"What do you think of this expedition, Captain Carstairs?" his
lieutenant, John Bowyer, asked him.
"I would rather be back with King Charles," Charlie replied. "Of
course, I don't know the geography of the place, but if the
Russians keep their eyes at all open, I don't see how a force like
ours, with cavalry and guns, can hope to enter the town unnoticed.
The addition of the horsemen seems to me altogether ridiculous, as
they could be no good whatever, if they did enter the town. As for
those four field pieces, they will hamper our march; and as they
say the Russians have already some forty cannon in position about
the town, those little pieces would be useless.
"Four hundred infantry, making the attempt at night under good
guidance, might manage to slip into the place, but this procession
of ours is, to my mind, tempting destruction, for we certainly
cannot hope to cut our way, by force, through the whole Russian
army.
"But even if we do get inside the town, our plight can be no
better. The Russians' cannon are bombarding it, night and day, and
more batteries are in course of erection, and Schlippenbach the
governor, who is, I believe, a brother of the general, has but a
few pieces to reply to them.
"Were there an army advancing to the relief of the place, it would
be different altogether, for our reinforcement might be of vital
importance in repelling assaults, until aid arrived.
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