"
Some, indeed, of the massive chests were so heavy that it required the
efforts of six men to carry them upstairs.
"How do matters go, Guy?" Dame Margaret asked quietly as he re-entered the
apartment.
"Very well," he replied. "I don't think the door will hold out much
longer; but there is a strong barricade behind it which it will take them
some time to force, and another on the landing here that we ought to be
able to hold for an hour at least, and before that yields we will have
another ready on the landing above."
"I will see to that," she said. "I will take Agnes and Charlie up with me,
and then, with the women, I will move out the clothes' and linen chests
and build them up there."
"Thank you, madame; I trust long before the barricade here is carried we
shall have D'Estournel and his friends to our assistance. Indeed, I doubt
whether they will be able to carry it at all; it is as solid and almost as
strong as a stone wall, and as there are thirteen or fourteen of us to
defend it, it seems to me that nothing short of battering the cases to
pieces will enable them to force a way."
"I wish I could do something," Agnes broke in; "it is hard not to be able
to help while you are all fighting for us. I wish I had brought my bow
with me, you know I can shoot fairly."
"I think that it is just as well that you have not," Guy said with a
smile. "I do not doubt your courage for a moment, but if you were placing
yourself in danger we should all be anxious about you, and I would much
rather know that you were safe with your mother upstairs.
Pages:
164
165
166
167
168
169
170
171
172
173
174
175
176
177
178
179
180
181
182
183
184
185
186
187
188