 Preface of With More at Karuna From the termination of the campaigns of Marlboro, at which time the British army won for itself a reputation rivaled by that of no other in Europe, to the year when the dispatch of a small army under Sir Arthur Wellesley marked the beginning of another series of British victories as brilliant and as unbroken as those of that great commander. The opinion had gained ground in Europe that the British had lost their military virtues and that, although undoubtedly powerful at sea, they could have henceforth but little influence in European affairs. It is singular that the rival of Britain's activity began under a government which was one of the most incapable that ever controlled the affairs of the country. Had their deliberate purpose been to render Nuggettory the expedition which, after innumerable facilitations and changes of purpose, they dispatched to Portugal, they could hardly have acted otherwise than they did. Their agents in the peninsula were men signally unfitted for the position. Then the government divided the commands among their generals and admirals, sending to each absolutely contradictory orders and, when at last they brought themselves to a point one to the supreme command, they changed that commander six times in the course of a year. While lavishing enormous sums of money, arms, clothing, and materials of war upon the Spaniards, who wasted or pocketed them, they kept their own army unsupplied with money, transport, or clothes. Unsupported by the home authorities, the British commanders had yet to struggle with the faithlessness, mendacity, and inertness of the Portuguese and Spanish authorities and were hampered with obstacles such as never beset a British commander before. Still, in spite of this, British genius and valor triumphed over all difficulties and Wellesley delivered Lisbon and compelled the French army to surrender. Then again, more by his marvelous march, checked the course of victory of Napoleon and saved Spain for a time. Craddock organized an army and Wellesley hurled back Solt's invasion of the north and drove his army a dispirited and worn out mass of fugitives across the frontier and in less than a year from the commencement of the campaign carried the war into Spain. So far I have endeavored to sketch the course of these events in the present volume, but the whole course of the peninsula war was far too long to be condensed in a single book, except in the form of history pure and simple. Therefore I have been obliged to divide it into two volumes, and I propose next year to follow up with the adventures of my present hero who had the good fortune with Trent, Wilson, and other British officers to attain the command of a body of native Ibregillards acting in connection with the movements of the British army. Your Sincerely, G.A. Henty Chapter 1 The Mayo Fusiliers That was only his way, Father. The Colonel likes a joke as well as any of them. Yes, one is not played on himself, but you haven't even the sense to respect persons, and it was well for you that he could not prove that it was you who fastened the sparrow to the plume of his feathers on his shackle the other day, and no one noticed it till the little bass to begin to flutter just as he came on parade, and I choked this all with trying to hold in our laughter, while the Colonel was nearly suffocated with passion. It was lucky you were able to prove that you had gone up at daylight fishing, and that no one had seen you anyone near his quarters. By my faith, if he could have proved it with you, he would have had you turned out as a barricade, and were given to the sentries that you were not to be allowed to pass in again. I could have got over the wall, Father, the boy said calmly, but mind I never said it was I who fastened the sparrow in his shackle, because I never asked you, Terence, but it does not need the asking. What am I to do with you, I don't know. Your uncle Tim would not take you if I were to go down upon my knees to him. You were always in his bad books, and you finished him when you fired off that blunderbuss in his garden as he was passing along in the twilight and yelled, Death to the Protestants! The boy burst into a fit of laughter. How could I tell that he was going to fall flat on the ground and shout a million murders when I fired straight into the air? Well, you did yourself there, Terence, not that the old man ever have taken to you, for he never forgave my marriage with his niece. Still he might have left you some money some day, seeing that there is no one nearer to him, and it would have come in mighty useful, for you are not likely to get much from me, but we are no nearer the points yet. What am I to do with you at all? Here is the regiment ordered on foreign service and likely to have sharp work, and not a place where I could stow you. It beats me altogether. Why not take me with you, father? I have thought of that, but you were too young entirely. I am nearly sixteen, father. I am sure I am as tall as many boys as seventeen and as strong, too. Why should I not go? I am certain I could stand roughing at as well as Dick Ryan, who is a good bit over sixteen. Could I not go as a volunteer, or I might enlist? The doctor would pass me quick enough. O'Flaharte would pass you if you were baby in arms. He is as full of mischief as you are, and has not much more discretion, but you could not carry a musket, full cartridge box, and kit for a long day's march. I can carry a gun through a long day's shooting, dad, but you might make me your soldier-servant. Be, dad, I should fare mighty badly, Terence. Still, as I don't see anything else for you, I must try and take you somehow, even if you have to go as a drummer. I will talk it over with the Colonel, though I doubt whether he has forgotten that sparrow yet. He would not bear malice, dad, even if he were sure that it was me, which he cannot be. The speaker was Captain O'Connor of his Majesty's Regiment of the Mayo Fusiliers, now under orders to proceed to Portugal to form part of the forces being dispatched under Sir Arthur Wellesley to assist the Portuguese in resisting the advance of the French. He was a widower, and Terence was his only child. The boy had been brought up in the regiment. His mother had died when he was nine years old, and Terence had been allowed by his father to run pretty nearly wild. He picked up a certain amount of education, for he was as sharp at lessons as at most other things. His mother had taught him to read and write, and the officers and their wives were always ready to lend him books, and, as during the hours when drill and exercise were going on, he had plenty of time to himself. He had got through a very large amount of disultery reading, and, having a red-tentative memory, knew quite as much as most ledge of his age, although the knowledge was of a much more irregular kind. He was a general favorite among the officers and men of the regiment, though his tricks got him into frequent scrapes, and more than one prophesied that his eventual fate was likely to be hanging. He was great at making acquaintances among the country people, and knew the exact spot where the best fishing could be had for miles round. He had also been given leave to shoot on many of the estates in the neighborhood. His father had, from the first, absolutely forbidden him to associate with the drummer boys. I don't mind your going into the men's quarters, he said. You will come to no harm there, but among the boys you might get into bad habits. Some of them are thorough young scamps. With the men you would always be one of their officer's sons, while with the boys you would become a mere playmate. As he grew older, Terence, being a son of one of the senior officers, became a companion of the ensigns, and one or other of them generally accompanied him on his fishing excursions, and were not unfrequently participators in his escapades, several of which were directed against the tranquility of the inhabitants of Athlone. One night the bells of the three churches had been rung simultaneously and violently, and the idea that either the town was in flames, or that the French had landed, or that the whole country was up in arms, brought all the inhabitants to their doors in a state of violent excitement and scanty attire. No clue was ever obtained to the author of this outrage, nor was anyone able to discover the origin of the rumour that circulated through the town that a large amount of gunpowder had been stored in some house or other in the marketplace, and that on a certain night half the town would be blown into the air. So circumstantial were the details that a deputation waited on Colonel Corcoran and a strong search party was sent down to examine the cellars of all the houses in the marketplace and for some distance round. These and some similar occurrences had much alarmed the good people of Athlone, and it was certain that more than one person must have been concerned of them. I have come Colonel, Captain O'Connor said when he called upon his commanding officer, to speak to you about Terence. The Colonel smiled grimly. It is a comfort to think that we are going to get rid of him O'Connor. He is enough to demoralize a whole brigade to say nothing of a battalion, and the worst of it is he respects no one. I am as convinced as can be that it was he who fastened that baste of a bird in my shackle the other day and made me the laughing stock of the whole regiment on parade. Faith, I could not for the life of me make out what was the matter. There was a tugging and a jumping and a fluttering overhead, and I thought the shackle was going to fly away. It fairly gave me a scare, for I thought the shackle had gone mad, and that the devil was in it. I had often overlooked his tricks for your sake, but when it comes to his commanding officer, it is too serious altogether. Well, you see Colonel, the lad proved clearly enough that he was out of the way at the time, and besides, you know he has given you many a hearty laugh. He has that, the Colonel admitted. And moreover, Captain O'Connor went on, even if he did do this, which I don't know, for I never asked him. Trust you for that, the Colonel muttered. You were not his commanding officer, though you were mine, and that is the matter that I came to speak to you about. You see, there is no one in whose charge I can leave him, and the lad wants to go with us. He wouldn't list as a drummer if he could go no other way, and when he got out there, I should get the adjutant to tell him off as my soldier servant. It would not do, O'Connor, the Colonel laughed. Then I thought, Colonel, that possibly he might go as a volunteer. Most regiments take out one or two young fellows who have not interest enough to obtain a commission. He is too young, O'Connor, besides, the boy is enough to corrupt the whole regiment. He has made half the lads as wild as himself. Sure, you can never be after asking me to settle the regiment with him, now that there is a good chance of getting quite of him altogether. I think that he would not be so bad when we are out there, Colonel. It is just because he has nothing to do that he gets into mischief. With plenty of hard work and other things to think of, I don't believe he would be any trouble. Do you think you can answer for him, O'Connor? Indeed, I cannot, the captain laughed, but I will answer for it that he will not joke with you, Colonel. The lad is really steady enough, and I am sure that if he were in the regiment he would not dream of playing tricks with his commanding officer, whatever else he might do. That goes a long ways towards removing my objection, the Colonel said with a twinkle in his eye. But he is too young for a volunteer. A volunteer is the sort of man to be the first to climb into a breach or to risk his life in some desperate enterprise, so as to win a commission. But there is another way. I had a letter yesterday from the horse-guards, saying that as I am two ensigns short they had appointed one who would join us at Cork, and that they gave me the right of nominating another. I own that Terence occurred to me, but sixteen is the youngest limit of age, and he must be certified in all that by the doctor. Now Dele is away only, and is to join us at Cork, but O'Felherty would do. Still, I don't know how he would get over the difficulty about the age. Trust him for that. I am indeed obliged to you, Colonel. Don't say anything about it, O'Connor. If we had been going to stay at home, I don't think that I could have brought myself to take him into the regiment. But as we are going on service, he won't have much opportunity for mischief, and even if he does let out a little, not at my expense, you know. A laugh does the man good when they are wet through and their stomachs are empty. He rang a bell. Orderly, tell the adjutant and doctor O'Felherty that I wish to see him. Mr. Clearly, he went on as soon as the former entered. I have been requested by the horse guards to nominate an ensign, so as to fill up our ranks before starting, and I have determined to give the appointment at Town and Corkonnor. Very well, sir. I'm glad to hear it. He is a favour with us all, but I'm afraid he is underage. Is there any regular form to be filled up? None I know of in the cases of officers, sir. I'm fancy they pass some sort of medical examination at the horse guards, but of course in this case it would be impossible. Still, I should say that in writing to state that you have nominated him, it would be better to send a medical certificate, and certainly it ought to be mentioned that he is of the right age. At this moment the assistant general entered. Dr. O'Felherty, the colonel said, I wish you to write a certificate to the effect that Town and Corkonnor is physically fit to take part in a campaign as an officer. I can do that colonel without difficulty. He is as fit as a fiddle and can march half the regiment off their legs. Yes, I know that, but there is one difficulty, doctor. He is under the regulation age. O'Felherty thought for a moment, then sat down at the table and taking a sheet of paper. He began. I certify that Terence O'Connor is going on for 17 years of age. He has five feet eight in height, 34 inches round the chest, is active and fully capable of the performance of his duties as an officer either at home or abroad. Then he added another line and signed his name. As a member of a learned profession, colonel, he said gravely, I was scorned to tell a lie even for the son of Captain O'Connor. And he passed the paper across to him. The colonel looked grave and Captain O'Connor disappointed. He was reassured, however, when his commanding officer broke into a laugh. That will do, O'Felherty, he said. I thought that you would find some way of getting us out of the difficulty. I have told the strict truth, colonel, the doctor said gravely. I have certified that Terence O'Connor is going on for 17. I defy any man to say that he is not. He will get there one of these days, if a French bullet does not stop him on the way. A contingency that is needless for me to mention. I suppose it is not strictly regular to admit the date of his birth, the colonel said. But just at present I expect they are not very particular. I suppose that will do, Mr. Clearly. I think that you can counter-sign that, colonel, the Edgerton said with a laugh. The horse-guards do not move very rapidly, and by the time that the letter gets to London we may be on board ship, and they would hardly bother to send a letter for further particulars to us in Spain, but will no doubt gazette him at once. The fact too, which of course you will mention, is that he is the son of the senior captain of your regiment, will in itself render them less likely to bother about the matter. Well, just write out the letter of nomination, Clearly. I am a mighty bad hand at doing things neatly. The Edgerton drew a sheet of fool-scat to him and wrote, To the Edgerton general horse-guards, Sir, I have the honour to inform you that, in accordance with the privilege granted to me in your communication of, and he looked at the colonel, The farteenth institution, the latter said after consulting the latter, I beg to nominate as an ensign in this regiment, Terence O'Connor, the son of Captain Lawrence O'Connor, its senior captain. I enclose certificate of assistant surgeon of the herty, the surgeon being at present absence, I'll leave, certifying to his physical fitness for a commission in his majesty's service. Mr. O'Connor, having been brought up from childhood in the regiment, is already perfectly acquainted with the work, and will therefore be able to take up his duties without difficulty. This fact has been some influence in my choice, as a young officer who had to be taught all his duties would have been no use for service in the field for a considerable time after landing in Portugal. Relying on the nomination being approved by the Commander-in-Chief, I shall at once put him on the staff of the Regiment for Foreign Service, as there will be no time to wait your reply. I have the honour to be your humble, obedient servant, then he left the space and added, Colonel, may you fusiliers. Now, if you will sign it, Colonel, the matter will be complete, and I will send it off with all for the herty certificate today. That is a good stop, Cleary, the Colonel said as he read it aloud. They will see that it's too late to raise any questions, and the going on for seventeen will be accepted as sufficient. He touched the bell. Orderly, tell Mr. Terrence O'Connor that I wish to see him. Terrence was sitting in a state of suppressed excitement at his father's quarters. He had a strong belief that the matter would be managed somehow, for he knew that the Colonel had no malice in his disposition and would not let the episode of the bird, for which he was now heartily sorry to stand in the way. On receiving the message he at once went across to the Colonel's quarters. The latter rose and held out his hand to him as he entered. Terrence O'Connor, he said, I am pleased to be able to inform you that from the present moment you are to consider yourself an officer in His Majesty's Mayo Fusiliers. The horse gods have given me the privilege of nominating a gentleman to the vacant ensigncy, and I have had great pleasure in nominating your father's son. Now lad, he said in a different tone of voice, I feel sure that you will do credit to my nomination and that you will keep your love of fun and mischief within reasonable bounds. I will try to do so Colonel, the lad said in a low voice, and I am grateful indeed for the kindness that you have shown me. I have always hoped that someday I might obtain a commission in your regiment, but never even hoped that it would be until after I done something to deserve it. Indeed, I did not think it was even possible that I could obtain a commission until... Tuck-tuck lad, don't say a word about age. Dr. O'Flaherty had certified that you are going on for seventeen, which is quite sufficient for me, and at any rate you will see that boyish tricks are out of place in the case of an officer going on for seventeen. Now your father had best take you down into the town and get you measured for your uniforms at once. You must make them hurry on with his undressed clothes, O'Connor. I should not bother about full-dressed till we get back again. It is not likely to be wanted, and the lad will soon grow out of them. If there should happen to be full-dressed parade in Portugal, clearly we'll put him on as officer of the day or give him some duties that will keep him from parade. We may get the route any day, and the sooner he gets his uniform, the better. Two days later, Terence took his place on parade as an officer of the regiment. He had witnessed such numberless drills that he had picked up every word of command, knew his proper place in every formation, and fell into the work as readily as if he had been at it for years. He had been hurdly congratulated by the officers of the regiment. I am awfully glad that you were one of us, Terence, Dick Ryan said. I don't know what we should have done without you. I expect we should have tremendous fun in Portugal. I expect we shall, Dick, but we shall have to be careful. We shall be on active service, you see, and from what they say of him, I don't think Sir Arthur Wellesley is a sort of man to appreciate jokes. No, I should say not. Of course, we shall have to draw in a bit. It would not do to set the bells of Lisbon ringing. I should think not, Dick. Still, I daresay we shall have plenty of fun, and at any rate, we are likely to win. We shall have plenty of fun, and at any rate, we are likely, from what they say, to have plenty of fighting. I don't expect the Portuguese will be much good, and as there are forty or fifty thousand Frenchmen in Portugal, we shall have all our work to do, unless they send out a much bigger force than is collecting at Cork. It is a pity that the ten thousand men who have been sent out to Sweden on what my father says is a fool's errand, are not going with us instead. We might make a good stand-up fight of it then, whereas I don't see that with only six thousand or seven thousand, we can do much against Junot's forty thousand. Oh, I daresay we'll get on somehow, Dick said carelessly. Sir Arthur knows what he is about, and it is our turn to do something now. The navy has had it all its own way so far, and it is quite fair that we should do our share. I have a brother in the navy, and the fellas are getting too cheeky altogether. They seem to think that no one can fight but themselves, except in Egypt we have never had a chance at all of showing we can lick the French just as easily as land as we can at sea. I hope we shall, Dick. They have certainly had a great deal more practice at it than we have. Now, I think we ought to do something here that they will remember us for before we start, Terence. Well, if you do, I'm not with you this time, Dick. I am not going to begin by getting in the Colonel's bad books after he has been kind enough to nominate me for a commission. I promise him, though, I'll try and not get into any scrapes, and I'm not going to break my word. When we once get out there, I shall be gained to join in anything that is not likely to make a great row, but I have done with it for the present. I should like to have one more good bit of fun, Ryan said. I expect your right, Terence, in what you say about yourself, and it is no use our thinking to hum mug Athelon again if you're not in it with us. Besides, they're getting too sharp. They did not have turn out last time, and indeed, we had a narrow escape of being caught. Well, I shall be very glad when we're off. It is stupid work waiting for the route with all leaves stopped, and we're not even allowed to go out for days fishing. Three days later, the expected order arrived, as the baggage had all been packed up. The search was to be left behind being handed over to the care of the barrack master, and a considerable portion of the heavy baggage sent on by cart. There was no delay. Officers and men were alike delighted that the period of waiting had come to an end, and there was loud cheering in the barrack yard as soon as the news came. At daybreak next morning, the rest of the baggage started under a guard, and three hours later, the Mayo Fusiliers marched through the town with their band playing at their head, and amid the cheers of the populace. As yet, the martial spirit that was roused by the struggle in the peninsula had scarcely begun to show itself, but there was a strong animosity to France throughout England, and a desire to aid the people of Spain and Portugal in their attempts for freedom. In Ireland, for the most part, there was no such feeling. Since the Battle of the Boeing and the siege of Limerick, France had been regarded by the greater portion of the peasant tribe as a country and a section of the population of the towns as the natural ally of Ireland. And there was a hope that when Napoleon had all your prostrate under his feet, he would come as the deliverer of Ireland from the English yoke. Consequently, although the townspeople of Athlone cheered the regiments as it marched away, the country people held aloof from it as it passed along the road. Scowling looks from the women greeted it in the villages, while the men ostentatiously continued their work in the fields without turning to cast a glance at them. Terence was not posted to his father's company, but was in that of Captain O'Driscoll, although the lad himself would have preferred to be with Captain O'Grady, with whom he was a great favourite. The latter was one of the captains whose companies were unprovided with an ensign, and he had asked the Edgerton to let him have the lad instead of the ensign who was to join a cork. The matter has been settled the other way, O'Grady. In the Colonel's opinion he will be much better with O'Driscoll, who is more likely to keep him in order than you are. O'Grady was one of the most original characters in the regiment. He was rather under middle height and had a smooth face, a guileless and innocent expression, and a habit of opening his light-bool eyes as in wonder. His hair was short and stuck up aggressively. His brogue was the strongest in the regiment, his blunders were innumerable, and his look of amazement at the laughter they called forth was admirably feigned, save that the tweakle of his eye induced a suspicion that he himself enjoyed the joke as well as anyone. His good humour was imperturbable, and he was immensely popular both among men and officers. O'Driscoll, he repeated in mild astonishment, do you mean to say that O'Driscoll will keep him in better order than myself? If there is one man in the regiment more than another who will get on well with the lad, it is myself barring done. You would get on well enough with him, O'Grady, I have no doubt, but it would be by letting him have his own way and in encouraging him in mischief of all kinds. O'Grady's eyebrows were elevated and his eyes expressed hopeless bewilderment. You are wrong entirely, clearly. Nature intended me for schoolmaster, and it is just an accident that I have taken to soldiering. I flatter myself that no one looks after his sabalters more sharply than I do. My only fear is that I am too severe on them. I may be mild in my manners, but they know me well enough to tremble if I speak stunly to them. The trembling would be with amusement, and it would be as if I were a little bit hesitant, grumbled. Well, the Colonel has settled the matter and terrorists will be in orders tomorrow as appointed to O'Grady's company and the other to yours. Thank you for nothing, clearly, O'Grady said with dignity. You would have seen that under my tuition the lad would have turned out one of the smartest officers in the regiment. You have heard of the Spartan way of teaching their sons to avoid drunkenness, Captain O'Grady. You have heard clearly, but I reckon that the best way with the Haydn's was to keep them from touching whiskey. It is what I always recommend to the men in my company when I come across one of them the worst wrecker. The adjutant laughed. That was not the Spartan way, O'Grady, but the advice if taken would doubtless have the same effect. And who were the Spartans at all? I have not time to tell you, O'Grady. I have no end of business on my hands. Then what do you keep me talking here for? I have a lot of work on my hands too. I came in to ask a simple question and instead of giving me a civil answer you caped my waste of my time with your old driscals and your Spartans and all kinds of rigmarole. That is the worst of being in an Irish regiment. Nothing can be done without ever so much blather. And Captain O'Grady stuck out of the orderly room. On the march Terence had no difficulty in obtaining me from his captain to drop behind in march with his friend Dick Ryan. The marches were long ones and they halted only at Parsons Town, Templemore, Tipperay, and Firmoy as the Colonel had received orders to use all speed. At each place a portion of the regiment was accommodated in the barracks while the rest were quartered in the town. Late in the evening, the Spartans and the Spartans were captured in the town. Late in the evening of the fifth day's march they arrived at Cork and the next day went on board the two transports provided for them and joined the fleet assembled in the Cove. Some of the ships had been lying there for nearly a month waiting orders and the troops on board were heartily weary of their confinement. The news, however, that Sir Arthur Wellesley had been at last appointed to command them and that they were to sail for Portugal had caused great delight for it had been feared that they might like other bodies of truce be shipped up to some distant spot only to remain there for months and then be brought home again. Nothing indeed could exceed the vacillation and confusion that reigned in the English cabinet at that time. The forces of England were frittered away and small and objectless expeditions the plans of action were changed with every report sent either by the interested leaders of France and Spain or by the signally incompetent men who had been sent out to represent England and who distributed broadcast British money and British arch to the most unworthy applicants. By their lavishness and subservience to the Spaniards our representatives increased the natural arrogance of these people and caused them to regard England as a power which was honored by being permitted to share in the Spanish efforts against them. General Spencer with 5,000 members kept for months sailing up and down the coast of Spain and Portugal receiving contradictory orders from home and endeavoring in vain to cooperate with the Spanish generals each of whom had his own private purposes and was bent on gratifying personal ambitions and of thwarting the schemes of his rivals rather than imposing the common enemy. Not only were the English ministry incapable of devising any plan but they were constantly changing the naval and military officers of the forces. At one moment one general or admiral seemed to possess their confidence while soon afterwards without the slightest reason two or three others with greater political influence were placed over his head and when at last Sir Arthur Wellesley who services in India marked him as their greatest soldier was sent out with supreme military power they gave a no definitive plan of action. General Spencer was nominally appointed to command the officers by one set of instructions while another authorized him to command operations in the south without reference to Sir Arthur Wellesley. Admiral Purvis who was junior to Admiral Collingwood was authorized to control operations of Sir Arthur while Wellesley himself had scarcely sailed when Sir Hugh Dalrymple was appointed to the chief command of the forces. Sir Harry Burard was appointed second in command to force rank in the army that he had been sent out to command. Two of the men placed above him being almost unknown they never having commanded any military force in the field. The nine thousand men assembled in the cove of cork knew nothing of these things they were going out under the command of the victor of Assai to measure their strength against that of the French and they had no fear of the result. I hope, Captain O'Grady said that they belonged sat down to dinner for the first time on board the transport that we shall not have to keep together and going out. Why so O'Grady, another Captain asked because there is no doubt at all that our ship is the fastest in the fleet and that we shall get there in time to have a little brush with the French all to ourselves before the others arrive. What makes you think that she is the fastest ship here O'Grady? Anyone can see with half an eye her lines. She is a flyer and if we are not obliged to keep with the others we shall be out of sight of the rest of them before we have sailed six hours. I don't pretend to know anything about her lines O'Grady but she looks to me a regular old tub. She is old O'Grady admitted reluctantly but give her plenty of wind and you'll see how she can walk along. There was a laugh all round the table O'Grady's absolute confidence in anything in which he was interested was known to them all. His horse had been notoriously the most worthless animal in the regiment but although continually last in the hunting field O'Grady's opinion of her speed was never shaken. There was always an excuse ready the horseman badly shod or that it was out of sight to not have his feet before starting or the going was heavy and it did not like heavy ground or the country was too hilly or too flat for it it was the same with his company with his non-commissioned officers with his soldier servant a notoriously drunken rascal and with his quarters O'Grady looked round a mild expostulation at the lab you will see he said confidently there can be no mistake about it two days later a ship of war entered the harbor the usual salutes were exchanged the ship was run up to one of her mass heads and again the guns of the force peeled out a salute and word ran through the transports that Sir Arthur Willsley was on board on the following day the fleet got underway the transports being escorted by a line of battleship and four frigates which were to join Lord Cullingwood squadron as soon as they had seen their charge safe into the Tagus before evening there was a pile of stern of the rearmost ship of the convoy and one of the frigates sailing back fired a gun as a signal to her to close up well O'Grady we have left the fleet you see though not in the way you predicted whist man don't you see that the captain is out of temper because they have all got to keep together instead of letting him go ahead every rag a sail was now piled on to the ship and the rest just as darkness fell there you see O'Grady said triumphantly look what she could do when she likes we do see O'Grady with twice as much sail up as anyone else she is in three hours picked out the miles she had lost wait until we get some wind I hope we shan't get anything of the sort at least no strong winds the old tub would open every scene if we did we wouldn't think ourselves lucky if we got through it at all O'Grady smiled pleasantly and said it was useless to argue with so obstinate a man I'm afraid O'Grady is wrong as usual Dick Ryan said to Terence who was sitting next to him when once he has taken an idea into his head Nancy will persuade him that he is wrong there is no doubt the seahorse is as slow as she can be I suppose her owners have taken some interest with the government as an old tub as a troop ship and a chapter one recording by Charles Sapp chapter two of with more at Corona by Gia Henty this is a LibriVox recording all LibriVox recordings are in the public domain for more information or to volunteer please visit LibriVox.org recording by Charles Sapp with more at Corona by Gia Henty two dangers the next day in spite of the sale she carried the seahorse lagged behind and one of the frigates sailed back to her and the captain shouted angrily orders to the master to keep his place in the convoy if we get any wind O'Grady said as the frigate bore up on her course again it will take all your time to keep up with her my fine fellow you see he explained to Terence no vessel is perfect at all points some are best in a column now this ship wants wind I think she does kept an O'Grady Terence replied gravely at any rate her strong point is not sailing in a light wind now O'Grady admitted regretfully but it is not the ship's fault I have no doubt at all that her bottom is foul and that she has a lot of barnacles and weeds twice as long as your body that is the reason why she is a little sluggish that may be yet Terence agreed but I should have thought they would have seen to that before they sent her to cork it is like enough that our owners are well-wishers and Napoleon Terence and that it is out of spite that they have done it there is no doubt that she is a wonderful craft I am quite inclined to agree with you Captain O'Grady for as I have never seen a ship except when the regiment came back from India ten years ago I am no judge of one it is the eye Terence I can't say that I have been much at sea myself on the voyage out at home but I have an eye for ships and can see their good points at a glance you could take it from me that she is a wonderful vessel she would look all the better if her sails were a bit cleaner and not so patched Terence then looking up she might look better to the eye lad but no doubt the owners knew what they were doing and considered that she goes better with sails that fit her than she would with new ones Terence burst into a roar of laughter O'Grady as usual looked at him in mild surprise what are you laughing at you young spaline I am thinking Captain O'Grady the last said recovering himself that it is a great pity you could not have attained the situation of Devil's advocate I have read that years ago someone was appointed to defend Old Nick with the others for pitching into him and to show that he was not as black as he was painted but was a respectable gentleman who had been maligned by the world no doubt there is a good deal to be said for him O'Grady said seriously give a dog a bad name you know and you may hang him and I have no doubt that the old one has been held responsible for lots of things he never had as much as the tip of his finger in at all at all seeing that his captain was about to pursue the matter much further Terence making the excuse that it was time he went down to sea at the men's breakfast was all right slipped off and he and Dick Ryan had a hearty laugh over O'Grady's peculiarities I think O'Grady and O'Driscoll said two days later we are going to have our opportunity for unless I am mistaken there is going to be a change of weather those clouds banking up ahead look like a gale from the southwest before the night the wind was blowing furiously and the seahorse taking green sea over her bowels and wallowing gun whale under in the waves at daylight when they went on deck grey masses of clouds were hurrying over head and an angry sea alone met the eye O'Driscoll was in sight and the whole convoy had vanished we are out of sight of the fleet O'Grady captain O'Driscoll said grimly I felt sure we should be O'Grady said triumphantly started on one of them could keep foot with us they are ahead of us man O'Driscoll said angrily miles and miles ahead ahead is it you must know better O'Driscoll though it is little enough in all shapes you see we are close hauled and there is no doubt that that is the special strong point why we have dropped the rest of them like hot potatoes and if this little breeze keeps on maybe we shall be in the tickets days and days before them O'Driscoll was too exasperated to argue O'Driscoll is a fine fellow O'Grady said turning to Terence but it is the first fortune that he is so prejudiced now what is your opinion I have no opinion about it captain O'Grady I have no opinion that I am not going to enjoy my breakfast and that this motion does not agree with me at all I have been ill half the night Dick Ryan is awfully bad and by the sounds I heard I should say a good many of the others are the same way on the main deck it is awful they have got the hatches batten down and I just took a peep in and bolted for it seems to me everyone was ill the best plan land is to make up your mind that you are quite well if you want to do that Terence could not for the moment reply having made a sudden rush to the side I don't see how I can persuade myself that I am quite well he said when he returned when I feel terribly ill yes it was resolution Terence I am afraid that you are deficient in that it must not be half and half you have to say to yourself this is glorious I never enjoyed myself so well in my life and when you have said that and feel that it is quite true I don't doubt it in the least Terence said but I can't say it without telling a prodigious lie and worse still I could not believe the lie when I have told it then I am afraid that you must submit to be ill Terence I know once that I had a dream and the dream was that I was at sea and horribly seasick and I woke up and said to myself this is all nonsense I am as well as I ever was and faith so I was he burst into fitter laughter so it was just a dream Captain O'Grady but mine is a reality you know I don't think that you are looking quite well yourself I am perfectly well as part of the sea goes Terence never was better than my life but that pork we had for dinner yesterday was worse than usual and I think perhaps I ought to have taken another glass or two to correct it it must have been the pork Terence said as seriously himself and it is unfortunate that you are such an abstemious man or as you say its effects may have been corrected it's my opinion Terence my boy that you are a humbug then Captain O'Grady it is clear that evil communications must have corrupted my good manners it must have been in your infancy then Terence for devil a bit of manners good or bad have I seen in you you have not even the good manners to take a glass of the crater when you are asked that is true enough Terence laughed having been brought up in the regiment I have learned at least the best thing to do with whiskey is to leave it alone I am afraid you will never be accredited to us Terence not in the way of being able to make a heavy night of it and then turn out as fresh as paint in the morning Terence retorted but you see Captain O'Grady even my abstinence I am afraid that the officer in the corps able to go round of the sentries that night at this moment the vessel gave such a heavy lurch that they were both thrown off their feet and rolled into the lee scuppers while at the same moment a rush of water swept over them amidst shouts of laughter from the other officers the two scrambled to their feet holy Moses O'Grady exclaimed I am drowned entirely and I shan't get the taste of water out of my mouth for a week it might have been worse how could it have been worse O'Grady asked angrily why if we hadn't been in the steadiest ship in the whole fleet we might have been washed overboard there was another shudder laughter O'Grady made a dash at Terence but the latter easily avoided him and went down below the changes clothes the gale increased in strength and the whole vessel strained so heavily that her scenes began to open and by one o'clock there was a major Harrison who was in command to put some of the soldiers at the pumps for three days and nights relays a man kept the pumps going had it not been for the 400 troops on board the seahorse would long before had gone to the bottom but with such powerful aid the water was kept under and on the morning of the fourth day the storm began to abate and by evening more canvas was got on her the next morning after examining them through his glass the captain sent down a message to major Harrison asking him to come up in three or four minutes that officer appeared there are two strange craft over there major but in their appearance I have not the least doubt that there are French privateers I thought I should like your advice as to what had best be done I don't know you see your guns may just as well be thrown overboard for any good they would be the major said flying cartridge no they can hardly be called serviceable the master agreed I spoke to the owner about it but he said that as we were going to sail with a convoy it did not matter and that we should have some others for the next voyage I should like to see your owner dangling from the yard arm the major said roughly however just at present the question is what had best be done of course they could not take the shift from us the first thing is to put on every stitch of sail that would avail us nothing they could sail two feet to our one quite so major I should not hope to get away but they would think that I was trying to do so my idea is that we should press on as fast as we can to the open fire at us we could hold on for a bit and then haul up into the wind and lower our top sails which they will take for proof of surrender you won't strike the flag captain we cannot do anything treacherous no no I'm not thinking of that you see the flag is not hoisted yet and we won't hoist it at all till they get close alongside then we can haul it up and sweep their decks with musketry of course your men will keep alowing to the last moment the plan will do very well the major agreed that is if they venture to come boldly alongside one is pretty sure to do so though the other may lay herself ahead or astern of us with our guns pointed to rake us in case we make any resistance but seeing what we are and that we carry only four small guns each side they are hardly likely to suspect anything wrong I am not at all afraid of beating them off my only fear is that after they have sheared away they will open upon us from a distance yes that would be awkward however if they do we must keep the men below and in the meantime we must make some spars and make a lot of plugs and readiness to stop up any holes they may make near the waterline I don't think that they are likely to make very ragged holes the wood is so rotten the shot would go through the side as if it were brown paper still you might get a lot of squares of canvas ready with hammers and nails the strange craft were already heading towards the seahorse no time was lost in setting every stitch of canvas that she could carry heavily in the long swell the major examined the guns closely and found that they were even worse than he had anticipated the rest holes eaten in the iron have been filled up with putty and the hole painted he was turning away with an exclamation of disgust when Terence who was standing near said to him I beg your pardon major but don't you think that if we were to wind some thin rope very tightly round them three or four inches thick they might stand a charge we need to put in a very heavy charger powder even if they did burst I should think that the rope would prevent the splinters from flying about the idea is not a bad one Terence I will see if the captain has got a coil or two within rope on board fortunately the ship was very well supplied in this respect and a few of the sailors who were accustomed to serving rope with a dozen soldiers to help them were told off to the work the rope was wound round as tightly as a bullet the process being repeated five or six times until each gun was surrounded by as many layers of rope a thin rod had been inserted in the touch hole the cannon was then loaded with half the usual charge of powder and filled to the muzzle with bullets the rod was then drawn out and the power poured into it until it reached the surface while this was being done all the soldiers not engaged in the work went below and the officers sat down under shelter two privateers a large lager and a break had been coming up rapidly and by the time the guns were ready for action they were about a mile away presently a puff of smoke burst out from the bowels of the lager and a round shot struck the water a short distance ahead of the seahorse she held on her course without taking any notice of it and for a few minutes the privateer was silent then when they were about half a mile away the break opened fire the lager said you may as well lay to now the seahorse rapidly flew up into the wind the sheets were thrown off and the upper sails were lowered one after the other the job being executed slowly as if by a weak crew the two privateers which had been sailing within a short distance of each other now exchanged signals and the lager ran off straight towards the seahorse while the break took a course which would lay her across the stern of the bark word was passed below and the soldiers poured up on deck stooping as they reached it and taking their places under the bulwarks the major had already asked for volunteers amongst the officers to fire the guns all had at once offered to do so as it was your proposal Terence the major said you shall have the honor of firing one Ryan you take the other Lieutenant Marks and Mr. Haynes you take the other two and the men in Ireland will be equally represented the deck of the lager was crowded with men and the course she was steering brought her within a length of the seahorse some of the men were preparing to lower her bolts when suddenly a thick line of red coats appeared above the bulwarks two under muskets poured in their fire while the contents of the foregun swept her deck the effect of the fire was tremendous the deck was in a moment covered with dead and dying men fired by the remaining companies completed the work of destruction the halyards of one of the lager's sails had been cut by the grape and the sail now came down with a run to the deck down below all of you the major shouted the fellow behind will rake us in a minute the soldiers ran down to the hold again a minute later the break sailing across the stern poured in the fire of her guns one by one the water than her opponent none of her shot traversed the deck of the seahorse but they carried destruction among the cabins and fittings of the deck below as this however was entirely deserted no one was injured by the shot or flying fragrance the break then took up her position three or four hundred yards away on the quarter of the seahorse and opened a steady fire against her to this the bar could make no reply the fire of the muskets being wholly ineffective at that distance the lager lay helpless alongside the seahorse the survivors of her crew had run below and dare not return on deck to work their guns as they would have been swept by the musketry of the seahorse half an hour later Terrence was ordered to go below to see how they were getting on in the hold Terrence did so some Latin terms haven't been lighted there and he found that four men had been killed and a dozen or so wounded by the enemy shot the greater portion of which however had gone over their heads the carpenter assisted by some of the non-commissioned officers was busy plugging holes in the main in her between wind and water and had fairly succeeded as but four or five shots had struck so low the enemy's object being not to sink but to capture the vessel as he passed up to the main deck to report Terrence saw that the destruction here was great indeed the woodwork of the cabins had been knocked into fragments there was a great gaping hole in the stern and seemed to him that before long the vessel would be knocked to pieces he returned to the deck and reported the stated things it looks bad the major said to old Driscoll this is but half an hour's work and when the fellows come to the conclusion that they cannot make a strike they will aim lower and there will be nothing to do but to choose between sinking and hauling down our flag after delivering his report Terrence went to the side of the ship and as she was but a few feet away a thought struck him and he went to Ogrady look here Ogrady he said that fellow will smash us up all together if we don't do something you must be a bright boy to see that Terrence faith I've been thinking so for the last ten minutes but what are we to do the muskets won't carry so far at least not to do any good the cannon are next to useless two of that lot you fired burst though the ropes prevented any damage being done quite so but there are plenty of guns alongside now if you go to the major and volunteer to take your company and gain possession of the lugger with one of the maids and half a dozen sailors to work her we can get at the mainsail and engage the brig by the powers Terrence you are a broth of a boy and he hurried away to the major major he said if you will give me leave I will have my company to work the sails and then we shall go out and give that brig pepper it is a splendid idea old grady it is not my idea at all at all this Terrence O'Connor who suggested it to me I suppose I could take the lad with me by all means get your company up at once O'Grady hurried away and in a minute the men of his company poured up onto the deck you can come with me Terrence I have the major sleeve he said to the lad at this moment there was a slight shock as the lugger came in contact with the ship come on lads O'Grady said as he set the example of clamoring down onto the deck of the lugger he was followed by his men the first maid and six sailors also springing on board the hatches were first put on to keep the remnant of the crew below the sailors nodded the halyards of the mainsail the soldiers tailed on to the rope and was rapidly run up the maid put two of his men at the tiller and the soldiers ran to the guns which were already loaded hall that sheet the windward the maid shouted and the four sailors aided by some of the soldiers did so her head soon paid off and amid a cheer from the officers on deck the lugger swept round she mounted twelve guns O'Grady divided the officers and non-commissioned officers among them himself taking charge of the lads and firing at the guns better on her you ought not to throw away a shot at this distance as the lugger came out from behind the seahorse gun after gun was fired and the white splinters on the side of the break showed that most if not all of the shots had taken effect O'Grady's gun was the last to speak out and the shot struck the break just above the water line take her round he shouted to the mate get the boys on the other side of chance the lugger put about whatever guns poured in their contents that is the way he shouted as he labored away with men with him to load the pivot gun again we will give him two or three more rounds and then we will get along the side and ask for his health the break however showed no inclination to await the attack some shots had been hastily fired when the lugger's first gun told them that she was now an enemy and she had once put down her helmet made off before the wind put your guns and then out with the oars captain O'Grady shouted bejabers we will have that fellow let no man attend to the seahorse it's from me that you were to take your orders besides he said to Terence there is no signal book on board and they may hoist as many flags as they like the twelve sweets on board the lugger were once got out and each man by three soldiers O'Grady himself continued to direct the fire of the pivot gun and sent shot after shot into the brig's stern the latter had but some four hundred yards start and although she also hurriedly got out some sweeps the lugger gained upon her her crew clustered on their taff rail and kept up a musketry fire upon the party working the pivot gun two of these have been killed and four wounded when O'Grady said to the others leave the gun alone boys we shall be alongside of her in a few minutes it is no use throwing away lines by working it run all the guns over to the other side we will give them a warming and then go at her the seahorse had hoisted signals directly those on board perceived that the lugger was starting in pursuit of the brig Terence had informed his commanding officer of this but O'Grady replied I know nothing about them Terence most likely they mean good luck to ya chase the black-eyed and capture them don't let woods come near me whatever you do I mean Terence had just time to stop the maid as he was coming forward the ship is signaling he said I have told Captain O'Grady sir Terence replied he does not know what the signal means but has no doubt that it is instructions to capture the brig and he means to do so the officer laughed I think myself that it would be a pity not to he said we shall be alongside in ten minutes you can tell me what it is Terence said and it is possible that in the heat of action I may forget to report it to Captain O'Grady that is right enough sir I think it is the recall well I will attend to it presently Terence laughed when within a hundred yards of the brig the truce opened a heavy musk entry fire many of them and making their way out the rat lines and so commanding the brig's deck they were answered with a brisk fire but the friend's shooting was wild and by the shouting of orders and the confusion that prevailed on board it it was evident that the privateers men were disorganized by the sight of the troops and the capture of their consort the brig's guns were hastily fired as they could be brought to bear on the lugger as she forged alongside the sweeps had already been got in and the lugger's eight guns poured their content simultaneously into the brig then a withering volley was fired and headed by O'Grady the soldiers sprang aboard the brig as they did so however the french flag fluttered down from the peak and the privateers men threw down their arms the english broadside and volley fired at close quarters had taken terrible effect of the crew of eighty men thirty were killed and a large proportion of the rest wounded the soldiers gave three hearty cheers as the flag came down the privateers men were once ordered below Lieutenant Hunter O'Grady said Mr. Woods, I think you better stay here there are good many more sales to manage than there are in the lugger one man here will be enough to steer her we will pull out the ropes for you put the others on board the lugger by the by Mr. Woods he said I see that the ship has hoisted a signal what does it mean I believe that to be the recall sir I told Mr. O'Connor you ought to have reported that same to me O'Grady said severely however we will obey it at once the seahorse was lying head to wind a mile and a half away and the two prizes ran rapidly up to her they were receded with a tremendous cheer from the men closely packed along her bulwarks O'Grady at once lowered a boat and was rode to the seahorse taking Terrence with him you have done extremely well Captain O'Grady Major Harrison said as he reached into the ship to the deck and I congratulate you heartily you should however have obeyed the order of recall the brig might have proved too strong for you and bound on service as we are we have no right to risk valuable lies except in self-defense sure I knew nothing about the signal O'Grady said with an air of innocence I thought it just meant more power to you give it a hot or something of that kind but after I've taken the break that I was told that it was an order of recall as soon as I learned that we came along as fast as we could to you but Mr Woods must surely have known Mr Woods did tell me Major Terrence put in but somehow I forgot to mention it to Captain O'Grady there was a laugh among the officers standing round you ought to have informed him at once Mr O'Connor the Major said with an attempt at gravity however he went on with a change of voice we all owe so much to you that it must overlook it as there can be very little doubt that had it not been for your happy idea of taking possession of the Lugger we should have been obliged to surrender for I should not have been justified in holding on until the ship sank under us I shall not fail in reporting the matter to do you full credit for your share in it now what is your loss Captain O'Grady three men killed and eleven wounded sir and what is that of the enemy thirty two killed and about the same number of wounded more or less we had not timed the countdown before we sent them down and had not timed afterwards for I was occupied in obeying the order of recall I'm sorry that we have killed so many of the poor beggars but if they had hauled down their flag when we got up with them there would have been no occasion for it I should have told their Captain O'Grady that he was an obstinate pig but as he and his first officer were both killed there is no use in my spanking to him well it has been a very satisfactory operation the Major said and we are all well out of a very nasty fix now you will go back to the brig Captain O'Grady and prepare to send the prisoners on board we will send our boats for them Dr. Daly and Dr. O'Fletherty will go on board with you and see to the wounded French and English Dr. Daly will bring the worst cases on board here and will leave O'Fletherty on the brig to look after the others they will be better there than on this crowded ship the first officer will remain there with you with 5 men and you will retain 50 men of your own company the second officer with 5 men will take charge of the Lugger he will have with him 50 men of Captain O'Driscoll's company under that officer that will give us a little more room on board here how many prisoners are there counting the wounded Major there are about 50 of them her crew was 80 strong to begin with there are only some 30 including the slightly wounded to look after if the brig's hold is clear I think that you will better take charge of them at present you will both lie to beside us here till we have completed our repairs and when we may exhale you are both to follow us and keep us close as possible and on no account Captain O'Grady are you to undertake any cruises on your own account how no bearing on my Major and we will do all that we can to keep up with you a laugh ran round the circle of officers at O'Grady's obstancy in considering the seahorse to be a fast vessel in spite of the evidence that they had to the contrary the Major said gravely you have to go under the easiest sail possible the break can go 2 feet to this craft's 1 and you will only want your lower sails if you put on more you will be running ahead and losing us at night we shall show a light over our stern and on no account are you to allow yourselves to lose sight of it a party of men were already at work nailing battens over the shattered stern of the seahorse when this was done sail cloth was nailed over them and a coat of pitch given to it the operation took 4 hours by which time all the other arrangements had been completed the two privateers were found to be empty and they learned from the French crews that the two crafted sail from Bordeaux in company before days previously and that the seahorse was the first English ship that they had come across you will remember Captain O'Grady the Major said as that officer prepared to go on board that Mr. Woods is in command of the vessel and that he is not to be interfered with in any way with regard to making or taking in sail he has received precise instructions in keeping near us and your duties will be confined in keeping guard over the prisoners and rendering such assistance to the sailors as they may require I understand Major but I suppose that in case you are attacked we may take a share of any division that is going on I don't think that there is much chance of our being attacked O'Grady but if we are instructions will be signaled to you French privateers are not likely to interfere with us and if by any ill luck a French frigate should fall in with us you will have instructions to shear off at once and for each of you to make your way to Lisbon as quickly as you can you see we have transferred four guns from each of your craft to take the place of the rotten cannon on board here but our united forces would be of no avail at all against the frigate which would send us to the bottom with a single broadside we can either run or fight in this wretched old tub I shall transfer the rest of the troops to the prizes and send them off at once and leave the seahorse to our fate of course we shall be very crowded on board the privateers but that would not matter for a few days so you see the importance of keeping quite close to us and readiness to come alongside of once if signaled to we shall separate as soon as we leave the ship so as to ensure at least half our force reaching its destination Captain O'Driscoll took Terrence with him on board the Lugger leaving his lieutenant in charge of the wing that remained aboard the ship you have done credit to the company and to my choice of you Terrence he said warmly as they stood together on the deck of the Lugger I did not see anything for it but a French prison and it would have broken my heart to be tied up there while the rest of our lads were fighting the French in Portugal I thought that you would make a good officer some day in spite of your love of devilment but three weeks in the service you would have saved half the regiment from a French prison End of Chapter 2 Recording by Charles Sapp Chapter 3 of With More at Caruna by G. A. Henty this is a LibriVox recording all LibriVox recordings are in the public domain for more information or to volunteer please visit LibriVox.org Recording by Charles Sapp With More at Caruna by G. A. Henty Chapter 3 Disembarked As soon as the vessels were underway again it was found that the Lugger was obliged to lower her main sail to keep her position a stern of the seahorse while the brig was forced to take in sail after sail until the whole of the upper sails have been furled it is tedious work going along like this old Driscoll said but it does not so much matter because as yet we do not know where we are going to land Sir Arthur has gone on in a fast ship to Caruna to see the Spanish junta there and to find out what assistance we are likely to get from northern Spain that will be little enough I expect they will take our money and arms and give us plenty of fine promises in return and do nothing that is the game they've been playing in the south and if there were a grain of sense among our ministers we would have to reckon on Spain as to Portugal we know very little at present but I expect there is not a pin to choose between them and the Spaniards then we are not going to Lisbon Terence said in surprise I expect not Sir Arthur won't determine anything until he joins us after his visit to Caruna but I don't think it will be at Lisbon anyhow there are strong forts guarding the mouth of the river there are 12,000 troops in the city and a Russian fleet anchored in the port I don't know where it will be but I don't think it will be Lisbon I expect that we shall slip into some little port, land and wait for Junot to attack us we shall be joined I expect by Stuart's force that have been flew in the bow for two or three months waiting for the Spaniards to make up their minds whether they will admit them into cadiz or not there are 9,000 of us and they say that Junot has at least 50,000 in Portugal but of course they are scattered about and it is hardly likely that he would venture to withdraw all his garrisons from the large towns so the odds may not be as heavy as they look when we meet him in the field I suppose that at any rate some of the Portuguese will join us from what I hear the peasantry are brave enough only they have never had a chance yet on making a fight for it which never can make up his mind to do anything I hope that Sir Arthur has orders as soon as he takes Lisbon to assume the entire control of the country and ignore the native government altogether even if they are worth anything which they are sure not to be it is better to have one head than two and as we shall have to do all the fighting it is just as well that we should have the whole control of things too for four days is hailed along quietly on the morning of the fifth the signal was run off on the seahorse for the prizes to close up to her Mr. Woods the maid on board the brig and once sent the sailor up to the masthead there is a large ship away to the southwest Sir you shouted down what does she look like I can only see her royals and top sails yet but by their square cut I think that she is a ship of war do you think she is French or English I cannot say for certain yet Sir but it looks to me as if she is French I don't think that the sails are English cut anyhow such was evidently the opinion on board the seahorse for as the prizes came up within a hundred yards of her they were hailed by the major through a speaking trumpet and ordered to keep at a distance for the present but to be in readiness to come up alongside directly orders were given to that effect another half hour the lookout reported that he could now see the lower sails of the stranger and had very little doubt that it was a large French frigate scarcely had he done so before the two prizes were ordered to close up to the seahorse the sea was very calm and they were able to lie alongside and as soon as they did so the troops began to be transferred to them in a quarter of an hour the operation was completed major Harrison taking his place on board the lager half the men were ordered below the seahorse the Frenchman is bearing down straight for us he said to Aldrisco she is bringing a breeze down with her and in an hour she will be alongside I shall wait another half hour then we must lead the seahorse to her fate except for our stores she is worthless well Terrence have you any suggestion to offer you got us out of the last scrape and though this is not quite so bad as that it is unpleasant enough the frigate when she comes near will see that the seahorse is a slow sailor and will probably leave her to be picked up at her leisure and will go off and chase either of the brig or us the brig is to make for the northwest and we shall steer southeast so that she will have to make a choice between us when we get the breeze we shall either of us give her a good dance before she catches us that is if the breeze is not too strong if it is her weight will soon bring her up to us yes major but perhaps she may not trouble about us at all she would see at once that the lugger and brig are French and if they were both to hoist French colors and the seahorse were to fly French colors over the English she would naturally suppose that she had been captured by us and would go straight on her course without troubling herself further about it so she might Terrence at any rate if we have anything like good glasses on board they can make out our colors miles away if she held on towards us after that there would be plenty of time for us to run but if we saw her change our course we should know that we were safe your head is good for other things besides mischief lad the lugger sailed up near the ship again and the major gave the captain instructions to hoist a French ensign over an English one and then sailing near the brig told them to hoist French colors keep all your men down below the line of Buller so Grady Mr. Woods you had better get your boat down and roll on side of the ship and ask the captain to get the slings at work and hoist some of our swords into her we will do the same on the other side tell the captain to lower a couple of boats also take 20 soldiers on board with you without their jackets we will do the same so that may be seen that we have a strong party on board getting out the cargo in a few minutes the orders were carried out and 40 soldiers were at work on the deck of the seahorse slinging up tents from below and lowering them into the boats alongside the approach of the frigate was anxiously watched from the decks of the prizes the upper sails of the seahorse have been furled and the privateers under the smallest possible canvas kept abreast of her at a distance of a couple of lengths the hull of the French frigate was now visible she is very fast the mate said to the major and she is safe to catch one of us at the breeze she has got holds as she came nearer the feeling of anxiety heightened they ought to make out our colors now sir almost immediately afterwards the frigate was seen to change her course her head was turned more to the east a suppressed cheer broke from the troops it is all right now sir the mate said we are making for breast we have fooled her nicely the boats passed and re-passed between the seahorse and the prizes and the frigate crossed a little more than a mile ahead five and twenty guns aside the major said by jove she would have made short work of us as it was not advisable to make any change in the position until the frigate was far on her way the boats continued to pass to and fro carrying back to the seahorse the store had just been removed until the frenchman was five or six miles away don't you think that we might make sail again captain the major then hailed I think that we had better give him another hour sir were she to see us making sail with the prize to the south it would excite suspicion at once and the captain might take it into his head to come back again to inquire into it half an hour will surely be sufficient the major said she is traveling at eight or nine knots an hour and she is evidently bound for port it would be unlikely in the extreme that her commander would beat back ten miles on what after all might be a fool's errand that is true enough sir then in half an hour we shall be ready to sail again the major was rode to the seahorse we may as well transfer the men at once he said we have had a very narrow escape of it captain and there is no doubt that we owe our safety entirely to the sharpness of that young ensign we should have been sunk or taken if he had not suggested our manning the lugger in the first place and of our pretending that the ship had been captured by french privateers in the second you are right major another half hour in the craft would have been foundered under us and the frigate would certainly have captured the seahorse and one of the prizes if the frenchman had not as he thought we would have been emptying our hold he is a sharp young fellow that that he is the major agreed he has been brought up with the regiment and has always been up to pranks of all kinds but he has used his wits to good purpose this time and have no doubt will turn out an excellent officer before sail was made the major summoned the officers on board the seahorse the troops from the lugger and break were drawn up on deck and the major standing on the poop said in a voice that could be heard from end to end of the ship officers and men we have had a narrow escape from a french prison and as it is possible that before we arrive at our destination we may fall in with an enemy again and not be so lucky I think a right to take this occasion at once of thanking Mr. O'Connor before you all in my own name and in yours for intelligence and quickness of wit it is entirely due that we escaped being captured when the brig was pounding us with its shot without our being able to make any return and it was certain that in a short time we should have had to haul down our flag or be sunk it was he who suggested that we should take possession of the lugger and with her guns drive out the brig as a result of that suggestion this craft was saved from being sunk and the brig was also captured in the second place when that french frigate was bearing down upon us and our capture seemed certain it was he who suggested to me that by hoisting the french flag and appearing to be engaged in transferring the cargo of the ship to the privateers we might throw dust into the eyes of the frenchman as you saw the ruse succeeded perfectly I therefore Mr. O'Connor thank you most heartily in my own name and in that of your fellow officers also in the name of the 400 men of the regiment and of the ship's company for the manner in which you have by your quickness and good sense saved us all from a french prison and saved his majesty from the loss of a wing of a fine regiment as he concluded the men broke into loud cheering and the officers gathered around Terence and thanked and congratulated him most heartily on the service that he had rendered them you are brats of a boy Terence Captain O'Grady said I knew that it was in you all along I would not give a brass father who had not a spice of devil minting him it shows that he has got his wits about him and that when he steadies down he will be hard to bait Terence was so much overpowered at the praise he had received that beyond protesting that was quite undeserved he had no reply to make to the congratulations that he received from the captain well Driscoll seeing that he was on the verge of breaking down I once called upon him to take his place in the boat and rode with him to the lager a few minutes later all sail was set on the seahorse and with her yards braced awfully aft she laid her course south closed hauled a fresh breeze was now blowing and she plowed her way through the water at a rate that almost justified O'Grady's panigerics upon her in another three days she entered the port of Vigo where the convoy was to rendezvous and all were glad to find that the whole fleet was still there on anchoring the major went on board the dolphin which had brought the headquarters and the other wing of the regiment he was heartily greeted by the colonel we are getting very uneasy about you Harrison he said the last ship of the convoy came in three days ago and we began to fear that you must have either been dismasted or sunk in the gale I saw the senior naval officer this morning and he said that if you did not come in during the day he would send a frigate out in search of you but I could see by his manner that he thought it most likely that you had gone down so you may imagine how pleased we were when we made out your number though we could not for the life of us make out what those two craft flying English colors over the French that came in after you were but of course they had nothing to do with you I suppose that there were two privateers that have been captured by one of our frigates and sent in here with prize crews to refit before going home they have both of them been knocked about a bit I will tell you about them directly Colonel it is rather a long story we have had a narrow squeak of it we got through the storm pretty well but we had a bad time of it afterwards and we owed entirely to young O'Connor that we are not all of us in a prison at breast at present you don't say so wait a moment I will call his father here he will be glad to hear that the young Scamp has behaved well I may as well call them all up to hear the story turning to the group of officers who were standing on the quarter deck a short distance away waiting to hear the news when the major had given us his report he said you may as well come now and hear major Harrison's story it will save his telling it twice you will be glad to hear O'Connor that Terrence has been distinguishing himself in some way though I know not yet in what the major says that if it had not been for him the whole wing of the regiment Terrence was always good at getting out of scrapes Colonel though I don't say he was not equally good in getting into them but I am glad to hear that this time he has done something useful the major then gave a full account of their adventure with the privateers as a subsequent escape from the French frigate face O'Connor the Colonel said warmly holding out his hand to him I congratulate you most heartily which is more than I ever thought I had some misgivings when I recommended him for a commission but I may congratulate myself as well as you that I did so I was sure the lad had plenty in him but I was afraid that it was more likely to come out the wrong way than the right and now it turns out that he has saved half the regiment for there is no doubt from what Harrison says that he has done so thank you Colonel I am glad indeed that the boy has done credit to your kindness of course major you will give a full report in writing of this and will send it in to Sir Arthur he arrived this morning I will go on board the flagship at once and report as to the prizes who they belong to I have not the least idea I never heard of a transport capturing a couple of privateers before but I suppose that she is taken up for the king's service and the prizes were captured by his rank as they have taken by the navy that is a certain amount of their value will go to the admiral anyhow the bulk of it will go I should thank to the troops the crew and the officers of the ships of course Sherry it won't come to much ahead Colonel anyhow you see they are both empty and they are simply the value of the ships themselves which I don't suppose would fetch about five or six hundred a piece still the thing must be done in a regular way and I must leave it in the admiral's house I will take your boat major and go to him at once you will find pen and ink in my cabin and I should be glad if you would write your report by the time that I return then it will go off at once to Sir Arthur I have it already written Colonel the major said producing the document that looks to me rather long Heverson and busy as Sir Arthur must be he might not take the trouble to read it I wish you would write out another as concise as you can make it of the actual fare saying that at the end that you beg to report especially the conduct of Ensign O'Connor to whose suggestions the escape of the ship both from the privateers and the French frigate were due I will hand that in as the official report and with it the other saying that it gives further details of the affair of course with them I must give in an official letter from myself including your two reports first I will go and see the admiral and little over half an hour he returned the admiral knows no more than I do whether the Navy have anything to do with the prizes or not being so small in value who does not want to trouble himself about it he says that the matter would entail no end of correspondence and bother and that the crafts might rot at their anchors before the matter was decided he thinks the best thing that I could do will be to sell the two vessels for what they will fetch and divide the money according to the prize rules and say nothing about it in that way there is not likely ever to be any question about it well if the admiral tea and horse guards once get into correspondence over the matter there is no same what bother I might have and that he should advise me if I do not adopt that plan to simply scuttle them both and report that they have sunk now I will just write my official letter and take it to headquarters in two hours he was back again I have not seen the chief he said but I gave the reports to his editant general general Fane was with him he is an old friend of mine and I told him the story of your voyage and the editant general joined in the conversation Fane was waiting to go into Sir Arthur who was dictating some dispatches to England and he said that if he had a chance he would mention the affair to Sir Arthur and at any rate the other officer said that he would lay his horse before him with such mention that Sir Arthur would doubtless look through them both I find that there is a bit of insurrection going on in Portugal but that no one thinks much will come of it as bands of unarmed peasants can have no chance with the French nothing is determined as yet about our landing Lisbon and the Tagus are completely in the hands of the French Sir Arthur is going down to Orpoto tomorrow where it is likely that he will learn more about the situation that he did at Coruna Fane says that he hopes we shall soon be ashore as the general is not the man to let the grass grow under his feet after holding council with his officers the colonel determined to adopt the advice he had received and to sell the two craft for what they would fetch the officers all agreeing to refund their shares if any questions were asked on the subject the captain of the seahorse agreed to accept the share of a captain on the line and his mates those of 1st and 2nd lieutenant the colonel put himself in communication with some merchants on shore and the two craft were sold for 1200 pounds this gave something over a pound ahead to the 400 soldiers and crew twice that amount to the non-commissioned officers and some varying from 10 pounds apiece to the ensigns to 50 pounds to the major the admiral was asked to approve of the transaction and said I have no right formally to sanction it since so far as I know it is not strictly naval matter but I will give you a letter colonel saying that you have informed me of the course you have adopted and that I consider that under the peculiar circumstances of the capturer and the fact that there are no men available for sending the prizes to England the course was the best and most convenient that could possibly be adopted though had the craft been of any great value it would of course been necessary for the matter home a week passed without movement the expedition had left England on the 12th of July 1808 and Sir Arthur rejoined it towards the end of the month he had learned at old portal from colonel brown our agent there that contrary to what he had been told to Caruna there were no Spanish troops in the north of Portugal but that a body of some 8000 Portuguese irregulars and militia but slightly disciplined were assembled on the river Mondego after a consultation with Admiral Sir Charles Cotton Sir Arthur had concluded that an attack at the mouth of the tegas was impracticable owing to the strength of the French there the position of the forts that commanded the entrance of the river and the heavy surf that broke in all the undefended creeks and bays near there was then the choice of landing the French or else the sail south joined Spencer and act against the French army under Dupont Sir Arthur finally determined that the Mondego river was the most practicable for the enterprise the fort of Figueira at its mouth was already occupied by British marines and the Portuguese force was at least sufficient to deter any small body of troops approaching the neighborhood therefore to the great joy of the troops they were able to sail on the following morning two days later they anchored off the mouth of the Mondego just before starting a vessel arrived with dispatches from Spencer saying that he was at St. Mary's and was free to act with Sir Arthur and a fast vessel with dispatch with orders to him to sail to the Mondego on arriving there Sir Arthur received the mortifying intelligence that Sir Hugh Dalrymple had been appointed over his head and had to push on with his own plans with vigor pending the arrival of that general with this bad news came the information that the French general Dupont had been defeated this set free a small force under General Amstruther and some fast sailing craft were at once dispatched to find his command in order to sail at once to the Mondego without further delay however the landing of the troops began on the 1st of August the men, their guns and stores were sure by the 5th on that day Spencer fortunately arrived with 3300 men he had not received Sir Arthur's orders but the moment that Dupont surrendered he had sailed for the Tagas and had learned from Sir C. Cotton who commanded the fleet at the entrance of the river where Sir Arthur was and at once sailed to join him while the troops were disembarking Sir Arthur had gone over to the coast's distance to confer with Bernardin Freire the Portuguese commander chief the visit was a disappointing one he found that the Portuguese troops were almost unarmed and that the commander was full of inflated ideas he proposed that the forces should unite and that they should relinquish the coast and march into the interior and commence an offensive campaign and was lavished in his promises to provide ample stores of provisions that no effectual assistance could be hoped for from the Portuguese troops and as little from the promises of their commander he gave Freire 5000 muskets for his troops but absolutely declined to adopt the proposed plan his own intention being to keep near the coast where he could receive his supplies from the ships and be joined by reinforcements as soon as they had landed the Mayo Regiment to the same brigade and camp near it all idea keeping up a regimental officer's mess had been abandoned and as soon as the tents were pitched and the troops had settled down in them O'Grady said to Terence we will go into the village and see if we can find a suitable place for taking our meals and maybe that in time our fellows will learn how to cook for us but my jebus we will live days in as long as we can who has gone on ahead to look for such a place and he is the boy to find one if there is one anyhow to be got as our companies are number one and two it is the reasonable that we should stick together and though O'Driscoll's a square stick with all sorts of ridiculous notions he is a good fellow at heart and I will put up with him for the sake of having you with me as they entered the village the servant came up I have managed it captain we have got hold of the best quarters in the village it is a room over the only sheave in here the old scoundrel of the landlord wanted to keep it as a general room but I brought the church to bear on him and I managed it finally how did you work with him sure Yonah I went to the paste and by good luck his house is in front of the church I went into the church and I crossed myself before the altar and said a prayer or two and as I did so who should come out of the vestry but the father himself he waited until I had done and came up to me and to my surprise said in good Irish so it's a Catholic you are my man that I am your reverence said I and most of all the regiment are sure we were raised in the old country and belong most of us to County Mayo and glad we were to come out here to fight for those of the true religion against these Frenchmen who they say have no religion at all at all how is it that you speck the language your reverence if I may be so bold as to ask then he told me that he had been at college at Lisbon where the sons of many Catholic Irish gentlemen were sent to be educated and that he had learned it from them and how is it that you are not with the regiment my man I am here to hire rooms for the officers your reverence just a place where they can have been to the end but I cannot for the life of me make the landlord understand he has got a room that would be just suitable so I thought I would come to your reverence to explain to you that the regiment are not heretics but true sons of the church I thought that being a learning man I might make shift to make you understand and that you would maybe go with me and explain the matter to him that will I he says and he went and jabbered away with the innkeeper and I have a room seen that it is for the service of good Catholics and not heretics but your rascal you know that we are not Catholics sure, your honor and didn't I say that most of the regiment were Catholics I did not say all of them I must go and explain the matter to him if he calls upon us as like he may do he would find out at once that you had saved him sure, your honor it might be as well to go to the sheven first and to take possession of the room and to get comfortably settled down in it before he gives me away I think it might be worthwhile Tim O'Grady said gravely what did you say Terence I think the matter will keep for a few hours Terence said laughing and when we are once settled there it will be very hard to turn us out the room was found to be larger than they had expected and O'Grady proposed that they should admit and share it with them to which Terence had once agreed heartily I think that with a little squeezing the place would hold the officers of the five companies and the major and O'Grady the more of us there are the merrier and the less fear of our being turned out that is so we had better put the names up on the door you go down and try and make that black brown nanord understand that you want some paper and pen and ink with some difficulty and much gesticulation the names of the officers were written down on a paper and it was then fastened on the door now Terence I will go and fetch the buys you and Hul and make the nanord understand that we want food and wine for 15 or 16 officers of course they won't all be able to get away at once we must contain ourselves with anything we can get now afterwards we will send up our rations and with plenty of good wine and a ham there are lots of them hanging from the ceiling down below we should do pretty well on the outside Terence left this part to the work to Huland who by bringing up a number of plates and ranging them on a table getting down a ham and cutting it into slices and by pointing to the wineskins managed to acquaint the nanord with what was required and this he was a good deal aided by the man's two nieces who acted as his assistants and who were very much quicker in catching up his meaning than was the nanord himself very soon the room below went up to Terence and Huland went up to Terence I think Mr. O'Connor that it would be a good job if you would go down and buy a dozen of them hams a lot of them been sold already and it won't be long before the last is gone though I reckon that there are three or four dozen of them still there that is a very good idea Tim you come down with me and bring them straight up here and we will drive some nails into those rafters I expect before nightfall the place will be cleared out of and that is really concluded the nanord was now in a better temper at first he had been doubtful of the intentions of the newcomers now that he saw that they were ready to pay for everything and that at prices much higher than he could before have attained his face shone with good humor he and the two girls were already busy drawing wine and selling it to the customers I will get some wood your honor and light a fire here or this mighty little dinner that you will be getting if they don't keep this place for officers only for there are two other places where they sell wine in the village when I came up two officers had a slice of ham each on the points of the swords over the fire that will be a very good plan Tim you are better set to work about it at once at the same time I will try and get some bread by the time little Grady returned with seven or eight officers the fire was blazing parents had managed to get a no tablecloth in the house he and Terrence were cooking slices of ham on our grid iron over the fire this is first rate of Grady major Harrison said the place is crowded down below and we should affair badly if you would not manage to get hold of this room if some of the boys will see to the cooking major I will go down with Hooli to get a barrel of wine and bring it up here then we shall do first rate the rations major Terrence asked they have just been served out I sent my man down to draw the rations for the whole wing at once and told him to bring them up here and I have told mine to go round the village and buy up two or three dozen chickens if he can find them and as many eggs as he can collect I think that we had better tell off two of the men as cooks I don't think it is likely that they will be able to get much done I should think it best to keep Hooli as a forager he is rather a genius in that capacity I think he has got round those two girls whether by his red hair or his insinuating manners I cannot say but they seem ready to do anything for him and we shall want lots of things in the way of pots and pans and so on very well Terrence then we shall leave him free and put two others on