, the troop of
yeomen pressed on undauntedly; and where the sturdy farmers could get a
firm gripe of their lithe antagonists, or deliver a blow with their
ox-like fists, they seldom failed to make good the advantages which
superior weight and strength gave them. It will thus be seen that as yet
they were pretty well matched. Numbers were in favor of the gipsies, but
courage was equally distributed, and, perhaps, what is emphatically
called "bottom," was in favor of the rustics. Be this as it may, from
what had already occurred, there was every prospect of a very serious
termination to the fray.

From time to time Turpin glanced to the entrance of the cell, in the
expectation of seeing Sir Luke Rookwood make his appearance; and, as he
was constantly disappointed in his expectation, he could not conceal his
chagrin. At length he resolved to despatch a messenger to him, and one
of the crew accordingly departed upon this errand. He returned presently
with a look of blank dismay.

In our hasty narrative of the fight we have not paused to particularize,
neither have we enumerated, the list of the combatants. Amongst them,
however, were Jerry Juniper, the knight of Malta, and Zoroaster.
Excalibur, as may be conceived, had not been idle; but that trenchant
blade had been shivered by Ranulph Rookwood in the early stage of the
business, and the knight left weaponless. Zoroaster, who was not merely
a worshipper of fire, but a thorough milling-cove, had engaged to some
purpose in a pugilistic encounter with the rustics; and, having fought
several rounds, now "bore his blushing honors thick upon him." Jerry,
like Turpin, had remained tolerably quiescent. "The proper moment," he
said, "had not arrived." A fatality seemed to attend Turpin's immediate
companions. Rust was the first who fell; Wilder also was now among the
slain. Things were precisely in this condition when the messenger
returned. A marked change was instantly perceptible in Turpin's manner.
He no longer looked on with indifference. He seemed angry and
distrustful. He gnawed his lip, ever a sign with him of vexation.
Addressing a few words to those about him, he then spoke more loudly to
the rest of the crew. Being in the jargon of the tawny tribe, his words
were not intelligible to the opposite party; but their import was soon
made known by the almost instant and total relinquishment of the field
by the gipsies. They took to their heels at once, to a man, leaving only