Keane's Company (2013) by Gale Iain

Author:Gale, Iain [Gale, Iain]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Tags: Historical/Fiction
Published: 2013-04-24T23:00:00+00:00

8

Still standing on the cliff top, gazing down at the Douro, Keane realized with a start that he was wasting precious time. He turned to Ross. ‘Sarn’t Ross, we must fix the windows. Come on.’

Together they ran back into the seminary to find Watkins already posting his men. Keane shouted to him. ‘Mister Watkins, place half a dozen of your men under Sarn’t Ross here. We need to use everything we can find to barricade the windows. Get them to rip out the floorboards, anything. We have to secure this place. Get the rest of your men down to the first-floor windows. We have to stop the French getting in. If they make any breach they’ll have us. I want to know if anyone sees a gun coming up. And if you see any gunners tell Martin, he’s the best marksman.’

Within moments the sound of tearing wood and hammering filled the place. Everywhere men were pulling at panelling, boards, anything that looked as if it might move. They used the same nails and the butts of their muskets to hammer home the pieces of barricade. Keane walked from one window to another, inspecting their handiwork, testing its strength, making them do it again.

The front gate he had left open, waiting for the two remaining boatloads of infantry. He was inspecting the fabric of the gates when there was a noise from the hill and around the corner of the wall appeared a dozen redcoats, led by a red-faced captain.

‘Captain Lawrence?’

‘Indeed.’

‘James Keane, the Inniskillens. We were expecting you. Your ensign did well.’

‘Where are the French, Keane?’

‘We pushed them back into the city. But I don’t think we’ll have long to wait for their return. You have twenty-five men?’

‘Twenty-five, and a few others besides.’

Tom Morris clasped him by the shoulder. ‘James, at last. We thought you dead.’

‘Not so soon, Tom.’

Morris clapped him on the shoulder. ‘Truly, it is good to see you. And the others?’

‘Fine, unscathed for the most part. Garland is with you?’

Morris nodded. ‘But not the girl. This can be no place for a woman.’

‘You’re right on that account. I tell you, the French morale may be low, if we are to believe Morillo, Tom, but they still fight like dogs when cornered.’

There was shout from the tower, where Keane had posted Silver.

‘Sir, they’re coming again.’

Keane turned and saw that a column of men were leaving the town. They marched in threes with a colonel at their head, in proper order, and behind them came a team of horses pulling an ammunition limber and a gun.

‘That’s bad. I knew it would only be a matter of time.’

Keane turned to Lawrence. ‘Captain Lawrence, I presume you have no objection to my taking command?’

Lawrence smiled. ‘I have no objection. I would imagine our commissions are of a similar time.’

Keane hesitated. Protocol demanded he should admit that his was only a brevet rank. That he was in effect a mere lieutenant until confirmed by Horse Guards. But now was not the time to invoke protocol.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.