CHAPTER XIII
THE SIEGE OF ASHLEY CASTLE
THE strength of our little garrison was but thirty-three men, of whom but seven had had experience in the art of war. Yet I felt certain that every one of the defenders could be trusted to the core, and would acquit himself right manfully, and a glance at their set, resolute features strengthened my opinion.
Of provisions we had plenty, while the two wells relieved us of all anxiety regarding the supply of water. Ammunition, too, was sufficient for a twelve months' siege, so that, provided the rebels did not bring ordnance, we felt able to hold out till a turn in the King's affairs might free us from the unwelcome attentions of the Roundhead forces.
Over the grassy sward of the rolling down poured the rebel cavalry, thinking, no doubt, to take us by surprise by their sudden appearance. The slanting rays of the sun glinted on the armour-clad troopers of Old Noll's own regiment of Ironsides (who had been detached from the siege of Basing House) and on the musketoons of a strong body of dragoons.
Finding the drawbridge raised, the rebel horse halted, and in serried masses on the steep hillside they presented a mark too tempting to ignore. Sergeant Lawson gave the signal, the gunners applied their linstocks, and next instant our ordnance had opened fire.
This was more than they expected, for the guns, being well masked by the gabions, were invisible to the rebels, though the latter soon became acquainted with their contents, and, with shouts of baffled rage, they wheeled and withdrew out of range, leaving two of their number on the ground, while several others were wounded.
"First blood," exclaimed Firestone, with a laugh. "But we'll have the whole swarm about our ears ere long."
It was as he said. The infantry took up an extended position on the downs on either hand, and began to throw up rough earthworks, while the horse, moving towards the open ground to the south of the castle, completed the hedging circle of steel.
"They are without ordnance," I remarked to the colonel, as we watched in silence the closing of the hostile lines.
"That is true," he replied. "Yet their artillery might be following, for 'tis impossible for the ordnance to keep pace with the foot over this hilly country. But see, a pair of horsemen advancing."
"They bear a white flag," exclaimed Granville.
"Keep our men in hand," said Firestone. "And let us learn the meaning of this parley."
When within two hundred yards of the gateway the rebel horsemen halted, and one blew a long note on the trumpet.
Hoisting a white flag had not occurred to us, so before we could reply one of our men had to hasten to the living-apartments and procure a tablecloth. This we fastened to a pike, and held it aloft over the gateway.
Upon this the envoys advanced without hesitation. One was a young cornet of dragoons, the other but a common trooper.
At the edge of the moat they drew rein, waiting doubtless for the drawbridge to be lowered, but this was not our intention.
"Your message, sir?" I asked.
"My message is for the ears of Sir Humphrey Markham, now within the residence known as Ashley Castle."
"I am he," I replied. "And if your message cannot be heard by ears other than mine, 'tis best left unsaid."
"Have it then," said the cornet. "'Tis this: General Cromwell offers a safe-conduct to Sir Humphrey, his officers and garrison, on certain conditions, amongst which the castle must be delivered, without malicious damage, into the hands of Captain Chaloner."
"Captain Chaloner?" I asked amazedly.
"Ay, Captain Chaloner. I trove he is already known to you? Failing which, the castle will be carried by storm, and no quarter given to the garrison or inmates."
"Is that all?"
"Verily, 'tis enough," replied the cornet haughtily. "And most comprehensive, even to a malignant."
"Withdraw, sir!" I exclaimed hotly, "or your flag of truce will not protect you. This message to the renegade Chaloner: If he want the castle, let him come for it in person!"
"Which he will do ere long," retorted the cornet, and, wheeling his horse, he galloped back to the rebel lines.
So I had not slain Chaloner, after all. The news astounded me. Surely the villain must bear a charmed life. But I resolved to take the first opportunity of preventing the recreant officer from ever setting foot within the castle, save as a prisoner or a corpse.
The enemy lost no time in ordering the attack. The dismounted dragoons and musketeers, under cover of their trenches and the woods nearest the castle, opened a hot fire, and soon there was a semicircle of white smoke drifting lazily upwards in the still air of that memorable afternoon.
[Illustration: Ralph Granville and the pikeman were locked in an unyielding embrace, and, before I could prevent the catastrophe, Ralph was dragged through the embrasure and disappeared.]
We paid no heed to their fire, being well protected by the walls and gabions. Of arms we had plenty, every man having not less than six loaded muskets lying within arm's length, while each piece of ordnance was loaded to the muzzle with small shot.
After a while the rebels, thinking no doubt that their fire had demoralised us, sent out a strong body of pikemen. Many of them bore bundles of hay and straw; others long planks and ladders, with which they hoped to cross the moat and carry the walls by storm.
The most experienced commander would have found no fault with our men, for in perfect silence and under complete control they kept behind the breastworks, ready to spring up and open a furious fire on the advancing pikemen. Firestone, his head enclosed in a steel motion, walked slowly up and down the roof of the hall, smoking a long clay pipe, which he removed at intervals to give a word of advice to the men on the handling of their pieces.
Granville and I took up our position on the gatehouse tower, where ten of the best of our musketeers were held in readiness, while at the narrow window of the ground floor more men were placed to open fire on those of the pikemen who succeeded in reaching the brink of the moat.
"Are any of our men hit?" I asked of Sergeant Lawson, who had just joined us with a message from Colonel Firestone.
"No, sir," he replied. "The sly dogs lie close."
"'Tis well. Can we but keep them unscathed till the time to open fire, 'twill enable them to keep their courage up, for 'tis disheartening to see a man fall and be unable to reply to the rebels' fire. Not that I want to lose a single man, though 'tis too much to expect to come out without a scratch."
Meanwhile the pikemen had been advancing slowly, as if inclined to husband their strength for a final rush. The loads that some of them were bearing also accounted for their slow progress, for those who carried only their arms would not outstep their comrades. With them was a sprinkling of dismounted dragoons, but I failed to see at their head my especial enemy, Chaloner, though, knowing the man's natural cowardice, I was not surprised.
It was not till the close ranks of the pikemen were within twenty yards of the moat that the order to fire was given, and simultaneously thirty muskets and three pieces of ordnance crashed their contents into the press.
It seemed as if the solid wall of men was beaten down by a single blow, for when the smoke had cleared away, most of the pikemen were lying in a confused, struggling heap. Those who were not killed or wounded had been overthrown by the shock and the surprise, or dragged down by their stricken comrades.
A few here and there were left standing, and, joined by those who were not touched, they pressed dauntlessly forward to the forlorn attack. In spite of the fact that they were our foes, I realised that they were Englishmen—and Englishmen of the good old fighting stock.
Staggering onward with their heavy burdens, the attackers strove to throw a bridge across the moat, but the hay and straw merely floated on the surface, the planks were too short, and the ladders too fragile to use as a means of crossing; and then, and only then, seeing the hopelessness of the assault, the pikemen slowly retired, bearing with them their dead and wounded comrades, on whom our men refrained from firing.
The besiegers had learnt a rough lesson, and henceforward contented themselves by drawing a closer line of rough trenches round the castle. For the next five days they did not offer to make an attack, though at most unexpected intervals a volley would be fired from all sides into our position, probably in the hope of striking some of us down, or keeping us in a state of suspense.
At night we durst not show a light, otherwise there would be a heavy fire poured in its direction, but later we adopted a plan of placing shutters over all the apertures commanding the outside of the castle, and we were in consequence free from molestation during the hours of darkness.
If the rebels thought to starve us out, they were greatly disappointed, for food there was, as I have said, in plenty. The inaction told on the men's nerves more than anything else, and so, partly in the hope of keeping them actively employed, and also for the purpose of tricking our foes, Firestone ordered the garrison to make a number of dummy men dressed in old buff coats, breastplates, and steel caps.
These were shown just above the walls, and our men derived great amusement by moving them slowly to and fro, while the rebels merely wasted their ammunition.
Under the hail of musket bullets the windows of the great hall had suffered considerably, the stained glass being shattered and the delicate tracery splintered and chipped beyond repair. Thanks to the stout oaken boards, however, none of the missiles entered the apartment, though at times there was a continuous rattle like the noise of a drum upon these serviceable barricades.
On the morning of the sixth day of the siege we sustained our first casualty. A musketeer, one of the two farmers who had brought in the news of the rebels' advance, was drawing water from the well in the courtyard when a shot struck him in the forehead, laying him out dead beside the bucket he had just raised.
From the nature and direction of the wound, 'twas evident the Roundheads had opened a dropping fire with reduced charges, and for the future none but mail-clad men were allowed to cross the courtyard.
That night, in order to convince our foes that we had food in abundance, we lowered ten sheep from the battlements to graze on the scanty pasture between the wall and the moat, keeping the ropes still fastened to them, so as to recover their carcases should any of the animals be struck down by a chance shot. By this means we also husbanded our supply of provender.
Granville, tired of the monotony of our position, next proposed that we should make a sortie on the first favourable night, but to this I would not agree, seeing that no good was likely to arise out of the enterprise, though many valuable lives might be lost; but shortly afterwards we had an episode that provided sufficient excitement to satisfy my comrade's ardour.
It was a dark night. The rain beat down in blinding torrents, and, exposed to the fury of the elements, our sentinels on the battlements had a down-hearted task. Firestone, having had a very heavy day, was fast asleep, but Granville and I determined to keep watch all night, visiting the men at their posts at frequent intervals to prevent a possible surprise.
We had discarded our defensive armour, and drawing our cloaks tightly around our bodies, we ascended the battlements for the third time that night.
At length we came to the lowest part of the walls, which here were not more than thirty feet above the level of the moat, the inner edge of which was not more than twenty feet from the base of the stonework.
The sentinel was at his post, and reported nothing amiss, but just as we were midway between his post and the next we heard a grating sound against the coping. It was barely audible above the hiss of the beating rain, but fortunately we stopped to discover the meaning of it.
Through the darkness loomed the top rungs of a scaling-ladder and the steel cap of a rebel pikeman.
Without a moment's hesitation Granville leant over the wall and gripped the intruder by the throat, calling out to me to push away the ladder.
Seizing a ramrod and giving the alarm, I put my whole might into the thrust.
The ladder was heavy with armed men, yet my strength prevailed, and I felt the mass of men and timber tremble as it slowly rose to a vertical position. Then, to the accompaniment of cries of terror, the ladder fell backwards, and, to my horror, I found that Granville and the pikeman were locked in an unyielding embrace, and ere I could prevent the catastrophe, Ralph was dragged through the embrasure and had disappeared.
There was an appalling crash of broken wood and falling steel, a heavy splash, and another outburst of shouts and cries.
Meanwhile the guard had arrived, and the rest of the garrison were soon under arms, yet we were loth to open fire for fear of hitting Granville, and also we dared not show a light.
At length there came the sound of retreating footsteps, and then all was quiet.
"He is either dead or a prisoner," said Colonel Firestone, who, clad in nothing but his invariable jackboots, long cloak, and steel headpiece, had been one of the first of the sleeping garrison to arrive on the scene.
"If he be a prisoner, we must rescue him," I cried.
"Who's for a rescue party?"
Several men signified their willingness to attempt the hazardous work, but Firestone refused to listen to the proposal, pointing out the hopelessness of the undertaking, when by now my companion, if not dead, would be beyond help within the rebels' lines.
While we were still debating, there came the report of a musket from the gatehouse; and fearing another attack, half of our party hurried to the spot.
"There's a knocking at the postern, sir," explained the sentry, "but I wouldn't open it."
"Quite right, quite right," replied Firestone, and striding over to the wicket, he threw open a sliding hatch; then, keeping well to the side for fear of a treacherous shot, he demanded, "Who goes there?"
"'Tis I, Granville," came my comrade's well-known voice.
With a shout of delight I made to unbar the gate, but Firestone laid a detaining hand on my arm.
"Art alone?" asked the colonel.
"Yes, save for a half-drowned rebel," replied Granville, with a slight laugh, and fearing no surprise, we thereupon threw open the postern.
The next instant my companion came into the torchlight, pale, drenched to the skin, and with blood streaming from a cut on his forehead, while with him he brought the insensible body of a man, whose booted legs trailed heavily over the stone cobbles.
"Do what you can for the rogue," he said breathlessly, for the man, cased in breastplate and leather coat, was no light weight.
"Art hurt?" I asked anxiously.
"'Tis but naught," he replied, "though I would fain get rid of these wet clothes."
While changing his garments he told us of what occurred after he had been dragged over the wall. Fortunately, he had been thrown clear of the ground, and, still gripping his foe, he had fallen headlong into the moat, which at that place was barely five feet in depth.
With the shock of the sudden plunge the pikeman had relaxed his grip, and, weighted down by his armour and accoutrements, he would have surely been drowned had not Ralph held on to him and dragged his senseless body to the edge of the moat. Keeping perfectly still in the darkness, with the water up to his neck, Granville allowed the rest of the discomfited rebels to recross the moat and make their way back to their camp. Then, directly everything was quiet, he emerged from his hiding-place, dragged the still insensible pikeman to the postern, and regained the shelter of the walls.
The rest of the night passed without incident, but next morning a tangle of broken ladders showed that the scalers had all but succeeded in effecting an entry.
Then the question arose what was to be done with our prisoner? He had now recovered, and seemed grateful to us for his good treatment.
At first it was suggested that he should be sent back, as we could ill afford the trouble of keeping him in ward and also of feeding him; but Colonel Firestone pointed out that he might come in useful as a hostage or for purpose of exchange, so he was placed under guard in one of our underground chambers beneath the gatehouse.
Later on in the day Firestone interrogated him, and obtained the disquieting information that several pieces of heavy ordnance were expected from the camp before Basing House, and that Cromwell, having heard of Captain Chaloner's cowardice (he having refused to lead his dragoons at the first assault), had ordered him to be the first in the breach, under the penalty of being shot as a disgrace to the Parliamentarian arms.
"Depend upon it," remarked Firestone, as he concluded his statement, "before to-morrow we shall be in a tight corner."