THE BURNING OF THE PALACE Orme was right.

Maqueda's defiance did mean war, "an unequal war." This was our position.

We were shut up in a long range of buildings, of which one end had been burned, that on account of their moat and double wall, if defended with any vigour, could only be stormed by an enemy of great courage and determination, prepared to face a heavy sacrifice of life.

This was a circumstance in our favour, since the Abati were not courageous, and very much disliked the idea of being killed, or even injured.
But here our advantage ended.

Deducting those whom we had lost on the previous night, the garrison only amounted to something over four hundred men, of whom about fifty were wounded, some of them dangerously.
Moreover, ammunition was short, for they had shot away most of their arrows in the battle of the square, and we had no means of obtaining more.