And turning on his heel, he disdainfully snatched the handkerchief from his sword-point and strode resentfully away. He had, during this brief colloquy, been covered by the muskets of the entire party under my command; and at its conclusion, though I promptly interfered, I was barely in time to prevent a volley being fired upon him. I learned afterwards that the count, knowing the temper and feeling of his people, had, before going out on the balcony, given the most positive orders to those under his command that, whatever the issue of the interview might be, the officer was to be allowed to retire unmolested.
The attack commenced immediately upon the French officer rejoining his command, the entire force advancing at a rapid double, in order to place themselves as speedily as possible under the cover afforded by the steep slope which divided the flower-garden from the broad terrace in front of the chateau. The rush was made, and the cover gained in less than a couple of minutes; but our coolest and steadiest marksmen had already been stationed at the windows, with orders to select an individual mark and to make every shot tell; the result was that, almost immediately upon the troops getting in motion, an irregular fire broke out upon them from the chateau; and short as was the time occupied in making their rush, they left some ten or eleven of their number prostrate behind them.
The Frenchmen by no means intended letting us have things all our own way, however, for directly they were safe under the shelter of the slope they crept up it, and, shielding themselves as well as they could behind the massive stone balustrades bounding the terrace, opened upon us a galling and continuous fire. This fire grew hotter and hotter, until the rattle of musketry all along the front of the terrace became continuous; the bullets pattering in showers through every window, and, in spite of our hastily arranged bulwarks, wounding more or less severely many of our people; while the terrace itself was obscured by a thick curtain of fleecy smoke.
This had lasted for perhaps five minutes, when from my loophole of observation I descried dimly in the midst of the smoky canopy, some half-a-dozen indistinct forms hurriedly crossing the terrace toward the great entrance door of the chateau. I immediately directed the attention of my party to these men, ordering them to concentrate the whole of their fire upon them, and stop their advance, if possible, at all hazards. We were just in time. An almost simultaneous volley rang out, just as the men were getting so near the walls that they could not be aimed at without complete exposure on the part of the marksmen, and every one of them fell. A few seconds afterwards a series of sharp explosions took place, which told us that these men had been the bearers of grenades or petards with which to blow open the door. But our success had not been obtained without its price; for three of our men were shot dead, and one more so seriously wounded that he had to retire from the combat, in consequence of the way in which our men had been obliged to expose themselves, in order to cover the grenadiers with their muskets.
Meanwhile, the curtain of smoke which veiled the terrace was every moment growing more dense, and in a few minutes from the fall of the grenadiers it had become so thick that it was quite impossible to see what was going on outside at a distance of more than twenty feet from the windows. The fire was maintained as furiously as ever, but the bullets no longer flew so thickly about our ears; a clear indication that our antagonists were as much blinded as we were, and were aiming pretty much at random; as it was of the utmost importance to economise our ammunition as much as possible, I therefore directed my party to cease firing for a time, until the smoke should have cleared away a little, or, at all events, only to fire when they could descry an object at which to aim. I then went across to the other wing, to suggest to the count the adoption of a similar plan, and had just reached his side when a violent explosion occurred below us, accompanied by a sound of splitting and rending of timber, and a heavy crash.
“To the landing! to the landing, every man of you!” shouted the count. “They have blown down the door, and nothing can now prevent their entering the house. But keep cool and steady, my men, and we may yet successfully defend the staircase. Ah! I was just about to seek you!” he exclaimed, as his eye fell upon me. “You must fly at once; do not delay another instant, I beg of you. You will find Francesca in the music saloon, she will be your guide to the grotto; and as soon as you have reached it, mount and ride for your lives. Take care of her, Ralph, as you would that your own sister should be cared for; and may God be your shield and defence in every danger! Now go; there is no time for further parley; but you know all that I would have you do, and you know where to seek for the friends with whom I wish you to place Francesca. God bless you, my dear boy, and farewell until we meet again; I have already said farewell to my daughter.”
He wrung my hand convulsively, and releasing it, fairly pushed me away from him along the corridor which led to the music saloon.
As I hurried away a loud shout arose from the hall below, accompanied by a sound as of axes and bars crashing into the barricade at the foot of the staircase; then a rattling volley of musketry rang out from the gallery, followed by loud shrieks and agonised groans, fierce oaths, and yells of defiance; an answering volley from below, followed by more shrieks and one or two heavy falls; and as I rapidly increased my distance from the scene of action the varied sounds merged into a fierce and whirling din, such as might have arisen had Pandemonium opened its adamantine gates, and poured out upon the hapless chateau a legion of destroying fiends. On entering the saloon I found Francesca on her knees, ready equipped for a journey, and with a small gold crucifix in her hands, which she had removed from her neck. As I entered the apartment she rose to her feet, and, hastily replacing the jewel, came up to me, and, placing her hands in mine, exclaimed with quivering lips,—
“Oh! Ralph dearest, what is the meaning of all this dreadful strife, and why have they attacked the chateau?”
“I will tell you as soon as we are out of the reach of immediate danger,” I replied; “at present we have no time for anything but action, so, if you are ready, we will proceed at once.”