Matt fails to storm Borka’s Fort by climbing a rope ladder

Matt fails to storm Borka’s Fort by climbing a rope ladder, an impulsive raid that is driven off by arrows and leaves Little-Snip wounded. The episode makes the feud’s stalemate physical: Matt can scout the North Fort and rush its defenses, but Borka’s guarded access defeats a direct assault.

Causes and Setting

After Borka’s band occupied the North Fort, Matt spent much of his time trying to discover what they were doing and how best to get at them. He rode north each day with one or two men, but found the woods silent, with no visible sign of the intruders. The quiet concealed a practical advantage: the Borka robbers had made a long rope ladder that let them move up and down the rock face with ease.

The Failed Assault

Matt saw the ladder lowered only once. Instead of waiting or assessing the danger, he rushed forward to climb it, and his robbers followed, eager for a fight. Arrows poured down from the loopholes of Borka’s Keep. The attackers were forced back, and Little-Snip was struck in the thigh; the wound kept him in bed for two days. The ladder was lowered only under strict guard, making clear why Matt had seen it so rarely.

Consequences and Significance

The attempt did not dislodge Borka’s band or bring Matt closer to controlling the North Fort. Rather, it demonstrated that the ladder was a guarded route, not an open invitation, and that Matt’s eagerness could expose his men to injury. The episode belongs to a wider period of enforced inactivity: the robbers at Matt’s Fort grew restless and quarrelsome, while Borka’s den in Borka’s Wood stood deserted and the Robbers’ Walk was unusually free of highwaymen. The contrast between that unexpected quiet and Matt’s continuing readiness to attack underscores how the feud persists even when its opponents are not visibly fighting.