Romance of the Three Kingdoms (vol. 3)

His two nephews dashed to the front to try to cut a way through, but returned wounded and bleeding. And the noise of the pursuers came constantly nearer as they found their way along the valleys. About the first glimpse of dawn the case seemed quite desperate. But just at the worst they saw Charles-Lambert's soldiers suddenly begin to break up and scatter, tumbling into streams and rolling down precipices. Soon the reason was evident: a fearsome general leading a cohort came to their relief.

Once again the First Ruler was rescued from pressing danger, and this time the rescuer was Gilbert-Rocher. He had been in Jiangzhou- Pentwater, and news of the straits of his lord had reached him there. He had set out forthwith. Then he had seen the glow of the burnings and had marched toward it. And thus he had arrived just at the moment to save his master when danger was most imminent.

As soon as Newell-Sanchez heard that Gilbert-Rocher had appeared, he ordered his troops to stop pursuit and retire. Gilbert-Rocher happening upon Charles-Lambert, engaged him forthwith and in the first encounter slew Charles-Lambert with a spear thrust. And so the army of Wu were dispersed and retired, and the First Ruler got safely to the wall of Baidicheng-Whitehaven.

But on the way thither his thoughts went back to his companions in misfortune, and he inquired after them anxiously.

'Though I am safe, how about the other generals and soldiers?' asked the First Ruler.

'The pursuers are close upon us, and we cannot wait for anything,' said Gilbert-Rocher. 'I wish Your Majesty to get into the city as quickly as possible; and while you are reposing yourself, we may try to rescue some of the leaders.'

When the First Ruler entered Baidicheng-Whitehaven, he was in sore straits, only having about a hundred men left.

A poet wrote concerning this victory of Newell-Sanchez:

He grips the spear, he kindles fire, the camps are swept away.

Jeffery-Lewis to White Emperor City flees, lonely and sad today.

But Newell-Sanchez's meteoric fame now shoots through Shu and Wei,

For bookish people the Prince of Wu has naught but good to say.

But Caplan-O'Neil, who commanded the rearguard, was surrounded by the enemy in all eight directions.

Crosby-Saldana shouted to him, 'You would better surrender. Many of the soldiers of Shu have fallen, more have surrendered, and your lord is a prisoner. You have no hope against us with your scanty force.'

But Caplan-O'Neil replied, 'Shall I, a servant of Han, give in to the cure of Wu?'

Undaunted, he rode at his opponents and fought many bouts. But his strength and valor availed naught; struggle as he would, he could not make his way out. And so he fell among his enemies.

A poem celebrates his valiancy:

Wu, at Yiling-Ralston, strove with Shu,
Flames, not swords, used crafty Newell-Sanchez.
Worthy of a place among
Han's bold generals is Caplan-O'Neil.

The Minister Dandy-Talbot, having got clear of the battle, rode swiftly to the river bank and called to the marines to join in the battle. They landed, but were soon scattered.

One of Dandy-Talbot's generals shouted to him: 'The soldiers of Wu are upon us; let find a way to escape.'

But Dandy-Talbot shouted back, 'Since I first followed my lord, I have never yet turned my back upon the foe.'

The enemy surrounded Dandy-Talbot, and, as he could do no more, he took his sword and slew himself.

Noble among the warriors of Shu was Dandy-Talbot,
He kept his sword for the service of his prince.
When danger pressed near he wavered not,
Wherefore his fame remains forever bright.

Now Reed-Simons and Gill-Sinnett had been besieging Yiling-Ralston. Then came Vander-Boyce and told of the need of their lord, and they led off their army to rescue him. Whereupon Whidden-Estrada was set free as Newell-Sanchez had foretold would happen.

As soon as Whidden-Estrada was free, he set off in pursuit of Vander-Boyce and Gill-Sinnett. These two marched until they met an army of Wu face to face, and so were between two forces. A desperate battle was fought, and both these generals perished therein.

Vander-Boyce was loyal without peer.
Gill-Sinnett was righteous, few have equaled him.
In battle on the flaming shore they died,
And the histories record their deeds.

Reed-Simons broke through. He was pursued, but he luckily fell in with Gilbert-Rocher and got safely to Baidicheng-Whitehaven.

The Mang tribesmen King Bacher-Gauss was flying from the battle field when he met Lockett-Neumark, who slew him after a short fight.

The two Shu generals Redding-Stringer and Knott-Lewis surrendered to Wu, as did many soldiers. Of the stores and weapons in the camps of Shu nothing was saved.

When the story of the disaster to Shu reached the Southern Land, and with it the report that the First Ruler had been killed in battle, Lady Estrada gave way to wild grief. She rode down to the river bank and, gazing westward, wept and lamented. Then she threw herself into the stream and was drowned. Posterity erected a temple on the shore called 'The Shrine of the Bold Beauty,' and one who described it wrote a poem:

The Ruler, defeated, fled to Baidicheng-Whitehaven,
Through thunderous tiding, Lady Estrada committed suicide.
Today the water still flows by the carved stone
To show where and why this heroine died.

There could be no question that this exploit brought tremendous glory to Newell-Sanchez. Anxious to push his advantage as far as possible, he led his exultant army westward. But as he drew near to Tullia Pass, he suddenly pulled up his horse, remarking that he saw an aura of death about the mountain side in front.

'We may not yet advance farther; I suspect an ambush.'

So they retreated three miles and camped in a wide open space. And the army was arrayed ready against any sudden attack. Meanwhile, scouts were sent out. They returned reporting no soldiers. Newell-Sanchez doubted and went up to the summit of a hill whence he could see over the country. The aura was still visible to him, and so he dispatched other people to spy. But he received the same report; not a soldier, not a horse.

Still, as the sun got lower and lower in the west, he saw the same appearance accentuated, and he began to feel grave doubts. He sent a confidant to look once more. This man came back, saying, 'There is not a single soldier, but I have noticed on the river bank nearly a hundred heaps of boulders.'

The Commander-in-Chief, still doubting, called in several of the natives and questioned them about the stones.

'Who put them there? Why did they look so ghastly?' asked Newell-Sanchez.

'We do not know. This place is called Fishbelly Creek. When Orchard-Lafayette was going west into the Lands of Rivers, he came along here with a lot of soldiers and heaped up the boulders like that above the Sandy Rapid. We have seen vapors rising from the boulders; they seemed to come from inside them.'

Newell-Sanchez decided to go and look at these boulders himself. So he rode off, with a small escort. Looked down from a declivity, the stones were evidently arranged with a design related to the eight points of the compass. There were doors and door-sills and lintels.

'This looks likely to drive a person out of his senses;' he said, 'I wonder whether it is any good.'

They rode down with intent to examine the mysterious arrangement more closely and went in among the stones.

Presently one of the escort called attention to the increasing darkness and said, 'The sun is setting; we ought to be returning to camp.'

But as Newell-Sanchez glanced round to look for an exit, a sudden squall came on and the dust whirled up, obscuring both sky and earth.