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Sharpes Battle :: Корнуэлл Бернард
Страница: 72 из 244Hogan would never agree to give the Real Companпa Irlandesa new muskets, yet if Sharpe was to turn King Ferdinand's palace guard into a decent infantry unit then he would need to find them guns somehow. "Rifles I can't get," he said, "but muskets, yes. But I'll need a week."
"Muskets, then," El Castrador agreed, "and there is something else."
"Go on," Sharpe said warily.
"I want revenge for my daughters," El Castrador said with tears in his eyes. "I want Brigadier Loup and this knife to meet each other." He held up the small, bone-handled cutter. "I want your help, Englishman. Teresa says you can fight, so fight with me and help me catch El Lobo."
Sharpe suspected this second request would prove even more difficult than the first, but he nodded anyway. "You know where Loup can be found?"
El Castrador nodded. "Usually at a village called San Cristobal. He drove out the inhabitants, blocked the streets and fortified the houses. A stoat could not get near without being spotted. Sanchez says it would take a thousand men and a battery of artillery to take San Cristobal."
Sharpe grunted at the news. Sanchez was one of the best guerrilla leaders and if Sanchez reckoned San Cristobal was virtually impregnable, then Sharpe would believe him. "You said 'usually'. So he's not always at San Cristobal?"
"He goes where he likes, seсor ," El Castrador said moodily. "Sometimes he takes over a village for a few nights, sometimes he would put his men in the fort where you now live, sometimes he would use Fort Concepciфn. Loup, seсor, is a law to himself." El Castrador paused. "But La Aguja says you are also a law unto yourself. If any man can defeat El Lobo, seсor, it must be you. And there is a place near San Cristobal, a defile, where he can be ambushed."
El Castrador offered this last detail as an enticement, but Sharpe ignored the lure. "I will do all a man can do," he promised.
"Then I shall help you tonight," El Castrador assured Sharpe in return. "Look for my gift in the morning, seсor ," he said, then stood and shouted a command to the men he had evidently left outside the inn. Hooves clattered loud in the little street. "And next week," the partisan added, "I shall come for my reward. Don't let me down, Captain."
Sharpe watched the gross man go, then hefted the wineskin. He was tempted to drain it, but knew that a bellyful of sour wine would make his journey back to San Isidro doubly hard and so, instead, he poured the liquid over the roots of the ravaged vine. Maybe, he thought, it would help the vine repair itself. Wine to grapes, ashes to ashes and dust to dust.
"Muskets, then," El Castrador agreed, "and there is something else."
"Go on," Sharpe said warily.
"I want revenge for my daughters," El Castrador said with tears in his eyes. "I want Brigadier Loup and this knife to meet each other." He held up the small, bone-handled cutter. "I want your help, Englishman. Teresa says you can fight, so fight with me and help me catch El Lobo."
Sharpe suspected this second request would prove even more difficult than the first, but he nodded anyway. "You know where Loup can be found?"
El Castrador nodded. "Usually at a village called San Cristobal. He drove out the inhabitants, blocked the streets and fortified the houses. A stoat could not get near without being spotted. Sanchez says it would take a thousand men and a battery of artillery to take San Cristobal."
Sharpe grunted at the news. Sanchez was one of the best guerrilla leaders and if Sanchez reckoned San Cristobal was virtually impregnable, then Sharpe would believe him. "You said 'usually'. So he's not always at San Cristobal?"
"He goes where he likes, seсor ," El Castrador said moodily. "Sometimes he takes over a village for a few nights, sometimes he would put his men in the fort where you now live, sometimes he would use Fort Concepciфn. Loup, seсor, is a law to himself." El Castrador paused. "But La Aguja says you are also a law unto yourself. If any man can defeat El Lobo, seсor, it must be you. And there is a place near San Cristobal, a defile, where he can be ambushed."
El Castrador offered this last detail as an enticement, but Sharpe ignored the lure. "I will do all a man can do," he promised.
"Then I shall help you tonight," El Castrador assured Sharpe in return. "Look for my gift in the morning, seсor ," he said, then stood and shouted a command to the men he had evidently left outside the inn. Hooves clattered loud in the little street. "And next week," the partisan added, "I shall come for my reward. Don't let me down, Captain."
Sharpe watched the gross man go, then hefted the wineskin. He was tempted to drain it, but knew that a bellyful of sour wine would make his journey back to San Isidro doubly hard and so, instead, he poured the liquid over the roots of the ravaged vine. Maybe, he thought, it would help the vine repair itself. Wine to grapes, ashes to ashes and dust to dust.