Now as the mists cleared, looking thitherward, Beltane stared wide-eyed to behold wooden towers in course of building, with the grim shapes of many powerful war-engines whose mighty flying-beams and massy supporting-timbers filled him with great awe and wonderment.

“Ha!” quoth Giles, “they work apace yonder, and by Saint Giles they lack not for engines; verily Black Ivo is a master of siege tactics—­ but so is Giles, brother!  See where he setteth up his mangonels, trebuchets, perriers and balistae, with bossons or rams, towers and cats, in the use of the which he is right cunning—­but so also is Giles, brother!  And verily, though your mangonels and trebuchets are well enough, yet for defence the balista is weapon more apt, methinks, as being more accurate in the shooting and therefore more deadly—­how think you, lord?”

“Indeed Giles, being a forester I could scarce tell you one from another.”

“Ha—­then you’ll know nought of their nature and use, lord?”

“Nought, Giles.  Ne’er have I seen their like until now.”

“Say ye so, brother?” cried Giles full eager, his brown eyes a-kindle, “say ye so in very truth?  Then—­an it be so thy wish—­I might instruct thee vastly, for there is no man in the world to-day shall discourse you more fluent and learned upon siege-craft, engines and various tormenta than I. So—­an it be thy wish, lord—?”

“It is my wish:  say on, Giles.”

“Why then firstly, lord, firstly we have the great Mangon or mangonel, fundis fundibula, that some do also term catapultum, the which worketh by torsion and shall heave you great stones of the bigness of a man fully two hundred yards an it be dry weather; next is the Trebuchet, like to the mangon save that it swingeth by counterpoise; next cometh the Balista or Springald that worketh by tension—­a pretty weapon! and shall shoot you dart or javelin so strong as shall transpierce you six lusty fellows at a time, hauberk and shield, like so many fowl upon a spit—­very sweet to behold, brother!  Then have we the Bore or Cat that some again do name musculus or mouse for that it gnaweth through thick walls—­and some do call this hog, sow, scrofa or sus, brother, and some again, vulpes.

“And this Cat is a massy pole that beareth a great and sharp steel point, the which, being mounted within a pent-house, swingeth merrily to and fro, much like to a ram, brother, and shall blithely pick you a hole through stone and mortar very pleasing to behold.  Then we have the Ram, cancer testudo, that battereth; next we have the Tower or Beffroi that goeth on wheels—­yonder you shall see them a-building.  And these towers, moving forward against your city, shall o’ertop the walls and from them archers and cross-bowmen may shoot into your town what time their comrades fill up and dam your moat until the tower may come close unto your walls.  And these towers, being come against the wall, do