"Only horse artillery, but in Nerane I saw heavier weapons."
"Openly displayed?"
"No, sir, they were hidden in a small farm to the south of the town; observing heavy tracks, I walked up to the house to ask for a drink of water. The guns were covered with masses of hay."
"And what made you suppose them to be guns?"
"At first it was a surmise on my part, as, in England, haystacks are not guarded by armed soldiers. Afterwards I made sure, as one of them was carelessly covered."
I smiled at this, knowing Rupert's inordinate curiosity, and almost superhuman dexterity in ferreting out what he wished to know.
"Was there not considerable risk in walking to the house as you did? Surely it would have been better to have ridden up as any traveller would?"
"I had not my horse then, sir."
"I thought you said you had hired a horse."
"It was at the farm that I obtained my horse, sir."