ave been three hundred
of them in all, and we did not count more than fifty men, some of
us ill-armed, together with a mob of aged people and many women and
children. What had become of the other men I do not know, but orders
had been shouted from all quarters, and some had gone this way and some
that. Some, too, I think, had fled, lacking leaders.

The French having climbed the hill, began to attack our ill-fenced
gateways, bringing up beams of timber to force them in. Those of us who
had bows shot some of them, though, their armour being good, for the
most part the arrows glanced. But few had bows. Moreover, whenever we
showed ourselves they poured such a rain of quarrels and other shafts
upon us that we could not face it, lacking mail as we did, and a number
of us were killed or wounded. At last they forced the easternmost gate
which was the weakest, and got in there and over a place in the wall
were it was broken. We fought them as well as we could; myself I cut
down two with the sword, Wave-Flame, hewing right through the helm of
one, for the steel of that sword was good. Here, too, Jack Grieves was
killed by my side by a pike thrust, and died calling to me to fight on
for old England and Hastings town; after which he said something about
beer and breathed his last.

The end of it was that those who were left were driven out of the Castle
together with the women and children, the murdering French killing every
man who fell wounded where he lay, and trying to make prisoner any women
they thought young and fair enough. Especially did they seek to capture
the lady Blanche because they saw that she was beautiful and of high
station. But by good fortune more than aught else, I saved her from this
fate.

As it chanced we were among the last to leave the Castle, whence, to
tell the truth, I was loath to go, for by now my blood was up, and with
a few others fought till I was driven out. I prayed the lady Blanche to
run forward with the other women. But she would not, answering that she
trusted no one else, but would stay to die with me, as though that would
help either of us.

Thus it came about that a tall French knight who had set his eyes on
her, outclimbed his fellows upon the slope of the hill, for they were
weary and gathering to re-form, and catching her round the middle,
strove to drag her away. I fell on him and we fought. He had fine armour
and a shield while I had none, but I held the long sword while he onl