Soon after ten o'clock the regiment formed up. Terence had given detailed
orders to the captain of each company. These were instructed to call up
their men twenty at a time, and to explain their orders to them, so that
every man should know exactly what to do. No sound had been heard in the
village, and Terence felt sure that Herrara must have received his orders,
and at a quarter past ten he with one company moved slowly down towards
the village; Bull, with the main body of the force, marching westward
along the hills. Six men had volunteered for the service of silencing the
French outposts, and these, leaving their muskets behind, stole forward in
advance of the company, which halted at some little distance from the
French centre.
In a quarter of an hour they returned. Eight French sentries had been
surprised and killed, the Portuguese crawling up to them until near enough
to spring upon and stab them without the slightest alarm being given. The
company now moved silently forward again until within a hundred yards of
the village, when they halted until the church clock struck eleven. Then
they rushed down into the village. As they entered it shots were fired,
and an outcry rose from the other side, showing that Herrara had managed
matters as well as they had. The surprise was complete; the street was
full of horses, while the soldiers had taken shelter in the houses.
Pages:
353
354
355
356
357
358
359
360
361
362
363
364
365
366
367
368
369
370
371
372
373
374
375
376
377