ection, upon which Festus offered to
give information along the Casterbridge road. The German crossed over,
and was soon out of sight in the lane, while Festus turned back upon the
way by which he had come. The party of yeomanry cavalry was rapidly
drawing near, and he soon recognized among them the excited voices of
Stubb of Duddle Hole, Noakes of Muckleford, and other comrades of his
orgies at the hall. It was a magnificent opportunity, and Festus drew
his sword. When they were within speaking distance he reined round his
charger's head to Budmouth and shouted, 'On, comrades, on! I am waiting
for you. You have been a long time getting up with me, seeing the
glorious nature of our deeds to-day!'

'Well said, Derriman, well said!' replied the foremost of the riders.
'Have you heard anything new?'

'Only that he's here with his tens of thousands, and that we are to ride
to meet him sword in hand as soon as we have assembled in the town ahead
here.'

'O Lord!' said Noakes, with a slight falling of the lower jaw.

'The man who quails now is unworthy of the name of yeoman,' said Festus,
still keeping ahead of the other troopers and holding up his sword to the
sun. 'O Noakes, fie, fie! You begin to look pale, man.'

'Faith, perhaps you'd look pale,' said Noakes, with an envious glance
upon Festus's daring manner, 'if you had a wife and family depending upon
ye!'

'I'll take three frog-eating Frenchmen single-handed!' rejoined Derriman,
still flourishing his sword.

'They have as good swords as you; as you will soon find,' said another of
the yeomen.

'If they were three times armed,' said Festus--'ay, thrice three times--I
would attempt 'em three to one. How do you feel now, my old friend
Stubb?' (turning to another of the warriors.) 'O, friend Stubb! no
bouncing health to our lady-loves in Oxwell Hall this summer as last. Eh,
Brownjohn?'

'I am afraid not,' said Brownjohn gloomily.

'No rattling dinners at Stacie's Hotel, and the King below with his
staff. No wrenching off door-knockers and sending 'em to the bakehouse
in a pie that nobody calls for. Weeks of cut-and-thrust work rather!'

'I suppose so.'

'Fight how we may we shan't get rid of the cursed tyrant before autumn,
and many thousand brave men will lie low before it's done,' remarked a
young yeoman with a calm face, who meant to do his duty without much
talking.

'No grinning matches at Mai-dun Castle this summer,' Festus resumed; 'no