Adam swung round on his heel and followed him up the path, begging.
Eve hung by the gate.
"No," said the old gentleman, fitting his latchkey into the door,
"I have no work to offer. Eh?—Is that your wife by the gate?
Hungry?"
Adam whispered a lie in his ear.
"Poor woman, and to be on the road, in such a state, at this hour!
Well, you shall share my supper before you search for a lodging.
Come inside," he called out to Eve, "and be careful of the step.
It's a high one."
He led them in, past the ground-floor rooms and up a flight of stairs. After pausing on the landing and waiting a long time for Eve to take breath, he began to ascend another flight.
"Are we going to have supper on the leads?" Adam wondered.
They followed the old gentleman up to the attics and into a kind of tower, where was a small room with two tables spread, the one with a supper, the other with papers, charts, and mathematical instruments.
"Here," said their guide, "is bread, a cold chicken, and a bottle of whisky. I beg you to excuse me while you eat. The fact is, I dabble in astronomy. My telescope is on the roof above, and to-night every moment is precious."
There was a ladder fixed in the room, leading to a trap-door in the ceiling. Up this ladder the old gentleman trotted, and in half a minute had disappeared, shutting the trap behind him.
It was half an hour or more before Adam climbed after him, with Eve, as usual, at his heels.