Page:The reign of William Rufus and the accession of Henry the First.djvu/131

 *

in the keeping of a small body of the King's troops, while the King himself slowly followed. No further treachery was feared; it was taken for granted that those who held the castle for Odo would give it up at once when Odo came in person to bid them do so. These hopes were vain; the young nobles who were left in the castle, Count Eustace, Robert of Bellême, and the rest, were not scrupulous as to the faith of treaties, and they had no mind to give up their stronghold till they were made to do so by force of arms. Odo was brought before the walls of Rochester. The leaders of the party that brought him called on the defenders of the castle to surrender; such was the bidding alike of the King who was absent and of the Bishop who was there in person. But Odo's friends could see from the wall that the voices of the King's messengers told one story, while the looks of the Bishop told another. They threw open the gates; they rushed forth on the King's men, who were in no case to resist them, and carried both them and the Bishop prisoners into the castle. Odo was doubtless a willing captive; once within the walls of Rochester, he again became the life and soul of the defence.