IX
The Two Attacks Described—A Bridge of Logs The Combat of the Archers—Serious Loss of Defenders—The Resistless Tower—The Count's Men Gain the Rampart—A Fight on the Wall—The Friar's Fire-Darts—The Tower Burns—Edgar Sore Pressed at the Breached Wall—Hand-to-Hand Fighting—A Swinging Ram—Grappling Hooks—The Portcullis Falls—The Combat Between Edgar and the Count—The Struggle Renewed—Retreat of the Garrison—The Victory of the Besiegers—A Pause.
CHAPTER IX
The advance upon the castle being simultaneous upon two sides—the east and south, it will be necessary to describe each separately. Upon the eastward wall, Hugh in command of by far the largest part of the defenders opposed the coming of the great tower, which was rolling forward with the resistless leisure of an incoming tide—"without haste, and without rest." Before it could come right up to the castle-wall, it was requisite to fill up at least a part of the moat, since the drawbridge, meant to be lowered until it should rest upon the top of the wall, was not long enough to extend the whole width of the moat, even should the tower be placed upon the very edge; and this would be dangerous, for the bank might cave in under its weight and let the great structure topple into the ditch. So while the tower was pushed near enough to bring its occupants within arrow-range—enabling them to exchange volleys with the men upon the castle-walls—there it halted, and the Count's soldiers pushed forward rolling breastworks to the edge of the moat. But instead of throwing bundles of faggots and barrows of earth into the ditch, as had been done to prepare for the advance of the "cat," this time the engineers had made ready great logs bolted together, long enough to reach to the opposite bank, and these, being placed upon rollers behind the sheltering breastworks, could be shoved forward until their front ends rested upon the further side of the moat. One by one the great logs crawled out like big serpents, and built up a strong bridge for the support of the tower.
The defenders did all they could to interfere with the progress of this work—and kept up a steady rain of projectiles upon the besiegers' tower, and upon the engineers who were laying the bridge. But though they inflicted losses upon the Count's men, they also suffered many losses themselves, for the archers upon the tower could shoot against the castle-wall from a place as high as the ramparts, and were as well protected. This made the garrison cautious, and they could not prevent the placing of the bridge.
The engines of war that had been placed to command the tower snapped out their missiles, sending not only heavy, jagged rocks, but also barrels of flaming pitch upon their adversary. There were upon the flat top of the tower men whose duty it was to extinguish the flames, which they did by throwing water or sand upon them. These men were often within range of Hugh's archers, and many of them lost their lives, for they were compelled to lean over the bulwarks whenever a flame caught upon the front of the tower.
Considerable damage was inflicted by the marksmen of the castle, but not enough to disable the tower in any essential portion, and the loss of men on the part of the defenders during this brief struggle was more than had been suffered at any time during the siege, and yet little harm was done to their enemies.
Hugh ran hither and thither, now snatching a bow from one of his men when he saw an opportunity for a favorable shot, and now lending an arm to direct the discharge of a mangonel; and his men, many of them stripped to the waist, were quite as energetic and equally reckless in exposing themselves to the arrows of the enemy; but, in spite of all efforts, the Count's men succeeded in placing the great timbers across the moat, and then, retiring within the shelter of their tower began to propel it nearer, making all the haste they could, but of course attaining no great speed.
Hugh called his men about him, and gave them his orders:
"We must retire," said he "into the two towers at the ends of the rampart. It is too late to prevent them from lowering their bridge and gaining a foothold on the walls; but from the side towers we can command its whole extent, and unless they are in great force, we may drive them back into their tower. But to meet them here would be madness, when from the towers we may resist them at advantage. Besides, I have a plan that will be aided by this retreat. So let no rash youngster be too proud to obey instantly the signal of recall."
The tower had now with much creaking and tottering been brought to the edge of the moat. There was some difficulty in pushing it upon the bridge of logs, upon which it must rest half its weight, but at last the front edge was successfully placed on the bridge, and in a few minutes more the tower was near enough to the walls to permit of lowering its drawbridge.
Up to the last moment. Hugh kept his men behind the battlements, and directed flights of arrows against the openings in the tower; but when the great bridge began to be lowered, he sounded his horn as a signal to retreat, and was promptly obeyed, though more than one crossbowman and 
The Siege Tower is fired by blasting darts.
As the great platform came slowly down with creaking of tackle blocks and groaning of timbers. Hugh's men ran along the rampart, right and left, to take refuge within the towers. Once securely sheltered by these massive walls, the garrison took stations at every loophole that looked out upon the wall they had just abandoned, and also ascended to the upper battlements of the towers whence they could direct a downward fire upon the heads of the invaders.
The great bridge was lowered until it rested upon the top of the castle wall, forming a road from the upper story of the tower. Hardly had it reached the level when the Count's men, armed with axes, bows, and pikes, marched out and spread out upon the deserted walk behind the battlements. Of course they directed their attack upon the two towers that flanked the wall, and also kept up a brisk rain of arrows upon the loopholes and embrasures. But the defenders of the castle had now the advantage of position, and the invaders, entirely unprotected from the missiles showered upon them, seemed to think they had been caught in a trap. They began to shout for beams with which to batter down the doors of the towers to right and left of them, and meanwhile clustered close to the doorways that they might be protected from the shots of at least some of the loopholes. They attacked the heavy iron-studded doors with their axes, but could make little impression upon them.
Hugh had counted upon all this, and he and his men, shooting deliberately and with good aim, caused much loss to the attacking party, suffering little in return. Besides falling under the volleys of the archers, many of the Count's men were slain or disabled by stones and beams tumbled upon them from the tower-roofs above. And, bad as was the condition of these men who had first secured a foothold upon the castle-walls, it soon became worse. For in making their attack, they had naturally left their drawbridge down, revealing the inside of the tower through the great opening which the bridge had masked.
Of this, Hugh and the Friar, who had expected it, took full advantage. As soon as the Count's forces had advanced in the attack on the southward, too near the castle for the mangonels to be effective, the Friar and his men left most of their engines in order that they might give aid where aid was needed. Part of the men joined those who, under Edgar's command were back of the nearly breached wall; but the Friar with a few of his best marksmen withdrew only to the southwest tower, where, upon the roof had been placed a mangonel and a balista in which the Friar always took especial pride. These had been previously trained upon the wall opposite, so that they might be used against the siege-tower, and the Friar remained here until the drawbridge of the tower was opened and the men had spread themselves over the rampart. Before the wall was deserted by the defenders the Friar could not discharge his balista for fear he might strike his own men; but as soon as these were safely within the stone towers, he set his engineers to work.
At first he discharged a great dart or two to make sure of range and aim. Then to the next dart was tied a great bunch of tow dipped in pitch and set on fire a moment before it was shot from the balista. So true was the aim that the flaming dart entered the open doorway of the tower and fixed itself, quivering, into the back wall. Another and another followed, and each struck truly, either within the tower or in the unprotected framework that had been exposed by the lowering of the bridge.
So great was the noise around, that these darts were unnoticed by the Count's men until cries of triumph from the garrison and shouts of alarm from the guards on top of the siege-tower caused them to turn and behold the volumes of smoke that poured from it. The attacking parties at once rushed back into the tower hoping to extinguish the flames, whereupon the Franciscan Friar began to work the mangonel, sending showers of small stones to harass the Count's soldiers who were swarming into the narrow opening of the tower. Then arose a cry "Close the drawbridge," and the great platform was hauled up by the tackles, and shut off the attack of the mangonel, while also diminishing the draft that fed the flames. But there was a strong wind, and though the Count's men worked desperately, they could not put out the fire. It gained on them every minute, and soon they were forced to abandon their tower to save their lives. They swarmed down the ladders, climbed down the timber-work, lowered themselves by ropes, and left the tower to its fate.
Meanwhile the garrison cheered over their victory, and stood upon the ramparts watching the burning of the siege-tower as long as they could endure the heat. But soon they were compelled to take refuge within the towers, and even had to extinguish some places where woodwork caught fire in the hoardings and the framework of their mangonels. Consequently most of them paid little attention to the retreat of the men who had been driven out of the demolished tower, not even troubling to send arrows after the fleeing soldiers. Hugh, however, was struck by the small number of men that fled from the tower, and instantly concluded that the bulk of the count's forces must have been engaged in the attack elsewhere. He therefore left only a few of his men to keep guard upon the east wall and marched the rest to reinforce Edgar on the south side of the castle—where he found his aid was needed.
For Edgar had unexpectedly found himself exposed to the most dangerous assault of all. This was the result of Luke's shrewd strategy. Luke was well aware of the strength of the garrison, and he had seen that on the previous advance of the siege-tower, the great majority of the defenders had been gathered upon the east wall to oppose it. He therefore shrewdly reasoned that the tower was most feared by the garrison, and would be most strongly resisted; and hence he had advised the Count to mass most of his men in the edge of the woods ready to support the attack on the south wall when the ram should have made a breach. If the tower should be successful, these men could readily be used to follow up that attack; but Luke relied mainly upon gaining an entrance within the walls when the breach was made, provided that the garrison should here weaken their defenses. All turned out as he had hoped, and when the combined attack began, the blows of the ram, acting upon a place already weakened, soon sent the wall tumbling down, and though it fell outward, the breach was thereby the easier to mount.
The falling wall smashed the roof of the cat and disabled the battering-ram; but the soldiers who had been working the ram, had run out and escaped with their lives. Following the crash of the falling wall were heard the cries of the Count's soldiers advancing to the breach. The fall of the wall had left an opening about twenty feet in width, and through this the garrison and the besiegers could see one another. The men under Edgar's command were gathered about an inner gateway that was in the main walls of the castle—diagonally across from the gate that had been demolished—for the ram had broken its way through the masonry below, and to the left of the outer gate of the castle. One of the gate-towers had fallen with the ruined wall. The Count's assaulting force came on at a run, and at once climbed over the pile of rocks that had fallen, and over the ruins of their "cat." They were met by a volley from the archers, and the foremost of the party were struck down. Others followed at once, and though a second volley was poured upon them, it was not enough to check their advance. The pile of broken rocks offered a poor foothold, but supporting themselves with the staves of their spears or the handles of their long poleaxes, or helping one another as they could, the Count's men came bravely on, despite the loss inflicted by the well-aimed shots of the archers opposed to them. The few of the garrison who had hoped to defend the outer wall were easily driven back, and Edgar and his men could make a stand only at the inner gate, which was defended by a light portcullis Ordering all his men to retire within this gateway, Edgar caused the portcullis to be lowered, hoping to resist the attack from within that barrier since, being so greatly outnumbered, he did not hope to hold his own outside.
Once behind the strong bars Edgar's archers sent so thick a hail of arrows upon the vanguard of their pursuers that it was forced to retreat and to find shelter out of range. But at this moment arrived the men the Friar had sent to aid Edgar in his defense, and these, taking convenient stations upon the battlements above, assailed the invaders with whatever could be hurled on them from above. The Count's men protected themselves as well as they could by cowering under their shields, but their leader—the Count himself in full armor—saw that it would not do to delay in the outer bailey exposed to so galling an attack. He therefore sent back for the reserve force he had left near the wood, and ordered that scaling-ladders and light rams should be brought so that they might deliver an assault upon the wall that sheltered Edgar's men. This re-enforcement arrived soon, though not soon enough for the Count's impatience, and nearly doubled the number of the besiegers' force. While some of the newcomers raised their ladders against the wall, others set up a ram against the portcullis. This ram, instead of being mounted upon rollers was slung at the end of a chain from two beams joined at the top, like the letter V upside-down. The ram was worked by men who swung it forward and back while the chain supported the weight. This machine delivered heavy blows, but the men who operated it were protected only by their shields; and several of them were slain, their places being at once taken by others, for when men become warmed by the excitement of battle, there are plenty who will attempt any achievement or risk any danger.
Seeing the terrific blows delivered by the swinging ram, some of the garrison upon the wall above brought from a tower, grappling-irons or hooks which they lowered until they were able to catch the head of the ram, thus pulling it aside, and causing its blows to be less effective. But the assailants by this time had succeeded in climbing their ladders to the top of the wall, and in order to resist these new enemies the soldiers of the garrison were obliged to abandon the grappling-iron, and engage in a hand-to-hand struggle, the result of which was long doubtful, for both sides fought obstinately, and several lost their lives on the edge of the wall. At length the defenders, fighting at so great an advantage, were able to throw down the ladders, and thus ended the attack. But meanwhile the portcullis had been broken down, and the two parties were at last face to face—one under the leadership of the Count in person, the other commanded by Edgar Mortimer.
Each of these knights was defended by a full suit of the armor worn at the time—a heavy cylindrical helmet covering the head and supported partly by the shoulders; a long haubert of chain mail, and leg-coverings of the same. Each carried a heavy shield, and while the count was armed with a long sword, Edgar carried a battle-ax.
As the portcullis fell, the Count sprang forward to strike Edgar down; and the younger man, no less eager, stood with battle-ax uplifted to receive the attack. But by the rush of his own men toward the narrow gateway, the Count was pushed aside, and so the two chiefs could not at first come together. The Count's men, being the more numerous, were trying to pass through the gateway; while Edgar's men, knowing that in open ground they would have much less chance against their assailants, resisted desperately, resolved to hold their place at any cost. Thus the battle raged with great fury around the gateway, and whenever the assailants succeeded in pushing Edgar and his soldiers a pace or two backward, the defenders would rally and regain the ground they had lost. Three times, four times, this retreat and return were repeated before chance brought the Count and Edgar within reach of each other's arms. Then the Count, shouting: "Leave him to me—back men, back!" attacked Edgar with furious cuts which Edgar received upon his shield. Edgar, flushed with pride that he was engaged with the Count, called also to his own men to let the duel go on. Not unwilling to see the champions engage in a hand-to-hand fight, the soldiers obeyed, drawing back a few feet on each side, and leaving a clear space wherein Edgar and the Count had freedom to ply their weapons. Edgar, being younger and weaker than his opponent, fought warily, contenting himself with receiving the Count's blade upon his shield, or warding his blows by interposing the handle of his ax.
Edgar had been well trained in the use of arms, and he trusted that the Count, misled by the younger warrior's seeming weakness, might offer him an opening. The Count, thinking Edgar was putting forth his utmost efforts, now pressed upon him, and at last succeeded by a quick blow in wounding the young knight slightly on the left shoulder. Edgar dropped his shield, and the Count's men raised a cry, thinking that the combat was over, and that the Count had only to rush in and give the final blow. Apparently the Count was of the same opinion, for he sprang forward, delivering a sweeping stroke toward Edgar's defenseless left side. Naturally, Edgar had expected this, and he dropped to his knees, allowing the blade to pass over his head. The Count, carried round by the force of his blow, could not recover his balance instantly, and before he could turn, Edgar had leaped to his feet again and had brought his battle-ax down upon the Count's helmet with so fierce a blow that the Count fell to the ground; and Edgar placing one foot upon his neck prevented him from rising. The men of the castle broke into a cheer, but the cheer was cut short by a sudden rush of the angry soldiers of the Count. The two parties met once again at the gateway, and the old struggle was renewed. In the fierce fray that followed, the Count's men succeeded in dragging him out of the gate, but since he had been somewhat stunned by Edgar's terrific blow, they carried him from the field. Edgar, also feeling somewhat weakened by his efforts and by the loss of blood, was persuaded to withdraw—which he would have been unwilling to do except that Hugh had now come up, bringing with him the additional men who could now be spared from the defense of the eastern side.
But the advantage of numbers was so greatly on the side of the besiegers that Hugh decided, after he had kept up the struggle for the gateway a short time longer, to withdraw his men rather than suffer any further loss in killed and wounded. The garrison could not afford, he considered, to lose men even at the rate of one for two, since they were hardly a quarter as strong in numbers. But before withdrawing it was necessary to drive the assailants back from the gateway, so that he could gain time enough to retreat within the intrenchment that crossed the courtyard diagonally. Hugh therefore raised his battle-cry, "A Mortimer!—a Mortimer!" and dashed so furiously forward that he drove all before him. He was bravely seconded by his fresher men, and for a moment the Count's men yielded, and were driven backward. Then stationing himself with four or five of his best fighters in the narrow way, Hugh commanded the rest to retreat, while he held the pursuers in check. This plan succeeded, for before the Count's men had rallied and advanced again to the attack, the garrison had secured their retreat into the second intrenchment, whereupon, Hugh and the rearguard took to their heels, and followed at the top of their speed.
The pursuit of this handful of men was checked by a timely flight of arrows, and Hugh and his chosen band thus gained a place of safety without losing a man. Seeing the well-manned wall before them, the assaulting party did not attempt, for the moment to press their advantage, but remained content—as well they might—with the capture of the gateway. This gave them possession of the whole southern wall between the towers, for the defenders on the ramparts betook themselves to the towers, barring the great doors behind them, and stationing themselves behind the loopholes and near the doors ready to resist any further advance.
But both sides were exhausted by the hand-to-hand fighting, and so there came a lull in the conflict. The besiegers remained in possession of the outer bailey, the breached outer wall, which they soon after battered down, the inner wall between the towers, and had gained also the gateway that gave access to the inner bailey. The garrison, however, still retained all the towers, and thus could command the open courts and also the unprotected ramparts. If they did not keep up their attack upon the besiegers, it was because they did not care to invite a renewal of the struggle, Hugh's foresight in constructing the diagonal wall across the courtyard was now rewarded, since this fortification enabled the garrison still to command the approaches to the towers. The castle was now converted, so far as its defenders were in possession, into a triangle, at the apex of which stood the great keep, rising high above the other towers. Although the besiegers were now inside the walls, and could bring their men close up against the towers, yet this was a disadvantage as well as an advantage. While they could bring their engines to bear to break down the walls, they themselves would be more easily attacked by the garrison when they tried to carry each of the remaining strongholds. From above, great stones, heavy beams, hot pitch, or boiling water could be showered upon them, and from the openings in the walls of the towers would come flights of arrows, bolts, and quarrels, discharged by invisible enemies, safely protected against return volleys.
Possibly, if the Count had not been injured, the assault would have been vigorously pressed; but, as has been said, Luke was more fond of cautious methods, and until the Count was again fit to lead, the besiegers looked to Luke for their commands. Thus it was that the siege, when at the most critical stage, suddenly came to a halt, and the two enemies remained under arms, almost in actual contact, without either caring to strike a blow that would bring a renewal of the struggle. So passed the rest of that afternoon, without further strife.