"But what can we do?"
"Very little till the fog lifts. Then it will be seen, which of the towers still hold out."
"Have they carried the Castle, think you?"
"Not if the garrison have had the least warning, and, thank Heaven, there's enough noise to waken the Seven Sleepers. Hearken!"
Above the noise of the still disembarking foreign soldiery could be heard pitiful screams and cries for mercy, as men, women, and children were cut down indiscriminately by the ruthless foe, while a distant clash of arms showed that in some quarters of the town the invaders were meeting with some amount of resistance.
As if by magic, the mist suddenly rolled away, and the pale October sun streamed down upon a sight that was but too common in those days. Two score and ten galleys lay along the sea-front, their prows touching the shore just as the first high water was beginning to ebb, while in mid-stream fifty-five heavier vessels rode at anchor. From this powerful fleet close on twelve thousand Normans, Picards, Genoese, and Spaniards had landed.
Already the southern portion of the town, with the exception of St. Barbara's and God's House Towers, was in their hands. Robert de la Barre, one of the bailiffs, held the Castle and the West Gate; Walter de Brakkeleye, the other, lay within Catchcold Tower; while through the Bar Gate poured a mob of terrified citizens, some of whom fled hot-foot even as far as Winchester.
Having made sure of the lower part of the town, the invaders began their accustomed excesses, plundering and burning in all directions.
A strong body of Genoese could be seen coming down the road that followed the inner side of the South Wall.
"Stand fast, if ye would see to-morrow's sun!" cried the old man-at-arms warningly. "And do not give any sign till they discover us: then an arrow for each black heart!"