Chapter Three and Chapter Four Summary

Chapter three begins with the arrival of tents, which Sharpe deems unnecessary. To have tents they would need mules, to have mules they would need more feed, for which they would need more mules. Sharpe and Patrick discuss selling the tents, but the arrival of a Spanish officer plunges Sharpe into a bad mood. Patrick's woman, Isabella, whom he rescued from Badajoz, wants him to marry her. Patrick is worried about Sharpe and thinks Sharpe is bored, claiming when Sharpe is bored Sharpe gets into trouble.

Lieutenant Colonel Leroy, a loyalist American and commander of the battalions, confronts Sharpe about the tents and about Sharpe's unpaid debts. Leroy wants Sharpe to buy a horse as well, befitting his rank as Major, but Sharpe is poor and cannot pay his debts. A Spanish general comes looking...