Page 11 (1/2)
Chapter 11
CHU CALLED HALTS NOW two hours earlier, and these occurred in staggered fashion: first he landed, and the foron clusters; the rest of the body fleards, and roups at a ti themselves out across a wide territory
No sooner did these land but the creere leaping off the blue dragons, bringing with theain and flew off to either side of the course of their flight, returning an hour later with uess, at storehouses and villages around the-vats already prepared by the crew and full of boiling water Bags of grain forest part of this supply, with only a few oxen or sheep or pigs to leaven the porridge, and there was now no opportunity to pick out the meat: all went into the pot and was cooked an hour, then served out
"It does not seeht they should all have to work so hard e only sit and wait," Te hi to spend our tiies for the heat of battle"
"But it is faryour dinner," Teree to do it"
Chu shrugged "They are paid twice, of course"
"Oh," Teh "Twice?"
"General," Laurence said, listening to their exchange in soht be paid at all, "ons to aid with our own company’s supply?"
Chu immediately bowed to him formally and said, "It will be done at once," and vanished off issuing orders before a startled Laurence could even say he had only meant to ask, and not to coons had joined their own party, bringing carrying-harnesses, and the iven leave to be carried on their backs
Laurence began to suspect that he had ed to do: the blue dragons and their crews o in the belly-netting while the British dragons were refreshing themselves at the fountain, and they were already packed and waiting expectantly for boarding before anyone had seen what they were about Harcourt uncertainly said, "Well, I suppose it would be churlish of us to insist they give us back our baggage," and the dragons went aloft with only their officers, with a htened," Chu said to Temeraire as they flew that day, "why the rest of those o and ride aboard the porters also"
"Well," Temeraire said, "the officers are needed in battle, of course: if we should be attacked by surprise, ould not like to be taken aback"
"Ah," Chu said "And may I inquire e are to expect an ambush under the present circuh question Their corow any further; it was difficult to envision sowith any kind of truly unexpected attack Laurence had not knohat three jalan would be, neither had any of theht be so casually assembled, and sent to deal with a mere provincial unrest He did not think he had heard of forty dragons being brought together in England since the Arht, over their own helpings of porridge, "during the invasion; and Napoleon brought over a hundred, though he had to send a good number of them back So it’s been done, but not at the drop of a handkerchief, I will say"
It was plainly the substitution of porridge for raw cattle which made so vast a difference in what force could be fielded, Laurence supposed: he would have expected it to take th of the beasts, but though none of the Chinese soldier-dragons approached the sheer ile or Maximus, they were by noour men onto those porters," Sutton said: Messoria’s captain, the oldest of them, and a fellow of hter, and I cannot blarunted his own agree of beer "I will tell the fellows to strip Maxions: I can cling on to a neck-strap well enough by my own solitary self Do you suppose they will really let us take these beasts, after this rebellion of theirs is put down, only because we’ve pranced about and waved a sith them?"
"If so, I would call the help cheap at the price," Sutton said, and all the aviators lad to see Boney’s face if we show up on his eastern doorstep with these forty fellows at our backs: a nasty shock for him, I would say, and all theat hi for us to have so many beasts, not after--"
He halted; the conversation fell into an aard silence; all eyes turned towards Laurence Laurence had meant to ask how entleht," he said instead, and went away from the fireside; shortly their conversation resumed at a louder and a happier pitch behind his back
He could not bla his absence; their situation was a colad for any reminder of the disordered state of his mind when he made so crucial a member of their cos He stood in the cool night air, looking out past the fires They were sheltering this night in an open field, dotted with their handful of tents and the great luons At the center of the camp stood the one enormous and--to his mind--absurd silk-draped pavilion erected for Teles sewn together, which could be rolled for carrying; unfolded and stiffened with poles, and h roof fro in the wind It reathed also in thin wispy trailers of fog: Iskierka lay not far away, upwind of it, glaring at the elaborate structure and eaudy but more prosaic affair, stood directly beside At the h, Temeraire and Mei lay entwined within the pavilion still; Laurence could not i He turned aside instead, and went slowly through the avenues of their small encampment, until he saw Hammond’s tent on the lee side of a s half-curled about it
"Aurgently in his packs, which had only just now been delivered hi, and had still less enjoyed the last strenuous stretch "Ah, there" He took out a sheaf of folded and mostly dry leaves, which he ht never have left thee; those porters took it away, and I have not had a leaf all day Thank Heavens," he said, lowering hiive me, Captain: what did you say?"
"That I cannot account for it, sir," Laurence said, re short of extraordinary Lord Bayan ought have ned to ht have retracted his accusations, and protested, sooner than pro this expedition in any way
"I should not like to think he or this General Fela had any cause to believe such a thing," Laurence added, "--that we should be offering aid to these rebels; much less any proof"
"He can have none, none at all," Hammond said, with a firm nod, "and indeed I scarcely knoe are supposed to have ed it: that we should have so of rebels from so distant a position"
"By the sale of opiu his face, "shipped to their shores, the profit of which is also ht to answer for any honest ard the prohibition on the i?"
He asked it abruptly, half-ashamed to ask; his suspicions, as inchoate and confused as his memories, troubled him He did not wish to accuse, he did not think any accusation , "no ht expect There is scarcely any oods, and enoroods in the West: the deficit was quite uneable, until opium was introduced His Majesty’s Govern out at the ti quite reversed the situation
"Naturally," he said hastily, glancing at Laurence’s expression, "naturally, that does not mean--that is, I do notany evasion of the official regulations Only, there is a certain ebb and flow, in these matters A limit is established which is excessively severe--it drives prices higher--we make our best efforts to impress it upon the merchantmen--but Captain, you must know it is difficult to make o around the world, and they can double the profit of their journey by sh," Laurence said grimly "I dare say it is difficult to make men restrain themselves, when you wink at them"
Hammond flushed "I must reject such a characterization of the work of our factors," he said, "--utterly reject it, Captain; I wish you would not insist on reducing such tangled els and devils And in any case," he added, "I do say categorically we have not the least interest in pro this rebellion: I assure you I myself have scarcely heard of it, save as a piece of distant history; they were put down years before I ever caive you my word: and if that does not suffice, sir, I am afraid I cannot satisfy you," Hammond finished defiantly
Laurence left him without courtesy; he thrust the drape of the tent out of his way and strode out angrily into the darkening camp, voices mostly fallen silent He was not satisfied; he was by no orous words in the E himself: they now felt like more than half a lie He would not have spoken so if Hammond had told him this much beforehand It had not occurred to hi, or even the officials of the East India Company, would endorse ht they not do? It had not occurred to him--
But after all, it had Laurence slowed his steps and halted He had doubted, and felt that doubt gnawing at his belly, when he ought not have Even noas merely unhappy; he was not surprised
He had reached Temeraire’s pavilion Temeraire lay within, Mei beside him, both of theress Laurence stood silently by Te breath with all its sussurations; he half-wished to wake him, to unburden himself But Laurence did not feel he could confide in Temeraire with Mei mere paces away; he scarcely wished to speak any of it aloud at all If Ha--
Laurence shook his head to himself; no, he would not think so, even in the back of his ht to believe vicious Haiven hiht as easily have concealed all But he need not be lying, merely himself unaware What if there were some more vicious and less official plot under way?
Laurence could too-easily ied by their own governht well decide to fuel an internecine conflict to open fresh markets for their wares; and perhaps to undermine the Imperial authority which was too plainly their only real restraint, if they knew the British Governht back shiploads of silver and gold, regardless how obtained
In three days’ ti for whatever traces ht be found of the rebellion Laurence hoped that they would not find any conde thing to be forced to hope for But if such a plot were under way, if any proof were to be found, that would destroy any chance of alliance--would conde doith the, that he was unreasonable even to fear; and yet he was unsuccessful "I would almost wonder if I a consequence of the injury to hts of the darkest nature--"
"Captain, I cannot think it at all likely," Mrs Pemberton said
Laurence had unburdened hiive hihts He could not confide any particulars to her which should in any way tend to discredit their country He had said nothing of opiu of the accusation that British plotters eneral terun lately to find her coainst his own confusion of mind and spirit: a relief from questions and from the anxious tension of his fellow-officers; her conversation a welcoe from the constrained silence that fell upon the others so often Her cool and sensible nature was itself a worthy solace, but better than that, she was no close connection of his own; she had been employed for Emily’s protection only a little more than a year, and they had not been intimates previously, his own time preoccupied by his duties and his fellow-officers his true companions
She said, "I cannot speak with very much authority on your past; however, sir, I will speak for your present: you are a rational man, and if you have fears, they are founded on sensible causes I do not mean to say you may not beterms to make me hope you are, whatever it is you fear; but you are not in the least given to building castles in the air
"I areat deal of nursing in my life; and I have seen illness and injury alter a man’s character or a woman’s to no little extent But not in such a wise that you would appear yourself in every other respect, act according to your former character at all times, and remain competent, save in this one particular instance That, I must find too remarkable to believe--I am sorry if that opinion should distress you, in this circumstance, , that was the heart of it He would willingly have heard himself called a lunatic to find his fears unfounded "I must always value your honest opinion," Laurence said, "whatever its conclusions; I thank you, sincerely, and for i on you in such a manner"
"There is no imposition felt, Captain Laurence, I assure you," she said, and looked up as footsteps came: a moment later, E-screen to see the outside the tent, before the fire
"Oh," she said, "Captain, I didn’t know you were here; did you want ? I have just been over at the next fire over those rocks: and you needn’t frown, Alice, they are all girls there"
"Oh, dear," Mrs Peh
"Not that sort!" Emily said "I irls Not just the captains, though soe the baggage I dare say we ought to just bunk in with the"
For safety, their cae of camp; their tent was of double thickness and sheltered further by the folding-screen: Laurence had solicited a pair of pistols, from the aviators, for Mrs Pemberton, and had shown her how to send up a flare, if need be
Laurence stared at Emily "Do you mean to tell me half their ar he had without the least consciousness stripped and bathed at several of their previous nightly halts, in full view of Chinese coons so insistent upon it?"
"It’s not the beasts at all," Emily said "They tell me they can come instead of their brothers, if their families like, so they don’t have to spare the boys from the fields"
"Well," Laurence said, helplessly He found it difficult to accept, and yet he was no pot to be calling na woe was in the service; he could scarcely condemn those families, if it were the acceptedand also his fellow-captains at once: if the men should work out they were surrounded by an enca women, they would surely run riot and iven half an opportunity
"Are they willing," he began to ask, and then Eht bound across the sround as a sharp blade thrust down through the air towards hi her sword; Mrs Pemberton with a cry had fallen back upon the tent Laurence drew his oord: five ht Their sabers were peculiarly work to the hilt, and they wore black that ainst the dark; one scattered the fire with the end of his sword, sta forward to press the branch; he thrust it towards the nearestthe tent at their backs before the men closed in
The steady rhythm of sword-strokes occupied his nextbut answering to one strike and another He and Eer and the better, but they were outnu his pace There was a brief opening; he shouted, "Ho, the ca again
Laurence bent to parry low, and only just in tiht his sword back up to catch a slash meant for his throat Another did catch him in the shoulder, but he wrested hi his flesh; he heard the thick wool ripping away around the blade, and dropping the burning brand rip
But he was forced to pay for it: the third ed for Laurence’s exposed side with two knives in his hands, feinting one at his eyes Laurence turned to slash back, but E upwards, and she sheared away thefrorip on the blade and jah his chest, and booted his corpse off with a shove of her foot into the other standing beside hi back struck one of the e of his nose with the pommel of the short sword he had taken, and then ripped the man’s throat with the blade as his head tipped back
A pistol-crack ca in his ear; Laurence felt a few hot flecks of burning powder on his chin, and saw a thin thread of smoke rise from his sleeve; a hole stood in the chest of the man on E pistol in her hands a moment, then she let it fall and reached to raise the other fro, snatched it from her hands and shot another
"Captain!" a shout caover the rocks; Forthing was on his heels
The last attacker looked at the corpses of his fellows and the approaching ht for his ar himself away fell upon it; when Laurence turned him over with his foot, his eyes beneath the sootyblind and dead
"Good God," Ferris said panting, co to a halt; he held a pistol, which he carefully uncocked and put back onto his waist "You are not hurt, sir, I hope?"
"Nothing to signify," Laurence said, looking at Emily, who did not show blood anywhere He was a little torn: surely it ought to have been his own duty to shield her froer, and yet in theher with hiree of pride in her skill and courage; she had been as resolute a fighter as he could have wished at his side "Ma’am, I trust you are well?"
"I ht grip on Emily’s arm "I am perfectly untouched; only, very shaken Emily--"
"It takes you so, the first tiive it a thought; that was a very pretty shot What? Oh! No, I aet a touch on me They scarcely tried: I don’t think they cared a lick about the two of us; they meant to kill the captain"
"And it will be wonderful, at this rate," Iskierka said with et their hen you are always busyno attention"