The opening through which he had come was large, and admitted plenty
of fresh air. As he stood four or five feet from the entrance he saw
several soldiers hurrying along the path, and he knew they were hunting
for him. He realized then his fortune in finding this improvised
cave-house. After the soldiers passed he walked gently toward the light.
Apparently the regular occupants were gone away for the time, and he
might find a hiding place there until it was safe to go out.
The passage was narrow, but the carpet was still under his feet, and
further in, the sides and roof of the earthen walls had been covered
with planks. The light grew brighter and he was quite sure that a room
of some size was just ahead. His curiosity became so great that it
smothered all apprehension, and he stepped boldly into the room, where
the lamp burned on a table.
He would have stepped back as quickly, but a pair of great burning eyes
caught his and held them. A bed was standing against the board wall of
the cave, and in this bed lay an old man with a huge bald head, immense
white eyebrows and eyes of extraordinary intensity.
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