Right you are, Wandering Minstrel. Here's a quote from the novel, copied from Project Gutenberg of Australia:

Title:      Katherine Christian (1944)
Author:    Hugh Walpole

These two faced one another and arched hands; then the children one
by one came up and chose on which side they would be. They
whispered either to the girl or to John and then took their place
beside the one or the other. When the two strings of boys and
girls were complete, they proceeded, first the one line and then
the other, under the arched hands, and all sang together:

    'How many miles to Barley Bridge?
          Three score and ten.
    Can I get there by candle-light?
          Yes, if your legs be long.
    A curtsey to you, and a curtsey to you,
    If you please, will you let the King's horses through?
    Through and through shall they go for the King's sake,
    But the one that is hindmost shall meet with a great mistake.'

As they ran through, the girl and John had to catch the last one by
lowering their arms.