Poor, pale, emaciated troops were those who obeyed the leaders' call, but not a man was absent and each stood ready to give his life for the deliverance of the city and his family.
The tempest had moderated, the firing had ceased, and the night was dark and sultry.

No eyes wished to sleep, and those whose slumber overpowered for a short time, were startled and terrified by strange, mysterious noises.

Wilhelm sat in his look-out, gazing towards the south and listening intently.

Sometimes a light gust of wind whistled around the lofty house, sometimes a shout, a scream, or the blast of a trumpet echoed through the stillness of the night; then a crashing noise, as if an earthquake had shaken part of the city to its foundations, arose near the Cow-Gate.

Not a star was visible in the sky, but bright spots, like will-o'-the-wisps, moved through the dense gloom in regular order near Lanimen.