Acutely as they had listened, they had heard of late no sound on the stair.Yet therein the door-post, at the edge of the stream of moonlight, were the tips of the fingers of a hand.
The nails glistened.
Presently they began to crawl and crawl down towards the bolt, but with infinite slowness and caution.In so doing they crept into the moonlight.The actual motion was imperceptible, but slowly, slowly, the fingers came out whiter and whiter; but the hand between the main knuckles and the wrist remained dark.
Denys slowly raised his crossbow.
He levelled it.He took a long steady aim.
Gerard palpitated.At last the crossbow twanged.The hand was instantly nailed, with a stern jar, to the quivering door-post.
There was a scream of anguish."Cut," whispered Denys eagerly, and Gerard's uplifted sword descended and severed the wrist with two swift blows.A body sank down moaning outside.
The hand remained inside, immovable, with blood trickling from it down the wall.The fierce bolt, slightly barbed, had gone through it and deep into the real door-post.
"Two," said Denys, with terrible cynicism.
He strung his crossbow, and kneeled behind his cover again.
"The next will be the Abbot."
The wounded man moved, and presently crawled down to his companions on the stairs, and the kitchen door was shut.
There nothing was heard now but low muttering.The last incident had revealed the mortal character of the weapons used by the besieged.
"I begin to think the Abbot's stomach is not so great as his body," said Denys.
The words were scarcely out of his mouth when the following events happened all in a couple of seconds.The kitchen door was opened roughly, a heavy but active man darted up the stairs without any manner of disguise, and a single ponderous blow sent the door not only off its hinges, but right across the room on to Denys's fortification, which it struck so rudely as nearly to lay him flat.And in the doorway stood a colossus with a glittering axe.
He saw the dead man with the moon's blue light on half his face, and the red light on the other half and inside his chapfallen jaws: he stared, his arms fell, his knees knocked together, and he crouched with terror.
"LA MORT!" he cried, in tones of terror, and turned and fled.In which act Denys started up and shot him through both jaws.He sprang with one bound into the kitchen, and there leaned on his axe, spitting blood and teeth and curses.
Denys strung his bow and put his hand into his breast.
He drew it out dismayed.
"My last bolt is gone," he groaned.
"But we have our swords, and you have slain the giant.""No, Gerard," said Denys gravely, "I have not.And the worst is Ihave wounded him.Fool! to shoot at a retreating lion.He had never faced thy handiwork again, but for my meddling.""Ha! to your guard! I hear them open the door."Then Denys, depressed by the one error he had committed in all this fearful night, felt convinced his last hour had come.He drew his sword, but like one doomed.But what is this? a red light flickers on the ceiling.Gerard flew to the window and looked out.