“Let’s get away,” he whispered. “We’ve come upon a thieves’ den.”
“If we could lay our hands, each of us, on a bow and a quiver of arrows,” I said, “we wouldn’t have to run so fast from our enemies.”
“And that’s right,” he agreed. With that he gave me a shove forward.
I went quietly across the floor with Charles at my heels. It was one step at a time with our eyes always turning towards the door. The warmth of the place lured me. If I had had my own way, I would have thrown myself down upon the floor before the fire and have given rest to my weary legs. As it was, Charles was reaching out for a bow and I had my hand already on another when a voice shot through my ears like the blast of a trumpet.
“Gentlemen,” it said, “I’m glad you’re here. I’ve been expecting you!”
CHAPTER XXI
THE DEFENSE OF THE CAVE
We turned. Before us stood a man so small that he might be taken for a dwarf. His head was so large that it was remarkable, and the way it rolled from side to side caused me a certain uneasiness. His eyes were the size of two peas, but they twinkled with a kind of knowing wisdom that continually forced you to look away and in the next moment to return and gaze at him again. A smile covered his mouth, but it was a smile that never changed. You could not tell whether it came from amusement or whether mockery lay behind it. We had hardly caught our breath when he shifted over to us. It was then that I noticed for the first time that his legs were bent in an arch like a bow. They seemed very thin, scarcely able to support the weight of his thick body.
He took off his cap and drew his head in between his shoulders like a turtle.
“I have been on the look-out for you the last three days,” he said. “Where have you been?”