Sitting down on a pile of books, which was the only thing that the little chamber contained, he listened with some degree of anxiety to the various noises of the search. Now it was a direction from the chief of the party to look here or to look there; now the various cries of the searchers when they either thought they had discovered something suspicious or were disappointed in some expectation; now the rolling of the butts, the overturning of the bales, the casting down of the skins and leathers; now the party was far off, and now so near that the knight could hear every movement of the man who examined the hides before the door of his hiding-place. At one time, in the eagerness of his search, the fellow even struck his elbow against the boarding, and might probably have discovered that it was hollow underneath, had not the tingling pain of his arm engaged all his attention, passing off in a fit of dancing and stamping, mingled with various ungodly execrations.
At length, however, the pursuers seemed entirely foiled; and after having passed more than two hours, some in examining the dwelling-house and some the warehouse, after having tumbled over every article of poor William Hans's goods, their loud cries and insolent swaggering dwindled away to low murmurs of disappointment; and growing fainter and fainter as they proceeded to the door, the sounds at length ceased entirely, and left the place in complete silence. Not long after, the workmen arrived and began their ordinary occupations for the day; and Sir Osborne and Longpole thanked their happy stars, both for having escaped the present danger, and for their enemy's search being now probably turned in some other direction.
CHAPTER XXVII.
Norfolk.--What, are you chafed?
Ask God for temperance; that's the appliance only
Which your disease requires.--Shakspere.
As the day passed on, Sir Osborne grew more and more impatient under his confinement. He felt a sort of degradation in being thus pent up, like a wild beast in a cage; and though with invincible patience he had lain a thousand times more still in many an ambuscade, he felt an almost irresistible desire to unbolt the door, and assure himself that he was really at large, by going forth and exercising his limbs in the free air. But then came the remembrance that such a proceeding would almost infallibly transfer him to a still stricter prison, where, instead of being voluntary and but for one day, his imprisonment would be forced and long-continued. The thought, too, of Constance de Grey, and the hope of winning her yet, gave great powers of endurance; and he contented himself with every now and then marching up and down the little chamber, which, taken transversely, just afforded him space for three steps and a-half, and at other times with speaking in a whisper to Longpole, who, having brought the armour down with him, sat in one corner, polishing off any little dim spots that the damp of the night air might have left upon it.
"This is very tiresome," said the knight.
"Very tiresome, indeed, my lord!" replied Longpole. "I've been fancying myself a blackbird in a wicker cage for the last hour. May I whistle?"
"No, no," cried the knight. "Give me the casque; I will polish that by way of doing something. Don't you think, Longpole, if underneath the volant-piece a stout sort of avantaille were carried down, about an inch broad and two inches long, of hard steel, it would prevent the visor from being borne in, as I have often seen, by the blow of a solid lance?"
"Yes," answered Longpole; "but it would prevent your lordship from blowing your nose. Oh! I do hate improvement, my lord. Depend upon it, 'tis the worst thing in the world. Men improve, and improve, and improve, till they leave nothing that's original on the earth. I would wager your lordship a hundred marks, that, by two or three hundred years hence, people will have so improved their armour that there will be none at all."
"Zounds, Bill!" cried a voice in the warehouse, "don't you hear some folks talking?"