‘Someone’s been gulling you!’
‘No, indeed! Why, we actually captured some of their horses this morning! That’s what I mean. You don’t seem to-’
‘Captured some of their horses?” Kincaid interrupted. ‘What are you talking about? I’ve heard nothing of any enemy in our front!’
‘You might not, but-’
‘The hell I might not! I’m field-officer of the day!’ The Corporal of the guard came into the tent at that moment, with the orderly-book. Kincaid held out his hand for it, saying: ‘Go on: tell me more about these mythical horses of yours.’
‘Mythical! You can come and see them for yourself if you don’t believe me!’ Kincaid raised his eyes from the orderly-book. They held a look of awe; there was the faintest quiver in his voice. ‘Were they-could they have been-light dragoon horses?’ he asked.
‘Yes, certainly they could! What the devil’s the matter?’
Kincaid had burst into a shout of laughter. ‘Done, brown as a berry!’ he gasped. ‘You’ll never live this down, never! It’s all here, in the orderly-book. Reward offered for the detection of the thieves, too! Damme, if I don’t claim it!’
‘Reward?’ stammered his guest, ‘Thieves? You don’t mean-they weren’t some of ours?’ ‘But they were!’ Kincaid assured him. ‘Turned out to graze-and you nobbled ’em!’
8
By the 7th June, the division had come in sight of Palencia, the enemy always retiring before them. At Salamanca, the rear-guard left in the town had been pursued and rather mauled by light cavalry; and on the 2nd June, on the road to Toro, the 10th Hussars had made a. brilliant charge, taking two hundred prisoners.
The Douro was crossed by means of planks, and flying bridges, several arches of the bridge at Toro having been destroyed. Once across the river, the army entered upon a sunburnt, parched country, almost treeless, and badly watered. The water in the few small streams tasted brackish; the heat of the sun was terrific; men began to recall the sweltering marches before Salamanca. The Household Cavalry lost their fresh complexions, suffered agonies from blistered skins, passing through all the stages of bright red to the final leathery brown. White dust powdered their shining boots, and sweat darkened their uniforms. ‘Bite on the bridle, bite on the bridle!’ the old soldiers told them, when they groaned under the unaccustomed heat. ‘You don’t know what heat is yet!’
Rain fell, enough to make the chalky ground slimy. On a greasy bank, the mare Juana was riding slipped and came down, falling on her. The mare scrambled up unhurt, but Juana, after making an attempt to rise, gave a whimper, and clenched her teeth on her underlip. ‘Are you hurt, missus?’ West asked anxiously. ‘The clumsy creature! I knew we’d have a set-out like this!’
Rather white about the mouth, Juana said faintly: ‘My foot. I’ve hurt my foot. I don’t think I can stand on it.’
Fortunately, she had been riding with the column, and in a very few minutes Harry was beside her, and a young subaltern had been sent galloping to the rear to find one of the surgeons.
It was evident that she was in much pain, although she said it was not very bad. Harry made her swallow some brandy from a flask he carried, and George Simmons, gently handling the hurt foot, said that the boot must be got off it, as it was already swelling. This was an agonizing business, and Juana, held tightly in Harry’s arms, turned her face into his shoulder, and bit on the rough cloth of his jacket. Old Vandeleur, riding up in the middle of all this, in great concern, sent his orderly flying off to hurry the surgeon, told George to be careful what he was about, damned all stupid horses, and wished he had some hartshorn. ‘She’ll do, sir: don’t worry!’ Harry said. ‘Keep quite still, hija! What’s the damage, George?’ ‘I can’t tell that. I hope it may not be found to be serious. The thing is, how to carry her to Palencia?’
Juana unclenched her teeth, and turned her head. ‘I can ride,’ she said, in the ghost of a voice.
‘Ride? Nonsense, my poor child! Preposterous!’ said Vandeleur. ‘Where the devil’s that damned surgeon? We must have up one of the spring-wagons at once.’ ‘I won’t go in a spring-wagon. I am better already. See, it is true, I am quite better! Please put me on my horse again!’
‘Good girl!’ Harry said. ‘She’ll suffer less on horseback than in one of those wagons, General. Here, George, take my sash, and bind her foot up with it. Listen, alma-mia, we’re close to Palencia: you won’t have to bear it for long. George will take care of you, and bring you safely into the town.’
‘Oh yes!’ Juana said, pulling herself out of his arms. ‘You must go! You have your duty to attend to, and indeed I don’t need you! You will see what a good soldier I can be!’ ‘Best soldier in the whole division, my dear!’ Vandeleur said. ‘Now, we’ll all take the greatest care of you, never fear! When I see that damned sawbones I’ll-Get on with you, Harry, get on! And mind you procure a decent lodging for the poor child!’
Harry kissed Juana, put her into George’s arms, and rode off. Dr Burke came trotting up on his rat-tailed grey a few moments later, and after feeling and probing the swollen foot, an operation which made the tears roll down Juana’s cheeks, relieved everyone by announcing that there was not much damage done, only one small bone broken.
However, by the time the walls of Palencia were reached, George was obliged to walk beside Juana’s horse,; holding her in the saddle, and even Dr Burke, who was a very cheerful person, was beginning to be worried to know how to get his patient under a roof before she swooned right away.
The division camped outside the walls, only the Staff entering the town. An excited crowd of townspeople thronged out to welcome the troops, waving handkerchiefs and shouting Viva los colorados! Harry met the cortege escorting his wife just outside the gate, thrusting his impatient way through the mob. He had procured a respectable lodging on the main street, and no time was lost in conveying Juana to it. Once she was laid on her bed, Dr Burke was able to attend more particularly to her foot. It was very much inflamed, and he did not think she would be able to ride for quite a week, a pronouncement which made her cry, and deepened the harassed lines on Harry’s face. When the doctor had gone, he knelt beside the bed, petting and soothing Juana, promising that West should bring her after the division as soon as she could put her foot in the stirrup.
He managed to hide his own anxiety from her, but he was at his wits’ end to know what to do. ‘I daren’t leave her here’ he told Kincaid, one of the many who came to inquire after Juana. ‘You know what these people are! They shout viva los Ingleses, but they’re such cursed bigots they’d do nothing to help a true Catholic married to a heretic!’ It was Juana who solved the difficulty. The mere, thought of being separated; from Harry made her forget the pain in her foot, and rouse herself from her state of self-pity. She stopped crying, drank the tea Harry brewed for her, and said in a determined voice. ‘Now I am much better-muy agradable!-and I will tell you what we must do. I do not stay in this place, which I think is dirty. That is certain. Get me a mule, or a burro, mi Enrique, and put a Spanish saddle for a lady on it. My foot will rest on the footboard, and go I will!’ ‘My poor girl, do you think you could bear it?’ Harry said worriedly. ‘You will be so jolted!’ ‘Eso no es de consecuencia!’
‘I ought to be shot for even thinking of such a thing! Juanita, are you sure you can bear it?’ ‘Yes, yes, I tell you! Only find me a good mule!’
As soon as Juana’s resolve was known, dozens of volunteers presented themselves at the Smiths’ billet with offers of service. The division, luckily, was not to march until late on the following afternoon, and the morning was spent by the officers of the brigade in scouring the town for a well-cushioned saddle, and trying the paces of every available mule, to find a very easy one. Juana sat at the window of her lodging, watching the stream of cavalry, artillery, infantry, and baggage pass through the narrow main street. Kincaid looked in to see how she did, and made her laugh by describing the town to her in the most unflattering terms. The front of every house was supported on pillars, which made them look, said Kincaid, like so many worn-out bachelors on crutches.