72 EXTRAORDINARY ADVENTURES OF 



rapidly executed his mission ; and the interesting nature of his 

 adventures on this occasion will perhaps excuse a digression con- 

 cerning them. 



Attended by Leon, a Spanish peasant of great fidelity and 

 quickness of apprehension, who had been his companion on many 

 former occasions of the same nature, Grant arrrived in the Sala- 

 mancan district, and passing the Tormes in the night, remained, 

 in uniform, for he never assumed any disguise, three days in the 

 midst of the French camp. He thus obtained exact information 

 of Marmont's object, and more especially of his preparations of 

 provisions and scaling ladders, notes of which he sent to Lord 

 Wellington from day to day by Spanish agents. However, on 

 the third night, some peasants brought him a general order, ad- 

 dressed to the French regiments, and saying, that the notorious 

 Grant being within the circle of their cantonments, the soldiers 

 were to use their utmost exertions to secure him, for which pur- 

 pose also guards were placed as it were in a circle round the army. 



Nothing daunted by this news. Grant consulted with the pea- 

 sants, and next morning, before daylight, entered the village of 

 Huerta, which is close to a ford on the Tormes, and about six 

 miles from Salamanca. Here tl)ere was a French battalion, and 

 on the opposite side of the river cavalry videttes were posted, two 

 of which constantly patrolled back and forward, for the space of 

 three hundred yards, meeting always at the ford. When day 

 broke the French battidion assembled on its alarm-post, and at 

 that moment Grant was secretly brought with his horse behind 

 the gable of a house, which hid him from the infantry, and was 

 opposite to the ford. The peasants standing on some loose stones 

 and spreading their large cloaks, covered him from the cavalry 

 videttes, and thus he calmly waited until the latter were separa- 

 ted the full extent of their beat ; then putting spurs to his horse 

 he dashed through the ford between them, and receiving their fire 

 without damage, reached a wood, not very far distant, where the 

 pursuit was baffled, and where he was soon rejoined by Leon, 

 who in his native dress met with no interruption. 



Grant had already ascertained that the means of storming 

 Ciudad Rodrigo were prepared, and that the French officers openly 

 talked of doing so, but he desired still further to test this project 

 and to discover if the march of the enemy might not finally be di- 

 rected by the pass of Perales, towards the Tagus ; he wished also 

 to ascertain more correctly their real numbers, and tlierefore placed 

 himself on a wooded liill, near Tamames where the road branches 



