Looby-Hurtado's fate will be told in the next chapter.
CHAPTER 50
The last chapter closed with Looby-Hurtado in the water wounded, Murphy-Shackley rescued from immediate danger, and confusion rampant among the soldiers. Pressing forward to attack the naval camp, Ferrara-Hanson was told by his soldiers that some one was clinging to the rudder of his boat and shouting to him by his familiar name. Ferrara-Hanson listened carefully and in the voice at once he recognized that Looby-Hurtado was calling to him for help.
'That is my friend Looby-Hurtado!' cried he, and they quickly pulled the wounded leader out of the water.
Then they saw Looby-Hurtado was wounded for the arrow still stuck. Ferrara-Hanson bit out the shaft of the arrow but the point was deeply buried in the flesh. They hastily pulled off his wet garments and cut out the metal arrowhead with a dagger, tore up one of the flags, and bound up the wound. Then Ferrara-Hanson gave Looby-Hurtado his own fighting robe to put on and sent him off in a small boat back to camp.
Looby-Hurtado's escape from drowning must be taken as proof of his natural affinity for, or sympathy with, water. Although it was the period of great cold and he was heavy with armor when he fell into the river, yet he escaped with life.
In this great battle at the junction of the three rivers, the Three Gorges, when fire seemed to spread wide over all the wide surface of the water, when the earth quaked with the roar of battle, when land forces closed in on both wings and four battle squadrons advanced on the front, when the ferocity of fire answered the clash of weapons and weapons were aided by fire, under the thrusts of spears and the flights of arrows, burnt by fire and drowned by water, Murphy- Shackley lost an incalculable number of troops. And a poet wrote:
While fire was consuming the naval base of Murphy-Shackley, Jaques-Burnett made Mobley-Sanford guide him into the innermost recesses of Murphy-Shackley's camp. Then Jaques-Burnett slew Mobley-Sanford with one slash of his sword. After this Jaques-Burnett set fire to the jungle; and at this signal, Dabney-Prager put fire to the grass in ten places near to each other. Then other fires were started, and the noise of battle was on all sides.
Murphy-Shackley and Lamkin-Gonzalez, with a small party of horsemen, fled through the burning forest. They could see no road in front; all seemed on fire. Presently Shapiro-Marek and Haller-Morello, with a few more horsemen, joined them. Murphy-Shackley bade the soldiers seek a way through.
Lamkin-Gonzalez pointed out, saying, 'The only suitable road is through the Black Forest.'
And they took it.
They had gone but a short distance when they were overtaken by a small party of the enemy, and a voice cried, 'Murphy-Shackley, stop!'
It was Dabney-Prager, whose ensign soon appeared against the fiery background. Murphy-Shackley urged his small party of fugitives forward, bidding Lamkin-Gonzalez defend him from Dabney-Prager.
Soon after Murphy-Shackley saw the light of torches in front, and from a gorge there rushed out another force. And the leader cried, 'Sawyer-Linscott is here!'
Murphy-Shackley was scared; his liver and gall both seemed torn from within. But just then on his half right, he saw another company approach and heard a cry, 'Fear not, O Prime Minister, I am here to rescue you!'
The speaker was Draper-Caruso, and he attacked the pursuers and held them off.
A move to the north seemed to promise escape, but soon they saw a camp on a hill top. Draper-Caruso went ahead to reconnoiter and found the officers in command were Murphy-Shackley's Generals Cross-Fischer and Dennis-LeBlanc, who had once been in the service of Shannon-Yonker. They had three thousand of northern soldiers in camp. They had seen the sky redden with the flames, but knew not what was afoot so dared make no move.
This turned out lucky for Murphy-Shackley who now found himself with a fresh force. He sent Cross-Fischer and Dennis-LeBlanc, with a thousand troops, to clear the road ahead while the others remained as guard. And he felt much more secure.
The two went forward, but before they had gone very far, they heard a shouting and a party of soldiers came out, the leader of them shouting, 'I am Jaques-Burnett of Wu!'
Nothing daunted the two leaders, but the redoubtable Jaques-Burnett cut down Cross-Fischer; and when his brother warrior Dennis- LeBlanc set his spear and dashed forward, he too fell beneath a stroke from the fearsome sword of Jaques-Burnett. Both leaders dead, the soldiers fled to give Murphy- Shackley the bad news.
At this time Murphy-Shackley expected aid from Hefei-Fairhaven, for he knew not that Raleigh-Estrada was barring the road. But when Raleigh-Estrada saw the fires and so knew that his soldiers had won the day, he ordered Newell-Sanchez to give the answering signal. Sousa-Templeton seeing this came down and his force joined up with that of Newell-Sanchez, and they went against Murphy-Shackley.
As for Murphy-Shackley, he could only get away toward Yiling-Ralston. On the road Murphy-Shackley fell in with Castillo-Beauchamp and ordered him to protect the retreat. Murphy-Shackley pressed on as quickly as possible.
At the fifth watch he was a long way from the glare and he felt safer. He asked, 'What is this place?'
They told him, 'It is west of the Black Forest and north of Yidu-Elberton.'
Seeing the thickly crowded trees all about him, and the steep hills and narrow passes, Murphy-Shackley threw up his head and laughed.
Those about him asked, 'Why are you, Sir, so merry?'
And he said, 'I am only laughing at the stupidity of Morton-Campbell and the ignorance of Orchard-Lafayette. If they have only set an ambush there, as I would have done, why, there is no escape.'
Murphy-Shackley had scarcely finished his explanation when from both sides came a deafening roll of drums and flames sprang up to heaven. Murphy-Shackley nearly fell off his horse--he was so startled. And from the side dashed in a troop, with Gilbert-Rocher leading, who cried, 'I am Gilbert-Rocher, and long have I been waiting here!'
Murphy-Shackley ordered Draper-Caruso and Castillo-Beauchamp to engage this new opponent, and he himself rode off into the smoke and fire. Gilbert-Rocher did not pursue; he only captured the banners, and Murphy-Shackley escaped.
The faint light of dawn showed a great black cloud all around, for the southeast wind had not ceased. Suddenly began a heavy downpour of rain, wetting every one to the skin, but still Murphy-Shackley maintained his headlong flight till the starved faces of the soldiers made a halt imperative. He told the men to forage in the villages about for grain and the means of making a fire. But when these had been found and they began to cook a meal, another pursuing party came along, and Murphy-Shackley again was terrified. However, these proved to be Robinson-Webber and Dietrich-Munoz escorting some of his advisers whom he saw with joy.
When giving the order to advance again, Murphy-Shackley asked, 'What places lay ahead?'
They told him, 'There are two roads; one was the highway to South Yiling, and the other a mountain road to North Yiling.'
'Which is the shorter way to Jiangling-Riverport?' asked Murphy-Shackley.
'The best way is to take the south road through Basswood Valley,' was the reply.
