the pass in a single day if they pushed themselves, though most would go slower and take two, but a large column took three days.
They had been on the march for three hours when something caught his eye. The road ahead was gradually rising, and the terrain on either side was increasingly rocky, but to the left a distant ravine caused it to slope downward. Trees and brush obscured everything in the distance until the next mountain rose up behind the tops of the trees. What held his attention was a spot where the turyn swirled in an unusual pattern, as though a person or large animal hid behind the thick brush.
Turning his head, he searched farther back and saw a few other similar places he hadn’t noticed as they marched. Opening his mouth, he tried to catch Corporal Taylor’s attention. “There are men hidden to our left.”
The rest of the squad looked as they continued marching, but no one saw anything. “I don’t see anything,” said the corporal. “The scouts would have reported it if anyone was there.”
“I saw them,” insisted Will.
Sergeant Nash, who had been walking alongside the company, drew closer. “Dress the line! You’re too slow!”
The corporal sped up, but he also responded, “Sergeant, one of my men saw something in the ravine to our left.”
“We aren’t stopping because some green recruit is jumping at shadows,” barked the sergeant.
Will didn’t like the way things were progressing, for the more he looked the more convinced he became that at least seven or eight men were hiding within thirty yards of the road. With the way the terrain dipped, there could easily be many more beyond them that were completely blocked from sight. He was afraid of the consequences, but after a moment he simply stopped in his tracks. “Sergeant, they’re there. I can show you.”
The men behind might have marched right over him, but Tiny stopped as well, and his sheer mass was far harder to ignore. Sergeant Nash began screaming, and the look on Corporal Taylor’s face suggested he would have loved nothing more than to be able to vanish from the face of the earth. The entire company came to a halt and despite the shouting, Will heard the sound of hooves approaching as the captain rode up.
“Sergeant Nash! What the hell is going on?” demanded Sir Kyle.
“One of the new recruits is afraid of his own shadow,” growled Sergeant Nash.
“Take him out of the line and have him whipped. Now, get these men moving,” ordered the knight captain.
Will could see his chance of getting through to them quickly vanishing, so before the captain could ride on, he shouted, “I saw their helmets! Just over there!” He jumped and pointed to emphasize his point.
“I saw them too,” lied Tiny, his deep voice booming.
Sergeant Nash hesitated then, and Sir Kyle rode closer. “Both of you saw this?”
“Yes, sir,” answered Will and Tiny bobbed his head in agreement.
The captain lifted his arm and signaled to Lieutenant Latimer, who was riding farther back on the opposite side of the column, giving him the signal for a full halt even though they were already stopped. He leaned over in the saddle and gave Will a glare that could scour the rust from mail. “If we don’t find anything, I’ll have you both whipped.” Then he began giving orders. “Send a runner back to let the other platoons know we are forming up to march on the left side of the road. They are to do likewise. Have Sergeant Moon send a runner from Second Platoon to inform Company D of our action.”
In the span of a few minutes, Will saw the payoff for their months of drill practice as the entire company formed a line seventy-five men long and two ranks deep facing the left side of the road. Will and Tiny were in the front rank along with the rest of their squad. Sir Kyle and Lieutenant Latimer rode behind at either end of the formation.
The knight captain’s voice boomed over their heads, “Company B, forward march!” and a hundred and fifty men began to advance in step with one another. “Shields up, ready arms! Sergeants, watch the line!”
The line shifted as they crossed the rugged terrain and were forced to accommodate obstacles like bushes and small trees, keeping the sergeants busy as they ranged back and forth behind them, shouting orders to keep the company in formation. Will started to get nervous as he saw that the strange