Gessler came riding up on his brown horse, and the crowd melted away in all directions, for there was no knowing what the Governor might not do if he found them plotting. They were to rebel and to throw off his tyrannous , but they preferred to do it quietly and comfortably, when he was nowhere near.  
So they ran away to the edge of the meadow, and stood there in groups, waiting to see what was going to happen. Not even Ulric the smith and Ruodi the fisherman waited, though they knew quite well that Tell had not nearly finished his speech. They set the down, and began to walk away, trying to look as if they had been doing nothing in particular, and were going to go on doing it--only somewhere else.
 
Tell was left alone in the middle of the meadow by the pole. He scorned to run away like the others, but he did not at all like the look of things. Gessler was a stern man, quick to punish any insult, and there were two of his soldiers lying on the ground with their nice all spoiled and , and his own cap on top of the pole had an arrow right through the middle of it, and would never look the same again, however much it might be patched. It seemed to Tell that there was a bad time coming.
 
Gessler rode up, and in his horse.
 
"Now then, now then, now then!" he said, in his quick, way. "What's this? what's this? what's this?"
 
(When a man repeats what he says three times, you can see that he is not in a good temper.)
 
Friesshardt and Leuthold got up, , and limped slowly towards him. They halted beside his horse, and stood to attention. The tears down their cheeks.
 
"Come, come, come!" said Gessler; "tell me all about it."
 
And he patted Friesshardt on the head. Friesshardt .
 
Gessler to one of his courtiers.
 
"Have you a handkerchief?" he said.
 
"I have a handkerchief, your Excellency."
 
"Then dry this man's eyes."
 
The courtier did as he was bidden.
 
"Now," said Gessler, when the drying was done, and Friesshardt's tears had ceased, "what has been happening here? I heard a cry of 'Help!' as I came up. Who cried 'Help!'?"
 
"Please, your lordship's noble Excellencyship," said Friesshardt, "it was me, Friesshardt."
 
"You should say, 'It was I,'" said Gessler. "Proceed."
 
"Which I am a loyal servant of your Excellency's, and in your Excellency's army, and seeing as how I was told to stand by this 'ere pole and guard that there hat, I stood by this 'ere pole, and guarded that there hat--all day, I did, your Excellency. And then up comes ............