THE SIEGE OF THE CITY.
Amuba saw his father fall, and leaping from his chariot, strove to
make his way through the mingled mass of footmen and chariots to the
spot. Jethro followed close behind him. He, too, had caught sight of
the falling figure, and knew what Amuba did not--that the Rebu had
lost their king. He was not forgetful of the charge which had been
laid on him, but the lad was for a moment beyond his control, and he,
too, was filled with fury at the fall of the king, and determined if
possible to save his body. He reached Amuba’s side just in time to
interpose his shield between the boy and an Egyptian archer in a
chariot he was passing. The arrow pierced the shield and the arm that
held it. Jethro paused an instant, broke off the shaft at the shield,
and seizing the point, which was projecting two inches beyond the
flesh, pulled the arrow through the wound.
It was but a moment’s work, but short as it was it almost cost Amuba
his life, for the archer, leaning forward, dropped the end of his bow
over the lad’s head--a trick common among the Egyptian archers--and in
a moment dragged him to the ground, while his comrade in the chariot
raised his spear to dispatch him. Jethro sprang forward with a shout
of rage, and with a blow of his sword struck off the head of the spear
as it was descending. Then shortening his sword, he sprang into the
chariot, ran the man holding the bow through the body, and grappled
with the spearman.
The struggle was a short one. Leaving his sword in the body of the
archer, Jethro drew his dagger and speedily dispatched his foe. Then
he jumped down, and lifting Amuba, who was insensible from the sharp
jerk of the bowstring upon his throat and the violence of his fall,
carried him back to his chariot. This with the greatest difficulty he
managed to draw out of the heat of the conflict, which was for the
moment raging more fiercely than before. The Rebu who had seen the
fall of their king had dashed forward to rescue the body and to avenge
his death. They cleared a space round him, and as it was impossible to
extricate his chariot, they carried his body through the chaos of
plunging horses, broken chariots, and fiercely struggling men to the
rear.
Then it was placed in another chariot, and the driver started with it
at full speed for the city. Jethro, on emerging from the crowd, paused
for a moment to look round. He saw at once that the battle was lost.
The center was utterly broken, and the masses of the Egyptians who had
crossed the swamp were pressing heavily on the flanks of the Rebu
footmen, who were still opposing a firm stand to those attacking them
in front. For the moment the passage of the Egyptian chariots was
arrested; so choked was the causeway with chariots and horses which
were imbedded in the mire, or had sunk between the fagots that further
passage was impossible, and a large body of footmen were now forming a
fresh causeway by the side of the other.
This would soon be completed, for they were now working undisturbed by
opposition, and Jethro saw that as soon as it was done the Egyptian
host would sweep across and fall upon the rear of the Rebu. Jethro ran
up to two mounted men, badly wounded, who had like himself made their
way out of the fight.
“See,” he said, “in a quarter of an hour a new causeway will be
completed, and the Egyptians will pour over. In that case resistance
will be impossible, and all will be lost. Do one of you ride to each
flank and tell the captains that the king is dead, that there are none
to give orders here, and that their only chance to save their troops
is to retreat at full speed but keeping good order to the city.”
The horsemen rode off immediately, for Jethro, as the king’s own
charioteer, was a man of some impatience. After dispatching the
messengers he returned to his chariot and at once drove off. Amuba was
now recovering, and the rough motion of the vehicle as it dashed along
at full speed aroused him.
“What is it, Jethro? What has happened?”
“The battle is lost, prince, and I am conveying you back to the city.
You have had a rough fall and a narrow escape of your life, and can do
no more fighting even if fighting were of any good, which it is not.”
“And the king, my father?” Amuba said, struggling to his feet. “What
of him? Did I not see him fall?”
“I know naught of him for certain,” Jethro replied. “There was a
terrible fight raging, and as I had you to carry out I could take no
share in it. Besides, I had an arrow through my left arm--if I had
been a moment later it would have gone through your body instead. And
now, if you do not mind taking the reins, I will bandage it up. I have
not had time to think about it yet, but it is bleeding fast, and I
begin to feel faint.”
This was indeed true; but Jethro had called Amuba’s attention to his
wound principally for the sake of diverting his thoughts for a moment
from his fear for his father. As Amuba drove, he looked back. The
plain behind him was covered with a mass of fugitives.
“I see that all is lost,” he said mournfully. “But how is it that we
are not pursued?”
“We shall be pursued before long,” Jethro answered. “But I fancy that
few of the Egyptian chariots which first passed are in a condition to
follow. Most of them have lost horses or drivers. Numbers were broken
to pieces in the _mêlée_. But they are making a fresh causeway, and
when that is completed those who cross will take up the pursuit. As
for their footmen, they have small chance of catching the Rebu.”
“Surely our men ought to retreat in good order, Jethro. Scattered as
they are, they will be slaughtered in thousands by the Egyptian
chariots.”
“They could not oppose much resistance to them anyhow,” Jethro
replied. “On a plain footmen cannot withstand a chariot charge. As it
is, many will doubtless fall; but they will scatter to the right and
left, numbers will reach the hills in safety, some will take refuge
in woods and jungles, while many will outrun the chariots. The new
causeway is narrow, and a few only can cross abreast, and thus, though
many of our men will be overtaken and killed, I trust that the greater
part will escape.”
“Let us draw up here for a short time, Jethro. I see there are several
chariots and some horsemen behind, and as they are with the main body
of the fugitives, they are doubtless friends. Let us join them and
proceed in a body to the town. I should not like to be the first to
enter with the news of our defeat.”
“You are right, prince. As our horses are good, we need not fear being
overtaken. We can therefore wait a few minutes.”
A score of chariots presently came up, and all halted on seeing Amuba.
One of them contained Amusis, the chief captain of the army. He leaped
from his chariot when he saw Amuba, and advanced to him.
“Prince,” he said, “why do you delay? I rejoice at seeing that you
have escaped in the battle, for I marked you bravely fighting in the
midst; but let me beg you to hasten on. A few minutes and the host of
Egyptian chariots will be upon us.”
“I am ready to proceed, Amusis, since you have come. Have you any news
of my father?”
“The king has been sorely wounded,” the general said, “and was carried
off out of the battle; but come, prince, we must hasten on. Our
presence will be sorely needed in the city, and we must get all in
readiness for defense before the Egyptians arrive.”
The chariots again started, and reached the city without seeing
anything of the Egyptians, who did not indeed arrive before the walls
until an hour later, having been delayed by the slaughter of the
fugitives. As the party entered the town they found confusion and
terror prevailing. The arrival of the body of the king was the first
intimation of disaster, and this had been followed by several horsemen
and chariots, who had spread the news of the defeat of the army. The
cries of women filled the air; some in their grief and terror ran
wildly here and there; some sat at their doors with their faces hidden
by their hands, wailing loudly; others tore their garments and behaved
as if demented.
On their way to the palace they met the troops who had been left
behind to guard the city, moving down stern and silent to take their
places on the wall. During the drive Amusis, who had driven in Amuba’s
chariot, had broken to the boy the news that his father was dead, and
Amuba was prepared for the loud lamentation of women which met him as
he entered the royal inclosure.
“I will see my mother,” he said to Amusis, “and then I will come down
with you to the walls and will take whatever part you may assign me in
the defense. It is to your experience and valor we must now trust.”
“I will do all that I can, prince. The walls are strong, and if, as I
hope, the greater part of our army find their way back, I trust we may
be able to defend ourselves successfully against the Egyptian host.
Assure your royal mother of my deep sympathy for her in her sorrow,
and of my devotion to her personally.”
The general now drove off, and Amuba entered the royal dwellings. In
the principal apartment the body of the king was laid upon a couch in
the middle of the room. The queen stood beside it in silent grief,
while the attendants raised loud cries, wrung their hands, and filled
the air with their lamentation, mingled with praises of the character
and bravery of the king. Amuba advanced to his mother’s side. She
turned and threw her arms round him.
“Thank the gods, my son, that you are restored to me; but what a loss,
what a terrible loss is ours!”
“It is indeed, mother. No better father ever lived than mine. But I
pray you, mother, lay aside your grief for awhile; we shall have time
to weep and mourn for him afterward. We have need of all our courage.
In a few hours the Egyptian hosts will be before our walls, and every
arm will be needed for their defense. I am going down to take my place
among the men, to do what I can to encourage them; but the confusion
in the city is terrible. None know whether they have lost husbands or
fathers, and the cries and lamentations of the women cannot but
dispirit and dishearten the men. I think, mother, that you might do
much if you would; and I am sure that my father in his resting-place
with the gods would far rather see you devoting yourself to the safety
of his people than to lamentations here.”
“What would you have me do?”
“I should say, mother, mount a chariot and drive through the streets
of the town; bid the women follow the example of their queen and defer
their lamentation for the fallen until the foe has been repelled. Bid
each do her part in the defense of the city; there is work for
all--stones to be carried to the walls, food to be cooked for the
fighting men, hides to be prepared in readiness to be carried to the
ramparts where the attack is hottest, to shield our soldiers from
arrows. In these and other tasks all can find employment, and, in thus
working for the defense of the town, the women would find distraction
from their sorrows and anxieties.”
“Your advice is wise, Amuba, and I will follow it. Order a chariot
to be brought down. My maidens shall come with me; and see that two
trumpeters are in readiness to precede us. This will insure attention
and silence, and my words will be heard as we pass along. How did you
escape from the conflict?”
“The faithful Jethro bore me off, mother, or I, too, should have
fallen; and now, with your permission, I will go to the wall.”
“Do so, Amuba, and may the gods preserve you. You must partake of some
food before you go, for you will need all your strength, my son.”
Amuba hastily ate the food that was placed before him in another
apartment, and drank a goblet of wine, and then hurried down to the
wall.
The scene was a heart-rending one. All over the plain were scattered
groups of men hurrying toward the city, while among them dashed the
Egyptian chariots, overthrowing and slaying them; but not without
resistance. The Rebu were well disciplined, and, as the chariots
thundered up, little groups gathered together, shield overlapping
shield, and spears projecting, while those within the circle shot
their arrows or whirled stones from their slings. The horses wounded
by the arrows often refused to obey their drivers, but rushed headlong
across the plain; others charged up only to fall pierced with the
spears, while the chariots were often empty of their occupants before
they broke into the phalanx.
Thus, although many fell, many succeeded in gaining the gates of the
town, and the number of men available for the defense had already
largely increased when Amuba reached the walls. Although the Egyptian
chariots came up in great numbers, night fell without the appearance
of the main body of the Egyptian army. After darkness set in great
numbers of the Rebu troops who had escaped to the hills made their way
into the town. The men of the contingents furnished by the other Rebu
cities naturally made their way direct to their homes, but before
morning the six thousand men left behind to guard the city when the
army set out had been swelled to four times their numbers.
Although this was little more than half the force which had marched
out to battle, the return of so large a number of the fugitives caused
a great abatement of the panic and misery that had prevailed. The
women whose husbands or sons had returned rejoiced over those whom
they had regarded as lost, while those whose friends had not yet
returned gained hopes from the narratives of the fresh comers that
their loved ones might also have survived, and would ere long make
their way back. The example of the queen had already done much to
restore confidence. All knew the affection that existed between the
king and her, and the women all felt that if she could lay aside her
deep sorrow, and set such an example of calmness and courage at such a
time, it behooved all others to set aside their anxieties and to do
their best for the defense of the town.
Amusis gave orders that all those who had returned from battle should
rest for the night in their homes, the troops who had remained in the
city keeping guard upon the walls. In the morning, however, all
collected at the trumpet-call, and were formed up according to the
companies and battalions to which they belonged. Of some of these
which had borne the brunt of the combat there were but a handful of
survivors, while of others the greater portion were present; weak
battalions were joined to the strong; fresh officers were appointed to
take the place of those who were missing; the arms were examined, and
all deficiencies made good from the public stores.
Ten thousand men were set aside as a reserve to be brought up to the
points most threatened, while to the rest were allotted those portions
of the wall which they were to occupy. As soon as morning broke the
women recommenced the work that had been interrupted by night, making
their way to the walls in long trains, carrying baskets of stones on
their heads. Disused houses were pulled down for the sake of their
stones and timber, parties of women with ropes dragging the latter to
the walls in readiness to be hurled down upon the heads of the enemy.
Even the children joined in the work, carrying small baskets of earth
to those portions of the wall which Amusis had ordered to be
strengthened.
The position of the city had been chosen with a view to defense. It
stood on a plateau of rock raised some fifty feet above the plain.
The Caspian washed its eastern face; on the other three sides a high
wall, composed of earth roughly faced with stones, ran along at the
edge of the plateau; above it, at distances of fifty yards apart, rose
towers. The entire circuit of the walls was about three miles. Since
its foundation by the grandfather of the late king the town had never
been taken, although several times besieged, and the Rebu had strong
hopes that here, when the chariots of the Egyptians were no longer to
be feared, they could oppose a successful resistance to all the
efforts of the enemy.
At noon the Egyptian army was seen advancing, and, confident as the
defenders of the city felt, they could not resist a feeling of
apprehension at the enormous force which was seen upon the plain. The
Egyptian army was over three hundred thousand strong. It moved in
regular order according to the arms or nationality of the men. Here
were Nubians, Sardinians, Etruscans, Oscans, Dauni, Maxyes, Kahaka, a
race from Iberia, and bodies of other mercenaries from every tribe and
people with whom the Egyptians had any dealings.
The Sardinians bore round shields, three or four spears or javelins, a
long straight dagger, and a helmet surmounted by a spike, with a ball
at the top. The Etruscans carried no shields, and instead of the
straight dagger were armed with a heavy curved chopping-knife; their
headdress resembled somewhat in shape that now worn by the Armenians.
The Dauni were Greek in the character of their arms, carrying a round
shield, a single spear, a short straight sword, and a helmet of the
shape of a cone.
The Egyptians were divided according to their arms. There were
regiments of archers, who carried, for close combat, a slightly curved
stick of heavy wood; other regiments of archers carried hatchets. The
heavy infantry all bore the Egyptian shield, which was about three
feet long. It was widest at the upper part, where it was semicircular,
while the bottom was cut off straight. The shields had a boss near the
upper part. Some regiments carried, in addition to the spears, heavy
maces, others axes. Their helmets all fitted closely to the head; most
of them wore metal tassels hanging from the top. The helmets were for
the most part made of thick material, quilted and padded; these were
preferred to metal, being a protection from the heat of the sun.
Each company carried its own standard; these were all of religious
character, and represented animals sacred to the gods, sacred boats,
emblematic devices, or the names of the king or queen. These were
in metal, and were raised at the ends of spears or staves. The
standard-bearers were all officers of approved valor. Behind the army
followed an enormous baggage-train; and as soon as this had arrived on
the ground the tents of the king and the principal officers were
pitched.
“What a host!” Jethro said to Amuba, who, after having his arm dressed
on his arrival at the palace, had accompanied the young prince to the
walls. “It seems a nation rather than an army. I do not wonder now
that we were defeated yesterday, but that we so long held our ground,
and that so many escaped from the battle.”
“It is wonderful, truly, Jethro. Look at the long line of chariots
moving in as regular order as the footmen. It is well for us that they
will now be forced to be inactive. As to the others, although they are
countless in numbers, they cannot do much against our walls. No towers
that they can erect upon the plains will place them on a level with us
here, and the rock is so steep that it is only here and there that it
can be climbed.”
“It would seem impossible for them to take it, prince; but we must not
be too confident. We know that many towns which believed themselves
impregnable have been captured by the Egyptians, and must be prepared
for the most daring enterprises. The gates have been already fastened,
and so great a thickness of rocks piled against them that they are now
the strongest part of the wall; those parts of the roads leading up to
them that were formed of timber have been burned, and they cannot now
reach the gates except by climbing, as at other points. We have
provisions enough to last for well-nigh a year, for all the harvest
has been brought in from the whole district round, together with many
thousands of cattle; of wells there are abundance.”
“Yes, I heard the preparations that were being made, Jethro, and doubt
not that if we can resist the first onslaught of the Egyptians we can
hold out far longer than they can, for the difficulty of victualing so
huge an army will be immense. In what way do you think they will
attack? For my part I do not see any method which offers a hope of
success.”
“That I cannot tell you. We know that to us and to the peoples around
our cities seem impregnable. But the Egyptians are skilled in all the
devices of war. They have laid siege to and captured great numbers of
cities, and are doubtless full of plans and expedients of which we
know nothing. However, to-morrow morning will show us something.
Nothing will be attempted to-day. The generals have first to inspect
our walls and see where the assault is to be delivered, and the army
will be given a day’s rest at least before being called upon to
assault such a position.”
In the afternoon a _cortége_ of chariots made the circuit of the walls
from the shore of the sea round the great plateau to the sea again,
keeping just beyond the range of arrows.
“If we had but a few of their archers here,” Jethro said, “the
Egyptian king would not be so overbold in venturing so near. It is
wonderful how strongly they shoot. Their arrows have fully double the
range of ours, and their power is sufficient to carry them through the
strongest shields, even when strengthened with metal. Had I not seen
it I should have thought it impossible that living men, and those no
bigger or stronger than we, could have sent their arrows with such
power. They stand in a different attitude to that of our archers, and
though their shafts are fully a foot longer than ours they draw them
to the head. I regarded myself as a good bowman till I met the
Egyptians, and now I feel as a child might do when watching a man
performing feats of strength of which he had not even imagined a
possibility.”
In the evening the great council met. It included all the principal
officers of the army, the priests, the royal councilors, and the
leading men in the state. After a discussion it was determined that
in the present crisis it were best to postpone taking any steps to
appoint a successor to the late king, but that so long as the siege
lasted Amusis should be endowed with absolute powers. In order that
there should be no loss of time for the necessity of consulting any
one Amuba was present with his mother at the council, though neither
of them took any active part in it. But at its commencement an
announcement was made in their name that they were willing to abide by
whatever the council should decide, and that indeed both mother and
son desired that while this terrible danger hung over the state the
supreme power should be placed in the hands of whomsoever the general
voice might select as the person best fitted to take the command in
such an extremity.
That night the body of the king was consumed on a great funeral pile.
Under ordinary occasions the ceremony would have taken place on a
narrow promontory jutting out into the sea, about five miles from the
city. Here the previous monarchs had been consumed in sight of a
multitude of their people, and had been buried beneath great mounds of
earth. The priests had long ago pronounced this place the most sacred
in the kingdom, and had declared that the anger of the gods would fall
upon any who ventured to set foot upon the holy ground. But it was
impossible for the present to lay the ashes of the king by the side of
those of his forefathers, and the ceremony was therefore conducted
within the royal inclosure, only the officiating priests and the wife
and son of the deceased being present. When all was over the ashes
were collected and were placed in a casket, which was destined, when
better times returned, to be laid, in the sight of the whole people,
in the sacred inclosure on the promontory.
Early next morning the trumpets of the guards on the walls called all
the troops to arms. As soon as Amuba reached his post he saw the
Egyptian army marching against the city. When they arrived within
bowshot the archers, who formed the front lines, opened fire upon the
defenders on the walls. Their arrows, however, for the most part fell
short, while those of the besieged rained down upon them with effect.
They were therefore withdrawn a short distance, and contracting their
ranks a vast number of footmen poured through, and in irregular order
ran forward to the foot of the rock, where they were sheltered from
the arrows of those on the wall.
“What can they be going to do now?” Amuba exclaimed, laying aside his
bow.
Jethro shook his head.
“They are working with a plan,” he said. “We shall see before very
long. Listen.”
Even above the din caused by so vast a multitude a sharp metallic
sound was presently heard like that of innumerable hammers striking on
steel.
“Surely,” Amuba exclaimed, “they can never be thinking of quarrying
the rock away! That is too great a task even were the whole people of
Egypt here.”
“It certainly is not that,” Jethro agreed; “and yet I cannot think
what else can be their intentions.”
It was nigh an hour before the mystery was solved. Then, at the blast
of a trumpet sounded at the post where the Egyptian king had placed
himself, and taken up along the whole of the line, a great number of
heads appeared along the edge of rock at the foot of the walls. The
Egyptians had been employed in driving spikes in the crevices of the
rock. Standing on the first so driven, they then inserted others three
feet higher, and so had proceeded until a number of men had climbed up
the face of the rock. These let down ropes, and ladders had been
hauled up the steepest places. Great numbers of ropes were hung down
to assist those who followed in the ascent, and the men who first
showed themselves over the brow were followed by a stream of others,
until the ledge, which was in most cases but a few feet wide, was
crowded with soldiers.
The ladders were now hauled up and placed against the wall, and the
Egyptians swarmed up in great numbers; but the Rebu were prepared for
the assault, and a storm of stones, beams of wood, arrows, javelins,
and other missiles rained down on the Egyptians. Many of the ladders,
in spite of the number of men upon them, were thrown back by the
defenders, and fell with a crash over the edge of the rock to the
plain below. Here and there the Egyptians gained a footing on the wall
before the Rebu had recovered from their first surprise at their
daring manner of attack; but so soon as they rallied they attacked the
Egyptians with such fury that in every case the latter were slain
fighting or were thrown over the embattlements.
For several hours the Egyptians continued their efforts, but after
losing vast numbers of men without obtaining any success they were
recalled by the sound of the trumpet.
“That has not been very serious, Jethro,” Amuba said, wiping the
perspiration from his forehead; for he had been encouraging the men by
assisting in the lifting and casting over the massive stones and beams
of wood.
“It was not difficult to repulse them under such conditions,” Jethro
said; “but the manner of their attack was a surprise indeed to us, and
they have fought with the greatest bravery. You will see that the next
time they will have benefited by the lesson, and that we shall have
some new device to cope with. Now that they have once found a way to
scale the rock we may expect but little rest.”
The fight was not renewed until evening, when, just as darkness fell,
a large number of the Egyptians again ascended the rock. As before,
the Rebu poured missiles down upon them; but this time only a
sufficient number had climbed up to be able to stand along close to
the foot of the wall, where they were to a great extent sheltered from
the missiles from above. The night was a dark one, and all night long
the Rebu continued to shower down missiles upon their invisible foe,
of whose continued presence they were assured by the sounds which from
time to time were heard.
When daylight enabled the defenders to see what was going on at the
foot of their walls they raised a shout of surprise and dismay. During
the night the Egyptians had hoisted up by ropes a quantity of the
timber brought with them for the construction of shelters for those
who were engaged on siege operations. The timbers were all cut and
prepared for fitting together, and were easily jointed even in the
dark. Thus, then, when the besiegers looked over, they saw forty or
fifty of these shelters erected against the foot of their walls. They
were so formed that they sloped down like a pent-house and were
thickly covered with hides.
The besieged soon found that so solid were these constructions that
the beams and great stones which they dropped upon them simply bounded
off and leaped down into the plain. Ladders fastened together had been
fixed by the Egyptians from each of these shelters to the plain below,
so that the men at work could be relieved or reinforced as the
occasion required.
In vain the besieged showered down missiles, in vain poured over the
caldrons of boiling oil they had prepared in readiness. The strength
of the beams defied the first; the hides lapping over each other
prevented the second from penetrating to those below.
“Truly these are terrible foes, prince,” Jethro said. “I told you that
we might expect new plans and devices, but I did not think that the
very day after the siege began we should find that they had overcome
all the difficulties of our natural defenses, and should have
established themselves in safety at the foot of our walls.”
“But what is to be done, Jethro? The men working in those shelters
will speedily dislodge these stones facing the walls, and will then
without difficulty dig through the earthwork behind.”
“The matter is serious,” Jethro agreed; “but as yet there is no
reason to alarm ourselves. The greater portion of our troops will be
assembled behind the wall, and should the Egyptians gain a way through
we should pour in at the openings, and as they can be only reinforced
slowly, would speedily hurl them all over the edge of the cliff. It is
not that I fear.”
“What is it that you do fear, Jethro?”
“I fear, prince, because I do not know what it is I have to fear.
We are as children in a struggle of this kind as opposed to the
Egyptians. Already they have wholly overthrown all our calculations,
and it is just because I do not know what they will do next that I am
afraid. It must be as plain to them as it is to us that if they dig
through the walls we shall rush in and overpower them.”
“Perhaps they intend to work right and left and to undermine the
walls, until large portions of them tumble over and breaches are
made.”
Jethro shook his head.
“That would destroy the Egyptian shelters and bury their workmen; or,
even did they manage to retire before the walls fell, they would gain
nothing by it. In fact, I wish that we ourselves could tumble the
walls over, for in that case the heap of earth and stones would rise
from the very edge of the rock, and as the Egyptians could only
climb up in small numbers at a time, we could destroy them without
difficulty. I see now that our builders made a mistake in surrounding
the city with a high wall; it would have been best to have built a
mere breastwork at the very edge of the cliff all round. Here comes
Amusis; we shall hear what his opinion of the matter is.”
Amusis looked flushed and anxious, although when he saw the prince he
assumed an expression of carelessness.
“The Egyptians are going to burrow through our walls,” he said; “but
when they do we will drive them like rats out of the holes. Do you not
think so, Jethro?”
“I do not know,” Jethro said gravely. “If they dig through our walls
we shall certainly, as you say, drive them out of their holes; but I
cannot believe that that is what they are going to do.”
“What do you think they are going to do?” Amusis asked roughly.
“I have no idea, Amusis. I wish that I had; but I am quite sure that
they haven’t taken all this trouble for nothing.”