It was evident to the brave governor that the place was lost, and that nothing was left for him to do but to rally the remains of the garrison in the castle, if he could reach it. But he was determined that this retreat should cost the enemy dear. He therefore sent a reserve which he was keeping in the abbey to reinforce the defenders of the boulevard, B.[49] This reserve consisted of a hundred men at most; but they were brave fellows; their orders were to defend the boulevard at all cost, and if they were outflanked to return into the castle as soon as possible, to raise the bridge, and not let it down again till they saw him return with the remains of the garrison through the enemy, through whom he would force a passage. Then he took up his position resolutely at the head of the _débris_, which still defended the retrenchment, and, availing himself of the houses and the abbey walls, he gave way only step by step, obliging the enemy to besiege every house and every enclosure, and taking advantage of the lanes and passages to resume the offensive, and inflict losses on the French. Exasperated by this, the latter set fire to the houses which they could not break open. The abbey resisted for more than two hours after the besieger had taken the retrenchment. The defenders, seeing their retreat cut off, fought with desperation; for the postern was occupied outside by a large body of men. The church and the principal buildings were in flames. The Sire de Montcler maintained the struggle in the streets and houses of the town till daybreak, and then debouched with four or five hundred men who remained to him in the open space before the castle. He found it almost entirely occupied by the enemy, whom some brave men were still resisting. He rallied this greatly diminished body, and entered the castle, whose bridge was immediately raised. The town was taken, but much damaged, as Messire Charles d'Amboise had predicted. He gave the strictest orders to stay the flames and stop pillage, and to save the lives of the unarmed inhabitants. But there were many victims. The wounded and sick shut up in the abbey had perished in the flames; women, old men, and children, were lying on the pavement and in the houses. The 27th and 28th of September were spent by the French in re-establishing order among the troops after the combat of the night, in removing the wounded and burying the dead. Messire Charles d'Amboise, during the two preceding days, had lost a thousand men; he was anxious to end the struggle. During the night of the 28th, therefore, he had twelve pieces of ordnance brought up in front of the castle, provided them with gabionades, and once more sent a herald to summon the garrison to surrender. The reply was that the garrison would not surrender till it saw itself incapacitated from continuing the struggle.