JК
Sharpes Havoc :: Корнуэлл Бернард
Страница: 107 из 242He hated Christopher because he had married Kate, and he was as bored as Sharpe at the undemanding life at the Quinta. „Get food,” Sharpe urged him. „Go to the village, ask them to bake bread, buy as much salted and smoked meat as you can. I want every man to have five days’ rations by nightfall.”
Harper was more cautious. „I thought you had orders, sir.”
„I do, Pat, from General Cradock.”
„Jesus, sir, you don’t disobey a general’s orders.”
„And who fetched those orders?” Sharpe asked. „Christopher did. So he lied to Cradock just as he’s lied to everyone else.” He was not certain of that, he could not be certain, but nor could he see the sense in just dallying at the Quinta. He would go south and trust that Captain Hogan would protect him from General Cradock’s wrath. „We’ll march at dusk tonight,” he told Harper. „I want you to check everyone’s equipment and ammunition.”
Harper smelt the air. „We’re going to have rain, sir, bad rain.”
„That’s why God made our skins waterproof,” Sharpe said.
„I was thinking we might do better to wait till after midnight, sir. Give the rain a chance to blow over.”
Sharpe shook his head. „I want to get out of here, Pat. I feel bad about this place suddenly. We’ll take everyone south. Toward the river.”
„I thought the Crapauds had stripped out all the boats?”
„I don’t want to go east”-Sharpe jerked his head toward Amarante where rumor said a battle still raged-”and there’s nothing but Crapauds to the west.” The north was all mountain, rock and starvation, but to the south lay the river and he knew British forces were somewhere beyond the Douro and Sharpe had been thinking that the French could not have destroyed every boat along its long, rocky banks. „We’ll find a boat,” he promised Harper.
„It’ll be dark tonight, sir. Lucky even to find the way.”
„For God’s sake,” Sharpe said, irritated with Harper’s pessimism, „we’ve been patrolling this place for a bloody month! We can find our way south.”
By evening they had two sacks of bread, some rock-hard smoked goat meat, two cheeses and a bag of beans that Sharpe distributed among the men, then he had an inspiration and went to the Quinta’s kitchen and stole two large tins of tea. He reckoned it was time Kate did something for her country and there were few finer gestures than donating good China tea to riflemen. He gave one tin to Harper and shoved the other into his pack.
Harper was more cautious. „I thought you had orders, sir.”
„I do, Pat, from General Cradock.”
„Jesus, sir, you don’t disobey a general’s orders.”
„And who fetched those orders?” Sharpe asked. „Christopher did. So he lied to Cradock just as he’s lied to everyone else.” He was not certain of that, he could not be certain, but nor could he see the sense in just dallying at the Quinta. He would go south and trust that Captain Hogan would protect him from General Cradock’s wrath. „We’ll march at dusk tonight,” he told Harper. „I want you to check everyone’s equipment and ammunition.”
Harper smelt the air. „We’re going to have rain, sir, bad rain.”
„That’s why God made our skins waterproof,” Sharpe said.
„I was thinking we might do better to wait till after midnight, sir. Give the rain a chance to blow over.”
Sharpe shook his head. „I want to get out of here, Pat. I feel bad about this place suddenly. We’ll take everyone south. Toward the river.”
„I thought the Crapauds had stripped out all the boats?”
„I don’t want to go east”-Sharpe jerked his head toward Amarante where rumor said a battle still raged-”and there’s nothing but Crapauds to the west.” The north was all mountain, rock and starvation, but to the south lay the river and he knew British forces were somewhere beyond the Douro and Sharpe had been thinking that the French could not have destroyed every boat along its long, rocky banks. „We’ll find a boat,” he promised Harper.
„It’ll be dark tonight, sir. Lucky even to find the way.”
„For God’s sake,” Sharpe said, irritated with Harper’s pessimism, „we’ve been patrolling this place for a bloody month! We can find our way south.”
By evening they had two sacks of bread, some rock-hard smoked goat meat, two cheeses and a bag of beans that Sharpe distributed among the men, then he had an inspiration and went to the Quinta’s kitchen and stole two large tins of tea. He reckoned it was time Kate did something for her country and there were few finer gestures than donating good China tea to riflemen. He gave one tin to Harper and shoved the other into his pack.