A ladder led to a loft, and up this I climbed and concealed
myself very snugly among some bales of hay upon the top. This
loft had a small open window, and I was able to look down upon
the front of the inn and also upon the road. There I crouched
and waited to see what would happen.
It was soon evident that I had not been mistaken when I had
thought that this might be the quarters of some person of
importance. Shortly after daybreak an English light dragoon
arrived with a despatch, and from then onward the place was in a
turmoil, officers continually riding up and away. Always the
same name was upon their lips: "Sir Stapleton--Sir Stapleton."
It was hard for me to lie there with a dry moustache and watch
the great flagons which were brought out by the landlord to these
English officers. But it amused me to look at their
fresh-coloured, clean-shaven, careless faces, and to wonder what
they would think if they knew that so celebrated a person was
lying so near to them. And then, as I lay and watched, I saw a
sight which filled me with surprise.
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