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 UNIV. OF CALIF. LIBRARY, 'LOS ANGELES
 
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 THE BOYS ANXIOUSLY WATCHED THE COURSE OF THE VESSEL. 
 
 Page 107.
 
 THE YOUNG BUGLERS. 
 
 A TALE OF THE PENINSULAR WAR. 
 
 BY G. A. HENTY, 
 
 Author of "Bonnie Prince Charlie," "True to the Old Flag," 
 
 "The Toung Carthaginian," "In Freedom's 
 
 Cause," etc., etc. 
 
 ILLUSTRATED. 
 
 A. L. BURT COMPANY, PUBLISHERS, 
 52-58 DUANE STBEET, NEW YORK.
 
 Stack 
 Annex 
 
 PR 
 
 mo 
 
 PREFACE. 
 
 MY DEAE LADS : I remember that, as a boy, I 
 regarded any attempt to mix instruction with 
 amusement as being as objectionable a practice as 
 the administration of powder in jam ; but I think 
 that this feeling arose from the fact that in those 
 days books contained a very small share of amuse- 
 ment and a very large share of instruction. I have 
 endeavored to avoid this, and I hope that the ac- 
 counts of battles and sieges, illustrated as they are 
 by maps, will be found as interesting as the lighter 
 parts of the story. As in my tale, " The Young 
 Franc-Tireurs," 1 gave the outline of the Franco- 
 German war, so I have now endeavored to give the 
 salient features of the great Peninsular struggle. 
 The military facts, with the names of generals and 
 regiments, the dates and places, are all strictly 
 accurate, and any one who has read with care the 
 story of " The Young Buglers" could pass an ex- 
 amination as to the leading events of the Peninsular 
 war. 
 
 Yours truly, 
 
 THE AUTHOR.
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER L 
 A Coaching Adventure 1 
 
 CHAPTER IL 
 Two Young Pickles 25 
 
 CHAPTER HI. 
 Enlisted 46 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 A Tough Customer. 70 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 Overboard 91 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 Portugal 114 
 
 CHAPTER VH. 
 The Passage of the Douro Talavera 128 
 
 CHAPTER VHL 
 A Pause in Operations 157 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 With the Guerrillas 171 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 Madrid 199 
 
 CHAPTER XL 
 The Fight on the Coa. ...... 214
 
 vi CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 Busaco and Torres Vedras 237 
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 Albuera 253 
 
 CHAPTER XIV. 
 Invalided Home 277 
 
 CHAPTER XV. 
 Ciudad Rodrigo and Badajos 291 
 
 CHAPTER XVI. 
 Salamanca 317 
 
 CHAPTER XVII. 
 Caught in a Trap 332 
 
 CHAPTER XVIII. 
 Just in Time 351 
 
 CHAPTER XIX. 
 Vittoria 373 
 
 CHAPTER XX. 
 Toulouse.. . 396
 
 THE YOUNG BUGLERS. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 A COACHING ADVENTURE. 
 
 HAD any of the boys in the lower forms of Eton 
 in the year 1808 been asked who were the most 
 popular boys of their own age, they would have 
 been almost sure to have answered, without the 
 slightest hesitation, Tom and Peter Scudamore, and 
 yet it is probable that no two boys were more often 
 in disgrace. It was not that they were idle ; upon 
 the contrary, both were fairly up in their respective 
 forms, but they were constantly getting into mis- 
 chief of one sort or another ; yet even with the 
 masters they were favorites, there was never any- 
 thing low, disgraceful, or ungentlemanly in their 
 escapades, and they could be trusted never to 
 attempt to screen themselves from the consequences 
 by prevarication, much less by lying. If the 
 masters heard that a party of youngsters had been 
 seen far out of bounds, they were pretty sure that 
 the Scudamores were among them ; if a farmer came 
 in from a distance to complain that his favorite tree 
 had been stripped of its apples for in those days
 
 2 THE YOUNG BUGLERS. 
 
 apples were looked upon by boys as fair objects of 
 sport if the head-master's favorite white poodle 
 appeared dyed a deep blue, if Mr. Jones, the most 
 unpopular master in the school, upon coming out of 
 his door, trod upon a quantity of tallow smeared all 
 over the doorstep, and was laid up for a week in 
 consequence, there was generally a strong suspicion 
 that Tom and Peter Scudamore were concerned in 
 the matter. One of their tricks actually came to 
 the ears of the provost himself, and caused quite a 
 sensation in the place, but in this case, fortunately 
 for them, they escaped undetected. 
 
 One fine summer afternoon they were out on the 
 water with two or three other boys of their own 
 age, when a barge was seen ahead at some short 
 distance from the shore. She was apparently 
 floating down with the stream, and the fact that a 
 horse was proceeding along the towing-path a little 
 way ahead was not noticed, as the rope was slack 
 and was trailing under water. The boys, therefore, 
 as they were rowing against stream, steered their 
 boat to pass inside of her. Just as they came 
 abreast of the horse a man on the barge suddenly 
 shouted to the rider of the horse to go on. He did 
 so, the rope tightened, rose from the water just 
 under the bow of the boat, and in another minute 
 the boys were struggling in the water. All were 
 good swimmers, and would have cared little for the 
 ducking had it occurred accidentally, but the roars 
 of laughter of the bargeman, and the chaff with 
 which he assailed them as they scrambled up the
 
 THE YOUNG BUGLERS. 3 
 
 bank, showed clearly enough that they had been 
 upset maliciously. The boys were furious, and one 
 or two proposed that they should report the case, 
 but Tom Scudamore pointed out that the bargeman 
 would of course declare that it was a pure accident, 
 and that the boys were themselves in fault in not 
 looking out whether the barge was being towed, 
 before going inside her, and so nothing would come 
 of reporting. 
 
 The boat was dragged ashore and emptied, and 
 in a few minutes they were rowing back toward the 
 town. The distance was but short, and they did 
 not repass the barge before they reached their boat- 
 house. The brothers had exchanged a few words 
 in a low voice on the way, and instead of following 
 the example of the others, and starting at a run for 
 the house where they boarded to change their, 
 clothes, they walked down by the river and saw 
 that the barge had moored up against the bank, at 
 a short distance below the bridge. They watched 
 for a time, and saw the bargeman fasten up the 
 hatch of the little cabin and go ashore. 
 
 That night two boys lowered themselves with a 
 rope from the window of one of the dames-houses, 
 and walked rapidly down to the river. There were 
 a few flickering oil lamps burning, and the one or 
 two old watchmen were soundly asleep in their 
 boxes. They did not meet a soul moving upon 
 their way to the object of the expedition, the barge 
 that had run them down. Very quietly they 
 slipped on board, satisfied themselves by listening
 
 4 THE YOUNG BUGLERS. 
 
 at the half-open hatch to the snoring within that 
 their enemy was there, then loosened the moorings 
 so that they could be thrown off at a moment's 
 notice. 
 
 " Now, Peter," the elder brother said, " open our 
 lantern. The night is quite still. You hold your 
 hand behind it, so that the light will not fall on our 
 faces, and I will look whether he is only wrapped 
 up in a blanket or has a regular bed ; we must not 
 risk setting the place on fire. Get the crackers 
 ready." 
 
 A dark lantern was now taken out from under 
 Tom's jacket, and was found to be still alight, an 
 important matter, for striking a light with flint 
 and steel was in those days a long and tedious busi- 
 
 v 
 
 ness, and then opening it Tom threw the light into 
 the cabin. It was a tiny place, and upon a bench, 
 wrapped up in a blanket, the bargeman was lying. 
 As the light fell on his eyes he moved, and a 
 moment afterward started up with an oath, and 
 demanded who was there. 
 
 No answer came in words, but half a dozen 
 lighted crackers were thrown into the cabin, when 
 they began to explode with a tremendous uproar. 
 In an instant the hatch was shut down and fastened 
 outside. The rope was cast off, and in another 
 minute she was floating down stream with the 
 crackers still exploding inside her, but with their 
 noise almost deadened by the tremendous outcry of 
 shouts and howls, and by a continued and furious 
 banging at the hatch.
 
 THE YOUNG BUGLERS. 5 
 
 " There is no fear of his being choked, Tom, I 
 hope ?" 
 
 " No, I expect he's all right," Tom said, " it will 
 be pretty stifling for a bit, no doubt, but there's a 
 chimney hole and the smoke will find its way out 
 presently. The barge will drift down to the weir 
 before it brings up ; there is not enough stream out 
 for there to be any risk of her upsetting, else we 
 daren't have turned her adrift." 
 
 The next day the whole town was talking of the 
 affair, and in the afternoon the bargeman went up 
 to the head-master and accused one of the boys of 
 an attempt to murder him. 
 
 Greatly surprised, the provost demanded what 
 reason the man had for suspecting the boys, and 
 the bargeman acknowledged that he had that after- 
 noon upset a boat with four or five boys in her. 
 " They would not bear you malice on that account," 
 the provost said ; " they don't think much of a 
 swim such weather as this, unless indeed you did it 
 on purpose." 
 
 The man hesitated in his answer, and the provost 
 continued, " You evidently did do it on purpose, 
 and in that case, although it was carried too far, 
 for I hear you had a very narrow escape of being 
 stifled, still you brought it upon yourself, and I 
 hope it will be a lesson to you not to risk the lives 
 of Eton boys for your amusement. I know nothing 
 about this affair, but if you can point out the boys 
 you suspect I will of course inquire into it." 
 
 The bargeman departed, grumbling that he did
 
 6 THE YOUNG BUGLERS. 
 
 not know one of the young imps from another, but 
 if he did find them, he'd wring their necks for them 
 to a certainty. The provost had some inquiries 
 made as to the boys who had been upset, and 
 whether they had all been in at lock-up time ; find- 
 ing that they had all answered to their names, ho 
 made no further investigation. 
 
 This affair had taken place in the summer before 
 this story begins, on the loth of October, 1808. On 
 that day a holiday was granted in consequence of 
 the head-master's birthday, and the boys set off, 
 some to football, some for long walks in the 
 country. 
 
 The Scudamores, with several of their friends, 
 strolled down the towing-path for some miles, and 
 walked back by the road. As they entered their 
 dames-house on their return, Tom Scudamore said 
 for the twentieth time, "Well, I would give any- 
 thing to be a soldier, instead of having to go in and 
 settle down as a banker it's disgusting !" 
 
 As they entered a boy came up. "Oh, Scuda- 
 more, Jackson's been asking for you both. It's 
 something particular, for he has been out three or 
 four times, and he wanted to send after you, but no 
 one knew where you had gone." 
 
 The boys at once went into the master's study, 
 where they remained all the afternoon. A short 
 time after they went in Mr. Jackson came out and 
 said a word or two to one of the senior boys, and 
 the word was quickly passed round that there was 
 to be no row, for the Scudarnores had just heard of
 
 THE YOUNG BUGLERS. 7 
 
 the sudden death of their father. That evening 
 Mr. Jackson had beds made up for them in his 
 study, so that they might not have the pain of hav- 
 ing to talk with the other boys. The housekeeper 
 packed up their things, and next morning early they 
 started by the coach for London. 
 
 Mr. Scudamore, the father of the young Etonians, 
 was a banker. He was the elder of two brothers, 
 and had inherited his father's business, while his 
 brother had gone into the army. The banker had 
 married the daughter of a landowner in the neigh- 
 borhood, and had lived happily and prosperously 
 until her death, seven years before this story begins. 
 She had borne him three children, the two boys, 
 now fifteen and fourteen years old respectively, and 
 a girl, Rhoda, two years younger than Peter. The 
 loss of his wife afflicted him greatly, and he received 
 another shock five years later by the death of his 
 brother, Colonel Scudamore, to whom he was much 
 attached. From the time of his wife's death he had 
 greatly relaxed in his attention to his business, and 
 after his brother's death he left the management 
 almost entirely in the hands of his cashier, in whom 
 he had unlimited confidence. This confidence was 
 wholly misplaced. For years the cashier had been 
 carrying on speculation upon his own account with 
 the moneys of the bank. Gradually and without 
 exciting the least suspicion he had realized the 
 various securities held by the bank, and at last, 
 gathering all the available cash he, one Saturday 
 afternoon, locked up the bank and fled.
 
 8 THE YOUNG BUGLERS. 
 
 On Monday it was found that he was missing ; 
 Mr. Scudamore went down to the bank, and had 
 the books taken into his parlor for examination. 
 Some hours afterward a clerk went in and found 
 his master lying back in his chair insensible. A 
 doctor on arriving pronounced it to be apoplexy. 
 He never rallied, and a few hours afterward the 
 news spread through the country that Scudamore, 
 the banker, was dead, and that the bank had stopped 
 payment. 
 
 People could believe the former item of news, but 
 were incredulous as to the latter. Scudamore's 
 bank was looked upon in Lincolnshire as at least as 
 safe as the Bank of England itself. But the sad 
 truth was soon clear to all, and for awhile there 
 was great distress of mind among the people for 
 many miles round, for most of them had intrusted 
 all their savings of years to the Scudamore's bank. 
 When affairs were wound up, however, it was found 
 that things were not quite so bad as had been 
 feared. Mr. Scudamore had a considerable capital 
 employed in the bank, and the sale of his handsome 
 house and estate realized a large sum, so that even- 
 tually every one received back the money they had 
 intrusted to the bank ; but the whole of the capital 
 and the profits of years of successful enterprise had 
 vanished, and it was calculated by the executors 
 that the swindler must have appropriated at least 
 eighty thousand pounds. 
 
 For the first month after their father's death the 
 boys stayed with the doctor who had long attended
 
 THE YOUNG BUGLERS. 9 
 
 the family and had treated all their ailments since 
 they were born. In the great loss of their father 
 the loss of their fortune aifected them but little, 
 except that they were sorry to be obliged to leave 
 Eton; for the interest of the little fortune which 
 their mother had brought at her marriage, and 
 which was all that now remained to them, would 
 not have been sufficient to pay for their expenses 
 there ; and indeed such an education would have 
 been out of place for two boys who had to make 
 their own way in life. At the end of this month 
 it was arranged that they were to go to their only 
 existing relative, an elder sister of Mr. Scudamore. 
 The boys had never seen he., for she had not for 
 many years been friends with her brother. 
 
 The letter which she had written to the doctor, 
 announcing her willingness to receive them, made 
 the boys laugh, although it did not hold out pros- 
 pects of a very pleasant f uture,, " I am, of course," 
 she said, " prepared to do my duty. No one can 
 say that I have ever failed in my duty. My poor 
 brother quarreled with me. It was his duty to 
 apologize. He did not do so. Had it been my duty 
 to, apologize I should have done so. As I was 
 right, and he was' wrong, it was clearly not my 
 duty. I shall now do my duty to my niece and 
 nephews. Yet I may be allowed to say that I 
 regret much that they are not all nieces. I do not like 
 boys. They are always noisy, and not always clean. 
 They do not wipe their shoes; they are always 
 breaking things; they go about with all sorts of
 
 10 THE YOUNG BUGLERS. 
 
 rubbish and dirt in their pockets; their hair is 
 always rough ; they are fond of worrying cats, and 
 other cruel games. Altogether they are objection- 
 able. Had my brother made up his mind to leave 
 his children in my charge, it was clearly his duty to 
 have had girls instead of boys. However, it is not 
 because other people fail in their duty that I should 
 fail in mine. Therefore let them come to me this 
 day fortnight. By that time I shall have got some 
 strong and suitable furniture in the room that my 
 nephews will occupy, and shall have time to make 
 other arrangements. This letter will, if all goes 
 well, reach you, I believe, in three days after the 
 date of posting, and they will take the same time 
 coming here. Assure them that I am prepared to 
 do my duty, and that I hope that they will make a 
 serious effort at doing theirs. Ask my nephews, 
 upon the occasion of their first arrival, to make as 
 little noise as they can, because my cat, Minnie, is 
 very shy, and if she is scared at the first meeting 
 she will take a very long time to get accustomed to 
 them. 1 also particularly beg that they do not, as 
 they come up to the house, throw stones at any of 
 the pigeons who may be resting upon the roof, for 
 the slates were all set right a few weeks ago, and I 
 am sure I do not wish to have the slater here again ; 
 they were hanging about for ten days the last time 
 they came. I do not know that I have anything 
 else to say." 
 
 The boys received the reading of this singular 
 epistle with shouts of laughter.
 
 THE YOUNG BUGLERS. 11 
 
 " Poor aunt," Tom said. " "What does she think 
 of us that she can suppose that, upon our very first 
 arrival, we should come in like wild Indians, throw- 
 ing stones at her pigeons, and frightening her 
 Minnie into fits. Did you ever hear such an ex- 
 traordinary idea, Dr. Jarvis ?" 
 
 " At any rate, boys," the doctor said, when the 
 laughter had ceased, " you may find your aunt a 
 little peculiar, but she is evidently determined to 
 do her duty to you, and you must do yours to her, 
 and not play more pranks than you can help. As 
 to you, Rhoda, you will evidently be in high 
 favor, and as you are fortunately a quiet little lady, 
 you will, I have no doubt, get on with her very 
 well." 
 
 " I hope so," Rhoda said, smiling ; " you see she 
 means to be kind, though she does write funny 
 letters, and, at any rate, there are Minnie and the 
 pigeons ; it sounds nice, you know. Do you know 
 what aunt's place is like, Dr. Jarvis, and how to 
 get there from here ?" 
 
 " No, my dear, I never was in that part of Eng- 
 land, It is close to Marlborough that she lives, a 
 very pretty country, I believe. There is, of course, 
 no way to go across from here. You must go up 
 to London by coach from here, and then to Marl- 
 borough by the western coach. I will write to my 
 brother James in town, where you stopped a night 
 as you came through, boys, and I know that he will 
 take you all in for the night, and see that you go 
 off right in the morning."
 
 12 THE YOUNG BUGLERS. 
 
 "You're very kind, indeed, Dr. Jarvis. I do not 
 known how to thank you for all you have done for 
 us," Tom said earnestly, and the others cordially 
 echoed the sentiment. 
 
 The day before starting the doctor had a long 
 talk with the boys. He pointed out to them that 
 their future now depended upon themselves alone. 
 They must expect to find many unpleasantnesses in 
 their way, but they must take their little trials 
 pleasantly, and make the best of everything. " I 
 have no fear as to Rhoda," their kind friend said. 
 " She has that happy, amiable, and quiet disposi- 
 tion that is sure to adapt itself to all circumstances. 
 I have no doubt she will become a favorite with 
 your aunt. Try to keep out of scrapes, boys. You 
 know you are rather fond of mischief, and your 
 aunt will not be able to understand it. If you get 
 into any serious difficulty write to me ; you can rely 
 upon always finding a friend in me." 
 
 The journey to London was no novelty to the 
 boys, but Rhoda enjoyed it immensely. Her place 
 had been taken inside, but most of the journey she 
 rode outside with her brothers. She was greatly 
 amazed at the bustle and noise of London, and was 
 quite confused at the shouting and crowd at the 
 place where the coach drew up, for two or three 
 other coaches had just arrived from other direc- 
 tions. Mr. Jarvis had sent his man servant to meet 
 them, their luggage was sent direct to the booking- 
 office from which the coach started for Marl- 
 borough, and the servant carried a small bag con-
 
 THE YOUNG BUGLERS. 13 
 
 taining their night things. It was evening when 
 they got in, and Rhoda could scarcely keep her 
 eyes open long enough to have tea, for the coach 
 had been two days and nights upon the road. The 
 next day they stayed in town, and Mrs. Jarvis took 
 them out to see the sights of London the Tower, 
 and St. Paul's, and Westminster Abbey, and the 
 beasts at Exeter Change. The boys had twice be- 
 fore spent a whole day in London, their father 
 having, upon two occasions, made his visits to town 
 fit in with their going up to school, but to Rhoda 
 it was all new, and very, very wonderful. 
 
 The next day the coach started early for Marl- 
 borough. It was to take rather over twenty- 
 four hours on the way. As before, Rhoda rode 
 outside with her brothers until the evening, but 
 then, instead of going inside, where there were five 
 passengers already, she said, as the night was so 
 fine and warm, she would rather remain with them. 
 They were sitting behind the coachman, there were 
 two male passengers upon the same seat with them, 
 and another in the box seat by the coachman. The 
 conversation turned, as in those days it was pretty 
 sure to turn, upon highwaymen. Several coaches 
 had been lately stopped by three highwaymen, who 
 worked together, and were reported to be more 
 reckless and desperate than the generality of their 
 sort. They had shot a coachman who refused to 
 stop, the week before on Hounslow Heath, they had 
 killed a guard on the great north road, and they 
 had shot two passengers, who resisted, near Exeter,
 
 14 THE YOUNG BUGLERS. 
 
 Tom and Peter were greatly amused by observing 
 that the passenger who sat next to them, and who, 
 at the commencement of the conversation, showed 
 a brace of heavy pistols with which he was pro- 
 vided, with much boasting as to what he would do 
 if the coach were attacked, when he heard of the 
 fate of the passengers who had resisted became 
 very quiet indeed, and presently took an oppor- 
 tunity, when he thought that he was not observed, 
 of slipping his pistols under the tarpaulin behind 
 him. 
 
 "I hope those dreadful men won't stop our 
 coach," Khoda said. 
 
 " They won't hurt you if they do, Khoda," Tom 
 said assuringly. " I think it would be rather a 
 lark. I say, Peter," he went on in a whisper, " I 
 think we might astonish them with those pistols that 
 coward next to you has hid behind him." 
 
 " I should just think so," Peter said ; " the bargee 
 at Eton would be nothing to it." 
 
 The hours went slowly on. Khoda and the boys 
 dozed uncomfortably against each other and the 
 baggage behind them, until they were suddenly 
 roused by a shout in the road beside them : " Stand 
 for your lives !" 
 
 The moon was up, and they could see that there 
 were three horsemen. One galloped to the horses' 
 heads, and seized the rein of one of the leaders, the 
 others rode by the coach. 
 
 The first answer to the challenge was a discharge 
 from the blunderbuss of the guard which brought 
 one of the highwaymen from his horse.
 
 THE YOUNG BUGLERS. 15 
 
 The other, riding up to the side of the coach, 
 fired at the guard, and a loud cry told that the shot 
 had taken effect. In another moment the fellow 
 was by the side of the coachman. 
 
 " Hold up !" he said, " or I will blow your brains 
 out !" 
 
 The coachman did as he was ordered, and indeed 
 the man at the leader's head had almost succeeded 
 in stopping them. The passenger next to the boys 
 had, at the first challenge, again seized his pistols, 
 and the boys thought that he was going to fire 
 after all. 
 
 " Lie down at our feet, Rhoda, quick !" Tom said, 
 " and don't move till I tell you." The fate of the 
 guard evidently frightened away the short-lived 
 courage of the passenger, for, as the coachman again 
 pulled up, he hastily thrust the pistols in behind 
 him. 
 
 " Get down, every one of you," the highwayman 
 shouted. 
 
 " Lie still, Ehoda," Tom whispered. " Now, 
 Peter, get in underneath the tarpaulin." 
 
 This was done as the passengers descended. The 
 luggage was not so heavily piled as usual, and the 
 boys found plenty of room beneath the tarpaulin. 
 
 " Now, Peter, you take one of these pistols and 
 give me the other. Now peep out. The moon is 
 hidden, which is a good thing ; now, look here, you 
 shall shoot that fellow standing down below, who is 
 swearing at the ladies inside for not getting out 
 quicker. I'll take a shot at that fellow standing in 
 front of the horses' heads."
 
 16 THE YOUNG BUGLERS. 
 
 " Do you think you can hit him, Tom ?" 
 
 " I have not the least idea, but I can try ; and if 
 you hit the other one, the chances are he'll bolt, 
 whether I hit him or not. Open the tarpaulin at 
 the side so as to see well, and rest the pistol upon 
 something. You must take a good shot, Peter, for 
 if you miss him we shall be in a mess." 
 
 " All right," Peter said, in a whisper, " I can 
 almost touch him with the pistol." 
 
 In loud and brutal tones the highwayman now 
 began to order the frightened ladies to give up their 
 watches and rings, enforcing his commands with 
 terrible curses. When suddenly a pistol flashed out 
 just behind him, and he fell off his horse with a ball 
 through his shoulder. 
 
 Tom's shot, though equally well intended, was 
 not so truly aimed. The highwayman had dis- 
 mounted, and was standing just in front of the 
 leaders, so that Tom had a fair view of him between 
 them. The boys had both occasionally fired their 
 father's pistols, for in those days each householder 
 in the country always kept loaded pistols in his 
 room ; but his skill was not sufficient to make sure 
 of a man at that distance. The bullet flew past at 
 two feet to the left of his head. But its effect was 
 scarcely less startling than if it had actually hit 
 him, for in its passage it passed through the ear 
 of the off leader. The horse made a start at the 
 sudden pain, and then dashed forward. The rest of 
 the team, already alarmed by the shot, followed her 
 lead ; before the startled highwayman could get out
 
 SUDDENLY A PISTOL FLASHED OUT AND HK FELL OFF HIS HOKSE. 
 Page 16.
 
 , THE YOUNG BUGLERS. 17 
 
 of the way they were upon him, in another instant 
 he was under their heels, and the coach gave a sud- 
 den lurch as it passed over his body. 
 
 " Lie still, Rhoda, a little longer ; it's all right, 
 but the horses have run away," Tom exclaimed, as 
 he scrambled forward and caught hold of the reins, 
 which the coachman had tied to the rail of the seat 
 as he got down. " Catch hold of the reins, Peter, 
 and help me pull." 
 
 Peter did so ; but the united strength of the boys 
 was wholly unequal to arresting the headlong flight 
 of the horses. 
 
 Fortunately the highwaymen had chosen a low 
 bottom between two hills, to arrest the coach, con- 
 sequently the road was up a hill of moderate steep- 
 ness. The boys hoped that the horses would stop 
 when they got to the top ; but they went on with 
 redoubled speed. 
 
 " This is something like going it," Peter said. 
 
 " Isn't it, Peter? They know their way, and we 
 ain't likely to meet anything in the road. They will 
 stop at their stable. At any rate, it's no use trying 
 to steer them. Here, Rhoda dear, get up ; are you 
 very much frightened ?" 
 
 Rhoda still lay quite still, and Peter, holding on 
 with difficulty, for the coach quite rocked with the 
 speed at which they were going, climbed over to 
 her, and stooped down. " Shall I help you up, 
 Rhoda ?" 
 
 " No, please, I would rather stop here till it's all 
 over."
 
 18 THE YOUNG BUGLERS. 
 
 Fortunately the hill, up to the village where they 
 made the change, was a steep one, and the horses 
 broke into a trot before they reached the top, and 
 in another minute drew up at the door of the inn. 
 The astonishment of the hostlers at seeing the horses 
 covered with lather, and coach-box tenanted only 
 by two boys, behind whom a little white face now 
 peered out, was extreme, and they were unable to 
 get beyond an ejaculation of halloo ! expressive of 
 a depth of incredulous astonishment impossible to 
 be rendered by words. 
 
 " Look here," Tom said, with all the composure, 
 and much of the impudence, which then, as now, 
 characterized the young Etonian, " don't be staring 
 like a pack of stuck pigs. You had better get the 
 fresh horses in, and drive back to the bottom, about 
 four miles from here. There has been a regular 
 row with some fellows, and I expect two or three 
 are killed. Now, just put up the ladder ; I want to 
 get my sister down." 
 
 Almost mechanically the men put the ladder up 
 to the coach, and the boys and Rhoda got down. 
 
 "Do you say the coach has been attacked by 
 highwaymen in Burnet bottom ?" 
 
 " I don't know anything about Burnet bottom," 
 Tom said. " It was a bottom about four miles off. 
 There were three of them. The guard shot one of 
 them, and the others shot the guard. Then we 
 were stopped by them, and every one had to get 
 down. Then the horses ran away, and here we 
 are."
 
 THE YOUNG BUGLERS. 19 
 
 " Then there are two of those highwayman chaps 
 with the passengers," one of the men said. 
 
 " You need not be afraid of them," Tom said 
 carelessly ; " one got shot, and I don't know about 
 the other, but the wheel of the coach went over him, 
 so I do not suppose he will be much trouble. Now, 
 if I were you, 1 should not stand staring any more, 
 but should make haste and take the coach back." 
 
 " Hullo, look at this gray," one of the men ex- 
 claimed, as, at 1 ast understanding what had taken 
 place, they began to bustle about to change horses. 
 " He's got blood all over the side of his head. One 
 of those scoundrels has shot him through the ear." 
 
 Tom burst out laughing. " I am the scoundrel !" 
 he said. " Peter, that explains why we went off so 
 suddenly. I missed the fellow, and hit the leader 
 in the ear. However, it comes to the same thing. 
 By the way, we may as well take the pistols." 
 
 So saying, he ran up the ladder and brought 
 down the pistols. By this time the fresh horses 
 were in. 
 
 " I can't make naught of it," one of the hostlers 
 said, climbing up into the coachman's seat. " Jump 
 up, Bill and Harry. It's the rummiest go I ever 
 heard of in coaching." 
 
 " Landlady, can you get us some tea at once, 
 please," Tom said, going up to the landlady, who 
 was looking on from the door of the house with an 
 astonishment equal to that of the men at the whole 
 affair ; " as quickly as you can, for my sister looks 
 regularly done up with fatigue, and then, please.
 
 20 THE YOUNG BUGLERS. 
 
 let her lie down till the coach is ready to start 
 again. It will be three quarters of an hour before 
 it is back, and then, I dare say, there will be a lot 
 of talking before they go on. I should think they 
 will be wanting breakfast. At any rate, an hour's 
 rest will do you good, Khoda." 
 
 Rhoda was too worn out with the over-excitement 
 even to answer. Fortunately there was hot water 
 in order to make hot grog for the outriders of the 
 coach, some tea was quickly made, and in ten 
 minutes Rhoda was fast asleep on the landlady's 
 bed. 
 
 Tom and Peter expressed their desire for some- 
 thing substantial in the way of eating, for the 
 morning had now fairly broken. The landlady 
 brought in some cold meat, upon which the boys 
 made a vigorous attack, and then, taking possession 
 of two benches, they dozed off until the coach 
 arrived. 
 
 It had but three horses, for one had been sent off 
 to carry Bill, the hostler, at full speed to the 
 town at which they had last changed horses, to 
 fetch a doctor and the constable. The other two 
 men had remained with the guard, who was shot 
 in the hip, and the highwayman, whose collar-bone 
 was broken by Peter's shot. The fellow shot by 
 the guard, and the other one, whom the coach 
 wheels had passed over, were both dead. 
 
 " There's the coach, Tom." 
 
 " What a nuisance, Peter, they'll all be wanting 
 to talk now, and I am just so comfortably off.
 
 THE YOUNG BUGLERS. 21 
 
 Well, I suppose it's no use trying to get any more 
 sleep." 
 
 So saying, they roused themselves, and went out 
 to the door just as the coach drew up. 
 
 There was a general shout of greeting from the 
 passengers, which was stopped, however, by a per- 
 emptory order from the coachman. 
 
 He was a large, stout man, with a face red from 
 the effects of wind and exposure. " Jack," he said 
 to a man who was standing near, for the news of 
 the attack upon the coach had quickly spread, and 
 all the villagers were astir to see it come in. " Jack, 
 hold the leader's head. Thomas, open the door, 
 and let the insides out. Gents," he said solemnly, 
 when this was done, " I'm going to do what isn't a 
 usual thing by no means, in fact, I ain't no prece- 
 dence for doing it ; but then, I do not know any 
 precedence for this here business altogether. I 
 never did hear of a coachman standing up on his 
 box to give a cheer, no, not to King George him- 
 self ; but, there, King George never polished off two 
 highwaymen all to himself, leastway, not as I've 
 heard tell of. ISTow, these two young gents have 
 done this. They have saved my coach and my pas- 
 sengers from getting robbed, and so I'm going to 
 give 'em three cheers. I'll trouble you to help me 
 up into the box seat, gentlemen." 
 
 Assisted by the other passengers, the driver now 
 gravely climbed up into the box seat, steadied him- 
 self there by placing one hand upon the shoulder of 
 the passenger next him, took off his low-crowned
 
 22 THE YOUNG BUGLERS. 
 
 hat, and said, " Follow me, gents, with three cheers 
 for those young gents standing there ; better plucked 
 ones I never came across, and I've traveled a good 
 many miles in my day." 
 
 So saying, he gave three stentorian cheers, which 
 were echoed by all the passengers and villagers. 
 
 Then there was a momentary silence, and Tom, 
 who, with his brother, had been feeling very un- 
 comfortable, although rather inclined to laugh, see- 
 ing that he was expected to say something, said, 
 " Thank you all very much ; but we'd much rather 
 you hadn't done it." 
 
 Then there was a general laugh and movement, 
 and a general pressing forward of the passengers to 
 shake the boys by the hand. The driver was as- 
 sisted down from his elevated position, and got off 
 the coach and came up to them. " That's the first 
 speech I ever made, young gentlemen, and if I 
 know myself, it will be the last ; but, you see, I was 
 druv to it. You're a good sort, that's certain. 
 What will you drink ?" 
 
 The boys declared for beer, and drank solemnly 
 with the driver, imitating him in finishing their 
 mugs at a draught, and turning them topsy-turvy. 
 There was now a great deal of talking, and many 
 questions were asked. Tom and Peter modestly 
 said that there was really nothing to tell. They 
 saw that the gentleman next to them intended to 
 use his pistols ; but, not seeing a good opportunity, 
 put them down behind the tarpaulin, and the 
 thought occurred to them that, by slipping behind
 
 THE YOUNG BUGLERS. 23 
 
 it, they would get a good chance of a certain shot. 
 Accordingly, they had fired, and then the horses had 
 run away, and there was an end of it. There was 
 nothing extraordinary in the whole matter. 
 
 " At any rate, my boys, you have saved me from 
 a loss of a couple of hundred pounds which I had 
 got hid in my boots, but which those fellows would 
 have been sure to have discovered," one of the pas- 
 sengers said. 
 
 There was a general chorus of satisfaction at 
 many watches and trinkets saved, and then the first 
 passenger went on : 
 
 " I propose, gentlemen and ladies, that when we 
 get to the end of our journey we make a subscrip- 
 tion, according to the amount we have saved, and 
 that we get each of these young gentlemen a brace 
 of the very best pistols that can be bought. If 
 they go on as they have begun, they will find them 
 useful." 
 
 There was a general exclamation of approval, and 
 one of the ladies, who had been an inside passenger, 
 said, " And I think we ought to give a handsome 
 ring to their sister as a memorial through life. Of 
 course, she had not so much to do as her brothers, 
 but she had the courage to keep still, and she had 
 to run the risk both of being shot and of being up- 
 set by the coach just as they did." 
 
 This also was unanimously approved, and, after 
 doing full justice to the breakfast set before them, 
 the party again took their places. Rhoda being 
 carried down asleep, by the landlady, and placed in
 
 24 THE YOUNG BUGLERS. 
 
 the coach, one of the inside passengers getting out 
 to make room for her, and she was laid, curled up, 
 on the seat, with her head in a lady's lap, and slept 
 quietly, until, to her astonishment, she was woke 
 up, and told that she was in Marlborough.
 
 THE YOUNG BUGLERS. 25 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 TWO YOUNG- PICKLES. 
 
 AN old-fashioned open carriage, drawn by a stiff, 
 old-fashioned horse, and driven by a stiff, old- 
 fashioned man, was in waiting at the inn at which 
 the coach drew up at Marlborough. Into this the 
 young Scudamores were soon transferred, and after 
 a hearty good-by from their fellow-passengers, and 
 an impressive one from the coachman, they started 
 upon the concluding part of their journey. 
 
 "How far is it to aunt's?" Tom asked. 
 
 " About six miles, young sir," the driver said 
 gravely. 
 
 The young Scudamores had great difficulty to re- 
 strain their laughter at Tom's new title ; in fact, 
 Peter nearly choked himself in his desperate efforts 
 to do so, and no further questions were asked for 
 some time. 
 
 The ride was a pleasant one, and Rhoda, who had 
 never been out of Lincolnshire before, was delighted 
 with the beautiful country through which they 
 were passing. The journey, long as it was for the 
 road was a very bad one, and the horse had no idea 
 of going beyond a slow trot passed quickly to
 
 26 THE YOUNG BUGLERS. 
 
 them all ; but they were glad when the driver 
 pointed to a quaint old-fashioned house standing 
 back from the road, and said that they were home. 
 
 " There are the pigeons, Rhoda, and there is 
 Minnie asleep on that open window-sill." 
 
 Very many times had the young Scudamores 
 talked about their aunt, and had pictured to them- 
 selves what she would be like ; and their ideas of 
 her so nearly approached the truth that she almost 
 seemed to be an old acquaintance as she came to 
 the door as the carriage stopped. She was a tall, 
 upright, elderly lady, with a kind, but very decided 
 face, and a certain prim look about her manner and 
 dress. 
 
 " Well, niece Rhoda and nephews, I am glad to 
 see that you have arrived safely," she said in a 
 clear, distinct voice. " Welcome to the Yews. I 
 hope that we shall get on very well together. 
 Joseph, I hope that you heve not driven Daisy too 
 fast, and that you did not allow my nephews to use 
 the whip. You know I gave you very distinct in- 
 structions not to let them do so." 
 
 " No, my lady, they never so much as asked." 
 
 " That is right," Miss Scudamore said, turning 
 round and shaking hands with the boys, who had 
 now got out of the carriage and had helped Rhoda 
 down. " I am glad to hear what Joseph tells me, 
 for J know that boys are generally fond of furious 
 driving, and like lashing horses until they put them 
 into a gallop. And now, how are you, niece Rhoda ? 
 Give me a kiss. That is right. You look pale and
 
 THE YOUNG BUGLERS. 27 
 
 tired, child ; you must have something to eat, and 
 then go to bed. Girls can't stand racketing about 
 as boys can. You look quiet and nice, child, and I 
 have no doubt we shall suit very well. It is very 
 creditable to you that you have not been spoiled by 
 your brothers. Boys generally make their sisters 
 almost as noisy and rude as they are themselves." 
 
 " I don't think we are noisy and rude, aunt," 
 Tom said, with a smile. 
 
 " Oh, you don't, nephew ?" Miss Scudamore said, 
 looking at him sharply, and then shaking her head 
 decidedly two or three times. " If your looks do 
 not belie you both sadly, you. are about as hair- 
 brained a couple of lads as my worst enemies could 
 wish to see sent to plague me ; but," she added to 
 herself, as she turned to lead the way indoors, " I 
 must do my duty, and must make allowances ; boys 
 will be boys, boys will be boys, so they say at least, 
 though why they should be is more than I can make 
 out. Now, Rhoda, I will take you up with me. 
 Your bedroom leads out of mine, dear. Hester," 
 she said to a prim-looking servant who had come 
 out after her to .the door, " will you show my 
 nephews to their room ? Dinner will be ready at 
 two ; it is just a quarter to the hour now. I see that 
 you have got watches, so that you will be able to be 
 punctual ; and I must request you, when you have 
 done washing, not to throw the water out of the 
 window, because my flower-beds are underneath." 
 
 Tom had great difficulty in keeping his counte- 
 nance, while he assured his aunt that his brother
 
 28 THE YOUNG BUGLERS. 
 
 and himself never did empty their basins out of the 
 window. 
 
 " That is right," Miss Scudamore said doubtfully ; 
 " but I have heard that boys do such things." 
 
 Once fairly in their room and the door shut, they 
 had a great laugh over their aunt's ideas as to boys. 
 
 " There is one comfort," Tom said at last ; " what- 
 ever we do we shall never surprise her." 
 
 " I think we shall get on very well with her," 
 Peter said. " She means to be kind, I am sure. 
 This is a jolly room, Tom." 
 
 It was a low wainscoted room, with a very wide 
 window divided into three by mullions, and fitted 
 with latticed panes. They were open, and a deli- 
 cious scent of flowers came in from the garden. 
 The furniture was all new and very strong, of dark 
 stained wood, which harmonized well with the 
 paneling. There were no window curtains, but a 
 valance of white dimity hung above the window. 
 There was a piece of carpet between the beds ; the 
 rest of the floor was bare, but the boards were of 
 old oak, and looked as well without it. Several 
 rows of pegs had been put upon the walls, and there 
 was a small chest of drawers by each bed. 
 
 " This is very jolly, Peter ; but it is a pity that 
 there are bars to the window." 
 
 When they came down to dinner they found that 
 Rhoda, quite done up with her journey, had gone to 
 bed. 
 
 "You like your room, I hope, nephews," Miss 
 Scudamore said, after they had taken their seats.
 
 THE YOUNG BUGLERS. 29 
 
 " Yes, aunt, very much. There is only one draw- 
 back to it." 
 
 " What is that, Thomas?" 
 
 " Oh, please, aunt, don't call me Thomas ; it is a 
 dreadful name; it is almost as bad as Tommy. 
 Please call me Tom. I am always called Tom by 
 every one." 
 
 " I am not fond of these nicknames," Miss Scuda- 
 more said. " There is a flippancy about them of 
 which I do not approve." 
 
 " Yes, aunt, in nicknames ; but Tom is not a nick- 
 name; it is only a short way of speaking. We 
 never hear of a man being called Thomas, unless he 
 is a footman or an archbishop, or something of that 
 sort." 
 
 " What do you mean by archbishop ?" Miss Scuda- 
 more asked severely. 
 
 " Well, aunt, I was going to say footman, and 
 then I thought of Thomas a Becket ; and there was 
 Thomas the Rhymer. I have heard of him, but I 
 never read any of his rhymes. I wonder why they 
 did not call them poems. But I expect even Thomas 
 a Becket was called Tom in his own family." 
 
 Miss Scudamore looked sharply at Tom, but he 
 had a perfect command of his face, and could talk 
 the greatest nonsense with the most serious face. 
 He went on unmoved with her scrutiny. 
 
 " I have often wondered why I was not christened 
 Tom. It would have been much more sensible. 
 For instance, Rhoda is christened Rhoda, and not 
 Rhododendron."
 
 30 THE YOUNG BUGLERS. 
 
 " Rhododendron ?" Miss Scudamore said, mysti- 
 fied. 
 
 " Yes, aunt, it is an American plant, I believe. 
 We had one in the greenhouse at home ; it was sent 
 poor papa by some friend who went out there. I 
 don't see anything else Rhoda could come from." 
 
 "You are speaking very ignorantly, nephew," 
 Miss Scudamore said severely. " I don't know any- 
 thing about the plant you speak of, but the name 
 of Rhoda existed before America was ever heard 
 of. It is a very old name." 
 
 " I expect," Peter said, " it must have meant 
 originally a woman of Rhodes. You see Crusaders 
 and Templars were always having to do with 
 Rhodes, and they no doubt brought the name home, 
 and so it got settled here." 
 
 'The name is mentioned in Scripture," Miss 
 Scudamore said severely. 
 
 " Yes, aunt, and that makes it still more likely 
 that it meant a woman of Rhodes ; you see Rhodes 
 was a great place then." 
 
 Miss Scudamore was silent for some time. Then 
 she went back to the subject with which the conver- 
 sation had commenced. "What is the objection 
 you spoke of to the room ?" 
 
 " Oh ! it is the bars to the window, aunt." 
 
 " I have just had them put up," Miss Scudamore 
 said calmly. 
 
 "Just put up, aunt!" Tom repeated in surprise; 
 "what for?" 
 
 "To prevent you getting out ;it night."
 
 THE YOUNG BUGLERS. 31 
 
 The boys could not help laughing this time, and 
 then Peter said, " But why should we want to get 
 out at night, aunt ?" 
 
 " Why should boys always want to do the things 
 they ought not?" Miss Scudamore said. "I've 
 heard of boys being let down by ropes to go and buy 
 things. I dare say you have both done it your- 
 selves." 
 
 " Well, aunt," Tom said, " perhaps we have ; but 
 then, you see, that was at school." 
 
 " I do not see any difference, nephew. If you 
 will get out at one window, you will get out at an- 
 other. There is mischief to be done in the country 
 as well as in towns ; and so long as there is mischief 
 to do, so long will boys go out of their way to do it. 
 And now I will tell yo'i the rules of this house, to 
 which you will be expected to adhere. It is well to 
 understand things at once, as it prevents mistakes. 
 We breakfast at eight, dine at two, have tea at 
 half -past six, and you will go to bed at half-past 
 eight. These hours will be strictly observed. I 
 shall expect your hands and faces to be washed, and 
 your hairs brushed previous to each meal. When 
 you come indoors you will always take off your 
 boots and put on your shoes in the little room be- 
 hind this. And now, if you have done dinner I 
 think that you had better go and lie down on your 
 bed, and get two or three hours' sleep. Take off 
 your boots before you get into the bed." 
 
 " She means well, Peter," the elder brother said, 
 as they went upstairs, " but I am afraid she will 
 fidget our lives out."
 
 32 THE YOUNG BUGLERS. 
 
 For two or three days the boys wandered about, 
 enjoying the beautiful walks, and surprising and 
 pleasing their aunt by the punctuality with which 
 they were in to their meals. Then she told them 
 that she had arranged for them to go to a tutor, 
 who lived at Warley, a large village a mile distant, 
 and who had some eight or ten pupils. The very 
 first day's experience at the school disgusted them. 
 The boys were of an entirely different class to those 
 with whom they had hitherto associated, and the 
 master was violent and passionate. 
 
 "How do you like Mr. Jones, nephews?" Miss 
 Scudamore asked upon their return after their first 
 day at school. 
 
 " We do not like him at all, aunt. In the first 
 place he is a good deal too handy with that cane 
 of his." 
 
 " * He who spares the rod ' " 
 
 "Yes, we know that, aunt, 'spoils the child,'" 
 broke in Tom ; " but we would not mind so much if 
 the fellow were a gentleman." 
 
 " I don't know what you may call a gentleman," 
 Miss Scudamore said severely. " He stands very high 
 here as a schoolmaster, while he visits the vicar, 
 and is well looked up to everywhere." 
 
 " He's not a gentleman, for all that," Tom mut- 
 tered; "he wouldn't be if he visited the queen. 
 One does not mind being thrashed by a gentleman ; 
 one is used to that at Eton; but to be knocked 
 about by a fellow like that ! Well, we shall see :" 
 
 For a week the boys put up with the cruelty of
 
 THE YOUNG BUGLERS. 33 
 
 their tutor, who at once took an immense dislike to 
 them on finding that they did not, like the other 
 boys, cringe before him, and that no thrashing could 
 extract a cry from them. 
 
 It must not be supposed that they did not medi- 
 tate vengeance ; but they could hit upon no plan 
 which could be carried out without causing suspicion 
 that it was the act of one of the boys; and in that 
 case they knew that he would question them all 
 round, and they would not tell a lie to screen them- 
 selves. 
 
 Twice they appealed to their aunt ; but she would 
 not listen to them, saying that the other boys did 
 not complain and that if their master was more 
 severe with them than with others it could only be 
 because they behaved worse. It was too evident 
 that they were boys of very violent dispositions, 
 and although she was sorry that their master found 
 it necessary to punish them, it was clearly her duty 
 not to interfere. 
 
 The remark about violence arose from Miss Scuda- 
 more having read in the little paper which was 
 published once a week at Marlborough an account 
 of the incident of the stopping of the coach, about 
 which the boys had agreed to say nothing to her. 
 The paper had described the conduct of her nephews 
 in the highest terms, but Miss Scudamore was ter- 
 ribly shocked. " The idea," she said, " that she 
 should have to associate with boys who had taken 
 a fellow-creature's life was terrible to her, and their 
 conduct in resisting, when grown-up men had given
 
 34 THE YOUNG BUGLERS. 
 
 up the idea as hopeless, showed a violent spirit, 
 which, in boys so young, was shocking." 
 
 A few days after this, as the boys were coming 
 from school, they passed the carrier's cart coming 
 in from Marl borough. 
 
 " Be you the young gentlemen at Miss Scuda- 
 more's?" the man asked. "Because if you be, I 
 have got a parcel for you." 
 
 Tom answered him that they were, and he then 
 handed them over a heavy square parcel. Opening 
 it after the cart had gone on, the boys, to their 
 great delight, found that it consisted of two cases, 
 each containing a brace of very handsome pistols. 
 
 " This is luck, Peter," Tom said. " If the parcel 
 had been sent to the house aunt would never have 
 let us have them ; now we can take them in quietly, 
 get some powder and balls, and practice shooting 
 every day in some quiet place. That will be capi- 
 tal. Do you know I have thought of a plan which 
 will enrage old Jones horribly, and he will never 
 suspect us ?" 
 
 " No ; have }^ou, Tom ? What is that ?" 
 
 " Look here, Peter. I can carry you easily stand- 
 ing on my shoulders. If you get a very long cloak, 
 so as to fall well down on me, no one would suspect 
 in the dark that there were two of us ; we should 
 look like one tremendously tall man. Well, you 
 know, he goes every evening to Dunstable's to sing 
 with Miss Dunstable. They say he's making love 
 to her. We can waylay him in the narrow lane, 
 and make him give up that new watch he has just
 
 THE YOUNG BUGLERS. 35 
 
 bought, that he's so proud of. I heard him say he 
 had given thirty guineas for it. Of course we don't 
 want to keep it, but we would smash it up between 
 a couple of big stones and send him all the pieces." 
 
 " Capital, Tom ; but where should we get the 
 cloak?" 
 
 " There is that long wadded silk cloak of aunt's 
 that she uses when she goes out driving. It always 
 hangs up in the closet in the hall." 
 
 " But how are we to get in again, Tom ? I ex- 
 pect that he does not come back till half-past nine 
 or ten. "We can slip out easily enough after we are 
 supposed to have gone to bed ; but how are we to 
 get back ?" 
 
 "The only plan, Peter, is to get in through 
 Rhoda's window. She is very angry at that brute 
 Jones treating us so badly, and if I take her into 
 the secret I feel sure she will agree." 
 
 Rhoda was appealed to, and although at first she 
 said it was quite, quite impossible, she finally agreed, 
 although with much fear and trembling, to assist 
 them. First, the boys were to buy some rope and 
 make a rope ladder, which Rhoda was to take up to 
 her room ; she was to open the window wide when 
 she went to bed, but to pull the blind down as usual, 
 so that if her aunt came in she would not notice it. 
 Then, when she heard her aunt come up to bed at 
 half-past nine, she was to get up very quietly, drop 
 the rope ladder out, fastening it as they instructed 
 her, and then get into bed again, and go to sleep if 
 she could, as the boys would not try to come in 
 until after Miss Scudamore was asleep.
 
 36 THE YOUNG BUGLERS. 
 
 Two nights after this the schoolmaster was re- 
 turning from his usual visit to Mr. Dunstable, when, 
 to his horror, he saw a gigantic figure advance from 
 under a tree which overshadowed the lawn, and 
 heard a deep voice say, " Your money or your life !" 
 
 Like all bullies, the schoolmaster was a coward, 
 and no sooner did he see this terrible figure, and his 
 ears caught the ominous click of a pistol which 
 accompanied the words, than his teeth chattered, 
 his whole figure trembled with fear, and he fell on 
 his knees, crying, " Spare my life ! take all that I 
 have, but spare my life !" 
 
 " You miserable coward !" the giant said, " I do 
 not want to take your wretched life. What money 
 have you ?" 
 
 " I have only two shillings," he exclaimed ; " I 
 swear to you that I have only two shillings." 
 
 " What is the use of two shillings to me ? give 
 them to the first beggar you see." 
 
 " Yes, sir," the schoolmaster said ; " I swear to 
 you that I will." 
 
 " Give me your watch." 
 
 The school master took out his watch, and, getting 
 upon his feet, handed it to the giant. 
 
 " There now, you can go ; but see," he added, as 
 the schoolmaster turned with great alacrity to 
 leave " look here." 
 
 "Yes, sir." 
 
 "Look here, and mark my words well. Don't 
 you go to that house where you have been to night, 
 or it will be the worse for you. You are a wretch,
 
 THE YOUNG BUGLERS. 37 
 
 and I won't see that poor little girl marry you and 
 be made miserabla Swear to me you will give her 
 up." 
 
 The schoolmaster hesitated, but there was again 
 the ominous click of the pistol. 
 
 " Yes, yes, I swear it," he said hastily. " I will 
 give her up altogether." 
 
 " You had better keep your oath," the giant said, 
 "for if you break it, if I hear you go there any 
 more I shall be sure to hear of it I will put an 
 ounce of lead in you, if I have to doit in the middle 
 of vour school. Do you hear me ? Now you may 
 
 go" 
 
 Only too glad to escape, the schoolmaster walked 
 quickh r off, and in a moment his steps could be 
 heard as he ran at the top of his speed down the 
 lane. 
 
 In a moment the giant appeared to break in two, 
 and two small figures stood where the large one had 
 been. 
 
 " Capital, Peter. Now, I'll take the 6loak, and 
 you keep the pistol, and now for a run home not 
 that I'm afraid of that coward getting up a pursuit. 
 He'll be only too glad to get his head under the 
 bedclothes." 
 
 Rhoda had carried out her brother's instructions 
 with great exactness, and was in a great fright 
 when her aunt came in to see her in bed, lest she 
 should notice that the window was open. However, 
 the night was a quiet one, and the curtains fell 
 partly across the blind, so that Miss Scudamore sus-
 
 38 THE YOUNG BUGLERS. 
 
 pected nothing, but Khoda felt great relief when 
 she said good-night, took the candle, and left the 
 room. She had had hard work to keep herself 
 awake until she heard her aunt come up to bed ; 
 and then, finding that she did not again come into 
 the room, she got up, fastened one end of the rope 
 ladder to a thick stick long enough to cross two of 
 the mullions, let the other end down very quietly, 
 and then slipped into bed again. She did not awake 
 until Hester knocked at her door and told her it was 
 time to get up. She woke with a great start, and 
 in a fright at once ran to the window. Everything 
 looked as usual. The rope ladder was gone, the 
 window was closed, and Rhoda knew that her 
 brothers must have come in safely. 
 
 Great was the excitement in Warley next day, 
 when it became known that the schoolmaster had 
 been robbed of his watch by a giant fully eight 
 feet high. This height of the robber was, indeed, 
 received with much doubt, as people thought that 
 he might have been a tall man, but that the eight 
 feet must have been exaggerated by the fear of the 
 schoolmaster. 
 
 Two or three days afterward the surprise rose 
 even higher, when a party of friends who had 
 assembled at Mr. Jones' to condole with him upon 
 his misfortune, were startled by the smashing of 
 one of the windows by a small packet, which fell 
 upon the floor in their midst. 
 
 There was a rush to the door, but the night was 
 a dark one, and no one was to be seen ; then they
 
 THE YOUNG BUGLERS. 39 
 
 returned to the sitting-room, and the little packet 
 was opened, and found to contain some watchworks 
 bent and broken, some pulverized glass, and a bat- 
 tered piece of metal, which, after some trouble, the 
 schoolmaster recognized as the case of his watch. 
 The head-constable was sent for, and after examin- 
 ing the relics of the case, he came- to the same con- 
 clusion at which the rest had already arrived, 
 namely, that the watch could not have been stolen 
 by an ordinary footpad, but by some personal 
 enemy of the schoolmaster's, whose object was not 
 plunder, but annoyance and injury. 
 
 To the population of Warley this solution was a 
 very agreeable one. The fact of a gigantic footpad 
 being in the neighborhood was alarming for all, 
 and nervous people were already having great bolts 
 and bars placed upon their shutters and doors. The 
 discovery, therefore, that the object of this giant 
 was not plunder, but only to gratify a spite against 
 the master, was a relief to the whole place. Every 
 one was, of course, anxious to know who this secret 
 foe could be, and what crime Mr. Jones could have 
 committed to bring such a tremendous enemy upon 
 him. The boys at the school assumed a fresh im- 
 portance in the eyes of the whole place, and being 
 encouraged now to tell all they knew of him, they 
 gave such a picture of the life that they had led at 
 school that a general feeling of disgust was aroused 
 against him. 
 
 The parents of one or two of the boys gave notice 
 to take their sons away, but the rest of the boys 
 were boarders, and were no better off than before.
 
 40 THE YOUNG BUGLERS. 
 
 Miss Scudamore was unshaken in her faith in 
 Mr. Jones, and considered the rumor current about 
 him to be due simply to the vindictive nature of 
 boys. 
 
 " Well, aunt," Tom said one day, after a lecture 
 of this sort from her, " I know you mean to be kind 
 to us, but Peter and I have stood it on that account, 
 but we can't stand it much longer, and we shall run 
 away before long." 
 
 " And where would you run to, nephew ?" Miss 
 Scudamore said calmly. 
 
 " That is our affair," Tom said quite as coolly, 
 "only I don't like to do it without giving you 
 warning. You mean kindly, I know, aunt, but the 
 way you are always going on at us from morning 
 to night whenever we are at home, and the way in 
 which you allow us to be treated by that tyrannical 
 brute, is too much altogether." 
 
 Miss Scudamore looked steadily at them. 
 
 " I am doing, nephew, what I consider to be for 
 your good. You are willful, and violent, and head- 
 strong. It is my duty to cure you, and although it 
 is all very painful to me, at my time of life, to have 
 such a charge thrust upon me, still, whatever it 
 costs, it must be done." 
 
 For the next month Mr. Jones' life was rendered 
 a burden to him. The chimney-pots were shut up 
 with sods placed on them, and the fireplaces poured 
 volumes of smoke into the rooms and nearly choked 
 him. Night after night the windows of his bed- 
 room were smashed : cats were let down the chim-
 
 THE YOUNG BUGLERS. 41 
 
 ney ; his water-butts were found filled with mud, 
 and the cord of the bucket of his well was cut time 
 after time ; the flowers in his garden were dug up 
 and put in topsy-turvy. He himself could not stir 
 out after dark without being tripped up by strings 
 fastened a few inches above the path ; and once, 
 coming out of his door, a string fastened from 
 scraper to scraper brought him down the steps with 
 such violence that the bridge of his nose, which 
 came on to the edge of a step, was broken, and he 
 was confined to his bed for three or four days. In 
 vain he tried every means to discover and punish 
 the authors of these provocations. A savage dog, 
 the terror of the neighborhood, was borrowed and 
 chained up in the garden, but was found poisoned 
 next morning. 
 
 "Watchmen were hired, but refused to stay for 
 more than one night, for they were so harassed and 
 wearied out that they came to the conclusion that 
 they were haunted. If they were on one side of 
 the house a voice would be heard on the other. 
 After the first few attempts they no longer dared 
 venture to run, for between each round strings were 
 tied in every direction, and they had several heavy 
 falls, while as they were carefully picking their way 
 with their lanterns, stones struck them from all 
 quarters. If one ventured for a moment from the 
 other's side his lantern was knocked out, and his 
 feet were struck from under him with a sharp and 
 unexpected blow from a heavy cudgel ; and they 
 were once appalled by seeing a gigantic figure stalk 
 across the grass, and vanish in a little bush.
 
 42 THE YOUNG BUGLERS. 
 
 At the commencement of these trials the school- 
 master had questioned the boys, one by one, if they 
 had any hand in the proceeding. 
 
 All denied it. When it came to Tom Scudamore's 
 turn, he said : " You never do believe me, Mr. Jones, 
 so it is of no use my saying that I didn't do it ; 
 but if you ask Miss Scudamore, she will bear wit- 
 ness that we were in bed hours before, and that 
 there are bars on our windows through which a cat 
 could hardly get." 
 
 The boys had never used Rhoda's room after 
 the first night's expedition, making their escape 
 now by waiting until the house was quiet, and 
 then slipping along the passage to the spare room, 
 and thence by the window, returning in the same 
 way. 
 
 Under this continued worry, annoyance, and 
 alarm, the schoolmaster grew thin and worn, his 
 school fell off more and more; for many of the 
 boys, whose rest was disturbed by all this racket, 
 encouraged by the example of the boys of the place 
 who had already been taken away, wrote privately 
 to their friends. 
 
 The result was that the parents of two or three 
 more wrote to s&y that their boys would not return 
 after the holidays, and no one was surprised when 
 it became known that Mr. Jones was about to close 
 his school and leave the neighborhood. 
 
 The excitement of the pranks that they had been 
 playing had enabled the boys to support the almost 
 perpetual scoldings and complaints of their aunt ;
 
 THE YOUNG BUGLERS. 43 
 
 but school once over, and their enemy driven from 
 the place, they made up their minds that they could 
 no longer stand it. 
 
 One day, therefore, when Rhoda had, as an ex- 
 traordinary concession, been allowed to go for a 
 walk with them, they told her that they intended 
 to run away. 
 
 Poor Rhoda was greatly distressed. 
 
 " You see, Rhoda dear," Tom said, " although we 
 don't like leaving you, you will really be happier 
 when we are gone. It is a perpetual worry to you 
 to hear aunt going on, on, on nagging, nagging, 
 nagging forever and ever at us. She is fond of you 
 and kind to you, and you would get on quietly 
 enough without us, while now she is in a fidget 
 whenever you are with us, and is constantly at you 
 not to learn mischief and bad ways from us. Be- 
 sides you are always in a fright now, lest we should 
 get into some awful scrape, as I expect we should if 
 we stopped here. If it weren't for you, we should 
 not let her off as easily as we do. No, no, Rhoda, 
 it is better for us all that we should go." 
 
 Poor Rhoda, though she cried bitterly at the 
 thought of losing her brothers, yet could not but 
 allow to herself that in many respects she should be 
 more happy when she was freed from anxiety, lest 
 they should get into some scrape, and when her 
 aunt would not be kept in a state of continued irri- 
 tation and scolding. She felt too that, although 
 she herself could get on well enough in her changed 
 life, that it was very hard indeed for the boys,
 
 44 THE YOUNG BUGLERS. 
 
 accustomed as they had been to the jolly and in- 
 dependent life of a public school, and to be their 
 o\vn master during the holidays, with their ponies 
 and amusements, and their freedom to come and go 
 when they chose. Rhoda was a thoughtful child, 
 and felt that nothing that they could go through 
 could do them more harm or make them more un- 
 happy than they now were. She had thought it all 
 over day after day, for she was sure that the boys 
 would sooner or later come to it, and she had con- 
 vinced herself that it was better for them. Still it 
 was with a very sad heart that she found that the 
 time had come. 
 
 For some time she cried in silence, and then, dry- 
 ing her eyes, she said, trying to speak bravely, 
 though her lips quivered : 
 
 " I shall miss you dreadfully, boys ; but I will not 
 say a word to keep you here, for I am sure it is 
 very, very bad for you. "What do you mean to do? 
 Do you mean to go to sea ?" 
 
 " No, Rhoda ; you see uncle was in the army, and 
 used to talk to us about that ; and as we have never 
 seen the sea, we don't care for it as some boys do. 
 No, we shall try and go as soldiers." 
 
 " But, my dear Tom, they will never take you as 
 soldiers ; you are too little. " 
 
 " Yes, we are not old enough to enlist at present," 
 Tom said ; " but we might go in as buglers. We 
 have thought it all over, and have been paying old 
 Wetherley, who was once in the band of a regiment, 
 to teach us the bugle, and he says we can sound aH
 
 THE YOUNG BUGLERS. 45 
 
 the calls now as well as any bugler going. We did 
 not like to tell you till we had made up our minds 
 to go ; but we have gone regularly to him every 
 day since the first week we came here." 
 
 " Then you won't have to fight, Tom," Rhoda 
 said joyfully. 
 
 " Ho," Tom said, in a rather dejected tone ; " I 
 am afraid they won't let us fight ; still we shall see 
 fighting, which is the next best thing." 
 
 " I heard in Warley yesterday that there will be 
 a movement of the army in Spain soon, and that 
 some more troops will be sent out, and we shall try 
 and get into a regiment that is going." 
 
 They talked very long and earnestly on their 
 plans, and were so engrossed that they quite forgot 
 how time went, and got in late for tea, and were 
 terribly scolded in consequence. For once none of 
 them cared for the storm ; the boys exulted over 
 the thought that it would be the last scolding they 
 would have to suffer ; and Rhoda had difficulty in 
 gasping down her tears at the thought that it was 
 the last meal that she would take with them, for 
 they had settled that they would start that very 
 night.
 
 4:6 THE YOUNG BUGLERS. 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 ENLISTED. 
 
 IT was a bright moonlight night when the boys, 
 after a sad farewell from Rhoda, let themselves 
 down from the window, and started upon their 
 journey. Each carried a bundle on a stick ; each 
 bundle contained a suit of clothes, a few shirts and 
 stockings, a pair of shoes, and a pistol. The other 
 pistols were carried loaded inside their jackets, for 
 there was no saying whom they might meet upon 
 the road. They had put on the oldest suit of 
 clothes they possessed, so as to attract as little at- 
 tention as possible by the way. After they had 
 once recovered from their parting with Rhoda their 
 spirits rose, and they tramped along lightly and 
 cheerfully. It was eleven o'clock when they started, 
 and through the night they did not meet a single 
 person. Toward morning they got under a hay- 
 stack near the road, and slept for some hours ; then 
 they walked steadily on until they had done twenty 
 miles since their start. They went into a small inn 
 and had some breakfast, and then purchasing some 
 bread and cold ham, went on through the town, and, 
 leaving the London road, followed that leading to
 
 THE YOUNG BUGLERS. 47 
 
 Portsmouth, and after a mile or two again took up 
 their quarters until evening in a haystack. 
 
 It is not necessary to give the details of the 
 journey to Portsmouth. After the first two days' 
 tramp, having no longer any fear of the pursuit, 
 which, no doubt, had been made for them when 
 first missed, they walked by day, and slept at night 
 in sheds, or under haystacks, as they were afraid of 
 being questioned and perhaps stopped at inns. 
 They walked only short distances now, for the first 
 night's long journey had galled their feet, and, as 
 Tom said, they were not pressed for time, and did 
 not want to arrive at Portsmouth like two limping 
 tramps. Walking, therefore, only twelve miles a 
 day, after the first two days, they arrived at 
 Portsmouth fresh and in high spirits. They 
 had met with no adventures upon the road, ex- 
 cept that upon one occasion two tramps had at- 
 tempted to seize their bundles, but the production 
 of the pistols, and the evident determination of the 
 boys to use them if necessary, made the men abandon 
 their intention and make off, with much bad lan- 
 guage and many threats, at which the boys laughed 
 disdainfully. 
 
 Arrived at Portsmouth, their first care was to 
 find a quiet little inn, where they could put up. 
 This they had little difficulty in doing, for Ports- 
 mouth abounded with public-houses, and people 
 were so much accustomed to young fellows tramp- 
 ing in with their bundles, to join their ships, that 
 their appearance excited no curiosity whatever.
 
 48 THE YOUNG BUGLERS. 
 
 Tom looked older than he really was, although not 
 tall for his age, while Peter, if anything, overtopped 
 his brother, but was slighter, and looked fully two 
 years younger. Refreshed by a long night's sleep 
 between sheets, they started out after breakfast to 
 see the town, and were greatly impressed and de- 
 lighted by the bustle of the streets, full of soldiers 
 and sailors, and still more by the fortifications and 
 the numerous ships of war lying in the harbor, or 
 out at Spithead. A large fleet of merchantmen was 
 lying off at anchor, waiting for a convoy, and a per- 
 fect fleet of little wherries was plying backward 
 and forward between the vessels and the shore. 
 
 " It makes one almost wish to be a sailor," Peter 
 said, as they sat upon the Southsea beach, and 
 looked out at the animated ocean. 
 
 " It does, Peter ; and if it had been ten years 
 back, instead of at present, I should have been 
 ready enough to change our plans. But what is 
 the use of going to sea now ? The French and 
 Spanish navies skulk in harbor, and the first time 
 our fellows get them out they will be sure to smash 
 them altogether, and then there is an end to all 
 fighting. No, Peter, it looks tempting, I grant, but 
 we shall see ten times as much with the army. We 
 must go and settle the thing to-morrow. There is 
 no time to be lost if the expedition starts in a fort- 
 night or three weeks." 
 
 Returning into the town, the boys were greatly 
 amused at seeing a sailor's wedding. Four carriages 
 and pair drove along ; inside were women, while
 
 THE YOUNG BUGLERS. 49 
 
 four sailors sat on each roof, waving their hats to 
 the passers-by, and refreshing themselves by re- 
 peated pulls at some black bottles, with which they 
 were well supplied. Making inquiries, the boys 
 found that the men belonged to a fine frigate 
 which had come in a day or two before, with several 
 prizes. 
 
 The next morning they went down to the bar- 
 racks. Several non-commissioned officers, with 
 bunches of gay ribbons in their caps, were standing 
 about. Outside the gates were some boards, with 
 notices, " Active young fellows required. Good 
 pay, plenty of prize money, and chances of promo- 
 tion !" 
 
 The boys read several of these notices, which dif- 
 fered only from each other in the name of the regi- 
 ment ; and then Tom gave an exclamation of satis- 
 faction as he glanced at a note at the foot of one of 
 them, " Two or three active lads wanted as buglers." 
 
 " There we are, Peter ; and, oh, what luck ! it is 
 Uncle Peter's regiment ! Look here, Peter," he 
 said, after a pause, " we won't say anything about 
 being his nephews, unless there is no other way of 
 getting taken ; for if we do it won't be nice. "We 
 shall be taken notice of, and not treated like other 
 fellows, and that will cause all sorts of ill-feeling 
 and jealousy, and rows. It will be quite time to 
 say who we are when we have done something to 
 show that we shan't do discredit to him. You see 
 it isn't much in our favor that we are here as two 
 runaway boys. If we were older we could go as
 
 50 THE YOUNG BUGLERS. 
 
 volunteers, but of course we are too young for 
 that." 
 
 It should be mentioned that in those days it was 
 by no means unusual for young men who had not 
 sufficient interest to get commissions to obtain per- 
 mission to accompany a regiment as volunteers. 
 They paid their own expenses, and lived with the 
 officers, but did dut} r as private soldiers. If they 
 distinguished themselves, they obtained commissions 
 to fill up vacancies caused in action. 
 
 " There is our sergeant, Tom ; let's get it over at 
 once." 
 
 " If you please," Tom said, as they went up to 
 the sergeant, " are you the recruiting sergeant of 
 the Norfolk Rangers ?" 
 
 " By Jove, Summers, you are in luck to-day," 
 laughed one of the other sergeants ; " here are two 
 valuable recruits for the Rangers. The Mounseers 
 will have no chance with the regiment with such 
 giants as those in it. Come, my fine fellows, let 
 me persuade you to join the Fifteenth. Such little 
 bantams as you are would be thrown away upon the 
 Rangers." 
 
 There was a shout of laughter from the other non- 
 commissioned officers. 
 
 Tom was too much accustomed to chaffing bargees 
 at Eton to be put out of countenance. 
 
 " "We may be bantams/' he said, " but I have 
 seen a bantam lick a big dunghill cock many a 
 time. Fine feathers don't always make fine birds, 
 mv man."
 
 THE YOUNG BUGLERS. 51 
 
 " Well answered, young one," the sergeant of the 
 Rangers said, while there was a general laugh among 
 the others, for the sergeant of the Fifteenth was not 
 a favorite. 
 
 "You think yourself sharp, youngster," he said 
 angrily. " You want a licking, you do ; and if 
 you were in the Fifteenth, you!d get it pretty 
 quickly." 
 
 " Oh ! I beg your pardon," Tom said gravely ; 
 " I did not know that the Fifteenth were famous 
 for thrashing boys. Thank you ; when I enlist it 
 shall be in a regiment where men hit fellows their 
 own size." 
 
 There was a shout of laughter, and the sergeant, 
 enraged, stepped forward, and gave Tom a swinging 
 box on the ear. 
 
 There was a cry of " shame " from the others ; 
 but before any of them could interfere, Tom sud- 
 denly stooped, caught the sergeant by the bottom 
 of the trousers, and in an instant he fell on his back 
 with a crash. 
 
 For a moment he was slightly stunned, and then, 
 regaining his feet, he was about to rush at Tom, 
 when the others threw themselves in between them, 
 and said he should not touch the boy. He struck 
 him first, and the boy had only given him what 
 served him right. 
 
 The sergeant was furious, and an angry quarrel 
 was going on, when an officer of the Rangers came 
 suddenly out of the barracks. 
 
 " Halloo, Summers, what is all this about ? I
 
 52 THE YOUNG BUGLERS. 
 
 am surprised at you. A lot of non-commissioned 
 officers, just in front of the barrack gates, quarrel- 
 ing like drunken sailors in a pothouse. What does 
 it all mean ?" 
 
 " The fact is this, Captain Manley," the sergeant 
 said, saluting, " these two lads came up to speak to 
 me, when Sergeant Billow chaffed them. The lad 
 gave the sergeant as good as he got, and the ser- 
 geant lost his temper, and hit him a box on the ear, 
 and in a moment the young one tripped him up, 
 and pretty nigh stunned him ; when he got up he 
 was going at the boy, and, of course, we wouldn't 
 have it." 
 
 " Quite right," Captain Manley said. " Sergeant 
 Billow, I shall forward a report to your regiment. 
 Chaffing people in the street, and then losing your 
 temper, striking a boy, and causing a disturbance. 
 Now, sergeant," he went on, as the others moved 
 away, " do you know those boys ?" 
 
 " No, sir ; they are strangers to me." 
 
 " Do you want to see the sergeant privately, lads, 
 or on something connected with the regiment ?" 
 
 " I see that you have vacancies for buglers, sir," 
 Tom said, "and my brother and myself want to 
 enlist if you will take us." 
 
 Captain Manley smiled. "You young scamps, 
 you have got ' runaway from home ' as plainly on 
 your faces as if it was printed there. If we were 
 to enlist you, we should be having your friends 
 here after you to-morrow, and get into a scrape for 
 taking you."
 
 THE YOUNG BUGLERS. 53 
 
 " We have no friends who will interfere with us, 
 sir, I can give you my word of honor as a gentle- 
 man." Captain Manley laughed. " I mean," Tom 
 said, confused, " my word of honor as an intend- 
 ing bugler." 
 
 " Indeed we have no one to interfere with us in 
 any way, sir," Peter put in -earnestly. " We 
 wouldn't tell a lie even to enlist in the Rangers." 
 
 Captain Manley was struck by the earnestness of 
 the boys' faces, and after a pause he said to the 
 sergeant : 
 
 " That will do, Summers ; I will take these lads 
 up to my quarters and speak to them." 
 
 Then, motioning to the boys to follow him, he 
 re-entered the barracks, and led the way up to his 
 quarters. 
 
 " Sit down," he said, when they had entered his 
 room. "Now, boys, this is a foolish freak upon 
 your part, which you will regret some day. Of 
 course you have run away from school." 
 
 " No, sir, we have run away from home," Tom 
 said. 
 
 " So much the worse," Captain Manley said 
 gravely. " Tell me frankly, why did you do so ? 
 No unkindness at home can excuse boys from run- 
 ning away from their parents." 
 
 " We have none, sir," Tom said. " We have lost 
 them both our mother many years ago, our father 
 six months. Our only living relation, except a 
 younger sister, is an aunt, who considers us as 
 nuisances, and who, although meaning to do her 
 duty, simply drives us out of our minds."
 
 54 THE YOUNG BUGLERS. 
 
 Captain Manley could not resist a smile. " Do 
 you not go to school ?" 
 
 " We did go to a school near, but unfortunately 
 it is broken up." 
 
 Captain Manley caught a little look of amuse- 
 ment between the boys. " I should not be surprised 
 if you had something to do with its breaking up," 
 he said with a laugh. " But to return to your com- 
 ing here. There is certainly less reason against 
 your joining than I thought at first, but you are 
 too young." 
 
 "We are both strong, and 'are good walkers," 
 Tom said. 
 
 " But you cannot be much over fifteen," Captain 
 Manley said, " and your brother is younger." 
 
 " We are accustomed to strong exercise, sir, and 
 can thrash most fellows of our own size." 
 
 "Very likely," Captain Manley said, "but we 
 can't take that into consideration. You are cer- 
 tainly young for buglers for service work ; how- 
 ever, I will go across with you to the orderly-room, 
 and hear what the colonel says." 
 
 Crossing the barrack-yard, they found the colonel 
 was in and disengaged. 
 
 " Colonel Tritton," Captain Manley said, " these 
 lads want to enlist as buglers." 
 
 The colonel looked up and smiled. " They look 
 regular young pickles,"' he said. " I suppose they 
 have run away from school." 
 
 " Not from school, colonel. They have lost both 
 parents and live with an aunt, witli whom they
 
 THE YOUNG BUGLERS. 55 
 
 don't get on well. There does not seem to be much 
 chance of their being claimed." 
 
 " You are full young," the colonel said, " and I 
 think you will be sorry, boys, for the step you want 
 to take." 
 
 " I don't think so, sir," Tom said. 
 
 "Of course, you don't at present," the colonel 
 said. " However, that is your business. Mind, you 
 will have a rough time of it ; you will have to fight 
 your way, you know. 1 ' 
 
 " I'll back them to hold their own," Captain Man- 
 ley said, laughing. " When I went out at the bar- 
 rack-gate just now there was a row among a lot of 
 recruiting sergeants, and when I went up to put a 
 stop to it I found that a fellow of the Fifteenth had 
 chaffed these boys when they went up to speak to 
 Summers, and that they had got the best of it in 
 that line; and the fellow having lost his temper 
 and struck one of them, he found himself on his 
 back on the pavement. The boy had tripped him 
 up in an instant." 
 
 The colonel laughed, and then said suddenly and 
 sharply to Peter, " Where did you learn that trick, 
 youngster ?" 
 
 "At Eton," Peter answered promptly, and then 
 colored up hotly at his brother's reproachful glance. 
 
 " Oh, ho ! At Eton, young gentlemen, eh !" the 
 colonel, said. " That alters the matter. If you 
 were at Eton your family must be people of prop- 
 erty, and I can't let you do such a foolish thing as 
 enlist as buglers."
 
 56 THE YOUNG BUGLERS. 
 
 " Our father lost all his money suddenly, owing 
 to a blackguard he trusted cheating him. He found 
 it out, and it killed him," Tom said quietly. 
 
 The colonel saw he was speaking the truth. 
 " Well, well," he said kindly, "we must see what 
 we can do for you, boys. They are young, Manley, 
 but that will improve, and by the time that they 
 have been a year at the depot 
 
 " Oh, if you please, colonel," Tom said, " we want 
 to go on foreign service, and it's knowing that your 
 regiment was under orders for foreign service we 
 came to it." 
 
 " Impossible !" the colonel said shortly. 
 
 " I am very sorry for that, sir," Tom said respect- 
 fully, " for we would rather belong to this regiment 
 than any in the service ; but if you will not let us 
 go with it we must try another." 
 
 " Why would you rather belong to us than to any 
 other?" the colonel asked, as the boys turned to 
 leave the room. 
 
 " I had rather not say, sir," Tom said. " We have 
 a reason, and a very good one ; but it is not one \ve 
 should like to tell." 
 
 The colonel was silent for a minute. He was 
 struck with the boys' appearance and manner, and 
 was sorry at the thought of losing them, partly from 
 interest in themselves, partly because the sea 
 service was generally so much more attractive to 
 boys that it was not easy to get them to enlist as 
 buglers and drummers. 
 
 " You see, lads, I should really like to take you,
 
 THE YOUNG BUGLERS. 57 
 
 but we shall be starting in a fortnight, and it would 
 be altogether impossible for you to learn to sound 
 the bugle, to say nothing of learning the calls, by 
 that time." 
 
 "We can't play well, sir," Tom answered, his 
 spirits rising again, " but we have practiced for 
 some time, and know a good many of the calls." 
 
 " Oh, indeed !" the colonel said, pleased ; " that 
 alters the case. Well, lads, 1 should like to take 
 you with the regiment, for you look straight- 
 forward, sharp young fellows. So I will enlist 
 you. Work hard for the next fortnight, and if I 
 hear a favorable report of you by that time, you 
 shall go." 
 
 " Thank you very much," the boys said warmly, 
 delighted to find their hopes realized. 
 
 " What are your names ?" the colonel asked. 
 
 " Tom and Peter," Tom answered. 
 
 " Tom and Peter what ?" the colonel said. 
 
 The boys looked at each other. The fact that 
 they would of course be asked their names had 
 never occurred to them, and they had not there- 
 fore consulted whether to give their own or another 
 name. 
 
 " Come, boys," Colonel Tritton said good-temper- 
 edly, " never be ashamed of your names ; don't sail 
 under false colors, lads. I am sure you will do 
 nothing to disgrace your names." 
 
 Tom looked at Peter, and saw that he agreed to 
 give their real names, so he said, " Tom and Peter 
 Scudamore."
 
 58 THE YOUNG BUGLERS. 
 
 " Peter Scudamore ! Why, Manley, these boys 
 must be relations of the dear old colonel. That 
 explains why they chose the regiment. Now, boys, 
 what relation was he of yours ?" 
 
 " I do not admit that he was a relation at all, 
 colonel," Tom said gravely, " and I hope that you 
 will not ask the question. Supposing that he had 
 been a relation of ours, we should not wish it to be 
 known. In the first place, it would not be alto- 
 gether creditable to his memory that relations of 
 his should be serving as buglers in his old regiment; 
 and in the second place, it might be that, from a 
 kindness toward him, some of the officers might, 
 perhaps, treat us differently to other boys, which 
 would make our position more difficult by exciting 
 jealousy among others. Should there be any rela- 
 tion between him and us, it will be time enough 
 for us to claim it when we have shown ourselves 
 worthy of it." 
 
 " Well said, boys," the officers both exclaimed. 
 " You are quite right," the colonel went on, " and I 
 respect your motive for keeping silence. What 
 you say about jealousy which might arise is very 
 sensible and true. At the same time, I will promise 
 you that I will keep my eye upon you, and that if 
 an opportunity should occur in which I can give 
 you a chance of showing that there is more in you 
 than in other boys, be assured you shall have the 
 chance." 
 
 " Thank you very much indeed, colonel," both 
 bovs exclaimed.
 
 THE YOUNG BUGLERS. 59 
 
 " Now, Manley, I shall be obliged if you will 
 take them to the adjutant and tell him to swear 
 them in and attest them in regular form; the 
 surgeon will, of course, examine them. Please tell 
 the quartermaster to get their uniforms made with- 
 out loss of time ; and give a hint to the bugle-major 
 that I should be pleased if he will 'pay extra atten- 
 tion to them, and push them on as fast as possible." 
 
 Captain Manley carried out these instructions, 
 the boys were duly examined by the surgeon and 
 passed, and in half an hour became his majesty's 
 servants. 
 
 " Now, boys," Captain Manley said, as he crossed 
 with them to the quarters of the bandmaster, " you 
 will have rather a difficult course to steer, but I 
 have no doubt you will get through it with credit. 
 This is something like a school, and you will have to 
 fight before you find your place. Don't be in a 
 hurry to begin ; take all good-natured chaff good- 
 naturedly ; resent any attempt at bullying. I have 
 no doubt you will be popular, and it is well that you 
 should be so, for then there will be no jealousy if 
 your luck seems better than that of others. They 
 will, of course, know that you are differently born 
 and educated to themselves, but they will not like 
 you any the worse for that if they find that you do 
 not try to keep aloof from them or give yourselves 
 airs. And look here, boys, play any tricks you like 
 with the men, but don't do it with the non-commis- 
 sioned officers. There is nothing they hate so much 
 as impudence from the boys, and they have it in
 
 60 THE YOUNG BUGLERS. 
 
 their power to do you a great deal of good or of 
 harm. You will not have much to do with the 
 bandmaster. Only a portion of the band accompa- 
 nies us, and even that will be broken up when we 
 once enter upon active campaigning. Several of 
 the company buglers have either left lately or have 
 got their stripes and given up their bugles, and I 
 do not fancy that their places will be filled up be- 
 fore we get out there. Now your great object will 
 be to get two of these vacancies. I am afraid you 
 are too young ; still there will be plenty more va- 
 cancies after we are once in the field, for a bullet 
 has no respect for buglers ; and you see the better 
 you behave the better your chance of being chosen." 
 
 " What is the difference exactly, sir ?" Tom asked. 
 
 " The company bugler ranks on the strength of 
 the company, messes, marches, and goes into action 
 with them ; the other buglers merely form part of 
 the band, are under the bandmaster, play at the 
 head of the regiment on its march, and help in the 
 hospitals during a battle." 
 
 " JViacpberson," he said, as he entered the band- 
 master's quarters, where a number of men and a 
 few lads were practicing, " I have brought you two 
 lads who have entered as buglers." 
 
 The bandmaster was a Scotchman a stiff-looking, 
 elderly man. 
 
 " "Weel, Captain Manley, I'm wanting boys, but 
 they look very young, and I misdoubt they had better 
 have been at school than here. However, I'll do 
 my best with them ; they look smart lads, and we
 
 THE YOUNG BUGLERS. 61 
 
 shall have plenty of time at the depot to get them 
 into shape." 
 
 " Lots of time, Macpherson, lots of time. They 
 say they know a few calls on the bugle, so perhaps 
 they had better stick to the calls at present ; you 
 will have plenty of time to begin with, them regu- 
 larly with the notes when all the bustle is over." 
 
 " Eh, ye know the calls, boys ? Hardy and 
 Graves, give them your bugles, and let us hear 
 them. Now for the advance." 
 
 Tom and Peter felt very nervous, but they had 
 really practiced hard for an hour a day for the last 
 four months, and could play all the calls they knew 
 steadily and well. The bandmaster made no re- 
 mark until they had sounded some half a dozen calls 
 as he named them, and then he said : " The lads 
 have a vera gude idea of it, Captain Manley. They 
 are steadier and clearer than mony a one of the 
 boys already. Will ye begin at once, lads, or will 
 ye wait till ye get your uniform ?" 
 
 "We had rather begin at once," the boys answered 
 together. 
 
 " Vera gude. Hardy, take two bugles out of the 
 chest, and then take these lads what's your name, 
 boys? Eh? Scudamore? A vera gude name 
 take them over to Corporal Skinner ; he will be 
 practicing with the others on the ramp." 
 
 With a word of grateful thanks to Captain 
 Manley as he went out before them, the boys fol- 
 lowed their new guide out to the ramparts. A 
 guide was hardly necessary, for an incessant bugling
 
 62 THE YOUNG BUGLERS. 
 
 betokened the place, where, in one of the bastions 
 behind the barracks, seven or eight buglers were 
 sounding the various calls under the direction of 
 Corporal Skinner. 
 
 The corporal was a man of few words, for he 
 merely nodded when the boy who had not opened 
 his lips on the way, indeed, he was too busy won- 
 dering who these young swells were, and what they 
 had run away for, to say a word gave the band- 
 master's message to the effect that the newcomers 
 knew some of the calls and were to be under his 
 tuition for the present, pointed to them where to 
 stand, and in another minute Tom and Peter were 
 hard at work adding to the deafening din. After 
 half an hour's practice they were pleased at seeing 
 Captain Manley stroll up and call their instructor 
 aside, and they felt sure that he was speaking to 
 him of them. This was so, for the officer was 
 carrying out the instructions he had received from 
 Colonel Tritton. 
 
 u Corporal," he said, " I want to say a word to 
 you about those boys who have just joined. They 
 seem to have a fair idea of the calls." 
 
 " Yes, sir, they only know a few, but those they 
 do know they can sound as well as any of them." 
 
 " That is right, corporal. ISTow look here, what I 
 am going to say is not to go further, you under- 
 stand." 
 
 " Yes, sir, I will keep my mouth shut." 
 
 " Very well. You can see the lads are not like 
 most of our band boys. They are a gentleman's
 
 THE YOUNG BUGLERS. 63 
 
 sons who have got into some scrape or other and run 
 away from school." 
 
 " I was thinking as much, sir." 
 
 " The colonel believes that he knows their family, 
 Skinner ; but of course that will not make any dif- 
 ference in regard to them. Still he would be 
 pleased, I know, if they could sound the calls well 
 enough to go with the regiment. They are most 
 anxious to learn. Now I shall be glad if you can 
 get them up to the mark. It will, of course, entail 
 a lot of extra trouble upon you, but if you can get 
 them fit in time, I will pay you a couple of guineas 
 for your extra work." 
 
 " Thank you, sir," the corporal saluted. " I think 
 I can manage it at any rate if I don't it won't be 
 for want of trying." 
 
 " Who are those nice-looking lads I saw with you, 
 Manley ?" Major James asked as the captain came 
 into the messroom to lunch. 
 
 " Those are two buglers in his majesty's Norfolk 
 Kangers." 
 
 There was a general laugh. 
 
 " No, but really, Manley, who are they ? I was 
 quite struck with them ; good style of boys." 
 
 " It is a fact, major. Harding will tell you so," 
 and he nodded to the adjutant. 
 
 " Yes, Manley is saying the thing that's right," the 
 adjutant answered. " The doctor passed them, and 
 I swore them in." 
 
 "I am sorry for it," the major said. "There 
 were three or four of us standing on the messroom
 
 64- THE YOUNG BUGLERS. 
 
 steps and we all noticed them. They were gentle- 
 men, if I ever saw one, and a hard life they will 
 have of it with the band boys. However, they are 
 not likely to stay there. They have run away from 
 school, of course, and will be claimed. I wonder 
 you enlisted them." 
 
 " The colonel's orders, major," the adjutant said, 
 "Manley took them to him, I believe, and then 
 brought them to me." 
 
 " I don't think you need feel anxious about them 
 among the boys, major," Captain Manley said. " I 
 fancy they can hold their own. I found them out- 
 side the gate where a row was going on among 
 some of the recruiting sergeants, and one of those 
 boys had just tripped up a sergeant of the Fifteenth 
 and nearly broken his head." 
 
 There was a general laugh. 
 
 " They are quite interesting, these prodigies of 
 yours, Manley. How did the boy do it ? I should 
 not have thought him strong enough to have thrown 
 a man off his balance." 
 
 " I asked Summers about it afterward," t Captain 
 Manley said ; " the fellow gave one of the boys a box 
 on the ear, and in an instant the boy stooped, 
 caught his foot and pulled it forward and up. The 
 thing was done in a moment, and the sergeant was 
 on his back before he knew what's what." 
 
 " By Jove," a young ensign said, " I have seen 
 that trick done at Eton." 
 
 " That is just where the boy said he learned it," 
 Captain Manley said. "The colonel asked him 
 suddenly, and it slipped out."
 
 THE YOUNG BUGLERS. 65 
 
 " If they're Etonians, I ought to know them," the 
 ensign said. " I only left six months ago. What 
 are their names?" 
 
 " Their name is Scudamore." 
 
 " By Jove, they were in the same house with me. 
 Uncommonly sharp little fellows, and up to no end 
 of mischief. It was always believed, though no one 
 could prove it, that they were the boys who nearly 
 suffocated the bargee." 
 
 There was a roar of laughter. 
 
 " Tell us all about it, Carruthers." 
 
 " Well, there was not very much known about it. 
 It seems the fellow purposely upset a boat with 
 four or five of our fellows in it, and that night a 
 dozen lighted crackers were thrown down into the 
 little cabin where the fellow was asleep ; the hatch 
 was fastened and he was sent drifting down stream 
 with the crackers exploding all about him. The 
 smoke nearly suffocated the fellow, I believe. There 
 was a tremendous row about it, but they could not 
 bring it home to any one. We always put it down 
 to the Scudamores, though they never would own 
 to it; but they were the only fellows in the boat 
 who would have done it, and they were always up 
 to mischief." 
 
 " But what makes them come here as buglers ?" 
 the major asked. 
 
 " Their father was a banker, I believe, down in 
 the Eastern Counties somewhere. He died suddenly 
 in the middle of the half before I left, and they
 
 66 THE YOUNG BUGLERS. 
 
 went away to the funeral and never came back 
 again." 
 
 " The fact is," Captain Manley said, " I fancy by 
 what they say, though they did not mention their 
 father was a banker, that he lost all his money sud- 
 denly and died of the shock. At any rate they are 
 alone in the world, and the colonel has no doubt 
 that they are some relation nephews, I should 
 imagine of Peter Scudarnore, who was our colonel 
 when I joined. One of them is called Peter. They 
 acknowledged that they had a particular reason for 
 choosing this regiment; but they would neither 
 acknowledge nor deny that he was a relation. Now 
 that we know their father was a banker, \ve shall 
 find out without difficulty indeed I have no doubt 
 the colonel will know whether Peter Scudamore 
 had a brother a banker." 
 
 " What's to be done, Manley ?" Major James said. 
 " I don't like the thought of poor old Peter's 
 nephews turning buglers. All of us field officers, 
 and the best part of you captains, served under 
 him, and a better fellow never stepped. I think 
 between us we might do something." 
 
 " I would do anything I could," Carruthers said, 
 " and there are Watson and Talbot who were at 
 Eton too. Dash it, I don't like to think of two 
 Etonians in a band." 
 
 " You are all very good," Captain Manley said, 
 " but from what I see of the boys they will go their 
 own way. They have plenty of pride, and they 
 acknowledge that their reason for refusing to say
 
 THE YOUNG BUGLERS. 67 
 
 whether they are any relation of the colonel was 
 that they did not want to be taken notice of or 
 treated differently from other boys, because it 
 would cause jealousy, and make their position more 
 difficult. All they asked was that they might 
 accompany the regiment, and not remain behind 
 at the depot ; and as, fortunately, they have both 
 been practicing with the bugle, and can sound most 
 of the calls as well as the others, the colonel was 
 able to grant their request. Had they been older, 
 of course we could have arranged for them to go 
 with us as volunteers, we, who knew the colonel, 
 paying their expenses between us ; as it is, the only 
 thing we can do for them and that is what they 
 would like best is to treat them just like the other 
 boys, but to give them every chance of distinguish- 
 ing themselves. If they don't get knocked over, 
 they ought to win a commission before the cam- 
 paign is over." 
 
 In the meantime Tom and Peter had been intro- 
 ducing themselves to the regiment. The exercise 
 over, they had returned to dinner. It was a rough 
 meal, but the boys enjoyed it, and after it was over 
 a number of the men of the band, with whom they 
 messed, crowded round to ask the usual questions 
 of newcomers their curiosity heightened in the 
 present instance by the fact that the boys differed 
 so widely from ordinary recruits. 
 
 " Look here," Tom said, laughing. " I can't an- 
 swer you all at once, but if you put me on the table 
 I will tell you all about us."
 
 68 THE YOUNG BUGLERS. 
 
 There was a general laugh, and many of the 
 soldiers other than the band sauntered up to see 
 what was going on. 
 
 " The first thing to tell you," Tom said, " is our 
 names. We go by the names of Tom and Peter 
 Scudamore, but I need scarcely tell you that these 
 are not our real names. The fact is but this is 
 quite a secret we are the eldest sons of Sir Arthur 
 Wellesley " 
 
 Here Tom was interrupted by a shout of laughter. 
 
 " Sir Arthur," Tom went on calmly, " wished to 
 make us colonels of two of the Life Guard regi- 
 ments, but as they were not going on foreign service 
 we did not see it, and have accordingly entered the 
 regiment which Sir Arthur, our father, in speaking 
 to a friend, said was the finest in the service 
 namely, the Norfolk Rangers. We believe that it 
 is the custom, upon entering a regiment, to pay our 
 footing, and I have given a guinea to Corporal 
 Skinner, and asked him to make it go as far as he 
 could." 
 
 There was great laughter over Tom's speech, 
 which was just suited to soldiers, and the boys from 
 that moment were considered part of the regiment. 
 
 " There's good stuff in those boys," an old ser- 
 geant said to another, " plucky and cool. I shouldn't 
 be surprised if what Tom Dillon said was about 
 right ; he was waiting at mess just now, and though 
 he didn't hear all that was said, he picked up that 
 there was an idea that these boys are related to the 
 old colonel. He was a good fellow, he was, and,
 
 THE YOUNG BUGLERS. 69 
 
 though I say nothing against Colonel Tritton, yet 
 we missed Colonel Scudamore terribly. Strict, and 
 yet kind, just the sort of fellow to serve under. If 
 the boys take after him they will be a credit to the 
 regiment, and mark my words, we shan't see them 
 in the band many years."
 
 70 THE YOUNG BUGLERS. 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 A TOUGH CUSTOMER. 
 
 LIKE most boys who are fond of play, Tom and 
 Peter Scudamore were capable of hard work at a 
 pinch, and during the three weeks that they spent 
 at Portsmouth they certainly worked with a will. 
 They had nothing to do in the way of duty, except 
 to practice the bugle, and this they did with a zeal 
 and perseverance that quite won the heart of Cor- 
 poral Skinner, and enabled him to look upon Cap- 
 tain Manley's two guineas as good as earned. But 
 even with the best will and the strongest lungs 
 possible, boys can only blow a bugle a certain num- 
 ber of hours a day. For an hour before breakfast, 
 for two hours before dinner, and for an hour and a 
 half in the evening they practiced, the evening work 
 being extra, alone with their instructor. There 
 remained the whole afternoon to themselves. Their 
 employment of those hours had been undertaken at 
 Peter's suggestion. 
 
 " Look here, Tom," he said, at the end of the 
 first day's work, "from what the corporal says, 
 we shall have from one till about five to our- 
 selves. Now, we are going to Spain, and it
 
 THE YOUNG BUGLERS. 71 
 
 seems to me that it would be of great use to us, 
 and might do us a great deal of good, to know 
 something of Spanish. We have got four pounds 
 each left, and I don't think that we could lay it out 
 better than in getting a Spanish master and some 
 books, and in setting to in earnest at it. If we 
 work with all our might for four hours a day with 
 a master, we shall have made some progress, and 
 shall pick up the pronunciation a little. I dare say 
 we shall be another ten days or a fortnight on the 
 voyage, and shall have lots of time on our hands. 
 It will make it so much easier to pick it up when 
 we get there if we know a little to start with." 
 
 " I think it is a capital idea, Peter ; I should think 
 we are pretty sure to find a master here." 
 
 There was no difficulty upon that score, for there 
 were a large number of Spanish in England at the 
 time ; men who had left the country rather than re- 
 main under the French yoke, and among them were 
 many who were glad to get their living by teaching 
 their native language. There were two or three in 
 this condition in Portsmouth, and to one of these 
 the boys applied. He was rather surprised at the 
 application from the two young buglers for the 
 uniforms were finished twenty-four hours after their 
 arrival but at once agreed to devote his whole 
 afternoons to them. Having a strong motive for 
 their work, and a determination to succeed in it, 
 the boys made a progress that astonished both them- 
 selves and their teacher, and they now found the 
 advantage of their grounding in Latin at Eton.
 
 72 THE YOUNG BUGLERS. 
 
 Absorbed in their work, they saw little of the other 
 boys, except at meals and when at practice. 
 
 One evening when at supper, one of the buglers, 
 named Mitcham, a lad of nearly eighteen, made 
 some sneering remark about boys who thought 
 themselves above others, and gave themselves airs. 
 Tom saw at once that this allusion was meant for 
 them, and took the matter up. 
 
 " I suppose you mean us, Mitcham. You are 
 quite mistaken ; neither my brother nor myself 
 think ourselves better than any one, nor have we 
 any idea of giving ourselves airs. The fact is and 
 I am not surprised that you should think us un- 
 sociable we are taking lessons in Spanish. If we 
 go with the regiment it will be very useful, and I 
 have heard it said that any one who lands in a 
 foreign country, and who knows a little of the 
 grammar and pronunciation, will learn it in half the 
 time that he would were he altogether ignorant of 
 both. I am sorry that I did not mention it before, 
 because I can understand that it must seem as if we 
 did not want to be sociable. I can assure you that 
 we do ; and that after this fortnight is over we 
 shall be ready to be as jolly as any one. You see 
 we are altogether behindhand with our work 
 now, and have got to work hard to put ourselves on 
 your level." 
 
 Tom spoke so good-temperedly that there was a 
 general feeling in his favor, and several of them who 
 had before thought with Mitcham, that the new- 
 comers were not inclined to be sociable, felt that
 
 THE YOUNG BUGLERS. Tl 
 
 they had been mistaken. There was, however, a 
 general feeling of surprise and amusement at the 
 idea of two boys voluntarily taking lessons in 
 Spanish. Mitcham, however, who was a surly- 
 tempered young fellow, and who was jealous of the 
 progress which the boys were making, and of the 
 general liking with which they seemed to be re- 
 garded, said : 
 
 " I believe that's only an excuse for getting away 
 from us." 
 
 " Do you mean to say that you think that I am 
 telling a lie ?" Tom asked quietly. 
 
 " Yes, if you put it in that way, young 'un," 
 Mitcham said. 
 
 " Hold your tongue, Mitcham, or I'll pull your 
 ears for you," Corporal Skinner said ; but his speech 
 was cut short by Tom's putting one hand on the 
 barrack table, vaulting across it, and striking Mit- 
 cham a heavy blow between the eyes. 
 
 There was a cry of " a fight !" among the boys, 
 but the men interfered at once. 
 
 " You don't know what you are doing, young 
 'un," one said to Tom; "when you hit a fellow 
 here, you must fight him. That's the rule, and you 
 can't fight Mitcham ; he's two years older, at least, 
 and a head taller." 
 
 " Of course I will fight him," Tom said. " I 
 would fight him if he were twice as big, if he called 
 me a liar." 
 
 "Nonsense, young 'un!" another said, "it's not 
 possible. He was wrong, and if you had not struck
 
 74 THE YOUNG BUGLERS. 
 
 him I would have licked him myself ; but as you 
 have done so, you had better put up with a thrash- 
 ing, and have done with it." 
 
 " I should think so, indeed !" Tom said disdain- 
 fully. " I may get a licking ; I dare say I shall ; 
 but it won't be all on one side. Look here, Mit- 
 cham, we will have it out to-morrow, on the rain- 
 parts behind the barracks. But if you will apolo- 
 gize to me for calling me a liar, I'll say I am sorry 
 I hit you." 
 
 "Oh, blow your sorrow!" the lad said. "I'll 
 give you the heartiest licking you ever had in your 
 life, my young cock." 
 
 " Oh, all right," Tom said cheerfully. " We will 
 see all about it when the time comes." 
 
 As it was evident now that there was no way 
 out of it, no one interfered further in the matter. 
 Quarrels in the army are always settled by a fair 
 fight, as at school ; but several of the older men 
 questioned among themselves whether they ought 
 to let this go on, considering that Tom Scudamore 
 was only between fifteen and sixteen, while his 
 opponent was two years older, and was so much 
 heavier and stronger. However, as it was plain 
 that Tom would not take a thrashing for the blow 
 he had struck, and there did not seem any satis- 
 factory way out of it, nothing was done, except 
 that two or three of them went up to Mitcham, and 
 strongly urged him to shake hands with Tom, and 
 confess that he had done wrong in giving him the 
 lie. This Mitcham would not hear of, and there 
 was nothing further to be done.
 
 HE FACED HIS ANTAGONIST AND MANAGED TO STKIKE A FEW 
 STRAIGHT BLOWS. Page 75.
 
 THE YOUNG BUGLERS. 75 
 
 " I ara afraid, Tom, you have no chance with that 
 fellow," Peter said, as they were undressing. 
 
 " No chance in the world, Peter ; but I can box 
 fairly, you know, and am pretty hard. I shall be 
 able to punish him a bit, and you may be sure I 
 shall never give in. It's no great odds getting a 
 licking, and I suppose that they will stop it before 
 I am killed. Don't bother about it. I had rather 
 get knocked about in a fight than get flogged at 
 Eton any day. I would rather you did not come 
 to see it, Peter, if you don't mind. When you 
 fought Evans it hurt me ten times as much as if I 
 had been fighting, and, although you licked him, it 
 made me feel like a girl. I can stand twice the 
 punishment if I don't feel that any blow is hitting 
 you as well as myself." 
 
 Tom's prediction about the fight turned out to be 
 nearly correct. He was more active, and a vastly 
 better boxer than his antagonist, and although he 
 was constantly knocked down, he punished him 
 very heavily about the face. In fact, the fight was 
 exactly similar to that great battle, fifty years 
 afterward, between Sayers and Heenan. Time 
 after time Tom was knocked down, and even his 
 second begged him to give in, but he would not 
 hear of it. 
 
 Breathless and exhausted, but always cool and 
 smiling, he faced his heavy antagonist, eluding his 
 furious rushes, and managing to strike a few straight 
 blows at his eyes before being knocked down. By 
 the time that they had fought a quarter of an hour
 
 76 THE YOUNG BUGLERS. 
 
 half the regiment was assembled, and loud were the 
 cheers which greeted Tom each time he came up, 
 very pale and bleeding, but confident, against his 
 antagonist. 
 
 At last an old sergeant came forward. " Come," 
 he said, " there has been enough of this. You had 
 better stop." 
 
 " Will he say he was sorry be called me a liar ?" 
 Tom asked. 
 
 " No, I won't," Mitcham answered. 
 
 The sergeant was about to use his authority to 
 stop it, when Tom said to him in a low voice : 
 
 " Look, sergeant ! please let us go on another five 
 minutes. I think I can stand that, and he can 
 hardly see out of his eyes now. He won't see a bit 
 by that time." 
 
 The sergeant hesitated, but a glance at Tom's 
 antagonist convinced him that what he said was 
 correct. Mitcham had at all times a round and 
 rather puffy face, and his cheeks \vere now so swol- 
 len with the effect of Tom's straight, steady hitting, 
 that he could with difficulty see. 
 
 It was a hard five minutes for Tom, for his antag- 
 onist, finding that he was rapidly getting blind, 
 rushed with fury upon him, trying to end the fight. 
 Tom had less difficulty in guarding the blows, given 
 wildly and almost at random, but he was knocked 
 down time after time by the mere force and weight 
 of the rush. He felt himself getting weak, and 
 could hardly get up from his second's knee upon the 
 call of time. He was not afraid of being made to
 
 THE YOUNG BUGLERS. 7? 
 
 give in, but he was afraid of fainting, and of so 
 being unable to come up to time. 
 
 " Stick a knife into me ; do anything !" he said to 
 his second, " if I go off, only bring me up to time. 
 He can't hold out much longer." 
 
 Nor could he. His hitting became more and 
 more at random, until at last, on getting up from 
 his second's knee, Mitcham cried in a hoarse voice : 
 " Where is he ? I can't see him !" 
 
 Then Tom went forward with his hands down. 
 " Look here, Mitcham, you can't see, and I can 
 hardly stand. I think we have both done enough. 
 We neither of us can give in, well, because be- 
 cause I am a gentleman, you because you are bigger 
 than I am ; so let's shake hands, and say no more 
 about it." 
 
 Mitcham hesitated an instant, and then held out 
 his hand. " You are a good fellow, Scudamore, and 
 there's my hand ; but you have licked me fairly. I 
 can't come up to time, and you can. There, I am 
 sorry I called you a liar." 
 
 Tom took the hand, and shook it, and then a mist 
 came over his eyes, and his knees tottered, as with 
 the ringing cheers of the men in his ears, he fainted 
 into his second's arms. 
 
 " What a row the men are making !" the major 
 said, as the sound of cheering came through the 
 open window of the messroom, at which the officers 
 were sitting at lunch. " It's a fight, of course, and 
 a good one, judging by the cheering. Does any one 
 know who it is between ?"
 
 78 THE YOUNG BUGLERS. 
 
 No one had heard. 
 
 " It's over now," the adjutant said, looking out 
 of the window. " Here are the men coming down 
 in a stream. They look very excited over it. I 
 wonder who it has been. Stokes," he said, turning 
 to one of the mess servants, " go out, and find out 
 who has been fighting, and all about it." 
 
 In a minute or two the man returned. " It's two 
 of the band boys, sir." 
 
 " Oh, only two boys ! I wonder they made such 
 a fuss over that. Who are they ?" 
 
 " One was one of the boys who have just joined, 
 sir. Tom Scudamore, they call him." 
 
 "I guessed as much," Captain Manley laughed; 
 " I knew they would not be long here without a 
 fight. Who was the other ?" 
 
 " Well, sir, I almost thought it must be a mistake 
 when they told me, seeing they are so unequally 
 matched, but they all say so, so in course it's true 
 the other was Mitcham, the bugler of No. 3 
 Company." 
 
 " What a shame !" was the general exclamation, 
 while Captain Manley got up and called for his 
 cap. 
 
 " A brutal shame, I call it," he said hotly. 
 " Mitcham's nearly a man. It ought not to have 
 been allowed. I will go and inquire after the boy. 
 I will bet five pounds he was pretty nearly killed 
 before he gave in." 
 
 " He didn't give in, Captain Manley," the servant 
 said. "He won the fight. They fought till
 
 THE YOUNG BUGLERS. 79 
 
 Mitcham couldn't see, and then young Scudamore 
 went up and offered to draw it, but Mitcham 
 acknowledged he was fairly licked. It was a close 
 thing, for the boy fainted right off ; but he's come 
 round now, and says he's all right." 
 
 " Hurrah for Eton !" Carruthers shouted enthusi- 
 astically. " Hurrah ! By Jove, he is game, and no 
 mistake. He won a hard fight or two at Eton, but 
 nothing like this. I call it splendid." 
 
 " The boy might have been killed," the major 
 said gravely ; while the younger officers joined in 
 Carruthers' exclamation at Tom's pluck. " It is 
 shameful that it was allowed. I suppose the 
 quarrel began in their quarters. Sergeant Howden 
 is in charge of the room, and ought to have stopped 
 it at once. Every non-commissioned officer ought 
 to have stopped it. I will have Howden up before 
 the colonel to-morrow." 
 
 " I think, major," Captain Manley said, " if you 
 will excuse me, the best plan, as far as the boy is 
 concerned, is to take no notice of it. As it is, he 
 must have won the hearts of all the regiment by his 
 pluck, and if he is not seriously hurt, it is the very 
 best thing, as it has turned out, that could have 
 happened. If any one gets into a scrape about it, 
 it might lessen the effect of the victory. I think if 
 you call Howden up, and give him a quiet wigging, 
 it will do as well, and won't injure the boys. What 
 do you think ?" 
 
 " Yes, you are right, Manley, as it has turned 
 out ; but the boy might have been killed. How-
 
 80 THE YOUNG BUGLERS. 
 
 ever, I won't do more than give Hovvden a hearty 
 wigging, and will then learn how the affair began. 
 I think, Dr. Stathers, that it would be as well if 
 you went round and saw both of them. You had 
 better, I think, order them into hospital for the 
 night and then the boy can go to bed at once, and 
 come out again to-morrow, if he has, as I hope, 
 nothing worse than a few bruises. Please come 
 back, and tell us how you find them." 
 
 The report was favorable, and the next morning 
 Tom came out of hospital, and took his place as 
 usual, with the party upon the ramparts pale, and 
 a good deal marked, but not much the worse for his 
 battle ; but it was some days before the swelling of 
 his adversary's face subsided sufficiently for him to 
 return to duty. 
 
 Tom's victory as Captain Manley had predicted 
 quite won the hearts of the whole regiment, and 
 the nicknames of " Sir Tom," and " Sir Peter"- 
 which had been given to them in jest after Tom's 
 speech about Sir Arthur Wellesley were now 
 generally applied to them. The conversation in 
 the messroom had got about, and the old soldiers 
 who had served under Colonel Scudamore would 
 have done anything for the lads, although, as yet, 
 they were hardly known personally except to the 
 band, as their devotion to work kept them quite 
 apart from the men. 
 
 It was just three weeks after they had joined be- 
 fore the order came for embarkation, and a thrill 
 of pleasure and excitement ran through the regi-
 
 THE YOUNG BUGLERS. 81 
 
 ment when it was known that they were to go on 
 board in four days. Not the least delighted were 
 Tom and Peter. It had already been formally 
 settled that they were to accompany the regiment, 
 and it was a proof of the popularity that they had 
 gained, that every one looked upon their going as a 
 matter of course, and that no comment was excited 
 even among those who were left behind. Three 
 days before starting they had met Captain Manley 
 in the barrack-yard, and after saluting Tom said, 
 u If you please sir, we wanted to ask you a ques- 
 tion." 
 
 "What is that, lads?" 
 
 " If you please, sir, we understand that the boys 
 of the band have their bags carried for them, but 
 the company buglers carry knapsacks, like the 
 men ?" 
 
 "Yes, boys; the company buglers carry knap- 
 sacks and muskets." 
 
 " I am afraid we could not carry muskets and do 
 much marching, sir, but we have each a brace of 
 pistols." 
 
 Captain Manley smiled. " Pistols would not look 
 the thing on a parade-ground, boys ; but in a cam- 
 paign people are not very particular, and I have no 
 doubt the colonel will overlook any little breach of 
 strict uniformity in your cases, as it is evident you 
 can't carry muskets. You can use your pistols. I 
 hope," he said with a smile. " Hit a penny every 
 time at twenty paces !" 
 
 " No, sir, we can't do that," Tom said seriously.
 
 82 THE YOUNG BUGLERS. 
 
 "We can hit a good-sized apple nineteen times out 
 of twenty." 
 
 " The deuce you can !" Captain Manley said, 
 " How did you learn to do that ?" 
 
 " We have practiced twelve shots a day for the 
 last six months, sir. We were thinking of asking 
 you, sir, if you would like to carry a brace of them 
 through the campaign. They are splendid weapons, 
 and we shall only carry one each. They would get 
 rusty and spoil if we left them behind, and we 
 should be very pleased to think they might be useful 
 to you, after your great kindness to us." 
 
 " It is not a very regular thing, boys," Captain 
 Manly said, " for a captain to be borrowing a brace 
 of pistols from two of his buglers ; but you are ex- 
 ceptional buglers, and there is something in what 
 you say about rusting. Besides, it is possible you 
 may lose yours, so I will accept your offer with 
 thanks, with the understanding that I will carry the 
 pistols, and you shall have them again if anything 
 happens to yours. But how about the knapsacks ?" 
 
 " We were thinking of having two made of the 
 regimental pattern, sir, but smaller and lighter, if 
 you think that it would be allowed." 
 
 " Well, I think, boys, if you are allowed to carry 
 pistols instead of muskets, no great objection will 
 be made as to the exact size of the knapsacks. Yes, 
 you can get them made, and I will speak to the 
 colonel about it." 
 
 " Perhaps," he hesitated, " you may be in want 
 of a little money ; do not hesitate if you do. I can
 
 THE YOUNG BUGLERS. 83 
 
 let you have five pounds, and you can pay me,' 5 he 
 said with a laugh, " out of your share of our first 
 prize-money." 
 
 The boys colored hotly. 
 
 " No, thank you, Captain Manley ; we have plenty 
 of money. Shall we bring the pistols to your 
 quarters ?" 
 
 " Do, lads ; I am going in to lunch now, and will 
 be in in half an hour." 
 
 The boys at once went out and ordered their 
 knapsacks. They had just sold their watches, 
 which were large, handsome, and of gold, and had 
 been given to them by their father when they went 
 to Eton. They were very sorry to part with them, 
 but they agreed that it would be folly to keep gold 
 watches when the twenty pounds which they ob- 
 tained for them would buy two stout and useful 
 silver watches and would leave them twelve pounds 
 in money. They then returned to barracks, took 
 out a brace of their pistols, carefully cleaned them, 
 and removed the silver plates upon the handles, 
 and then walked across to Captain Manley's quar- 
 ters. 
 
 Rather to their surprise and confusion they found 
 five or six other officers there, for Captain Manley 
 had mentioned at lunch, to the amusement of his 
 friends, that he was going to be unexpectedly pro- 
 vided with a brace of pistols, and several of them 
 at once said that they would go up with him to his 
 quarters, as they wanted to see the boys of whom 
 they had spoken so much during the last fortnight.
 
 84 THE YOUNG BUGLERS. 
 
 Tom and Peter drew themselves up and saluted 
 stiffly. 
 
 " You need not be buglers here, boys," Captain 
 Manley said. " This is my room ; we are all gentle- 
 men, and though I could not, according to the reg- 
 ulations, walk down the street with you, the 
 strictest disciplinarian would excuse my doing as I 
 like here." 
 
 The boys flushed with pleasure at Captain Man- 
 ley's kind address, and as he finished Carruthers 
 stepped forward and shook them warmly by the 
 hand. 
 
 " How are you both ?" he said. " You have not 
 forgotten me, I hope?" 
 
 " I had not seen you before. I did not know you 
 were in the regiment, Carruthers," the boys said 
 warmly, pleased to find a face they had known be- 
 fore ; and then, breaking off " I beg your pardon 
 Mr. Carruthers." 
 
 " There are no misters here as far as I am con- 
 cerned, Scudamore. There were no misters at 
 Eton. This is a change, isn't it? Better than grind- 
 ing away at Greek by a long way. Well, I con- 
 gratulate you on your fight. You showed there 
 was some good in dear old Eton still. I wish you 
 had let me know it was coming off. I would 
 have given anything to have seen it from a dis- 
 tance, you know. If it had been the right thing I 
 would have come and been your backer." 
 
 There was a general laugh, and then the officers 
 all began to talk to the boys. They were quiet and
 
 THE YOUNG BUGLERS. 85 
 
 respectful in their manners, and fully confirmed the 
 favorable report which Captain Manley had given 
 of them. 
 
 " Where are the pistols, boys ?" their friend asked 
 presently. 
 
 " Here, sir," and the boys produced them from 
 under their jackets. " We have no case, sir ; we 
 were obliged to leave it behind us when we " 
 
 " Ran away," one of the officers said, laughing. 
 
 "They are a splendid pair of pistols," Captain 
 Manley said, examining them ; " beautifully finished, 
 and rilled. They look quite new, too, though, of 
 course, they are not." 
 
 " They are new, sir," Tom said ; " we have only 
 had them six months, and they were new then." 
 
 " Indeed," Captain Manley said, surprised ; " I 
 thought, of course, they were family pistols. Why, 
 how on earth, if it is not an impertinent question, 
 did you boys get hold of two brace of such pistols 
 as these ? I have no right to ask the question, boys. 
 I see there has been a plate on the handles. But 
 you said you had no relations, and I was surprised 
 into asking." 
 
 The boys colored. 
 
 " The question was quite natural, sir ; the pistols 
 were presented to us by some people we traveled 
 with once ; we took the plates off because they 
 made a great fuss about nothing, and we thought 
 that it would look cockey." 
 
 There was a laugh among the officers at the boys' 
 confusion.
 
 86 THE YOUNG BUGLERS. 
 
 "No one would suspect you of being cockey, 
 Soudamore," Captain Manley said kindly ; " come, 
 let me see the plates." 
 
 The boys took the little silver plates from their 
 pockets and handed them silently to Captain Man- 
 ley, who read aloud, to the surprise of those around 
 him " ' To Tom ' and ' Peter,' they are alike except 
 the names. ' To Tom Scudamore, presented by the 
 passengers in the Highflyer coach on the 4th of 
 August, 1808, as a testimony of their appreciation 
 of his gallant conduct, by which their property was 
 saved from plunder.' Why, what is this, you young 
 pickles, what were you up to on the 4th of August 
 last year ?" 
 
 " There was nothing in it at all, sir," Tom said ; 
 " we were on the coach and were stopped by high- 
 waymen. One of the passengers had pistols, but 
 was afraid to use them, and hid them among the 
 boxes. So when the passengers were ordered to get 
 down to be searched, we hid ourselves, and when 
 the highwaymen were collecting their watches, 
 Peter shot one, and I drove the coach over another. 
 The matter was very simple indeed ; but the pas- 
 sengers saved their money, so made a great fuss 
 about it." 
 
 There was much laughter over Tom's statement, 
 and then he had to give a detailed account of the 
 whole affair, which elicited many expressions of 
 approval. 
 
 " It does you credit, boys," Captain Manley said, 
 " and shows that you are cool as well as plucky.
 
 THE YOUNG BUGLERS. 87 
 
 One quality is as valuable as the other. There is 
 every hope that you will do the regiment credit, 
 boys, and you may be sure that we shall give you 
 every chance. And now good-by for the present." 
 
 " Good-by, sir." Tom and Peter again drew them- 
 selves up, gave the military salute, and went off to 
 their comrades. 
 
 For when the order came to prepare for the em- 
 barkation, both Spanish and bugling were given up, 
 and the boys entered into the pleasure of the holi- 
 day with immense zest. They had no regimental 
 duties to perform beyond being present at parade. 
 They had no packing to do, and fewer purchases to 
 make. A ball or two of stout string, for, as Peter 
 said, string is always handy, and a large pocket 
 knife, each with a variety of blades, were the prin- 
 cipal items. They had a ring put to the knives, so 
 that they could sling them round the waist. They 
 had, therefore, nothing to do but to amuse them- 
 selves, and this they did with a heartiness which 
 astonished the other boys, and proved conclusively 
 that they did not want to be unsociable. They hired 
 a boat for a sail and took five or six other boys 
 across to Ryde, only just returning in time for 
 tattoo, and they played such a number of small 
 practical jokes, such as putting a handful of peas 
 into the bugles and other wind instruments, that the 
 bandmaster declared that he thought that they 
 were all bewitched, and he threatened to thrash the 
 boys all round, because he could not find out who 
 had done it.
 
 88 THE YOUNG BUGLERS. 
 
 Especially angry was the man who played the big 
 drum. This was a gigantic negro, named Sam, a 
 kind-hearted fello\v, constantly smiling, except when 
 the thought of his own importance made him as- 
 sume a particularly grave appearance. He was a 
 general favorite, although the boys were rather 
 afraid of him, for he was apt to get into a passion if 
 any jokes were attempted upon him, and of all of- 
 fenses the greatest was to call him Sambo. Now 
 none of the men ventured upon this, for when he 
 first joined Sam had fought two or three desperate 
 battles on this ground, and his great strength and 
 the insensibility of his head to blows had invariably 
 given him the victory. But, treated with what he 
 conceived proper respect, Sara was one of the best- 
 tempered and best-natured fellows in the regiment ; 
 and he himself, when he once cooled down, was 
 perfectly ready to join the laugh against himself, 
 even after he had been most put out by a joke. 
 
 The day before the regiment was to embark the 
 officers gave a lawn party ; a large number of ladies 
 were present, and the band was, of course, to play. 
 The piece which the bandmaster had selected for 
 the commencement began with two distinct beats 
 of the big drum. Just before it began Captain 
 Manley saw Tom and Peter, who with some of the 
 other boys had brought the music-stands into the 
 ground, with their faces bright with anticipated fun. 
 
 " What is the joke, boys?" he asked good-humor- 
 edly, as he passed them. 
 
 "I can't tell you, sir," Tom said; "but if you
 
 THE YOUNG BUGLERS. 89 
 
 walk up close to the band, and watch Sam's face 
 when he begins, you will be amused, I think." 
 
 "Those are regular young pickles," Captain 
 Manley said to the lady he was walking with; 
 "they are Etonians who have run away from home, 
 and are up to all kinds of mischief, but are the 
 pluckiest and most straightforward youngsters im- 
 aginable. I have no doubt that they are up to some 
 trick with our black drummer." 
 
 On their way to where the band was preparing to 
 play, Captain Manley said a word or two to several 
 of the other officers, consequently there was quite a 
 little party standing watching the band when their 
 leader lifted his baton for the overture to begin. 
 
 There was nothing that Sam liked better than for 
 the big drum to commence, and with his head thrown 
 well back and an air of extreme importance, he 
 lifted his arm and brought it down with whatshould 
 have been a sounding blow upon the drum. To his 
 astonishment and to the surprise of all the band, no 
 deep boom was heard, only a low muffled sound. 
 Mechanically Sam raised his other arm and let it 
 fall with a similar result. Sam looked a picture of 
 utter astonishment and dismay, with his eyes opened 
 to their fullest, and he gave vent to a loud cry, 
 which completed the effect produced by his face, 
 and set most of those looking on, and even the band 
 themselves, into a roar of laughter. Sam now ex- 
 amined his sticks; they appeared all right to the 
 eye, but directly he felt them his astonishment 
 was turned into rage. They were perfectly soft.
 
 90 THE YOUNG BUGLERS. 
 
 Taking out his knife he cut them open, and found 
 that the balls were merely filled with a wad of soft 
 cotton, the necessary weight being given by pieces 
 of lead fastened round the end of the stick inside 
 the ball with waxed thread. 
 
 Sam was too enraged to say more than his usual 
 exclamation of astonishment, " Golly !" and he held 
 out his drumsticks to be examined with the face of 
 a black statue of surprise. 
 
 Even the bandmaster was obliged to laugh as he 
 took the sticks from Sam's hand to examine them. 
 
 " These are not your sticks at all, Sara," he said, 
 looking closely at them. " Here, boy," he called 
 to Tom, who might have been detected from the 
 fact of his being the only person present with a 
 serious face, " run to the bandroom and see if you 
 can find the sticks." 
 
 In a few minutes Tom returned with the real 
 drumsticks, which, he said truly, he had found on 
 the shelf where they were usually kept. After 
 that things went on as usual ; Sam played with a 
 sulky fury. His dignity was injured, and he de- 
 clared over and over again that if he could " find de 
 rascal who did it, by jingo, I pound him to squash !" 
 and there was no doubt from his look that he 
 thoroughly meant what he said. However, no in- 
 quiries could bring to light the author of the trick.
 
 THE YOUNG BUGLERS. 
 
 CHAPTER Y. 
 
 OVERBOARD. 
 
 THERE were no lighter hearts than those of Tom 
 and Peter Scudamore on board the transport Nancy, 
 as, among the hearty cheers of the troops on board, 
 and the "waving of hats and handkerchiefs from 
 friends who had come out in small boats to say 
 good-by for the last time, she weighed anchor, and 
 set sail in company with some ten or twelve other 
 transports, and under convoy of two ships of war. 
 It would be difficult to imagine a prettier scene. 
 The guns fired, the bands of the various regiments 
 played, and the white sails opened out bright in 
 the sun as the sailors swarmed into the rigging, 
 anxious to outvie each other. Even the soldiers 
 pulled and hauled at the ropes, and ran round with 
 the capstan bars to get the anchors apeak. Tom 
 and Peter, of course, had, like the other boys, got 
 very much in the way in their desire to assist, and, 
 having been once or twice knocked over by the 
 rush of men coming along with ropes, they wisely 
 gave it up, and leaned over the side to enjoy the 
 scene. 
 
 " This is splendid, Tom, isn't it ?"
 
 92 THE YOUNG BUGLERS. 
 
 " Glorious, Peter ; but it's blowing pretty strong. 
 I am afraid that we shan't find it quite so glorious 
 when we get out of the shelter of the island." 
 
 Peter laughed. " No ; I suppose we shan't all 
 look as jolly as we do now by night time. How- 
 ever, the wind is nor' westerly, which will help us 
 along nicely, if, as I heard one of the sailors say 
 just now, it does not go round to the south." 
 
 " Bugler, sound companies one, two, and three to 
 breakfast." 
 
 The order interrupted the conversation, and for 
 the next hour the boys had little time for talk. 
 Half the regiment was on board the Nancy, and 
 after breakfast the men were divided into three, 
 watches, of which one was always to be on deck, 
 for the ship was very crowded, and there was 
 scarcely room for all the men to be below together. 
 The boys were in the same watch, for the day pre- 
 vious to starting Tom had been appointed bugler to 
 the second company, Peter to the third. The first 
 company, or Grenadiers, were in the watch with 
 the band, the second and third companies were 
 together, and the fourth and fifth. 
 
 Tom was very ill for the first two days of the 
 voyage, while Peter did not feel the slightest effects 
 from the motion. Upon the third day the wind 
 dropped suddenly, and the vessels rolled heavily in 
 the swell, with their sails flapping against the 
 masts. Tom came up that morning upon deck feel- 
 ing quite well again, and the boys were immensely 
 amused at seeing the attempts of the soldiers to
 
 THE YOUNG BUGLERS. 93 
 
 move about, the sudden rushes, and the heavy falls. 
 A parade had been ordered to take place ; but as 
 no one could have stood steady without holding on, 
 it was abandoned as impossible. The men sat about 
 under the bulwarks, and a few amused themselves 
 and the rest by trying to play various games, such 
 as laying a penny on the deck, and seeing which 
 would pitch another to lay nearest to it, from a dis- 
 tance of five yards. The difficulty of balancing 
 oneself in a heavily rolling vessel, and of pitching a 
 penny with any degree of accuracy, is great, and 
 the manner in which the coins, instead of coming 
 down flat and remaining there, rolled away into 
 the scuppers, the throwers not infrequently follow- 
 ing them, produced fits of laughter. 
 
 Tom was still feeling weak from his two days' 
 illness, and was not disposed actively to enter into 
 the fun ; but Peter enjoyed the heavy rolling, and 
 was all over the ship. Presently he saw Sam, the 
 black drummer, sitting in a dark corner below 
 quietly asleep ; his cap was beside him, and the idea 
 at once occurred to Peter that here was a great 
 opportunity for a joke. He made his way to the 
 caboose, and begged the cook to give him a handful 
 of flour. The cook at first refused, but was pres- 
 ently coaxed into doing so, and Peter stole to where 
 Sam was asleep and put the flour into his cap, rely- 
 ing that, in the darkness, Sam would put it on with- 
 out noticing it. Then, going up to the deck above, 
 Peter put his head down the hatchway, and shouted 
 loudly, "Sam!"
 
 94 THE YOUNG BUGLERS. 
 
 The negro woke at the sound of his name. " What 
 is it ?" he asked. Receiving no reply, he got on to 
 his feet, muttering,." Some one call Sam, that for 
 certain, can't do without Sam, always want here, 
 want there. I go up and see." 
 
 So saying, he put on his cap and 'made his way 
 up to the upper deck. As he stood at the hatch- 
 way and looked round, there was first a titter, and 
 then a roar of laughter from the men sitting or 
 standing along by the bulwarks. In putting on his 
 cap some of the flour had fallen out, and had 
 streaked his face with white. Sam was utterly un- 
 conscious that he was the object of the laughter, 
 and said to one of the men nearest to him, " Who 
 call Sam?" 
 
 The man could not reply ; but Tom, who was sit- 
 ting close by, said, " It was no one here, Sam, it 
 must have been the bandmaster ; there he is, close 
 to the quarter-deck." 
 
 Sam made his way along toward the point indi- 
 cated, and as he did so some of the officers upon the 
 quarter-deck caught sight of him. " Just look at 
 Sambo," Carruthers exclaimed, " somebody has been 
 larking with him again. Look how all the men are 
 laughing, and he evidently has no suspicion of the 
 figure he is." 
 
 The sergeant, who, the bandmaster having re- 
 mained at the depot, was now acting as chief of the 
 band, did not see Sam until the latter was close to 
 him. " You want me, sergeant ?" 
 
 Sergeant Wilson looked np and was astonished.
 
 THE YOUNG BUGLERS. 95 
 
 " What on earth have you been doing to yourself, 
 Sam ?" he asked. 
 
 " Me been having little nap down below," Sam 
 said. 
 
 " Yes ; but your face, man. What have you been 
 doing to your face ?" 
 
 Sam in his turn looked astonished. " Nothing 
 whatsomeber, sargeant." 
 
 " Take off your cap, man, and look inside it." 
 Sam did as ordered ; and as he removed the cap, 
 and the powder fell from it all over his face and 
 shoulders, there was a perfect shout of laughter 
 from the soldiers and crew, who had been looking 
 on, and the officers, looking down from the rail of 
 the quarter-deck, retired to laugh unnoticed. 
 
 The astonishment and rage of Sam were un- 
 bounded, and he gave a perfect yell of surprise and 
 fury. He stamped wildly for a minute or two, and 
 then with a sudden movement rushed up on to the 
 quarter-deck with his cap in his hand. The colonel, 
 who was holding on by the shrouds, and talking 
 with the major, in ignorance of what was going on, 
 was perfectly astounded at this sudden vision of the 
 irate negro, and neither he nor the major could 
 restrain their laughter. 
 
 " Souse me, colonel, sah, for de liberty," Sam 
 burst out ; " but look at me, sah ; is dis right, sah, 
 is it right to make joke like dis on de man dat play 
 de big drum of de regiment ?" 
 
 * No, no, Sam ; not at all right," the colonel 
 said, with difficulty. "If you report who hag
 
 96 THE YOUNG BUGLERS. 
 
 played the trick upon you, I shall speak to him very 
 seriously; but, Sam, I should have thought that 
 you were quite big enough to take the matter in 
 your own hands." 
 
 " Me big enough, Massa Colonel, me plenty big ; 
 but me not able to find him." 
 
 " "Well, Sam, it is carrying a joke too far ; still it 
 is only a trick off duty, and I am afraid that it is 
 beyond my power to interfere." 
 
 Sam thought for a moment, and, having by this 
 time cooled down from his first paroxysm of rage, 
 he said, " Beg pardon, massa, you quite right, no 
 business of any one but Sam ; but Sam too angry 
 to 'top to think. Scuse liberty, colonel," and Sam 
 retired from the quarter-deck, and made a bolt be- 
 low down the nearest hatchway, when he plunged 
 his head into a bucket ot water, and soon restored 
 it to its usual ebony hue. 
 
 Then he went to the cook and tried to find out 
 to whom he had given flour, but the cook replied at 
 once, " Lor, I've given flour to the men of each 
 mess to make puddings of, about thirty of them," 
 and Sam felt as far off as ever. 
 
 Presently, however, a big sailor began to make 
 fun of him, and Sam retorted by knocking him 
 down, after which there was a regular fight, which 
 was carried on under the greatest difficulty, owing 
 to the rolling of the ship. At last Sambo got the 
 best of it, and this restored him so thoroughly to a 
 good temper that he was able to join in the laugh 
 at himself, reserving, however, his right to " knock 
 de rascal who did it into a squash."
 
 THE YOUNG BUGLERS. 97 
 
 The following clay the weather changed, a wind 
 sprang up nearly from the north, which increased 
 rapidly, until toward afternoon it was blowing half 
 a gale, before which the whole fleet, with their 
 main and topsails set, ran southward at great speed. 
 A heavy cross sea was running, the waves raised 
 by the gale clashing with the heavy swell previously 
 rolling in from the westward, and so violent and 
 sudden were the lurches and rolls of the Nancy 
 that the master feared that her masts would go. 
 
 "How tremendously she rolls, Tom !" 
 
 " Tremendously ; the deck seems almost upright, 
 and the water right under our feet each time she 
 goes over. She feels as if she were going to turn 
 topsy-turvy each roll. It's bad enough on deck : 
 but it will be worse down below." 
 
 " A great deal worse, Peter, it's nearly dark 
 already ; it will strike eight bells in a minute or 
 two, and then we shall have to go down. There's 
 no danger, of course, of the ship turning over, but 
 it won't be pleasant down below. Look out, 
 Peter !" 
 
 The exclamation was caused by an awful crash. 
 The ship had given a tremendous lurch, when the 
 longboat, which was stowed amidships, suddenly tore 
 away from its fastenings and came crashing down. 
 It passed within three feet of where the boys were 
 sitting, and completely tore away the bulwark, 
 leaving a great gap in the side, where it had passed 
 through. " Look Tom, Sam's overboard !" Peter 
 exclaimed.
 
 98 THE YOUNG BUGLERS. 
 
 Sam had been sitting on the bulwark a few feet 
 from them, holding on by a shroud, when the boat 
 came down upon him ; with a cry he had let go of 
 the shroud and started back, falling into the water 
 just as the boat struck the bulwark. " There he is, 
 Tom," Peter said, as he saw the black only a few 
 yards from the side. " He is hurt, come on ;" catch- 
 ing up the end of a long rope coiled up on the deck 
 close to their feet, the boys jumped overboard 
 together. A dozen strokes took them up to Sam ; 
 but the black hull of the ship had already glanced 
 past them. They could hear loud shouts, but could 
 not distinguish a word. 
 
 " Quick, round him, Peter !" and in a moment 
 the boys twisted the rope round the body of the 
 black, and knotted it just as the drag of the ship 
 tightened it. Thus Sam's safety was secured, but 
 the strain was so tremendous as they tore through 
 the water that it was impossible for the boys to 
 hold on, and in a moment they were torn from 
 their hold. 
 
 " All right, Peter," Tom said cheerily, as they 
 dashed the water from their eyes, "there is the 
 boat." 
 
 The remains of the boat were not ten yards dis- 
 tant, and in a few strokes they had gained it. It 
 was stove in and broken, but still held together, 
 floating on a level with the water's edge. With 
 some trouble the boys got inside her, and sat down 
 in the bottom, so that their heads were just out of 
 water.
 
 THE YOUNG BUGLERS. 99 
 
 Then they had time to look round. The ship 
 was already disappearing in the gathering dark- 
 ness. 
 
 " This boat will soon go to pieces, Tom," was 
 Peter's first remark. 
 
 " I expect it will, Peter ; but we must stick to its 
 pieces. We had better get off our boots. The 
 water is pretty warm, that's one comfort." 
 
 " Do you think the ship will come back for us, 
 Tom?" 
 
 " I don't think she can, Peter ; at any rate, it is 
 certain she can't find us ; it would take a long time 
 to bring her round, and then, you see, she could not 
 sail straight back here against the wind." 
 
 " Look here, Tom, I remember when I climbed 
 up to look into the boats yesterday that there were 
 some little casks lashed under the seats, and a sailor 
 told me they were al ways kept full of water incase 
 the boats were wanted suddenly. If they are still 
 there we might empty them out, and they could 
 keep us afloat any time." 
 
 " Hurrah ! Peter, capital, let's see." 
 
 To their great delight the boys found four small 
 water-kegs fastened under the seats. Three of these 
 they emptied, and fastened one of them to that 
 which they had left full, and then each taking hold 
 of one of the slings which were fastened to the kegs 
 for convenience of carriage, they waited quietly. 
 In less than ten minutes from the time when they 
 first gained their frail refuge, a great wave broke 
 just upon them, and completely smashed up the
 
 100 THE YOUNG BUGLERS. 
 
 remains of the boat. They had cut off some rope 
 from the mast, which they found with its sail furled 
 ready for use in the boat, and now roughly lashed 
 themselves together, face to face, so that they had a 
 keg on each side. They had also fastened a long 
 piece of rope to the other kegs, so that they would 
 float near them. 
 
 It was a long and terrible night for them ; gener- 
 ally their heads and chests were well above the 
 water, but at times a wave would break with its 
 white crest, and for a time the foam would be over 
 their heads. Fortunately the water was warm, and 
 the wind fell a good deal. The boys talked occa- 
 sionally to each other, and kept up each other's 
 courage. Once or twice, in spite of the heavy sea, 
 they were so much overcome with exhaustion that 
 they dozed uneasily for awhile, with their heads 
 upon each other's shoulders, and great was their 
 feeling of relief and pleasure when morning began 
 to break. 
 
 " It is going to be a splendid day, Peter, and the 
 wind is dropping fast." 
 
 " Look, Tom," Peter said, " there are some of the 
 planks of the boat jammed in with the kegs." 
 
 It was as Peter said ; the two kegs, one empty 
 and the other full, were floating about ten yards off, 
 at the length of the rope by which they were 
 attached to the boys, while with them was a con- 
 fused mass of wreckage of the boat. "That is 
 capital, Peter, we will see if we can't make a raft 
 presently."
 
 THE YOUNG BUGLERS. 101 
 
 As the sun rose and warmed the air, the boys' 
 strength and spirits revived, and in a few hours 
 they were so refreshed that they determined to set 
 about their raft. The wind had now entirely drop- 
 ped, the waves were still very high, but they came 
 in long, smooth, regular swells, over which they rose 
 and fell almost imperceptibly. 
 
 " They must be rolling a good deal more in the 
 Nancy than we are here, Peter. Now, the first 
 thing is to have a drink. What a blessing it is we 
 have water." With their knives, they soon got the 
 bung out .of the water-keg, and each took a long 
 drink, and then carefully closed it up again. 
 
 " There, Peter, we have drunk as much as we 
 wanted this time ; but we must be careful, there is 
 no saying how long we may be before we are picked 
 up. Hurrah, Peter, here are the mast and sails, so 
 we shall have plenty of cord." 
 
 It took the boys nearly three hours to complete 
 their task to their satisfaction. When it was con- 
 cluded they had the three empty kegs lashed in a 
 triangle about five feet apart, while two planks 
 crossing the triangle assisted to keep all firm and 
 tight ; floating in the center of the triangle was the 
 keg of water. " There, I don't think we can im- 
 prove that, Peter," Tom said at last, "now, let us get 
 on and try it." They did so, and to their great 
 delight found that it floated a few inches above 
 water. " We may as well get the masts on board, 
 Peter, and let the sails tow alongside. They may 
 come in useful ; and now the first thing is to dry 
 ourselves and our clothes."
 
 102 THE YOUNG BUGLERS. 
 
 The clothes were soon spread out to dry, and the 
 boys luxuriated in the warmth of the sun. 
 
 "What great, smooth waves these are, Tom! 
 Sometimes we are down in a valley which runs 
 miles long, and then we are up on a hill." 
 
 " Here we lay, all the day, in the bay of Biscay, 
 oh !" Tom laughed. " I only hope that the wished- 
 for morrow may bring the sail in sight, Peter. 
 However, we can hold on for a few days, I suppose. 
 That is a four-gallon keg, so that we have got a 
 quart of water each for eight days, and hunger 
 isn't so bad to bear as thirst. We have pretty well 
 done for our uniforms; our bugles are the only 
 things that have not suffered." 
 
 For, the boys' companies being on deck at the 
 time of the accident, they both had their bugles on 
 when they jumped over board. 
 
 " Our last upset was when that bargee canted us 
 over at Eton; rather a different business, that, 
 Peter." 
 
 " My shirt is not dry yet, Tom ; but I shall put it 
 on again, for the sun is too hot to be pleasant." 
 
 Tom followed Peter's example. 
 
 " Do you think, Tom, that we had better try to 
 get up a sort of sail and make for land, or remain 
 where we are ?" 
 
 " Remain where we are, Peter, I should say. I 
 suppose we must be a hundred miles from the 
 French coast, and even if the wind blew fair we 
 should be a long time getting there, and with the 
 certainty of a prison when we arrived. Still, if
 
 THE YOUNG BUGLERS. 103 
 
 there were a strong west wind I suppose it would 
 be our best way ; as it is we have nothing to do 
 but to wait quietly, and hope for a ship. We are 
 in the right line, and there must be lots of vessels 
 on their way, besides those which sailed with us, 
 from Portsmouth. So we must keep watch and 
 watch. Now, Peter, you lie down on that plank ; it 
 is just about long enough. You shall have two hours' 
 sleep, and then I'll have two; after that we will 
 have four hours each." 
 
 " How are we to count time ?" Peter said, laughing. 
 
 " I never thought of that," Tom said, looking at 
 his watch. " Of course, it has stopped. We must 
 guess as near as we can ; at any rate, you go to 
 sleep first, and when I am too sleepy to keep watch 
 any longer I will wake you up." 
 
 So passed that day and the next night. A light 
 breeze sprang up from the southwest, and the sun 
 again shone out brightly. 
 
 " I feel as if I wanted breakfast horribly," Peter 
 said, with an attempt at a smile. " Do you think 
 that there is any possibility of catching any thing?" 
 
 " We have nothing to make hooks with, Peter, 
 and nothing to bait them with if we had." 
 
 " There are lots of tiny fish swimming all about, 
 Tom, if we could but catch them." 
 
 Tom was silent for awhile ; then he said, " Look 
 here, Peter. Let us cut a piece off the sail, about 
 five feet long and say three feet wide, double it 
 longways, and sew up the ends so as to make a bag; 
 we can unravel some string, and make holes with
 
 104 THE YOUNG BUGLERS. 
 
 our knives. Then we can sink it down two or three 
 feet, and watch it ; and when we see that some little 
 fish have got in it we can draw it up very gently, 
 and, by raising it gradually from the sea, the water 
 will run out, and we shall catch the fish." 
 
 Peter agreed that at any rate it was worth trying ; 
 for, even if it did not succeed, it was better for them 
 to be doing something than sitting idle. The sail 
 and the floating wreckage were pulled alongside 
 and the boys set to work. In three hours a large 
 and shallow bag was made, with some improvements 
 upon Tom's original plan. The mouth was kept 
 open by two crossed pieces of wood, and four cords 
 from the corners were attached to the end of the 
 oar which formed their fishing-rod. At last it was 
 finished and the bag lowered. 
 
 To the horror of the boys it was discovered that 
 it would not sink. They were ready to cry with 
 vexation, for the want of food had made them feel 
 faint and weak. 
 
 " What have we got that is heavy ?" Tom asked 
 in despair. 
 
 "I have got fourpence in halfpence, Tom, and 
 there are our knives and watches." 
 
 Their pockets were ransacked, and the halfpence, 
 knives, and watches were placed in the bottom of 
 the bag and lowered. Still the woodwork kept 
 afloat. 
 
 " There are the bugles, Tom," Peter cried in de- 
 light. These had been fastened to the raft, and 
 were now hastily untied and placed in the canvas
 
 THE YOUNG BUGLERS. 105 
 
 It sank now, and the boys lowered it five or six 
 feet, so that they could partly see into it. " There 
 are lots of little fish swimming about, Tom," Peter 
 said in a whisper. " Some are almost as long as 
 one's hand. Do you think that they will go in, 
 Tom?" 
 
 " I hope the glitter of the bugles and watches will 
 attract them, Peter." 
 
 "There, Tom, there I saw a whole swarm of 
 little ones go in." 
 
 " Wait a minute or two, Peter, to let them get 
 well down, and then draw up as quietly as possible." 
 
 Yery cautiously the boys raised the point of their 
 rod until the top of the square-mouthed bag was 
 level with the surface ; then they brought it close 
 to them and looked in, and as they did so gave a 
 simultaneous cheer. There, in the bottom of the 
 canvas, two feet below them, were a number of 
 little fish moving about. Raising the rod still 
 higher, they gradually lifted the net out of the sea, 
 the water running quickly off as they did so, and 
 then they proceeded to examine their prize. 
 
 " We will take out one and one, Peter ; give them 
 a nip as you take them up, that will kill them." 
 There were two fish of about three inches long, 
 another three or four of two inches, and some thirty 
 or forty the size of minnows. It was scarcely more 
 than a mouthful each, but it was a stay for a moment 
 to their stomachs, and no one ever said a thanks- 
 giving with deeper feeling and heartiness than did 
 the boys when they had emptied their canvas net.
 
 106 THE YOUNG BUGLERS. 
 
 " We need not be anxious about food now, Peter ; 
 if we can catch these in five minutes we can get 
 enough each day to satisfy us. They quench the 
 thirst too. We must limit ourselves to half a pint 
 of water a day, and we can hold on for a fortnight. 
 We are safe to be picked up before that." 
 
 All the afternoon and evening the boys contin- 
 ued to let down and draw up their net, sometimes 
 bringing in only a few tiny fish, sometimes get- 
 ting half a dozen of the larger kind. By night- 
 fall they had satisfied the cravings of hunger, 
 and felt stronger and better. One or two sail 
 had been seen during the day, but always at 
 such distances that it was evident at once that 
 they could not pass within hail. That night, fa- 
 tigued with their exertions, both lay down and 
 went to sleep until morning, and slept more com- 
 fortably than before; for they had fastened a 
 piece of the sail tightly on the top of the raft, 
 and lay softly suspended in that, instead of being 
 balanced upon a narrow and uncomfortable plank. 
 They felt new creatures when they woke, pulled up 
 their net, had a mouthful of raw fish, took off their 
 clothes, and had a swim, and then set to earnestly 
 to fish. The sun was brighter, and the fish in con- 
 sequence kept deeper than upon the preceding day ; 
 still by evening they had caught enough to take the 
 edge off, if not to satisfy, their hunger. .The fish- 
 ing, however, during the last hours of daylight was 
 altogether neglected, for behind them they could see 
 9 sail, which appeared as if it might possibly come
 
 THE BOYS ANXIOUSLY WATCHED THE COUKSE OF THE VESSEL. 
 
 Page 107.
 
 THE YOUNG BUGLERS. 107 
 
 close enough to observe them. There was still the 
 long, steady swell coming in from the Atlantic, and 
 a light breeze was blowing from the north. The 
 boys had been so intent upon their fishing that they 
 had not noticed her until she was within nine or ten 
 miles of them. " She will not be up for an hour 
 and a half, Peter," Tom said, " and the sun will be 
 down long before that. I fear that the chance of 
 their seeing us is very small indeed. However, we 
 will try. Let us get the net out of the water, and 
 hold it and the oar up. It is possible that some one 
 may see the canvas with a telescope before the sun 
 goes down. Take the things out of the net." 
 
 The oar with the canvas bag was elevated, and 
 the boys anxiously watched the course of the vessel. 
 She was a large ship, but they could only see her 
 when they rose upon the top of the long smooth 
 waves. " I should think that she will pass within 
 a mile of us, Peter," Tom said, after half an hour's 
 watching ; " but I fear that she will not be much 
 closer. How unfortunate she had not come along an 
 hour earlier! She would have been sure to see us if 
 it had been daylight. I don't think that there is 
 much chance now, for there is no moon. However, 
 thank God, we can hold on very well now, and next 
 time we may have better luck." 
 
 The sun had set more than half an hour before 
 the ship came abreast of them. They had evidently 
 not been seen. 
 
 "Now, Peter," Tom said, "let us both halloo 
 together; the wind is very light, and it is just pos- 
 sible they may hear us."
 
 108 THE YOUNG BUGLERS. 
 
 Again and again the boys shouted, but the ship 
 sailed steadily on. Peter dashed the tears aside, 
 and Tom said, with a quiver in his voice, " Never 
 mind, Peter ; better luck next time, old boy. God 
 has been so good to us that I feel quite confident 
 we shall be saved." 
 
 " So do I, Tom," Peter said. " It was only a dis- 
 appointment for a minute. "We may as well put the 
 oar down, for my arm and back ache holding it." 
 
 "Mind how you do it, Peter. If we let the end 
 go through the canvas, we shall lose our watches 
 and bugles, and then we shall not be able to fish." 
 
 " Oh, Tom, the bugles !" 
 
 "What, Peter?" Tom said, astonished. 
 
 " We can make them hear, Tom, don't you see ?" 
 
 " Hurrah, Peter ! so we can. What a fool I was 
 to forget it !" 
 
 In a moment the bugles rang out the assembly 
 across the water. Again and again the sharp, clear 
 sound rose on the quiet evening air. 
 
 " Look, Peter, there are men going up the rigging 
 to look round. Sound again !" 
 
 Again and again they sounded the call, and then 
 they saw the ship's head come round, and her bow 
 put toward them, and then they fell on their knees 
 and thanked God that they were saved. 
 
 In ten minutes the ship was close to them, thrown 
 up into the wind, a boat was lowered, and in another 
 minute or two was alongside. 
 
 " Halloo !" the officer in charge exclaimed, " two 
 boys, all alone. Here, help them in, lads that's it ;
 
 THE YOUNG BUGLERS. 109 
 
 now pull for the ship. Here, boys, take a little 
 brandy from this flask. How long have you been 
 on that raft ?" 
 
 " It is three days since we went overboard, sir ; 
 but we were in the water for about eighteen hours 
 before we made the raft." 
 
 Tom and Peter drank a little brandy, and felt 
 better for it ; but they were weaker than they 
 thought, for they had to be helped up the side of the 
 ship. A number of officers were grouped round 
 the gangway, and the boys saw that they were on 
 board a vessel o war. 
 
 " Only these boys ?" asked the captain in surprise 
 of the officer who had brought them on board. 
 
 " That is all, sir." 
 
 " Doctor, you had better see to them," the captain 
 said. "If they are strong enough to talk, after they 
 have had some soup, let them come to my cabin ; 
 if not, let them turn in in the sick bay, and I will 
 see them in the morning. One question though, 
 boys. Are there any others about any one for me 
 to look for or pick up ?" 
 
 " No one else, sir," Tom said, and then followed 
 the doctor aft. A basin of soup and a glass of 
 sherry did wonders for the boys, and in an hour 
 they proceeded to the captain's cabin, dressed in 
 clothes which the doctor had borrowed from two of 
 the midshipmen for them, for their own could never 
 be worn again ; indeed, they had not brought their 
 jackets from the raft, those garments having shrunk 
 so from the water that the boys had not been able
 
 110 THE YOUNG BUGLERS. 
 
 to put them on again, after first taking them off to 
 dry. 
 
 The doctor accompanied them, and in the cap- 
 tain's cabin they found the first lieutenant, who had 
 been in charge of the boat which picked them up. 
 
 " I am glad to see you looking so much better," 
 the captain said as they entered. " Sit down. Do 
 you know," he went on with a smile, " I do not 
 think that any of us would have slept had you not 
 recovered sufficiently to tell your story to-night. 
 We have been puzzling over it in vain. How you 
 two boys came to be adrift alone on a raft, made up 
 of three water-kegs, as Mr. Armstrong tells me, and 
 how you came to have two bugles with you on the 
 raft, is altogether beyond us." 
 
 " The last matter is easily explained, sir," Tom 
 said. " My brother and myself are buglers in 
 H.M.'s Eegiment of Norfolk Rangers, and as we 
 were on duty when we went overboard, we had our 
 bugles slung over our shoulders." 
 
 " Buglers !" the captain said in surprise. " "Why, 
 from your appearance and mode of expressing your- 
 selves, I take you to be gentlemen's sons." 
 
 " So we are, sir," Tom said quietly, " and I hope 
 gentlemen at any rate we have been Etonians. 
 But we have lost our father, and are now buglers in 
 the Rangers." 
 
 " Well, lads," the captain said after a pause, "and 
 now tell us how you came upon this little raft ?" 
 
 Tom related modestly the story of their going 
 overboard from the Nancy, of the formation of
 
 THE YOUNG BUGLERS. Ill 
 
 the raft, and of their after proceedings. Their 
 hearers were greatly astonished at the story ; and 
 the captain said, " Young gentlemen, you have done 
 a very gallant action, and have behaved with a 
 coolness and bravery which would have done credit 
 to old sailors. Had your father been alive he might 
 have been proud indeed of you. I should be proud 
 had 3^ou been my sons. If you are disposed to 
 change services I will write directly we reach the 
 Tagus to obtain your discharge, and will give you 
 midshipmen's berths on board this ship. Don't 
 answer now ; you can think it over by the time we 
 reach Portugal. I will not detain you now ; a 
 night's rest will set you up. Mr. Armstrong will 
 introduce you to the midshipmen to-morrow ; you 
 are passengers here now, and will mess with them. 
 Good-night." 
 
 It was not many minutes before the boys were 
 asleep in their hammocks. If people's ears really 
 tingle when they are being spoken about, Tom and 
 Peter would have had but little sleep that night. 
 The first lieutenant related the circumstances to the 
 other lieutenants ; the second lieutenant, whose 
 watch it was, told the gunner, who related it to the 
 petty officers; the doctor told his mates, who re- 
 tailed the story to the midshipmen ; and so gradu- 
 ally it went over the whole ship, and officers and 
 men agreed that it was one of the pluckiest and 
 coolest things ever done. 
 
 The boys slept until nearly breakfast time, and 
 were just dressed when Mr. Armstrong came for
 
 112 THE YOUNG BUGLERS. 
 
 them and took them to the midshipmen's berth, 
 where they were received with a warmth and 
 heartiness which quite surprised them. The mid- 
 shipmen and mates pressed forward to shake hands 
 with them, and the stiflingly close little cockpit 
 was the scene of an ovation. The boys were quite 
 glad when the handshaking was over, and they sat 
 down to the rough meal which was then usual 
 among midshipmen. As the vessel had only left 
 England four days before, the fare was better than 
 it would have been a week later, for there was but- 
 ter, cold ham and tongue upon the table. After 
 breakfast they were asked to tell the story over 
 again, and this they did with great modesty. Many 
 questions w r ere asked, and it was generally regretted 
 that they were not sailors. Upon going up on deck 
 there was quite an excitement among the sailors to 
 get a look at them, and the gunner and other petty 
 officers came up and shook hands with them heartily, 
 and the boys wished from the depths of their hearts 
 that people would not make such a fuss about noth- 
 ing ; for, as Tom said to Peter, " Of course we should 
 not have jumped overboard if we had thought that 
 we could not have kept hold of the rope." 
 
 That day they dined in the cabin with the cap- 
 tain, who, after the officers present had withdrawn, 
 asked them if they would tell him about their past 
 lives. This the boys did frankly, and took the op- 
 portunity of explaining that they had chosen the 
 army, because, the enemies' fleet having been de- 
 stroyed, there was less chance of active service in
 
 THE YOUNG BUGLERS. 113 
 
 the navy than with the army just starting for Lis- 
 bon, and that their uncle having commanded the 
 regiment that they were in, they had entered it, 
 and had received so much kindness that they had 
 fair reason to hope that they would eventually 
 obtain commissions. Hence, while thanking him 
 most warmly for his offer, they had decided to go 
 on in the path that they had chosen. 
 
 The captain remarked that, after what they had 
 said, although he should have been glad to have 
 them with him, he thought that they had decided 
 rightly. 
 
 The next morning, when the boys woke, they 
 were surprised at the absence of any motion of the 
 vessel, and upon going on deck they found that 
 /;hey were running up the Tagus, and that Lisbon 
 was in sight.
 
 114 THE YOUNG BUGLERS. 
 
 CHAPTER YI. 
 
 PORTUGAL. 
 
 THE boys were delighted with the appearance of 
 the Tagus, covered as it now was with a fleet of 
 transports and merchantmen. As they were look- 
 ing at it, the officer commanding the marines on 
 board, who had talked a good deal to them upon 
 the preceding day, came up to them. " I thought 
 that you would be in a fix about clothes, my lads,' 
 he said. " You could not very well join in these 
 midshipman's uniforms, so I set the tailor yesterday 
 to cut down a couple of spare suits of my corps. 
 The buttons will not be right, but you can easily 
 alter that when you join. You had better go below 
 at once and see if the things fit pretty well. I have 
 told the tailor to take them to the cockpit, and if 
 they do not fit they can alter them at once." 
 
 Thanking the officer very much for his thought- 
 ful kindness, and much relieved in mind for they 
 had already been wondering what they should do 
 the boys ran below, and found that the tailor had 
 guessed their sizes pretty correctly, aided as he had 
 been by the trousers they had worn when they
 
 THE YOUNG BUGLERS. 115 
 
 
 
 came on board. A few alterations were necessary, 
 and these he promised to get finished in a couple of 
 hours. They had scarcely gone on deck again when 
 the anchor was let fall, and a boat was lowered, in 
 order that the captain might proceed to shore with 
 the dispatches of which he was the bearer. 
 
 Just as he was upon the point of leaving the 
 deck his eye fell upon the boys. " I shall be back 
 again in an hour or two," he said ; " do not leave 
 until I return. I will find out where your regiment 
 is, and if it has marched I will give you a certificate 
 of how I picked you up, otherwise you may be 
 stopped on the way, and get into a scrape as two 
 boys who have strayed away from their regiment." 
 
 So saying, the captain got into his boat and rowed 
 to shore. It was one o'clock before he returned. 
 The boys had dinner with the gunroom officers, 
 then changed their dress, and had now the appear- 
 ance of buglers in the marines. 
 
 The captain at once sent for them. " Your regi- 
 ment went on yesterday with the rest of the divi- 
 sion. It halts to-day ten miles out of the town. 
 There is the certificate I spoke of. Mr. Armstrong 
 is just going off with two boats' crews to assist in 
 unloading stores; I have asked him to hand you 
 over to the charge of some officer going up with a 
 convoy. And now good-by, lads. I wish you every 
 luck, and hope that some day or other you may win 
 your epaulets." 
 
 "With renewed thanks for his kindness, the boys 
 went up on deck. There they shook hands and
 
 116 THE YOUNG BUGLERS. 
 
 said good-by to all the officers and midshipmen. As 
 they were waiting while the boats were being low- 
 ered, two of the sailors went aft to the captain, who 
 had come up from below and was walking alone on 
 the quarter-deck, and, with a touch of the hat, the 
 spokesman said, " Your honor, we're come to ax as 
 how, if your honor has no objection, we might just 
 give a parting cheer to those 'ere youngsters." 
 
 " Well, Jones," the captain said, smiling, " it's 
 rather an unusual thing for the crew of one of his 
 majesty's ships to cheer two young soldiers." 
 
 " It is unusual, your honor, mighty unusual, be- 
 cause soldiers ain't in general of much account at 
 sea; but you see, your honor, this ain't a usual 
 circumstance, nohow. These here boys, which ain't 
 much more than babbies, have done what there 
 ain't many men, not even of those who are born 
 and bred to the sea, would have done ; and we 
 should just like to give them a bit of a cheer, for 
 good luck." 
 
 " Very well, Jones, tell the men they can do as 
 they like." 
 
 Accordingly, as the boys took their seats in the 
 boat they were surprised at seeing the crew cluster- 
 ing to the side of the ship, while some of the men 
 ran up the rigging. 
 
 " "What can the men be up to ?" Tom asked Mr. 
 Armstrong in surprise. 
 
 The lieutenant smiled, for he knew what was 
 coming. " Sheer off, men," he said, and as he did 
 so the boatswain of the ship gave the word. " Now,
 
 THE YOUNG BUGLERS. 117 
 
 lads, three cheers for them boys ; may they have 
 the luck they deserve." 
 
 Three thundering cheers burst from the whole 
 crew, the men in the boats tossing their oars in the 
 naval fashion of acknowledgment of the salute. 
 Tom and Peter, astonished and atfected, stood up, 
 took oif their caps, and waved their hands in thanks 
 to the crowd of faces looking down upon then:-, 
 and then sat down again and wiped their eyes. 
 
 " Row on, 7 ' the lieutenant said, and the oars fell 
 in the water with a splash ; one more cheer arose, 
 and then the boats rowed for the landing-place. 
 The boys were too much affected to look up or 
 speak until they reached the shore, nor did they 
 notice a boat which rowed past them upon its way 
 to the vessel they had left, just after they had 
 started. It contained an officer in a general's 
 uniform. The boat steered to the ship's side, and 
 the officer ascended the ladder. The captain was 
 on deck. " Ah, Crauf urd," he said, " this is an 
 unexpected pleasure." 
 
 " I have just come back from my division for a 
 few hours, Merivale ; there are a lot of stores which 
 are essential, and some of my artillery is not landed, 
 so I thought I could hurry things up a bit. My 
 spare charger, and most of the chargers of my staff, 
 are being landed, too ; the ship they came in was 
 a day or two late ; and as I had to confer with the 
 Portuguese minister of war, I am killing a good 
 many birds with one stone. I heard you had just 
 come in, and as I was on board the Clio about
 
 118 THE YOUNG BUGLERS. 
 
 my charger, I thought it would not be much out 
 of my way to run round and shake hands with 
 you." 
 
 "I am very glad you did. Come into my cabin ; 
 you can spare time to take some lunch, I hope." 
 
 While they were at lunch General Craufurd re- 
 marked, "So you have just lost one of your officers 
 I see ; promoted to another ship, eh ?" 
 
 "Lost an officeH" Captain Merivale said in sui 
 prise. "No, not that I have heard of. Whav 
 makes you think so ?" 
 
 " I thought so by the cheering the ship's crew 
 gave that boat that left the ship just before I came 
 up. There was only a naval lieutenant in her, and 
 I supposed that he had just got his ship, and I 
 thought by the heartiness of the cheering what a 
 good fellow he must be." 
 
 "But it was not the lieutenant the men were 
 cheering," Captain Merivale said with a smile. 
 
 " No !" General Craufurd said, suprised. " Why, 
 there was no one else in the boat. I looked atten- 
 tively as I passed. There was only a lieutenant, a 
 midshipman who was steering, the men rowing, and 
 two little marine buglers, who had their handker- 
 chiefs up to their faces. So you see I took a very 
 minute survey." 
 
 " You did indeed," Captain Merivale said, laugh- 
 ing. " Well, it was just these little buglers that 
 the crew of the ship were cheering." 
 
 General Craufurd looked up incredulously. 
 "You're joking, Merivale. The crew of his
 
 THE YOUNG BUGLERS. 119 
 
 majesty's frigate Latona cheer two buglers of 
 marines ! No, no, that won't do." 
 
 " It is a fact, though, Crauf urd, unlikely as it 
 seems, except that the buglers belong to the Kor- 
 folk Rangers, and not to the marines." 
 
 "The Rangers! They are in Hill's division. 
 What is it all about ? There must be something 
 very strange about it." 
 
 " There is indeed," Captain Merivale said, " very 
 strange." And he then related the whole story to 
 his visitor. 
 
 " They are trumps indeed," the general said when 
 the narrative was ended, " and I am very glad that 
 I happened to hear it. I will speak to Hill about 
 it, and will keep my eye upon them. Be assured 
 they shall have their epaulets as soon as possible 
 that is, if their conduct is at all equal to their pluck. 
 It is the least we can do when, as you say, they 
 have refused midshipmen's berths to stick to us. 
 And now I must be off." 
 
 The boat landed General Craufurd at the same 
 landing-place at which Tom and Peter had disem- 
 barked half an hour before. Lieutenant Armstrong 
 had spoken a few words to the officer who was 
 superintending the landing of stores and horses, and 
 he, being far too busy to stop to talk, briefly said 
 that the boys could go up to join their regiment 
 with a convoy of stores which would start that 
 night. 
 
 After saying good-by to their friend the lieu- 
 tenant, the boys sat down upon some bales, and
 
 120 THE YOUNG BUGLERS. 
 
 were watching with much amusement and interest 
 the busy scene before them. As General Craufurd 
 passed they rose and saluted. 
 
 "You are the boys from the Latona, are you 
 not?" 
 
 " Yes, sir," the boys answered in surprise. 
 
 " Can you ride ?" 
 
 Yes, sir." 
 
 " Follow me, then." 
 
 Much surprised, the boys followed the general 
 until he made his way through the confusion to a 
 group of newly landed horses. Near them were a 
 couple of mounted Hussars, who, at the sight of the 
 general, rode forward with his charger. He made 
 a sign to them to wait a moment, and walked up to 
 the men who were holding the newly landed 
 horses. 
 
 " Which of you have got charge of two horses ?" 
 
 Several of the men answered at once. 
 
 " Which of you are servants of officers on my 
 staff?" 
 
 Three of those who had answered before replied 
 now. 
 
 " Very well ; just put saddles on to two of them. 
 These lads will ride them ; they are going out with 
 me at once ; they will hand them over to your 
 masters." 
 
 In another five minutes Tom and Peter, to their 
 surprise and delight, were clattering along through 
 the streets of Lisbon upon two first-rate horses in 
 company with the two Hussars, while, twenty
 
 THE YOUNG BUGLERS. 121 
 
 lengths ahead, trotted General Craufurd with two 
 officers who had been down to Lisbon upon duty 
 similar to his own. Once outside the town, the 
 general put his horse into a gallop, and his follow- 
 ers of course did the same. Once or twice General 
 Craufurd glanced back to see how the boys rode, 
 for a doubt had crossed his mind as to whether he 
 had been wise in putting them upon such valuable 
 horses, but when he saw that they were evidently 
 accustomed to the work, he paid no further atten- 
 tion to them. 
 
 The officers riding beside him, however, looked 
 back several times. 
 
 " What luck we have, to be sure, Tom," Peter 
 said, " and I can't understand this a bit. How could 
 the general know that we came from the Latona ; 
 as he evidently did, and by the way these officers 
 have looked back twice, I can't help thinking that 
 he is talking about us." 
 
 Tom was as puzzled as Peter, but they soon for- 
 got the subject, and engaged in an animated con- 
 versation with the Hussars as to the situation and 
 position of the army, and the supposed strength and 
 locality of the French, concerning which they were, 
 of course, in complete ignorance. An hour and a 
 half's sharp riding took them to Torres Vedras, 
 a small town which afterward became celebrated 
 for the tremendous lines which Wellington erected 
 there. The troops were encamped in its vicinity, 
 the general having his quarters at the house of the 
 alcalde, or mayor.
 
 122 THE YOUNG BUGLERS. 
 
 " Your regiment is a mile and a half distant, lads," 
 General Craufurd said as they drew up at his quar- 
 ters ; " you will have difficulty in finding it this 
 evening. Sergeant, take these lads round to the 
 house where my orderlies are quartered, and give 
 them some supper. They can join their regiment 
 in the morning. I have heard of you, lads, from 
 Captain Merivale, and shall mention your conduct 
 to General Hill, and be assured I will keep my eye 
 upon you." 
 
 The boys were soon asleep upon a heap of straw, 
 and at six next morning were upon the road, having 
 already had some coffee and bread for breakfast. 
 They had no difficulty in finding their way, for 
 orderlies were already galloping about, and the 
 bugle calls came sharp upon their ears. The division 
 was to march at seven. The Hangers happened to 
 be the first in advance, so that they passed through 
 the other regiments to arrive at theirs. 
 
 The tents were down when they arrived, and 
 packed in readiness for the bullock carts which 
 stood by. The boys paused a little distance off, 
 and looked on with delight at the busy scene. At 
 a note on the bugle the tents and other baggage 
 were stowed in the carts, and then the men hitched 
 on their knapsacks, unpiled arms, and began to fall 
 into rank. 
 
 No one noticed the boys as they passed between 
 the groups and approached the band, who were 
 mustering by the colors, which were as usual placed 
 in front of the guard tent.
 
 THE YOUNG BUGLERS. 123 
 
 " There's Sambo," Tom said ; " I am glad they 
 got him safe on board." 
 
 The negro was the first to perceive the boys as 
 they came close up to him. As he saw them he 
 gave a sudden start, his eyes opened wider and 
 wider until the whites showed all round, his teeth' 
 chattered, the shiny black of his face turned to a 
 sort of dirty gray, and he threw up his hands with 
 a loud cry : " Oh, golly, here's dose boys' spirits !" 
 
 He stepped back, heedless that the big drum was 
 behind him, and the next moment went back with 
 a crash into it, and remained there with his knees 
 doubled up and his face looking out between them, 
 too frightened and horror-struck to make the least 
 movement to extricate himself. 
 
 For a moment no one noticed him, for at his cry 
 they had all turned to the boys, and stood as if 
 petrified at seeing those whom they believed had 
 been drowned before their eyes a week before. The 
 silence did not last long, the boys bursting into a 
 shout of laughter at Sam's appearance. 
 
 " Spirits ! Sam," Tom said ; " not by a long way 
 yet, man. How are you all? Come, get out of 
 that, Sam, and shake hands." And as the band with 
 a shout crowded round them, the boys helped Sam, 
 who was trembling all over from the shock and 
 fright, from the drum. 
 
 For a moment the boys were quite confused and 
 bewildered, for as they hauled Sam to his feet their 
 comrades of the band pressed round them cheering, 
 every one trying to shake them by the hand.
 
 124 THE YOUNG BUGLERS. 
 
 The news spread like wildfire among the troops, 
 and there was at once a general rush to the spot. 
 The boys were seized in an instant, and each raised 
 on the shoulders of two of the grenadiers, and as 
 they made their appearance above the heads of the 
 crowd a tremendous cheer broke from the whole 
 regiment. 
 
 "What can be the matter?" was the general 
 exclamation of the colonel and officers, who were 
 just finishing their breakfasts in a cottage which 
 stood close behind the spot where their tents had 
 been pitched in the rear of the regiment. "What 
 can be the matter ?"' and as the cheering continued 
 there was a general rush to the door. There they 
 stood astonished at seeing the whole of the men 
 clustered in one spot, shouting and waving their 
 caps. 
 
 "What can be the matter?" the colonel said 
 again ; " the whole regiment seems to have gone 
 mad." 
 
 " We shall know in a minute," Captain Manley 
 said ; " they are coming in this direction." 
 
 "Look at that fellow Sambo," exclaimed Car- 
 ruthers ; " he looks madder than all the rest." 
 
 In spite of the intense surprise which all were 
 feeling there was a general laugh, for the black was 
 performing antics like one possessed ; his cap was 
 gone, he jumped, he yelled, he waved his arms, with 
 a drumstick in each hand, wildly over his head ; he 
 twisted round and round ; he seemed really out of 
 his mind. Suddenly he left the crowd, and rushed
 
 THE YOUNG BUGLERS. 125 
 
 on ahead at full speed toward the group of officers, 
 still leaping and yelling and waving his drumsticks. 
 
 The officers instinctively drew together as he ap- 
 proached, for they thought that the gigantic negro 
 was really out of his mind. He stopped suddenly 
 as he came up to them, and tried to fall into his 
 usual attitude of attention. 
 
 " Oh, Massa Colonel," he said in hoarse, sobbing 
 tones, " only to think, only to think ! 'Scuse Sam, 
 sar ; but Sam feel he's going to bust right up wid 
 joy, massa. Dat no matter ; but only to think ! 
 Bress de Almighty, sar ! only to think !" 
 
 None of the officers spoke for a minute in answer 
 to these disjointed exclamations. They were affected 
 at the man's great emotion. His black skin was 
 still strangely pale, his eyes were distended, his lips 
 quivered, tears were rolling down his cheeks, and 
 his huge frame was shaken with sobs. 
 
 "Calm yourself, Sam be calm, rny man," the 
 colonel said kindly. " Try and tell us what has 
 happened. What are the men so excited about? 
 What is the matter with them ?" 
 
 " Oh, Massa Colonel," Sam said, " me try tell you 
 all 'bout it. Only to think, sar, dose boys cum 
 back again ; dose boys, sar, bress dem, dat jumped 
 into de water and got drowned just to save dis 
 poor niggar, sar. Dey cum back again ; only tink 
 obdat!" 
 
 The officers looked at one another in surprise. 
 
 " I do believe he means the Scudamores, colonel," 
 Captain Manley 'exclaimed ; " but no, it is impos-
 
 126 THE YOUNG BUGLERS. 
 
 sible; no one could have lived five minutes in that 
 sea, and we know that they could not have been 
 picked up, for we were the last ship in the fleet." 
 
 " Yes, yes, sar, dat's dem ; dey cum back sure 
 enuff," Sam said. 
 
 Then Carruthers exclaimed, "I do believe it is 
 so ; there are a couple of boys on the shoulders of 
 the men in the middle of the crowd. Yes, and by 
 Jove, it is the Scudamores. Hurrah! I am glad." 
 
 There was a general exclamation of pleasure 
 from the whole group, for the regret for the boys, 
 who had, as was believed, perished in the perform- 
 ance of such a gallant action, had been general and 
 sincere, and Captain Manley lifted his cap and said 
 reverently, "Thank God, these gallant lads are 
 saved ;" and those around, although some of them 
 were but little addicted to prayer, repeated the 
 words and imitated the action. 
 
 Carruthers would have stepped forward in his 
 eagerness to greet his former schoolfellows, but 
 Captain Manley laid his hand quietly on his shoul- 
 der and said in a low tone, " Wait, Carruthers, let 
 the colonel welcome them." 
 
 And now the crowd came up to the cottage, those 
 in front falling back as they approached, so as to 
 let the grenadiers come forward with their burden. 
 The boys were lowered to the ground, and stood at 
 once at attention ; their faces were both flushed 
 with excitement, and their eyes swollen with tears, 
 so much were they both moved by the welcome 
 which had greeted them.
 
 THE YOUNG BUGLERS. 127 
 
 There was a dead silence for a moment, and then 
 Colonel Tritton said in a loud, clear voice, which 
 was heard all over the throng of men, " I am glad, 
 lads, to see you back again. I never expected to 
 have seen you again after we caught a glimpse of 
 you as the sea washed you away. You have seen 
 how the men have welcomed you, and 1 can assure 
 you that the pleasure of the officers that two such 
 gallant young fellows should have been saved is no 
 less than that of your comrades. A braver act than 
 that which you performed was never done. I shake 
 hands with you, and congratulate you in the name 
 of the whole regiment." And, suiting the action to 
 the words, Colonel Tritton stepped forward and 
 shook the boys warmly by the hand, amid a great 
 cheer upon the part of the whole regiment. Then 
 he held up his hand for silence again. " Bugler, 
 sound the assembly ; fall in, my lads, or we shall 
 be late. Come in here, boys ; you can get some- 
 thing to eat, and tell us in a few words how you 
 were saved, for, even now that 1 see you, it seems 
 almost impossible."
 
 128 THE YOUNG fcUGLERS. 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 THE PASSAGE OF THE DUORO TALAVEBA. 
 
 VERY severe was the drill and discipline, and not 
 very abundant was the food, and there was a gen- 
 eral feeling of pleasure when, by the general con- 
 centration of the army at Coimbra, it was evident 
 that active operations were about to commence. On 
 the 5th of May nine thousand Portuguese, three 
 thousand Germans, and thirteen thousand British 
 troops were assembled. Sir Arthur was already 
 there, and upon the 6th General Beresford marched 
 with ten thousand men, and orders were issued for 
 the rest of the army to march out early the next 
 day. 
 
 The Norfolk Rangers were in high glee that 
 night, and many were the tales told by the old 
 soldiers of former engagements in which they had 
 taken part. Next morning at daybreak the tents 
 were struck, the baggage packed, and the wagons 
 loaded. The people of Coimbra came out in crowds 
 to see the troops march, and many were the bless- 
 ings and good wishes poured out as the long line 
 wound through the streets of the citv. 
 
 division was the last, and the rain was
 
 THE YOUNG BUGLERS. 139 
 
 pouring down with great force by the time they 
 started. The march, however, was not a very long 
 one, for Beresford's division, which was to operate 
 upon the Upper Duoro, had a long distance to 
 make, and it was necessary that all should be ready 
 for simultaneous action. For this purpose the army 
 halted the next day, and upon the 9th marched to 
 Aveiro on the River Yonga. Here a large flotilla 
 of boats was found, and the Norfolk Eangers with 
 two other regiments were ordered to embark at 
 once. The Portuguese fisherman entered heart and 
 soul into the business, and in perfect silence the 
 little flats were rowed up the lake of Ovar. 
 
 The soldiers were greatly crowded in the boats, 
 and were glad, indeed, when just as morning dawned 
 they landed at the town of Ovar. 
 
 By this movement they were placed upon the 
 right flank of Francheschi, the general who com- 
 manded the advanced division of the French army. 
 Soon after they had landed the French were at- 
 tacked in front, and finding their flank turned, and 
 the whole British force, which they had believed to 
 be seven days' march away, in their front, they fell 
 back hastily. 
 
 To their great disappointment, the Rangers took 
 no share in this the first skirmish of the war. But 
 Hill's orders were not to press on the enemy's rear. 
 Three days more of marching and skirmishing 
 brought them close to the Duoro on the evening of 
 the llth. The enemy crossed that evening and 
 destroyed the bridge, and during the night the
 
 130 THE YOUNG BUGLERS. 
 
 British troops were all brought up and massed be- 
 hind a hill called the Serra. This hill stood upon a 
 sharp elbow which the river makes just above the 
 town of Oporto, and the British were here com- 
 pletely hidden from Marshal Soult, who had no 
 idea that they were so close at hand. Indeed, 
 knowing that the bridge was broken and that all 
 the boats had been carefully taken over to that 
 side of the river, the marshal dreamed not that 
 Sir Arthur would attempt to cross, but imagined 
 that he would take boats lower down near the 
 mouth of the river and there endeavor to cross. 
 To prevent such an attempt Soult had massed his 
 army below Oporto. 
 
 The troops were ordered to pile arms, and eat 
 their breakfast, but to keep in position. " I won- 
 der how we are to cross the river, Tom?" Peter 
 said. " It is three hundred yards across, with a rapid 
 current ; no man in the world could swim that and 
 carry his musket and ammunition across." 
 
 " I expect Sir Arthur is reconnoitering, Peter ; I 
 saw him go up the hill to that convent there ; he 
 must be able to see from there right over Oporto." 
 
 An hour passed, and then two or three officers 
 were seen coming down from the hill ; one went up 
 to General Hill, who happened at the moment to be 
 talking to Colonel Tritton. " You are to prepare 
 to cross, sir ; Colonel Waters has discovered a small 
 boat brought across by a Portuguese in the night. 
 They are going to cross to that great convent you 
 see upon the other side. They will bring back
 
 THE YOUNG BUGLERS. 131 
 
 boats with them, and you will cross at once, take 
 possession of the convent, and hold it against any 
 force that may be brought against you until rein- 
 forcements arrive." 
 
 Very quickly were the orders passed, and with a 
 smile of satisfaction the men took their arms and 
 fell in. They were moved near the river, and kept 
 under shelter of some houses. 
 
 " Keep near me," Colonel Tritton said to Tom 
 and Peter ; " I may want you to carry messages ; 
 there will be no sounding of bugles to-day." 
 
 Keeping under the shade of some trees so that 
 they could command a view of the river without 
 being seen from the opposite side, Colonel Tritton 
 with two of his officers and his two buglers watched 
 what was going on. A few paces ahead of them 
 were Generals Paget and Hill, like themselves, 
 watching the daring experiment. Behind, under 
 shelter of the houses, were the troops in dense 
 masses. The Rangers, as the first regiment in 
 General Hill's division, were in front, and would 
 naturally be the first to cross. It was a most anx- 
 ious moment, as Colonel Waters and two Portu- 
 guese pushed the tiny boat from shore and pulled 
 across stream. The bulk of the Serra Hill hid the 
 river at this point, and even the convent opposite, 
 from the sight of the French army formed up below 
 the town, but there were no doubt stragglers all 
 over the city, and the whole baggage of the French 
 army was in retreat by the road to Yalarga which 
 ran at a short distance behind the convent.
 
 132 THE YOUNG BUGLERS. 
 
 Most anxiously their eyes were strained upon the 
 opposite bank, from which they expected to see the 
 flash of musketry, as the little boat neared the con- 
 vent. All, however, was as still as death. Behind 
 them they heard a rumble, and looking round saw 
 eighteen guns on their way up the hill. From this 
 eminence they could command the ground around 
 the Seminary, as the convent across the water was 
 called, and thus afford some aid to the troops as 
 they crossed. 
 
 There was a murmur of satisfaction as the boat 
 neared the opposite shore, and after lying still for 
 a moment to reconnoiter the convent, pulled boldly 
 up to the landing-place, where its occupants disem- 
 barked and entered the Seminary. Their absence 
 was not long. In a few minutes they reappeared 
 with eight or ten men, and then at once entered 
 and cast off three large boats moored along-side. 
 
 o o 
 
 The boys could hardly repress a cheer as they 
 saw them fairly under wa} r . An officer now left 
 the side of the general, and came to Colonel Tritton. 
 " You will get your first company in readiness to 
 embark, sir ; do not let them show themselves until 
 the last moment." 
 
 Colonel Tritton joined his men. " Captain Man- 
 ley, take your company forward; when the first 
 boat touches the shore embark. Let there be no 
 no noise or confusion." 
 
 " God bless you, Peter," Tom said, as they sepa- 
 rated ; " your company won't be many minutes after 
 us ;" for the bugler of the first company was ill, 
 and Tom was ordered to take his place.
 
 THE YOUNG BUGLERS. 
 
 As the boat touched the shore Captain Manley 
 ordered the leading files of his company to come 
 from under cover and take their place in the boat. 
 Twenty-four men entered, and when the other boats 
 were also full Captain Manley took his place, 
 followed by his bugler, and the boats pushed off 
 again. 
 
 There was a dead silence in the boat, broken only 
 by the sound of the oars as the Portuguese tugged 
 manfully at them, each oar being double-banked by 
 a soldier. The rest sat with their muskets in their 
 hands, their pouches open ready for use, and their 
 eyes fixed upon the shore. All was quiet, and with 
 a sigh of relief, and a hearty hurrah muttered under 
 their breath, the men leaped from the boat and ran 
 up to the Seminary. 
 
 It was a large building with a flat roof, and the 
 inclosure around it was surrounded by a high wall 
 which swept round to the water's edge on either 
 side. The only entrance was through a stout gate 
 studded with iron. This was already closed and 
 i tarred ; the captain at once distributed his men at 
 the upper windows of the Seminary, with orders not 
 to show themselves until the alarm was given. 
 
 They had scarcely taken their places when they 
 were joined by the occupants of the second boat, 
 while those of the third, in which General Paget 
 himself crossed, were but a minute or two later. 
 Just as they touched the shore, however, there was 
 a sudden shout heard ; this was followed by others, 
 and in five minutes a wild hubbub was heard in the
 
 134 THE YOUNG BUGLERS. 
 
 town. Drums beat to arms, and it was evident that 
 the enemy were at last awake to the fact that the 
 British had effected a lodgment upon their side of 
 the stream. 
 
 " We shall have it hot presently," Captain Manley 
 said to Tom. " They will be a quarter of an hour 
 before they can get round here, and we shall have 
 the three boats back by that time. The one we 
 came in is halfway across already." 
 
 Seven or eight minutes later a heavy column of 
 men was seen pouring out of the upper gate of the 
 town. As they got into the open ground they 
 threw out clouds of skirmishers, and pushed down 
 toward the convent. A heavy fire was at once 
 opened upon them by the English guns upon the 
 Serra Hill. There was no longer any need for con- 
 cealment. The soldiers in the convent took their 
 places at the windows, and as they did so could 
 hear the loud hurrahs of their comrades as they 
 crowded down to the bank upon the other side of 
 the river to await their turn to embark. Before 
 the enemy were within musket-shot, three boat-loads 
 more had been landed, and there were, therefore, 
 one hundred and fifty men now in the convent. 
 From the gates of the city the French artillery 
 came pouring out, and taking up a position upon an 
 eminence, opened fire upon the convent just as the 
 infantry had got within musket range. 
 
 So suddenly did the noise of the enemy's cannon- 
 ade, the crashing of the balls against the thick walls 
 of the Seminary, the rattle of the enemy's musketry,
 
 THE YOUNG BUGLERS. 135 
 
 and the louder roar of the muskets of the defenders, 
 blended on both sides with shouts and cheers, break 
 out, that for a minute or two Tom felt almost be- 
 wildered. He had no time, however, to think, for 
 an officer came up to Captain Manley. "The 
 general is up on the roof ; he wants a bugler sent 
 up to him." 
 
 Captain Manley nodded to Tom, who followed 
 the aid-de-camp on to the roof. Here he could see 
 all that was passing, and an exciting sight it was. 
 Crowds of French soldiers were, approaching the 
 wall, keeping up a tremendous musketry fire, while 
 behind them three batteries of field-guns were send- 
 ing their messengers of death. From every upper 
 window of the convent the answering flashes came 
 thick and fast, while overhead hummed the shot 
 from the British guns on the Serra Hill. Oporto 
 itself was in a state of uproar. Drums were beat- 
 ing, trumpets sounding, bells clanging, while from 
 the house-tops the population, men and women, 
 were waving their handkerchiefs to the English, 
 gesticulating and making all sorts of pantomimic 
 expressions of joy. 
 
 Looking at the river behind, Tom saw with pleas- 
 ure that some more boats had been obtained, and that 
 strong reinforcements would soon be across. The 
 whistling of the bullets and the hum of the round 
 shot were incessant, and Tom acknowledged to him- 
 self that he felt horribly uncomfortable much 
 more uncomfortable than he had an idea that he 
 should feel under fire. Had he been actively
 
 136 THE YOUNG BUGLERS. 
 
 engaged, he would have hardly experienced this 
 feeling ; but to stand impassive under a heavy lire 
 is trying to the nerves of the oldest soldier. He 
 was angry with himself that he was not more in- 
 different to the whizzing of the balls ; but the sensa- 
 tion of discomfort under fire is beyond the control 
 of the will, and it is no unusual thing to see a young 
 soldier who, later in the day, may display an almost 
 reckless courage, yet at first flinch whenever balls 
 hiss close by him, in spite of all his efforts to the 
 contrary. Tom was able, however, to control any 
 outward manifestation of his feelings, and took his 
 place a few paces behind General Paget, who was 
 standing with one of his officers by his side, watch- 
 ing the force which, momentarily increasing, was, 
 in spite of the British fire, making its way onward 
 toward the gate. 
 
 It was evident that the general considered the 
 danger to be pressing, as he once or twice looked 
 back to see how quickly the reinforcements were 
 crossing the river. The first time that he did so, 
 his eye fell on Tom. " Get behind those big chim- 
 neys, lad. There is no use in exposing yourself 
 unnecessarily." 
 
 Tom obeyed the order with alacrity, and, once in 
 shelter, was soon able to bring his nerves under 
 control, and to look round the corner of his shelter 
 without flinching when the bullets sang past. In 
 five minutes General Hill joined Paget on the roof, 
 and just as he did so the latter was severely 
 wounded and fell.
 
 THE YOUNG BUGLERS. 137 
 
 Tom ran forward to assist him, and, kneeling be- 
 side him, partially supported him until four men 
 came up and carried him below. The position of 
 the little garrison was now very precarious, the 
 artillery fire concentrated upon them was heavy, 
 and the French swarmed up to the wall, which they 
 in vain endeavored to climb. The English kept up 
 a tremendous fire upon them, cheering constantly 
 as fresh reinforcements arrived, or as the enemy 
 was momentarily repulsed. 
 
 Tom had now lost all nervousness, and was stand- 
 ing eagerly watching the fight, when a ball knocked 
 his shako off. The general happened to turn 
 round at the moment. " That was a narrow 
 escape," he said with a smile. " What is your 
 name, lad?" 
 
 " Scudamore, sir," Tom answered. 
 
 ' Scudamore Scudamore. Yes, I remember the 
 name now. You are one of the lads General Crau- 
 furd spoke to me about. I want to see you. Come 
 to me to-morrow with your brother. Go down 
 now and join your company ; I do not want you 
 here." 
 
 Tom gladly went down, for he longed to be doing 
 something. He soon found his company, and tak- 
 ing up a firelock of one of the men who had fallen, 
 was soon hard at work loading and firing into the 
 assailants. For an hour the strife continued. For- 
 tunately General Murray had found some boats 
 three miles higher up the stream, and had crossed, 
 thus menacing the enemy's line of retreat. Sud-
 
 138 THE YOUNG BUGLERS. 
 
 denly a great pealing of bells was heard in Oporto, 
 with shouting and cheering, and the house-tops 
 were covered with people waving their handker- 
 chiefs. The French were evacuating the town. 
 The inhabitants at once took across some large 
 barges to Villa Neva, a suburb lying across the 
 river, and just below the Serra Hill. Here Sher- 
 brooke began to cross. 
 
 It was now the time for the English to take the 
 offensive. There were now three battalions in the 
 Seminary, and as the French drew sullenly off to 
 join the column now flowing steadily out from 
 Oporto along the Yalonga road the gates were 
 thrown open, and the English passing out formed 
 outside the walls, and poured volley after volley 
 into the retreating foe. Had Murray fallen upon 
 their flank the disaster of the French would have 
 been complete; but this general feared that the 
 enemy would turn upon him, and destroy his divi- 
 sion before assistance could arrive, and he therefore 
 remained inactive, and allowed the long column of 
 fugitives to pass unmolested. 
 
 For the next eight days the English army fol- 
 lowed hotly in pursuit, and several skirmishes 
 occurred; but Soult effected a most masterly re- 
 treat, saving his army, when it seemed upon the brink 
 of destruction, by leaving his guns and baggage 
 behind him, and leading his men by paths over 
 mountains supposed to be impassable for any large 
 body of men. He lost altogether six thousand 
 men in this short campaign. This included three
 
 THE YOUNG BUGLERS. 139 
 
 thousand six hundred prisoners either captured in 
 action or left behind in the hospitals, and fourteen 
 hundred killed. The number of guns left behind 
 was fifty-eight. The English had only three hundred 
 killed and wounded. 
 
 Sir Arthur's plans for the invasion of Spain were 
 not yet complete, and he accordingly halted his 
 army to await supplies and reinforcements. During 
 this time the young buglers had no opportunity of 
 calling upon Major-General Hill. The transport 
 supplied by the Spanish government had failed 
 grossly, and the troops were badly fed at a time 
 when, taking long marches, they most required 
 support. The first day after they halted the boys 
 determined that they would, as soon as they were 
 off duty, call upon General Hill. While parade was 
 going on, however, they saw the general ride up to 
 Colonel Tritton, and enter into conversation with 
 him. The bugler, who was standing near, was 
 ordered to sound the call for the officers to assemble 
 in front ; and when they did so Colonel Tritton left 
 the general's side and spoke a few words with them. 
 There was a short conversation, and then the colo- 
 nel rejoined the general's side, and the officers 
 returned to their places. The colonel now rode for- 
 ward to the center of the line, and said in loud 
 tones, "Men, I have a piece of news to tell you 
 which I think that you will be glad to hear. Upon 
 my arrival at Lisbon I reported the gallant conduct 
 of Tom and Peter Scudamore in rescuing one of 
 their comrades when washed overboard in the Bay
 
 140 THE YOUNG BUGLERS. 
 
 of Biscay. Captain Merivale, of the Latona, also 
 reported it, and General Hill, when he heard the 
 circumstances, was also good enough to send home 
 a report recommending them for promotion. He 
 has received an answer from the commander-in- 
 chief, announcing that they are both granted com- 
 missions in this regiment, as a reward for their act of 
 distinguished gallantry. The regiment is dismissed." 
 As the men fell out they gave a loud and general 
 cheer, and Tom and Peter were surrounded by their 
 comrades, who shook them by the hand, and con- 
 gratulated them upon their promotion. The boys 
 were too much surprised and affected to speak, and 
 they had scarcely recovered from their bewilder- 
 ment when Carruthers came up to them, and led 
 them to the colonel. Here General Hill first, and 
 then all the officers, warmly shook hands with 
 them. The boys were much touched by the warmth 
 with which they were received, and were soon hur- 
 ried off to the tents of the officers. Several of the 
 ensigns were slight young men, and they insisted 
 upon rigging the boys out in uniform, and the boys 
 had the less scruple in accepting the kind offer inas- 
 much as they expected every day to enter Spain, 
 when the baggage would be cut down to the smallest 
 possible proportion, and the officers as well as the 
 men be obliged to leave almost everything behind 
 them. Sam was delighted at the promotion of his 
 friends, and asked to be appointed their servant, a 
 request which was at once acceded to. The regi- 
 ment had now been three months in Spain, and the
 
 THE YOUNG BUGLERS. 141 
 
 boys had continued to work hard at Spanish, de- 
 voting several hours a day to its study, and talking 
 it whenever they could find an opportunity no 
 difficult matter as Portugal was full of Spanish, who 
 had crossed the frontier to avoid the hated yoke of 
 the French. 
 
 The delay in invading Spain was caused partly 
 from want of transport, but more by the utter in- 
 capacity of the Spanish Junta or government, and 
 by the arrogance and foil} 7 of Cuesta, the Spanish 
 commander-in-chief, who was always proposing im- 
 practicable schemes to Wellington, and, inflated 
 Avith Spanish pride and obstinacy, believed that his 
 own worthless troops were fully a match for the 
 French, and was jealous in the highest degree of 
 the British general. 
 
 At last, on the 27th of June, the British army 
 advanced. Scarcely had they made a day's march, 
 however, when the utter faithlessness of the 
 Spaniards became manifest. The provisions and 
 transport promised were not forthcoming, and from 
 the very day of their advance the British were badly 
 fed, and indeed often not fed at all ; and so great 
 were their sufferings during the campaign suffer- 
 ings caused by the heartlessness of the people whom 
 they had come to deliver from a foreign yoke, that 
 the British soldiers came to cherish a deep and 
 bitter hatred against the Spanish ; and it was this 
 intense feeling of animosity which had no little to 
 do with the cruel excesses of the English soldiery 
 upon the capture of Burgos and San Sebastian.
 
 142 THE YOUNG BUGLERS. 
 
 After many delays from these causes, the British 
 army reached Oropesa upon the 20th of July, and 
 there formed a junction with Cuesta's army. Upon 
 the 22d the allied armies moved forward, and upon 
 the same day the Spaniards came in contact with 
 the French, and should have inflicted a severe blow 
 upon them, but the ignorance and timidity of the 
 Spanish generals enabled the enemy to draw off 
 and concentrate without loss. 
 
 The British troops had now been for many days 
 upon half rations, and Sir Arthur gave notice to 
 the Junta that unless his requisitions were com- 
 plied with, he should retire from Spain. Cuesta, 
 however, believing that the French were retreating 
 in haste, pushed his army across the river Alberche, 
 with the vain idea of defeating them, and entering 
 Madrid in triumph. Sir Arthur, seeing the fatal 
 consequences which would ensue, were the Span- 
 iards attacked alone, laid aside his previously 
 formed resolution, and put his army in motion 
 across the Alberche. The position of the allied 
 armies was now most dangerous far more so, 
 indeed, than the English general supposed. Badly 
 informed by the Spanish, he greatly underrated the 
 enemy's forces. Taking advantage of the delay 
 caused by the want of provisions and carriage, 
 Soult, Victor, and Ney were marching their forces 
 from various points, and concentrating to crush the 
 invading army. Upon the 26th the French met the 
 Spanish army. General Zayas, who commanded 
 the Spanish advance of four thousand infantry and
 
 THE YOUNG BUGLERS. 143 
 
 two thousand cavalry, scarcely offered any resist- 
 ance, his men broke and fled in disorder, and the 
 panic would have spread to the whole Spanish 
 army, had not General Albuquerque brought up 
 three thousand more cavalry and held the French 
 at bay, while Cuesta retreated in great disorder. 
 The Spanish loss by dispersion and flight was no 
 less than four thousand men, and the whole army 
 would have beon broken up, had not General 
 Sherbrooke advanced with his division, and placed 
 it between the French and the flying Spaniards. 
 
 The allies now recrossed the Alberche and took 
 up a position to cover Talavera. Sir Arthur chose 
 a strong defensive position, as it was evident that 
 the Spanish were worse than useless in the open 
 field. The Spaniards were placed with their right 
 resting upon Talavera, their left upon a mound 
 whereon a large field-redoubt was constructed. 
 Their front was covered by a convent, by ditches, 
 stone walls, breastworks, and felled trees ; and thus, 
 worthless as were the troops, they could scarcely 
 be driven from a position almost impregnable. 
 
 The line beyond the Spanish was continued by 
 Campbell's division, next to which came that of 
 Sherbrooke, its left extending to a steep hill. 
 Mackenzie and Donkin had not yet fallen back from 
 the Alberche. Hill was in rear. The British 
 troops, including the German legion, were nineteen 
 thousand strong, with thirty guns. The Spaniards 
 had thirty-three thousand men and seventy guns. 
 The Spanish contingent could, however, be in no
 
 144 THE YOUNG BUGLERS. 
 
 way relied upon, and were, indeed, never seriously 
 engaged. The real battle was between the nineteen 
 thousand British troops and fifty thousand French. 
 The French attacked the British outposts with great 
 impetuosity, and Mackenzie and Donkin were 
 driven in with a loss of four hundred men. The 
 latter took up his position with his brigade on the 
 hill, on Sherbrooke's left; the former took post 
 with Campbell's division, to which he belonged. 
 The French cavalry now galloped up toward the 
 portion of the line held by the Spanish, and dis- 
 charged their pistols at them, whereupon ten thou- 
 sand Spanish infantry and the whole of their 
 artillery broke and fled in wild confusion. For 
 miles they continued their flight, but in the even- 
 ing the Spanish cavalry were sent round in pursuit, 
 and drove some four thousand of these cowards 
 back to their lines. Seeing the wild confusion 
 which was raging on the allies' right, Victor re- 
 solved, although evening was at hand, to make a 
 sudden dash upon the hill upon their left, which, 
 held only by Donkin's brigade, was the key of the 
 position. The hill was very steep upon the front 
 or French side, while toward the rear it sloped 
 gradually. Ruffin's division was ordered to the 
 attack, followed by Yillette in support, while 
 Lapisse was ordered to engage the German legion, 
 which was on the left of Sherbrooke's division. 
 
 Hill's division was lying down behind the hill 
 when Ruffln's troops advanced to the attack. There 
 was no expectation of an attack that evening, and.
 
 THE YOUNG BUGLERS. 145 
 
 the woods and increasing darkness covered the move- 
 ments of the French troops. "Weary and hungry, 
 the English soldiers, disgusted at the inhuman 
 neglect of the Spaniards, and furious at their 
 cowardice, were chatting over the events of the day 
 and discussing the chances, by no means bright, of 
 the expected battle to-morrow. All that day they 
 had had no food whatever save a small portion of 
 grain, served out raw and unground. Tom and 
 Peter had been chatting with the officers, who were 
 grouped under a tree, when Sambo came up to 
 them and beckoned them aside. 
 
 " Look here, Massa Tom, here six eggs ; tree for 
 you, tree for Massa Peter." 
 
 " Thank you, Sam, that is capital ; but you know 
 you will get into a row if you get caught taking 
 things." 
 
 " Me no take 'em, massa. Old hen give them to 
 me." 
 
 Tom laughed. 
 
 " How was that, Sam ?" 
 
 " Well, massa, me saw her sitting on nest. Me 
 went up and said to her, ' Give me some eggs, old 
 girl.' She say ' Cluck.' I says, ' Cluck means yes, 
 I suppose ?' She say ' Cluck ' again. Clear 'nuff 
 that, so me take eggs, eat tree, bring six, young 
 massa." 
 
 " I am afraid, Sam," Tom said, laughing, " your 
 story would hardly save you from the triangles, if 
 you had been caught. However, as it is rude to 
 return a present, of course you cannot take them 
 back to the hen. I suppose they are raw ?"
 
 146 THE YOUNG BUGLERS. 
 
 " Yes, raassa ; no good make fire ; make hole bofe 
 ends, suck 'em." 
 
 u All right, Sam ; it is not the nicest way, but 
 under the circumstances, perhaps it is the best ; at 
 any rate, I am too hungry to wait till we can get a 
 fire lighted." 
 
 So saying, the boys sucked the raw eggs, and then 
 joined the men, when, just as they did so, first a 
 dropping rifle shot, and then a perfect roar of 
 musketry broke out upon the hill above them. It 
 needed no order to be given. The men fell into 
 their places and prepared to climb the hill and 
 assist Donkin's brigade, which was evidently unable 
 alone to resist the attack. Knapsacks were thrown 
 off, firelocks tightly grasped, and the regiment im- 
 patiently awaited orders to advance. None were 
 more impatient than the colonel, who after a few 
 minutes, seeing by the fire that the English were 
 falling back, and that the French had gained the 
 crest of the hill, waited no longer for orders, but 
 gave the word for the regiment to advance. They 
 were but halfway up the hill when General Hill 
 himself galloped down to meet them, and then turn- 
 ing led the way beside Colonel Tritton. 
 
 General Hill had had a narrow escape. Donkin 
 had repulsed the French who attacked him in front, 
 but his force was insufficient to guard the whole 
 crest of the hill. Consequently, the enemy had 
 come up round his flank, and were now in actual 
 possession of the crest. General Hill, ignorant ot 
 this, had ridden with his brigade-major right into
 
 THE YOUNG BUGLERS. 147 
 
 the midst of the French before he found out his 
 mistake. His brigade-major, Fordyce, was killed, 
 his own horse wounded, and his bridle seized by a 
 French grenadier. He had. however, broken away, 
 and had ridden off under a storm of bullets. 
 
 With a cheer the JSTorfolk Rangers followed their 
 gallant leader. They reached the crest, poured a 
 tremendous volley into the enemy, and charged with 
 the bayonet. The French, of whom but a small 
 portion had as yet gained the crest, were unable to 
 resist the impetuous onslaught, and at once gave 
 way. 
 
 The Rangers were now joined by the Forty-eighth 
 and the Twenty-ninth, so that these, with Donkin's 
 brigade, formed a strong body of troops. The 
 French, who had fallen back, now united with their 
 main body, and the attack was renewed with all the 
 force of Ruffin's division. The heavy mass pressed 
 upward, in spite of the destructive fire of the 
 British, and were within twenty yards of the crest, 
 when, with a hearty cheer, the English troops 
 rushed upon them with the bayonet, and the French 
 again fell back, broken and disheartened. 
 
 This ended the fighting on the 27th of July. 
 Long lines of bivouac fires soon blazed upon either 
 side. The wounded were carried down the hill to 
 the field-hospital, which had been erected under its 
 cover, and the men, eating their scanty supper, 
 wrapped themselves in their greatcoats, and were 
 soon asleep. The officers chatted for a short time 
 longer, but as all were tired, and the next day was
 
 148 THE YOUNG BUGLERS. 
 
 sure to be a severe one, they too soon lay down by 
 their fire. 
 
 When morning broke it was seen that the enemy 
 had massed a large force of artillery upon a hill just 
 opposite to the one held by the English. Soon 
 afterward Ruffin's division, as before supported by 
 Villette, advanced to the attack, covered by the 
 tremendous fire from his artillery. The British had 
 no adequate force of artillery to reply to the iron 
 storm, and the balls swept through their lines, 
 mowing down their ranks, and causing great loss. 
 The regiments in reserve lay down to avoid the iron 
 shower, while the Rangers and Forty-eighth pre- 
 pared to resist the French when they came within 
 fighting distance. 
 
 As their men approached the summit of the hill, 
 the French artillery was obliged to cease playing 
 in that direction, and turned its attention to the 
 British center, while a fierce musketry contest took 
 place between the French and Hill and Donkin's 
 men. 
 
 The ground was rough, and the troops on both 
 sides, broken up into small bodies, fought desper- 
 ately. General Hill was wounded, and the British 
 troops fell fast. The French, however, suffered 
 even more, and, as Hill brought up his reserve, the 
 English gained ground foot by foot, until they drove 
 them again down the steep side of the hill. As the 
 French retired their artillery once more opened fire 
 to cover their retreat. 
 
 A pause now ensued ; the French in this brief
 
 THE YOUNG BUGLERS. 149 
 
 contest had lost fourteen hundred men, and the 
 British had suffered severely. The French then 
 held a council of war, and determined to attack 
 along the whole line in force. Hours passed away ; 
 the English munched their corn, smoked their pipes, 
 and watched the enemy scattered over the plain. 
 The weather was very hot, and the men of both 
 sides went down to a little stream which divided 
 their positions, drank, and filled their water bottles 
 in perfect amity. Some of the officers who spoke 
 French conversed with the French officers, ex- 
 changed cigars for brandy, and joked and laughed 
 as if they had been the best of friends. 
 
 At one o'clock the French drums were heard to 
 beat, and the men were soon formed in order. Tom 
 and Peter stood with a group of officers on the brow 
 of the hill. Nothing could be finer than the sight 
 Far away the view stretched over the country, 
 thickly wooded, and with chateaus and farmhouses 
 scattered here and there. Through the trees the 
 dense masses of the French could be seen, as they 
 moved in columns toward the positions from which 
 they were to attack. Upon an eminence, nearly 
 opposite to their position, the boys could see a long 
 line of the French artillery. Far away, to the 
 right, rose the churches of Talavera, while behind 
 the hill were the British and Spanish cavalry, ready 
 to charge should the French endeavor to turn the 
 British left by pushing round its foot. Fifty paces 
 from the officers of the Norfolk Rangers sat Sir 
 Arthur Wellesley on horseback, watching atten-
 
 150 THE YOUNG BUGLERS. 
 
 tively through a fieldglass the movements of the 
 enemy, and at a short distance behind him were his 
 staff. The British troops were standing in easy 
 order, a little behind the crest of the hill, so as to 
 be sheltered from the artillery fire with which the 
 French were sure to cover the advance of their 
 column of attack. 
 
 " This is a grand sight, Peter," Tom said, " but I 
 wish they would begin ; it makes one fidgety wait- 
 ing for it." 
 
 Scarcely had Tom spoken when, as if in answer 
 to his wish, a series of jets of white smoke puffed 
 out from the opposite hill, and two or three seconds 
 later came the thunder of eighty guns, and the 
 whizzing sound of as many balls. Instinctively the 
 group drew back a pace, but it was not upon them 
 that this tremendous fire was opened. It was 
 directed against the right of the British line, and 
 almost at the same moment a cloud of skirmishers 
 appeared among the trees, followed by the dark 
 columns of Sebastiani's division. 
 
 Upon these the English guns at once opened fire ; 
 but rushing forward with their usual impetuosity, 
 they cleared away the obstacles which had been 
 raised across the British front, and charged with 
 fury against the British position. Campbell's divi- 
 sion, however, assisted by Mackenzie's brigade and 
 two Spanish battalions, stood firm, and driving 
 back the skirmishers, advanced in line, cheering 
 loudly. The head of the French column withered 
 away under their tremendous fire, and, pushing for-
 
 THE YOUNG BUGLERS. 151 
 
 ward, they overlapped it, and drove them back 
 with terrible loss, capturing ten guns. Then Camp- 
 bell prudently recalled his men to their first posi- 
 tion, and the British artillery, which had neces- 
 sarily been silent while friend and foe were mingled 
 together, opened furiously upon the French as they 
 tried to re-form upon their supports. A Spanish 
 cavalry regiment dashed down upon their flank, 
 and they retired again in great disorder. 
 
 Every incident of the fight could be seen from 
 the British position on the hill, and the troops 
 almost held their breath with excitement as the 
 British lines clashed against the head of the French 
 column, and a loud shout of triumph burst out 
 spontaneously as the French broke and fled. 
 
 But it was now the turn of the left. Already 
 Villette's division, preceded by the Grenadiers and 
 supported by Ruffin's division, was advancing, and 
 the British cavalry were ordered to charge them. 
 The ground was, however, quite unfit for cavalry. 
 Colonel Arentschild, a very experienced officer, who 
 commanded the German Hussars, drew up his regi- 
 ment at the edge of a deep cleft which crossed their 
 front, and refused to take his men to certain de- 
 struction. The Twenty-third Dragoons, however, 
 dashed into the ravine. Men and horses rolled over 
 in all directions ; still, they got across, and charging 
 furiously between the French infantry regiments, 
 which poured in a terrible fire, fell upon a brigade 
 of Chasseurs in their rear. Yictor sent up his 
 Polish lancers and "Westphalian light horse to the
 
 152 THE YOUNG BUGLERS. 
 
 assistance of the Chasseurs, who already outnum- 
 bered the Twenty-third, and this gallant regiment 
 was completely broken, the survivors escaping to 
 the shelter of Bassecourt's Spanish division, which 
 lay beyond the hill, having lost two hundred and 
 fifty-seven men and officers. 
 
 Tom and Peter did not see this disastrous affair, 
 for on the approach of the enemy's column they 
 fell into their places in the ranks. It was, however, 
 in vain that the French tried to gain the crest of 
 the hill, their efforts at this point being indeed far 
 more feeble than they had been either in the morn- 
 ing or upon the previous night. It was in the 
 center that their great effort was made. Here 
 Lapisse threw his division against that of Sher- 
 brooke, and, covered by his own artillery and by 
 the guns upon the hill, charged right up to the 
 position. The British, however, repulsed them, 
 and the Guards, carried away by the excitement of 
 the moment, followed them with reckless ardor. 
 The French reserves of infantry and cavalry came 
 up, the artilleiy plied the British with shot and 
 shell, the fugitives rallied and again came to the 
 attack, and the Guards fell back in confusion. The 
 Germans next to them, severely pressed, began to 
 waver, and for a time it seemed that the British, 
 victorious upon both flanks, were yet to lose the 
 battle by being broken in the center. 
 
 Now, however, the Forty-eighth, which Sir 
 Arthur had ordered down from the hill when he 
 saw the rash advance of the Guards, was seen
 
 THE YOUNG BUGLERS. 153 
 
 advancing in line through the disordered masses. 
 Wheeling back, it allowed the retreating regiments 
 to pass through it, and then again formed and fell 
 upon the flank of the victorious French column. 
 The French paused in their advance, the Guards 
 and Germans rallied and came back again to the 
 fight, the shots of the British guns plowed lines in 
 the column, the French wavered, and, as the British 
 light cavalry trotted up with the intention of 
 charging them, fell back, and drew off to their first 
 position amid shouts of victory along the whole 
 length of the British line. 
 
 Thus the battle ceased, each party occupying the 
 ground it had held in the morning. The British 
 loss in killed, wounded, and missing, in the two 
 days' fighting, was sixty-two hundred ; that of the 
 French seventy-four hundred. Had the British 
 been in a condition to have sallied from their posi- 
 tion and pursued the retiring enemy, the victory 
 would have had far greater results ; but, exhausted 
 and half-starved the British were incapable of 
 following up their advantage. 
 
 The next morning at daybreak the French army 
 quitted its position, and, retiring across the Al- 
 berche, formed line of battle there, and awaited the 
 attack, should the English take the offensive. This 
 they were in no position to do, although in the course 
 of the day Craufurd had come up with the Forty- 
 third, Fifty-second, and Ninety-fifth Regiments. 
 These three regiments had heard of the first day's 
 fighting from the Spanish fugitives, and had
 
 154 THE YOUNG BUGLERS. 
 
 marched with all speed to the assistance of their 
 friends. They had, carrying their kit and ammuni- 
 tion, weighing from fifty to sixty pounds, actually 
 marched sixty-two miles in twenty-six hours in the 
 hottest season of the year, one of the greatest feats 
 recorded in military history. 
 
 The Rangers had suifered heavily, and in the two 
 days' fighting had lost thirty-eight killed and one 
 hundred and nine wounded. Among the former 
 were two officers, while several others were 
 wounded. The Scudamores had, fortunately, both 
 escaped without a scratch. The inhumanity of the 
 Spaniards was now more markedly shown than 
 ever. Although both in Cuesta's army and in the 
 town of Talavera provisions were abundant, yet the 
 inhabitants carefully concealed them, while both 
 the wounded and fighting men of the British army 
 were in want. So great was the misery and indig- 
 nation of the soldiers at this shameful treatment, 
 from those for whom they were doing so much, 
 that they would willingly have attacked the Spanish 
 army and plundered the town ; and from this 
 period to the end of the war the British hated the 
 Spanish with a deep and bitter hatred. 
 
 "Wellesley now received news that Soult had 
 crossed the mountains, through the pass of Banos, 
 which had been left undefended by the Spanish, 
 and was marching upon his rear. Believing that 
 Soult had only thirteen thousand men with him 
 whereas in fact he had fifty thousand Sir Arthur 
 left the Spanish army at Talavera in charge of the
 
 THE YOUNG BUGLERS. 155 
 
 hospitals, with six thousand sick and wounded, and 
 retraced his steps, with the intention of giving 
 battle to this new enemy. 
 
 Upon the 3d, however, he learned the real 
 strength of Soult's army, and upon the same day 
 heard that General Cuesta had basely retreated 
 from Talavera, without having provided any trans- 
 port whatever, according to his promise, for the 
 British sick and wounded. All of these who had 
 strength to crawl rejoined the British army, but 
 fifteen hundred, who were unable to walk, were left 
 behind, and fell into the hands of the French, by 
 whom they were treated with far greater kindness 
 and attention than they had been by the Spanish. 
 Upon the 4th Cuesta joined Sir Arthur, and at six 
 o'clock next morning the only possible course for 
 safety was adopted. Victor was advancing from 
 Talavera, Soult was hurrying from Placentia to cut 
 off the retreat of the British, and accordingly Sir 
 Arthur fell back upon Arzobispo, on the Tagus. 
 
 The artillery, the baggage and wounded first 
 crossed the bridge, and at two o'clock the entire 
 army was across. So great was the hunger of the 
 men that, a herd of swine happening to be seen 
 close to the line of march, the soldiers ran upon 
 them, shot and bayoneted them, and devoured them 
 raw. Taking up a strong position, guarding the 
 bridges of the Tagus, the British army remained quiet 
 until the end of August. During this time they be- 
 came so weakened by starvation that they could 
 scarcely walk ; a great portion of the cavalry horses
 
 156 THE YOUNG BUGLERS. 
 
 and nearly all the baggage animals died of hunger, 
 and at last Sir Arthur, finding that no remonstrances 
 availed with the Junta, fell back again to the Por- 
 tuguese frontier by slow marches, for the army was 
 so utterly enfeebled that it resembled a vast body 
 of invalids, rather than an army of unbeaten sol- 
 diers.
 
 THE YOUNG BUGLERS. 157 
 
 CHAPTER Yin. 
 
 A PAUSE IN OPERATIONS. 
 
 TALAVEEA was fought in July, 1809, and for four 
 months longer Sir Arthur Wellesley kept his troops 
 on the Spanish frontier, where his presence served 
 as a check against any invasion, even by a very for- 
 midable army, of Portugal. After the utter bad faith 
 and cowardice shown by the Spanish the great com- 
 mander was determined never again to trust in their 
 promises, or to undertake any movement dependent 
 for success upon their co-operation. The Junta then 
 declared that the Spaniards would alone and unaided 
 sweep the French beyond the Pyrenees, and a 
 Spanish army of forty-five thousand infantry, seven 
 thousand cavalry and sixty guns advanced in Novem- 
 ber against Madrid. It was met by a French army 
 of twenty-four thousand infantry, five thousand 
 cavalry and fifty guns. The battle began at eleven 
 in the morning, and by three the French, with a 
 loss of only seventeen hundred killed and wounded, 
 had utterly routed the Spanish, with a loss of five 
 thousand killed and wounded, forty-five guns, and 
 twenty-six thousand prisoners ! After this signal 
 and disgraceful defeat Lord Wellington for he had
 
 158 THE YOUNG BUGLERS. 
 
 now been raised to the peerage felt that nothing 
 whatever could be done at present in Spain, and so 
 fell back into Portugal, where for many months he 
 occupied himself in preparing to meet the storm 
 which would, he knew, fall ere long upon that 
 country. The Portuguese authorities were as in- 
 capable, as untrustworthy, and as intractable as 
 were those of Spain ; but here, happily, Lord "Wel- 
 lington had more power. England was paying 
 large subsidies toward keeping up the Portuguese 
 army, which was commanded by Lord Beresford, 
 having under him many British officers. The Por- 
 tuguese troops were hardy, obedient, and far braver 
 than the Spaniards ; but difficulties often arose in 
 keeping the army together, because the Portuguese 
 government, although England was paying the prin- 
 cipal expenses of the army, yet starved their soldiers, 
 and often kept them for months without pay. It 
 was only by the strongest remonstrances, and by 
 the oft-repeated threat that he would embark the 
 British troops, and abandon Portugal altogether, 
 unless these and other abuses were done away with, 
 that Lord Wellington succeeded in reducing this 
 incapable and insolent government to reason. 
 
 Keinforcements arrived but slowly from England, 
 for a considerable portion of the available troops of 
 England were frittered away in holding Cadiz and 
 in an expedition to Sicily. In these two places 
 some twenty-five thousand English troops were 
 wasted a force, which, had it been added to "Well- 
 ington's army, would have enabled him to take the
 
 THE YOUNG BUGLERS. 159 
 
 field against the French, instead of being forced to 
 remain in Portugal for upward of a year without 
 discharging a single shot against the enemy. Tom 
 and Peter Scudamore, however, were not destined 
 to remain inactive all these weary months. One 
 day in November, just before the army fell back 
 from the Spanish frontier, General Hill was dining 
 at mess with the regiment ; for, rough as was the 
 accommodation, the officers had succeeded in estab- 
 lishing a general mess. The conversation turned 
 ubon the difficulty of discovering what force the 
 various French generals had at their disposal, the 
 reports received by the commander-in -chief being 
 often ridiculously incorrect. There was also an 
 immense difficulty in communicating with the 
 guerrilla chiefs, who, almost always beaten when 
 they came to blows with any considerable bodies of 
 the French, yet managed to harass them terribly by 
 cutting off convoys, falling upon small parties, and 
 attacking outposts and bands of foragers. Knowing 
 every mountain pass and road, these men could, if 
 they would, keep Lord Wellington informed of 
 every considerable movement of the enemy, and 
 might in return receive instruction for acting, when 
 required, in concert before the communication of 
 an advancing army, or might create a diversion by 
 uniting their bands, and threatening some important 
 post. 
 
 The next day the boys went to Colonel Tritton's 
 quarters, and, referring to the conversation of the 
 day before, said that they were willing to carry
 
 160 THE YOUNG BUGLERS. 
 
 any messages that the general might require sent, 
 and to obtain any information wanted. 
 
 " Nonsense, boys, you would be hung as spies be- 
 fore you had been gone a week." 
 
 " I don't think so, sir," Tom said ; " we have had 
 very little to do during the six months we have been 
 out here except to learn the language of the country, 
 and I think now we could pass very well as Spanish 
 boys. Besides, who would suspect boys ? We are 
 quite ready to chance detection if we can be allowed 
 to go." 
 
 " I don't like it, boys ; you are too young. Well, 
 if not too young," he said, in answer to a movement 
 of Tom's to speak, " we all like you too well to run 
 the risk of hearing you have been hung like a couple 
 of young puppies." 
 
 " You are very kind, colonel ; but you know you 
 promised to give us a chance if you could, and hav- 
 ing a chance of course means having extra danger ; 
 but I really don't think that there would be any 
 great danger in it." 
 
 " Well, boys," Colonel Tritton said, after a few 
 moments' thought, " I do not feel justified in refus- 
 ing your application, and will mention it to General 
 Hill. There are very few officers in the army 
 who speak Spanish fluently, and you being boys 
 would, as you say, avert suspicion. But I tell you 
 fairly that I hope General Hill will at once refuse 
 to entertain the idea." 
 
 " Thank you, sir," the boys said. " Of course that 
 is all we could ask you to do."
 
 THE YOUNG BUGLERS. 161 
 
 The next day, after parade was over, Colonel 
 Tritton walked on to General Hill's quarters at a 
 sort of half farmhouse, half country seat, a short 
 distance from the village, round which the Rangers 
 were encamped. As he came up to the house Gen- 
 eral Hill came out from his door talking to a Span- 
 ish officer, who had the day before brought some 
 dispatches from one of the Spanish generals to 
 Lord Wellington. 
 
 Colonel Tritton joined them, and they stood talk- 
 ing together upon the state of affairs in Spain and 
 of the advance of the Spanish army on Madrid, 
 which was then just taking place. As they did so 
 two very ragged, unkempt Spanish boys, shoeless 
 and wretched-looking, limped up and began to beg. 
 General Hill shook his head, and the Spaniard 
 impatiently motioned them away. 
 
 " Por Dios" one whined ; " give us something ; 
 we are starving. The French have burned down 
 our houses and killed our fathers and mothers we 
 are starving. ' Por Vamor de Dios !' " 
 
 " What's the poor little beggar saying ?" General 
 Hill asked the Spaniard. 
 
 "The usual story house burned, father and 
 mother killed, starving. I dare say it's all a lie." 
 
 " Where did you live ?" he asked in Spanish. 
 
 " In the village of Oros, near Valencia." 
 
 "And how did you come here?" 
 
 "The French burned the village because the 
 guerrillas had killed a party of theirs in it, and they 
 killed all the people, and then carried off the mules
 
 162 THE YOUNG BUGLERS. 
 
 and horses, and took us to drive some of them. 
 That was four months ago. We had to drive till 
 the other day at Tamanes, when our men beat the 
 French ; our mules were taken, and, as they did not 
 want us as drivers, we had nothing to do but to come 
 on in hopes that the kind English would give us 
 food." 
 
 The Spanish officer translated what the boy said, 
 and General Hill remarked : " Yes, that was a bril- 
 liant affair of the Duke del Pasque's. Here," he 
 called to an orderly, " give these boys some bread. 
 I will see what can be done for them afterward. I 
 am afraid nothing. Poor little wretches ! their story 
 is a very common one." 
 
 The boys received the bread with a great show of 
 thankfulness, and, sitting down by the roadside, 
 began to munch it with great appetite. The Span- 
 ish officer now mounted his horse and rode off, while 
 General Hill and Colonel Tritton remained standing 
 where he had left them. Colonel Tritton then told 
 General Hill of the Scudamores' request to be 
 allowed to penetrate into Spain as spies or with 
 dispatches. 
 
 " The young pickles !" General Hill laughed. 
 " "What will they be wanting to do next ? Pooh, 
 pooh! it would be out of the question." 
 
 " i believe they do really speak Spanish exceed- 
 ingly well," Colonel Tritton said. " They generally 
 act as interpreters for us, and none of the officers 
 speak Spanish with anything like the same fluency." 
 
 "As far as the language goes they might get on,
 
 THE YOUNG BUGLERS. 163 
 
 perhaps," General Hill said; "but they look as 
 thorough English boys as you could see. They 
 would be detected at once." 
 
 "Yes," Colonel Tritton said, "they are both 
 thorough English boys; I should know them any- 
 where. What a contrast to the miserable, limping, 
 hang-dog lads there ! Poor little chaps ! Why, 
 upon my word, I believe the fellows are laughing." 
 
 General Hill looked sharply at them, and as he 
 looked from one to the other, he said sarcastically, 
 " Poor little chaps indeed ! You said- that very 
 naturally, Tritton. It really does you credit as an 
 actor. 
 
 Colonel Tritton looked at the general with an ex- 
 pression of blank astonishment. 
 
 " What," said the general, " were you really taken 
 in too." 
 
 " Taken in ?" repeated Colonel Tritton vaguely. 
 
 " Don't you see, Tritton, those poor little chaps 
 y ou are pitying so are those two young scamps we 
 were talking about." 
 
 Colonel Tritton stared in astonishment at the 
 boys, and then, as he recognized them, he joined 
 the general in a shout of laughter, while the two 
 boys stood up and saluted with an attempt at 
 gravity which was only partially successful, so 
 amused were they at the astonishment of their 
 colonel, as well as pleased at the success of their 
 disguise. 
 
 Just at this moment there was a sound of tramp- 
 ing horses, and directly afterward an officer rode
 
 164 THE YOUNG BUGLERS. 
 
 up, followed by four or five others, and at a short 
 distance in the rear by an escort of orderlies. The 
 boys needed not the exclamation of General Hill 
 " Here is Wellington." They knew who the rider 
 was, who checked his horse as he reached the gate, 
 for they had often seen him as he rode through the 
 camp. A slight man, very careful and neat in his 
 dress, with an aquiline nose and piercing eyes. 
 Peter was rising as he drew up his horse, when 
 Tom said, " Don't get up, Peter ; go on with your 
 bread. It would look absurd for us to salute now, 
 and would draw attention to us," he went on, as 
 Lord Wellington dismounted, threw the bridle off 
 his horse to an orderly, and saying to General Hill, 
 " I wanted to see you ; come in." Colonel Tritton 
 went into the house, followed by the two officers. 
 " We'll stop here till they come out again, Peter. 
 Perhaps General Hill may speak to him about us. 
 At any rate, we will keep up our disguise till 
 they've gone. Let us play at odd and even." It 
 was a game of which Spanish boys are very fond, 
 and they may be seen in any of the Spanish towns 
 sitting by the houses on doorsteps in the sun play- 
 ing. It was half an hour before the general came 
 out again. He was about to mount his horse, when 
 he glanced at the boys, who were sitting against 
 the wall a few paces off, seemingly absorbed in their 
 play, and paying no attention whatever to him. 
 Suddenly he changed his mind, dropped his rein, 
 and walked up to them. 
 
 " What are you playing for ?" he asked abruptly 
 in Spanish.
 
 THE YOUNG BUGLERS. 165 
 
 " Keals, senor," Tom said, looking up, but not 
 moving. 
 
 " You are poor ; how can you pay ?" asked the 
 general. 
 
 "Oh! we don't pay." Tom laughed. "We 
 keep count. I owe him twelve thousand now. I 
 will pay when I get rich. He can wait." And he 
 held out his closed hand again for Peter to guess 
 the number of stones it contained. 
 
 " Come inside," Lord Wellington said abruptly, 
 and, turning, led the way into the house again, fol- 
 lowed by General Hill, Colonel Tritton, and the 
 two boys. 
 
 " It is not often I change my mind," he said to 
 General Hill ; " but for once I do so now. When 
 you told me about these lads, I refused to employ 
 them on such dangerous service, even when you 
 told me of the courage and coolness which they ex- 
 hibited on the voyage. Now I have tried them my- 
 self, I see that they will do. If they could keep up 
 their disguise when I spoke to them suddenly, and 
 answer without hesitation or any excitement which 
 could have shown that they were not what they 
 pretended to be, they can do so with a French gen- 
 eral. I am no judge of the purity of their Spanish ; 
 but as you tell me they deceived a Spanish officer 
 just now, they will be able to pass with Frenchmen. 
 Now, lads," he went on, turning to them, " you 
 have thought over, of course, the risks you are going 
 to run, and are prepared, if detected, to be hung like 
 dogs." The boys bowed.
 
 166 THE YOUNG BUGLERS. 
 
 " You will receive detailed instructions through 
 Colonel Tritton, together with such dispatches as I 
 may wish sent. They will be written as small as 
 possible. You will not go for a week ; devote all 
 your time to studying the map. The largest size 
 we have shall be sent to your colonel this afternoon. 
 Of course you will be supplied with money, and for 
 anything you can think of likely to assist you, speak 
 to Colonel Tritton. You are beginning well, young 
 sirs. If you like, you ought to make a noise in the 
 world. Now, Hill, I must be off." 
 
 And the general left the room with the officers, 
 while the boys were stammering out their thanks. 
 
 " Where did you dress up, boys ?" Colonel Tritton 
 asked them after the general had ridden off. " You 
 did not come out from camp like this, I hope ?" 
 
 " No, colonel ; we changed in that little wood 
 there." 
 
 " What have you colored your skins with ?" 
 
 " We got some iodine from the doctor, sir, and 
 mixed it with water till it was just thick enough to 
 tinge our skin. It will wash pretty well off with 
 plenty of scrubbing, but we mean to use walnut 
 juice when we start ; it lasts much longer, and is a 
 better brown." 
 
 " I am not sure, boys, that you had not better 
 leave your faces alone, they and your hands are so 
 sunburned that you would pass well enough, though 
 you must dye your arms and legs. Fortunately, 
 your hair is pretty dark, for you can't well carry 
 dye. Think well over all these things, for your
 
 THE YOUNG BUGLERS. 16? 
 
 lives may depend on some trifle of this kind. I 
 shall see you at mess." 
 
 So saying, Colonel Tritton walked on, leaving the 
 boys to follow at their leisure. Just as they were 
 about to turn off to make for the wood they saw a 
 soldier coming along the road. 
 
 " That's Sam, if I am not mistaken, Peter; we 
 will have some fun with him. "We can trust him 
 to say nothing in the regiment about meeting us 
 like this." 
 
 The two boys accordingly sat down by a low 
 wall by the roadside, and as Sam came up talked 
 away to each other in Spanish. He passed without 
 paying any attention to them. After he had gone 
 a few yards Tom said in a deep loud voice, 
 " Sambo." The black halted suddenly, and turned 
 round. First he looked angrily at the boys, then 
 he went to the side of the road and looked over the 
 wall. Then with a very perplexed air he looked 
 up and down the road. 
 
 "Who dat have impudence to call dis colored 
 gentleman Sambo," he said to himself. " Some 
 fellow did, dat for sartin, not dose little Spanish 
 trash, dey not know Sam's name ; some rascal in 
 regiment ; he's hid somewhere. I pound him to 
 squash when I find him." 
 
 Muttering thus he turned to proceed on his way, 
 but before he had gone 'twenty yards he again 
 heard a deep shout, " Here you Sambo," 
 
 The black jumped as if he was shot. " My golly," 
 he exclaimed, and then walked back to the boys,
 
 168 THE YOUNG BUGLERS. 
 
 who were talking together, shook his head and 
 again looked over the wall. Then he stooped down 
 to the boys, and shook his fist in their faces, " You 
 little debils, you call Sambo, I pound you to squash." 
 The boys both leaped to their feet with an air of 
 intense surprise and alarm, and began to cry out in 
 Spanish. 
 
 " No, can't be you," Sam said, " dis chile must be 
 witched, no place for men to hide, sartin not dem 
 boys. Stone wall can't call Sambo all by self, 
 Sam's going out of mind. Oh ! Lor, dis bery bad 
 affair," and Sam sat down by the roadside with a 
 face of such perfect bewilderment and dismay that 
 the boys could stand it no longer, but went off to- 
 gether into a scream of laughter, which caused Sam 
 to jump to his feet again. "What you larf for, 
 what you larf for, you little rascals, you play trick, 
 eh ? you call Sambo, who taught you dat name ?" 
 and he seized the two boys and shook them furi- 
 ously. 
 
 " Oh ! Sam, Sam, you will kill us with laughing," 
 Tom got out at last. " Do leave go, man, or we 
 shall choke," and as Sam, astonished, loosed his 
 hold, the boys sat down and laughed till their sides 
 ached. 
 
 " Golly," exclaimed the negro, as he looked at 
 them, " dose boys again. "What on earth you do, 
 Massa Tom, Massa Peter, in dose ragged close, 
 what you dress up like two beggars for ? Lor ! 
 how you take in dis chile, me tink you little Span- 
 ish trash, sure enuff." It was some time before the
 
 THE YOUNG BUGLERS. 169 
 
 boys could compose themselves, and then Tom made 
 Sam sit close by his side. 
 
 " Look here, Sam, this isn't a joke, this is a serious 
 business, and before I tell you anything about it 
 you must promise to keep the secret strictly, as it 
 would do us a great deal of harm if it was known." 
 Sam declared at once that if they tore him to 
 pieces with wild horses he would say nothing. 
 Tom then explained the whole thing to him, and 
 Sam at once declared that he would go too. 
 
 " Quite impossible, Sam. You do not speak a 
 word of Spanish, and although at any of the sea- 
 port towns you could pass as a runaway sailor, 
 there could be no possible reason for your wander- 
 ing about the country with two Spanish boys." 
 
 Sam thought for some time. " Now dat bery 
 unlucky, Massa Tom, dat Sam play big drum. Big 
 drum fine music, but big drum not go well by self. 
 If Sam had played fiddle, Sam could go, but Sam. 
 couldn't go nowhow with big drum." 
 
 " I should think not, Sam, with the name of the 
 regiment painted on it. No, no, you must stay 
 behind. There won't be any fighting now till the 
 spring, and by that time we shall be back with the 
 regiment." 
 
 "But what you do without Sam? who black 
 massa's boots, who brush his clothes ?" 
 
 Tom laughed. " These clothes would fall all to 
 pieces, if they were brushed much, Sam, and at pres- 
 ent we have no boots to be blacked." 
 
 " Where you get dose clothes, Massa Tom ?" Sam
 
 170 THE YOUNG BUGLERS. 
 
 asked, examining with great disgust the rags the 
 boys had on. 
 
 " We bought some peasant's clothes about our 
 size, and the first beggar boys we saw we offered to 
 exchange. You should have seen their faces of as- 
 tonishment. When we got the clothes we made 
 them into a bundle, and took them to the bake- 
 house, and got the baker to put them into the oven 
 for a few hours to kill anything there might be in 
 them. Now, Sam, it is time for us to be going. It 
 will take us an hour's scrubbing to get the color off 
 us. Be sure you keep our secret."
 
 THE YOUNG BUGLERS. 171 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 WITH THE GUBKRILLAB. 
 
 IT was on a fine morning at the end of March 
 that a cortege of muleteers and mules left the little 
 town of Alonqua. It was now four months since 
 the Scudamores left the army, and in the interven- 
 ing time they had tramped through a large portion 
 of Spain. They had carried with them only a 
 dozen or so little dispatches done up in tiny rolls of 
 the length and about the thickness of a bodkin. 
 These were sewn inside the lining of their coats, in 
 the middle of the cloth where it was doubled in at 
 the seams, so that, even were the clothes to be 
 examined carefully and felt all over, the chances of 
 detection were slight indeed. They had each, on 
 starting, half a dozen pieces of Spanish gold coin 
 sewn between the thicknesses of leather of the soles 
 of each of their shoes, for they did not start in the 
 beggar clothes in which they had first disguised 
 themselves. Their clothes were, indeed, worn and 
 somewhat patched, but were of stout material, and 
 they wore shoes, but no stockings. They had, in- 
 deed, the appearance of Spanish boys of the peasant 
 class. The weather in the north of Spain is often
 
 173 THE YOUNG BUGLERS. 
 
 very cold in winter, and the boys felt that, with 
 rags and bare feet, they should suffer severely. All 
 that they had to say and do had been learned by 
 heart. The names and addresses of the agents of 
 the British government at every town had been 
 laboriously learned before starting, and, as Peter 
 said ruefully, it was worse than a dozen Greek 
 impositions. 
 
 At each place of any importance they would find 
 the person to whom they were instructed to apply, 
 would accost him with some password, and would 
 be put up by him while they remained there. 
 When they had gained the intelligence they re- 
 quired of the number of French troops in the 
 place and its neighborhood, a knowledge always 
 obtained by going round, counting the men on 
 parade, or, in the case of small villages, finding out 
 easily enough from a peasant the number quartered 
 there, they would write a report on the number, 
 the intentions as far as they could learn them, the 
 amount of food in store, and the sentiments of the 
 population, would inclose the dispatch in a goose- 
 quill and give it to their host, who was responsible 
 for forwarding it. 
 
 In a great number of cases, indeed, the man to 
 whom they were accredited was a muleteer. These 
 men hated the French with a hatred even more 
 deep and deadly than that of other Spaniards, for, 
 in addition to the national causes of hatred, their 
 mules were constantly being requisitioned or seized 
 by the troops, and they themselves forced to accom-
 
 THE YOUNG BUGLERS. 173 
 
 pany the army for long distances at a nominal rate 
 of pay for themselves and their animals. Then, 
 too, they were in close connection with the guer- 
 rillas, for whom they carried goods up into the 
 mountains from the towns, and when the chance 
 came would leave their animals in the mountains 
 and join in cutting off an enemy's convoy. They 
 acted as messengers and spies too, and took their 
 friends in the hills early news of intended move- 
 ments of the enemy. Many a day had the boys 
 traveled in the company of these muleteers, merry, 
 careless fellows, singing and talking to their mules, 
 apparently the best-natured of men, until something 
 would be said which would recall the hated foe, and 
 then their black eyes would flash, their fingers 
 clutch their knife-handles, and they would pour out 
 long strings of deep Spanish oaths. Great was the 
 surprise of these men on receiving the password 
 from two boys, but they never hesitated an instant 
 in taking them in, in giving them hospitality as 
 long as they remained, and in either accompanying 
 them to the next town, or handing them over to 
 the charge of some comrade going in that direction. 
 Not even to them did the Scudamores ever betray 
 that they were not what they were taken to be, 
 two Spanish boys employed by the English com- 
 mander as messengers. Often they were ques- 
 tioned how the English had come to intrust impor- 
 tant communications to two boys, and their reply 
 always was that their father and mother had fled 
 to Portugal from the French, and were living there
 
 174 THE YOUNG BUGLERS. 
 
 near the English lines, and that they had offered 
 their lives in case of their sons' treachery. 
 
 This system of hostages seemed probable enough 
 to their questioners, and if the boys' fare was 
 rather harder, and their treatment more uncere- 
 monious than it would have been had they said that 
 they were British officers in disguise, they ran far 
 less risk of detection from an accidental word or 
 sign. Indeed it would have been next to impossible 
 for them, had they desired it, to convince any one 
 of their identity. There was no fear now of their 
 accent betraying them. Since they had left the 
 army the}' had never, even when alone together, 
 spoken in English. They made the rule and kept 
 to it for two reasons, the one being that they found 
 that if they did not get into this habit of always 
 speaking Spanish, they might inadvertently address 
 each other in English, and thus betray themselves ; 
 the second, that they wanted to learn to speak 
 absolutely like natives. This they had in the four 
 months thoroughly learned to do. At first their 
 pronunciation and occasional mistakes excited curi- 
 osity when asked questions as to the part of Spain 
 from which they had come, but their constant com- 
 munication with their muleteer friends had quite 
 removed this, and for the last two months not a 
 single person had doubted that they were not only 
 Spanish, but that they came from the northern 
 provinces. 
 
 Hitherto they had journeyed principally between 
 large towns and over country held by the French,
 
 THE YOUNG BUGLERS. 175 
 
 but that part of their work was finished ; they had 
 accurately computed the number of the army with 
 which Massena was to advance shortly to besiege 
 Ciudad Kodrigo, and they had now to carry the dis- 
 patches to the guerrilla leaders. Hitherto they had 
 not in a single instance excited suspicion. Not a 
 Frenchman had asked them a question, and no 
 adventure of anything like an exciting nature had 
 taken place. They .were now, however, entering 
 into a country entirely different from that which 
 they had hitherto traversed. The northeast of 
 Spain is wild and mountainous, and offers immense 
 natural facilities for irregular warfare. Through 
 the various passes of the Pyrenees lead all the 
 roads from France, whether to Yittoria on the great 
 road to Madrid, or through Navarre to Catalonia. 
 Here and there fortified towns still held out against 
 the French, and the town of Gerona, in Catalonia, 
 had only fallen after a six months' regular siege, 
 and a desperate defense which fully rivals that of 
 Saragossa. 
 
 It is not a little singular that the Span- 
 iards, who in the open field were, with a few 
 remarkable exceptions, absolutely contemptible, yet 
 frequently defended towns with wonderful forti- 
 tude, courage, and desperation. It may, indeed, be 
 said that in every siege where the Spaniards were 
 commanded by brave and resolute chiefs they be- 
 haved admirably. This great range of hill country 
 was the stronghold of the guerrillas, and every con- 
 voy from France had to be protected by a large
 
 176 THE YOUNG BUGLERS. 
 
 force, and even then often suffered greatly from 
 the harassing attacks of their active enemies. 
 
 The bands of the guerrilla chiefs differed greatly 
 in strength, varying from merely ten or a dozen 
 men to three or four thousand, and indeed each 
 band varied continually. The men, when not 
 required, would scatter to their homes, cultivate 
 their little patches of ground, and throw do\vn the 
 spade and take up the rifle again when they heard 
 of a convoy to cut off, or an invading column to 
 beat back. The bands, too, would vary in propor- 
 tion to the renown of their chiefs. An energetic 
 man, who, at the head of a handful, had performed 
 some daring feats, would find himself a week after- 
 ward the leader of many hundreds, while a chief 
 who was slow and dilatory would find his band melt 
 away like snow in summer. 
 
 The character of the warfare depended much 
 upon the character of the French generals. A few 
 of these kept the troops under their command 
 sternly in hand, would permit no plundering, and 
 insisted upon their fair treatment of the Spaniards. 
 These in turn wanted nothing better than to remain 
 quietly in their homes, and the guerrilla bands would 
 melt away to nothing. Other generals, furious at 
 the savage nature of the warfare, and the incessant 
 toil and loss entailed upon their troops, allowed the 
 latter to do as they pleased, and burning houses and 
 dead bodies marked their course. Then the peas- 
 antry, now turned guerrillas, retaliated as savagely, 
 giving no quarter, sacrificing all prisoners, nn<!
 
 THE YOUNG BUGLERS. 177 
 
 putting the wounded to death, sometimes with 
 torture. On both sides horrible atrocities were 
 committed. 
 
 The guerrillas were armed partly with rifles and 
 carbines, partly with muskets landed on the coast 
 by the British government, who also, from time to 
 time, sent powder and money to assist them to con- 
 tinue their resistance to the French. Although 
 nowhere really formidable, yet, being scattered over 
 a great extent of country, these bands occupied very 
 large bodies of French troops, who would otherwise 
 have been disposable for general operations in the 
 field. The English commander-in-chief had, of 
 course, no shadow of authority over the guerrillas, 
 or, indeed, over any of the Spanish troops, and his 
 communication to them simply asked what arms 
 and ammunition they required, and begged them to 
 send him a list of the number of men they could 
 each throw on the French communications and lines 
 of retreat in case he should find himself in a position 
 to make a general advance against them. He also 
 recommended most strongly the bearers of the 
 dispatch to their care. It was to the chief known 
 as Nunez that they were now bound. The mule 
 train was nominally destined for Yittoria, to which 
 town the leader had got a pass, specifying the num- 
 ber of mules and the nature of the goods they 
 carried, from the French commandant at Alonqua, 
 for no one was allowed to take goods about the 
 country without a pass, in order to prevent supplies 
 being forwarded to the mountains. This pass, how-
 
 178 THE YOUNG BUGLERS. 
 
 ever, only mentioned twelve mules with four 
 drivers, and this was the number which started 
 from Alonqua. Another score of mules, however, 
 joined them at a short distance from the town 
 where a by-road turned off. Some of these had 
 gone out from the town unloaded, as if taken out to 
 graze, others had not entered the town, but had 
 come direct from the seacoast by by-paths with 
 powder, and had been awaiting the departure of 
 Garcias, the name of the leader of the party. 
 They had eight men with them, all armed to the 
 teeth. 
 
 " Is it all right, Garcias ?" 
 
 " All right," the leader said ; " they have sent out 
 their squadrons on the other road, so I think we are 
 safe for to-day." 
 
 "What boys have you got there with you ?" 
 
 "They have business with Nunez; letter from 
 the coast." 
 
 The cavalcade was now in motion again, and 
 wound gradually up into the hills. Presently they 
 came to a point where four roads met. A clump 
 of trees grew hard by, and the boys gave a start of 
 horror at seeing the bodies of six French soldiers 
 swinging from them. " Ay, that's Nunez's work, I 
 expect," Garcias said coolly. "There were three 
 of his men swinging there last week, so as a lesson 
 he has hung up six of the French. He is a rough 
 boy to play with is Nunez." 
 
 At sunset the party slept in a small farm, and at 
 daybreak continued their journey. They were now
 
 THE YOUNG BUGLERS. 179 
 
 in the heart of the mountains, and their path lay 
 sometimes up deep ravines, sometimes along rocky 
 ledges. At last, about midday, they entered a 
 valley in which stood a small village. " That's 
 Nunez's headquarters to-day," Garcias said ; " to- 
 morrow he may be no one knows where." 
 
 " But does he have to sally out by the wretched 
 road by which we have come ?" Tom asked. 
 
 " No, no," Garcias replied ; " he would not catch 
 much prey that way. There are three other ways 
 out of the valley. That winding path you see there 
 leads up to Santona. That road on the other side 
 leads out on to the plain, and thence to Vittoria ; 
 while the footpath over the brow opposite leads 
 right down into the wide valley through which the 
 main north road runs. So you see this is a handy 
 spot. From that brow we can see the convoys go- 
 ing to and from France, and can pour down upon 
 them if they are weak ; while, if a column is sent 
 in search of us, we can vanish away long before 
 they can catch us. Nunez does not use the direct 
 road over the brow for his attack, but follows the 
 Santona or Vittoria road for awhile, and then 
 makes a swoop round. He does not want to bring 
 the French up to this village, for his family and the 
 families of many of the men live here." 
 
 As they approached the village they found that 
 there was a good deal of bustle going on. Armed 
 men were coming out of the cottages, and gather, 
 ing in a group round a rough stone cross, which 
 stood in the center of a sort of green. " We are
 
 160 THE YOUNG BUGLERS. 
 
 just in time," Garcias said ; " Nunez is starting on 
 some expedition or other." 
 
 When they reached the spot there were nearly 
 two hundred men assembled. They greeted Garcias 
 with shouts of welcome as he arrived. " Ah, ha ! 
 Garcias, just in time. Our last skin of wine was 
 emptied last night ; we will bring some more up to- 
 morrow ; but if you had not come we should have 
 had to start thirsty, and that's unlucky besides being 
 unpleasant." 
 
 " Where is Nunez ?" Garcias asked. 
 
 " Here he comes," was the reply ; and the boys 
 turning saw a figure approaching, which by no 
 means answered to the expectation of the celebrated 
 guerrilla chief. He was small and almost hump- 
 bodied, but very broad. His head seemed too large 
 for his body, and a pair of fierce eyes gleamed out 
 from beneath his shaggy eyebrows. His mustache 
 was thin and bristly, and his mouth wide, but with 
 thin lips. The boys could understand the reputa- 
 tion for cruelty and mercilessness which attached 
 to this sinister-looking figure, but there was none of 
 the savage power which they had expected to see 
 in so celebrated a leader. 
 
 " Any news, Garcias ?" he asked shortly, as he 
 came up. 
 
 "None, captain, except that these boys have 
 brought some dispatches for you from the English 
 lord." 
 
 Nunez looked sharply at them, and held out his 
 hand without speaking. Tom gave him the little 
 quill.
 
 THE YOUNG BUGLERS. 181 
 
 The guerrilla opened it, read the contents, and, 
 saying briefly, " An answer to-morrow," strode on 
 to his men, and in a few minutes they were defiling 
 out at the end of the valley. 
 
 " That hardly seems a strong enough body to 
 attack a French convoy, Garcias," Tom remarked. 
 
 " No, it would not be, but there is only a part of 
 his band here ; the rest will join him at some place 
 agreed on perhaps ten miles from here. I believe 
 he has about a thousand men under his orders. 
 Now come along ; we shall be none the worse for 
 dinner," and, leaving his men to unload the mules, 
 he led the way into the little posada, or inn. 
 
 " Ah ! Mother Morena," he said to an old woman 
 who was crouching near a blazing wood fire, " warm- 
 ing yourself as usual ; it's well you've a good fire, 
 for you will be able to get us some dinner all the 
 more quickly. Twelve of us altogether., and all a* 
 hungry as wolves." 
 
 " Ah !" exclaimed the old woman crossly ; " it 
 seems as if I were never to have an hour's quiet, 
 just as all that roaring, greedy lot, with their 
 Mother Morena here and Mother Morena there, 
 and their grumbling at the olla, and their curses 
 and their quarrels are off, and I think I am going 
 to have a quiet afternoon, then you come in with 
 your twelve hungry wolves." 
 
 " Ah ! mother, but wolves don't pay, and we do, 
 you see." 
 
 The frugal supper over, the boys lay down on 
 the benches, and were soon asleep. The next day
 
 182 THE YOUNG BUGLERS. 
 
 passed slowly, for the band were not expected to 
 return until late at night perhaps not until the 
 next morning, as the pass where the attack would 
 be made was some fifteen miles off, and the convoy 
 might not pass there until late in the afternoon. 
 The boys soon made friends with some of the 
 women and children of the place, to whom they 
 told stories of the great cities of the plain, and of 
 the great water which washed the shores of Spain. 
 The greater portion of the Spanish peasantry are 
 incredibly ignorant, and very few of the inhabitants 
 of this village had ever gone beyond the mountains. 
 Walking about in the village, but apparently mix- 
 ing but very little in the games of the other chil- 
 dren, were two little girls, whose gay dress of rich 
 silk seemed strangely out of place in such a spot. 
 
 Tom asked one of the women who they were, and 
 she replied, with a toss of the head, " They are the 
 captain's children. The last time the band went 
 out they found among the baggage and brought up 
 here the dresses of the children of some fine lady, 
 and the captain kept them all as part of his share, 
 just as if there were no children in the village whom 
 it would become a great deal better than those 
 stuck-up little things. Not," she said, softening a 
 little, " that they were not nice enough before they 
 got these things ; but since they came their heads 
 have been quite turned by the finery, and they are 
 almost too grand to speak to their old play -fellows." 
 
 " Is their mother alive ?" 
 
 " No, poor thing, she was killed by the French
 
 THE YOUNG BUGLERS. 183 
 
 when the village she lived in was burned by them, 
 because some of them were found hung in the 
 neighborhood. The captain was away at the time, 
 and the children were out in the woods. When he 
 came back he found them crying by the side of 
 their mother's body, in the middle of the burning 
 village. So then he took to the mountains, and he 
 never spares a Frenchman who falls into his hands. 
 He has suffered, of course, but he brought it upon 
 himself, for he had a hand in hanging the French 
 soldiers, and now he is a devil. It will be bad for 
 us all ; for some day, when the French are not busy 
 with other things, they will rout us out here, and 
 then who can blame them if they pay us for all the 
 captain's deeds ? Ah ! me, they are terrible times, 
 and Father Pedro says he thinks the end of the 
 world must be very near. I hope it will come 
 before the French have time to hunt us down." 
 
 The boys had a hard struggle not to smile, but 
 the woman spoke so earnestly and seriously that 
 the} 7 " could only shake their heads in grave commis- 
 eration for her trouble ; and then Tom asked, " Is 
 the captain very fond of the children ?" 
 
 " He worships them," the woman said ; " he has 
 no heart and no pity for others. He thinks no 
 more of blood than I do of water ; but he is as 
 tender as a woman with them. One of them was 
 ill the other day a mere nothing, a little fever 
 and he sat by her bedside for eight days without 
 ever lying down." 
 
 " I suppose," Tom said, " they never bring prison- 
 ers up here 2"
 
 184 THE YOUNG BUGLERS. 
 
 " Yes, they do," the woman said ; " not common 
 soldiers ; they kill them at once ; but sometimes 
 officers, if they want to exchange them for some of 
 ours who may have been taken, or if they think 
 they are likely to get a high ransom for them. But 
 there, it always comes to the same thing ; there, 
 where you see that mound on the hillside, that's 
 where they are. They blindfold them on their way 
 up here, lest they might find their way back after 
 all. Only one or two have ever gone down again. 
 I wish they would finish with them all down below ; 
 they are devils and heretics, these French ; but I 
 don't care about seeing them killed. Many of us 
 do, though, and we have not many diversions up 
 here, so I suppose it's all for the best." 
 
 " I wish that fellow had given us our answer be- 
 fore he went away,"" Tom said to Peter when they 
 were alone. " I hope he won't bring any prisoners 
 up here ; these massacres are frightful, and one side 
 seems as bad as the other. "Well, in another month 
 we shall have finished with all this work, and be 
 making for the frontier again. Shan't I be glad 
 when we catch sight of the first redcoats !" 
 
 In the middle of the night the boys were roused 
 by a general bustle, and found that a messenger 
 had just arrived, saying that the expedition had 
 been successful, that a portion of the enemy had 
 been cut off, their rearguard destroyed, and that 
 the whole band would be up soon after davlight. 
 The village was astir early, but it was not until 
 nine o'clock that the guerrilla band arrived. The
 
 THE YOUNG BUGLERS. 185 
 
 boys saw at a glance that they were stronger in 
 numbers than when they started, and that with 
 them were some twenty or thirty baggage animals. 
 
 The women flocked out to meet them with shrill 
 cries of welcome. The booty taken was not of any 
 great value in money, but was more valuable than 
 gold to the guerrillas. Each one of the band carried, 
 in addition to his own piece, a new French musket, 
 while in the barrels on the mules were powder and 
 ball ; there were bales of cloth, and some cases of 
 brandy and champagne, and a few boxes and port- 
 manteaus of officers' baggage. In the rear of all, 
 under a strong guard, were two French officers, 
 both wounded, a lady and a child of some seven or 
 eight years old. 
 
 After a boisterous greeting to their wives the 
 band broke up and scattered over the village, three 
 or four men remaining to guard the captives, who 
 were told to sit down against a wall. 
 
 The whole band were soon engaged in feasting, 
 but no one paid the least attention to the prisoners. 
 The lady had sunk down exhausted, with the little 
 girl nestled close to her ; the officers, faint and pale 
 from loss of blood, leaned against the wall. One of 
 them asked the guards for some water, but the men 
 paid no attention to the request, answering only 
 with a savage curse. Tom and Peter, who were 
 standing by, immediately went to the inn, filled a 
 jug with water, and taking a drinking horn and 
 some bread, went back. One of the guards angrily 
 ordered them back as they approached.
 
 186 THE YOUNG BUGLERS. 
 
 "I am not going to free them," Tom said, 
 soothingly ; " there can be no reason why they 
 should die of thirst, if they are enemies.'' 
 
 "I am thirsty myself," one of the guard said, 
 " and it does us good to see them thirst." 
 
 "What, has no one brought you anything to 
 drink ?" Tom said in a tone of surprise. " Here, 
 Peter, you give this bread and water to these 
 prisoners ; I will run to Mother Morena's and bring 
 some wine for the guard." 
 
 The guard would not allow Peter to approach 
 the captives until Tom arrived with a large jug of 
 wine, and a cold fowl, which he had obtained at 
 the inn. These the Spaniards accepted, and allowed 
 the boys to give the water to the prisoners. All 
 drank eagerly, with every expression of thankful- 
 ness, the lady seizing Peter's hand and kissing it as 
 he handed the horn to the child. The lady was a 
 very bright, pretty woman, though now pale and 
 worn with fatigue and emotion, and the child was 
 a lovely little creature. 
 
 The boys, on leaving the prisoners, hurried to 
 Garcias. " What are they going to do with the 
 prisoners, Garcias?" 
 
 " They have brought them up here to exchange 
 for Nunez's lieutenant, who was taken last week. 
 One of the men went off last night to Vittoria with 
 a letter to offer to exchange. One of the officers is 
 a colonel, and the young one a captain. The lady 
 is, they say, the wife of General Reynier." 
 t " Then they are safe," Tom said joyfully, " for,
 
 THE YOUNG BUGLERS. 187 
 
 of course^ the French would exchange a guerrilla 
 against three such prisoners." 
 
 " Yes," Garcias said, " they are safe if Yagas has 
 not been shot before the messenger gets to Yittoria. 
 The messenger will hear directly he gets there, and 
 if they have finished Yagas he will come straight 
 back, for his letter will be of no use then." 
 
 " But the French would pay a ransom for them." 
 
 " Yes ; but the captain is never fond of ransom- 
 ing, and if the news comes that Yagas is shot it is 
 all up with them." 
 
 " But they will never murder a woman and child 
 in cold blood!" Tom said, in tones of indignant 
 horror. 
 
 ""Women are killed on both sides," the muleteer 
 said placidly. " I don't hold to it myself, but I don't 
 know, after all, why a woman's life is a bit more 
 precious than a man's. Yagas' wife and children 
 are here, too, and if the news comes of his death 
 she would stir the band up to kill the prisoners, 
 even if the captain wanted to save them, which he 
 certainly will not do." 
 
 " When is the messenger expected back ?" 
 
 " If he goes to Yittoria and finds Yagas is alive, 
 and arranges for the exchange, he won't be back 
 till late to-night, perhaps not till to-morrow ; but 
 if he hears, either on the way or directly he gets 
 there, that he is dead, he may be back this after- 
 noon." Soon after this conversation Garcias was 
 sent for to the chief, and returned with a small 
 note, which he handed to the boys as the answer to
 
 188 THE YOUNG BUGLERS. 
 
 the dispatch, and urged them to go at once. The 
 boys said that they could not leave until they saw 
 the end of this terrible drama which was passing 
 before their eyes. It was early in the afternoon 
 when a man was seen coming along the path from 
 Yittoria. A hundred eager eyes examined him, 
 and ere long it was declared as certain that it was 
 the messenger. The boys' hearts sank within them 
 as they saw the fierce looks cast by the Spaniards 
 in the direction of the prisoners, for every one in the 
 village was well aware of the meaning of this early 
 return. The boys had arranged upon the course 
 they would pursue, and they at once hurried to 
 Garcias. 
 
 " Please come with us at once to Nunez. "We 
 want to see him before the messenger arrives." 
 
 " I will come with you," Garcias said ; " but if 
 you think that any talking of yours will persuade 
 Nunez to move out of his way, you are mistaken. 
 It is more likely to cost you your own lives, I can 
 tell you ; however, I gave you the promise I would 
 do my best for you when you started with me, and 
 I will go with you now, though what you want to 
 interfere for here is more than I can make out. 
 Pshaw ! what matters two or three of these ac- 
 cursed French, more or less ?" 
 
 As they neared the chiefs house they saw him 
 coming toward them. His brow was as black as 
 thunder, he was evidently prepared for the news of 
 his lieutenant's death. 
 
 " These messengers want to speak to you for a 
 moment," Garcias said.
 
 THE YOUNG BUGLERS. 189 
 
 The chief stopped with an impatient gesture. 
 
 " Senor," Tom said, with a dignity which sur- 
 prised the chief ; " we are not what we seem. "We 
 are two English officers, and we have come to beg 
 of you, to implore you, not to tarnish the cause for 
 which you fight by shedding the blood of women 
 and children." 
 
 The boys had agreed that it would be altogether 
 hopeless to try to save the French officers. 
 
 " British officers, indeed," exclaimed Nunez, " a 
 likely story. Do you know them as such, Garcias?" 
 
 " No," Garcias said bluntly, " I never guessed at 
 it ; but now they say so, I think it's likely enough, 
 for they don't seem to see things in the same way 
 as other people." 
 
 " I can give you proof of it," Tom said calmly, 
 pulling up the sleeve of his coat, and showing a 
 cicatrix in his forearm. Taking a knife from his 
 pocket, he cut into the skin, and drew forth a tiny 
 silver tube. This he opened, and handed to Nunez 
 a paper signed by Lord "Wellington, declaring the 
 bearers to be British officers, and requesting all 
 loyal Spaniards to give them every assistance. 
 
 The captain read it through, and flung it down. 
 "You may be officers," he said contemptuously; 
 " but if you were Lord Wellington himself, I would 
 not spare these accursed French. Listen !" and as 
 he spoke a howl of rage ran from the other end of 
 the village, and told too plainly the nature of the 
 tidings the messenger had brought. 
 
 " I again protest," Tom said firmly. " I protest,
 
 190 THE YOUNG BUGLERS. 
 
 as a British officer, and in the name of humanity, 
 against this cold-blooded murder of a woman and 
 child. It is a disgrace to Spain, a disgrace to the 
 cause, it is a brutal and cowardly act." 
 
 The guerrilla furiously drew a pistol ; but Garcias 
 placed himself between him and Tom. " I have 
 promised him a safe conduct," he said, " and have 
 given my word for his safety. He is only a boy, 
 and a young fool ; don't trouble with him." 
 
 Fortunately at this moment, for the guerrilla 
 was still irresolutely handling his pistol, a crowd 
 was seen coming toward them, headed by a woman 
 who seemed frantic with rage and grief. All were 
 shouting, " Death to the assassins ! death to the 
 French !" The chief at once moved forward to 
 meet them. 
 
 Tom and Peter gave a significant glance toward 
 each other, and then Tom turned to go back toward 
 the house which Nunez inhabited, while Peter 
 hurried toward the spot where the prisoners were 
 kept. Already a crowd was assembling who were 
 talking threateningly at the French officers. Peter 
 made his way through them until he stood by the 
 lady, who, with her child clinging to her neck, 
 looked in terror at the angry crowd, whose atten- 
 tion, however, was directed to the officers, who 
 stood looking calmly indifferent to their threats and 
 insults. 
 
 "Do you speak Spanish, madam?" Peter asked, 
 leaning over her. 
 
 She shook her head.
 
 THE YOUNG BUGLERS. 191 
 
 " Do you speak English ?" he asked in that 
 tongue. 
 
 " Yes, yes, a little," the lady said eagerly ; " who 
 are you? what is this fierce crowd about?" 
 
 "Hush!" Peter said. "I am a friend. Listen. 
 In a few minutes they are going to shoot you all." 
 The lady gave a stifled cry, and pressed her child 
 close to her. " Remember, when they come to you, 
 ask for a priest ; gain a few minutes, and I hope to 
 save you and the child." 
 
 So saying, he slipped away into the crowd again. 
 He had scarcely done so when Nunez arrived, ac- 
 companied by many of his men. The crowd fell 
 back, and he strode up to the French officers. 
 " French dogs," he said, " you are to die. I spared 
 you to exchange, but your compatriots have mur- 
 dered my lieutenant, and so now it's your turn. 
 You may think yourselves lucky that I shoot you, 
 instead of hanging you. Take them to that wall," 
 he said, pointing to one some twenty yards off. 
 
 The Frenchmen understood enough Spanish to 
 known that their fate was sealed. Without a word 
 they took each other's hands, and marched proudly 
 to the spot pointed out. Here, turning round, they 
 looked with calm courage at the Spaniards, who 
 formed up with leveled muskets at a few paces dis- 
 tance. " Vive la France ! Tires," said the elder, in 
 a firm voice, and in a moment they fell back dead, 
 pierced with a dozen balls. 
 
 Peter had turned away when Nunez appeared on 
 the scene, to avoid seeing the murder, and with his
 
 192 THE YOUNG BUGLERS. 
 
 eyes fixed in the direction in which Tom had gone, 
 he listened almost breathlessly to what should 
 come. The French lady had sat immovable, cow- 
 ering over her child, while her countrymen were 
 taken away and murdered. As Nunez passed where 
 she crouched, he said to two of his men, " Put your 
 muskets to their heads, and finish them !" As the 
 men approached, she lifted up her face, pale as 
 death, and said : 
 
 " Unpretre, uno padre /" 
 
 "She wants a priest," the men said, drawing 
 back ; " she has a right to absolution." 
 
 There was a murmur of assent from those around, 
 and two or three started to the priest's house, 
 situated only a few yards away, being one of the 
 end houses of the village. The priest soon appeared, 
 came up to the spot, and received orders to shrive 
 the Frenchwoman. He attempted a remonstrance, 
 but was silenced by a threat from Nunez, and know- 
 ing from experience of such scenes that his influence 
 went for nothing with Nunez and his fierce band, 
 he bent over her, and the crowd drew back, to let 
 them speak unheard. At this moment, to Peter's 
 intense relief, he saw Tom approaching with the 
 captain's two children walking beside him. Ab- 
 sorbed in what was passing before them, no one 
 else looked round, and Peter slipped away and 
 joined his brother. They came within twenty 
 yards of the crowd, and then paused. 
 
 "Wait a minute," Torn said to the children, 
 "your father is busy."
 
 THE YOUNG BUGLERS. 193 
 
 In another minute Nunez shouted roughly, 
 " There, that will do; finish with it and have done! 
 I want to be off to my dinner." 
 
 Torn and Peter simultaneously drew out a large 
 Spanish knife, and each took one of the children 
 firmly by the shoulder. 
 
 " Stop ! Senor Nunez !" Tom shouted in a loud, 
 clear tone. " Stop ! or by heaven there will be 
 four victims instead of two ! Let one of you lift a 
 finger against these captives let one of you come 
 one step nearer to us and, by the Holy Virgin, we 
 will drive our knives into these children's hearts !" 
 
 A cry of astonishment broke from the crowd, and 
 one of agony and rage from Nunez, who tottered 
 against a wall in horror at the danger in which his 
 daughters were placed. 
 
 " Listen ! all of you," Tom said ; " we are English 
 officers ; we have shown our papers to Nunez, and 
 he knows it is so. We will not suffer this murder 
 of a mother and her child. If they are to die, we 
 will die with them ; but these two children shall 
 die too ! Now, what is it to be ?" 
 
 A dozen of the guerrillas leveled their guns at 
 the two daring boys. 
 
 " No ! no !" Nunez shrieked ; "lower your guns. 
 Don't hurt the children, senors. The captives shall 
 not be hurt ; I swear it ! They shall go free. Give 
 me my children." 
 
 " Not if I know it," Tom said ; " do you think I 
 could trust the word of a man who would murder 
 women and children in cold blood? No; these
 
 194 THE YOUNG BUGLERS. 
 
 shall go with us as hostages, till we are safe under 
 French guard." 
 
 " They will tell them the way up here," said one 
 of the women in the group, " and then we shall be 
 all killed." 
 
 " No," Tom said ; " the lady shall swear not to 
 tell the way up here. She shall swear on your 
 priest's crucifix. We will give you our words as 
 British officers." 
 
 "But how are the children to get back here 
 again ?" another asked, for Nunez was so paralyzed 
 that he could only gaze on the children, who were 
 crying bitterly, and implore them to stand quiet, 
 and not try to get away. After some more parley- 
 ing the arrangements were completed. The crowd 
 fell back on either side, so as to leave a large space 
 round the French lady. Tom and Peter then went 
 up to them with the little girls. The lady was sob- 
 bing with joy and excitement at this unexpected 
 relief. 
 
 " Can you walk ?" Tom asked her in English. 
 
 " Yes," she said, getting up hastily, but almost 
 falling again. 
 
 " Garcias will go first as guide. The priest will 
 give you his arm," Tom went on, " these two young 
 women will go with you and carry your child if 
 necessary. You will walk on, twenty yards ahead 
 of us. We follow with these girls. No one is to 
 follow us, or accompany us. We are to go on like 
 that till we come upon your outposts, and then the 
 priest and the two women will bring back Nunez's 
 children."
 
 THE YOUNG BUGLERS. 195 
 
 "You will send them safe back, you swear?" 
 asked Nunez, in tremulous tones. 
 
 " Pshaw !" Tom said contemptuously, "you don't 
 suppose we are child-murderers, like yourself." 
 
 " Remember !" the guerrilla said, in a sudden 
 burst of passion, " if you ever cross my path again, 
 I will 
 
 " Do terrible things, no doubt," Tom said scorn- 
 fully ; " and do you beware, too. It is wild beasts 
 like yourself who have brought disgrace and ruin 
 on Spain. No defeat could dishonor and disgrace 
 her as much as your fiendish cruelty. It is in re- 
 venge for the deeds that you and those like you do, 
 that the French carry the sword and fire to your 
 villages. We may drive the French out, but never 
 will a country which fights by murder and treach- 
 ery become a great nation. Are you ready, Garcias ?" 
 
 " I am ready," the muleteer said, stepping for- 
 ward from the silent and scowling throng. 
 
 " We can trust you," Tom said heartily ; " take 
 us the short way straight down into the valley ; we 
 may have the luck to come upon a passing French 
 troop in an hour. Think of that, madam," he said 
 to the French lady, " let that give you strength and 
 courage." 
 
 So saying, the procession set out in the order 
 Tom had indicated, amid the curses of the guer- 
 rillas, who were furious at seeing themselves thus 
 bearded. At the brow of the hill Tom looked back, 
 and saw that the guerrillas were still standing in a 
 group, in front of which he could distinguish the
 
 196 THE YOUNG BUGLERS. 
 
 figure of Nunez. Taking off his hat, he waved an 
 ironical farewell, and then followed the party down 
 the hillside into the broad valley below. They 
 could see the road stretching like a thread along it, 
 but, to their disappointment, not a figure was visi- 
 ble upon it. Now that there was no longer danger 
 of treachery, the party closed up together. 
 
 " How far is it to Vittoria, Garcias ?" 
 
 " Twenty good miles, senor." 
 
 " But we shall never get there," Tom said in dis- 
 may. " I am sure the lady could not walk another 
 five miles ; she is quite exhausted now." 
 
 " You will not have to go five miles, senor. 
 There is a body of four or five hundred French in 
 that large village you see there ; it is not more 
 than three miles at most." 
 
 It was a weary journey, for the French lady, 
 exhausted by fatigue and excitement, was often 
 obliged to stop and sit clown to rest, and, indeed, 
 could not have got on at all had not Garcias on one 
 side and the padre on the other helped her on. At 
 last, just as the sun was setting, they approached 
 the village, and could see the French sentries at its 
 entrance. When within a hundred yards they 
 paused. 
 
 " We are safe now," Tom said ; " it is not neces- 
 sary for you to go further. Good-by, little ones ; I 
 am sorry we have given you such a fright, but it 
 was not our fault. Good-by, padre ; I know that 
 you will not grudge your walk, for the sake of its 
 saving the lives of these unfortunates. Good-by,
 
 THE YOUNG BUGLERS. 19? 
 
 Garcias ; thanks for your kindness and fidelity. I 
 will report them when I return, and will, if I get a 
 chance, send you a remembrance of our journey 
 together." 
 
 " Good-by, senors," Garcias said, shaking them 
 by the hand ; " you English are different to us, and 
 I am not surprised now at your general holding 
 Portugal against all the French armies." Then he 
 lowered his voice, so that the Spanish women 
 standing by could not hear him, " Be on your guard, 
 sefiors ; don't move on from the village without a 
 strong convoy is going on ; change your disguise, if 
 possible ; distrust every one you come across, and, 
 in heaven's name, get back to yoiir lines as soon as 
 possible, for you may be assured that your steps will 
 be dogged, and that you will be safe nowhere in 
 Spain from Nunez's vengeance. The guerrillas 
 communicate with each other, and you are doomed 
 if you fall into the hands of any, except, perhaps, 
 one or two of the greater chiefs. Be always on 
 your guard ; sleep with your eyes open. Remem- 
 ber, except in the middle of a French regiment, 
 you will never be really safe." 
 
 " Thanks, Garcias !" the boys said earnestly, " we 
 will do our best to keep our throats safe. At any 
 rate, if we go down, it shall not be for want of 
 watchfulness !" 
 
 Another shake of the hands, and the party sepa- 
 rated. The Spanish woman who was carrying the 
 sleeping French child handed her over to Tom, who 
 took her without waking her, while Peter lent his 
 arm to the French lady.
 
 198 THE YOUNG BUGLERS. 
 
 " Madam," Tom said in English, " you will soon 
 be among your friends. I know that you will keep 
 your promise not to divulge the situation of the 
 village you have left. I must ask you, also, to 
 promise me not to say that we speak English, or to 
 say anything which may create a suspicion that we 
 are not what we seem. You will, of course, relate 
 your adventures, and speak of us merely as Spanish 
 boys, who acted as they did being moved by pity 
 for you. "We must accompany you for some time, 
 for Nunez will move heaven and earth to get us 
 assassinated, and all we want is that you shall 
 obtain permission for us to sleep in the guardroom, 
 so as to be under shelter of French bayonets until 
 we can decide upon our course of action." 
 
 The lady assented with a gesture, for she was too 
 exhausted to speak, and as they reached the French 
 sentries she tottered and sank down on the ground 
 insensible.
 
 THE YOUNG BUGLERS. 199 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 MADRID. 
 
 THE French sentries, who had been watching with 
 surprise the slow approach of two peasant boys, the 
 one carrying a child, the other assisting a woman 
 clad in handsome but torn and disheveled clothes, 
 on seeing the latter fall, called to their comrades, 
 and a sergeant and some soldiers came out from a 
 guardroom close by. 
 
 " Hullo !" said the sergeant. " What's all this ? 
 Who is this woman ? And where do you come 
 from ?" 
 
 The boys shook their heads. 
 
 " Of course," the sergeant said, lifting the lady, 
 " they don't understand French ; how should they ? 
 She looks a lady, poor thing. Who can she be, I 
 wonder ?" 
 
 " General Reynier," Tom said, touching her. 
 
 "General Reynier?" exclaimed the sergeant to 
 his comrades. 
 
 " It must be the general's wife. I heard she was 
 among those killed or carried off from that convoy 
 that came through last night. Jacques, fetch out
 
 200 THE YOUNG BUGLERS. 
 
 Captain Thibault, and you, Noel, run for Dr. 
 Pasques." 
 
 The officer on guard came out, and, upon hearing 
 the sergeant's report, had Madame Keynier at once 
 carried into a house hard by, and sent a message to 
 the colonel of the regiment. The little girl, still 
 asleep, was also carried in and laid down, and the 
 regimental doctor and the colonel soon arrived. 
 The former went into the house, the latter en- 
 deavored in vain to question the boys in French. 
 Finding it useless, he walked up and down impa- 
 tiently until a message came down from the doctor 
 that the lady had recovered from her fainting fit, 
 and wished to see him at once. 
 
 Tom and Peter, finding that no one paid any 
 attention to them, sat quietly down by the guard- 
 house. 
 
 In a few minutes the French colonel came down. 
 "Where are those boys?" he exclaimed hastily. 
 There was quite a crowd of soldiers round the 
 house, for the news of the return of General Rey- 
 nier's wife and child had circulated rapidly and 
 created quite an excitement. " Where are those 
 boys ?" he shouted again. 
 
 The sergeant of the guard came forward. 
 
 " I had no orders to keep them prisoners, sir," he 
 said in an apologetic tone, for he had not noticed 
 the boys, and thought that he was going to get into 
 a scrape for not detaining them ; but he was inter- 
 rupted by one of the soldiers who had heard the 
 question, bringing them forward.
 
 THE YOUNG BUGLERS. 201 
 
 To the astonishment of the soldiers, the colonel 
 rushed forward, and, with a Frenchman's enthusi- 
 asm, actually kissed them. " Mes braves gardens /" 
 he exclaimed. "Mes braves gargons ! Look you, 
 all of you," he exclaimed to the soldiers, " you see 
 these boys, they are heroes, they have saved, at the 
 risk of their own lives, mark you, General Reynier's 
 wife and daughter ; they have braved the fury of 
 that accursed Nunez and his band, and have brought 
 them out from that den of wolves !" And then, in 
 excited tones, he described the scene as he had 
 heard it from Madame Reynier. 
 
 At this relation the enthusiasm of the French 
 soldiers broke out in a chorus of cheers and excited 
 exclamations. The men crowded round the boys, 
 shook them by the hand, patted them on the back, 
 and in a hundred strange oaths vowed an eternal 
 friendship for them. 
 
 After a minute or two the colonel raised his 
 hand for silence. " Look you," he said to the men. 
 " You can imagine that, after what these boys have 
 done, their life is not safe for a moment. This 
 accursed Nunez will dog them and have them as- 
 sassinated if he can. So I leave them to you ; you 
 will take care of them, my children, will you not ?" 
 
 A chorus of assurances was the reply, and the 
 boys found themselves as it were adopted into the 
 regiment. The soldiers could not do enough for 
 them, but as neither party understood the other's 
 language the intercourse did not make much prog- 
 ress. They had, however, real difficulty in refus-
 
 202 THE YOUNG BUGLERS. 
 
 ing the innumerable offers of a glass of wine or 
 brandy made to them by every group of soldiers as 
 they mo\ r ed about through the village. 
 
 The boys felt that their position was a false 
 one; and although, in point of fact, they had 
 no report to make upon the regiment, still the 
 possibility that if discovered they might be thought 
 to have been acting as spies on men who treated 
 them with so much friendliness was repugnant to 
 them. However, their stay was not to be prolonged, 
 for the regiment had already been stationed for a 
 month at the village, and was to be relieved by 
 another expected hourly from France, and was then 
 to go on to Madrid. This they learned from one of 
 the soldiers who could speak a few words of Spanish. 
 
 It was upon the third day after their arrival that 
 the expected regiment came in, and next morning 
 the boys started soon after daybreak with their 
 friends. They had not seen Madame Reynier dur- 
 ing their stay in the village, for she was laid up 
 with a sharp attack of illness after the excitement 
 she had gone through. She was still far from fit 
 to travel, but she insisted on going on, and a 
 quantity of straw was accordingly laid in a cart, 
 pillows and cushions were heaped on this, and an 
 awning was arranged above to keep off the sun. 
 The regiment had taken on the transport animals 
 which had come in with the baggage of the troops 
 the night before ; hence the mule-drivers and other 
 followers were all strangers. The boys were march- 
 ing beside the regiment, talking with one of the
 
 THE YOUNG BUGLERS. 203 
 
 sergeants who had been previously for two years in 
 Spain, and spoke a little Spanish, when the colonel, 
 who had been riding alongside Madame Reynier, 
 told them as he passed on to the head of the regi- 
 ment, that she wished to speak to them. 
 
 The boys fell out, and allowed the troops and the 
 line of baggage-animals and carts to pass them. As 
 the latter came along Tom observed one of the 
 Spanish drivers glance in their direction and imme- 
 diately avert his head. 
 
 " Peter, that fellow is one of Nunez's band ; I 
 will almost swear to his face. No doubt he has 
 joined the convoy for the purpose of stabbing us on 
 the first opportunity. I expected this. We must 
 get rid of them at once." 
 
 The boys had both been furnished with heavy 
 cavalry pistols by order of the colonel, to defend 
 themselves against any sudden attack, and, placing 
 his hand on the butt in readiness for instant use, 
 Tom, accompanied by his brother, walked up to the 
 Spaniard. 
 
 " You and those with you are known," he said. 
 " Unless you all fall out at the next village we come 
 to I will denounce you, and you haven't five minutes 
 to live after I do so. Mind, if one goes on you all 
 suffer." 
 
 The Spaniard uttered a deep execration, and put 
 his hand on his knife, but seeing that the boys were 
 in readiness, and that the French baggage-guard 
 marching alongside would certainly shoot him before 
 he could escape, he relinquished his design.
 
 204 THE YOUNG BUGLERS. 
 
 " Mind," Tom said, " the first village ; it is only a 
 mile ahead, and we shall probably halt there for five 
 minutes ; if one of you goes a single foot beyond it 
 you will swing in a row." 
 
 So saying, the boys dropped behind again until 
 Madame Reynier's cart came along. The sides were 
 open, and the lady, who was sitting up, supported 
 by pillows, with her child beside her, saw them, and 
 called to them to climb up to her. They did so at 
 once, and she then poured forth her thanks in tones 
 of the deepest gratitude. 
 
 "My husband is not at Madrid," she said when 
 she saw by the boys' confusion that they would be 
 really glad if she would say no more ; " but when 
 he hears of it he will thank you for saving his wife 
 and child. Of course," she went on, " I can see 
 that you are not what you seem. Spanish boys 
 would not have acted so. Spanish boys do not 
 speak English. That makes it impossible for me 
 in any way to endeavor to repay my obligation. 
 Had you been even Spanish peasants the matter 
 would have been comparatively easy ; then my hus- 
 band could have made you rich and comfortable for 
 life ; as it is " 
 
 She paused, evidently hoping that they would 
 indicate some way in which she could serve them. 
 
 "As it is, madam," Tom said, "you can, if you 
 will, be of great service to us by procuring for us 
 fresh disguises in Madrid, for I fear that after what 
 happened with Nunez our lives will not be safe from 
 his vengeance anywhere in Spain. Already we
 
 THE YOUNG BUGLERS. 205 
 
 have discovered that some of his band are accompa- 
 nying this convoy with the intention of killing us at 
 the first opportunity." 
 
 " "Why do you not denounce them instantly ?" 
 Madame Reynier said, rising in her excitement and 
 looking round. 
 
 " We cannot well do that," Tom said, " at least 
 not if it can be avoided. They know already that 
 we have recognized them, and will leave at the next 
 village ; so we are safe at present, but in Madrid 
 we shall be no longer so. We cannot remain per- 
 manently under the guard of the bayonets of the 
 Sixty-third Line ; and indeed our position is, as you 
 may guess, a false and unpleasant one, from which 
 we would free ourselves at the first opportunity. 
 We shall therefore ask you, when you get to 
 Madrid, to provide us with fresh disguises and a pass 
 to travel west as far as the limits of the French 
 lines." 
 
 " You can consider that as done," Madame Rey- 
 nier answered ; " I only regret that it is so slight a 
 return. And now," she said lightly, to change the 
 conversation, " I must introduce you to this young 
 lady. " Julie," she asked in French, " do you 
 remember these boys?" 
 
 " Yes," Julie said ; " these are the boys who gave 
 mamma and Julie water when those wicked men 
 would not give us anything to drink when we were 
 thirsty ; and it was these boys that mamma said 
 prevented the wicked men from killing us. They 
 are good boys, nice boys, but they are very ragged 
 and dirty."
 
 206 THE YOUNG BUGLERS. 
 
 Madame Keynier smiled, and translated Julie's 
 answer. 
 
 "You know," she went on hesitatingly, "that I 
 know that that you are English officers. I heard 
 you say so when you saved us. But how is it that 
 you can be officers so very young?" 
 
 Tom explained that in England the officers en- 
 tered for the most part directly, and not, as in the 
 French army, by promotion from the ranks, and 
 that, consequently, the junior officers were much 
 younger than those of equal rank in the French 
 service. 
 
 The convoy had now reached the village, and a 
 halt was ordered, and the boys alighting walked 
 forward to see that their unwelcome attendants 
 quitted them. As the soldiers fell out from their 
 order of march and sat down under the shade of 
 the houses many of the Spaniards with the baggage- 
 train followed their example, and the boys saw the 
 man to whom they had spoken go up to four others, 
 and in a short time these separated themselves from 
 the rest, went carelessly round a corner, and when 
 the order came to continue the march failed to make 
 their appearance. Their absence passed unnoticed 
 save by the boys, for the natives frequently took 
 advantage of the passage of troops and convoys .to 
 travel from one part of the country to another, for 
 the guerrillas were for the most part little better 
 than brigands, and would plunder their own coun- 
 trymen without scruple whenever the opportunity 
 was favorable.
 
 THE YOUNG BUGLERS. 20? 
 
 The march to Madrid was accomplished without 
 adventure, and the boys improved the occasion by 
 endeavoring to pick up as many French phrases as 
 they could, as they marched along by the side of 
 the sergeant who had specially taken them under 
 his charge. He knew a little Spanish, so they man- 
 aged to keep up a conversation with him in a strange 
 medley of the two languages, which helped to pass 
 the time away merrily. At Madrid they took up 
 their quarters in the barracks with the regiment ; 
 they had already explained their plan of disguise to 
 Madame Reynier, and she had promised to provide 
 all that was necessary and to obtain the military 
 pass for them. 
 
 They had soon reason to congratulate themselves 
 that their stay in Madrid was under the protection 
 of French bayonets. During the day after their 
 arrival they remained quietly in barracks, as the 
 appearance of two Spanish peasants walking about 
 the street \vith French soldiers would have excited 
 comments. In the evening, however, they agreed 
 with their friend the sergeant, who was going into 
 the town with three or four of his comrades, that 
 they should accompany them, not, however, walking 
 actually with them, but following a few paces be- 
 hind, so as to be within reach of their assistance 
 should any one molest them. 
 
 They reached the Piazza del Sol, the great central 
 square of Madrid, without incident, and amused 
 themselves with the sight of the constant stream of 
 people passing to and fro, the ladies in their grace-
 
 208 THE YOUNG BUGLERS. 
 
 ful black mantillas, the men in cloaks and Spanish 
 sombreros, or round felt hats. Presently the ser- 
 geant and his companions left the square, and 
 turning down one of the narrow streets which run 
 into it, amused themselves by looking into the shops, 
 with their gay fans, bright handkerchiefs, and other 
 articles of Spanish manufacture. 
 
 Tom and Peter followed their example, keeping 
 some ten paces behind them. It was now nearly 
 dark, and the streets were but badly lighted except 
 by the lamps in the shop windows. 
 
 " It may be all fancy, Tom," Peter said, " but I 
 can't help thinking that we are followed. There 
 are three fellows who have passed us twice, and I 
 am pretty sure they are particularly noticing us. 
 Keep your hand on your pistol." 
 
 As the boys paused at another shop window the 
 three men again approached, this time from ahead. 
 
 " Look out, Tom," Peter said sharply. 
 
 As the men came up to them one of them ex- 
 claimed, " Now !" 
 
 The boys faced round, pistol in hand, with a cry 
 to their friends, just as the three Spaniards, with 
 drawn knives, were upon them. 
 
 The sudden movement disconcerted them, and 
 two sprang back from the leveled tubes of the 
 pistols; with fierce oaths of surprise, the third, 
 however, rushed in and struck at Tom ; the latter 
 instinctively moved aside, and the knife inflicted a 
 heavy gash on the shoulder, and almost at the same 
 moment Peter's bullet crashed through the fellow's 
 skull.
 
 THE YOUNG BUGLERS. 209 
 
 His comrades, with a cry of rage, rushed in, but 
 before they could strike the sergeant was up, and 
 ran one through the body with his sword, whereon 
 the other fled. The whole affair lasted only three 
 or four seconds. In less than a minute the street 
 was absolutely deserted, for rows and fights were 
 so common between the soldiers and the people that 
 all prudent people got out of the way the moment 
 a knife was drawn. 
 
 " "Well done, lad,' 1 the sergeant said to Peter, " I 
 thought your brother was done for. Luckily I had 
 faced your way when the fellow attacked you, and 
 was on my way to help you before they began, but 
 I feared I should be too late. That was a wonder- 
 fully pretty snap shot of yours, and you were as 
 cool as old hands. Peste ! I don't know what to 
 make of you boys. Now come along ; we had better 
 get away from this carrion before any one comes up 
 and asks questions. First, though, let me tie up 
 your shoulder." 
 
 This was soon done, and while the sergeant was en- 
 gaged upon it his comrades, old soldiers, turned over 
 the dead Spaniards, searched their pockets, and 
 chuckled as they found several gold pieces. 
 
 One or two French soldiers alone came near them 
 before they left the spot, attracted by the sound of 
 the pistol. A word from the sergeant, "These 
 scoundrels attacked us ; they have got their coup" 
 satisfied them, and the boys and their friends soon 
 regained the crowded main street, leaving the bodies 
 for the watch to find and bury.
 
 210 THE YOUNG BUGLERS. 
 
 Arrived at the barracks, Tom's arm was examined 
 by the surgeon, and the cut pronounced a deep flesh 
 wound, but of no consequence ; it was soon strapped 
 up, and with his arm in a sling Tom went down to 
 the sergeant's quarters, where they slept. Here 
 they had to go through much patting on the back, 
 for their friend had described the readiness and 
 coolness with which they stood at bay, and pop- 
 ular as they were before they were now more so 
 than ever. For the rest of their stay in Madrid the 
 boys did not stir out of barracks. One at least of 
 Nunez's envoys they knew to be alive, and he could 
 enlist any number of the lower class against them, 
 so they resolved not to go out until they should finally 
 start. 
 
 After a fortnight's stay they were sent for to the 
 colonel's quarters, where they found Madame Rey- 
 nier and her child. " I had a letter from my hus- 
 band this morning," she said, " from his camp near 
 Cordova, thanking you with all his heart for the 
 inestimable service you rendered him, and begging 
 me to tell you that you can count on his gratitude 
 to the extent of his life at any and all times. You 
 need no assurance of mine. And now about your 
 journey. All is prepared for you to leave to-mor- 
 row morning. You are to come here to the 
 colonel's quarters soon after daybreak. Here are 
 your two disguises, for the one as a young bachelor 
 of medicine, for the other as a young novice. Here 
 is your pass, signed by the minister, authorizing you 
 both to pass on to your relations at Ciudad Rod-
 
 THE YOUNG BUGLERS. 211 
 
 rigo, and to go unmolested thence where you 
 choose, also recommending you to the care of all 
 French and Spanish authorities. A regiment 
 marches to-morrow morning for the frontier; the 
 colonel is a cousin of my husband. I have told him 
 that some friends of yours rendered me much kind- 
 ness and service on my way down, and that I par- 
 ticularly commend you to his care. He has 
 promised to allow you to follow the regiment, and 
 to see that you get quarters at each halting-place. 
 He does not know you for anything but what you 
 appear to be. When you have put on these dresses 
 to-morrow morning, step out by the private door 
 from these quarters, looking carefully when you 
 start to see that there is no one in the street. Then 
 go boldly to No. 15 Rue St. Geronimo ; go into 
 the courtyard, there you will see two stout mules 
 with all necessaries, under charge of a soldier, who 
 will have instructions to hand them over to you 
 without asking any questions ; then go down to the 
 Retiro and wait till the Sixteenth come along. The 
 colonel will be on the lookout for you, and you will 
 ride up to him and hand him this note. And now, 
 farewell, dear boys ; never shall I forget you, or 
 cease to pray for you, and maybe when this ter- 
 rible war is over we may meet as friends again. 
 Keep these little tokens of remembrance of your 
 grateful friend." So saying, Madame Reynier 
 pressed into the boys' hands two magnificent gold 
 watches and chains, held her child up for each of 
 them to kiss, threw her arms around their necks
 
 212 THE YOUNG BUGLERS. 
 
 and kissed them herself, and then drawing down 
 her veil to conceal the tears which were standing in 
 her eyes, left them hastily. 
 
 That night the boys said good-by to their friend, 
 the sergeant, and to those soldiers with whom they 
 had most companionship. " You have guessed, no 
 doubt, sergeant," Tom said, in his mixture of Span- 
 ish and French, " that we are not exactly what we 
 seem to be, but if we should ever meet again, under 
 different circumstances, I want you to remember 
 that our connection with the regiment has been in 
 a way forced upon us. I should not like you to 
 think, that is, that under the pretense of friendship, 
 we have been treacherously learning things. Do 
 you understand ?" 
 
 " I understand, mes braves" the sergeant said ; 
 " Jacques Pinteau is no fool, and he saw from the 
 first that you were not two ragged Spanish peasant 
 boys by birth. I dare say I can guess what you 
 are, but there need be no ill-will for that, and as 
 you only came among us by accident, as it were, 
 there is no more to be said either way. There is 
 one thing certain, wherever or however we meet, 
 we shall be friends." 
 
 So well were Madame Eeynier's plans arranged 
 that the boys passed from Madrid to the frontier 
 without a single hitch or unpleasantness. Tom was 
 soberly attired as a student at the university, Peter 
 was muffled up to the eyes as a timid young novice, 
 going from school to enter a convent, of which his 
 aunt was lady superior, at Ciudad Rodrigo. The
 
 THE YOUNG BUGLERS. 213 
 
 colonel, and, following his example, the officers of 
 the regiment were polite and civil. The marches 
 were of easy length, the mules stout and smooth- 
 going, with well-filled traveling sacks. The weather 
 was delightful, and the bo} 7 s enjoyed the fortnight's 
 march exceedingly. Upon the road they learned 
 that Massena had laid siege to Ciudad Rodrigo, and 
 that the Sixteenth was on its way to join the 
 besieging army. 
 
 It was the end of June, 1810, when the Sixteenth 
 joined Massena's force before Ciudad Rodrigo. The 
 siege had continued for some time, the British light 
 division, under General Craufurd, lay upon the 
 other side of the river Agueda, which separated 
 them alike from the town and the French arm}''. 
 The colonel of the Sixteenth politely expressed to 
 Tom his regret that he could not, for the present, 
 conduct them to their final destination, but that he 
 hoped that the gate would soon be open for them. 
 Tom thanked him for the civility which he had 
 shown them upon the road, and said that he would, 
 with his sister, take up his abode for the present a 
 few miles from the beleaguered fortress. On leav- 
 ing the regiment the boys went higher up the 
 Agueda to the little town of Yillar, where there 
 was a bridge. This, however, was watched by the 
 troops of both armies, and there was at present 
 no chance of effecting a passage.
 
 214 THE YOUNG BUGLERS. 
 
 CHAPTER XL 
 
 THE FIGHT ON THE COA. 
 
 ALL through the winter of 1809-1810, Wellington 
 had remained quietly on the frontier of Portugal, 
 engaged in disciplining his troops, many of whom 
 were raw drafts from the militia, in urging upon 
 the home government the necessity of fresh rein- 
 forcements, if the war was to be carried on with 
 the smallest hopes of success, and in controversies 
 and disputes with the Portuguese regency. This 
 body of incapables starved their own army, refused 
 supplies and transport to the British, and behaved 
 with such arrogance and insolence that Wellington 
 was several times driven to use the threat that, 
 unless measures were taken to keep the Portuguese 
 troops from starving, and to supply food to the 
 British, he would put his army on board the 
 transports at Lisbon, and give up the struggle 
 altogether. 
 
 Spring found the army still on the frontier, and 
 when the French advanced in force in May to lay 
 siege to the Spanish frontier fortress of Ciudad 
 Rodrigo, Wellington, to the intense disappointment 
 of his own troops, and the bitter anger of the Por- 
 tuguese and Spaniards, refused to fight a battle to
 
 THE YOUNG BUGLERS. 215 
 
 save the fortress, which, under its gallant old gov- 
 ernor, Andrea Hernati, was defending itself nobly. 
 
 Wellington's position was, however, a very diffi- 
 cult one, and his responsibilities were immense. 
 Allowing for the detachments which were massing 
 to check three other French columns advancing in 
 different directions, he had but twenty-five thousand 
 men with which to attempt to raise the siege of 
 Ciudad Rodrigo, or to draw off the besieged garri- 
 son. Massena had under him sixty thousand French 
 veterans, and was desiring nothing- more than that 
 Wellington should attack him. The chances of 
 victory then were by no means strong, and in any 
 case victory could only have been purchased by a 
 loss of men which would have completely crippled 
 the British general, and would have rendered it 
 absolutely necessary for him to fall back again at 
 once. A defeat, or even a heavy loss of men, would 
 have so dispirited the faint-hearted government at 
 home that they would undoubtedly have recalled 
 the whole expedition, and resigned Portugal to its 
 fate. Thus Wellington decided not to risk the 
 whole fate of the British army and of Portugal for 
 merely a temporary advantage, and so stood firm 
 against the murmurs of his own troops, the furious 
 reproaches of the Portuguese and Spaniards, and 
 the moving entreaties for aid of the gallant gov- 
 ernor of the besieged town. 
 
 At the same time that he refused to risk a gen- 
 eral battle, he kept Craufurd's division in advance 
 of the Coa, and within two hours' march of the
 
 216 THE YOUNG BUGLERS. 
 
 enemy, thereby encouraging the garrison of Ciudad 
 Rodrigo, and preventing Massena from pushing for- 
 ward a portion of his army while the rest pursued 
 the siege. 
 
 Craufurd's front was guarded by the Agueda, a 
 river only passable by two or three bridges and 
 fords in wet weather, but fordable in many places 
 in the dry season. At the commencement of June 
 the Agueda fell, and the French crossed in strength 
 at various places. Craufurd, however, still main- 
 tained his position in front of the Coa with great 
 skill and boldness. He had under his command 
 only four thousand infantry, eleven hundred cav- 
 alry, and six guns, and his maintenance of his posi- 
 tion, almost within gunshot of an enemy's army, 
 sixty thousand strong, for three months, is one of 
 the finest feats of military audacity and ability 
 ever performed. 
 
 Until the llth of July the boys remained quietly 
 at a cottage occupied by peasants, who believed 
 their story that they were only waiting to proceed 
 when the French army advanced. They were freed 
 from molestation or inquiry upon the part of the 
 French by the pass with which Madame Reynier 
 had supplied them. 
 
 Upon that day Ciudad Rodrigo surrendered, and 
 Massena prepared at once to enter Portugal. Upon 
 the 21st the cavalry advanced in great force, and 
 upon the following day the boys resolved upon 
 endeavoring to rejoin the British army. The 
 Agueda was now easily fordable in many places,
 
 THE YOlf'NG BUGLERS. 217 
 
 but the boys determined to swim across, at a dis- 
 tance from the point at which the French army 
 was now pouring forward. 
 
 As evening came on they left the cottage, and 
 walked two miles up the stream, and, as soon as 
 night fell, took off the costumes which had proved 
 of such service to them, and left them on the bank ; 
 then fastening their peasants' suits upon two 
 bundles of rushes to keep them dry, entered the 
 little river, and were soon upon the opposite shore. 
 They knew, from what they had heard in the after- 
 noon, that Craufurd had fallen back upon Almeida, 
 a fortified town, and that it was probable he would 
 at once cross the Coa, as resistance to the force now 
 approaching him seemed nothing short of madness. 
 
 No good, indeed, could be gained by a fight in 
 such a position, with a deep river in the rear, 
 crossed by only a narrow bridge, and commanded 
 by both banks, and Wellington's orders had been 
 imperative "that upon no account whatever was 
 Craufurd to fight beyond the Coa." 
 
 Craufurd, however, a rash and obstinate, although 
 a skillful general, was determined upon having a 
 brush with the enemy before he fell back. He an- 
 ticipated no doubt, that only an advanced guard of 
 the enemy would come up at first, and his intention 
 was to inflict a severe check upon them with the 
 magnificent little division under his command, and 
 then fall back triumphantly across the Coa. Mas- 
 sena, however, was well aware of the fighting 
 powers of the light division and was preparing to
 
 218 THE YOUNG BUGLERS. 
 
 hurl suddenly upon him a force more than sufficient 
 to crush it. 
 
 The Scudamores had but little fear of meeting 
 with any large body of the enemy, as the main 
 French advance was direct from Oiudad Rodrigo ; 
 their cavalry would, however, be scattered all over 
 the country, and were they to fall into the hands of 
 any of these parties they would have been shot in- 
 stantly, upon suspicion of endeavoring to convey 
 news of the French movements to Craufurd. 
 
 The point where they crossed the river was be- 
 tween Villar and Naves Frias and, after an hour's 
 walking they struck the little rivulet called Duas 
 Casas. This they crossed at once, as they knew that 
 by following its southern bank until they saw some 
 high ground to their left they would find them- 
 selves near Almeida, which they hoped to reach 
 before the English retreated. 
 
 All night they tramped through the fields of 
 stubble, where the corn had been long since cut for 
 the use of Craufurd's cavalry, but walking at night 
 through an unknown country is slow work, and 
 when day began to break they entered a small 
 wood just beyond the point where the Turones, as 
 the southern arm of the Duas Casas is called, 
 branches off from the main stream. Several times 
 in the course of the day bodies of the enemy's cav- 
 alry came near their place of concealment, and the 
 Scudamores congratulated themselves that they had 
 not given way to their impatience, and tried to 
 push on across the twenty miles that alone sepa- 
 rated them from their friends.
 
 THE YOUNG BUGLERS. 219 
 
 At nightfall the wind rose, and a heavy rain 
 began to fall. They had no stars by which to steer 
 their course, and were, therefore, forced to follow 
 the bank of the Turones, although they knew that 
 it would lead them some distance to the north of 
 Almeida. It was slow work, indeed, for they had 
 to grope their way along in the storm, following 
 every turn and bend of the river, which formed 
 their only guide. After several hours' toil they 
 came into a road running north and south. This 
 they knew was the road leading from Guarda to 
 Alameda, and it gave them a clew as to the distance 
 they had come. Still following the river, they con- 
 tinued their course until they approached San 
 Pedro, whence they knew that a road ran directly 
 to the British position in front of Almeida, that is, 
 if the British still maintained their position there. 
 
 As they approached the village they heard a deep 
 hollow sound, and, stopping to listen, and laying 
 their ears to the ground, could distinguish the 
 rumble of heavy carriages. 
 
 " The French are advancing in force, Peter ; we 
 are just in time ; they are going to attack us in 
 the morning at daybreak. "We know the direction 
 now ; let us turn to the left, and try to get on in 
 advance of them. They probably will not push on 
 much further until there is light enough to permit 
 them to form order of battle ; they are evidently, 
 by the sound, going to the left, rather than straight 
 on." 
 
 The Scudamores now hurried on, and presently
 
 220 THE YOUNG BUGLERS. 
 
 the rumbling of the artillery died away, and they 
 ventured to push to their left, and to get on the 
 road, which they found deserted. Half an hour's 
 run, for they knew that every minute was of im- 
 portance, and they heard the welcome challenge, 
 " Who comes there ?" " Two British officers," they 
 answered, and in a few minutes they were taken to 
 the officer in charge of the picket, and having once 
 convinced him of their identity, were heartily 
 greeted and welcomed. 
 
 "The French are advancing in great force to 
 attack," Tom said ; " please forward us instantly to 
 the general." 
 
 The matter was too important for an instant's 
 delay, and a sergeant was at once told off to accom- 
 pany them. 
 
 The first faint blush of daylight was in the east 
 when they arrived at the cottage which served as 
 General Craufurd's quarters, and, upon their speak- 
 ing to the sentinel at the door, a window was 
 thrown open, and a deep voice demanded " What 
 is it ?" 
 
 " We have just arrived through the French lines," 
 Tom said ; " the enemy are at hand in force." 
 
 The casement closed, and an instant afterward 
 the general came out. " Who are you ?" 
 
 "We belong to the Norfolk Rangers, general, 
 and have been detached on<service in the interior ; 
 we have only just made our way back." 
 
 " How am I to know your story is true ?" the 
 general asked sharply.
 
 THE YOUNG BUGLERS. 221 
 
 " You may, perhaps, remember, sir, we landed 
 from the Latona, and you kindly lent us horses to 
 accompany you." 
 
 k 'Aha! I remember,'' the general said. "Well, 
 your news ?'' 
 
 " The French have crossed the Turones in force, 
 sir; at least they have a good many guns with 
 them." 
 
 " Which way were they going?" 
 
 "As far as we could judge by the sound, sir, they 
 were taking up a position between Villa Formosa 
 and Fort Conception." 
 
 " Good," the general said shortly ; then turning 
 to three or four of his staff who had followed him 
 from the cottage : " Get the troops under arms at 
 once. Come in here, gentlemen." 
 
 The Scudamores entered, and as they came into 
 the light of a candle which stood on the table, the 
 general smiled grimly. 
 
 "It is lucky you were able to recall yourselves to 
 my memory, for I should have needed some strong 
 evidence to persuade me you were British officers 
 had I seen you before you spoke. You are wet to 
 the skin ; there is a brandy-bottle, and you will find 
 some bread and cold fowl in that cupboard." 
 
 Five minutes later the boys followed General 
 Craufurd from his hut. 
 
 Short as was the time which had elapsed since 
 their arrival, the troops were already under arms, 
 for three months of incessant alarm and watchful- 
 ness had enabled this splendid division to act as one
 
 222 THE YOUNG BUGLERS. 
 
 man, and to fall in at any hour of the day or night 
 in an incredibly short time. Ten minutes later and 
 the rumble of the baggage wagons was heard along 
 the road toward the bridge. The morning was 
 clearing fast, the clouds lifted, and the daylight 
 seemed to break with unusual suddenness. 
 
 The dark masses of the French became visible 
 forming up before the Turones, and Craufurd hur- 
 ried forward his cavalry and guns to check their 
 advance. 
 
 "Hurry the infantry up, hurry them up," the 
 general said urgently to the officers by him. " Let 
 them take post along the ridge, and then fall back 
 fighting toward the bridge. Major MacLeod," he 
 said to an officer of the Forty-third, " take these 
 gentlemen with you ; they are officers of the Nor- 
 folk Rangers. They will join your regiment for the 
 present. When your regiment falls back occupy 
 that stone inclosure a little way down the slope at 
 the left of the road, and hold the enemy in check 
 while the troops file over the bridge." 
 
 The officer addressed looked with surprise at the 
 boys, and signing to them to folloAv, hurried off to his 
 regiment, which was on the left of the British line. 
 
 Next to them came a regiment of Portuguese 
 riflemen with a wing of the Ninety-fifth upon either 
 flank, while the Fifty-second formed the right of 
 the line. 
 
 Upon reaching the regiment Major MacLeod 
 briefly introduced the boys to the colonel, who said : 
 "As you have no arms, gentlemen, I think you had 
 better make for the bridge at once."
 
 THE YOUNG BUGLERS. 223 
 
 " Thank you, sir," Torn replied, " there will be 
 some muskets disposable before long, and directly 
 they are so we will take our place in the ranks." 
 
 They had now leisure to look round and examine 
 their position, and a glance was sufficient to show 
 how great was the peril in which General Crau- 
 f urd's obstinacy had placed his little force. In front 
 of them were twenty -four thousand French infantry, 
 five thousand cavalry, and thirty pieces of artillery. 
 An overwhelming force indeed, and one which could 
 scarcely have been withstood by -the four thousand 
 British infantry, even under the most favorable 
 conditions of position. The position, however, was 
 here wholly against the British. They stood at the 
 edge of a plateau, and behind them the ground fell 
 away in a steep hillside to the Coa, a mile distant, 
 and across the Coa there was but a single bridge. 
 
 The enemy was approaching fast. Key's great 
 brigade of cavalry swept the British horse before 
 them, and the infantry were following at a run. 
 
 Resistance on the edge of the plateau was hope- 
 less, and Craufurd ordered the infantry to fall back 
 at once. The Forty-third filed into the inclosure, 
 rapidly cut loopholes in the wall, and as the enemy 
 appeared on the crest above opened a tremendous 
 fire, under cover of which the cavalry and artillery 
 trotted briskly and in good order down the road to 
 the bridge. 
 
 The Scudamores, having no duty, stood at the 
 entrance to the inclosure and watched the fight on 
 their right. As the masses of French infantry
 
 224 THE YOUNG BUGLERS. 
 
 appeared on the edge of the plateau they made no 
 pause, but opening a heavy fire pressed forward on 
 the retiring British troops, who were falling back 
 in open order, contesting every inch of ground. So 
 rapidly and hotly, however, did the French press 
 after them that the British were soon pushed back 
 beyond the line of the inclosure, and as the French 
 followed closely, it was evident that the Forty-third 
 would be cut off and surrounded. 
 
 Their colonel saw their danger, and called upon 
 them to fall in and retreat, but the entrance was so 
 narrow that it was clear at a glance that ere one 
 company could pass through it the French would 
 be upon them, and the regiment caught like rats in 
 a trap. 
 
 Officers and men alike saw the danger, and there 
 was a pause of consternation. 
 
 Peter was standing next to the colonel, and said 
 suddenly as the idea flashed across him, " The wall is 
 not very strong, sir, if the men mass against it and 
 push together I think it will go." 
 
 The colonel caught at the idea. " Now, lads, 
 steady, form against the rear wall four deep, close 
 together, shoulder to shoulder, as close as you can 
 pack ; now get ready, one, two, three !" and at the 
 word the heavy mass of men swung themselves 
 against the wall ; it swayed with the shock, and many 
 stones were displaced ; another effort and the wall 
 tottered and fell, and with a glad shout the Forty- 
 third burst out, and trotting on at the double soon 
 joined the rifles and Ninety-fifth.
 
 THE YOUNG BUGLERS. 225 
 
 The ground was rough and broken with rocks, 
 vineyards and inclosures, and the troops, fighting 
 with admirable coolness and judgment, took advan- 
 tage of every obstacle and fell back calmly and in 
 good order before the overwhelming force opposed 
 to them. 
 
 Fortunately the jealousies of the French generals, 
 which throughout the campaign contributed in no 
 slight degree to the success of the British, was now 
 the cause of their safety, for Montbrun, who com- 
 manded the French heavy cavalry, refused to obey 
 Ney's order to charge straight down to the bridge, 
 in which case the whole English infantry would 
 have been cut off; the French hussars, however, 
 being on the British rear, charged among them 
 whenever the ground permitted them to do so. 
 
 Upon the British right the ground was more 
 open than upon the left, and the Fifty-second was 
 therefore obliged to fall back more quickly than 
 the rest of the line, and were the first to arrive at 
 the bridge head, which was still choked with 
 artillery and cavalry. This was the most dangerous 
 moment ; the rest of the infantry could not retreat 
 until the bridge was clear, and the French with ex- 
 ulting shouts pressed hard upon them to drive them 
 back upon the river. 
 
 Major MacLeod, seeing the urgent danger, rallied 
 four companies of his regiment upon a little hill on 
 the right of the road, while Major Rowan collected 
 two companies on another to the left. Here they 
 were joined by many of the riflemen, ana for 
 awhile the French advance was checked.
 
 226 THE YOUNG BUGLERS. 
 
 The Scudamores had remained throughout close 
 to Major MacLeod, and had long since armed them- 
 selves with the muskets and pouches of fallen men, 
 and with Forty-third shakos on their heads, were 
 fighting among the ranks. 
 
 The cloud of French skirmishers pressed hotly 
 forward, and MacLeod, seeing that the bridge was 
 still blocked, resolved suddenly upon a desperate 
 measure. Taking off his cap, he pointed to the 
 enemy, and calling upon his men to follow him, 
 rode boldly at them. Peter Scudamore caught up 
 a bugle which had fallen from a dead bugler by his 
 side, blew the charge, and the soldiers, cheering 
 loudly, followed MacLeod against the enemy. 
 
 Astounded at this sudden and unexpected attack, 
 the French skirmishers paused, and then fell back 
 before the furious charge of the Forty-third, who 
 pressed after them with loud and continuous cheer- 
 ing. Looking back, MacLeod saw that the bridge 
 was now clear, and recalled the troops, who fell 
 back rapidly again before the French infantry had 
 recovered sufficiently from their surprise to press 
 them. 
 
 The hussars were, however, again forward, and 
 were galloping down the road, which was here 
 sunken between somewhat high banks. Tom and 
 Peter were with the last company, which turned 
 and prepared to receive them, when Tom, pointing 
 to a coil of rope upon a cart which had broken down, 
 shouted, " Quick, tie it to these posts across the 
 road." Two or three men sprang to assist him, and
 
 THE YOUNG BUGLERS. 227 
 
 in a minute the rope was stretched across the road 
 at a foot from the ground, and fastened round a 
 stone post on either side. They had scarcely seized 
 their muskets and leaped up the bank again when 
 the French cavalry came thundering down the road. 
 " Fire, a few of you," Tom said, " so as to call their 
 attention up here," and in accordance with his order 
 a dropping fire was opened. The French came 
 along at a gallop ; a few of the leading horses saw 
 the rope and leaped it, but those behind caught it 
 and fell, the mass behind pressed on, and in an in- 
 stant the lane was choked with a confused mass of 
 men and horses. " Now a volley," Tom cried, " and 
 then to the bridge." 
 
 Every musket was emptied into the struggling 
 mass, and then, with a cheer, the men ran briskly 
 down to the bridge, and crossed the last of the 
 British troops over the Coa. 
 
 The rest of the infantry and artillery had already 
 taken ground on the heights behind the river, and 
 these opened fire upon the French as they ap- 
 proached the head of the bridge in pursuit. The 
 British were now, however, safe in the position 
 which they ought to have taken up before the 
 advance of the French, and had General Craufurd 
 obeyed his orders not to fight beyond the Coa, the 
 lives of three hundred and six -of his gallant troops, 
 including twenty-eight officers, would have been 
 saved. 
 
 The battle, however, was not yet over. The 
 artillery on both sides played across the ravine, the
 
 228 THE YOUNG BUGLERS. 
 
 French skirmishers swarmed down to the river 
 bank, and between them and the British infantry a 
 rapid fire was exchanged, while a heavy column 
 marched down to the bridge. With a deep-sound- 
 ing cheer they advanced upon it, while with answer- 
 ing cheers the British opened fire upon them. The 
 depth of the ravine at first deceived the British 
 marksmen, and the column pressed on until its head 
 was three-quarters across the bridge. Then the iron 
 shower smote it, and beneath that terrible fire the 
 head of the column melted away. Still it pressed 
 on till across the bridge the corpses lay piled in a 
 mass as high as the parapet, and beyond this heap, 
 this terrible line, there was no living. Then sullenly 
 and slowly the French fell back, while the British 
 cheers rose exultantly along the hillside. 
 
 Twice again did fresh columns pour on to the 
 bridge, but only to melt away under the British fire, 
 neither of them reaching the dreadful line which 
 marked the point reached by the head of the first. 
 The artillery and musketry fire on both sides con- 
 tinued until four in the afternoon, when a heavy 
 rain set in, and the fire ceased altogether. 
 
 As the Coa was fordable at several points lower 
 down, and the French could therefore have turned 
 the position next day, the British troops fell back 
 during the night behind the Pinhel River, where 
 Picton's division was also encamped. 
 
 Next morning the boys exchanged their Spanish 
 suits for the uniform of British officers, which they 
 obtained from the effects of some of those who had
 
 THE YOUNG BUGLERS. 229 
 
 fallen upon the previous day, these being, as is 
 isual in a campaign, at once sold by auction, the 
 amount realized being received by the paymaster 
 for the benefit of the dead men's relatives. Major 
 MacLeod had witnessed their ready presence of 
 mind in throwing the rope across the road, and so 
 checking the French charge, and giving time to the 
 rearguard to cross the bridge, and had made a very 
 favorable report upon the subject. 
 
 Two days later and they joined the Rangers, who 
 were stationed at Guarda, and were received with 
 the greatest heartiness by their brother officers, 
 with warm but respectful greetings by the men, 
 and with uproarious demonstrations of gladness on 
 the part of Sambo. 
 
 " The betting was two to one that you had gone 
 down, boys,'' Captain Manley said, after the first 
 greetings ; " but Carruthers and myself have taken 
 up all offers, and win I don't know how many 
 dinners and bottles of wine. I had the strongest 
 faith you would get through somehow. You will 
 take up your quarters with me. I have two bed- 
 rooms upstairs there, which Sam has taken posses- 
 sion of in your name. He would have it that you 
 were sure to be back in time for the first fight. 
 Dinner will be ready at six, and after that there 
 will be a general gathering round the fire in the 
 open to hear your adventures. No doubt you would 
 be dining with the colonel, but I know he is engaged 
 to the general." 
 
 " Yes, he told us so," Tom said, " and we are to 
 dine with him to-morrow."
 
 230 THE YOUNG BUGLERS. 
 
 " All right, then ; we'll make a night of it. Car- 
 ruthers is coming to dine, and Burke and Leth- 
 bridge; but the room won't hold more than six. 
 We are going to have a feast, for Sam has got hold 
 of a sucking-pig ; where he got it from I dare not 
 inquire, and Lethbridge said his fellow had, some- 
 how or other, found a turkey ; as to wine, we shall 
 have it of the best, for Burke is quartered at the 
 monastery, and the monks are so delighted at find- 
 ing him a good Catholic that they have given him 
 the run of their cellar." 
 
 It was a jovial dinner, and no words can express 
 the satisfaction and delight which beamed on Sam's 
 face as he stood behind his master, or the grin of 
 pride with which he placed the sucking-pig on the 
 table. 
 
 " Sam, Sam !" Captain Manley said reprovingly, 
 " I fear that pig is not honestly come by, and that 
 one of these days we shall hear that you have come 
 to a bad end." 
 
 " No, no, Massa Captain Manley, sar," Sam said, 
 " dat pig come quite honest, dat pig made present 
 to Sam." 
 
 " A likel} r story that, Sam. Come, out with it. 
 I have no doubt it was quite as honest as Leth- 
 bridge's turkey, anyhow. Come, tell us now it 
 was." 
 
 Thus invoked, Sam's face assumed the pompous 
 air with which he always related a story, and he 
 began : 
 
 "Well, sar, de affair happened in dis way When
 
 THE YOUNG BUGLERS. 231 
 
 de massa arribe, two o'clock, and went in for long 
 talk wid de colonel, dis chile said to himself, ' Now 
 what am I going to get them for dinner?' De 
 rations sarve out dis morning war all skin and 
 bone, and war pretty nigh finished at lunch. Sam 
 say to himself, Captain Manley's sure to say, 
 ' You dine wid me ;' but as Captain Manley hadn't 
 got no food himself, de invitation was bery kind, 
 bery kind indeed ; but massa wasn't likely to get 
 fat on dat invitation." 
 
 Sam's narrative was interrupted by a perfect 
 shout of laughter upon the part of all at table, Cap- 
 tain Manley joining heartily in the laugh against 
 himself. When they had a little recovered again 
 Sam went on as gravely as ever. " Dis struck Sam 
 bery serious, not to have nothing for dinner after 
 being away seben months ; presently idea occur to 
 dis chile, and he stroll permiscuous up to big farm- 
 house on hill. When Sam got near house, kept out 
 of sight of window ; at last got quite close, took off 
 shako, and put head suddenly in at window. Sure 
 enough, just what Sam expected, dere sat missus of 
 farm, fat ole woman, wid fat ole servant opposite 
 her. De door was open, and dis little pig and sev- 
 eral of his broders and sisters was a frisking in and 
 out. De ole women look up bofe togeder, and dey 
 give a awful shriek when dey saw dis chile's head ; 
 dey fought it were de debil, sure enough. Dey 
 drop down on dere knees, and begin to pray as fast 
 as maybe. Den I give a loud ' Yah ! yah !' and dey 
 screams out fresh. ' Oh ! good massa debil !' says the
 
 232 THE YOUNG BUGLERS. 
 
 old woman, ' what you want ? I been bery, bery 
 bad, but don't take me away.' You see, Massa 
 Tom, I pick up little Spanish, 'nuff to understand, 
 since you been gone. I not say nuffin, and de old 
 woman den go on, 'If you want one soul, Massa 
 Debil, take dis here,' pointing to her serbant ; ' she 
 been much more wicked nor me.' Den de serbant 
 she set up awful shriek, and I says, * Dis time I hab 
 pity on you, nex' time I come, if you not good I 
 carry you bofe away. But must take soul away to 
 big debil, else he neber forgib me. Dere, I will 
 carry off soul of little pig. Gib it me.' De serbant 
 she gives cry ob joy, jump up, seize little pig, and 
 bery much afraid, bring him to window. Before I 
 take him I say to old missus, ' Dis a free gibt on 
 your part ?' and she say, ' Oh, yes, oh, yes, good 
 Massa Debil, you can take dem all if you like.' I 
 say, 'No; only one and now me gib you bit 
 advice. My massa down below hear you bery bad 
 ole woman, never gib noting to de poor, bery hard, 
 bery bad. Me advise you change your conduct, or 
 as sure as eggs is eggs, he send me up again for you 
 in no time.' Den 1 gave two great 'Yah! yah's!' 
 again bery loud, and showed de white ob my eye, 
 and dey went down on to knees again, and I go 
 quietly round corner ob house, and walk home wid 
 de pig which was giben to me. Noting like steal- 
 ing about dat, Massa Manley, sar ! " 
 
 Sam's story was received with roars of laughter, 
 and when they had recovered themselves a little 
 Captain Manley said, "It is lucky we march to-
 
 THE YOUNG BUGLERS. 233 
 
 morrow, Sam, for if the good woman were to catch 
 a glimpse of you in uniform, and were to find she 
 had been tricked, she might lay a complaint against 
 you ; and although, as you say the pig was freely 
 given to you, I imagine the provost-marshal might 
 consider that it was obtained under false pretenses. 
 But here are the other men outside ; we had better 
 adjourn, for every one is longing to hear your 
 adventures." 
 
 It was a lovely evening, and as the officers of the 
 Norfolk Hangers sat or lay round the fire, which 
 was lit for light and cheerfulness rather than 
 warmth, the boys, after their long wanderings 
 among strangers, felt how pleasant and bright life 
 was among friends and comrades. They had first 
 to relate their 'ad ventures with .the guerrillas, after 
 which it was agreed that they had earned the right 
 to be silent for the rest of the evening, and song, 
 and jest, and merry story went round the ring. 
 
 Sam was installed under the direction of the 
 doctor, a jovial Irishman, as concocter of punch, 
 and his office was by no means a sinecure. 
 
 " Now, major, give us the song of the regiment," 
 Captain Manley said, and, as he spoke, there was a 
 general cry round the circle of " The Hangers, the 
 Rangers." " I'm agreeable," the major said. " Give 
 me another tumbler of punch to get my pipes in 
 order. Make it a little sweeter than the last brew, 
 Sam; yes, that's better. Well, here goes full 
 chorus, and no shirking."
 
 234 THE YOUNG BUGLERS. 
 
 THE RANGERS. 
 
 " Hurrah for the Rangers, hurrah! hurrah! 
 Here's to the corps that we love so well; 
 Ever the first in the deadly fray, 
 Steady and firm amid shot and shell. 
 Scatter'd as skirmishers out in the front, 
 Contesting each foot of the grcuiid we hold, 
 Nor yielding a step though we bear the brunt 
 Of the first attack of the foemen bold. 
 
 Hurrah for the Rangers, hurrah! hurrah! 
 
 Here's to the corps that we love so well; 
 
 Ever the first in the deadly fray, 
 
 Steady and firm amid shot and shell. 
 
 " Steady, boys, steady, the foe falls back, 
 Sullenly back to the beat of the drum, 
 Hark to the thunder that nears our flank, 
 Rally in square, boys, their cavalry come. 
 Squadron on squadron, wave upon wave, 
 Dashing along with an ocean's force, 
 But they break into spray on our bayonets' points, 
 And we mock at the fury of rider and horse. 
 Hurrah for the Rangers, etc. 
 
 The gunner may boast of the death he deals 
 As he shatters the foe with his iron hail. 
 And may laugh with pride as he checks the charge, 
 Or sees the dark column falter and quail. 
 But the gunner fights with the foe afar, 
 In the rear of the line is the battery's place, 
 The Ranger fights with a sterner joy, 
 For he strives with his foeman face to face. 
 Hurrah for the Rangers, etc.
 
 THE YOUNG BUGLERS. 235 
 
 " The cavalry man is dashing and gay, 
 His steed is fast, and his blade is fine, 
 He blithely rides to the fiercest fray, 
 And cuts his way through the foeman's line. 
 But the wild, fierce joy of the deadly breach, 
 Or the patient pluck of the serried square 
 Are far away from the horseman's reach. 
 While the Norfolk Rangers are sure to be there. 
 Hurrah for the Rangers, etc." 
 
 Long, loud, and hearty was the cheering as the 
 last chorus concluded. " Yery good song, very well 
 sung, jolly companions every "one," shouted the 
 doctor. " Uow, Manley, keep the ball rolling, give 
 us ' The Bivouac.' ' : Captain Manley emptied his 
 glass, and, without hesitation, began : 
 
 THE BIVOUAC. 
 
 " The weary march is over, boys, the campfire's burning 
 
 bright, 
 
 So gather round the blazing logs, we'll keep high feast to- 
 night, 
 
 For every heart is full of joy, and every cheek aglow, 
 That after months of waiting, at last we meet the foe, 
 To-morrow's sun will see the fight, and ere that sun goes 
 
 down, 
 
 Our glorious flag another wreath of victory shall crown. 
 Hurrah, hurrah for the bivouac, 
 With comrades tried and true, 
 With faces bright, and spirits light, 
 And the foemen's fires in view. 
 
 " Then fill your cups with Spanish wine, and let the toast go 
 
 round; 
 
 Here's a health to all who love us on dear old England's 
 ground.
 
 236 THE YOUNG BUGLERS. 
 
 Be their tresses gold or auburn, or black as ebon's hue, 
 Be their eyes of witching hazel, loving gray, or heaven's 
 
 blue, 
 Here's to them all, the girls we love, God bless them every 
 
 one: 
 May we all be here to toast them when to-morrow's work is 
 
 done. 
 
 Hurrah, hurrah, etc. 
 
 " But whate'er to-morrow bring us, it shall shed no gloom 
 
 to-night, 
 For a British soldier does not flinch from thought of death 
 
 in fight; 
 
 No better ending could we wish, no worthier do we know, 
 Than to fall for king and country, with our face toward 
 
 the foe; 
 And if we go, our friends who stay will keep our memory 
 
 bright, 
 
 And will drink to us in silence by many a campfire's light. 
 Hurrah, hurrah, etc." 
 
 When the last chorus had ceased, the boys, who 
 had had a long march that morning, and were 
 thoroughly tired, stole quietly off to bed, but it was 
 not till long after they had gone to sleep that the 
 jovial party round the fire broke up, and that Sam 
 was relieved from his duties of concocter of punch.
 
 THE YOU1TG BUGLERS. 237 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 BT7SAOO AND TORRES VEDRAS. 
 
 INSTEAD of pressing forward upon his invasion of 
 Portugal, Massena prepared to besiege Almeida, 
 and for a month the British and Portuguese army 
 remained in their position within a few hours' 
 march of that town. Wellington expected that 
 Almeida would be able to resist for two months, 
 and hoped to find some opportunity for falling 
 suddenly upon the besiegers ; but even a resistance 
 of two months would have made it so late in the 
 season that Massena must have postponed his inva- 
 sion until the next spring. 
 
 Upon the morning of the 26th of August the 
 French batteries opened fire, and from Guarda the 
 dull, heavy roar of artillery could be heard all day. 
 As darkness fell the officers of the Rangers were, 
 as usual, assembling round their fire, when the 
 earth seemed to shake beneath their feet, and a 
 flash like that of summer lightning lit the eastern 
 sky. " What can that be ?" was the general ex- 
 clamation. A minute later, and a deep, heavy, 
 prolonged roar sounded in their ears then all was 
 quiet.
 
 238 THE YOUNG BUGLERS. 
 
 ' That is a big magazine," Captain Manley said, 
 " and I'm afraid it's the town, for it sounded too 
 heavy for a mere field magazine. If it be the town, 
 you'll see it won't hold out much longer ; even if 
 the actual damage is not very great, a great explo- 
 sion always damages the morale of a defense, and 
 in that case we shall have Massena upon us, and 
 there will be wigs on the green ere many days are 
 over." 
 
 Captain Manley 's conclusions were correct. The 
 magazine of Almeida had exploded with terrific 
 effect. Only six houses were left standing in the 
 town, a considerable portion of the ramparts was 
 thrown down, and five hundred people were killed 
 on the spot. The stones were hurled in all direc- 
 tions with such force that forty of the besiegers 
 were hurt in the trenches. 
 
 Colonel Cox, who commanded, endeavored to 
 rally the panic-stricken garrison, and upon the fol- 
 lowing morning attempted to negotiate with Mas- 
 sena, who sent an officer to demand instant sur- 
 render. 
 
 Defense was, in fact, impossible, but Colonel Cox 
 attempted to negotiate, because he hoped that Wel- 
 lington would at once advance to his rescue. His 
 intentions were frustrated, however, by the treachery 
 and mutiny of the principal Portuguese officers 
 under him, and the French at once took possession 
 of the ruins. 
 
 The British army fell back a short distance when 
 the news of the disaster arrived, and a fortnight of
 
 THE YOUNG BUGLERS. 239 
 
 great anxiety and watchfulness passed, as it was not 
 certain by which road or roads Massena would 
 advance. 
 
 It was not until the 18th of September that Mas- 
 sena fairly commenced his march, having chosen 
 the road from Yisen through Martagoa, and the 
 next day the news reached the Rangers that the 
 British army was to concentrate on the heights of 
 Busaco. 
 
 " So we are going to have a fight for it," Car- 
 ruthers said to the boys, as the officers assembled 
 in readiness to take their places when the troops 
 had fallen in. " What will be the end of -it ?" 
 
 "We kball lick them," an old captain said, 
 " though they are two to one, and then they will 
 march round us somehow, and then we shall have 
 to fall back in all haste on Lisbon, and embark 
 there, and we shall eat our Christmas dinner in 
 England." 
 
 There was a general murmur of assent, for at 
 that time the belief was almost universal in the 
 British army that they would be forced to abandon 
 Portugal. 
 
 "I do not know," Major Fanshawe said. "I 
 heard last night, from a man who has just returned 
 from sick leave at Lisbon, that there are thousands 
 of peasants employed under our engineers in getting 
 up some tremendous works some fifteen miles this 
 side of Lisbon. I should not be surprised yet if 
 Massena finds the chief a nut too hard to crack, 
 with all his force."
 
 240 THE YOUNG BUGLERS. 
 
 "I have heard something about these works at 
 Torres Vedras," Captain Manley said, "a mere 
 rumor ; still, I believe there must be something in 
 it. Wellington has only srme twenty-five thousand 
 British troops, and as many Portuguese, while Mas- 
 sena has over a hundred thousand veterans at his 
 command. Our game would be hopeless unless we 
 have something to fall back on. No ; I have every 
 faith in our general. But there goes the bugle." 
 
 On the 24tht,l}Ue Rangers, with the rest of Pic- 
 ton's divisio^, a, fl^ved on the crest of Busaco, where 
 Cole's and Craufurd's divisions arrived on the same 
 day. This position was one of immense strength, 
 being a long ridge, with a very deep valley in 
 front. Upon the opposite side of this ravine the 
 slope was as steep and sharp as that of Busaco 
 itself, so that the opposite crest was within easy 
 cannon shot. The enemy, in order to attack the 
 British position, would have to descend into the 
 bottom of this steep ravine, and then climb up the 
 precipitous ascent, to meet the British soldiers 
 awaiting them, fresh and unshaken, at the top. So 
 strong, indeed, was the position that the English 
 generals were doubtful whether Massena would 
 venture to attack. 
 
 Upon the 25th Craufurd moved his division for- 
 ward, and would have repeated his mistake of the 
 Coa had not Wellington himself gone forward and 
 recalled the troops, bringing them off with difficult}' 
 in the face of the advancing masses of the French. 
 By three in the afternoon forty thousand French
 
 THE YOUNG BUGLERS. 241 
 
 infantry were on the ridge opposite Busaco, and it 
 appeared probable that the battle would take place 
 that afternoon, in which case the British position 
 would have been precarious, for neither Spencer's, 
 Hill's, nor Leith's divisions were up. 
 
 Massena, however, was miles behind, and Ney, 
 who commanded the advance, could not attack 
 without orders ; thus, the moment favorable for the 
 French passed by. When Massena arrived next 
 day the British divisions were all up and in their 
 places, and the long crest of Bus'aco swarmed with 
 troops. Hill occupied the right across the road to 
 Pena Cova, then came Leith's fifth division, then 
 came Picton with the third division, with Spencer's 
 division, the first, next to him. On a plateau in 
 front of a convent lay Craufurd and Pack, while 
 Cole, with the fourth division, was on the left. 
 
 The 27th and 28th were passed in comparative 
 tranquillity, the rival armies surveying each other 
 across the chasm. From the woods far below came 
 up the constant crack of the rifle, as the skirmishers 
 on either side pushed each other backward ; and on 
 the evening of the 28th this fighting increased so 
 much in strength and intensity that the British 
 troops were some time under arms in expectation 
 of a night attack, for the enemy's riflemen had 
 pressed far up on the hillside toward the British 
 lines. As the night went on, however, the fire 
 ceased, and the dark ravine between the two long 
 lines of bright watchfires became hushed and still. 
 
 The Rangers were with Picton's division, and
 
 242 THE YOUNG BUGLERS. 
 
 were out as an advance halfway down the ravine, 
 two companies being down in the bottom as skir- 
 mishers. Morning was but just breaking when a 
 heavy fire burst out in front. The regiment sprang 
 to its feet, and prepared for action. It was not 
 long in coming, for the fire rolled rapidly up the 
 hill toward them, and the skirmishing companies 
 came running back, pressed by a heavy column of 
 the enemy. Reynier had formed in two divisions, 
 one of which was now pressing forward against 
 Picton's right, while the object of the other was to 
 gain the crest still further to the right, and so place 
 themselves between Picton and Leigh. The whole 
 regiment was at once engaged, but the French 
 assault was too powerful to be resisted, and the 
 Rangers and the other regiments of the advanced 
 brigade gave way sullenly, while the French eagerly 
 pressed up the hill, although a battery opened upon 
 them from the crest, while they were unsupported 
 by their own artillery. 
 
 " Golly, Massa Peter, dese fellows fight bery 
 hard ; look as if dey lick us dis time," the black. 
 who was in Peter's company, said to him as the 
 regiment retreated. 
 
 " The battle has only begun yet, Sam. We have 
 plenty of fresh troops at the top of the hill." 
 
 " Good ting, dat, Massa Peter. Bery hard work, 
 dis climb hill, carry kit, fire gun, dodge de bullets, 
 all same time." 
 
 " You didn't dodge that bullet sharp enough, 
 Sam," Peter said with a laugh, as the negro's shako 
 was carried off with a ball.
 
 THE YOUNG BUGLERS. 243 
 
 " Him cum too fast. Dere, you frog-eating thief," 
 he said angrily as he fired his musket at an advanc- 
 ing foe. " Dat serve you right," he went on to 
 himself as the Frenchman fell. " You spoil Sam's 
 hat. Dis colored gentleman catch cold first time 
 him come on to rain." 
 
 The French continued their impetuous advance. 
 Picton's right, as they climbed the hill, fell back 
 toward his center, and in half an hour from the 
 first shot being fired the head of the French column 
 had won the crest, and, being between Leigh and 
 Picton's divisions, had cut the British position. 
 Then the column nearest to Picton's division began 
 to wheel to its right, so as to sweep the crest. 
 
 " Lie down, the Rangers ; every man down," 
 shouted the colonel, and the breathless men threw 
 themselves panting on the ground. A wild Irish 
 shout was heard behind them as they did so, and a 
 tremendous volley of musketry rang over their 
 heads, and then the Eighty-eighth and a wing of 
 the Forty-fifth dashed across them, and, with fierce 
 cheers, charged that portion of the column engaged 
 in wheeling. Breathless and in disorder from their 
 prodigious efforts, the French were unable to resist 
 this fresh attack. In an instant the British were 
 among them, and mixed up in wild confusion, 
 fighting hand to hand, the mass of combatants went 
 mingled together down the hill. Nor was the suc- 
 cess of the French column which had gained the 
 crest of long duration, for Leith brought up one of 
 his brigades ; Colonel Cameron 3 with the Ninth
 
 244 THE YOUNG BUGLERS. 
 
 Regiment, dashed at the enemy with the bayonet, 
 without firing a single shot, while the Thirty- 
 eighth attacked their flank; and the French, unublo 
 to resist the onslaught, relinquished their position 
 and retreated down the hill. Nor upon the French 
 right had Key's attack proved more successful. 
 
 Napier thus describes the combat in this quarter 
 of the field: " When the light broke, three heavy 
 masses detached from the sixth corps were seen to 
 enter the woods below, and to throw forward a 
 profusion of skirmishers ; one of them, under Gen- 
 eral Marchand, emerging from the dark chasm and 
 following the main road, seemed intent to turn the 
 right of the light division ; a second, under Loison, 
 made straight up the mountain against the front ; 
 the third remained in reserve. Simon's brigade. 
 leading Loison's attack, ascended with a wonderful 
 alacrity, and though the light troops plied it inces- 
 santly with musketry, and the artillery bullets 
 swept through it from the first to the last section, 
 its order was never disturbed, nor its speed in the 
 least abated. Boss' guns were worked with in- 
 credible quickness, yet their range was palpably 
 contracted every round ; the enemy's shots came 
 ringing up in a sharper key, the English skirmish- 
 ers, breathless and begrimed with powder, rushed 
 over the edge of the ascent, the artillery drew back, 
 and the victorious cries of the French were heard 
 within a few yards of the summit. Craufurd, 
 standing alone on one of the rocks, had been in- 
 tently watching the progress of their attack, and
 
 THE YOUNG BUGLERS. 245 
 
 now, with a shrill tone, ordered the two regiments 
 in reserve to charge. The next moment a horrid 
 shout startled the French column, and eighteen 
 hundred British bayonets went sparkling over the 
 hill. Yet so brave, so hardy were the leading 
 French, that each man of the first section raised 
 his musket, and two officers and ten men fell before 
 them. Not a Frenchman had missed his mark. 
 They could do no more. The head of their column 
 was violently thrown back upon the rear, both 
 flanks were overlapped at the same time by the 
 English wings, three terrible discharges at five 
 yards' distance shattered the wavering mass, and a 
 long line of broken arms and bleeding carcasses 
 marked the line of flight." 
 
 Ney did not renew the attack, and with some des- 
 ultory skirmishing the battle ended at two o'clock, 
 and an hour's truce enabled both parties to carry off 
 their wounded. 
 
 Small parties of the French came in contact with 
 the English skirmishers during the afternoon, but 
 the battle of Busaco was over. 
 
 " Don't call dat much of battle," Sam said dis- 
 contentedly. " Just little fierce fight, bery out 
 of bref, and den, just as second wind came, all 
 ober." 
 
 The battle of Busaco was indeed one of secondary 
 importance. The losses were not great on either 
 side, although that of the French was fully threefold 
 greater than that of the British, as the former were 
 exposed during their attack to the grape and shell
 
 246 THE YOUNG BUGLERS. 
 
 of the British guns, while the French guns afforded 
 no assistance to their infantry. The French loss, in 
 killed and wounded and prisoners, did not exceed 
 four thousand, of which only eight hundred were 
 killed. Nor was any strategical advantage gained 
 by the battle, for the French, upon the following 
 day, found a road across the hills to the British left 
 from Martagoa through Bonzalva. 
 
 Throughout the day they made feints of renewing 
 the attack upon the English position, and it was not 
 until late in the afternoon that long columns of 
 men were seen crossing the hill to the left ; and 
 Wellington discovered that Busaco had been won in 
 vain, for that his flank was turned, and there was 
 nothing for it but to fall back upon Torres Vedras. 
 Before night the whole British army was in retreat. 
 
 " "What a horrible scene of confusion," Tom re- 
 marked, as they marched into the town of Coimbra 
 next day. 
 
 " Confusion !" Captain Manley said ; " it is enough 
 to drive a commander-in-chief out of his mind. 
 Here Wellington has for weeks been endeavoring to 
 get the Portuguese government to compel all the 
 population to retire upon Lisbon, carrying all they 
 can, destroying the mills, and burning all the corn 
 they could not carry off. The government did issue 
 the order, but it has taken no steps whatever to 
 carry it out, although they knew all along that we 
 could never repel the invasion in the open. As it 
 is, the greater portion of these poor wretches will 
 lose all they possess, which they might have carried
 
 THE YOUNG BUGLERS. 247 
 
 off quietly enough during the last two months. 
 Many of them will lose their lives, and they will 
 block the roads so that we shall have the French 
 down on us to a certainty." 
 
 Nothing could be more sad than the scene. The 
 streets of Coimbra were crowded with fugitives 
 from the country round, and these, as well as the 
 inhabitants, were all preparing to push onward 
 toward Lisbon. Bullock carts and carriages, mules, 
 donkeys, and horses were crowded together, all 
 laden with the aged, the children, 'the sick, and such 
 property as was most portable and valuable.' Happily 
 Massena had a circuitous detour to make ; the road 
 in the mountain defile was scarcely passable, and 
 throughout the march he displayed but little energy; 
 consequently it was not until the morning of the 
 1st of October that his cavalry engaged those of the 
 light division which was covering the retreat. The 
 division fell back through the town, and the inhabit- 
 ants, who had lingered to the last in some vague 
 hope that the French would not come, now rushed 
 out again. The bridge behind the town was choked, 
 and the troops had to halt for some time. In the 
 rear the pistol shots of the cavalry told of the ap- 
 proach of the French, and the din made by the 
 panic-stricken fugitives was increased by the yells 
 of the prisoners shut up and forgotten in the prison 
 hard by. Their cries and supplications were too 
 painful to be resisted, and the British forced the 
 prison doors and let them free. Once across the 
 bridge, the troops found the defile of Condeixa so
 
 248 THE YOUNG BUGLERS. 
 
 choked up that it was impossible to effect a passage, 
 and, had the French pressed them, the division must 
 have been destroyed. 
 
 The French infantry, however, had not arrived, 
 and by night the road was cleared, and the troops 
 passed on. 
 
 There was no pursuit, for Massena allowed his 
 troops to halt and plunder Coimbra, and the British 
 by easy marches fell back to Torres Vedras ; but 
 though unpursued, the disorder and relaxation of 
 discipline which always marks a retreat showed 
 itself, and Wellington was obliged to hang several 
 plunderers, and to resort to other severe measures 
 to restore to discipline that army which only a 
 week before had repulsed the best troops of France. 
 Toward the end of the march the French pressed 
 them again, and Craufurd, with his light division, 
 had a narrow escape of being cut off. 
 
 Great was the satisfaction of the British troops 
 when they took up the position so carefully pre- 
 pared for them; equally great the surprise of 
 Massena and the French army when they beheld 
 the almost impregnable line of redoubts and for- 
 tresses of whose very existence they had only 
 heard a confused rumor two or three days before. 
 And yet formidable as was the chain of forts occu- 
 pied by the British, this was weak in comparison to 
 the second line, some five or six miles in the rear, 
 to which Wellington would have fallen back if 
 driven from his first position. This second position 
 was indeed that which he had originally intended to
 
 THE YOUNG BUGLERS. 249 
 
 have taken up, the redoubts on the exterior range 
 of hills being intended as outposts ; but while 
 Massena delayed his advance, the outside line of forti- 
 fications had so grown and increased in strength, 
 that "Wellington resolved to hold them in the first 
 place. 
 
 There were, therefore, as will be seen by the 
 plan, three lines of defense. The first from Al- 
 handra on the Tagus to Zizandre on the seacoast. 
 This, following the windings of the hills, was 
 twenty-nine miles long ; the second and main line 
 was from Quintella on the Tagus to the mouth of 
 the San Lorenza, twenty-four miles in length ; the 
 third, intended to cover an embarkation, in case of 
 necessity, extended from Passo d'Arcos on the Tagus 
 to the town of Junquera on the coast. 
 
 Massena spent some days in surveying the British 
 position, and came to the conclusion that it was too 
 strong to be attacked. Had the order of Welling- 
 ton been carried out, and the whole country wasted 
 of provisions, the French army must have made a 
 precipitate retreat to avoid starvation, for <they 
 had no provisions or connection with Spain. Wilson 
 and Trant, with Portuguese levies, hung upon their 
 rear, and captured Coimbra, where Massena had left 
 his sick and wounded, five thousand in number, 
 upon the very day after the main French army 
 advanced from that town. So vast were the 
 supplies, however, left in the country that Massena 
 was able to take up his position, first immediately 
 in front of the British lines, and afterward at
 
 250 THE YOUNG BUGLERS. 
 
 Santarem, within a day's march of them, and to 
 maintain his army in food throughout the winter 
 until the beginning of March. 
 
 " Have you seen the Gazette, Scudamore ?" Car- 
 ruthers asked, rushing into the tent one morning 
 about a week after the regiment had settled down 
 in its tents on the heights of Torres Vedras. 
 
 " No ; what's up ?" Tom replied. 
 
 " There you are ; you have both got your steps. 
 Thomas Scudamore, ensign, Norfolk Rangers, to be 
 lieutenant, for distinguished services in the field. 
 Peter Scudamore, ditto, ditto. I wondered the 
 chief had done nothing for you after your journey 
 through Spain." 
 
 " I am sure I did not expect anything," Tom an- 
 swered, " and was quite content when the colonel 
 told us that Lord Wellington had said he was 
 pleased with the manner we had done our work. 
 However, I am very glad; but it is not pleasant 
 going over five or six fellows' heads." 
 
 "Fortune of war," Carruthers said, laughing. 
 " Besides, two of them are at the depot, Sankey is 
 away on sick leave, and none of the three who are 
 senior to you here will ever set the Thames on fire. 
 No, no, you have fairly earned your step, and no 
 one can say a word against it." 
 
 The news soon spread, and the boys were heart- 
 ily congratulated by all the officers of the regiment 
 on their promotion, which placed them next on the 
 list to Carruthers, who had previously been the 
 junior lieutenant. Promotion in those days was
 
 THE YOUNG BUGLERS. 251 
 
 rapid, and after a severe engagement an ensign 
 only joined upon the previous week might find him- 
 self a lieutenant, from the number of death vacan- 
 cies caused in the ranks above him. The Norfolk 
 Rangers had not suffered heavily at Talavera, or 
 the boys might have had their lieutenant's rank be- 
 fore this without performing any exceptional 
 services. 
 
 " I \vish we could get two months' leave, Tom," 
 Peter said that night. " Of course it is impossible, 
 but it would be jolly to drop in .upon Rhoda. By 
 her letter she seems well and happy, and aunt is 
 very kind to her. It would be nice ; and now we 
 are lieutenants, aunt wouldn't tell us to rub our 
 shoes." 
 
 " No," Tom laughed, " or be afraid of our pelting 
 her pigeons and Minnie." 
 
 "No," Peter said. "Evidently she is coming 
 round. Rhoda said that since she has heard we 
 have got our commissions she has given up prophe- 
 sying once or twice a day that we shall come to a 
 bad end probably hanging." 
 
 " Yes, and Rhoda said in her letter yesterday 
 that aunt was quite touched with those lace man- 
 tillas we got at Madrid, and sent off the day after 
 we rejoined, and actually remarked that, although 
 we could no longer be looked upon as boys, and 
 seemed really as hairbrained and fond of getting 
 into scrapes as ever, yet it was evident that we 
 were good, kindly lads, and meant well at heart." 
 
 "I wish," Tom said, with a sudden burst of
 
 252 THE YOUNG BUGLERS. 
 
 laughter, " that we could dress in our old disguises, 
 I as a student of theology, you as a mild young 
 novice ; what a lark we would have with her!" and 
 the boys went off into such shouts of laughter that 
 their aunt would have thought them more scatter- 
 brained than ever if she had heard them, while 
 from the tent of Captain Manley on one side, and 
 of Carruthers and another young officer on the 
 other, came indignant expostulations, and entreaties 
 that they would keep quiet, and let other people go 
 to sleep.
 
 THE YOUNG BUGLERS. 253 
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 AT.~Rrnr.TtA, 
 
 VERY heavily did the five months in the lines of 
 Torres Yedras pass to the Norfolk Eangers. When, 
 in the beginning of November, Massena fell back to 
 Santarem, the greater portion of the army followed 
 him in readiness for attack should any openings be 
 found. Massena, however, intrenched himself in a 
 very strong position, and "Wellington could no more 
 attack him than he could attack the lines of Torres 
 Yedras ; so that both armies faced each other in 
 inactivity until the beginning of March, when Mas- 
 sena broke up his camp and began to retreat. 
 
 The Norfolk Rangers had been one of the regi- 
 ments which had remained in their quarters on 
 Torres Yedras throughout the winter, and great 
 was the joy with which they received orders to 
 strike their tents and push on in pursuit. The 
 retreat of Massena was masterly. Ney's division 
 covered the rear, and several sharp fights took place 
 which are known in history as the combats of 
 Pombal, Redinha, Cazal Nova, Foz d'Aronce, and 
 Sabugal.
 
 254 THE YOUNG BUGLERS. 
 
 In most of these the enemy were driven from 
 their position Toy the British outflanking them and 
 threatening their line of retreat ; but in the last, by 
 a mistake of General Erskine, a portion of his 
 division attacked the enemy in rear, and, al- 
 though vastly outnumbered, drove him off from the 
 crest he held with desperate valor. Wellington 
 himself said, "This was one of the most glorious 
 actions British troops were ever engaged in." 
 
 The next day the French crossed the Coa and 
 Turones, and took up their position under the guns 
 of Ciudad Rodrigo, which they had left six months 
 before with the full assurance that they were going 
 to conquer Portugal, and drive the British into the 
 sea. The invasion cost Massena thirty thousand 
 men, killed in battle, taken prisoners, or dead from 
 hardships, fatigues, and fevers. 
 
 The Scudamores were not present at the battle of 
 Sabugal, for on the afternoon after the combat of 
 Foz d'Aronce an orderly rode up to the regiment 
 and handed a note to the colonel. He read it, and 
 at once summoned the Scudamores to his side. 
 
 " An order from the commander-in-chief," he said, 
 " for you to go to him at once." 
 
 Following the orderly, the boys soon arrived at 
 the cottage at which Lord Wellington had estab- 
 lished his headquarters. 
 
 " His lordship is with Lord Beresford," the aid- 
 de-camp to whom they gave their names said, " but 
 the orders are that you are to be shown in at once." 
 
 The lads were ushered into a small room, where,
 
 THE YOUNG BUGLERS. 255 
 
 seated at a table, were the commanders-in-chief 
 of the British and the Portuguese troops. 
 
 " Young gentlemen," the former said, looking up 
 with his keen, piercing eyes, " I have not seen you 
 since your return from Spain. I am content with 
 what you did, and with the detailed report you sent 
 me in. I shall keep my eye upon you. Lord 
 Beresford has asked me for two officers as aids-de- 
 camp, and he specially requires them to have a per- 
 fect knowledge of Spanish. I have mentioned your 
 names to him. It is not often that I confidently 
 recommend young officers, but from what I know 
 of you I have felt able to do so in the present case. 
 You will, with him, have opportunities of dis- 
 tinguishing yourselves such as you could not have 
 with your regiment. You accept the appoint- 
 ments?" 
 
 Tom and Peter would far rather have remained 
 with their regiment, but they felt that after what 
 Lord Wellington had said they could not refuse ; 
 they consequently expressed at once their willing- 
 ness to serve, and their thanks to the general for 
 his kindness in recommending them. 
 
 " You can ride, I hope ?" Lord Beresford, a pow- 
 erfully-built, pleasant-looking man said. 
 
 " Yes, sir, we can both ride, but at present " 
 
 " You have no horses, of course ?" Lord Beresford 
 put in. " I will provide you with horses, and will 
 assign servants to you from one of the cavalry regi- 
 ments with me. Will you join me at daybreak to- 
 morrow ? We shall march at once."
 
 256 THE YOUNG BUGLERS. 
 
 There was a general expression of regret when 
 the Scudamores informed their comrades that they 
 were again ordered on detached duty. As to Sam, 
 when Tom told him that he could not accompany 
 them, he was uproarious in his lamentations, and 
 threatened to desert from his regiment in order to 
 follow them. At this the boys laughed, and told 
 Sam that he would be arrested and sent back before 
 he had gone six hours. 
 
 " I tink, Massa Tom, dat you might hab told de 
 general dat you hab got an fust-class serbant, and 
 dat you bring him wid you." 
 
 " But we shall be mounted now, Sam, and must 
 have mounted men with us. You can't ride, you 
 know." 
 
 " Yes, massa, dis child ride first-rate, he can." 
 
 " Why, Sam, I heard you say not long ago you 
 had never ridden on a horse all your life." 
 
 " Never hab, massa, dat's true 'nuff ; but Sam 
 sure he can ride. Bery easy ting dat. Sit on 
 saddle, one leg each side not bery difficult dat. 
 Sam see tousand soldiers do dat ebery day ; dey sit 
 quite easy on saddle ; much more easy dat dan beat 
 big drum." 
 
 The boys laughed heartily at Sam's notion of 
 riding without practice, and assured him that it was 
 not so easy as he imagined. 
 
 " Look here, Sam," Peter said at last, " you prac- 
 tice riding a little, and then next time we get away 
 we will ask for you to go with us." And with this 
 Sam was obliged to be content.
 
 THE YOUNG BUGLERS. 257 
 
 Half an hour later when the boys were chatting 
 with Captain Manley, Carruthers, and two or three 
 other officers, in the tent of the first-named officer, 
 they heard a commotion outside, with shouts of 
 laughter, in which they joined as soon as they went 
 out and saw what was going on. 
 
 Sam, upon leaving the Scudarnores, determined 
 at once upon trying the experiment of riding, in 
 order that he might for he had no doubt all would 
 be easy enough ride triumphantly up to his mas- 
 ters' tent and prove his ability to accompany them 
 at once. He was not long before he saw a muleteer 
 coming along sitting carelessly on his mule, with 
 both legs on one side of the animal, side-saddle 
 fashion, as is the frequent custom of muleteers. It 
 was evident, by the slowness of his pace, that he 
 was not pressed for time. 
 
 Sam thought that this was a fine opportunity. 
 
 " Let me have a ride ?" he said to the muleteer in 
 broken Portuguese. 
 
 The man shook his head. Sam held out a quarter 
 of a dollar. " There," he said, " I'll give you that 
 for an hour's ride." 
 
 The muleteer hesitated, and then said: "The 
 mule is very bad-tempered with strangers." 
 
 " Oh, dat all nonsense," Sam thought ; " he only 
 pretend dat as excuse ; any one can see de 
 creature as quiet as lamb ; don't he let his master 
 sit on him sideways ?" 
 
 " All right," he said aloud ; " I try him." 
 
 The muleteer dismounted, and Sam prepared to
 
 258 THE YOUNG BUGLERS. 
 
 take his place on the saddle. By this time several 
 of the Hangers had gathered round, and these fore- 
 seeing, from the appearance of the mule and the 
 look of sly amusement in the face of the muleteer, 
 that there was likely to be some fun, at once pro- 
 posed to assist, which they did by giving advice to 
 Sam of the most opposite nature. Sam was first 
 going to mount on the off-side, but this irregularity 
 was repressed, and one wag, taking the stirrup oi 
 the near side in his hand, said, "Now, Sam, up you 
 go ; never mind what these fellows say ; you put 
 your right foot in the stirrup, and lift your left over 
 the saddle." 
 
 Sam acted according to these instructions, and 
 found himself, to his intense amazement and the de- 
 light of the bystanders, sitting with his face to the 
 mule's tail. 
 
 " Hullo," he exclaimed in astonishment, " dis all 
 wrong; you know noting about de business, you 
 Bill Atkins." 
 
 And Sam prepared to descend, when s at his first 
 movement, the mule put down his head and flung 
 his heels high in the air. Sam instinctively threw 
 himself forward, but, not recovering his upright 
 position before the mule again flung up her hind 
 quarters, he received a violent blow on the nose. 
 " Golly !" exclaimed the black in a tone of extreme 
 anguish, as, with water streaming from his eyes, he 
 instinctively clutched the first thing which came to 
 hand, the root of the mule's tail, and held on like 
 grim death. The astonished mule lashed out wildly
 
 THE YOUNG BUGLERS. 259 
 
 and furiously ; but Sam, with his body laid close on 
 her back, his hands grasping her tail, and his legs 
 and feet pressing tight to her flanks, held on with 
 the clutch of despair. 
 
 " Seize de debil ! seize him ! he gone mad !" he 
 shouted frantically ; but the soldiers were in such 
 fits of laughter that they could do nothing. 
 
 Then the mule, finding that he could not get rid 
 of this singular burden by kicking, started suddenly 
 off at full gallop. 
 
 " Stop him ! stop him !" yelled Sam. " Gracious 
 me ! dis am drefful." 
 
 This was the sight which met the eyes of the Scud- 
 amores and their brother officers as they issued from 
 their tents. The soldiers were all out of their tents 
 now, and the air rang with laughter mingled with 
 shouts of, " Go it, moke !" " Hold on, Sam !" 
 
 " Stop that mule," Captain Manley shouted, " or 
 the man will be killed." 
 
 Several soldiers ran to catch at the bridle, but the 
 mule swerved and dashed away out of camp along 
 the road. 
 
 " Look, look," Tom said, " there are the staff, and 
 Lord Wellington among them. The mule's going 
 to charge them." 
 
 The road was somewhat narrow, with a wall of 
 four feet high on either side, and the general, who 
 was riding at the head of the party, drew his rein 
 when he saw the mule coming along at a furious 
 gallop. The staff did the same, and a general shout 
 was raised to check or divert her wild career. The
 
 260 THE YOUNG BUGLERS. 
 
 obstinate brute, however, maddened by the shouts 
 which had greeted her from all sides, and the 
 strange manner in which she was being ridden, 
 never swerved from her course. When she was 
 within five yards of the party the general turned 
 his horse, touched him with his spur, and leaped 
 him lightly over the wall ; one or two others fol- 
 lowed his example, but the others had not time to 
 do so before the mule was among them. Two 
 horses and riders were thrown down, one on either 
 side, with the impetus of the shock, and then, kick- 
 ing, striking and charging, the animal made its way 
 past the others and dashed on in despite of the 
 attempts to stop her, and the cries of " Shoot the 
 brute," " Kide him down," and the angry ejacula- 
 tions of those injured in its passage. Thirty yards 
 behind the group of officers were the escort, and 
 these prepared to catch the mule, when, turning to 
 to the left, she leaped, the wall, eliciting a scream 
 of terror from Sam, who was nearly shaken from 
 his hold by the sudden jerk. 
 
 The anger of the officers was changed into a burst 
 of amusement at seeing Sam's dark face and staring 
 eyes over the mule's crupper, and even Lord Wel- 
 lington smiled grimly. An order was hastily given, 
 and four troopers detached themselves from the 
 escort and started off in pursuit. The mule was, 
 however, a fast one, and maddened by fright, and it 
 was some time before the foremost of the troopers 
 was up to her. As he came alongside the mule 
 suddenly swerved round and lashed out viciously,
 
 THE YOUNG BUGLERS. $61 
 
 one of her heels coming against the horse's ribs, and 
 the other against the leg of the rider, who, in spite 
 of his thick jack-boot, for some time thought that 
 his leg was broken. 
 
 He fell behind, and the others, rendered cautious 
 by the lesson, came up but slowly, and prepared to 
 close upon the animal's head, one from each side. 
 Just as they were going to do so, however, they 
 were startled by a scattered fire of musketry and 
 by the sound of balls whizzing about their ears, and 
 discovered that in the ardor of the chase they had 
 passed over the space which separated the- French 
 from the English lines, and that they were close to 
 the former. At the same moment they saw a party 
 of cavalry stealing round to cut off their retreat. 
 Turning their horses, the dragoons rode off at full 
 speed, but the French cavalry, on fresher horses, 
 would have caught them before they reached the 
 English lines had not a troop of British horse dashed 
 forward to meet them upon seeing their danger. 
 As to the mule, she continued her wild gallop into 
 the French lines, where she was soon surrounded 
 and captured. 
 
 The boys were greatly vexed at the loss of their 
 faithful black, but they had little time for grieving, 
 for an hour later they rode off with General Beres- 
 ford's division. Three days' march brought them 
 to Campo Mayor, a town which had two days be- 
 fore surrendered to the French, who, surprised by 
 the sudden appearance of the British, evacuated the 
 place hastily and retreated, after suffering much
 
 262 THE YOUNG BUGLERS. 
 
 from a brilliant charge of the Thirteenth Hussars, 
 who, although unsupported, charged right through 
 the French cavalry, and Beresford then prepared to 
 lay siege to Badajos. Had he pushed forward at 
 once he would have found the place unprepared for 
 a siege, but, delaying a few days at Elvas to give 
 his tired troops repose, the French repaired the 
 walls, and were in a position to offer a respectable 
 defense, when he made his appearance under its 
 walls. The army was very badly provided with 
 heavy guns, but the approaches were opened and 
 the siege commenced in regular form, when the 
 news arrived that Soult was marching with a pow- 
 erful army to its relief. The guns were therefore 
 withdrawn, the siege raised, and Beresford marched 
 to meet Soult at Albuera. 
 
 On the 15th of May he took up his position on 
 rising ground looking down on Albuera, having the 
 river in his front. Acting with him, and nominally 
 under his orders, was a Spanish force under Blake. 
 This was intended to occupy the right of the posi- 
 tion, but with the usual Spanish dilatoriness, instead 
 of being upon the ground, as he had promised, by 
 noon, Blake did not arrive until past midnight; the 
 French accordingly crossed the river unmolested, 
 and the British general found his right turned. 
 
 Beresford's position was now a very faulty one, 
 as the woods completely hid the movements of the 
 enemy, and a high hill, which they had at once 
 seized, flanked the whole allied position and threat- 
 ened its line of retreat.
 
 THE YOUNG BUGLERS. 263 
 
 "When the morning of the 16th dawned the armies 
 were numerically very unequal. The British had 
 thirty thousand infantry, two thousand cavalry, and 
 thirty-eight guns; the French, nineteen thousand 
 infantry, four thousand cavalry, and forty guns ; 
 but of these the French were all veteran troops, 
 while Beresf ord had but six thousand British troops, 
 the remainder being Spanish and Portuguese, upon 
 whom no reliance whatever was to be placed. The 
 British officers present were all of opinion that their 
 chances of success, under the circumstances, were 
 slight indeed. 
 
 The battle commenced at nine in the morning by 
 an attack by the French general Godinot upon the 
 bridge of Albuera. Their columns were, however, 
 so completely plowed by the guns of the Portu- 
 guese upon the eminence behind it that they made 
 no progress, and Beresford perceived at once that 
 the main attack would be made on his right. He 
 dispatched Tom Scudamore with orders to Blake to 
 throw back his troops at right angles to the main 
 front. The pig-headed Spaniard refused to obey, 
 asserting that the main attack was in front. Colonel 
 Hardinge was sent to insist upon the order being 
 carried out, but Blake still refused, and Beresford 
 himself rode furiously across and took the command 
 just as the French column debouched from the wood 
 on the right. 
 
 Before the Spanish movement was completed the 
 French were among them. Their cavalry swept 
 round to the right rear, and menaced the line of re-
 
 264 THE YOUNG BUGLERS. 
 
 treat, the infantry charged the wavering Spanish 
 battalions, and the latter at once fell into confusion 
 and began to fall back. William Stewart now 
 arrived with a brigade of the second division to en- 
 deavor to retrieve the day ; but as they were ad- 
 vancing into position, four regiments of French 
 cavalry, whose movements were hidden in the driv- 
 ing rain until they were close at hand, fell upon 
 them and rode down two-thirds of the brigade, the 
 Thirty-first Kegiment alone having time to form 
 square and repulse the horsemen. 
 
 Beresford himself, with his staff, was in the middle 
 of the melee, and the lads found themselves engaged 
 in hand-to-hand combats with the French troopers. 
 All was confusion. Peter was unhorsed by the 
 shock of a French hussar, but Tom shot the trooper 
 before he could cut Peter down. Free for a moment 
 he looked round, and saw a French lancer charging, 
 lance at rest, at Lord Beresford. " Look out, sir !" 
 he shouted, and the general, turning round, swept 
 aside the lance thrust with his arm ; and as the 
 lancer, carried on by the impetus of his charge, 
 dashed against him, he seized him by the throat and 
 waist, lifted him bodily from his saddle, and hurled 
 him insensible to the ground. Just at this moment 
 General Lumley arrived with some Portuguese 
 cavalry, and the French lancers galloped off. 
 
 The Spanish cavalry, who had orders to charge 
 the French cavalry in flank, galloped up until within 
 a few yards of them, and then turned and fled 
 shamefully
 
 THE YOUNG BUGLERS. 265 
 
 Beresford, now furious at the cowardice of the 
 Spanish infantry, seized one of their ensigns by the 
 shoulder, and dragged him, with his colors, to the 
 front by main force, but the infantry would not 
 even then advance. 
 
 The driving rain saved the allied army at this 
 critical moment, for Soult was unable to see the ter- 
 rible confusion which reigned in their ranks, and 
 kept his heavy columns in hand when an attack 
 would have carried with it certain victory. 
 
 In the pause which ensued the. British regiments 
 began to make their way to the front. Colbourn, 
 with the Thirty-first Regiment, was already there ; 
 Stewart brought up Haughton's brigade ; and the 
 Twenty-ninth burst its way through the flying 
 Spaniards and joined the Thirty-first, these move- 
 ments being made under a storm of shot and shell 
 from the French artillery. Colonel Hartman 
 brought up the British artillery, and the Spanish 
 Generals Zayas and Ballesteros succeeded in check- 
 ing and bringing forward again some of the Spanish 
 infantry. 
 
 The French advanced in great force, the artillery 
 on both sides poured in grape at short distance, and 
 the carnage was terrible. Still the little band of 
 British held their ground. Stewart was twice 
 wounded, Haughton and Colonels Duckworth and 
 Inglis slain. Of the Fifty-seventh Regiment twenty- 
 two officers and four hundred men fell out of the 
 five hundred that had mounted the hill, and the 
 other regiments had suffered nearly as severely. Not
 
 266 THE YOUNG BUGLERS. 
 
 a third were standing unhurt, and fresh columns of 
 the French were advancing. 
 
 The battle looked desperate, and Beresford made 
 preparations for a retreat. At this moment, how- 
 ever, Colonel Hardinge brought up General Cole 
 Avith the fourth division, and Colonel Abererombie 
 with the third brigade of Colbourn's second division. 
 Beresford recalled his order for retreat, ami the 
 terrible fight continued. The fourth division \\-.\ 
 composed of two brigades, the one, a Portuguese 
 under General Harvey, was pushed down to the 
 right to keep off the French cavalry, while the 
 Fusilier brigade, composed of the Seventh and 
 Twenty-third Fusilier Kegiments, under Sir Will- 
 iam Myers, climbed the desperately contested hill, 
 which Abercrombie ascended also, more on the 
 left. 
 
 It was time, for the whole of the French reserves 
 were now coming into action ; six guns were already 
 in the enemy's possession, the remnant of Haugh ton's 
 brigade could no longer sustain its ground, and the 
 heavy French columns were advancing exultantly to 
 assured victory. 
 
 Suddenly, through the smoke, Cole's Fusilier 
 brigade appeared on the right of Haughton's brigade, 
 just as Abercrombie came up on its left. Startled 
 by the sight, and by the heavy lire, the French 
 column paused, and, to quote Napier's glowing 
 words, " hesitated, and then, vomiting forth a storm 
 of fire, hastily endeavored to enlarge their front, 
 while a fearful discharge of grape from all their
 
 THE YOUNG BUGLERS. 267 
 
 artillery whistled through the British ranks. Myers 
 was killed, Cole and the three colonels, Ellis, Blake- 
 ney and Hawkshawe, fell wounded ; and the Fusilier 
 battalions, struck by the iron tempest, reeled and 
 staggered like sinking ships; but suddenly and 
 sternly recovering, they closed with their terrible 
 enemies, and then was seen with what a strength 
 and majesty the British soldier fights. In vain did 
 Soult with voice and gesture animate his French- 
 men ; in vain did the hardiest veterans break from 
 the crowded columns and sacrifice their lives to gain 
 time for the mass to open out on such a fair field ; 
 in vain did the mass itself bear up, and, fiercely 
 striving, fire indiscriminately upon friends and foes, 
 while the horsemen hovering on its flank threatened 
 to charge the advancing line. Nothing could stop 
 that astonishing infantry ; no sudden burst of un- 
 disciplined valor, no nervous enthusiasm weakened 
 the stability of their order ; their flashing eyes were 
 bent on the dark columns in their front, their mea- 
 sured tread shook the ground, their dreadful volleys 
 swept away the head of every formation, their 
 deafening shouts overpowered the dissonant cries 
 that broke from all parts of the tumultuous crowd, 
 as, slowly and with horrid carnage, it was pushed 
 by the incessant vigor of the attack to the furthest 
 edge of the hill. In vain did the French reserves 
 mix with the struggling multitude to sustain the 
 fight ; their efforts only increased the irremediable 
 confusion, and the mighty mass breaking off like a 
 loosened cliff, went headlong down the steep ; the
 
 268 THE YOUNG BUGLERS. 
 
 rain flowed after in streams discolored with blood, 
 and eighteen hundred unwounded men, the remnant 
 of six thousand unconquerable British soldiers, 
 stood triumphant on the fatal hill." 
 
 While this dreadful fight was going on Hamil- 
 ton's and Collier's Portuguese divisions, ten thou- 
 sand strong, marched to support the British, but 
 they did not reach the summit of the hill until the 
 battle was over; they suffered, however, a good 
 deal of loss from the French artillery, which, to 
 cover the retreat, opened furiously upon them. 
 
 The French were in no position to renew the 
 attack, the allies quite incapable of pursuit, and 
 when night fell the two armies were in the same 
 position they had occupied twenty-four hours before. 
 
 Never was British valor more conspicuously dis- 
 played than at the battle of Albuera. Out of six 
 thousand infantry, they lost forty-two hundred 
 killed and wounded, while the Spanish and Portu- 
 guese had but twenty-six hundred killed and 
 wounded out of a total of thirty-four thousand ; the 
 French loss was over eight thousand. 
 
 This desperate fight had lasted but four hours, 
 but to all engaged it seemed an age. The din, the 
 whirl, the storm of shot, the fierce charges of the 
 cavalry, the swaying backward and forward of 
 the fight, the disastrous appearance of the battle 
 from frhe first, all combined to make up a perfectly 
 bewildering confusion. 
 
 The Scudamores, after its commencement, had 
 seen but little of each other. Whenever one or
 
 THE YOUNG BUGLERS. 269 
 
 other of them found their way to the general, who 
 was ever in the thickest of the fray, it was but to 
 remain there for a moment or two before being 
 dispatched with fresh messages. 
 
 Tom's horse was shot under him early in the day, 
 but he obtained a remount from an orderly and con- 
 tinued his duty until, just as the day was won, he 
 received a musket ball in the shoulder. He half 
 fell, half dismounted, and, giddy and faint, lay 
 down and remained there until the cessation of the 
 fire told him that the battle was over. Then he 
 staggered to his feet and sought a surgeon. He 
 presently found one hard at work under a tree, but 
 there was so large a number of wounded men lying 
 or sitting round, that Tom saw that it would be 
 hours before he could be attended to. As he turned 
 to go he saw an officer of the staif ride by. 
 
 " Ah, Scudamore ! Are you hit too ? not very 
 badly, I hope? The chief was asking after you 
 just now." 
 
 " My shoulder is smashed, I think," Tom said, 
 " and the doctor has his hands full at present ; but 
 if you will tie my arm tight across my chest with 
 my sash, I shall be able to get on." 
 
 The officer at once leaped from his horse, and 
 proceeded to bind Tom's arm in the position he 
 requested. 
 
 " Have you seen my brother," Tom asked. 
 
 " No, I have not ; he was close to Beresford when 
 the Fusiliers dashed up the hill ; his horse fell dead, 
 but he was not hit, for I saw him jump up all right.
 
 270 THE YOUNG BUGLERS. 
 
 I did not see him afterward. As he could not have 
 got a fresh mount then, I expect he joined the 
 Fusiliers and went up the hill." 
 
 " Is the loss heavy ?" Tom asked. 
 
 "Awful awful," the officer said. "If it had 
 lasted another quarter of an hour, there would have 
 been nobody left alive ; as it is, there are not two 
 thousand men at the outside on their feet." 
 
 " What, altogether ?" Tom exclaimed. 
 
 " Altogether," the officer answered sadly. " We 
 have lost two men out of every three who went 
 into it." 
 
 " Thank you," Tom said. u Now where shall I 
 find the general ?" 
 
 " Up on the hill. I shall see you there in a few 
 minutes. I hope you will find your brother all 
 right." 
 
 Very slowly did Tom make his way up the steep 
 slope, sitting down to rest many times, for he was 
 faint from loss of blood and sick with the pain of 
 his wound, and it was a long half hour before he 
 joined the group of officers clustered round the 
 commander-in-chief. 
 
 He was heartily greeted; but in answer to his 
 question as to whether any one had seen his brother, 
 no one could give a satisfactory reply. One, how- 
 ever, was able to confirm what had been before told 
 him, for he had seen Peter on foot advancing with 
 the fusilier brigade. Tom's heart felt very heavy 
 as he turned away toward the front, where the 
 Fusiliers were standing on the ground they had so
 
 THE YOUNG BUGLERS. 271 
 
 hardly won. The distance he had to traverse was 
 but short, but the journey \vas a ghastly one. The 
 ground was literally heaped with dead. Wounded 
 men were seen sitting np trying to stanch their 
 wounds, others lay feebly groaning, while soldiers 
 were hurrying to and fro from the water carts, 
 with pannikins of water to relieve their agonizing 
 thirst. 
 
 " Do you know, sergeant whether they have col- 
 lected the wounded officers, and, if so, where they 
 are ?" 
 
 " Yes, sir, most of them are there at the right 
 flank of the regiment." 
 
 Tom made his way toward the spot indicated, 
 where a small group of officers were standing, 
 while a surgeon was examining a long line of 
 wounded laid side by side upon the ground. Tom 
 hardly breathed as he ran his eye along their faces, 
 and his heart seemed to stop as he recognized in the 
 very one the surgeon was then examining the dead- 
 white face of Peter. 
 
 He staggered forward and said in a gasping voice, 
 " He is my brother is he dead ?" 
 
 The surgeon looked up. " Sit down," he said 
 sharply, and Tom, unable to resist the order, sank 
 rather than sat down, his eyes still riveted on 
 Peter's face. 
 
 " No," the surgeon said, answering the question, 
 "he has only fainted from loss of blood, but he is 
 hit hard, the bullet has gone in just above the hip, 
 and until I know its course I can't say whether be 
 has a chance or not."
 
 272 THE YOUNG BUGLERS. 
 
 " Here, sergeant, give me the probe," and with 
 this he proceeded cautiously to examine the course 
 of the ball. As he did so his anxious face bright- 
 ened a little. 
 
 " He was struck slantingly," he said, " the ball 
 has gone round by the back; turn him over, sergeant. 
 Ah, I thought so ; it has gone out on the other side. 
 "Well, I think it has missed any vital part, and in 
 that case I can give you hope. There," he said 
 after he had finished dressing the wound and fas- 
 tening a bandage tightly round the body ; "now 
 pour some brandy-and- water down his throat, ser- 
 geant, and sprinkle his face with water. Now, sir, 
 I will look at your shoulder." 
 
 But he spoke to insensible ears, for Tom, upon 
 hearing the more favorable report as to Peter's 
 state, had fainted dead off. 
 
 The surgeon glanced at him. " He'll come round 
 all right," he said. " I will go in the meantime," 
 and he set to work at the next in the ghastly line. 
 
 It was some time before Tom recovered his con- 
 sciousness; when he did so it was with a feeling of 
 intense agony in the shoulder. 
 
 " Lie quiet," the surgeon said, " I shan't be long 
 about it." 
 
 It seemed to Tom, nevertheless, as if an inter- 
 minable time passed before the surgeon spoke again. 
 
 "You'll do," he said. "It is an awkward shot, 
 for it has broken the shoulder bone and carried a 
 portion away, but with quiet and care you will get 
 the use of your arm again. You are lucky, for if it
 
 THE YOUNG BUGLERS. 273 
 
 had gone two inches to the left it would have 
 smashed the arm at the socket, and two inches the 
 other way and it would have been all up with you. 
 Now lie quiet for awhile ; you can do nothing for 
 your brother at present. It may be hours before he 
 recovers consciousness." 
 
 Tom was too faint and weak to argue, and a min- 
 ute later he dropped off to sleep, from which he did 
 not wake until it was dusk. Sitting up, he saw that 
 he had been aroused by the approach of an officer, 
 whom he recognized as one of General Beresford's 
 staff. 
 
 "How are you, Scudamore?" he asked. "The 
 general has just sent me to inquire." 
 
 " He is very kind," Tom said. " I think that I 
 am all right, only I am horribly thirsty." 
 
 The officer unslung a flask from his shoulder. 
 " This is weak brandy-and- water. I have brought 
 it over for you. I am sorry to hear that your 
 brother is so bad, but the doctor gives strong hopes 
 of him in his report." 
 
 Tom bent down over Peter. " He is breathing 
 quietly," he said. " I hope it is a sort of sleep he 
 has fallen into. "What are we doing ?" 
 
 " Nothing," the officer answered ; " there is noth- 
 ing to do ; every un wounded man is under arms in 
 case the French attack us in the night. I expect, 
 however, they will wait till morning, and if they 
 come on then I fear our chance is a slight one in- 
 deed. We have only eighteen hundred of our 
 infantry ; the German regiments and the Portuguese
 
 274 THE YOUNG BUGLERS. 
 
 will do their best ; but the Spanish are utterly use- 
 less. Soult has lost more men than we have, but 
 we are like a body which has lost its backbone ; and 
 if the French, who are all good soldiers, renew the 
 battle, I fear it is all up with us." 
 
 " Have you got all our wounded in ?" Tom asked. 
 
 " No," the officer said bitterly. " Our unbounded 
 men must stand to arms, and Lord Beresford sent 
 over to Blake just now to ask for the assistance of 
 a battalion of Spaniards to collect our wounded, and 
 the brute sent back to say that it was the custom in 
 allied armies for each army to attend to its own 
 wounded." 
 
 " The brute !" Tom repeated with disgust. " How 
 the poor fellows must be suffering !" 
 
 " The men who are but slightly wounded have 
 been taking water to all they can find, and the doc- 
 tors are at work now, and will be all night going 
 about dressing wounds. The worst of it is, if the 
 fight begins again to-morrow all the wounded who 
 cannot crawl away must remain under fire. How- 
 ever, the French wounded are all over the hill too, 
 and perhaps the French will avoid a cannonade as 
 much as possible, for their sake. It is a bad lookout 
 altogether; and between ourselves, Beresford has 
 written to Lord Wellington to say that he antici- 
 pates a crushing defeat." 
 
 " Is there any chance of reinforcements ?" Tom 
 asked. 
 
 " We hope that the third brigade of the fourth 
 division will be up to-morrow by midday ; they are
 
 THE YOUNG BUGLERS. 275 
 
 ordered to come on by forced marches. If Soult 
 does not attack till they arrive it will make all the 
 difference, for fifteen hundred fresh men will nearly 
 double our strength. But I must be going how. 
 Good-by." 
 
 The surgeon presently came round again to see 
 how the wounded officers were getting on. Tom 
 asked him whether there was any thing he could do for 
 Peter ; but the surgeon, after feeling his pulse, said : 
 " No, not as long as he breathes quietly like this ; 
 but if he moves pour a little brandy-and-water 
 down his throat. Now, gentlemen, all who can must 
 look after the others, for there is not an available 
 man, and I must be at work all night on the field." 
 
 There were many of the officers who were not hit 
 too severely to move about, and these collected 
 some wood and made a fire, so as to enable them to 
 see and attend to their more severely wounded 
 comrades. Tom took his place close to Peter, 
 where he could watch his least movement, and once 
 or twice during the night poured a little brandy- 
 and-water between his lips. The other officers took 
 it by turns to attend to their comrades, to keep up 
 the fire, and to sleep. Those whose turn it was to 
 be awake sat round the fire smoking, and talking as 
 to the chances of the morrow, getting up occasion- 
 ally to give drink to such of the badly wounded as 
 were awake. 
 
 Tom, faint with his wound, found it, toward 
 morning, impossible to keep awake, and dozed off, 
 to wake with a start and find that it was broad day-
 
 276 THE YOUNG BUGLERS. 
 
 light. Soon afterward, to his intense satisfaction, 
 Peter opened his eyes. Tom bent over him. 
 " Don't try to move, Peter ; lie quiet, old boy." 
 
 " What's the matter ?" Peter asked with a puzzled 
 look. 
 
 " You have been hit in the body, Peter, but the 
 doctor means to get you round in no time. " Yes," 
 he continued, seeing Peter's eyes fixed on his band- 
 aged shoulder, " I have had a tap too, but there's no 
 great harm done. There, drink some brandy-and- 
 water, and go off to sleep again, if you can." 
 
 The morning passed very slowly, the troops being 
 all under arms, expecting the renewed attack of 
 Soult, but it came not ; and when, early in the 
 afternoon, the third brigade of the fourth division 
 marched into camp, they were received with gen- 
 eral cheering. A heavy load seemed taken off 
 every one's heart, and they felt now that they could 
 fight, if fight they must, with a hope of success. 
 
 The newcomers, wearied as they were with their 
 long forced marches, at once took the outpost 
 duties, and those relieved set about the duty of 
 collecting and bringing in all the wounded. 
 
 Next morning the joyful news came that Soult 
 was retiring, and all felt with a thrill of triumph 
 that their sacrifices and efforts had not been in vain, 
 and that the hard-fought battle of Albuera was for- 
 ever to take its place among the great victories of 
 the British army.
 
 THE YOUNG BUGLERS. 
 
 CHAPTEK XIV. 
 
 INVALIDED HOME. 
 
 Two days after the battle of Albuera Lord Well- 
 ington himself arrived, and from the officers of his 
 staff Tom heard the details of the battle of Fuentes 
 d'Onoro, which had been fought a few days pre- 
 viously, and which had been nearly as hardly con- 
 tested as had Albuera itself, both sides claiming the 
 victory. 
 
 The next day, the bulk of Beresford's army re- 
 turned to the neighborhood of Badajos, which they 
 again invested, while a long convoy of wounded 
 started for Lisbon. The Scudamores accompanied 
 it as far as Campo Maior, where a large hospital 
 had been prepared for those too ill to bear the 
 journey. Peter was still unconscious. Fever had 
 set in upon the day after the battle, and for three 
 weeks he lay between life and death. Tom's arm 
 was mending very slowly, and he would have had 
 hard work indeed in nursing Peter had it not been 
 for the arrival of unexpected assistance. A large 
 villa had been taken close to the main hospital for 
 the use of officers, and one of the rooms wag allotted 
 to the Scudamores.
 
 278 THE YOUNG BUGLERS. 
 
 Upon the evening of the second day after their 
 arrival Tom was sitting by Peter's bedside, when, 
 after a preliminary tap, the door opened, and to 
 Tom's perfect amazement Sambo entered. The 
 negro hurried forward, threw himself on his knees, 
 seized Tom's hand and kissed it passionately, and 
 then looking at the thin and fever-flushed face of 
 Peter, he hid his face in his hands and sobbed unre- 
 strainedly. 
 
 " Hush, Sam, hush," Tom said soothingly. " My 
 poor fellow, why, where have you come from? I 
 thought you were a prisoner with the French." 
 
 " I knew how it would be, Massa Tom," the black 
 said, paying no attention to the question. " First 
 thing Sam said to himself when he got among 
 French fellows, " Dere, dose young gentlemen dey 
 get into all sorts of danger widout Sam, sartin sure 
 dey get hurt widout Sam to look after dem.' Dat 
 idea trouble Sam bery much, took away Sam's 
 sleep altogether." 
 
 " Well, it turned out so, as you see, Sam," Tom 
 said with a smile, " but tell me how did you get 
 away? But first give me some lemonade out of 
 that jug, then you can tell me all about it." 
 
 " Why, Massa Tom," Sam said, when he had com- 
 plied with the request, " you did'nt think dat dis 
 chile was going to stop prisoner with dose French 
 chaps, Sam not such a fool as dat, nohow. When 
 dat cussed mule I tell you fair, Massa Tom, dis 
 chile conclude dat riding not such a bery easy ting- 
 after all when dat cussed mule ran into French
 
 THE YOUNG BUGLERS. 279 
 
 camp, de soldiers dey catch him, and dey take Sam 
 off, and den dey jabber and laugh for all de world 
 like great lots of monkeys. Well, for some time 
 Sam he didn't say nothing, all de wind shook out 
 of his body. Besides which he couldn't understand 
 what dey say. Den all of a sudden, to Sam's sur- 
 prise, up came a colored soldier, and he speak to 
 Sam in de English tongue. ' Holla, broder, how you 
 come here ?' I ask. ' I been cook on board English 
 merchant ship,' he say. ' Ship she taken by French 
 privateer. When dey come to port dey say to me, 
 " You not Englishman, you hab choice, you go to 
 prison, or you be French soldier." Natural, I not 
 want go prison, so I conclude be French soldier. 
 I dare say dey gib you choice too.' Well, massa, a 
 wink as good as a nod to blind hoss. So dey take 
 me to tent, put me under guard, and next day a 
 French officer come dat speak English. He ask me 
 all sorts ob questions, and at last he ask me why I 
 list English soldier. So you see I had got a little 
 lie all ready, and me tell him, me one poor Melican 
 negro man, cook on board Melican ship. Ship 
 taken by English man-ob-war. Put Sam in prison 
 and give him choice to go as soldier. ' Den you 
 not care about English,' de officer say, and Sam 
 draw hisself up and pat his chest and say, 'Me 
 Melican citizen, me no Britisher's slave, some day 
 me go back States, go on board Melican man-ob- 
 war, me pay out dese Britishers for make Sam 
 slave.' Den de officer laugh, and say dat if I like I 
 could fight dem now ; and if I prefer French uni-
 
 280 THE YOUNG BUGLERS. 
 
 form to French prison, me could have him. Of 
 course I accep offer, and harp an hour after me in 
 French uniform. French officer try to make joke 
 ob Sam, and ask whether I like cavalry or foot 
 soldier. Sam say he had enuff of quaduples at 
 present. Me remain French soldier three weeks ; 
 den cum great battle, dey call him Fuentes donory. 
 Sam's regiment fight. Sam not like fire at redcoats, 
 so break bullet off cartridge, neber put him in gun. 
 We charge right into middle of village full of Eng- 
 lish soldier, de bullets fly al 1 about. Sam not see 
 de point ob getting kill by mistake, so he tumble 
 down, pretend to be dead. Presently French 
 beaten back ; when English soldier wid doctor cum 
 look at wounded, dey turn Sam ober, and dey say, 
 'Hullo, here dead nigger.' 'Kigger yourself, John 
 Atkins,' I say for sure enuff it's de ole regiment 
 * you say dat once again me knock your head off ;' 
 me jump up, and all de world call out, ' Hullo, why 
 it's Sam.' Den me splain matter, and all bery 
 glad, 'cept John Atkins, and next morning me gib 
 him licking he 'member all his life, me pound him 
 most to a squash. Four days ago colonel send for 
 Sam, say, ' Sam, bery bad job, bofe massas wounded, 
 bad, send you to nurse dem ; ? so dis chile come. 
 Dat all, Massa Tom. Here letter for you from 
 colonel, now you read dis letter, den you get in bed, 
 you sleep all night. Sam watch Massa Peter." 
 
 Greatly relieved to have his faithful servant 
 again, and to know that Peter would be well cared 
 for, instead of being left in charge of the Spanish
 
 THE YOUNG BUGLERS. 281 
 
 hospital orderly whenever weakness and pain 
 obliged him to lie down, Tom abandoned his place 
 by the bedside, and prepared for a tranquil night's 
 rest, first reading the colonel's letter. 
 
 " We are all grieved, my dear Scudamore, at 
 hearing that you are both wounded, and that your 
 brother is at present in a serious state. We trust, 
 however, that he will pull through. I hear that 
 Beresford has praised you both most highly in dis- 
 patches, and that your names -are sent home for 
 companies. I heartily congratulate you. We have 
 had some tough work at Fuentes d'Onoro, although 
 nothing to what yours must have been at Albuera, 
 still it was hot enough in all conscience, and we 
 had over a hundred casualties in the regiment. 
 Carruthers and Manley were both slightly wounded. 
 Jones, Anstruther, Palmer, and Chambers were 
 killed, and several of the others hit more or less 
 hard. Sam has leave to remain with you until you 
 rejoin, which will not, I fear, be for some little 
 time. Every one sends kind messages. 
 
 " Yours truly, 
 
 J. TRITTON." 
 
 Nothing could exceed the care and devotion with 
 which Sam nursed his two masters, and Tom had 
 the greatest difficulty in persuading him to lie down 
 and get a short sleep each day while he sat by 
 Peter'c bed. At the end of three weeks Peter took 
 a favorable turn. His fever abated, and he awoke 
 to consciousness. Another fortnight and he was 
 sufficiently convalescent to be moved, and accord- 
 ingly they started to travel by very easy stages to
 
 282 THE YOUNG BUGLERS. 
 
 Lisbon, there to take ship for England, as the doctor 
 ordered Tom as well as his brother to go home for 
 awhile to recruit. Tom was the less reluctant to do 
 so, as it was evident that with the force at his 
 command Wellington would not be able to under- 
 take any great operation, and that the siege and 
 capture of Badajos was the utmost likely to be ac- 
 complished in that season's campaign. The mails 
 in due course had brought out the Gazette, and in 
 it Tom and Peter Scudamore were promoted to be 
 captains, unattached. 
 
 Colonel Tritton, upon being applied to, readily 
 gave leave for Sam to accompany his masters. It 
 was a long journey to Lisbon, but the jolting of the 
 country cart was made bearable by a layer of hay 
 two feet deep, upon which the mattresses were laid, 
 Sam seeing that at each night's halt the hay was 
 taken out, well shaken, and then returned to the 
 cart, so as to preserve it light and elastic. A thick 
 canopy of boughs kept off the heat of the sun, and 
 under it, within reach of the invalids, hung a gourd 
 of fresh water, and a basket of fruit. Several other 
 cartloads of wounded officers accompanied them, 
 and at night they would draw up by a grove of 
 trees where water was handy, those who could 
 walk would get out, the others would be lifted out 
 on their mattresses, a great fire made, and round it 
 the beds laid in a circle, and then the evening 
 would be spent in pleasant chat, with many an 
 anecdote and an occasional song, until the fire 
 burned low, the talk died away, and each, covered
 
 THE YOUNG BUGLERS. 283 
 
 in his blankets to keep off the night dew, fell asleep. 
 Pleasant as was the journey, however, it was with 
 a thrill of delight that they caught their first sight 
 of Lisbon, with its broad river, and the blue line of 
 the sea beyond. A few days later, and they em- 
 barked on board a transport, which seven days 
 afterward, after a calm passage, arrived at Spithead. 
 
 Peter was by this time gaining strength fast, but 
 his back was so stiff and sore that he was unable to 
 move it, and was obliged to swing himself along on 
 crutches. The next day the cOach took them to 
 London, and they started the morning after for 
 Marlborough. This time they had to go inside the 
 coach, two gentlemen, who had previously secured 
 the seats, kindly giving them up in favor of the 
 wounded young officers, while Sam took his place 
 on the roof, and amused his fellow-passengers with 
 wonderful accounts of his adventures at the war. 
 At the inn at which they took dinner, they alighted, 
 and Tom recognized in the driver the same coach- 
 man who had driven them upon the memorable 
 occasion of their being stopped by highwaymen 
 three years before. " You don't remember us, 
 coachman, do you?" 
 
 " No, gentlemen, I can't say as how but eh ! 
 no, why you're the werry boys as shot the high- 
 waymen. "Well, I am glad to see you again, though 
 you do look white and bad, both of you. I heard 
 as how there were two wounded officers inside, and 
 that black soldier has been telling all sorts of tales 
 of the wonderful things as his masters had done,
 
 284 THE YOUNG BUGLERS. 
 
 but not knowing as how it was you, I didn't much 
 believe all he was telling. Now I quite see as how 
 it was true ; and how are you both ?" 
 
 " Getting on all right," Tom said, returning the 
 warm shake of the coachman's hand, " and do you 
 know, those pistols have saved our lives more than 
 once." 
 
 "Have they now," the coachman said in high 
 admiration, " but there, we must be moving, we are 
 three minutes after time as it is ; I shall see you 
 again next time we stop, gentlemen." 
 
 During the next stage the coachman and guard 
 recounted to the outside passengers the affair of the 
 stopping the coach, and Sam's black face shone 
 with delight at the tale. Then he had his say, and 
 related the story of his falling overboard and be- 
 ing rescued, and in consequence the lads were quite 
 embarrassed when they next halted, by the atten- 
 tion of their fellow-travelers, who could scarcely 
 understand how it was possible that two mere boys 
 should have performed such feats of bravery. 
 
 Arrived at Marlborough they looked round in 
 vain for the one-horsed vehicle which had before 
 met them. " I expect that aunt has not got our 
 letter, Peter," Tom said. " It would probably go 
 up to town in the coach with us, and is likely 
 enough in the letter-bag in the boot. "Well, we 
 must have a post-chaise. Won't aunt and Ehoda 
 be surprised ; but they must be expecting us, be- 
 cause they will have had our letter from Lisbon." 
 
 The horses were soon in, Sam took his seat in the
 
 THE YOUNG BUGLERS. 285 
 
 rumble, and in a few minutes they were bounding 
 over the road at a very different pace to that at 
 which they had before traversed it. " There's the 
 house among the trees," Peter said at last, " with 
 aunt's pigeons on the roof as usual, and there's 
 Minnie asleep on the window-sill, and there ! yes, 
 there's Rhoda." 
 
 As he spoke a girl, who was sitting reading under 
 a tree, leaped to her feet, on hearing a carriage 
 stop, and then, catching sight of Peter waving his 
 hat, while Tom made frantic efforts to open the 
 door, gave a scream of delight, and rushed toward 
 them, threw her arm round Tom's neck as he 
 jumped out, and then leaped into the chaise and 
 hugged and cried over Peter. He was soon helped 
 out, and as they turned to go toward the house they 
 saw their aunt coming out to meet them. 
 
 Tom ran forward and throwing his arms round 
 her neck kissed her heartily, and before she could 
 recover from her surprise Peter was alongside. 
 
 " Please, aunt, you must kiss me," he said, " for I 
 want my arms for my crutches." His aunt leaned 
 forward and kissed him, and then wiped the tears 
 from her eyes. 
 
 " I am glad to see you back, my dear nephews," 
 she said. " We did not understand each other very 
 well before, but we shan't make any more mistakes. 
 That is your black servant, I suppose," she said, as 
 Sam came along, with a trunk in each hand. "Dear! 
 dear ! what a dreadfully ugly man." 
 
 " How do you do, Sam ?" Rhoda said, when he
 
 286 THE YOUNG BUGLERS. 
 
 came up. " "We have heard so much of you, and 
 how kindly you nursed my brothers." 
 
 " Sam quite well, tank you, little missy," Sam 
 said, grinning all over his face and showing his 
 ' white teeth. 
 
 Miss Scudamore shrank toward Tom as Sam 
 passed on. " Dear me, what sharp-looking teeth 
 he has, Tom. They don't eat curious things, these 
 black men, do they ?" 
 
 " What sort of curious things, aunt?" 
 
 " Well, my dear, I know that these outlandish 
 people do eat strange things, and I have heard the 
 Chinese eat dogs and cats. Now, if he has a fancy 
 for cats, I dare say I could buy him some in the 
 village, only he will have to cook them himself, I 
 could never ask Hannah to cook cats ; but please 
 ask him not to touch Minnie." 
 
 Peter had to stop in his walk and grasp his 
 crutches tightly, not to burst into a scream of 
 laughter, while Tom answered with great gravity, 
 " My dear aunt, do not alarm yourself. I will 
 answer for the safety of Minnie as far as Sam is 
 concerned." 
 
 When they reached the house Miss Scudamore 
 said : 
 
 " I think you young people will enjoy yourselves 
 more if you go and sit under the shade of the elm 
 there ; you will have a deal to say to each other, and 
 had better be alone." They were all glad at the 
 suggestion, as they were longing to be alone to- 
 gether.
 
 THE YOUNG BUGLERS. 287 
 
 Sam, by Miss Scudamore's directions, carried out 
 a great easy -chair, of which Peter took possession. 
 Rhoda sat on the grass at his feet, and Tom threw 
 himself down at full length. They were all too 
 happy to speak much for a time, and could only look 
 fondly at each other. " You have grown a great 
 deal, Rhoda, but I do not think that you are altered 
 a bit otherwise." 
 
 " You are neither of you altered so much as I ex- 
 pected," Rhoda said. " I had made up my mind 
 that you would be changed a great deal. It sounds 
 so grand, captains, indeed ! I expected to have to 
 courtesy to you and treat you with great respect ; in- 
 stead of that you look regular boys, both of you. Of 
 course you are big, and Peter looks very tall ; how 
 tall are you, Peter ?" 
 
 " Just over six feet," Peter said. 
 
 " Yes," Rhoda said, " you are tall enough, and 
 Tom is broad enough for men, but somehow you 
 look regular boys still." 
 
 " This is very disrespectful, Rhoda, to two cap- 
 tains in his majesty's service." 
 
 " It seems ridiculous, doesn't it," Rhoda said. 
 
 " It does," Tom said heartily, and the three went 
 off into a shout of laughter. 
 
 " It isn't really ridiculous, you know," Rhoda 
 said, when they had recovered their gravity. 
 " To think of all the dangers you have gone 
 through. Aunt was as proud as could be when 
 she saw your names over and over again in dis- 
 patches, and I have been like a little peacock.
 
 288 THE YOUNG BUGLERS. 
 
 Your doings have been the talk of every one round 
 here, and I am sure that if they had known you 
 had been coming, the village would have put 
 up a triumphal arch, and presented you with an 
 address." 
 
 " Thank goodness, they did not know it then," 
 Tom said, " for it would have been a deal worse to 
 stand than the fire of a French battery. Well, 
 Rhoda, and now as to yourself ; so you have really 
 been always very happy with aunt ?" 
 
 " Very happy," Khoda said ; " she is most kind 
 and indulgent, and so that I attend to her little 
 fancies, I can do just as I like. I have had lessons 
 regularly from the rector's eldest daughter, who has 
 been educated for a governess ; and in every respect, 
 aunt is all that is kind. Fancy her being afraid of 
 Sam eating Minnie." 
 
 After chatting for upward of an hour they went 
 into .the house, and the rest of the day was spent in 
 talking over all that had happened since they left. 
 Sam was in the kitchen where he made himself very 
 much at home, and although Hannah and the cook 
 were at first rather awed by his size, his black face 
 and rolling eyes, they were soon pacified by his 
 good humor and readiness to make himself useful, 
 and were wonderfully interested by his long stories 
 about what "Massas" had done in the war. 
 
 Miss Scudamore, who was a little uneasy as to 
 how things would go on in the kitchen, made some 
 excuse for going in once or twice in the course of 
 the evening. She found things going on much bet-
 
 THE YOUNG BUGLERS. 289 
 
 ter than she had expected, indeed so much better 
 that after Khoda had gone up to bed, where Peter 
 had two hours before betaken himself, she said to 
 Tom as he was lighting his candle, " One minute, 
 nephew, I could not speak before Khoda, but I 
 wanted to say something to you about your negro. 
 I have heard that all soldiers are very much given 
 to make love, and we know from Shakespeare that 
 Othello, who was black too, you will remember, 
 nephew, made love to Desdemona, which shows that 
 color does not make so much difference as one 
 would think. Now I do hope your man will not 
 make love to Hannah ; I don't think she would like 
 it, my dear, and }^et you know she might ; one 
 never knows what women will do; they are always 
 making fools of themselves," she added angrily, 
 thinking at the moment how a young girl she had 
 trained up as a cook had, after being with her three 
 years, left a few weeks before to marry the village 
 blacksmith, " and I should be sorry to lose Hannah. 
 She has been with us more than twenty years. If 
 he must fall in love with one, my dear, let it be the 
 cook." 
 
 Tom had a great command of his countenance, 
 but he had great difficulty in steadying his muscles. 
 After a moment or two he said, " I will give Sam a 
 hint, aunt, if it becomes necessary, but I do not think 
 you need fear. I do not fancy Sam is matrimonially 
 inclined at present, and he wouldn't leave us 
 even to marry Desdemona herself. Good-night, 
 aunt !"
 
 290 THE YOUNG BUGLERS. 
 
 So saying, Tom went upstairs, where he repeated 
 to Peter, who was still awake, his conversation 
 with his aunt, and the two went into shouts of 
 laughter over the idea of Sam making love to the 
 prim Hannah. 
 
 The next six months passed over quietly and hap- 
 pily. The boys were made a great deal of by the 
 whole county, and Miss Scudamore was greatly grati- 
 fied at the name and credit they had gained for them- 
 selves. She no longer worried about them, but as 
 Rhoda declared, quite spoiled them, and as Sam 
 made no attempt to win the love of the faithful 
 Hannah, there was no cloud to mar the pleasure of 
 the holiday.
 
 THE YOUNG BUGLERS. 291 
 
 CHAPTER XY. 
 
 CTUDAD KODRIGO AND BADAJOS. 
 
 IT was in the beginning of December, 1811, that 
 the Scudamores again sailed up -the Tagus to Lis- 
 bon, after an absence of just six months. When 
 they had passed the medical board they were trans- 
 fered from the unattached list to the Fifty-second 
 Regiment, which was, fortunately for them, also in 
 Spain. No events of great importance had taken 
 place during their absence. Wellington, after the 
 battles of Fuentas d'Onoro and Albuera, had been 
 compelled to fall back again to the frontier in the 
 face of greatly superior forces, and had maintained 
 his old position on the Coa till the approach of 
 winter compelled the French to retire into the 
 interior, where they had their magazines and 
 depots. 
 
 The Scudamores found that the Fifty-second were 
 encamped on the Agueda, and they at once prepared 
 to go up country to join them. Their chargers 
 presents from their aunt on leaving were fresh and 
 vigorous, and they purchased a strong country horse 
 for Sambo, who, thanks to some practice which he 
 had had in England, was now able to cut a respect-
 
 292 THE YOUNG BUGLERS. 
 
 able figure on horseback. A few hours were suf- 
 ficient to make their preparations, and at noon on 
 the day after landing they mounted, and followed 
 by Sam, accompanied by a muleteer and two mules 
 carrying their baggage, they started from the hotel 
 at which they had put up. 
 
 As they rode down the main street they saw 
 several mounted officers approaching, and at once 
 recognized in the leader the commander-in-chief, 
 who had just arrived from the front to pay one of 
 his flying visits, to endeavor to allay the jealousies 
 in the Portuguese Council, and to insist upon the 
 food | which the British government was actually pay- 
 ing for being supplied to the starving Portuguese 
 soldiers. Drawing their horses aside, they saluted 
 Lord Wellington as he rode past. He glanced at 
 them keenly, as was his custom, and evidently 
 recognized them as he returned the salute. 
 
 When he had passed they turned their horses and 
 continued their way. They had not gone fifty 
 yards, however, when an officer came up at a 
 gallop. Lord Wellington wished them to call at 
 his quarters in an hour's time. 
 
 There are few things more annoying than, after 
 having got through all the trouble of packing and 
 getting fairly on the road, to be stopped ; but there 
 was no help for it, and the boys rode back to their 
 hotel again, where, putting up their horses, they 
 told Sam not to let the muleteer leave, for they 
 should probably be on the road again in an hour. 
 
 At the appointed time they called at the head-
 
 THE YOUNG BUGLERS. 293 
 
 quarters, and giving their cards to two officers on 
 duty, took their seats in the anteroom. It now be- 
 came evident to them that their chance of an early 
 interview was not great, and that they would in all 
 probability be obliged to pass another night in 
 Madrid. Portuguese grandees passed in and out, 
 staff officers of rank entered and left, important 
 business was being transacted, and the chance of 
 two line captains having an interview with the 
 commander-in-chief appeared but slight. Two hours 
 passed wearily, and then an orderly sergeant came 
 into the room and read out from a slip of paper 
 the names " Captain Thomas Scudamore ; Captain 
 Peter Scudamore. This way, if you please," he 
 added, as the boys rose in answer to their names, 
 and he led the way into a room where a colonel on 
 the staff was seated before a table covered with 
 papers. 
 
 " Gentlemen," he said, " I have news which I 
 think will be pleasant to you both. Lord "Welling- 
 ton has not forgotten the services you rendered in 
 carrying his communications to the guerrilla chiefs. 
 Your reports were clear and concise, and your 
 knowledge of Spanish especially valuable. Lord 
 Beresford, too, has reported most favorably of your 
 conduct while with him. There happen to be two 
 vacancies on his staff, and he has desired me to fill 
 them up with your names." 
 
 Although the Scudamores would in some respects 
 rather have remained with their regiment, yet they 
 could not refuse an honor which was generally
 
 294 THE YOUNG BUGLERS. 
 
 coveted as being a post in which an active officer 
 had plenty of opportunities of distinguishing him- 
 self, and which was certain to lead to speedy pro- 
 motion. They accordingly expressed their warm 
 thanks for the honor which Lord Wellington had 
 done them. 
 
 " Are you well mounted ?" Colonel Somerset 
 asked. 
 
 " We have one capital charger each," Tom said. 
 
 " You will want another," Colonel Somerset re- 
 marked. " There are a lot of remounts landed to- 
 day. Here is an order to Captain Halket, the 
 officer in charge. Choose any two you like. The 
 amount can be stopped from your pay. How about 
 servants ; you are entitled to two each ?" 
 
 " We have one man of the Norfolk Rangers a 
 very faithful fellow, who has returned with us from 
 leave ; if he could be transferred, he would do for us 
 both if we had a cavalry man each for our horses." 
 
 The colonel at once wrote an order for Sam's 
 transfer from his regiment on detached service, and 
 also one to the officer commanding a cavalry regi- 
 ment stationed in Madrid, to supply them with two 
 troopers as orderlies. 
 
 " May I ask, sir, if we are likely to stay in 
 Madrid long as, if so, we will look out for quar- 
 ters ?" Tom asked. 
 
 " No ; the general returns to-morrow, or next day 
 at latest, to Almeida, and of course you will accom- 
 pany him. Oh, by the bye, Lord Wellington will be 
 glad if you will dine with him to-day sharp six.
 
 THE YOUNG BUGLERS. 295 
 
 By the way, you will want to get staff uniforms. 
 There is the address of a Spanish tailor, who has 
 fitted out most of the men who have been appointed 
 here. He works fast, and will get most of the 
 things you want ready by to-morrow night. Don't 
 get more things than are absolutely necessary 
 merely undress suits. Excuse my asking, how are 
 you off for money ? I will give you an order on 
 the paymaster if you like." 
 
 Tom replied that they had plenty of money, 
 which indeed they had, for their aunt had given 
 them so handsome a present upon starting that 
 they had tried to persuade her to be less generous, 
 urging that they really had no occasion for any 
 money beyond their pay. She had insisted, how- 
 ever, upon their accepting two checks, saying that 
 one never knew what was wanted, and it was 
 always useful to have a sum to fall back on in case 
 of need. 
 
 Two days later the Scudamores, in their new 
 staff uniforms, were, with some six or eight other 
 officers, riding in the suit of Lord Wellington on the 
 road to the Coa. The lads thought they had never had 
 a more pleasant time ; the weather was fine and the 
 temperature delightful, their companions, all older 
 somewhat than themselves, were yet all young men 
 in high health and spirits. The pace was good, for 
 Lord Wellington was a hard rider, and time was 
 always precious with him. At the halting-places 
 the senior officers of the staff kept together, while 
 the aids-de-camp made up a mess of their own,
 
 296 THE YOUNG BUGLERS. 
 
 always choosing a place as far away as possible 
 from that of the chief, so that they could laugh, 
 joke, and even sing, without fear of disturbing his 
 lordship. 
 
 Sam soon became a high favorite with the light- 
 hearted young fellows, and his services as forager 
 for the mess were in high esteem. 
 
 Three days of hard riding took them to Almeida, 
 where the breaches caused by the great explosion 
 had been repaired, and the place put into a de- 
 fensible position. Tom and Peter had been afraid 
 that there would be at least four months of enforced 
 inactivity before the spring ; but they soon found 
 that the post of aid-de-camp to Wellington was no 
 sinecure. For the next month they almost lived in 
 the saddle. The greater portion of the English 
 army was indeed lying on the Agueda, but there 
 were detached bodies of British and large numbers 
 of Portuguese troops at various points along the 
 whole line of the Portuguese frontier, and with the 
 commanders of these Lord Wellington was in con- 
 stant communication. 
 
 Toward the end of December some large convoys 
 of heavy artillery arrived at Almeida, but every 
 one supposed that they were intended to fortify this 
 place, and none, even of those most in the confi- 
 dence of the commander-in-chief, had any idea that 
 a winter campaign was about to commence. The 
 French were equally unsuspicious of the truth. 
 Twice as strong as the British, they dreamed not 
 that the latter would take the offensive, and the
 
 THE YOUNG BUGLERS. 297 
 
 French marshals had scattered their troops at con- 
 siderable distances from the frontier in winter 
 quarters. 
 
 Upon the last day of the year the Scudamores 
 both happened to have returned to the front Tom 
 from Lisbon, and Peter from a long ride to a dis- 
 tant Portuguese division. There was a merry party 
 gathered round a blazing fire in the yard of the 
 house where they, with several other aids-de-camp, 
 were quartered. Some fifty officers of all ranks were 
 present, for a general invitation had been issued to 
 all unattached officers in honor of the occasion. 
 Each brought in what liquor he could get hold of, 
 and any provisions which he had been able to pro- 
 cure, and the evening was one of boisterous fun and 
 jollity. In the great kitchen blazed a fire, before 
 which chickens and ducks were roasting, turkeys 
 and geese cut up in pieces for greater rapidity of 
 cooking, were grilling over the fire, and as they 
 came off the gridiron they were taken round by the 
 soldier-servants to their masters as they sat about 
 on logs of wood, boxes, and other substitutes for 
 chairs. Most of the officers present had already 
 supped, and the late-comers were finishing their 
 frugal meal, after which the soldiers would take 
 their turn. There was a brewing of punch and 
 an uncorking of many a bottle of generous wine ; 
 then the song and laugh went round, and all pre- 
 pared to usher in the new year joyously, when a 
 colonel of the staff, who had been dining with Lord 
 Wellington, entered, " Here's a seat, colonel," was
 
 298 THE YOUNG BUGLERS- 
 
 shouted in a dozen places, but he shook his head 
 and held up his hand. 
 
 " Gentlemen, I am sorry to disturb you, but or- 
 ders must be obeyed. Yilliers, Hogan, Scudamore? 
 both, Esdaile, Cooper, and Johnson, here are dis 
 patches which have to be taken off at once. Gen- 
 tlemen, I should recommend you all to look to your 
 horses. All attached to the transport had better go 
 to their headquarters for orders." 
 
 " What is up, colonel ?" was the general question. 
 
 " The army moves forward at daybreak. We are 
 going to take Ciudad." 
 
 A cheer of surprise and delight burst from all. 
 There was an emptying of glasses, a pouring out of 
 one more bumper to success, and in five minutes 
 the court was deserted, save by some orderlies has- 
 tily devouring the interrupted supper, and ere long 
 the tramp of horses could be heard, as the Scuda- 
 mores and their comrades dashed off in different 
 directions with their dispatches. 
 
 The next morning a bridge was thrown over the 
 Agueda at Marialva, six miles below Ciudad, but 
 the investment was delayed, owing to the slowness 
 and insufficiency of the transport. Ciudad Rodrigo 
 was but a third-class fortress, and could have been 
 captured by the process of a regular siege with 
 comparatively slight loss to the besiegers. Wel- 
 lington knew, however, that he could not afford the 
 time for a regular siege. Long before the ap- 
 proaches could have been made, and the breaches 
 effected according to rule, the French marshals 
 would have been up with overwhelming forces.
 
 THE YOUNG BUGLERS. 299 
 
 Beginning the investment on the 7th, Wellington 
 determined that it must be taken at all costs in 
 twenty-four days, the last day of the month being 
 the very earliest date at which, according to his 
 calculations, any considerable body of French could 
 come up to its relief. 
 
 Ciudad lies on rising ground on the bank of the 
 Agueda. The fortifications were fairly strong, and 
 being protected by a very high glacis, it was diffi- 
 cult to effect a breach in them. The glacis is the 
 smooth ground outside the ditch. In well-con- 
 structed works the walls of the fortification rise but 
 very little above the ground beyond, from which 
 they are separated by a broad and deep ditch. Thus 
 the ground beyond the ditch, that is, the glacis, 
 covers the walls from the shot of a besieger, and 
 renders it extremely difficult to reach them. In the 
 case of Ciudad, however, there were outside the 
 place two elevated plateaus, called the great and 
 small Teson. Guns placed on these could look down 
 upon Ciudad, and could therefore easily breach the 
 walls. These, then, were the spots from which 
 Wellington determined to make the attack. The 
 French, however, were aware of the importance of 
 the position, and had erected on the higher Teson 
 an inclosed and palisadoed redoubt, mounting two 
 guns and a howitzer. A great difficulty attending 
 the operation was that there were neither fuel nor 
 shelter to be obtained on the right bank of the 
 river, and the weather set in very cold, with frost 
 and snow, at the beginning of the siege. Hence the
 
 300 THE YOUNG BUGLERS. 
 
 troops had to be encamped on the left bank, and 
 each division, as its turn came to occupy the trenches 
 for twenty-four hours, took cooked provisions with 
 it, and waded across the Agueda. 
 
 On the 8th Pack's division of Portuguese and the 
 light division waded the river three miles above 
 the fortress, and, making a circuit, took up a place 
 near the great Teson. There they remained quiet 
 all day. The French, seeing that the place was not 
 yet entirely invested, paid but little heed to them. 
 At nightfall, however, Colonel Colborne, with two 
 companies from each of the regiments of the light 
 division, attacked the redoubt of San Francisco 
 with such a sudden rush that it was carried with 
 the loss of only twenty-four men, the defenders, 
 few and unprepared, being all taken prisoners. 
 Scarcely, however, was the place captured than 
 every gun of Ciudad which could be brought to 
 bear upon it opened with fury. All night, under a 
 hail of shot and shell, the troops labored steadily, 
 and by daybreak the first parallel, that is to say, a 
 trench protected by a bank of earth six hundred 
 yards in length, was sunk three feet deep. The 
 next day the first division relieved the light divi- 
 sion. 
 
 Tom and Peter, now that the army was station- 
 ary, had an easier time of it, and obtained leave to 
 cross the river to see the operations. The troops 
 had again to wade through the bitter cold water, 
 and at any other time would have grumbled rarely 
 at the discomfort. When really engaged in the
 
 THE YOUNG BUGLERS. 301 
 
 work of war, however, the British soldier cares for 
 nothing, and holding up their rifles, pouches and 
 haversacks to keep dry, the men crossed the river 
 laughing and joking. There was but little done all 
 day, for the tire of the enemy was too fast and 
 deadly for men to work under it in daylight. At 
 night the Scudamores left their horses with those 
 of the divisional officers and accompanied the 
 troops into the trenches, to learn the work which 
 had there to be done. Directly it was dusk twelve 
 hundred men fell to work to construct their bat- 
 teries. The night was dark, and it was strange to 
 the Scudainores to hear the thud of so many picks 
 and shovels going, to hear now and then a low 
 spoken order, but to see nothing save when the 
 flash of the enemy's guns momentarily lit up the 
 scene. Every half minute or so the shot, shell, and 
 grape came tearing through the air, followed occa- 
 sionally by a low cry or a deep moan. Exciting as 
 it was for a time, the boys, having no duty, found 
 it difficult long to keep awake, and presently dozed 
 off at first to wake with a start whenever a shell 
 fell close, but presently to sleep soundly until dawn. 
 By that time the batteries, eighteen feet thick, 
 were completed. 
 
 On the 10th the fourth division, and on the llth 
 the third, carried on the works, but were nightly 
 disturbed, not only by the heavy fire from the 
 bastions, but from some guns which the French 
 had mounted on the convent of San Francisco in 
 the suburb on the left. Little was effected in the
 
 302 THE YOUNG BUGLERS. 
 
 next two days, for the frost hardened the ground 
 and impeded the work. On the night of the 13th 
 the Santa Cruz convent was carried and the trenches 
 pushed forward, and on the next afternoon the 
 breaching batteries opened fire with twenty-five 
 guns upon the points of the wall at which it had 
 been determined to make the breaches, while two 
 cannons kept down the fire of the French guns at 
 the convent of San Francisco. The French replied 
 with more than fifty pieces, and all night the tre- 
 mendous fire was kept up on both sides without 
 intermission. Just at daybreak the sound of 
 musketry mingled with the roar of cannon, as the 
 Fortieth Kegiment attacked and carried the con- 
 vent of San Francisco. Through the 16th, 17th, 
 and 18th the artillery duel continued, sometimes 
 one side, sometimes the other obtaining the advan- 
 tage ; but during each night the trenches of the 
 besiegers were pushed forward, and each day saw 
 the breaches in the ramparts grow larger and 
 larger. On the 19th the breaches w r ere reported 
 as practicable that is, that it would be possible for 
 men to scramble up the fallen rubbish to the top, 
 and orders were therefore given for the assault for 
 that night. 
 
 The attack was to be made at four points simul- 
 taneously ; the Fifth, Ninety -fourth, and Seventy- 
 seventh were to attack from the convent of Santa 
 Cruz, to make for the ditch, enter it, and work their 
 way along to the great breach ; Mackinnon's brigade 
 of the third division was to attack the great breach
 
 THE YOUNG BUGLERS. 303 
 
 from the front ; the light division posted behind 
 the convent of San Francisco were to attack from 
 the left and make their way to the small breach ; 
 while a false attack, to be converted into a real one 
 if the resistance was slight, was to be made by 
 Pack's Portuguese at the St. Jago gate at the oppo- 
 site side of the town. As night fell the troops 
 moved into their position, and Lord "Wellington 
 went to the convent of San Francisco, from whose 
 roof he could survey the operations. The Scuda- 
 mores, with the rest of the staff, took up their 
 places behind him. Suddenly there was a shout on 
 the far right, followed by a sound of confused cheer- 
 ing and firing, while flashes of flame leaped out 
 along the walls, and the guns of the place opened 
 fire with a crash. Now the Fifth, Ninety-fourth, 
 and Seventy-seventh rushed with great swiftness 
 along the ditch, when, at the foot of the great 
 breach, they were met by the third division. To- 
 gether they poured up the breach, and the roar of 
 musketry was tremendous. Once at the top of the 
 breach, however, they made no progress. From a 
 trench which had been cut beyond it, a ring of fire 
 broke out, while muskets flashed from every win- 
 dow in the houses near. It was evident that some 
 serious obstacle had been encountered, and that the 
 main attack was arrested. 
 
 " This is terrible," Peter said, as almost breath- 
 less they watched the storm of fire on and around 
 the breach. " This is a thousand times worse than 
 a battle. It is awful to think how the shot must
 
 304 THE YOUNG BUGLERS. 
 
 be telling on that dense mass. Can nothing be 
 done?" 
 
 " Hurrah ! There go the light division at the 
 small breach," Tom exclaimed, as the French fire 
 broke out along the ramparts in that quarter. A 
 violent cheer came up even above the din from the 
 great breach, but no answering fire lights the scene, 
 for Major Napier, who commanded, had forbidden 
 his men to load, telling them to trust entirely to 
 the bayonet. There was no delay here ; the firing 
 of the French ceased almost immediately, as with a 
 fierce rush the men of the light division bounded 
 up the ruins and won the top of the breach. For a 
 moment or two there was a pause, for the French 
 opened so fierce a fire from either side that the 
 troops wavered. The officers sprang to the front, 
 the soldiers followed with the bayonet, and the 
 French, unable to stand the fierce onslaught, broke 
 and fled into the town. Then the men of the light 
 division, rushing -along the walls, took the French 
 who were defending the great breach in rear, and 
 as these gave way the attacking party swept across 
 the obstacles which had hitherto kept them, and 
 the town was won. Pack's Portuguese had effected 
 an entrance at the St. Jago gate, which they found 
 almost deserted, for the garrison was weak, and 
 every available man had been taken for the defense 
 of the breaches. 
 
 Thus was Ciudad Rodrigo taken after twelve days* 
 siege, with a loss of twelve hundred men and ninety 
 officers, of which six hundred and fifty men and
 
 THE YOUNG BUGLERS. 305 
 
 sixty officers fell in that short, bloody fight at the 
 breaches. Among the killed was General Craufurd, 
 who had commanded at the fight on the Coa. 
 
 Upon entering the town three days afterward, at 
 the termination of the disgraceful scene of riot and 
 pillage with which the British soldier, there as at 
 other places, tarnished the laurels won by his 
 bravery in battle, the boys went to the scene of the 
 struggle, and then understood the cause of the 
 delay upon the part of the stormers. From the top 
 of the breach there was a perpendicular fall of six- 
 teen feet, and the bottom of this was planted with 
 sharp spikes, and strewn with the fragments of 
 shells which the French had rolled down into it. 
 Had it not been for the light division coming up 
 and taking the defenders who occupied the loop- 
 holed and fortified houses which commanded this 
 breach in rear, the attack here could never have 
 succeeded. 
 
 The next few days were employed in repairing 
 the breaches, and putting the place again in a state 
 of defense, as it was probable that Marmont might 
 come up and besiege it. The French marshal, 
 however, when hurrying to the relief of the town, 
 heard the news of its fall, and as the weather was 
 very bad for campaigning, and provisions short, he 
 fell back again to his winter quarters, believing that 
 Wellington would, content with his success, make 
 no fresh movement until the spring. The English 
 general, however, was far too able a strategist not 
 to profit by the supineness of his adversary, and
 
 306 THE YOUNG BUGLERS. 
 
 immediately Ciudad Eodrigo was taken, he began to 
 make preparations for the siege of Badajos, a far 
 stronger fortress than Ciudad, and defended by 
 strong detached forts. Three days after the fall of 
 Rodrigo General Hill came up with his division ; to 
 this the Norfolk Rangers now belonged, and the 
 Scudamores had therefore the delight of meeting 
 all their old friends again. They saw but little of 
 them, however, for they were constantly on the 
 road to Lisbon with dispatches, every branch of the 
 service being now strained to get the battering- 
 train destined for the attack on Badajos to the 
 front, while orders were sent to Silviera, Trant, 
 Wilson, Lecca, and the other partisan leaders, to 
 hold all the fords and defiles along the frontier, so 
 as to prevent the French from making a counter- 
 invasion of Portugal. 
 
 On the llth of March the army arrived at Elvas, 
 and on the 15th a pontoon bridge was thrown across 
 the Guadiana. The following day the British 
 troops crossed the river and invested Badajos with 
 fifteen thousand men, while Hill and Graham, with 
 thirty thousand more, moved forward so as to act 
 as a covering army in case the French should 
 advance to raise the siege. Badajos was defended 
 by five thousand men under General Phillipson, a 
 most able and energetic commander, who had in 
 every way strengthened the defenses, and put them 
 in a position to offer an obstinate resistance. 
 
 Before attacking the fortress it was necessary to 
 capture one of the outlying forts, and that known
 
 THE YOUNG BUGLERS. 30? 
 
 as the Picurina was selected, because the bastion of 
 the Trinidad, which lay behind it, was the weakest 
 portion of the fortress. The trenches were com- 
 menced against this on the night of the 17th, and 
 although the French made some vigorous sorties, 
 the works progressed so rapidly that all was ready 
 for an assault on the forts on the 25th, a delay of 
 two days having been occasioned by the French 
 taking guns across the river, which swept the 
 trenches and rendered work impossible until a divi- 
 sion was sent round to drive in the French guns and 
 invest the fortress on that side. The Picurina was 
 strong and desperately defended, but it was cap- 
 tured after a furious assault which lasted one hour 
 and cost nineteen officers and three hundred men. 
 It was not, however, until next evening that the 
 fort could be occupied, for the guns of the town 
 poured such a hail of shot and shell into it that a 
 permanent footing could not be obtained in it. 
 Gradually, day by day, the trenches were driven 
 nearer to the doomed city, and the cannon of the 
 batteries worked day and night to establish a 
 breach. Soult was known to be approaching, but 
 he wanted to gather up all his available forces, as 
 he believed the town capable of holding out for 
 another month at least. Still he was approaching, 
 and although the three breaches were scarcely yet 
 practicable and the fire of the town by no means 
 overpowered, Wellington determined upon an in- 
 stant assault, and on the night of the 6th of April 
 the troops prepared for what turned out to be the
 
 308 THE YOUNG BUGLERS. 
 
 most terrible and bloody assault in the annals of the 
 British army. There were no less than six columns 
 of attack, comprising in all eighteen thousand men. 
 Picton, on the right, with the third division, was to 
 cross the Rivillas and storm the castle. Wilson, 
 with the troops in the trenches, was to attack San 
 Roque. In the center the fourth and light division, 
 under Colville and Barnard, were to assault the 
 breaches ; and on the left Leith, with the fifth divi- 
 sion, was to make a false attack upon the fort of 
 Pardaleras, and a real attack upon the bastion of 
 San Vincente by the river side. Across the river 
 the Portuguese division under Power was to attack 
 the works at the head of the bridge. The night was 
 dark and clouded, and all was as still as death 
 outside the town, when a lighted carcass, that 
 is, a large iron canister filled with tar and combus- 
 tibles, fell close to the third division, and exposing 
 their ranks, forced them to commence the attack 
 before the hour appointed. Crossing the Rivillas 
 by a narrow bridge, under a tremendous fire, the 
 third division assaulted the castle, and although 
 their scaling-ladders were over and over again 
 hurled down, the stormers at last obtained a footing, 
 and the rest of the troops poured in and the castle 
 was won. A similar and more rapid success at- 
 tended the assault on San Roque, which was attacked 
 so suddenly and violently that it was taken with 
 scarce any resistance. In the meantime the assaults 
 upon the breaches had commenced, and it is best to 
 give the account of this terrible scene in the words
 
 THE YOUNG BUGLERS. 309 
 
 of its eloquent and graphic historian, as the picture 
 is one of the most vivid that was ever drawn. 
 
 " All this time the tumult at the breaches was 
 such as if the very earth had been rent asunder, 
 and its central fires bursting upward uncontrolled. 
 The two divisions had reached the glacis just as the 
 firing at the castle commenced, and the flash of a 
 single musket, discharged from the covered-way as 
 a signal, showed them that the French were ready ; 
 yet no stir was heard, and darkness covered the 
 breaches. Some haypacks were thrown, some 
 ladders placed, and the forlorn hopes and storming 
 parties of the light division, five hundred in all, 
 descended into the ditch without opposition; but 
 then a bright flame shooting upward displayed all 
 the terrors of the scene. The ramparts crowded 
 with dark figures and glittering arms were on one 
 side ; on the other the red columns of the British, 
 deep and broad, were coming on like streams of 
 burning lava. It was the touch of the magician's 
 wand, for a crash of thunder followed, and with 
 incredible violence the storming parties were dashed 
 to pieces by the explosion of hundreds of shells and 
 powder -barrels. For an instant the light division 
 stood on the brink of the ditch, amazed at the ter- 
 rific sight; but then, with a shout that matched 
 even the sound of the explosion, the men flew down 
 the ladders, or, disdaining their aid, leaped, reckless 
 of the depth, into the gulf below and at the same 
 moment, amid a blaze of musketry that dazzled the 
 eyes, the fourth division came running in, and
 
 310 THE YOUNG BUGLERS. 
 
 descended with a like fury. There were only five 
 ladders for the two columns, which were close to- 
 gether ; and a deep cut, made in the bottom of the 
 ditch as far as the counter-guard of the Trinidad, 
 was filled with water from the inundation. Into 
 that watery snare the head of the fourth division 
 fell, and it is said above a hundred of the Fusiliers, 
 the men of Albuera, were there smothered. Those 
 who followed checked not, but, as if such a disaster 
 had been expected, turned to the left, and thus came 
 upon the face of the unfinished ravelin, which, being 
 rough and broken, was mistaken for the breach, 
 and instantly covered with men ; yet a wide and 
 deep chasm was still between them and the ram- 
 parts, from whence came a deadly fire, wasting their 
 ranks. Thus baffled, they also commenced a rapid 
 discharge of musketry, and disorder ensued ; for the 
 men of the light division, whose conducting engineer 
 had been disabled early, and whose flank was con- 
 fined by an unfinished ditch intended to cut off the 
 bastion of Santa Maria, rushed toward the breaches 
 of the curtain and the Trinidad, which were, indeed, 
 before them, but which the fourth division had been 
 destined to storm. Great was the confusion, for 
 the ravelin was quite crowded with men of both 
 divisions, and while some continued to fire, others 
 jumped down and ran toward the breach ; many 
 also passed between the ravelin and the counter- 
 guard of the Trinidad, the two divisions got mixed, 
 the reserves, which should have remained at the 
 quarries, also came pouring in, until the ditch was
 
 THE YOUNG BUGLERS. 311 
 
 quite filled, the rear still crowding forward, and all 
 cheering vehemently. The enemy's shouts also were 
 loud and terrible, and the bursting of shells and of 
 grenades, the roaring of guns from the flanks, 
 answered by the iron howitzers from the battery of 
 the parallel, the heavy roll and horrid explosion of 
 the powder-barrels, the whizzing flight of the blazing 
 splinters, the loud exhortations of the officers, and 
 the continual clatter of the muskets made a mad- 
 dening din. Now a multitude' bounded up the 
 great breach, as if driven by a whirlwind, but 
 across the top glittered a range of sword-blades, 
 sharp-pointed, keen-edged on both sides, and firmly 
 fixed in ponderous beams chained together and set 
 deep in the ruins ; and for ten feet in front the 
 ascent was covered with loose planks, studded with 
 sharp iron points, on which, feet being set, the planks 
 moved, and the unhappy soldiers, falling forward 
 on the spikes, rolled down upon the ranks behind. 
 Then the Frenchmen, shouting at the success of 
 their stratagem and leaping forward, plied their 
 shot with terrible rapidity, for every man had 
 several muskets, and each musket, in addition 
 to its ordinary charge, contained a small 
 cylinder of wood stuck full of wooden slugs, 
 which scattered like hail when they were dis- 
 charged. Once and again the assailants rushed 
 up the breaches, but always the sword-blades, 
 immovable and impassable, stopped their charge, 
 and the hissing shells and thundering powder 
 barrels exploded unceasingly. Hundreds of men
 
 312 THE YOUNG BUGLERS. 
 
 had fallen, hundreds more were dropping, still 
 the heroic officers called aloud for new trials, and 
 sometimes followed by many, sometimes by a few, 
 ascended the ruins ; and so furious were the men 
 themselves that in one of these charges the rear 
 strove to push the foremost on to the sword- 
 blades, willing even to make a bridge of their 
 writhing bodies, but the others frustrated the attempt 
 by dropping down ; and men fell so fast from the shot 
 it was hard to know who went down voluntarily, 
 who were stricken, and many stooped unhurt that 
 never rose again. Vain also would it have been to 
 break through the sword-blades, for the trench and 
 parapet behind the breach were finished, and the 
 assailants, crowded into even a narrower space than 
 the ditch was, would still have been separated from 
 their enemies, and the slaughter would have con- 
 tinued. At the beginning of this dreadful conflict 
 Andrew Barnard had, with prodigious efforts, sep- 
 arated his division from the other, and preserved 
 some degree of military array ; but now the tumult 
 was such, no command would be heard distinctly 
 except by those close at hand, and the mutilated 
 carcasses heaped on each other, and the wounded 
 struggling to avoid being trampled upon, broke the 
 formations ; order was impossible ! Officers of all 
 ranks, followed more or less numerously by the 
 men, were seen to start out as if struck by sudden 
 madness, and rush into the breach, which, yawning 
 and glittering with steel, seemed like the mouth of 
 a huge dragon belching forth smoke and flame. In
 
 THE YOUNG BUGLERS. 313 
 
 one of these attempts Colonel Macleod, of the 
 Forty-third, a young man whose feeble body would 
 hare been quite unfit for war if it had not been sus- 
 tained by an unconquerable spirit, was killed; 
 wherever his voice was heard his soldiers had gath- 
 ered, and with such a strong resolution did he lead 
 them up the fatal ruins that when one behind him, 
 in falling, plunged a bayonet into his back, he com- 
 plained not; but, continuing his course, was shot 
 dead within a yard of the sword-blades. Yet there 
 was no want of gallant leaders or desperate follow- 
 ers, until two hours passed in these vain efforts had 
 convinced the troops the breach of the Trinidad was 
 impregnable ; and as the opening in the curtain, 
 although less strong, was retired, and the approach 
 to it impeded by deep holes and cuts made in the 
 ditch, the soldiers did not much notice it after the 
 partial failure of one attack which had been made 
 early. Gathering in dark groups and leaning on 
 their muskets, they looked up with sullen despera- 
 tion at the Trinidad, while the enemy, stepping out 
 on the ramparts, and aiming their shots by the 
 light of the fire-balls which they threw over, asked, 
 as their victims fell, 'Why they did not come 
 into Badajos ?' In this dreadful situation, while the 
 dead were lying in heaps, and others continually 
 falling, the wounded crawling about to get some 
 shelter from the merciless shower above, and withal 
 a sickening stench from the burned flesh of the 
 slain, Captain Nicholas, of the Engineers, was ob- 
 served by Lieutenant Shaw, of the Forty-third,
 
 314 THE YOUNG BUGLERS. 
 
 making incredible efforts to force his way with a 
 few men into the Santa Maria bastion. Shaw im- 
 mediately collected fifty soldiers, of all regiments, 
 and joined him, and although there was a deep cut 
 along the foot of that breach also, it was instantly 
 passed, and these two young officers led their gal- 
 lant band, with a rush, up the ruins ; but when they 
 had gained two-thirds of the ascent a concentrated fire 
 of musketry and grape dashed nearly the whole dead 
 to the earth. Nicholas was mortally wounded, and 
 the intrepid Shaw stood alone ! With inexpressible 
 coolness he looked at his watch, and, saying it was 
 too late to carry the breaches, rejoined the masses 
 at the other attack. After this no further effort 
 was made at any point, and the troops remained 
 passive but unflinching beneath the enemy^s shot, 
 which streamed without intermission ; for of the 
 riflemen on the glacis many leaped early into the 
 ditch and joined in the assault, and the rest, raked 
 by a cross-fire of grape from the distant bastions, 
 baffled in their aim by the smoke and flames from 
 the explosions, and too few in number, entirely 
 failed to quell the French musketry. About mid- 
 night, when two thousand brave men had fallen, 
 Wellington, who was on a height close to the quar- 
 ries, ordered the remainder to retire and re-form for 
 a second assault ; he had heard the castle was taken, 
 but, thinking the enemy would still resist in the 
 town, was resolved to assail the breaches again. 
 This retreat from the ditch was not effected without 
 further carnage and confusion ; the French fire
 
 THE YOUNG BUGLERS. 315 
 
 never slackened. A cry arose that the enemy was 
 making a sally from the distant flanks, and there 
 was a rush toward the ladders. Then the groans 
 and lamentations of the wounded, who could not 
 move and expected to be slain, increased, and many 
 officers who had not heard of the order endeavored 
 to stop the soldiers from going back ; some would 
 even have removed the ladders, but were unable to 
 break the crowd." 
 
 While this terrible scene was passing the victory 
 had been decided elsewhere. The capture of the 
 castle by Picton would, in itself, have caused the 
 fall of the town upon the following day, but Leith, 
 with the fifth division, after hard fighting, scaled 
 the St. Vincente bastion, and came up through the 
 town and took the defenders of the breaches in the 
 rear. Then the French gave way, the British 
 poured in, and the dreadful scenes which had marked 
 the fall of Ciudad Rodrigo were repeated, and even 
 surpassed. Up to the present day the name of an 
 Englishman is coupled with a curse in the town of 
 Badajos. At this siege, as at the last, the Scuda- 
 mores acted the part of lookers-on, and although 
 they bitterly regretted it, it was well for them that 
 it was so. The capture of Badajos cost the allied 
 army five thousand men, of whom thirty-five 
 hundred fell on the night of the assault. Each 
 of the divisions which attacked the breaches lost 
 over twelve hundred men, and the Fifty-second 
 Regiment, who formed part of the light division, 
 lost their full share. Among the ranks of the
 
 316 THE YOUNG BUGLERS. 
 
 officers the slaughter was particularly great, and 
 scarce one escaped without a wound. The Scuda- 
 mores would fain have volunteered to join their 
 regiment in the assault, but it was well known that 
 Lord Wellington would not allow staff officers to go 
 outside their own work. Therefore they had looked 
 on with beating hearts and pale faces, and with 
 tears in their eyes, at that terrible tight at the 
 Trinidad, and had determined that when morning 
 came they would resign their staff appointments 
 and ask leave to join their regiment. But when 
 morning came, and the list of the killed and wounded 
 was sent in, and they went dov/n with a party to 
 the breach to collect the wounded, they could not 
 but feel that they had in all probability escaped 
 death, or what a soldier fears more, mutilation. 
 " After all, Tom," Peter said, " we have done some 
 active service, and our promotion shows that we are 
 not cowards ; there can be no reason why we should 
 not do our duty as the chief has marked it out for 
 us, especially when it is quite as likely to lead to 
 rapid promotion as is such a murderous business as 
 this." After this no more was said about resigning 
 the staff appointment, which gave them plenty of 
 hard work and constant change of scene, whereas 
 had they remained with the regiment they would 
 often have been stationed for months in one place 
 without a move.
 
 THE YOUNG BUGLERS. 31? 
 
 CHAPTER XYI. 
 
 SALAMANCA. 
 
 THE great triumphs of Ciudad Rodrigo and 
 Badajos did not lead to the rapid successes which 
 Wellington had hoped. The French generals, on 
 hearing of the loss of the latter fortress, again fell 
 back, and Wellington was so much v hampered by 
 shortness of mone} f , by the inefficiency, obstinacy, 
 and intrigues of the Portuguese government, and 
 by want of transport, that it was nearly three 
 months before he could get everything in readiness 
 for an advance into Spain. At last all was prepared, 
 and on the 13th of June the army once more crossed 
 the Agueda, and marched toward the Tamar, in 
 four columns. On the 17th it was within six miles 
 of Salamanca, and Marshal Marmont, unable for 
 the moment to stem the tide of invasion, evacuated 
 the citv, which that evening blazed with illumina- 
 
 V ' 
 
 tions, the people being half wild with joy at their 
 approaching deliverance. The French, however, 
 had not entirely departed, for eight hundred men 
 still held some very strong forts overlooking and 
 guarding the city. 
 
 These forts held out desperately; the British
 
 318 THE YOUNG BUGLERS. 
 
 battering train was weak, and upon the 23d Mar- 
 mont, having received considerable reinforcements, 
 advanced to raise the siege. Wellington, however, 
 refused to be tempted to leave his trenches to 
 deliver a general battle, but faced the enemy with 
 a portion of his army w hile he continued the siege. 
 
 Marmont, upon his part, believing that the forts 
 could held out for fifteen days, put off the attack, 
 as he knew that large reinforcements were coming 
 up. His calculations were frustrated by one of the 
 forts taking fire on the 27th when an assault was 
 delivered, and the whole of the forts surrendered ; 
 Marmont at once fell back across the Douro, there 
 to await the arrival of his reinforcements. 
 
 Wellington, on his part, followed slowly, and his 
 army took up a position between Canizal and 
 Castrejon, thereby covering the roads from Toro 
 and Tordesillas, the only points at which the 
 French could cross the river. The reports of the 
 spies all agreed that the former was the place at 
 which the crossing would be made. 
 
 On the 16th of July an officer rode into Canizal 
 at headlong pace, with the news that a reconnoiter- 
 ing party had crossed the Douro that morning near 
 Tordesillas, and had found that place deserted, ex- 
 cept by a garrison; and an hour later the news 
 came in that three divisions of the enemy were al- 
 ready across the river at Toro. Five minutes later 
 the Scudamores were on horseback, carrying orders 
 that the whole of the army, with the exception of 
 the fourth and light divisions, which were on the
 
 THE YOUNG BUGLERS. 319 
 
 Trabancos, under General Cotton, were to concen- 
 trate at Canizal that night. By the morning the 
 movement was accomplished. 
 
 The day wore on in somewhat anxious expecta- 
 tion, and toward afternoon Wellington, accom- 
 panied by Lord Beresford, and escorted by Alton's, 
 Bock's, and Le Marchant's brigades of cavalry, 
 started to make a reconnaissance of the enemy's 
 movements. Caution was needed for the advance, 
 as it was quite uncertain whether, the French were 
 pushing on through the open country toward 
 Canizal or whether they were following the direct 
 road from Toro to Salamanca. Evening closed in, 
 but no signs of the French army were seen, and the 
 party halted about six miles from Toro, and small 
 parties of cavalry were dispatched right and left to 
 scour the country, and find out where the enemy 
 had gone. 
 
 " It's very strange where the French can have 
 got to," was the remark made for the fiftieth time 
 among the staff. 
 
 The detached parties returned, bringing no news 
 whatever, and Lord Wellington again advanced 
 slowly and cautiously toward Toro. Small parties 
 were pushed on ahead, and presently an officer rode 
 back with the news that he had been as far as the 
 river, and that not a Frenchman was to be seen. It 
 was too late to do any more, and they remained in 
 uncertainty whether the enemy had recrossed the 
 river after making a demonstration, or whether 
 they had marched to their right, so as to make a
 
 320 THE YOUNG BUGLERS. 
 
 circuit, and throw themselves between Ciudad Rod- 
 rigo and Salamanca, upon the line of communication 
 of the British army. 
 
 Lord Wellington with his staff took possession of 
 a deserted farmhouse, the cavalry picketed their 
 horses round it, and the Scudamores, who had been 
 more than twenty-four hours in the saddle, wrapped 
 themselves in their cloaks, and stretching themselves 
 on the floor, were soon asleep. Just at midnight 
 the sound of a horse's footfall approaching at a 
 gallop was heard, and an officer, who had ridden 
 without drawing rein from Canizal, dashed up to 
 the farm. 
 
 Five minutes later the whole party were in the 
 saddle again. The news was important indeed. 
 Marmont had drawn his whole arm}' back across 
 the Toro on the night of the 16th, had marched to 
 Tordesillas, crossed there, and in the afternoon, after 
 a march of fifty miles, had fallen upon Cotton's 
 outposts and driven them across the Trabancos. 
 
 Not a moment's time was lost bv Wellington after 
 
 / o 
 
 he received the news ; but, unfortunately, six pre- 
 cious hours had already been wasted, owing to the 
 dispatches not having reached him at Canizal. 
 With the three brigades of cavalry he set off at 
 once toward Alaejos, while an officer was dispatched 
 to Canizal to order the fifth division to march with 
 all speed to Torrecilla de la Orden, six miles in rear 
 of Cotton's position at Castrejon. 
 
 Four hours' riding brought them to Alaejos, where 
 a halt for two or three hours was ordered to rest
 
 THE YOUNG BUGLERS. 321 
 
 the weary horses and men. Soon after daybreak, 
 however, all thought of sleep was banished by the 
 roar of artillery, which told that Marmont was 
 pressing hard upon Cotton's troops. " To horse !" 
 was the cry, and Lords Wellington and Beresford, 
 with their staff, rode off at full speed toward the 
 scene of action, with the cavalry following hard 
 
 t u CU 
 
 upon their heels. An hour's ride brought them to 
 the ground. Not much could be seen, for the coun- 
 try was undulating and bare, like the Brighton 
 Downs, and each depression was full of the white 
 morning mist, which wreathed and tossed fantas- 
 tically from the effects of the discharges of firearms, 
 the movements of masses of men, and the charges 
 of cavalry hidden within it. Upon a crest near at 
 hand were a couple of British guns, with a small 
 escort of horse. 
 
 Suddenly, from the mist below, a party of some 
 fifty French horsemen dashed out and made for the 
 guns. The supporting squadron, surprised by the 
 suddenness of the attack, broke and fled ; the French 
 followed hard upon them, and just as Lord Welling- 
 ton, with his staff, gained the crest, pursuers and 
 pursued came upon them, and in pellmell confusion 
 the whole were borne down to the bottom of the 
 hill. For a few minutes it was a wild melee. 
 Lords Wellington, Beresford, and their staff, with 
 their swords drawn, were in the midst of the fight, 
 and friends and foes were mingled together, when 
 the leading squadrons of the cavalry from Alaejos 
 came thundering down, and very few of the French
 
 322 THE YOUNG BUGLERS. 
 
 men who had made that gallant charge escaped to 
 tell the tale. 
 
 The mists were now rapidly clearing up, and in a 
 short time the whole French army could be seen 
 advancing. They moved toward the British left, 
 and Wellington ordered the troops at once to retire. 
 The British fell back in three columns, and marched 
 for the Guarena, through Torrecilla de la Orden. 
 The French also marched straight for the river, and 
 now one of the most singular sights ever presented 
 in warfare was to be seen. 
 
 The hostile armies were marching abreast, the 
 columns being but a few hundred yards apart, the 
 officers on either side waving their hands to . each 
 other. For ten miles the armies thus pressed for- 
 ward, the officers urging the men, and these strain- 
 ing every nerve to get first to the river. From 
 time to time the artillery of either side, finding a 
 convenient elevation, would pour a few volleys of 
 grape into the opposing columns, but the position 
 of the two armies did not often admit of this. 
 Gradually Cotton's men, fresher than the French, 
 who had in the two previous days marched fifty 
 miles, gained ground, and, reaching the river, 
 marched across by the ford, the winners of the 
 great race by so little that one division, which 
 halted for a moment to drink, was swept by forty 
 pieces of French artillery, which arrived on the 
 spot almost simultaneously with it. 
 
 On the Guarena the British found the remaining 
 divisions of the army, which had been brought up
 
 THE YOUNG BUGLERS. 323 
 
 from Canizal. These checked Marmont in an at- 
 tempt to cross at Yallesa, while the Twenty-ninth 
 and Fortieth Regiments, with a desperate bayonet 
 charge, drove Carier's French division back as it 
 attempted to push forward beyond Castrillo. Thus 
 the two armies faced each other on the Guarena, 
 and Marmont had gained absolutely nothing by his 
 false movement at Toro, and his long and skillful 
 detour by Tordesillas. 
 
 Quickly the rest of the day passed, as did the one 
 which followed, the troops on both sides resting 
 after their fatigues. Wellington expected to be 
 attacked on the next morning, and his army was 
 arranged in two lines ready for the combat. At 
 daybreak, however, Marmont moved his army up 
 the river, crossed at a ford there, and marched 
 straight for Salamanca, thus turning Wellington's 
 right, and threatening his communications. The 
 British at once fell back, and the scene of the 
 previous day w r as repeated, the armies marching 
 along the crest of two parallel hills, within musket 
 shot distance of each other. 
 
 This time, however, the French troops, although 
 they had marched considerably further than the 
 English, proved themselves the best marchers, and 
 when night fell Wellington had the mortification 
 of seeing them in possession of the ford of Huerta 
 on the Tormes, thus securing for Marmont the junc- 
 tion with an army which was approaching under 
 King Joseph, and also the option of either fighting 
 or refusing battle. Wellington felt his position
 
 324 THE YOUNG BUGLERS. 
 
 seriously threatened, and sent off a dispatch to the 
 Spanish General Castanos, stating his inability to 
 hold his ground, and the probability that he should 
 be obliged to fall back upon Portugal. This letter 
 proved the cause of the victory of Salamanca, for 
 it was intercepted by the French, and Marmont, 
 fearing that Wellington would escape him, prepared 
 at once to throw himself upon the road to Ciudad 
 Eodrigo, and thus cut the British line of retreat, in 
 spite of the positive order which he had received 
 from King Joseph not to fight until he himself 
 arrived with his army. 
 
 Upon the 21st both armies crossed the Tormes, 
 the French at Alba and Huerta, the British at 
 Aldea Lengua, and San Marta. Upon that day the 
 news reached Wellington that General Chauvel, 
 with two thousand cavalry and twenty guns, 
 would reach Marmont on the evening of the 22d 
 or the morning of the 23d, and the English general 
 therefore resolved to retreat, unless Marmont 
 should, by some mistake, give him a chance of fight- 
 ing to advantage. 
 
 Close to the British right, and the French left, 
 were two steep and rugged hills, called the 
 Hermanitos, or Brothers, and soon after daybreak 
 on the 22d the French seized upon the one nearest 
 to them, while the British took possession of the 
 other Then watching each other, the two armies 
 remained until noon, for Wellington could not com- 
 mence his retreat by daylight ; but a long cloud of 
 dust along the road to Ciudad Kodrigo showed that
 
 THE YOUNG BUGLERS. 325 
 
 the baggage of the army was already en route for 
 Portugal. Marmont now determined to make a 
 bold stroke to cut off Wellington's retreat, and, al- 
 though all his troops had not yet arrived, he ordered 
 JVIaucune, with two divisions, to march round by 
 the left and menace the Ciudad road. It was at 
 three o'clock in the afternoon, and Wellington, who 
 had been up all night, thinking that Marmont 
 would make no move that day, had gone to lie 
 down for an hour or two, when Tom Scudamore, 
 who from an elevated point was watching the 
 movements of the enemy, hurried in with the news 
 that the French were pushing their left round 
 toward the Ciudad road. 
 
 Wellington leaped to his feet and hurried to the 
 high ground, where he beheld with stern satisfac- 
 tion that Marmont, in his eagerness to prevent the 
 British escape, had committed the flagrant error of 
 detaching his wing from his main body. Instantly 
 he issued orders for an attack, and the great mass 
 of men upon the British Hermanito moved down 
 upon the plain to attack Maucune in flank, while 
 the third division was ordered to throw itself across 
 his line of march, and to attack him in front. As 
 the advance across the plain would be taken in flank 
 by the fire from the French Hermanito, General 
 Pack was ordered to assail that position directly the 
 British line had passed it. 
 
 Marmont, standing on the French Hermanito, 
 was thunderstruck at beholding the plain suddenly 
 covered with enemies, and a tremendous fire was at
 
 326 THE YOUNG BUGLERS. 
 
 once opened upon the advancing British. Officer 
 after officer was dispatched to hurry up the French 
 troops still upon the march, and when Marmont saw 
 the third division dash across Maucune's path, he 
 was upon the point of hurrying himself to the spot, 
 when a shell burst close to him, and he was dashed 
 to the earth with a broken arm, and two deep 
 wounds in his side. 
 
 Thus, at the critical point of the battle, the 
 French army was left without a head. 
 
 It was just five o'clock when Pakenham, with the 
 third division, fell like a thunderbolt upon the head 
 of Maucune's troops. These, taken by surprise by 
 this attack on the part of an enemy whom they 
 had thought to see in full flight, yet fought 
 gallantly, and strove to gain time to open out into 
 order of battle. Bearing onward, however, with 
 irresistible force, the third division broke the head 
 of the column, and drove it back upon its supports. 
 Meanwhile, the battle raged all along the line ; in 
 the plain the fourth division carried the village of 
 Arapiles, and drove back Bonnet's division with 
 the bayonet, and the fifth division attacked Mau- 
 cune's command in flank, while Pakenham was 
 destroying its front. 
 
 Marmont was succeeded in his command by Bon- 
 net, who was also wounded, and Clausel, an able 
 general, took the command. He reinforced Mau- 
 cune with his own divisions, which had just arrived, 
 and for awhile restored the battle. Tiicn, past the 
 right and left of Pakenham's division, the British
 
 THE YOUNG BUGLERS. 327 
 
 cavalry, under Le Marchant, Anson, and d'Urban, 
 burst through the smoke and dust, rode down twelve 
 hundred of the French infantry, and then dashed 
 on at the line behind. Nobly the charge was 
 pressed, the third division following at a run, and 
 the charge ceased not until the French left was 
 entirely broken, and five guns and two thousand 
 prisoners taken. 
 
 But forty minutes had passed since the first gun 
 was fired, and the French defeat was already all but 
 irretrievable, and the third, fourth and fifth divi- 
 sions, now in line, swept forward as to assured vic- 
 tory. Clausel, however, proved equal to the emer- 
 gency. He reinforced Bonnet's division with that 
 of Fereij, as yet fresh and unbroken, and, at the 
 same moment, Sarrut's and Brennier's divisions 
 issued from the forest, and formed in the line of 
 battle. Behind them the broken troops of Mau- 
 cune's two divisions re-formed, and the battle was 
 renewed with terrible force. 
 
 Pack, at the same moment, attempted unsuccess- 
 fully to carry the French Hermanito by assault with 
 his Portuguese division, and the fate of the battle 
 was again in the balance ; the British divisions, out- 
 numbered and outflanked, began to fall back. 
 Generals Cole, Leith and Spry were all wounded, 
 and the French cavalry threatened the flank of the 
 line. Wellington, however, had still plenty of re- 
 serves in hand, and at this critical moment he 
 launched them at the enemy. The sixth division 
 was brought up from the second line, and hurled at
 
 328 THE YOUNG BUGLERS. 
 
 the center of the enemy in a fierce and prolonged 
 charge, while the light and first divisions were 
 directed against the French divisions which were 
 descending from the French Hermanito, and against 
 that of Foy, while the seventh division and the 
 Spaniards were brought up behind the first line. 
 Against so tremendous an assault as this the French 
 could make no stand, and were pushed back in ever- 
 increasing disorder to the edge of the forest, where 
 Foy's and Maucune's divisions stood at bay, and 
 covered their retreat in the fast-gathering darkness. 
 
 Wellington believed that he should capture a 
 great portion of the beaten army, for he relied upon 
 the Castle of Alba de Formes, commanding the ford 
 at that place, being held by the Spaniards, but these 
 had evacuated the place on the preceding day, and 
 had not even informed Wellington that they had 
 done so. 
 
 Thus, hidden by the night, the French retreated 
 with but slight loss from the pursuing columns. In 
 the battle the French had forty-two thousand men 
 and seventy-four guns ; the allies forty -six thousand 
 and sixty guns ; but of the infantry a division were 
 composed of Spaniards, and these could not be 
 relied upon in any way. It was probably the most 
 rapidly fought action ever known, and a French 
 officer described it as the defeat of forty thousand 
 men in forty minutes. The French loss was over 
 twelve thousand in killed, wounded, and prisoners, 
 and so completely were they dispersed that Clausel 
 a week afterward could only collect twenty thou-
 
 THE YOUNG BUGLERS. 329 
 
 sand to their standards. It was a great victory, and 
 celebrated as the first which Wellington had gained 
 over the French, for although at Talavera and 
 Busaco he had repulsed the French attack, he was 
 not, in either case, in a position to do more than 
 hold his ground. 
 
 Throughout this short and desperate fight the 
 Scudamores had been fully engaged in conveying 
 orders from one part of the field to another. Shot 
 and shell flew around them in all directions, and yet 
 when they met at the end of the action they found 
 that they had escaped without a scratch. The day 
 following the battle the pursuit began. Had King 
 Joseph's advancing army united with Clausel's 
 broken troops he could have opposed Wellington's 
 advance with a force far superior in numbers to that 
 defeated at Salamanca. But Joseph, after hesi- 
 tating, fell back in one direction, Clausel retreated 
 in another, the opportunity for concentration was 
 lost, and Wellington found no foe to bar his way on 
 his triumphant march upon Madrid. 
 
 Joseph fell back from the capital as the English 
 approached, leaving some thousands of men in the 
 strong place known as the Retiro, together with an 
 immense amount of arms, ammunition, and military 
 stores of all kinds, all of which, including the 
 troops, fell into the hands of the English within a 
 few days of their arrival at Madrid. 
 
 It was a proud moment for the Scudamores, as 
 riding behind Lord Wellington they entered Madrid 
 on the 14th of August.
 
 330 THE YOUNG BUGLERS. 
 
 The city was half mad with joy. Crowds lined 
 the streets, while every window and balcony along 
 the route was filled with ladies, who waved their 
 scarfs, clapped their hands, and showered flowers 
 upon the heads of their deliverers. Those below, 
 haggard and half starved, for the distress in Madrid 
 was intense, thronged round the general's horse, a 
 shouting, weeping throng, kissing his cloak, his 
 horse, any portion of his equipments which they 
 could touch. Altogether it was one of the most 
 glorious, most moving, most enthusiastic welcomes 
 ever offered to a general. 
 
 The next fortnight was spent in a round of fetes, 
 bull fights, and balls, succeeding each other rapidly, 
 but these rejoicings were but a thin veil over the 
 distress which was general throughout the town. 
 The people were starving, and many deaths oc- 
 curred daily from hunger. The British could do 
 but little to relieve the suffering which they saw 
 around them, for they themselves were owing to the 
 utter breakdown of all the arrangements undertaken 
 by the Portuguese government, and to the indeci- 
 sion and incapacity of the home government badly 
 fed, and much in arrears of their pay. Nevertheless, 
 the officers did what they could, got up soup 
 kitchens, and fed daily many hundreds of starving 
 wretches. 
 
 The heat was excessive and a very great deal of 
 illness took place among the troops. The French 
 were gathering strength in the south, and Welling-
 
 THE YOUNG BUGLERS. 331 
 
 ton determined upon marching north and seizing 
 Burgos, an important place, but poorly fortified. 
 Leaving General Hill with two divisions at Madrid, 
 he marched with the rest of the army upon Burgos.
 
 332 THE YOUNG BUGLERS. 
 
 CHAPTER XVII. 
 
 CAUGHT IN A TRAP. 
 
 So much had passed between the first visit of the 
 Scudamores to Madrid as Spanish peasant boys, 
 and their second entry as captains upon Lord Wel- 
 lington's staff, that they had scarcely given a 
 thought to the dangers they had at that time run, 
 or to the deadly hatred with which they had in- 
 spired the guerrilla chief Nunez. When they first 
 rode into the town, indeed, they had spoken of it 
 one to the other, and had agreed that it would be 
 pleasant to be able to walk through the streets 
 without fear of assassination ; for even, as Tom. 
 said, if the scoundrel had any of his band there, 
 they would not be likely to recognize them in their 
 uniforms. 
 
 One evening, however, when they had been in 
 Madrid about a fortnight, an incident happened 
 which caused them to doubt whether their security 
 from the hatred of the guerrilla was as complete as 
 they had fancied. They were sitting with a number of 
 other officers in a large cafe in the Puerta del Sol, 
 the principal square in Madrid, when a girl came 
 round begging; instead of holding out her hand
 
 THE YOUNG BUGLERS. 333 
 
 silently with a murmur for charity in the name of 
 the holy Virgin, she began a long story, poured out 
 in rapid language. 
 
 Several of the officers present knew more or less 
 Spanish, but they were unable to follow her quick 
 utterances, and one of them said laughingly, 
 " Scudamore, this is a case for you, she is beyond us 
 altogether." 
 
 The girl followed the direction of the speaker's 
 eye, and moved across to the brothers, who hap- 
 pened to be sitting next to each other, and began 
 her story again. It was a complicated tale of 
 French oppression, and the boys, interrupting her 
 here and there to ask for details, talked with her 
 for some minutes. 
 
 " I believe she is lying," Tom said in English; 
 "she tells her story as if she had learned it by 
 heart, and gets confused whenever we cross-ques- 
 tion her ; there, give her a few coppers, I am out of 
 change." 
 
 As Peter put his hand into his pocket for the 
 money, Tom glanced up sharply at the girl. She 
 was not, as might have been expected, watching 
 Peter's movements with interest, but was looking 
 inquiringly at some one in the crowd of prome- 
 naders. Tom followed her glance, and saw a peas- 
 ant, standing half -hidden behind a group of passers, 
 nod to her, and motion her to come to him. She 
 waited until Peter put the coins into her hand; 
 then, with a brief word of thanks, she moved away 
 into the crowd.
 
 334 THE YOUNG BUGLERS. 
 
 "Peter, I believe those scoundrels are up to their 
 old game, and that we are watched. Once or twice 
 since we have been sitting here I have noticed a 
 heavy-looking fellow glance at us very closely as he 
 passed, and I just saw the same fellow, who was 
 evidently hiding from observation, nod to that girl, 
 and beckon her away." 
 
 "Her story was a lie from beginning to end," 
 Peter said, " and it is quite possible that it was a got 
 up thing, on purpose to see whether we could talk 
 Spanish well. I don't think any one could swear 
 to us who only saw us then ; but the fact of our 
 speaking Spanish so well would go a long way to- 
 ward settling the point in the mind of any one who 
 suspected us !" 
 
 " We must be careful in future, Peter, and avoid 
 quiet streets after dark, and keep a sharp lookout 
 at all times, or we shall get a knife between our 
 ribs, as sure as fate." 
 
 Time, however, passed on without anything oc- 
 curring to give any support to their suspicion ; they 
 could not discover that they were being watched or 
 their footsteps dogged. They nevertheless contin- 
 ued to be, to a certain extent, upon their guard after 
 dark ; in the daytime the number of English soldiers 
 about the streets was so large that there was very 
 little danger of any attack. 
 
 On the evening before the army marched for 
 Burgos, Tom, whose turn it was for duty at head- 
 quarters, received a dispatch to carry to one of the 
 generals of division encamped a mile or two out of
 
 THE YOUNG BUGLERS. 335 
 
 the town. He did not need to go round to his 
 quarters, as his horse was standing saddled in readi- 
 ness in the courtyard. He was but an hour away, 
 and, as he knew that he would not be further 
 required, he rode round to the house where he was 
 quartered. His orderly came forward at his shout 
 and took his horse, and he mounted the broad stairs 
 of the house, which was a very handsome one, and 
 rang at the door on the second floor ; for in Spain, 
 as indeed almost all over the Continent, each floor 
 is a separate dwelling. 
 
 Sam opened it. 
 
 " Nothing new, Sam ?" 
 
 " No, sar, nothing new." 
 
 Tom passed through the sitting-room and entered 
 Peter's bedroom. It was in darkness. 
 
 "Asleep, old man ?" he asked. 
 
 There was no answer. He came back into the 
 sitting-room, where two lamps were burning, and 
 looked at his watch. " Half-past eleven. He is off 
 to bed early. Sam, bring me some supper if you 
 have got anything; I am hungry," 
 
 Sam came in, in a minute, with a small tray. 
 
 " How long has my brother been gone to bed ?" 
 
 " Me did not know he gone to bed at all," Sam 
 said in surprise. " Me thought Massa Peter been 
 reading book." 
 
 Tom took up a light and went into the bedroom ; 
 it was empty. " Sam, there's something wrong 
 here !" Tom said sharply, for a sudden sensation of 
 alarm seized him. " Peter is not here."
 
 336 THE YOUNG BUGLERS. 
 
 Sam came into the bedroom and looked round in 
 astonishment. "What become of him?" he said. 
 "Where de debil he got to?" 
 
 " That's what I want to know, Sam. Now, then, 
 just give all your attention. What time did he come 
 in?" 
 
 " He came in about nine o'clock, sar, with three 
 other officers, Captain Farquharson, Major Ileriot, 
 and Captain Brown. Dey have bottle wine, and sit 
 here and smoke. Well, Massa Tom, Sam sit in his 
 room, and smoke him pipe, and he doze off a little ; 
 after a bit, maybe ten o'clock, Sam hear deni move, 
 and go to door ; they were saying good-night, when 
 Massa Peter said, ' I will just go down to see that 
 the horses are all right.' Den dey all go down 
 togeder." 
 
 " Did they shut the door ?" Tom asked. 
 
 " No, Massa Tom, dey did not shut de door, be- 
 cause, a little while after, Sam, he wake up wid 
 little start ; he hear de door bang, and 'spose Massa 
 Peter come back. Sam go off to sleep again till 
 you ring bell." 
 
 Tom looked very grave. " What can Peter have 
 gone off Avith Farquharson at this time of night 
 for?" 
 
 Then he looked round the room and said, almost 
 with a cry : " Sam, look there ; there are his cap 
 and sword. He has not gone out with the others 
 at all. What can have happened ?" 
 
 Tom first glanced into his own room, and then 
 ran downstairs in haste, followed by Sam, who was
 
 THE YOUNG BUGLERS. 337 
 
 now also thoroughly alarmed. The orderly had 
 just made the horse comfortable for the night, and 
 was leaving the stable. 
 
 u Johnstone, when did you see my brother ?" 
 
 " Well, it may be an hour, or an hour and a half 
 back, sir. He came down with some other officers ; 
 I did not see them, but I heard them talking for a 
 minute or two before he came in to look at the 
 horses, and he asked if they were all right, and said 
 they must be saddled by half-past five, and then he 
 went up again at least, I suppose he went up, for 
 he had not got his cap on. Is anything wrong, 
 sir ?" 
 
 " I don't know, I am afraid to think," Tom said, 
 in a dazed way. " He is not upstairs ; he has not 
 gone out ; what can have become of him ?" 
 
 He stood quiet for a minute or two, and then, 
 with a great effort, brought his thoughts within 
 control again. " The first thing is to assure our- 
 selves whether he returned upstairs. Sam, fetch a 
 lamp, the stairs are not lighted, and I want to ex- 
 amine them." 
 
 Sam soon returned with the lamp, and Tom, 
 beginning at the street door, examined every step 
 carefully all the way up, Sam and the soldier follow- 
 ing him. 
 
 " There has been no scuffle on the stairs," he said ; 
 then he went through the little hall into the sitting- 
 room again. Nothing appeared to have been dis- 
 turbed. Then he looked at the floor, which was of 
 polished oak, and knelt down to examine it more
 
 338 THE YOUNG BUGLERS. 
 
 closely. " There have been men with dirty shoes 
 standing here," he cried. " Do you see the marks 
 on each side of the door, and there, do you see that 
 scratch and that ? There has been a scuffle. 
 Good heavens ! what has taken place here ?" 
 
 Sarn's face was pale with apprehension that some- 
 thing had happened to Peter ; but he said, " How 
 dat be, Massa Tom, with Sam in the next room all 
 the time ?" 
 
 Tom made no reply, but was closely examining 
 the floor back across the hall. " There is a mark, 
 there is another," he said, " not made by boots, but 
 by their native sandals." Then he went out from the 
 door, and up the next flight of stairs. 
 
 "There," he said, "just as I thought." Just 
 round the angle of the stairs two steps were dirty 
 and stained, as if dirty feet had been trampling 
 upon them for some time. " I suppose they knew 
 I was out, and watched here, for hours, perhaps. 
 Then, when Peter went down, they slipped in 
 through the open door, and then " without com- 
 pleting the sentence, Tom went back into the 
 room, and threw himself into a chair in tearless 
 despair. 
 
 Sam sobbed loudly. For some time there was 
 silence. " There is no blood, sir, that I can see, not 
 a speck," the orderly said. " They, can't have killed 
 Captain Scudamore, and if they had, why should 
 they have carried his body away ?" 
 
 This was the question Tom had been asking him- 
 self. Assassinations were, in Madrid, everyday
 
 THE YOUNG BUGLERS. 339 
 
 occurrences, and that Peter and he were especially 
 liable to be murdered, owing to the hatred of 
 Nunez and his gang, was clear ; but so far as he 
 could see, not a drop of blood had been shed here. 
 Presently Sam began to sob more loudly. " Dis 
 break my heart, Massa Tom, to tink dat Sam be 
 next door all de time, and, instead of watching, he 
 sleep so sound dat Massa Peter carried straight 
 away." 
 
 " You are not to blame, Sam, there was probably 
 no noise whatever. But what can it all mean ? 
 Johnstone, you had better go to bed ; you can do no 
 good now. Sam, give me my pistols ; take that big 
 stick of yours, and come round with me to head- 
 quarters ; we will call in at Captain Farquharson's 
 on the way." 
 
 That officer, on being roused, and made to under- 
 stand what was the matter, confirmed the account 
 given by the orderly ; he and his companions had 
 parted at the street door, and Peter had gone down 
 the yard to the stable. 
 
 " It is clear that Peter has been carried off," Tom 
 said, " and I have not the least doubt that it has 
 been done by some of the band of Nunez. As you 
 have heard me say, they owe us a grudge, and have 
 no doubt been on the lookout ever since we came 
 here. We have been on guard, and never gave 
 them a chance, and I suppose they got desperate 
 when they found the army was moving again, and 
 so carried out this audacious plan." 
 
 " If your brother had been found murdered I
 
 340 THE YOUNG BUGLERS. 
 
 should understand it," Captain Farquharson said ; 
 " but what on earth did they carry him off for ?" 
 
 Tom was silent a minute. 
 
 " That fiend, Nunez, would have had us stabbed, 
 if he could do nothing else ; but he would, if I 
 judge him rightly, be really contented with nothing 
 short of putting us to death himself in some horrible 
 manner. My own idea is that Peter is hidden 
 away somewhere near, will be kept in concealment 
 until the road is clear, and will then be taken to 
 Nunez. I must go off and try and save him at all 
 hazards." 
 
 Captain Farquharson was silent, while Tom 
 walked up and down the room thoughtfully. 
 
 " I don't suppose the chief would refuse me 
 leave," Tom said. " If he does, I must throw up 
 my commission." 
 
 " No, no ; you are sure to get leave for such a 
 thing as this, but the difficulty of the affair will be 
 to know how to proceed. The country will swarm 
 with French, the guerrillas are sure to keep a sharp 
 lookout, and if you find him, how are you going to 
 rescue him ?" 
 
 " I don't know," Tom said, " but it's got to be 
 done; that's clear. I can't set out as a Spanish 
 peasant," he went on after a pause. " They know 
 me as that now. At least, if I do, I must get up as 
 an old man and change my appearance. I might 
 go as a woman, but I am too tall in the first place, 
 and then women don't go wandering over the 
 country in such times as this. But there, I have
 
 THE YOUNG BUGLERS. 341 
 
 time to think it over before morning. I suppose 
 the general will be moving about five o'clock; 1 
 will see him the first thing, and tell him the whole 
 story. Good-night." 
 
 And so Tom went back to his quarters, and sat 
 thinking deeply until morning, while Sam sat gloom- 
 ily in his little room, sometimes with tears rolling 
 down his cheeks, sometimes muttering terrible 
 threats against the guerrillas, at other times cursing 
 himself for having been asleep instead of watching 
 over his young master's safety. Tom had briefly 
 told him that he intended to get leave in order 
 to search for Peter. At daybreak, when he heard 
 Tom moving, he went into the sitting-room. 
 
 " Look here, Massa Tom, Sam only one word to 
 say. He going to look for Massa Peter. Sam 
 know dat him color bery spicuous, dat people look 
 at him and tink he de debil. Sam don't spect he 
 going wid you. Dat wouldn't do. Dese fellows 
 watch him, know dat black fellow here. Only Sam 
 go somehow. He trabel night, hide up at daytime. 
 He join you de last ting when you go to mash up 
 dem guerrillas like squash. Anyhow, Sam must 
 go. If can get leave, bery well, if not he desert. 
 Anyhow he go, dat sartin. Sam kill himself if he 
 stay behind." 
 
 Tom had already thought over this. He was sure 
 that the faithful negro would not remain behind, 
 but he had seen that his companionship would be 
 fatal. He had, therefore, formed some plan in his 
 head similar to that which Sam proposed, and he
 
 342 THE YOUNG BUGLERS. 
 
 knew that when the moment for action carne his 
 courage, strength, and devotion would be invalu- 
 able. 
 
 "You shall go, Sam," he said, holding out his 
 hand to his attached follower. " As you say, you 
 can't go with me, but you shall go somehow." 
 
 " Thank you, Massa Tom," the negro said grate- 
 fully. " You bery sure if Massa Peter die Sam 
 die too." 
 
 Tom now went to headquarters, and found that 
 Lord Wellington was just up. Sending in to say 
 that he wished to speak with him for a few min- 
 utes on a matter of urgent personal importance, he 
 was admitted, and related as concisely as he could 
 Peter's disappearance, and told the story of the 
 affair with the guerrillas, which accounted for the 
 intense desire for vengeance on the part of Nunez. 
 He ended by asking for leave of absence. 
 
 The general heard him to the end, asking a brief 
 question here and there. 
 
 " You can have the leave certainly, Captain 
 Scudamore. I know that it is needless for me to 
 point out the risks that you will run, both from the 
 French and guerrillas. I think that it might be an 
 advantage if I give you a note which you can, in 
 case of absolute necessity, show to any French 
 officer." 
 
 So saying, the general sat down and wrote as 
 follows : 
 
 " To THE FRENCH OFFICER COMMANDING : The Earl 
 of Wellington, comraander-in-chief of his Britannic
 
 THE YOUNG BUGLERS. 343 
 
 majesty's forces in Spain, gives his assurance that 
 the bearer of this, Captain Scudamore, although 
 not in English uniform, is not engaged upon any 
 mission connected with the array, or to obtain in- 
 formation respecting the strength and position of 
 the French forces. His business is entirely private, 
 and he is engaged in an attempt to discover ci^d 
 rescue a brother who has been carried off by the 
 guerrilla chief Nunez in order to gratify private 
 vengeance. The Earl of Wellington, confiding in 
 the natural courtesy of the Fr.ench nation, trusts 
 that officers of that service will, if applied to, assist 
 Captain Scudamore in any way in their power, and 
 he will feel personally obliged to them by their so 
 doing." 
 
 Tom expressed his deep gratitude for this, which 
 might, he foresaw, be of inestimable advantage to 
 him. 
 
 " I am taking my servant with me, sir the 
 negro ; he will not travel with me by day, but will 
 join me wherever I tell him ; he is very strong and 
 brave, and is deeply attached to us." 
 
 " Yes, I remember," the general said ; " that is 
 the man whose life you saved. Do you leave at 
 once ?" 
 
 " No, sir ; I am thinking of riding with you to- 
 morrow at any rate. The route lies on the way I 
 have to go, and I am sure to be watched here." 
 
 " Yery well," the general said ; " I wish you 
 good fortune; but you have a difficult, almost a 
 desperate service before you." 
 
 Upon leaving headquarters, Tom again called on 
 Captain Farquharson.
 
 344 THE YOUNG BUGLERS. 
 
 " Farquharson, I hear that it will be eleven before 
 the chief leaves. I wish you would go to that little 
 shop opposite the opera house ; they have got wigs 
 and all that sort of thing there. Please get me 
 two old men's wigs and beards, and one set of those 
 mutton chop shaped whiskers, and a woman's wig. 
 I haven't made up my mind yet what I am going 
 to wear, but I want these things to choose from. I 
 am sure to be Avatched, and if I were to go there 
 they would find out, five minutes afterward, what I 
 had bought. In the meantime I am going to the 
 head of the police to give notice of Peter's disap- 
 pearance, and to ask him to have the carts leaving 
 the town for the next few days searched. I have 
 no doubt the fellows will outwit the police, but it's 
 no use throwing away a chance." 
 
 It was six days after this that an old man, with 
 long white hair and gray beard, and with a box 
 containing cheap trinkets, beads, necklaces, ear- 
 rings, knives, scissors, and other like articles, was 
 sitting at the junction of two roads near the lower 
 slopes of the Pyrenees, some twenty miles north of 
 Vittoria. He had one of his sandals off, and ap- 
 peared to have just risen from a bed of leaves in 
 the forest behind him. The dawn had broken, but 
 it was still twilight. Presently he heard a footstep 
 coming along the road, and at once applied himself 
 to wrapping the bandages, which serve for stock- 
 ings to the Spanish peasant, round his leg, looking 
 eagerly from under his wide sombrero to see who 
 was approaching. As the newcomer came in sight
 
 THE YOUNG BUGLERS. 345 
 
 the peddler at once ceased his employment and rose 
 to meet him. He had recognized the figure, but 
 the face was hidden, the Spanish cloak, worn as is 
 usual, by peasant and noble alike, with one end 
 thrown over the shoulder, hiding the chin and 
 lower part of the face, while the wide felt hat, 
 pressed well down in front, allowed scarcely a 
 glimpse even of the nose. That, however, would 
 have been sufficient in the present case, for the man 
 was a negro. 
 
 Upon seeing the peddler rise, he ran forward to 
 meet him. " Ah, Massa Tom, tank de Lord me 
 find you safe and sound ! I always keep on tinking 
 you taken prisoner or killed eider by de French or 
 de robbers one as bad as de oder." 
 
 " I have thought the same of you, Sam, for your 
 risk has been far greater than mine. Well, thank 
 God it is all right thus far. But come back into 
 the wood, I have got some food there, and here 
 any one might come along." 
 
 They were soon deep in the wood, where, by a 
 pile of grass and leaves which had evidently been 
 used as a bed, was an open wallet, with some bread, 
 cheese, cold meat, and a small skin of wine. 
 
 " Are you hungry, Sam ?" 
 
 " Downright starving, sar ; dis chile eat noting 
 for two days." 
 
 " Why, how is that, Sam ; you had six days' pro- 
 vision with you when you started ?" 
 
 " Dat true enough, sar, but Sam's appetite bigger 
 than usual, noting to do all day sitting in de woods,
 
 346 THE YOUNG BUGLERS. 
 
 waiting for night to come so as to go on again ; so 
 had to eat, and de food all went before Sam thought 
 dat dere was two more days before he meet you." 
 
 " "Well, sit down now, Sam, and eat away ; we 
 have plenty of time." 
 
 They had much to tell each other. They had 
 traveled by the same road, one by night, the other 
 by day Sam passing the days sleeping in the 
 woods, his master traveling by day and at night 
 sleeping in wretched village posadas. He, too, 
 would far rather have slept in the woods, for the 
 insects and filth made sleep almost impossible in 
 these places, besides which he ran a good deal of 
 risk as to the discovery of his disguise. He had, 
 however, chosen the inns in hopes of hearing some- 
 thing which might give him a clew as to the object 
 of his search. The only information which he had 
 gained was to the effect that Nunez still had his 
 quarters at the old place. He had been driven out 
 of it, and the village had been burned by the 
 French, but the position was a convenient one, and 
 the houses had been cleared and roughly roofed 
 with boughs of trees and straw, and the band was 
 still there. This much was satisfactory, and he 
 could hardty have expected to learn more, unless he 
 had happened to meet some of the members of the 
 band itself. They had not traveled by the main 
 road, as upon that large forces of the French were 
 collected ; and even if Tom could have passed 
 through boldly, Sam could not have made his way. 
 Even by the road they had chosen Tom had met
 
 THE YOUNG BUGLERS. 347 
 
 several bodies of French, while at Vittoria a very 
 large force was assembling, destined for the relief 
 of Burgos. 
 
 Sam had but few incidents to relate. He had 
 been carefully instructed by Tom before starting as 
 to the road he should take, and the position and dis- 
 tances apart of the towns and villages upon it. He 
 had traveled only at night, and had but once or 
 twice exchanged a word with passers-by. People 
 did not travel much at night in 'so disturbed a coun- 
 try, and when Sam heard a foot-passenger approach- 
 ing, or, as was more fi-equently the case, a party of 
 French cavalry, he left the road and lay down until 
 they had passed. The one or two foot-passengers 
 he had met suddenly he had passed with the usual 
 Spanish muttered salutation, and the darkness 
 and the disguise prevented any recognition of his 
 color. 
 
 "Now, sar," Sam said when they had finished 
 breakfast, " what am to be done next ?" 
 
 " I do not think, Sam, that the party who have 
 got Peter have arrived yet. They could only have 
 started on the day that we did ; they have as long 
 a road to go, and most likely they have got a bul- 
 lock-cart, which won't travel more than fifteen miles 
 a day at the outside. They have got Peter in a 
 cart covered up with something, we may be sure. 
 I don't think they will be here for another day or 
 so at the earliest. If we knew what sort of a cart 
 it was, we could attack them on the way if there are 
 not too many of them ; but unfortunately we don't
 
 348 THE YOUNG BUGLERS. 
 
 know that ; and as there are three or four roads up 
 to the village, and they are sure to make a detour, 
 we don't know which they will come by. I hope 
 to learn at the village. We will stay where we are 
 till dark, then we will push on ; it is only a couple 
 of miles or so from here. I will steal into the place 
 after dark, and try and overhear what is going on. 
 You shall remain at a point where you can see down 
 into the village and can hear a shout. I will give 
 you this letter of Lord Wellington, and if you hear 
 a pistol shot and hear me shout ' Sam !' you will 
 know I am caught, and must make off as hard as 
 you can to that small town in the plain, where there 
 is a French garrison ; ask for the commanding 
 officer, show this letter, and offer to guide them so 
 as to surprise Nunez and his band. That is our sole 
 chance. But I don't think there is much risk of 
 being caught. I shall be very careful, you may 
 rely upon it ; and as I know the position of the 
 houses, I shall be able to make my way about. 
 Once night has fallen they go off to bed ; and even 
 if I walked boldly about the place I should likely 
 enough meet no one all night." 
 
 That evening Tom entered the village as soon as 
 it was fairly dark. He knew from his former ex- 
 perience that sentries were always placed at points 
 whence they could get a view of the roads, and he 
 made his way so as to avoid any risk of observation 
 by them; but when he reached a place whence he 
 could in turn view the posts of the watchers, he 
 found that they were deserted, and concluded that
 
 THE YOUNG BUGLERS. 349 
 
 the brigands had become careless, from the belief 
 that, now the French had once destroyed the village, 
 they would not be likely to come up to search for 
 them there a second time ; besides which, they might 
 reckon that the French had their hands much too 
 full with the advance of the allied army to spare 
 either men or time in raids upon the guerrillas. In 
 this particular, indeed, they would have argued 
 wrongly, for the French during the whole war, how- 
 ever much they were pressed by Wellington, always 
 kept sufficient forces in hand to scatter the guerrillas 
 as fast as they became formidable. 
 
 Tom had now taken off his beard and wig, and 
 had put on the small whisker, which is the general 
 fashion of wearing the hair throughout Spain. Thus 
 he trusted, if surprised in the dark, to pass as one of 
 the band. So quiet was the village when he entered 
 that he at first thought that it was deserted ; at last, 
 however, he saw a light in one of the houses in the 
 center of the village. Approaching carefully and 
 noiselessly he saw a group of five men sitting and 
 drinking round a fire made on the ground, in the 
 center of one of the winclowless rooms, the smoke 
 finding its way out through the roof. 
 
 " I tell you," one said, " I am getting sick of this 
 life ; I am ready to go and kill the French, but to 
 be left up here, where there is nothing to do, no one 
 to talk to, not a roof to cover one bah ! I am sick 
 of it. But Nunez will be back in three days, and 
 we shall be merry enough then." 
 
 "Not we," another said; "this was a pleasant
 
 350 THE YOUNG BUGLERS. 
 
 village in the old days, what is it now? There are 
 no women, not even old mother Morena, who used 
 to cook well, if she was free of her tongue. There 
 is not even a priest now to shrive us if one is brought 
 in to die." 
 
 " Nunez will come back in a good temper if it is 
 true what Lope said yesterday when he came 
 through, that the lads at Madrid have got one of 
 those English boys who made a fool of him two 
 years ago. That was a go. Demonio ! but it was 
 a fine thing. If it is true that they have got him 
 and are bringing him here I would not be in his 
 skin for all the treasures of King Joseph. Yes, 
 Nunez was always a devil, but he is worse now. 
 Somehow we always have bad luck, and the band 
 gets smaller and smaller ; I don't suppose there's 
 above fifty with him now. I expect we shall have 
 them pretty well all here this week." 
 
 " No fear of a visit from the French ?" 
 
 " None ; Keynier at Vittoria is busy now in send- 
 ing every man he can spare forward to the army 
 that's gathering near Burgos." 
 
 This was enough for Tom, who stole silently 
 away to the spot where Sam was anxiously awaiting 
 him.
 
 THE YOUNG BUGLERS. 351 
 
 CHAPTER XVIII. 
 
 JUST IN TIME. 
 
 " I SHALL go straight back to Vittoria, Sam. By 
 what they said, General Reynier is in command 
 there, and as it was through his wife that all this 
 terrible business has come about, we have a right 
 to expect him to do his best to get us out of it. I 
 will start at once. Now look here, Sam. You 
 must put yourself where you can keep watch over 
 the village. If you see any party come in, either 
 to-night or to-morrow, you must try and discover if 
 Peter is among them. If he is, light a fire down in 
 that hollow where it can't be seen from above, but 
 where we can see it on that road. It's twenty miles 
 to Yittoria; if I can get to see General Reynier to- 
 morrow, I may be back here with cavalry by night ; 
 if he is out, or anything prevents it, I will be here 
 next night, as soon after dusk as it will be safe. I 
 will dismount the men and take them over the hill, 
 so as to avoid the sentinel who is sure to be posted 
 on the road when Nunez arrives. If they come in 
 the afternoon, Sam, and you find that anything is 
 going to be done at once, do everything you can to 
 delay matters."
 
 352 THE YOUNG BUGLERS. 
 
 " All right, Massa Tom ; if when you come back 
 you find Massa Peter dead, you be bery sure you 
 find dis chile gone down, too." 
 
 It was seven o'clock next morning when Tom en- 
 tered Yittoria, and a few cautious inquiries proved 
 the fact that General Reynier was really in com- 
 mand of the French division there. He at once 
 sought his headquarters, and after some talk with a 
 woman selling fruit near the house, heard that the 
 general and his staff had started at daybreak, but 
 whither of course she knew not. Tom hesitated for 
 some time, and then, seeing an officer standing at 
 the door, went up to him and asked if the general 
 would be back soon. 
 
 " He will be back in an hour or two," the officer 
 replied in Spanish, " but it is no use your waiting to 
 see him. He has his hands full and can't be both- 
 ered with petitions as to cattle stolen or orchards 
 robbed. Wait till we have driven the English 
 back, and then we shall have time to talk to you." 
 
 " Your pardon," Tom said humbly. " It is not a 
 complaint that I have to make, it is something of 
 real importance which I have to communicate to 
 him," 
 
 " You can tell me ; I am Colonel Deschamps ; it 
 will be all the same thing if your news is really 
 important." 
 
 " Thank you very kindly, seflor, it must bo tho 
 general himself; I will wait here." Thereupon 
 Tom sat down with his back to the wall a short dis- 
 tance off, pulled out some bread and fruit he had
 
 THE YOUNG BUGLERS. 353 
 
 bought in the town, and began quietly to eat his 
 breakfast. An hour later a pretty carriage with 
 two fine horses drew up to the door. It was 
 empty, and was evidently intended for some one in 
 the house. Suddenly the thought flashed across 
 his mind, perhaps Madame Reynier and her child 
 were there. It was curious that the thought had 
 not occurred to him before, but it had not, and he 
 drew near, when a sentry at the door roughly 
 ordered him to stand further, back. Presently a 
 lady came to the door, accompanied by a little girl. 
 There she stood for a minute talking with the 
 officer with whom Tom had spoken. At the moment 
 a young officer passed Tom on his way to the 
 house. 
 
 " Monsieur," Tom said, in French, " do me the 
 favor to place that ring in the hands of Madame 
 Reynier. It is a matter of life and death. She will 
 recognize the ring, it is her own," he added, as the 
 young officer in surprise hesitated. He was a 
 bright, handsome young fellow, and after a 
 moment's pause, he went up to the lady. " My 
 dear aunt," he said, " here is a mystery. An old 
 Spanish beggar speaks French, not very good 
 French, but enough to make out, and he begs me to 
 give you this ring, which he says is yours, and 
 which, by the way, looks a valuable one." Madame 
 Reynier, in some surprise, held out her hand for the 
 ring. " It is not mine," she began, when a sudden 
 thought struck her, and turning it round she saw 
 " a Louise Reynier, toujours reconnaissante," which
 
 354 THE YOUNG BUGLERS. 
 
 she had had engraved on it. before giving it to Tern. 
 " Who gave it to you, Jules?" she asked eagerly. 
 
 " That old peddler," Jules said. 
 
 " Bring him in," Madame Reynier said ; " the car- 
 riage must wait ; I must speak to him and alone." 
 
 " My dear aunt," began her nephew. 
 
 " Don't be afraid, Jules, I am not going to run 
 away with him, and if you are a good boy you shall 
 know all about it afterward ; wait here, Louise, with 
 your cousin ;" and beckoning to Tom to follow her, 
 she went into the house, the two officers looking 
 astounded at each other as the supposed Spanish 
 peddler followed her into her sitting-room. 
 
 " What is your message ?" she asked. 
 
 Tom's answer was to remove his wide hat, wig, 
 and beard. 
 
 "Himself!" Madame Reynier exclaimed, "my 
 preserver," and she held out both her hands to him. 
 " How glad I am, but oh ! how foolish to come here 
 again, and and" she hesitated at the thought 
 that he, an English spy, ought not to come to her, 
 the wife of a French general. 
 
 Tom guessed her thought. " Even General Rey- 
 nier might succor us without betraying the interests 
 of his country. Read that, madam e ; it is an open 
 letter," and he handed her Lord Wellington's 
 letter. 
 
 She glanced through it and turned pale. " Your 
 brother! is he in the hands of the guerrillas? 
 Where ? How ?" 
 
 " He is in the hands of that scoundrel Nunez ; he
 
 THE YOUNG BUGLERS. 355 
 
 swore he would be revenged for that day's work, 
 and he has had Peter carried off. No doubt to kill 
 him with torture." 
 
 "Oh! and it is through me," Madame Keynier 
 exclaimed, greatly distressed. "What can we do? 
 Please let me consult with my friends; every soldier 
 shall be at your service," and she opened the door. 
 " Colonel Deschamps, Jules, come here directly, and 
 bring Louise with you." These officers, on enter- 
 ing, were struck dumb with astonishment on finding 
 a young peasant instead of an old peddler, and at 
 seeing tears standing in Madame Keynier's eyes. 
 " Louise," she said to her daughter, " look at this 
 gentleman, who is he?" 
 
 The child looked hard at Tom ; he was dressed 
 nearly as when she first saw him and as he smiled 
 she recognized him. " Oh, it is the good boy !" she 
 cried, and leaped into Tom's arms, and kissed him 
 heartily. 
 
 " Do you think we have gone mad, Jules, Louise 
 and I ? This is one of the young English officers 
 who saved our lives, as you have often heard me 
 tell you." 
 
 Jules stepped forward, and shook Tom's hand 
 heartily, but Colonel Deschamps looked very serious. 
 " But, madame," he began, " you are wrong to tell 
 me this." 
 
 " No, colonel," Madame Keynier said ; " here is a 
 letter, of which this gentleman is the bearer, from 
 Lord Wellington himself, vouching for him, and 
 asking for the help of every Frenchman,"
 
 356 THE YOUNG BUGLERS. 
 
 Colonel Descharaps read it, and his brow cleared, 
 and he held out his hand to Tom. " Pardon my 
 hesitation, sir," he said in Spanish ; " but I feared 
 that I was placed in a painful position, between 
 what I owe to ray country and what all French 
 soldiers owe to you for what you did for Madame 
 Reynier. I am, indeed, glad to find that this letter 
 absolves me from the former duty, and leaves me 
 free to do all I can to discharge the latter debt. 
 Where is your brother, and why has he been carried 
 off? I have known hundreds of our officers assas- 
 sinated by these Spanish wolves, but never one 
 carried away. An English officer, too, it makes it 
 the more strange !" 
 
 Tom now related the story of Peter's abduction, 
 the previous attempts of members of Nunez's band 
 to assassinate them, and the reasons he had for 
 believing that Peter was close to, if not already at, 
 the headquarters of that desperado. 
 
 "Is he still there?" Jules asked. "We routed 
 him out directly the general came up here. My 
 aunt declared herself bound by a promise, and would 
 give us no clew as to the position of the village, but 
 he had made himself such a scourge that there were 
 plenty of others ready to tell ; if we had known the 
 roads we would have killed the whole band, but un- 
 fortunately they took the alarm and made off. So 
 he has gone back there again. Ah ! there is the 
 general." 
 
 Madame Reynier went out to meet her husband. 
 and drawing him aside into another room, explained
 
 THE YOUNG BUGLERS. 357 
 
 the whole circumstance to him, with difficulty de- 
 taining him long enough to tell her story, as the 
 moment he found that his wife and child's deliverer 
 was in the next room he desired to rush off to see 
 him. The story over, he rushed impetuously into 
 the room, where Tom was explaining his plans to 
 his French friends, seized him in his arms, and 
 kissed him on both cheeks, as if he had been his son. 
 
 " I have longed for this day !" he said, wiping his 
 eyes. " I have prayed that I might some day meet 
 you, to thank you for my wife and child, who would 
 have been lost to me but for you. And now I hear 
 your gallant brother is paying with his life for that 
 good deed. Tell me what to do, and if necessary I 
 will put the whole division at your orders." 
 
 " I do not think that he will have above fifty men 
 with him, general ; say eighty at the outside. Two 
 squadrons of cavalry will be sufficient. They must 
 dismount at the bottom of the hill, and I will lead 
 them up. We must not get within sight of the hill 
 till it is too dark for their lookouts to see us, or the 
 alarm would be given and we should catch no one. 
 We shall know if they have arrived by a fire my 
 man is to light. If they have not come, then I 
 would put sentries on guard upon every road lead- 
 ing there, and search every cart that comes up; 
 they are sure to have got him hid under some hay, 
 or something of that sort, and there are not likely 
 to be more than two or three men actually with it, 
 so as not to attract attention. It will be all right 
 if they do not arrive there to-day."
 
 358 THE YOUNG BUGLERS. 
 
 "It is about five hours' ride for cavalry," the 
 general said, " that is, at an easy pace ; it will not 
 be dark enough to approach the hill without being 
 seen till eight o'clock. Two squadrons shall be pa- 
 raded here at three o'clock. I will go with you myself; 
 yes, and you shall go too, Jules," he said, in answer 
 to an anxious look from his nephew. "In the 
 meantime you can lend our friend some clothes ; you 
 are about the same size." 
 
 " Come along," Jules said, laughing ; " I think we 
 can improve your appearance ;" and, indeed, he did 
 so, for in half an hour Tom returned looking all 
 over a dashing young French hussar, and little 
 Louise clapped her hands and said : 
 
 " He does look nice, mamma, don't he ? Why 
 can't he stay with us always, and dress like that ? 
 and we know he's brave, and he would help papa 
 and Jules to kill the wicked English." 
 
 There was a hearty laugh, and Jules was about to 
 tell her that Tom was himself one of the wicked 
 English, but Madame Reynier shook her head, for, 
 as she told him afterward, it was as well not to tell 
 her, for little mouths would talk, and there was no 
 occasion to set every one wondering and talking 
 about the visit of an English officer to General 
 Reynier. " There is no treason in it, Jules, still 
 one does not want to be suspected of treason, even 
 by fools." 
 
 Sam watched all night, without hearing any 
 sound of vehicles, but in the morning he saw that 
 several more guerrillas had come in during the
 
 THE YOUNG BUGLERS. 359 
 
 night. In the morning parties of twos and threes 
 began to come in from the direction of Yittoria, and 
 it was evident from the shouting and noise in the 
 village that these brought satisfactory news of some 
 kind. In the afternoon most of them went out 
 again in a body to the wood at the foot of the hill, 
 and soon afterward Sam saw a cart coming along 
 across the plain. Two men walked beside it, and 
 Sam could see one, if not two more perched upon 
 the top of the load. Three others walked along at 
 a distance of some fifty yards ahead, and as many 
 more at about the same distance behind, He could 
 see others making their way through the fields. 
 " Dis bery bad job," Sam said to himself ; " me 
 bery much afraid dat Massa Tom he not get back in 
 time. Der's too many for Sam to fight all by him- 
 self, but he must do someting." Whereupon Sam 
 set to think with all his might, and presently burst 
 into a broad grin. "Sure enough dat do," he said; 
 "now let me arrange all about what dey call de 
 pamerphernalia." First, he emptied out the con- 
 tents of a couple of dozen pistol cartridges, he 
 wetted the powder and rolled it up in six cartridges, 
 like squibs, three short ones and three much longer. 
 Then he opened Tom's kit, and took out a small box 
 of paints, which Tom had carried with him for mak- 
 ing dark lines on his face, and in other ways to as- 
 sist his disguise. Taking some white paint, Sam 
 painted his eyelids up to his eyebrows, and a circle 
 on his cheeks, giving the eyes at a short distance 
 the appearance of ghastly saucers.
 
 360 THE YOUNG BUGLERS. 
 
 " Dat will do for cle present," he said ; " now for 
 business. If dey wait till it get dark, all right ; if 
 not, Sam do for Nunez and two or three more, and 
 den go down with Massa Peter !" 
 
 Then carefully examining the priming of the pair 
 of pistols which he carried the very pistols given 
 to Peter by the passengers of the Maryborough 
 coach he prepared to set out. 
 
 It was now six o'clock, and he calculated that the 
 wagon would by this time have mounted the hill, 
 and reached the village ; he had already collected a 
 large heap of dry sticks and some logs, at the point 
 Tom had pointed out ; these he now lit, and then 
 started for the top of the hill. Looking back, just 
 as he reached the crest, he could see, knowing where 
 it was, a very light smoke curling up over a clump 
 of trees which intervened between him and the fire, 
 but it was so slight that he was convinced that it 
 would not be noticed by an ordinary observer. Sam 
 saw at once, on reaching the top of the hill, that the 
 guerrillas were crowded round the wagon, which 
 stood at the edge of a small clump of trees in the 
 middle of the village. The moment was favorable, 
 and he at once started forward, sometimes making 
 a detour, so as to have the shelter of a tree, some- 
 times stooping behind a low stone wall, until he 
 reached the first house in the village. It was now 
 comparatively easy work, for there were inclosures 
 and walls, the patches of garden-ground were breast- 
 high with weeds, and, stooping and crawling, Sam 
 soon reached a house close to the wagon. It was
 
 TRE YOUNG BUGLERS. 361 
 
 a mere hut, and had not been repaired. The roof 
 was gone, but the charred shutters and doors still 
 hung on their hinges. It was the very place from 
 which to see without being seen. Sam entered by a 
 door from behind, and found that, through a slight 
 opening in the window-shutter, he could see all that 
 was going on. Some fifty guerrillas were standing 
 or sitting in groups at a distance of twenty yards. 
 
 In the center of the groups, lying on the ground, 
 was a figure which he at once recognized as Peter. 
 It was wound round and round with ropes ; beside 
 it stood, or rather danced, Nunez, pouring forth 
 strings of abuse, of threats, and of curses, and en- 
 forcing them with repeated kicks at the motionless 
 figure. 
 
 " I)e debil," muttered Sam, " me neber able to 
 stand dis. If you not stop dat, Massa Nunez, me 
 put a bullet through dat ugly head of yours, as sure 
 as you stand dere. But me mustn't do it till last 
 ting, for, whether I kill him or not, it's all up with 
 Massa Peter and me if I once fire." 
 
 Fortunately Nunez was tired, and in a short time 
 he desisted, and threw himself down on the ground. 
 " Take off his ropes, one of you," he said ; " there 
 would be no fear of his running away had he three 
 or four days to live instead of as many hours. Take 
 the gag out of his mouth, throw some water over 
 him to bring him round, and pour some wine down 
 his throat. I want him to be fresh so as to be able 
 to enjoy the pleasure we have in store for him. And 
 now let's have dinner."
 
 362 THE YOUNG BUGLERS. 
 
 Sam felt that for another hour at least Peter was 
 safe, and therefore, with the same precaution as 
 before, he crept away from his hiding-place, through 
 the village and over the hill-crest, to the place 
 where he had made his fire. The logs were burn- 
 ing well, but gave out but little smoke. Sam 
 looked at the sky. " Dusk come on bery fast," he 
 said; "another hour Massa Tom come on with 
 soldiers. If he see fire, he hurry up sharp." So 
 saying, Sam heaped on a pile of wood, and then 
 made his way back. He knew that Tom would not 
 approach until it was too dark for the move- 
 ments of the troops to be seen by the lookouts, and 
 that he could not be expected to reach the village 
 until fully an hour after dark. " Just another hour 
 and a half," he said to himself ; " eberything de- 
 pend upon what happen before dat time." It was 
 quite dusk before he regained the shelter of the 
 cottage. He had gone round by the wagon, and 
 had taken from it a large stable-fork, muttering as 
 he did so, " Golly ! dis de bery ting." Close by he 
 saw the carcass of a bullock which the guerrillas had 
 just slaughtered, and from this he cut off the horns 
 and tail. 
 
 When Sam peeped out through the shutter he 
 saw that something was going to be done. Nunez 
 was sitting smoking a cigarette, with a look of sav- 
 age pleasure in his face, while the men heaped up a 
 large fire in front of the trees. 
 
 " I don't like dat gentleman's look," Sam said to 
 himself. " It's time dis chile begin to dress for de
 
 THE YOUNG BUGLERS. 363 
 
 pantomime, dat quite plain. Massa Tom get here 
 too late." Thus saying, Sam began to deliberately 
 undress. 
 
 Peter, his arms and feet still bound, was sitting 
 with his back against a tree, watching what were, 
 he was convinced, the preparations for his death. 
 For the last ten days he had lived in a sort of con- 
 fused and painful dream. From the moment when 
 upon entering his room two hands suddenly gripped 
 his throat, others thrust a gag in the mouth, and 
 then blindfolded him, while some one from behind 
 lashed his arms to his side, and then altogether, 
 lifting him like a log, carried him downstairs and 
 threw him into a cart, he had not till now seen 
 anything. The bandage had never been removed 
 from his eyes, or the cords from his limbs. Some- 
 times he had been made to sit up, and soup and 
 wine had been poured down his throat, or a piece 
 of bread thrust into his mouth ; then he had been 
 again gagged and thrown into a cart. Over him 
 brushwood and fagots had been piled, and there he 
 had lain, until at night a stop was made, when he 
 was taken out, fed, and then thrust back again and 
 covered over. 
 
 From the first he had never doubted who were 
 his captors, or what was his destination, and he 
 therefore experienced no surprise whatever, when, 
 on his arrival at the village, on the bandage being 
 taken off his eyes, he saw where he was. That it 
 was useless to beg for mercy of the savages into 
 whose power he had fallen he knew well enough,
 
 364 THE YOUNG BUGLERS. 
 
 and he looked as calm and indifferent as if he did 
 not hear a word of the threats and imprecations 
 which Nunez was heaping on him. 
 
 " You see that fire," the enraged guerrilla said, 
 " there you shall be roasted ! English pig that you 
 are ! But not yet. That were too quick a death ! 
 Here," he said to his followers, " make a little fire 
 by the side of the big one there, under the arm of 
 that tree ; and put on plenty of green leaves : we 
 will smoke our pig a bit before we roast him !" 
 
 Peter still eyed him unflinchingly. He was 
 determined that no pain should wring a complaint 
 or prayer for mercy. Even now he did not quite 
 despair, for he thought that he had just one chance 
 of life. He was sure that Tom would move heaven 
 and earth to save him. He reckoned that he would 
 at once guess who had carried him off, and with what 
 object ; and he felt that Tom would be certain to 
 set off to his rescue. All this he had reflected over 
 in his long days of weary suffering, and from the 
 moment that he was unbandaged and propped 
 against the tree he had listened attentively for any 
 unusual sound. How Tom could rescue him he did 
 not see. He was so utterly crippled from his long 
 confinement that he knew that it would be hours, 
 perhaps days, before he could walk a step ; yet still 
 he thought it possible that Tom might try ; and he 
 feared more than he hoped, for he trembled lest, if 
 Tom were really there, that he would do some rash 
 thing, which would involve him in his fate. 
 " Whether Tom is here or not," Peter thought as he
 
 THE YOUNG BUGLERS. 365 
 
 looked unflinchingl} 7 - at Nunez, " one thing is cer- 
 tain, if I know my brother, you will not have many 
 days to live after me, for Tom will follow you all 
 over Spain, but he will avenge me at last !" Such 
 were Peter's thoughts, and so likely did he think it 
 that Tom was present that he Avas scarcely sur- 
 prised when he heard, as from the ground behind 
 him, a well-known voice. 
 
 " Massa Peter, you keep up your heart. Sam 
 here, Massa Tom he be here in another half-hour 
 with French soldiers. If dey go to kill you before 
 dat, Sam play dem trick. Can you run, Massa 
 Peter, if I cut de cord ?" 
 
 " No, Sam." 
 
 " Dat bad job. Neber mind, Massa Peter, you keep 
 up your heart. Sam keep quiet as long as he can, 
 but when de worst come Sam do de trick all right." 
 
 " Don't show yourself, Sam. It would only cost 
 you your life, and couldn't help me ; besides, it 
 will put them on their guard. They won't kill me 
 yet. They will smoke me, and so on, but they will 
 make it last as long as they can." 
 
 Peter was able to say this, for at the moment 
 Nunez was occupied in rolling and lighting a second 
 cigarette. Peter received no answer, for Sam, see- 
 ing some guerrillas bringing sticks and leaves to 
 make a fire, as Nunez had ordered, crept back again 
 into the deep shadow behind. The fire was now 
 giving out volumes of smoke, a guerrilla climbed up 
 the tree and slung a rope over it, and three others 
 approached Peter. His heart beat rapidly ; but it
 
 366 THE YOUNG BUGLERS. 
 
 was with hope, not fear. He knew, from the words 
 of Nunez, that at present he was not going to be 
 burned, but, as he guessed, to be hung over the 
 smoke until he was insensible, and then brought to 
 life again with buckets of water, only to have the 
 suffocation repeated, until it pleased Nunez to try 
 some fresh mode of torture. 
 
 It was as he imagined. The rope was attached to 
 his legs, and amid the cheers of the guerrillas two 
 men hauled upon the other end until Peter swung, 
 head downward, over the fire. There was no flame, 
 but dense volumes of pungent smoke rose in his 
 face. For a moment his eyes smarted with agony, 
 then a choking sensation seized him, his blood 
 seemed to rush into his head, and his veins to be 
 bursting : then there was a confused din in his ears 
 and a last throb of pain, and then he was insen- 
 sible. 
 
 " That's enough for the present," Nunez said ; 
 " cut him down." 
 
 The men advanced to do so, but paused with aston- 
 ishment, for from behind the great fire was a loud 
 yell " Yah, yah, yah !" each louder than the last, 
 and then leaping through the flames appeared as they 
 supposed, the devil. Sam's appearance was indeed 
 amply sufficient to strike horror in the minds of a 
 band of intensely superstitious men. He had en- 
 tirely stripped himself, with the exception of his 
 sandals, which he had retained in order to be able 
 to run freely ; on his head were two great horns ; 
 in one hand he held a fork, and in the other
 
 TWO MEN HAULED UPON THE OTHER END OF THE ROPE, UNTIL 
 
 PETEK SWUNG HEAP DOWNWARD. Page 366.
 
 THE YOUNG BUGLERS. 367 
 
 what appeared to be his tail, but which really 
 belonged to the slaughtered bullock. From his 
 mouth, his horns, and the end of his tail poured 
 volumes of fire, arising, it needs not to say, from 
 the squibs he had prepared. The great white 
 circles round the eyes added to the ghastliness of his 
 appearance, and seeing the terrible figure leap 
 apparently from the flames, it is no wonder that a 
 scream of terror rose from the guerrillas. What- 
 ever a Spanish peasant may believe about saints 
 and angels, he believes yet more implicitly in a 
 devil. Black, with horns, and a tail and here he 
 was with these appendages tipped with fire ! Those 
 who were able turned and fled in terror, those who 
 were too frightened to run fell on their knees and 
 screamed for mercy, while one or two fell insensible 
 from fear. Taking the squibs from his mouth, and 
 giving one more startling yell, to quicken the fugi- 
 tives, Sam made two strides to where Peter was 
 hanging, cut the rope, and lowered him down. 
 
 Nunez had at first joined in the flight, but look- 
 ing over his shoulder he saw what Sam was doing. 
 His rage and frenzy at the thought of being cheated 
 of his victim, even by the evil one himself, overcame 
 his fear, and he rushed back, shouting, "He is 
 mine ! He is mine ! I won't give him to you !" and 
 fired a pistol almost in Sam's face. The ball car- 
 ried away a portion of one of Sam's ears, and with a 
 yell even more thrilling than those he had given 
 before, he plunged his pitchfork into the body of the ' 
 guerrilla, then, exerting all his immense strength, he
 
 368 THE YOUNG BUGLERS. 
 
 lifted him upon it, as if he had been a truss of 
 straw, took three steps to the great bonfire and cast 
 the brigand into it. 
 
 There was a volume of sparks, a tumbling to- 
 gether of big logs, and the most cruel of the 
 Spanish guerrillas had ceased to exist. 
 
 This awful sight completed the discomfiture of 
 the guerrillas some hearing their chief's shouts 
 and the sound of his pistol had looked round, but 
 the sight of the gigantic fiend casting him into the 
 fire was too much for them. With cries of horror 
 and fear they continued their flight ; a few of them 
 who had fallen on their knees gained strength 
 enough from fear to rise and fly ; the rest lay on 
 their faces. Sam saw that for the present all was 
 clear, and lifting up Peter's still insensible body as 
 if it had no weight whatever, he turned and went 
 at a brisk trot out of the village, then over the 
 crest and down toward the fire. 
 
 Then he heard a ring of metal in front of him, 
 and a voice said, "Qui vivef" while another voice 
 said, " Is that you, Sam ?" 
 
 "Bress de Lord! Massa Tom, dis is me sure 
 enough ; and what is much better, here is Massa 
 Peter." 
 
 " Thank God !" Tom said fervently. " Is he hurt ? 
 Why don't you speak, Peter ?" 
 
 " He all right, Massa Tom. He talk in a 
 minute or two. Now smoke choke him, he 
 better presently. Here, massa, you take him down 
 to fire, pour a little brandy down his throat. Now, 
 massa officer, 1 lead de way back to village."
 
 THE YOUNG BUGLERS. 369 
 
 As Tom took Peter in his arms a sudden fire of 
 musketry was heard down on the road. 
 
 " Our fellows have got them," Jules said. " I 
 don't know what has alarmed them, but they are 
 running away !" 
 
 "Push forward," General Keynier said, "and 
 give no quarter ! Jules, keep by the negro, and see 
 that he comes to no harm. The men might mistake 
 him for a guerrilla." 
 
 The night was pitch dark, and the extraordinary 
 appearance of Sam could not be perceived until, 
 after scouring the village and shooting the few 
 wretches whom they found there, they gathered 
 round the fire. Before reaching it, however, Sam 
 had slipped away for a moment into the hut where 
 he had stripped ; here he quickly dressed himself, 
 removed the paint from his face, and rejoined the 
 group, who were not a little surprised at seeing his 
 black face. 
 
 In a short time the parties who had been posted 
 on all the various roads came in, and it was found 
 that they had between them killed some thirty or 
 forty of the brigands, and had brought in two or 
 three prisoners. 
 
 "Have you killed or taken Nunez?" General 
 Eeynier asked. " Our work is only half done if 
 that scoundrel has escaped." 
 
 " I have asked the prisoners," one of the officers 
 said, " and they tell an extraordinary story, that the 
 devil has just thrown him into the fire !" 
 
 " What do they mean by such folly as that?" the
 
 370 THE YOUNG BUGLERS. 
 
 general asked angrily. " "Were they making fun of 
 you ?" 
 
 " No, sir, they were certainly serious enough over 
 it, and they were all running for their lives when 
 they fell into our hands ; they had been horribly 
 frightened at something." 
 
 " Ask that fellow there," the general said, point- 
 ing to a prisoner who had been brought in by 
 another detachment, " he cannot have spoken to the 
 others." 
 
 The man was brought forward, and then Jules 
 asked him in Spanish : " What were you all running 
 away for?" 
 
 The man gave a glance of horror at the fire. 
 " The devil came with his pitchfork, fire came out 
 of his mouth, his tail and his horns were tipped 
 with sparks, the captain fired at him, of course the 
 bullet did no good, and the devil put his fork into 
 him, carried him to the fire, and threw him in." 
 
 Jules and some of the other young officers burst 
 out laughing, but the general said : 
 
 " Humph ! "We can easily prove a portion of the 
 story. See if there are any human remains in that 
 fire." 
 
 The wind was blowing the other way, but as a 
 sergeant went up to the fire in obedience to the 
 general's order, he said : 
 
 " There is a great smell of burned flesh here, and, 
 sacristi, yes," as he tossed over the logs with his 
 foot ; " there is a body here, sir, pretty well burned 
 up."
 
 THE YOUNG BUGLERS. 371 
 
 " It's a curious story," the general said. " Where 
 is that negro? Perhaps he can enlighten us." 
 
 But Sam had already left to look after Peter. 
 
 " Jules, put these fellows against that wall and 
 give them a volley ; then march the men down to 
 the wood where their horses are. We will bivouac 
 here for the night." 
 
 A party now brought up Peter, who had quite 
 come round, but was unable to .stand, or indeed to 
 move his arms, so injured was he by the ropes, 
 which had completely cut their way into his flesh. 
 However, he was cheerful and bright, and able 
 really to enjoy the suppor which was soon prepared. 
 That done, General Reynier said : 
 
 "Captain Scudamore, will you call your black 
 man when he has finished his supper, which, no 
 doubt, he needs ? I want him to tell me what took 
 place before we arrived. The prisoners were full 
 of some cock-and-bull story, that the devil had stuck 
 his fork into their captain and pitched him into the 
 fire, and the story is corroborated, at least to the 
 extent of the fact that on turning the fire over we 
 found a body there." 
 
 Sam, called and questioned, told the whole story, 
 which Tom translated as he went on to the French 
 officers, and it was received with a chorus of laugh- 
 ter at the thought of the oddity of Sam's appear- 
 ance, and of the brigands' terror, and with warm 
 admiration for the able stratagem and courage shown 
 by the black. 
 
 Tom was delighted, and Peter, who had until
 
 372 THE YOUNG BUGLERS. 
 
 now been entirely ignorant of the manner in which 
 he had been saved, feebly pressed Sara's hand and 
 said a few words of gratitude and thanks, which so 
 delighted Sara that he retired to cry quietly. 
 
 The next day they moved down to Vittoria, where 
 Peter was tenderly nursed by Madame Keynier. A 
 week later he was fit to sit on horseback, and the 
 next day, after a hearty and affectionate parting, 
 they started to rejoin their own army. Both were 
 now dressed as Spanish gentlemen, and Jules, with 
 four troopers, accompanied them as an escort. 
 
 They made a long detour to avoid the French 
 army in the field under Clausel, and at last came 
 within sight of the British outposts. Here Jules 
 and his escort halted, and after a warm embrace 
 with the merry young Frenchman they rode for- 
 ward, and, after the usual parleying with the 
 pickets, were passed forward to the officer com- 
 manding the post. He happened to be well known 
 to them, and after the first surprise, and a few 
 words of explanation, they rode on toward the 
 headquarters of the army besieging Burgos.
 
 THE YOUNG BUGLERS. 373 
 
 CHAPTER XIX. 
 
 VICTORIA. 
 
 GENERAL CLAUSEL fell back as Wellington ad- 
 vanced to Burgos, and the British laid siege to the 
 castle of that place. Like all "Wellington's sieges 
 this was commenced with a wholly insufficient train 
 of artillery, and without the time necessary to carry 
 out regular siege operations. A considerable portion 
 of the army were posted so as to watch Clausel. The 
 place was badly fortified, but the French under Gov- 
 ernor Dubreton defended themselves with immense 
 skill and courage, the English assaults were repulsed, 
 successful sorties were made by the garrison, and at 
 last, after the failure of the fourth assault, the siege 
 was given up, and the allied armies turned their 
 faces once more toward Portugal. 
 
 It was time ; the operations in the south upon 
 which Wellington had relied to keep at least a por- 
 tion of the French forces engaged had failed 
 signally, and the French generals were bringing up 
 their troops from all parts of Spain, and General 
 Souham, having under him Generals Clausel, Mau- 
 cune, and Foy, with a force far superior to that of 
 the British, advanced to give battle. Then We}
 
 374 THE YOUNG BUGLERS. 
 
 lington, whose Anglo-Portuguese troops were much 
 weakened by sickness, fell back rapidly, sending 
 orders to General Hill, who commanded the troops 
 left behind in Madrid, to evacuate that city, and 
 to fall back and unite with him on the Tormes. 
 
 It was only by some masterly maneuvering and 
 some stiff fighting at Yenta de Pozo, on the Carrion, 
 and on the Huebra, that Wellington drew off his 
 army to Ciudad Rodrigo. 
 
 During the retreat the British suffered very 
 severely, and the discipline of the array became 
 greatly impaired, so much so that Lord Wellington 
 issued a general order rebuking the army, saying 
 that " discipline had deteriorated during the cam- 
 paign in a greater degree than he had ever wit- 
 nessed or read of in any army, and this without 
 any unusual privation or hardship, or any long 
 marches." 
 
 The number of stragglers may be imagined by 
 the fact that the loss of the allied army was upward 
 of nine thousand, of whom not more than two thou- 
 sand were killed and wounded at Burgos and in the 
 combats during the retreat. This number includes 
 the Spanish as well as the Anglo-Portuguese loss. 
 
 It was the beginning of December when the 
 allied army reached their winter quarters around 
 Ciudad Rodrigo. It was fortunate that the season 
 of the year, and the necessity which the French had 
 to refill their magazines and collect food, gave 
 breathing time and rest to the British. Although 
 strengthened by his junction with Hill, and by the
 
 THE YOUNG BUGLERS. 375 
 
 arrival of reinforcements from the coast, Welling- 
 ton was not in a position to have made a stand 
 against such a force as the French could have 
 brought against him. 
 
 Tom and Peter Scudamore had rejoined the army 
 at the hottest part of the siege of Burgos, and had 
 taken up their work at once. Lord Wellington 
 heard from Tom a brief account of what had taken 
 place, and said a feAV kind words expressive of his 
 pleasure at their both having escaped from so great 
 a peril, and, grave and preoccupied as he was with 
 the position of his army, he yet laughed at the 
 account of the scare Sam had given the guerrillas. 
 Among their friends nothing was talked of for a 
 day or two but their adventure. The times were 
 stirring, however, and one event rapidly drove out 
 another. Sam became a greater favorite than ever 
 among the officers of the staff, while the orderlies 
 were never tired of hearing how he pretty nearly 
 frightened a band of guerrillas to death by pretend- 
 ing to be the evil one in person. 
 
 The next four months were passed in preparations 
 for the grand attack with which Wellington confi- 
 dently hoped to drive the French out of Spain. 
 The news of the defeat of Napoleon in Russia had 
 cheered the hearts of the enemies of France, and 
 excited them to make a great effort to strike a deci- 
 sive blow. The French army was weakened by the 
 withdrawal of several corps to strengthen the armies 
 which Napoleon was raising for his campaign in 
 Germany, and British gold had been so freely spent
 
 376 THE YOUNG BUGLERS. 
 
 that the Portuguese army was now in a really effi- 
 cient state ; a portion of the Spanish army had been 
 handed over to Wellington, and were now in a far 
 more trustworthy condition than they had been 
 heretofore, while the whole of the north of Spain 
 was in a state of insurrection, which the French, in 
 spite of all their efforts, were unable to repress. 
 
 The invasion was delayed until the end of May, 
 in order that the crops might be in a fit state for 
 the subsistence of the cavalry and baggage animals ; 
 but in the last week in that month all was ready, 
 and, in several columns, the allied army poured into 
 Spain nearly a hundred thousand strong. The 
 French, ignorant alike of Wellington's intentions 
 and preparations, were in no position to stem effec- 
 tually this mighty wave of war, and were driven 
 headlong before it, with many fierce skirmishes, 
 until their scattered forces were, for the most part, 
 united on the Ebro. 
 
 Here Joseph occupied a strong position, which he 
 thought to hold until the whole of his troops could 
 come up; but Wellington made a detour, swept 
 round his right, and the French fell back in haste, 
 and took up their position in the basin of Vittoria, 
 where all the stores and baggage which had been 
 carried off as the army retreated from Madrid, Yal- 
 ladolid, Burgos, and other towns, were collected. 
 At Vittoria were gathered the court, and an enor- 
 mous mass of fugitives, as all the Spaniards who 
 had adhered to the cause of Joseph bad, with their 
 wives and families, accompanied the French in their
 
 THE YOUNG BUGLERS. '377 
 
 retreat. Hence the accumulation of baggage ani- 
 mals and carts, of stores of all descriptions, of 
 magazines, of food and artillery, of helpless, fright- 
 ened people, was enormous, and for the retreat of 
 the army in case of defeat there was but one good 
 road, already incumbered with baggage and fugi- 
 tives ! 
 
 This terrible accumulation arose partly from the 
 fault of Joseph, who was wholly unequal to the 
 supreme command in an emergency like the present. 
 Confused and bewildered by the urgency of the 
 danger, he had hesitated, wavered, and lost pre- 
 cious time. By resistance at any of the rivers, 
 which Wellington had passed unopposed, he might 
 easily have gained a few days, and thus have allowed 
 time for the great mass of fugitives to reach the 
 French frontier, and for Foy and Clausel, each of 
 whom were within a day's march upon the day of 
 the battle, to have arrived with a reinforcement of 
 twenty thousand good fighting men. Instead of 
 this he had suffered himself to be outflanked day 
 after day, and his army forced into retreat without 
 an effort at resistance a course of action irritating 
 and disheartening to all troops, but especially to 
 the French, who, admirable in attack, are easily 
 dispirited, and are ill-suited to defensive warfare. 
 
 The position which he had now chosen for the 
 battle, on which his kingdom was to be staked, was 
 badly selected for the action. The front was, in- 
 deed, covered by the river Zadora, but this was 
 crossed by seven available bridges, none of which
 
 378 THE YOUNG BUGLERS. 
 
 had been broken down, while there was but the one 
 good line of retreat, and this, besides being already 
 incumbered with baggage-wagons, could be easily 
 turned by the allies. The French army, weakened 
 by five thousand men, who had marched upon the 
 preceding days in charge of convoys for France, 
 were still about seventy thousand strong, the allies 
 British, Portuguese, and Spanish about eighty 
 thousand. The French were the strongest in 
 artillery. 
 
 Wellington, seeing that Joseph had determined 
 to stand at bay, made his arrangements for the 
 battle. On the left Graham, with twenty thousand 
 men, was to attempt to cross the Zadora at Gamara 
 Mayor, when he would find himself on the main 
 road, behind Vittoria, and so cut the French line of 
 retreat. Hill, with a like force, was to attack on 
 the right, through the defile of Puebla, and so, 
 entering the basin of Vittoria, to threaten the 
 French right, and obtain possession of the bridge 
 of Nanclares. In the center Wellington himself, 
 with thirty thousand troops, would force the four 
 bridges in front of the French center, and attack 
 their main position. 
 
 At daybreak on June 21, 1813, the weather 
 being rainy with some mist, the troops moved 
 from their quarters on the Bayas, passed in 
 columns over the bridges in front, and slowly ap- 
 proached the Zadora. About ten o'clock Hill 
 seized the village of Puebla, and commenced the 
 passage of the defile, while one of the Portuguese
 
 THE YOUNG BUGLERS. 379 
 
 battalions scaled the heights above. Here the 
 French met them, and a fierce fight ensued ; the 
 French were reinforced on their side, while the 
 Seventy-first Kegiment and a battalion of light in- 
 fantry joined the Portuguese. 
 
 Yillatte's division was sent from the French 
 center to join the fray, while Hill sent up reinforce- 
 ments. While the fight on the heights still raged, 
 the troops in the defile made their way through, 
 and, driving the French back, won the village of 
 Subijano de Alava, in front of the French main 
 position. 
 
 Meanwhile, far to the left, Graham came into 
 action with Reille's division at Gamara Mayor. 
 The French here, knowing the vital importance of 
 the position, fought desperatel} 7 , and the village of 
 Gamara was taken and retaken several times, but 
 no effort upon the part of the allies sufficed to carry 
 either the bridge at this place or that by which the 
 main road crossed the river higher up. A force, 
 however, was pushed still further to the left, and 
 there took up a position on the road at Durana, 
 drove back a Franco-Spanish force which occupied 
 it, and thus effectively cut the main line of retreat 
 to France for Joseph's army. The main force under 
 Wellington himself was later in coming into action, 
 the various columns being delayed by the difficulties 
 of making their way through the defiles. 
 
 While waiting, however, for the third and 
 seventh divisions, which were the last to arrive, a 
 peasant informed Wellington that the bridge of
 
 380 THE YOUNG BUGLERS. 
 
 Tres Puentes was unbroken and unguarded. 
 Kempt's brigade of the light division were im- 
 mediately ordered to cross, and, being concealed by 
 the inequalities of the ground, they reached it and 
 passed over unobserved, taking their place under 
 shelter of a crest within a few hundred yards of 
 the French main line of battle, and actually in rear 
 of his advanced posts. 
 
 Some French cavalry now advanced, but no at- 
 tack was made upon this isolated body of British 
 troops, for the French were virtually without a 
 commander. 
 
 Joseph, finding his flank menaced by the move- 
 ments of Graham and Hill, now ordered the army 
 to fall back to a crest two miles in the rear, but 
 at this moment the third and seventh divisions 
 advanced at a run toward the bridge of Mendoza, 
 the French artillery opened upon them, the British 
 guns replied, a heavy musketry fire broke out on 
 both sides, and the battle commenced in earnest. 
 Now the advantage gained by the passage of 
 Kempt's brigade became manifest, for the riflemen 
 of his division advanced and took the French 
 advanced cavalry and artillery in flank. These, 
 thus unexpectedly attacked, fell back hastily, and a 
 brigade of the third division took advantage of the 
 moment and crossed the bridge of Mendoza. The 
 other brigade forded the river a little higher up, 
 the seventh division and Vandeleur's brigade of the 
 light division followed, Hill pushed the enemv 
 further back, and the fourth division crossed by
 
 THE YOUNG BUGLERS. 3S1 
 
 the bridge of ISTanclares ; other troops forded the 
 river, and the battle became general all along the 
 line. 
 
 Seeing that the hill in front of Arinez -was nearly 
 denuded of troops by the withdrawal of Villatte's 
 division earlier in the day to oppose Hill, Wellington 
 launched Picton with the third division and Kempt's 
 brigade against it, and the French, thus attacked 
 with great strength and fury, and dispirited by the 
 order to retreat, began to fall 'back. Fifty pieces 
 of artillery and a cloud of skirmishers covered the 
 movement, and the British guns answering, the 
 whole basin became filled with a heavy smoke, 
 under cover of which the French retired to the 
 heights in front of Gomecha, upon which their 
 reserves were posted, Picton and Kempt carried 
 the village of Arinez with the bayonet, Vandeleur 
 captured the village of Margarita, and the Eighty- 
 seventh Regiment won that of Hermandad. 
 
 This advance turned the flank of the French 
 troops near Subijana de Alava, and of those on the 
 Puebla mountain, and both fell back in disorder for 
 two miles, until they made a junction with the 
 main body of their army. Still the British troops 
 pressed forward, the French again fell back, and 
 for six miles a running fight of musketry and 
 artillery was kept up, the ground being very broken, 
 and preventing the concerted action of large bodies 
 of troops. At six o'clock in the afternoon the 
 French stood at bay on the last heights before Vit- 
 toria, upon which stood the villages of Ali and
 
 382 THE YOUNG BUGLERS. 
 
 Armentia. Behind them was the plain upon which 
 the city stood, and beyond the city thousands of 
 carriages, animals, and non-combatants, women and 
 children, were crowded together in the extremity 
 of terror as the British shots rang menacingly over 
 
 O */ 
 
 their heads. 
 
 The French here defended themselves desperately, 
 and for awhile the allied advance was checked by 
 the terrible fire of shot and shell. Then the fourth 
 division with a rush carried a hill on the left, and 
 the French again commenced their retreat. Joseph, 
 finding the great road absolutely blocked up, gave 
 orders for a retreat by the road to Salvatierra, and 
 the army, leaving the town of Vittoria on its left, 
 moved off in a compact mass toward the indicated 
 road. This, however, like the other , was choked 
 with carriages. It led through a swamp, and had 
 deep ditches on each side ; the artillery, therefore, 
 had to cut their traces and leave their guns behind 
 them, the infantry and cavalry thrust aside the 
 incumbrances and continued their march. Reille, 
 who had defended the upper bridges nobly until the 
 last moment, now came up, and his division, acting 
 as a rearguard, covered the retreat, and the French 
 retired with little further loss, 
 
 The} r had lost the battle solely and entirely from 
 the utter incapacity of their general, for their loss 
 had been but little greater than that of the allies, 
 and they fell back in perfect order and full of fight- 
 ing. The French loss, including prisoners, was not 
 more than six thousand, and that of the allies ex-
 
 THE YOUNG BUGLERS. 383 
 
 ceeded five thousand. The French loss, however, in 
 material was enormous. They carried off two guns 
 only, and one hundred and forty-three guns fell 
 into the hands of the British. They lost all their 
 parks of ammunition, all their baggage, all their 
 stores, all their treasure, all their booty. Last of 
 all, they lost Spain. 
 
 The British pursued the French army for some 
 days, and then invested the two, fortresses of San 
 Sebastian and Pampeluna. 
 
 Ten days after the battle of Yittoria Napoleon 
 dispatched Soult, one of the best of his generals, to 
 displace Joseph and assume the supreme command 
 of the French troops. Traveling with great speed, 
 he reached the frontier upon the llth of July, and 
 took command. He soon collected together the 
 divisions which had retired beaten but not routed 
 from Yittoria, drew together the troops from 
 Bayonne and the surrounding towns, and in a few 
 days found himself at the head of an army, includ- 
 ing the garrisons, of one hundred and fourteen 
 thousand men. Besides these there were the armies 
 of Aragon and Catalonia, numbering sixty thousand 
 men. 
 
 After spending a few days in organizing the 
 army, Soult moved forward to relieve Pampeluna, 
 and then in the heart of the Pyrenees were fought 
 those desperate combats at Maya, Roncevalles, 
 Buenza, Sauroren, and Dofla Maria, which are 
 known in history as the battles of the Pyrenees. 
 In these terrible nine days' fighting there were ten
 
 384 THE YOUNG BUGLERS. 
 
 serious combats, in which the allies lost seventy- 
 three hundred men, the French, including prisoners 
 over fifteen thousand, and Soult fell back baffled 
 and beaten across the frontier. 
 
 Throughout this account of the short and sanguin- 
 ary campaign by which in two short months 
 Wellington shattered the power of the French and 
 drove them headlong from the Peninsula, but little 
 has been said respecting the doings of the Scuda- 
 mores. Their duties had been heavy, but devoid 
 of any personal achievements or events. Welling- 
 ton, the incarnation of activity himself, spared no 
 one around him, and from early dawn until late at 
 night they were on horseback, carrying orders and 
 bringing back reports. At night their quarters 
 were sometimes in a village hut, sometimes in a 
 straggling chateau, which afforded accommodation 
 to the commander-in-chief and his whole staff. 
 
 Sam, a good horseman now, was in the highest 
 of spirits at being able to accompany his masters, 
 and, although the Spanish women crossed them- 
 selves in horror when they first saw his black face, 
 the boys would hear shouts of laughter arising be- 
 fore they had been a quarter of an hour in fresh 
 quarters. He was a capital cook, and a wonderful 
 hand at hunting up provisions. 
 
 There might not be a sign of a feathered creature 
 in a village when the staff came in, but in half an 
 hour Sam would be sure to return from foraging 
 with a couple of fowls and his handkerchief full of 
 eggs. These were, of course, paid for, as the orders
 
 THE YOUNG BUGLERS. 385 
 
 against pillaging were of the strictest character, 
 and the army paid, and paid handsomely, for every- 
 thing it ate. 
 
 It was, however, difficult to persuade the peas- 
 ants that payment was intended, and they would 
 hide everything away with vigilant care at the ap- 
 proach of the troops. When by the display of 
 money they were really persuaded that payment 
 was intended, they would produqe ail that they had 
 willingly enough, but the number of officers want- 
 ing to purchase was so great and the amount of 
 live stock so small in the war-ravaged country, that 
 few indeed could obtain even for money anything 
 beside the tough rations of freshly-killed beef 
 issued by the commissariat. 
 
 Let the supply be ever so short, however, Sam 
 never returned empty-handed, and the fowls were 
 quickly plucked and on the fire before any one else 
 had succeeded in discovering that there was a bird 
 in the village. 
 
 Sam's foraging powers passed into a joke with 
 the staff, and the Scudamores became so curious to 
 discover the reason of his success that after re- 
 peated questioning they persuaded him to tell them. 
 
 " Well, massa, de matter bery simple just easy 
 as fallin' off log. Sam go along, look into yard ob 
 de cottages, presently see feather here, feather 
 there. Dat sign ob fowl. Den knock at door. 
 Woman open always, gib little squeak when she see 
 dis gentleman's colored face. Den she say, ' What 
 you want ? Dis house full. Quartermaster take
 
 386 THE YOUNG BUGLERS. 
 
 him up for three, four officer.' Den Sam say, 'Illus- 
 trious madam, me want to buy two fowls and eggs 
 for master,' and Sam show money in hand. Den 
 she hesitate a little, and not believe Sam mean to 
 pay. Den she say, ' No fowls here.' Den Sam 
 point to de feathers. Den she get in rage and tell 
 lie and say, ' Dem birds all stole yesterday.' Den 
 Sam see it time to talk to de birds he know dem 
 shut up somewhere in de dark, and Sam he begin to 
 crow bery loud ; Sam bery good at dat. He crow 
 for all de world like de cock. Dis wake dem up, 
 and a minute one, two, three, half a dozen cock 
 begin to answer eider from a loft ober house, or 
 from shed, or from somewhere. Den de woman in 
 terrible fright, she say, ' Me sell you two quick, if 
 you will go away and swear you tell no one.' Den 
 Sam swear. Den she run away, come back wid de 
 fowls and some eggs, and always bery much as- 
 tonished when Sam pay for dem. After dat she 
 lose her fear, she see me pay, and she sell de 
 chickens to oders when dey come till all gone. Dat 
 how dis chile manage de affairs, Massa Tom." 
 
 The Scudamores had a hearty laugh, and were 
 well pleased to find that Sam's method was one to 
 which not even the strictest disciplinarian could 
 object, a matter concerning which they had pre- 
 viously had grave doubts. 
 
 While the battles of the Pyrenees were being 
 fought, the siege of St. Sebastian had continued, 
 and once again the British troops had suffered a 
 terrible loss, from the attempt to carry a fortress
 
 THE YOUNG BUGLERS. 387 
 
 with an insufficient siege-train, and without the 
 time necessary to drive the trenches forward in 
 regular form. St. Sebastian stood upon a peninsula. 
 In front of the neck of this peninsula was the hill 
 of San Bartholomeo, on which stood the convent of 
 that name. At the narrowest part of the neck 
 stood a redoubt, which was called the Cask Eedoubt, 
 because it was constructed of casks filled with sand. 
 Behind this came the hornwork and other fortifica- 
 tions. Then came the town, while at the end of the 
 peninsula rose a steep rock, called Mount Orgullo, 
 on which stood the citadel. Upon its left side this 
 neck of land was separated from the mainland by 
 the river Urumea ; and upon the heights of Mount 
 Olia and the Chofres, across the Urumea, were 
 placed the British batteries, which breached the 
 fortifications facing the river. 
 
 General Graham commanded the allied forces 
 which were detached to undertake the siege, and on 
 the 10th of July batteries were commenced against 
 the convent of San Bartholomeo, which had been for- 
 tified by the French. On the 17th the convent was 
 in ruins, and an assault was made upon the position. 
 The Ninth Eegiment took the place in gallant 
 style, but an attempt being made to carry the Cask 
 Redoubt with a rush, the assault was repulsed, the 
 British remaining possessors of San Bartholomeo. 
 
 On the 24th the batteries on Mount Olia, having 
 effected what was believed to be a practicable 
 breach, two thousand men of the fifth division, con- 
 sisting of the third battalion of the Royals, the
 
 388 THE YOUNG BUGLERS. 
 
 Thirty-eighth, and the Ninth, made an assault at 
 night. To arrive at the breach they had to make 
 their way along the slippery rocks on the bed of the 
 Urumea, exposed to a flank-fire from the river-wall 
 of the town. The breaches had been isolated from 
 the town, and guns placed to take the stormers in 
 flank. The confusion and slaughter were terrible, 
 and at daybreak the survivors fell back, with a loss 
 of forty-nine officers and five hundred and twenty 
 men. 
 
 The whole arrangement of the siege was bad. 
 The plan of Major Smith, of the Engineers, a most 
 excellent officer, which had been approved by Wel- 
 lington, was not followed, and the assault, contrary 
 to Wellington's explicit order, took place at night, 
 instead of by day, the consequence being confusion, 
 delay, and defeat. The total loss to the allies of 
 this first siege of St. Sebastian was thirteen hundred 
 men. 
 
 Neither of the Scudamores were present at the 
 first siege, but both witnessed the second assault, of 
 the 31st of August, as Wellington himself was 
 present on the 30th, to see to the execution of the 
 preparation for attack, and they obtained leave to 
 remain for the next day to witness the assault. The 
 siege had been resumed on the 5th of that month, 
 and on the 23d the batteries had opened fire in 
 earnest, and immense damage was done to the de- 
 fenses and garrison. But upon this occasion, as 
 upon the former one, the proper precautions were 
 not taken ; no lodgment had been effected in the
 
 THE YOUNG BUGLERS. 389 
 
 horn work, and, worst of all, the blockade had been 
 so negligently conducted by the fleet that large 
 bodies of fresh troops, guns, and ammunition had 
 been passed in, and the defense was even stronger 
 than it had been when the first assault was de- 
 livered. 
 
 General Graham took up his position on the 
 heights of the Chofres to view the assault, and the 
 Scudamores stationed themselves near him. A 
 dense mist hid the fortress from' view, and it was 
 not until eight o'clock that the batteries were able 
 to open. Then for three hours they poured a storm 
 of shot and shell upon the defenses. The Scuda- 
 mores sat down in one of the trenches, where they 
 were a little sheltered from the blazing heat of the 
 sun, and Sam took his place at a short distance from 
 them. 
 
 As the clock struck eleven the fire slackened, and 
 at that moment Sam exclaimed, " Golly, Massa Tom, 
 dere dey go." As he spoke Robinson's brigade 
 poured out from the trenches, and, passing through 
 the openings in the sea-wall, began to form on the 
 beach. 
 
 It was known that the French had mined the 
 angle of the wall overhanging the beach, and a ser- 
 geant, followed by twelve men, dashed gallantly 
 forward to try to cut the train leading to the mine. 
 He was unsuccessful, but the suddenness of the rush 
 startled the French, who at once fired the mine, 
 which exploded, destroying the brave sergeant and 
 his party, and thirty of the leading men of the
 
 390 THE YOUNG BUGLERS. 
 
 column, but not doing a tithe of the damage which 
 it would have inflicted had the column been fairly 
 under it. 
 
 " Hurrah ! dere dey go," Sam exclaimed as the 
 column clambered over the ruins and pursued its 
 way unchecked along the beach. They had, how- 
 ever, to make their way under a storm of fire. 
 
 The French, as before, lined the wall, and poured 
 a tremendous musketry fire into their flank, and the 
 batteries of Mount Orgullo and St. Elmo plied them 
 with shot and shell, while two pieces of cannon on 
 the cavalier and one on the hornwork raked them 
 with grape. 
 
 Still the column neither halted nor faltered, but 
 dashed like a wave up the breach. When, however, 
 they reached the top they could go no further. A 
 deep gulf separated them from the town, while 
 from every loophole and wall behind the French 
 musketry swept the breach. The troops could not 
 advance and would not retreat, but sullenly stood 
 their ground, heaping the breach with their dead. 
 Fresh bodies of men came up, and each time a crowd 
 of brave men mounted the breach, only to sink 
 down beneath the storm of fire. 
 
 " This is awful, horrible, Tom !" Peter said in a 
 choked voice. " Come away ; I can't look at this 
 slaughter ; it is a thousand times worse than any 
 battle." 
 
 Tom made no reply ; his own eyes were dim with 
 tears, and he rose to go, taking one more look at 
 the deadly breach, at whose foot the survivors of
 
 THE YOUNG BUGLERS. 391 
 
 the last attempt had sunk down, and whence the 
 mass of soldiers were keeping up a musketry fire 
 against the guns and unseen foes who were sweeping 
 them away, when an officer ran up from General 
 Graham's side, and in a minute fifty guns from the 
 Chofres batteries opened a storm of fire upon the 
 curtain and the traverses behind the breach. 
 
 It was a terrible trial to the nerves of the assault- 
 ing columns when this terrific fire .was poured upon 
 a spot only twenty feet above them ; but they 
 were not men to shrink, and the men of the light 
 division seized the opportunity to pull up the broken 
 masonry and make a breastwork, known in military 
 term as a lodgment. 
 
 For half an hour the iron storm poured overhead 
 unchecked, smashing the traverse, knocking down 
 the loopholed walls, and killing numbers of the 
 defenders. Then it ceased, and the troops leaped 
 to their feet and again rushed up the breach, while 
 the Thirteenth Portuguese Regiment, followed by a 
 detachment of the Twenty-fourth, waded across the 
 Urumea under a heavy fire from the castle, and 
 attacked the third breach. 
 
 But still no entry could be effected. The French 
 fire was as heavy as ever, and the stormers again 
 sank baffled to the foot of the great breach. The 
 assault seemed hopeless, the tide was rising, the 
 reserves were all engaged, and the men had done all 
 that the most desperate courage could do. For five 
 hours the battle had raged, when, just as all appeared 
 lost, one of those circumstances occurred which upset 
 all calculations and decide the fate of battles
 
 392 THE YOUNG BUGLERS. 
 
 Behind the traverses the French had accumulated 
 a great store of powder barrels, shells, and other 
 combustibles. Just at this moment these caught 
 fire. A bright flame wrapped the whole wall, fol- 
 lowed by a succession of loud explosions ; hundreds 
 of French grenadiers were destroyed, and before the 
 smoke had cleared away the British burst like a 
 flood through the first traverse. 
 
 Although bewildered by this sudden disaster, the 
 French rallied and fought desperately ; but the 
 British, desperate with the long agony of the last 
 five hours, would not be denied ; the light division 
 penetrated on the left, the Portuguese on the right. 
 The French, still resisting obstinately, were driven 
 through the town to the line of defense at the foot 
 of Mount Orgullo, and the town of St. Sebastian 
 was won. 
 
 " Will you go across, Peter, and enter the town ?" 
 
 " No, no, Tom ; the sight of that horrible breach 
 is enough for me. Let us mount and ride off at 
 once. I am quite sick after this awful suspense." 
 
 It was as well that the Scudamores did not enter 
 the town, as, had they done so, they might have 
 shared the fate of several other officers, who were 
 shot down while trying to stop the troops in their 
 wild excesses. No more disgraceful atrocities were 
 ever committed by the most barbarous nations of 
 antiquity than those which disgraced the British 
 name at the storming of St. Sebastian. Shameful, 
 monstrous as had been the conduct of the troops at 
 the storming of Ciudad Rodrigo and at Badajos, it
 
 THE YOUNG BUGLERS. 393 
 
 was infinitely worse at St. Sebastian. As Eapin 
 says, hell seemed to have broken loose. 
 
 The castle held out until the 9th, when it surren- 
 dered and the governor and his heroic garrison 
 marched out with the honors of war. The British 
 loss in the second siege exceeded twenty-five hundred 
 men and officers. 
 
 There was a pause of two months after the fall 
 of St. Sebastian, and it was not until the 10th of 
 November that Wellington hurled-his forces against 
 the lines which, in imitation of those of Torres Ve- 
 dras, Soult had formed and fortified on the river 
 Nivelle to withstand the invasion of France. After 
 a few hours' desperate fighting the French were 
 turned out of their position with a loss of killed, 
 wounded, and prisoners, of four thousand two hun- 
 dred and sixty- five men and officers, the loss of the 
 allies being two thousand six hundred and ninety 
 four. 
 
 Now the army of invasion poured into France. 
 The French people, disheartened by Napoleon's 
 misfortunes in Germany, and by the long and 
 mighty sacrifices which they had for years been 
 compelled to make in order to enable Napoleon to 
 carry out his gigantic wars, showed but slight hos- 
 tility to the invaders. 
 
 Wellington enforced the severest discipline, paid 
 for everything required for the troops, hanging 
 marauders without mercy, and finding that it was 
 impossible to keep the Spanish troops in order, he 
 sent the whole Spanish contingent, twenty thousand 
 strong, back across the Pyrenees.
 
 394 THE YOUNG BUGLERS. 
 
 He then with the Anglo-Portuguese army moved 
 on toward Bayonne, and took up a position on both 
 sides of the river Nive, driving the French from 
 their position on the right bank on December 9. 
 On the 13th, however, Soult attacked that portion 
 of the army on the right of the river, and one of the 
 most desperate conflicts of the war took place, 
 known as the battle of St. Pierre. General Hill 
 commanded at this battle, and with fourteen thou- 
 sand Anglo-Portuguese, with fourteen guns, re- 
 pulsed the furious and repeated attacks of sixteen 
 thousand French, with twenty-two guns. 
 
 In five days' fighting on the river the French lost 
 more than as many thousand men. 
 
 The weather now for a time interrupted opera- 
 tions, but Wellington was preparing for the passage 
 of the Adour. Soult guarded the passages of the 
 river above Bayonne, and never dreamed that an 
 attempt would be made to bridge so wide and rough 
 a river as is the Adour below the town. With the 
 assistance of the sailors of the fleet the great enter- 
 prise was accomplished on the 13th of February, 
 and leaving General Hope to contain the force in 
 the intrenched camp at Bayonne, Wellington 
 marched the rest of the army to the Gave. 
 
 Behind this river Soult had massed his army. 
 The British crossed by pontoon bridges, and before 
 the operation was concluded, and the troops united, 
 Soult fell upon them near Orthes. 
 
 At first the French had the best of the fight, 
 driving back both wings of the allied forces, but
 
 THE YOUNG BUGLERS. 395 
 
 Wellington threw the third and sixth divisions upon 
 the left flank of the attacking column and sent the 
 Fifty-second Regiment to make a detour through a 
 marsh and fall upon their other flank. Taken sud- 
 denly between two fires the French wavered, the 
 British pressed forward again, and the French fell 
 back fighting obstinately, and in good order. The 
 allies lost twenty-three hundred men, and the French 
 four thousand. Soult fell back toward Toulouse, 
 laying Bordeaux open to the British.
 
 396 THE YOUNG BUGLERS. 
 
 CHAPTER XX. 
 
 TOULOUSE. 
 
 PROMOTION for those who have the good fortune 
 to have a post upon the commander-in-chief's staff 
 is rapid. They run far less risk than do the regi- 
 mental officers, and they have a tenfold better 
 chance of having their names mentioned in dis- 
 patches. The Scudamores were so mentioned for 
 their conduct at Vittoria, the Pyrenees, and Orthes, 
 and shortly after the last-named battle the Gazette 
 from England announced their promotion to major- 
 ities. This put an end to their service as aids-de- 
 camp, and they were attached to the quartermaster's 
 branch of the staff of Lord Beresford, who was upon 
 the point of starting with a small force to Bordeaux, 
 where the authorities, thinking more of party than 
 of patriotism, had invited the English to enter and 
 take possession, intending to proclaim their adhe- 
 sion to the Bourbon dynasty. 
 
 The boys were sorry at the exchange, as ti:ey 
 feared that they should lose the crowning battle of 
 the campaign. It was evident that the resistance 
 of France was nearly at an end ; the allies were ap- 
 proaching Paris in spite of the almost superhuman
 
 THE YOUNG BUGLERS. 397 
 
 efforts of Napoleon; the people, sick of the war, 
 refused all assistance to the military authorities, 
 and were longing for peace, and the end of the 
 struggle was rapidly approaching. 
 
 Lord Beresford, however, divining their thoughts, 
 assured them that his stay at Bordeaux would be 
 but short, and that they might rely upon being 
 present at the great battle which would probably be 
 fought somewhere near Toulouse, toward which 
 town Soult had retreated after the battle of Orthes. 
 
 Upon the 8th of March Beresford marched with 
 twelve thousand men for Bordeaux, and meeting 
 with no opposition by the way, entered that city on 
 the 12th. The mayor, a royalist, came out to meet 
 them, and by the upper classes of the town they 
 were received as friends rather than foes. Hand- 
 some quarters were assigned to Lord Beresford and 
 his staff, and the Scudamores for a day or two en- 
 joyed the luxury of comfortable apartments and of 
 good food after their hard fare for nine months. 
 
 The day after they entered Bordeaux Tom had 
 occasion to call at the office of a banker in order to 
 get a government draft cashed, to pay for a number 
 of wagons which had been purchased for the quarter- 
 master's department. The banker's name was 
 Weale, an American, said to be the richest man in 
 Bordeaux. His fortune had been made, it was said, 
 by large government contracts. 
 
 When Tom returned Peter was surprised to see 
 him looking pale and excited. 
 
 "What is the matter, Tom?"
 
 398 THE YOUNG BUGLERS. 
 
 " Do you know, Peter, I am convinced that that 
 American banker I have been to see to-day is neither 
 more nor less than that scoundrel, Walsh, who bolted 
 with all the bank funds, and was the cause of our 
 father's death." 
 
 " You don't say so, Tom." 
 
 " It is a fact, Peter, I could swear to him." 
 
 " What shall we do, Tom ?" 
 
 " I only cashed one of the two drafts I had with 
 me this morning ; Peter, you go this afternoon with 
 the other, and if you are as certain as I feel about 
 it, we will speak to Beresford at dinner." 
 
 Peter returned in the afternoon satisfied that his 
 brother's surmises were correct, and that in the sup- 
 posed American Weale they had really discovered 
 the English swindler Walsh. 
 
 After dinner they asked Lord Beresford to speak 
 to them for a few minutes alone. 
 
 The general was greatly surprised and interested 
 at tlieir communication. 
 
 " Of how much did this fellow rob your father's 
 bank ?" he asked. 
 
 "The total defalcation, including money bor- 
 rowed on title deeds deposited in the bank, which 
 had to be made good, was, I heard, from seventy- 
 five to eighty thousand pounds," Tom said. 
 
 " Yery well," said Lord Beresford, " we will make 
 the scoundrel pay up with interest. Order out 
 thirty men of the Thirteenth." 
 
 While the men were mustering the general re- 
 turned to the dining-room and begged the officers
 
 THE YOUNG BUGLERS. 399 
 
 who were dining with him to excuse him for half 
 an hour, as he had some unexpected business to 
 perform. Then he walked across with the Scuda- 
 mores to the banker's house, which was only in the 
 next street. 
 
 Twenty of the men were then ordered to form a 
 cordon round the house and to watch the various 
 entrances. The other ten, together with the officer 
 in command, the general told to follow him into the 
 house. The arrangements completed, he rang at 
 the bell, and the porter at once opened the gate. 
 
 He started and would have tried to shut it again 
 on seeing the armed party. But Lord Beresford 
 said, " I am the general commanding the British 
 troops here. Make no noise, but show me directly 
 to your master." 
 
 The man hesitated, but seeing that the force was 
 too great to be resisted, led the way through the 
 courtyard into the house itself. 
 
 Some servants in the hall started up with amaze- 
 ment, and would have run off, but Lord Beresford 
 cried, " Stay quiet for your lives. No one will be 
 hurt ; but if any one moves from the hall, he will be 
 shot." Then, followed by Tom and Peter only, he 
 opened the door which the porter pointed out to 
 him as that of the room where the banker was 
 sitting. 
 
 He was alone, and started to his feet upon be- 
 holding three British officers enter unannounced, 
 "What means this?" he demanded angrily. "I 
 am a citizen of the United States, and for any out-
 
 400 THE YOUNG BUGLERS. 
 
 rage upon me satisfaction will be demanded by my 
 government." 
 
 " I am Lord Beresford," the general said quietly, 
 " and quite know what I am doing. I do not quite 
 agree with you that the government of the United 
 States will make any demand for satisfaction for 
 any outrage upon your person, nor, if they do so, 
 will it benefit you greatly ; for I am about, in 
 five minutes' time, to order you to be shot, Mr. 
 Walsh." 
 
 As the name was uttered the banker, who had 
 listened with increasing pallor to the stern words of 
 the general, started violently, and turned ghastly 
 white. For a minute or so he was too surprised 
 and confounded to speak. Then he said in a husky 
 tone, " It is false ; I am an American citizen. I 
 know nothing whatever about James Walsh." 
 
 " Jarnes Walsh !" the general said ; " I said noth- 
 ing about James. It is you who have told us his 
 Christian name, which is, I have no doubt, the cor- 
 rect one." 
 
 He looked to Tom, who nodded assent. 
 
 " I know nothing about any Walsh," the banker 
 said doggedly. " Who says 1 do?" 
 
 " We do, James Walsh," Tom said, stepping for- 
 ward. " Tom and Peter Scudamore, the sons of the 
 man you robbed and ruined." 
 
 The banker stared at them wildly, and then, with 
 a hoarse cry, dropped into his chair. 
 
 " James Walsh," the general said sternly, " your 
 life is doubly forfeit. As a thief and a swindler,
 
 " I AM ABOUT, IN FIVE MINUTES' TIME, TO ORDER YOU TO BE SHOT 
 
 MB. WALSH." Page 400.
 
 THE YOUNG BUGLERS. 401 
 
 the courts of law will punish you with death ;" for 
 in those days death was the penalty of a crime of 
 this kind. " In the second place, as a traitor. As 
 a man who has given aid and assistance to the 
 enemies of }^our country, your life is forfeit, and I, 
 as the general in command here, doom you to death. 
 In five minutes you will be shot in your courtyard 
 as a thief and a traitor." 
 
 " Spare me !" the wretched man said, slipping off 
 his chair on to his knees. " Spare my life and take 
 all that I have. I am rich, and can restore much of 
 that which I took. I will pay fifty thousand 
 pounds." 
 
 " Fifty thousand pounds !" the general said ; 
 " you stole eighty thousand pounds, which, with in- 
 terest, comes up to one hundred thousand pounds, 
 besides which you must pay for acting as a traitor. 
 The militu-/ chest is empty, and we want money. 
 I will value your wretched life at twenty-five thou- 
 sand pounds. If you make that sum a present to 
 our military chest, and pay Major Scudamore the 
 one hundred thousand pounds of which you swin- 
 dled his father, I will spare you." 
 
 "One hundred and twenty-five thousand pounds!" 
 the banker said fiercely. " Never ; I will die 
 first." 
 
 " Yery well," Lord Beresford said quietly. 
 "Major Scudamore, please call in the officer and 
 four men." Tom did as requested, and Lord Beres- 
 ford then addressed the officer. " You will take 
 this man, who is an Englishman, who has been apt-
 
 402 THE YOUNG BUGLERS. 
 
 ing as a traitor, and giving assistance to the French 
 army, you will take a firing party, place him against 
 the wall of the yard, give him five minutes to make 
 his peace with God. and when the five minutes are 
 up, unless he tells you before that that he wishes to 
 see me, shoot him." 
 
 Pale and desperate, the banker was led out. 
 
 " He will give way, I hope," Tom said, as the 
 door closed behind him. 
 
 " He will give way before the time is up," Lord 
 Beresford said. " He is a coward ; I saw it in his 
 face." 
 
 Four minutes passed on, the door opened again, 
 and the officer returned with his prisoner. " He 
 says he agrees to your terms, sir." 
 
 " Very well," Lord Beresford answered ; " remain 
 outside with your men ; they may be wanted yet." 
 
 The prisoner, without a word, led the way into 
 an adjoining room, which communicated with the 
 public office. This was his private parlor, and in a 
 corner stood a safe. He unlocked it, and taking 
 out some books and papers, sat down to the table. 
 
 His mood had evidently changed. " I was a fool 
 to hold out," he said, " for I had my name for 
 wealth against me, and might have known you 
 would not give way. After all, I do not know that 
 I am altogether sorry, for I have always had an 
 idea that some day or other the thing would come 
 out, and now I can go back and be comfortable for 
 the rest of my life. How will you have the money, 
 gentlemen ? I have fifty thousand pounds in cash.
 
 THE YOUNG BUGLERS. 403 
 
 and can give you a draft on the Bank of England 
 for the rest. You look surprised, but I have always 
 been prepared to cut and and run from this country 
 at the shortest notice, and every penny I have be- 
 yond the cash absolutely required is in England or 
 America." 
 
 " I will take twenty-five thousand pounds in cash 
 for the use of the army," Lord Beresford said. " I 
 will send an officer of the commissariat to-morrow 
 for it. The one hundred thousand pounds you may 
 pay these gentlemen in drafts on England. Until 
 I hear that these drafts are honored I shall keep 
 you under surveillance, and you will not be suffered 
 to leave your house." 
 
 " It will be all right," Walsh said. " There is 
 my Bank of England pass-book ; you will see that I 
 have one hundred and twenty thousand pounds 
 standing to the credit of J. "Weale there. I have 
 as much in America. I should not tell you this did 
 I not know that you are a gentleman, and therefore 
 will not raise your terms now that you see I can 
 pay higher. There, Mr. Scudamore, is the draft, 
 and, believe me or not, I am glad to repay it, and 
 to feel, for the first time for many years, a free 
 man. Please to give me a receipt for the eighty 
 thousand pounds due by me to the bank, and for 
 twenty thousand pounds, five years' interest on the 
 same." 
 
 Tom did as he was desired without speaking. 
 There was a tone of effrontery mingled with the 
 half-earnestness of this successful swindler that dis- 
 gusted him.
 
 404 THE YOUNG BUGLERS. 
 
 " There," the general said, as the receipts were 
 handed over ; " come along, lads, the business is 
 over, and I do not think that we have any more to 
 say to Mr. Weale." 
 
 So saying, without further word, the three went 
 out. 
 
 Upon rejoining the officer without, Lord Beresford 
 directed that a sergeant and ten men were to be 
 quartered in the house, and that a sentry was to be 
 placed at each entrance night and day, and that the 
 banker was not to be permitted to stir out under 
 any pretense whatever until further orders. 
 
 " There, lads, I congratulate you heartily," he 
 said, as they issued from the gate, in answer to the 
 warm thanks in which the boys expressed their 
 gratitude to him ; " it is a stroke of luck, indeed, 
 that you came with me to Bordeaux. It was rough- 
 and-ready justice, and I don't suppose a court of law 
 in England would approve of it; but we are under 
 martial law, so even were that fellow disposed to 
 question the matter, which you may be very sure 
 he will not, we are safe enough. They say 'ill- 
 gotten gains fly fast,' but the scamp has prospered 
 on the money he stole. He owned to having an- 
 other hundred thousand safe in the States, and no 
 doubt he has at least as much more in securities of 
 one sort or other here. I dare say he was in earnest 
 when he said that he did not mind paying the 
 money to get rid of the chance of detection and 
 punishment, which must have been ever in his 
 mind. The best thing you can do, Scudamore, is to
 
 THE YOUNG BUGLERS. 405 
 
 write to James Pearson he's my solicitor in Lon- 
 don and give him authority to present this draft, 
 and invest the sum in your joint names in good 
 securities. Inclose the draft. I shall be sending 
 off an orderly with dispatches and letters at day- 
 break, and if ycu will give mo your letter to-night 
 I will inclose it in a note of my own to Pearson." 
 
 Five days later an order arrived for Lord Beres- 
 ford to leave the seventh division under Lord Dal- 
 housie in Bordeaux, and to march with the fourth 
 di\ 7 ision to join the comma nder-in-chief, who was 
 gradually drawing near to Toulouse, beneath whose 
 walls Soult was reorganizing his army. The posi- 
 tion was a very strong one, and had been rendered 
 almost impregnable by fortifications thrown up on 
 the heights. Wellington had, too, the disadvantage 
 of having to separate his army, as the town lay 
 upon both sides of the Garonne. 
 
 An the 10th of April the allied army attacked. 
 Hill attacked the defenses of the town on the left 
 bank, while Freyre's Spaniards, Picton with the 
 third and light divisions, and Beresford with the 
 fourth and the sixth divisions, assaulted a French 
 position. The intrenchments in front of Picton 
 were too strong to be more than menaced. Freyre's 
 Spaniards were repulsed with great loss, and the 
 brunt of the battle fell upon Beresford's division, 
 which nobly sustained the character of the British 
 soldier for stubborn valor in this the last battle of 
 the war. The French fought stubbornly and well, 
 but fort by fort the British drove them from their
 
 406 THE YOUNG BUGLERS. 
 
 strong positions, and at five in the afternoon Soult 
 withdrew the last of his troops in good order across 
 the canal which separated the position they had de- 
 fended from the town itself. The French lost five 
 generals and three thousand killed and wounded ; 
 the allies four generals and forty-six hundred and 
 fifty-nine killed and wounded, of which two thou- 
 sand were Spaniards, for they upon this occasion 
 fought bravely, though unsuccessfully. 
 
 On the llth all was quiet, Wellington preparing 
 for an attack upon the city on the following day. 
 Soult, however, finding that the British cavalry had 
 been sent off so as to menace his line of retreat, 
 evacuated the city in the night, drew off his army 
 with great order and ability, and by a march of 
 twenty-two miles placed it in safety. Upon the 
 morning of the 12th Wellington entered Toulouse, 
 and the same afternoon two officers, one British, 
 the other French, arrived together from Paris, with 
 the news of the abdication of Napoleon, and the 
 termination of the war. 
 
 These officers had been detained for two days at 
 Blois by the officials there, and this delay had cost 
 the blood of eight thousand men, among whom was 
 Tom Scudamore, who had his left arm carried away 
 by a cannon ball. Sam, in the act of carrying his 
 master from the field, was also severely wounded 
 in the head with a musket ball. 
 
 Before the battle was fought they had received 
 news from England that the draft had been paid at 
 the Bank of England, and that their future was in
 
 THE YOUNG BUGLERS. 407 
 
 consequence secure. The war being over, officers 
 unattached to regiments had little difficulty in get- 
 ting leave of absence, as the troops were to be 
 embarked for England as soon as possible. Peter's 
 application, therefore, to accompany his brother 
 was acceded to without hesitation, and ten days 
 after the battle of Toulouse he was on board ship 
 with Tom and Sam, both of whom were doing well. 
 Three days afterward they landed in England. 
 
 Rhoda met them, with Miss Scudamore, at Ports- 
 mouth, having received a letter telling them of 
 Tom's wound, and of their being upon the point of 
 sailing. There was a great reduction of the army 
 at the end of the war, and the Scudamores were 
 both placed upon half-pay. This was a matter of 
 delight to Rhoda, and of satisfaction to themselves. 
 They had had enough of adventure to last for a 
 lifetime ; and with the prospect of a long peace the 
 army no longer offered them any strong attrac- 
 tion. 
 
 When they returned to Miss Scudamore's their 
 old friend Dr. Jarvis came to visit them, and a hap- 
 pier party could not have been found in England. 
 The will of Mr. Scudamore, made before he was 
 aware of his ruin, was now acted upon. He had 
 left twenty thousand pounds to Rhoda, and the rest 
 of his fortune in equal parts between his boys. 
 Both Tom and Peter were fond of a country life, 
 and they bought two adjoining estates near Oxford, 
 Rhoda agreeing to stop with them and Miss Scuda- 
 more alternately.
 
 408 THE YOUNG BUGLERS. 
 
 For a brief time there was a break in their hap- 
 piness. Napoleon escaped from Elba, and Europe 
 was in a flame again. All the officers on half-pay 
 were ordered to present themselves for duty, and 
 the Scudamores crossed with the army to Belgium, 
 and fought at Waterloo. Neither was hurt, nor 
 was Sam, who had of course accompanied them. 
 "Waterloo gave them, another step in rank, and the 
 Scudamores returned as colonels to England. 
 
 It was their last war. A few years afterward 
 they married sisters, and Rhoda having the year 
 previous married a gentleman whose estate was in 
 the same county, they remained as united as ever. 
 Sambo held for many a year the important position 
 of butler to Tom, then he found that one of the 
 housemaids did not regard his color as any insuper- 
 able obstacle, and they were accordingly married. 
 It was difficult to say after this exactly the position 
 which Sam held. He lived at a cottage on the 
 edge of the estate, where it joined that of Peter, 
 and his time was spent in generally looking after 
 things at both houses, and as years went on his 
 great delight was, above all things, to relate to 
 numerous young Scudamores the adventures of their 
 father and uncle when he first knew them as the 
 Young Buglers. 
 
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 plan failed, and Gilbert Grey, once Tom the bootblack, came into a com- 
 fortable fortune. This is one of Mr. Alger's best stories. 
 
 Dan the Newsboy. By HORATIO ALGER, JR. 12mo, 
 
 cloth, illustrated, price $1.00. 
 
 Dan Mordaunt and his mother live in a poor tenement, and the lad is 
 pluckily trying to make ends meet by selling papers in the streets of New 
 York. A little heiress of six years is confided to the care of the Mor- 
 daunts. The child is kidnapped and Dan tracks the child to the house 
 where she is hidden, and rescues her. The wealthy aunt of the little 
 heiress is so delighted with Dan's courage and many good qualities 
 that she adopts him as her heir. 
 
 Tony the Hero: A Brave Boy's Adventure with a 
 
 Tramp. By HORATIO ALGER, JR. 12mo, cloth, illustrated, price $1.00. 
 
 Tony, a sturdy bright-eyed boy of fourteen, is under the control of 
 Rudolph Rugg, a thorough rascal. After much abuse Tony runs away 
 and gets a job as stable boy in a country hotel. Tony is heir to a 
 large estate. Rudolph for a consideration hunts UD Tony and throws 
 him down a deep well. Of course Tony escapes from the fate provided 
 for him, and by a brave act, a rich friend secures his rights and Tony 
 Is prosperous. A very entertaining book. 
 
 The Errand Boy; or, How Phil Brent Won Success. 
 
 By HORATIO A: GER, JR. 12mo, cloth illustrated, price $1.00. 
 
 The career of "The Errand Boy" embraces the city adventures of a 
 mart country lad. Philip was brought up by a kind-hearted innkeeper 
 named Brent. The death of Mrs. Brent paved the way for the hero's 
 subsequent troubles. A retired merchant in New York secures him the 
 situation of errand boy, and thereafter stands as his friend. 
 
 Tom Temple's Career. By HORATIO ALGER, JR. 12mo, 
 
 cloth, illustrated, price 1.00. 
 
 Tom Temple is a bright, self-reliant lad. He leaves Plympton village 
 to seek work in New York, whence he undertakes an important mission 
 to California. Some of his adventures in the far west are so startling that 
 the reader will scarcely close the book until the last page shall have been 
 reached. The tale is written in Mr. Alger's most fascinating style. 
 
 For sale by all booksellers, or sent postpaid oil receipt of price by the 
 publisher, A. L. BUB.T, 52-58 Duane Street, New York,
 
 2 A. L. BtJllT'S BOOKS FOR YOUNG PEOPLE. 
 
 BOOKS FOR BOYS. 
 
 Frank Fowler, the Cash Boy. By HORATIO ALGER, JR. 
 
 12mo, cloth, illustrated, price $1.00. 
 
 Frank Fowler, a poor boy. bravely determines to make a living toe 
 himself and his foster-sister Grace. Going to New York he obtains a 
 situation as cash boy in a dry goods store. He renders a service to a 
 wealthy old gentleman who takes a fancy to the lad, and thereafter 
 helps the lad to gain success aud fortune. 
 
 Tom Thatcher's Fortune. By HORATIO ALGER, JR. 
 
 12mo, cloth, illustrated, price $1-00. 
 
 Tom Thatcher is a brave, ambitious, unselfish boy. He supports his 
 mother and sister on meagre wags earned as a shoe-pegger in John 
 Simpson's factory. Tom is discharged from the factory and starts over- 
 land for California. He meets with many adventures. The story is told 
 In a way which has made Mr. Alger's name a household word in so many 
 homes. 
 
 The Train Boy. By HORATIO ALGER, JR. 12mo, 
 
 cloth, illustrated, price 81.00. 
 
 Paul Palmer was a wide-awake boy of sixteen who supported his mother 
 and sister by selling books and papers on the Chicago and Milwaukee 
 Railroad. He detects a young man in the act of picking the pocket of a 
 young lady. In a railway accident many passengers are killed, but Paul 
 is fortunate enough to assist a Chicago merchant, who out of gratitude 
 takes him into his employ. Paul succeeds with tact and judgment and 
 is well started on the road to business prominence. 
 
 Mark Mason's Victory. The Trials and Triumphs of 
 
 a Telegraph Boy. By HORATIO ALGER, JR. 12mo, cloth, illustrated, price 
 
 $1.00. 
 
 Mark Mason, the telegraph boy, was a sturdy, honest lad, who pluckily 
 won his way to success by his honest manly efforts under many diffi- 
 culties. This story will please the very large class of boys who regard 
 Mr. Alger as a favorite author. 
 
 A Debt of Honor. The Story of Gerald Lane's Success 
 
 in the Far West. By HORATIO ALGER, JR. 12mo, cloth, illustrated, price 
 
 $1.00. 
 
 The story of Gerald Lane and the account of the many trials and dis- 
 appointments which he passed through befor_ he attained success, will 
 Interest all boys who have read the previous stories of this delightful 
 author. 
 
 Ben Bruce. Scenes in the Life of a Bowery Newsboy. 
 
 By HORATIO ALGER, JR. 12mo. cloth, illustrated, price $1.00. 
 
 Ben Bruce was a brave, manly, generous boy. The story of his efforts, 
 and many seeming failures and disappointments, and his final success, are 
 most interesting to, all readers. The tale is written in Mr. Alger's 
 most fascinating style. 
 
 The Castaways; or, On the Florida Reefs. By JAMES 
 
 OTIS. 12mo, cloth, illustrated, price $1.00. 
 
 This tale smacks of the salt sea. From the moment that the Sea 
 Queen leaves lower New York bay till the breeze - leaves her becalmed oft 
 the coast of Florida, one can almost hear the whistle of the wind 
 through her rigging, the creak of her straining cordage as she heels to 
 the leeward. The adventures of Ben Clark, the hero of the storv and 
 Jake the cook, cannot fall to chnrm the reader. As a writer for young 
 people Mr. Otis is a prime favorite. 
 
 For sale by all boofrsulZcr.s, or snnt postpaid on receipt of price by the 
 publisher, A. L. BUKT, 52-53 Duane Street, New York,
 
 A. L. HURT'S BOOKS FOR YOUNG PEOPLE. 3 
 
 BOOKS FOR BOYS. 
 
 Wrecked on Spider Island; or, How Ned Rogers Found 
 
 the Treasure. By JAMES OTIS. ISrno, cloth, illustrated, price 81.00. 
 
 Ned Rogers, a "down-east" plucky lad ships as cabin boy to earn 
 a livelihood. Ned Is marooned on Spider Island, and while there dis- 
 covers a wreck submerged in the sand, and finds a considerable amount 
 of treasure. The capture of the treasure and the Incidents of the 
 voyage serve to make as entertaining a story of sea-life as the most 
 captious boy could desire. 
 
 The Search for the Silver City : A Tale of Adventure in 
 
 Yucatan. By JAMES OTIS. ISino, cloth, illustrated, pi-ice $1.00. 
 
 Two lads, Teddy Wright and Neal Emery, embark on the steam 
 yacht Day Dream for a cruise to the tropics. The yacht Is destroyed 
 by fire, and then the boat is cast upon the coast of Yucatan. They 
 hoar of the wonderful Silver City, of the Chan Santa Cruz Indians, 
 and with the help of a faithful Indian ally carry off a number of the 
 golden images from the temples. Pursued ,with relentless vigor at last 
 their escape is effected in au astonishing manner. The story Is so 
 full of exciting incidents that the reader is quite carried away with 
 the novelty and realism of the narrative. 
 
 A Runaway Brig; or, An Accidental Cruise. By 
 
 JAMES OTIS. 12mo, cloth, illustrated, price $1.00. 
 
 This is a sea tale, and the reader can look out upon the wide shimmer- 
 Ing sea as it flashes back the sunlight, and imagine himself afloat with 
 Harry Vandyne, Walter Morse, Jim Libby and that old shell-back, Bob 
 Brace, on the brig Bonita. The boys discover a mysterious document 
 which enables them to find a buried treasure. They are .stranded on 
 an island and at last are rescued with the treasure. The boys are sure 
 to be fascinated with this entertaining story. 
 
 The Treasure Finders: A Boy's Adventures in 
 
 Nicaragua. By JAMES OTIS. 12mo, cloth, illustrated, price $1.00. 
 
 Roy and Dean Coloney, with their guide Tongla, leave their father's 
 indigo plantation to visit the wonderful ruins of an ancient city. The 
 i/o.vs eagerly explore the temples of an extinct race and discover threo 
 ir.<!di>n images cunningly hidden away. They escape with the greatest 
 .liiiieuity. Eventually they reach safety with their gollen prizes. We 
 tioubt if there ever was written a more entertaining story than "The 
 Treasure Finders." 
 
 Jack, tlie Hunchback. A Story of the Coast of Maine, 
 
 By JAMES OTIS. Price 1.00. 
 
 This is the story of a little hunchback who lived on Cape Elizabeth, 
 on the coast of Maine. His trials and successes are most interesting. 
 From first to last nothing stays the interest of the narrative. It bears us 
 along as on a stream whose current varies in direction, but never loses 
 its force. 
 
 With Washington at Monmouth: A Story of Three 
 
 Philadelphia Boys. By JAMES OTIS. 12mo, ornamental cloth, olivine 
 
 edjjes, illustrated, price $1.50. 
 
 Three Philadelphia lads assist the American spies and make regular 
 and frequent visits to Valley Forge in the Winter while the British 
 occupied the city. The story abounds with pictures of Colonial life 
 skillfully drawn, and the glimpses of Washington's soldiers which are 
 given shown that the work has not been hastily done, or without con- 
 siderable study. The story is wholesome and patriotic in tone, as are 
 all of Mr. Otis' works. 
 
 For sale by all booksellers, or sent postpaid on receipt of price bj tho 
 publisher, A. L. BURX, 62-53 Duane Street, New York.
 
 4 A. L. HURT'S BOOKS FOR YOUNG PEOPLE. 
 
 BOOKS FOR BOYS. 
 
 With Lafayette at Yorktown: A Story of How Two 
 
 Boys Joined the Continental Army. By JAMES OTIS. 12mo, ornamental 
 
 cloth, olivine edges, illustrated, price $1.50. 
 
 Two lads from Portmouth, N. H., attempt to enlist In the Colonial 
 Army, and are given employment as spies. There is no lack of exciting 
 Incidents which the youthful reader craves, but It is healthful excite- 
 ment brimming with facts which every boy should be familiar with, 
 and while the reader is following the adventures of Ben Jaffrays and 
 Ned Allen he is acquiring a fund of historical lore which will remain 
 In his memory long after thut which he has memorized from text- 
 books has been forgotten. 
 
 At the Siege of Havana. Being the Experiences of 
 
 Three Boys Serving under Israel Putnam in 1762. By JAMES OTIS. 12mo, 
 
 ornamental cloth, olivine edges, illustrated, price 81.50. 
 "At the Siege of Havana" deals with that portion of the island's 
 history when the English king captured the capital, thanks to the 
 assistance given by the troops from New England, led In part by Col. 
 Israel Putnam. 
 
 The principal characters are Darius Lunt, the lad who, represented as 
 telling the story, and his comrades, Robert Clement and Nicholas 
 Vallet. Colonel Putnam also figures to considerable extent, necessarily, 
 In the tale, and the whole forms one of the most readable stories founded on 
 historical facts. 
 
 The Defense of Fort Henry. A Story of Wheeling 
 
 Creek in 1777. By JAMES OTIS. 12mo, ornamental cloth, olivine edges, 
 
 illustrated, price 8 1.50. 
 
 Nowhere In the history of our country can be found more heroic or 
 thrilling incidents than in the story of those brave men and women 
 who founded the settlement of Wheeling in the Colony of Virginia. The 
 recital of what Elizabeth Zaue did is in itself as heroic a story as can 
 be Imagined. The wondrous bravery displayed by Major McCullnch 
 and bis gallant comrades, the sufferings of the colonists and their sacrifice 
 of blood and life, stir the blood of old as well as young readers. 
 
 The Capture of the Laughing Mary. A Story of Three 
 
 New York Boys in 1776. By JAMES OTIS. 12mo, ornamental cloth, olivine 
 
 edges, price 81.50. 
 
 "During the British occupancy of New York, at the outbreak of the 
 Revolution, a Yankee lad hears of the plot to take General Washington's 
 person, and calls in two :ouipaulons to assist the patriot cause. They 
 do some astonishing things, and, incidentally, lay the way for nn 
 American navy later, by the exploit which gives its name to the 
 work. Mr. Otis' books are too well known to require any particular 
 commendation to the young." Evening: Post. 
 
 With Warren at Bunker Hill. A Story of the Siege of 
 
 Boston. By JAMES OTIS. 12mo, ornametnal cloth, olivine edges, illus 
 
 trated, price 81-50. 
 
 "This Is a tale of the siege of Boston, which opens on the day after 
 the doings at Lexington and Concord, with a description of home 111'" 
 In Boston, Introduces the reader to the British camp at Charlestown, 
 shows Gen. Warren at home, describes what a boy thought of the 
 battle of Bunker Hill, and closes with the raising of the siege. The 
 three heroes, George Wentworth. Ben Scarlett and an old rnpcmakor, 
 Incur the enmity of a young Tory, who causes them many adventures 
 the boys will like to read." Detroit Free Press. 
 
 For sale by all booksellers, or sent postpaid on receipt of price by the 
 publisher, A. L. BUBT, 62-58 Duane Street, New York.
 
 A. L. BUUT^S BOOKS FOR xOUNG PEOPLE. 5 
 
 BOOKS FOR BOYS. 
 
 With the Swamp Fox. The Story of General Marion's 
 
 Spies. By JAMES OTIS. 12mo, cloth, illustrated, price $1.00. 
 
 This story deals with General Francis Marion's heroic struggle In the 
 Carolines. General Marion's arrival to take command of these brave 
 men and rough riders is pictured as a boy might have seen It. and 
 although the story is devoted to what the lads did, the Swamp Fox 
 is ever present in the inind of the reader. 
 
 On the Kentucky Frontier. A Story of the Fighting 
 
 that or me WOTK aone on me Mississippi river uy a nanuiui 01 rrontiers- 
 incn. Mr. Otis takes the reader on that famous expedition from the 
 arrival of Major Clarke's force at Corn Island, until Kaskaskia was 
 captured. He relates that part of Simon Kenton's life history which 
 is not usually touched upon either by the historian or the story teller. 
 This is one of the must entertaining books for young people which has 
 been published. 
 
 Sarah Dillard's Ride. A Story of South Carolina in 
 
 in 1780. By JAMES OTIS. I2mo, cloth, illustrated, price $1.00. 
 
 "This book deals with the Carolinas in 1780, giving a wealth of detail of 
 the Mountain Men who struggled so valiantly against the king's troops. 
 Major Ferguson is the prominent British officer of the story, which ia 
 told as though coming from a youth who experienced these adventures. 
 In this way the famous ride of Sarah Dillard is brought out as an 
 Incident of the plot." Boston Journal. 
 
 A Tory Plot. A Story of the Attempt to Kill General 
 
 Washington. By JAMES OTIS. 18mo, cloth, illustrated, price $1.00. 
 
 " 'A Tory Plot' is the story of two lads who overhear something 
 of the plot originated during the Revolution by Gov. Tryon to capture 
 or murder Washington. They communicate their knowledge to Gen. 
 Putnam and are commissioned by him to play the role of detectives 
 In the matter. They do so, and meet with many adventures and halr- 
 "breadth escapes. The boys are, of course, mythical, but they serve to en- 
 able the author to put into very attractive shape much valuable knowledge 
 concerning one phase of the Revolution." Pittsburgh Times. 
 
 A Traitor's Escape. A Story of the Attempt to Seize 
 
 Benedict Arnold. By JAMES OTIS. 12mo, cloth, illustrated, price $1.00. 
 
 "This is a tale with stirring scenes depicted in each chapter, bringing 
 clearly before the mind the glorious deeds of the early settlers In this 
 country. In an historical work dealing with this country's past, no 
 plot can hold the attention closer than this one, which describes the 
 attempt and partial success of Benedict Arnold's escape to New York, 
 where he remained as the guest of Sir Henry Clinton. All those who 
 actually figured in the arrest of the traitor, as well as Gen. Washing- 
 ton, are included as characters." Albany Union. 
 
 A Cruise with Paul Jones. A Story of Kaval Warfare 
 
 in 1776. By JAMES OTIS. 12mo, cloth, illustrated, price $1.00. 
 
 "This story takes up that portion of Paul Jones' adventurous life 
 when he was hovering off the British coast, watching for an oppor- 
 tunity to strike the enemy a blow. It deals more particularly with 
 his descent upon Whltehaven, the seizure of Lady Selkirk's plate, and 
 the famous battle with the Drake. The boy who figures in the tale 
 Is one who was taken from a derelict by Paul Jones shortly after this 
 particular cruise was begun." Chicago Inter-Ocean. 
 
 For sale by all booksellers, or sent postpaid on receipt of price By the^ 
 publisher. A. L. BURX, 62-58 Duane Street, New York.
 
 6 A. L. HURT'S BOOKS FOR YOUNG PEOPLE. 
 BOOKS FOR BOYS. 
 
 Corporal Lige's Recruit. A Story of Crown Point and 
 
 Ticonderoga. By JAMES OTIS. 12mo, cloth, illustrated, price 81,00. 
 "In 'Corporal Lige's Recruit,' Mr. Otis tells the amusing story of an 
 old soldier, proud of bis record, who had served the king In '58. and who 
 ' takes the lad, Isaac Rice, as his 'personal recruit.' The lad acquits 
 himself superbly. Col. Ethan Allen 'in the name of God and the con- 
 tinental coheres*,' infuses much martini spirit into the narrative, which 
 will arouse the keenest interest as it proceeds. Crown Point. Ticon- 
 deroga, Benedict Arnold and numerous other famous historical names 
 appear in this dramatic tale." Boston Globe. 
 
 Morgan, the Jersey Spy. A Story of the Siege of York- 
 town in 1781. By JAMES OTIS. 12mo, cloth, illustrated, price $1.00. 
 "The two lads who are utilized by the author to emphasize the detail.-; 
 
 squad of red coats, when they are exposed equally to the bullets of 
 friends and foes, told in a masterly fashion, makes of this volume one 
 of the most entertaining books of the year." Inter-Oocan. 
 
 The Young Scout: The Story of a West Point Lieu- 
 tenant. By EDWARD S. ELLIS. 12mo, cloth, illustrated, price $1.00. 
 The crafty Apache chief Geronimo but a few years ago was the 
 most terrible scourge of the southwest border. The author has woven, 
 in a tale of thrilling interest, all the incidents of Geronimo's last raid. 
 The hero is Lieutenant James Decker, a recent graduate of West Point. 
 Ambitious to distinguish himself the young man takes many a desperate 
 chance against the enemy and on more than one occasion narrowly 
 escapes with his life. In our opinion Mr. Ellis is the best writer of 
 Indian stories now before the public. 
 
 Adrift in the Wilds: The Adventures of Two Ship- 
 wrecked Boys. By EDWARD S. ELLIS. 12mo, cloth, illustrated, price $1.00. 
 Blwood Brandon and Howard Lawrence are en route for San Fran- 
 cisco. Off th. coast of California the steamer takes fire. The two boys 
 reach the shore with several of the passengers. Young Brandon be- 
 comes separated from his party and is captured by hostile Indians, 
 but is afterwards rescued. This is a very entertaining narrative of 
 Southern California. 
 
 A Young Hero; or, Fighting to Win. By EDWARD S. 
 
 ELLIS. 12ino, cloth, illustrated, price 1.00. 
 
 This story tells how a valuable solid silver service was stolen from 
 the Misses Perkinpine, two very old and simple minded ladies. Fred 
 Pholdon, the hero of this story, undertakes to discover the thieves and 
 have them arrested. After much time spent in detective work, he 
 succeeds in discovering the silver plate and winning the reward. The 
 story is told in Mr. Ellis' most fascinating style. Every boy will be 
 plnd to read this delightful book. 
 
 Lost in the Rockies. A Story of Adventure in the 
 
 Rocky Mountains. By EDWARD S. ELLIS. 22ino, cloth, illustrated, price $1. 
 
 Incident succeeds incident, and adventjre is piled upon adventure, 
 riMl at the end the reader, be he boy or man. will have experienced 
 breathleM i>njo.vment in this romantic story describing many adventures in 
 vht' Rockies and among the Indians. 
 
 For sale by ill booksellfrs. or sont postpaid on receipt of price by the 
 publisher. A. i,. 3URX, 52-53 Dua.no Street, New York.
 
 A. L. BURT'S BOOKS FOE YOUNG PEOPLE. 7 
 
 BOOKS FOR BOYST" 
 
 A Jaunt Through Java: The Story of a Journey to 
 
 the Sacred Mountain. By EDWARD S. ELLIS, 12mo, cloth, illustrated, 
 
 price $1.00. 
 
 The interest of this story is found in the thrilling adventures of 
 two cousins, Hermon and Eustace Hadley, on their trip acrosss the island 
 of Java, from Samarang to the Sacred Mountain. In a land where the 
 Royal Bengal tiger, the rhinoceros, and other fierce leasts are to be 
 rnet with, it is hut natural that the heroes of this book should have a 
 ~tiv;>ly experience. There is not a dull page in the- book. 
 
 The Boy Patriot. A Story of Jack, the Young Friend 
 
 of Washington. By EDWARD S. ELLIS. ISino, cloth, oliviue edges, illus- 
 trated, price $1.50. 
 
 "There are adventures of all kinds for the hero and his friends, whose 
 pluck and ingenuity in extricating themselves from awkward fixes aro 
 always equal to the occasion. It is an excellent story full of honest, 
 manly, patriotic efforts on the part of the hero. A very vivid description 
 of the battle of Trenton is also found in ' this story." Journal of 
 Education. 
 
 A Yankee lad's Pluck. How Bert Larkin Saved his 
 
 Father's Ranch in Porio Rico. By WM. P. CHIPMAN. 12mo, cloth, illus- 
 trated, price $1.00. 
 
 "Bert Larkin, the hero of the story, early excites our admiration, 
 and is altogether a fine character such as boys will delight in, whilst 
 the story of his numerous adventures is very graphically told. This 
 will, we think, prove one of the most popular boys' books this season." 
 Gazette. 
 
 A Brave Defense. A Story of the Massacre at Fort 
 
 Griswold in 1781. By WILLIAM P. CHIPMAN. 12mo, cloth, illustrated, price 
 
 $1.00. 
 
 Perhaps no more gallant fight against fearful odds took place during 
 the Revolutionary War than that at Fort Griswold, Groton Heights, Conn., 
 in 1781. The boys are real hoys who were actually on the muster rolls, 
 either at Fort Trumbull on the New London side, or of Fort Griswold on 
 the Groton side of the Thames. The youthful reader who follows Halsey 
 Sauford and Levi Dart and Tom Malleson, and their equally brave com- 
 rades, through their thrilling adventures will be learning something more 
 than historical facts; they will be imbibing lessons of fidelity, of bravery, 
 of heroism, and of manliness, which must prove serviceable in the arena 
 of life. 
 
 The Young Minuteman. A Story of the Capture of 
 
 General Prescott in 1777. By WILLIAM P. CHIPMAN. 12uio, cloth, illustrated, 
 
 price $1.00. 
 
 This story is based upon actual events which occurred during the British 
 occupation of the waters of Narragansett Bay. Darius Wale and William 
 Northrop belong toi "the coast patrol." The story is a strong one, dealing 
 only with actual events. There is, however, no lack of thrilling adventure, 
 and every lad who is fortunate enough to obtain the book will find not 
 only that his historical knowledge is increased, but that his own patriotism 
 and love of country are deepened. 
 
 For the Temple: A Tale of the Fall of Jerusalem. 
 
 By G. A. HENTY. With illustrations by S. J. SOLOMON. 12mo, cloth, olivine 
 edgea, price Si. 00. 
 
 "Mr. Henty's graphic prose picture of the hopeless Jewish resistance 
 to Roman sway adds another leaf to his record of the famous wars of 
 the world. The book is one of Mr. Henty's cleverest efforts." Graphic. 
 
 !'')! pule by all booksellers, or sent postpaid on receipt of price by tha 
 publisher, A, L. BURT, 52-58 Duane Street, New York.
 
 8 A. L. BURT'S BOOKS FOR YOUNG PEOPLE. 
 BOOKS FOR BOYS. 
 
 Eoy Gilbert's Search: A Tale of the Great Lakes. By 
 
 WM. P. CHIPMAN. 12mo, cloth, illustrated, price $1.00. 
 
 A deep mystery hangs over the parentage of Roy Gilbert. He arranges 
 with two schoolmates to make a tour of the Great Lakes on a steam 
 launch. The three boys visit many points of interest on the lakes. 
 Afterwards the lads rescue an elderly gentleman and a lady from a sink- 
 ing yacht. Later on the boys narrowly escape with their lives. The 
 hero is a manly, st-'lf-reliuut boy, whose adventures will be followed 
 with interest. 
 
 The Slate Picker: The Story of a Boy's Life in the 
 
 Coal Mines. By HARKY PRENTICE. 12ino, cloth, illustrated, price 81. 00. 
 
 This is a story of a boy's life in the coal mines of Pennsylvania. 
 Ben Burton, the hero, had a hard road to travel, but by grit and energy 
 he advanced step by step until he found himself culled upon to fill the 
 position of chief engineer of the Kohinoor Coal Company. This is a 
 book of extreme Interest to every boy reader. 
 
 The Boy Cruisers; or, Paddling in Florida. By ST. 
 
 GEORGE RATRBOUNE. 12mo, cloth, illustrated, price $1.00 
 Andrew George and Rowland Carter start on a canoe trip along the 
 Gulf coast, from Key West to Tampa, Florida. Their first adventure 
 is with a pair of rascals who steal their boats. Next they run into 
 a gale in the Gulf. After that they have a lively time with alli- 
 gators and Andrew gets into trouble with a band of Seminole Indians. 
 Mr. Rntbborne knows just how to interest the boys, and lads who are 
 in search of a rare treat will do well to read this entertaining story. 
 
 Captured by Zulus: A Story of Trapping in Africa. 
 
 By HARHY PUKNTICE. 12mo, cloth, illustrated, price gl.OO. 
 
 This story details the adventures of two lads, Dick Elsworth and Rob 
 Karv<\v, in the wilds of South Africa. By stratagem tlu- Zulus capture 
 Dick and Bob and take them to their principal kra:il or vilhtc 1 '. The 
 lads escape death by dig iug their way out of the prison hut by night. 
 They are pursued, but the Zulus finally give up pursuit. Mr. Prentice 
 tells exactly how wild-boast collectors secure specimens mi th>'ir native 
 stamping grounds, and these descriptions make very entertaining reading. 
 
 Tom the Ready; or, Up from the Lowest, By KAN- 
 
 DOLPH HILL. 12me, cloth, illustrated, price $1 
 
 This Is a dramatic narrative of the unaided rise of a fearless, ambi- 
 tious boy from the lowest round of fortune's ladder to v\c:.lth and the 
 governorship of his native State. Tom Seacomb begins life with a pur- 
 nose, and eventnallv overcomes those who oppose him. How he ::ia napes 
 to win the battle Is told by Mr. Hill in a masterfi ' way that thrills 
 the reader and holds his attention and symnnt'iy to ti.e end. 
 
 Captain Kidd's Gold: The True Story of an Adven- 
 turous Sailor Boy. By JAMES FRANKLIN FITTS. 12mo, cloth, illustrated, 
 price 1.00. 
 
 There is something fascinating to the average yonth In the very idea 
 of burled treasure. A vision arises before his eyes of swarthy Portu- 
 guese and Spanish rascals, with black beards and gleaming eyes. There 
 were many famous sea rovers, but none more celebrated than Capt. Kidd. 
 Paul Jones Garry Inherits a document which locates a considerable 
 treasure burled by two of Kidd's crew. The hero of this book is an 
 ambitious, persevering lad, of salt-water New England ancestry, and his 
 efforts to reach the island and secure the money form one of the most 
 absorbing tales for our youth that has come from the t.ri'.ss. ^^ 
 
 For sale by all booksellers, or sent postpaid on receipt of price by the 
 publisher, A. L, BUBT, 52-58 Duane Street, New York.
 
 A. L. HURT'S BOOKS FOR YOUNG PEOPLE. & 
 BOOKS FOR BOYS. 
 
 The Boy Explorers: The Adventures of Two Boys in 
 
 Alaska. By HARRV PRENTICE. I2mo, cloth, illustrated, price $1.00. 
 
 Two boys, Raymond and Spencer Manning, travrl to Alaska to join 
 their father in search of their uncle. On their arrival at Sitka the boys 
 with an Indian guide set off across the mountains. The trip is fraught 
 with perils that test the lads' courarro to the utmost. All through their 
 exciting adventures the lads demonstrate what can be accomplished by 
 pluck and resolution, and their experience makes one of the most in- 
 teresting tales ever written. 
 
 The Island Treasure; or, Harry Barrel's Fortune. 
 
 By FRANK H. CONVERSE. 12mo, cloth, illustrated, price $1.00. 
 
 Harry Darrel, having received a nautical training on a school-ship, is 
 bent on going to sea. A runaway horse changes his prospects. Harry 
 saves Dr. Gregg from drowning and afterward becomes sailing-master 
 of a sloop yacht. Mr. Converse's stories possess a charm of their own 
 which is appreciated by lads who delight in good healthy tales that 
 smack of salt water. 
 
 Guy Harris: The Kunaway. By HARRY CASTLEMON. 
 
 12mo, cloth, illustrated, price $1.00. 
 
 Guy Harris lived in a small city on the shore of one of the Great 
 Lakes. He is persuaded to go to sea, and gets a glimpse of the rough 
 side of life in a sailor's boarding house. He ships on a vessel and for 
 five months leads a hard life. The book will interest boys generally 
 on account of its graphic style. This is one of Castlemon's most attract- 
 ive stories. 
 
 Julian Mortimer: A Brave Boy's Struggle for Home 
 
 and Fortune. By H.\RRY CASTLEJION. 12mo, cloth, illustrated, price $1. 
 
 The scene of the story lies west of the Mississippi River, in the days 
 when emigrants made their perilous way across the great plains to the 
 land of gold. There is an attack upon the wagon train by a large party 
 of Indians. Our hero is a .'ad of uncommon ne*ve and pluck. Befriended 
 by a stalwart trapper, a real rough diamond, our hero achieves the most 
 happy results. 
 
 By Pike and Dyke: A Tale of the Else of the Dutch 
 
 Republic. By G. A. HENTY. With illustrations by MATNARD BROWN. 
 
 12mo, cloth, olivine edges, price $1.00. 
 
 "Boys with a turn for historical research will be enchanted with the 
 book, while the rest who only care for adventure will be students in spite 
 of themselves." St. James's Gazette. 
 
 St. George for England: A Tale of Cressy and Poi- 
 tiers. By G. A. HENTY. With illustrations by GORDON BROWNE. 12mo, 
 cloth, olivine edges, price $1.00. 
 
 "A story of very great interest for boys. In his own forcible style 
 the author has endeavored to show that determination and enthusiasm 
 can accomplish marvellous results; and that courage is generally accom- 
 panied by magnanimity and centleness." Pall Mall Gazette. 
 
 Captain Bayley's Heir: A Tale of the Gold Fields of 
 
 California. By G. A. HENTY. Wi;h illustrations by H. M. PAGET. 12moi 
 
 cloth, olivine edges, price $1.00. 
 
 "Mr. Henty is careful to mingle instruction with entertainment; and 
 the humorous touches, especially in the sketch of John Holl, the West- 
 minster dustman, Dickens himself could hardly have excelled." Chris- 
 tian Leader. 
 
 For sale by all booksellers, or sent postpaid on receipt of price by the 
 publisher, A. L. BUKT, 52-58 Duane Street, New York,
 
 10 A. L. BTJRT'S BOOKS FOR YOUNG PEOPLE. 
 BOOKS FOR BOYST 
 
 Budd Boyd's Triumph; or, The Boy Firm of Fox Island. 
 
 By WILLIAM P. CHIPMAN. 12mo, cloth, illustrated, price Jl.OO. 
 
 The scene of this story is laid on the upper part of Narragansctt Bay, 
 and the leading incidents have a strong salt-water flavor. The two 
 boys, Budd Boyd and Judd Floyd, being ambitious and clear sighted, 
 form a partnership to catch and sell fish. Budd's pluck and good sense 
 carry him through many troubles. In following the career of the boy 
 firm of Boyd & Floyd, the youthful reader will find a useful lesson 
 that industry and perseverance are bound to lead to ultimate success. 
 
 Lost in the Canyon: Sapi Willett's Adventures on the 
 
 Great Colorado. By ALFRED R. CALHOUN. 12mo, cloth, illustrated, price $1 , 
 This story hinges on a fortune left to Sam Willett. the hero, and tb- 
 fact that it will pass to a disreputable relative if the lad dies before 
 be shall have reached his majority. The story of bis father's peril and 
 of Sam's desperate trip down the great canyon on a raft, and how the 
 party finally escape from their perils is described in a graphic style 
 that stamps Mr. Calhoun as a master of his art. 
 
 Captured hy Apes: The Wonderful Adventures of a 
 
 Young: Animal Trainer. By HARRY PRENTICE. 12mo, cloth, illustrated. 
 
 price $1.00. 
 
 Philip Garland, a young animal collector and trainer, sets sail for 
 Eastern seas in quest of a new stock of living curiosities. The vessel 
 is wrecked off the coast of Borneo, and young Garland is cast ashore 
 on a small island, and cantured by the apes that overrun the place. 
 Very novel indeed is the way by which the young man escapes death. 
 Mr. Prentice is a writer of undoubted skill. 
 
 Under Drake's Flag: A Tale of the Spanish Main. 
 
 By G. A. HENTY. With illustrations by GORDON BROWNE. 12mo, cloth, 
 
 oliviae edges, price $1.00. 
 
 "There is not a dull chapter, nor, indeed, a dull page in the book; but 
 the author has so carefully worked up his subject that the exciting 
 deeds of his heroes are never incongruous nor absurd." Observer. 
 
 By Sheer Pluck: A Tale of the Ashanti War. By 
 
 G. A. HENTY. With illustrations by GORDON BROWNE. 12mo, cloth, olivine 
 
 edges, price $1.00. 
 
 The author has woven, in a tale of thrilling interest, all the details 
 of the Asbauti campaign, of which he was himself a witness. 
 
 "Mr. Henty keeps up his reputation as a writer of boys' stories. 'By 
 Sheer Pluck' will be eagerly read." Athenaeum. 
 
 With Lee in Virginia : A Story of the American Civil 
 
 War. By G. A. HENTY. With illustrations by GORDON BROWNE 12mo, 
 
 cloth, olivine edges, price $1 .00. 
 
 "One of the best stories for Inds which Mr. Plenty has yet written. 
 The picture is full of life and color, and the stirring and romantic inci- 
 dents are skillfully blended with the personal interest and charm of the 
 story. " Standard. 
 
 By England's Aid; or, The Freeing of the Netherlands 
 
 (1585-1604). By G. A. HENTY. With illustrations by ALFRED PEARSE. 12mo, 
 
 cloth, olivine edges, price $1.00. 
 
 "It is an admirable book for youngsters. It overflows with stirring 
 incident and exciting adventure, and tlio color of the era and of the 
 scene are finely reproduced. The illustrations add to its attractiveness." 
 Boston Gazette. 
 
 For sale by all booksellers, or sent postpaid on r-ci-i|it of price by the 
 publisher, A. L. BUB.T, 62-58 Duane Street, New York.
 
 A. t. HURT'S BOOKS FOR YOUNG PEOPLE. 11 
 
 BOOKS FOR BOYS. 
 
 By Right of Conquest; or, With Cortez in Mexico. 
 
 By G. A. HENTY. With illustrations by W. S. STACEY. 12mo, cloth, 
 
 olivine edges, price $1.50. 
 
 " The conquest of Mexico by a small band of resolute men under the 
 magnificent leadership of Cortez is always rightfully ranked among the most 
 romantic and daring exploits in history. 'By Right of Conquest* is the 
 neaiest approach to a perfectly successful historical tale that Mr. Henty 
 has yet published." Academy. 
 
 For Name and Fame; or, Through Afghan Passes. 
 
 By G. A. HENTY. With illustrations by GORDON BROWNE. 12mo, cloth, 
 
 olivine edges, price $1.00. 
 
 "Not only a rousing story, replete with all the varied forms of excite- 
 ment of a campaign, but, what is still more useful, an account of a 
 territory and its inhabitants which must for a long time possess a supreme 
 interest for Englishmen, as being the key to our Indian Empire." 
 Glasgow Herald. 
 
 The Bravest of the Brave; or, With Peterborough in 
 
 Spain. By G. A. HENTY. With illustrations by H. M. PAGET. 12mo 
 
 cloth, olivine edges, price 81.00. 
 
 "Mr. Henty never loses sight of the moral purpose of his work to 
 enforce the doctrine of courage and truth, mercy and loving kindness, 
 as indispensable to the making of a gentleman. Boys will read 'The 
 Bravest of the Brave* with pleasure and profit; of that wo are quite 
 sure." Daily Telegraph. 
 
 The Cat of Bubastes : A Story of Ancient Egypt. By 
 
 G. A. HENTY. With illustrations. 12mo, cloth, olivine edges, price $1.00, 
 
 "The story, from the critical moment of the killing of the sacred cat 
 
 to the perilous exodus into Asia with which it closes, is very skillfully 
 
 constructed and full of exciting adventures. It Is admirably illustrated." 
 
 Saturday Eeview. 
 
 Bonnie Prince Charlie: A Tale of Fontenoy and Cul- 
 
 loden. By G. A. HEXTY. With illustrations by GORDON BROWE. 12mo, 
 
 cloth, olivine edges, price $1.00. 
 
 "Ronald, the hero, is very like the hero of 'Quentin Durward.' The 
 lad's journey across France, and bis hairbreadth escapes, makes up as 
 good a narrative of the kind as we have ever read. For freshness of 
 treatment and variety of incident Mr. Henty has surpassed himself." 
 Spectator. 
 
 With Ciive in India; or, The Beginnings of an Empire. 
 
 By G. A. HENTY. With illustrations by GORDON BROWNE. 12mo, cloth, 
 
 olivine edges, price $1.00. 
 
 "He has taken a period of Indian history of the most vital Impor- 
 tance, and he has embroidered on the historical facts a story which of 
 Itself is deeply interesting. Young people assuredly will be delighted 
 with the volume." Scotsman. 
 
 In the Eeign of Terror: The Adventures of a West- 
 minster Boy. By G. A. HENTY. With illustrations by J. SCHSNBERG. 
 12mo, cloth, olivine edges, price $1.00. 
 "Harry Sandwith, the Westminster boy, may fairly be said to beat 
 
 Mr. Henty's record. His adventures will delight boys by the audacity 
 
 and peril they depict. The story is one of Mr. Henty's best." Saturday 
 
 Review. 
 
 For sale by all book^'J'-rr,, or sent postpaid on receipt of price by tha 
 publisher, A. L. BTJUI, Si-oS Duaao Street, New York,
 
 12 A. L. BURT'ri BOOKS FOR YOUNG PEOPLE. 
 
 BOOKS FOR BOYS. 
 
 The Lion of the North: A Tale of Gustavus Adolphus 
 
 and the "Wars of Religion. By G. A. HENTY. With illustrations by JOHN 
 
 SCHSNBERG. 12mo, cloth, olivine edges, price $1.00. 
 
 "A praiseworthy attempt to interest British youth In the great deeds 
 of the Scotch Brigade in the wars of Gustavus Adolphus. Mackey, Hep- 
 burn, and Munro live again In Mr. Henty's pages, as those deserve to 
 live whose disciplined bands formed really the germ of the modern 
 British army." Athenaeum. 
 
 The Dragon and the Raven; or, The Days of King 
 
 Alfred. By Q. A. HENTY. With illustrations by C. J. STANIULND. 12mo, 
 
 cloth, olivine edges, price $1.00. 
 
 In this story the author gives an account of the fierce struggle be- 
 tween Saxon and Dane for supremacy in England, and presents a vivid 
 picture of the misery and ruin to which the country was reduced by the 
 ravages of the sea-wolves. The story is treated In a manner most at- 
 tractive to the boyish reader." Athenaeum. 
 
 The Young Carthaginian: A Story of the Times of 
 
 Hannibal. By G. A. HENTY. With illustrations by C. J. STANILAND. 12mo, 
 
 cloth, olivine edges, price $1.00. 
 
 "Well constructed and vividly told. From first to last nothing stays 
 the interest of the narrative. It bears us along as on a stream whose 
 current varies In direction, but never loses its force." Saturday Review, 
 
 In Freedom's Cause: A Story of Wallace and Bruce. 
 
 By G. A. HENTY. With illustrations by GORDON BROWNE. 12mo, cloth, 
 
 olivine edges, price $1.00. 
 
 "It is written In the author's best style. Full of the wildest and most 
 remarkable achievements, it is a tale of great interest, which a bov, once 
 he has begun it, will not willingly put one side." The Schoolmaster. 
 
 With Wolfe in Canada; or, The Winning of a Con- 
 tinent. By G. A. HENTY. With illustrations by GORDON BROWNE. 12mo, 
 cloth, olivine edges, price $1.00. 
 
 "A model of what a boys' story-book should he. Mr. Henty has a 
 great power of infusing into the dead facts of history new life, and as 
 no pains are spared by him to ensure accuracy in historic details, his 
 books supply useful aids to study as well as amusement." School Guard- 
 ian. 
 
 True to the Old Flag: A Tale of the American War of 
 
 Independence. By G. A. HENTY. With illustrations by GORDON BROWNE. 
 
 12mo, cloth, olivine edges, price $1.00. 
 
 "Does Justice to the pluck and determination of the British sollders 
 during the unfortunate struggle against American emancipation. The son 
 of an American loyalist, who remains true to our flag, falls among the 
 hostile red-skins In that very Huron country which has been endeared 
 to us by the exploits of Hawkeye and Chingachgook." The Times. 
 
 A Final Reckoning: A Tale of Bush Life in Aus- 
 tralia. By G. A. HENTY. With illustrations by W. B. WOLLEN. 12mo, 
 cloth, olivine edges, price $1.00. 
 "All boys will read this story with eager and unflagging Interest. The 
 
 episodes are in Mr. Henty's very best vein graphic, exciting, realistic; 
 
 and, as in all Mr. Henty's books, the tendency Is to the formation of an 
 
 honorable, manly, and even heroic character." Birmingham Post. 
 
 For sale by all booksellers, or sent postpaid on receipt of price by the 
 publisher, A. L. BUKT, 52-58 Duane Street, New York.
 
 A. L. HURT'S BOOKS FOR YOUNGt PEOPLE. 13 
 
 BOOKS FOR BOYS. 
 
 The lion of St. Mark: A Tale of Venice in the Four- 
 teenth Century. By G. A. HKNTY. With illustrations by GORDON BROWNB. 
 12ino, cloth, olivine edges, price 81.00. 
 "Every boy should read 'The Won of St. Mark." Mr. Henty has never 
 
 produced a utory more delightful, more wholesome, or more vivacious." 
 
 Saturday Review. 
 
 Facing Death; or, The Hero of the Vaughan Pit. A 
 
 Tule of the Coal Mines. By G. A. HKNTY. With illustrations by GORDON 
 
 BKOWNK. 12mo, cloth, olivine edges, price $1.00. 
 
 "The tale Is well written nnd well Illustrated, and there Is much 
 reality In the characters. If any father, clergyman, or schoolmaster 
 IN on the lookout for n good book to give as a present to a boy who is 
 worth his salt, this Is the book we would recommend." Standard. 
 
 Maori and Settler: A Story of the New Zealand War. 
 
 By G. A. HKNTY. With illustrations by ALFKK'D PKARSE 12mo, cloth, 
 
 olivine edges, price $1.00. 
 
 "In the adventures among the Maoris, there are many breathless 
 moments In which the odds seem hopelessly against the party, but they 
 succeed In establishing themselves happily In one of the pleasant New 
 Zealand valleys. It is brimful of adventure, of humorous and interesting 
 conversation, and vivid pictures of colonial life." Schoolmaster. 
 
 One of the 28th: A Tale of Waterloo. By G. A. 
 
 HENTY. With illustrations by W. H. OVBRHND. 12mo, cloth, olivine 
 
 edges, price $1.00. 
 "Written \vllli Homeric vigor and heroic Inspiration. It Is grapble, 
 
 Elcturesque, mid dramatically effective . . . shows us Mr. Heuty at 
 Is best and brightest. The adventures \vlll hold a hoy enthralled as he 
 rushes through ihem with breathless interest 'from cover to cover.' " 
 Observer. 
 
 Orange and Green: A Tale of the Boyne and Limer- 
 ick. By G. A. HKNTY. With illustrations by GORDON BROWNK. lUmo, 
 cloth, olivine edges, price $1.00. 
 "The narrative is free from the vice of prejudice, and ripples with 
 
 life as If what. Is being described were really passing before the eye." 
 
 Belfast News-Letter, 
 
 Through the Fray: A Story of the Luddite Riots. 
 
 By G. A. HENTY. With illustrations by H. M. PAQKT. ISuio, cloth, olivine 
 
 edges, price $1.00. 
 
 4< Mr. Henty inspires a love and admiration for straightforwardness, truth 
 and courage. This Is one of the best of the many good books Mr. 
 Henty has produced, and deserves to be classed with his 'Facing Death.' " 
 Standard. 
 
 The Young Midshipman: A Story of the Bombard- 
 ment of Alexandria. With illustrations. 12mo, cloth, olivine edges, 
 price $1.00. 
 
 A coast fishing lad, by an act of heroism, secures the Interest of 
 a shipowner, who places him ns an apprentice on board one of his ships. 
 In company with two of his fellow-apprcnt Ices he Is left behind, at 
 Alexandria, in the hands of the revolted Kg.vptlan troops, and is present 
 through the bombardment and the scenes of riot and bloodshed which 
 accompanied it. 
 
 For sale by all booksellers, or sent postpaid on receipt of price by the 
 publisher. A, L. BVBT, 62-68 Duane Street, New York.
 
 14 A. L. BUKT'S BOOKS FOR YOUNG PEOPLE. 
 BOOKS FOR BOYS. 
 
 In Times of Peril. A Tale of India. By G. A. 
 
 HENTY. With illustrations. 12mo, cloth, olivine edges, price 1-00. 
 
 The hero of the story early excites our admiration, and Is altogether 
 a fine character such as boys will delight in, whilst the Story of the 
 campaign is very graphically told." St. James's Gazette, 
 
 The Cornet' of Horse : A Tale of Marlborough's \Yars. 
 
 By G. A. HENTY. With illustrations. 12mo, cloth, olivine edges, price $1. 
 
 "Mr. Henty not only concocts a thrilling tale, he weaves fact and fiction 
 together with so skillful a hand that the reader cannot help acquiring a 
 just and clear view of that fierce and terrible struggle known as the 
 Crimean War." Atherurum. 
 
 The Young Franc-Tireurs : Their Adventures in the 
 
 Franco-Prussian War. By G. A. HENTY. With illustrations. 12mo, cloth, 
 
 olivine edges, price $1.00. 
 
 'A capital book for boys. It is bright and readable, and full of good 
 sense and manliness. It teaches pluck and patience in adversity, and 
 shows that right living leads to success." Observer. 
 
 The Young Colonists: A Story of Life and War in 
 
 South Africa. By G. A. HENTY. With illustrations. 12mo, cloth, olivine 
 
 edges, price $1.00. 
 
 "No boy needs to have any story of Henty's recommended to him, and 
 parents who do not know and buy them for their boya should be ashamed 
 of themselves. Those to whom he is yet unknown could not make a 
 better beginning than with this book. 
 
 The Young Buglers. A Tale of the Peninsular War. 
 
 By G. A. HENTY. With illustrations. 12mo, cloth, olivine edges, price $1. 
 
 "Mr. Henty is a giant among boys* writers, and his books are suffi- 
 ciently popular to be sure of a welcome anywhere. In stirring interest, 
 this is quite up to the level of Mr. Henty's former historical tales." 
 Saturday Review. 
 
 Sturdy and Strong; or, How George Andrews Made his 
 
 Way. By G. A. HENTY. With illustrations. 12mo. cloth, olivine edges, 
 
 price $1.00. 
 
 "The history of a hero of everyday life, whose love of tr th, clothing of 
 modesty, and innate pluck, carry him, naturally, from povrrty to afflu- 
 ence. George Andrews is an example of character with nothing to cavil 
 at, and stands as a good instance of chivalry in domestic life." The 
 Empire. 
 
 Among Malay Pirates. A Story of Adventure and 
 
 Peril. By G. A. HENTY. With illustrations. 12mo, cloth, olivine edges, 
 
 price $1.00. 
 
 "Incident succeeds incident, and adventure Is piled upon adventure, 
 and at the end the reader, be he boy or man, will have experienced 
 breathless enjoyment in a romantic story that must have taught him 
 much at Its close." Army and Navy Gazette. 
 
 Jack Archer. A Tale of the Crimea. BY G. A. 
 
 HENTY. With illustrations. 12mo, cloth, olivine edges, price $1.00. 
 
 "Mr. Henty not only concocts a thrilling i ..!, he weaves fact and fiction 
 together with so skillful a hand that the reader cannot help acquiring a 
 just and clear view of that fierce and terrible struggle." Athenaeum. 
 
 For sale by all booksellers, or sent postpaid on receipt of price by the 
 publisher, A. L. BUBT, 58-58 Duane Street, New York.
 
 A. t. BURT'S BOOKS FOR YOUNG PEOPLE. 15 
 
 BOOKS FOR BOYS. 
 
 Friends, Though Divided. A Tale of the Civil War. 
 
 By Or. A. HENTY. With illustrations. 12mo, cloth, olivine edges, price $1. 
 
 "It has a good plot; it abounds in action; the scenes are equally spirited 
 and realistic, and we can only say we have read it with much pleasure 
 from first to last." Times. 
 
 Out on the Pampas; or, The Young Settlers. By 
 
 G. A. HENTY. With illustrations. 12mo, cloth, olivine edges, price $1.00. 
 
 "A really noble story, which adult readers will find to the full as satis- 
 fying as the boys. Lucky boys! to have such a caterer aa Mr. G. A, 
 Henty." Black and White. 
 
 The Boy Knight: A Tale of the Crusades. By G. A. 
 
 HENTY. With illustrations. 12mo, cloth, olivine edges, price $1.00. 
 
 "Of stirring episode there is no lack. The book, with its careful accu- 
 racy and its descriptions of all the chief battles; will give many a school- 
 boy his first roal understanding of a very important period of history." 
 St. James's Gazette. 
 
 The Wreck of the Golden Fleece. The Story of a North 
 
 Sea Fisher Boy. By ROBERT LEIGHTON. 12mo, cloth, illustrated, price 81. 
 
 A description of life on the wild North Sea. the hero being a parson's 
 son who is appreciated on board a Lowcstoft fishing lugger. The lad has 
 to suffer many buffets from his shipmates, while the storms and dangers 
 which he braved on board the "North Star" are set forth with minute 
 knowledge and intense power. The wreck of the "Golden Fleece" forms 
 the climax to a thrilling series of desperate mischances. 
 
 Olaf the Glorious. A Story of the Viking Age. By 
 
 ROBERT LEIGHTON. 12ino, cloth, illustrated, price $1.00. 
 
 This story of Olaf the Glorious, King of Norvray, opens with the incident 
 of his being found by his uncle living as a bond-slave in Esthonia; then 
 come bis adventures as a Viking and his raids upon the coasts of Scot- 
 land and England, his victorious battle against the English at Maldou in 
 Essex, his being bought off by Ethelred the Unready, and his conversion 
 to Christianity. He then returns to Pagan Norway, is accepted as king, 
 and converts his people to the Christian faith. 
 
 To Greenland and the Pole. A story of Adventure in 
 
 the Arctic Regions. By GORDON STABLES. 12mo, cloth, illustrated, price $1. 
 
 The unfailing fascination of Arctic venturing is presented in this sjory 
 with new vividness. It deals with skilotming in the north of Scotland, 
 deer-hunting in Norway, sealing in the Arctic Seas, bear-stalking on the 
 ice-floes, the hardships of a journey across Greenland, and a successful 
 voyage to the back of the North Pole. This is, indeed, a real sea-yarn 
 by a real sailor, and the tone is as bright and wholesome as the adventures 
 are numerous. 
 
 Yussuf the Guide. A Story of Adventure in Asia 
 
 Minor. By GEORGE MANVTLI.E FENN. 12mo, cloth, illustrated, pricf; $1.00. 
 
 This story deals with the stirring incidents in the career of a lad who has 
 been almost given over by the doctors, but who rapidly recovers health 
 and strength in a journey through Asia Minor. The adventures are many, 
 and culminate in the travellers being snowed up for the winter in the 
 mountains, from which they escape while their captors are waiting for 
 the ransom that does not come. 
 
 For sale by all booksellf rs, or scut postpaid on receipt of price by the 
 publisher, A. L. BURI, 52-58 Duane Street, New York.
 
 16 A. L. HURT'S BOOKS FOR YOUNG PEOPLE. 
 BOOKS FOR BOYS. 
 
 Qrettir the Outlaw. A Story of Iceland. By S. BAR- 
 ING-GOULD. 12mo, cloth, illustrated, price $1.00. 
 
 "This is the boys' book of the year. That is. of course, as much as 
 to say that it will do for men grown as well as juniors. It is told in 
 simple, straightforward English, as all stories should be, and it has a 
 treshness and freedom which make it irresistible." National Observer. 
 
 Two Thousand Years Ago. The Adventures of a 
 
 Roman Boy. By A. J. CHURCH. ISfmo, cloth, illustrated, price fl.OO. 
 
 "Prof. Church has in this story sought to revivify that most interesting 
 period, the last days of the Roman Republic. The book is extremely en- 
 tertaining as well as useful: there is a wonderful freshness in the Roman 
 scenes and characters." Times. 
 
 Nat the Naturalist. A Boy's Adventure in the East- 
 ern Seas. By GEORGE MAKVILLE FENN. 12mo, cloth, illustrated, price $1. 
 Nat and his uncle Dick go on a voyage to the remoter islands of the 
 Eastern seas, and their adventures are told in a truthful and vastly in- 
 teresting fashion. The descriptions of Mr. Ebony, their black comrade, 
 and of the scenes of savage life, are full of genuine humor. 
 
 The Log of the Flying Fish. A Story of Peril and 
 
 Adventure. By HARRY COLLINQWOOD. 12mo, cloth, illustrated, price $1. 
 
 "This story is full of even more vividly recounted adventures than those 
 which charmed so many boy readers in 'Pirate Island" and 'Congo Rovers." 
 . . . There is a thrilling adventure on the precipices of Mount Everest, 
 when the ship floats off and providentially returns by force of 'gravita- 
 tion.' " Academy. 
 
 The Congo Rovers. A Story of the Slave Squadron. 
 
 By HARRY COLLINQWOOD. 12mo, cloth, illustrated, price fl.OO. 
 
 "The scene of this tale is laid on the west coast of Africa, and in the 
 lower reaches of the Congo; the characteristic scenery of the great river 
 being delineated with wonderful accuracy. Mr. Collingwood carries us off 
 for another cruise at sea, in 'The Congo riovers,' and boys will need no 
 pressing to join the daring crew, which seeks adventures and meets with 
 any number of them." The Times. 
 
 Boris the Bear Hunter. A Tale of Peter the Great and 
 
 His Times. By FRED WISHAW. 12mo, cloth, illustrated, price $1.00. 
 "This is a capital story. The characters are marked and lifelike, and It 
 is full of incident and adventure." Standard. 
 
 Michael Strogoff ; or, The Courier of the Czar. By 
 
 JULES VEBNE. I2mo, cloth, illustrated, price $1.00. 
 
 "The story is full of originality and vigor. The characters are lifelike, 
 there is plenty of stirring incident, the Interest is sustained throughout, 
 and every boy will enjoy following the fortunes of the hero." Journal of 
 Education. 
 
 Mother Carey's Chicken. Her Voyage to the Unknown 
 
 Isle. By GEORGE MANVILLE FENN. 12mo, cloth, illustrated, price fl.OO. 
 
 "Undoubtedly one of the best Mr. Penn has written. The incidents are 
 of thrilling Interest, while the characters are drawn with a care and com- 
 ]>li ifiiess rarely found in a boy's book." Literary World. 
 
 For sale by all booksellers, or sent postpaid on receipt of price by the 
 publisher, A. L. BUET, 52-58 Duane Street, Tfew York.
 
 A. L. HURT'S BOOKS FOR YOUNG PEOPLE. 17 
 BOOKS FOR BOYS. 
 
 Dick Sand; or, A Captain at Fifteen. By JULES 
 
 VERNE. 12mo, cloth, illustrated, price $1.00. 
 
 "Jules Verne himself never constructed a more marvellous tale. It con- 
 tains the strongly marked features that are always conspicuous In hts 
 stories a racy humor, the manly vigor of his sentiment, and wholesome 
 moral lessons." Christian Leader. 
 
 Erling the Bold. A Tale of the Norse Sea Kings. 
 
 By R. M. BALLANTYNE. 12mo, cloth, illustrated, price $1.00. 
 
 "This volume makes a really fascinating book, worthy of its telling 
 title. There is, we venture to say, not a dull chapter in the book, not 
 a page which will not bear a second reading." Guardian. 
 
 Masterman Heady; or, The Wreck of the Pacific. By 
 
 CAPTAIN MARRYAT. 12mo, cloth, illustrated, price $1.00. 
 
 "As racy a tale of life at sea and adventure as we have met with for 
 some time. . . . Altogether the sort of book that boys will revel In." 
 Athenaeum. 
 
 The Green Mountain Boys. A Tale of the Early Set- 
 
 tlement of Vermont. By D. P. THOMPSON. IStno, cloth, illustrated, price $1. 
 
 A story of very great interest for boys. In his own forcible style the 
 author has endeavored to show that determination and patriotic enthu- 
 siasm can accomplish marvellous results. This story gives a graphic ac- 
 count of the early settlers of Vermont, and their patriotic efforts in d- 
 fendSng their homes from the invasions of enemies. 
 
 Every Inch a Sailor. By GORDON STABLES. 12mo, 
 
 cloth, illustrated, price $1.00. 
 
 "A story which is quite as good in its way as 'Treasure Island,' and is 
 full of adventure of a stirring yet most natural kind. Although it is 
 primarily a boys' book, it is a real godsend to the elderly reader." 
 Evening- Times. 
 
 The Golden Galleon. A Narrative of Adventure on 
 
 Her Majesty's Ship the Revenge. By ROBERT LEIQHTON. 12mo, cloth, 
 
 illustrated, price $1.00. 
 
 "This story should add considerably to Mr. Leighton's high reputation. 
 Excellent in every respect, it contains every variety of incident. The plot 
 is very cleverly devised, and the types of the North Sea sailors are 
 capital." The Times. 
 
 The Gorilla Hunters. A Tale of the Wilds of Africa. 
 
 By R. M. BALLANTYNE. 12mo, cloth, illustrated, price $1.00. 
 
 "We conscientiously belive that boys will find it capital reading. It is 
 full of incident and mystery, and the mystery is kept up to the last 
 moment. It is full of stirring adventure, daring and many escapes; and 
 it has a historical interest." Times. 
 
 Gascoyne the Sandalwood Trader. By E. M. 
 
 12mo, cloth, illustrated, price $1.00. 
 
 "One of the best stories of seafaring life and adventure which have 
 appeared this season. Entertaining in the highest degree from beginning 
 to end, and full of adventure which is all the livelier for its close con- 
 nection with history." Spectator. 
 
 For sale by all booksellers, or sent postpaid on receipt of price by the 
 publisher, A, L. BTJRT, 68-58 Duane Street, New York.
 
 18 A. L. HURT'S BOOKS FOR YOUNG PEOPLE. 
 
 BOOKS FOR BOYS. 
 
 Two Years Before the Mast. A Personal Narrative of 
 
 Life at Sea. By B. H. DANA, JR. 12mo, cloth, illustrated, price $1.00. 
 
 "One of the very best books for boys that we have seen for a long time: 
 Its author stands far in advance of any other writer for boys as a teller 
 of stories of the sea." The Standard. 
 
 The Young Rajah. A Story of Indian Life. By W. 
 
 H. G. KINGSTON. 12mo, cloth, illustrated, price $1.00. 
 
 "This story will place the author at once in the front rank. It is full 
 of life and adventure, and the interest is sustained without a break from 
 first to last." Standard. 
 
 How Jack Mackenzie Won His Epaulettes. A Story 
 
 of the Crimean War. By GORDON STABLES. 12ino, cloth, illustrated, 
 
 price $1.00. 
 
 "This must rank among the few undeniably good boys' booUs. Bo 
 will be a very dull boy indeed who lays it down without wishing that 
 It had gone on for at least 100 pages more." Mail. 
 
 The King's Pardon. A Story of Land and Sea. By 
 
 ROBERT OVERTON. 18mo, cloth, illustrated, price $1.00. 
 
 "An excellent story, the interest being sustained from first to last. 
 This is, both in its intention and the way the story is told, one of the 
 best books of its kind which has come before us this year." Saturday 
 He view. 
 
 Under the Lone Star. A Story of the Revolution in 
 
 Nicaragua. By HERBERT HAYNES. 12mo, cloth, illustrated, price 81.00. 
 
 "We have not of late come across a historical fiction, whether intended 
 for boys or for men, which deserves to be so heartily and unreservedly 
 praised as regards plot, incidents, and spirit as this book. It is its au- 
 thor's masterpiece as yet." Spectator. 
 
 Geoff and Jim: A Story of School Life. By ISMAY 
 
 THORN. 12mo, cloth, illustrated, price 75 cents. 
 
 "This is a prettily told story of the life spent by two motherless bairns 
 at a small preparatory school. Both Geoff and Jim are very lovable char- 
 acters, only Jim is the more so; and the scrapes he gets into and the 
 trials he endures will, no doubt, interest a large circle of young readers." 
 Church Times. 
 
 Jack: A Topsy Turvy Story. By C. M. CRAWLEY- 
 
 BOEVEY. 12mo, cloth, illustrated, price 75 cents. 
 
 "The illustrations deserve particular mention, as they add largely to 
 the Interest of this amusing volume for children. Jack falls asleep with 
 his mind full of the subject of the fishpond, and is very much surprised 
 presently to find himself an inhabitant of Waterworld, where he goes 
 through wonderful and edifying adventures. A handsome and pleasant 
 book." Literary World. 
 
 Black Beauty. The Autobiography of a Horse. By 
 
 ANNA SEWELL. l2mo, cloth, illustrated, price 75 cents. 
 
 This is the life story of a horse; how he was ill treated and well 
 cared for. The experiences of Black Beauty, Ginger, and Merrylegs are 
 extremely Interesting. Wherever children are, whether boys or girls, there 
 this Autobiography should be. It inculcates habits of kindness to all i 
 bers of the animal creation. The literary merit of the book is excellent. 
 
 For sale by all booksellers, or sent postpaid on receipt of price I 
 publisher, A. L. BUBT, 62-58 Duane Streat, New York.
 
 A. L. BURT/S BOOKS FOR YOUNG PEOPLE. 19 
 
 BOOKS FOR BOYS. 
 
 Hopsa the Fairy. By JEAN INGELOW. 12mo, cloth, 
 
 illustrated, price 75 cents. 
 
 "Mrs. Ingelow is, to our mind, the most charming of all living writers 
 for children, and 'Mopsa' alone ought to give her a kind of pre-emptive 
 right to the love and gratitude of our young folks. It requires genius 
 to conceive a purely imaginary work which must of necessity deal with 
 the supernatural, without running into a mere riot of fantastic absurdity; 
 but genius Mrs. Ingelow has, and the story of 'Jack' is as careless and 
 joyous, but as delicate as a picture of childhood." Eclectic. 
 
 Carrots: Just a Little Boy. By MRS. MOLESWORTH. 
 
 12mo, cloth, illustrated, price 75 cents. 
 
 "One of the cleverest and most pleasing stories it has been our good 
 fortune to meet with for some time. Carrots and his sister are delight- 
 ful little beings, whom to read about is at once to become very fond of. 
 A genuine children's book; we've seen 'em seize it, and read it greedily. 
 Children are first-rate critics, and thoroughly appreciate Walter Crane's 
 illustrations. ' ' Punch. 
 
 Larry's Luck. By the author of "Miss Toosey's Mis- 
 sion." 13mo, cloth, illustrated, price 75 cents. 
 
 "It is believed that this story, by this favorably known author of 
 'Miss Toosey's Mission,' will be found both highly interesting and instruc- 
 tive to the young. Whether the readers are nine years old, or twice as 
 old, they must enjoy this pretty volume." The Examiner. 
 
 A Child's Christinas: A Sketch of Boy Life. By MRS. 
 
 MOLESWORTH. 12mo, cloth, illustrated, price 75 cents. 
 "This is another of those delightful juvenile stories of which this author 
 has written so many. It is a fascinating little book, with a charming 
 plot, a sweet, pure atmosphere, and teaches a wholesome moral in the 
 most winning manner." Gazette. 
 
 Chunk, Fusky and Snout. A Story of Wild Pigs for 
 
 Little People. By GERALD YOUNG. 12mo, cloth, illustrated, price 75 cents. 
 
 "The story is an extremely interesting one, full of incident, told in a 
 
 quiet, healthful way, and with a great deal of pleasantly interfused 
 
 information about wild pigs and their ways. It is sure to interest both 
 
 boys and girls." Christian Union. 
 
 Daddy's Boy. By L. T. MEADE. 12mo, cloth, illus- 
 trated, price 75 cents. 
 
 "A charming story of child life. Little Sir Rowland is one of the 
 most fascinating of the misunderstood child heroes of the day. The quaint 
 doings and imaginings of this gentle, lovable, but highly original child are 
 introduced by Mrs. Meade, with all her accustomed pathos. Guardian. 
 
 Adventures of Prince Prigio. BY ANDREW LANG. 
 
 12mo, cloth, illustrated, pi ice 75 cents. 
 
 "This book has so much charm of style and good writing that it will be 
 eagerly read by many other than the young folk for whom it Is intended." 
 Black and White. 
 
 A Flock of Four. A Story for Boys and Girls. By 
 
 ISMAY THORN. 12mo, cloth, illustrated, price 75 cents. 
 
 "As a gift book for boys it is among the best new books of the kind. 
 The story is Interesting and natural, from first to last." Gazette. 
 
 For sale by all booksellers, or sent postpaid on receipt of price by the 
 publisher, A. L. BUET, 52-58 Duane Street, Hew York.
 
 20 A. L. BURT'S BOOKS FOR YOUNG PEOPLE. 
 
 BOOKS FOR BOYS. 
 
 A Flat Iron for a Farthing. The Story of an Only 
 
 Son. By JULIANA HORATIA EWING. 12mo, cloth, illustrated, price 75 cents. 
 
 "A Tcry good book it is, full of adventure, graphically told. The styl>j 
 
 Is just what it should be; simple but not bold, full of pleasant humor, 
 
 and with some pretty touches of feeling. Like all Mrs. Ewlng's tales, 
 
 it Is sound, sensible, and wholesome." Times. 
 
 The Greek Heroes. Fairy Tales for My Children. By 
 
 CHARLES KINGSLEY. 12mo, cloth, illustrated, price 75 cents. 
 "We do not think these heroic stories have ever been more attractively 
 told. . . There is a deep under-current of religious feeling traceable 
 throughout Its pages which is sure to influence young readers power- 
 fully. One of the children's books that will surely become a classic." 
 London Review. 
 
 Jackanapes. BY JULIANA HORATIA EWING. 12mo, 
 
 . cloth, illustrated, price 75 cents. 
 
 "This is one of Mrs. Ewing's charming little stories for young children. 
 The narrative ... is full of interest for its real grace and delicacy, 
 and the exquisiteness and purity of the English in which it is written." 
 Boston Advertiser. 
 
 Princess and Curdie. By GEORGE MACDONALD. 12rao, 
 
 cloth, illustrated, price 75 cents. 
 
 "One of the cleverest and most pleasing stories it has been our good 
 fortune to meet with for some time. The Princess and Curdie are delight- 
 ful little beings, whom to read about is at once to become very fond of." 
 Examiner. 
 
 Peter the Pilgrim. The Story of a Boy and His Pet 
 
 Rabbit. By L. T. MEADK. 12mo, cloth, illustrated, price 75 cents. 
 
 "Little Peter, with his soft heart, clever head, and brave spirit Is no 
 morbid presentment of the angelic child 'too good to live,' and who is 
 certainly a nuisance on earth, but a charming creature, if not a por- 
 trait, whom it is a privilege to meet even in fiction." The Academy. 
 
 We and the World. A Story for Boys. By JULIANA 
 
 HORATIA EWING. 12mo, cloth, illustrated, price 75 cents. 
 
 "The author has evidently studied the ways and tastes of children and 
 got at the secret of amusing them; and has succeeded in what is not 
 so easy a task as it may seem in producing a really good children's 
 book." Daily Telegraph. 
 
 little Ivan's Hero. A Story of Child Life. By 
 
 HELEN MILMAN. 12mo, cloth, illustrated, price 75 cents. 
 
 "We should imagine those queer folk indeed who could not read this 
 story with eager interest and pleasure, be they boys or girls, young or 
 old. We highly eommond the style in which the book is written, and the 
 spirit which pervades it." World. 
 
 Dick, Marjorie and Fidge. The Wonderful Adventures 
 
 of Three Little People. By G. E. FARKOW. 13mo, cloth, illust'd, price 75c. 
 
 "... To the young, for whom it is especially intended, this is a 
 most interesting book of adventures, well told, and a pleasant book to 
 take up when their wish is to while away a weary half-hour. We have 
 seen no prettier gift-book for a long time." Athenteum. 
 
 For sale by all booksellers, or sent postpaid on receipt of price by the 
 publisher, A. L. BUKT, 68-58 Duane Street, New York,
 
 A. L. BURT'S BOOKS FOE YOUNG PEOPLE. 21 
 
 A Wonder Book: For Boys and Girls. Comprising 
 
 Stories of Classical Fables. By NATHANIEL HAWTHORNE. 12mo, cloth 
 illustrated, price 75 cents. 
 
 "A beautiful little story. It will be read with delight by every child 
 into whose hands it is placed." Gazette. 
 
 My Dog Plato: Kis Adventures and Impressions. By 
 
 H. M. CORNWALL LEGH. 12mo, cloth, illustrated, price 75 cents. 
 "A capital story, and one we heartily commend to boy readers, both 
 gentle and simple." Guardian. 
 
 Squib and Kis Friends. A Story for Children. By 
 
 ELLEN EVERETT GREEN. 12mo, cloth, illustrated, price 75 cents. 
 "This book will please by its simplicity, its tenderness, and Its healthy 
 interesting motive. It is admirably written." Scotsman. 
 
 Tom's Opinion. The Story of a Boys' School. By 
 
 the author of "Miss Toosey's Mission." 12mo, cloth, illustrated, price 75c. 
 "A beautiful little story. ... It will be read with delight by 
 every boy into whose hands it is placed." Pall Mall Gazette. 
 
 Robin's Ride. A Story for Children. By ELLINOE 
 
 D. ADAMS. 12ino, cloth, illustrated, price 75 cents. 
 
 "It is a first-rate boys' book. It is a capital story; the characters arc 
 well drawn, and the incidents are perfectly natural." Times. 
 
 Peter and Tom. A Story for Boys. By BELLE S. 
 
 CRAGIN. 12mo, cloth, illustrated, price 75 cents. 
 
 Peter and Tom were unlikely heroes, particularly in the direction of 
 heroism. but the proper chord was touched in each of their lives, and 
 through many trials and adventures they developed Christian principles and 
 successful business traits. 
 
 nurse Heatherdale's Story. By MRS. MOLESWOKTH. 
 
 12ino, cloth, illustrated, price 75 cents. 
 
 " 'Nurse Heatherdale's Story' is all about a small boy, who was goc a 
 (Tr>u<Tli, yet was always getting into some trouble through complications 
 in which he was not to blame. He is an orphan, though he is cared for in 
 a way by relations, who are not so very rich, yet are looked on as well 
 lixod. After many youthful trials and disappointments he falls into a 
 big stroke of good luck, which lifts him and goes to make other* happy." 
 
 Commercial Advertiser. 
 
 The Last of the Hugger-muggers. A Giant Story. By 
 
 CHRISTOPHER P. CRAUCH. 12mo, cloth, illustrated, price 75 cents. 
 "Frosh and charming In style, with fun that is never forced, pathos 
 that is always genuine, and with a distinctly wholesome purpose. This is 
 certain to be a favorite with boys." Literary World. 
 
 The Hunting of the Snark. By LEWIS CARROLL, 
 
 author of "Alice in Wonderland." 12mo, cloth, illustrated, price 75 cents. 
 
 "Whether as regarding author or illustrator, this book Is a Jewel 
 rarely to be found nowadays. Not a whit inferior to its predecessor iu 
 jrrand extravagance of imagination, and delicious allegorical nonsense." 
 
 Quarterly Review. 
 
 For sale by all booksellers, or sent postpaid on receipt of price by the 
 publisher, A. L. BtTRT, 52-58 Duane Street, New York.
 
 22 A. L. BUKT'S BOOKS FOR YOU.NG PEOPLE. 
 BOOKS FOR GIRLS. 
 
 Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. By LEWIS CABROLI* 
 
 12mo, cloth, 42 illustrations, price 75 cents. 
 
 "From first to last, almost without exception, this story is delightfully 
 droll, humorous and illustrated In harmony with the story." New York 
 Express. 
 
 Through the Looking Glass, and What Alice Found 
 
 There. By LEWIS CARROLL. 12nio, cloth, 50 illustrations, price 75 cents. 
 "A delight alike to the young people and their elders, extremely funny 
 both In text and Illustrations." Boston Express. 
 
 Little Lucy's Wonderful Globe. By CHARLOTTE M. 
 
 YONGE. 12mo, cloth, illustrated, price 75 cents. 
 
 "This story Is unique among tales Intended for children, alike for pleas- 
 ant Instruction, quaiutness of humor, gentle pathos, and the subtlety with 
 which lessons moral and otherwise are conveyed to children, and perhaps 
 to their seniors as well." The Spectator. 
 
 Joan's Adventures at the North Pole and Elsewhere. 
 
 BY ALICE CORKRAN. ISmo. cloth, illustrated, price 75 wius. 
 
 "Wonderful as the adventures of Joan are, it must be admitted that 
 they are very naturally worked out and very plausibly presented. Alto- 
 gether this Is an excellent story for girls." Saturday Review. 
 
 Count Up the Sunny Days : A Story for Girls and Boys. 
 
 By C. A. JONES. 12mo, cloth, illustrated, price 75 cents. 
 "An unusually good children's story." Glasgow Herald. 
 
 The Heir of Redclyffe. By CHARLOTTE M. YONGE. 
 
 I2mo, cloth, illustrated, pi-ice $1.00. 
 
 "A narrative full of interest from first to last. It is told clearly and i:i 
 a straightforward manner, and arrests the attention of the reader at once, 
 so that one fools afresh the unspeakable pathos of the story to the end." 
 London Graphic. 
 
 The Dove in the Eagle's Nest. By CHARLOTTE M. 
 
 YONOK. 12ino, cloth, illustrated, price $1.00. 
 
 "Among all the modern writers we believe Miss Yonge first, not in 
 genius, but in this, that she employs her great abilities for a high and 
 noble purpose. We know of few modern writers whose works may be HO 
 safely commondt'd as hers." Cleveland Times. 
 
 Jan of the Windmill. A Story of the Plains. By MRS. 
 
 J. H. EWINO. 12mo, cloth, illustrated, price $1.00. 
 
 "Never has Mrs. Kwlr.g published a more charming volume, and that 
 Is saying a very ^re;it deal. From the first to the last the book over- 
 flows >vith the strange knowledge of child-nature which KM rsirely sur- 
 vives childhood: anu moreover, with Inexhaustible quiet l;umor, which 
 Is never anything: but innocent and well-bred, never priggish, and never 
 clumsy. ' ' Academy. 
 
 A Sweet Girl Graduate. By L. T. MEADE. 12mo, cloth, 
 
 illustrated, price $1.00. 
 
 "One of this popular author's best. The characters are well imagined 
 and drawn. The story moves with plenty of spirit and the interest does 
 not flag until the end too quickly conies." Providence Journal. 
 
 For sale by all booksellers, or :;.-nt postpaid on receipt of price by the 
 publisher, A. L. BUK.T, 62-68 Duane Street, New York.
 
 .UNIV. OF CALIF. LIBRARY, LOS ANGELES
 
 UC SOUTHERN REGIONAL LIBRARY FACILITY 
 
 A 000134749 1