Under Wellington's Command: A Tale of the Peninsular War

by G. A. Henty

  Chapter 19: Gratitude.

  "Your regiment has been distinguishing itself again, ColonelO'Connor, I have heard from three sources. First, General Barnardreported to me that he, and the other officers, were wholly unableto restrain the troops from their villainous work last night; untilhe found you and your regiment drawn up in perfect order, and wasable, with it, to put an end to the disorder everywhere reigning.In the second place, the Count de Montego and the Marquis deValoroso, two of the wealthiest nobles in the province, have calledupon me to return thanks for the inestimable service, as theyexpressed it, rendered by Colonel O'Connor and his officers, indefending their houses, and protecting the lives and honour oftheir families, from the assaults of the soldiers. They said thatthe defenders consisted entirely of officers. How was that?"

  "I am sorry to say that my men were, at first, infected by thegeneral spirit of disorder. Left alone by ourselves, I thought thatwe could not do anything better than save, from spoliation, twofine mansions that happened to be at the spot where we had beenleft. We had to stand a sharp siege for two or three hours; but weabstained, as far as possible, from using our arms, and I thinkthat only two or three of the soldiers were wounded. However, weshould have had to use our pistols in earnest, in a short time, hadI not sent out several of my officers by the back entrance of thehouse; and these were not long in finding, and persuading to returnto their duties, a couple of hundred men.

  "As soon as we sallied out the affair was at an end, and thesoldiers fled. The officers were sent out again and when, an hourlater, General Barnard came up, we had some seventeen hundred inreadiness for action; and his arrival relieved me of the heavyresponsibility of deciding what course had better be adopted."

  "Yes, he told me so, and I think that you acted very wisely inholding your men back till he arrived; for nothing could have beenmore unfortunate than a conflict in the streets between British andPortuguese troops. There is no doubt that, had it not been for yourregiment, the disgraceful scenes of last night would have been verymuch worse than they were. I should be glad if you will convey mythanks to them."

  "Thank you, sir; but I shall be obliged if you will allow me to saythat you regret to hear that a regiment, in which you placedconfidence, should have at first behaved so badly; but that theyhad retrieved their conduct by their subsequent behaviour, and hadacted as you would have expected of them. I have been speaking veryseverely to them, this morning; and I am afraid that the effect ofmy words would be altogether lost, were I to report yourcommendation of their conduct, without any expression of blame."

  Lord Wellington smiled.

  "Do it as you like, Colonel O'Connor. However, your regiment willbe placed in orders, today, as an exception to the severe censurepassed upon the troops who entered the town last night. And do youreally think that they will behave better, another time?"

  "I am sure they will, sir. I threatened to have the three hundred,who had not joined when General Barnard arrived, transferred toanother regiment; and it was only upon their solemn promise, and bythe whole of the officers guaranteeing their conduct in the future,that I forgave them. Moreover, every article taken in money,jewels, or dress has been given up; and I have sent them to thesyndic, the money for distribution among the sufferers, thejewellery and other things to be reclaimed by those from whom theywere taken. Their kits were being examined thoroughly, when I cameaway; but I think that I can say, with certainty, that no singlestolen article will be found in them."

  "You have done very well, sir, very well, and your influence withyour men is surprising.

  "Your regiment will be quartered in the convent of San Jose. Otherdivisions will move in this afternoon, and take the place of the1st and 3rd brigades. Your regiment, therefore, may consider it ahigh honour that they will be retained here.

  "I daresay that it will not be long before I find work for you todo again. Lord Somerset will give you an order, at once, to takepossession of the convent."

  Terence returned to the regiment in high spirits. The work ofinspection was still going on. At its conclusion, Colonel Herrarareported that no single article of plunder had been found.

  "I am gratified that it is so, Herrara," he said; "now let theregiment form up in hollow square, again.

  "Men," he went on, "I have a message for you from Lord Wellington;"and he repeated that which he had suggested. "Thus you see, men,that the conduct of those who at once obeyed orders, and returnedto their ranks, has caused the misconduct of the others to beforgiven; and Lord Wellington has still confidence that theregiment will behave well, in future. The fact that all plunder hasbeen given up to be restored to its owners had, of course, someeffect in inducing him to believe this. I hope that every man willtake the lesson to heart, that the misdeeds of a few may bringdisgrace on a whole regiment; and that you will, in future, donothing to forfeit the name that the Minho regiment has gained, forgood conduct as well as for bravery."

  A loud cheer broke from the regiment, who then marched to theconvent of San Jose, and took up its quarters there. Two hourslater, the two Spanish nobles called upon Terence. The Count deMontego introduced his companion.

  "We have only just heard where you were quartered," he went on. "Wehave both been trying in vain, all the morning, to find you; not asoldier of your regiment was to be seen in the streets and,although we questioned many officers, none could say where youwere.

  "You went off so suddenly, last night, that I had no opportunity ofexpressing our gratitude to you and your officers."

  "You said enough, and more than enough, last night, count," Terencereplied; "and we are all glad, indeed, that we were able to protectboth your houses. Lord Wellington informed me that you had calledupon him, and spoken highly of the service we had been able torender you. Pray say no more about it. I can quite understand whatyou feel, and I can assure you that no thanks are due to me, forhaving done my duty as a British officer and a gentleman on solamentable and, I admit, disgraceful an occasion."

  "My wife and daughters, and those of the Marquis of Valoroso, areall most anxious to see you, and thank you and your officers. Theywere too frightened and agitated, last night, to say aught and,indeed, as they say, they scarcely noticed your features. Can youbring your officers round now?"

  "I am sorry to say I cannot do that, senor. They have to see afterthe arrangements and comfort of the men, the getting of therations, the cooking, and so on. Tomorrow they will, I am sure, beglad to pay you a visit."

  "But you can come, can you not, colonel?"

  "Yes, I am at liberty now, count, and shall be happy to pay myrespects to the senoras."

  "The more I hear," the marquis said, as they walked along together,"of the events of last night, the more deeply I feel the servicethat you have rendered us. I am unable to understand how it is thatyour soldiers should behave with such outrageous violence toallies."

  "It is very disgraceful, and greatly to be regretted, senor; but Iam bound to say that, as I have now gone through four campaigns,and remember the conduct of the Spanish authorities to our troopsduring our march to Talavera, our stay there, and on our retreat, Iam by no means surprised that among the soldiers, who are unable todraw a distinction between the people and the authorities, thereshould be a deep and lasting hatred. There is no such hatred forthe French.

  "Our men fought the battle of Talavera when weak with hunger; whilethe Spaniards, who engaged to supply them with provisions, werefeasting. Our men were neglected and starved in the hospitals, andwould have died to a man had not, happily for them, the Frencharrived, and treated them with the greatest humanity and kindness.Soldiers do not forget this sort of thing. They know that, for thelast three years, the promises of the Spanish authorities havenever once been kept, and that they have had to suffer greatly fromthe want of transport and stores promised. We can, of course,discriminate between the people at large and their authorities; butthe soldiers can make no such distinction and, deeply as I deplorewhat has happened here, I must own that the soldiers have at least
some excuse for their conduct."

  The two Spaniards were silent.

  "I cannot gainsay your statement," the Count de Montego said."Indeed, no words can be too strong for the conduct of both thecentral, and all the provincial juntas."

  "Then, senor, how is it that the people do not rise and sweep themaway, and choose honest and resolute men in their place?"

  "That is a difficult question to answer, colonel. It may be said,why do not all people, when ill governed, destroy their tyrants?"

  "Possibly because, as a rule, the tyrants have armies at theirbacks; but here such armies as there are, although nominally underthe orders of the juntas, are practically led by their owngenerals, and would obey them rather than the juntas.

  "However, that is a matter for the Spanish people alone. Althoughwe have suffered cruelly by the effects of your system, pleaseremember that I am not in the smallest degree defending the conductof our troops; but only trying to show that they had, at least,some excuse for regarding the Spaniards as foes rather than asallies; and that they had, as they considered, a long list ofwrongs to avenge."

  "There is truth in all you say, colonel. Unfortunately, men likeourselves, who are the natural leaders of the people, hold alooffrom these petty provincial struggles; and leave all the publicoffices to be filled with greedy adventurers, and have beenaccustomed to consider work of any kind beneath us. The country ispaying dearly for it, now. I trust, when the war is over, seeinghow the country has suffered by our abstention from politics, andfrom the affairs of our provinces, we shall put ourselves forwardto aid in the regeneration of Spain."

  By this time they had arrived at the door of the count's house. Thestreet had been to some extent cleared; but shattered doors, brokenwindows, portions of costly furniture, and household articles ofall sorts still showed how terrible had been the destruction of theprevious night. Large numbers of the poorer class were at workclearing the roads, as the city authorities had been ordered, byLord Wellington, to restore order in all the thoroughfares.

  The count led the way up to the drawing room. The countess and herthree daughters rose.

  "I introduced our brave defender to you last night," the countsaid, "but in the half-darkened room, and in the confusion andalarm that prevailed, you could have had but so slight a view ofhim that I doubt whether you would know him again."

  "I should not, indeed," the countess said. "We have been speakingof him ever since, but could not agree as to his appearance.

  "Oh, senor, no word can tell you how grateful we feel to you foryour defence of us, last night. What horrors we should havesuffered, had it not been for your interposition!"

  "I am delighted to have been of service to you, senora. It was myduty, and it was a very pleasurable one, I can assure you; and Ipray you to say no more about it."

  "How is it that you speak Spanish so well, senor?" the countessasked, after her daughters had shyly expressed their gratitude toTerence.

  "I owe it chiefly to a muleteer of Salamanca. I was a prisonerthere last year, and he accompanied me for a month, after I hadmade my escape from the prison. Also, I owe much to the guerillachief Moras, with whom I acted for six weeks, last autumn. I hadlearned a little of your language before and, speaking Portuguesefluently, I naturally picked it up without any great difficulty."

  "Your name is not unknown to us, colonel," the count said. "Livingso close to the frontier as we do, we naturally know much of whatpasses in Portugal; and heard you spoken of as a famous leader of astrong Portuguese regiment, that seems to have been in the thick ofall the fighting. But we heard that you had been taken prisoner bythe French, at the battle of Fuentes d'Onoro."

  "Yes, I had the misfortune to be captured by them, and was sent toSalamanca; but I escaped by the aid of a girl who sold fruit in theprison. A muleteer took me with him on a journey to Cadiz, andthence I came round to Lisbon by ship."

  "You seem very young to have seen so much service, if you willexcuse my saying so, colonel."

  Terence smiled.

  "I have had great luck, senor; extraordinary luck."

  "Ah, colonel! We know how well you have deserved that luck, as youcall it; and you would never have been in command of such aregiment if you had not done something very much out of the way toattract the attention of your commanders."

  "I was not appointed to the regiment. I raised it myself; that isto say, I came upon a number of Portuguese who had been called outfor service, but who had neither leader nor arms. Being anxious tofight for their country, they asked me to be their leader, and Iaccepted the offer. I found them docile and obedient and, with theaid of two British troopers with me, a Spanish officer, and twelveof his troopers, I established something like order and disciplineand, as we were fortunate in our first affair with the enemy, theyhad faith in me, and I was able to raise them to a point ofdiscipline which is, I think, now quite equal to that of our ownregiments. Seeing that I had made myself useful with my corps, Iwas confirmed in my command, and obtained the rank of colonel inthe Portuguese service; and am now a major in our own."

  "I hope, senor, that later on you will tell us the story of some ofyour adventures. Be assured that the house and all in it are yours,and that it is not for mere curiosity that we would hear yourstory; but that, as we shall ever retain a grateful memory of whatyou have done for us, everything relating to you is of deepinterest to us."

  After chatting for another quarter of an hour, Terence went withthe Count de Montego to the house next door. Here he received anequally warm welcome from the wife and son and daughter of themarquis.

  At both houses, he was warmly urged to take up his quarters thereduring his stay at Ciudad; but explained that his place was withhis regiment. He promised that he would call frequently, when hisduties permitted him to do so.

  The next day the two Spanish noblemen came to him and, after paradewas over, carried off the greater portion of the officers to bealso introduced to their families. From that time, three or four ofthe officers were always invited to dinner at each house. Terenceand Ryan frequently spent their evenings there, and their hostsintroduced them to many of the leading people in the town.

  The Spanish general, Carlos d'Espagna, was appointed governor ofCiudad. Papers having been discovered, showing that many of theinhabitants had acted as French emissaries, these he executedwithout mercy. So rigorous, however, were his measures that it wasfelt that more than sufficient blood had been shed and,accordingly, several British deserters found in the town werepardoned. Many others of these men had fallen, fighting desperatelyin the breach; believing that there was no hope of mercy beingextended to them, if taken prisoners.

  In the siege the allies lost 1200 men and 90 officers; among whomwere Generals Crawford and MacKinnon, both killed, and GeneralVandeleur, badly wounded. Lord Wellington was created Duke ofCiudad Rodrigo by the Spaniards, and Earl of Wellington by theEnglish. The French loss was 300 killed and wounded, 1500prisoners, an immense store of ammunition, and 150 guns.

  Thanks to the vigilance with which the Minho regiment had guardedthe line of the fords of the Yeltes, no news of the siege wasreceived by Marmont in time for him to interfere with it. Thebridge over the Aqueda had been thrown across on the 1st ofJanuary, and the siege began on the 8th but, even on the 12th,nothing was known at Salamanca of the advance of the British army;and it was not until the 15th, three days after the town hadfallen, that news that the siege had begun reached Marmont atValladolid. He had ordered his army to concentrate on Salamanca,but it was not until the 25th that 35,000 men were collected thereand, on the following day, the news arrived of the fall of Ciudad.

  In the meantime large numbers of labourers were being employed inrepairing and strengthening the fortifications of that town, whileWellington laboured in making preparations for the siege ofBadajoz. These, however, progressed but slowly, owing to therefusal of the Portuguese government to supply transport for theguns; or to furnish any facilities, whatever, for the supply offood for the army. Wellington maintained
his headquarters on theCoa until the first week in March, and then moved south with thegreater part of the army; Ciudad being left entirely in the handsof the Spaniards, the general supplying the governor withprovisions and stores, and explaining to him the object andintention of the new works.

  A very strong force was left to guard the frontier of Portugal froman invasion by Marmont; 50,000 men, of whom 20,000 were Portuguese,being scattered along the line and guarding all the passes--theMinho regiment being ordered to take post, again, at Pinhel.

  Terence left Ciudad with reluctance. He had all along been treatedas a dear friend, in the houses of the two Spanish noblemen, andspent most of his evenings at one or other of them. He had beenobliged to tell, in full detail, all his adventures since he joinedthe army. The rescue of his cousin from the convent at Oporto hadparticularly excited the interest of the ladies, who askedinnumerable questions about her.

  Ryan frequently accompanied him, but his very slight knowledge ofSpanish prevented him from feeling the same pleasure at thefamiliar intercourse. Bull and Macwitty were absolutely ignorant ofthe language and, although Herrara now and then acceptedinvitations to dinner, Terence and Ryan were the only two officersof the regiment who felt at home among the Spaniards.

  Before the regiment marched off, each of the Portuguese officerswas presented with a handsome gold watch bearing an inscriptionexpressing the gratitude of the two Spanish noblemen, and theirfamilies. Bull, Macwitty, and Herrara received, in addition, heavygold chains. Ryan received a splendid horse, with saddle, holsters,and a brace of finely-finished pistols; and a similar present wasmade to Terence.

  On the day when he went to say goodbye, he found the ladies of bothfamilies assembled at the Count de Montego's. His host said:

  "You must consider the horses and equipment as a special presentfrom myself and the marquis, Colonel O'Connor; but the ladies ofour two families wish to give you a little memorial of theirgratitude."

  "They are memorials only," his wife said, "and are feebletestimonies, indeed, of what we feel. These are the joint presentsof the marquise and her daughter, and of myself and my girls," andshe gave him a small case containing a superb diamond ring, ofgreat value; and then a large case containing a magnificent parureof diamonds and emeralds.

  "This, senor, is for your future wife. She will value it, I amsure, not so much for what it may be worth; but as a testimony ofthe gratitude, of six Spanish ladies, for the inestimable servicesthat you rendered them. Perhaps they will have a special value inher eyes, inasmuch as the stones all formed a small part of thejewels of the two families that you saved from plunder. We have, ofcourse, had them reset; and there was no difficulty in getting thisdone, for at present ours are, I believe, the only jewels inCiudad."

  "My dear countess," Terence said, much moved, "I do not like takingso valuable a present."

  "What is it, in comparison to what you have done for us, senor? Andplease do not suppose that we have seriously diminished our store.Nowhere, I believe, have ladies such jewels as they have in Spain;and few families can boast of finer ones than those of the marquiseand myself. And I can assure you that we shall value our jewels allthe more, when we think that some of their companions will be wornby the wife of the gentleman who has preserved more than ourlives."

  "That is a royal gift, indeed," Herrara said, when Terence showedhim the jewels. "I should be afraid to say what they are worth.Many of the old Spanish families possess marvellous jewels, relicsof the day when the Spaniards owned the wealth of the Indies andthe spoils of half Europe; and I should imagine that these musthave been among the finest stones in the possession of bothfamilies. If I were you, colonel, I should take the very firstopportunity that occurs of sending them to England."

  "You may be sure that I shall do so, Herrara. They are not the sortof things to be carried about in a cavalry wallet, and I have noother place to stow them. As soon as we arrive at Pinhel, I willget a strong box made to hold the two cases, and hand them over tothe paymaster there, to be sent down to Lisbon by the next convoy.He sent home all the money that I did not want to keep by me, whenwe were at Pinhel last."

  Two other Portuguese regiments, and a brigade of British infantry,were stationed at Pinhel in readiness, at any moment, to march toAlmeida or Guarda, should Marmont make a forward movement; whichwas probable enough, for it was evident, by the concentration ofhis troops at Salamanca and Valladolid, that he had no intention ofmarching south; but intended to leave it to Soult, with the armiesof Estremadura, Castile, and Andalusia, to relieve Badajoz.

  From time to time, news came from that town. The siege had begun onthe 17th of March, the attack being made on a fortified hill calledthe Picurina; but at first the progress was slow. Incessant rainfell, the ground became a swamp, and all operations had, severaltimes, to be suspended; while Phillipon, the brave officer whocommanded the garrison, made numerous sorties from the town, withmore or less success.

  On the night of the 25th, an assault was made on the strong fort onthe Picurina; which was captured after desperate fighting, and theloss of 19 officers and 300 men, killed and wounded. On thefollowing day the trenches were opened for the attack upon the townitself. The assailants laboured night and day and, on the 6th, abreach had been effected in the work called the Trinidad; and thiswas to be attacked by the 4th and light divisions. The castle wasat the same time to be assailed by Picton's division, while GeneralPower's Portuguese were to make a feint on the other side of theGuadiana, and San Roque was to be stormed by the forces employed inthe trenches.

  The enterprise was well-nigh desperate. The breaches had not beensufficiently cleared, and it was known that the enemy had thrown upstrong intrenchments behind them. Most of the guns were still inposition to sweep the breaches, and another week, at least, shouldhave been occupied in preparing the way for an assault. ButWellington was forced here, as at Ciudad, to fight against time.Soult was close at hand, and the British had not sufficient forceto give him battle, and at the same time to continue the siege ofthe town; and it was therefore necessary either to carry the placeat once, at whatever cost of life, or to abandon the fruits of allthe efforts that had been made.

  Had Wellington's instructions been carried out, there would havebeen no occasion, whatever, for the assault to have been delivereduntil the breaches were greatly extended, the intrenchmentsdestroyed, and the guns silenced. The Portuguese ministry, however,had thwarted him at every turn; and the siege could not becommenced until a fortnight after the date fixed by Wellington.This fortnight's delay cost the lives of 4000 British soldiers.

  Four of the assaults on the breaches failed. On the crest of thesePhillipon had erected a massive stockade, thickly bristling withsabre blades. On the upper part of the breach, planks, similarlystudded, had been laid; while on either side a vast number ofshells, barrels of powder, faggots soaked in oil, and othermissiles and combustibles were piled, in readiness for hurling downon the assailants; while the soldiers behind the defences had beensupplied with four muskets each.

  Never did British soldiers fight with such dogged bravery as washere evinced. Again and again they dashed up the breach, the centreof a volcano of fire; shells burst among them, cannon pouredvolleys of grape through their ranks, the French plied them withmusketry, fireballs lit up the scene as if by day, mines explodedunder their feet; yet again and again, they reached the terriblebreastwork. But all efforts to climb it were fruitless. Numbers ofthose in front were pressed to death against the sabres, by theeager efforts of those behind to get up and, for hours, the assaultcontinued. At last, seeing the impossibility of success, andscorning to retreat, the men gathered at the foot of the breach,and there endured, sternly and silently, the murderous fire thatwas maintained by the enemy.

  Picton, however, had gained possession of the castle. Walker, withhis command, had captured the bastion of San Vincenti; and part ofhis command fought their way along the battlement towards thebreaches, while another marched through the town. Finding that thetown had been entered at se
veral points, the defenders of thebreach gave way, and the soldiers poured into the town.

  Here even more hideous scenes of murder and rapine were perpetratedthan at Ciudad Rodrigo, and went on for two days and nights,absolutely unchecked. It has never been satisfactorily explainedwhy, after the events in the former town, no precautions weretaken, by the general commanding, to prevent the recurrence ofscenes that brought disgrace on the British army, and for which hecannot be held blameless. Five thousand men and officers werekilled or wounded in the siege; of these, three thousand fivehundred fell in the assault.

  The next three months passed without any action of importance. Thediscipline of the army had, as might have been expected,deteriorated greatly as a consequence of the unbridled licensepermitted to the soldiers after the capture of the two fortresses,and the absence of any punishment, whatever, for the excesses therecommitted. Lord Wellington complained bitterly, in his lettershome, of the insubordination of the troops; of the outragescommitted upon the peasantry, especially by detached parties; andof the general disobedience of orders. But he who had permitted thelicense and excesses to be carried on, unchecked and unpunished,cannot but be considered largely responsible for the naturalconsequences of such laxity.

  In May, heavy rains prevented any movement on either side; exceptthat the town of Almaraz, a most important position at the bridgeacross the Tagus, permitting Soult and Marmont to join hands, wascaptured by surprise by General Hill; the works, which had beenconsidered almost impregnable, being carried by assault in thecourse of an hour. This was one of the most brilliant exploits ofthe war.

  Wellington had moved north, and was again on the Aqueda and, on the13th of June, rain having ceased, he crossed the river and, on the16th, arrived within six miles of Salamanca, and drove a Frenchdivision across the Tormes. On the 17th the river was crossed, bothabove and below the town, and the forts defending it were at onceinvested. Marmont had, that day, retired with two divisions ofinfantry and some cavalry; and was followed immediately by a strongBritish division.

  The Minho regiment had been one of the first to take post on theAqueda, after Wellington's arrival on the Coa; and moved forward inadvance of the army, which was composed of 24,000 British troops,with a Spanish division and several Portuguese regiments.

  As soon as Marmont had retired, Salamanca went wild with joy;although the circle of forts still prevented the British fromentering. The chief of these was San Vincenti, which stood on aperpendicular cliff, overhanging the Tormes. It was flanked by twoother strong forts; from which, however, it was divided by aravine. The battering train brought with the army was altogetherinadequate--only four eighteen-pounders and three twenty-four-poundhowitzers were available--and the forts were far stronger thanWellington had been led to expect.

  A few guns had been sent forward by General Hill and, on the 18th,seven pieces opened fire on San Vincenti. The next day some morehowitzers arrived, and a breach was made in the wall of theconvent; but the ammunition was exhausted, and the fire ceaseduntil more could be brought up.

  That day, however, Marmont, with a force of 20,000 men, was seenadvancing to the relief of the forts. The British army at oncewithdrew from the neighbourhood of the convent, and took up itsposition, in order of battle, on the heights of San Christoval.

  On the 21st, three divisions of infantry and a brigade of cavalryjoined Marmont, raising his force to 40,000 men. The French, thenext night, sent a portion of their force across the Tormes and,when daylight broke, the German cavalry, which had been placed toguard the ford, was seen retiring before 12,000 French infantry,with twenty guns. Graham was also sent across the Tormes with hisdivision, which was of about the same strength as the French forceand, as the light division was also following, the French retired,recrossed the ford, and rejoined the main body of their army.

  The next night the batteries again opened fire on San Vincenti and,on the 27th, the fort and convent were in a blaze. One of the otherforts was breached, and both surrendered, just as the stormingparties were advancing to the assault; and Marmont retreated thesame night across the Douro, by the roads to Tordesillas and Toro.

  As soon as it was possible to enter Salamanca, Terence rode downinto the town, accompanied by Ryan. The forts had not yetsurrendered, but their hands were so full that they had no time todevote to annoying small parties of British officers passing intothe town. Terence had noted down the address that Nita had givenhim, and at once rode there; after having, with some difficulty,discovered the lane in which the house was situated. An old mancame to the door. Terence dismounted.

  "What can I do for you, senor?"

  "I wanted to ask you if your niece, Nita, is still staying withyou?"

  The man looked greatly surprised at the question.

  "She has done no harm, I hope?" he asked.

  "Not at all, but I wish to speak to her. Is she married yet toGarcia, the muleteer?"

  The old man looked still more surprised.

  "No, senor. Garcia is away, he is no longer a muleteer."

  "Well, you have not answered me if your niece is here."

  "She is here, senor, but she is not in the house at this moment.She returned here from her father's, last autumn. The country wasso disturbed that it was not right that young women should remainin the villages."

  "Will you tell her that a British officer will call to see her, inhalf an hour, and beg her to remain in until I come?"

  "I will tell her, senor."

  Terence went at once to a silversmith's, and bought the handsomestset of silver jewelry, such as the peasants wore, that he had inhis shop; including bracelets, necklaces, large filigree hairpinand earrings, and various other ornaments.