"But the roads are dangerous; beware!"
Osric rose; put on his tunic over a coat of light chain mail; girded his sword to his side; put on a leathern cap, padded inside with steel, for in those days prudent men never travelled unarmed; then he bade Judith farewell, and started for Dorchester, making for the Synodune Hills, beyond which well-known landmarks Dorchester lay, and beneath the hills was a ford across the Thames.
He had not gone far—not half a mile—when he heard a rustling of the branches beyond the brook, and a stern voice cried—
"Stand."
"Who art thou?" he cried.
"Good men and true, and thou art our prisoner."
"If so, come and take me."
"Wilt thou yield thyself unharmed, on the pledge that no harm is intended thee?"
"I will not. I know thee, Thorold: I seek Dorchester and my father."