Philip planned an assault against the town. He was going to take it by storm. Richard did not join him in this attempt. He made it an excuse that he was sick at the time. Indeed, he was sick not long after his arrival at Acre, but whether his illness really prevented his co-operating with Philip in the assault, or was only made use of as a pretext, is not quite certain. At any rate, Richard left Philip to make the assault alone, and the consequence was that the French troops were driven back from the walls with great loss. Richard secretly rejoiced at this discomfiture, but Philip was in a great rage. Not long afterward Richard planned an assault, to be executed with _his_ troops alone; for Philip now stood aloof, and refused to aid him. Richard had no objection to this; indeed, he rejoiced in an opportunity to show the world that he could succeed in accomplishing a feat of arms after Philip had attempted it and failed. [Illustration: THE ASSAULT.] So he brought forward the engines that he had caused to be built at Messina, and set them up. He organized his assaulting columns and prepared for the attack. He made the scaling-ladders ready, and provided his men with great stores of ammunition; and when the appointed day at length arrived, he led his men on to the assault, fully confident that he was about to perform an exploit that would fill all Europe with his fame. But, unfortunately for him, he was doomed to disappointment. His men were driven back from the walls. The engines were overthrown and broken to pieces, or set on fire by flaming javelins sent from the walls, and burned to the ground. Vast numbers of his soldiers were killed, and at length, all hope of success having disappeared, the troops were drawn off, discomfited and excessively chagrined. The reflections which would naturally follow in the minds of Philip and Richard, as they sat in their tents moodily pondering on these failures, led them to think that it would be better for them to cease quarreling with each other, and to combine their strength against the common enemy. Indeed, their situation was now fast becoming very critical, inasmuch as every day during which the capture of the town was delayed the troops of Saladin on the mountains around them were gradually increasing in numbers, and gaining in the strength of their position, and they might at any time now be expected to come pouring down upon the plain in such force as entirely to overwhelm the whole army of the Crusaders. So Richard and Philip made an agreement with each other that they would thenceforth live together on better terms, and endeavor to combine their strength against the common enemy, instead of wasting it in petty quarrels with each other.