bout fifteen in number, who had been in company with
Grenville, considered that Chaloner's advice was good, and without
ceremony set off with their horses' heads to the northward, leaving
Chaloner, Edward, and Grenville together on the field of the affray. A
dozen men were lying on the ground, either dead or severely wounded;
seven of them were of the king's party, and the other five of the
Parliamentary troops.

"Now what I propose," said Edward, "is this,--let us do what we can for
those who are wounded, and then strip off the dresses and accoutrements
of those Parliamentary dragoons who are dead, and dress ourselves in
them, accoutrements and all. We can then pass through the country in
safety, as we shall be supposed to be one of the parties looking for the
king."

"That is a good idea," replied Chaloner, "and the sooner it is done the
better."

"Well," said Edward, wiping his sword, which he still held drawn, and
then sheathing it, "I will take the spoils of this fellow nearest to me:
he fell by my hand, and I am entitled to them by all the laws of war and
chivalry; but first let us dismount and look to the wounded."

They tied their horses to a tree, and having given what assistance they
could to the wounded men, they proceeded to strip three of the
Parliamentary troopers; and then, laying aside their own habiliments,
they dressed themselves in the uniform of the enemy, and mounting their
horses made all haste from the place. Having gained about twelve miles,
they pulled up and rode at a more leisurely pace. It was now eight
o'clock in the evening, but still not very dark; they therefore rode on
another five miles, till they came to a small village, where they
dismounted at an ale-house, and put their horses into the stable.

"We must be insolent and brutal in our manners, or we shall be
suspected."

"Very true," said Grenville, giving the ostler a kick and telling him to
bestir himself if he did not want his ears cropped.

They entered the ale-house, and soon found out they were held in great
terror. They ordered everything of the best to be produced, and
threatened to set fire to the house if it was not; they turned the man
and his wife out of their bed, and all three went to sleep in it; and,
in short, they behaved in such an arbitrary manner that nobody doubted
that they were Cromwell's men. In the morning they set off again, by
Chaloner's advice paying for nothing that they had ordered, although