'He hath chosen to break it, and must pay forfeit.' As he spoke I saw the young officer lean gradually over in his saddle, until, when about half-way back to his friends, he lost his balance and fell heavily in the roadway, turning over two or three times with the force of his fall, and lying at last still and motionless, a dust-coloured heap.

A loud yell of rage broke from the troopers at the sight, which was answered by a shout of defiance from the Puritan peasantry.
'Down on your faces!' cried Saxon; 'they are about to fire.' The crackle of musketry and a storm of bullets, pinging on the hard ground, or cutting twigs from the hedges on either side of us, lent emphasis to our leader's order.

Many of the peasants crouched behind the feather beds and tables which had been pulled out of the cart.

Some lay in the waggon itself, and some sheltered themselves behind or underneath it.

Others again lined the ditches on either side or lay flat upon the roadway, while a few showed their belief in the workings of Providence by standing upright without flinching from the bullets.