"My orders is," he said again, "to arrest them as don't bow down to the
hat, and for two pins, young feller, I'll arrest you. So which is it to
be? Either you bow down to that there hat or you come along of me."

   Tell pushed him aside, and walked on with his chin in the air. Walter
went with him, with his chin in the air.

   A howl of dismay went up from the crowd as they saw Friesshardt raise
his pike and bring it down with all his force on Tell's head. The sound
of the blow went echoing through the meadow and up the hills and down
the valleys.

   [Illustration: PLATE V]

   "Ow!" cried Tell.

   "

    Now

   ," thought the crowd, "things must begin to get exciting."

   Tell's first idea was that one of the larger mountains in the
neighbourhood had fallen on top of him. Then he thought that there must
have been an earthquake. Then it gradually dawned upon him that he had
been hit by a mere common soldier with a pike. Then he

    was

   angry.

   "Look here!" he began.

   "Look there!" said Friesshardt, pointing to the cap.

   [Illustration: PLATE VI]

   "You've hurt my head very much," said Tell. "Feel the bump. If I hadn't
happened to have a particularly hard head I don't know what might not

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