the mud. Elizabeth shouted encouragement to the ox. One of her brothers pushed on the back of the wagon and one brother pulled on a rope around the head of the ox in the hope of guiding the ox to stay on the road. After much struggle, they reached the top of the small hill. Being afraid to attempt a decent on the other side and also knowing that there were other similar hills, coupled with the fact that it was getting dark, with no indication of a let up on the rain, they decided to stop for the night.
They were in a small wooded area now and so there was no stone fence near the side of the road. Elizabeth directed the ox off the roadway and under a large oak tree. The ground away from the road was covered with grass and the wagon was easier to manage. Elizabeth was wishing that the entire road was covered with grass.
The large oak tree provided some shelter from the rain and the family gathered tightly beneath the wagon. There would be no fire tonight, since all of the wood was wet. They silently ate some bread and cheese and did their best to stay warm and dry. It was so very cold though.
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Because of the rain, Bromley was not progressing as quickly as he had hoped. He was slipping in the mud occasionally and had fallen three times. He wanted desperately to stop and find a hollow tree or a ledge of some sort for shelter. His dedication to finding Elizabeth and his fear of being colder still if he stopped, kept him moving one foot in front of the other.
The night was very dark. The thick blanket of clouds blocked out all evidence of the moon. The night was made darker still because he was now traveling beneath a thick canopy of trees. 'Was this the Sherwood Forest?' he wondered. He found himself listening very intently to his surroundings for fear of robbers. Suddenly, a dark figure moved across the road in front of him. He was startled and almost let out a gasp, but managed to hold it in. He stopped and froze motionless in the road and then he realized that it had been a deer. Initially, he was relieved, but then he wondered what had scared the deer, why was it running? He didn't have to wonder for long.
'Drop your bag, or I will slit your throat,' a gruff voice ordered from right behind him.
Bromley felt the pointed edge of a knife in the small of his back. He had never been in such a situation and now that he was, he was very frightened. He dropped the rolled blanket that he was carrying and started to run. He hadn't gone two steps when he ran into another person that stepped in front of him. He hadn't even seen this person standing off to the side. Bromley hit him with such force that it knocked the second robber off his feet and they both rolled through the mud. Bromley leapt to his feet and ran. He could hardly see the road or the trees. He didn't know whether the robbers were chasing him or not, so he kept running and slipping. He stayed on the road for fear of tripping over rocks or running into trees. Finally, he could run no more. He quickly got off the road and hid in a bush beneath a tree and waited. His heart beat furiously within his chest. After some time, he was more calm and decided to stay put for the night.
Morning couldn't come soon enough for Bromley. It had stopped raining in the early morning hours and he would have continued on the road, but now he was afraid to be seen on that road. As soon as it began to be light, he started on his way again staying in the trees and avoiding the road. After a short distance, he decided that his best course would now be to leave the road entirely and travel southwest toward the route between Stamford and Melton Mowbray. He decided that would be the only way that he would be able to catch up with Elizabeth. This seemed the best course because of the time that he had lost time during night and also because he now had no food and would need to start working his way back to Easton-on-the-hill soon regardless of whether he was successful in