paused for breath. ‘With luck they’ll come for us instead of attacking the other fords. That’ll give Ole Devil time to rush up reinforcements.’
‘That’s assuming the order’s a fake and this’s a plot,’ put in the major commanding Company ‘B’, which had suffered heaviest in the attack.
‘You’ve my word that that’s not General Hardin’s signature, sir,’ Dusty answered politely. ‘And the whole deal strikes me as the kind of tricky play the new Yankee general would make. I’ve come across another example of it with these remounts I captured at the top end of Lake Hamilton. Their escort was carrying a fake document.’
‘Buller’d never’ve been smart enough to think of it, that’s for sure,’ Barnett growled. ‘And a series of victories brought about by Trumpeter would set his command off to a good start.’
‘Yes, sir, it would,’ Dusty agreed. ‘Which’s one of the reasons why I reckon we should make them fight hard to retake this side of the river, even if he doesn’t aim to use the orders as openers in an offensive. That way his men won’t think his notion was so all-fired smart after all.’
‘They sure as hell won’t,’ enthused Barnett. ‘Damned if we don’t give it a whirl, gentlemen.’
‘There’s another thing, sir—’ Dusty began.
‘Tell us, Cap’n Fog. You’ve made right good sense so far.’
‘I reckon it’s our turn to play tricky. Let’s make the fellers we turn loose think that we knew all along the order was a fake, but went along with it so’s we could spring our own trap and capture the battery.’
‘By cracky, yes!’ boomed Barnett. ‘They’ll blame Trumpeter all the more that way. And, thinking of their own losses, they’ll be more likely to overlook how many we had killed. See to the arrangements, gentlemen. Captain Fog, have a man with a fast horse ready to deliver our reports to General Hardin. My own couriers both went to have their horses re-shod this morning before the messenger arrived with that order and aren’t back yet Your man can call in at my regimental headquarters and I’ll ask for some help to be sent in.’
‘Yo!’ Dusty replied, then stiffened to a brace and continued, ‘Could your men be told what’s happened, sir? That way they won’t go to blaming my boys for us not showing up earlier in the attack.’
Barnett sucked in a deep breath, knowing that to follow Dusty’s request would mean admitting that he had been taken for a sucker. Yet not to do so might bring trouble in its wake. So he nodded and agreed to pass on the facts to his men. Once that was done, he could only hope that he would redeem himself by making a success of defending the captured strip of territory.
Holding their horses to a fast, mile-devouring half-gallop, Red Blaze and Kiowa followed the trail through the wooded country alongside the Caddo River. They had been fortunate in finding eight Dragoon horses suitable for their mission. It had been decided that Red and Kiowa should head down-river, while Billy Jack and Vern Hassle would carry the warning in the other direction. Behind them, Dusty’s plan was already being put into action. They hoped that it would succeed, or Trumpeter’s boast of conquering Texas might yet be fulfilled.
All the time they rode, Kiowa kept his eyes darting from side to side. He studied the river’s bank with care, but also gave attention to the thick cover on the other side of the trail. They did not meet up with a Confederate patrol, but that was no surprise. The Arkansas Rifles battalion supplied the patrols along that stretch of the river and Barnett had not sent any out after receiving the order to make the attack.
Soon after passing the confluence of the Caddo and Ouachita Rivers, Kiowa brought his two-horse relay to a sudden halt. Reining in his own mounts, Red watched the sergeant drop to the ground and plunge into the bushes lining the river-side of the trail. Wondering what had attracted Kiowa’s
‘That’s assuming the order’s a fake and this’s a plot,’ put in the major commanding Company ‘B’, which had suffered heaviest in the attack.
‘You’ve my word that that’s not General Hardin’s signature, sir,’ Dusty answered politely. ‘And the whole deal strikes me as the kind of tricky play the new Yankee general would make. I’ve come across another example of it with these remounts I captured at the top end of Lake Hamilton. Their escort was carrying a fake document.’
‘Buller’d never’ve been smart enough to think of it, that’s for sure,’ Barnett growled. ‘And a series of victories brought about by Trumpeter would set his command off to a good start.’
‘Yes, sir, it would,’ Dusty agreed. ‘Which’s one of the reasons why I reckon we should make them fight hard to retake this side of the river, even if he doesn’t aim to use the orders as openers in an offensive. That way his men won’t think his notion was so all-fired smart after all.’
‘They sure as hell won’t,’ enthused Barnett. ‘Damned if we don’t give it a whirl, gentlemen.’
‘There’s another thing, sir—’ Dusty began.
‘Tell us, Cap’n Fog. You’ve made right good sense so far.’
‘I reckon it’s our turn to play tricky. Let’s make the fellers we turn loose think that we knew all along the order was a fake, but went along with it so’s we could spring our own trap and capture the battery.’
‘By cracky, yes!’ boomed Barnett. ‘They’ll blame Trumpeter all the more that way. And, thinking of their own losses, they’ll be more likely to overlook how many we had killed. See to the arrangements, gentlemen. Captain Fog, have a man with a fast horse ready to deliver our reports to General Hardin. My own couriers both went to have their horses re-shod this morning before the messenger arrived with that order and aren’t back yet Your man can call in at my regimental headquarters and I’ll ask for some help to be sent in.’
‘Yo!’ Dusty replied, then stiffened to a brace and continued, ‘Could your men be told what’s happened, sir? That way they won’t go to blaming my boys for us not showing up earlier in the attack.’
Barnett sucked in a deep breath, knowing that to follow Dusty’s request would mean admitting that he had been taken for a sucker. Yet not to do so might bring trouble in its wake. So he nodded and agreed to pass on the facts to his men. Once that was done, he could only hope that he would redeem himself by making a success of defending the captured strip of territory.
Holding their horses to a fast, mile-devouring half-gallop, Red Blaze and Kiowa followed the trail through the wooded country alongside the Caddo River. They had been fortunate in finding eight Dragoon horses suitable for their mission. It had been decided that Red and Kiowa should head down-river, while Billy Jack and Vern Hassle would carry the warning in the other direction. Behind them, Dusty’s plan was already being put into action. They hoped that it would succeed, or Trumpeter’s boast of conquering Texas might yet be fulfilled.
All the time they rode, Kiowa kept his eyes darting from side to side. He studied the river’s bank with care, but also gave attention to the thick cover on the other side of the trail. They did not meet up with a Confederate patrol, but that was no surprise. The Arkansas Rifles battalion supplied the patrols along that stretch of the river and Barnett had not sent any out after receiving the order to make the attack.
Soon after passing the confluence of the Caddo and Ouachita Rivers, Kiowa brought his two-horse relay to a sudden halt. Reining in his own mounts, Red watched the sergeant drop to the ground and plunge into the bushes lining the river-side of the trail. Wondering what had attracted Kiowa’s
Similar Books
