When it came within ten yards of the fences, it doubted itself suddenly after the manner of crowds. It stopped, surged back, and mumbled7. "Down with the fences!" shouted someone—"Long live the Squire8!" shouted someone else. Then there was a pause, almost a silence.
Suddenly a great hullish lad sprang forward, rushed up to one of the fence-stakes, and flung it with a tangle9 of wire into the air.
"Down wud Bardon!"
The spell of doubt was broken. A dozen others sprang towards the palings, a dozen more were after them to smite10. The workmen swung their tools. The fight began.
It was a real battle with defences and sallies. The supporters of the Inclosure miraculously11 knotted together, and formed a guard for the labourers, who with hammers ready alternately for nail or head, bent12 to their work. They had no personal concern in the matter, but they resented being meddled13 with.
The Squire's party was much the weakest in numbers,[Pg 9] but luck had given it the best weapons of that chance armament. Alce of Ellenwhorne had a fine knobbed stick, worth a dozen of the enemy's, while Lewnes of Coldblow had an excellent broken bottle. Young Elphee had been through the bruiser-mill, and routed his assailants with successive upper-cuts. The anti-Bardonites, on the other hand, were inclined to waste their strength; they fought in a congested, rabblesome way; also they threw their bottles, not realising that a bottle is much better as a club than a missile. The result was that quite early in the conflict their ammunition14 gave out, and they were reduced to sticks and fists.
This made the two parties fairly equal, and the tide of battle ebbed15 and flowed. Now a bit of fence was put up, then it was torn down again; now it looked as if the fence-builders were going to be swept off the Moor16, then it looked as if their posts were going to straggle up to Totease.
The Fair was quite deserted17, the tenants18 of Socknersh and Totease climbed to their windows. Someone fetched the constable19 from Peasmarsh, but after surveying the battlefield from a distance he strategically retired20. At Flightshot Manor the Squire was troubled. The Inclosure of Boarzell had been no piece of land-grabbing on his part, but a move for the good of his estate. He had always wanted to improve his tenants' condition, but had been thwarted21 by lack of means. He wondered if he ought to give orders to stop the fence-building.
"Sir, that would be folly22!" cried his son.
"But it seems that there's a regular riot going on—quite a number of people have been hurt, and two ploughlands trodden up. Kadwell went over, but says he can do nothing."
"Send to Rye, then. Let 'em swear in some special constables23, and drive the fellows off. But as for[Pg 10] stopping the work—that would be to play into their hands."
So the fight raged on, the Battle of Boarzell. Unfortunately it did not rage on Boarzell itself, but on its fruitful fringe, where the great ploughfields lapped up to the base of the Moor, taking the sunset on their wet brown ridges24. Poor Ginner's winter wheat was all pulped25 and churned to ruin, and the same doom26 fell on Ditch's roots. Sometimes it seemed as if the Squire's men would attain27 their object, for the fence—very tottery28 and uncertain, it must be confessed—had wound a bit of the way past Totease towards Odiam. Dusk had fallen, but the men still worked, for their blood was up.
However, the Squire's party began to feel their lack of numbers; they were growing tired, their arms swung less confidently, and then Lewnes' bottle was broken right up at the neck, cutting his hand. He shouted that he was bleeding to death, and frightened the others. Someone sent a stone into Alce's eye. Then he too made a terrible fuss, threw down his stick, and ran about bleeding among the workmen.
The ground, soft with autumn rains, was now one great mud broth29, and the men were daubed and spattered with it even to their hair. The attackers pressed on the wavering ring—one of the fence-builders was hit, and pitched down, taking a post and a whole trail of wire over with him—about thirty yards of fence came down with the pull, and flopped30 into the mud. The ring broke.
"Hop31 it, lads!" shouted a workman. Their protectors were gone, mixed indescribably with their assailants. They must run, or they would be lynched.
A hundred yards off a Totease barn-door gaped32, and the workmen sprinted33 for it. In the darkness they were able to reach it without losing more than one of their number, who fell down and had the wit to pretend to be dead. The crowd seethed34 after them, but the door was shut, and the heavy bolts rattled35 behind it.
The barn was part of the farmhouse36, and from one of the upper windows Ditch, furious at having his roots messed up, made pantomime to the effect that he would shoot any man who came further than the yard.
It was then for the first time that Reuben was frightened. Hitherto there had been too much violence and confusion for him to feel intensely, even rage. He had thrown stones, and had once been hit by a stone—a funny dull sore pain on his shoulder, and then the feeling of something sticky under his shirt. But he had never felt afraid, never taken any initiative, just run and struggled and shouted with the rest. Now he was frightened—it would be dreadful if the farmer fired into that thick sweating mass in the midst of which he was jammed.
Then, just because he was afraid, he flung up his arm, and the stone he had been grasping crashed into Ditch's window, sending the splintering glass into the room. He had no thought of doing it, scarcely knew he had done it—it was just because he was horribly frightened.
The next moment there was a bang, and Ditch's gun scattered37 duck-shot into the crowd. Men yelled, fought, struggled, stumbled about with their arms over their faces. For a moment nothing but panic moved them, but the next rage took its place. A volley of stones answered the gun, which being an old one and requiring careful loading, could not be brought into action again for some minutes.
"Burn him down!—Burn him down!—the hemmed38 murderer!"
Then began a regular siege. Stones showered upon the farmhouse roof, the shiver of broken glass tinkled39 through the dull roar of the attackers, groans40 and screams answered the bursting bang of the shot-gun. Men began to seize faggots from the wood-pile, and run with them towards the house. Then some tore up a haystack, but the wind caught the hay and blew it[Pg 12] everywhere, flinging swathes and streamers of it into the rioters' faces, giving them sudden armfuls of it, making their noses and eyes smart with the dust and litter.
It was quite dark now. The hulk of Boarzell loomed41 black behind the struggle, its fir crown standing42 out against a great wall of starless sky. Then suddenly something began to blaze—no one seemed to know what, for it was behind the crowd; but it roared and crackled, and sparks and great burning strands43 flew out from it, threatening house and besiegers alike with destruction.
They had piled the faggots against the door of the barn. The workmen inside were tumbling about in the dark, half ignorant of what was going on.
"Bring a light!" called someone. A boy dashed up with a handful of flaming straw—it blew out of his hand and flared44 away over the roof, scattering45 showers of sparks. A man yelled out that his shirt was burning. "Bring a light!" someone called again. Then someone else shouted—"The constables from Rye!"
The crowd ebbed back like a wave, carrying Reuben, now screaming and terrified, towards where something unknown burned with horrible crackles and roaring.
"The constables from Rye!"
The crowd was like a boa-constrictor, it seemed to fold itself round him, smashing his ribs. He screamed, half suffocated46. His forehead was blistered47 with heat. Again the crowd constricted48. A dizziness came this time with the suffocation49, and strange to say, as consciousness was squeezed out of him like wind out of a bellows50, he had one last visit of that furious hate which had made him join the battle—hate of those who had robbed his father of Boarzell, and hate of Boarzell itself, because he would never be able to tame it as one tames a bull with a ring in its nose.
He choked, and fell into the darkness.
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1
leasehold
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| n.租赁，租约，租赁权，租赁期，adj.租(来)的 | |
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manor
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| n.庄园，领地 | |
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3
tilting
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| 倾斜，倾卸 | |
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4
clattering
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| 发出咔哒声（clatter的现在分词形式） | |
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5
thumping
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| adj.重大的，巨大的；重击的；尺码大的；极好的adv.极端地；非常地v.重击(thump的现在分词)；狠打；怦怦地跳；全力支持 | |
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6
ribs
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| n.肋骨( rib的名词复数 )；（船或屋顶等的）肋拱；肋骨状的东西；（织物的）凸条花纹 | |
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7
mumbled
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| 含糊地说某事，叽咕，咕哝( mumble的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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8
squire
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| n.护卫, 侍从, 乡绅 | |
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9
tangle
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| n.纠缠；缠结；混乱；v.(使)缠绕；变乱 | |
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10
smite
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| v.重击；彻底击败；n.打；尝试；一点儿 | |
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11
miraculously
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| ad.奇迹般地 | |
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12
bent
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| n.爱好，癖好；adj.弯的；决心的，一心的 | |
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13
meddled
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| v.干涉，干预（他人事务）( meddle的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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14
ammunition
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| n.军火，弹药 | |
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15
ebbed
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| （指潮水）退( ebb的过去式和过去分词 )； 落； 减少； 衰落 | |
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16
moor
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| n.荒野，沼泽；vt.(使)停泊；vi.停泊 | |
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17
deserted
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| adj.荒芜的，荒废的，无人的，被遗弃的 | |
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18
tenants
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| n.房客( tenant的名词复数 )；佃户；占用者；占有者 | |
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19
constable
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| n.(英国)警察，警官 | |
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20
retired
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| adj.隐退的，退休的，退役的 | |
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21
thwarted
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| 阻挠( thwart的过去式和过去分词 )； 使受挫折； 挫败； 横过 | |
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22
folly
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| n.愚笨，愚蠢，蠢事，蠢行，傻话 | |
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23
constables
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| n.警察( constable的名词复数 ) | |
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24
ridges
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| n.脊( ridge的名词复数 )；山脊；脊状突起；大气层的)高压脊 | |
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25
pulped
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| 水果的肉质部分( pulp的过去式和过去分词 )； 果肉； 纸浆； 低级书刊 | |
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26
doom
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| n.厄运，劫数；v.注定，命定 | |
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27
attain
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| vt.达到，获得，完成 | |
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28
tottery
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| adj.蹒跚的，摇摇欲倒 | |
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29
broth
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| n.原(汁)汤(鱼汤、肉汤、菜汤等) | |
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30
flopped
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| v.（指书、戏剧等）彻底失败( flop的过去式和过去分词 )；（因疲惫而）猛然坐下；（笨拙地、不由自主地或松弛地）移动或落下；砸锅 | |
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31
hop
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| n.单脚跳，跳跃；vi.单脚跳，跳跃；着手做某事；vt.跳跃，跃过 | |
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32
gaped
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| v.目瞪口呆地凝视( gape的过去式和过去分词 )；张开，张大 | |
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33
sprinted
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| v.短距离疾跑( sprint的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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34
seethed
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| （液体）沸腾( seethe的过去式和过去分词 )； 激动，大怒； 强压怒火； 生闷气(~with sth|~ at sth) | |
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35
rattled
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| 慌乱的，恼火的 | |
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36
farmhouse
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| n.农场住宅（尤指主要住房） | |
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37
scattered
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| adj.分散的，稀疏的；散步的；疏疏落落的 | |
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38
hemmed
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| 缝…的褶边( hem的过去式和过去分词 )； 包围 | |
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39
tinkled
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| （使）发出丁当声，（使）发铃铃声( tinkle的过去式和过去分词 )； 叮当响着发出，铃铃响着报出 | |
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40
groans
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| n.呻吟，叹息( groan的名词复数 )；呻吟般的声音v.呻吟( groan的第三人称单数 )；发牢骚；抱怨；受苦 | |
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41
loomed
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| v.隐约出现，阴森地逼近( loom的过去式和过去分词 )；隐约出现，阴森地逼近 | |
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42
standing
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| n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的 | |
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43
strands
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| n.（线、绳、金属线、毛发等的）股( strand的名词复数 )；缕；海洋、湖或河的)岸；（观点、计划、故事等的）部份v.使滞留，使搁浅( strand的第三人称单数 ) | |
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44
Flared
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| adj. 端部张开的, 爆发的, 加宽的, 漏斗式的 动词flare的过去式和过去分词 | |
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45
scattering
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| n.[物]散射；散乱，分散；在媒介质中的散播adj.散乱的；分散在不同范围的；广泛扩散的；（选票）数量分散的v.散射(scatter的ing形式)；散布；驱散 | |
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46
suffocated
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| （使某人）窒息而死( suffocate的过去式和过去分词 )； （将某人）闷死； 让人感觉闷热； 憋气 | |
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47
blistered
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| adj.水疮状的，泡状的v.（使）起水泡( blister的过去式和过去分词 )；（使表皮等）涨破，爆裂 | |
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48
constricted
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| adj.抑制的，约束的 | |
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49
suffocation
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| n.窒息 | |
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50
bellows
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| n.风箱；发出吼叫声，咆哮（尤指因痛苦）( bellow的名词复数 )；（愤怒地）说出（某事），大叫v.发出吼叫声，咆哮（尤指因痛苦）( bellow的第三人称单数 )；（愤怒地）说出（某事），大叫 | |
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