1882: Custer in Chains (2015) by Robert Conroy

Author:Robert Conroy [Conroy, Robert]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781476780511
Amazon: 147678051X
Publisher: Baen
Published: 2015-05-05T04:00:00+00:00

◆ Chapter 13 ◆

A raid? Ryder was intrigued. It sure sounded good to him. It would enable his men to strike at the Spanish instead of waiting to be attacked the next time. “Exactly what sort of raid do you have in mind, Captain?”

Lang grinned happily. He was bored. The great battle was now several days past, and he was getting antsy. The victory had been intoxicating and he wanted to drink some more.

“Exactly what we’ll hit remains to be seen, General. What I propose is to go out with a couple of dozen of my best men and actually see what there is to raid. Hell, our patrols have been nonexistent. All of our intelligence comes from our Cuban buddies and we should see things through our own eyes, not theirs.”

“So you don’t trust the Cubans?”

“Oh, some of them I trust a lot, like that Valdez fellow. If I can, I’d like to take him, or at least some of his boys, with me. It’d be kind of like when we’d go out chasing renegade Indians in Texas and we’d have some tame Apaches or Comanches working with us.”

Ryder wasn’t certain any of the Apache or Comanche warriors would have liked being referred to as tame, and the Cubans definitely wouldn’t. “Don’t call Valdez or any of his friends tame. They’re likely to slice you with their tame machetes.”

Lang continued, “Wouldn’t think of it, General. I like my testicles right where they are. At any rate, it’d be easier to hide from the Spanish in this jungle crap that surrounds everything here. Back in Texas, anything larger than a coffee cup could be seen for miles on the barren ground.”

“I seem to recall that,” Ryder said, thinking of his days in the American west. “Will you be taking some of your Spanish-speaking soldiers?”

Lang nodded vigorously. “All of my men speak Spanish at least as well as I do.”

Martin laughed. Lang’s Spanish was very basic and largely involved food, liquor, and getting laid. “Where will you go?”

“I thought I’d try to ride parallel to that goat path that passes for a road along the coast from Matanzas to Havana, at least for a while. First, though, I’d like to make a wide patrol around the Spanish camps and see what’s happening.”

“When will you leave?”

Lang stood. “Do you have to ask permission from Benteen or Miles?”

“Why? Benteen would go along, but I’m not so sure about Miles. I get the feeling that he doesn’t want to offend the Spanish. So we won’t tell him until you come back. It’s always easier to ask forgiveness than permission. By the way, please make sure to come back.”

* * *

It took several days for Diego Salazar to get in to see General Weyler. The general was far too busy writing letters to Governor-General Villate in Havana. When received, the letters would be either rewritten by Villate or simply forwarded to Madrid, with or without comment. Weyler was also exhausted and had only managed to get a good night’s sleep the night before.

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