d, all his dispositions being taken, he put himself at their
head, and began to move down the hill towards Shoreby.

His plan was simple. He was to seize a quarter of the town of Shoreby
lying on the right hand of the high-road, and make his position good
there in the narrow lanes until his reinforcements followed.

If Lord Risingham chose to retreat, Richard would follow upon his rear,
and take him between two fires; or, if he preferred to hold the town, he
would be shut in a trap, there to be gradually overwhelmed by force of
numbers.

There was but one danger, but that was imminent and great--Gloucester's
seven hundred might be rolled up and cut to pieces in the first
encounter, and, to avoid this, it was needful to make the surprise of
their arrival as complete as possible.

The footmen, therefore, were all once more taken up behind the riders,
and Dick had the signal honour meted out to him of mounting behind
Gloucester himself. For as far as there was any cover the troops moved
slowly, and when they came near the end of the trees that lined the
highway, stopped to breathe and reconnoitre.

The sun was now well up, shining with a frosty brightness out of a
yellow halo, and right over against the luminary, Shoreby, a field of
snowy roofs and ruddy gables, was rolling up its columns of morning
smoke.

Gloucester turned round to Dick.

"In that poor place," he said, "where people are cooking breakfast,
either you shall gain your spurs and I begin a life of mighty honour and
glory in the world's eye, or both of us, as I conceive it, shall fall
dead and be unheard of. Two Richards are we. Well then, Richard Shelton,
they shall be heard about, these two! Their swords shall not ring more
loudly on men's helmets than their names shall ring in people's ears."

Dick was astonished at so great a hunger after fame, expressed with so
great vehemence of voice and language; and he answered very sensibly and
quietly, that, for his part, he promised he would do his duty, and
doubted not of victory if every one did the like.

By this time the horses were well breathed, and the leader holding up
his sword and giving rein, the whole troop of chargers broke into the
gallop and thundered, with their double load of fighting men, down the
remainder of the hill and across the snow-covered plain that still
divided them from Shoreby.

FOOTNOTE:

[2] Richard Crookback would have been really far younger at this date.