Page:Tudor Jenks--The defense of the castle.djvu/102

78 No attempt was made to dislodge the besiegers that night, since the garrison could not afford to lose many men, and Hugh advised that the time would be best spent in preparing for a vigorous bombardment on the morrow. Edgar accordingly, assisted by the Friar—who seemed to have a strong affection for all forms of artillery—put together several balistæ, and placed them on the walls wherever they could be brought to bear on the Count's works. The balista could be used at shorter range than the mangonel, being smaller, lighter, and more manageable. It had a short arm, worked by twisted cords, and would fling stones or other missiles in a short or long arc as might be arranged. They were used also to fling small kegs or jars in which could be put boiling pitch, quicklime, or Greek fire—that composition of naphtha, oils, and so on, invented by the Greeks for use in defending Byzantium against the Arabs.

The Count had learned something from the methods of defense already adopted by the garrison and was no longer ashamed to take every precaution that might save his men, and hasten the work of the besiegers. He kept his men busily at work all night, and in the morning it was seen that he had built a strong inclosure to protect his soldiers, roofing it over,and covering the