Sharpes Devil   ::   Корнуэлл Бернард

In it, senor, wasa prisoner who had come from Puerto Crucero, a prisoner so secret that no one even knew his name! The prisoner was hurried into the Angel Tower in the Citadel. You have to understand, senor, that the Angel Tower is very old, very mysterious! It used to be a terrible prison! They say the ghosts of all the dead cling to its stones. Once a man was put in there he only came out as a corpse or an angel." Marcos superstitiously crossed himself. 'They stopped using the tower as a prison in my grandfather's time, and now no one will step inside for fear of the spirits, but that is where the Captain-General's prisoner was taken and, so far as I know, senor, he is still there. Or he was when I left." Marcos ended the tale in a rush, then looked eagerly at Miller as though seeking praise for the telling.

"And you think Captain Vivar is that prisoner?" Sharpe asked Marcos.

Marcos nodded energetically. "I saw his face, senor. I was on duty at the inner gate, and they brought him past me to the door of the tower. I was ordered to turn around and not look, but I was in shadow and they did not see me. It was the Captain-General, I swear it."

"God save Ireland," Harper said under his breath.

Sharpe leaned back. "I wish I could believe him," he spoke in English, to no one in particular.

"Of course you can believe him!" Cochrane said stoutly. "Who the hell else do you think Bautista's got in there? The Virgin Mary?"

Marcos greedily bit into a hunk of bread, then looked alarmed as Sharpe leaned forward again.

"Did you ever see your cavalry friends from the Captain-General's escort again?" Sharpe spoke Spanish again.

"Yes, senor."

"What do they say happened to General Vivar?"

Marcos swallowed a half-chewed lump of bread, scratched his crotch, looked sideways at Miller, then shrugged. "They say that the Captain-General disappeared in a valley. There was a road that went down the valley's side like this," Marcos made a zig-zag motion with his right hand, "and that the Captain-General ordered them to wait at the top of the road while he went down into the valley. And that was it!"

"No gunfire?" Sharpe asked.

"No, senor."

Sharpe turned to stare at the dark ocean. The sea's roar came from the outer rocks. "I don't know if I trust this man."

Cochrane responded in Spanish, loud enough for Marcos to hear. "If the dog lies, we shall cut off his balls with a blunt razor. Are you telling lies, Marcos?"

"No, senor! I promise!"

"It still doesn't make sense," Sharpe said softly.