He stared at Lek; so did his jovial comrades.
“Can you give a stranger hospitality until to-morrow?” asked the young student, bowing.
“Until TO-MORROW! Ha, ha, ha!” laughed the innkeeper. “He asks for hospitality until to-morrow!” he added to his six jolly companions.
“To-morrow—ha, ha, ha!” echoed one.
“Ha, ha, ha!” repeated another.
“Ha, ha, ha!” chorused the others, slapping their hands on their knees. “To-morrow!”
Then a solemn look came into the landlord’s face.
“Young man,” said he, “don’t you know, have you not heard? We have no to-morrows; our nights are long, long slumbers; each one is a hundred years.”
