ich the portcullis would fall,
while the two wedge shaped pieces were thrust into the jamb of the
gate so as to prevent it from closing. Then the four men drew long
swords hidden beneath their garments and fell upon the soldiers.

Chapter XXVI

Edinburgh

So vigilant was the watch in the castle of Dunottar that the instant
the cry of alarm rose almost simultaneously from the warder above
and the soldiers at the gate, the portcullis came thundering down.
It was caught, however, by the two upright blocks of wood, and
remained suspended three feet above the sill. The armed guards
at the gate instantly fell upon Archie and his companions, while
others endeavoured in vain to close the gates. Scarcely had the
swords clashed when the man who had chained down the drawbridge
joined Archie, and the five with their heavy broadswords kept at
bay the soldiers who pressed upon them; but for only a minute or
two did they have to bear the brunt of the attack unsupported, for
William Orr and the five men who had been loitering near the moat
dashed across the bridge, and passing under the portcullis joined
the little band.

The alarm had now spread through the castle, and the governor
himself, followed by many of his men, came rushing down to the
spot, shouting furious orders to the warder to raise the drawbridge,
being in ignorance that it was firmly fixed at the outer end.

Archie and his followers were now hotly pressed, but soon a thunder
of steps was heard on the drawbridge, and the whole of the band,
together with some twenty or thirty of the fishermen, passed under
the portcullis and joined them. Archie now took the offensive, and
bearing down all opposition burst with his men into the courtyard.

The combat was desperate but short. The governor with some of his
soldiers fought stoutly, but the suddenness of the surprise and
the fury and vigour with which they were attacked shook the courage
of many of the soldiers. Some, instead of joining in the fray, at
once threw away their arms and tried to conceal themselves, others
fought feebly and half heartedly, and the cries of "A Forbes! A
Forbes! Scotland! Scotland!" rose louder and louder as the
assailants gradually beat down all resistance. In ten minutes from
the falling of the portcullis all resistance was virtually over.
The governor himself fell by the hand of Archie Forbes, and at
his death those who had hitherto resisted threw down their arms
and called