"
"Have you seen any signs of the French?"
"None, whatever, Colonel."
"Did you hear any firing?"
"No, sir; but there was such an uproar--what with the church bells,
everyone shouting, and the women screaming--that I don't suppose I should
have heard it unless it had been quite close."
"We thought we heard musketry," the colonel replied, "but it might have
been only fancy. There is such a hullabaloo in the city that we might not
have heard the fire of small-arms, but I think that we must have heard
artillery."
In ten minutes Fane with his staff galloped in. "The brigade will march
down towards the Valladolid gate," he said. "If you encounter any enemies,
Colonel Corcoran you will at once occupy the houses on both sides of the
street and open fire upon them from the windows and roofs; the other
regiments will charge them. At present," he went on, as the colonel gave
the order for the regiment to march, "we can obtain no information as to
the cause of this uproar. An officer rode in, just as I was starting, from
Anstruther's force, encamped outside the walls, asking for orders, and
reporting that his outposts have seen no signs of the enemy. I believe it
is a false alarm after all, and we are marching rather to reassure the
populace than with any idea of meeting the enemy."
The troops marched rapidly through the streets, making their way without
ceremony through the terrified crowd.
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