be retained for some little time, especially if the defenders
had a few guns; but they would be liable to be taken in the rear by
a force at Avila, where there were, when I went down south, over
five thousand men. As to the troops coming from the north, they
would doubtless march on Salamanca. From that town they would cross
the Huebra and Yeltes so near their sources that no difficulty
would be caused by the blowing up of bridges, if any exist; but the
pass over the Sierra de Gatta, on the south of Ciudad, might be
defended by a small force, without difficulty."

The maps were now got out, and the matter gone into minutely. After
an hour's conversation, Lord Fitzroy said:

"Thank you, Colonel O'Connor. Some of the information that you have
given me will assuredly be very useful, if we besiege Ciudad. From
what we hear, there are a good many changes being made in the
French command. Napoleon seems about to engage in a campaign with
Russia, and is likely to draw off a certain portion of the forces
here and, while these changes are being made, it would seem to
offer a good opportunity for us to strike a blow."

On the last day of December, Terence received the following order:

"Colonel O'Connor will draw six days' rations from the commissariat
and, at daybreak tomorrow, march to the river Aqueda and, on the
following day, will ford that river and will post himself along the
line of the Yeltes, from its junction with the Huebra to the
mountains; and will prevent any person or parties crossing from
this side. It is of the highest importance that no intelligence of
the movements of the army should be sent, either by the garrison of
Ciudad or by the peasantry, to Salamanca. When his provisions are
exhausted, he is authorized to hire carts and send in to the army
round Ciudad but, if possible, he should obtain supplies from the
country near him, and is authorized to purchase provisions, and to
send in accounts and vouchers, for such purchases, to the
paymaster's department."

"Hurrah, Ryan," he exclaimed on reading the order, "things are
going to move, at last! This means, of course, that the army is
going to besiege Ciudad at once; and that we are to prevent the
French from getting any news of it, until it is too late for them
to relieve it. For the last month, guns and ammunition have been
arriving at Almeida; and I thought that this weary time of waiting
was drawing to an end."

"I am glad, indeed, Terence. I must