Part 22 (1/2)
She chuckled as she climbed the hill by his side. She wore her split riding skirt, st.u.r.dy boots, a loose jacket with many pockets, and her gleaming carbine. At her waist was a sheathed knife and slung over her shoulder was a canvas bag of supplies that probably included bandages and other useful things. He might worry about Athena's safety, but she was certainly ready.
”How far apart will we be stationed?” she asked.
”Every twenty feet or so. The grenadiers are distributed fairly evenly along the lines.”
”Twenty feet from you,” she murmured wickedly. ”Too far.”
”Behave yourself, wench,” he ordered. ”We have a battle to fight!”
”After that speech you gave, I feel invincible,” she said.
Will wished that he were equally confident.
Hours pa.s.sed with nothing much happening, so Athena moved fifteen feet to her right so that she was within easy talking distance of Will, though regrettably out of touching distance. ”I've just learned something truly terrible about going to war,” she said in a voice barely above a whisper. ”It's really boring.”
There was enough moonlight to show Will's grin. ”Long periods of boredom and discomfort punctuated by brief bursts of noise and terror. The soldier's life.”
”I'm realizing that when I've faced danger before, it happened swiftly and I had to react. I'm not so good at waiting.”
”Go back to your position and roll up in your blanket and get some sleep,” Will suggested. ”We're not likely to see much happen for a few hours yet.”
”I don't know if I can sleep, but I'll try to rest.” Her voice became even softer. ”I wish I could curl up next to you, but I expect that would be counter to good discipline.”
”Especially mine.” He made a shooing motion with his hand. ”But at least we both have excellent motivation to survive.”
Chuckling, she returned to her position. Oddly, despite the discomfort of sleeping on the ground and the threat of danger, she dozed off. She felt safe with Will near....
In a silent night broken only by the rustling of a breeze in the bushes and the sounds of night creatures, hasty hoofbeats sounded very clearly. As Will skidded down the embankment, he sensed his fellow soldiers coming alert.
When the mule approached, he recognized the small form of Joaquim. He waved the boy down, asking, ”What news, Scout Cavaco?”
Joaquim pulled up the mule, both of them panting for breath. ”The French are not far behind! Maybe half an hour, no more. I was delayed because they blocked my route and I had to go around.” The boy pulled off his hat and wiped his face tiredly.
”Do you have an idea of the numbers?”
”My guess is closer to six hundred than five hundred, but I'm not sure. Many. They march in a column, keeping good order, a few supply wagons behind, but most of their supplies on their backs or on mules.”
”Do they look alert and ready for battle?”
”They look . . . hungry,” the boy said slowly. ”Desperate, even.”
So they would go into battle as motivated as the Gabrilenos. Not good. But with luck, they'd be worn out by the long march and not expecting attack here and now. ”Anything else you can think of that might be useful to know?”
Even in the dim light, Joaquim's snarl could be seen. ”Their general, Baudin, rides at the head with several of his officers on fine horses.”
”Probably he stole them from Napoleon's stable,” Will said easily. ”Continue on to the castle and give the news to Princess Sofia. After you get some rest, you can join the castle guards.”
”I'll get to meet the princess?” Joaquim said, brightening.
”Yes, and she'll be well pleased with your work.”
As Joaquim proceeded along the road at a slower pace, Will climbed the embankment on the other side and pa.s.sed on the news to Ramos, the army veteran stationed opposite him.
”Time to move everyone into position. I'm thinking that if we can take out Baudin, it might break the nerve of his men,” Will said. ”You and I both hold grenades. After I fire the first shot and the fusillade begins, shall we aim our grenades at Baudin?”
Ramos's teeth flashed white in the darkness. ”With pleasure. May the Blessed Mother grant me the honor of being the one to blow him to h.e.l.l.”
”You'll have compet.i.tion for that,” Will said with a friendly clap on the shoulder. ”And now, battle stations!”
The next minutes were a blaze of activity as the sergeants got their men into position. When Will pa.s.sed Athena, he said softly, ”Hold steady, little owl. And aim for the officers leading the column on horseback. One of them should be Baudin.”
”Worth a try. The man is evil.” Athena swallowed hard. ”Go with G.o.d, Will.”
He touched her cheek, then moved on down the line. The veterans did a good job positioning the militiamen. While there was anxiety and a few had lost their suppers, no one had deserted. They appreciated Will's comments and jokes.
When he reached Gilberto, Will said, ”Years from now, old men will be telling their grandsons that they were here this day, defending San Gabriel.”
Gilberto snorted. ”Remembering the glory and forgetting the blood!”
”Glory grows in proportion to how long ago the battle took place. Go with G.o.d, Captain.” Will shook Gilberto's hand, then turned and trotted back to his own position.
Then, they waited.
Chapter 32.
As the first faint light appeared along the eastern horizon, the distant sounds of marching men could be heard. Heavy feet, the clink of harnesses, the occasional barked order of a sergeant. The noise intensified when the column entered the sunken road and was contained between the embankments.
The back of Will's neck tingled with nerves and antic.i.p.ation. To his left, Athena was a dark, quiet form as she waited, carbine ready. He imagined that the inexperienced militiamen were ready to jump out of their skins with the French marching just feet below them, but they held their fire. The light had increased enough to see men and horses as individual shapes, though details were still unclear.
The half-dozen mounted officers in the lead came level with Will. He took careful aim at the first rider, hoping it was Baudin, and fired. As the crack of his carbine echoed from the stony hills, his bullet struck his target.
Before the man hit the ground, the first rank of Gabrilenos fired. Cacophony, a screaming horse, sergeants shouting orders to their men.
Second rank fired. Third rank fired. The first again. The volleys became more ragged as reloading time varied, but the bullets were taking effect and the French troops were breaking from their regular marching formation.
The sunken road filled with clouds of stinging smoke and Will saw that dozens of French soldiers had fallen. Others had dropped into firing position and were returning fire whenever they caught a glimpse of a defender, but they were at a great disadvantage.
Will lit the first of his grenades and hurled it among the leading hors.e.m.e.n, then ducked. The grenade exploded and shrapnel flew in all directions. Furious curses split the air from the French soldiers.
Athena had flattened herself on the edge of the embankment and coolly fired down at her targets. What a woman! Will thought.
The chaos of battle roared around Will as he fired, reloaded, fired again, all while keeping mental track of how many volleys of bullets he heard, how his militia was holding, how well the French were starting to fight back.