Hector and Jezreel accompanied him through the undergrowth until they came to the edge of the jungle where the undergrowth had been cut back in a straight line. ‘No farther,’ said the Miskito crouching down. ‘We’re just within range of their muskets.’
It was as Mansur had warned. The ground between the town and the forest had been cleared of all cover for a distance of a hundred paces. At the far side of this killing ground stood the ten-foot palisade that guarded the landward side of the town. It was made of tree trunks planted vertically in the soil. In the centre was a heavy double gate, also made of timber and now firmly shut. The turbaned heads of the defenders could be seen above the stockade. As Hector watched, there was a puff of smoke as a musket was fired towards them.
‘Telling us to keep our distance,’ said Dan. ‘Jezreel, what next?’
‘We bring up the two lantaka. Fire scatter-shot at intervals. That should keep the defence occupied while we organize something more damaging.’
Hector scanned the palisade. ‘Where’s the weakest point, do you think?’
‘The gate. It looks stout enough to stop a musket ball, but not a five-pound shot.’
‘Good, let’s put the Sultan’s lantaka to use,’ said Hector and they crawled away.
Ten minutes later he was explaining to Mansur that a dozen Omoro should be assigned to each of the little cannon. They were to bring the guns to the edge of the forest.
‘Jacques will go with them,’ he said. ‘He will show them how to load and aim and fire.’
‘It’s much like using a musket, but on a larger scale?’ asked the chamberlain.
‘Yes, but they must be sure to swab the barrels and clean out any embers that might ignite the next charge too early. Warn them that if they cram in too many bullets and stones, the barrel might burst or the range will be too short.’
‘What about the big gun?’ asked the chamberlain. ‘His Highness is most eager to see it in action.’ Hector could see the boy’s eyes were shining with excitement as he tried to follow their conversation.
‘Inform His Highness that Jezreel intends to bring the big gun up to the edge of the forest, directly in front of the town gate. From there he will fire at the palisade.’
Mansur translated Hector’s statement, but was met with a sharp retort from the prince. The chamberlain had a worried expression as he turned back to speak to Hector.
‘His Highness insists that he will fire the gun himself.’
Hector opened his mouth to say that the old brass gun had never been tested and might have flaws. If the barrel burst, it would kill anyone standing close by.
The prince cut him short with a single brief sentence.
Mansur flinched. ‘The prince says that is not a request. It is his command.’
‘Very well. We will bring the gun forward on the sledge. But it will be safer if we load it now, where we cannot be seen by the Sugala and we can take our time.’
Jezreel had already taken off his shirt and wrapped it around the head of the reamer. He was using it as a swab to clean out the barrel.
‘How much powder do you think she’ll need?’ he asked Dan.
The Miskito shrugged. ‘Half a ladle should be enough.’
Jezreel used his thumb to rub away at the bowl of the powder ladle brought from the wreck of the Westflinge. He eyed the faint lines marked on the scoop. ‘Let’s hope this is the correct ladle for this gun, and not for larger cannon,’ he said. He took the stopper out of a powder jar and tipped out a trickle of greyish-black gunpowder until the scoop was filled halfway.
‘Wait,’ said Dan. He was holding a thin strip of bamboo. He poked it into the cannon’s touch-hole and pushed it down as far as it would go. Marking the point where the bamboo strip emerged from the gun, he withdrew it and then held it vertically across the muzzle of the gun.
Behind him, the prince spoke to Mansur. ‘His Highness wishes to know what you are doing,’ said the chamberlain.
‘I’m checking to see if the cannon shoots high or low as you take aim, by looking along the barrel,’ Dan answered. He tossed aside the bamboo strip. ‘A little high. Hector, can you cut me a wedge of hardwood, say eight inches long and three inches thick across the base?’
Carefully Jezreel inserted the half-full ladle down the barrel, turned his wrist and dumped the gunpowder deep in the chamber. He withdrew the empty ladle, took the rammer and packed tight the charge. Hector handed him a wad, and that too was thrust home.
‘You carried it all the way, so you do the honours,’ said Dan, handing Jezreel the five-pound round shot. Jezreel placed the iron ball into the muzzle of the gun and pushed it down as far as it would go. Dan rammed it hard against the wad, then added a second wad on top so that the shot stayed in place.
‘We’ll prime it once we have the gun in position,’ said Dan. To their right they heard the sudden report of a lantaka firing its scatter-shot towards the Sugala defenders’ palisade. ‘Let’s hope that makes them keep their heads down,’ grunted Jezreel. He threw his weight on a hand-spike and levered the sledge forward.
Slowly the gun crept through the undergrowth.
DAN CALLED a halt when the sledge was still within cover, ten yards short of the open ground. ‘No point exposing ourselves to enemy fire,’ he said. The scrub and bush were sparse enough for them to see the town gate set in the line of the palisade. He crouched behind the gun and squinted down the length of the barrel. ‘A little to my left,’ he said. Jezreel and Hector used their hand-spikes to line up the gun until the Miskito was satisfied. Next he asked Jezreel to place the tip of his hand-spike beneath the cannon’s breech and to lever upwards.
‘A fraction more,’ the Miskito called as the muzzle of the gun dipped slightly. ‘Hold it.’ He thrust home the wooden wedge.
Mansur was standing with Prince Jainalabidin several paces to one side and both were watching keenly. ‘His Highness wishes to know whether you are aiming at the top or bottom of the gate,’ said the chamberlain.
‘Neither,’ said Dan. ‘I’m aiming at the ground twenty paces in front of the gate, in case the gun shoots even higher than I calculate. It won’t matter if the shot bounces on the ground before it strikes the target. Might even make the impact more destructive.’ He busied himself with a powder flask, pouring a trail of gunpowder into the touch-hole.
From the palisade came a spatter of musketry, almost immediately followed by the angry snap of a lantaka in retaliation.
‘All ready,’ said Dan calmly, putting back the stopper in the powder flask.
Stepping to the nearest bush, he broke off a straight, slender branch about two feet long. He stripped off the leaves and prised open a split at one end. He turned to one of the Omoro musketeers and took from him a length of burning match-cord. He wound it around the stick and jammed the lit end into the cleft.
‘If Your Highness would like to fire the cannon, but please stay well back,’ he said, handing the match-stick to the boy.
Hector had to admire Prince Jainalabidin’s composure. Without further prompting, the boy approached the cannon and lowered the glowing end of the cord to the touch-hole.
There was a tremendous explosion and the gun reared back. The force of the recoil lifted the front of the sledge several inches off the ground, and the discharge seemed to jolt the youngster off his feet. Mansur darted forward just in time to catch the boy as he stumbled. Angrily the prince waved him away. The lad’s face was streaked with burned gunpowder, his clothes speckled with black marks, but the smile he turned towards his companions was radiant.
Standing clear of the cloud of black smoke that billowed from the muzzle of the gun, Hector watched the flight of the shot. A black dot hurtled across the killing ground. There was a spurt of dust as it hit the ground and bounced. Even as the dust was still rising, a section of the palisade immediately to the left of the gate whirled away in a cloud of splinters.