Page:Tudor Jenks--The defense of the castle.djvu/146

122 the King himself. You may be King of Minstrels or the King's Minstrel, so far as your appearance goes, and your skill with the harp."

"Hugh is right," said Edgar, "both in his compliments and in his advice. If you are to be up and doing for a busy day at dawn, we must all to bed in as good season as may be."

The fire upon the hearth was covered with ashes, the candles extinguished, and the great hall left empty.

But outside the besiegers, who were still occupying the intrenchment they had thrown up near the gateway, received a visit from Luke the Lurdane. The Count's right-hand man, who was fertile in expedients, had resolved to take advantage of the delay, while preparing for a more vigorous attack, by beginning a mine. It had occurred to him that it would not be difficult to dig through the soft earth that formed the causeway, and thus undermine one of the towers. Luckily for the garrison, he had chosen to dig under the tower on the southwest corner—the very one Hugh had made up his mind to abandon if the besiegers succeeded in opening a breach in the south wall.

Luke knew that his sappers would be able to dig into the causeway without much noise, and he hoped that when they came to the wall of the