by G. A. Henty
Fastening the two doublets on his head, Hector lowered himself into the water, which was three feet below the level on which they stood. He had fastened the rope across his shoulder. As he expected, he found the water out of his depth, and at once struck out to the opposite side. It was about forty feet across. He found, on reaching the other side, that the wall was there nearly five feet above the water. He undid the rope and threw up the hook. At the second attempt it caught, and he climbed the side, and then in a low voice told Paolo to start. Presently he heard a slight splash, followed by a gasp. He hauled away rapidly on the rope, and in a couple of minutes Paolo stood beside him, shivering and gasping.
“Put your doublet on. Now let us go forward as fast as we can.” They climbed the steep slope to the top of the glacis, and then ran down until they were brought to a standstill by another moat.
“This is the one marked in the plan as dividing the fortifications of the town from those of the citadel. Now we have another swim before us. It is wider than the last, but is really no distance. Give me your doublet again.”
“I don’t mind this so much,” Paolo said. “I cannot be colder than I am.”
“Don’t try to swim, Paolo; lie on your back, with your mouth just out of water. I will have you over in no time.”
It was fully fifty yards across; but, accustomed to bathe in almost icy cold water, the swim was nothing to Hector, who was soon across, and who then towed Paolo over as before. They mounted another glacis, and presently reached the edge of a third moat.
“We need go no farther. I know that this moat is but some fifteen yards from the foot of the fortifications. Now, get the arrows out. Cut off a foot or two of the thin cord, and unravel it. I must warm my fingers again first, I cannot use them at all.”
“Mine are pretty cold, too.” And both lads warmed them as before. Paolo then set to work to string the bow, which required all his strength to accomplish. While he was doing so, Hector drew from his pouch the six little pellets, and taking the arrows, straightened out each pellet, wrapped it round an arrow, and secured it firmly with a small strand from the string. When he had done this, he took the bow from Paolo, fitted an arrow to the string, drew it with his full strength, and then, pointing the arrow high, loosed it. The six arrows were sent off. Just as the last was discharged there was a shout of “Who is there? Speak, or I fire!” It was a sentry on the wall, who had caught the sound of the twang of the bow.
“I am a friend, a messenger from the French general,” Hector replied. “I have just shot six arrows into the fortress; a message is attached to each for the governor. Report to the officer, and have a search made for them in the morning.
“That is a piece of good luck,” he went on as they turned away. “I thought of shouting, but we might have got a shot in reply, and I made sure that one or other of the arrows would be picked up. Still, this makes certain of it.”
“I think I would rather stop out here until morning,” Paolo said, “then they will take me in. I am afraid I shall never get across the river.”
“Nonsense! The water is low, and we are not likely to have to swim farther than we did in crossing the last moat. Getting through the part of the town between us and the river is a more serious matter. However, it is not very far across, and they are not likely to be very vigilant.”
They turned to the right, and kept along at the edge of the moat, until Hector considered that they had made a fourth of the circuit of the walls, and were now facing the river. They had decided before that this would be the easiest side on which to leave the town. The sentinels would not expect that anyone attempting to enter or leave the citadel would try to do so here; as, in addition to passing the wall facing the fortress and that bordering the river, they would be obliged to swim the river itself. The snow was falling as quickly as ever, and the wind blowing fiercely.
“There is no fear of their seeing us, unless we happen to run into the very arms of the sentry,” Hector said encouragingly; “we shall only have the moat to swim; and as, according to the plan, it is nothing like so wide as that we passed before, we shall have no trouble with it.”
“Ah! here it is,” Paolo groaned.
“Nonsense!” Hector said. “One cold bath more or less makes no difference now. There, give me your coat again, and I will take it over.”
The moat was indeed but some twelve yards across, and in two or three minutes Paolo stood shivering on the other side.
“The edge is not far from the wall, not much more than the breadth of the moat. Give me the cord.”
A few steps and they reached the wall. After two attempts the hook caught, and Hector climbed up. He was looking back to watch Paolo when he was suddenly seized from behind, and a deep voice in Italian said, “If you move I will kill you. Who are you?”
With a sudden effort Hector twisted himself round and seized the disengaged wrist of his opponent, which he doubted not held a dagger. The man loosened his hold of his doublet and tried to grasp his neck, but Hector in a moment leapt forward and threw his arm round the man’s waist. They wrestled backwards and forwards, but the soldier was a powerful man, and Hector found that he could not long retain a grasp of his wrist. Suddenly he felt his antagonist collapse; the dagger dropped from his hand, the other arm relaxed its hold, and he fell a lifeless mass.
“Thank you, Paolo. You were but just in time. The fellow was too strong for me. Now let us slip down the inside of the wall as quickly as possible.”
A minute later they both stood at the foot of the wall, the hook was shaken off, and they proceeded along the wall until they came to a street.
“It is not more than two or three hundred yards to the outer wall,” Hector whispered.
Whether there were sentinels or not in the street they knew not. If so, they had withdrawn themselves into deep doorways to avoid the blinding snow, and the wind drowned the slight sound made by their feet on the soft snow.
In a short time they reached the outer wall, crept along it until they found the steps leading up, crossed it in safety, fixed their hook, and rapidly descended. A run of fifty yards brought them to the edge of the river bank.
“We will try to find a boat,” Hector said. “There are sure to be some along here.”
They walked across the dry bed of the river till they reached the water’s edge, and then followed this. In a few minutes, to their delight, they came upon a boat. The bow was hauled a few feet out of water, and a rope, doubtless attached to a heavy stone anchor, stretched from its bows. This they cut, put their shoulders to the gunwale, and soon had her afloat. Then they scrambled in, put the oars out cautiously, and began to row. Both had had some practice at the exercise, and it was not long before the boat grounded on the opposite shore.
“Pull it up a bit,” Hector said. “No doubt it belongs to some poor fisherman to whom its loss would be serious. Now we must keep along the bank for some distance, until quite sure that we are well beyond any patrols the enemy may have on the road. Let us get into a run, Paolo, and see if we can’t get our blood in motion again, for I own that I feel half frozen.”
They set off at a brisk trot, which they kept up for half an hour, and then they struck off from the river and soon found the road. Following this, after an hour’s walking they came upon a little shed by the roadside, and in one corner found a pile of old sacks.
“We are in luck again!” Hector exclaimed joyfully. “Tired as I am, I don’t think that I could have slept in these wet clothes, if one can call them wet—at present they are frozen stiff. These sacks are the very thing. We can strip now and wring out our clothes thoroughly. There are enough sacks here to lay under us and cover us too. After wringing out the shirts we will put them in under the sacks next to us. The heat of our bodies will dry them to some extent, and they will be warm to put on in the morning. The other things we can pile over us. There is no chance of their getting dry; but I am so pleased with our success that I am not disposed to grumble at trifles.”
&nbs
p; CHAPTER V
THE RELIEF OF THE CITADEL
As soon as the first gleam of daylight showed itself Hector and his companion were on their feet again.
The operation of dressing was by no means a comfortable one, for the frost had set in in earnest during the night, and their clothes, with the exception of the shirts, were as stiff as boards. The snow had ceased and the sky was clear.
“It is going to be a fine day, master,” Paolo said as they left the hut.
“That is better than battling with a snowstorm such as that of yesterday evening. Come on, Paolo, let us trot for a bit. The snow is four inches deep, and we shall soon get warm running through it.”
In a quarter of an hour they broke into a walk again, panting from their exertions.
“I am as warm as a toast now, Paolo. There is a village half a mile ahead. I expect that lies on the road. The sun will be up before we get there, and no doubt we shall be able to get some hot spiced wine and some bread at a wineshop.”
This turned out to be the case. They had settled what story to tell; and when the landlord asked what brought them there so early, Paolo said that they had been on the road a couple of hours, as they were going to see an aunt who was ill at Chivasso, and their father wanted them back again that night. The explanation satisfied the host and he asked no further questions, and in ten minutes they were on their way again, greatly warmed and comforted by their meal, and after walking for another hour and a half they arrived at the bridge of Chivasso. There was a strong guard at the bridge head, for at any moment the garrison of Turin, aided by a force from Leganez’s army, might endeavour to carry the town by a sudden assault. The lads passed the bridge unquestioned, entered the gate of the town, and made their way to the commandant’s house.
“What do you want?” the sentry at the door asked as they came up.
The regiment was French, and Hector answered at once:
“We want to see the governor, we have important news for him.”
The soldier was greatly surprised, for he had not expected his question to be understood by these peasant boys.
“Sergeant,” he called out, “here are two peasant boys who speak French. They want to see the governor, and say that they have news of importance to give him.”
A sergeant came out.
“Sergeant,” Hector went on quietly, “you will please tell the governor that the two persons he sent out under an escort the evening before last, wish to see him.”
By the tone of assurance in which the lad spoke, rather than by his words, the sergeant saw that there was something more than appeared on the surface, and at once took up the message. He returned almost immediately. “Please to follow me,” he said, and led the way up to the governor’s room.
“Welcome back again, Monsieur Campbell! You have returned sooner than I expected. You found, of course, that the difficulties were insuperable?”
“On the contrary, sir, we have been successful, and have communicated with the garrison of the citadel.”
“You have!” the governor exclaimed in astonishment. “How on earth did you manage it? I heard that the watch was so strict that it was absolutely impossible for a message to be sent through.”
“It was not very difficult after all, and we were greatly favoured by the snowstorm.” He then gave an account of how they had managed it.
“Pardieu!” he exclaimed, “that was admirably done; but I am keeping you talking while you are sitting in your wet clothes.”
“I think they are quite dry now, sir; and we have walked so fast that we are both thoroughly warm. Still, I own that I shall not be sorry to change them for my own.”
The governor rose and opened the door. “Your clothes are all hanging up in that closet. I will have some hot water sent up at once. I shall be breakfasting in half an hour, so you will have time to change comfortably.”
Hector was even more glad of a thorough wash than of a change of clothes, and went down to join the governor at breakfast, feeling greatly refreshed.
“Shall I wait on you, master?”
“No, it is not necessary, Paolo; you had better go into the kitchen at once. I have no doubt the governor has ordered them to attend to your wants as he did before.”
Four other officers had just arrived on the invitation of the governor to breakfast; one of these was the captain who had commanded the escort.
“Gentlemen,” the commandant said, “let me introduce to you Monsieur Campbell, a lieutenant on the staff of Viscount Turenne. He has just returned after having successfully carried out a most dangerous and difficult mission, namely, that of communicating with the garrison of Turin.”
The officers gave an exclamation of surprise, while Captain Simon stepped forward and shook hands warmly with Hector.
“You did not tell me exactly what you were going to do,” he said. “I thought that it was to see some of the duchess’s adherents in Turin, but I never dreamt that you were going to attempt to communicate with the citadel. Had I known that, I certainly should not have expected to see you again, for from what we have heard it is next to impossible to get through the enemy’s lines.”
“We will not trouble Monsieur Campbell until he has finished his breakfast,” the commandant said. “He has already told me briefly how he managed, but I shall be as glad as you will to have the details.”
Accordingly, after breakfast Hector related at much greater length the story that he had told the governor of the manner in which the mission had been carried out.
“Ma foi!” the colonel said, “I would rather have faced a battery than swum those moats in such weather. Well, gentlemen, I think that you will agree with me that Monsieur de Turenne is fortunate in having so brave and enterprising an officer on his staff.”
The officers cordially assented.
“I wonder that you did not enter the citadel and stay there till the convoy arrived.”
“In the first place, colonel, I had received no orders to do so, and the general might require me for other service. And in the second place, had I not returned he would not have known whether his message had reached the garrison, and so might have hurried on his preparations more hastily than he otherwise would have done, and might, in his fear that the garrison would surrender, have made the attempt before he had collected sufficient food to last them until he was in a position to raise the siege.”
“Your reasons are good ones; but certainly, with shelter and warmth close at hand—for the sentry would speedily have passed the word along, and as soon as it was ascertained that you were indeed a French officer, and alone, the gates would have been opened for you—it must have required no small effort to turn away and to face the danger of passing the sentries and scaling the walls, of possibly having to swim the Po, and of certainly having no chance of getting a change of clothes until you arrived here, for you could not have calculated upon finding the shed, much less those sacks, with the snow falling heavily.”
“That was a piece of good fortune, indeed. If we had not found it, we should have gone on walking until we got here. Still, we had had little sleep the night before, and were heartily glad that we had no farther to go. And now, sir, with your permission we will start for Susa at once.”
“Your escort returned yesterday, but I will send a troop of cavalry with you.”
“Thank you, sir, but I do not think that there is any necessity for it. We are very well mounted, and should we see any party of the enemy’s cavalry I think that we ought to be able to outdistance them. I shall be glad, colonel, if you and your officers will say nothing about the manner in which I communicated with the garrison, as doubtless the enemy have spies here; and if the story comes out and reaches the ears of the authorities at Turin, I should have no chance whatever of making my way in, in the same manner, should the general entrust me with another mission to communicate with the citadel.”
A quarter of an hour later Hector and Paolo mounted and rode out of the town. They kept a vigilant lookout, an
d traveled by byroads, but they saw none of the enemy’s parties, and reached Susa late that afternoon. On sending in his name to Turenne, Hector was at once shown into his room.
“I did not expect you back for another three or four days, Campbell,” the general said, “and I am heartily glad to see you again safe and sound. I blamed myself for letting you go. Of course, as I expected, you found the task an altogether impossible one. Had it been otherwise you would not have been back so soon.”
“On the contrary, general, for I should have tried many plans before I gave it up. As it is, I have only to report that I have carried out your instructions, and that your despatches are in the hands of the garrison of the citadel.”
“You do not say so!” Turenne said, rising from the table at which he had been sitting writing when Hector entered, and shaking him warmly by the hand. “I congratulate both you and myself on your having performed a mission that seemed well nigh hopeless. But by what miracle did you succeed in passing through the enemy’s lines? All who have tried it before have either died in the attempt or have returned to tell me that it was an absolutely impossible one.”
“It would have been very difficult, general, had not the weather favoured us. The snowstorm drove the sentries into shelter, and even had they remained at their posts they could not have seen us five yards away.”
“No, I can understand that once beyond the wall you might in such a storm make your way unnoticed up to the fortress; but I understood that not only were there guards on the walls and down near the great moat, but that there were also sentries in all the streets leading to the walls, and that none were allowed to pass along those leading to the walls facing the citadel. Tell me how you managed it.”
“The story is a long one, sir.”
“Never mind how long it is; give me all details. I am not particularly busy at present, and I would fain know exactly how this feat has been accomplished.”
Hector told his story at length. Beyond asking a question now and then, Turenne remained silent until he had brought it to a conclusion.