The queen was standing at the door of the house where she had lain
down for a few hours' rest, after her arrival. The prince was
standing beside her.
"Here is our English friend, mother," he exclaimed, running forward
to meet Philip.
"Welcome, Monsieur Fletcher. When we found that you were not here,
on our arrival last night, we feared that some evil had befallen
you."
"Monsieur Fletcher is well able to take care of himself, prince. He
has been having adventures enough," Gaston de Rebers said.
"You must tell me about them as we ride," the prince said. "I love
adventures, Monsieur Fletcher."
They had now reached the queen.
"I am glad to see you, Monsieur Fletcher. Of course, it was in one
way a relief to us, when we crossed the river and did not find you
there; for I was sure you would have been there to give us warning,
had there been danger on the way; but I thought you might come in
any case, and when we found that you had not arrived here before
us, I was afraid that something might have befallen you."
"I have had some slight troubles, your majesty; and to my great
regret, I was unable to meet you at the passage of the river. I
should have been here long before daylight, but we were unable to
find the road in the dark, and had to wait until we could inquire
the way."
"Monsieur Fletcher is pleased to say that he has had some slight
troubles, madame," Gaston said; "but as the troubles included the
slaying in a duel of Raoul de Fontaine, one of the bitterest
enemies of our faith, and moreover a noted duellist; and an escape
from the castle of Agen, where he was confined as a suspected
Huguenot and spy, the term slight does not very aptly describe
them."
"What!" A tall soldierly old man, standing next to the queen,
exclaimed. "Do you mean to say, De Rebers, that Monsieur Fletcher
has killed Raoul de Fontaine in a duel?
"If so, I congratulate your majesty. He was a bitter persecutor of
the Huguenots, and one of the hottest headed and most troublesome
nobles in the province. Moreover, he can put a hundred and fifty
men into the field; and although his cousin Louis, who is his heir,
is also Catholic, he is a man of very different kind, and is
honoured by Huguenot and Catholic alike. But how this gentleman
could have killed so notable a swordsman is more than I can
understand. He looks, if you will pardon my saying so, a mere
youth."
"He rode beside Francois de la Noue in the battle of Saint Denis,
seneschal," the queen said; "and as he was chosen by my cousin
Conde, and Admiral Coligny, for the difficult and dangerous
enterprise of carrying a communication to me, it is clear that,
whatever his years, he is well fitted to act a man's part."
"That is so," the seneschal said heartily. "I shall be glad to talk
to you again, sir; but at present, madame, it is time to mount. The
troops are mustering, and we have a long ride before us.
"If you will lead the way with the infantry at once, Monsieur de
Rebers, we will follow as soon as we are mounted. We must go your
pace, but as soon as we start I will send a party to ride a mile
ahead of you, and see that the roads are clear."
At starting, the queen rode with the prince and the seneschal at
the head of the mounted party, some two hundred and fifty strong;
and behind followed the noblemen and gentlemen who had come with
her, and those who had accompanied the seneschal. Philip, who knew
no one, rode near the rear of this train, behind which followed the
armed retainers.
In a short time a gentleman rode back through the party.
"Monsieur Fletcher," he said, when he reached Philip, "the prince
has asked me to say that it is his wish that you shall ride
forward, and accompany him."
Philip turned into the field, and rode to the head of the party.
The prince, who was looking round, at once reined in his horse and
took his place beside him.
"Now, Monsieur Philip, you must tell me all about it. I am tired of
hearing consultations about roads and Catholic forces. I want to
hear a full account of your adventures, just as you told me the
tale of your journey to Nerac."
During the course of the day, several parties of gentlemen joined
the little force. So well organized were the Huguenots that, during
the last two or three days, the news had passed from mouth to mouth
throughout the province for all to assemble, if possible, at points
indicated to them; and all knew the day on which the seneschal
would march north from Villeneuve. Yet so well was the secret kept,
that the Catholics remained in total ignorance of the movement.
Consequently, at every village there were accessions of force
awaiting the seneschal, and parties of from ten to a hundred rode
up and joined them on the march.
After marching twenty miles, they halted at the foot of a chain of
hills, their numbers having been increased during the day to over
twelve hundred men. The queen and her son found rough accommodation
in a small village, the rest bivouacked round it.
At midnight three hundred cavalry and two hundred footmen started
across the hills, so as to come down upon Bergerac and seize the
bridge across the Dordogne; then at daylight the rest of the force
marched. On reaching the river they found that the bridge had been
seized without resistance. Three hundred gentlemen and their
retainers, of the province of Perigord, had assembled within half a
mile of the other side of the bridge, and had joined the party as
they came down. A Catholic force of two hundred men, in the town,
had been taken by surprise and captured, for the most part in their
beds.
The queen had issued most stringent orders that there was to be no
unnecessary bloodshed; and the Catholic soldiers, having been
stripped of their arms and armour, which were divided among those
of the Huguenots who were ill provided, were allowed to depart
unharmed the next morning, some fifteen gentlemen being retained as
prisoners. Three hundred more Huguenots rode into Bergerac in the
course of the day.
The footmen marched forward in the afternoon, and were directed to
stop at a village, twelve miles on. As the next day's journey would
be a long one, the start was again made early; and late in the
afternoon the little army, which had been joined by two hundred
more in the course of the day, arrived within sight of Perigueux.
Five hundred horsemen had ridden forward, two hours before, to
secure the bridge.
The seneschal had, after occupying Bergerac, placed horsemen on all
the roads leading north, to prevent the news from spreading; and
Perigueux, a large and important town, was utterly unprepared for
the advent of an enemy. A few of the troops took up arms and made a
hasty resistance, but were speedily dispersed. The greater portion
fled, at the first alarm, to the castle, where D'Escars himself was
staying. He had, only two days before, sent off a despatch to the
court declaring that he had taken his measures so well that not a
Huguenot in the province would take up arms.
His force was still superior to that of the horsemen, but his
troops were disorganized; and many, in their flight, had left their
arms behind them, and he was therefore obliged to remain inactive
in the citadel; and his mortification and fury were complete, when
the seneschal's main body marched through the town and halted, for
the night, a league beyond it.
The next day they crossed the Dronne at Brantome, and then turned
to the west. The way was now open to them and, with two thousand
men, the seneschal felt capable of coping with any force that could
be got together to attack them. A halt was made for a day, to rest
the men and horses and, four days later, after crossing the
Perigord hills, and keeping ten miles south of Angouleme, they came
within sight of Cognac. Messages had already been sent on to
announce their coming and, five miles from the town, they were met
by the Prince of Conde and the Admiral.
"Your first message lifted a load from our minds, madame," the
Admiral said. "The last news I received of you was that you were
still at Nerac, and as an intercepted despatch informed us that
orders had been sent from the court for your immediate arrest, we
were in great uneasiness about you."
"We left Nerac just in time," the queen said; "for, as we have
learned, the governor of Agen, with a strong force, left that city
to effect our capture at the very hour that we started on our
flight."
"Did you know where you would find us, madame? We sent off a
message by trusty hands, but whether the gentleman reached you we
know not."
"Indeed he did, and has since rendered us good service; and Henri
here has taken so great a fancy to him that, since we left
Villeneuve, he has always ridden by his side."
After Conde had presented the gentlemen who had ridden out with him
to the queen, and the seneschal in turn had introduced the most
important nobles and gentlemen to the prince and Admiral, they
proceeded on their way.
"Have you taken Cognac, cousin?" the queen asked Conde.
"No, madame; the place still holds out. We have captured Saint Jean
d'Angely, but Cognac is obstinate, and we have no cannon with which
to batter its walls."
As soon, however, as the queen arrived at the camp, a summons was
sent in in her name and, influenced by this, and by the sight of
the reinforcements she had brought with her, Cognac at once
surrendered.
As soon as Philip rode into camp, he was greeted joyously by his
cousin Francois.
"We did not think, when we parted outside Niort, that we were going
to be separated so long," he said, after they had shaken hands
heartily. "I was astonished indeed when, two days later, I met the
Admiral outside the walls of the town again, to hear that you had
gone off to make your way through to Nerac.
"I want to hear all your adventures. We have not had much fighting.
Niort made but a poor resistance, and Parthenay surrendered without
striking a blow; then I went with the party that occupied Fontenay.
The Catholics fought stoutly there, but we were too strong for
them. Those three places have given La Rochelle three bulwarks to
the north.
"Then we started again from La Rochelle, and marched to Saint Jean
d'Angely, which we carried by storm. Then we came on here, and I
believe we shall have a try at Saintes or Angouleme. When we have
captured them, we shall have a complete cordon of strong places
round La Rochelle.
"We expect La Noue down from Brittany every hour, with a force he
has raised there and in Normandy; and we have heard that a large
force has gathered in Languedoc, and is advancing to join us; and
all is going so well that I fancy, if Monsieur d'Anjou does not
come to us before long, we shall set out in search of him.
"So much for our doings; now sit down comfortably in my tent, and
tell me all about your journey. I see you have brought Pierre and
your two men back with you."
"You would be nearer the truth, if you said that Pierre and the two
men had brought me back," Philip laughed; "for if it had not been
for them, I should probably have lost my head the day after the
queen left Nerac."
"That is a good beginning to the story, Philip; but tell me the
whole in proper order, as it happened."
Philip told his story at length, and his cousin was greatly pleased
at the manner in which he had got through his various dangers and
difficulties.
The queen remained but a few hours with the army, after Cognac had
opened its gates. After a long conference with the Prince of Conde,
the Admiral, and the other leaders, she left under a strong escort
for La Rochelle; leaving the young prince with the army, of which
he was given the nominal command, as his near connection with the
royal family, and the fact that he was there as the representative
of his mother, strengthened the Huguenot cause; which could no
longer be described, by the agents of the French court with foreign
powers, as a mere rising of slight importance, the work only of
Conde, Coligny, and a few other ambitious and turbulent nobles.
"I asked my mother to appoint you as one of the gentlemen who are
to ride with me, Monsieur Fletcher," the young prince said to
Philip, when he saw him on the day after the queen's departure;
"but she and the Admiral both said no. It is not because they do
not like you, you know; and the Admiral said that he could very
well trust me with you. But when my mother told him that I had
ridden with you for the last four days, he said that it would cause
jealousy, when there were so many young French nobles and gentlemen
in the camp, if I were to choose you in preference to them as my
companion; you being only French on your mother's side, and having
an English name. I begged them to let me tell you this, for I would
rather ride with you than with any of them; and I should not like
you to think that I did not care to have you with me, any more.
"I think it hard. They call me the commander of this army, and I
can't have my own way even in a little thing like this. Some day,
Monsieur Fletcher, I shall be able to do as I please, and then I
hope to have you near me."
"I am greatly obliged to your Highness," Philip said; "but I am
sure the counsel that has been given you is right, and that it is
far better for you to be in the company of French gentlemen. I have
come over here solely to do what little I can to aid my mother's
relations, and those oppressed for their faith; and though I am
flattered by your wish that I should be near you, I would rather be
taking an active share in the work that has to be done."
"Yes, the Admiral said that. He said that, while many a youth would
be most gratified at being selected to be my companion, he was sure
that you would far rather ride with your cousin, Monsieur De
Laville; and that it would be a pity to keep one, who bids fair to
be a great soldier, acting the part of nurse to me. It was not
quite civil of the Admiral; for I don't want a nurse of that kind,
and would a thousand times rather ride as an esquire to you, and
take share in your adventures. But the Admiral is always plain
spoken; still, as I know well that he is good and wise, and the
greatest soldier in France, I do not mind what he says."
Angouleme and Saintes were both captured without much difficulty;
and then, moving south from Angouleme, the army captured Pons and
Blaye, and thus possessed themselves of a complete semicircle of
towns round La Rochelle.
A short time afterwards, they were joined by a strong force of
Huguenots from Languedoc and Provence. These had marched north,
without meeting with any enemy strong enough to give them battle;
and when they joined the force under the Admiral, they raised its
strength to a total of three thousand cavalry, and twenty thousand
infantry.
By this time the royal army of the Prince d'Anjou, having united
with that raised by the Guises, had advanced to Poitiers. The
season was now far advanced. Indeed, winter had already set in.
Both armies were anxious to fight; but the royalist leaders,
bearing in mind the desperate valour that the Huguenots had
displayed at Saint Denis, were unwilling to give battle, unless in
a position that afforded them every advantage for the movements of
their cavalry, in which they were greatly superior in strength to
the Huguenots.
The Admiral was equally determined not to throw away the advantage
he possessed in his large force of infantry; and after being in
sight of each other for some time, and several skirmishes having
taken place, both armies fell back into winter quarters--the
severity of the weather being too great to keep the soldiers,
without tents or other shelter, in the field.
During these operations Philip and his cousin had again ridden with
Francois de la Noue, who had rejoined the army after a most
perilous march, in which he and the small body of troops he had
brought from Brittany had succeeded in making their way through the
hostile country, and in crossing the fords of the intervening
rivers, after hard fighting and considerable loss.
As soon as the intense cold had driven both armies to the shelter
of the towns, the count said to Francois:
"You and Philip had better march at once, with your troop, to
Laville. It will cost far less to maintain them at the chateau,
than elsewhere; indeed the men can, for the most part, return to
their farms.
"But you must be watchful, Francois, now that a portion of Anjou's
army is lying at Poitiers. They may, should the weather break, make
raids into our country; and as Laville is the nearest point to
Poitiers held for us, they might well make a dash at it."
The countess welcomed them back heartily, but expressed great
disappointment that the season should have passed without the
armies meeting.
"It was the same last time. It was the delay that ruined us. With
the best will in the world, there are few who can afford to keep
their retainers in the field for month after month; and the men,
themselves, are longing to be back to their farms and families.
"We shall have to keep a keen lookout, through the winter.
Fortunately our harvest here is a good one, and the granaries are
all full; so that we shall be able to keep the men-at-arms on
through the winter, without much expense. I feel more anxious about
the tenants than about ourselves."
"Yes, mother, there is no doubt there is considerable risk of the
enemy trying to beat us up; and we must arrange for signals, so
that our people may have time to fall back here. Philip and I will
think it over. We ought to be able to contrive some scheme between
us."
"Do so, Francois. I feel safe against surprise here; but I never
retire to rest, without wondering whether the night will pass
without the tenants' farms and stacks being set ablaze, and they
and their families slaughtered on their own hearth stones."
"I suppose, Francois," Philip said to him as they stood at the
lookout, next morning, "there is not much doubt which way they
would cross the hills, coming from Poitiers. They would be almost
sure to come by that road that we travelled by, when we went to
Chatillon. It comes down over the hills, two miles to the west.
"There it is, you see. You just catch sight of it, as it crosses
that shoulder. Your land does not go as far as that, does it?"
"No, it only extends a mile in that direction, and four miles in
the other, and five miles out into the plain."
"Are there many Huguenots on the other side of the hill?"
"Yes, there are some; but as you know, our strength is in the other
direction. What are you thinking of?"
"I was thinking that we might make an arrangement with someone, in
a village some seven or eight miles beyond the hills, to keep a boy
on watch night and day; so that, directly a body of Catholic troops
were seen coming along, he should start at full speed to some place
a quarter of a mile away, and there set light to a beacon piled in
readiness.
"We, on our part, would have a watch set on the top of this hill
behind us; at a spot where the hill on which the beacon was placed
would be visible. Then at night the fire, and by day the smoke
would serve as a warning. Our watchman would, at once, fire an
arquebus and light another beacon; which would be the signal for
all within reach to come here, as quickly as possible.
"At each farmhouse a lookout must, of course, be kept night and
day. I should advise the tenants to send up as much of their corn
and hay as possible, at once; and that the cattle should be driven
up close to the chateau, at night."
"I think that would be a very good plan, Philip. I am sure that
among our men-at-arms must be some who have acquaintances and
friends on the other side of the hill. It will be best that they
should make the arrangements for the firing of the signal beacon.
We might even station one of them in a village there, under the
pretence that he had been knocked up with the cold and hardship,
and was desirous of staying quietly with his friends. He would
watch at night and could sleep by day, as his friends would waken
him at once, if any troops passed along."
The same afternoon, one of the men-at-arms prepared to start for a
village, eight miles beyond the hill.
"There is no rising ground near it," he said to Francois, "that
could well be seen from the top of the hill here; but about half a
mile away from the village there is an old tower. It is in ruins,
and has been so ever since I can remember. I have often climbed to
its top, when I was a boy. At this time of year, there is no chance
of anyone visiting the place. I could collect wood and pile it,
ready for a fire, without any risk whatever. I can point out the
exact direction of the tower from the top of the hill, so that the
watchers would know where to keep their attention fixed."
"Well, you had better go up with us at once, then, so that I shall
be able to instruct the men who will keep watch. We will build a
hut up there for them, and keep three men on guard; so that they
will watch four hours apiece, day and night."
The distance was too great to make out the tower; but as the
soldier knew its exact position, he drove two stakes into the
ground, three feet apart.
"Now," he said, "a man, looking along the line of the tops of these
stakes, will be looking as near as may be at the tower."
The tenants were all visited, and were warned to keep a member of
their family always on the watch for fire, or smoke, from the
little hut at the top of the hill. As soon as the signal was seen,
night or day, they were to make their way to the chateau, driving
their horses and most valuable stock before them, and taking such
goods as they could remove.
"You had better let two horses remain with their harness on, night
and day; and have a cart in readiness, close to your house. Then,
when the signal is given, the women will only have to bundle their
goods and children into the cart; while the men get their arms, and
prepare to drive in their cattle.
"The Catholics will show no mercy to any of the faith they may
find; while as to the chateau, it can make a stout resistance, and
you may be sure that it will not be long before help arrives, from
Niort or La Rochelle."
Arrangements were also made, with the Huguenot gentry in the
neighbourhood, that they should keep a lookout for the signal; and
on observing it light other beacons, so that the news could be
spread rapidly over that part of the country. As soon as the fires
were seen, the women and children were to take to the hills, the
cattle to be driven off by the boys, and the men to arm themselves
and mount.
"Of course," the countess said, at a council where all these
arrangements were made, "we must be guided by the number sent
against us. If, by uniting your bands together, you think you can
raise the siege, we will sally out as soon as you attack and join
you; but do not attack, unless you think that our united forces can
defeat them. If we could defeat them, we should save your chateaux
and farms from fire and ruin.
"If you find they are too strong to attack, you might harass
parties sent out to plunder, and so save your houses, while you
despatch men to ask for help from the Admiral. If, however, they
are so strong in cavalry that you could not keep the field against
them, I should say it were best that you should ride away, and join
any party advancing to our assistance."
A month passed quietly. Every day, a soldier carrying wine and
provisions rode to the hut that had been built, on the crest of the
hill three miles away.
Eight o'clock one evening, towards the end of January, the alarm
bell rang from the lookout tower. Philip and his cousin ran up.
"There is the beacon alight at the hut, count," the lookout said.
"Light this bonfire then, Jules, and keep the alarm bell going.
"To horse, men!" he cried, looking over the parapet. "Bring out our
horses with your own."
The men had been previously told off in twos and threes to the
various farmhouses, to aid in driving in the cattle and, as soon as
they were mounted, each party dashed off to its destination. From
the watchtower four or five fires could be seen blazing in the
distance, showing that the lookouts had everywhere been vigilant,
and that the news had already been carried far and wide.
Francois and Philip rode up to the hut on the hill.
"There is no mistake, I hope," Francois said as, a quarter of a
mile before they reached it, they met the three men-at-arms coming
down.
"No, count, it was exactly in a line with the two stakes and, I
should think, about the distance away that you told us the tower
was. It has died down now."
The beacon fire near the hut had been placed fifty yards below the
crest of the hill, so that its flame should not be seen from the
other side. This had been at Philip's suggestion.
"If it is put where they can see it," he said, "they will feel sure
that it is in answer to that fire behind them, and will ride at
full speed, so as to get here before the news spreads. If they see
no answering fire, they may suppose that the first was but an
accident. They may even halt at the village, and send off some men
to see what has caused the fire; or if they ride straight through,
they will be at some little distance before Simon has got to the
fire and lighted it, and may not care to waste time sending back.
At any rate, it is better that they should see no flame up here."
They had often talked the matter over, and had agreed that, even if
the column was composed only of cavalry, it would be from an hour
and a half to two hours before it arrived at the chateau, as it
would doubtless have performed a long journey; while if there were
infantry with them, they would take double that time.
Directly an alarm had been given, two of the youngest and most
active of the men-at-arms had set off, to take post at the point
where the road crossed the hill. Their orders were to lie still
till all had passed, and then to make their way back along the
hill, at full speed, to inform the garrison of the strength and
composition of the attacking force.
When they returned to the chateau, people were already pouring in
from the neighbouring farms; the women staggering under heavy
burdens, and the men driving their cattle before them, or leading
strings of horses. The seneschal and the retainers were at work,
trying to keep some sort of order; directing the men to drive the
cattle into the countess's garden, and the women to put down their
belongings in the courtyard, where they would be out of the way;
while the countess saw that her maids spread rushes, thickly, along
by the walls of the rooms that were to be given up to the use of
the women and children.
Cressets had been lighted in the courtyard, but the bonfire was now
extinguished so that the enemy, on reaching the top of the hill,
should see nothing to lead them to suppose that their coming was
known. The alarm bell had ceased sending its loud summons into the
air; but there was still a variety of noises that were almost
deafening: the lowing of cattle, disturbed and angered at the
unaccustomed movement; mingled with the shouts of men, the barking
of dogs, and the crying of frightened children.
"I will aid the seneschal in getting things into order down here,
Francois," Philip said, "while you see to the defence of the walls,
posting the men, and getting everything in readiness to give them a
reception. I will look after the postern doors, and see that the
planks across the moats are removed, and the bolts and bars in
place."
Francois nodded and, bidding the men-at-arms, who had already
returned, stable their horses and follow him, he proceeded to the
walls.
"This is enough to make one weep," Pierre said, as the oxen poured
into the courtyard, and then through the archway that led to the
countess's garden.
"What is enough, Pierre? To see all these poor women and children,
who are likely to behold their homesteads in flames, before many
hours?"
"Well, I did not mean that, master; though I don't say that is not
sad enough, in its way; but that is the fortune of war, as it were.
I meant the countess's garden being destroyed. The beasts will
trample down all the shrubs and, in a week, it will be no better
than a farmyard."
Philip laughed.
"That is of very little consequence, Pierre. A week's work, with
plenty of hands, will set that right again. Still, no doubt it will
vex the countess, who is very fond of her garden."
"A week!" Pierre said. "Why, sir, it will take years and years
before those yew hedges grow again."
"Ah well, Pierre, if the countess keeps a roof over her head she
may be well content, in these stormy times. You had better go and
see if she and her maids have got those chambers ready for the
women. If they have, get them all in as quickly as you can. These
beasts come into the courtyard with such a rush that some of the
people will be trampled upon, if we do not get them out of the
way."
"Most of them have gone into the hall, sir. The countess gave
orders that all were to go in as they came; but I suppose the
servants have been too busy to tell the latecomers. I will get the
rest in, at once."
As soon as the farmers and their men had driven the animals into
the garden, they went up to the walls, all having brought their
arms in with them. The boys were left below, to look after the
cattle.
"Nothing can be done tonight," Philip said to some of the men. "The
cattle will come to no harm and, as the boys cannot keep them from
breaking down the shrubs, they had best leave them alone, or they
will run the risk of getting hurt. The boys will do more good by
taking charge of the more valuable horses, as they come in, and
fastening them up to the rings round the wall here. The cart horses
must go in with the cattle."
Several gentlemen, with their wives and families, came in among the
fugitives. Their houses were not in a condition to withstand a
siege, and it had long been settled that they should come into the
chateau, if danger threatened. The ladies were taken to the
countess's apartments, while the gentlemen went to aid Francois in
the defence.
An hour and a half after the lads returned to the castle, the
men-at-arms who had been sent to watch the road came in. They
reported that the column approaching consisted of about three
hundred mounted men, and fifteen hundred infantry.
Roger had, all this time, been standing by the side of his saddled
horse. Philip hurried to him, as soon as the men came in.
"Three hundred horsemen and fifteen hundred foot! Ride at full
speed to La Rochelle. Tell the Admiral the numbers, and request
him, in the name of the countess, to come to her assistance. Beg
him to use all speed, for no doubt they will attack hotly, knowing
that aid will soon be forthcoming to us."
Roger leapt to his saddle, and galloped out through the gate. A man
had been placed there to mark off the names of all who entered,
from the list that had been furnished him. Philip took it, and saw
that a cross had been placed against every name. He therefore went
up to the top of the wall.
"The tenants are all in, Francois!"
"Very well, then, I will have the drawbridge raised and the gates
closed. I am glad, indeed, that we have had time given us for them
all to enter. My mother would have been very grieved, if harm had
come to any of them.
"I have everything in readiness, here. I have posted men at every
window and loophole, where the house rises from the side of the
moat. All the rest are on the walls. I will take command here by
the gate and along the wall. Do you take charge of the defence of
the house, itself. However, you may as well stay here with me,
until we have had our first talk with them. Pass the word along the
walls for perfect silence."
In another half hour they heard a dull sound. Presently it became
louder, and they could distinguish, above the trampling of horses,
the clash of steel. It came nearer and nearer, until within two or
three hundred yards of the chateau, then it ceased. Presently a
figure could be made out, creeping quietly forward until it reached
the edge of the moat. It paused a moment, and then retired.
"He has been sent to find out whether the drawbridge is down,"
Francois whispered to Philip. "We shall see what they will do now."
There was a pause for ten minutes, then a heavy mass of men could
be seen approaching.
"Doubtless they will have planks with them, to push across the
moat," Philip said.
"We will let them come within twenty yards," Francois replied,
"then I think we shall astonish them."
Believing that all in the chateau were asleep, and that even the
precaution of keeping a watchman on the walls had been neglected,
the assailants advanced eagerly. Suddenly, the silence on the walls
was broken by a voice shouting, "Give fire!" And then, from along
the whole face of the battlements, deadly fire from arquebuses was
poured into them. A moment later half a dozen fireballs were flung
into the column, and a rain of crossbow bolts followed.
Shouts of astonishment, rage, and pain broke from the mass and,
breaking up, they recoiled in confusion; while the shouts of the
officers, urging them forward, could be heard. The heavy fire from
the walls was, however, too much for men who had expected no
resistance, but had moved forward believing that they had but to
sack and plunder; and in two or three minutes from the first shot
being fired, all who were able to do so had retired; though a
number of dark figures, dotting the ground, showed how deadly had
been the fire of the besieged.
"They will do nothing more tonight, I fancy," one of the Huguenot
gentlemen standing by the two friends remarked. "They expected to
take you entirely by surprise. Now that they have failed in doing
so, they will wait until morning to reconnoitre, and decide on the
best points of attack. Besides, no doubt they have marched far, and
are in need of rest before renewing the assault."
"Well, gentlemen," Francois said, "it would be needless for you all
to remain here; and when they once begin in earnest, there will be
but slight opportunity of rest until relief reaches us. Therefore,
I beg you to go below. You will find a table laid in the hall, and
two chambers roughly prepared for you; and you can get a few hours'
sleep.
"I myself, with my own men, will keep watch. Should they muster for
another attack, my horn will summon you again to the wall.
"Philip, will you go down and see that these gentlemen have all
that they require? You can dismiss all save our own men from guard,
on the other side of the house. The tenants and their men will all
sleep in the hall."
Philip went down, and presided at the long table. The gentlemen
were seated near him while, below them, the tenants and other
followers took their places. There was enough cold meat, game, and
pies for all; and when they had finished, the defenders of the wall
came down, half at a time, for a meal.
When the gentlemen had retired to their apartments, and the farmers
and their men had thrown themselves down upon the rushes strewn on
each side of the hall, Philip went up to join Francois.
"Any sign of them, Francois?"
"None at all. I expect they are thoroughly tired out, and are lying
down just as they halted. There is no fear that we shall hear any
more of them, tonight."