The Adventures of Gerard

Chapter 3

How the Brigadier Slew the Fox

(This story, already published in The Green Flag, is included

here so that all of the Brigadier Gerard stories may appear

together.)

--

In all the great hosts of France there was only one officer

toward whom the English of Wellington's Army retained a deep,

steady, and unchangeable hatred.

There were plunderers among the French, and men of violence,

gamblers, duellists, and roues. All these could be forgiven, for

others of their kidney were to be found among the ranks of the

English. But one officer of Massena's force had committed a

crime which was unspeakable, unheard of, abominable; only to be

alluded to with curses late in the evening, when a second bottle

had loosened the tongues of men. The news of it was carried back

to England, and country gentlemen who knew little of the details

of the war grew crimson with passion when they heard of it, and

yeomen of the shires raised freckled fists to Heaven and swore.

And yet who should be the doer of this dreadful deed but our

friend the Brigadier, Etienne Gerard, of the Hussars of Conflans,

gay-riding, plume-tossing, debonair, the darling of the ladies

and of the six brigades of light cavalry.

But the strange part of it is that this gallant gentleman did

this hateful thing, and made himself the most unpopular man in

the Peninsula, without ever knowing that he had done a crime for

which there is hardly a name amid all the resources of our

language. He died of old age, and never once in that

imperturbable self- confidence which adorned or disfigured his

character knew that so many thousand Englishmen would gladly have

hanged him with their own hands. On the contrary, he numbered

this adventure among those other exploits which he has given to

the world, and many a time he chuckled and hugged himself as he

narrated it to the eager circle who gathered round him in that

humble cafe where, between his dinner and his dominoes, he would

tell, amid tears and laughter, of that inconceivable Napoleonic

past when France, like an angel of wrath, rose up, splendid and

terrible, before a cowering continent. Let us listen to him as

he tells the story in his own way and from his own point of view.

You must know, my friends, said he, that it was toward the end of

the year eighteen hundred and ten that I and Massena and the

others pushed Wellington backward until we had hoped to drive him

and his army into the Tagus. But when we were still twenty-five

miles from Lisbon we found that we were betrayed, for what had

this Englishman done but build an enormous line of works and

forts at a place called Torres Vedras, so that even we were

unable to get through them! They lay across the whole Peninsula,

and our army was so far from home that we did not dare to risk a

reverse, and we had already learned at Busaco that it was no

child's play to fight against these people. What could we do,

then, but sit down in front of these lines and blockade them to

the best of our power? There we remained for six months, amid

such anxieties that Massena said afterward that he had not one

hair which was not white upon his body.

For my own part, I did not worry much about our situation, but I

looked after our horses, who were in much need of rest and green

fodder. For the rest, we drank the wine of the country and

passed the time as best we might. There was a lady at

Santarem--but my lips are sealed. It is the part of a gallant

man to say nothing, though he may indicate that he could say a

great deal.

One day Massena sent for me, and I found him in his tent with a

great plan pinned upon the table. He looked at me in silence

with that single piercing eye of his, and I felt by his

expression that the matter was serious. He was nervous and ill

at ease, but my bearing seemed to reassure him. It is good to be

in contact with brave men.

"Colonel Etienne Gerard," said he, "I have always heard that you

are a very gallant and enterprising officer."

It was not for me to confirm such a report, and yet it would be

folly to deny it, so I clinked my spurs together and saluted.

"You are also an excellent rider."

I admitted it.

"And the best swordsman in the six brigades of light cavalry."

Massena was famous for the accuracy of his information.

"Now," said he, "if you will look at this plan you will have no

difficulty in understanding what it is that I wish you to do.

These are the lines of Torres Vedras. You will perceive that

they cover a vast space, and you will realise that the English

can only hold a position here and there. Once through the lines

you have twenty-five miles of open country which lie between them

and Lisbon. It is very important to me to learn how Wellington's

troops are distributed throughout that space, and it is my wish

that you should go and ascertain."

His words turned me cold.

"Sir," said I, "it is impossible that a colonel of light cavalry

should condescend to act as a spy."

He laughed and clapped me on the shoulder.

"You would not be a Hussar if you were not a hot- head," said he.

"If you will listen you will understand that I have not asked you

to act as a spy. What do you think of that horse?"

He had conducted me to the opening of his tent, and there was a

chasseur who led up and down a most admirable creature. He was a

dapple grey, not very tall, a little over fifteen hands perhaps,

but with the short head and splendid arch of the neck which comes

with the Arab blood. His shoulders and haunches were so

muscular, and yet his legs so fine, that it thrilled me with joy

just to gaze upon him. A fine horse or a beautiful woman--I

cannot look at them unmoved, even now when seventy winters have

chilled my blood. You can think how it was in the year '10.

"This," said Massena, "is Voltigeur, the swiftest horse in our

army. What I desire is that you should start tonight, ride round

the lines upon the flank, make your way across the enemy's rear,

and return upon the other flank, bringing me news of his

disposition. You will wear a uniform, and will, therefore, if

captured, be safe from the death of a spy. It is probable that

you will get through the lines unchallenged, for the posts are

very scattered. Once through, in daylight you can outride

anything which you meet, and if you keep off the roads you may

escape entirely unnoticed. If you have not reported yourself by

to-morrow night, I will understand that you are taken, and I will

offer them Colonel Petrie in exchange."

Ah, how my heart swelled with pride and joy as I sprang into the

saddle and galloped this grand horse up and down to show the

Marshal the mastery which I had of him! He was magnificent--we

were both magnificent, for Massena clapped his hands and cried

out in his delight.

It was not I, but he, who said that a gallant beast deserves a

gallant rider. Then, when for the third time, with my panache

flying and my dolman streaming behind me, I thundered past him, I

saw upon his hard old face that he had no longer any doubt that

he had chosen the man for his purpose. I drew my sabre, raised

the hilt to my lips in salute, and galloped on to my own

quarters.

Already the news had spread that I had been chosen for a mission,

and my little rascals came swarming out of their tents to cheer

me. Ah! it brings the tears to my old eyes when I think how

proud they were of their Colonel.

And I was proud of them also. They deserved a dashing leader.

The night promised to be a stormy one, which was very much to my

liking. It was my desire to keep my departure most secret, for

it was evident that if the English heard that I had been detached

from the army they would naturally conclude that something

important was about to happen. My horse was taken, therefore,

beyond the picket line, as if for watering, and I followed and

mounted him there. I had a map, a compass, and a paper of

instructions from the Marshal, and with these in the bosom of my

tunic and my sabre at my side I set out upon my adventure.

A thin rain was falling and there was no moon, so you may imagine

that it was not very cheerful. But my heart was light at the

thought of the honour which had been done me and the glory which

awaited me. This exploit should be one more in that brilliant

series which was to change my sabre into a baton. Ah, how we

dreamed, we foolish fellows, young, and drunk with success!

Could I have foreseen that night as I rode, the chosen man of

sixty thousand, that I should spend my life planting cabbages on

a hundred francs a month! Oh, my youth, my hopes, my comrades!

But the wheel turns and never stops. Forgive me, my friends, for

an old man has his weakness.

My route, then, lay across the face of the high ground of Torres

Vedras, then over a streamlet, past a farmhouse which had been

burned down and was now only a landmark, then through a forest of

young cork oaks, and so to the monastery of San Antonio, which

marked the left of the English position. Here I turned south and

rode quietly over the downs, for it was at this point that

Massena thought that it would be most easy for me to find my way

unobserved through the position. I went very slowly, for it was

so dark that I could not see my hand in front of me. In such

cases I leave my bridle loose and let my horse pick its own way.

Voltigeur went confidently forward, and I was very content to sit

upon his back and to peer about me, avoiding every light.

For three hours we advanced in this cautious way, until it seemed

to me that I must have left all danger behind me. I then pushed

on more briskly, for I wished to be in the rear of the whole army

by daybreak. There are many vineyards in these parts which in

winter become open plains, and a horseman finds few difficulties

in his way.

But Massena had underrated the cunning of these English, for it

appears that there was not one line of defence but three, and it

was the third, which was the most formidable, through which I was

at that instant passing. As I rode, elated at my own success, a

lantern flashed suddenly before me, and I saw the glint of

polished gun-barrels and the gleam of a red coat.

"Who goes there?" cried a voice--such a voice! I swerved to the

right and rode like a madman, but a dozen squirts of fire came

out of the darkness, and the bullets whizzed all round my ears.

That was no new sound to me, my friends, though I will not talk

like a foolish conscript and say that I have ever liked it. But

at least it had never kept me from thinking clearly, and so I

knew that there was nothing for it but to gallop hard and try my

luck elsewhere. I rode round the English picket, and then, as I

heard nothing more of them, I concluded rightly that I had at

last come through their defences.

For five miles I rode south, striking a tinder from time to time

to look at my pocket compass. And then in an instant-- I feel

the pang once more as my memory brings back the moment--my horse,

without a sob or staggers fell stone-dead beneath me!

I had never known it, but one of the bullets from that infernal

picket had passed through his body. The gallant creature had

never winced nor weakened, but had gone while life was in him.

One instant I was secure on the swiftest, most graceful horse in

Massena's army. The next he lay upon his side, worth only the

price of his hide, and I stood there that most helpless, most

ungainly of creatures, a dismounted Hussar. What could I do with

my boots, my spurs, my trailing sabre? I was far inside the

enemy's lines. How could I hope to get back again?

I am not ashamed to say that I, Etienne Gerard, sat upon my dead

horse and sank my face in my hands in my despair.

Already the first streaks were whitening the east.

In half an hour it would be light. That I should have won my way

past every obstacle and then at this last instant be left at the

mercy of my enemies, my mission ruined, and myself a

prisoner--was it not enough to break a soldier's heart?

But courage, my friends! We have these moments of weakness, the

bravest of us; but I have a spirit like a slip of steel, for the

more you bend it the higher it springs.

One spasm of despair, and then a brain of ice and a heart of

fire. All was not yet lost. I who had come through so many

hazards would come through this one also. I rose from my horse

and considered what had best be done.

And first of all it was certain that I could not get back. Long

before I could pass the lines it would be broad daylight. I must

hide myself for the day, and then devote the next night to my

escape. I took the saddle, holsters, and bridle from poor

Voltigeur, and I concealed them among some bushes, so that no one

finding him could know that he was a French horse. Then, leaving

him lying there, I wandered on in search of some place where I

might be safe for the day. In every direction I could see camp

fires upon the sides of the hills, and already figures had begun

to move around them. I must hide quickly, or I was lost.

But where was I to hide? It was a vineyard in which I found

myself, the poles of the vines still standing, but the plants

gone. There was no cover there. Besides, I should want some

food and water before another night had come. I hurried wildly

onward through the waning darkness, trusting that chance would be

my friend.

And I was not disappointed. Chance is a woman, my friends, and

she has her eye always upon a gallant Hussar.

Well, then, as I stumbled through the vineyard, something loomed

in front of me, and I came upon a great square house with another

long, low building upon one side of it. Three roads met there,

and it was easy to see that this was the posada, or wine-shop.

There was no light in the windows, and everything was dark and

silent, but, of course, I knew that such comfortable quarters

were certainly occupied, and probably by someone of importance.

I have learned, however, that the nearer the danger may really be

the safer place, and so I was by no means inclined to trust

myself away from this shelter. The low building was evidently

the stable, and into this I crept, for the door was unlatched.

The place was full of bullocks and sheep, gathered there, no

doubt, to be out of the clutches of marauders.

A ladder led to a loft, and up this I climbed and concealed

myself very snugly among some bales of hay upon the top. This

loft had a small open window, and I was able to look down upon

the front of the inn and also upon the road. There I crouched

and waited to see what would happen.

It was soon evident that I had not been mistaken when I had

thought that this might be the quarters of some person of

importance. Shortly after daybreak an English light dragoon

arrived with a despatch, and from then onward the place was in a

turmoil, officers continually riding up and away. Always the

same name was upon their lips: "Sir Stapleton--Sir Stapleton."

It was hard for me to lie there with a dry moustache and watch

the great flagons which were brought out by the landlord to these

English officers. But it amused me to look at their

fresh-coloured, clean-shaven, careless faces, and to wonder what

they would think if they knew that so celebrated a person was

lying so near to them. And then, as I lay and watched, I saw a

sight which filled me with surprise.

It is incredible the insolence of these English! What do you

suppose Milord Wellington had done when he found that Massena had

blockaded him and that he could not move his army? I might give

you many guesses. You might say that he had raged, that he had

despaired, that he had brought his troops together and spoken to

them about glory and the fatherland before leading them to one

last battle. No, Milord did none of these things. But he sent a

fleet ship to England to bring him a number of fox-dogs; and he

with his officers settled himself down to chase the fox. It is

true what I tell you. Behind the lines of Torres Vedras these

mad Englishmen made the fox chase three days in the week.

We had heard of it in the camp, and now I was myself to see that

it was true.

For, along the road which I have described, there came these very

dogs, thirty or forty of them, white and brown, each with its

tail at the same angle, like the bayonets of the Old Guard. My

faith, but it was a pretty sight! And behind and amidst them

there rode three men with peaked caps and red coats, whom I

understood to be the hunters. After them came many horsemen with

uniforms of various kinds, stringing along the roads in twos and

threes, talking together and laughing.

They did not seem to be going above a trot, and it appeared to me

that it must indeed be a slow fox which they hoped to catch.

However, it was their affair, not mine, and soon they had all

passed my window and were out of sight. I waited and I watched,

ready for any chance which might offer.

Presently an officer, in a blue uniform not unlike that of our

flying artillery, came cantering down the road--an elderly, stout

man he was, with grey side-whiskers. He stopped and began to

talk with an orderly officer of dragoons, who waited outside the

inn, and it was then that I learned the advantage of the English

which had been taught me. I could hear and understand all that

was said.

"Where is the meet?" said the officer, and I thought that he was

hungering for his bifstek. But the other answered him that it

was near Altara, so I saw that it was a place of which he spoke.

"You are late, Sir George," said the orderly.

"Yes, I had a court-martial. Has Sir Stapleton Cotton gone?"

At this moment a window opened, and a handsome young man in a

very splendid uniform looked out of it.

"Halloa, Murray!" said he. "These cursed papers keep me, but I

will be at your heels."

"Very good, Cotton. I am late already, so I will ride on."

"You might order my groom to bring round my horse," said the

young General at the window to the orderly below, while the other

went on down the road.

The orderly rode away to some outlying stable, and then in a few

minutes there came a smart English groom with a cockade in his

hat, leading by the bridle a horse-- and, oh, my friends, you

have never known the perfection to which a horse can attain until

you have seen a first- class English hunter. He was superb:

tall, broad, strong, and yet as graceful and agile as a deer.

Coal black he was in colour, and his neck, and his shoulder, and

his quarters, and his fetlocks--how can I describe him all to

you? The sun shone upon him as on polished ebony, and he raised

his hoofs in a little playful dance so lightly and prettily,

while he tossed his mane and whinnied with impatience. Never

have I seen such a mixture of strength and beauty and grace. I

had often wondered how the English Hussars had managed to ride

over the chasseurs of the Guards in the affair at Astorga, but I

wondered no longer when I saw the English horses.

There was a ring for fastening bridles at the door of the inn,

and the groom tied the horse there while he entered the house.

In an instant I had seen the chance which Fate had brought to me.

Were I in that saddle I should be better off than when I started.

Even Voltigeur could not compare with this magnificent creature.

To think is to act with me. In one instant I was down the ladder

and at the door of the stable. The next I was out and the bridle

was in my hand. I bounded into the saddle.

Somebody, the master or the man, shouted wildly behind me. What

cared I for his shouts! I touched the horse with my spurs and he

bounded forward with such a spring that only a rider like myself

could have sat him. I gave him his head and let him go--it did

not matter to me where, so long as we left this inn far behind

us. He thundered away across the vineyards, and in a very few

minutes I had placed miles between myself and my pursuers. They

could no longer tell in that wild country in which direction I

had gone. I knew that I was safe, and so, riding to the top of a

small hill, I drew my pencil and note-book from my pocket and

proceeded to make plans of those camps which I could see and to

draw the outline of the country.

He was a dear creature upon whom I sat, but it was not easy to

draw upon his back, for every now and then his two ears would

cock, and he would start and quiver with impatience. At first I

could not understand this trick of his, but soon I observed that

he only did it when a peculiar noise--"yoy, yoy, yoy"--came from

somewhere among the oak woods beneath us. And then suddenly this

strange cry changed into a most terrible screaming, with the

frantic blowing of a horn. Instantly he went mad--this horse.

His eyes blazed. His mane bristled. He bounded from the earth

and bounded again, twisting and turning in a frenzy. My pencil

flew one way and my note-book another. And then, as I looked

down into the valley, an extraordinary sight met my eyes.

The hunt was streaming down it. The fox I could not see, but the

dogs were in full cry, their noses down, their tails up, so close

together that they might have been one great yellow and white

moving carpet. And behind them rode the horsemen--my faith, what

a sight! Consider every type which a great army could show.

Some in hunting dress, but the most in uniforms: blue dragoons,

red dragoons, red-trousered hussars, green riflemen,

artillerymen, gold-slashed lancers, and most of all red, red,

red, for the infantry officers ride as hard as the cavalry.

Such a crowd, some well mounted, some ill, but all flying along

as best they might, the subaltern as good as the general,

jostling and pushing, spurring and driving, with every thought

thrown to the winds save that they should have the blood of this

absurd fox! Truly, they are an extraordinary people, the

English!

But I had little time to watch the hunt or to marvel at these

islanders, for of all these mad creatures the very horse upon

which I sat was the maddest. You understand that he was himself

a hunter, and that the crying of these dogs was to him what the

call of a cavalry trumpet in the street yonder would be to me.

It thrilled him. It drove him wild. Again and again he bounded

into the air, and then, seizing the bit between his teeth, he

plunged down the slope and galloped after the dogs.

I swore, and tugged, and pulled, but I was powerless.

This English General rode his horse with a snaffle only, and the

beast had a mouth of iron. It was useless to pull him back. One

might as well try to keep a grenadier from a wine-bottle. I gave

it up in despair, and, settling down in the saddle, I prepared

for the worst which could befall.

What a creature he was! Never have I felt such a horse between

my knees. His great haunches gathered under him with every

stride, and he shot forward ever faster and faster, stretched

like a greyhound, while the wind beat in my face and whistled

past my ears. I was wearing our undress jacket, a uniform simple

and dark in itself--though some figures give distinction to any

uniform--and I had taken the precaution to remove the long

panache from my busby. The result was that, amidst the mixture

of costumes in the hunt, there was no reason why mine should

attract attention, or why these men, whose thoughts were all with

the chase, should give any heed to me. The idea that a French

officer might be riding with them was too absurd to enter their

minds. I laughed as I rode, for, indeed, amid all the danger,

there was something of comic in the situation.

I have said that the hunters were very unequally mounted, and so

at the end of a few miles, instead of being one body of men, like

a charging regiment, they were scattered over a considerable

space, the better riders well up to the dogs and the others

trailing away behind.

Now, I was as good a rider as any, and my horse was the best of

them all, and so you can imagine that it was not long before he

carried me to the front. And when I saw the dogs streaming over

the open, and the red-coated huntsman behind them, and only seven

or eight horsemen between us, then it was that the strangest

thing of all happened, for I, too, went mad--I, Etienne Gerard!

In a moment it came upon me, this spirit of sport, this desire to

excel, this hatred of the fox. Accursed animal, should he then

defy us? Vile robber, his hour was come!

Ah, it is a great feeling, this feeling of sport, my friends,

this desire to trample the fox under the hoofs of your horse. I

have made the fox chase with the English. I have also, as I may

tell you some day, fought the box-fight with the Bustler, of

Bristol. And I say to you that this sport is a wonderful

thing--full of interest as well as madness.

The farther we went the faster galloped my horse, and soon there

were but three men as near the dogs as I was.

All thought of fear of discovery had vanished. My brain

throbbed, my blood ran hot--only one thing upon earth seemed

worth living for, and that was to overtake this infernal fox. I

passed one of the horsemen--a Hussar like myself. There were

only two in front of me now: the one in a black coat, the other

the blue artilleryman whom I had seen at the inn. His grey

whiskers streamed in the wind, but he rode magnificently. For a

mile or more we kept in this order, and then, as we galloped up a

steep slope, my lighter weight brought me to the front.

I passed them both, and when I reached the crown I was riding

level with the little, hard-faced English huntsman.

In front of us were the dogs, and then, a hundred paces beyond

them, was a brown wisp of a thing, the fox itself, stretched to

the uttermost. The sight of him fired my blood. "Aha, we have

you then, assassin!" I cried, and shouted my encouragement to the

huntsman. I waved my hand to show him that there was one upon

whom he could rely.

And now there were only the dogs between me and my prey. These

dogs, whose duty it is to point out the game, were now rather a

hindrance than a help to us, for it was hard to know how to pass

them. The huntsman felt the difficulty as much as I, for he rode

behind them, and could make no progress toward the fox. He was a

swift rider, but wanting in enterprise. For my part, I felt that

it would be unworthy of the Hussars of Conflans if I could not

overcome such a difficulty as this.

Was Etienne Gerard to be stopped by a herd of fox-dogs?

It was absurd. I gave a shout and spurred my horse.

"Hold hard, sir! Hold hard!" cried the huntsman.

He was uneasy for me, this good old man, but I reassured him by a

wave and a smile. The dogs opened in front of me. One or two

may have been hurt, but what would you have? The egg must be

broken for the omelette. I could hear the huntsman shouting his

congratulations behind me. One more effort, and the dogs were

all behind me. Only the fox was in front.

Ah, the joy and pride of that moment! To know that I had beaten

the English at their own sport. Here were three hundred, all

thirsting for the life of this animal, and yet it was I who was

about to take it. I thought of my comrades of the light cavalry

brigade, of my mother, of the Emperor, of France. I had brought

honour to each and all. Every instant brought me nearer to the

fox. The moment for action had arrived, so I unsheathed my

sabre. I waved it in the air, and the brave English all shouted

behind me.

Only then did I understand how difficult is this fox chase, for

one may cut again and again at the creature and never strike him

once. He is small, and turns quickly from a blow. At every cut

I heard those shouts of encouragement from behind me, and they

spurred me to yet another effort. And then at last the supreme

moment of my triumph arrived. In the very act of turning I

caught him fair with such another back-handed cut as that with

which I killed the aide-de-camp of the Emperor of Russia. He

flew into two pieces, his head one way and his tail another. I

looked back and waved the blood- stained sabre in the air. For

the moment I was exalted --superb!

Ah! how I should have loved to have waited to have received the

congratulations of these generous enemies.

There were fifty of them in sight, and not one who was not waving

his hand and shouting. They are not really such a phlegmatic

race, the English. A gallant deed in war or in sport will always

warm their hearts. As to the old huntsman, he was the nearest to

me, and I could see with my own eyes how overcome he was by what

he had seen. He was like a man paralysed, his mouth open, his

hand, with outspread fingers, raised in the air. For a moment my

inclination was to return and to embrace him.

But already the call of duty was sounding in my ears, and these

English, in spite of all the fraternity which exists among

sportsmen, would certainly have made me prisoner. There was no

hope for my mission now, and I had done all that I could do. I

could see the lines of Massena's camp no very great distance off,

for, by a lucky chance, the chase had taken us in that direction.

I turned from the dead fox, saluted with my sabre, and galloped

away.

But they would not leave me so easily, these gallant huntsmen. I

was the fox now, and the chase swept bravely over the plain. It

was only at the moment when I started for the camp that they

could have known that I was a Frenchman, and now the whole swarm

of them were at my heels. We were within gunshot of our pickets

before they would halt, and then they stood in knots and would

not go away, but shouted and waved their hands at me. No, I will

not think that it was in enmity. Rather would I fancy that a

glow of admiration filled their breasts, and that their one

desire was to embrace the stranger who had carried himself so

gallantly and well.