Page:Tudor Jenks--The defense of the castle.djvu/78

54 They will not be ready before sunrise—if they do come so early."

The night before the expected attack was an anxious one within the castle walls. Just at nightfall a heavy mist began to gather over the river, and when darkness came on this changed to a light rain. Through the night the rain increased, falling upon the roof with a thundering sound which kept many of the inmates awake. Toward morning, however, the rain ceased, and just before dawn it seemed that it was ominously still.

Edgar arose early, and was soon out upon the battlements, where he was told by a sentry that there had been no disturbance during the night. Edgar remained upon the walls awaiting the coming of the gray morning light, for he expected that with sunrise he would see the van of the Ferrers forces. And so it proved. The first rays of the rising sun had hardly touched more than the highest branches of the thick woods opposite the castle, when there appeared, at the opening of the road through the forest, a dark mass of men that poured forth upon the plateau like a swarm of ants coming out of an ant-hill, They did not approach very near to the castle itself, and were not apparently very well disciplined since they scattered in irregular groups, and did not seem to