JК
Sharpes Gold :: Корнуэлл Бернард
Страница: 142 из 179The light was dim and only a handful of lanterns, their horn panes dulling the candle flames, flickered onblock-like tombs. There was no sign of Cox or his officers, but at the far end a leather curtain swayed in a doorway.
'Come on. Sharpe led them to the curtain, forced its stiff weight aside, and gasped.
'Good God. Lossow paused at the head of a short flight of steps that dropped into a dark cavern. 'Good God.
The lower crypt was jammed with barrels, piled to the low, arched ceiling, row after row of them, reaching back into a gloom that was relieved only by an occasional horn lantern, double-shielded, and to right and left were further aisles, and when Sharpe turned, at the foot of the stairs, he saw that the steps came down in the middle of the room and the gigantic quantity of powder in front was mirrored behind. He whistled softly.
'This way.
Cox had disappeared down the aisle and they hurried after, looking at the rotund barrels above them, awed by the sheer destructive power of the gunpowder that had been stacked in the deep vault. Captain Charles, before he died, had said that Almeida could last as long as its powder, and that could be months, Sharpe thought, and then he tried to imagine a French shell smashing through the stonework and sparking the barrels. It could not happen. The floors were too thick, but all the same he looked up and was glad to see the broad buttresses, hugely strong, that arched beneath a floor that could have resisted a thousand French shells, and then still be strong.
Cox was at the very end of the vault, listening to a Portuguese officer, and the conversation was urgent. It was part in Portuguese, part in English, and Sharpe could hear enough to understand the problem. Water was seeping into the crypt, not much, but enough to have soaked two bales of musket ammunition that were stored there. Cox swung round.
'Who put it here? There was silence. 'We must move it! He dropped into Portuguese, then saw Sharpe. 'Captain!
'Sir?
'In my headquarters! Wait for me there!
'Sir…
Cox whirled angrily. 'I have enough problems, Sharpe! Damned ammunition stored in the wrong place! It shouldn't be here anyway! Put it upstairs! He went back into Portuguese, waved his arms, pointed upstairs.
Harper touched Sharpe's elbow. 'Come on, sir.
Sharpe turned, but Cox called him again. 'Captain!
'Sir?
'Where is the gold? The faces of the Portuguese officers seemed to be accusing Sharpe.
'In our quarters, sir.
'Wrong place, Sharpe, wrong place. I'll send men and it will be put in my headquarters.
'Come on. Sharpe led them to the curtain, forced its stiff weight aside, and gasped.
'Good God. Lossow paused at the head of a short flight of steps that dropped into a dark cavern. 'Good God.
The lower crypt was jammed with barrels, piled to the low, arched ceiling, row after row of them, reaching back into a gloom that was relieved only by an occasional horn lantern, double-shielded, and to right and left were further aisles, and when Sharpe turned, at the foot of the stairs, he saw that the steps came down in the middle of the room and the gigantic quantity of powder in front was mirrored behind. He whistled softly.
'This way.
Cox had disappeared down the aisle and they hurried after, looking at the rotund barrels above them, awed by the sheer destructive power of the gunpowder that had been stacked in the deep vault. Captain Charles, before he died, had said that Almeida could last as long as its powder, and that could be months, Sharpe thought, and then he tried to imagine a French shell smashing through the stonework and sparking the barrels. It could not happen. The floors were too thick, but all the same he looked up and was glad to see the broad buttresses, hugely strong, that arched beneath a floor that could have resisted a thousand French shells, and then still be strong.
Cox was at the very end of the vault, listening to a Portuguese officer, and the conversation was urgent. It was part in Portuguese, part in English, and Sharpe could hear enough to understand the problem. Water was seeping into the crypt, not much, but enough to have soaked two bales of musket ammunition that were stored there. Cox swung round.
'Who put it here? There was silence. 'We must move it! He dropped into Portuguese, then saw Sharpe. 'Captain!
'Sir?
'In my headquarters! Wait for me there!
'Sir…
Cox whirled angrily. 'I have enough problems, Sharpe! Damned ammunition stored in the wrong place! It shouldn't be here anyway! Put it upstairs! He went back into Portuguese, waved his arms, pointed upstairs.
Harper touched Sharpe's elbow. 'Come on, sir.
Sharpe turned, but Cox called him again. 'Captain!
'Sir?
'Where is the gold? The faces of the Portuguese officers seemed to be accusing Sharpe.
'In our quarters, sir.
'Wrong place, Sharpe, wrong place. I'll send men and it will be put in my headquarters.