He was consumed with a huge anger. How could any fool have lost this battle? How could a man, given a hundred thousand troops, be beaten by a handful of redcoats? It was Pohlmann’s fault, all Pohlmann, and Dodd knew Pohlmann had to be somewhere in the house or courtyard and so he hunted him and vented his rage on Pohlmann’s guards, pursuing them from room to room, slaughtering them mercilessly, and all the while the great guns hammered the sky with their noise and the round shot thumped into the village walls.
Most of the Rajah of Berar’s infantry fled. Those on the makeshift ramparts could see the redcoats massing beyond the smoke of the big cannon and they did not wait for that infantry to attack, but instead ran northwards. Only the Arab mercenaries stayed, and some of those men decided caution was better than bravery and so joined the other infantry that splashed through the ford where Captain Joubert waited with Dodd’s regiment.
Joubert was nervous. The village’s defenders were fleeing, Dodd was missing, and Simone was still somewhere in the village. It was like Ahmednuggur all over again, he thought, only this time he was determined that his wife would not be left behind and so he kicked back his heels and urged his horse towards the house where she had taken refuge.
That house was hard by the courtyard where Dodd was searching for Pohlmann, but the Hanoverian had vanished. His gold was all in its panniers, and Pohlmann’s bodyguard had succeeded in strapping the panniers onto the two pack elephants before Dodd’s men attacked, but there was no sign of Pohlmann himself. Dodd decided he would let the bastard live, and so, abandoning the hunt, he sheathed his sword then lifted the locking bar from the courtyard gates.
“Where’s my horse?” he shouted to the men he had left guarding the alley.
“Dead, sahib,” a man answered.
Dodd ran down the alley to see that his precious new gelding had been struck by a bullet from the one volley fired by Pohlmann’s bodyguard. The beast was not yet dead, but it was leaning against the alley wall with its head down, dulled eyes and blood dripping from its mouth. Dodd swore. The big guns were still firing beyond the village, showing that the redcoats were not advancing yet, but suddenly they went silent and Dodd knew he had only minutes left to make his escape, and just then he saw another horse turn into the alley. Captain Joubert was in the saddle, and Dodd ran to him.
“Joubert!”
Joubert ignored Dodd. Instead he cupped his hands and shouted up at the house where the wives had been sheltered during the fighting.
“Simone!”
“Give me your horse, Captain!” Dodd demanded.
Joubert still ignored the Major.
“Simone!” he called again, then spurred his horse on up the alley. Had she already gone? Was she north of thejuah?
“Simone?” he shouted.
“Captain!” Dodd screamed behind him.
Joubert turned, summoned the courage to tell the Englishman to go to hell, but as he turned he saw that Dodd was holding a big pistol.
“No!”Joubert protested.
“Yes, Monsewer,” Dodd said, and fired. The ball snatched Joubert back against the alley wall and he slid down to leave a trail of blood. A woman screamed from a window above the alley as Dodd pulled himself into the Frenchman’s saddle. Gopal was already leading the first elephant out of the gate.
“To the ford, Gopal!” Dodd shouted, then he spurred into the courtyard to make certain that the second elephant was ready to leave.
While outside, in the alleys, there was a sudden silence. Most of the village’s garrison had fled, the dust drifted from its broken walls, and then the order was given for the redcoats to advance. Assaye was doomed.
Colonel McCandless had watched Dodd’s men retreat into the village and he doubted that the traitor was leading his men to reinforce the doomed garrison.
“Sevajee!” McCandless called.
“Take your men to the far side!”
“Across the river?” Sevajee asked.
“Watch to see if he crosses the ford,” McCandless said.
“Where will you be, Colonel?”
“In the village.” McCandless slid from Aeolus’s back and limped towards the captured guns that had started to fire at the mud walls. The shadows were long now, the daylight short and the battle ending, but there was still time for Dodd to be trapped. Let him be a hero, McCandless prayed, let him stay in the village just long enough to be caught.