Page:Tudor Jenks--The defense of the castle.djvu/183

Rh cat that hid the battering-ram. Now and then one of the soldiers or workmen would show him- self outside the defenses, but would instantly dive back again, for fear of an arrow from a loophole or embrasure of the castle. And this fear was well founded, for Hugh had insisted that his marksmen should be constantly on the alert, and ever ready to discharge their weapons at anyone of the besiegers who' exposed himself. In consequence, whenever one of the Count's soldiers let an arm or a leg protrude, a bowstring would twang, and a bolt would fall—seldom hitting its mark, it is true, but still serving the purpose of making the besiegers cautious and prudent about their work, and hence making their work slower. This was in accordance with Hugh's principle throughout the siege—he thought everything worth while that made the siege longer or more difficult, believing a day lost or a day gained might make all the difference between victory and defeat.

Behind the besiegers' mangonels, and just at the edge of the wood, could be seen a number of the Count's men drawn up in regular formation, and Hugh, pointing these out to Edgar, remarked:

"To-day we shall have not a man too much. Besides the tower and the ram, the Count means to send a force against the walls to see if he can-