He will know well
enough that unless he crushes us at once he will have all Portugal up in
arms. Here, Terence, you can have this horn."
The difficulty of drinking had to some extent been solved by Hoolan, who
had gone downstairs, and returned with a tin pot capable of holding about
a couple of quarts. This he had cleaned by rubbing it with sand and water,
and it went round as a loving-cup among those unprovided with mugs or
horns. When all had finished, the two soldier servants, who had now
arrived with the rations, were left in charge. O'Driscol's servant had
brought in a dozen fowls and a large basket full of eggs, and, ordering
supper to be ready at eight, the officers returned to their camp. They
found that their comrades had done fairly well. Several rooms had been
obtained in the village, and hams, black sausages, and other provisions
purchased, and cooked in a rough way on a gridiron.
"I am afraid that it is too good to last," the colonel said, as the
officers gathered around him as the bugle sounded for parade; "a week of
this and the last scrap of provisions here will have been eaten, and we
shall have nothing but our rations to fall back upon. There is one thing,
however, that is not likely to give out, that is wine. They grow it about
here, and I hear that the commissariat have bought up large quantities
without difficulty to serve out to the troops.
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