The door through which I had burst like a opened straight into a sort of kitchen, so although I entered in a most undignified way, in fact on my hands and knees, I was well-established in the centre of the room before the man and woman emerged from behind the door, where my successful assault had thrown them. I stood up and faced them. They were a couple of ordinary, respectably-attired country people. The man, a sturdy, strong-built, bull-necked , stood at me, and, I concluded, making up his mind as to what course to pursue.
“My good people,” I said, “you are behaving in the most unheard-of manner. Can’t you understand that I mean to pay you well for any trouble I give you? But whether you like it or not, here I stay to-night. To turn me out would be sheer murder.”
So saying I pulled off my overcoat, and began shaking the snow out of my whiskers.
I dare say my attitude, my respectable, as well as my muscular appearance, impressed my hosts. Anyway, they gave in without more ado. Whilst the woman shut the door, through which the snow-flakes were whirling, the man said :
“Well, you’ll have to spend the night on a chair. We’ve no beds here for strangers. ’Specially those as ain’t wanted.”
“Very well, my friend. Having settled the matter you may as well make yourself pleasant. Go out and put my horse under cover, and give him a feed of some sort—make a if you can.”
After giving the woman a quick glance as of warning, my scowling host lit a horn lantern, and went on the errand I suggested. I gladly sank into a chair, and warmed myself before a cheerful fire. The of spending the night amid such was not , but I had, at least, a roof over my head.
As a rule, the more churlish the nature, the more it is found to be. My promise of liberal remuneration was, after all, not without its effect upon the strange couple whose refusal to afford me refuge had so nearly endangered my life. They to get me some tea and rough food. After I had disposed of all that, the man produced a bottle of gin. We filled our glasses, and then, with the aid of my pipe, I settled down to make the best of a night spent in a hard wooden chair.
I had come across strange people in my travels, but I have no in saying that my host was the sullenest, sulkiest, most of human nature I had as yet met with. In spite of his recent ill-treatment of me I was quite ready to establish matters on a friendly footing, and made several attempts to draw him into conversation. The would only answer in monosyllables, or often not answer at all. So I gave up talking as a bad job, and sat in silence, smoking and looking into the fire, thinking a good deal, it may be, of some one I should have met that morning at Lilymere had the wretched snow but kept off.
The long clock—that cumbrous eight-day machine which occupies one corner of every cottager’s kitchen—struck nine. The woman rose and left us. I concluded she was going to bed. If so, I envied her. Her husband showed no sign of retiring. He still sat over the fire, opposite me. By this time I was dreadfully[276] tired: every bone in my body ached. The hard chair which an hour or two ago, seemed all I could desire, now scarcely came up to my ideas of the comfort I was justly entitled to claim. My sulky companion had been drinking silently but . Perhaps the liquor he had poured into himself might have rendered his frame of mind more pleasant and to reason.
“My good fellow,” I said, “your chairs are excellent ones of the kind, but deucedly uncomfortable. I am horribly tired. If the resources of your establishment can’t furnish a bed for me to sleep in, couldn’t you find a or something to lay down before the fire?”
“You’ve got all you’ll get to-night,” he answered, knocking the ashes out his pipe.
“Oh, but I say!”
“So do I say. I say this: If you don’t like it you can leave it. We didn’t ask you to come.”
“You infernal beast,” I muttered—and meant it too—I declare had I not been so worn out, I would have had that bullet-headed ruffian up for a few rounds on his own kitchen floor, and tried to knock him into a more frame of mind.
“Never mind,” I said; “but, remember, civility costs nothing, and often gets rewarded. However, if you wish to retire to your own couch don’t let your native politeness stand in your way. Pray don’t hesitate on my account. Leave plenty of fuel, and I shall manage until morning.”
“Where you stay, I stay,” he answered. Then he filled his pipe, and once more relapsed into silence.
I bothered about him no more. I off for a few minutes—woke—dozed off again for some hours. I was in an uncomfortable sort of half sleep, full of curious dreams—dreams from which I started, wondering where I was and how I got there. I even began to grow nervous. All sorts of horrible travellers’ tales ran through my head. It was in just such places as this that unsuspecting voyagers were stated to have been murdered and robbed, by just such unmitigated ruffians as my host—I can tell you that altogether I spent a most pleasant night.
To make matters worse and more the storm still raged outside. The wind moaned through the trees, but it had again changed, and I knew from the sound on the window-panes that heavy rain had succeeded snow. As the big drops of water found their way down the large old-fashioned chimney, the fire and splutte............