Behind Him Tramped
Six Men In A Rank, With Muskets Shouldered, And Each Of Them Wore
At His Girdle A Hatchet, Which Was Probably Intended To Cleave The
Thieves To The Brisket Should They Venture To Come To Close
Quarters.
There were six vehicles, two of them calashes, in which
latter rode the Fidalgo and his daughters; the others
Were covered
carts, and seemed to be filled with household furniture; each of
these vehicles had an armed rustic on either side; and the son, a
lad about sixteen, brought up the rear with a squad equal to that
of his cousin in the van. The soldiers, who by good fortune were
light horse, and admirably mounted, were galloping about in all
directions, for the purpose of driving the enemy from cover, should
they happen to be lurking in the neighbourhood.
I could not help thinking as I passed by, that this martial array
was very injudicious, for though it was calculated to awe
plunderers, it was likewise calculated to allure them, as it seemed
to hint that immense wealth was passing through their territories.
I do not know how the soldiers and rustics would have behaved in
case of an attack; but am inclined to believe that if three such
men as Richard Turpin had suddenly galloped forth from behind one
of the bush-covered knolls, neither the numbers nor resistance
opposed to them would have prevented them from bearing away the
contents of the strong box jingling in their saddlebags.
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