They have come to a halt now down there, and
half of them have thrown themselves on the ground like a pack of tired
hounds."
"I have no fear whatever of an open attack, Osgod. They can see for
themselves that the bridge is destroyed, and I do not think they will dream
of coming up that road, which, as they know, we can sweep with stones from
above. If they attack openly at all, it will be by the wall we scaled. If
they make twenty ladders such as we had they may think they might gain a
footing, especially as their archers high among the trees would be able to
fire down on the defenders of the wall. But what I am really afraid of is
that there may be some secret passage."
"Do you think so?" Osgod said, startled. "Where could it come from?"
"Well, Osgod, you see they have cut this winding road up the rock and have
made the tunnel hence to the courtyard, so the chiefs have had abundance of
labour at their disposal. They would naturally wish to provide a means of
escape if the castle were besieged, and like to fall by force or famine;
moreover it would enable them to send out messengers or receive messages
from without. A passage four feet high and two feet wide would suffice.
They may have driven such a passage from some place in the wood behind and
it may come up somewhere in the courtyard, perhaps in one of the little
huts along the side. Of course the entrance would be covered here by a
stone, and would be hidden among the bushes at the other end.
Pages:
207
208
209
210
211
212
213
214
215
216
217
218
219
220
221
222
223
224
225
226
227
228
229
230
231