Nearer and nearer came the sound of conflict, till Croixilian horsemen began to stream in through the gateway. Others, still fighting, followed slowly, being hindered by the press at the gate. Several, gripping at the throats of their foes, tumbled over the drawbridge. At length all those of the devoted five hundred who yet remained alive--barely one hundred and twenty all told--gained the city, with a horde of fierce Moslems at their heels. It was now too late to close the massive gates. Reeves sprang to the Krupp gun, but ere he could loose its contents into the press the ponderous portcullis was lowered with a run, pinning half a score of fanatical warriors beneath its formidable prongs. Some thirty or forty Baggaras, armed with spears or double-handed swords, remained within the city. With shouts of "Allah it Allah!" they dashed upon the defenders--to slay or to be slain. Short and fierce was the conflict inside the gate. Many a hauberk-clad man bit the dust under the almost irresistible sweep of those desert-forged weapons; but numbers prevailed, and ere long not one living Arab remained within the city. Now the archers were free to pour their volleys of deadly arrows through the bars of the portcullis into the surging throng without. Few of the Arabs had brought their cumbersome flintlocks with them, and even these could not be reloaded and fired in the press. Except for a few spears, thrown with terrific force, the Mohammedan fanatics were unable to reply. Galled from the walls, scourged by the arrows from the gateway, they broke and fled. A hoarse cheer broke from the Croixilian ranks; but the shout of triumph was suddenly stilled by a voice shouting: "To the breach --the Moslems are upon us!" CHAPTER XV The Struggle at the Breach LEAVING two hundred men to guard the gateway in case the Baggaras should rally, Reeves hastened to the breach, whilst Hugh and Gerald were told off to see that the guns mounted on the walls were directed against the Arabs who were devoting their energies to this part of the fortifications. Bringing up the Krupp at this stage of the proceedings would be futile. The correspondent realized, in spite of the fact that he had already loaded and trained the piece, that the manipulation of the time fuses of the shells was for the present beyond him; he must rest content in the knowledge that the enemy could no longer gall the city with impunity. There was still danger, however, and every available man was required to defend the ominous gap in the walls. By the glare of the enormous wood fires, that had been lighted upon the battlements, Reeves could form some idea of what was going on. Already the Arabs, with their customary fanatical zeal, were throwing themselves upon the knights and archers, who, led by Sir Jehan in person, were performing prodigious acts of valour.