Having done this he caused a false sortie to be made on the
following night, and when the Turks rushed to the attack he, accompanied by
a party of sappers, sallied out into the ditch and burned the bridge which
had been made. The Turks, returning after their fruitless assault, found
their bridge destroyed, but with untiring activity set to work and
constructed it afresh. Dragging cannon to the very edge of the ravelin,
they, on the very next evening, revenged themselves by also making a false
attack: they swarmed into the ditch, and, placing their scaling-ladders
against the walls, pretended that an escalade was to be attempted. The
garrison, deceived, appeared on the parapet in large numbers, when a
murderous fire at point-blank range was opened upon them from the ravelin.
So great was the execution done on this occasion that the garrison lost
more men than had hitherto been the case in the most determined attacks
which they had sustained.
It now seemed as if indeed the end had come, that the garrison had done all
that was in the power of mortal man and nothing was left for them but to
retire while there was yet time. Accordingly choice was made of the
chevalier Median to represent the desperate extremities to which they were
reduced to La Valette. It was well known that for none among the Knights
had the Grand Master more respect than he had for Medran, one of the
bravest and most chivalrous of them all.
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