Posted by Iain on May 23, 2006 at 17:04:10 from 194.66.208.11 user Bulldozerman.
In Reply to: Re: Fact stranger than fiction posted by Jock on May 23, 2006 at 16:45:51:
Thanks Jock,
I will have to check that out which book the reference is from.
The incident goes roughly like this: The Swallows are heading cross country towards Beckfoot and are getting cautious as they near Beckfoot as they are expecting an Amazon trick or ambush. They duck down behind the hedge when they see two figures on horseback coming down the road towards them, which from the wording used by AR, is implied as being the Amazon pirates. Don't forget Beckfoot was and is fairly isolated on that stretch of lake shore.
You may be right in that it could have been two other riders seen by the Swallows and AR does not say whether the riders were going towards or away from Beckfoot. With AR you don't always know if something he mentions is just there for scene setting or there for a purpose. Like the horse drawn wagon of timber spotted by the Swallows in one of the books which turns up again later. He didn't signpost the first sighting of that either.