10 June; In a daze

He was in a cart.

That was the first concrete thought to sink through the haze clouding Newbury's head. He was in a cart and it was moving. No. It wasn't. It'd just stopped. How had he gotten here? He didn't remember anything after the surgeon had spoken to him the night before.

"What the blazes..." God but his voice sounded harsh on his own ears. Was his head still rattled from the previous days' none too gentle treatment? It was possible. That damned redcoat.


OOC - Newbury is indeed in a cart, but it's not gone anywhere. He's just being a bit delusional. Whoops...

Light shone into the cart when a small head peered inside. The figure peered about, then stopped to look at the man, occupying the cart. "Are you alive?" The childish voice squeaked, a grin revealing a set of fairly good teeth.

After a few moments he braved up and took a step forward. He glanced quickly over his shoulder, knowing that the surgeon would be all too hapy to chase the young ones out, should he catch them there.

What in the hell sort of brainless question was that? Newbury squeezed his eyes shut against the sudden glare of light and was silent for a long moment.

"You ain't needin' t'know if you're askin'," he grumbled.

"Jimmy. He's alive. See I told you!" The little body disappeared and then another head appeared in that boy's place, this one of a boy of dark messy mop of hair peering curiously at the injured man as the other lad had done before him.

"Mister. Are you hurt bad? Will the surgeon hack of your arm?" He scampered closer. The other boy joined him after a few moments, but remained as a little guard in case the surgeon would return.

Annoyance provided a bit of clarity through the haze over his brain. "Piss off outta it," Newbury snapped. He bloody well better not have his arm, or anything else, hacked off!

"He ain't all that friendly, Jim." One boy spoke, keeping his hands at his back, the other appeared to act as if he were a surgeon now and tucked his middle and forefinger under his chin as if in deep thought.

"I don't know. He could be real stressed. Think he should be bled. It helps with everythin' from stuffedness to meanness!"

William, as the other boy was named, shook his head. "There's no such word at stuffedness!"

Of course he wasn't bloody friendly. What did these little bastards expect? To be given hoarhound candy or something? If he'd had the energy, he'd have tried kicking one of the snot-faced sods.

"I'll 'ave you'ns bled," Newbury growled, resenting the renewed pounding behind his temples. "Jus' gimme a rifle!"

"We can do better, Mister. if you behave." Jimmy spoke. "But.. I don't know... you's right a mean bastard. Don't think he deserves hisself a drink, no." He shook his head.

William crossed his hands, and glanced over his shoulder yet again, listening for any sounds that would alarm them to the presence of another. "Relax, mister. you's face is turnin' all red berries!"

"Gimme a rifle," Newbury repeated, "an' I'll shoot the pair of you!"

"We ain't French!" Jimmy this time, scowling at Newbury like that would help. "He mus' be blind! " William piped in, waving a hand at Newbury like he was checking his theory. "Or daft!" Jimmy said then shook his head. "You see his rifle?" He turned to his friend then looked around the wagon.

"What's that?" William asked. "s' like a musket jus' shorter.. only t' ones in green have them. And it takes them looooooads o' time to load!" Jimmy explained. "You remember. Them were showin' it a while ago!"

"....Oh." William appeared to be thinking and then as if the anger of Newbury had not been noticed before, he asked: "Mister, how well can you shoot? Can you shoot a rabbit runnin' on t' other hill waay away. Hundreds o' miles away?"

"I've half a mind t'let him use the pair've you to find out," Sergeant Burr rumbled, looking down at the two boys with a bemused expression on his face.

He was looking better than he had the day before, having benefitted from a shave, a wash, and a clean shirt. For now he was wearing a drill jacket until his red one could be replaced. Still, he felt much more like a Guardsman than he had this time the day before.

"William, you was suppose t' guard the come'in!" Jimmy protested and then ducked around to stand beside his friend. "'scuse us." The man had some sort of rank marking and that meant they were better to bolt before they got in some real trouble. With a very kind, small voice, the look of a child who has done nothing but all the best in his life he spoke. "We was just curious, couse this man is a rifleman." William studied Burr and then whispered into the other boy's ear.

" Sergeant." Jimmy added quickly. "Couse this man is a rifleman, sergeant."

Of course they were. Boys would be boys.

"I ken he's a Rifleman," Burr said. "Carried him 'way from the Frogs. What's yer interest in'm?"

"You carried him all the way from the frogs?" there was two pairs of eyes locking onto Burr, and both pairs quite as wide in astonishment. They then both turned towards Newbury simultaneously. They studied the man, evaluating how heavy he was and how hard it would be to carry him for longer periods of time.

"You.." The two boys thought for a moment. "You are the ones that escaped from the Frogs! You two both?" They looked at Burr in amazement.

"Aye. A fair lang way, too." Burr shrugged with his good shoulder. "Us an' some o' his mates s'well."

"Was it hard? How'd you manage ter get away? Do the Frogs really eat children?" The questions rained down on Burr, William and Jimmy exchanging turns to ask a question of their own.

"Oh piss off!" Newbury cried, finally unable to tolerate the rapid-fire chatter. It was making his head throb.

He arrived back to the wagon after going off in search of tea and some sort of food. Finding a that a small group had gathered around the wagon he frowned.

"Herr Hauptman said zat man is to be left alone." He noted Burr's stripes
"Sorry Sergeant I did no see your rank, ja? but I have tea and food for Joe ja?"

It was, Burr reckoned, time to clear these two lads off. He nodded at the second Rifleman, privately relieved that someone was looking after the crippled one.

"S'all right," the Scotsman replied. "He'll be needin' it, sure. Now off with ye two bairns," he added, frowning a little at the boys. Certainly there were better places for them to be than hanging about here.