“The northern army is huge and ungainly,” said Jason, sipping a cup of hot tea in Robert’s headquarters. Robert’s staff clustered around, listening.
“I could never get an accurate count, but I would guess thirty thousand marching on foot, and perhaps a thousand horse,” he said. “They have six large cannons and many siege engines. This is what is slowing them.”
“It took extra time, but I rode to Steamboat to warn them,” he continued. “They gave me fresh horses, so maybe the time lost was not great.”
“Where is the army now, would you say?” asked Fred, looking at a map.
“I would guess that it is more than two weeks east of Steamboat.”
“Now that is very interesting,” said Robert, standing to look at the map. “If General Logan marched east and then turned north, he could easily join the northern army at Steamboat. There is a good route he could follow, and the way is not much over a hundred miles. No major passes. A couple of gentle summits is all.”
“Let’s see,” said Fred. “How far east would you say he should go before the turn north?”
“There are a couple of ways,” Robert answered. “He could continue up the Kolaroo for about sixty miles, then turn north. That would eliminate one little pass, which would make an easier route to haul the big guns. He seems to make only about ten miles per day.”
“Or he could stay on the great highway, leave the Kolaroo about twenty miles upriver, go east to the small pass and turn north. That turn would be about forty miles from Glenwood.”
“Which way is shorter to Steamboat?” asked Don.
“Hard to say, exactly,” Robert answered. “Let’s see. Either way it is about one hundred or one hundred twenty miles to Steamboat. Ten or twelve days. If he continues straight east, he has to drag those cannons over two major passes, though the second pass has an ancient tunnel that would make the way much easier. From Glenwood to Hightower is about one hundred seventy miles, but the way is hard.”
“If he presses on and crosses the first pass, he can still head north, couldn’t he?” asked Don.
“Yes,” answered Robert. “There is another road going north, but then he would link up with the other army on the far side of a major pass that is east of Steamboat. He would not be able to help assault Steamboat, then.”
“General Logan knows he will have trouble keeping this supply line open,” said Fred. “The smart move would be to take the easiest route up the river and then turn north. Once he gets to Steamboat, he can be resupplied by the northern route. His supply problem would be solved.”
“Logical,” said Robert, “But maybe he thinks we will be afraid to continue to attack the caravans.”
“We can make it clear that we are not afraid,” said Fred. “In fact, we could perhaps completely block the way at New Castle Pass. That would stop the supply lines completely.”
“Not a bad idea!” Robert said. Everyone nodded. “But we must inform Samuel of these valuable reports from Jason. He needs rest. Everyone make sure that our men are fitted ready to ride. Check those horse-shoes.”
†
To Don’s surprise, an order from Samuel came back, immediately. They were to stop raiding the supply lines until further notice! They were to send messengers to the Diné to request that they stop the raids and ask Danny to come to a conference in Ariel as soon as the way was clear.
Robert muttered and fumed, but gave the necessary orders. They also sent messages to Danny by heliograph, which could sometimes reach the new Diné camp. They began loading the wagons for the move back to Fort Baldy. The captured draft horses, beautiful Belgians, came in handy.
It took several days for the siege of Ariel and Bethuel to be lifted. The army did not travel as one huge mass. It divided into three sections, and each assembled and moved out on succeeding days. But when the rear guard departed upriver, leaving behind the smoldering ruins of Glenwood, the town gates opened and allowed the overjoyed citizens to pour out and have a taste of freedom. A great praise service began spontaneously, giving thanks to God. Some went to gawk at the fallen siege tower. Still others continued to Fort Baldy, which was still mostly intact, to greet the first of the returning horse troops. The tears this time were mostly happy ones.
The first horse troop patrol found that the field hospital before the House of Healing had been emptied and the wounded sent down-river. They learned that House medics had protested, saying that many would not survive the trip, but to no avail. The only enemy wounded remaining were the most serious cases that had been admitted to the hospital within the walls. Kerik had refused to release them, despite shouted threats from a red-faced colonel, sitting on a horse before the gate.
They also found that an enemy unit, about a thousand strong, had been left behind. Half of these occupied New Castle Pass, apparently their base camp. The rest occupied the six fortified camps between Glenwood and Junction. Based on hurried observations from a distance, about one fourth were crossbowmen, and the remainder infantry. They had learned their lesson well! Infantry unsupported by missile weapons were vulnerable to horse attacks, even with pikes. The Raiders had re-occupied their old fort.
Don accompanied Robert towards Ariel with the rest of the command group, except for Fred who was supervising the caravan of supplies and equipment going back to the old headquarters. Danny rode with Robert, as well as his nephew, Wilson. The streets of Ariel were again lined with well-wishers to welcome them. A great cheer rose up when the banners and horsemen came through the gates, and bells rang. It was much like the day the troops had been commissioned, except for the damage from enemy cannon balls. Some houses had been smashed into uselessness, but the main street was clear of rubble. He had heard that Bethuel was untouched.
†
The entire town council greeted them warmly when they dismounted before the council building. But the meeting with Samuel was to discuss strategy, and the council members, except for Lord Timothy, did not attend. Samuel gave Don a one-armed hug, and Don noticed moisture in the corners of the old man’s eyes.
“Damned arthritis,” said Samuel, in a choked voice. “Old man’s problem!” He turned and warmly greeted the others and whispered a few words in Philip’s ear. Then he waved everyone to their seats. Del Pembroke, John, and Abel were already seated in the circle of soft chairs, as were the weapons masters. The meeting opened with a prayer of thanksgiving. As before, Robert turned over the captured battle standards.
“We had no reason to think we would be here, as little as a week ago,” began Samuel. “This victory was not won by our strength, skill or brains. Clearly, God smiled upon us for reasons of His own!”
“Still,” he continued, “these towns owe a great debt to you, Robert, and your horse troops. We will never forget what we owe the brave Diné. And the clever, resourceful work of our weapons masters added a surprise that the enemy had not expected. We needed all of you, and we pulled it off, with the grace of our Lord. But it was a very near thing, and this war is still not over. Does anyone else have anything to say.”
Del added his thanks, warmly congratulating everyone. He admitted that the “dratted horse troops” had proved their worth. Then Robert spoke. “Our hats are off to the weapons smiths, so let me add my bit to their praise,” he said. “All the people of these two towns, and the House of Healing, have our respect. But there is one question I must ask.”
“I think I know what it is,” said Samuel. “You want to know why we stopped the attacks on the supply lines. Isn’t that so?”
Robert nodded, as did the Diné. All of the horse troop commanders murmured. Nearly everyone shifted position in their seats.
“I also would like to know the answer to that,” said Del. “And why did we release all the prisioners? Those Raiders are probably even now back on horses. Yes! I know we got a dozen of ours in return. But those enemy captives
could have been used as hostages.”
“If they can win with numbers alone, then they have already won,” said Samuel. “Those captives were doing us no good, and I was glad to get our people back. A couple were scouts of yours, Robert!”
“But we are playing a dangerous game here,” he continued. “I have messages from Steamboat, asking for help. And there is one thing we can do.”
“What is that?” asked Del, suspiciously.
“I will let Abel explain,” said Samuel.
“Very well,” said Abel, and he rose to stand beside the map board. “Robert, your staff report was excellent. It helped focus our thinking. The best way we can help Steamboat is to keep General Logan’s three remaining guns away from the town. If Logan proceeds over First Pass, then he will not go to Steamboat. He may proceed north to link up with the main army; he may go east to attack Hightower; but he is not likely to ever backtrack. Had he thought that his supply line was in danger, he would have immediately turned north to Steamboat, so that he could have been resupplied on the northern route, and the guns could have been used there. Do you follow?”
“By ceasing all attacks on the supply line, we gave him enough confidence to continue east,” Samuel said, and then paused to take a question.
“But it appears that he has passed the first opportunity to turn north,” said Robert. “We could attack the supply line close to Junction, and it would be days before he would even know it.”
“You may not have heard that the enemy is now using heliographs, also,” said Abel. “They obviously got the idea from the Grey Pilgrims. Jason has told us that many may still be alive, but their instruments were captured and, clearly, the enemy has figured out how to use them. Anyway, they can get a message from Junction to New Castle very rapidly, and from there they can send a fast messenger. So General Logan will know within a day of when we resume attacks. But resume we will.”
“The trick is to let him cross First Pass, but prevent him from crossing what the Eastern towns call the Western Wall. As soon as the guns are over the pass, we need to attack the supply lines with a maximum effort. At the same time, we need to get a force ahead of him to discourage him from continuing east. We think we have a chance. With his supplies vulnerable and with stiff resistance, turning north would be sensible. At all costs, we must keep him away from Hightower. I fear that if he can get completely over the mountains before the eastern towns have time to arm, the war is lost.”
Don raised his hand and was recognized. “There is one problem,” he said. “We can ride quickly with all our mounted troops to give some resistance on the second pass. We can use them to put a maximum effort on the supply caravans. But we can’t use them to do both things at the same time.”
“You are quite right, Donald,” broke in Samuel. “Leave it to you to come to the point. Sir Robert, your mission will be to stop the good general from crossing the Western Wall. If you can threaten his precious cannon, and if he fears for his supplies, then he certainly will turn north. You will take all your forces, but this time you will have something not seen in many years.”
Samuel paused. All eyes were on him. He lowered his voice to little more than a whisper. “This time you will have field artillery.”
†
Within a half-hour, Don, Robert, the troop leaders, Eric and Bobby left for Fort Baldy to organize the raid. Philip stayed behind, much to his displeasure, but Ariel said that he needed him. He had a skill with numbers that few grown men possessed. The Diné stayed behind to further discuss the raids on the supply lines. Danny Yazzi was given charge of this entire effort.
Fred’s organizational skills were taxed to the limit, but at dawn Robert’s entire field command was ready to leave, except for twenty scouts that were to be assigned to Danny. Robert had to give up one senior mount leader to take command of a hastily-organized conglomeration of riders that would be used to give the appearance of a horse troop. Reluctantly, he gave that task to James, a steady and reliable veteran, and the senior mount leader of the Blade Troop. Blackie had protested, but it had done no good.
Twelve of the captured draft horses were put into service to pull four of the hastily-assembled field guns, a spare gun carriage, and a wagon bearing powder and ball. The four guns were part of the six small brass cannon that had been mounted atop the Ariel walls. They had hurridly been taken down and mounted on gun carriages. The two-wheeled carriages had been built months before, in the Ariel armory, without a clear purpose in mind. It was a “just in case” idea, that had suddenly proved useful. Rob, the armorer, would ride with them. The gun crews that had been firing the cannons drove the gun carriages and the ammunition wagon. They would move the slowest, so they had started early with a screen of scouts and guarded by the mounted crossbowmen. Jenkins had command of this advance unit. They had left a bit after midnight, followed soon by the Javelins, who escorted a pack train carrying supplies.
The last of the horse troops were in the saddle and riding north by the time that the reddish-golden rays of the sun lanced from the caps of the eastern mountains. Their route would take them up the Kolaroo, following the same route that Don and Deborah had taken so many months ago. They planned to travel fast even though the guns would be the limiting factor. Two horse troops would proceed at their fastest speed to reach the second pass as quickly as possible. Fortunately, by travelling up the river, they entirely avoided First Pass,
“Why didn’t General Logan come this way?”asked Don. “He could have avoided one pass. Indeed, if he went the way we are going, and then turned north, he could have avoided all passes. We did not discuss this route before.”
“I suppose we did not discuss it because we knew that this road is in poor condition for heavy wagons and especially Logan’s guns,” said Robert. “Even our light gun carriages and wagon might require some road work. That is why we put shovels, picks, and bars in the ammunition wagon. Nice that our shot only weighs one pound each—theirs weighs fifty.”
“Still, the worst part of the road is only twenty miles or so, but that will be a bad twenty miles,” concluded Robert.
The gun carriages and light wagon were a trivial burden for the draft horses, and for the first part of the journey, the road was in beautiful condition. Don and Robert were with the last troop to leave, and though they travelled fast, usually at a jog, they did not catch up with the gun carriages until twenty miles up the Kolaroo, at about the point that the Great Highway left the river. The river at this point was flowing from the north, while the highway turned more to the east.
They all stopped for a break, to give the animals a rest, while they talked to Jenkins. The advance elements had continued on ahead. The ammunition wagon was carrying some messenger pigeons, and they debated the point but decided not to send a message back just yet. Their supply of birds was limited. A heliograph operator rode with Robert, but they had no station in view at the moment.
“Scouts and messengers are the thin net that hold the battlefield together,” said Robert, as if quoting a maxim. “Let’s see, what is the minimum that we have to travel to beat them? Per day, I mean.”
Don calculated. They had to travel about one hundred twenty-five miles while the other route was only a hundred. So Robert’s force had about four and a half days, and about a hundred miles yet to go. “We must make twenty-five miles per day to have a chance of beating them to the pass, and thirty would be much safer,” he finally said.
“That is what I think, too,” said Robert. “Well, the horses are fresh, the road is beautiful, and we don’t know what tomorrow will bring. We will push on for forty miles today. We won’t be able to hold that pace with these guns, but we might as well make as much time as we can. Take the Bows and you and Blackie can press on. You are faster than we are, and forty miles is easy for you. I will keep Colin with me and his Javelins, and of course we have the crossbows and the grenadier
s.”
“Do you have a place in mind to camp?” asked Don.
“Yes, there is a bridge across the Kolaroo in a deep gorge. The road then climbs up onto a small table land. We will camp on that mesa. An old man once told me the cluster of ruins at the bridge was called ‘Burns’ in elder days.”
“Do you want us to camp there tonight with you?” asked Don.
“Perhaps you should,” Robert answered. “We have the supplies, and the first two troops will be screening up ahead. Check out the mountain to the south of our campsite. Make sure the enemy did not send a patrol that way.”
“Very well,” said Don. “We will be there for the evening meal.”
“I’m sure you shall,” said Robert.
†
Robert’s and Don’s force pressed on with all possible speed. They camped out on the little mesa, but left long before dawn. On the second day, they made another forty miles, but it was a challenge. The road was bad, and they had to stop many times and roll rocks out of the way. Once, they even had to build a section of road that had been covered by a landslide. The stars were bright when they finally stopped. They were on the edge of the Lady Lilith’s territory. Don did not mention her.
The third day found them heading almost due south. The Western Wall rose up to their left, as if it supported the blue dome of the sky. If they could make forty-five miles, they would be near where they needed to be to block the pass and tunnel.
As the third day drew to a close, Don and the Bows reached the Great Highway. The enemy army was nowhere in sight, but he did not see the other two troops either. They decided to ride boldly up the highway in the direction of Hightower. After a mile and a half from the valley bottom, they met scouts from the Lances who directed them to the defensive positions. They could see men, horses and troop pennants atop a ridge with a steep cut on the southern face, next to the Great Highway. Don and Blackie led the Bows past the ridge, then up a drainage where they could cut back and ride to the summit of the ridge. David and Charles were there when Don dismounted.
The Stonegate Sword Page 54