The reply was a bullet, that struck Bishop below the ear.  He stood straight up, gave one yell, and tumbled over.  Scudamore ran towards the mare, hoping to catch her and be off ere the roundhead could recover himself.  But, although Bishop had fallen on his leg, Richard was unhurt.  He lay still and watched.  Lady seemed bewildered, and Rowland coming softly up, seized her bridle, and sprung into the saddle.  The same moment Richard gave his cry a second time, and again up went Rowland in the air, and Lady came trotting daintily to her master, scared, but obedient.  Rowland fell on his back, and before he came to himself, Richard had drawn his leg from under his slain charger, and his sword from its sheath.  And now first he perceived who his antagonist was, and a pang went to his heart at the remembrance of his father’s words.

‘Mr. Scudamore,’ he cried, ’I would thou hadst not stolen my mare, so that I might fight with thee in a Christian fashion.’

‘Roundhead scoundrel!’ gasped Scudamore, wild with wrath.  ’Thy unmannerly varlet tricks shall cost thee dear.  Thou a soldier?  A juggler with a mountebank jade—­a vile hackney which thou hast taught to caper!  A soldier indeed!’

‘A soldier and seatless!’ returned Richard.  ’A soldier and rail!  A soldier and steal my mare, then shoot my horse!  Bah! an’ the rest were like thee, we might take the field with dog-whips.’

Scudamore drew a pistol from his belt, and glanced towards the mare.

‘An’ thou lift thine arm, I will kill thee,’ cried Richard.  ’What! shall a man not teach his horse lest the thief should find him not broke to his taste?  Besides, did I not give thee warning while yet I judged thee an honest man, and a thief but in jest?  Go thy ways.  I shall do my country better service by following braver men than by taking thee.  Get thee back to thy master.  An’ I killed thee, I should do him less hurt than I would.  See yonder how thy master’s horse do knot and scatter!’

He approached Lady to mount and ride away.

But Rowland, who had now with the help of his anger recovered from the effects of his fall, rushed at Richard with drawn sword.  The contest was brief.  With one heavy blow that beat down his guard and wounded him severely in the shoulder, dividing his collarbone, for he was but lightly armed, Richard stretched his antagonist on the ground; then seeing prince Rupert’s men returning, and sir Marmaduke’s in flight and some of them coming his way, he feared being surrounded, and leaping into the saddle, flew as if the wind were under him back to his regiment, reaching it just as in the first heat of pursuit.  Cromwell called them back, and turned them upon the rear of the royalist infantry.

This decided the battle.  Ere Rupert returned, the affair was so hopeless that not even the entreaties of the king could induce his cavalry to form again and charge.

His majesty retreated to Leicester and Hereford.