The men, about fifteen in number, who had been in company with Grenville, considered that Chaloner's advice was good, and without ceremony set off, with their horses' heads to the northward, leaving Chaloner, Edward, and Grenville together on the field of the affray. About a dozen men were lying on the ground, either dead or severely wounded: seven of them were of the king's party, and the other five of the Parliamentary troops.
"Now, what I propose," said Edward, "is this: let us do what we can for those who are wounded, and then strip off the dresses and accouterments of those Parliamentary dragoons who are dead, and dress ourselves in them, accouterments and all. We can then pass through the country in safety, as we shall be supposed to be one of the parties looking for the king."
"That is a good idea," replied Chaloner, "and the sooner it is done the better."
"Well," said Edward, wiping his sword, which he still held drawn, and then sheathing it, "I will take the spoils of this fellow nearest to me: he fell by my hand, and I am entitled to them by the laws of war and chivalry; but first, let us dismount and look to the wounded."
They tied their horses to a tree, and having given what assistance they could to the wounded men, they proceeded to strip three of the Parliamentary troopers; and then laying aside their own habiliments, they dressed themselves in the uniform of the enemy, and, mounting their horses, made all haste from the place. Having gained about twelve miles, they pulled up their horses, and rode at a more leisurely pace. It was now eight o'clock in the evening, but still not very dark; they therefore rode on another five miles, till they came to a small village, where they dismounted at an ale-house, and put their horses into the stable.
"We must be insolent and brutal in our manners, or we shall be suspected."
"Very true," said Grenville, giving the hostler a kick, and telling him to bestir himself, if he did not want his ears cropped.
They entered the ale-house, and soon found out they were held in great terror. They ordered every thing of the best to be produced, and threatened to set fire to the house if it was not; they turned the man and his wife out of their bed, and all three went to sleep in it; and, in short, they behaved in such an arbitrary manner, that nobody doubted that they were Cromwell's horse. In the morning they set off again by Chaloner's advice, paying for nothing that they had ordered, although they had all of them plenty of money. They now rode fast, inquiring at the places which they passed through, whether any fugitives had been seen, and, if they came to a town, inquiring, before they entered, whether there were any Parliamentary troops. So well did they manage, that after four days they had gained the skirts of the New Forest, and concealed themselves in a thicket till night-time, when Edward proposed that he should conduct his fellow-travelers to the cottage, where he would leave them till his plans were adjusted.
Edward had already arranged his plans. His great object was to ward off any suspicion of where he had been, and, of course, any idea that the intendant had been a party to his acts; and the fortunate change of his dress enabled him now to do so with success. He had decided to conduct his two friends to the cottage that night, and the next morning to ride over in his Parliamentary costume to the intendant's house, and bring the first news of the success of Cromwell and the defeat at Worcester; by which stratagem it would appear as if he had been with the Parliamentary, and not with the Jacobite, army.
As they had traveled along, they found that the news of Cromwell's success had not yet arrived: in those times there was not the rapidity of communication that we now have, and Edward thought it very probable that he would be the first to communicate the intelligence to the intendant and those who resided near him.