A. T. Quiller-Couch

“ Of all these balls, not one in a hundred finds a mark.”
“The rebels make no better practice,” said Colonel Dick, who had recovered his composure. Both men spoke truly. The siege was now in its seventh week, and the artillery had achieved nothing. The castle gunners had hit a ship but twice or thrice, with little damage, while on the land side the besiegers sheltered behind the broken walls of Arwenack and were quite safe. On the other hand the Castle, though it showed a few scars, was in fact impregnable to the cannon brought against it. ”

“ Once, in July (being by this time reduced to eating horses for beef) the garrison made a really dangerous sally in boats to fetch relief, and were only driven back after sharp slaughter.
No news reached them. One night—toward the close of the second week in August—the Governor and his officers had left the supperless board to prepare another sortie. Only Colonel Dick lingered a few minutes with Sir Harry, who had sent for yet another bottle of Canary.
“If only someone would bring word that Raglan had fallen!” ”

“ A short while ago he had possessed a son, the darling of his hopes, and had lost him in a trivial affair of cavalry near Bridgwater.
“You have given dearer than I. You would choose as I choose,” said Sir Peter gently. In a more cheerful tone he added: “What is it the rebels chant?—‘Babylon is fallen, is fallen, that great city.’ I did have a thought that some day, falling sick, I might return to Arwenack—for change of air! But it must go. Pull down what you can and set fire to the rest. There’s no time to be lost, either ”

“ They shall nest and hatch and rear a fresh brood before Pendennis surrenders.”
There was a second meaning in these words, noted by the two Killigrews. For Arundell is Hirondelle in the French, and the Arundells carried, for coat armour, six swallows argent on a sable ground.
“Well,” said Sir Peter, laughing, “old Worcester, they tell me, has given a like answer up at Raglan, on the Welsh marches. Yes, two Die-hards must e’en make a match of it.”
“What of Fairfax?” asked cousin.
“An army cannot be disbanded in five minutes. ”

“ He took the road back to the Castle, They said afterwards that he had returned to fire off some of the spare ammunition, lest it should fall into the rebels’ hands, and that a burst gun had inflicted the splinter wound in his forehead. He was alive, indeed, when they found him, but visibly marked for death.
VI.
It is further said that the starved garrison flung themselves so precipitately upon the food supplied by Colonel Hammond, and ate so ravenously, that in the end “more died by putting their hands to their mouths than to their swords.” ”

“ But old Andrew, as he delivered the letter, happened to say—using the liberty of an old servant—“’Tis queer now, the way that Hammond won't take ‘No’ for an answer, but goes on spoilin’ paper. Reckon he don't understand our Cornish courage, seein’ as Raglan Castle fell a week since, and we're alone in the world.”
“Hey! Raglan fallen?”—John-for-the-King dropped of a sudden into his chair. “What have you heard, man?”
“What I say,” answered old Andrew, speaking sulkily and looking askance; “’t has been common talk among the men these two days past. ”

“ The longest-living author of this work died in 1944, so this work is in the public domain in countries and areas where the copyright term is the author's life plus 79 years or less. This work may be in the public domain in countries and areas with longer native copyright terms that apply the rule of the shorter term to foreign works. ”