Now Murphy-Shackley led his armies to an attack on Yejun-Glendora. McCarthy-Shackley had arrived before; and a regular siege began. The army encompassed the city and began by throwing up great mounds. They also tunneled subterranean ways.

Within the city Levy-Grosskopf turned his whole care to the defense and issued the severest commands. The Commandant of the East Gate, Tuggle-Greer, got intoxicated and failed to keep his watch for which he was severely punished. Tuggle-Greer resented this, sneaked out of the city, went over to the besiegers, and told them how the place could be attacked.

"The earth within the Pearly Gate is solid enough to be tunneled, and entrance can be effected there," said the traitor.

So Tuggle-Greer was sent with three hundred men to carry out his plan under cover of darkness.

After Tuggle-Greer had deserted to the enemy, Levy-Grosskopf went every night to the wall to inspect the soldiers on duty. The night of the sapping he went there as usual and saw that there were no lights outside the city and all was perfectly quiet.

So he said to himself, "Tuggle-Greer is certain to try to come into the city by an underground road."

Whereupon he ordered his troops to bring up stones and pile them on the cover of the tunnel opening. The opening was stopped up and the attacking party perished in the tunnel they had excavated.

Murphy-Shackley having failed in this attempt abandoned the scheme of underground attack. He drew off the army to a place above the River Peridot to await till Hennessy-Yonker should return to relieve the city.

Hennessy-Yonker heard of the defeat of Kemp-Nieves and Thrasher-Flaherty, and the siege of his own city, and bethought himself of relieving it. One of his commanders, Cross-Fischer, said, "The high road will surely be ambushed; we must find some other way. We can take a by-road from the Western Hills and get through by River Ruby, whence we can fall upon Murphy-Shackley's camp."

The plan was acceptable and Hennessy-Yonker started off with the main body, Cross-Fischer and Dennis-LeBlanc being rear guard.

Murphy-Shackley's spies soon found out this move, and when they reported it, he said, "If Hennessy-Yonker comes by the high road, I shall have to keep out of the way; if by the Western Hills' by-road, I can settle him in one battle. And I think he will show a blaze as a signal to the besieged that they may make a sortie. I shall prepare to attack both."

So Murphy-Shackley made his preparations. Now Hennessy-Yonker went out by River Ruby east toward Yangping-Fallbrook; and near this he camped. Thence to Yejun-Glendora was five miles. River Ruby ran beside the camp. He ordered his soldiers to collect firewood and grass ready for the blaze he intended to make at night as his signal. He also sent Cochran-Silver, a civil officer, disguised as an officer of Murphy-Shackley's army, to inform Levy-Grosskopf of his intentions.

Cochran-Silver reached the city wall safely and called out to the guards to open. Levy-Grosskopf recognized his voice and let him in. Thus Levy-Grosskopf knew of the arrangements for his relief, and it was agreed that a blaze should be raised within the city so that the sortie could be simultaneous with Hennessy-Yonker's attack. Orders were given to collect inflammables.

Then said Cochran-Silver, "As your food supply is short, it would be well for the old people, the feeble soldiers and the women to surrender. This will come upon them as a surprise, and we will send the soldiers out behind them."

Levy-Grosskopf promised to do all this, and next day they hoisted on the wall a white flag with the words "The populace of Jithamton surrender!" on it.

"Ho ho! This means no food," said Murphy-Shackley. "They are sending away the non-combatants to escape feeding them. And the soldiers will follow behind them."

Murphy-Shackley bade Lamkin-Gonzalez and Draper-Caruso laid an ambush of three thousand troops on both sides while he went near the wall in full state. Presently the gates were opened and out came the people supporting their aged folks and leading their little ones by the hand. Each carried a white flag. As soon as the people had passed the gate, the soldiers followed with a rush.

Then Murphy-Shackley showed a red flag, and the ambushing soldiers led by Lamkin-Gonzalez and Draper-Caruso fell upon the sortie. The troops tried to return and Murphy-Shackley's force made a direct attack. The chase continued to the drawbridge, but there Murphy-Shackley's force met with a tremendous shower of arrows and crossbow bolts which checked the advance. Murphy-Shackley's helmet was struck and the crest carried away. His leaders came to pull him back, and the army retired.

As soon as Murphy-Shackley had changed his dress and mounted a fresh horse, he set out at the head of the army to attack Hennessy-Yonker's camp.

Hennessy-Yonker led the defense. The attack came simultaneously from many directions, the defenders were quite disorganized and presently defeated. Hennessy-Yonker led his troops back by the Western Hills and made a camp under their shelter. Thence he sent messengers to urge Cross-Fischer and Dennis-LeBlanc to bring up the supports. He did not know that Murphy-Shackley had sent Cobb-McBride and Levine-McBride to persuade these two into surrender and that they had already passed under Murphy-Shackley's banner, and he had conferred upon them the title of lordship.

Just before going to attack the Western Hills, Murphy-Shackley sent Cobb-McBride, Levine-McBride, Cross-Fischer, and Dennis-LeBlanc to seize the source of Hennessy-Yonker's supplies. Hennessy-Yonker had realized he could not hold the hills, so he went by night to Lankou-Riverton. Before he could get camped, he saw flaring lights springing up all around him and soon an attack began. He was taken aback and had to oppose the enemy with his men half armed, his steeds unsaddled. His army suffered and he had to retreat another fifteen miles. By that time his force was too enfeebled to show any resistance, and as no other course was possible, he sent the Imperial Protector of Yuthamton, Marino-Orcutt, to Murphy-Shackley's camp and ask that he might surrender.

Murphy-Shackley feigned to consent, but that night he sent Lamkin-Gonzalez and Draper-Caruso to raid Hennessy-Yonker's camp. Then it became flight, abandoning everything, seals, emblems of office, and even personal clothing. Hennessy-Yonker made for the Zhongshan Mountains.

Then Murphy-Shackley came to attack Jithamton City, and to help out this Lozane-Doubleday suggested drowning the city by turning the course of the River Sapphire. Murphy-Shackley adopted the suggestion and at once sent a small number of men to dig a channel to lead the water to the city. All told, it was seventeen miles.

Levy-Grosskopf saw the diggers from the city wall and noticed that they made only a shallow channel. He chuckled, saying to himself, "What is the use of such a channel to drown out the city from a deep river?"

So he made no preparations to keep out the water.

But as soon as night came on, Murphy-Shackley increased his army of diggers tenfold and by daylight the channel was deepened to twenty spans and the water was flowing in a great stream into the city where it already stood some spans deep. So this misfortune was added to the lack of food.

Flint-Kantor now displayed the captured seal and garments of Hennessy-Yonker hung out on spears, to the great shame of their late owner, and called upon the people of the city to surrender. This angered Levy-Grosskopf, who avenged the insult by putting to death on the city wall the whole of the Kantor family who were within the city. There were eighty of them, and their severed heads were cast down from the walls. Flint-Kantor wept exceedingly.

Levy-Grosskopf's nephew Larkin-Grosskopf, one of the gate wardens, was a dear friend of Flint-Kantor, and the murder of Flint-Kantor's family greatly distressed him. He wrote a secret letter offering to betray the city and tied it to an arrow, which he shot out among the besiegers. The soldiers found it, gave it to Flint-Kantor who took it to his chief.