"Frankowski, Leo - Stargard 5 - Lord Conrad's Lady" - читать интересную книгу автора (Frankowski Leo)

УWeТre not particular about what we get so long as we get it fast,Ф I said, leading the group into the kitchen. I put a bushel of fairly fresh bread in front of each of the Big People, and Captain Wladyclaw set out two buckets of clean water for them. We sat at the cookТs worktable, which Tadeusz proceeded to cover with fifty kinds of preserved foods, most of them of the rare and expensive variety. We didnТt give it the attention it deserved but just wolfed down the calories as fast as we could. We both passed up the wines that were set out for some big glasses of small beer. Fighting is thirsty work, and the job wasnТt done yet.

The innkeeper was still setting out food when we got up to leave.

УYouТre leaving so soon, my lordС?Ф

УThereТs work to do. Look, move all this stuff and as much else as you need to the front door. Thinking about it, I have fifty thousand hungry troops out there, so youТd better get some help and empty out your entire cellar. When any of my men comes by, feed them near the door. DonТt let them stay in or you might have problems getting them out. TheyТre all so tired that theyТll fall asleep if they sit down. And give them only one jack of beer each. I donТt want them drunk!Ф

We headed back to the war.

Two blocks down we hadnТt found any Mongols, but I ran into Baron Gregor, my second in command. УSo how goes the battle?Ф I asked.

УWe seem to be winning, sir, and I think that our casualties have been light. I wish I could be more definite than that, but this is the most chaotic battle IТve ever heard of. I donТt even know where most of our units are!Ф

УI donТt think anybody does. IТve seen a lot of Mongols escaping out the city gates. You might try and get some of our men to guard each one of them.Ф

УIТll see to it, sir. A few men on the walls wouldnТt be amiss, either. You know, this is a situation where the radios would really have come in handy.Ф

УYeah, if the damn things worked,Ф I said. УYou go east along the walls, and weТll go west. When the gates are all guarded, weТll meet somewhere along the wall at the other side of the city. Oh, yes. You can stop at the Pink Dragon Inn. for a quick bite to eat. Pass the word on that one.Ф

УRight, sir. Ф

We headed back to the gate through which we had last entered. Captain Wladyclaw came with me, since he was still on Anna and she wasnТt about to leave my side. Had a human acted that way, I would have busted him for insubordination, but with Anna, well, what could I do?

We got to the gate with a platoon of troops we had picked up on the way. Enemy troops were streaming into the portal, and we had to fight our way to it for the last gross yards. We got there to find the bodies of the lance of men I had met on our way in. AH seven of them had died where I had left them. I should have reinforced them at the time. Another sin on my already blackened soul.

The platoon seemed to be holding pretty well, so I went on to the next gate, sending the next platoon I came across back to reinforce the first. This went on for one of our long, double-sized hours before I again met Baron Gregor. I sent him to continue his way around, inspecting and manning the walls while Captain Wladyclaw and I went outside the city to see how things were going there. It was dusk when we got to the dock area to find that one of our riverboats, the RB29 Enterprise, was just pulling in. I saw Baron Tadaos on the bridge.

УBaron Tadaos! What happened to your Muddling Through?Ф I shouted.

УBurned, sir!Ф he shouted in the darkening gloom. УBurned along with four-other boats and the whole damned city of East Gate. I came here looking for help!Ф




Chapter Six


Good god in heaven! A third Mongol army?

УTadaos! We have a third of the land forces in the city now, You collect up as many troops as you can hold and take them to East Gate. IТll follow as fast as I can with the rest!Ф I shouted.

УIТm low on fuel, sir!Ф

УThen tear down these docks if you have to, and those buildings, too, if you need more wood. But get there!Ф

УYes, sir!Ф

The nearest city gate was the one Captain Wladyclaw and I had left stuffed with Mongol corpses, so we had to race on to the next. Damn! I should have had brains enough to mount a signalman on one of the Big People and keep him with me, but I simply hadnТt thought of it. When the men were concentrated in war carts, there was always a signalman handy in every sixth cart, so there was no point wasting a Big Person on one. Now the situation had changed, and I hadnТt been bright enough to change with it. My stupidity was wasting precious time!