lead the third Company and block the road ahead
with the other Company; they would not dismount but remain on their horses
in a full show of force.

It took only a half hour to find the place for their ambush; in the
distance they could hear the sound of swearing drivers and the heavy tread
of horses under strain; they had made their ambush point just in time to
set up and then have to wait only minutes for the first heavy wagon to make
an appearance.

For the French drivers and escort it came as a huge surprise to see their
way forward blocked by more than one hundred black clothed riders that
formed three ranks; all of which were armed with what appeared to be double
barrelled muskets and all of them pointed directly at the wagons.

Even though they were facing insurmountable odds, or maybe the ignorance
and fear of inexperienced guards that made the first Soldier stand and
bring his musket to bear on the massed Cavalry ahead of him. He never got
the chance to pull the trigger as, from each side of the roadway and for
most of the length of the small column; there came the shattering fire of
two hundred hidden muskets from the bushes and rocks bordering the muddy
road.

The heavy smell of burnt powder, the neighing of scared horses and the echo
of the shots in the still morning air shattered the peace as both Pablo and
Thomasino took the initiative and opened fire before a word could be
said. It took only the single concentrated volley of the two Companies to
almost wipe out any resistance, the five that survived the devastating
volley could only sit with mouths agape and wonder what had just happened.

Before the five survivors could do more than blink as the results of the
massed volley tried to imprint on their minds eye, they were immediately
surrounded by large numbers of the black clad soldiers, the muskets pointed
unwaveringly at their heads.

While Thomas had little thought for the trials of the French, even he was
almost stunned at the ferocity of the two brothers and the results of their
surprise volley of shots. Thomas, accompanied by Estaban and Diego, rode
forward until they came to the five men. Thomas spoke in his rather stilted
French but the message was abundantly clear even though his accent was not
of the best.

"Drop your weapons and step down; if you do as I say you will be released
and escorted to the nearest village without further harm, refuse and you
die here and now."

The three guardsmen quickly dropped their muskets and leapt from the wagon
top while the two remaining drivers also stepped down and then all five
stood silent but fearfully waiting for what might come next. Estaban sent
Diego off to call the other two Companies to mount and return to where
Thomas sat with the third Company watching over their captives. Thomas
wasted little time in detailing Diego and twenty men to escort the
survivors towards the nearest village of Vittoria which would be about two
days walk for the five men.

Thomas instructed Diego to escort them only until the late afternoon and
then turn around and make their way to their temporary camp at the ravine
while Thomas and the others set about taking over the ten wagons and
driving them also to the camp, they now had a free resupply of goods thanks
to the French.

With the five captives on their way back to freedom, Thomas asked for the
wagons to be given a quick inspection and then for those who had some
experience of wagon driving to turn the wagons towards their camp and then
see what they fully had to work with.

On the first quick inspection, it appeared five of the wagons carried grain
and the others were loaded with a mixture of food stuffs, a quantity of
powder and other needed equipment any army needed. With the quick
inspection complete and the canvas covers once again tied down to protect
the goods from the weather, Thomas gave the order to return to camp; it
would be three more hours before they finally drove the last wagon deep
into the ravine where they could begin to see what they had to work with.

There was little to the camp and now that they had ten captured wagons, the
ravine almost felt too full although there was still a lot of empty space
left further along the length of the ravine until it came to a halt against
high towering cliffs at the end.

The first business of the day was to see what exactly they had
captured. The five wagons of grain would be used to feed the many horses
and it was from a suggestion by one of the young men who had joined them
from the navy that a good use could be found for the horses used to pull
the wagons. As the grain was needed for their own horses, the young ex-navy
man suggested they kill off the wagon horses as needed to feed themselves,
or; as he put it.

"Well Sir, aint nothing better than a good thick horse stew to fill ones
ribs and would save the grain for our own horses. Three hundred men would
soon make use of the meat Sir and two horses a day just might be good
enough for all to eat well and fight harder if it please you Sir?"

"A good idea Trooper, see if you can get some of the men that have worked
on the land and know about butchery to make a start; we'll get the wagons
unhitched and you can take your pick as soon as you're ready. There's
another thing you can do while you are working on getting us some fresh
meat."

"Yes Sir?"

"Ask around and see who can do the cooking, with luck there might be some
pots and pans in the wagons for them to use."

"Yes Sir, I will get to it right away Sir."

Thomas let the Trooper leave and then called for his four Officers. It was
time to think how they could improve the camp for what they hoped would be
a successful stay and enable them to raid almost at will along the French
supply line.

By the end of the day Thomas could look over his temporary camp with some
satisfaction; the wagons were already being formed up to be used as cover
from the elements. The wagons were stripped of their wheels and then tipped
on their sides to make an effective windbreak, the canvas tarpaulins were
also put to use as they were stretched over between two wagons and then
tied down as a light roof.

One wagon was set aside for Thomas's use and again, it was one of the
ex-navy men that came up with the idea of making better use of any spare
canvas so they could start to get some of the men off the ground when
sleeping; Thomas liked the idea immediately as he listened to the older
man.

"Well Sir I was thinking that we could make use of the extra canvas by
making hammocks. With a little work we can stretch them between the wagons
and mayhap raise a dozen men off the cold ground in each of the ones we've
tipped."

"How would you go about it? As I see it you would need someone with a good
strong needle and the knowledge of sewing and then there is the fact of
hanging them?"

"Easier than it would seem like Sir. We got us at least ten men from the
ships with us, now you may not know it Sir but us Jack Tars has always
carried the makings around with us Sir."

The man paused as he reached under his jacket and then lifted it so Thomas
could see that around the man's waist was a thick black leather belt. On
the belt was one of the usual knife sheaths worn by most Sailors; it was
something he had rarely taken the time to notice. The man shifted his
sheath around until Thomas could see it more clearly.

`Well Sir, its common for all Jack Tars to carry his knife when on board
ship as you might know Sir, tradition being as it is Sir. Now there is also
one other thing all jack Tars carry with them."

The man reached down to the sheath and from a small pocket at the front of
the knife sheath pulled out a long thick needle with a slightly curved tip
which was shaped a little like a spear head but looked very sharp.

"This here is what we calls a sacking needle Sir; uses it for repairing the
sails when they gets torn and ripped in storms or battle. I noticed there
is plenty of tackle from the horse traces that we may be able to make use
of. Now then Sir, if'n we Jack Tars cut up the extra canvas into size and
then strip the tack from the wagon horses we can make up a good number of
Hammocks, wouldn't take much then to fix them good and solid inside the
wagons now they laying on their side like Sir."

"Well if you think it will work then go and find your other Sailors and see
what you can do; we may not get a hammock for every man right now but if we
get more supply wagons we might get them all off the ground before
long. Thank you Trooper a good suggestion, now all we have to do is find a
way to protect what we have taken from the French; if we get another storm
we could lose it all in one night."

"If I may suggest Sir?"

"Go ahead."

"You got close to three hundred good men here Sir, what if they was to
spend some time building a store house out of all these stones we got
laying about. Three hundred men will make right quick work of it and we can
still use some of the canvas to make a roof if they make the walls high
enough. It might not be good looking but may protect our goods Sir."

"Sounds like a good idea to me, do what you can with the hammocks and I
will get Colonel Estaban to set the men to work on the store. Thank you
Trooper, I won't forget your good ideas and I'm sure you can go back to the
men and then use that bloody big needle to sew on a Corporal's strip."

"Thank you Sir, I'll see it all gets done Sir."

"Thank you Corporal."

Thomas sat back as the newly promoted Corporal left him to see too his new
duties. Thomas was soon joined by Estaban and the two sat back as the men
got busy with resetting their small camp. After a short rest, Thomas called
for the maps that Fairley had packed for him and then set about looking
over them with the help of Estaban.

Thomas's idea was to give the French as little time as possible to recover
from their first sudden attack. The Frenchmen he had released would still
be on their way to Vittoria and he did not want to let word of his attack
get out before he could take advantage of both the weather and road
conditions to make more trouble for them.

With hard work and the men labouring late into the night, the roughly made
store was soon finished; it would not win any prizes for building but would
serve its purpose for the time they planned to be there and the eight
wagons set in pairs with canvas roofs soon had roughly made hammocks slung
inside that would allow up to twelve troopers to sleep a little more
comfortably.

The men without Hammocks had to find other ways to sleep for the time being
but, Thomas decided, for as long as they were in this camp he would use any
more wagons to make shelters for those who still had to find a dry spot
near the small fires for sleeping.

The sun had barely made itself known the next morning before Thomas had the
1st and 2nd Companies ready to ride out in search of more wagon trains, the
need to keep the French on the back foot was imperative if he wanted his
overall plan to work. Within two hours the two Companies were well into the
gorge that had been the scene of yesterdays attack.

Thomas had a small troop of Cavalry consisting of only six men ride well
ahead of the main force, they were to mark any supply trains that were
trying to make their way through the gorge and then return to form up for
an attack. It was only a half hour later when the six man troop returned
with the news that a train of twenty wagons was forcing its way through the
slush and snow towards them; it was time to set their trap.

Making use of the natural surrounds, Thomas set his two Companies much as
he had the day before except this time he had only one Company to hide in
the rough terrain on both sides. Once again they had kept Diego back at
their camp for protection as Thomas assumed any trains they came across
would still be guarded only by the same low standards of the first one.

When he caught the first sight of the supply train he was not surprised to
see it much as he thought it would be, a single guard beside the driver and
two young soldiers sitting on top, there was still no sign of any Cavalry
escorts.

Unlike the previous day, Thomas and the Company did not sit squarely across
the roadway but divided into two ranks and held station on each side of the
gorge; from there they could attack down both side of the wagon train if
needs be while Pablo held the high ground on both side with his dismounted
troopers, the extra horses were being held back by some of the riders and
out of sight of the oncoming wagon train.

Thomas watched as the first of the wagons suddenly took notice of the road
ahead, the driver and guards had their heads down and their shoulders
hunched as they tried to keep some warmth in their bodies as the rode
through the morning chill deep in the gorge; it was to Thomas's advantage
that the drivers did not see him until too late and were almost upon his
two ranks before they saw what was ahead, by then it was already too late.

As the front guard suddenly stood up and raised his musket even thought it
was a hopeless gesture in the face of such odds, a single shot rang out
from just to Thomas's left; Estaban had intervened before the guard could
fire; it then became a valley of death as Pablo's men joined in with
devastating volley fire at those further down the wagon train while the
other men with Thomas also opened fire and urged their horse forward so as
to ride down the length of the stalled wagons.

The sudden battle was over almost before it had begun; many of the young
and inexperienced guards never even got the chance to use the muskets as
they fell under the withering fire of the hidden men above them and the
fast riding double ranks on the roadway.

The gorge was suddenly silent as the last few shots echoed down the gorge
in the still morning air; the powder smoke hung heavy above the scene of
the ambush as Thomas and his men looked at their handiwork. Of the eighty
or so men that had been either drivers or guards there were now less the
twenty able to stand unassisted and three of those were showing wounds
either in an arm or leg.

While to some the battle may have seemed tom have been rather short and
sharp, Thomas's men did not get away unscathed; while he had not lost
anyone he did have wounded although none too seriously. Thomas decided to
send the wounded back as wagon drivers after they had been quickly attended
to by the young man sent by Major Jervis for just such occasions.

There were two of the younger troopers that had heavy bruising and small
cuts from jumping on one of the wagons to use their boot knives when they
had fired both barrels; A little later Thomas reminded the young men to
make use of their pistols next time. Next were three older troopers and one
Corporal that had been hit by the badly aimed musket balls in the upper arm
with one carrying a thigh wound from an errant musket ball.

Thomas rode up to the guards and drivers who were even now trying to work
out what had happened in those few terrible minutes when the morning had
started out just like any other day for them; and now it had turned into
one of their worst nightmares. The survivors were quickly pushed together
and those further back were pushed forward under heavy guard until they had
joined what was left of their compatriots standing in front of Thomas and
his men.

It did not take Thomas much time to decide to send the survivors off in the
same manner as those of the day before. With the captives directed back
towards Vittoria and away from close help; he hoped it would once again
delay any French reprisal against he and his men for some little time yet
to come. Pablo had twenty men detailed immediately to escort the survivors
out and away towards Vittoria while the remainder of his men saw to the
wagons.

What was on the wagons was not really of great concern, just the fact of
denying the French with anything to do with the war effort was a win and
anything that his men could get from the wagons was seen as a boost to his
own supplies and the efforts of his men. As the survivors left under guard
to set their faces towards Vittoria, Thomas took out his map of the gorge
and used some time to look at it closely.

He guessed they were well into the gorge and possibly only a day or so from
the main road leading to Balboa. He had no intention of getting much closer
if he could avoid it but it did not mean he was going to make it any easier
for the French to hold the pass if he had a choice in the matter. In a
rough estimate, Thomas thought they would be able to continue to raid the
gorge for at least five more days before he would have to move his base of
operations.

From what he had so far seen, the French were sending only one wagon train
a day at any one time; this could only be to Thomas's favour and the lack
of Cavalry escort made his job that much easier and safer.

It was still a surprise for Thomas that as yet they had seen no
reinforcements travelling south. As Thomas was not aware of the problems
Napoleon was having far to the north in Russia, the lack of replacements
for those in the south would have been easily explained and he may have
been able to step up his deadly intrusions.

With the days fighting being over, Thomas sent the twenty wagons back
towards his camp with only the drivers aboard; it would mean twenty less
troopers in his small force but he wanted the wagons and their contents
well out of the way so they could not be taken back if things went wrong.

During the rest of the daylight hours, Thomas and his men ventured deeper
into the gorge to investigate any and all places that would be a possible
ambush point. They would spend the night once again out in the cold but
with luck they could find a small ravine to keep the worst of the wind and
chill out of their bones. The promise of more action the next day leant a
little light hearted joking amongst those who stayed, the escort for the
captives would once again return after the Frenchmen were well on their way
towards Vittoria and could not turn back to cause trouble.

After a cold night and some discomfort, Thomas took his men further through
the gorge in search of another supply train. It was as they came close to
where the main roads joined just south of Balboa and then branched off
towards the west that Thomas's vanguard saw a larger supply train making
its way through the towering pass in the direction of Espinosa.

With one of the riders returning to Thomas to report the supply train, the
others shadowed the large column from a distance and tried as best they
could to stay out of sight of the well guarded train. Once Thomas had all
the details of the column he set about making his plans; this time there
would be no frontal assault and he told all his men to stay well out of
sight until the supply train stopped for the night.

According to his fine maps, Thomas knew the column would have to stop for
the night as the distance would prohibit them from making the journey to
Espinosa in one single day. It was a long day of playing cat and mouse as
Thomas's force shadowed the unsuspecting French. As the day drew on the
weather once again turned in Thomas's favour; the first flurry of snow
almost caught he and his men by surprise considering the day had been clear
and cloudless.

The first hint of problems to come was the sudden cold gust of wind that
ran through the pass; Thomas sent word ahead for the vanguard to retire
back to the main force and consolidate their force. The French would soon
have to stop because of the now fast moving front of grey clouds that were
rolling over the top of the pass and the increase in the thickness of the
falling snow.

Although it was still early in the afternoon, the oncoming snow storm
darkened the depths of the pass as though night had already fallen. For
Thomas and his men, the sudden appearance of the storm gave them some hope
of not only catching the long column but having the near darkness to aid
them in their planned assault.

It was now time to move forward with great care, Thomas did not want to
stumble onto the column unprepared or to give any warning of what they were
about to do. As Thomas and Estaban led the men forward with care and on
foot, as they had left their horses behind where some of the younger
troopers were set to watch over them; the first dull glimmer of fire light
was seen not too far ahead.

It looked as though Thomas's summation had been correct and the supply
column had decided to stop and wait out the sudden storm; it was now time
for Thomas and his men to make final plans to either delay or totally
disrupt the long column.

As his men waited patiently for the French to become cold and tired from
the incessant snow and wind, Thomas set out his bold plan as the men
huddled around him with their thick cloaks pulled tightly around them and
their red and gold striped scarves wrapped around their throats and faces
so that only their eyes showed below the black hats.

This fight was going to be far more personal than any other they had fought
as Thomas had decided to use only pistols and knives for the assault; it
would mean they would have to enter the wagon lines and deal with any
French they came across on a very personal basis. The one overriding fact
that would help Thomas and his men was the fact the storm would cover much
of their activities as long as the snow fell and the wind blew.

The plan was to take the men of one wagon at a time and then slowly work
their way deeper into the column without being seen; most of the killing
would be done with their large boot knives and the pistols were only as a
last resort. Once a single shot was fired, Thomas knew that all hell would
break loose as the French came to realise they were under attack.

The attack was to be in a relay. Each wagon was guarded much as the others
they had taken although there was an extra man on each one. The first wagon
would be attacked by six of Thomas's men just to make sure the driver and
guards were quickly, and hopefully silenced before any alarm could be
made. Once the first wagon was out of action, the next six man team would
venture forward and take the next in line.

The attack would continue in the same fashion until they were either
discovered or had actually taken the whole column; again it was the weather
and dim light that would aid them. In the dim light ahead, Thomas could
just make out the first wagon with the horses still in their traces and no
more than ten yards ahead of that he could just barely make out the faint
outline of the second one with its small fire lit just off to one side of
where the front driver's seat was.

For those who stayed back it was ordered that they keep their muskets in
hand in case they were needed; for the six man team going into the attack
they would sling their musket over their back and carry the large boot
knife in one hand and their double barrelled pistol in the other. The
pistol could, if needed, be used as a club with the knife doing the real
damage.

Pablo asked to be allowed to take the first six man team; if he was
successful then the next team would be led by Thomasino while Pablo stayed
back to rummage through the wagon to see what it carried. From then on a
team would leap frog from wagon to wagon with those who were holding back
as cover guard moving forward only when the next wagon was taken.

Pablo's attack was fast and silent, the wind covering any stray sounds from
the sudden scuffle that developed with the men sitting huddled over the
small fire. The fight was over in less than twenty seconds as Pablo's men
used their large sharp knives to the most effect and silenced the five men
around the fire without raising any alarms. As Pablo's men began to
silently release the canvas tarpaulin from the back of the wagon, Thomasino
moved his six men forward in silence.

Once within striking range, Thomasino led his men with venom against the
huddled men at the second wagon. The second wagon was taken just as quickly
and silently as the first and Thomas and Estaban silently led the rest of
the men forward to where Thomasino was even now loosening the ties on the
tarpaulin. The next six were led by one of the Sergeants to the next wagon
in line and the same silent attack was made to great success.

The slow creeping of the troopers went unnoticed in the snow storm and
Thomas's men were well into the long column with nothing but death in their
wake. Thomas's men had now managed to take twelve wagons without the French
guards even knowing there was an enemy in the vicinity although it was the
weather that aided Thomas and his men the most.

As it would happen, wagon number thirteen did not go as well; while the
team had little trouble in dealing with the men huddled around the fire,
they did not notice that there were only four men and not the usual
five. Unfortunately for the team the fifth man had taken time to walk
around the other side of the wagon to relieve his bladder and stepped back
into the firelight just as the team stood up from their grisly work.

The guard and the men of the team seemed to stand staring at each other
with total surprise until one of the team took the initiative and jumped
forward with his bloody knife to finish off the last man. In his fear and
lack of understanding, the sole guard opened his mouth and began to yell
loudly just as the sharp knife pierced his chest and drove with force into
his heart.

The French guard's voice choked and gasped as the cold steel sent him to
his death but his loud shout had now attracted some attention from the
vague outline of the wagon ahead. As the men of the next wagon could just
be seen getting to their feet as though they were shadows in the heavy
snow; Thomas gave the sign for the men with him to raise muskets in
preparation for any attack that may come.

The six men of the forward team suddenly took things into their own hands
and, the Sergeant that led them got the men to sit down by the fire as
though they were the guards and hoped the men of the next wagon would not
stop to count how many sat by the fire.

From the next wagon came a call asking what the yelling was all about;
thinking quickly and using his knowledge of French, Thomas called back from
his place behind the thirteenth wagon and hidden by the swirling snow which
also helped to disguise his bad accent.

"Do not worry, this idiot just pissed on my boots and I gave him something
to think about for next time."

The reply that came back was mixed with what could only be a chuckle.

"You're lucky he was not taking a shit, now let us get some rest, this damn
storm is making me feel the need for a warm woman and we won't be seeing
that until we get through to Espinosa."

Thomas and his men sighed with relief as they watched the dim outline of
the men ahead return to huddling around their small fire. Thomas knew they
would now have to wait in silence for those ahead to settle back and ignore
what was around them before he could continue with his attack. As far as
Thomas could tell there were still more than a dozen wagons still left in
the column and he wanted to try to get them all even though they would not
be able to take many of them back to their camp.

Thomas and his troops waited patiently as the storm continued to rage
around them; it was now even difficult to make out the next wagon and this
could only bode well for the rest of the fast descending night. With the
snow storm blanking out any movement and the night now only minutes away
from full darkness; Thomas gave the signal for the leap frogging attack to
once again continue.

The next team went forward and it was only a short time later that Thomas
barely made out the sound of gurgling as another throat was cut cleanly by
the large boot knives. There had been no decision on what they would take
or if they would take anything from the supply column, they were a long way
from their camp and the last thing they really needed was to be slowed by
heavy wagons when so close to the French headquarters in Balboa.

By midnight the attack was over and the floor of the pass looked more like
a charnel house than a means to travel from one town to the other. The
French dead lay in their own blood as the small fires first spluttered and
finally died without being tended.

For Thomas and his men it was now time to see what, if anything they wanted
from the wagons. It was finally decided to only take the last wagon in line
that was closest to their return road; anything that could not be put
aboard would be destroyed before they left. There was no way they could
leave the supplies for the French to be collected at a later date.

With the column and pass under his control, Thomas gave orders for the many
wagons to be searched for anything they could make use of and for it to be
carried back to the last wagon, everything else was to be prepared for
destruction by using the gun powder carried by some of the wagons, they
would leave nothing for the French to recover.

The last wagon was almost over full when Pablo and six others arrived back
with four wooden crates, it was the last of the goods they would take with
them but Thomas could not think of why the young Captain had insisted on
talking the four plain looking crates. With a little grunting and moving of
cargo already on the heavy wagon, Pablo managed to get the four crates on
the wagon and then stood back with a wide smile on his face.

Two more horses were attached to the front of the last wagon and everything
was ready for their return to their hidden camp. Thomas and Estaban stayed
back with a few of the men as the wagon was turned with difficulty in the
pass and then pushed forward towards the exit of the pass with the rest of
the men in file on both sides, they would remount their horses once they
had arrived at the point where they were being held near the entrance to
the pass.

Thomas and his small group waited as the creaking wagon disappeared into
the gloom, the snow was easing and the wind had dropped so that the
flurries were now less and the snowflakes drifted down rather than being
blown like a hail storm. With the final disappearance of the wagon and the
last men being no more than faint outlines in the softly drifting snow;
Thomas turned back to the remaining wagons.

After taking an hour to release the wagon horses from their traces and
setting them on their way towards Espinosa with a few well timed pistol
shots; Thomas set the others to work; there was to be nothing for the
French to recover.

Where they could, Thomas and the others set a barrel of gun powder under
the wagon and where they could not they made use of some of the still
smouldering fires. With only eight of the wagons being set with gun powder,
Thomas and his men waited to make sure the other wagons were well alight
before each setting a long fuse of raw powder along the ground, lighting it
and then running for their very lives as the bright trail of fire hurried
towards the waiting kegs.

Thomas and his men just made it out of reach when the first keg exploded
with a sound that seemed far louder than it should have for a single keg
but it was soon followed by the others in a quick succession of blasts that
echoed in the pass and the shock wave rolled along the length of the pass
and even knocked Thomas and his men to their knees as it rolled by.

Raising themselves back to their feet, Thomas led the men out of the pass
and quickly came to where one of the troopers had stayed behind to hold
their horses, the pass behind them showed a bright glare of multiple fires
reflecting off the high sides and heavy clouds above; there would be little
left for the French to gain from that particular supply column.

Thomas led his small troop into the darkness as they followed the trail
left by those already on their way back to their camp. It had been assumed
the wagon would have great difficulty with the deep snow drifts along the
way but Pablo had come up with a simple answer so they would not be slowed
by its weight.

Pablo set his own Company in the van with three riders across the road to
break a path; they would change over about every ten minutes to keep the
lead horses fresh while they forced their way through the drifts. At the
centre came the wagon with what was now a relatively clear road flattened
by the nearly one hundred horses of the 1st Company. The remaining troopers
of the 2nd Company followed the wagon turning the rest of the road to a
state of thick wet mush as the many hooves scattered the now dirty snow
even further; it was an easy trail for Thomas and his men to follow.

It was less than a half hour after leaving the destruction of the supply
column when Thomas and his small troop finally caught up with the main
army; from then on it was just a long hard ride through the darkness with
the cold chill of winter trying to disrupt their way forward.

Thomas had no intention of stopping during the hours of darkness as they
were far too close to the main road leading to Balboa for comfort or
safety, they would push on into the dawning light for as long as they could
so as to be as far away from their latest attack as possible before any
French could take notice and then take their revenge.

It was a long hard ride and by the middle of the next day they finally came
to the turn off that led back to their camp although they very nearly
missed it as the road was still almost belly deep with snow and the three
riders at the front were just barely awake after such a long night and hard
day.

Seeing the condition and tiredness of his men, Thomas called for a halt so
the men and horses could take a few hours rest before once again venturing
onward. Thomas knew he was taking a chance in stopping while still on the
main road but he felt he had little option if he did not want some of the
men put into too much danger.

Thomas felt the risk of being found by any stray French Patrol in such bad
conditions was at best minimal and the welfare of his men had to come
first. The army of tired men dismounted and stretched tired and aching
limbs as the many horses stamped their hooves on the frozen ground,
possibly to show they were happy to at last be rid of their burden for a
while.

Thomas thought it would far too dangerous to make fires for heat and so the
men huddled close to each other wrapped tightly in their cloaks and tried
to get a little sleep before being asked to once again mount and ride
on. Thomas estimated that they may make their camp site either in the last
minutes of the dusk light or early in the night; he did not want to stay
out in the open for much longer and his men and their mounts badly needed
food and rest; it had been a long and hard patrol.

With only three hours past since stopping, Thomas and Estaban went around
the cold dozing men and shook them awake; it was time to make a last full
effort to make camp and the warmth of hot food and shelter.

With the men finally remounted and ready to once again move forward, the
2nd Company under Thomasino took the lead as his horses were now a little
fresher than those of Pablo's Company, they would use the same system of
three at the front and replace them every ten minutes or so as they broke
the trail through the snow drifts. It was much later in the evening than
Thomas thought it would be before they saw the faint light of many fires in
the ravine off to their right.

They had again almost gone past their objective due to their tired
condition; another hour and they were easing off their horses as those who
had stayed in camp under Diego ran over to take care of the bone weary
horses and let the returned men look for a place to rest while others
stoked up the fires to cook hot food in the form of a thick horse meat
stew.

It seemed to Thomas as though he had just closed his eyes when he felt his
shoulder being shaken with some vigour. When he could force his eyes open
he saw the familiar figure of Fairley standing over him with a large dish
from which came a marvellous smell of cooked meat. Thomas struggled in his
heavy cloak as he tried to sit up from where he had been laying; the cold
chill of the night left his bones aching but the smell of the food soon had
him greedily forcing the food into his mouth as though it was his last
meal.

Around him Thomas could hear the sounds of others as they talked and joked
while taking in the first hot food in days although there was a distinct
sound of weariness in the forced laughter and loud jokes.

Thomas finished his hot stew in quick fashion and, without another thought,
lay back down and closed his eyes; he would not awaken until the faint
glimmer of sunlight the following afternoon managed to flicker across his
closed lids. With a long groan and a little shaking of stiff bones, Thomas
opened his eyes and stretched his body which complained in uncertain ways
about being laid out on the cold ground for so long.

Fairley was at his side within seconds, a hot steaming mug of Cafe held out
for Thomas to help get his limbs moving more freely. It took Thomas another
half hour before he felt like doing any business of the day; around d him
the camp was slowly coming back to life while those who had stayed back
from the patrol set about looking after those who had had the hardest of
times.

The late afternoon saw most of the camp once again out and about, Thomas
called for his Officers and then set about forming a plan for their
future. It was with some surprise that Thomas managed to work out that the
date was probably the first days of February, the fact he had once again
missed his birthday, his sixteenth, did not get past him. It was a shock to
learn that he and his men had been out on patrol for more than a month; it
was this small fact that dictated his next move for his Cavalry. It was
time to return home.

With his closest Officers sitting around him, Thomas began to tell them
what he had in mind; the organisation for their return to the main camp
north of Braganza would take up the rest of the afternoon and into the
early evening which then came to a halt as the call for dinner was
heard. The preparations for their move would start early the next day once
all the men had been told of the details during the evening meal.

As the plan was discussed by all present, any problems that may have arisen
were soon found answers and, by the end of the meal everything was ready to
put into action the very next day. When Thomas returned to his upturned
wagon he used as his accommodations, he set about going over the plan one
last time.

To keep enough supplies for the travel back to their main camp they would
make use of only five of the wagons, Pablo for some untold reason wanted to
take the single wagon they had brought back from their attack near Espinosa
although he did agree to removing a large part of its contents to make it
light enough to keep up with the others. Of the horses they had left they
would be able to set six horses to each wagon for easier travel.

For all the supplies they could not take with them and the remaining wagons
there would be a large fire set and everything would be destroyed so the
French could not at some time reclaim them in the future. Early the next
morning the preparations began for their departure; it would take a full
two days before they were all finally ready to leave.

What was to be left behind was now stacked high and it actually took three
pyres to get it all piled up; it was mainly the broken down wagons that
took up much of the space and the few remaining French wagon horses were
set with leads so they could be taken with the troops for food on the
road. They were still a long and difficult way from their main camp.

For the last three days the sun had forced itself through the cloud cover
and begun to melt the snow on the ground; while it would still be a hard
journey the melting of the snow would make it just a little easier on the
horses.

The plan was much as they had used when retreating from the pass of
Espinosa with Pablo taking the lead with the wagons close behind. Diego's
Company was given the duty to ride alongside the wagons as flank protection
while Thomasino would once again be the rear guard; Thomas and Estaban
would place themselves just behind the last wagon.

With a wave of his arm, Thomas had them men set the fires and return to
their mounts; with the fires well underway it was time to leave. As the
long Cavalry column began to leave the ravine that had been their temporary
home, Thomas noticed that most of the riders were carrying the hammocks
that had been made for many of them by the three ex-sailors; they were
rolled up and tied to the back of their saddles.

Thomas thought back to the first time that the hammocks had been put to
use. While there had been a number of derogatory remarks about the strange
hanging beds and a lot of laughter at the results of those who tried to use
them for the first time, they had now become a very sort after item and
there was still a long list of those wanting them when the three men could
find enough canvas to make them.

Nearly two thirds of the troopers had the hammocks and they were very
particular about looking after them. Thomas turned back to face the front
as Pablo led the first Company out of the ravine and onto the still frozen
road. Behind the retreating column the fires increased in strength as they
devoured the wooden wagons and all of the supplies that could not be taken
back to their camp. Even after ten minutes of travel those in the rearguard
could still hear the faint sounds of crackling wood and louder explosions
of the powder kegs they could not fit on their own wagons.

As the column cleared the last knoll that led out onto the plains, Thomas
for the first time in months felt what he thought was a light breeze coming
from the south; if the southerly continued to blow or increased in
strength, it would soon melt most of the snow and, while this would be
welcome news it also had its drawback. With the large drifts of snow melted
the roads would turn into quagmires. Thomas could only hope that the frozen
ground would stay firm until at least the wagons had passed.



TBC.