TONY. Alack, mamma, it was all your own fault. You would be for running away by night, without knowing one inch of the way.
MRS. HARDCASTLE. I wish we were at home again. I never met so many accidents in so short a journey. Drenched in the mud, overturned in a ditch, stuck fast in a slough, jolted to a jelly, and at last to lose our way. Whereabouts do you think we are, Tony?
TONY. By my guess we should come upon Crackskull Common, about forty miles from home.
MRS. HARDCASTLE. O lud! O lud! The most notorious spot in all the country. We only want a robbery to make a complete night on’t.
TONY. Don’t be afraid, mamma, don’t be afraid. Two of the five that kept here are hanged, and the other three may not find us. Don’t be afraid.—Is that a man that’s galloping behind us? No; it’s only a tree.—Don’t be afraid.
MRS. HARDCASTLE. The fright will certainly kill me.
TONY. Do you see anything like a black hat moving behind the thicket?
MRS. HARDCASTLE. Oh, death!
TONY. No; it’s only a cow. Don’t be afraid, mamma; don’t be afraid.
MRS. HARDCASTLE. As I’m alive, Tony, I see a man coming towards us. Ah! I’m sure on’t. If he perceives us, we are undone.