Part 8 (2/2)
”This will be our gathering place,” he said. ”Do not wander far away, and return quickly at the sound of my horn. We may be wanted presently. I do not think that the Trin.o.bantes will take the temple in that fas.h.i.+on.”
They had indeed advanced entirely unprovided with proper means of a.s.sault. The ma.s.sive gates against which the Romans had piled stones, casks of provisions, and other heavy articles were not to be broken down by such force as the Britons could bring against them. In vain these chopped with their swords upon the woodwork.
The gates were constructed of oak, and the weapons scarce marked them. In vain they threw themselves twenty abreast against them.
The doors hardly quivered at the shock, and in the meantime the a.s.sailants were suffering heavily, for from openings in the roof, extending from the building itself to the pillars that surrounded it, the Romans dropped missiles upon them.
For some time the Trin.o.bantes persevered, and then their chiefs, seeing that the attempt was hopeless, called off their followers.
No fresh attempt was made for a time, and Boadicea established herself in one of the few houses that had escaped the flames, and there presently the chiefs a.s.sembled. Various suggestions were made, but at last it was decided to batter in the doors with a heavy tree, and a strong party of men were at once despatched to fell and prepare two of suitable size. The operation was a long one, as the trees when found had to be brought down by lighting fires against the trunks, and it was nightfall before they fell and the branches were cut off. It was decided, therefore, to postpone the attack until the next day.
Beric had not been present at the council, to which only a few of the leading chiefs had been summoned; but he doubted, when he heard what had been decided upon, whether the attack would be successful.
It was settled that the Trin.o.bantes were to attack the door at one end of the temple, and the Iceni that at the other. Late in the evening the chariot returned, and Beric was greatly relieved to hear that the fugitives had been placed in safety and that the journey had been made without interference. He was glad to recover his torque, for its absence would have excited surprise when men's minds were less occupied and excited. Not until he recovered it could he go to see Parta, who was lodged with the queen, but as soon as he recovered it he went in. Every sign of Roman habitation and luxury had been, as far as possible, obliterated by order of Boadicea before she entered the house. Hangings had been pulled down, statues overthrown, and the paintings on the plaster chipped from the walls.
”What have you been doing all day, Beric?” his mother asked. ”I looked to see you long before this, and should have thought that some accident had befallen you had I not known that the news would have been speedily brought me had it been so.”
”I have been looking after the tribesmen, mother. I should have come in to see you, but did not wish to intrude among the chiefs in council with the queen. You represented the Sarci here, and had we been wanted you would have sent for me. Who are to attack the temple tomorrow?”
”Not the Sarci, my son. Unser begged that he and his tribe might have the honour, and the queen and council granted it to him.”
”I am glad of it, mother. The duty is an honourable one, but the loss will be heavy, and others can do the work as well as we could, and I want to keep our men for the shock of battle with the legions.
Moreover, I doubt whether the doors will be battered down in the way they propose.”
”You do, Beric! and why is that?” The speaker was Aska, who had just left the group of chiefs gathered round the queen at the other end of the apartment, and had come close without Beric hearing him.
The lad coloured. ”I spoke only for my mother's hearing, sir,” he said. ”To no one else should I have ventured to express an opinion on a course agreed upon by those who are older and wiser than myself.”
”That is right, Beric; the young should be silent in the presence of their elders; nevertheless I should like to know why you think the a.s.sault is likely to fail.”
”It was really not my own opinion I was giving, sir. I was thinking of the manner in which the Romans, who are accustomed to besiege places with high walls and strong gates, proceed. They have made these matters a study, while to us an attack upon such a place is altogether new, seeing that none such exist in Britain save those the Romans have erected.”
”How would they proceed, Beric?”
”They would treat an attack upon such a place as a serious matter, not to be undertaken rashly and hastily, but only after great preparation. In order to batter down a gate or a wall they use heavy beams, such as those that have been prepared for tomorrow, but they affix to the head a shoe of iron or bra.s.s. They do not swing it upon men's arms, seeing that it would be most difficult to get so many men to exercise their strength together, and indeed could not give it the momentum required.”
”But we propose to have the beam carried by fifty men, and for all to rush forward together and drive it against the door.”
”If the door were weak and would yield to the first blow that might avail,” Beric said; ”but unless it does so the shock will throw down the tree and the men bearing it. Many will be grievously hurt.
Moreover, if, as will surely be the case, many of the bearers fall under the darts of the Romans as they approach, others will stumble over their bodies, and the speed of the whole be greatly checked.”
”Then can you tell me how the Romans act in such a case, Beric?”
”Yes, sir. I have frequently heard relations of sieges from soldiers who have taken part in them. They build, in the first place, movable towers or sheds running on wheels. These towers are made strong enough to resist the stones and missiles the besieged may hurl against them. Under cover of the shelter men push up the towers to the door or wall to be battered; the beam is then slung on ropes hanging from the inside of the tower. Other ropes are attached; numbers of men take hold of these, and working together swing the beam backwards and forwards, so that each time it strikes the wall or door a heavy blow. As the beam is of great weight, and many men work it, the blows are well nigh irresistible, and the strongest walls crumble and the most ma.s.sive gates splinter under the shock of its iron head.”
”The Romans truly are skilled warriors,” Aska said. ”We are but children in the art of war beside them, and methinks it would be difficult indeed for us to construct such a machine, though mayhap it could be done had we with us many men skilled in the making of chariots. But sometimes, Beric, they must have occasion to attack places where such machines could not well be used.”
”In that case, sir, they sometimes make what they call a tortoise.
The soldiers link their broad s.h.i.+elds together, so as to form a complete covering, resembling the back of a tortoise, and under shelter of this they advance to the attack. When they reach the foot of the wall all remain immovable save those in the front line, who labour with iron bars to loosen the stones at the foot of the wall, protected from missiles from above by the s.h.i.+elds of their comrades. From time to time they are relieved by fresh workers until the foundations of the wall are deeply undermined. As they proceed they erect ma.s.sive props to keep up the wall, and finally fill up the hole with combustibles. After lighting these they retire. When the props are consumed the wall of course falls, and they then rush forward and climb the breach.”
”Truly, Beric, you have profited by your lessons,” Aska said, laying his hand kindly on the lad's shoulder. ”The Druids spoke wisely when they prophesied a great future for you. Before we have done we may have many Roman strongholds to capture, and when we do I will see that the council order that your advice be taken as to how they shall be attacked; but in this matter tomorrow things must remain as they are. Unser is a proud chief, and headstrong, and would not brook any interference. Should he be repulsed in the a.s.sault, I will advise the queen to call up the Sarci, and allow you to proceed in your own manner.”
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