Seth opened the door cautiously, and holding the candle high above his head, looked out.
A heavy iron socket on either side and a third upon the door itself, with a stout oaken bar lying on the floor of the hallway near by, told that this particular apartment could be fastened very securely.
"What is the meaning of all this?" Jacob asked in dismay.
"It looks as if some one had been here who wasn't allowed to come out except at the pleasure of the master of the house," Enoch replied doubtfully, and an expression of fear came over Jacob's face.
"I don't think we had better stop in this place," Master Ludwick said decidedly. "I was such an idiot as to tell him who we are, and in case this happens to be a Tory dwelling, we may have trouble."
"It doesn't seem just right to walk out simply because we have seen that the door can be barred from the outside," Seth replied slowly.
"But you noticed how anxious the man was to learn about our troops?"
"So would anybody be, whether Whig or Tory, knowing that there is probably an army on either side of him."
"I think we had better leave while we've got the chance," Jacob said in something very like fear. "There is no need of taking any risks, and I am certain there must be other vacant rooms in the house besides this one. Let us go downstairs softly, and, if possible, get out of doors without making a noise."
At that instant, as if to show the boys it was too late for them to retreat, the sound of footsteps was heard once more, and a moment later the master of the house, or he who acted in that capacity, entered the room bearing a generous supply of provisions and a jug of water.