like
a dog.

The great thing, after all, was that they had had dinner; and now
everyone felt more courage to prepare for the attack that was to be
delivered before sunset. Robert, as captain, insisted on climbing to the
top of one of the towers to reconnoitre, so up they all went. And now
they could see all round the castle, and could see, too, that beyond the
moat, on every side, tents of the besieging party were pitched. Rather
uncomfortable shivers ran down the children's backs as they saw that all
the men were very busy cleaning or sharpening their arms, re-stringing
their bows, and polishing their shields. A large party came along the
road, with horses dragging along the great trunk of a tree; and Cyril
felt quite pale, because he knew this was for a battering-ram.

"What a good thing we've got a moat," he said; "and what a good thing
the drawbridge is up--I should never have known how to work it."

"Of course it would be up in a besieged castle."

"You'd think there ought to have been soldiers in it, wouldn't you?"
said Robert.

"You see you don't know how long it's been besieged," said Cyril darkly;
"perhaps most of the brave defenders were killed early in the siege and
all the provisions eaten, and now there are only a few intrepid
survivors,--that's us, and we are going to defend it to the death."

"How do you begin--defending to the death, I mean?" asked Anthea.

"We ought to be heavily armed--and then shoot at them when they advance
to the attack."

"They used to pour boiling lead down on besiegers when they got too
close," said Anthea. "Father showed me the holes on purpose for pouring
it down through at Bodiam Castle. And there are holes like it in the
gate-tower here."

"I think I'm glad it's only a game; it _is_ only a game, isn't it?" said
Jane.

But no one answered.

The children found plenty of strange weapons in the castle, and if they
were armed at all it was soon plain that they would be, as Cyril said,
"armed heavily"--for these swords and lances and crossbows were far too
weighty even for Cyril's manly strength; and as for the longbows, none
of the children could even begin to bend them. The daggers were better;
but Jane hoped that the besiegers would not come close enough for
daggers to be of any use.

"Never mind, we can hurl them like javelins," said Cyril, "or drop them
on people's heads. I say--there are lots of stones on the other side of
the courtyard. If we took some of th