Crime & punishment > Peveril of the Peak > Volume 2

208
PEVERIL OF THE PEAK.
and £>8 he himself had done a few minutes before.
Should he awake them ?—uTo what purpose ? They
were men with whom accident had involved him
against his own will; and situated as he was, he
thought it wise to take the earliest opportunity
of breakingoff’from society, which was suspicious,
and might be perilous. Ruminating thus, he es¬
sayed another door, which admitted him toabed-
room, where lay another harmonious slnmberer*
The mean utensils, pewter measures, empty cans
and casks, with which this room was lumbered,
proclaimed it that of the host, who slept, sur¬
rounded by his professional implements of hospi¬
tality and stock in trade.
This discovery relieved Peveril from some de¬
licate embarassment which he had formerly en¬
tertained. He put upon the table a piece of mo¬
ney, sufficient, as he judged, to pay his shai’eof
the preceding night’s reckoning,- not caring to be
indebted for his entertainment to the strangers,
whom he was leaving without the formality of an
adieu.
His conscience cleared of this gentleman-like
scruple, Peveril proceeded with a light heart,
though somewhat a dizzy head, to the stable,
which he easily recognized among a few other
paltry out-houses. His horse, refreshed with rest,
and perhaps not unmindful of his services the
evening before, neighed as his master entered the
stable 5 and Peveril accepted the sound as an
omen of a prosperous journey. He paid the au-