sir.’
‘ One
would think so,’ Blaze conceded. ‘But I’m inclined to believe he
wasn’t. The order could have come from higher up and, knowing that
many of their officers wouldn’t approve, they didn’t spread the
word around.’
‘ That’s possible,’ Ole Devil went on. ‘Has that damned spy
been questioned yet?’
‘ We
asked him a few, sir,’ Dusty admitted.
‘ I
won’t inquire how you asked,’ the general promised, frosty black eyes raking
his small nephew from head to toe.
‘ Gracias, sir,’ Dusty replied, thinking of the methods he had
applied. The torture had been far more anticipatory than actual,
with the victim being led to expect far worse lay ahead if he
failed to cooperate. ‘He wasn’t more than a messenger, though, and
had only claimed to be a member of the Yankees’ Secret Service to
impress our “blue-bellies” with his importance. Mr. Fletcher’s
inclined to think he was telling the truth. Anyways, Meats reckons
that he’d been told to watch for a signal from the other side, then
row over. When he got there, he was given the bundle. He was to put
out some of the posters around Camden tomorrow evening, then start
to move down the river and leave more of them at the villages along
the way.’
‘ And you believe him?’ asked Ole Devil.
‘ I
reckon he was too scared of Kiowa and Vern Hassle to lie,’ Dusty
replied. ‘And what he said made sense. He told us he’d left the
bundle under the boat instead of taking it along straight away
because he didn’t have to start putting out the notices until
tomorrow evening and figured it would be safer there than around
his bunk at the camp. If anybody should’ve found the boat, there
was nothing to show he’d been near it.’
‘ That
sounds reasonable and likely,’ Hondo Fog stated.
‘ So
the big gun won’t be here until tomorrow evening,’ Ole Devil said,
tapping a finger on the poster.
‘ Or
the day after, sir,’ Dusty suggested. ‘They’d have to haul it up
from Arkadelphia and that won’t be done at speed. And they’ll want
folks to have seen the posters before they start throwing the
shells, so that you can be asked to set General Culver
free.’
‘ Assuming, of course, that their main purpose is to set
Culver free,’ Ole Devil replied. ‘It could be that they are hoping
to use the threat of the big gun to make us go back across the
Ouachita and face them in open battle.’
‘ That,
even more than securing Culver’s release, may be what the Union’s
high command wants,’ Blaze went on. ‘A decisive action in which we
could lose everything, or be so weakened that they can discount us
as a factor in the War.’
‘ Are
the Yankees ready to fight a major action, sir?’ Dusty wanted to
know. ‘After all, we’re holding their commanding general and they
can’t have replaced him yet.’
‘ From
the reports I’ve had, Culver was more figurehead than commanding
general,’ Ole Devil replied. ‘And, even without him, there may be
colonels with sufficient knowledge and ambition to make this
play.’
‘ Which
means that we must find some way of destroying the big gun,’ Blaze
declared. ‘And before we’re compelled to take mass action, if possible. But,
considering what happened to the Mounted Infantry, it won’t be
easy.’
‘ I
reckon they were seen almost as soon as they crossed the river by
the observer in the balloon,’ Dusty guessed, when the colonel
paused and every eye turned on him as if seeking his opinion. That
meant they had time to move their cavalry screen into position to
ambush the Mounted Infantry.’
‘ It’s
probably what happened,’ Blaze conceded. ‘So we’ll have to send a
large enough force, two or three Companies, next time.’
‘ With
respect, sir,’ Dusty said quietly, stiffening into a brace and
holding his voice to a flat, yet respectful tone. ‘I don’t think a
larger force is the answer.’
‘ Why
not?’Blaze asked.
‘ The
bigger the force, even if
‘ One
would think so,’ Blaze conceded. ‘But I’m inclined to believe he
wasn’t. The order could have come from higher up and, knowing that
many of their officers wouldn’t approve, they didn’t spread the
word around.’
‘ That’s possible,’ Ole Devil went on. ‘Has that damned spy
been questioned yet?’
‘ We
asked him a few, sir,’ Dusty admitted.
‘ I
won’t inquire how you asked,’ the general promised, frosty black eyes raking
his small nephew from head to toe.
‘ Gracias, sir,’ Dusty replied, thinking of the methods he had
applied. The torture had been far more anticipatory than actual,
with the victim being led to expect far worse lay ahead if he
failed to cooperate. ‘He wasn’t more than a messenger, though, and
had only claimed to be a member of the Yankees’ Secret Service to
impress our “blue-bellies” with his importance. Mr. Fletcher’s
inclined to think he was telling the truth. Anyways, Meats reckons
that he’d been told to watch for a signal from the other side, then
row over. When he got there, he was given the bundle. He was to put
out some of the posters around Camden tomorrow evening, then start
to move down the river and leave more of them at the villages along
the way.’
‘ And you believe him?’ asked Ole Devil.
‘ I
reckon he was too scared of Kiowa and Vern Hassle to lie,’ Dusty
replied. ‘And what he said made sense. He told us he’d left the
bundle under the boat instead of taking it along straight away
because he didn’t have to start putting out the notices until
tomorrow evening and figured it would be safer there than around
his bunk at the camp. If anybody should’ve found the boat, there
was nothing to show he’d been near it.’
‘ That
sounds reasonable and likely,’ Hondo Fog stated.
‘ So
the big gun won’t be here until tomorrow evening,’ Ole Devil said,
tapping a finger on the poster.
‘ Or
the day after, sir,’ Dusty suggested. ‘They’d have to haul it up
from Arkadelphia and that won’t be done at speed. And they’ll want
folks to have seen the posters before they start throwing the
shells, so that you can be asked to set General Culver
free.’
‘ Assuming, of course, that their main purpose is to set
Culver free,’ Ole Devil replied. ‘It could be that they are hoping
to use the threat of the big gun to make us go back across the
Ouachita and face them in open battle.’
‘ That,
even more than securing Culver’s release, may be what the Union’s
high command wants,’ Blaze went on. ‘A decisive action in which we
could lose everything, or be so weakened that they can discount us
as a factor in the War.’
‘ Are
the Yankees ready to fight a major action, sir?’ Dusty wanted to
know. ‘After all, we’re holding their commanding general and they
can’t have replaced him yet.’
‘ From
the reports I’ve had, Culver was more figurehead than commanding
general,’ Ole Devil replied. ‘And, even without him, there may be
colonels with sufficient knowledge and ambition to make this
play.’
‘ Which
means that we must find some way of destroying the big gun,’ Blaze
declared. ‘And before we’re compelled to take mass action, if possible. But,
considering what happened to the Mounted Infantry, it won’t be
easy.’
‘ I
reckon they were seen almost as soon as they crossed the river by
the observer in the balloon,’ Dusty guessed, when the colonel
paused and every eye turned on him as if seeking his opinion. That
meant they had time to move their cavalry screen into position to
ambush the Mounted Infantry.’
‘ It’s
probably what happened,’ Blaze conceded. ‘So we’ll have to send a
large enough force, two or three Companies, next time.’
‘ With
respect, sir,’ Dusty said quietly, stiffening into a brace and
holding his voice to a flat, yet respectful tone. ‘I don’t think a
larger force is the answer.’
‘ Why
not?’Blaze asked.
‘ The
bigger the force, even if
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