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of the eastern seltyr Sheludjyr. For the first day of spring, the day was
warm. The white sun cast shadows from the casaran trees to the west onto the
shoulder of the road, but was high enough that Mykel did not have to squint
when he looked westward.
Blocking the road was an overturned wagon with a Cad-mian uniform tunic lying
in the dirt beside a rifle. There were gouges and hoofprints in the road, and
the wagon was missing a wheel. The site was some two hundred yards to the
north of a gentle curve in the road just sharp enough that a rider could not
see the wagon until he had ridden to the end of the curved section.
From the trees, Mykel surveyed the scene. Then he looked at the stone fence
five yards in front of him, set several yards back from the shoulder of the
road. Second squad was deployed on foot, each man crouching close behind the
stones, concealed from those on the road.
Mykel glanced to the south. He could barely hear the sound of hoofs on the dry
road, the occasional murmur of voices of the oncoming companies of rebels.
While he was certain he and his men were well concealed, for the ambush to be
most effective, the column of riders one company of greencoats and one of
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bluecoats needed to get within , forty yards of the wagon. He d debated about
the diversion, but had decided to use it, because, with the center of the road
blocked, the men riding into the ambush would be more likely to turn back or
bunch up around the wagon. He d also placed more of fourth and fifth squads in
the trees in the middle of the curve, so that they would be in a position to
fire at any troopers turning and trying to flee.
Mykel continued to wait. Sweat oozed down his back. The sound of hoofs slowly
grew louder, as did the voices. Then the first outriders appeared, coming
around the last , section of the curve. Neither seemed to notice the wagon
until they were only about a hundred yards from it.
There s a wagon overturned! called one.
Words were shouted back, but Mykel could not make them out.
Both riders continued toward the wagon, until they were less than thirty yards
from it. Then one reined in, and the other continued northward. He reined in
just short of the wagon.
It s empty. Lost a wheel, looks like. Wait! There s a tunic here and a
rifle. The outrider straightened in the saddle. Someone left a rifle. Good
rifle, too.
By then, the first squad of the oncoming troopers was through the turn and on
the straight section of the road toward the wagon.
Empty wagon and rifle! the second outrider called back. Wagon s missing a
wheel!
Mykel waited, hoping that the column would keep moving forward.
The leading riders of the first squad had just passed Mykel when the captain
riding in the front ordered, Column! Halt! He rode forward toward the wagon.
As Mykel had planned, the front of the column slowed, then stopped, while the
later riders failed to hear the orders or did not react as quickly. The
spacing between the squads of greencoats narrowed, then vanished. Mykel
couldn t tell what was happening farther back to the south, but the seltyr s
troopers were about as close as they were likely to get.
Fire! ordered Mykel, aiming at the captain in green near the front of the
column.
Crack! Crack! Crack!& The initial shots came from out of the trees, where the
other squads were arrayed, because they did not have to reveal themselves to
fire.
The green captain pitched forward in the saddle.
The next volley came from the stone fence and second squad.
Return fire! came a command from somewhere, but few of the riders on the
road heard it or heeded it immediately.
One squad leader repeated the order, and had his own rifle out. Mykel aimed
and fired, willing his shot home. The squad leader dropped. Mykel kept firing,
deliberately, dropping a man with almost every shot. Then he leaned back
behind the short-needled pine to reload.
Some of the greencoats bolted northward, but they had to slow to get around
the wagon. More were hit, some wounded in arms or legs, others slumping in
their saddles or toppling onto the road,
Mykel winced as one second squad trooper slumped over the wall. He turned and
fired on a group of greencoats that had formed into a rough line and were
firing at second squad. Three went down before the other three wheeled their
mounts and withdrew.
Within moments, the road was empty of mounted blue-coats and greencoats, with
only the wounded and dead and at least a half score of mounts milling around.
Cease fire! Cease fire! Mykel ordered.
He mounted the chestnut and moved out through one of the openings in the stone
wall. Second squad, mount up!
First squad, round up the loose mounts! Then he rode back southward toward
the curve in the road. He had to pick his way around the bodies. At a rough
count, there were probably close to sixty, all told.
Fourth and fifth squads! Mount up and re-form! Gather the rifles and
ammunition. Leave their wounded.
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He turned the chestnut back northward.
When he neared the wagon, he could see that Gendsyr s men had managed to get
control of more than a half score of the rebel mounts. Several of the second
squad rankers were strapping and tying the rifles they had covered to the
captured horses. Others had dragged the wagon clear of the road. Mykel looked
back, and saw that Bhoral and fourth and fifth squads were formed up and
riding northward toward Mykel.
Squads one, two, and three, mount up! We need to get riding. While Mykel
doubted that the routed rebels would immediately return, he wanted to get
moving before they had a chance to regroup and return. If he had had a full
battalion at his command, he might well have pursued and captured or
eliminated the two rebel companies entirely.
Once Fifteenth Company was riding in good order northward, with both scouts
and outriders ahead, and after Mykel had gotten the casualty reports from the
squad leaders, he turned the chestnut and rode back to find Bhoral.
Sir, acknowledged the senior squad leader, as Mykel . eased his mount beside
him.
We didn t do too badly, Mykel said. Two dead, and two wounded.
Bhoral looked at Mykel. Captain& they didn t even know what happened.
No. Mykel felt disturbed about that, but he didn t see that he had that much
choice.
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