s, and I
expect they mean to make an attack at once. Their guns are with that
group in the rear of the others; at any rate they will not be of any
use in assisting them to make their way up this road. They are evidently
working themselves up to a state of madness. There are half a dozen
fellows addressing them from various points."

The men who had been brought down to guard the intrenchments at the head
of the road were all armed with muskets, and carried in addition long
pikes. Presently a roar of shouts and yells was heard, and then there
was a rush on the part of the crowd towards the foot of the long ascent.

Hector moved to the place where the tenants were posted.

"Do not hurl a single stone down until I give you the word, nor light
the cressets; the torches they carry will be quite sufficient for us
to make them out, and the attack will be all the more successful if it
comes as a surprise."

Then he returned to the breastwork. The men here had been posted by
MacIntosh eight abreast. When the head of the column of insurgents
were halfway up the hill they opened a scattered fire; they had armed
themselves with the muskets they had taken from the troops.

"Their guns will be of little use to them, for few of them can ever have
had firearms in their hands before; do not fire a shot, MacIntosh, until
I give the order. It is clear that someone must have told them that we
have thrown up this intrenchment today, or they would not have wasted
their ammunition."

Not a shot was fired until the leaders of the peasants were within forty
yards. Up to this time no torches had been shown in the intrenchments,
but now these were suddenly brought forward, and Hector, in his helmet
and body armour, mounted on to the breastwork. The head of the column
paused on seeing a row of levelled muskets and three rows of pikes
forming a hedge of steel.

"My men," Hector shouted in a loud clear voice, "halt, I beseech you,
before harm comes to you! I know that you have sore grievances, I know
that you and your wives and families are well nigh famishing, but how do
you think that you will better your condition by assaulting castles and
burning down chateaux? You are but preparing labour for yourselves and
heaping up fresh imposts on your own heads, for it is you who will have
to rebuild them, it is you who will have to pay for the damage that
you have done. At any rate, none can say that you have cause for enmity
against me and mine,