There was no life visible in the settlement. Almost every hut had its
shades drawn at the windows, and there was absolutely no one to be
seen in the street. As he passed down the road, Archie could catch
occasional glimpses of black eyes staring at him through a lattice, or
he could hear some muttered word as he walked close to a window. From
these signs he knew that he was observed, and he felt very much
embarrassed as he continued his walk down this deserted lane, for he
felt instinctively now that hundreds of eyes were watching his every
movement.
Finally, he came to the public square, and he sat down here to look
about him. From general appearances, he judged this to be a town of
some two thousand inhabitants, for there was a very respectable
administration building, and a good-sized church. There were but two
streets of any consequence, the one by which he had entered the town,
and another running at right angles in the opposite direction. In this
latter street, as he stood in the square, he noticed a three-story
structure with a sign outside, and he decided to go there and make
inquiries as to where he might be able to secure a lodging for the
night. It looked as if it might be an inn of some sort, or at least a
store, so he walked rapidly up to the entrance and knocked twice upon
the door. This place, in spite of its sign, looked more deserted and
shut-up than any other building he had yet seen in the town, and he
wondered whether he would receive any answer to his knocks.
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