The Story of William Wallace②

 Here is another story about the same young man.
    It was market day in the little town of Lanark, and the country people had come in from the farms around about to sell their produce to the townsfolk(镇民). Merchants set up their stalls by the town cross to sell clothes, knives, spice and wine. Tinkers（补工） came to mend pots. Fortune tellers and beggars joined the crowd. It was a busy day.
    The market crowd was watched by English soldiers. Into the market place of Lanark walked our young man. He was very tall, wearing a GREen coat, and he stood out in the crowd. People seemed to know him well, and some went up and talked to him. Others moved away, looking in fear at the English soldiers.
    “Who is that man?” a soldier asked one of the passers-by.
    “His name is Wallace, William Wallace, your honour. That's all I know.” The man hurried away.
    Soon there was a little crowd round the tall young man. Laughter rose up. Children gathered round. As the English soldiers looked on, one little boy put his hand behind his back and waggled（来回摇动） his fingers. They knew what that meant. When the Scots wanted to annoy the English, they pretended that English people had tails hidden under their clothes. This was enough to send the soldiers angrily forward to break up the crowd. One of them made a grab for the boy.
    “Leave him,” said the tall young man. His hand was on the hilt（柄） of his long sword.
    “Who might you be to give us orders?” demanded the soldier. He made a snatch for the young man's sword. With a clash of steel， the long sword was drawn and the soldier fell back. The little boy fled, and so did the townspeople and the stall-holders. Now only William Wallace was left facing the soldiers. They were too many for him. Sword in hand, he ran down the street, dodged(躲避) into a side street and knocked on the door of a woman he knew. She let him in.
    In a moment the soldiers were hammering at the door. The woman had barred it and pretended that she could not open it      again. In the end the Englishmen broke the door down and rushed into the house. But by then William Wallace had vanished through the back door and was in the safety of the woods outside the town. (未完待续)