Here is also a note to the officer commanding at
Coimbra. I have spoken to him about your conduct, and have asked him to
allow you to continue with the Portuguese until an order is received from
Sir John Cradock. I have given Colonel Herrara a duplicate of my
despatches and official orders, in case you should be killed."
"Cannot we go with you, sir?" Bull asked.
"I don't think so, Bull. Dress as you might, you could hardly be taken for
anything but an Englishman. Your walk and your complexion, to say nothing
of your hair, would betray you both at once. The first person who happened
to address you would discover that you were not natives, and the chances
are he would denounce you, and that you would be torn to pieces before you
could offer any explanation. Now, I think that I can pass readily enough.
The wind and rough weather have brought me to nearly the right colour, and
I know how to speak Portuguese well enough to ask any question without
exciting suspicion."
"But why not take two of the men with you?" Macwitty said. "They could do
any talking that was necessary; and should anyone suggest that you are not
a native, they could declare that you were a comrade from their own
village."
Bull strongly approved of the suggestion, and Terence, though in some
respects he would rather have been alone, at last agreed to it.
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