"Sent him to the pest-house," replied the landlord, resting his elbows on the counter and his chin in his hands, and staring dismally at the opposite wall."Ah! Lord 'a' mercy on us Ithese be dreadful times!"
"Dreadful enough!" said Sir Norman, sighing deeply, as he thought of his beautiful Leoline, a victim of the merciless pestilence.
"Have there been many deaths here of the distemper?""Twenty-five to-day!" groaned the man."Lord! what will become of us?""You seem rather disheartened," said Sir Norman, pouring out a glass of wine and handing it to him.Just drink this, and don't borrow trouble.They say sack is a sure specific against the plague."Mine host drained the bumper, and wiped his mouth, with another hollow groan.
"If I thought that, sir, I'd not be sober from one week's end to t'other; but I know well enough I will be in a plague-pit in less than a week.O Lord! have mercy on us!""Amen!" said Sir Norman, impatiently."If fear has not taken away your wits, my good sir, will you tell me what old ruin that is I saw a little above here as I rode up?"The man started from his trance of terror, and glanced, first at the fiery eyes in the corner, and then at Sir Norman, in evident trepidation of the question.
"That ruin, sir? You must be a stranger in this place, surely, or you would not need to ask that question.""Well, suppose I am a stranger? What then?""Nothing, sir; only I thought everybody knew everything about that ruin.""But I do not, you see? So fill your glass again, and while you are drinking it, just tell me what that everything comprises."Again the landlord glanced fearfully st the fiery eyes in the corner, and again hesitated.
"Well!" exclaimed Sir Norman, at once surprised and impatient at his taciturnity, "Can't you speak man? I want you to tell me all about it.""There is nothing to tell, sir," replied the host, goaded to desperation."It is an old, deserted ruin that's been here ever since I remember; and that's all I know about it."While, he spoke, the crouching shape in the corner reared itself upright, and keeping his fiery eyes still glaring upon Sir Norman, advanced into the light.Our young knight was in the act of raising his glass to his lips; but as the apparition approached, he laid it down again, untasted, and stared at it in the wildest surprise and intensest curiosity.Truly, it was a singular-looking creature, not to say a rather startling one.Adwarf of some.four feet high, and at least five feet broad across the shoulders, with immense arms and head - a giant in everything but height.His immense skull was set on such a trifle of a neck as to be scarcely worth mentioning, and was garnished by a violent mat of coarse, black hair, which also overran the territory of his cheeks and chin, leaving no neutral ground but his two fiery eyes and a broken nose all twisted awry.
On a pair of short, stout legs he wore immense jack-boots, his Herculean shoulders and chest were adorned with a leathern doublet, and in the belt round his waist were conspicuously stuck a pair of pistols and a dagger.Altogether, a more ugly or sinister gentleman of his inches it would have been hard to find in all broad England.Stopping deliberately before Sir Norman, he placed a hand on each hip, and in a deep, guttural voice, addressed him:
"So, sir knight - for such I perceive you are - you are anxious to know something of that old ruin yonder?""Well," said Sir Norman, so far recovering from his surprise as to be able to speak, "suppose I am? Have you anything to say against it, my little friend?""Oh, not in the least!" said the dwarf, with a hoarse chuckle.
Only, instead of wasting your breath asking this good man, who professes such utter ignorance, you had better apply to me for information."Again Sir Norman surveyed the little Hercules from head to foot for a moment, in silence, as one, nowadays, would an intelligent gorilla.
"You think so - do you? And what may you happen to know about it, my pretty little friend?""O Lord!" exclaimed the landlord, to himself, with a frightened face, while the dwarf "grinned horribly a ghastly smile" from ear to ear.
"So much, my good sir, that I would strongly advise you not to go near it, unless you wish to catch something worse than the plague.There have been others - our worthy host, there, whose teeth, you may perceive, are chattering in his head, can tell you about those that have tried the trick, and - ""Well?" said Sir Norman, curiously.
"And have never returned to tell what they found!" concluded the little monster, with a diabolical leer.And as the landlord fell, gray and gasping, back in his seat, he broke out into a loud and hyena-like laugh.
