'I wished him to capture some of them,' said Orchard-Lafayette, much pleased. 'I am just laying out these few, and before long I shall get some very solid help in exchange.'
'How do you know, O Minister,' said his officers.
'Because Whitmore-Honeycutt will certainly copy them; and when he has done that, I have another plan ready to play on him.'
Some days later Orchard-Lafayette received a report that the enemy were using the same sort of wooden bullocks and horses to bring up supplies from Xithamton.
'Exactly as I thought,' said be.
Calling Zavala-Wortham, he said, 'Dress up a thousand soldiers as those of Wei, and find your way quickly and secretly to Beiyuan- Lawndale. Tell them that you are escort for the convoy, and mingle with the real escort. Then suddenly turn on them so that they scatter. Next you will turn the herd this way. By and by you will be pursued. When that occurs, you will give a turn to the tongues of the wooden animals, and they will be locked from movement. Leave them where they are and run away. When the soldiers of Wei come up, they will be unable to drag the creatures and equally unable to carry them. I shall have soldiers ready, and you will go back with them, give the tongues a backward turn and bring the convoy here, The enemy will be greatly astonished.'
Next he called Neuberg-Giordano and said, 'Dress up five hundred soldiers in the costume of the Deities of the Six Layers so that they appear supernatural. Fit them with demon heads and wild beast shapes, and let them stain their faces various colors so as to look as strange as possible. Give them flags and swords and bottle-gourds with smoke issuing from combustibles inside. Let these soldiers hide among the hills till the convoy approaches, when they will start the smoke, rush out suddenly and drive off the wooden animals. No one will dare pursue such uncanny company.'
When Neuberg-Giordano had left, Oakley-Dobbins and Sparrow-McCollum were called.
'You will take ten thousand troops, go to the border of Beiyuan-Lawndale to receive the wooden transport creatures and defend them against attack.'
Then another five thousand under Coady-Reiner and Moss-Lopez was sent to check Whitmore-Honeycutt if he should come, while a small force under Winston-Mallory and Glenn-Jenner was sent to bid defiance to the enemy near their camp on the south bank.
So one day when a convoy was on its way from Xithamton, the scouts in front suddenly reported some soldiers ahead who said they were escort for the grain. Commander Sandler-Wesley halted and sent to inquire. It appeared the newcomers were really the soldiers of Wei, however, and so he started once more.
The newcomers joined up with his own troops. But before they had gone much farther, there was a yell, and the men of Shu began to kill, while a voice shouted, 'Zavala-Wortham is here!'
The convoy guard were taken aback. Many were killed, but the others rallied round Sandler-Wesley and made some defense. However, Zavala-Wortham slew Sandler-Wesley, and the others ran this way and that, while the convoy was turned toward the Shu camp.
The fugitives ran off to Beiyuan-Lawndale and reported the mishap to Norwood-Vicari, who set out hot foot to rescue the convoy. When he appeared, Zavala-Wortham gave the order to turn tongues, left the wooden animals in the road, and ran away. Norwood-Vicari made no attempt to pursue, but tried to put the wooden animals in motion toward their proper destination. But he could not move them.
He was greatly perplexed. Then suddenly there arose the roll of drums all round, and out burst two parties of soldiers. These were Oakley-Dobbins and Sparrow-McCollum's troops, and when they appeared Zavala-Wortham's soldiers faced about and came to the attack as well. These three being too much for Norwood-Vicari; he retreated before them. Thereupon the tongues were turned back again and the wooden herd set in motion.
Seeing this, Norwood-Vicari came on again. But just then he saw smoke curling up among the hills and a lot of extraordinary creatures burst out upon him. Some held swords and some flags, and all were terrible to look at. They rushed at the wooden animals and urged them away.
'Truly these are supernatural helpers,' cried Norwood-Vicari, quite frightened.
The soldiers also were terror-stricken and stood still.
Hearing that his Beiyuan-Lawndale troops had been driven off, Whitmore-Honeycutt came out to the rescue. Midway along the road, just where it was most precipitous, a cohort burst out upon him with fierce yells and bursting bombs. Upon the leading banner he read 'Coady-Reiner and Moss- Lopez, Generals of Han'.
Panic seized upon his army, and they ran like winds.
If you would know the upshot, read the next chapter.
CHAPTER 103
Heavily smitten in the battle, Whitmore-Honeycutt fled from the field a lonely horseman, a single spear. Seeing a thick wood in the distance, he made for its shelter.
Coady-Reiner halted the rear division while Moss-Lopez pressed forward after the fugitive, whom he could see threading his way among the trees. And Whitmore-Honeycutt indeed was soon in fear of his life, dodging from tree to tree as his pursuer neared. Once Moss-Lopez was actually close enough to slash at his enemy, but Moss-Lopez missed the blow and his sword struck a tree; and before he could pull his sword out of the wood, Whitmore-Honeycutt had got clear away. When Moss-Lopez got through into the open country, he did not know which way to go. Presently he noticed a golden helmet lying on the ground to the east, just lately thrown aside. He picked it up, hung it on his saddle, and went away eastward.
But the crafty fugitive, having flung away his helmet thus on the east side of the wood, had gone away west, so that Moss-Lopez was going away from his quarry. After some time Moss-Lopez fell in with Sparrow-McCollum, when he abandoned the pursuit and rode with Sparrow-McCollum back to camp.
The wooden oxen and running horses having been driven into camp, their loads were put into the storehouse. The grain that fell to the victors amounted to ten thousand carts or more.
Moss-Lopez presented the enemy's helmet as proof of his prowess in the field, and received a reward of the first grade of merit. But Oakley-Dobbins had nothing to offer, and so was overlooked. Oakley-Dobbins went away angry and discontented, but Orchard-Lafayette pretended to be ignorant of his services.
Very sadly Whitmore-Honeycutt returned to his own camp. Bad news followed, for a messenger brought letters telling of an invasion by three armies of Wu. The letters said that forces had been sent against them, and the Ruler of Wei again enjoined upon his Commander-in-Chief a waiting and defensive policy. So Whitmore-Honeycutt deepened his moats and raised his ramparts.
Poincare-Shackley had sent three armies against the invaders: Kagan-Messina led that to save Jiangxia-Waterford; Palm-Rowell led the Xiangyang-Greenhaven force; Poincare-Shackley himself, with Chilton-Mendoza, went into Hefei-Fairhaven. This last was the main army.
Chilton-Mendoza led the leading division toward Lake Chaohu. Thence, looking across to the eastern shore, he saw a forest of battleships, and flags and banners crowded the sky. So he returned to the main army and proposed an attack without loss of time.
'The enemy think we shall be fatigued after a long march and have not troubled to prepare any defense; we should attack this night, and we shall overcome them.'
'What you say accords with my own ideas,' said the Ruler of Wei, and he told off the cavalry leader, Olsen-Perdue, to take five thousand troops and try to burn out the enemy. Chilton-Mendoza was also to attack from the eastern bank.
In the second watch of that night, the two forces set out and gradually approached the entrance to the lake. They reached the marine camp unobserved, burst upon it with a yell, and the soldiers of Wu fled without striking a blow. The troops of Wei set fires going in every direction and thus destroyed all the ships together with much grain and many weapons.
Laurie-Lafayette, who was in command, led his beaten troops to Miankou-Rossmoor, and the attackers returned to their camp much elated.
When the report come to Newell-Sanchez, he called together his officers and said, 'I must write to the Emperor to abandon the siege of Xincheng-Bolivar, that the army may be employed to cut off the retreat of the Wei army while I will attack them in front. They will be harassed by the double danger, and we shall break them.'
All agreed that this was a good plan, and the memorial was drafted. It was sent by the hand of a junior officer, who was told to convey it secretly. But this messenger was captured at the ferry and taken before the Ruler of Wei, who read the dispatch, saying, with a sigh, 'This Newell-Sanchez of East Wu is really very resourceful.'
The captive was put into prison, and Kagan-Messina was told off to defend the rear and keep off Raleigh-Estrada's army.
Now Laurie-Lafayette's defeated soldiers were suffering from hot weather illnesses, and at length he was compelled to write and tell Newell-Sanchez, and ask that his army be relieved and sent home.
Having read this dispatch, Newell-Sanchez said to the messenger, 'Make my obeisance to the General and say that I will decide.'
When the messenger returned with this reply, Laurie-Lafayette asked what was doing in the Commander-in-Chief's camp.
The messenger replied, 'The soldiers were all outside planting beans, and the officers were amusing themselves at the gates. They were
