VI.
Leonid Plekhanov, Joseph Chessman, Barry Watson, Khan Reif and severalof the Tulan army staff stood on a small knoll overlooking a valley ofseveral square miles. A valley dominated on all sides but the sea bymountain ranges.
Reif and the three Earthlings were bent over a military map depictingthe area. Barry Watson traced with his finger.
"There are only two major passes into this valley. We have this one,they dominate that."
Plekhanov was scowling, out of his element and knowing it. "How many menhas Mynor been able to get together?"
Watson avoided looking into the older man's face. "Approximately half amillion according to Hawkins' estimate. He flew over them this morning."
"Half a million!"
"Including the nomads, of course," Joe Chessman said. "The nomads fightmore like a mob than an army."
Plekhanov was shaking his massive head. "Most of them will melt away ifwe continue to avoid battle. They can't feed that many men on thecountryside. The nomads in particular will return home if they don't geta fight soon."
Watson hid his impatience. "That's the point, sir. If we don't breaktheir power now, in a decisive defeat, we'll have them to fight again,later. And already they've got iron swords, the crossbow and even a fewmuskets. Given time and they'll all be so armed. Then the fat'll be inthe fire."
"He's right," Joe Chessman said sourly.
Reif nodded his head. "We must finish them now, if we can. The task willbe twice as great next year."
Plekhanov grumbled in irritation. "Half a million of them and somethinglike forty thousand of our Tulans."
Reif corrected him. "Some thirty thousand Tulans, all infantrymen." Headded, "And eight thousand allied cavalry only some of whom can betrusted." Reif's ten-year-old son came up next to him and peered down atthe map.
"What's that child doing here?" Plekhanov snapped.
Reif looked into the other's face. "This is Taller Second, my son. Youfrom First Earth have never bothered to study our customs. One of themis that a Khan's son participates in all battles his father does. It ishis training."
Watson was pointing out features on the map again. "It will take threedays for their full army to get in here." He added with emphasis, "Inretreat, it would take them the same time to get out."
Plekhanov scowled heavily. "We can't risk it. If we were defeated, wehave no reserve army. We'd have lost everything." He looked at JoeChessman and Watson significantly. "We'd have to flee back to the_Pedagogue_."
Reif's face was expressionless.
Barry Watson looked at him. "We won't desert you, Reif, forget aboutthat aspect of it."
Reif said, "I believe you, Barry Watson. You are a ... soldier."
Dick Hawkins' small biplane zoomed in, landed expertly at the knoll'sfoot. The occupant vaulted out and approached them at a half run.
Hawkins called as soon as he was within shouting distance. "They'removing in. Their advance cavalry units are already in the pass."
When he was with them, Plekhanov rubbed his hand nervously over heavylips. He rumbled, "The cavalry, eh? Listen, Hawkins, get back there anddust them. Use the gas."
The pilot said slowly, "I have four bullet holes in my wings."
"Bullet holes!" Joe Chessman snapped.
Hawkins turned to him. "By the looks of things, MacBride's whole unithas gone over to the rebels. Complete with their double-barreledmuskets. A full thousand of them."
Watson looked frigidly at Leonid Plekhanov. "You insisted on issuingguns to men we weren't sure of."
Plekhanov grumbled, "Confound it, don't use that tone of voice with me.We have to arm our men, don't we?"
Watson said, "Yes, but our still comparatively few advanced weaponsshouldn't go into the hands of anybody but trusted citizens of theState, certainly not to a bunch of mercenaries. The only ones we can_really_ trust even among the Tulans, are those that were kids when wefirst took over. The one's we've had time to indoctrinate."
"The mistake's made. It's too late now," Plekhanov said. "Hawkins goback and dust those cavalrymen as they come through the pass."
Reif said, "It was a mistake, too, to allow them the secret of thecrossbow."
Plekhanov roared, "I didn't _allow_ them anything. Once the crossbow wasintroduced it was just a matter of time before its method ofconstruction got to the enemy."
"Then it shouldn't have been introduced," Reif said, his eyesunflinching from the Earthman's.
Plekhanov ignored him. He said, "Hawkins, get going on that dusting.Watson, pull what units we already have in this valley back through thepass we control. We'll avoid battle until more of their army has fallenaway."
Hawkins said with deceptive mildness, "I just told you those cavalrymenhave muskets. To fly low enough to use gas on them, I'd get within easyrange. Point one, this is the only aircraft we've built. Point two,MacBride is probably dead, killed when those cavalrymen mutinied. Pointthree, I came on this expedition to help modernize the Texcocans, not todie in battle."
Plekhanov snarled at him. "Coward, eh?" He turned churlishly to Watsonand Reif. "Start pulling back our units."
Barry Watson looked at Chessman. "Joe?"
Joe Chessman shook his head slowly. He said to Reif, "Khan, startbringing your infantry through the pass. Barry, we'll follow your planof battle. We'll anchor one flank on the sea and concentrate whatcavalry we can trust on the hills on the right. That's the bad spot,that right flank has to hold."
Plekhanov's thick lips trembled. He said in fury, "Is thisinsubordination?"
Reif turned on his heel and followed by young Taller and his staffhurried down the knoll to where their horses were tethered.
Chessman said to Hawkins, "If you've got the fuel, Dick, maybe it'd be agood idea to keep them under observation. Fly high enough, of course, toavoid gunfire."
Hawkins darted a look at Plekhanov, turned and hurried back to hisplane.
Joe Chessman, his voice sullen, said to Plekhanov, "We can't afford anymore mistakes, Leonid. We've had too many already." He said to Watson,"Be sure and let their cavalry units scout us out. Allow them to seethat we're entering the valley too. They'll think they've got ustrapped."
"They will have!" Plekhanov roared. "I countermand that order, Watson!We're withdrawing."
Barry Watson raised his eyebrows at Joe Chessman.
"Put him under arrest," Joe growled sourly. "We'll decide what to doabout it later."
* * * * *
By the third day, Mynor's rebel and nomad army had filed through thepass and was forming itself into battle array. Rank upon rank upon rank.
The Tulan infantry had taken less than half a day to enter. They hadcamped and rested during the interval, the only action being on the partof the rival cavalry forces.
Now the thirty thousand Tulans went into their phalanx and began theirmarch across the valley.
Joe Chessman, Hawkins, Roberts, Stevens and Khan Reif and several of hismen again occupied the knoll which commanded a full view of the terrain.With binoculars and wrist radios from the _Pedagogue_ they kept incontact with the battle.
Below, Barry Watson walked behind the advancing infantry. There were sixdivisions of five thousand men each, twenty-four foot _sarissas_stretched before their sixteen man deep line. Only the first few lineswere able to extend their weapons; the rest gave weight and suppliedreplacements for the advanced lines' casualties. Behind them all theTulan drums beat out the slow, inexorable march.
Cogswell, beside Watson with the wrist radio, said excitedly, "Herecomes a cavalry charge, Barry. Reif says right behind it the nomadinfantry is coming in." Cogswell cleared his throat. "All of them."
Watson held up a hand in signal to his officers. The phalanx ground to ahalt, received the charge on the hedge of _sarissas_. The enemy cavalrywheeled and attempted to retreat to the flanks but were caught in abloody confusion by the pressure of their own advancing infantry.
Cogswell, his ear to the radio, said, "Their
main body of horse ishitting our right flank." He wet his lips. "We're outnumbered theresomething like ten to one. At least ten to one."
"They've got to hold," Watson said. "Tell Reif and Chessman that flankhas to hold."
The enemy infantrymen in their hundreds of thousands hit the Tulan linein a clash of deafening military thunder. Barry Watson resumed hispacing. He signaled to the drummers who beat out another march. Thephalanx moved forward slowly, and slowly went into an echelon formation,each division slightly ahead of the one following. Of necessity, thestraight lines of the nomad and rebel front had to break.
The drums went _boom_, ah, _boom_, ah, _boom_, ah, _boom_.
The Tulan phalanx moved slowly, obliquely across the valley. The hedgeof spears ruthlessly pressed the mass of enemy infantry before them.
The sergeants paced behind, shouting over the din. "Dress it up. Youthere, you've been hit, fall out to the rear."
"I'm all right," the wounded spearman snarled, battle lust in his voice.
"Fall out, I said," the sergeant roared. "You there, take his place."
The Tulan phalanx ground ahead.
One of the sergeants grinned wanly at Barry Watson as his men movedforward with the preciseness of the famed Rockettes of another era."It's working," he said proudly.
Barry Watson snorted, "Don't give me credit. It belongs to a man namedPhilip of Macedon, a long ways away in both space and time."
Cogswell called, "Our right flank cavalry is falling back. Joe wants toknow if you can send any support."
Watson's face went expressionless. "No," he said flatly. "It's got tohold. Tell Joe and the Khan it's got to hold. Suggest they throw inthose cavalry units they're not sure of. The ones that threatened mutinylast week."
Joe Chessman stood on the knoll flanked by the Khan's ranking officersand the balance of the Earthmen. Natt Roberts was on the radio. Heturned to the others and worriedly repeated the message.
Joe Chessman looked out over the valley. The thirty-thousand-man phalanxwas pressing back the enemy infantry with the precision of a machine.He looked up the hillside at the point where the enemy cavalry wasturning the right flank. Given cavalry behind the Tulan line and thebattle was lost.
"O.K., boys," Chessman growled sourly, "we're in the clutch now.Hawkins!"
"Yeah," the pilot said.
"See what you can do. Use what bombs you have including the napalm. Flyas low as you can in the way of scaring their horses." He added sourly,"Avoiding scaring ours, if you can."
"You're the boss," Hawkins said, and scurried off toward his scoutplane.
Joe Chessman growled to the others, "When I was taking my degree inprimitive society and primitive military tactics, I didn't exactly havethis in mind. Come on!"
It was the right thing to say. The other Earthmen laughed and took uptheir equipment, submachine guns, riot guns, a flame thrower, grenades,and followed him up the hill toward the fray.
Chessman said over his shoulder to Reif, "Khan, you're in the saddle.You can keep in touch with both Watson and us on the radio."
Reif hesitated only a moment. "There is no need for further direction ofthe battle from this point. A warrior is of more value now than a Khan.Come my son." He caught up a double-barreled musket and followed theEarthmen. The ten years old Taller scurried after with a revolver.
Natt Roberts said, "If we can hold their cavalry for only another halfhour, Watson's phalanx will have their infantry pressed up against thepass they entered by. It took them three days to get through it, they'renot going to be able to get out in hours."
"That's the idea," Joe Chessman said dourly, "Let's go."