Immediately,
from behind the barrier and from the windows of the houses, a
counterblast of arrows sped, carrying death. But the Lancastrians,
as if they had but waited for a signal, shouted loudly in answer;
and began to close at a run upon the barrier, the horsemen still
hanging back, with visors lowered.
Then followed an obstinate and deadly struggle, hand to hand. The
assailants, wielding their falchions with one hand, strove with the
other to drag down the structure of the barricade. On the other
side, the parts were reversed; and the defenders exposed themselves
like madmen to protect their rampart. So for some minutes the
contest raged almost in silence, friend and foe falling one upon
another. But it is always the easier to destroy; and when a single
note upon the tucket recalled the attacking party from this
desperate service, much of the barricade had been removed
piecemeal, and the whole fabric had sunk to half its height, and
tottered to a general fall.
And now the footmen in the market-place fell back, at a run, on
every side.
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