Tom Jones Book 9, Chapter 2

Containing a Very Surprizing Adventure Indeed, Which Mr. Jones Met With in his Walk With the Man of the Hill

• It's dawn, and Tom and the MotH (Man of the Hill) are walking.
• Tom hears a woman screaming from the woods at the base of the hill.
• He runs down to see what is that matter.
• He finds a half-naked woman with a man who appears to be strangling her with a garter from his stockings.
• Tom immediately grabs a stick and starts beating the man.
• Once the man is on the ground, the woman thanks Tom for saving her.
• Tom ties up the man's hands with his own garter.
• But we don't have to keep calling this guy "the man" because we now know who it is: it's none other than Northerton!
• Tom asks the woman if she has any spare clothes around.
• She doesn't: she's a stranger to these parts.
• Tom goes back to the MotH to ask him what he should do.
• The MotH advises Tom to go to nearby Upton with Northerton and the woman.
• As a side note: this village map of Upton is amazing; if you zoom out, you can also find Gloucester and the Cirencester Road (which Tom has been walking).
• From the perspective of the Google satellites, it doesn't look as though this corner of the country has changed all that much since 1749.
• When Tom returns from his conversation with the MotH, he finds that Northerton has run away.
• After all, Tom only tied the man's hands, not his legs.
• The woman can't stop staring at Tom.
• She insists that Tom accompany her to the nearest village.
• And she also (weirdly) refuses to wear the coat that Tom offers her.
• Tom promises her that he won't look at her (in case he gets overwhelmed by her naked breasts).
• So Tom walks on ahead of the woman with his eyes set firmly forward, and she follows him safely to Upton.