"
The man looked at them closely. Their pale faces and evidently
exhausted condition vouched for the truth of their story.
"The house is full," he said gruffly, "and I cannot take in strangers.
You will find some dry hay in that out house, and I will bring you
some food there. When you have eaten and drunk you had best journey
on."
So saying he shut the door in their faces.
"This is strange treatment," Geoffrey said. "I should not have
thought a man would have refused shelter to a dog such a day as
this. What do you say, Lionel, shall we go on?"
"I don't think I can go any further until I have rested, Geoffrey,"
Lionel replied faintly. "Let us lie down in shelter if it is only
for half an hour. After that, if the man brings us some food as he
says, we can go on again."
They went into the shed the man had pointed out. It was half full
of hay.
"Let us take our things off and wring them, Lionel, and give ourselves
a roll in the hay to dry ourselves. We shall soon get warm after
that."
They stripped, wrung the water from their clothes, rolled themselves
in the hay until they felt a glow of returning warmth, and then
put on their clothes again. Scarcely had they done so when the man
came in with a large tankard and two hunks of bread.
"Here," he said, "drink this and then be off. We want no strangers
hanging round here.
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