by G. A. Henty
CHAPTER XI.
A HAZARDOUS EXPEDITION.
"I fancy, Percival, that the brigands are far more likely to find usthan we are to find them," Rubini said on the following morning, when heand Frank strolled out into the village. "We can expect no informationfrom these people; and as to marching about on the off chance oflighting upon them, it would be simply absurd. On the other hand, thebrigands will know, by this time, where all our detachments arequartered, and what is their strength. They must be furious at thelosses they have had down in the plains; some forty or fifty of themhave been killed in fights, and over a hundred shot, at Bronte and othertowns. They must be burning for vengeance. I cannot help thinking thatsome of these bands are likely to unite, and attack some of our posts.Even if they came a couple of hundred strong, we might feel pretty safeof beating them off if they ventured by daylight; but a sudden attack atnight might be extremely serious."
"Very serious indeed," Frank agreed. "Scattered as the men are, throughthe village, they would be shot down as they came out of the houses."
"It is an awkward position, certainly," Rubini said, "and one that Idon't see my way out of."
"I should say, Rubini, the best thing we could do would be to quarterourselves in the church."
"It would be a very serious step," Rubini said gravely. "We know thatone of the great weapons the Neapolitans have used against us is, thatwe are heretics and atheists; and were we to occupy the church, reportswould circulate through the island that we were desecrators."
"They spread that sort of reports, whether there is any foundation forit or not, Rubini; besides, at Palermo we used several of the churchesas hospitals for the wounded. But there would be no occasion for us tolive and take our meals in the church, or to interfere with theservices. If we keep half a dozen sentries round the village, we neednot fear any surprise during the daytime, but could go on as usual inthe houses where we are quartered, taking our meals there, and so on;then at night we could retire to the church, and sleep there securelywith a couple of sentries posted at the door."
"I think that is a very good idea; at any rate, we will tell the priestwhen we go in to breakfast, and hear what he says. He is a good fellow,I think--though, of course, his hands are very much tied by the positionhe is placed in."
After they had eaten their breakfast, Rubini went with Frank to thepriest's room.
"Padre," he said, "we don't like our position here. It is certain thatthe brigands have no reason to love us, and that after the numbers whohave been put out of the way down below, they must be thirsting forrevenge."
"That is certainly to be expected," the priest said gravely.
"Therefore we think it is by no means unlikely that several of thesebands will unite in an attack on one of our posts."
"I hinted as much as that to you last night."
"You did, padre; and the more I think of it, the more probable it seemsto me that this is what they will do. It may be this post, or another;but I feel that, although we could beat off any attack in the daytime,it would be most serious were they to fall upon us at night, when we arescattered throughout the village."
"It would certainly be so, signor. The consequences would, I think, bemost grave."
"Therefore, padre, we intend to retire to the church every evening."
"Between ourselves, Captain Rubini, I am not sorry that you have madethat proposal, or rather, have announced to me your intention of doingso. You will understand that it was a suggestion that could not comefrom me, and that I bow to your decision, having no means of resistingit; that being understood, I can say, frankly, that I think the plan awise one. I hope that you do not intend to occupy it during the day, norto eat and drink there, but simply to pass the night in the shelter ofits walls, and that at all other times our services can be held asusual?"
"Certainly; that is our intention. We wish to put the people to noinconvenience, and to abstain, as far as possible, from doing aught thatwould hurt their feelings, by, as they would consider it, desecratingthe church. Things will simply go on as they do now in the daytime, butat nightfall we shall march into the church, and place two sentries atthe door; and in the morning we shall leave it, after placing everythingin order, as far as we can, at a quarter to six--so that you can holdyour morning mass at the usual hour."
"I am well pleased with the arrangement. Should my people or otherscomplain of your thus using the church, I can say that it was noproposal of mine, and that you did not ask my opinion on the subject;but simply informed me of your intention, which, of course, I have nopower to combat. I may tell you that I have no sure intelligencewhatever that the brigands meditate such an attempt, either here or atother villages, where parties of your troops have gone; but knowing thepeople as I do, I think it very likely that such an attack may be made.I myself, a well-wisher of your general and of his great movement, amconvinced that the people can never be raised from their presentcondition, so long as we are subject to the government of Naples. Ibelieve that, with freedom, the island would advance, not only inprosperity, but in orderly life and all the blessings of civilisation;and none will hail more heartily than I the establishment of aconstitutional government, such as is enjoyed by that portion of Italyunder the rule of Victor Emmanuel. Still, so long as things exist asthey do in the mountains, it would do more harm than good, were I todeclare my feelings. I speak not of personal danger, but I should loseall power and influence over my flock; therefore, though heartilywishing you well, I cannot openly aid you. I shall on Sunday speak fromthe pulpit, pointing out that the conduct of your soldiers shows thatthe reports that have been circulated regarding them are untrue; thatthey come here with no evil intentions towards us, and that I trust whenthey retire they will carry with them the good wishes of all; that Ihope above all things, nothing will occur that will cause trouble, stillless evil to our guests, for not only have they given no occasion foranimosity, but if any harm befall them here, we may be sure that theirgeneral at Bronte will send up a strong body of troops, who willprobably burn the village to the ground, and shoot every man they catch.I should say, signor, that my words would be more likely to have effectwere some of your soldiers, and perhaps one of yourselves, to attendmass daily; this would show that you were not, as they have been told,despisers of all religion, and go far to remove the unfavourableimpression with which I cannot deny that you are regarded."
"The suggestion is a good one, sir," Rubini said, "and I will see thatit is carried out. I will come each morning. Captain Percival is anEnglishman, and what you would call a heretic, so he will, I know,undertake to be on duty about that hour.
"Then we quite understand each other, padre: openly you protest againstour using the church, privately you approve of our doing so?"
"My protest will not be a strong one," the priest said, with a smile;"indeed, I shall tell my people that, although I have thought it my dutyto protest formally, I cannot but see that it is best that it should beso, as it will ensure peace and tranquillity in the village, and will doaway with the risks of broils when men sit drinking after dark inwine-shops."
When the church bell rang for the midday mass, the villagers weresurprised to see Rubini enter the edifice, and that some twenty of hismen straggled in, not as a body ordered to take part in a service, butas if it was their regular custom as individuals to attend service.Before the bell ceased ringing, Frank also went in, and sat down byRubini; when they left together at the close of a short service Rubinisaid, "I did not expect to see you, Percival."
"Why not?" Frank replied: "if there were a Protestant church, of courseI should go to it, but as there is not, I come here. Surely it is betterto say one's prayers in a church of a religion that on all its mainpoints differs but slightly from our own, than to abstain from going tochurch at all. And now, what are we to do with ourselves? I suppose wecan hardly start for a long walk?"
"I should think not," Rubini said grimly--"at least, not without takingtwenty men with us. It is as likely as not that we are watc
hed from theforest, and if we were to go out alone, we might be pounced upon byfellows lying in ambush for us, or at best get a bullet through ourhead."
"At best?" Frank laughed.
"Certainly at best," Rubini replied gravely. "It would be better to diewith a bullet through one's head than to fall into the hands of thesevindictive scoundrels, who would certainly select some much slower andmore painful way of putting an end to our existence. No, there must beno walking about beyond the edge of the village."
"Then, in fact, Rubini, our journey up here is to be a mere uselesspromenade?"
"I am afraid so. There is only one hope. It may be taken as a fact thatin every band of scoundrels--whether they are robbers or conspirators orbandits--there are sure to be one or two discontented spirits, men whothink that they ought to have been chosen as chiefs, that their advicehas been slighted, or that their share of the plunder is insufficient;and should an opportunity occur, men like these are always ready to turntraitors, if they think that they can do so with safety. I do notsuppose that the bands in these mountains are any exception; indeed, thechances of dissent are larger than usual, for we may be sure that boththe brigands and these men who have been sent over from the mainland tofoment discontent and create a counter-revolution in favour of arepublic are greatly dissatisfied with the result of their jointundertaking. The prompt step Garibaldi took in sending Bixio's divisionhere must have upset all their plans. The guerrillas, no doubt, havetaken a considerable amount of booty; but this could have been donewithout the aid of the strangers. The latter counted on doing greatthings with the assistance of the brigands. They have failed altogether.A good many of both sections have been killed; and I should imagine, atthe present time, that there is not much love lost between them.
"It is therefore quite possible that some of these men are perfectlyready to betray the rest; and I regard it as on the cards that I may geta message to the effect that one of them will, if promised a pardon anda handsome reward, conduct us to the rendezvous where the band isgathered. In that case we should not return empty-handed. In somerespects it is better that we should get at them that way than in anyother; for the knowledge that one of their bands had been destroyed bytreachery on the part of a member would cause a feeling of distrust anduneasiness in every gang in the mountains. Every man would begin tosuspect every other man of being a traitor; and although the fear ofbeing either followed or killed, or of being denounced as a traitor andmurdered, perhaps days, perhaps weeks, perhaps even months afterwards,but certainly some day or other, would keep the bands together, yet theywould lose all heart in the business; quarrels would break out,desperate fights would take place, and many of their parties wouldfinally break up; while the others would, for a considerable time atleast, undertake no fresh enterprises."
Four days passed without incident. An hour after sunset the men marchedto the church, the muskets were piled inside, and they were thenpermitted to sit on the steps outside smoking and talking until nineo'clock, when sentries were posted, and the men lay down inside. Late onthe following afternoon, as Rubini with a sergeant was at the end of thevillage, a woman, standing half-hidden in some bushes a short distanceaway, motioned to him that she wanted to speak to him.
"There might be half a dozen men hidden in that bush," Rubini said. "Letus turn off and go to that shed, and beckon to her to come to us. If westand close to it, no one will see her speaking to us."
The woman hesitated for some time, evidently afraid to leave the shelterof the bushes. Then, making a sign to Rubini that she would join thempresently, she went back into the wood. In a short time she came out onthe other side and walked a couple of hundred yards away; then sheturned and made a wide circuit, keeping as much as possible in shelter,and at last joined them. She was a wild-looking creature: her hair wasin disorder; her face bore signs of tears; her clothes were torn inseveral places, as if she had run recklessly through a thick wood. Shemight have cried as she came; but at present her flushed face, herfierce eyes, her tightly compressed lips, and her quick breathing, spokeof passion rather than grief.
"What do you want with me?" Rubini asked.
"IN HER EXCITEMENT SHE FELL ON HER KNEES"]
"I have come to ask for vengeance," the woman panted. "Prato has thisafternoon shot my husband, and for what? Merely because he said that ifthe band were not going to do anything, he would return home. That wasall; and Prato drew his pistol and shot him. My Antonio! I cannotbring him to life again, but I can avenge him. Signor, the band ofPrato, the most merciless and most famous of our chiefs, lies but fivemiles away; I will lead you to the place, but you must swear to me thatyou will show him no mercy. If you take him prisoner, he will escape: nojudge in the island dare convict him, no jailor would dare keep his doorshut. I must have his life-blood; unless you will swear this I will nottake you to him. As for the others, I care not, but I should like themall to be killed, for they laughed when Prato shot my Antonio like adog; but I bargain not for them. Do as you will with them, but Pratomust die. I ask no reward--I would not touch blood money; I ask only forvengeance," and in her excitement she fell on her knees, and waving herarms above her head, poured down a string of maledictions upon thebrigand chief.
"I can promise you that he shall not be taken prisoner," Rubini said."The villain has committed a score of murders; but he might escape."
"He will fight to the last," the woman said; "he is a devil, but he isno coward. But he would find it difficult to escape. His fires are litat the foot of a crag, and if you approach him on both sides and infront, he must fight."
"How many men has he?"
"Thirty-seven, counting himself, signor; but you will take them bysurprise, and can shoot down many before they can fire a shot."
"What do you think, Zippo?" Rubini asked, drawing his comrade two orthree paces aside. "The man is one of the most notorious brigands in themountains. There has been a big reward offered for him, dead or alive,for years past; it would be a grand service if we could destroy him andhis band, and we should earn the gratitude of all the towns and villagesbelow there."
"Yes, it would be a grand exploit," the sergeant said eagerly, "for usto accomplish what the Neapolitan troops and carabinieri have so longfailed to do. Per Baccho, 'tis a glorious stroke of luck."
"That is what I think," Rubini said. Then he went to the woman. "We areready to aid you to avenge your husband," he said. "You know your waythrough the forest in the dark?"
"I know it well. Prato's band has been in this neighbourhood for monthspast, and I have been in here scores of times to buy provisions. Thereare two or three paths by which you might go, and I know all of them; ifyou like you can carry a lantern until you are within half a mile ofthem. The forest goes well-nigh up to the cliff."
"I will not start till nine o'clock," Rubini said. "At that time my menwithdraw into the church; but we can move out by the door of the vestrybehind, and no one in the village will dream that any of us have leftthe place. Will you be at that door five minutes after the clockstrikes?"
"I will be there," the woman said fiercely, turning and shaking her fistin the direction from which she had come.
As Frank was strolling up the street he met the two friends, for Zippowas a cousin of the captain.
"I have some very important news to give you, Percival," Rubini said, asthey met him; "but I won't tell you here, for the people loitering aboutmight notice that I was talking seriously, and suspect that somethingout of the way had occurred. Let us walk down quietly to the other endof the village, and out of earshot of any of the houses; until we getthere let us chat of other matters. Your arm still goes on well?"
"It could not be better. Five or six days of this mountain air has doneme no end of good. I have not felt a single twinge in my arm, and Ibelieve I could use it for all ordinary purposes now with perfectsafety."
"That is a pretty little child, isn't she, if her face were but clean? Ishould doubt if it has ever been really washed. I should certainly saythat her hair has nev
er been combed. There: the little beggar knows weare speaking of her. Did you see how she scowled? She has evidentlypicked up the popular sentiment concerning us."
When fairly beyond the village Rubini told his story. "It will besplendid," he said. "Why, the capture of Prato would cause almost asmuch sensation in Sicily as the taking of Palermo!"
"Yes, it would be a grand thing," Frank agreed; "but are you quite sure,Rubini, that her story is a true one, and not a feint to draw you intoan ambush?"
"I am perfectly convinced of the woman's earnestness, Percival, and sowould you have been had you seen her. Do you not agree with me, Zippo?"
"Certainly. I have not the slightest doubt in my mind as to the factthat she was speaking the truth."
"Well, if you are both perfectly satisfied," Frank said, "there can beno doubt that it would be a great service to destroy this fellow's band.How many men do you propose to take with you?"
"I should certainly take as strong a force as possible. These brigandsare desperate fellows when cornered."
"Well, there would be no occasion to leave many men with me," Franksaid; "as you would no doubt get away unnoticed, it would be supposedthat the whole force is as usual in the church. If you leave me fivegood men I shall be quite satisfied, and when you have gone we willbarricade the doors, and could hold out stoutly for a long time. Thereis very little woodwork about the place, and if we were driven into thebelfry they could not burn us out. However, it might be a wiseprecaution if you were to tell three or four of your men to buy a coupleof loaves apiece and a skin of wine; as it will be dusk before they goas usual to the church steps, they could bring these with them withoutbeing noticed."
"I will do as you suggest, Percival, but I really think that you arecarrying precaution beyond what is necessary."
"It will not be an expensive precaution," Frank replied, with a smile.
"Then you think five men would be sufficient?" Rubini asked.
"So far as I am concerned, I do not see why you should not take themall. I was ordered to assume the command of any men left here, but thatdid not imply that your force was always to be broken up; certainly I amwilling to remain here by myself. I would infinitely rather go with you,but a night march through a dark forest would be more serious for methan going into a pitched battle, for if I were to trip and fall, Ishould certainly smash my arm again. I do not see why you should leaveany here: five men or even ten would be of no great use, and for abusiness like yours every musket may be of advantage. I shall certainlyfeel very anxious about you while you are away. I can quite believethat, as you say, the woman was perfectly in earnest; but when she wasmissed from that camp, after the murder of her husband, the suspicionthat she had come here to tell us where they were encamped might verywell occur to them, and you might find them vigilant and prepared foryou."
"That may be so," Rubini agreed. "Well, then, as the villagers here willnot know that we have left until we are back again, I think I will takeforty-five men and leave you with five. You shall pick the men."
"I should like to have Sarto and Maffio, if you can spare them; as tothe other three I leave it to you entirely."
"Yes; you can have those two. They are both thoroughly good men, as wellas good fellows; as for the others, I will pick you out three of thebest of those who last joined us. I should like as many of the old handswith me as possible, for I know that they will keep their heads,whatever happens."
It was not until the men were all gathered round the church door, asusual, that Rubini told them of the expedition on which they were aboutto start. The news excited general satisfaction. There had been littledoing since Palermo was taken, and the old hands were all eager for thefray, while those who had more recently joined burned to show that theywere worthy to be comrades of Garibaldi's first followers.
At nine o'clock all came into the church as usual, and ten minutes laterthe detachment, with the exception of Frank's little command, movedsilently out through the vestry door.
"So we are to stay behind with you?" Sarto said, as he and Maffio joinedFrank, who had taken a seat and was thinking over the course that shouldbe pursued if Rubini's enterprise turned out badly. "Rubini said thatyou specially asked for us, which was no doubt a compliment, but onewhich, if you don't mind our saying so, we would gladly have dispensedwith. It will be a nuisance indeed watching here all night, while theothers are engaged in a business quite after our own heart."
"I was sure that you would feel rather annoyed," Frank said; "but Ishould not have liked to be here without at least two men on whom I knowI can rely to the last."
"But what can there be for us to do?" Sarto asked, in some surprise atthe tone in which Frank spoke.
"I don't know; that is just what I don't know, Sarto. I acknowledge thatI by no means like this expedition. Rubini and Zippo are both certainthat this woman is acting in perfect good faith. I did not see her, andtherefore I can only take their opinion, but she may have been onlyacting. You know how passionate these women are; and it seems to mepossible that, thinking what she would have done had her husband beenshot by Prato, she might have worked herself up into such a state thatno one could doubt the reality of her story. Of course, I do not saythat it was so--I only say that it was possible. In the next place, evenif her story is perfectly true, she may have been seen to leave thecamp, or, if she passed out unobserved by any of them, her absence wouldbe noticed, and she might be followed and her interview with Rubiniobserved; and in that case the band may either have moved away when theygot the news, or, what is more likely, be prepared to attack Rubini'scolumn on its way. I mentioned the possibility to Rubini that thewoman's absence might have been noticed and the band be uneasy inconsequence, and on the look-out; and although it in no way shook hisdetermination to take advantage of her offer, he would, I am sure, takeevery precaution in his power. Still, there is no saying how thingswill turn out. It may be that, if the brigands anticipate an attack,they may by this time have sent to another party to tell them that thegreater part of our detachment will be away, and invite them to come andfinish with the men left here, while they themselves tackle those whohave gone out against them."
"It certainly looks possible in the way you put it," Maffio said,"though I hope it may not turn out so. However, I see that we shall, atany rate, have something to think about while they are away. So that iswhat that bread and wine you brought in was for? Rubini asked us, andtwo others, to bring in a couple of loaves each, and the other to bringin a skin of wine; of course, we thought that it was for the use of theexpedition."
"I asked him to do so, Maffio. He rather laughed at the idea, but itseemed to me possible that they might be of use here while he was away;and at any rate I will guarantee that the food shall not be wasted."
"Six of us, including yourself, could not hold this church long?"
"Not against a great effort. But even if they should take advantage ofthe absence of part of our force to attack us, they would not know howstrong a party had been left behind, and would be cautious for a bit;but I do not suppose that we should be able to resist a determinedonslaught. I thought that we might take to the tower: we could hold thatfor hours."
"Yes; we could do that," Sarto said confidently. "Well, I don't at allsuppose that we are going to be disturbed, but it is a satisfaction tofeel that we are not altogether out of the affair."
As usual, a dozen candles had been lighted in different parts of thechurch as soon as it was dark. The three Genoese, who had joined thecompany after the capture of Palermo, looked sulky and downcast at beingleft behind, and Frank called to them.
"I have no doubt that you are disappointed, gentlemen," he said; "butyou should really take it as a compliment. I asked Captain Rubini toleave me, in addition to my two friends here, the three best men hecould pick out from those who had not formed part of the original force,and I have no doubt that he has done so. I may tell you that I considerit possible, I do not say probable, that we may be attacked, and we willfirst see what steps should be
taken in that case. I have not been up tothe tower: have any of you?"
None of them had mounted there.
"Then let us investigate," he said.
The campanile stood at the north-west corner of the church; it had anexterior door, and another opening into the church. Taking a couple ofcandles, they entered by the latter, and mounted a stone staircaseleading to the lower story of the tower; beyond this a wooden staircaseled to the rough wooden floor under the bells, and another to the flatterrace above.
"The first thing to do," Frank said, "is to block up the outside door;at any rate, let us have a look at it." It was roughly made, but verystrong. "The door is well enough, but I doubt whether this lock wouldnot give under heavy blows."
"We might pile chairs behind it," Sarto suggested.
"I would rather not do that, if we can help it," Frank replied. "Theymay burn the door down, and the less combustibles there are the better;however, if we can find nothing else, we must use them."
Nothing could be found, and Frank then said, "I think that we can managewith one chair."
The others looked puzzled.
"We will cut up the legs and back into six-inch pieces, sharpen theminto wedges, and drive them in all round the door: I think that wouldwithstand any battering until the door itself splintered."
They all fell to work at once, and in a quarter of an hour a score ofwedges were driven in.
"Now we will do the same at the bottom of the church door itself, andput in a few as high as we can reach on each side; that will detain themsome time before it yields."
When this was done, Sarto said, "What next, Percival?"
"The only other thing to be done in the way of defence is to carry allthe chairs upstairs to the first story of the tower, to make a barricadethere," Maffio remarked.
"Yes, we might make a barricade of them half way up the stairs, but mymain object is to get rid of them here. If they found they could notstorm the stairs, they might pile all the chairs in the middle of thechurch and set them on fire--they are the only things that will burn;and although the flames would scarcely mount to the roof, sparks wouldfly up, and as there is sure to be a lot of dust and soot on the beamsthere, which might catch fire, we should be burnt out."
"Well, at any rate there will be no great trouble in doing that," Sartosaid; "though I should hardly think that they would attempt to burn thechurch down. The brigands have no respect for life, but they are notwithout their superstitions, and might be afraid to burn a church,though they would cut half a dozen throats without a scruple."
"Yes; but a portion of the band are no doubt composed of revolutionistsfrom the mainland--fellows who have no scruples of any sort, and who, asthe men of the same kind did in Paris seventy years ago, would desecratea church in every conceivable manner, for, as a rule, they hate religionas they hate authority."
The chairs were accordingly carried up and stowed on the wooden floorbeneath the bells.
"Now," Frank said, "I should like to see how this ladder is fastened,and if we can move it."
This, however, they found would be well-nigh impossible. It was overthirty feet from the stone floor to the next story, while that in whichthe bells hung was but some twenty feet. The ladder was very solid andheavy, and as only two could get at it from above, it could not belifted up that way.
"We can manage it," Frank said, after thinking for a minute. "We canpull the bell ropes up through their holes, and fasten them somewhereabove the middle of the ladder; then, with three of us pulling on each,we could certainly raise it without much difficulty. We should not haveto pull it very high--six feet would be ample. If they want to smoke usout, they must bring wood from outside, which will not be easy to dounder our fire. Now we will leave one on watch above. He shall berelieved every hour. Do you take the first watch, Pedro. If you hear anystir in the village below, come down and tell us at once; but, aboveall, listen for distant firing. It is five miles to the spot where thebandits are, but on a still night like this it would certainly be heardhere."
He and the other four men then descended to the first floor. Here thosewho were to take the next turn of duty said, "If you do not want usfurther, captain, we will sit here and light our pipes, if you have noobjection."
"No objection at all. I don't think that I should like to smoke myselfin the church below, but that is a matter of opinion; but certainly noone could object to its being done in this detached tower."
Then, with Sarto and Maffio, he went down into the church.