The Captain's Idea
The Never Ending Quest - Episode 57609
|
The general was performing calculations in his head. Was it likely that
the archers, at their high rate of fire, would run low on arrows whilst he
still had disposable troops left to send against them? Or should he
prepare for a siege of several weeks or even months, in order to starve
the fort's occupants?
Meanwhile the captain was brooding on the probable fate of Henri and Astra and their escort. They would not anticipate any need for stealth as they neared the fort, and so would most likely be captured or killed by the guerillas. But then it occurred to him that it might be possible to warn them that something was amiss. Charles had left the room, he belatedly realised, most likely to do what the captain himself should have been doing and ensure that the fort's defences were in good order. So he poked his head outside and called over a nearby soldier. "Get the bugler to go up onto the ramparts, and then to play and keep on playing for as long as he can manage," he told him. "It doesn't matter what he plays, but it should be as loud as possible." The captain knew that the bugle could be heard at a considerable distance. After all, it was used to sound the charge on the field of battle. Whether Henri and his companions would be able to hear it before they ran into the guerillas, or would draw the correct inference from it even if they did, he didn't know. But it had to be worth a try. The soldier looked surprised but, not wanting to be put on a charge, did not query the order.
|
JH
3/20/2006 2:14:41 PM
Extending Enabled
25493325 episodes viewed since 9/30/2002 1:22:06 PM.