rest upon your bodies here,
and on your souls for ever, if you dare to do so foul a deed. Would any
of you wish to bring down the bereaved widow's maledictions on your
heads? Let the boy go; he would never wish to harm one of you; a
true-hearted Irish lad." She rushed forward, no one venturing to stop
her. Like a tigress she flew at the man who held the rope in his hand,
and cast it off the neck of her son. "Now let him go," she exclaimed,
throwing out her arm; "I defy you all. Would any one dare to touch
him?" With frantic gesture she released his arms which had been bound
behind him. "Now let the minister's pony return to its home; he is far
too good a beast to serve any one of you. Come with me, Dermot," she
exclaimed, as the boy threw himself from the animal and stood by her
side. Shielding her son with her cloak, she led him forward, stretching
out her arm as if to drive back any who might venture to stop them, and
unmolested they took their way towards their home.

The same men who appeared thus abashed and confounded in the presence of
a weak woman, now, at the order of O'Higgins, began with all the
ferocity of wild beasts, to assault the castle. Again and again they
fired their field-pieces with no apparent effect. The men with muskets,
however, kept up a hot fire against every part of the building where
they thought a bullet might enter. The besieged, however, did not reply
to their fire. Not a single person in the castle was to be seen; all
apertures were closed, and the shot fell harmlessly against the stone
walls.

This determined silence somewhat disconcerted the rebels, who had
expected resistance, and hoped to find some point which they might more
easily assail. At length one of their leaders, with more military
genius than the rest, proposed bringing the guns down to the front gate.
In vain, however, the shots were fired against it; the gates were of
iron backed by wood, and the shots made no impression on them. It was
then determined to assault the castle by attempting to scale the walls,
and the men eagerly set to work to form ladders out of the neighbouring
woods. This, however, occupied some time, for although there were
plenty of workmen, they had few tools or nails, and after two hours'
labour, scarcely two dozen ill-constructed ladders had been formed.
With these, however, a band of daring men might possibly gain the
battlements.

The object of the assailants was suspected by t