A line of men stood behind the smooth wall of
massive cases, and those who strove to climb it were smitten with axe or
sword, while they themselves could not reach the defenders above them.
They could but thrust blindly with pike or halbert, for if a face was
raised to direct the aim one of the deadly arrows struck it instantly. In
vain they strove by the aid of the halberts to haul down a case from its
position, the weight was too great for one man's strength to move, and
before several could grasp the handle of the halbert to aid them, the
shaft was cut in two by the blow of an axe.
Hopeless as the attempt seemed, it was persevered in, for the crowd below,
ignorant of the nature of the obstacle, maddened with fury and with the
wine which had been freely served out before starting, still pressed
forward, each fearing that the silversmith's treasures would be
appropriated before he could obtain his share. For half an hour the fight
continued, then there was a roar in the street, and Dame Margaret, who,
after seeing the barricade above completed, had come down to her room and
was gazing along the street, ran out on to the landing.
"Help is at hand!" she cried, "the knights are coming!"
Then came the loud tramp of horses, mingled with shouts of "Burgundy!" The
crowd at the entrance at once turned and ran out, and as the alarm reached
those within, they too rushed down, until the stairs were untenanted save
by the dead.
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