Fortune's Bride Part 20

Grateful that he was gone, for she was not sure whether she could have concealed her relief even in the face of his rage and disappointment, Esmeralda considered what should be sent back. She was surprised, as she looked around, at how much she had acc.u.mulated over the period of the march and their stay in Salamanca. Then she smiled. It was Robert, really. Now that he had a little money, she had only to look at something and he would buy it for her. So different from her father. Could it be because Robert loved her and Papa had not?

That was a most seductive notion, but Esmeralda was too aware of Robert's general kindliness and generosity to allow herself to bank too much on it. Mentally she called herself to order. She had better send Carlos to get Molly to help her. Involuntarily she smiled as she thought of Carlos. He, of course, had been speechless with joy when the bear allowed him to pet it and lead it about. He had run all over town to find out what bears liked best to eat. Esmeralda had to remind him several times that Bear was only a visitor and that it would have to be returned to its owner as soon as the man was found.

"But a found thing, senhora, can belong to the finder," Carlos protested.

"Sometimes that is true," Esmeralda admitted. "But you know, Carlos, that Captain Moreton is a soldier. A bear is not a proper animal to have in an army. Luisa has her work, you have yours, I have mine. In an army all must be useful in some way. Bear only eats. While we are here, and there is plenty of food and no danger, Bear may stay. But if we should need to move quickly for any reason, Captain Moreton might be ordered to...to dispose of Bear. He would not wish to do it, but...but a soldier must obey orders."

Carlos's eyes had rounded in horror, and Esmeralda had hurried to point out that the reason Bear was so friendly and tame was surely because its original owners had been kind. Thus, it would be best if those owners should be found as soon as possible. And, she had added, if Carlos paid too much attention to Bear, Luisa would feel neglected and sad.

As she recalled the conversation, Esmeralda's smile faded. Would this retreat mean they had to be rid of Bear? She decided to say nothing to Carlos about the reason she wanted Molly and to warn Molly not to mention the packing to him. Perhaps if the retreat were leisurely, they could manage to keep Bear out of the way. She was sure that if no one mentioned the animal to Sir John, the general would not be likely to remember it in the midst of his other concerns.

It was necessary, of course, to explain the cautious retreat fully to Molly or she would not be able to help competently, but Esmeralda was surprised when Molly breathed a huge sigh of relief. Her maid seldom showed much emotion, even when she felt a good deal.

"Is there something wrong?" Esmeralda asked.

"Ah, weel," Molly said, smiling, "'tis no bad thing, onny that Oi'm growin' a bit heavy fer long marches."

"Heavy?" Esmeralda repeated blankly.

Molly laughed. "Did ye no know Oi'm carryin' a child?" she asked incredulously.

Esmeralda's mouth dropped open and then worked wordlessly. Her eyes fixed on Molly's figure, but even knowing, she did not see what she expected to see. Esmeralda had chosen Molly as a servant partly because she was a big, strong woman. Now that she looked carefully it did seem that Molly was thicker than she had been, but she had naturally put on heavier clothing as the weather grew colder, and when working in the kitchen she enveloped herself in a loose outer garment to save her dress from splatters of grease and dirty water. Still, Esmeralda was appalled that she had not noticed.

"Oh, I am so sorry," she gasped, when she could speak. "How dreadful."

Molly looked indignant. "'Tis no dreadful," she said angrily. "Bein" Oi'm no so young as Oi were, Oi'm glad t' give M'Guire a babe."

"No, no," Esmeralda cried. "Not the baby! I meant that it was dreadful I hadn't noticed. Oh, Molly, I'm so sorry. I shouldn't have let you-"

But Molly interrupted her with renewed laughter. "Ye're hardly more'n a babe yersel'," she said indulgently. "Th' fault's moine fer no sayin', but Oi thought ye were too leddylike t' 'see' sich a thing."

"No, just too stupid." Esmeralda sighed. "But don't you think it would be better for you to go back with the heavy baggage and the sick to Lisbon? Robert thinks there will be a retreat, and those marches may be dreadful."

"Oi'll think on 't," Molly said, "but fer now, let's git on wit' th' packin'."

At first, Esmeralda did not want Molly to do anything, protesting that she should not lift anything or stretch too far, which threw Molly into such fits of laughter that she threatened she would have her baby then and there if her mistress did not stop talking so silly. She pointed out that she had been lifting and stretching up to that very morning without any dire result and also that, at this stage of her pregnancy, it was too late to worry. If the baby came a few weeks early, so much the better. Esmeralda was all the more embarra.s.sed when she realized that Molly had been four or more months pregnant when she had hired her in August, and she admitted she knew nothing about the subject other than a few whispers overheard.

"Weel, if ye be wantin' t' know, Oi'll tell ye," Molly offered, "but ye'll unnerstand it's a sojer's wife talkin', no foine leddy. Ye'll be more delicatelike thin me, and need more cossetin'. Still, some things is th' same fer all."

Thus, quite by accident, Esmeralda had a piece of the greatest good fortune of her life. She learned about pregnancy and childbirth from a woman who regarded them as both natural and joyful, who did not shrink from the less delicate aspects of the experience or regard them with disgust and horror. Such parts of the process as morning sickness and the pain of bearing were simply part of it, to be endured with as good humor as possible in the knowledge of the wonder to come. Only at the end did Molly's expression change from eagerness to sadness.

"'Tis all nithin'," she said. "Whin ye hold th' little one, all thit's been, it's nithin'. Th' pain-" Her eyes filled, then closed, and tears rolled down her cheeks. "Th' pain is whin they die," she whispered.

Esmeralda's eyes were like saucers, and they, too, filled with tears. "Oh, Molly," she sobbed. "I don't think I could bear that. I don't think I could."

Molly dashed the tears from her eyes. "G.o.d willin' ye niver will," she said. "But ye bear what ye must. And silly the two of us are t' be talkin' sorrow whin 'tis joy thit's comin'. Whist! Let's on wit oor work, or th' master'll be comin' in t' a mess o' bundles over th' floor."

Such a representation was the best way to shake Esmeralda out of the dismals. It was, of course, impossible to complete the packing in one day, particularly since Esmeralda had decided to send back everything, heavy or not, that was not absolutely essential. That meant all the summer clothing, her ball gowns, most of the linens and other household conveniences they had acc.u.mulated-anything, in fact, that Robert would not notice was missing. And, since he certainly would notice bags and boxes piled in the apartment, Esmeralda had the packed goods stored in the stable. With Bear there, she did not think that there was any danger of theft. Few people will approach a bear, even if it is known to be tame.

Chapter Twenty-Seven.

Oddly enough, Esmeralda's a.s.sumption that no one would try to steal articles protected by a bear seemed mistaken. After two days it became apparent that someone was trying to get into the stable. Carlos, who slept with the animals, reported that twice on the night of December 1, Bear became very restless, even rising and going to the length of its chain to sniff and whine at the stable wall. The horses, too, had seemed briefly uneasy.

Esmeralda wondered whether to tell Robert, but she did not want him to think-because she was sending so many of their possessions to Portugal-that she was frightened. He might decide to send her with the convoy. Also, he was completely absorbed in the various efforts being made to induce Sir John to change his mind. Appeals were coming in from the English minister in Madrid and from the Spanish juntas that Moore not abandon the Spanish cause.

"And I wish to h.e.l.l they would leave him alone," Robert snarled to Esmeralda. "The manner and att.i.tude of the British minister toward him is most rude and improper, and the ignorance-or dishonesty-of the Spanish is appalling. All they do is infuriate him and confirm his opinion that they do not comprehend the situation."

"Do they not?" Esmeralda asked.

"Well, the Spanish do not. They continually write about huge armies, which they have created with their pens. But the worst of all, Merry, is that we are spread all over the place, and no one force is complete enough even to defend itself. Hope has all the artillery, Baird has nearly all the cavalry, and we have most of the infantry. d.a.m.n the Portuguese who don't know their own country, and d.a.m.n that lazy idiot Dalrymple, who never sent out engineers to scout the roads."

"But Hope has nearly caught up with us, has he not?"

Esmeralda's question sounded anxious, and Robert looked at her gratefully, believing she shared his eagerness for a union of Hope's division with Moore's. Once that junction had taken place, Robert was convinced that Sir John would see the chances of the British army in a less despairing light. In fact, Esmeralda's anxiety was on the opposite side-she was praying that General Hope was far from union-but she knew well how to be sly about the phrasing of questions so that Robert believed her sentiments to be much the same as his own.

"Yes." Robert's eyes gleamed. There was no way he could see the expression in Esmeralda's since they were, as usual, fixed on some mending in her lap. "Bless Hope, he's only fifteen miles away. What's more, there's information that the French have no idea where we are. In fact, they seem to think we've already run back to Portugal."

"But didn't you tell me that they had some cavalry units at Valladolid? That's only about sixty miles. They must have heard-"

"Well, they didn't," Robert said triumphantly. "The d.a.m.ned Spanish officials may not be worth thruppence, but the people are with us all the way. It looks as if they were so closemouthed that not a hint of our being here was pa.s.sed to the French. Besides which Romana insists he does have twenty thousand Spanish soldiers. He admits that they're half-starved and without shoes or other equipment but swears that if they were equipped, they would fight."

"Then...you think Sir John will change his mind about the retreat."

Robert sighed. "I don't know," he said.

Esmeralda went on hoping for one day that something would delay General Hope, but on December 3, Hope's division arrived in Salamanca. This gave Moore twenty thousand men, well trained and well equipped with adequate artillery, and changed the entire aspect of the situation. What was more, Hope brought information about the movement of the French. They were apparently ignorant of the English army and were moving southward, not toward Salamanca. On December 5, Sir John wrote to Baird again, canceling his previous orders for a retreat and requiring him to return to Astorga.

He knew the French were now determined to take Madrid, but the city was preparing to resist. The remains of the Spanish armies were converging on the capital, and the people were arming and barricading the streets. Sir John did not believe that they could hold out long, but he might be able to do something to distract the French. If they sent part of their army to combat him, Madrid might be saved. Of course, if they sent the whole of the army after the British-and Bonaparte might order that, urged by his monomania about England and feeling that when they had finished the British army they could return to take Madrid-then, Moore pointed out, they would have to run for it.

A plan was made to join the British forces with the Spanish under General Romana and attack the French lines of communication by marching on Valladolid. Nonetheless, Sir John ordered the convoy with the sick and the heavy baggage to leave. Esmeralda urged Molly to go with it, but she would not, insisting that as a staff officer's servant she was better off with the army. And when M'Guire was asked to intervene, he only blushed and said, "But you'm goin', mistress."

"I am not eight months' gone with child," Esmeralda protested.

"No, mistress," M'Guire agreed, blushing more than ever, "but you'm a leddy." Then he shrugged. "Molly knows best. 'Tisn't her first."

And then Molly pointed out that as a displaced wife she would be at the mercy of a quartermaster sergeant, whereas with Esmeralda she was a.s.sured of decent lodgings and food in plenty. Knowing about the army and the treatment of the common soldiers' wives, Esmeralda began to reconsider sending Molly back to Lisbon. Robert would give her whatever money he could spare, but living in Lisbon was expensive. Besides, without her husband and Robert's rank to protect her, Molly could be preyed upon and might end up worse off in Portugal than with the army. The reasoning was quite correct, but neither Esmeralda nor Molly knew of the conversation taking place around Sir John's dining table.

"What is hoped," he said to his staff as the wine went around after dinner on December 5, "is that our attack will induce Bonaparte's marshals to divide. Then, if we can defeat the portion of the army sent against us, we will give the Spanish time to rearm, retrain, and reorganize." Then he sighed. "Truthfully," he went on, "I have not the slightest expectation that the Spanish will use the time we will buy them with our blood to the smallest good purpose. I greatly fear we will have to run, and I have already asked Lord Castlereagh to have transports waiting for us at Corunna, but if the people of Madrid are ready to sacrifice their lives, we can do no less than give what aid is possible."

A murmur of agreement went around the table, and Robert said, "Is there any chance of arranging matters so that it seems the attack has been made solely by the Spanish? It is more likely that the French will send only a small force to quash them, whereas if it is known that we are involved..."

"That's a good idea," Colborne agreed, "but I don't think it would be possible. Some of the French are bound to get away, and many of them would notice the red uniforms or recognize and report that the men weren't speaking Spanish."

Sir John's lips twitched. "I am afraid, Moreton, that Colborne's objections are just. No, if we are successful and our men are still capable of it, we will try another strike near Burgos. Then we will have to look for a strong point that commands the roads to Corunna. If we can resist and settle into winter quarters, we will do so, but... I will speak my mind plainly, gentlemen. I believe we will need to run."

Oddly, it was while this discussion was taking place and after the baggage had been dispatched to Portugal that another attempt was made to enter the stable in which Bear was kept. Carlos, who had been having his supper with Molly and M'Guire in their quarters, returned to the stable only to see a man about to unlatch the door. Carlos yelled, and the man ran off before M'Guire could come out of his quarters and see him. When Robert got home, Carlos told him that he thought the man was tall and fair.

"Do you think he's after the horses?" Esmeralda asked.

"He must be," Robert said. "But how the devil does the fool expect to get my horses out of Salamanca? They're thoroughbreds. Any officer of the guard would start asking questions the minute he saw them."

"Yes, but the thief wouldn't necessarily know that, Robert."

"I suppose not." Robert shrugged. "At least he now believes that the stable is guarded and hopefully won't come back."

"Oh, Robert, he ran, but if that was only because he was startled and he saw that Carlos was a boy..."

"I can guard the horses, senhora," Carlos interrupted.

Robert blinked, realizing that Esmeralda was more worried about Carlos than about the horses. "Not if the thief should come back with two or three to help him," Robert said tactfully. "I think for a night or two I will ask M'Guire to a.s.sist you. He has a gun."

To this Carlos made no objection. He was aware of the value of Captain Moreton's horses and did not wish to be responsible for their loss. Thus, M'Guire took over Carlos's bed near the horses. Molly offered to take Carlos in with her-over the months they had been in service together he had become like a son to her-but Carlos had no intention of missing the excitement if M'Guire should catch the thief.

M'Guire suggested that Carlos sleep with Bear. This was rea.s.suring to Molly, who was certain no stranger would approach close enough to Bear to harm Carlos. And Carlos was happy to agree because he had been worried about being cold. M'Guire would have his blankets. Cuddled against Bear, however, he would be warm enough.

And, indeed, with no more than a low grunt, which might even have signified pleasure, Bear accepted Carlos's company in the clean straw. As Carlos had expected, the bear radiated considerable warmth. Moreover, Bear slept very quietly. The creature did snore, but it was a very regular noise, soothing once one became accustomed to it. Thus, although Carlos was determined to lie awake and watch for the thief-because he was sure M'Guire doubted the man would return and would fall asleep-he himself drifted off very soon.

Nonetheless, it was Carlos who caught the intruder. The boy was awakened abruptly when Bear suddenly stood up. For a moment he lay still, sleep-dazed and confused by his unusual surroundings. In that little time, he heard the clinking of Bear's chain. It was that sound that recalled to him where he was sleeping and why, and he jumped to his feet shouting, just as the man undid Bear's chain from the hook on the wall. The intruder was briefly paralyzed by surprise. He had not noticed Carlos sleeping in the straw. Then he pulled the chain, calling some incomprehensible gibberish. Bear moved forward, but slowly. The time of the long sleeping was approaching, and the animal was growing sluggish.

By then, of course, it was too late. Carlos launched himself at the intruder-again taking him by surprise because he had dismissed the boy as too young to do more than yell for help-knocking him off balance. The man staggered against the wall, crying out himself and attempting to fend off Carlos, who had drawn his knife. Then both of them were fixed in the beam of a lantern. M'Guire, wakened by Carlos's shout, had unshuttered his dark lantern and was standing by the door, gun in hand.

"Ye be out o' the way, young Carlos," he ordered, "an' put away th' pig-sticker of yourn. Ye be a demmed sight too quick t' wave it aroond."

By then M'Guire had taken in the fact that the man had bypa.s.sed the horses, which were all in their proper stalls, and still had Bear's chain in his hand. Obviously he had come for the bear, not the horses. In the next moment, it became clear that he must be the bear's owner. Bear placidly accepted anyone who displayed affection or brought food, but as the animal's lethargy dissipated, it began to show excitement, snuffling and whining and rubbing its head against the man who stood absolutely still under the threat of M'Guire's gun.

M'Guire frowned. "If y' wanted th' demmed bear, whyn't ye jist come ask? The mistress's been half woild tryin' t' find a safe place fer it."

The man shook his head and said something. M'Guire did not understand him at all. Carlos c.o.c.ked his head and then said in broken English, "He speak maybe some Spanish, but no good."

"Weel, he don' speak anythin' I unnerstan'," M'Guire said. "An' I ain't about t' wake Capt'in Moreton at this hour. Git me a rope, Carlos. I'll jist fasten 'im down, gentle loike, and serve 'im up to the capt'in fer breakfast."

Ignoring the pa.s.sionate protests, which neither could really understand, this program was put into action, so that Robert found the intruder waiting for him as soon as he had washed and dressed in the morning. After considerable fumbling with German, French, and Spanish, Robert determined that the bear keeper was a German named Joseph Grossmann and the reason he gave for trying to steal his pet, despite the messages that Robert had left along the road to Bejar, was that he and his companions had been mistreated by the French and consequently he was frightened. In fact, the other members of the troupe had been forcibly abducted by the soldiers they had been entertaining. Joseph had escaped only because he had taken the bear into a nearby wood to see if he could find some honey.

There was genuine anguish in Joseph's voice when he spoke of those abducted-and real hatred when he spoke of the French. However, Robert was not willing to take responsibility for giving Bear to the man and letting him go. There was a chance he was a spy, and Robert did not trust his judgment completely in this case. He knew he was predisposed in Joseph's favor because of the evidence he had of his kindness to the animal.

Thus, he brought the man, under guard, to Sir John and related the story. Having added a few questions of his own, to determine from which princ.i.p.ality in the Germanies Joseph had come, Sir John promptly sent to the King's Own German Legion to obtain a translator from the same area, if possible. Fortunately, a sergeant from a neighboring town was available. At hearing his own language, Joseph let loose a torrent of words, occasionally bursting into tears, but the story was essentially the same except for some details and the added information about his having fallen ill, during which time he had become separated from his beloved Bertha. Robert howled when he heard the name, "Bear-ta" as Joseph p.r.o.nounced it. No wonder Bear had answered so happily to Esmeralda's designation. Sir John laughed too, and then ordered that Joseph be taken away by his compatriot and fed, but kept under guard.

When the man was gone, Sir John said to Robert, "I tend to agree with you. I think the fellow was telling the truth and does hate the French." Then he paused and added thoughtfully, "These roving performers are to be found everywhere. I wonder if the man might be useful to us. Let him stay in Sergeant Landsheit's company for a day or two. Then we need only see what the sergeant thinks and whether he can convince Joseph to serve us. We could give him some money and let him go, promising to return his animal to him if he will bring us information about the French. He wouldn't have to go near them, just transmit word of what the Spanish are saying. Probably it will be a waste of good money, but there is a chance... And intelligence is so bad that even lies may help."

Robert nodded. It was, indeed, very difficult to obtain information. Town officials who should have pa.s.sed along word of French foraging parties or units moving in their area either did not do so at all or sent word by couriers who seemed to think they were overworked if they traveled ten miles a day. However small the chance that Joseph would even try to spy for them, it was worth a few guineas and a few hours of Landsheit's time. Robert pa.s.sed along the word to the sergeant and was not surprised to hear two days later that Joseph had agreed. What would surprise him was seeing the man return with anything but a string of lies and excuses.

What Robert had not expected was that Joseph would not return at all. He might even have reported this to Sir John had his mind not been taken up with more important matters. Even before they had discussed what their action could do to a.s.sist those defending Madrid, the city had fallen into French hands. The news was discussed with groans of dismay, but to the ADCs' surprise, Sir John did not change his plans or mention retreat again. Although it was the capital, it was only a city, he said. No Spanish army had been inside it, and the central junta had also escaped-except for those who had traitorously opened the gates to the French. Spanish resistance was not entirely dead, and he was determined to give it what a.s.sistance he could.

Thus, the army began to move. The cavalry, under Lord Paget, was already out forming a screen behind which, on December 11, the infantry marched. On December 13, Moore and his staff reached Alaejos. Robert's contingent-now much increased from the single baggage mule with which he had started-included M'Guire leading Robert's horses, Carlos leading Luisa and Bear, and Molly leading a second mule, which Esmeralda had purchased for her so she could ride if she tired.

Nonetheless, this march had been less pleasant. The warm spell that had briefly touched the end of November had given way not only to cold but to heavy rain. Nor was Alaejos as large a town as Salamanca, so that quarters were necessarily more cramped and less elegant. Esmeralda valiantly did her best, but the room was still cold, damp, and rather dirty when Robert came in. He was filthy himself, soaked by the thin mud splashed up by his own and other horses' hooves, but he did not complain when Esmeralda offered only a small pot of hot water. It was the best their little hearth would do, and a minor miracle at that, considering that the firewood was soaked.

However, when there was a knock on the door only moments after he had stripped off his clothing and begun to wash, he did mutter imprecations. Esmeralda ran down to tell the orderly that Robert would come as soon as he had got some clothing on, but instead she cried out, "Joseph!"

The guard, who had the juggler in an unkind grip, relaxed it somewhat. "You do know the man, Mrs. Moreton?"

"Yes, he's Bear's owner," Esmeralda replied.

Involuntarily the guard smiled, and his grip relaxed even more. Almost every man in the whole army knew Bear. Carlos, with the excuse of exercising the animal, had shown her off all over the camp. The guard shook Joseph, but not too hard, and asked why he didn't explain himself instead of just saying Captain Moreton's name over and over.

"He can't explain himself, Sergeant," Esmeralda interposed quickly. "He can't even understand you. He only speaks German, and a few words of Spanish and French. You can leave him with me." She saw at once that the suggestion had made the guard uneasy, and added, "Captain Moreton's above-stairs, and M'Guire is just behind the stable, but come up if you wish. Yes, perhaps you had better. Captain Moreton will want to know when and where Joseph appeared."

Joseph had not understood a word of what had been said, except for the various names, but he realized that he had been recognized and accepted because of the difference in the way the sergeant was gripping him. Thus, he went up the stairs most readily, and as soon as he saw Robert, he tore open the hem of his ragged coat, fumbled within, and withdrew a packet of papers, which he thrust into Robert's hand. Robert glanced down at them, started to say something to Joseph, and then drew his breath in sharply.

"Get the man something to eat and drink if he wants it," he said to Esmeralda, "and try to explain to him that we will keep our word. He may leave with Bear tomorrow if he wishes, or he may remain with us. I wish I knew where the Second Dragoons were so we could get hold of Landsheit. Sergeant, do you know anyone who can speak German?"

The sergeant had seen Robert's reaction to the doc.u.ments he held, and he said, "I'll try to find someone, sir."

"If you do, bring him to headquarters. I'll be there."

"Yes, sir." The sergeant saluted, then sketched another salute, the kind one comrade gives another, to Joseph, and added, "Sorry, mate, I didn't know you was on our side," as he left.

Robert then tried to shrug into a dry coat, but he needed Esmeralda's help because he refused to put down the packet he was holding. His mind was so full of hopes of what it might contain that he went out the door without another word and had to return to ask Esmeralda if she was afraid to be left alone with Joseph. She smiled and shook her head no and began by signs and a few words to suggest that the man eat and try to dry his clothing in front of the small fire.

Joseph had begun to look alarmed when Robert was so obviously startled by the doc.u.ments he had brought, but he had relaxed again when the sergeant left, and now he smiled at Esmeralda. He seemed to understand that it was a mark of trust to have been left alone with her, and he tried hard to show that he was respectful and would not approach too near or threaten her. Esmeralda found it difficult to get him to understand what Robert had said, but even though that took considerable time Robert had not returned. It was growing very late, and Esmeralda had not the faintest idea what to do with the man. She had just about decided to take him to the stable and allow him to sleep there with Bear, when there was a knocking at the door again.

It was the sergeant who had brought Joseph, this time accompanied by the German translator Robert had sent him to find. They had come to take Joseph to headquarters, the sergeant said, but he was smiling, and the explanation offered Joseph in German seemed to satisfy him. When they were gone, Esmeralda undressed slowly and went to bed, but she could not sleep, and Robert found her, when he returned near dawn, sitting beside the fire.

"What are you doing awake?" he asked, and then, without for a reply, went on. "Picking up Bear was the best day's work I've ever done, I think. Do you know what Joseph brought? It was a dispatch to Soult, and it contained all kinds of plans and orders and details about men and guns-a gold mine of information. They do think we're back in Portugal, and Soult was ordered to overrun Leon with two infantry divisions and four cavalry regiments. Oh, Lord, this is a piece of luck. We know pretty well where every part of the French army is, how strong it is, and where it's going-and they don't even know we exist."

"My goodness," Esmeralda exclaimed, "however did Joseph lay his hands on such a thing?"

"By a miraculous accident. Oh, we would have gotten it anyway, but probably three weeks from now when it would not have been the slightest use. Let me tell it in order. Joseph was making his way-"

"What have you done with him, Robert?" Esmeralda interrupted. "He seems like a very gentle, almost innocent person, perhaps not too clever-"

Robert's laugh cut her off. "You're quite right. I would say he was downright simple." Then he frowned. "In fact, I think the other members of the troupe sort of took care of him. I tried to convince him to stay with us, but he refused."

"Couldn't you make him understand that it would be safer, that he wouldn't have to fight or anything like that?"

"Oh, he understood that, but he seems to be afraid of so large a concentration of armed men. You see, the troupe he was with was entertaining the French, and most of the soldiers were very good to them, paid them well, and enjoyed their performances. Then they ran into a group of bullies who teased Bear, mistreated the two women, beat up the men when they protested, and wouldn't let them go. My guess is that they let Joseph go into the woods only because they thought he wasn't bright enough to do anything on his own. He's afraid of running into the same thing in this army and, of course, he has been roughed up a bit twice. Braun and Landsheit tried to explain to him, but...he's just frightened."

"But what will happen to him and to Bear?"

"He has either friends or relatives not too far from here," Robert soothed. "He wouldn't say where. Maybe he's afraid we'll come and get him or... I don't know. Anyway, that's what the troupe he was with was doing in Spain, visiting these people and paying their way by traveling around and performing during the summer. I guess they didn't expect to get caught up in a war."

"Do you think it's true, Robert?" Esmeralda asked anxiously. "I mean, that he has somewhere to go? Could he have said it just so you'd allow him to leave?"