The Yale expositor., 1896-12-25
PART II.
CHAPTER III -(CoSr1xurp.)


ture, the more avaricious it is found
to be. My promise of liberal remun-
Grafton was, after all, not without It's
effect UPON the strange couple whose
refusal to afford me refuge had so
nearly endangered my life. They con-
descended to get me some tea anu
rough food. After had disposed OF all
that, the man produced bottle OF GIN
We filed our glasses, and then, WIN
the aid of my pipe, | settled down 10
make the best of a night spent IN
hard wooden chair.
had come across strange people ii
my travels, but have no hesitation III
saying that my host was the sulleneSt'
sulkiest, most boorish specimen OF hu-
man nature l had as yet met Win. IN
spite of his recent ill-treatment OF me
j was quite ready to establish matters
on friendly footing, and made seVeral
attempts to draw him into CONVERSE
ton. The brute would only answer In
monosyllables, or often not answer at
all. So / gave up talking as bau
lob, and sat in silence, smoking, ana
looking into the fire, thinking good
deal, it may be, of some one l should
have met that morning at Lilymere'
had that wretched snow but kept off.
The long clock-that cumbrous
eight-day machine which inevitably
occupies one corner of every cottagers
kitchen-struck nine. The woman
rose and left us. / concluded she was
going to bed. If so l envied her. Her
husband showed no signs OF retiring.
He still sat over the fire, Opposite me.
BY this time l was dreadfully tired; ev-
cry bone in my body ached. The hard
chair which. an hour or two ago,
seemed all l could desire, now scarcely
came up to my ideas of the comfort
was Justly entitled to claim. My sulky
companion had been drinking silently
but steadily. Perhaps the liquor he
had poured into himself might have
rendered his frame of mind more
pleasant and amenable to reason.
my good fellow" l said, your
chairs are excellent ones of the kind,
but deucedly uncomfortable. am hor-
ribly tired. If the resources OF your
establishment can't furnish a bed for
me to sleep in. couldn't you find a mat
tress or something to lay down before
the ire?""
you've got all you'll get tonight"
he answered, knocking the ashes out OF
his pipe"
"Oh, but sayr'
so do say. I say this: II you
don't like 1t you can leave 1t. we
didn't ask you to come"
"You Internal beast" I muttered-
and meant it too. / declare. had | not
been so utterly worn out, would have
had that bullet-headed ruffian up for a
few rounds on his own kitchen floor
and tried to knock him into more
amiable frame of mind.
Never mind" / said, "but remem-
Der, civility costs nothing, and Otter
gets rewarded. However, II you wish
to retire to your own couch, don't lei
your native politeness stand in your
way. Pray don't hesitate on my &C
count. Leave plenty of fuel, and
shall manage until the morning"
Where you stay. l stay" he an
swered. Then he filled his pipe, anC
once more relapsed into stony silence
bothered about him no Inore.
dozed off for few minutes-woke-
dozed off again for some hours. l wa
in an uncomfortable sort of half sleep
crammed full of curious dreams
dreams from which l started, wonder
ing where l was and how | got there
/ even began to grow nervous. Al
sorts of horrible travellers tales raj
through my head. 1t was in just sucl
places as this that unsuspecting voy
ayers were stated to have been muir
dered and robbed, by just such unmiti
gated ruffians as my host-I can tel
you that altogether l spent a mos
unpleasant night.
To make matters worse and NOR
dismal. the storm still ragged outside
The wind moaned through the tree.
but II had again changed, and | knee
from the sound on the window pane
that heavy rain had succeeded snow
AS the big drops of water found thei
way down the large old-fashione
chimney. the fire Kissed and sputtere
like a spiteful vixen. Everything CON
bined to deprive me OF what dogs slee
/ could by sheer persistency snatch.
I think 1 tried every position whic
an ordinary man, not an acrobat,
capable OF adopting with the assistant
of a common wooden chair. even Ia
down on the hard flags. / actuall
tried the table. propped up III
upper half of my body against the CO.
ner walls of the room; but found I
rest. At last / gave up all idea
sleeping. and fully aroused myself
comforted myself by saying that m
misery was only temporary-thatt IL
longest night must come to an end.
My companion had now succumbC
20 fatigue, or to the combined effec
of fatigue and gin and water. II
head was hanging sideways and
stont tn a most uncomfortable attitud