CHAPTER XXXIII. THE ASSAULT
The Prince having ascertained from other spies--who proved more docilethan Gasparo--that the band of "Liberals" were occupying the castle ofLucullus, made active arrangements to besiege it, and, after approachingthe place, disposed his men in such a manner that it might be surroundedon all sides, so that escape from it in any direction should beimpossible. The brother of Irene--like many other generals--committedthe error of spreading his men over a large space of ground, anddetaching a number of sentinels, pickets, videttes, and scouts, so as toleave himself with too small a body against assailants.
Not knowing the exact site of the castle, Prince
T------ had sent Gasparo on to explore, who took advantage of hisfreedom, as the reader is aware, to desert to the threatened littlegarrison. Impatient at his prolonged absence, the Prince commanded hisofficers to cause their men--about a thousand strong--to narrow thecircle, and to assault the castle when each column arrived in sight ofit. As might be expected, so complex a scheme proved unfortunate. Thedetachment to the north, commanded by the Prince in person, marched ina straight line for the tower; but the others, partly through theignorance of the officers, and partly through the disinclination of theguides to begin the affray, instead of following the right path, struckout into the wood, and were soon in inextricable confusion, callinghither and thither to each other, and often returning to the point fromwhich they started. In this way several hours were lost.
The Prince, with two hundred of his most serviceable men, arrived,however, within sight of the spot, which they only discovered about fouro'clock in the afternoon, and then perceived, to their chagrin, thatpreparations for defense had been made. But reckoning on the numbers ofhis troops, and on the co-operation of the other detachments, he drewhis sword, disposed of half his men as skirmishers, and keeping theother half as a reserve, ordered the signal to be given for attack.
Orazio and his young Romans could have avoided the combat by takingrefuge in the subterranean passages, but disdaining a retreat beforemeasuring his strength with the Papal mercenaries, he determined to showfight, and upon returning to the castle with Gasparo, hastened to havethe doors barricaded and holes made in the walls for the musketeers,while every necessary instrument was put in readiness for the siege.
The young leader hod ordered his men not to fire at the enemy so longas they were at a distance, but to wait until they were close under thewalls, so that each might shoot down his man. The assailants advancedboldly on the castle, and the front rank of skirmishers had nearlyreached the threshold, when a general discharge from the guns of thosewithin laid nearly as many of the Papal troops on the ground as therewere shots fired. This sudden discharge disconcerted those behind, who,seeing so many of their comrades fall, turned and fled. The Prince, withhis column, was treading sharply on the heels of the skirmishers, andarrived at this juncture.
Orazio had taken the precaution to have all the spare fire-arms in thetower loaded and placed ready for use, and now commanded the domesticsto help the ladies to reload them as soon as they were discharged. Jack,however, declined to remain with the women, as Orazio had proposed,and seizing his musket placed himself at the side of his preserver,following him like a shadow throughout the attack.
When the Prince arrived under cover of the outer mound and saw theslaughter that had taken place, he understood at last the disposition ofthe enemy with whom he had to deal. Remarking the fear depicted on thecountenances of his men, and seeing retreat under such a murderous firewould be disastrous, to say nothing of the disgrace of such a movement,he resolved to storm the wall. He passed the word, accordingly, to hisaides-de-camp, by whom he was surrounded, to order the trumpets to soundthe charge, and, springing forward himself, he was the first to climbthe barricade, striking right and left with his sabre at the fewdefenders posted there.
Orazio, who was among these few, stood without moving at the first sightof the Prince, in whose lineaments he traced so plainly the likenessto his beloved Irene. One of the barrels of his musket was stillundischarged, and he could easily have sent the contents through thebody of his enemy, but he refrained. Jack, who was standing by his side,not understanding the cause of this hesitation, raised his gun toa level with the Prince's breast and fired; but as he did so Orazioknocked up the muzzle with all the force of his strong arm, and theball struck one of the Prince's men, who had just appeared above thebarricade. The Prince's followers who mounted with him were few innumber, and those few were quickly dispatched by the valiant garrison ofthe castle.
An unexpected circumstance finally freed our party from their assailantsand made them fly in every direction, scattered like a flock of sheep.
As the officers were urging the men crowded under the barricades tofollow their Prince, a cry of "Enemies in the rear!" was heard from theeast side of the wood. A small band of ten men appearing, sprang likelions on the right flank of the little army. The soldiers, in the panic,thinking the "ten" might be a hundred, dispersed like chaff before thewind. Some few paused, hoping that the new-comers might prove to be someof their own missing allies, but upon a nearer view it was plain thatthey were dressed in the uniform of the Liberals, and the blows theydealt upon the nearest Papalini were so terribly in earnest, that theselast turned and fled in dismay, leaving their opponents masters ofthe field and the Prince a prisoner. Realizing the generous act of hisenemy, and finding out that he was left alone, he delivered up hissword to Orazio, who received it courteously, and conducted him to thepresence of Irene.
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