  Narrowband bursts (spikes) appear on dynamic spectra from microwave to
decametric frequencies. They are believed to be manifestations of small-scale
energy release through magnetic reconnection. We study the position of the
spike-like structures relative to the front of type-II bursts and their role in
the burst emission. We used high-sensitivity, low-noise dynamic spectra
obtained with the acousto-optic analyzer (SAO) of the ARTEMIS-JLS
radiospectrograph, in conjunction with images from the Nan\c{c}ay
Radioheliograph (NRH) in order to study spike-like bursts near the front of a
type-II radio burst during the November 3, 2003 extreme solar event. The
spike-like emission in the dynamic spectrum was enhanced by means of
high-pass-time filtering. We identified a number of spikes in the NRH images.
Due to the lower temporal resolution of the NRH, multiple spikes detected in
the dynamic spectrum appeared as single structures in the images. These spikes
had an average size of ~200" and their observed brightness temperature was
1.4-5.6x10^9K, providing a significant contribution to the emission of the
type-II burst front. At variance with a previous study on the type-IV
associated spikes, we found no systematic displacement between the spike
emission and the emission between spikes. At 327.0 MHz, the type II emission
was located about 0.3 RSUN above the pre-existing continuum emission, which,
was located 0.1 RSUN above the western limb. This study indicates that the
spike-like chains aligned along the type II burst MHD shock front are not a
perturbation of the type II emission, as in the case of type IV spikes, but a
manifestation of the type II emission itself. The preponderance of these
chains, together with the lack of isolated structures or irregular clusters,
points towards some form of small-scale magnetic reconnection, organized along
the type-II propagating front.
