After being confined for a week in the prison at Kirchheim Hector
was sent with a number of other prisoners to Ingolstadt. Here he
was confined in the castle, a separate room being allotted to him in
recognition of his rank, and Paolo was, at his request, allowed to
remain with him.
“I cannot but think, master, that we should have done better if you had
given your parole not to try to escape. In that case we might have had
comfortable quarters in the town instead of this somewhat bare chamber.
If there had been a chance of escape it would have been different,
but seeing the strength of the castle, methinks there is no prospect
whatever of our being able to get out.”
“That remains to be seen, Paolo. I fancy there is always a chance
of escape if one does but hit upon the right way. At present we know
nothing of the castle or the vigilance of the guard, and no doubt it
will take us some little time to find these matters out. The first
thing we require is patience. No doubt they will allow me out to take
exercise, and like enough, if I give my word that you will return every
day at a certain hour, they will allow you to go in to the town, seeing
that you can scarcely be called a prisoner, having no military rank or
position, but being in their eyes only a lackey. If they will do that it
will be a great step gained, for you will be able to bring in anything
that we may require. However, I will not ask that you should be
permitted to go in and out for some little time.
“Lose no opportunity of making yourself friendly with some of the
soldiers, and if the chance should occur, be useful to any of the
officers. The commandant is evidently disposed to be civil, and says
that he will grant me any indulgence in his power short of passing the
gates of the castle. I have no doubt that when the campaign is over and
the army has gone into winter quarters Turenne will offer to exchange
some prisoners of the same rank for me. But I have no wish to be cooped
up here when perhaps a great battle may be fought. As far as I can see,
the difficulty will not be so much in getting out of the castle, but
out of the town itself, for this is one of the most strongly fortified
places in the empire. One reason why I want you to go into the town is
that you may be able to obtain shelter there for us should we find, as I
expect we shall, that it is impossible for us to escape from the citadel
and town at the same attempt.”
The place was indeed so strong that but a careless watch was kept
over the prisoners in the castle. The soldiers were confined to their
quarters save that they were allowed for an hour a day to take exercise
in the courtyard, a company of troops being kept under arms while they
were out; but the officers were free at all times to wander about.
Hector was soon on friendly terms with many of the officers of the
garrison, as in his case there was none of the hostile feeling with
which the French officers were regarded. His youth, and the singularity
of his having so soon attained the rank of colonel, also predisposed
them in his favour. It was evident that this young soldier of fortune,
unsupported by powerful family interest, must have distinguished himself
in an altogether exceptional manner to have obtained the command of one
of the best regiments of France.
Paolo was as popular among the sergeants and men as his master was with
the officers. As an Italian, and as Hector's lackey, he was not regarded
as a prisoner of war; and by his unfailing good humour, his readiness to
enter into any fun that might be going on, or to lend a hand in cleaning
accoutrements or completing a job that a soldier had left unfinished
when his turn came for duty, he became quite a popular character. The
colonel who commanded frequently walked with Hector in the courtyard,
sent him dishes from his own table, and more than once invited him to
dine with him. As he was very curious to learn how his young prisoner
had so early attained his rank, Hector one evening gave him a sketch of
his career, from the time when Turenne gave him his commission to
that at which he was taken prisoner, omitting only the incident of the
attempt to assassinate Mazarin.
“You have certainly been fortunate,” he said, “but it is equally certain
that you have deserved it. The fact that, in addition to your military
duties, you have learned Italian and German, besides transforming a
newly raised regiment into one of the best in the French service, shows
how assiduous you have been in your work. I trust that when the campaign
is over you may be exchanged, and I think it is foolish of you not to
give me your parole, for you must know well that you have no chance of
escape from here.”
“They say everything comes to those who wait, colonel,” Hector laughed,
“and if I see a chance I shall certainly avail myself of it. Even if no
such chance comes I shall still be a gainer by not giving my parole. I
am exceedingly comfortable as it is, and can wish for nothing better.
The one drawback is that I have nothing to do, except perhaps to improve
my German, and it would be just the same if I were living in the town.
But if I were on my parole I should lose the amusement of planning
methods for escape, which I do unceasingly; but up till now, I may tell
you in confidence, I am as far from having hit upon a plan as I was when
I entered. By the way, colonel, although it is clear that I cannot be
allowed to go outside the castle gate, I should be glad if my lackey
could be given leave to do so. He is not a soldier, neither is he a
Frenchman, and can scarce be counted as a prisoner of war. He is a
willing and cheerful fellow, and would enjoy a run in the city much more
than I should. Besides, occasionally I may want a book or some other
little thing which I cannot get here.”
“Such as a file, a rope, or a disguise, Colonel Campbell,” the
commandant laughed.
“I am not thinking of that at present,” Hector said smiling. “Besides,
you can give orders that he can always be strictly searched when he
comes in.”
The colonel shook his head. “I will tell you what I will do,” he said;
“I will let him have a pass to go in and out at will, if you will give
me a promise, on your honour as a soldier, that he shall not bring in
anything that can be used by you for facilitating your escape. I would
much rather trust to your word than to any search the soldiers might
make as your man comes in.”
“Thank you, colonel,” Hector said cheerfully, though at heart he felt
considerably disappointed. “I give you my word of honour that he shall
bring in nothing that may aid me in making my escape, and I am much
obliged to you for letting him have the run of the town.”
The colonel at once wrote a pass authorizing Paolo Monti, lackey to
Colonel Campbell, to enter and leave the castle at all times when the
gates were open.
Paolo laughed when Hector told him the conditions on which the pass was
granted.
“The commandant is a shrewd fellow, master, but he is not quite shrewd
enough; he forgot that though I may bring in nothing myself I may be
able to arrange with someone else to bring something in.”
“That flashed through my mind at once, Paolo; but at present neither
file, rope, nor disguise would be of any use. However, they may be so
later. The first thing for you to do when you get this pass will be to
make yourself master of the plan of the town and the fortifications,
and see if there is any place where you think an escape is possible. But
even when you find one, and you think that it might be managed, you must
afterwards find a place where I can be hidden for a time, at any rate
for a few hours. You see, were I to go out in disguise I must do so in
broad daylight, for my supper is served almost directly after the gates
are closed; and were I missing there would be a search for me at once,
the sentries on the wall would all be warned, and it would be impossible
to get past them. If I could get out two or three hours before the gates
are closed at nine o'clock I might, as soon as it became dark, attempt
to get over the walls before the alarm was given, or I might possibly go
out in the same disguise that I left here in, through the city gate and
across the bridge.”
“I see that, sir, and it seems to me that this would be easier than
trying to find a hiding place for you in the town. However, I will set
my wits to work. I have been able to think of nothing in here; but
one's eyes always help one's wits, and if I were in the town I might see
something that would give me an idea how the matter might be set about.”
Day after day Paolo went into the town, always returning discouraged.
“I must be growing a downright numbskull,” he said one evening in
disgust; “I have been three weeks at it and no single idea has come to
me.”
“You need not be discouraged at that, Paolo; it's not such a simple
thing to plan an escape from a fortress like this as it was to get into
the citadel at Turin, where we also had the advantage of starting with
disguises. I can no more think of a disguise in which I can pass the
gates than you can. I am a good deal too tall to pass as a woman. My
face is perfectly well known to every soldier in the castle, and even if
we hit upon a disguise it would be very difficult to get it brought in.
It struck me today that if I am to get out it must be in some vehicle
that has come in with supplies.”
“That is a great idea, master; if I had not been a thick headed fool I
should have thought of that before. But at the same time it will not be
easy to manage.”
“I quite see that, Paolo; even if the driver were bought over it would
be difficult indeed to manage to get into the cart with so many soldiers
standing about.”
Paolo shook his head.
“Yes, I don't see that that could be managed at all, master.”
He stood thinking a minute.
“I have it!” he exclaimed joyfully. “You know, sir, sometimes a train
of waggons containing faggots, or flour, or other things, comes in late.
Those that are unloaded before the gate is closed go out at once; the
others are unloaded that evening, but the empty carts have to remain
in the castle till morning, as the great gates are never opened between
sunset and sunrise, though officers come in by the postern. Now, if you
could manage during the night to slip into one of the waggons, say one
that has brought in flour, you might be so covered over by the empty
sacks they take out, that no one would dream anyone was hidden there.”
“Capital, Paolo! It is evident that your head is not so thick as you
thought it was just now. Yes, I have noticed that as a rule if eight
or ten waggons came in together, the full sacks are carried in, and the
same number of empty ones are placed in one of the carts, being counted
as they are put in. Certainly I could hide myself easily enough if you
were there to assist in arranging the sacks as regularly as before over
me. As I do not generally get up until eight o'clock, and my first meal
is not brought to me till nine, I might be on my way two hours before it
was discovered that I was missing. How would you manage?”
“I would get a countryman's suit, master, would go out soon after the
gates were open, find some quiet spot where I should have hidden the
clothes the day before, and slip them on over my own. Then I would join
the carts as they came along. They don't generally begin to harness the
horses up till the gates are open, so that I should get a quarter of an
hour's start of them, and I should go out with them without question, as
it would be thought that I belonged to the party. I should pay for some
beer at the first cabaret we come to, and make signs that I wanted a
lift in a waggon. I must, of course, pretend to be deaf and dumb, as,
although I have picked up a little German since we came into these
parts, I could not possibly pass as a countryman.”
“It would be better still, Paolo, for you to put a blister on to your
cheek, then before you join them put a great lump of tow into your
mouth, so as to swell your cheek out almost to bursting point, and then
tie a bandage round your face; you could then by pointing to it make out
that you had so terrible a swelling that you were unable to talk.”
“That would be better certainly, master, indeed, it would be a capital
plan. Of course I should get into the waggon in which you were, and
gradually shift the sacks so that you could crawl out. When we smuggled
you in we would try and put in with you a couple of brace of pistols,
and if we were armed with them the carters would not venture to
interfere with us. Of course, master, I should have to get a disguise
for you. We could never be tramping across the country with you dressed
as a French officer.”
“Get something that I could put over the clothes I wear. A long frock,
some loose breeches, and rough cloth to wrap round the legs below them,
and of course a pair of countryman's shoes. The best plan would be for
you to stand treat again at a cabaret a few miles out of the town, get
them all in there, then I could slip out of the waggon and throw the
sacks back into their place. Of course you would choose some spot where
the cabaret either stands alone or is at the end of a village, so that
there may be no one standing by, and I could, when I got down, walk
quietly back along the road. You can make signs to them that you
live hard by, and would leave them there; then if there should be any
suspicion that I had escaped in the waggons, and a troop of cavalry were
sent in pursuit, the men would be all able to declare that they had seen
nothing of me, and so could give no clue whatever that would set them on
our track.
“Well, it is quite settled that we will try that way, but it may be some
time before the opportunity occurs. However, you may as well get the
two disguises and the two brace of pistols, and stow them away somewhere
where they are not likely to be found.”
“There are plenty of places where one can do that, master; there is
a row of old trees inside the fortifications, and I warrant that if I
cannot find one with a hollow large enough to stow them away in, I can
hide them in the branches with small chance of their ever being seen.”
Another month passed. Paolo made a point of occasionally going out soon
after the gates were open, saying casually that his master had a fancy
for a bottle of better wine with his breakfast, or that he was going to
get some eggs to make an omelette for him. Hector was in no particular
hurry, for the news had come that Turenne with his own troops and
those of Hesse had, with the Swedes, marched away for the Rhine. It was
rumoured that they would be joined by another army, for in no other way
could the Imperialists account for Turenne having retired when he had
a force at least equal to any that Merci could set in the field against
him. Hector saw that at any rate there was no chance of a great battle
being fought just then, and felt, therefore, no impatience to be off.
Two or three times carts with faggots had been unloaded after the gates
were closed, but as they took nothing out, it was impossible for him to
conceal himself in them.
At last, to his satisfaction, a number of waggons of flour came in late
one afternoon, and he determined to carry his plan into execution that
night. The storehouses were not in the great court, but in a smaller one
off it. Beyond two soldiers at the gate and a sentry at the commandant's
door, no guards were kept in the courtyards, though a few sentries were
placed upon the walls. Hector had his supper as usual, and Paolo brought
in the news that eight of the waggons had not been unloaded in time to
go out. A fatigue party of soldiers were now completing the work, which
would be finished about nine o'clock. Taking off their boots a little
after that hour they went quietly downstairs, then put them on again and
boldly crossed the courtyard, for the night was so dark that there was
no fear of their figures being perceived.
As they entered the inner yard they again took off their boots and
walked up to the carts. In two of these the carters were fast asleep.
They passed on quietly, feeling in each cart for the sacks, and were
delighted to find that they were all placed in the one farthest up the
yard, which would therefore be the last to go out. They were tidily
piled in lines side by side at the forward end of the waggon. They
cautiously removed the sacks of the middle lines; Hector lay down feet
foremost, and Paolo laid the sacks regularly over him till they reached
the level of the others. Half a dozen were doubled and packed neatly in
at the end, so as to conceal his head and prevent its being noticed that
any had been taken out. The rest were distributed evenly, so that the
sacks were all as level as before, and no one would have suspected that
they had been disturbed.
Paolo then returned to Hector's room. As the double sacks closing the
orifice at his head had not been packed very tightly, enough air entered
for Hector to breathe. He increased the opening somewhat by pressing one
of the sacks a little aside, but left it so that he could readily pull
it into its position in the morning. As soon as Paolo reached the room
he applied a blistering plaster to his cheek and kept it on till he
could no longer bear the pain, then he threw himself down on his pallet.
But neither he nor his master slept much, Hector being kept awake by the
heat and discomfort of his position, and Paolo by the smarting of his
cheek. As soon as it was light the latter rose, and sat impatiently
waiting for the time when the gates would open. Looking into the
courtyard, he could see the troops coming out from their quarters and
moving about, then the gates opened, and, tying a bandage over his
cheek, he went down and crossed the yard.
“You are out early,” the sergeant of the guard remarked.
He nodded. “I am nigh mad with pain,” he said, pointing to his cheek,
“and I am going to get some salve from an apothecary.”
“You seem to be bad indeed,” the sergeant said commiseratingly, “'tis a
terrible inflammation.”
Paolo went down to the spot where he had hidden the bundles in the
hollow of a tree. It was an unfrequented place, and slipping his
disguise over his clothes, after putting the pistols in his belt, he
took the second bundle and returned to a street through which waggons
leaving the castle must pass. A few minutes later he saw them coming
along. He had already stuffed his cheek full of tow, and several
people, struck with the raw and swollen appearance of his face, had
compassionately asked him what was the matter. He had simply shaken his
head, opened his lips, and pointed to his clenched teeth, signifying
that he could not speak. He fell in with the waggons as they came along
and passed through the gate without question. When a short distance away
from the town he made signs to the driver of the last waggon, that if
he would give him a lift in the cart he would pay for some drink. The
carter nodded and told him to climb up. After they had gone four miles
from the town, they came to a wayside inn.
“Now is the time, master, they are all going in to get some drink. There
is no one about.”
The waggons all stopped there, for there had been no opportunity for
the drivers to obtain refreshments as they passed through the town. All
therefore sauntered into the inn, their salutations to the host showing
that they were accustomed to stop there. Paolo followed them in, and
putting down the money for a large jug of beer, handed it to the
carter, and, shaking him by the hand, made a motion that he was going no
farther. Then he went back to the end waggon. Hector had already pushed
out the bags in front of him and had with great difficulty crawled out.
“It is all right, master, we have a good ten minutes; there is no one
about, but you had better keep below the waggon rails until you have got
your disguise on.”
A couple of minutes sufficed for this, then Hector leapt to the ground,
while Paolo replaced the sacks in their position; and then together they
hurried across some twenty yards of broken ground and entered a wood.
“That was a capitally managed business, Paolo. Now we have to find our
way across country. We cannot keep by the river, for it turns away to
the south, and would take us far from the point we want to reach. At any
rate, for a day or two we must travel at night, after that I think we
can venture boldly along--for it is not likely that the news that a
prisoner has escaped will travel very far--although no doubt a strict
search will be kept up for a day or two. I think that for today we had
better make our way north, keeping in the woods as much as possible;
they are less likely to search for us in that direction than to the
west.”
They found that the forest was fully two leagues across, and agreed that
it was unlikely in the extreme that any attempt would be made to search
so extensive an area, where two men could anywhere conceal themselves.
Paolo had on the previous afternoon placed a couple of loaves and some
cold meat in the bundles, and they now sat down by a little stream and
ate a hearty meal, then, crawling into a thick growth of underwood, they
lay down to sleep and did not awaken until the sun was setting.
“There must be some country tracks through this forest, Paolo. We cannot
do better than keep along the edge of the stream until we come to one
and then follow it. It is sure, sooner or later, to take us to some
small hamlet, and I can go into a cabaret and get a couple of flasks
of wine and buy enough bread to last us until tomorrow, and perhaps a
sausage, they are not likely to have any other meat in a place of that
sort. My German is good enough to pass muster, and even if it sounds
strange to their ears, they will merely suppose that I have come from a
different part of the country, for the dialects differ greatly from each
other.”
As soon as it became quite dark they found it impossible to follow the
rough ground, and after one or two falls had to stop. Hector said, “This
won't do, we shall twist an ankle or break a bone if we go on.”
“Shall we light a fire, master? I have brought flint and steel with me,
for I knew that we should want it.”
“No, it is better to run no risks; there may be a road near for aught we
know, and if anyone passing saw a fire among the trees, he might come to
see who had made it.”
“Not he, master; there are too many robbers about, deserters from their
army, or men who have been ruined by the war. You may be sure that if
any belated villager had the courage to go through this forest by night
he would, on seeing a fire, hurry on as fast as his legs would carry
him.”
“Well, no doubt you are right, Paolo; and though the night is warm
enough the air is damp under this thick covering of leaves, and it will
certainly be more cheerful. We will go a short distance among the trees
before we light it.”
Feeling their way--for it was pitch dark in the forest--they went on
until Hector stumbled over a fallen trunk.
“This is the best place for a halt,” he said, “for here is wood ready
to hand. This tree has been lying here for years, I can feel that it is
quite rotten.”
Paolo set to work--took a handful or two of the crumbling wood, broke
it up into dust, then struck a spark on to the tinder, touched it with
a slow match and inserted this into the little pile of wood; a minute's
blowing and the flames sprang up. He drew out the slow match and putting
his foot upon it placed it in his wallet, then he broke off some more
wood and soon had a blazing fire.
“We have enough food left for supper, master, and if I spit some of this
cold meat on the ramrod of one of my pistols and hold it over the fire
it will be all the more tasty. I wish we had those flasks of wine that
you were speaking of. It seems to me that after sleeping for some ten
hours we shall find it hard to go off again for some time, even though
neither of us got any sleep last night. How furious the governor will be
when he finds that you have escaped!”
“He is a good fellow,” Hector said, “and save that he will be
annoyed--because he will be blamed for my escape--I do not think he will
be sorry that I have got off. I left a note for him on the table saying
that I was about to make my escape, but that on my honour I had not
obtained anything that would aid me, by your assistance, and that you
had never brought anything into the castle save what you showed on
entering to the guards. I should not like him to think for a moment that
I had broken my promise and taken advantage of his kindness. How does
your face feel?”
“It is mightily sore, but it does not smart as it did at first. I can
tell you that I was very glad when I was able to slip that great lump of
tow out of my mouth as soon as I entered the forest.”
“I don't think in future that you need use so large a wad, Paolo; half
that size will be ample; and of course you need only slip it into your
mouth when we are going through a village, or meet a party likely to
question us. As to your cheek, it will be days before that fiery mark
disappears.”
They talked until nearly midnight, and then lay down and slept till
four, by which time day had broken, for it was now the first week in
July. After walking for half an hour along the edge of the wood, they
came to a track issuing out of it. This they followed, and in about two
hours saw a village in front of them.
“I will go in and buy the things that we want, Paolo, and do you make a
circuit round it. If the news has reached them of our escape they will
have been told to look for two men; and the entry of a single countryman
will excite no suspicion, for of course no one will know what disguise
we have chosen.
“Do not be anxious if I do not come along for half an hour. It will be
more natural that I should call for bread and cheese and beer and eat
them there; then I can say carelessly that I may as well take some with
me to eat later on.”
“You are early!” the owner of the cabaret said as Hector entered.
“I ought to have been earlier,” he replied in a grumbling voice; “but it
was so late before I reached the other side of the forest, that instead
of passing through it I thought it best to wait till daybreak, for
it would be desperately dark under the trees, and sometimes there are
pretty rough fellows to be met with there; so I slept in a shed until
an hour before daybreak and then started, and I lost no time in getting
through it, I can tell you. What can you give me now?”
“The usual thing,” the man said, shrugging his shoulders. “Bread and
beer and black sausage.”
“It might be worse,” Hector said as he seated himself. The food was soon
placed before him. He ate a hearty meal.
“I have a long way to go,” he said when he had finished, “and as I am
blessed with a good appetite it will not be long before I am hungry
again. I suppose there is no one in the village that sells bread and
sausage, so if you will let me I will buy a whole one from you and a
couple of loaves.”
“I will sell them to you willingly enough; but you will come to another
village three miles on.”
“I sha'n't be hungry enough by that time,” Hector laughed. “Besides, I
like to choose my own place and time and sit down by the wayside and eat
my meal. One need never go very far without coming upon a stream; and
though I like beer better than water, I can put up with it when there is
nothing stronger to be had.”
“Nothing but bread and sausage again, Paolo,” Hector said as he joined
his comrade a quarter of a mile beyond the village.
“And good enough too for a hungry man. I have often longed for such a
meal in the days before you took me, in spite of all warning.”
“And we have often done no better since, Paolo, when we have been on the
march. Will you start on it now, or wait until we get to a stream?”
“I will hold on for a bit, master. This black bread is so hard that it
needs a lot of washing down.”
Making several detours to avoid villages, they walked all day, and
towards evening came upon a main road running west.
“Unless I am mistaken in the line that I have taken, this must be the
road through Eichstadt. I can see some towers ahead, and I have no doubt
that they are those of the town. There is a bridge there across the
Altmuhl. The river makes a loop at this point, and the road cuts across
it to the northwest to Gunzenhausen, where there is another bridge. From
there the road runs to Hall. Thence we can cross the Neckar, either at
Heilbronn or Neckarsulm, and we are then in our own country, and but
a short distance from either Spires or Philippsburg, where we shall
be likely enough to meet Turenne advancing again, or shall at any rate
learn where he is. We will lie up now and not cross the bridge until it
gets dusk.”
“I wish we had swords, master.”
“Yes, but they would not suit our disguises. But when we get into the
town I will buy two woodmen's axes and a couple of the long knives that
all the peasants here carry. I fancy from what I heard when we were at
Hall with Turenne that the country between Eichstadt and there is for
the most part a great forest, and there are rough hills to pass before
we get to Hall. It will be just as well to have some weapons that we can
use with effect if we should come upon any bands of robbers.”
“Quite so, master. A good axe is as good as a sword in a rough sort of
fight; but is there not some way we can travel so as to avoid this great
forest that you speak of?”
“Not without making a great detour, and that through a country where
there will be bodies of Merci's troops quartered everywhere.”
“Very well, master. Then I think that the risk will be less with the
robbers, especially as we have not apparently much worth stealing upon
us.”
“Not only apparently, but really, Paolo. Fortunately my purse was pretty
well filled when we were taken prisoners; but we spent a good deal at
Ingoldstadt, principally in buying articles we could have done without,
but which we got in order to give an excuse for your going into the
town, and in these disguises and pistols. However, we shall not, I hope,
require much more outlay; and after getting axes and knives we shall
have enough to pay for our food, such as it is, for some time. However,
there is certainly nothing in our pockets to tempt robbers.”
“No, master; but if they searched you they would notice your clothes.
They would show at once that you are a person of quality; and although,
as you left your scarf behind you, they might not know that you are an
officer, they would see that there was a mystery about you.”
“That is true, and I think that perhaps it would be as well if both of
us were to take off our own clothes when we get beyond the town tonight,
and go on only in those you got for us. When we rejoin our friends we
can get money and replace them.”
“I have money with me, master,” Paolo said. “I have had no occasion to
spend aught for a long time, and have changed my wages as you paid
them into gold, and have forty pistoles sewn up in the waistbelt of my
breeches. I heard you say that it was always a good thing to carry a
certain amount about with one in case of being taken prisoner or laid up
wounded.”
“It was a wise precaution, Paolo; but just at the present moment I would
rather that you did not have it about you. However, I do not suppose we
shall be interfered with. You may as well continue to wear your breeches
under those you have outside, but leave your doublet when I change.
After all, if you were to be searched the pistoles would show that we
are not what we seem, unless we could make up some plausible tale as to
how we came possessed of them.”
“Oh, we could manage that easily enough, master! There are other ways of
getting pistoles than by earning them.”
Thus chatting they had crossed the bridge and were now entering
Eichstadt. Going to a quiet cabaret they ate a hearty meal, and Hector
afterwards bought the axes and knives, and they left the town just
before the gates were closed. They had walked some miles when a
thunderstorm, which had for some time been threatening, broke over them.
“We must get some shelter if we can,” Hector said. “I see a light on
ahead. Let us push on and take refuge before we are wet to the skin.”
On reaching the house they saw that it was a wayside inn.
“We are in luck, Paolo,” Hector said as he lifted the latch.
The door, however, was fastened, and on his knocking a voice asked, “Who
is there at this time of night?”
“Travellers,” Hector replied. “Come, open the door quickly or we shall
be wet to the skin!” and he emphasized his words by kicking at the door.
It was, however, a minute or two before it was opened, and Hector, who
was becoming furious at this delay, had just taken his axe from his
belt and was about to break the door in when it opened, and a man with a
torch in one hand and a sword in the other stood on the threshold.