says the cripple.  “Oh, that’s a fau thief,” says he, and thus they parleyed.  My cripple got him on’s feet, and gave him a dram of his aqua-vitae bottle, and made much of him, in order to know what was the occasion of the quarrel.  Our disguised woman pitied the fellow too, and together they set him up again upon his horse, and then he told him that that fellow was got upon one of his brother’s horses who lived at Wetherby.  They said the Cavaliers stole him, but ’twas like such rogues.  No mischief could be done in the country, but ’twas the poor Cavaliers must bear the blame, and the like, and thus they jogged on till they came to the place where the other two lay.  The first fellow they assisted as they had done t’other, and gave him a dram out of the leather bottle, but the last fellow was past their care, so they came away.  For when they understood that ’twas my horse they claimed, they began to be afraid that their own horses might be known too, and then they had been betrayed in a worse pickle than I, and must have been forced to have done some mischief or other to have got away.

I had sent out two troopers to fetch them off, if there was any occasion; but their stay was not long and the two troopers saw them at a distance coming towards us, so they returned.

I had enough of going for a spy, and my companions had enough of staying in the wood for other intelligences agreed with ours, and all concurred in this, that it was time to be going; however, this use we made of it, that while the country thought us so strong we were in the less danger of being attacked, though in the more of being observed; but all this while we heard nothing of our friends till the next day.  We heard Prince Rupert, with about 1000 horse, was at Skipton, and from thence marched away to Westmoreland.

We concluded now we had two or three days’ time good; for, since messengers were sent to York for a party to suppress us, we must have at least two days’ march of them, and therefore all concluded we were to make the best of our way.  Early in the morning, therefore, we decamped from those dull quarters; and as we marched through a village we found the people very civil to us, and the women cried out, “God bless them, ’tis pity the Roundheads should make such work with such brave men,” and the like.  Finding we were among our friends, we resolved to halt a little and refresh ourselves; and, indeed, the people were very kind to us, gave us victuals and drink, and took care of our horses.  It happened to be my lot to stop at a house where the good woman took a great deal of pains to provide for us; but I observed the good man walked about with a cap upon his head, and very much out of order.  I took no great notice of it, being very sleepy, and having asked my landlady to let me have a bed, I lay down and slept heartily.  When I waked I found my landlord on another bed groaning very heavily.