The Rebels of Cordovia (17 page)

“We were hunting,” said Matt.

The leader swatted him once again. “You’re
lying. If you admit that you’re rebels, then I’ll stop beating on
you.”

Robin was upset at what she was witnessing.
Matt’s face was bruised and his eye was swollen. This made her
angry. She turned to Daniel and whispered, “Why is he so persistent
about them being rebels? What’s going on?”

Daniel narrowed his eyes at the soldier and then
whispered to her, “They get a reward for every rebel they bring in.
And no rebel gets a trial, either. You know what they do to
rebels?”

Robin’s eyes widened as she held her hand to her
mouth. “Oh, no!”

The soldier now stood in front of
fifteen-year-old Johnnie and growled, “You’re a rebel, ain’t you,
boy?”

Johnnie winced when he saw the leader’s hand
rise in the air. He quickly said, “Yes, I’m a rebel and I’m proud
of it.”

The leader laughed. “I knew it.”

Matt yelled with anger, “That’s a lie. He’s not
a rebel.”

The leader hit Matt across the face, making him
lose his balance and fall.

When the leader turned to Johnnie, he said, “Is
that true, boy?”

Johnnie hesitated when he saw Matt shake his
head, giving the message to not answer.

When the leader raised his hand in the air,
Johnnie yelled, “Stop! I’ll tell you the truth.”

“Go ahead,” said the soldier.

Sticking his chest out, Johnnie said, “I
consider myself a rebel.”

“Consider? Explain yourself, boy.”

Johnnie swallowed nervously and then said,
“Well, we’re not exactly rebels yet. But we’re going to be. We’re
going to join up as soon as we find them. That’s why we’re here. So
my answer is yes! I consider myself a rebel.”

The questioning stopped as the leader chuckled.
“We’ll take them in tomorrow and get the reward.”

The soldiers sat the boys down on the ground and
then left to sit by the fire. The defeated look in the boys’ faces
made Robin want to weep.

Daniel turned to her and said, “He’s brave. As I
see it, we can’t just waltz in there. They’re carrying muskets. Do
you have any ideas?”

Robin shook her head.

“Well, we’ve got a while to come up with a plan.
We’ll wait until they fall asleep before we make a move.” He looked
down at her bow and quiver and smiled. “Good thing you brought that
along. We’ll figure something out.”

“What about Hanna?”

He smiled. “She’s safe enough. The shack is down
in a valley and hard to get to.”

She nodded and leaned against him as he put his
arm around her. Then he pulled her head against his shoulder.

“Just rest a bit,” whispered Daniel. “I’ll wake
you when it’s time to make a move.”

She closed her eyes. How she wished he would
always hold her like this… to be owned by him and to own his love!
Robin knew there was no other man for her but Daniel. He was
everything she desired. He was gentle and patient with her.

Robin realized she could not dwell on such
things. They had a mission to accomplish. That was why Daniel had
said they would discuss their feelings for one another at another
time, after Hanna had testified to the people. There could be no
distractions whatsoever.

Robin tried to relax but found it impossible.
Taking a deep breath and letting it out slowly would probably help.
After trying it a few times, she sighed. It didn’t work. She tried
a new position but nothing seemed to help her relax. She was
feeling too anxious.

When she felt Daniel’s hand gently rubbing her
arm in a soothing manner, the motion began relaxing her. She
gradually felt the anxiety in her begin to leave. The caressing
motion of his hand helped to relieve the tension inside her. As
Robin snuggled against him, she gradually slipped into a world of
dreams.

When Daniel heard loud snoring coming from the
soldiers and noticed only one soldier standing guard, he awoke
Robin and said, “It’s time. I’ve come up with a plan.”

“You have?”

Daniel nodded. “Can you cry like a little
child?”

Robin smiled. “Of course.”

He got to his feet and pulled her up. Then he
led her to a tree surrounded by shrubbery. He instructed her to sit
on the ground next to the tree. At his signal, she would begin
crying. Quickly he grabbed his weapon, which was a large limb. Then
he climbed a nearby tree that was in the pathway leading to Robin.
He looked at the guard who sat near the boys and then gave a nod to
Robin.

As she cried, Daniel noticed the guard took
notice of it and stood. He grabbed his musket and walked toward the
edge of camp and said, “Who’s there?”

When no one answered, he began walking toward
the sound, asking once again, “Who’s there?”

When he came upon Robin, sitting on the ground
and weeping, he walked toward her and asked, “Where did you come
from? Are you lost?”

Right at that moment, as the soldier stood under
the tree that Daniel was sitting in, he brought his weapon down
upon the soldier’s head and he crumpled to the ground. He then
jumped out of the tree and smiled. His plan had worked beautifully.
Now they would release the boys.

Just as he thought all was going so smoothly, a
soldier awoke and stood beside his bedroll. Apparently, he must
have heard the guard talking and awoke from his sleep. The rest of
the men were sleeping soundly and snoring.

As Daniel crouched beside the guard, he put his
finger to his mouth and gave a nod to Robin. He quickly pulled the
man toward the tree and leaned him against the trunk. Then taking
the man’s arm, he wrapped it around Robin.

When she wrinkled her nose, he smiled and
whispered, “On my signal, begin crying. Hopefully this will work
twice.”

He then grabbed the musket and hid behind the
same tree that he had climbed before.

The soldier looked around camp, and seeing that
the guard wasn’t there, he walked toward the boys and asked, “Where
did Pete go?”

When they pointed in the direction he had gone,
the soldier walked to the edge of camp and searched the darkness.
Finally, he said, “Pete? Are you out there?”

Trying to remember the tone of the guard’s voice
when he called to Robin, Daniel cupped his hands over his mouth to
muffle the sound and mimicked his voice. “Out here.”

“Where are you?” asked the soldier.

“Over here,” he said softly. “See what I
found.”

The soldier started walking in the direction of
Daniel’s voice. As he got closer, Daniel nodded to Robin and she
began weeping once again. The soldier picked up his steps when he
heard Robin cry. As he approached her, Daniel made sure he was
hidden well.

When the soldier finally got to Robin and stood
in front of her, he exclaimed, “What in tarnation?”

Just then, Daniel whacked the soldier on the
back of the head with the musket and he crumpled to the ground.
Robin quickly grabbed her bow and quiver and stood. She dusted
herself off and then looked up at Daniel, wondering what his next
plan of attack was.

He pulled a small knife from his pouch and
handed it to her. “You cut the boys loose while I take care of
business.”

He took Robin’s hand and led her to the boys.
While she was cutting them loose, he walked toward the two men
sleeping soundly. Seeing their swords and muskets lying beside
their bedrolls, he quietly picked them up and walked to the boys.
He looked at the four swords in his hands and the boys in front of
him, and then gave a nod.

As each boy stood, Daniel offered him a sword
and said, “If you want to be a rebel, then you have to act like
one. Take this sword, stand with your feet apart, and hold it like
you know how to use it. Got it?”

The boys nodded.

“All you have to do is stand in back of me, as
if you’re ready to attack. But please don’t. Just watch my back.
That’s all. Got it?”

The boys nodded once again. When he offered a
musket to Robin, she shook her head and raised her bow in the air.
He nodded as she pulled an arrow from her quiver.

Taking the last sword in his hand and dropping
the muskets to the ground, he walked toward the leader. Glancing at
the sleeping soldier, Daniel noticed he was still snoring. No need
in waking him. He had some business to attend to with the
leader.

Daniel poked the miscreant a couple times with
the point of the sword, trying to wake him.

After a while, the leader groaned and pushed at
the sword as he said in a raspy voice, “Leave me alone, Pete. Just
guard the boys. That’s all I ask.”

Daniel poked him again and the despicable man
opened his eyes. The soldier gasped when he looked up and saw a
tall muscular man standing before him. When he saw the boys
standing behind Daniel with swords in hand and their feet spread
apart, his eyes widened. When he saw Robin with her bow and the
string stretched to its limit with an arrow pointing right at him,
he began to tremble.

The soldier stumbled to his feet and said, “We
have no money, rebel. You’re just wasting your time.”

Daniel stepped forward and glared at the man.
Then he pointed to Matt and said softly, “Do you see that boy?”

The soldier nodded.

“Do you see his black eye?”

The soldier didn’t say a word but scowled at the
boy.

Daniel slapped the man across the face. “Do you
see his bruised cheek bones?”

The soldier ground his jaw with anger.

Daniel smacked the man’s face again and made him
flinch. “Do you see his swollen lip?”

The soldier glowered with vehemence as if he was
ready to pounce on Daniel.

Once again he struck the soldier and said, “Do
you see that boy next to him? He’s only fifteen years old. I
noticed how you raised your hand to him, ready to strike him if he
didn’t confess to being a rebel. Are you so greedy that you would
beat a child just so you could get your reward?”

The man stared at Daniel as he clenched his
fists.

Daniel hit the soldier with more force this
time. “What do they do with the rebels who are brought in for a
reward?”

“Hang ‘em,” said the soldier as he looked at the
boys. “They’re thieves.”

“These boys aren’t thieves. They’re not even
rebels. But they believe in a cause and you have no right to beat
them for their beliefs.” He turned to Johnnie and said, “Throw your
sword to this soldier and we’ll see how good he can fight.”

The young boy nodded and tossed his sword to the
leader. The boys then moved so they would not be in the way.

Daniel then ordered, “Pick it up.”

The soldier stooped down and grabbed the sword.
He grinned and said, “We’ll see who’s the better swordsman, won’t
we? You rebels know nothing of fighting. We’ve been trained by the
best. When I’m done with you, then I’m taking the whole lot in for
a reward, including that woman since she’s a rebel, too.”

Without another word, Daniel swung his sword
toward the soldier and snapped off the buttons on his uniform. The
man gasped at his quick movement and then became angry and struck
his sword against the metal of Daniel’s. Again and again, the
soldier moved about, trying to overtake his opponent, but without
success.

Parrying and sidestepping, Daniel was able to
evade the soldier’s advances. Once again, Daniel sliced the man’s
uniform, making him angrier and causing the man to loose his
temper. Daniel pushed the man back further and further until he was
finally leaning against the trunk of a tree.

At that moment, Daniel swung his sword with
great strength and hit the man’s weapon out of his hand. He grinned
as he pointed his sword at the man’s throat. Now what? Daniel
looked him up and down and then his grin widened. He quickly sliced
at the man’s belt and his pants fell around his ankles.

The soldier glared at him and ground his teeth
with rage.

Daniel turned to the sleeping soldier who was
still snoring loudly and shook his head. The man could sleep
through anything. Daniel never raised his voice while talking to
the leader, but only talked gruffly. The only other noise was metal
striking metal. What would it be like to sleep that soundly?

He turned to Robin and said, “Get some rope and
we’ll tie him up good.” Turning to the sleeping soldier, he added,
“I don’t see any reason to wake that man over there.”

Robin quickly got the rope and handed it to
Daniel as she begged, “Leave this man’s clothes on this time. I
don’t want to see another naked soldier. All right?”

He laughed as he stuffed the cretin’s mouth with
a dirty handkerchief. Then he tied him up, both hands and legs.
Then he pulled the man’s legs backward so they touched his hands
and tied the two ropes together. He stood back and looked at his
fine job and smiled.

Next he led the boys to the horses and said,
“Each of you take a horse and get out of here. I don’t want to see
you in these woods again. You hear?”

“But…” said Johnnie. “I want to be a rebel.”

Daniel shook his head and said softly, “If you
want to support our cause, then attend the meeting we’re having on
Saturday at the outskirts of Charlottesville. We’re going to
dethrone King Rupert.”

The boys’ faces brightened and they nodded their
agreement. After leading the horses to the road, the boys climbed
on and took off.

Daniel smiled as he took Robin’s hand in his and
led her into the woods. They had three miles to go before reaching
the shack.

As they walked, he turned to her and said with a
grin, “You snore!”

“What?” said Robin with surprise.

Daniel chuckled and squeezed her hand. “Well,
it’s not exactly snoring. It’s more like breathing heavily. But you
do talk in your sleep.”

“I do?” she said curiously. “What did I
say?”

He smiled. “You don’t want to know.”

“Yes, I do.”