6th August 1809, afternoon: Preparations for extraction

"Oh for heaven's sake!"

Torrington quickly snatched both halters and pulled sharply.

"Pye, Rottlaender, get the apples!"

He was not going to reward the horses for their misbehaviour by feeding the apples to them straight away.
The more tempramental Trueno danced and and tried whether he could get away, and it took several stern words to get him to behave again, although the horse clearly was quite unhappy about it.

Vickery sighed and wondered if he could spare the time to try to get Pye to be less nervous around horses. probably not - anyway, the lad would likely be far too much in awe of him to heed any advice. He would have to prevail on Cotton to do some of the teaching there - and possibly with Rottlaender as well, though he, at least, seemed less likely to startle than Pye was.

"horses are likely to try to find any treats you may have secreted on your person, Pye," he said mildly instead. "Especially when they are as intelligent as Captain Torrington's mount."

Pye quickly snatched at the apples and then drew back far enough that neither horse could get them though he wondered if Torrington wanted the horses not to eat the food from the ground or whether he did not want them to eat it at all.

He quickly stuffed them in his breadbag and buttoned it up. "Horses mean ter eat you sir." He said softly and took the reins of the gelding again nervously. "S' not the stuff you have on ye.. is you." But he did not want them to stall for much longer and so added quickly. "We're ready sirs, n'.. sorry."

"Don't be silly, Pye, horses don't eat meat," Vickery said briskly, wishing to nip that particular fear in the bud. "Torrington?" he said, turning to the Engineer.

Torrington kept a firm hand on each halter until the horses had quieted down, then released the gelding.

"Lead him five steps away and make him stand there. If he does, give him one of the apples", he told Pye.

Placing one foot in in the stirrup and swinging himself into Trueno's saddle, he nodded to Vickery.

"A few more seconds, and we are ready to go. I think it is better these two young hopefuls walk. Is everybody else you want to take here?"

Pye did as he was asked, and as the gelding stayed where he was supposed to, also fed him the apple. Then he returned quickly, though nervously to his spot. He did not want them to dawdle for much longer, especially not on his account and not if it meant that this might endanger whoever they went to get.

Torrington turned Trueno and waited for Vickery to give the order to head out. He assumed that the riflemen would work out between themselves who would guide the spare horse - or if Cotton actually could ride it, get him in the saddle. As long as they managed to find a solution quickly, he was willing to accept nearly anything.

Pye still held on the horse, saving his last apple for when he needed to bribe him to begin moving again. He looked in anticipation to captain Vickery. "Sir?" He asked, impatient perhaps to see what this was all about already. And the longer they stood there, the less time they would have to get to wherever they were going anyway.

Vickery looked at Torrington before glancing to Cotton.

"You can sit on a horse, can't you?" he said.

The rifleman's eyes widened a little, and Vickery was almost sure he saw the man swallow - probably at the realisation that Torrington's horse was one of the most expensive animals he'd ever dealt with. "Yes, sir," he replied stoutly.

"Good. You can ride Captain Torrington's spare animal, then - it'll be easier than leading it."

"Sir," was the only reply to that as Cotton slung his rifle across his back and mounted - not as economically as either of the officers, but with the sense of someone who knew about working with horses.

"I think that's everything sorted, then," Vickery said to Torrington. "Shall we be off?"

Pye looked a little as if he had failed in his task and failed Torrington in what he had asked of him to do, but drew from the horse, now occupied.

He wondered, when the officers would stop inquiring of each other whether they should go or shall go, and just went. They gave the orders and there was no way a private would answer with an opinion or even a decision. He would not have dared and it would be entirely improper. Plus, they did not know anyhow.

He walked to his friend and spoke quietly to him, deciding that he was not there to think but to act. When the order would be said, he would just need to walk fast, like Freddie! "Do yer know how far we brauch to go?" He hoped to learn of the journey during the meantime.

"Here we go then ..."

Torrington urged Trueno forward and set out towards the meeting point. He had memorized the location and as much of the surrounding as he could from his maps, so he was quite confident that he would find the approximate spot, but he was still quite nervous. Several times he had to turn around and rein in Trueno to give the rifleman a chance to catch up, despite their quickmarch - if it was up to him, he would have galloped.

----

"No - he never has gezeigt mir the letter."

Freddie was quite used to a quick pace , so he even managed to talk during their march.

"What do you think is at the end when we find ... was auch immer?"

Pye followed alongside his friend, keeping up with the pace set by the officers. He was happy that they were finally on their way. He was curious where they were going and once Freddie told him that he did not know as well, he wanted to reach the end of that journey even more! Would they go hunting with the two officers or saving some officer who has got into a pickle or maybe they went to see the ladies and wished themselves safe but descret! Well, if it was the later, Lord Torrington was certainly the more eager one!

Pye grinned at his friend, all thought of the previous forgotten as the engineer did not look as if he mistrusted him with the animal, and the rifles captain did not appear to be of a similar disposition either. "I think.." He tilted his head a little. "That it's not a Hase!...it could be but...why would we need cavalry then? Unless.. they wanted to be safe while they explore...or sumthin'." He looked thoughtful, though still equally quick. "Mmm.. ladies?...maybe they's wanting to go see hubsche ladies!" He whispered and grinned. "...But wanted to make it like...a scouting mission." He shrugged. "Or.. we's going to see jemand that we need to get from the French. But we should not be against a lot...couse.. we are only...." He looked at their little group. "Vier.. no...funf is five?"

"Eins, zwei, drei, vier, fünf, sechs, sieben ...", Freddie counted aloud with their steps, so that his friend would remember the sequence. Eying his master critically, he asked:

"If they are going to hübschen ladies ... I should have given him his better coat. He is staubig!"

He also wondered whether the officers really needed to set such a pace when they wanted nothing more than a bit of company - but then, they would not be the ones who appeared all sweaty and even more dusty.

They were passing the picket line at the point they had found the wounded Spaniard and headed straight on for the wooded hills.

Pye repeated after Freddie and counted as far as his friend did before stopping as well." Nine is real similar to yours." He said brightly then his grin broadened as his friend commented on his officer's coat.

"Sehr staubig!" He said proudly. "But ladies I think like it. Like a man out of...well..he looks like a hero dann." ...and mebbe they think that their sweating will make ladies lieben them mehr!" He was not sure if that combination worked together, so he gazed at his friend inquiringly.

Freddie, whose experience with the opposite sex was extremely limited, looked back equally curious.

"Ladies like when we are staubig?"

The matron at the orphanage must not have been a lady – she always had been extremly unhappy if the boys had come back with less then pristine clothes.

"They love it when you are a bit staubig. Or a lot. Very mehr than if you are shiny clean." He glanced at the officers and leaned closer to Freddie. "Though there are ladies and there are ladies!" And with that he straightened up and grinned.

The large bay horse seemed to attempt to misbehave once or twice, and instead of following the officers and boys, to find a patch of grass worth eating. He was also trying to find a way to inspect one of the riflemen's pockets again to see if they perhaps have something more hidden in there.

In a rather adorable manner atleast considering what he had asked, Pye turned towards the officers and very timidly he asked, having no idea where they were going anyway: "Are we there yet?" But then as if deciding he ought not have asked at all, he quickly turned back to his friend, ignored the big bay horse, and looked just a bit embarassed to have asked it.

"A few more minutes, I think ...", Torrington replied distractedly, obviously more thinking aloud than consciously answering Pye.

"Then we will loose the cover of the riverbed and any guard the bandits placed in the woods would be able to see us. That means we have to split up before ..."

He was thinking things through aloud, scrutinicing the landscape and racked his brain trying to remember as much as possible about the landscape.

Pye nudged Freddie lightly then shook his head. "Now.. I really don't know where we're going and why we need to split." He whispered to him. "But we are certainly sneakin' on someone.. so be real alert." He added.

He might not have been taught to ride in the same way the officers had been, but Cotton was more than up to the task of keeping Captain Torrington's horse on the straight and narrow, rather than exploring the grass or his fellow Riflemen.

The only problem he was going to have, he reflect ruefully, was that the stirrup leathers rubbed because he did not have overalls or riding boots, which would protect his legs from chafing.

He could live with that, though, provided he only had to ride the blasted horse there.

"Get out of it, you," he said, giving the horse a firm nudge in the right direction.

The horse, although lazy if allowed, was well trained and responded by picking up his pace again. After a few more minutes, however, Torrington raised his hand to signal a stop.

"Right ahead the river bends and we have to go on straight. If I remember correctly, there should be open fields for about three furlong before the forest starts. From there it is about the same distance until the meeting point - he said to enter the woods next to a large wooden cross and to go true north from there, looking for a fire."

He checked the rapidly setting sun.

"I would imagine we have about an hour before the appointed time."

"If there are woods, that would seem the best place to leave the horses so that they are out of sight," Vickery said, pulling out his own watch to check the time.

"Six furlongs or so. I would think it best to wait until we reach the woods before loading the rifles, and the best shots only should be expected to do any firing should it become necessary."

He looked levelly at Torrington. "I promise, if anyone is so close as to be holding a knife to a hostage's throat, my men can shoot him without harming a hair of the hostage's head, given the opportunity."

Torrington took a deep breath and let it out slowly, dropping his head for a moment.

"Thank you. I hope they will have it and not need it. A bit further up the river there should be an olive groove - perhaps your men can use that to approach without being spotted. I'm afraid he might do something unreasonable if he sees that we have brought more men than he stipulated."

He opened his own watch, tilting it so that they could compare their time.

"If we leave the horses there and approach on foot - though how many men did the note stipulate you were allowed to bring? Or was it just yourself with the ransom?"

Vickery was thinking, trying to glean as much information as he could so that he could formulate a suitable plan.