About this time the Earl of Perigord, his uncle Sir Charles de Poitiers, the Earl of Carmain, and the Lord of Duras, mounting their horses, rode as near to the walls of the castle as they could, and, calling out to those within by way of derision, said, “Gentlemen, inquire of your messenger where he found the Earl of Derby, and whether he is prepared to assist you, since your man was so eager to quit your fortress, and has returned as quickly.” Sir Frank van Halle replied, “By my faith, gentlemen, if we be so closely confined in this place, we will sally forth whenever it shall please God and the Earl of Derby. I wish to heaven he were acquainted with our situation, for, if he were, the proudest of you all would be afraid of standing your ground; and, if you will send any one to give him this information, one of us will surrender himself to you, to be ransomed as becomes a gentleman.” The French answered, “Nay, nay, matters must not turn out so. The Earl of Derby, in proper time, shall be made acquainted with it; but not until our engines have battered your walls level with the ground, and you shall have surrendered yourselves to save your lives.”--“That, for certain, will never happen,” said Sir Frank van Halle; “for we will not surrender ourselves, should we all die upon the walls.” The French lords then rode on, and returned to their army. The three English knights remained in Auberoche, quite confounded by the force of these engines, which flung such quantities of stones that in truth it seemed as if the thunder from heaven were battering the walls of the castle. CHAPTER XXXVI. THE EARL OF DERBY MAKES THE COUNT OF LISLE AND NINE MORE COUNTS AND VISCOUNTS PRISONERS BEFORE AUBEROCHE.