ed, my dears, from this time onward this
cunning man framed his whole life and actions in such a way as to make
friends of the sectaries, and to cause them to look upon him as their
leader. For he had a firm belief that in all such outbreaks as that in
which we were engaged, the most extreme party is sure in the end to gain
the upper hand. 'Fanatics,' he said to me one day, 'mean fervour, and
fervour means hard work, and hard work means power.' That was the centre
point of all his plotting and scheming.

And first of all he set himself to show how excellent a soldier he was,
and he spared neither time nor work to make this apparent. From morn
till midday, and from afternoon till night, we drilled and drilled until
in very truth the shouting of the orders and the clatter of the arms
became wearisome to our ears. The good burghers may well have
thought that Colonel Saxon's Wiltshire foot were as much part of the
market-place as the town cross or the parish stocks. There was much to
be done in very little time, so much that many would have thought it
hopeless to attempt it. Not only was there the general muster of the
regiment, but we had each to practise our own companies in their several
drills, and to learn as best we could the names and the wants of the
men. Yet our work was made easier to us by the assurance that it was not
thrown away, for at every gathering our bumpkins stood more erect,
and handled their weapons more deftly. From cock-crow to sun-down the
streets resounded with 'Poise your muskets! Order your muskets! Rest
your muskets! Handle your primers!' and all the other orders of the old
manual exercise.

As we became more soldierly we increased in numbers, for our smart
appearance drew the pick of the new-comers into our ranks. My own
company swelled until it had to be divided, and others enlarged in
proportion. The baronet's musqueteers mustered a full hundred, skilled
for the most part in the use of the gun. Altogether we sprang from
three hundred to four hundred and fifty, and our drill improved until we
received praise from all sides on the state of our men.

Late in the evening I was riding slowly back to the house of Master
Timewell when Reuben clattered after me, and besought me to turn back
with him to see a noteworthy sight. Though feeling little in the mood
for such things, I turned Covenant and rode with him down the length of
High Street, and into the suburb which is known as Shuttern, where my