Won By the Sword : a tale of the Thirty Years' War Page 5

  CHAPTER V: THE RELIEF OF THE CITADEL

  As soon as the first gleam of daylight showed itself Hector and hiscompanion were on their feet again.

  The operation of dressing was by no means a comfortable one, for thefrost had set in in earnest during the night, and their clothes, withthe exception of the shirts, were as stiff as boards. The snow hadceased 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 yesterdayevening. Come on, Paolo, let us trot for a bit. The snow is four inchesdeep, and we shall soon get warm running through it."

  In a quarter of an hour they broke into a walk again, panting from theirexertions.

  "I am as warm as a toast now, Paolo. There is a village half a mileahead. I expect that lies on the road. The sun will be up before we getthere, and no doubt we shall be able to get some hot spiced wine andsome 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 saidthat they had been on the road a couple of hours, as they were going tosee an aunt who was ill at Chivasso, and their father wanted them backagain that night. The explanation satisfied the host and he asked nofurther questions, and in ten minutes they were on their way again,greatly warmed and comforted by their meal, and after walking foranother hour and a half they arrived at the bridge of Chivasso. Therewas a strong guard at the bridge head, for at any moment the garrisonof Turin, aided by a force from Leganez's army, might endeavour to carrythe town by a sudden assault. The lads passed the bridge unquestioned,entered the gate of the town, and made their way to the commandant'shouse.

  "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 questionto 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 importanceto give him."

  A sergeant came out.

  "Sergeant," Hector went on quietly, "you will please tell the governorthat the two persons he sent out under an escort the evening beforelast, wish to see him."

  By the tone of assurance in which the lad spoke, rather than by hiswords, the sergeant saw that there was something more than appearedon the surface, and at once took up the message. He returned almostimmediately. "Please to follow me," he said, and led the way up to thegovernor's room.

  "Welcome back again, Monsieur Campbell! You have returned sooner than Iexpected. You found, of course, that the difficulties were insuperable?"

  "On the contrary, sir, we have been successful, and have communicatedwith the garrison of the citadel."

  "You have!" the governor exclaimed in astonishment. "How on earthdid you manage it? I heard that the watch was so strict that it wasabsolutely impossible for a message to be sent through."

  "It was not very difficult after all, and we were greatly favoured bythe snowstorm." He then gave an account of how they had managed it.

  "Pardieu!" he exclaimed, "that was admirably done; but I am keeping youtalking while you are sitting in your wet clothes."

  "I think they are quite dry now, sir; and we have walked so fast thatwe are both thoroughly warm. Still, I own that I shall not be sorry tochange them for my own."

  The governor rose and opened the door. "Your clothes are all hanging upin that closet. I will have some hot water sent up at once. I shallbe breakfasting in half an hour, so you will have time to changecomfortably."

  Hector was even more glad of a thorough wash than of a change ofclothes, and went down to join the governor at breakfast, feelinggreatly refreshed.

  "Shall I wait on you, master?"

  "No, it is not necessary, Paolo; you had better go into the kitchen atonce. I have no doubt the governor has ordered them to attend to yourwants as he did before."

  Four other officers had just arrived on the invitation of the governorto breakfast; one of these was the captain who had commanded the escort.

  "Gentlemen," the commandant said, "let me introduce to you MonsieurCampbell, a lieutenant on the staff of Viscount Turenne. He has justreturned after having successfully carried out a most dangerous anddifficult mission, namely, that of communicating with the garrison ofTurin."

  The officers gave an exclamation of surprise, while Captain Simonstepped forward and shook hands warmly with Hector.

  "You did not tell me exactly what you were going to do," he said. "Ithought that it was to see some of the duchess's adherents in Turin, butI never dreamt that you were going to attempt to communicate with thecitadel. Had I known that, I certainly should not have expected to seeyou again, for from what we have heard it is next to impossible to getthrough the enemy's lines."

  "We will not trouble Monsieur Campbell until he has finished hisbreakfast," the commandant said. "He has already told me briefly how hemanaged, but I shall be as glad as you will to have the details."

  Accordingly, after breakfast Hector related at much greater length thestory that he had told the governor of the manner in which the missionhad been carried out.

  "Ma foi!" the colonel said, "I would rather have faced a battery thanswum those moats in such weather. Well, gentlemen, I think that you willagree with me that Monsieur de Turenne is fortunate in having so braveand enterprising an officer on his staff."

  The officers cordially assented.

  "I wonder that you did not enter the citadel and stay there till theconvoy arrived."

  "In the first place, colonel, I had received no orders to do so, and thegeneral might require me for other service. And in the second place, hadI not returned he would not have known whether his message had reachedthe garrison, and so might have hurried on his preparations more hastilythan he otherwise would have done, and might, in his fear that thegarrison would surrender, have made the attempt before he had collectedsufficient food to last them until he was in a position to raise thesiege."

  "Your reasons are good ones; but certainly, with shelter and warmthclose 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 haverequired no small effort to turn away and to face the danger of passingthe sentries and scaling the walls, of possibly having to swim the Po,and of certainly having no chance of getting a change of clothes untilyou arrived here, for you could not have calculated upon finding theshed, much less those sacks, with the snow falling heavily."

  "That was a piece of good fortune, indeed. If we had not found it, weshould have gone on walking until we got here. Still, we had had littlesleep the night before, and were heartily glad that we had no farther togo. 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 withyou."

  "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'scavalry I think that we ought to be able to outdistance them. I shallbe glad, colonel, if you and your officers will say nothing about themanner in which I communicated with the garrison, as doubtless the enemyhave spies here; and if the story comes out and reaches the ears of theauthorities at Turin, I should have no chance whatever of making myway in, in the same manner, should the general entrust me with anothermission to communicate with the citadel."

  A quarter of an hour later Hector and Paolo mounted and rode out of thetown. They kept a vigilant lookout, and traveled by byroads, but theysaw 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 hisroom.

  "I did not expect you back for another three or four d
ays, Campbell,"the general said, "and I am heartily glad to see you again safe andsound. I blamed myself for letting you go. Of course, as I expected, youfound the task an altogether impossible one. Had it been otherwise youwould not have been back so soon."

  "On the contrary, general, for I should have tried many plans before Igave it up. As it is, I have only to report that I have carried out yourinstructions, and that your despatches are in the hands of the garrisonof the citadel."

  "You do not say so!" Turenne said, rising from the table at which he hadbeen sitting writing when Hector entered, and shaking him warmly by thehand. "I congratulate both you and myself on your having performed amission that seemed well nigh hopeless. But by what miracle did yousucceed in passing through the enemy's lines? All who have tried itbefore have either died in the attempt or have returned to tell me thatit was an absolutely impossible one."

  "It would have been very difficult, general, had not the weatherfavoured us. The snowstorm drove the sentries into shelter, and evenhad they remained at their posts they could not have seen us five yardsaway."

  "No, I can understand that once beyond the wall you might in such astorm make your way unnoticed up to the fortress; but I understood thatnot 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 thewalls, and that none were allowed to pass along those leading to thewalls 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 particularlybusy at present, and I would fain know exactly how this feat has beenaccomplished."

  Hector told his story at length. Beyond asking a question now and then,Turenne remained silent until he had brought it to a conclusion.

  "I have never heard a story that interested me more," he said, "and I donot know which to admire more, your ingenuity in planning this affair orthe hardihood and courage with which you carried it out. Even had therebeen no enemy to get through, the adventure of letting yourself down bya rope from the housetop and then from the battlements, swimming threemoats, crossing the river in such terrible weather, and finally makingyour way to Chivasso in your frozen clothes, is no slight feat ofendurance. The service that you have rendered is a great one, the mannerin which you have carried it out is worthy of the highest praise, and Ishall at once make out your commission as captain. You are still a yearbehind me," he added with a smile, "but if you go on in this way, youbid fair to obtain a regiment as soon as I did. You have nearly fouryears to do it in. Tomorrow you will dictate your story in full tomy secretary. I shall be sending a messenger with despatches on thefollowing day. I shall mention that I have promoted you to the rank ofcaptain, and that the story of the action that you have performed, whichI shall inclose, will fully explain my reason for so speedily advancingyou. No, I require no thanks; you have to thank yourself only. I mayconsider that you have not only done me but the state a service. Yourservant deserves a reward also. Here are twenty pistoles; tell himnot to throw them away, but to lay them by where some day they will beuseful to him."

  Paolo was astonished indeed when Hector handed him the general'spresent. He could at first hardly believe that it was meant for him.

  "Why, master," he said, "it would buy me a farm up in the hills!"

  "Not a very large one, Paolo, but I daresay that you will add to it;still, this is a good beginning, and some more opportunities may come inyour way."

  "What shall I do with them, master?"

  "That I cannot say. Certainly you cannot carry them about with you. Doyou know anyone to whom you could entrust them?"

  Paolo shook his head. "There is never any knowing who is an honest manand who is not," he said. "I will bury them, master."

  "But somebody might find them."

  "No fear of that, sir. I will go a bit up the valley and bury them undera big rock well above the river, so that it will not be reached in thehighest floods. They might lie there a hundred years without anyonefinding them, even if every soul in Susa knew that they were hiddensomewhere and went out to search for them."

  "Very well; but be sure you take notice of the exact position of thestone, or you may not be able to find it again yourself. One big stoneis a good deal like another. Choose a stone with a tree growing near it,and make a cross with your knife on the bark. That will serve as a guideto you, and you would recognize the stone by it even if you could notfind it in any other way."

  "Thank you, master. I will go out tomorrow morning and choose my stone,and then when it begins to get dark I will go out and bury my moneythere. It would not do to hide it in the daytime, for even were there noone on the road someone upon the hills might catch sight of me and comedown afterwards to see what I was disposing of."

  "Well, I think that that is the best thing that you can do, Paolo. Thereis certainly a danger in leaving it in anyone's hands, for when youreturn to claim it, perhaps some years hence, you might find that he wasdead, or the place might be captured and burned down. Yes, I thinkthat hiding it is the safest way. You will be pleased to hear that thegeneral has given me a commission as captain."

  "That is good news, indeed," the boy said. "I was just going to ask,master, what he had done for you, because, though I went with you, itwas you who planned the business, and I only did as you told me."

  "You had something to do with the planning, too, Paolo. However, Ithink that we may both feel well content with the rewards that we haveobtained for two days' work."

  As Hector went out he met de Lisle and Chavigny.

  "Well met!" the former exclaimed. "We have just left the general, andhe has told us what you have done, and that he has made you a captainin consequence. We were just coming to look for you to carry you off tosupper in honour of your promotion."

  "You deserve it, if anyone ever did, there is no doubt of that,"Chavigny said heartily. "We are quite proud of our comrade."

  "It seems absurd that I should be a captain."

  "Not absurd at all," Chavigny said. "Turenne was a captain when he was ayear younger than you are, and there is many a noble who has been made acolonel before he ever drew sword in battle."

  Hector was much pleased at the evidently genuine congratulations ofhis companions. He had indeed rather feared that they would take hispromotion ill; being nearly five years his senior, and having served intwo previous campaigns, they might well feel hurt at his being promotedwhile they still remained only lieutenants. The young nobles indeed feltno shade of jealousy. It was but of late that there had been a regulararmy, for the nobles still brought their tenants and retainers to thefield and supported them at their own expense.

  To de Lisle and Chavigny these grades of military rank were of noaccount whatever. The rank of colonel would add in no way to theirposition as members of noble families. They fought for honour, andagainst the enemies of France. They were always addressed by theirfamily name, and would both have resented being called lieutenant.They were proud of being Turenne's aides-de-camp, but had no thought ofremaining in the army after the war was over, as they would then resumetheir place at court. They had both taken a strong liking to their youngcomrade, whose manner of thought differed so widely from their own. Theyappreciated the merits of the action of which their general had spokenin such warm terms, and the fact that in point of military rank he wasnow above them concerned them in no way. It was a merry supper at thebest hotel in Susa.

  "You see now, de Lisle," Chavigny said, "the advantage of taking amorning dip in snow water. Neither you nor I would have swum acrossthose moats, and remained all night long in our wet clothes, for athousand crowns."

  "No, no, nor for five thousand," the other laughed. "Pass me the wine;it makes me shiver to think of it. I fancy we may as well admit at oncethat if the mission had been entrusted to us, we should have made a messof it. We should have been shot by the guards in the first street weentered. As to climbing along the roofs of houses till we had passed thefirst line of sentinels
, the idea would never have entered our heads.Of course we might have disguised ourselves, and might have got intothe town by harnessing ourselves to a load of faggots, but once there weshould have had no more chance of getting into the fortress than if wehad at once proclaimed ourselves French officers, and had requested apass into the citadel."

  For the next ten days every effort was made to obtain carts and packhorses from the villages round Susa, and a number of wagons filled withprovisions were brought from Carignano, where the principal supplies forthe army had been collected. On the fourteenth day all was ready, andlate in the afternoon the convoy, with fifteen hundred men from Susa,and four pieces of artillery, marched out. At the same hour the forceat Carignano, six thousand strong, leaving only a small body to garrisonthe city, started for Turin along the farther bank of the Po, and justas day broke a heavy cannonade was opened by them against one of thecity gates.

  Astonished and alarmed, the troops in the city flew to arms, and hurriedto repulse the attack. A quarter of an hour later the dim light ofthe morning showed the astonished sentries at the end of the townsurrounding the citadel a considerable force advancing to the attack ofthe gate there, opposite which, at a distance of two hundred yards, fourcannon were placed, and scarcely had they made out the enemy whenthese opened fire. A few rounds and the gate was in splinters, and theinfantry rushed forward. The sentries on the walls took to flight, andthe assailants pushed forward to the inner gate. Access was obtainedfrom that side to the citadel, and then, under the direction of theirofficers, the assailants occupied all the side streets. At once theprocession of carts was allowed to pass along. Some of the garrisonran down and lowered the drawbridge across the moat, and amid exultantshouts a store sufficient for many months was conveyed into the citadel.The carts as quickly as they were unloaded returned through the gatesand passed out into the country beyond. By this time a fierce fighthad begun. As soon as the firing was heard opposite the citadel, PrinceThomas and his military advisers guessed at once that the attack hadbeen but a feint, made with the object of effecting the relief of thecitadel, and calling several regiments to follow them they hastened inthat direction. On their way they met the fugitives, and hurried on withall speed. As they approached the street through which the wagons werepassing out, they were checked by a heavy fire. The four guns had beenplaced in pairs at the end of the streets, and the houses near themfilled with troops who kept up a murderous fire from the windows, on thehead of the columns, and held them completely in check until the lastwagon had been taken out. Then the cannon were removed, and when thesetoo were fairly outside the city, a bugle call summoned the defenders ofthe houses, and the infuriated Italians and Spaniards, when they rusheddown into the street between the gates, found that the last of theirfoes had escaped them. The artillerymen ran up to the walls, only tofind that the guns had been spiked, and they were powerless to inflictany serious damage upon the retiring force.

  Prince Thomas ordered a sally, but at this moment a regiment of cavalryfrom Chivasso was seen dashing across the plain, and being withoutartillery or cavalry the order was countermanded. Indeed, the prolongedroll of artillery at the other end of the city seemed to show that theFrench were converting their feigned attack into a real one. Turennehad himself accompanied the column from Carignano, for he knew that thesound of firing might bring up Leganez from Asti, and that he mightfind his retreat to Carignano intercepted. The moment, however, that thesound of four guns at equal intervals showed that the other columnhad achieved its object, he at once fell back, his fire ceasing a fewminutes before Prince Thomas and his horse arrived at the walls. He hadnot been accompanied by Hector, who was with the force from Susa.

  "You carried my message to the garrison," he said, "and it is but rightthat you should have the honour of leading the party to its relief."

  On arriving near the city Hector had dismounted, and, giving his horsein charge of Paolo, had placed himself at the head of the company thatwas first to enter the town, its captain being transferred to anothercompany.

  "Now, men," he said, as they stood waiting for the dawn to break, "themoment we enter the gates half the company will mount the wall to theright, the other half to the left, and each will push along to the nextangle of the wall. Lieutenants, one of you will go with each wing of thecompany, and you will oppose to the last any force that may march alongthe rampart to attack you. I want one soldier to keep by me."

  As day began to break, each man grasped his firelock and awaited thesignal with impatience. A cheer broke from them as the four cannonroared out at the same moment, and at so short a distance that everyshot told on the gate. Another salvo and both halves of the gate weresplintered.

  "Aim at the centre where the lock is," an officer shouted.

  "Get ready, men," Hector said. "Another round and the gate will fall."

  As the cannon rung out there was a shout of triumph. One of the gatesfell to the ground and Hector dashed forward, followed closely by hiscompany. Not a single shot was fired from the walls, and the men burstthrough the gates cheering. The leading wing of the company turned tothe right, and, led by Hector, ran up the steps close to the gateway onto the rampart.

  "Take them on to that bastion at the angle of the wall, lieutenant. I donot think that you are likely to be attacked at present. The enemy mustall have been drawn off to the other end of the city. Now, my man, openthat bag."

  In it were a couple of dozen large nails and a hammer. "Drive one ofthose right down the vent of this gun. That is right. One more blow.That will do. They won't get that nail out soon."

  He went along the wall spiking each gun until they reached the halfcompany drawn up in the bastion. "No enemy in sight, lieutenant?"

  "None, sir, at least not on the wall. We heard them running away in thestreets below."

  "Remember, lieutenant, whatever force may come along you must withstandthem. It will not be for long. You will be at once supported if we hearfiring."

  Then he retraced his steps along the ramparts, passed over the gateway,and saw to the spiking of each gun as far as the next angle of the wall.Here he repeated his instructions to the lieutenant there.

  "I do not think," he said, "that there is much chance of your beingattacked. The enemy would have to make a detour right round the citadelto come here, and certainly they will return by the shortest way, assoon as they discover that the other attack is but a feint."

  Then he returned to the first party.

  "Get the two guns," he said, "out of their embrasures and wheel themhere. It is likely enough that we may be hotly attacked presently."

  They waited half an hour, by which time the wagons were beginning topour out of the town.

  "We have done our business, lieutenant; the citadel is revictualled. Ah!here come the enemy, just too late."

  A strong body of troops were seen marching rapidly towards them, andalmost at the same moment a heavy fire broke out in the street. Theguns had been loaded from a small magazine in the bastion, and had beentrained to fire along the rampart. When within a hundred yards the enemyopened fire. Hector ordered the men to lie down and not to reply untilhe gave the order. They lay in two lines, the first were to fire and thesecond to reserve their fire until ordered. He took his post at one gunand the lieutenant at the other. A messenger had been sent along thewall to bring up the twenty-five men of the other wing. When the enemywere within fifty yards he asked quietly, "Does your gun bear well onthe centre of the column?"

  "Yes, captain."

  "Then fire!"

  The ball cut a way through the dense column.

  "Load again!"

  The four men, told off to the duty, leapt to their feet. There was ahalt for a moment, and then the Spaniards came on again. When they werewithin twenty paces Hector fired, and at the same time shouted, "Firstline give fire!" and twenty-five muskets flashed out, every ball takingeffect on the head of the column. The Spaniards recoiled, the leadingranks being swept away and many of those behind wounded, for three ballsha
d been rammed down the mouth of the cannon fired by Hector, and theseand the musketry volley had done terrible execution. At this moment thetwenty-five men sent for ran up.

  "Second line give fire!" Hector shouted; and the discharge added to theconfusion in the column, and many ran down some steps into the lane bythe side of the wall.

  "Have you loaded again, lieutenant?"

  "Yes, sir, with three balls."

  "Then form up, men, and deliver your fire," Hector said to thenewcomers. "Now, lieutenant, touch it off."

  As the discharge rang out, mingled with the roar of the guns, Hectorshouted, "Fix bayonets, and charge!" The wooden shafts of the bayonetswere thrust down the barrels of the firelocks, and with a cheer theseventy-five men rushed upon the shattered head of the column. Thecharge was irresistible, and the enemy at once fled at full speed alongthe rampart or leapt from the wall into the lane below.

  "Well done, men, well done!" Hector shouted. "Do not pursue. Reload yourcannon, though I do not think there is much fear of their returning."

  A few minutes later the soldier who had carried the spikes, and who hadbeen left on the wall, ran up to say that the last cart had passed out.

  "Go and tell the other party to fall back to the gate," Hector said;"but first give me two spikes and the hammer. They might run thesecannons into the places of those disabled." So saying, he spiked thetwo guns that had done such good service, and then retired to the gate,where he was joined by the remainder of the company. As the bugle rungout after the last wagon had passed, and he saw the troops issuing fromthe houses at the corners of the cross streets, he marched his companyacross the drawbridge, out into the country, and followed the guns. Whenhe reached the spot where Paolo was holding the horses, he resigned thecommand of the company and mounted.

  "Men," he said, "you have played your part well, and I am proud to havecommanded soldiers so steady and courageous."

  At this moment the general, who was in command of the force, and who hadbeen the last to leave the town, rode up, the men coming along at a run.

  "You had better hurry your men on," he said to the colonel with whomHector had acted; "the enemy will be on the ramparts in a minute, andyou may be sure that they won't let us off without trouble from theirguns."

  "I beg your pardon, general," Hector said saluting, "but the guns allalong this side of the wall are useless; I have spiked them."

  "You have, sir! That was well done indeed. Who gave you the orders, andhow did you come by spikes?"

  "I had no orders, general; but I was appointed to command the firstcompany that entered, and was told that we were to turn right and leftalong the ramparts. It struck me that as, when we had left, the enemywould be sure to turn their guns upon us, it would be as well to silencethem, so I brought the nails and a hammer with me for the purpose."

  "It would be well, sir, if we had a good many officers as thoughtfulas you are. You have saved us from heavy loss, for, as the country isperfectly level for a mile round, they would have swept our ranks as wemarched off. Were you attacked, sir?"

  "Yes, general, by a force of about four hundred men, but I turned two ofthe guns against them. My men fought well, and we repulsed them with aloss of fully a hundred men."

  "Bravo, sir, bravo! I shall not fail to mention the service that youhave rendered in my report of the affair. Have you lost any men?"

  "No, sir; they lay down until the enemy were within twenty paces of us,and their volleys and the two cannon created such a confusion among theSpaniards that when we went at them with the bayonet they fled at once,and I have not a single man killed, and only two or three slightlywounded."

  "We have only lost twenty," the general said, "and most of those werekilled while serving the guns. That was a small price indeed to pay forour magnificent success."