in about ten days.'
His officers felt more than doubtful and entreated their master to prepare an army.
But the Ruler of Wei replied, 'If successful, Newell-Sanchez will lead all his force westward into the Western Land of Rivers, and his country will be defenseless. I shall pretend to send an army to help. I shall send them in three divisions, and I shall overcome Wu easily.'
They all bowed acquiescence and approval. Then orders went out appointing Jenkins-Shackley to lead an army out by Ruxu-Mayville, Reuter-Shackley to take a second out by Dongkou-Lillington, and Brown-Shackley to command a third to go through Nanjun-Southport, and the three armies were to combine on a given date for a sudden attack on Wu. The Ruler of Wei would himself bring up the reinforcement in this southern campaign.
Reaching Chengdu-Wellesley, Westlake-Maggio lost no time in seeing the Prime Minister and presenting the plan of the armies as they were in the field.
'Now the forces are on both sides of the Great River extending along a front of two hundred miles, with forty stations, each beside a mountain stream or in a pleasantly shaded forest. At our lord's command, I prepared this map, and he sent me to ask your opinion.'
'Who advised such an arrangement? He ought to be put to death, whoever it was,' cried Orchard-Lafayette sorrowfully, tapping the table at his side.
'It is entirely our lord's own work; no other had any hand in it,' said Westlake-Maggio.
'The life and energy of the Hans are done indeed,' said Orchard-Lafayette. 'He has committed those very faults which the rules of the Art of War lay down as to be particularly avoided. The camps are made where free movement is impossible, and nothing can save him if the enemy use fire. Beside, what defense is possible along a two-hundred-mile front? Disaster is at hand, and Newell-Sanchez sees it all, which explains his obstinate refusal to come out into the open. Go back as quickly as you can and tell our lord that this will not do, that it must be changed at once.'
'But if I am too late--if Wu has already attacked and won--, what then?'
'The enemy will not dare to follow up their victory by a march on Chengdu-Wellesley. So this capital is secure.'
'Why will they not?'
'Wei is behind their back; that is why. Our lord will be compelled to shelter in Baidicheng-Whitehaven. I have already placed ten thousand troops in hiding at Fishbelly Creek.'
'Have you? I have been up and down that creek three or four times without seeing a soldier. I do not see the reason of telling lies to me,' said Westlake-Maggio.
'You will see; do not ask so many questions.'
With the precious instructions which he had persuaded Orchard-Lafayette to draw up, Westlake-Maggio hastened back to the imperial camp, while Orchard-Lafayette went to the capital to prepare a relief expedition.
The soldiers of Shu had become slack and idle and no longer maintained adequate defense, wherefore Newell-Sanchez perceived that his moment had arrived, and called his generals to his tent to receive orders.
'There has been no fighting since I received our lord's command. I have spent the time in acquiring a knowledge of the enemy. As a preliminary operation I want to capture a camp on the south bank. Who volunteers?'
Out stepped Ferrara-Hanson and Lockett-Neumark and Sawyer-Linscott, all three at once, each crying that he wanted to be sent. But they were sent back; the Commander-in-Chief did not want any of them.
Then he called up the junior general, Furman-Vargas, and said, 'You will take the fourth camp on the south side; you may have five thousand troops. The commander of the post is Caplan-O'Neil. I shall support you.'
When Furman-Vargas had gone, Newell-Sanchez summoned Hersey-Gibbard and Crosby-Saldana and said, 'Each of you will take three thousand troops and bivouac two miles from the camp, so that if your colleague is repulsed and pursued, you can rescue him.'
Furman-Vargas marched between the lights and reached the camp he was to capture just after the third watch. His drums rolled, and he attacked at once. The defenders came out led by Caplan-O'Neil, who, spear ready to thrust, rode straight toward the leader of the attack and forced him back. Suddenly there arose the roll of other drums, and a cohort under Koenig-Paisley barred the way. Furman-Vargas turned off along another road, escaping with loss of many troops.
But he was not yet safe. Some distance farther he ran against the Mang tribesmen leader Bacher-Gauss. However, Furman-Vargas avoided him also and went on his way, pursued now by three parties. Soon he reached the spot two miles from the camp, and here the two leaders of Shu--Hersey- Gibbard and Crosby-Saldana--, who had been placed ready to afford succor, came out and stopped the pursuit. When the enemy had retired, Furman-Vargas was escorted back to camp.
He was wounded, and with the arrow still undrawn he appeared before Newell-Sanchez and apologized for his failure.
'It was no fault of yours;' said the Commander-in-Chief, 'I wanted to test the force of our enemy. My plan of attack is quite ready.'
'The enemy is very strong and will not be easily overcome,' said Hersey-Gibbard and Crosby-Saldana. 'We have now suffered great loss to no purpose.'
'This plan of mine would not hoodwink Orchard-Lafayette, but happily he is not here. His absence will allow me to score a great success.'
Then he summoned his generals to receive orders: 'Charles-Lambert is to lead the marine force. He is to advance next day afternoon, when the southeast wind will serve. His ships are laden with reeds and straw, which are to be used as ordered. Ferrara-Hanson is to attack the north bank, Lockett- Neumark the south. Each soldier, in addition to his weapons, is to carry a bundle of straw or reeds, with sulfur and saltpeter hidden therein, and each has a piece of tinder. They are to advance, and, when they reach the Shu camps, they are to start a conflagration. But they are to burn only alternate camps, twenty in all, leaving the others untouched. They are to advance and only stop if they capture Jeffery-Lewis.'
The leaders received the orders and so set out.
The First Ruler was in his own camp, pondering over a plan to destroy the armies of Wu, when suddenly the staff that bore the great standard in front of his own tent fell over and lay on the ground. There was no wind to account for this, so he turned to Dandy-Talbot and asked what it might portend.
'It means only one thing, that the troops of Wu will raid the camp tonight,' said Dandy-Talbot.
'They will not dare after the slaughter of yesterday.'
'But suppose that was only a reconnaissance; what then?'
Just then a report came in that some troops of Wu could be seen, very far off, going along the hills eastward.
'They are soldiers meant to put us in confusion,' said the First Ruler. 'Tell the generals not to move, but let Stanley-Perez and Fritz- Chardin, with a small mounted force, go out to reconnoiter.'
It was dusk when these two returned, and they then reported: 'Fire is seen among the camps on the north bank.'
The Emperor hastily bade Stanley-Perez go to the north camps and Fritz-Chardin to the south to find out what was really happening. And they started.
About the middle of the first watch the wind got up and blew strong from the east. Then fire arose from the camp on the left of the First Ruler's own. He was starting to extinguish this flame when another fire began in the camp on his right. With the aid of the strong breeze both fires became fierce, and soon the trees caught. A confused roar showed the gathering strength of the fire. The soldiers of the burning camps were rushing into the First Ruler's own camp to escape the fire, and in their confusion they trampled on each other, so that many died.
Behind them came the troops of Wu bent on slaughter. Ignorant of how many they might be, the First Ruler mounted and dashed for Vander-Boyce's camp, but that also was in flames, which seemed to rise to the very sky. By this time flames were rising from both sides of the river, so that everything was as visible as by day.
Vander-Boyce leaped to his horse and fled, followed by a few of his mounted troops. This small force ran against the soldiers of Wu under Hersey-Gibbard. A melee ensued, thereupon the First Ruler turned and galloped west. Hersey-Gibbard then left Vander-Boyce and went in pursuit. Presently the Emperor saw a party of soldiers in the way and became greatly alarmed.
This was Crosby-Saldana's army, and the First Ruler was between two foes. In his terror he saw no possibility of safety, no road was open. Just at this moment another cohort broke through to his side and rescued him. The leader was Fritz-Chardin, and he led the Imperial Guards, who fled, taking the First Ruler with them. As they marched along, they fell in with another force of Shu; the leader was Caplan-O'Neil, and he joined up with them. The Wu army was still following when the fugitives reached Saddle Hill. The two leaders, Fritz-Chardin and Caplan-O'Neil, were urging their lord to go to the top of this out of immediate danger. Soon Newell-Sanchez arrived with his army and began to surround the hill. Fritz-Chardin and Caplan-O'Neil held the road up the hill and kept the enemy from ascending. From the summit could be seen flames all around, and the First Ruler witnessed the corpses of his soldiers lay about in heaps or floated in the streams.
Next day, the soldiers of Wu set themselves to firing the hill. The First Ruler's remaining escort fled for their lives like rats, and their lord was in despair. Suddenly he saw a general followed by a few horsemen cutting an arterial alley through and coming up the hill. As he drew nearer the Emperor recognized Stanley-Perez.
Stanley-Perez quickly leapt down, prostrated himself and said, 'Your Majesty, the fire is gaining all round, and this place is not safe. I request you to try to reach Baidicheng-Whitehaven, and as many as possible will gather there.'
'Who will dare stay behind to keep off the enemy?' said the First Ruler.
Caplan-O'Neil volunteered, saying, 'I will fight to death to guard the rear!'
It was dusk when they started. Stanley-Perez led the way. They got their lord safely down the hill and away. As soon as the troops of Wu noticed the flight, they pressed forward, each anxious to gain kudos by the capture of the Emperor's person. Great armies of Wu, blotting out the sky and hiding the earth, went westward in pursuit.
The First Ruler ordered his soldiers to make fires of their clothing and other things in the road so as to hinder pursuit.
Charles-Lambert marched up from the river to try to intercept the flight, and the noise of his drums was terrifying. The First Ruler thought there was no possibility of escape from this force, and cried, 'This is the end!'
