Page:A History of the Knights of Malta, or the Order of St. John of Jerusalem.djvu/386

356 maintaining intercourse with the besiegers whereby much valuable information was made known to them. It was by his suggestion that the Turkish artillery was turned against the campanile beside St. John’s church, from which elevated spot the besieged had been able to overlook the whole Turkish camp and to trace their operations in the trenches. A few days’ practice at so elevated a target sufficed to achieve its overthrow, and the knights were thus deprived of a post of observation which they had found extremely useful.

The numerous sorties in which the garrison had indulged during the construction of the trenches materially impeded, it is true, the operations of the Turks, and caused the slaughter of vast numbers of their Wallachian pioneers, but these successes had not been gained without loss. The same feeling which prompted L’Isle Adam to refrain from any attempt to check the disembarkation of the Turks made him now again give strict orders that ll further sorties were to be abandoned. The Turks were thus able to complete their works without any other hindrance than that which was caused by the ceaseless play of artillery brought to bear on every part of the trenches, and, as Ahmed Hafiz admits, with wonderful precision and accuracy. The cessation of these sallies prevented the capture of any more prisoners, and L’Isle Adam was no longer made acquainted with the movements taking place within the enemy’s camp. In this dilemma a party of sailors undertook to obtain the required information. They dressed themselves as Turks and left the harbour during the night in a boat. They coasted along the shore, and speaking the enemy’s language with facility, proceeded fearlessly into the midst of the Turkish camp. Thence they succeeded in inveigling two genuine Moslems into their boat and carried them off undiscovered into the town. The prisoners were taken to the top of St. John’s tower, which had not as yet been demolished, and there they were questioned by Martinigo, the Venetian engineer, and two other knights. They were given plainly to understand that on