Page:Tudor Jenks--The defense of the castle.djvu/153

 the calm comes the storm. The rising of the sun on the following day seemed as if it were a signal for all the suspended operations to spring into activity. The two new mangonels of the besiegers, besides the one they had repaired, had been set up during the night, and as soon as the artillerymen could see, all three of them were aimed at the gateway of the castle and sent their great rocks whizzing through the air. The object of all three was to destroy the crane that had hammered the head of the cat to pieces a few days before.

The fire of the besiegers—if "fire" it can be called—was vigorously replied to by the mangonels upon the castle walls, and the sound of the wheels and tackle, as well as the thud of the great timbers against their framework, was incessant through the morning. Together with these sounds, now and then, could be heard the crash of a rock against the castle walls, or the splintering of wood if a part of the timber-work was hit. 127