The archers disturbed themselves in no way at the reaching of the wall by the heads of the columns; but continued to shoot fast and true into the mass behind them, and as these were, for the most part, less completely armed than their leaders, numbers fell under the fire of the sixty English bowmen. It was the turn of the men-at-arms now. Immediately the assailants poured into the dry moat and sought to raise their ladders the men-at-arms hurled down the masses of stones piled in readiness, while some poured buckets of boiling water over them. In spite of the loss they were suffering the French raised their ladders, and, covering their heads with their shields, the leaders strove to gain the walls. As they did so, some of the archers took post in the flanking towers, and as with uplifted arms the assailants climbed the ladders, the archers smote them above the joints of their armour beneath the arm-pits, while the men-at-arms with pike and battle-axe hewed down those who reached the top of the ladders. Walter and Ralph hastened from point to point encouraging the men and joining in the defence where the pressure was hottest; and at last, after two hours of vain effort and suffering great loss, the assailants drew off and the garrison had breathing time. “Well done, my men!” Walter said, cheeringly; “they have had a lesson which they will remember, and if so be that they have brought with them no machines we may hold out against them for any time.” It was soon manifest, however, that along with the scaling-ladders the enemy had brought one of their war-machines. Men were seen dragging massive beams of timber towards the walls, and one of the wagons was drawn forward and upset on its side at a distance of sixty yards from the wall, not, however, without those who drew it suffering much from the arrows of the bowmen. Behind the shelter thus formed the French began to put together the machine, whose beams soon raised themselves high above the wagon. In the meantime groups of men dragged great stones laid upon a sort of hand sledge to the machine, and late in the afternoon it began to cast its missiles against the wall. Against these Walter could do little. He had no sacks, which, filled with earth, he might have lowered to cover the part of the walls assailed, and beyond annoying those working the machines by flights of arrows shot high in the air, so as to descend point downwards among them, he could do nothing.