Page:A History of the Knights of Malta, or the Order of St. John of Jerusalem.djvu/480

446 Its defence had been protracted far beyond what even the most sanguine could have anticipated, and now there remained not the shadow of a doubt that it wanted but the light of another day to insure its destruction. La Valette felt, therefore, that the moment had arrived when, if it were not too late, the remnant of the garrison should be withdrawn from their post, and the ruins of St. Elino left to the enemy. For this purpose he despatched five large boats conveying a body of volunteers, who were even then willing to share the fate of their comrades, and with this succour he forwarded a message to the governor, Don Melchior, leaving to him the option of abandoning the fort and retiring with his gallant little band into the Bourg. The permission came too late. La Valette had sternly refused all suggestions of surrender whilst the road for a retreat lay still open; he had deliberately chosen to sacrifice the brave defenders of St. Elmo for the sake of protracting the siege, and now it was impossible for him to recall that cruel flat. The road of retreat was closed for ever. In vain did the relieving force attempt to approach undetected the rocky inlet where the mouth of the subterranean communication lay hidden, and from whence the ruined fort loomed indistinctly in the darkness of the night. The wary Turk too surely suspected that a last effort would be made to save the victims whom he had now securely enclosed within his grasp, and his watchful sentries gave speedy notification of the approach of the boats. The alarm was instantly sounded, and the battery which Dragut had constructed to sweep the point, opened with deadly precision. Thus discovered, it was, of course, manifestly useless to persevere in the attempt, and with heavy hearts they were compelled to return to the Bourg, leaving their comrades to their fate.

Anxiously had the attempt been watched by the garrison, and when the fire of the Turkish battery told them that it had been discovered and foiled, they felt that all was over. Silently and solemnly they assembled in the little chapel of the fort, and there once more confessed their sins and partook of the Holy Eucharist for the last time on earth. It was a sad and touching sight that midnight gathering around the small altar of St. Elmo’s chapel. Scarred with many a wound, exhausted with