When, after
eighteen days' terrible fighting, the Duke of Parma saw that even
his best troops were unable to break through the wall of steel, he
desisted from the assault and began the slower process of mining.
The garrison from their lookout beheld the soldiers crossing the
bridge with picks and shovels, and prepared to meet them in this
new style of warfare. Captain Uvedale was appointed to command the
men told off for this duty, and galleries were run from several of
the cellars to meet those of the enemy.
As every man was employed either on the rampart or in mining, many
of the pages were told off to act as watchers in the cellars, and
to listen for the faint sounds that told of the approach of the
enemy's miners. As the young Vickars were in attendance on the
officers, they were exempted from this work; but they frequently
went down into the cellars, both to watch the process of mining by
their own men and to listen to the faint sounds made by the enemy's
workmen. One day they were sitting on two wine kegs, watching four
soldiers at work at the end of a short gallery that had been driven
towards the Spaniards. Suddenly there was an explosion, the miners
were blown backwards, the end of the gallery disappeared, and a
crowd of Walloon soldiers almost immediately afterwards rushed in.
The boys sprang to their feet and were about to fly, when an idea
occurred to Geoffrey.
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