midday
Peterborough was ready to advance , and the besieged were all in arms on the ramparts , but seeing that the enemy were fully prepared the project was abandoned , and the troops returned to their quarters . But the fall of Montjuich was at hand . The besiegers secretly massed a large force in the trenches . At midday on the 22d a salvo of four mortars gave the signal . The French rushed in with loud shouts and effected a complete surprise . Before the troops could get under arms two bastions were captured . So sudden was the affair that many of the English officers , hearing the firing , ran out from the keep , and seeing some foreign troops drawn up in the works joined them , concluding that they were Dutch , and were only undeceived by finding themselves taken prisoners .