Fully half of my men have guns, for the Galician peasants are accustomed
to the use of arms. I wish that it had been more, but four thousand pounds
will be very welcome. Do you propose to join my force with your
regiments?"
"Not exactly to join them, General; my orders are to give you such
assistance as I can, and I think that I can do more by co-operating with
you independently. In the first place, I do not think that my Portuguese
would like to be commanded by a Spanish general; in the second place, it
would be extremely difficult to feed so large a body of troops in these
mountains, and the smaller the number the more easily can they move about.
Besides, in these defiles a large force of undisciplined men could not act
efficiently, and in case of a reverse would fall rapidly into confusion. I
propose to use my force as a sort of flying column, co-operating with
yours. Thus, if you attack the head of a column, I will fall on their
flank or rear, will harass their line of communication, blow up bridges
and destroy roads, and so render their movements slow and difficult. By
such means I should certainly render you more efficient service than if my
regiments were to form a part of your force."
"Perhaps that would be best," Romana said. "Could you supply me with any
ammunition? For although the peasants have guns, very few have more than a
few rounds of ammunition, and even this is not made up into cartridges.
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