ten o'clock
Had the besiegers been provided with cannon , the defence could not have lasted long , for the walls would not have resisted battering by shot ; but cannon , in those times , were rare , and were too clumsy and heavy to accompany an expedition requiring to move with speed . For a time , the men-at-arms alone garrisoned the wall ; the farmers and their men being occupied in pumping water from the wells and carrying it to the cattle , of which some eight hundred had been driven in . The granaries were opened , and a plentiful supply of food placed in large troughs . At ten o'clock a trumpet called all the defenders to their posts . The enemy were drawn up in order , and moved towards the house in six columns ; two taking their way towards the rear , to attack the house on that side , while the others advanced toward different points on the wall . Ladders and long planks were carried at the head of each column . As they approached the assailants halted , and the arquebusiers came forward and took their post in line , to cover by their fire the advance of the storming parties .