We hurried eagerly to meet him--at all, square-built, heavy-browed peasant, about forty years of age.
"Who goes there?" he said, holding the lanthorn high above his head, and shading his eyes with his hand.
"Travellers," replied my companion. "Travellers wanting food and shelter for the night."
The man looked at us for a moment in silence.
"Ay--and we must have gone on still later, if we had not come upon your house. We were bound for Rotheskirche. Can you take us in."
"Yes," he said sullenly. "I suppose so. This way."
And, swinging the lanthorn as he went, he turned on his heel abruptly, and led the way back to the house.
"A boorish fellow enough!" said I, as we followed.
"Nay--a mere peasant!" replied Bergheim. "A mere peasant--rough, but kindly."
As we drew near the house, two large mastiff pups came rushing out from a yard somewhere at the back, and a huge, tawny dog chained up in an open shed close by, strained at his collar and yelled savagely.
"Down, Caspar! Down, Schwartz!" growled our conductor, with an oath.
And immediately the pups slunk back into the yard, and the dog in the shed dropped into a low snarl, eyeing us fiercely as we passed.
The house-door opened straight upon a large, low, raftered kitchen, with a cavernous fire-place at the further end, flanked on each side by a high-backed settle. The settles, the long table in the middle of the room, the stools and chairs ranged round the walls, the heavy beams overhead, from which hung strings of dried herbs, ropes of onions, hams, and the like, were all of old, dark oak. The ceiling was black with the smoke of at least a century. An oak dresser laden with rough blue and grey ware and rows of metal-lidded drinking mugs; an old blunderbuss and a horn-handled riding-whip over the chimney-piece; a couple of hatchets, a spade, and a fishing-rod behind the door; and a Swiss clock in the corner, completed the furniture of the room. A couple of half-charred logs smouldered on the hearth. An oil-lamp flared upon the middle of the table, at one corner of which sat two men with a stone jug and a couple of beer-mugs between them, playing at cards, and a third man looking on. The third man rose as we entered, and came forward. He was so like the one who had come out to meet us, that I saw at once they must be brothers.