The Tangled Web(147)

"The man with the keys let some other prisoners out. He was offering clemency if they would come fight the fire."

"Scarcely feasible for us, I fear. I am not in shape to fight a field mouse."

"If we can only get to the Swedish lines . . ."



"The horses," Timothy Nugent screamed. "The horses. I can't hold them."

"I'll take a couple," Caspar said. He grabbed for the reins.

"Not that way."

"I'll come after you as soon as I can. I need to help a couple of old friends."

Zeyler headed for the jail.



The noise at the other end of the hall got louder. Letting Brandt down on the floor, Heisel limped toward the source of the disturbance."

"Dislav? What?"

"Maybe you promised to bring this human slime to the up-timers for a fair trial as they see it," Dislav said. "I did not. See the pretty thumbscrews? I thought this was a quite original way to use them."

Heisel gagged.

Dislav shook his head. "The colonel beat my dear young lady when he found out that I was your friend. That was neither fair nor just."

"Uh. Dislav. Maybe we should get out of here. Shorndorf is burning."

The Czech shook his head. "The wind's blowing the other way. The castle will be all right, and the countess is in her quarters upstairs. I can't leave without her. Besides, I'm busy right now."



Schiffer had found a bullhorn. "The Swedes are coming in, some of them, at least. They're helping fight the fire. Look for orange uniforms and work with them. Otherwise, the Swedes still outside are picking off the Irish, one by one, as they come out with their mounts."

"What was that last noise we heard?"

"The church roof. The heat weakened the beams so much that it plunged right down into the sanctuary."



"This is going to have to be the last load."

The old man nodded his head. "But, wait. I still don't have the portable baptistry." He headed toward the sacristy.

"Aus! Jetzt! The roof is about to fall."

"I am the pastor of this parish, the Dekan of the parish of Schorndorf. Who are you to say 'Out! Now!' to me or order me around?"

The stocky young man in the orange uniform grabbed the Dekan by the waist and threw him down the church steps, followed by a clatter of miscellaneous silver plated vessels on the stone steps.

"By my authority as a called servant of God . . ."

The roof fell.



"We'll never get out," Heisel said. "Look what's happening. Our men outside figure that anyone on a horse is an Irishman trying to escape. But Julius can't walk—the wounds on his legs just keep bleeding and his legs shake so. Maybe Gruyard got in a hurry and cut more muscle than he intended to. I don't think I can walk, either, even though Gruyard didn't slice me up quite so badly. At least, I didn't think so right after he finished the last session. I thought he was holding back, saving something for the next time."

"Leave it to me," Zeyler answered. "I'll think of something. Maybe some of Brahe's men who have come inside the walls will recognize us."



"It's getting dark." Merckel wiped the sweat from his forehead.

"We'll be watching the fire all night."

"Why doesn't it ever rain when you could use it? All that mud over by Germersheim, and now this dry wind. It's enough to make a man believe in hell."

"What it reminds me of," Jeffie Garand said, "is that Jerry Lee Lewis song. 'Great Balls of Fire.' " He went back to scooping earth on smouldering embers.

"Merckel," someone called. "Ludwig Merckel. Over here."

"Heisel," he said. "God be praised."



"So far, the walls have contained the fire, Colonel Utt. I wouldn't count on it for tomorrow, though. It could still jump them if the wind really picks up." Moritz Klott, one of Horn's aides-de-camp eyed the embers of Schorndorf with a wary expression. "We know that your men are exhausted, but better keep them on alert."

"What's left? Anything more than I can see from here, that is?" Utt asked. They were standing at the south gate.

"Outside of the walls, there's a little suburb to the north—maybe three hundred people live there and it has a couple of inns." Klott checked his stack of paperwork. "We're using that for emergency housing for the survivors. The cemetery is outside the walls and has a little chapel. We'll hold the funerals there. Butler had given orders to have all that leveled so his men would have a clear view from the walls, but they hadn't gotten it done yet. We're lucky, in a way, that we were so close behind them. If they'd had a couple of weeks to dig in . . ."

"There are a lot of 'ifs.' If they had artillery, if, if, if. We have to deal with what is." Derek shook his head, looking at the young officers who were awaiting further instructions.