Drums of War (29 page)

When
the others eventually joined them, he reached a decision.

'I
think it might be wise to break our journey for a while,' he said, 'don't you?'

Alone
in the tent, still wearing the uniform soiled from his antics on the previous night,
Tom Hillier had ample time for reflection. He was musing on the unfortunate
turn of events that had landed him in his predicament when the tent flap was
drawn back and Welbeck came in. Hillier was startled to see him.

'What
are
you
doing here, Sergeant?' he asked.

'I
might ask the same of you, lad.'

'I
was absent without leave,' admitted the drummer.

'Why?'

'I
was very foolish.'

'That's
patently obvious. The question is
why?
You must be aware of the regulations by now. Why deliberately break them?'

'It
was an accident, Sergeant.'

'Oh,
I see,' said Welbeck with heavy sarcasm. 'You were strolling round the edge of
the camp and you accidentally stepped outside its limits. The fact that it was
in the middle of the night was also purely accidental, I'm sure.'

'I
accept that I did wrong,' said Hillier, shamefaced.

'What
use is that? You knew that you were doing wrong before you even set out. That
should've deterred you.'

'I
hoped that I wouldn't be caught.'

Welbeck
grimaced. 'I've lost count of the number of times I've heard that pathetic
bloody excuse. It's the reason that thieves steal or men commit murder. They
hope they won't be caught. It's a hope that can justify any crime and - make no
mistake about this, Tom - being absent without leave is a serious crime. If you
disappear from camp while we're engaged in a campaign, you could be seen as a
deserter.' He shook Hillier hard with both hands. 'Do you know what the army
does to deserters?'

'I
do, Sergeant.'

'Are
you quite sure?'

'Deserters
are shot.'

'Only
the lucky ones,' said Welbeck. 'I can remember seeing a deserter given five
hundred lashes. He was flayed to death. Is that how you want to end your time
in the army?'

'No,'
said Hillier in distress. 'I can't tell you how sorry I am for what I did. It
won't ever happen again.'

'It
shouldn't have happened this time. The only saving grace is that it wasn't your
own idea. You were talked into it by others.'

'Nobody
else was to blame.'

'Do
you expect me to believe that?'

'I
got myself into this mess alone,' affirmed Hillier.

'Where
did you go? Come on, lad,' he went on as his nephew hesitated. 'I've been in
the army a very long time and I know there are only a few reasons why soldiers
are absent without leave. So please don't tell me you went fishing at night or
collecting birds' eggs. You sneaked off to the town, didn't you?'

'I
left camp without permission, Sergeant. That's all I can say.'

'And
what am I to say to your mother about this incident? Am I to tell her that it
took you less than six weeks in the army to catch the pox and earn yourself a
flogging?'

'Please
don't mention any of this to her,' begged Hillier.

'She'll
want to know how you're getting on.'

'I
know I'm in disgrace. Give me a chance to make amends for it.'

'And
how are you going to do that, lad?' asked Welbeck with a mirthless laugh.
'You're about to be flogged. If you caught something nasty between the legs of
some doxy last night, you'll spend the next couple of weeks wondering which
itches most - your back or your balls.' Hillier blanched. 'Who went to the town
with you?'

'I
left here on my own, Sergeant.'

'Was
it Dobbs, for instance?'

'Hugh
Dobbs is nothing to do with this.'

'What
about the other lads?'

'They
were not involved,' said Hillier, firm under pressure. 'I was very stupid and
I'm ready to pay the penalty for my stupidity.'

Welbeck
appraised him. 'That's fair enough,' he concluded with the first whisper of
sympathy. 'How are they treating you, Tom?'

'I've
been under armed guard since I was caught.'

'Have
they given you food and water?'

'No,
Sergeant.'

'Have
they allowed you to use a latrine?'

'No,
Sergeant.'

'That's
not right.'

'I've
no complaints,' said Hillier, bravely. 'I brought this on myself. If my parents
got to hear about this, it would be far worse than any punishment the army can
inflict.'

'They'll
hear nothing from me, Tom,' said Welbeck.

Before
his nephew could thank him, the tent flap lifted and Major Cracknell stepped in.
Hillier and Welbeck stood to attention.

'If
you've come to plead on your nephew's behalf,' said the major, curtly, 'you're
wasting your breath.'

'That
isn't why I'm here, sir,' said Welbeck.

'Were
he your own son, I wouldn't change my decision.'

'Nor
would I expect you to, Major Cracknell.'

'He's
let your family down badly.'

'He
knows that only too well.'

'What
he did was indefensible,' said Cracknell. 'Private Hillier was absent without
leave and compounded the offence by refusing to name his companions.'

'I
went out of the camp alone, Major,' said Hillier.

'Others
were heard running away.'

'That
may well be so but I wasn't with them. They must have been returning to camp at
the same time.'

Cracknell
turned to Welbeck. 'You have an accomplished liar in your family, Sergeant. Do
you condone his misconduct?'

'No,
sir,' replied Welbeck. 'He's broken army regulations and must be disciplined.
At the same time, however, he's entitled to privileges such as food, water and
access to the latrines. I feel it my duty to report this mistreatment of him to
your superior officers.'

'Damn
you, man!' yelled Cracknell. 'Hillier is the offender here, not me. He doesn't
deserve any privileges. He should count himself lucky that he's not been
shackled. As for you, Sergeant, I'm ordering you to stay away from him.'

'Yes,
Major.'

'And
if there are any other members of your family who wish to join the army, keep
them away from this regiment. We have certain standards to maintain. Hillier
has fallen well below them.' He regarded the drummer with contempt. 'You're a
disgrace to everyone,' he added. 'Even the sergeant must admit that.'

'Tom
Hillier is my nephew,' said Welbeck, stoutly, 'and I'm proud to acknowledge
that fact.'

They
needed a long rest before they pressed on. When they did so, Daniel drove the
coach with Beatrix and Dopff as his passengers. Both were still shaken by their
experience. They came at length to a river, enabling Daniel to have a more
accurate idea of where they actually were. He called them to a halt.

'We
need to cross it,' he told them.

'Is
there a bridge?' asked Janssen.

'It's
three or four miles away, I fancy. You can all wait here while I ride ahead to
see if it's safe to use it.'

'Shall
I come with you?' offered Amalia.

'That's
a kind offer but I'll be quicker on my own.'

'Take
care, Daniel.'

Mounting
his horse, he rode off at a canter with the river on his right. He soon
vanished around the bend. The others sat on the bank and ate some of the food
they'd brought with them. Dopff was too jaded to touch anything but Beatrix had
a voracious appetite. Of the two of them, she was the more resilient. Dopff was
detached and pensive, still blaming himself for losing control of the coach. It
was a long time before Daniel returned and his news was not encouraging.

'There
are guards on the bridge,' he said. 'That suggests to me that the police have
decided that we managed to escape from Paris and are throwing their net wider.'

'We
have false passports,' argued Janssen. 'Won't they see us safely past any
patrol?'

'Not
when everyone along the north-east frontier has been warned to look out for
four Dutch fugitives. Even dressed as a woman, you won't deceive guards a
second time.'

'Is
there any other way to cross?'

'Yes,'
said Daniel. 'I found a shallower spot further upstream. The water came up to
my feet when I rode into it. Had it been much higher, the horse would have had
to swim.'

'What
about the coach?' asked Amalia.

'That
could pose a problem.'

With
Daniel as coachman once more, they rode along the bank until they reached the
place he'd seen earlier. The river was wide but the current was not strong. A
gentle gradient would allow the coach to enter the water when it was fairly
horizontal but the vehicle wasn't tall enough to clear the surface. Water was
bound to seep in through the doors. Realising that, an anguished Dopff waved
his arms frantically. Daniel understood his concern.

'Yes,
we know,' he said. "There's a chance that the tapestry will be soaked and
we can't have that. I suggest we take out everything of value. Apart from
anything else, we need to lighten the coach as much as possible.'

All
five of them set about emptying the coach, removing their baggage as well as
the booty stowed under the seat. Daniel put some of the items in his saddlebags
and took hold of the tapestry. Watched by a nervous Janssen and a trembling
Dopff, he rode into the river and let the water climb inexorably up the horse's
legs. At the deepest point, he was still able to remain in the saddle and kept
on until he reached the other bank. Janssen and Dopff clapped their hands with
glee. Heartened by what she'd seen, Amalia went next, riding more slowly but
contriving to get to the other side without even wetting her shoes. She gave
the others a wave of triumph. It was Janssen's turn to cross but he had more
enthusiasm for the venture than his horse. The animal refused to enter the
water at first and, even when it did, twice tried to turn back, threshing about
as it did so. When Janssen finally emerged on the other side, his legs were
soaking wet.

Riding
his own horse, Daniel borrowed Amalia's mount and tugged it behind him as he
headed back towards the coach. Beatrix was helped into the saddle so that
Daniel could tow her across the river, taking the rest of the baggage at the
same time. The exercise was repeated with Dopff in the saddle of the other
horse. Pulling on the rein and urging both horses on, Daniel got them safely to
the bank. There was no baggage left now. Only the coach remained.

'Are
you certain that it's safe?' said Amalia, worriedly.

'There's
only one way to find out,' replied Daniel. "The trick is to have a good
run at it so that we hit the water at speed. If the coach is allowed to stop at
any point, then I could be in difficulty.'

'Can
I help in any way?'

'Yes,
please. Ride with me then lead my horse back here again. When I'm driving that
coach, I don't want to worry about having to pull another horse behind us.'

'Let
me come instead,' volunteered Janssen.

'I'll
go, Father,' insisted Amalia.

'Well,
I
certainly wouldn't,' said Beatrix to herself.

Dopff
put both hands over his eyes to show his unwillingness. As it was, Amalia
accompanied Daniel, riding beside him and getting splashed this time. Once on
the other bank, he dismounted and handed the reins to her, waiting until she'd
gone all the way to the other bank before he even climbed up on to the coach.
As he viewed his task, he began to have misgivings. Water would certainly flood
into the vehicle, making it much heavier to pull. On the other hand, the horse
was strong and, if kept on the move, should reach the opposite bank without
undue stress. Whip at the ready, Daniel judged the line he'd take down the
slope.

Biting
their lips in consternation, his friends watched. While they didn't doubt his
courage, they began to question his wisdom. From where they stood, it looked
like a perilous undertaking. So it proved. Daniel cracked his whip to sting the
horse's rump and off it went. Plunging into the water, it pulled valiantly and
the coach made good progress until it reached the middle of the river. One of
its wheels then struck a submerged rock with enough force to snap it away from
the axle. The whole coach tipped sideways, hurling Daniel into the water. When
he surfaced again, he saw the broken wheel floating off down the river. Of more
immediate importance was the fact that the coach horse was trapped between the
shafts, kicking madly and neighing loudly as it tried to regain its feet and
keep its head above the water.

Daniel
swam swiftly to its rescue. Trying to keep clear of the flashing hooves, he
undid the harness to release the animal from the shafts then held on tight to
the reins as he was literally hauled along by the frantic beast. While Beatrix
and Dopff jumped out of the way in fright, Amalia and her father stood firm.
They knew that the horse had to be stopped before it could get up any speed.
The two of them therefore waded into the water and, as the horse reached them,
took hold of either side of the bridle. Scrambling to his feet, Daniel added
his own strength on the reins. The animal reached dry land and, though still
tossing its head and neighing in protest, it slowed down. Dopff came forward to
pat it on the neck and help to calm it.