"Well, sir, I don't mind mentioning it in here, but it must go no further. The chief, knowing what we are capable of, proposes that I shall make a rapid march to Madrid, seize the city, and bring King Joseph back a prisoner."
There was a roar of laughter.
"Terence, my boy," Captain O'Grady said, "that is hardly a mission worthy of a fighting man like yourself. I expect that you are hiding something from us, and that the real idea is that you should traverse Spain and France, enter Germany, and seize Boney, and carry him off with you to England."
"I dare not tell you whether you are right or not, O'Grady. Things of this sort must not even be whispered about. It is a wonderfully good guess that you have made and, when it is all over, you will be able to take credit for having divined what was up; but for mercy's sake don't talk about it. Keep as silent as the grave and, if anyone should ask you what has become of us, pretend that you know nothing about it."
"But you are going, O'Connor?" the colonel said, when the laughter had subsided.
"Yes, colonel. We march tomorrow morning. I daresay you will hear of us before many days are over; and may, perhaps, be able to make even a closer guess than O'Grady as to what we are doing. I am heartily glad that we are off. We are now at our full strength again. Most of the wounded have rejoined, and I could have filled up the vacancies a dozen times over. The Portuguese know that I always manage to get food for my men, somehow; which is more than can be said for the other Portuguese regiments, though those of Trant and Pack are better off than Beresford's regulars. Then, too, I think they like fighting, now that they feel that they are a match for the French, man for man. They get a fair share of it, at any rate. The three months that we have been idle have been useful, as the new recruits know their work as well as the others."
"Then you don't know how much longer we are going to stop in this bastely hole?" O'Grady asked.
"Well, I will tell you this much, O'Grady: I fancy that, before this day week, you will all have work to do; and that it is likely to be hot."
"That is a comfort, Terence. But, my dear boy, have a little pity on us and don't finish off the business by yourselves. Remember that we have come a long way, and that it will be mighty hard for us if you were to clear the French out of Spain, and leave nothing for us to do but to bury their dead and escort their army, as prisoners, to the port."
"I will bear it in mind, O'Grady; but don't you forget the past. You know how desperately you grumbled at Rolica, because the regiment was not in it; and how you got your wish at Vimiera, and lost an arm in consequence. So even if I do, as you say, push the French out of Spain, you will have the consolation of knowing that you will be able to go back to Ireland, without leaving any more pieces of you behind."