ark ye, if I
were to draw up my men in military fashion it would invite attention and
attack from any of James Stuart's horse who may come our way. It is my
desire to bring my flock to the camp and obtain pieces for them before
exposing them to so unequal a contest.'

'Truly, sir, it is a wise resolution,' said Saxon grimly, 'for if a
troop of horse came down upon these good people the pastor would find
himself without his flock.'

'Nay, that could never be!' cried Master Pettigrue with fervour. 'Say
rather that pastor, flock, and all would find their way along the thorny
track of martyrdom to the new Jerusalem. Know, friend, that I have come
from Monmouth in order to conduct these men to his standard. I received
from him, or rather from Master Ferguson, instructions to be on the
lookout for ye and for several others of the faithful we expect to join
us from the East. By what route came ye?'

'Over Salisbury Plain and so through Bruton.'

'And saw ye or met ye any of our people upon the way?'

'None,' Saxon answered. 'We left the Blue Guards at Salisbury, however,
and we saw either them or some other horse regiment near this side of
the Plain at the village of Mere.'

'Ah, there is a gathering of the eagles,' cried Master Joshua Pettigrue,
shaking his head. 'They are men of fine raiment, with war-horses and
chariots and trappings, like the Assyrians of old, yet shall the angel
of the Lord breathe upon them in the night. Yea, He shall cut them off
utterly in His wrath, and they shall be destroyed.'

'Amen! Amen!' cried as many of the peasants as were within earshot.

'They have elevated their horn, Master Pettigrue,' said the
grizzly-haired Puritan. 'They have set up their candlestick on high--the
candlestick of a perverse ritual and of an idolatrous service. Shall it
not be dashed down by the hands of the righteous?'

'Lo, this same candle waxed big and burned sooty, even as an offence to
the nostrils, in the days of our fathers,' cried a burly red-faced man,
whose dress proclaimed him to be one of the yeoman class. 'So was it
when Old Noll did get his snuffing shears to work upon it. It is a wick
which can only be trimmed by the sword of the faithful.' A grim laugh
from the whole party proclaimed their appreciation of the pious waggery
of their companion.

'Ah, Brother Sandcroft,' cried the pastor, 'there is much sweetness and
manna hidden in thy conversation. But the way is long and dreary. Shall
we not li