from forty to sixty feet deep, and from ninety to a hundred and
forty feet wide. It was from this great cutting that the stones
for the construction of the walls, towers, and buildings of the
town had been taken, the work having been going on ever since the
knights established themselves at Rhodes, and being performed by
a host of captives taken in war, together with labour hired from
neighboring islands. Upon this immense work the Order had expended
no small proportion of their revenue since their capture of the
island in 1310, and the result was a fortress that, under the
conditions of warfare of that age, seemed almost impregnable; and
this without any natural advantage of position.

In addition to the five great towers or bastions, the wall was
strengthened by square towers at short intervals. On looking
down from the wall upon which the three pages were standing, on to
the lower town, the view was a singular one. The houses were all
built of stone, with flat roofs, after the manner of most Eastern
cities. The streets were very narrow, and were crossed at frequent
intervals by broad stone arches. These had the effect, not only
of giving shelter from an enemy's fire, but of affording means by
which troops could march rapidly across the town upon the roofs
of the houses to reinforce the defenders of the wall, wherever
pressed by the enemy. Thus the town from above presented the
appearance of a great pavement, broken only by dark and frequently
interrupted lines.

"How different to the towns at home!" Gervaise exclaimed, as,
after gazing long upon the beautiful country outside the walls,
he turned and looked inward. "One would hardly know that it was a
town at all."