Without reply Edgar proceeded along the road; and they had nearly reached the stile of which Oldkirk spoke, when four or five men and a little boy sprang out from the hedge upon them. Two of them seized Edgar by the collar; and though he made an effort to shake himself free, it is probable he would have offered no violent resistance if Oldkirk had not struck violently right and left, knocking down one of the assailants, and severely hurting another. The men struck again in their own defence, and a general scuffle took place, in the midst of which, without knowing from what hand it came, Edgar received a severe blow on the head from a stick. The fire flashed from his eyes, his brain seemed to reel, and everything passing from his sight, he fell senseless to the ground. When Mr. Adelon recovered his recollection, he could not for some minutes conceive where he was, for all the objects around were new and strange to him. He was stretched upon a bed in a large but low-roofed room, with a woman and two men standing by him, and applying some cold lotions to his head. His brain seemed confused and dizzy, and a violent aching pain over his brows showed him that he had been very severely handled. The remembrance of all that had occurred came back to him almost immediately; and turning to one of the men, he demanded where he was, and why he had been so assaulted. "You are at Farmer Grange's for the present, master," replied the man; "and no one would have hurt you, if you had not resisted. We came out to get hold of a party of those Chartists who are charged with being concerned in that business at Barhampton, and if you choose to go consorting with them, you must take the consequences." "Have you a warrant?" demanded Edgar, raising himself on the bed. "We've got warrants against five or six on 'em," answered the man; "Martin Oldkirk, Neddy Lane, Eaton, and others." "Have you a warrant against me?" demanded Edgar; "though I need not ask the question, for I know very well you have not." "As to that, I can't say," was the man's answer, "for I don't know who you are yet; but you were consorting with one of 'em, at all events." "You know very well that I am Sir Arthur Adelon's son," replied the young gentleman; "and I demand that you show me your warrant against me. If you have one, I shall submit to the law, of course; but if you have not, I insist upon your suffering me to go home directly." "That I shan't do, you may be sure," said the man. "I don't know who you are, or anything about you; and I shall wait till the constable of the hundred comes back, at all events. He's gone to Barhampton to find a surgeon for your head, that you would have broke, whether we liked it or no. He won't be long, I dare say, and you must stay quiet till he returns."