BRITISH MYSTERIES - Fergus Hume Collection: 21 Thriller Novels in One Volume. Fergus Hume

before the walls of Janjalla. But see, mi amigo, it is nearly dawn, let us snatch a few hours’ sleep.”

      “Bueno!” replied Rafael, leading the way to his cabin; “but first we must call our friends together, and toast our victory once more.”

      It was done accordingly.

      Chapter XIII.

       Without the Walls

       Table of Contents

      Walls of stone like mountains rise,

       Grey against the morning skies;

       Still the royal banner flies,

       Watched with hate by rebels’ eyes.

       And around the ramparts grey,

       In the mists an army lies.

      Set in battle’s wild array,

       At the dawning of the day,

       Traitors to their sovereign they,

       Who would loyal subjects slay.

       Hold this city as a slave,

       Under democratic sway.

      Cannons thunder, banners wave,

       As come on the foemen brave,

       ‘Neath these walls to find a grave;

       Yet this city shall we save,

       Never let it be the prize

       Of the coward, fool, and knave.

      Shortly after dawn, Jack went on deck, to have a thorough examination of the coast-line. The situation of Janjalla was peculiar. To the right a shallow river meandered seaward through low-lying, swampy ground, discharging itself sluggishly by several mouths. A desolate plain stretched for leagues on the left to the base of distant mountains, and between swamp and plain the city appeared built on a rocky height. Directly in front of the walls the sandy ground fell rapidly towards the sea, on the extreme verge of which was a compact mass of huts forming a kind of sea-port. The wharf shot out suddenly from this miniature town. It lay along the hollow of the beach, and above it, in the near distance, rose the grey walls of Janjalla from the rocky cliffs. Above these, the domes of churches, the towers of houses, and, highest of all, the expanse of bluish sky grey with the chill mists of morning.

      In the beach hollow, the army of Xuarez was encamped, partly in the houses, partly in the tents which whitely dotted the desolate shore. Owing to the rapid fall of the ground from the ramparts, the invaders were quite safe from the cannon of the forts. These could defend the town against the attack of ships, but were unable to be depressed sufficiently to command the spot where the rebels were encamped, thus, in the very jaws of danger, lay the besiegers in comparative safety. Jack, surveying all this through a telescope, was astonished to see that the engineers who had constructed the defences had been so foolish as to leave this debatable ground between rampart and sea. Perhaps they deemed that the cannon would not permit ships to approach near enough for the disembarking of hostile troops, but they seemed to have forgotten that the heavy guns of a man-of-war could silence the forts. This, perhaps, had not been done, as the cannon on the ramparts still defended the city; but there was no doubt in Jack’s mind that Don Hypolito had landed his troops under cover of a heavy fire from his three ships directed at the forts. Once encamped on shore, and the besiegers could bid defiance to the lines of cannon, whose balls passed harmlessly over their heads.

      “Ola, Señor Juan,” said Rafael’s gay voice behind him, “you are up early.”

      “Good morning, mi amigo,” replied Jack, turning with a smile. “I have been up at least half an hour, examining the town.”

      “A place forsaken of God, is it not? Dios! to think that some fools would have this to be the capital of Cholacaca. Swamps there, sandy plains yonder. Holy Mary! how can it compare with Tlatonac?”

      “It is the first time I have been so far south, and I don’t think much of either country or town.”

      “Oh, the situation is good for defence.”

      “I’m not so sure of that, Rafael. It is true that the city is built on a rocky height, and well defended by swamp and desert; but look how safely enemies can lie under the walls.”

      “Eh! what would you, Juan? The muzzles of the guns cannot be depressed sufficiently to sweep the beach.”

      “Then why didn’t the engineers build two forts right and left, in order to command the intervening ground?”

      “Dios! And thus knock each other to pieces.”

      “True. Well, then, have one fort. See, mi amigo. On the right, that wide swamp is a sufficient protection against the approach of an enemy; but had I constructed the defences of the town, I would have run an arm of forts between the desert and that sea-fort. Thus a double line of cannon would have commanded the beach, and even if an enemy did succeed in landing in face of the fire of the town forts, they could not have encamped there as they have done.”

      “That is true, Juan,” replied Rafael, who now had the telescope to his eye. “But it is now too late to deplore the lack of defences. The rebels have landed, and are safely bestowed within stone-throw of the city. Look at the number of them, and all on the alert. Santissima! they won’t feel very happy this morning, now that they see The Pizarro is lost.”

      “Surely,” said Jack, taking no notice of this last remark, “surely Pedraza does not intend to land two hundred men directly in front of the town?”

      “It is foolish, I admit,” answered Rafael, shrugging his shoulders; “but what with a sally of our troops from the town, and the guns of our boats playing on the beach, it may be managed.”

      “I doubt it. Two hundred men may land under cover of our fire; but, believe me, Rafael, fifty will not break through that living barrier and enter the town.”

      “I grant that. As I said last night, it is a useless waste of life, and his Excellency must have surely forgotten the situation of Janjalla when he gave such a rash command. But what else can be done, save obey his order?”

      “Obey it, by all means, but not in the way commanded.”

      “What do you mean?”

      Jack was sweeping the shore right and left with the telescope, and did not reply for a few minutes. At length he spoke, indicating the several points he mentioned, with his hand.

      “Behold, mi amigo,” he said, pointing towards the desert, “to land there would be foolish, as the enemy could march along to defend that point while the boats pulled in. The same with the central position. It is madness to land in the teeth of two thousand men. But look to the right. Why not land the troops up the coast, and let the swamp lie between them and the enemy?”

      “Bueno!” replied Rafael, seizing the idea at once. “But how do you propose to enter the city?”

      “Ah, that I can’t say, not knowing the geography of the place.”

      “I have a map below. Come with me, Juan, and we will invent some plan, then go on board The Iturbide to interview Pedraza. I am with you in trying to prevent this sacrifice of two hundred men by landing them in the jaws of danger.”

      They went down to the cabin, and Rafael, after hunting about for a few minutes, found a map of the southern portion of Cholacaca. He spread it out on the table, and they began to examine it at once.

      “Here!” said Jack, drawing his finger along the paper; “here is Janjalla, here the swamp and river, beyond is a kind of rolling prairie. If we land the troops here, we can march them parallel to the river, into the interior country.”

      “That is so, mi amigo! But, you see, the river is ever between the troops and the city. If the enemy see our men marching on this side, they can march on the other, and so keep our men from entering the city.”