Chapter 3

Ignacio learnt from an early age to take what he wanted without regard for the feelings of others, including his younger sister. It was one Christmas morning when Ignacio was ten years old, he snatched his sister's present from her hands.

"That's mine, give it back." Rosita cried out.

"Come and get it then." he grinned as she tried to get her present back but he held it high above his head.

"Mama!" Rosita rushed to her mother. "Ignacio won't give back my present." she wailed in her mother's arms.

Juanita placed her arm around her upset daughter and frowned at her son. "Give Rosita's present back Ignacio."

"But..."

"But nothing, give it back, now Ignacio." she raised her voice.

Ignacio sighed. "Okay." he grumbled as Rosita ran up to him, grabbed her gift and then poked her tongue out at him. He growled and made to chase after her but she squealed and ran back to the safety of their mother's skirts, who frowned again at her son.

Esteban chuckled. "Juanita, it's just some harmless fun between siblings."

She shook her head. "Not to Rosita it wasn't."

He shrugged. "Surely your brothers teased you when you were younger."

"Si, they did, so I know how she feels."

"Don't worry about, he will grow out of it."

But Ignacio didn't grow out of it, in fact he felt encouraged to do it again the following year, much to the amusement of his father and it continued for a number of years afterwards. Juanita was dismayed at this bullying, she hated to see her daughter in tears every Christmas and tried to stop it but Esteban continued to laugh it off, saying that it was simply teasing and that the present had always been given back to Rosita later.

The bullying of his younger sister wasn't enough for Ignacio, who craved his parent's attention. His elder brother Tomos had farming in his blood and was often praised, not only by his parents but also by the members of their community for his understanding of the land and of animals. Even at a such a young age of nineteen, he knew when to leave fields fallow for a season or two to allow the fertile land time to recover and he came to understand the weather patterns, when the best time to plant crops to give them the best yield they could get.

While the youngest, Rosita, was spoilt by their mother. Juanita wanted her daughter to have a better life than she had. And to do that, Rosita needed education. While Juanita knew how to read and write, they all could, and she taught them all she knew, she decided to enlist the help of the local padre in teaching her more about geography, mathematics, history, while she continued to teach her the finer points of tatting, sewing and ensure good, polite manners.

So while Tomos and Rosita received attention from their parents, Ignacio was almost overlooked in their family. He had no real interest in farming and often came home from school with a black eye or a bleeding nose. He often bullied the younger children but as with all bullies, once someone stands up to them, they usually run away.

It was on a one hot, summer afternoon that Ignacio's life changed forever.

Ignacio had skipped school once again and he was bored. He was tall for his age, his slender frame had a wiry strength, his hair was fair, like his mothers, his blue eyes could change from friendly to outright hostility in seconds. As he came across a group of young children playing with a ball in the dusty street, he grinned wickedly, strode up to them and quickly grabbed the ball away from them.

But as the children shouted at him, an older teen came out from behind a shed. "Hey de Soto what are you doing? Give it back to them." he called out.

Ignacio felt his heart stop as he looked at the older youth. He was the same height as him but he was twice as heavy, especially in the shoulders. But he wasn't going to let this youth bother him. "And if I don't." he called out.

The youth took several steps closer. "Then I guess I will have to make you." he said threateningly.

But Ignacio wouldn't back down. "Yeah, you and whose army." he called back with a bravado that he didn't feel.

The older boy grinned widely. "I don't need an army de Soto, I can take you on with one arm tied behind my back."

Ignacio saw the easy stance of the youth, saw him clinch and unclench his fist, he was ready to fight him and he swallowed nervously. He knew he wouldn't be able to win against such a larger opponent so he backed down. He let the moment stretch out as long as he thought possible and then he tossed the ball back to the children and moved away.

The youth laughed and called out. "de Soto you are a bully and a coward, someday someone will teach you a lesson you will never forget."

Ignacio heard the comment and walked away with his head held high, he didn't want anyone to know that he was hurt by those words.

That evening after dinner, Ignacio was called into his father's room. He felt rather terrified, usually a visit to the room meant punishment for some misdeed, but not this time. This time was different.

As his son stood in front of him, Esteban looked at Ignacio for the first time in a long time and he saw a mirror image of himself at that age. Ignacio had the same anger, the same arrogance, and the same aspiration to have a better life. Esteban knew it was the right time to discuss his son's future. Ignacio had no interest in farming and didn't want his son to become lazy, to always expect everything to be handed to him.

"Ignacio, it's time we talked about your future." Esteban said.

He frowned slightly. "My future?"

"Si, I've decided that you should join the military, most likely the Army."

Ignacio was dumbfounded by what his father had said. Never in a million years would he dream of joining the military. "The Army but why father?"

Esteban shrugged. "You have no interest in farming or anything else for that matter. The military will give you a purpose in life, other than just aimlessly wandering around."

"But the Army, you can't be serious father." he cried out.

Esteban frowned. "Remember who you are speaking to."

Ignacio paled at his father's cold tone. He knew better than to speak up against him when he spoke in that tone. "I'm sorry." he said contritely as he stared at the floor.

Esteban nodded. "Ignacio, I see a great future for you, you are smart, you have ambition and you won't get what you want by staying here in this small community. All you have to do is go out there and take what you are destined for. The army is a step in the right direction, it will open up many more opportunities for advancement." He paused and looked at his son with some regret. "Unfortunately, I don't have the cash to buy you a commission so you will have to enlist as an ordinary soldier."

Ignacio gaped at his father. "But...but I'm too young to enlist father." trying to convince his father not to go ahead with this. He didn't want to join the military.

Esteban shook his head. "Not really, there have been younger recruits than yourself. The army is taking on new recruits later in the week. So you have a couple of days to enjoy yourself before you sign up." he turned away and began to sort through the paperwork on his desk.

Ignacio knew that the interview was at end and left his father's presence, trembling with dread. He had hoped to continue living at the farm, not enlisting in the army.

Four days later, Ignacio de Soto Morales, enlisted in the Spanish Army at the tender age of sixteen, in the year 1802.

At first Ignacio hated the military, hated its enforced discipline for even the slightest mistake. Being the youngest of the new recruits he was subjected to bullying, he was given the worst duties. It seemed that the Sergeant loved to give him latrine duty every other day and kitchen duties the other days. But he soon learnt about power and how to wield it. He saw how some of senior Sergeants toadied up to their officers, while at the same time they bullied the men under their command. He saw that the officers did nothing to stop the Sergeant's behaviour, which encourage them even more. Slowly he began to emulate them.

He took his father's advice and learnt everything he could, both good and bad. He became a good shot with both musket and pistol, he grasped battle tactics with not much difficulty, much to the consternation of the older veterans, who thought that De Soto was an arrogant upstart.

de Soto took whatever punishment was meted out to him with an outward appearance of boredom but underneath he fumed with anger. One day they would all know his power and then they would quake in fear, he promised himself. His father was right, the Army was only a stepping stone to a better life. He didn't know what that was at the moment but he knew he was destined for something better than an ordinary soldier.

The first time that Ignacio killed an enemy of Spain was in a skirmish with French troops, some three years after his enlistment. He felt real fear at the thought of going into battle and when his patrol came across several French troopers, his Sergeant ordered an immediate attack. At the sounds of gunfire, he froze for a moment, while his comrades rushed through the scrub and opened fire on the enemy. But he quickly moved further forward and slightly to the left of where the battle was taking place, he had seen a large boulder from which he could take cover and with musket balls wizzing past him, he made it to relative safety of the rocks without being wounded.

He felt sick as he heard the cries, shouts and moans from the wounded soldiers. He looked around desperately, to see if there was any other way he could get away from the battle but he was pinned down with sporadic musket fire. He wanted to flee for his life but he knew if he did, he would be charged with desertion and cowardice and would end up in front of a firing squad. Preservation of his own life was more important than death by his comrades and yet at the same time, he needed to move further away from the battle without anyone getting suspicious.

Ignacio crept from where he had taken cover and began moving towards the trees to the left of his position. When he reached the tree line, he was stunned by what he found and it was only his training that saved his life. For amongst the trees, several French troops had been placed as a secondary ambush site. His reflexes were fast and he raised his musket and fired without thinking, killing the French soldier instantly.

A second French soldier turned and fired his pistol as the same time as Ignacio pulled out his pistol and fired. Once the smoke cleared, the second Frenchman lay dead on the ground and Ignacio was wounded in the shoulder. He felt such burning pain, that he had collapsed to his knees, his hand to his shoulder in an effort to stem the bleeding. It was only then he realise that he wasn't alone.

As Ignacio stared into the frightened eyes of his opponent, he noticed how young he was. The French trooper seemed younger than himself and when he heard his comrades coming his way, he saw fear as well as tears beginning to form in the youth's eyes and took pity on him. It wasn't his fault that he had been sent to Spain to fight in a losing war.

"Go." Ignacio said but the frightened boy didn't understand. "Go, go." Ignacio waved his hand in the direction of the trees behind them.

This time the boy understood. "Merci, Merci Monsieur." he whispered and fled.

Several weeks later Ignacio was decorated for his single handed action in preventing the second ambush and therefore saving lives. Only he knew the real reason why he had moved in that direction and it had nothing to do with saving his comrades. He took advantage of his treachery and rose quickly through the ranks until he made Sergeant.