Sentence:  “A see T'm Baak'll,” the Bantam recommenced, and again the contortions of a horrible wink were directed at Richard. The boy might well believe this <WSD>churl</WSD> was lying, and he did, and was emboldened to exclaim— / “You never saw Tom Bakewell set fire to that rick!” 
Meaning of the word marked with <WSD> tags:  A rustic; a countryman or labourer; a free peasant (as opposed to a serf).