The Dragon And The Raven: Or The Days Of King Alfred(Fiscle Part-3) by G. A. Henty (e book reading free TXT) 📕

At A Distance Of Twenty Yards Within The Gate.

When It Was Seen That The Gates Were Yielding Edmund

Had Called Down His Own Band From The Walls And Formed

Them In A Half-Circle Ten Yards From The Gate. They Were Four

Deep,  As In Their Usual Formation,  With The Four Lines Of Spears

Projecting Towards The Gate. The Mound Behind Them He

Lined With Archers.

At Last The Gates Fell,  And With An Exulting Shout The Danes

Poured In. As They Did So The Archers On The Mound Loosed

Their Arrows,  And The Head Of The Danish Column Melted Like

Snow Before The Blast Of A Furnace. Still They Poured In And

Flung Themselves Upon The Spearmen,  But They Strove In Vain

To Pierce The Hedge Of Steel. Desperately They Threw Themselves

Upon The Pike-Heads And Died There Bravely,  But They

Were Powerless To Break A Passage.

The Archers On The Mound Still Shot Fast Among Them,

While Those On The Wall,  Turning Round,  Smote Them In The

Back,  Where,  Unprotected By Their Shields,  They Offered A Sure

And Fatal Mark. Soon The Narrow Semicircle Inside The Gate

Became Heaped High With Dead,  Impeding The Efforts Of Those

Still Pressing In. Several Of The Bravest Of The Danish Leaders

Had Fallen. The Crowd In The Fosse,  Unaware Of The Obstacle

Which Prevented The Advance Of The Head Of The Column And

Harassed By The Missiles From Above,  Grew Impatient,  And After

Half An Hour Of Desperate Efforts,  And Having Lost Upwards

Of Three Hundred Of His Best Men,  The Danish King,  Furious

With Rage And Disappointment,  Called Off His Men.

On The Other Three Sides The Attack Equally Failed. The

Danes Suffered Heavily While Climbing The Steep Side Of The

Inner Mound. They Brought With Them Faggots,  Which They

Cast Down At The Foot Of The Wall,  But This Was Built So Near

The Edge Of The Slope That They Were Unable To Pile Sufficient

Faggots To Give Them The Height Required For A Successful

Assault Upon It. Many Climbed Up On Their Comrades' Shoulders,

And So Tried To Scale The Wall,  But They Were Thrust Down

By The Saxon Spears As They Raised Themselves To Its Level,  And

In No Place Succeeded In Gaining A Footing. Over Two Hundred

Fell In The Three Minor Attacks.

There Were Great Rejoicings Among The Saxons,  On Whose

Side But Twenty-Three Had Been Killed. A Solemn Mass Was

Held,  At Which All Save A Few Look-Outs On The Walls Attended,

And Thanks Returned To God For The Repulse Of The Pagans;

Then The Garrison Full Of Confidence Awaited The Next Attack

Of The Enemy.

Stones Were Piled Up In The Gateway To Prevent Any Sudden

Surprise Being Effected There. The Danes In Their Retreat

Had Carried Off Their Dead,  And The Next Morning The Saxons

Saw That They Were Busy With The Ceremonies Of Their Burial.

At Some Little Distance From Their Camp The Dead Were Placed

In A Sitting Position,  In Long Rows Back To Back With Their

Weapons By Their Sides,  And Earth Was Piled Over Them Until A

Great Mound Fifty Yards Long And Ten Feet High Was Raised.

Three Jarls And One Of Their Kings Were Buried Separately.

They Were Placed Together In A Sitting Position,  With Their

Helmets On Their Heads,  Their Shields On Their Arms,  And Their

Swords By Their Sides. Their Four War-Horses Were Killed And

Laid Beside Them; Twenty Slaves Were Slaughtered And Placed

Lying Round Them,  For Their Spirits To Attend Them In The

Walhalla Of The Gods. Golden Drinking-Vessels And Other

Ornaments Were Placed By Them,  And Then A Mound Forty Feet

In Diameter And Twenty Feet High Was Piled Over The Whole.

The Whole Force Were Occupied All Day With This Work.

The Next Day Numbers Of Trees Were Felled And Brought To

The Camp,  And For The Next Two Days The Danes Were Occupied

In The Manufacture Of War-Engines For Battering Down

The Walls. Edmund And Egbert Utilized The Time In Instructing

The Soldiers Who Did Not Form Part Of The Regular Band,

In The Formation Of The Quadruple Line Of Defence Which The

Danes Had Found It So Impossible To Break Through,  So That If

More Than One Breach Was Effected,  A Resistance Similar To

That Made At The Gate Could Be Offered At All Points. The

Skins Of The Oxen Killed For The Use Of The Garrison Were

Carefully Laid Aside,  The Inside Being Thickly Rubbed

With Grease.

The Danish Preparations Were At Length Completed,  The

War-Engines Were Brought Up And Began To Hurl Great Stones

Against The Wall At Three Points. The Saxons Kept Up A Constant

Fire Of Arrows At Those Employed At Working Them,  But

The Danes,  Though Losing Many Men,  Threw Up Breastworks

To Protect Them.

The Saxons Manufactured Many Broad Ladders,  And In

The Middle Of The Night,  Lowering These Over The Walls,  They

Descended Noiselessly,  And Three Strong Bodies Fell Upon The

Danes Guarding The Engines. These Fought Stoutly,  But Were

Driven Back,  The Engines Were Destroyed,  And The Saxons Retired

To Their Walls Again And Drew Up Their Ladders Before

The Main Body Of Danes Could Arrive From The Camp. This

Caused A Delay Of Some Days In The Siege,  But Fresh Engines

Having Been Constructed,  The Assault On The Walls Was

Recommenced,  This Time The Whole Danish Army Moving Out And

Sleeping At Night Close To Them.

After Three Days' Battering,  Breaches Of From Thirty To

Fifty Feet Wide Were Effected In The Walls. The Saxons Had

Not Been Idle. Behind Each Of The Threatened Points They

Raised Banks Of Earth Ten Feet High,  And Cut Away The Bank

Perpendicularly Behind The Shattered Wall,  So That The

Assailants As They Poured In At The Gaps Would Have To

Leap Ten Feet Down.

Each Night The Masses Of Wall Which Fell Inside Were

Cleared Away,  And When The Breach Was Complete,  And It Was

Evident That The Assault Would Take Place The Next Morning,

The Hides Which Had Been Prepared Were Laid With The Hairy

Side Down,  On The Ground Below. Through Them They Drove

Firmly Into The Ground Numbers Of Pikes With The Heads Sticking

Up One Or Two Feet,  And Pointed Stakes Hardened In The

Fire. Then Satisfied That All Had Been Done The Saxons Lay

Down To Rest.

In The Morning The Danes Advanced To The Assault. This

Time They Were But Little Annoyed In Their Advance By The

Archers. These Were Posted On The Walls At Each Side Of The

Gaps To Shoot Down At The Backs Of The Danes After They Had

Entered. On The Inner Semicircular Mounds The Saxon Force

Gathered Four Deep.

With Loud Shouts The Danes Rushed Forward,  Climbed

The Outer Mounds,  And Reached The Breaches. Here The Leaders

Paused On Seeing The Gulf Below Them,  But Pressed By

Those Behind They Could Not Hesitate Long,  But Leapt Down

From The Breach On To The Slippery Hides Below.

Not One Who Did So Lived. It Was Impossible To Keep

Their Feet As They Alighted,  And As They Fell They Were Impaled

By The Pikes And Stakes. Pressed By Those Behind,  However,

Fresh Men Leapt Down,  Falling In Their Turn,  Until At Length

The Hides And Stakes Were Covered,  And Those Leaping Down

Found A Foothold On The Bodies Of The Fallen. Then They

Crowded On And Strove To Climb The Inner Bank And Attack

The Saxons. Now The Archers On The Walls Opened Fire Upon

Them,  And,  Pierced Through And Through With The Arrows

Which Struck Them On The Back,  The Danes Fell In Great

Numbers. Edmund Commanded At One Of The Breaches,  Egbert At

Another,  And Oswald,  An Old And Experienced Warrior,  At The

Third.

At Each Point The Scene Was Similar. The Danes Struggled

Up The Mounds Only To Fail To Break Through The Hedge Of

Spears Which Crowned Them,  Fast Numbers Dying In The Attempt,

While As Many More Fell Pierced With Arrows. For An

Hour The Danes Continued Their Desperate Efforts,  And Not

Until Fifteen Hundred Had Been Slain Did They Draw Off To

Their Camp,  Finding It Impossible To Break Through The Saxon

Defences.

Loud Rose The Shouts Of The Triumphant Saxons As The

Danes Retired,  And It Needed All The Efforts Of Their Leaders To

Prevent Them From Pouring Out In Pursuit; But The Events Of

The Preceding Year Had Taught The Saxon Leaders How Often

Their Impetuosity After Success Had Proved Fatal To The Saxons,

And That Once In The Plain The Danes Would Turn Upon

Them And Crush Them By Their Still Greatly Superior Numbers.

Therefore No One Was Allowed To Sally Out,  And The Discomfited

Danes Retired Unmolested.

The Next Morning To Their Joy The Saxons Saw That The

Invaders Had Broken Up Their Camp,  And Had Marched Away

In The Night. Scouts Were Sent Out In Various Directions,  And

The Saxons Employed Themselves In Stripping And Burying

The Danes Who Had Fallen Within The Fort,  Only A Few Of The

Most Distinguished Having Been Carried Off. The Scouts

Returned With News That The Danes Had Made No Halt,  But Had

Departed Entirely From That Part Of The Country. Finding That

For The Present They Were Free Of The Invaders,  The Saxons Left

The Fort And Scattered Again,  To Rebuild As Best They Might

Their Devastated Homes.

But If In The Neighbourhood Of Sherborne The Danes

Had Been Severely Repulsed,  In Other Parts Of The Kingdom

They Continued To Make Great Progress,  And The Feeling Of

Despair Among The Saxons Increased. Great Numbers Left

Their Homes,  And Taking With Them All Their Portable

Possessions,  Made Their Way To The Sea-Coast,  And There Embarked

For France,  Where They Hoped To Be Able To Live Peaceably And

Quietly.

Edmund Placed No Hindrance In The Way Of Such Of His

People Who Chose This Course,  For The Prospect Appeared

Well-Nigh Hopeless. The Majority Of The Saxons Were Utterly

Broken In Spirit,  And A Complete Conquest Of The Kingdom By The

Danes Seemed Inevitable. In The Spring,  However,  Of 877 King

Alfred Again Issued An Urgent Summons. A Great Horde Of

Danes Had Landed At Exeter And Taken Possession Of That Town,

And He Determined To Endeavour To Crush Them. He Sent To

Edmund Begging Him To Proceed At Once To Poole,  Where The

King's Fleet Was Ready For Sea,  And To Embark In It With What

Force He Could Raise,  And To Sail And Blockade The Entrance To

The River Exe,  And So Prevent The Danes From Reinforcing Their