The pikemen struggled on, apparently fatigued by the heat of the day. Drake touched my arm and whispered: "Be ready!" I was all alertness, waiting for the signal to break away.
Suddenly Felgate staggered, as if seized with faintness, and fell on his hands and knees. The soldier immediately behind, unable to check himself, fell over him; then, with a loud cry of "Now!" Felgate jumped to his feet, and, followed by us, rushed off towards the nearest dyke.
Our guards, to our surprise, did not attempt to follow us; instead, they stood looking at us, till, at a command from the sergeant, they spread out, some remaining still, the rest marching slowly in both directions along the road.
Wondering at this manoeuvre we still ran, looking backwards at intervals. When close to the dyke we saw that the pikemen had extended over a distance of one hundred yards, and were now making their way in a long straggling line straight for the dyke.
We redoubled our efforts, climbed up the soft sandy embankment, and gained the top. Here we found that a broad ditch barred our progress. "On, lads, on!" cried Felgate. "These scurvy pikemen will never dare cross this with the weight of their accoutrements."
Carried away by his words, we dashed down the slope of the dyke, only to find, too late, that a broad belt of liquid mud, thickly interspersed with sedge, lay betwixt us and the water. In a moment we were all struggling up to our waists in the impenetrable ooze.
At length, worn out by our fruitless endeavours to extricate ourselves, we waited motionless in the slime till the grinning faces of the pikemen appeared above the bank. By this time we had sunk nearly to our shoulders; but by the aid of the men's pikes we were hauled on to dry land, amid the coarse jests and laughter of our rescuers.
We were in a truly miserable plight, the mud clinging to our wet garments like pitch, while the stench was abominable. To complete our discomfiture, the sergeant tapped his petronel significantly and exclaimed in perfect English: "Now, sirrahs, you will perceive that escape is no easy matter. Another attempt and I'll warrant ye will not fare half so lightly."
We gazed on him in amazement; then Drake exclaimed: "My man, if thou'rt not a renegade, then may I not see England again!"
"As you will," rejoined the sergeant, and ordered the men to fall in. Then we regained the highway and resumed our weary way.