No Surrender! Part 10

"I am Leigh Stansfield, and am going, with three of my party, to keep watch near the guns."

"That is good," the officer said. "I am on duty here, and Jean Martin has just ridden out. He is going a couple of miles along the road, and will give the alarm if he hears any movement of the enemy. When he gets within half a mile he is to fire off his pistols, and I shall have time to get the men up, long before their infantry can arrive. We have tried, in vain, to get some of the peasants to do outpost duty. They all say that they will be ready to fight, when the enemy comes; but they want a good sleep first, and even Cathelineau could not move them. It is heartbreaking to have to do with such men."

"I do not think that it is laziness. It is that they have a fixed objection to doing what they consider any kind of soldier work.

Their idea of war is to wait till the enemy comes, and then to make a rush upon them; and when they have done that, they think their duty is ended. Some day, when the Blues have a sharp commander, and have gained a little discipline, we shall suffer some terrible disaster from the obstinacy of the peasantry."

With a word of adieu Leigh turned off the road, and made his way halfway up the eminence. Here the guns could be plainly made out.

Leaving Andre and his two followers, he went quietly up the slope, to a.s.sure himself that the artilleryman was still there. Had he missed him, he was determined to go at once to Cathelineau, and state his suspicions, and his belief that Bruno had gone off to inform Berruyer that, if he advanced, he would find the place wholly unguarded, and would have it at his mercy. He found, however, that the artilleryman was still asleep, and returned to Andre.

"Now," he said, "there is no occasion for us all to watch. I, with one of the others, will keep a lookout for the next two hours and, at the end of that time, will rouse you and the others."

Leigh's watch had pa.s.sed off quietly. There was no movement among the guns and, from the position in which Bruno was lying, his figure would have been seen at once, had he risen to his feet.

"If the man up there stands up, you are to awaken me at once, Andre," he said.

Overcome by the excitement and the heat of the day, Leigh dropped off to sleep almost immediately. An hour later, he was roused by being shaken by Andre.

"The man has got up, sir."

The artilleryman, after stretching himself two or three times, took up something from the ground beside him, and then went some distance down the side of the hill, but still in sight of the watchers.

"He has got something on his shoulder, sir. I think it is a shovel, and he has either a cloak or a sack on his arm."

"He is evidently up to something," Leigh replied, "but what it can be, I cannot imagine."

Presently the man stopped, and began to work.

"He is digging," Andre said, in surprise.

"It looks like it certainly, but what he can be digging for I have no idea."

Presently the man was seen to raise a heavy weight on to his shoulders.

"It was a sack he had with him," Andre said, "and he has filled it with earth and stones."

Leigh did not reply. The mystery seemed to thicken, and he was unable to form any supposition, whatever, that would account for the man's proceedings. The latter carried his burden up to the cannon, then he laid it down, and took up some long tool and thrust it into the mouth of one of the cannon.

A light suddenly burst upon Leigh.

"The scoundrel is going to draw the charges," he said, "and fill up the cannon with the earth that he has brought up."

Andre would have leapt to his feet, as he uttered an exclamation of rage.

"Keep quiet!" Leigh said, authoritatively. "We have no evidence against him, yet. We must watch him a bit longer, before we interrupt him."

After two or three movements, the man was seen to draw something from the gun. This he laid on the ground, and then inserted the tool again.

"That is the powder," Leigh whispered, as something else was withdrawn from the gun; "there, you see, he is taking handfuls of earth from the sack, and shoving it into the mouth."

This was continued for some time, and then a rammer was inserted, and pushed home several times. Then he moved to the next cannon.

"Now follow very quietly, Andre. Busy as he is, we may get quite close up to him, before he notices us. Mind, you are not to use your knife. We can master him easily enough, and must then take him down to Cathelineau, for his fate to be decided on."

[Ill.u.s.tration: Leigh gave the word and, leaping up, they threw themselves on the traitor.]

Noiselessly they crept up the hill. When within five or six paces of the gun at which Bruno was at work, Leigh gave the word and, leaping up, they threw themselves on the traitor; who was taken so completely by surprise that they were able to throw him, at once, to the ground. s.n.a.t.c.hing up a rope that had been used for drawing the guns, Leigh bound his arms securely to his side; and then, putting a pistol to his head, ordered him to rise to his feet.

"Shoot me, if you like,"' the man growled. "I will not move."

"I will not shoot you," Leigh replied. "You must be tried and condemned.

"Now, Andre, we must carry him."

The four boys had no difficulty in carrying the man down. As they pa.s.sed the officer on sentry, he said:

"Whom have you there, Monsieur Stansfield?"

"It is Bruno, the artilleryman. We have caught him drawing the charges from the guns, and filling them with earth. We must take him to the general."

"The villain!" the officer exclaimed. "Who would have thought of a Vendean turning traitor?"

Cathelineau was still up, talking with some of his officers as to the preparations for the battle. There was no sentry at his door.

Leigh entered and, tapping at the door of the room in which he saw a light, went in. Cathelineau looked up in surprise, as the door opened.

"I thought you were asleep hours ago, monsieur," he said.

"It is well that I have not been, sir."

And he related the conversation that he had overheard, and his own suspicions that the man Bruno meditated treachery; the steps they had taken to watch him, and the discovery they had made.

Exclamations of indignation and fury broke from the officers.

"Gentlemen," Cathelineau said, "we will at once proceed to try this traitor. He shall be judged by men of his own cla.s.s.

"Monsieur Pourcet, do you go out and awaken the first twelve peasants you come to."

In a minute or two the officer returned with the peasants, who looked surprised at having been thus roused from their sleep.

"My friends, do you take your places along that side of the room.

You are a jury, and are to decide upon the guilt or innocence of a man who is accused of being a traitor."

The word roused them at once, and all repeated indignantly the word "traitor!"

"Monsieur Stansfield," he said to Leigh, "will you order your men to bring in the prisoner?"

The man was brought in and placed at the head of the table, opposite to Cathelineau.

"Now, Monsieur Stansfield, will you tell the jury the story that you have just told me?"

Leigh repeated his tale, interrupted occasionally by exclamations of fury from the peasants. Andre and the other lads stepped forward, one after the other, and confirmed Leigh's statement.