rushed to defend the walls, and volleys of
missiles of all sorts were poured down upon the Egyptians as they
strove to mount the ladders and stages. No one thought of any possible
danger from the little shelters lying at the foot of the wall, and the
din was so great that the work of digging through the remaining wall
of earth was unheard. The troops who had been specially told off to
watch these points had joined their comrades on the walls, and none
marked the stream of dark figures which presently began to pour out
from the embankment at twenty different points.

At last the besieged, whose hopes were rising as the Egyptians
appeared to falter under the showers of missiles poured down, were
startled by the sound of a trumpet in their rear--a sound which was
answered instantly from a score of points. Rushing with cries of
dismay to the back of the rampart, they saw dark bodies of footmen
drawn up in regular order, and a rain of arrows was opened upon them.
The Rebu, without a moment's hesitation, rushed down to attack the
foes who had gained a footing, they scarce knew how, in their
fortress. But each of the Egyptian companies was four hundred strong,
composed of picked troops, and these for a time easily beat off the
irregular attacks of the Rebu.

Amusis and the other leaders of the Rebu strove to get their men into
solid order, for so alone could they hope to break the phalanxes of
the Egyptians; but the confusion was too great. In the meantime the
Egyptians outside had taken advantage of the diversion created by
the attack within, and poured up their ladders and stagings in vast
numbers. Some dragging up ladders after them planted them against the
walls, others poured through by the passages which had been dug, and
these, as soon as they were numerous enough, ascended the embankments
from behind and fell upon the Rebu still defending the wall.

Never did the tribesmen fight with greater bravery; but the
completeness of the surprise, the number of the Egyptians who had
established themselves in their rear, the constant pushing in of
reinforcements both through and over the wall, rendered it impossible
for them to retrieve their fortunes; and in the confusion and darkness
they were unable to distinguish friend from foe. The various
battalions and companies were hopelessly mixed together; the orders
of their leaders and officers were unheard in the din.

Upon the Egyptian side everything had been carefully planne