i66 



Queen Honey Dew, 



but in a few moments he saw that the 

 cloud was simply a multitude of foreign 

 soldiers, and that they were sweeping 

 toward the palace with the speed of the 

 wind. 



In a moment he had sounded the alarm, 

 and the garrison rushed to their places, but 

 before even these preparations were com- 

 plete, the vanguard of the enemy was down 

 upon them, surrounding the palace with 

 shrill cries of defiance and threatening in- 

 stant destruction to the besieged. 



Honey Dew trembled as the hoarse trum- 

 pet of their leader fell upon her ear, for she 

 well knew that her crown and kingdom, 

 and even her life was at stake, and that 

 even if her loyal subjects succeeded in re- 

 pulsing the invaders it would be at a terri- 

 ble sacrifice of life. 



To add to her distress, a messenger 

 rushed in saying that the besieging army 

 was composed of the subjects of her own 

 cousin, a rival queen, who had heretofore 

 shown her nothing but friendliness, and 

 knowing their warlike disposition she 

 feared that the conflict could only end 

 with the total destruction of one of the 

 armies. 



True to their usual mode of warfare, the 

 besiegers tried at once to force an entrance 

 into the royal apartments and murder the 

 queen, knowing that by this means they 

 would utterly dishearten their enemy, and 

 after gaining an easy victory could plunder 

 the palace at leisure. 



But the Queen's guards drove them back 

 again and again, and forced them to con- 

 fine the conflict to the open air, for they 

 well knew that if they once allowed them 

 to gain an entrance it would be impossible 

 to drive them out again since the small 

 number left to guard the interior made 

 anything like fair fighting an impossibility. 



Angered by their inability to force the 

 entrance, the besiegers rushed upon their 

 foe with redoubled fury. The trumpets 

 sounded loud and shrill and the robbers 



massed themselves together to carry the 

 place by assault. 



But Honey Dew's brave subjects were 

 not to be disheartened, and prepared to 

 defend their queen and their wealth with 

 their lives; their trumpeters roared back 

 defiance to the enemy, and the veterans 

 arranged themselves in solid phalanxes to 

 meet the assault, while even the youths 

 were pressed into service. 



The gates were held by the royal guard, 

 which consisted of the flower of the army, 

 and here the enemy made the most deter- 

 mined onslaught, trusting in the skill of 

 their bold leader, who had won for them 

 many a bloody victory. Thrice they tried 

 to force the guard, and thrice they were re- 

 pulsed, and then giving over that portion 

 of the castle for the time they turned their 

 attention to the walls. 



Here they were more successful. One 

 party after another scaled the lofty battle- 

 ments, and breach after breach was made 

 in the wall, while the robbers cheered one 

 another with shouts of victory, and reveled 

 in the thought of the spoil. 



But the Queen's brave defenders did 

 not lose heart. The old soldiers still held 

 their places unmoved, and encouraged the 

 younger with words of cheer and wise ad- 

 vice. Those who had lost their weapons 

 and could not fight were told to throw 

 themselves upon the enemy, and hinder 

 their progress by the weight of their bodies, 

 and harrass them in every possible way. 



At last admission to the palace was 

 gained, and the battle waxed fiercer than 

 before. In a few moments order and dis- 

 cipline were lost sight of, and there began 

 a desperate hand to hand fight. No quarter 

 was given or asked, and as the combatants 

 surged to and fro in the halls of the palace 

 it seemed impossible to guess whether the 

 victory would be with friend or foe. 



The enemy outside, encouraged by the 

 successes of their comrades, now prepared 

 for a final onslaught, and again the trum- 



