A council was held that evening in the castle as to whether the hold should be abandoned at once or whether one attack on the breach should be withstood.  It was finally determined that the breach should be held.  The steep sides of the moat, exposed by the subsidence of the water, were slippery and difficult.  The force in the castle was amply sufficient at once to man the breach and to furnish archers for the walls on either side, while in the event of the worst, were the breach carried by the English, the defenders might fall back to the central keep, and thence make their way through the passage.  Had it not been for the possibility of an early arrival of the king to their relief all agreed that it would be as well to evacuate the castle at once, as this in the end must fall, and every life spent in its defence would thus be a useless sacrifice.  As, however, troops might at any moment appear, it was determined to hold the castle until the last.

The next morning a party of knights in full defensive armour came down to the edge of the moat to see whether passage could be effected.  They were not molested while making their examination, as the Scottish arrows would only have dropped harmless off their steel harness.  Archie was on the walls.

“How like you the prospect, Sir Knights?” he called out merrily.  “I fear that the sludge and slime will sully your bright armour and smirch your plumes, for it will be difficult to hold a footing on those muddy banks.”

“It were best for you to yield, Sir Archibald Forbes, without giving us the trouble of making our way across your moat.  You have made a stout resistance, and have done enough for honour, and you must see that sooner or later we must win our way in.”

“Then I would rather it should be later,” Archie replied.  “I may have done enough for honour, but it is not for honour that I am fighting, but for Scotland.  Your work is but begun yet, I can assure you.  We are far from being at the end of our resources yet.  It will be time enough to talk about surrendering when you have won the breach and the outer walls.”

The knights retired; and as some hours passed without the besiegers seeing any preparation for an assault they judged that the report carried back to camp was not an encouraging one.  Large numbers of men were, however, seen leaving the camp, and these toward sunset came back staggering under immense loads of brushwood which they had cut in the forest.

“They intend to fill up the moat,” Archie said; “it is their wisest course.”

He at once directed his men to make up large trusses of straw, over which he poured considerable quantities of oil.  Early the next morning the English drew out of their camp, and advanced in martial array.  Each man carried a great faggot, and, covering themselves with these as they came within bowshot, they marched down to the moat.  Each in turn threw in his faggot, and when he had done so returned to the camp and brought