"It's a diversion," he said. "They wouldn't attempt their main assault with just one ladder."
The more he thought about it, the more he became convinced that he was right. The west wall, where the trees were closest to the castle, was the obvious direction for an assault. And since it was the obvious one, it became less likely that the attackers would choose it. The attempt with the cart was a bluff – and not a very clever one, since it was easy to see that one cart and one ladder would be ineffective against the walls. Sieges like this were a game of guess and counter guess, bluff and counter bluff. His instincts told him that the strange cart was a diversion.
The more he waited, the more he became convinced that the attack would come from the south, or perhaps the east wall. They were the farthest points from the west wall, after all. But the south seemed the most likely. The enemy had already been active there, and he had a sense that they would try to lull him into a sense of false confidence with a few more demonstrations that came to nothing, then launch the real attack from that direction.
He jerked a thumb at the cart, lying tilted to one side a bare twenty meters from the castle.
"Set it on fire," he told the sergeant commanding the west wall. "And keep an eye on the trees. But I don't think this is where they're going to come at us. Be ready to shift your men to the south wall if we need you there."
In the confined, sloping space under the ruined cart, Horace wriggled to find a more comfortable position.
Will, watching him, shook his head in disapproval. " Try to keep still," he said."If you keep jumping around like that, you'll tip the cart over."
Horace scowled at him. "It's all very well for you," he said. "You're trained to sit still for hours on end while ants crawl over you and your muscles cramp."
"If I can do it, you can do it," Will said unhelpfully. He craned to the peephole once more, studying the castle. He could make out three of the defenders peering in the direction of the cart, and he saw smoke rising from a brazier beside them.
Strange, he thought. The day was cold, but not so cold that they should need a fire on the ramparts to keep them warm, at least not until nightfall.
"What's happening?" asked Horace. He was bored and uncomfortable, and he wanted some form of distraction. Will waved him to silence. They were only twenty meters or so from the walls, and it was possible that they might be heard.
"Keep your voice down," he said. Horace rolled his eyes to heaven again and continued in a hoarse whisper.
"It's all right for you. You've got the peephole," he said. Will gave him another long-suffering look.
"It must be awful to be you," he said, "covered in ants, in agony from cramping muscles and not even a peephole to look through."
"Oh, shut up," said Horace. He couldn't think of a witty reply.
They were interrupted by the slamming impact of another bolt into the wood over their heads. Will frowned, wondering why the defenders should be wasting time and ammunition shooting at the stranded cart. The answer came to him a few seconds later.
Horace, who had flinched violently at the unexpected impact, sniffed the air. "I can smell smoke," he said.
Will craned once more to look through the peephole. He could see the ramparts, with the same group of men watching the cart intensely. Then he saw one of them raise a crossbow and shoot again.
"Here comes another," he warned his companion.
The bolt sped through the air toward them, trailing a thin ribbon of smoke behind it. Seconds later, there was another ringing thud as it struck the roof planks. Now the smell of smoke was stronger. Through the peephole, Will could see a lick of flame.
"They're shooting fire arrows," he said calmly. "Trying to set the cart alight."
"What?" Horace jerked upright, and his head thudded against one of the support frames on the cart. "We'd better get out of here!"
"Relax," Will told him. "I had the planks soaked with water before we started."
Horace sat back doubtfully. He remembered now that for ten minutes before they had left the shelter of the trees, the Skandians had poured water and melting snow over the planks.
"Besides," Will continued, "have you ever tried to set a piece of hardwood on fire by dropping a burning stick on top of it? The odds are the arrows will scorch the wood a little, but they'll burn out before the fire can really take hold."
"The odds are?" Horace repeated. "What odds might they be?"
Will regarded him patiently. "What do you want to do, Horace, jump out and put out the arrows and then wave to the men on the ramparts?"
Horace looked uncomfortable, realizing he might have been premature in his reaction.
"Well, no," he said."But I certainly don't want to be caught under a burning cart either."
" The cart won't burn. Trust me." Will told him. Then, seeing that the last two words had absolutely no effect on Horace, he continued, "And even if it does, we'll have plenty of time to get out of here. But there's no point running for it now. How will we feel if we give our plan away and then sit back in the trees and watch the fire go out?"
"Well, maybe…," Horace said, a little mollified by Will's logic – and by the fact that the smell of smoke hadn't grown any stronger. He put his hand against the planks, beneath the spot where one of the bolts had struck it. The wood didn't feel any warmer there than in other parts of the roof.
Another two burning bolts hit the cart in the next few minutes. But, like the first two, they soon burned out, causing nothing but surface scorching. Eventually, seeing that the fire arrows weren't working, the defenders on the ramparts gave up the attempt.
+ + ¦
The afternoon wore on, and the light began to fade as the watery winter sun sank below the level of the trees. Horace pulled his cloak tighter about him. It was cold sitting here immobile for hours on end.
"What time is it?" Horace asked.
"About five minutes later than the last time you asked," Will told him. "You're getting as bad as Gundar, with his constant Are we nearly there?' "
"I can't help it," Horace grumbled."I don't like just sitting around doing nothing."
" Try composing a poem," Will said sarcastically, wishing his friend would shut up.
"What sort of poem?" Horace asked.
"A limerick," Will told him, through gritted teeth. "That would seem to be about your speed."
"Yeah. Good idea," Horace said, brightening a little."That'll take my mind off things." He frowned thoughtfully, looking to the heavens for inspiration. His lips moved silently for several minutes, then the frown deepened.
"I don't have anything to write it down with," he said.
Will, who had managed to doze off in the silence, jerked awake. "What?" he snapped, crankily. "Write what down?"
"My limerick. If I don't write it down, I might forget it."
"Have you thought it up yet?"
"Well, I've got the first line," Horace said defensively. Limerick writing was proving to be harder than he'd expected."There once was a castle called Macindaw…," he declaimed. "That's the first line," he added.
"Surely you can remember that?" Will said.
Horace nodded reluctant agreement. "Well, yes. But when I get two or three or four lines worked out, it'll get harder. Maybe I could tell them to you and you could remember them?" he suggested.
"Please don't," Will said, biting off the words.
Horace shrugged. "Well, fine. If you choose not to help."
"I do."
Will's replies, Horace noted, were becoming shorter and shorter. "All right then," he said, a little huffily. His lips moved again, stopped, restarted. He closed his eyes to concentrate. This went on for some five minutes, and the more Will tried to ignore him, the more he was drawn to Horace's facial contortions. Finally, the broad-shouldered warrior realized his friend was watching him.