ten o'clock
All returned loaded with sacks of earth ; these were taken into the castle , when the portcullis was lowered and the drawbridge across the fosse raised . An opening was left on the top to allow the sacks to be lowered into the space between the bridge and the portcullis . A score of men with ropes went on to the wall above and lowered them behind the drawbridge , where five or six men stowed them away . As soon as it became dark torches were lighted , and by ten o'clock a solid mass of sacks filled with earth were packed in the space between the portcullis and the drawbridge . The night passed off quietly , the horses and carts remaining beyond the fosse . Planks had been placed across one end of this , and the horses and carts taken over . The horses were picketed round the castle , a supply of forage being placed there for their use , while the carts were packed closely by the fosse , so as to form an obstacle to any of the assailants who might try to pass .