I don't suppose that place will
resist for a day; and if, as is probable, Victor moves up from the south,
he and Soult may be in front of Lisbon in ten days' time.
"You had better tell your captains this, in order that they may understand
how vital it is to prevent the passage. From what I hear from the
peasants, the boats will not be able to carry more than three or four
hundred men, and wherever they land we ought to be able to crush them
before the boats can cross again and bring over reinforcements."
"Well, Bull, I think we are likely to have fighting tonight," Terence
said, as Herrara marched off with his men.
"I hope so, sir. I don't think they will be able to cross in our face, and
it will do the men a lot of good to win the first fight."
"If Romana's troops were worth anything, Soult would find himself in an
awkward position. He has got his whole army jammed up in the corner here,
and if he cannot cross there is nothing for him to do but to march along
the river to Orense, and then come down by the road through Monterey.
There are several streams to cross as he marches up the bank. Romana is
sure to have heard of his concentrating somewhere down near the mouth of
the river, and I should think that by this time he will have crossed near
Orense, and will arrive in time to dispute the passage of these streams.
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