Thereat he must have seen the waving of some alb or other as it
shivered down to the ground, for his spear fell with a thud, and he
seemed to be standing open-mouthed, thinking something about ghosts;
then, plucking up heart of grace, he roared out like ten bull-calves,
and dashed into the guard-house.

We followed smartly, but without hurry, and came up to the door of it
just as some dozen half-armed men came tumbling out under our axes:
thereupon, while our men slew them, I blew a great blast upon my horn,
and Hugh with some others drew bolt and bar and swung the gates wide
open.

Then the men in the guard-house understood they were taken in a trap,
and began to stir with great confusion; so lest they should get quite
waked and armed, I left Hugh at the gates with ten men, and myself led
the rest into that house. There while we slew all those that yielded
not, came Arnald with the others, bringing our horses with them; then
all the enemy threw their arms down. And we counted our prisoners and
found them over fourscore; therefore, not knowing what to do with them
(for they were too many to guard, and it seemed unknightly to slay
them all), we sent up some bowmen to the walls, and turning our
prisoners out of gates, bid them run for their lives, which they did
fast enough, not knowing our numbers, and our men sent a few flights
of arrows among them that they might not be undeceived.

Then the one or two prisoners that we had left, told us, when we had
crossed our axes over their heads, that the people of the good town
would not willingly fight us, in that they hated the queen; that she
was guarded at the palace by some fifty knights, and that beside,