Page:Tudor Jenks--The defense of the castle.djvu/186

160 emies in the tower. Edgar was in charge of the men drawn up opposite the breaking wall, and the Friar, upon the higher battlement gave his attention to answering the fire of the mangonels by making a vigorous attack of the same kind in return.

There was also a fourth attempt made against the castle, but of this its commanders did not learn until the great part—nearly the whole—of their men had been assigned to their stations. Luke the Lurdane had spent some of his spare hours, during the lull in the siege, upon the ground westward of the castle, reconnoitering. He had even, early one morning, swum out into the river, thinking he would thus attract less attention than if he took a boat or raft, and had carefully noted the ground upon which the castle stood. He had not failed to see the steep path down which the Friar had come upon his unlucky expedition, and Luke wondered whether it might not be possible for a few resolute men, aided by their poleaxes or pikes, to climb this path and thus gain an entrance to the castle from the rear. Luke believed that when the general attack was made it would be worth while to try this surprise; and so he had selected some of his most agile men to make the attempt.

Therefore, during the delivery of the three