In the Irish Brigade Part 33

As soon as the valises were brought up, Desmond changed his uniform, got rid of the dust of the road, and was just ready when a servant knocked at the door and said that the supper was served.

The meal was a pleasant one. The three French officers were anxious to hear the last news that had reached Madrid from France.

The conversation did not flag for a moment during the meal.

After this was over, and cigars were lighted--for the officers had all adopted the custom of the country--the colonel said courteously, "Would you mind telling us, Major Kennedy, how it is that you, who by your name are Irish, although you speak excellent French, have made your way so rapidly as to be already a major?"

"Not at all, Colonel. I am, myself, as much surprised at it as you may be. But, really, my present rank is only temporary. I am going down to Badajos, on a special mission for the Duke of Orleans, and as he thought that I should be received better were I a field officer, instead of captain, he has given me the temporary rank of major while so employed.

"I will briefly tell you how I obtained the other steps. The first was given me, by the king, on my appointment as aide-de-camp to the Duke of Berwick; His Majesty being good enough to take an interest in me, owing to a little adventure in which I had become involved. It concerned, I may say, the almost accidental rescue of a lady, who had been carried off by a n.o.bleman of the court."

"I remember now," the colonel said. "The lady was Mademoiselle de Pointdexter, and her abductor Vicomte de Tulle. It happened a month or so before our regiment left Paris for Spain, and was the chief topic of talk. I recall your name, now, in connection with the affair, and how warmly everyone spoke of your gallantry. Well, Major, how did you gain your next step?"

"I had the good fortune to be the only one who survived, of four aides-de-camp who were sent off by the Duke of Berwick, at Oudenarde, to make their way through the allied lines with orders, to the division cut off from the rest of the army in the village of Diepenbeck, to disperse and make off across the country, as best they could. My comrades were all killed, but I was lucky enough to succeed in reaching the village uninjured, with the exception of a ball in the wrist, which caused the loss of my hand, and, I may say, almost of my life. It was because of the favourable report, which the duke was pleased to make of this service, that I received my rank as captain."

"It was well earned, too, sir," the colonel said warmly. "I confess, I thought when you arrived that, although Irish by name, you must have had some very powerful influence at your back to have risen so early. Unhappily, promotion often bears no relation whatever to merit; and one sees young n.o.bles, with no other recommendation than that of their birth, placed over the heads of officers of five-and-twenty years service. No one is jealous of a man who owes his rise to brilliant deeds of courage, or signal ability; but it is galling to see these young popinjays thrust forward, simply by family influence."

In pa.s.sing over the hills the next day, a large party of armed men made their appearance, suddenly, on a height above; but, seeing that an attack was likely to meet with a stout resistance, and as little booty would be obtainable, they did not interfere with their pa.s.sage. Desmond congratulated himself on having an escort, for it would have gone hard with him, had he been accompanied only by Mike.

On the fifth day after leaving Madrid he arrived at Badajos, with the sergeant, the four troopers, and Mike. After some formalities--for the town, being close to the frontier, was liable at any moment to be suddenly attacked--Desmond was conducted to the governor, a pompous Spanish officer.

"Are you yourself Major Kennedy?" he asked, looking with some surprise at his young visitor.

"My name is Kennedy, sir, and I have the honour of being major, and to serve on the staff of his grace, the Duke of Orleans. I am the bearer of a letter to you from His Majesty, King Philip."

The Spaniard took the letter and read it, and Desmond could see, by the expression of his countenance, that he was by no means pleased.

"I do not understand," he said coldly, "why an officer should have been specially despatched to obtain information which I have already duly furnished."

"I understood from the Duke of Orleans, sir, that as news has been received that the enemy's plans were to cross the frontier near this town, it became a matter of special importance to see that it was sufficiently supplied with provisions, and munitions of war to stand a siege. It has been found more than once that, owing to the culpable neglect of subordinates, fortresses when besieged were by no means so well supplied with provisions, powder and shot, as had been supposed. Naturally, the governor of a fortress like this, with a considerable garrison, is too much occupied to personally superintend all these matters, and must leave them in the hands of his subordinates, who on their part commit them to those of sergeants and storekeepers; so that, while everything is reported to be ready, there are really deficiencies. A waste often takes place in the distribution of stores, and the matter was so important that the king requested the duke to send one of his staff to give you every a.s.sistance, and to receive your suggestions, which will be complied with to their full extent. As your last report was sent in some three months back, necessarily considerable changes have taken place, in that time."

"Well, sir, I will obey His Majesty's orders, and give you every facility. My officers shall be instructed to open such magazines as you may select, and you will be then able personally to judge as to the quant.i.ty and condition of the stores. It will, of course, be impossible, unless with an immense expenditure of labour, to go through the whole of the magazines and to reckon up their contents; but as many as you wish shall be opened, and a party of soldiers told off to count the bales and cases."

"A very few will suffice, sir. Of course, in the event of a battle being fought and a reverse occurring, the enemy might sit down before your town. You would be exposed to a long siege, for it might be some time before the army was again in a position to advance and fight another battle, or raise the siege. I have little doubt that everything will be found in excellent order, but should there be any deficiencies, the duke a.s.sured me that they would be at once made good."

"If you will call tomorrow morning, sir," the governor said, "I will have some of the officials, in whose charge these matters are, placed at your disposal; but I am convinced that you will find that my reports on the stores and ammunition in hand are fully borne out."

"The governor is, as I expected, a good deal put out, Mike,"

Desmond said as he rejoined his follower, who was waiting outside with the horses. "Now, let us find out the best hotel."

"Didn't he ask you to stay with him, your honour?" Mike asked in surprise.

"No. He is much too grand a man for that, and besides, he may have his wife and children with him; and however much a Spaniard may place his house and all within it at your service, it is very seldom that he invites a stranger to enter it. Moreover, glad as they may be to have French help in fighting their battles, they look with suspicion and dislike upon an individual Frenchman.

"Besides, I fancy I shall find that these stores and magazines by no means tally with the report sent in by the governor. I heard the Duke of Berwick one day speaking about it, and he said there was corruption and dishonesty among their officials, from the highest to the lowest. It is probable that both the king and the Duke of Orleans have the same opinion, and that it was for this reason that they sent me here, in order to a.s.sure them that the fortress is as well supplied as has been stated. With the other papers, I have received a copy of the governor's report, although I did not think it necessary to tell him so."

The next morning, on going to the governor's, Desmond found a number of officials a.s.sembled there.

"These are the officers in charge of the stores and magazines,"

the governor said. "Colonel Mendez will accompany you, and will see that everything is done to facilitate your examination."

The governor bowed formally. Desmond returned his salute, and then went down with the Spanish colonel, the other officials following.

He saw that there was an expression of malicious pleasure in the colonel's face, and guessed that he was, by no means, sorry at the investigation that was to take place.

"I think, sir," Desmond said, "that it will not be necessary for us to have all these officials going round with us. It will be impossible, in one day, to do more than examine one department. As ammunition is the most important of all stores, I would suggest that we take only those in charge of the war material."

"Very good;" and, turning to those behind, he said: "For today, all those save the officers in charge of the magazines can be relieved from this duty. Their turn will come tomorrow, or next day."

With the exception of five or six, all moved away.

"We have three magazines in the town," the colonel went on, "so as to lessen the chance of our resources being destroyed by a single blow. There is the Central magazine, another that is known as the San Juan magazine, and the Western magazine."

"We may as well visit the Central one first, as, no doubt, that is the most important one."

As they went on, a party of twenty soldiers, who had been drawn up there, fell in behind, while Mike and two troopers of his escort also, at his orders, accompanied them. The magazine was formed in what had formerly been an old castle, but which was now used for another purpose, that of a store, its thick walls affording protection against any but very heavy missiles. On entering what had been the courtyard, Desmond saw that the greater portion of it was occupied by storehouses, ma.s.sively built, and covered by some five or six feet of earth.

"The first of these on the right contains musketry ammunition,"

Colonel Mendez said, "the next two contain cannonb.a.l.l.s; powder is stored in the three houses at the farther end, and the three on the left side contain hand grenades, fuses for mines, signal rockets, and other miscellanies, such as brimstone."

"We will examine number one first," Desmond said. "Which is the officer in charge?"

One of the officials stepped forward, with a key. Desmond saw that his face was pale, and that he had a sullen look.

"I will ask you, before we enter," he said, "how often do you take stock of your stores? I suppose when the governor sends in his half-yearly report?"

"We do not do it that way at all," the man said. "I have a book.

It was given to me by the officer I succeeded. Here it is. You will see that he handed over so many barrels of cartridges. On one side of the page I put down the number of barrels issued, and on the other the number I receive, and thus, at any time, without disturbing the contents of the store, I can state the number of barrels it contains."

"Then how long have you held this position, sir?"

"I have been in charge of this store, and of those used for powder in the cellars underneath the castle, for ten years."

"The man whom you succeeded--how long had he been here?"

"I believe he had been here for twenty years, or more."

"And his system of keeping account was the same as yours?"

"Precisely. He handed his books to me, and I have kept mine in the same way."

"Then it is a fact, if I understand you rightly, that there has been no taking of stock for the past thirty years?"

"It was not necessary," the officer said, in a surly tone. "There can be no mistake possible, considering the way in which we made our entries."

They now entered the store. It was some sixty feet long and forty feet wide, with pillars of masonry along the centre to support the weight of the roof. It was lighted only by small loopholes in the thick walls. Four of the soldiers carried lanterns, and they were about to enter, when Desmond said:

"There is no loose powder lying about, I suppose?"

"None," the officer replied. "The barrels were all carefully examined before being taken into the store. They are, as you can see, strongly made. A leakage is out of the question, unless by any accident one should fall off the pile and burst; but such a thing has never happened, as far as I know."

"I see, by your book, that there should be three thousand four hundred and eighty-two barrels, each containing five hundred cartridges. Certainly an ample supply, even for a prolonged siege."