The Children of Spinalunga 165

At sunset that day a man-at-arms went
forth from the gates of the castello with a
white flag to the beleaguering lines, and de-
manded to be taken into the presence of the
captain. To him he delivered this message
from the Syndic: ‘To-morrow in the morn-
ing the gate of Spinalunga will be thrown
open, and all the children of our town who
are not halt or blind or ailing shall be sent
forth. Come and choose the twenty you
would have as hostages.”

By the camp-fires that night the Free-
lances caroused loud and long; but in the
little hill-town the children slept sound while
the men and women prayed with pale stern
faces. An hour after midnight all the garri-
son from the towers and all the strong young
men assembled in the square. They were
divided into two bands, and were instructed
to descend cautiously by rope-ladders into
the ravine on the eastern side of the town.
Thence without sound of tongue or foot
they were to steal through the darkness till
they had reached certain positions on the
flanks of the besiegers, where they were
to wait for the signal of onset. Frate
Agnolo gave each of them his blessing, as