Adventure Magazine Cover — page 155: what you’re looking at

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The Way of Sinners I withdrew, and dismissed the sentries at her door. One of them, being new to the troop, permitted a corner of his mouth to move slightly, wherefore I placed him upon bread and water until the siege should be raised, without reason given. The other I took with me; posted him outside my door, and kept him there (to avoid misunderstanding) until, refreshed by sleep, I rose for the next day. CHAPTER XIV OF A STRANGE TURN WILL not detail the course of that siege. It was a dull affair; and, even had there been deeds of daring daily, sure the folk of today are glutted with accounts of wars which, written by men that never saw a battle, are far too heroic for pen of mine to equal. Though, now I bethink me, one of these same accounts (put forth some five years later, when I had no need to be puffed) concerned myself in this very affair of the Castle Impregnable; it recounted how, roused from my bed by a hundred of the enemy that had scaled the walls, I con- fronted them in my shirt and killed all but four, of whom three died later. *Iwas very circumstantial; but in fact the hundred men were but twelve, led by a scatter-brained young knight; the sentries saw them ere their grapnel was fast to the wall; they were overpowered one by one as they climbed the rope; and I confronted them in my shirt (the shirt was quite true) only to tell Bene- detto to fling them off the southwest tower into the moat, which was done. Count Roberto was not for such tricks. After a day’s bombardment of the main gate (which, despite the bigness of his can- non, did him no good by reason of the earth- bags) he withdrew to a prudent distance, set a double guard to prevent the going or com- ing of messengers, and settled to starve us out. Nevertheless, my messenger to the duke won back to us, though with such news that I should have despaired, had not a new survey of the provisions revealed enough for a month—counting the horses; counting them as meat, I mean. ‘This discovery was due to the Countess Anita, now my staunch and helpful ally; she had applied to the Count Roberto’s steward, who had been 149 left in the castle, such pressure that he had confessed the existence of a secret magazine, filled with foodstuffs and stoned up by that devil-possessed old fox against such an event as had come to pass. Had not the rats been at it, there would have been enough for two months, or even three; as it was, meseemed the supply would but pro- long the agony of the siege, without enabling us to hold out to any profitable end. For the duke had sent back word that certain forces upon which he had counted in his own war had deserted him; that the affair would therefore detain him as long BaTTLe of eA C p BoE Gastve Inprecnaese Rone EIS ool WZ) CaAvALry C— Inrantey nr oe Investing tvahy ® Tre ‘\ @ B® © ® Oi \- @ BN. © ae M3 "@ Ad th @ FROM fenice as God pleased (which is always a long time); and that we had better hold the castle nevertheless, under pain of his most heavy displeasure. The Countess Anita was with me when we received these news; it was to her, and not to me, that the messenger had been recom- mended, and it taught me much to see with what amiability she listened to her broth- er’s words—so long as the soldier was present. Afterward, she called him—but no matter. “What are these forces that have left the duke?” I demanded of the man; trying to dissimulate my rage as she did, and suc- ceeding very ill. “May it please your Honor, it is Matteo Scarlatti’s band of condottiert.” “For what reason?” “Tt was said about the duke’s camp that some one in Venice had engaged them, promising on the duke’s behalf more money COmiclbooks.c©