thought. It was Welbeck who first came out of his reverie.
'I wouldn't trust Will Curtis as far as I could throw him,' he said sourly. 'Watch him like a hawk, Dan.'
'He holds the advantage at the moment,' admitted Daniel.
'Not as long as I'm beside you.'
'Thank you, Henry. I appreciate what you're doing.'
'I want to see that young lass safe but I also want you to come out of this unharmed. Something tells me I can't have both.'
'Don't worry about me,' said Daniel. 'I can look after myself.'
'You can give Will Curtis a message from me. If anything nasty happens to you, I won't rest till I've caught up with the bastard and cut out his black heart. Will you remember to warn him?'
'I don't think he's a man who fears warnings, Henry.'
'He'll fear me when I catch up with him,' asserted Welbeck.
They rode on in silence until they got within a few hundred yards of a large hill. A voice rang out across the plain.
'Stop there!' ordered Catto. They reined in their horses. 'That's as far as you go, Sergeant Welbeck.'
'Is that you, Will Curtis, you yellow-bellied deserter?' shouted Welbeck, searching the hill with his eyes. 'Have the guts to show yourself, man!'
'Do as he says,' advised Daniel, trying to calm his friend. 'We don't want to antagonise him.'
'Speak for yourself — I bloody do!'
'Let me handle this, Henry.'
'Leave him there, Captain Rawson,' yelled Catto. 'Ride forward on your own. Do as I tell you or you'll never see Miss Piper alive again. Come on — leave the sergeant there.'
Daniel obeyed. Nudging his horse into a trot, he moved forward and let his gaze drift across the hill. He eventually saw something glinting in the sunshine and knew that it must be a telescope. It gave him a direction in which to guide his horse. When he was fifty yards or so away from the hill, he came to a halt.
'Keep riding forward!' demanded Catto.
'Let me see Miss Piper first,' retorted Daniel. 'You only get me if she is released without harm. Show her to me.'
There was a long pause then Abigail was pushed out from behind a large rock. She was still gagged and her hands were tied behind her back but Daniel could see that she was alive. Before he could address her, she was pulled back behind the rock. He eased his horse forward until he got close to the hill and well within range of any firearms that might be trained on him.
'Stop there and dismount!' ordered Catto. When Daniel obeyed, a second command followed. 'Remove your hat and coat and drop them on the ground.' Daniel complied once more. 'Now hold up your arms and turn round slowly so that I can see you're unarmed.' Aware of the man's scrutiny, Daniel followed the instructions. 'Good,' said Catto. 'Miss Piper will be released but, if you try any tricks, you'll both be shot down where you stand.'
There was a lengthy pause before Abigail came out from behind the rock again and began to scramble down the hill. Her gag and her bonds had been removed and she was able to cry out his name. Daniel strode forward to greet her. Weeping with relief, she flung herself into his arms. He patted her reassuringly.
'A very touching reunion,' noted Catto, 'but we no longer have any need of Miss Piper. Send her back to the sergeant. Go on — do as I say, Captain Rawson.'
'How many of them are there?' asked Daniel quietly.
'Two,' replied Abigail.
'Then leave them to me.' He stood back from her and pointed behind him. 'That's my good friend, Sergeant Welbeck. He'll take you safely back to the camp. Go on, Abigail — run!'
'What about you, Daniel?'
'I can't start worrying about myself until you're safe.'
After a final squeeze of his hands, Abigail turned and trotted towards Welbeck, looking back from time to time to see what Daniel was doing. He had already forgotten her. His mind was concentrated on his captors, both of whom had now appeared from their hiding places. Frederic Seurel was pointing a musket at him. Holding a pistol on the prisoner, Charles Catto came down to take a closer look at him.
'Put your hands up!' he said.
'I've no weapons on me,' Daniel told him, raising his arms.
Catto patted him all over. Satisfied that Daniel was telling the truth, he made him put his hands behind his back so that he could tie them tightly together. He then led both the prisoner and his horse into the shelter of the rocks at the base of the hill.
Bounding forward, Seurel put the barrel of his musket against Daniel's forehead. 'Let me blow out his brains!' he cried.
'Wait a moment!' cried Catto, pushing the weapon away.
'You said that he was mine.'
'That was before I realised that we could capture him. He's worth more to us alive than dead. If we take him back to the general he'll be delighted with us, Frederic. He can have the pleasure of killing Rawson himself. You must recall General Salignac,' he said to Daniel. 'He'd like to talk to you about his beautiful wife.'
Edward Marston
Soldier of Fortune
Abigail Piper was overcome with emotion. Having been rescued from being ravished by Seurel, she had seen Daniel surrendering himself on her behalf to the two men. Her feelings of guilt were more intense than ever. She wanted to go back to plead for Daniel's release but she knew that it would be pointless. The chances were that they had already killed him. Henry Welbeck was troubled by the same thought. He immediately began to contemplate revenge. When they had ridden across the plain and into the trees, he eventually spoke to her.
'Who were they, Miss Piper?' he asked.
'I don't know.'
'You must have heard them call each other by names.'
'One was called Charles,' she said, 'and he was English. The Frenchman was called Frederic. He was a dreadful man.'
'What else can you tell me about them'
'Not very much, I'm afraid. They spoke in French all the time.'
'Where did they take you?'
'We spent the night at an inn but I have no idea where it was. I was in a complete daze most of the time. I couldn't eat or drink anything and I didn't get a wink of sleep.'
'Did they bother you in any way?' asked Welbeck tentatively.
'The Frenchman would have,' she said, tensing at the memory of Seurel's kiss, 'but the other man held him back. I'm so grateful to escape from them at last.'
'So am I, miss. It's the captain I'm worried about now.'
'They wouldn't tell me why they wanted to kill him. All that the Englishman would say was that it was something to do with what happened in Paris. Do you know anything about that, Sergeant?'
'Nothing at all,' replied Welbeck discreetly.
'What could Captain Rawson have been doing in Paris?'
'I have no idea.'
'It must have been something very important.'
'Whatever it was, he'll be sorry about it now. Dan Rawson may have taken one chance too many.'
'I don't follow.' 'There's no reason why you should, Miss Piper,' he said quickly, unwilling to confide what he feared. 'You've obviously had a harrowing time. No food, no sleep and the anxiety of not knowing what was going to happen to you — the sooner we get you back to camp, the better.'
Edward Marston
Soldier of Fortune
After riding for five miles or more, they stopped to make sure that they were not being followed. Daniel Rawson still had his hands tied behind his back and his horse was pulled along by its reins. It was an uncomfortable way to ride but he consoled himself with the fact that he was alive to do it. His red coat and tricorn hat still lay on
