He called out sturdily, 'Who goes there?' Upon
which Richard Pendrell answered, 'Neighbours going home,' or
suchlike words. Whereupon the miller cried out: 'If you be
neighbours, stand, or I will knock you down.' Upon which, we
believing there was company in the house, Richard bade me follow
him close, and he ran to a gate that went up a dirty lane up a
hill. The miller cried out: 'Rogues--rogues!' And thereupon
some men came out of the mill after us, which I believe were
soldiers; so we fell a-running, both of us up the lane as long as
we could run, it being very deep and very dirty, till at last I
bade him leap over a hedge, and lie still to hear if anybody
followed us--which we did, and continued lying down upon the
ground about half an hour, when, hearing nobody come, we
continued our way."
This led to the house of an honest gentleman named Woolfe, living
at Madeley, who was a Catholic, and loyal to his king, and as
such was known to the Pendrells. When they drew near to his
house, Richard, leaving his majesty in a field, went forward and
asked this worthy man if he would shelter one who had taken part
in the battle of Worcester; whereon he made answer he would not
venture his neck for any man unless it were the king himself,
upon which Pendrell made known to him it was his majesty who
sought refuge from him. Mr. Woolfe came out immediately and
carried the king by a back way into a barn, where he hid him for
the day, it being considered unsafe for him to stay a longer
period there, as two companies of militia were at that time
stationed in the town, and were very likely to search the house
at any minute.
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