The gun belched forth flame and smoke. Oh, hate and fury! When the smoke cleared off, the two horsemen still rode unharmed side by side. But this time Gustaf Adolf had a narrow escape, for the ball had struck the debris, and covered both with dust.
Tired, weary, and quite exasperated, the Jesuit left the ramparts.
"Wait, ruler of Belial, until I succeed in taking your ring from you, and then you shalt be destroyed!"
The king now commanded an assault on the outworks. Axel Lilje, Jacob Ramsay, and Hamilton, pressed on with their men. Frightful difficulties were here encountered. They were obliged to climb up the steep rocks under a heavy fire, and then cross the moat and scale the walls. The irresistible Scots and Finns led the way. Those who fell were immediately replaced by others, with their swords between their teeth. The king himself rode as near as possible in order to encourage his troops. A bullet tore away a piece of his glove, without wounding him. It was now a common belief that Gustaf Adolf was invulnerable.
At last, after two hours desperate conflict, the Scots and the Finns triumphed. The outworks were captured, and the defenders driven back into the castle. It was then four in the afternoon.
A few hours rest ensued. At a council of war it was resolved to storm the castle at daybreak, and the Finns were to lead the forlorn hope.
The position of the garrison was far from hopeless. They could still concentrate 1,000 men at any threatened point. But they had lost their moral courage. In vain did Keller try to restore their spirits; in vain did the monks carry the golden image of the Virgin around the ramparts. At nightfall disorder reigned; the troops refused to obey orders, and some wished to escape in the darkness.
At midnight, Lady Regina was praying before the altar in the chapel to the mother of God.
"Holy Mary," she whispered, "guard this castle against the heretics. But if it be thy will that the fortress shall fall, then also bury in its ruins all thy enemies: the godless king, and his heathen Finns who have fought the most to-day against thy Holy Cause."
"Amen!" said the voice of Father Hieronymus behind her. A dark smile played over his pale countenance.