He 0
was wrapped up from head to foot , and the brim of his 0
soft felt hat hid every inch of his 0
face but the shiny tip of his 0
nose ; the snow had piled itself against his 0
shoulders and chest , and added a white crest to the burden he 0
carried .
He 0
staggered into the " Coach and Horses 3
" more dead than alive , and flung his 0
portmanteau down .
" A fire , " he 0
cried , " in the name of human charity !
A room 4
and a fire ! "
He 0
stamped and shook the snow from off himself 0
in the bar 5
, and followed Mrs. Hall 6
into to strike his 0
bargain .
And with that much introduction , that and a couple of sovereigns flung upon the table , he 0
took up in the inn 3
.
Mrs. Hall 6
lit the fire and left him 0
there 9
while she 6
went to prepare him 0
a meal with her 6
own hands .
A guest to stop at
Iping 11
in the wintertime
10 was an unheard-of piece of luck , let alone a guest who was no " haggler 12
, " and she 6
was resolved to show herself 6
worthy of her 6
good fortune .
As soon as the bacon was well under way , and Millie 13
, , had been brisked up a bit by a few deftly chosen expressions of contempt , she 6
carried the cloth , plates , and glasses into the parlour 8
and began to lay them with the utmost _ eclat _ .
Although the fire was burning up briskly , she 6
was surprised to see that still wore his 0
hat and coat , standing with his 0
back to her 6
and staring out of the window at the falling snow in the yard 14
.
His 0
gloved hands were clasped behind him 0
, and he 0
seemed to be lost in thought .
She 6
noticed that the melting snow that still sprinkled his 0
shoulders dripped upon her 6
carpet .
" Can I 6
take your 0
hat and coat , sir 0
? " she 6
said , " and give them a good dry in the kitchen 15
? "
" No , " he 0
said without turning .
She 6
was not sure she 6
had heard him 0
, and was about to repeat her 6
question .
He 0
turned his 0
head and looked at her 6
over his 0
shoulder .
" I 0
prefer to keep them on , " he 0
said with emphasis , and she 6
noticed that he 0
wore big blue spectacles with sidelights , and had a bush side-whisker over his 0
coat-collar that completely hid his 0
cheeks and face .
" Very well , sir 0
, " she 6
said . "
_ As _ you 0
like .
In a bit the room 8
will be warmer . "
He 0
made no answer , and had turned his 0
face away from her 6
again , and Mrs. Hall 6
, feeling that her 6
conversational advances were ill-timed , laid the rest of the table things in a quick staccato and whisked out of the room 8
.
When she 6
returned he 0
was still standing there 16
, like a man of stone 17
, his 0
back hunched , his 0
collar turned up , his 0
dripping hat-brim turned down , hiding his 0
face and ears completely .
She 6
put down the eggs and bacon with considerable emphasis , and called rather than said to him 0
, " Your 0
lunch is served , sir 0
. "
" Thank you 6
, " he 0
said at the same time , and did not stir until she 6
was closing the door .
Then he 0
swung round and approached the table with a certain eager quickness .
As she 6
went behind the bar 5
to the kitchen 15
she 6
heard a sound repeated at regular intervals .
Chirk , chirk , chirk , it went , the sound of a spoon being rapidly whisked round a basin .
" That girl 13
! " she 6
said .
" There !
I 6
clean forgot it .
It 's her 13
being so long ! "
And while she 6
herself 6
finished mixing the mustard , she 6
gave Millie 13
a few verbal stabs for her 13
excessive slowness .
She 6
had cooked the ham and eggs , laid the table , and done everything , while Millie 13
( help indeed ! )
had only succeeded in delaying the mustard .
And him 0
a new guest 27
and wanting to stay !
Then she 6
filled the mustard pot , and , putting it with a certain stateliness upon a gold and black tea-tray , carried it into the parlour 7
.
She 6
rapped and entered promptly .
As she 6
did so moved quickly , so that she 6
got but a glimpse of a white object disappearing behind the table .
It would seem he 0
was picking something from the floor .
She 6
rapped down the mustard pot on the table , and then she 6
noticed the overcoat and hat had been taken off and put over a chair in front of the fire , and a pair of wet boots threatened rust to her 6
steel fender .
She 6
went to these things resolutely .
" I 6
suppose I 6
may have them to dry now , " she 6
said in a voice that brooked no denial .
" Leave the hat , " said , in a muffled voice , and turning she 6
saw he 0
had raised his 0
head and was sitting and looking at her 6
.
For a moment she 6
stood gaping at him 0
, too surprised to speak .
He 0
held a white cloth -- it was a serviette he 0
had brought with him 0
-- over the lower part of his 0
face , so that his 0
mouth and jaws were completely hidden , and that was the reason of his 0
muffled voice .
But it was not that which startled Mrs. Hall 6
.
It was the fact that all his 0
forehead above his 0
blue glasses was covered by a white bandage , and that another covered his 0
ears , leaving not a scrap of his 0
face exposed excepting only his 0
pink , peaked nose .
It was bright , pink , and shiny just as it had been at first .
He 0
wore a dark-brown velvet jacket with a high , black , linen-lined collar turned up about his 0
neck .
The thick black hair , escaping as it could below and between the cross bandages , projected in curious tails and horns , giving him 0
the strangest appearance conceivable .
This muffled and bandaged head was so unlike what she 6
had anticipated , that for a moment she 6
was rigid .
He 0
did not remove the serviette , but remained holding it , as she 6
saw now , with a brown gloved hand , and regarding her 6
with his 0
inscrutable blue glasses .
" Leave the hat , " he 0
said , speaking very distinctly through the white cloth .
Her 6
nerves began to recover from the shock they had received .
She 6
placed the hat on the chair again by the fire .
" I 6
did n't know , sir 0
, " she 6
began , " that -- " and she 6
stopped embarrassed .
" Thank you 6
, " he 0
said drily , glancing from her 6
to the door and then at her 6
again .
" I 6
'll have them nicely dried , sir 0
, at once , " she 6
said , and carried his 0
clothes out of the room 8
.
She 6
glanced at his 0
white-swathed head and blue goggles again as she 6
was going out of the door ; but his 0
napkin was still in front of his 0
face .
She 6
shivered a little as she 6
closed the door behind her 6
, and her 6
face was eloquent of her 6
surprise and perplexity .
" I 6
_ never _ , " she 6
whispered .
" There ! "
She 6
went quite softly to the kitchen 15
, and was too preoccupied to ask Millie 13
what she 13
was messing about with _ now _ , when she 6
got there 15
.
The visitor 0
sat and listened to her 6
retreating feet .
He 0
glanced inquiringly at the window before he 0
removed his 0
serviette , and resumed his 0
meal .
He 0
took a mouthful , glanced suspiciously at the window , took another mouthful , then rose and , taking the serviette in his 0
hand , walked across the room 8
and pulled the blind down to the top of the white muslin that obscured the lower panes .
This left the room 8
in a twilight .
This done , he 0
returned with an easier air to the table and his 0
meal .
" The poor soul 0
's had an accident or an op ' ration or somethin' , " said Mrs. Hall 6
.
" What a turn them bandages did give me 6
, to be sure ! "
She 6
put on some more coal , unfolded the clothes-horse , and extended the traveller 0
's coat upon this .
" And they goggles !
Why , he 0
looked more like a divin ' helmet than a human man 18
! "
She 6
hung his 0
muffler on a corner of the horse .
" And holding that handkerchief over his 0
mouth all the time .
Talkin ' through it !
... Perhaps his 0
mouth was hurt too -- maybe . "
She 6
turned round , as one who suddenly remembers .
" Bless my 6
soul alive ! " she 6
said , going off at a tangent ; " ai n't you 13
done them taters _ yet _ , Millie 13
? "
When Mrs. Hall 6
went to clear away the stranger 0
's lunch , her 6
idea that his 0
mouth must also have been cut or disfigured in the accident she 6
supposed him 0
to have suffered , was confirmed , for he 0
was smoking a pipe , and all the time that she 6
was in the room 8
he 0
never loosened the silk muffler he 0
had wrapped round the lower part of his 0
face to put the mouthpiece to his 0
lips .
Yet it was not forgetfulness , for she 6
saw he 0
glanced at it as it smouldered out .
He 0
sat in the corner with his 0
back to the window-blind and spoke now , having eaten and drunk and being comfortably warmed through , with less aggressive brevity than before .
The reflection of the fire lent a kind of red animation to his 0
big spectacles they had lacked hitherto .
" I 0
have some luggage , " he 0
said , " at , " and he 0
asked her 6
how he 0
could have it sent .
He 0
bowed his 0
bandaged head quite politely in acknowledgment of her 6
explanation .
" To-morrow ? " he 0
said .
" There is no speedier delivery ? " and seemed quite disappointed when she 6
answered , " No . "
Was she 6
quite sure ?
No man with
a trap 20
who would go over
19 ?
Mrs. Hall 6
, nothing loath , answered his 0
questions and developed a conversation .
" It 's a steep road by the down 21
, sir 0
, " she 6
said in answer to the question about a trap 22
; and then , snatching at an opening , said , " It was there a carriage 23
was upsettled , a year ago and more .
A gentleman 24
killed , besides .
Accidents , sir 0
, happen in a moment , do n't they ? "
But the visitor 0
was not to be drawn so easily .
" They do , " he 0
said through his 0
muffler , eyeing her 6
quietly through his 0
impenetrable glasses .