It was only now that he was free at last that he realised how weary he was. From the moment when he had been taken captive, he had not had a wink of sleep and had been in a state of continuous tension. Daniel had to fight to stay awake. Looking to the future, he hoped that Abigail Piper would have departed from the camp. Though he had rescued her from the clutches of her captors, he did not relish the prospect of being showered with her apologies and overwhelmed by her gratitude. Daniel yearned for a long passage of time before he and Abigail ever met again.
In spite of his efforts to keep his eyes open, he eventually dozed off for a while, waking with a start and scolding himself for falling asleep. He put on his hat and coat again and untied his horse. Resuming his ride, he kept to the road as it meandered through a thick forest before straightening when it met open country. A first finger of light pointed to the approach of dawn. Daniel found the silence comforting and, after a period of captivity in a boisterous city, the sense of being completely alone was a positive tonic.
It did not last long. From somewhere ahead of him came the sound of many hooves clacking on the surface of the road. Daniel turned his own mount off the track and hid behind a stand of trees nearby. Minutes later, a troop of cavalry went past in the direction of Augsburg. He could not see the colour of their uniforms but they were clearly going to reinforce the garrison. Daniel's immediate fear was that, on the way, they might meet riders pursuing the fugitive and join in the chase. It made him urge his horse into a gallop.
The blanket of darkness gradually lifted to reveal a beautiful landscape that Daniel had no time to enjoy. Intent on putting as much distance as possible between himself and any pursuit, he pressed on until he reached a range of hills. The peak of the first hill commanded a view that stretched back for miles. Nobody was following him and he was, in any case, well over halfway to his destination. Daniel allowed himself and his horse a longer rest this time before pressing on. His dash for freedom had succeeded and he could maintain a less frantic pace from now on. He was even able to notice the rural splendour of his surroundings. Arriving at a hamlet, he chose to ride straight through it, wondering what the inhabitants would make of a French trooper in a uniform that was visibly too small for him.
The miles rolled steadily by. When he stopped to speak to a farmer, he was offered food and drink in return for news of what was happening in the war. His horse appreciated a mouthful of hay and the chance to dip his nose in the water trough. Donauworth was now less than five miles away and he guessed that the camp would be even closer than that by now. Daniel continued on his way until he came to a wooded rise that looked tranquil in the sunshine. It was an illusion. Almost as soon as he entered the trees, a shot was fired and his horse buckled underneath him.
Daniel's reactions were swift. Jerking his feet from the stirrups, he rolled clear of the animal as it hit the ground with a thud and neighed in distress. He then darted for the nearest cover, pulling out his sword as he did so. He could hear muffled voices approaching. Seeing some large bushes behind him, he plunged deeper into the undergrowth and hid behind them, straining his ears for telltale sounds. The snap of bracken warned him that someone was close and the first thing that came into view was a musket. With one swish of the sword, Daniel knocked it to the ground, jumping out to confront the soldier who had been holding it, only to find that he was face to face with a corporal from his own regiment.
'What the devil are you doing, Reynolds?' he demanded.
The corporal blinked. 'Is that you, Captain Rawson?'
'Of course, it is, man!'
'We took you for a French soldier, sir.'
'Then you should have tried to capture me. All you've done is to lose us a valuable cavalry horse.' Sheathing his word, Daniel picked up the musket. 'Listen to the poor animal. Let's put him out of his misery — and call off the others.'
'Hold your fire!' yelled the corporal. 'It's Captain Rawson!'
Daniel went back to the road where the horse was still convulsed in pain. The musket ball had shattered a hind leg and it was unable to stand. Its head was flailing about and its eyes rolling fearfully. Daniel put the musket to its head and fired the ball into its brain. After quivering violently for a few moments, it lay dead. The other members of the foraging party came out of the trees to stare in wonder at their captain. The corporal spoke for all of them.
'Why are you dressed like that, sir?' he asked.
Edward Marston
Soldier of Fortune
Daylight exposed the ugly truth in Augsburg. The discovery of the dead trooper was linked with the news of a courier who left the city at night by the main gate. It fell to Charles Catto to pass on the tidings and they brought a fresh explosion from General Salignac.
'He's escaped?' he bellowed.
'So it would appear, General.'
'How on earth could he escape from a whole army? Is every soldier in the city a complete imbecile?'
'The guards on duty at the main gate are being punished,' said Catto. 'It was they who foolishly let him out.'
'Has pursuit been organised?'
'There's no point in it, General Salignac. He has been gone over eight hours. They could never catch up with Captain Rawson.'
'Someone must do so.'
'I know,' agreed Catto, teeth clenched, 'and the task must be mine. He belongs to me. I'll set off at once.'
'Make no mistakes this time,' said Salignac, jabbing a finger at him. 'Captain Rawson must be killed. Don't come back unless you bring unequivocal proof of his death.'
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
Unable to tempt the Elector out of the safety of Augsburg, the Duke of Marlborough adopted a policy of wholesale destruction. Farms, hamlets and villagers were razed to the ground in various parts of Bavaria and thousands of refugees fled in terror to the cities. There was no respite. As one raiding party returned, another took its place. Their orders were to leave a scene of devastation behind them. It was over sixty years since Bavaria had last seen warfare within its borders and it was appalled by the atrocities committed. The Margrave of Baden had protested strongly against the policy and there were those in the British army who objected to what was happening.
'It's a disgrace,' said Daniel Rawson. 'I yield to none in my admiration of our captain-general but I do believe he's conducting a mistaken campaign.'
'Have you told him that, Dan?'
'He's not interested in my opinions.'
'They're shared by a lot of people,' said Henry Welbeck. 'None of my men would take any pleasure in setting fire to thatched cottages and seeing whole families put to flight with children in their arms. I'm grateful that we're not involved in such work.'
'But we can see the hideous results of it. When I escaped from Augsburg,' Daniel recalled, 'I was given food and drink at a little farmhouse. I had to watch as it went up in smoke. This is no way to fight a war, Henry. Our job is to kill enemy soldiers, not to put the fear of death into innocent civilians.'
'Yet the policy might work.'
'It's not done so yet.'
'Give it time, Dan.'