squadron had been hovering
in the neighborhood of the English army for some days, watching for an
opportunity to attack them, but without success. Now, foreseeing that
Edward would attempt to enter Romorantin, they pushed forward in a
stealthy manner to the neighborhood of that town, and placed
themselves in ambush at the sides of a narrow and solitary gorge in
the mountains, through which they knew the English must necessarily
pass.

On the same day that the French knights formed this ambush, several of
the commanders in Edward's army asked leave to take a troop of two
hundred men from the English army, and ride forward to the gates of
the town, in order to reconnoitre the place, and ascertain whether the
way was clear for the main body of the army to approach. Edward gave
them permission, and they set forward. As might have been expected,
they fell into the snare which the French knights had laid for them.
The Frenchmen remained quiet and still in their hiding-places, and
allowed the English to pass on through the defile. Then, as soon as
they had passed, the French rushed out and galloped after them, with
their spears in their rests, all ready for a charge.

The English troop, hearing the sound of the galloping of horses in the
road behind them, turned round to see what was coming. To their
dismay, they found that a troop of their enemies was close upon them,
and that they were hemmed in between them and the town. A furious
battle ensued. The English, though they were somewhat fewer in number
than the French, seem to have been made desperate by their danger, and
they fought like tigers. For a time it was uncertain which way the
contest would turn, but at length, while the victory was still
undecided, the van of the main body of the English army began to
arrive upon the ground. The French now saw that they were in danger of
being overpowered with numbers, and they immediately began to retreat.
They fled in the direction of the town. The English followed them in a
headlong pursuit, filling the air with their shouts, and with the
clanking of their iron armor as the horses galloped furiously along.

At length they reached the gates of the town, and the whole throng of
horsemen, pursuers and pursued, pressed in together. The French
succeeded in reaching the castle, and, as soon as they got in, they
shut the gates and secured themselves there, but the English got
possession of the town. As soon as Edward came in, he sen