"It seems as if this were a strange answer to our perplexity, does it not?"
Hugh shook his head impatiently, and then said decidedly, "I am afraid it would not do."
Amabel, of course, could not understand the meaning of these disconnected speeches, and turned to Edgar for an explanation. But it was the Friar who spoke next, and answered her silent question.
"We had been speaking," he said, "just before you came. Lady Amabel, of the prospects of the siege. We have done well so far. We have repulsed the Count, and we have succeeded in delaying his enterprises, each in turn. But that is not enough, unless the Count's men desert him—which is not likely now that he is proceeding cautiously and exposing them as little as he can—or unless we can cause an attack upon his forces from without, he will take the castle in time. Since he has entered upon the siege, no one has left the castle walls, and apparently no one outside of a few villagers knows anything of his attack. We can hold out for some time yet, but unless aid is brought to us, we are certain to surrender at last. It is necessary to send word to some of Lord Mortimer's friends, and to ask aid in his absence. We ought, if possible, to send word to him also,
