By-and-by the men finished and went away, fastening the door behind them

and taking the lantern with them. The shivering King made for the

blankets, with as good speed as the darkness would allow; gathered them

up, and then groped his way safely to the stall. Of two of the blankets

he made a bed, then covered himself with the remaining two. He was a

glad monarch, now, though the blankets were old and thin, and not quite

warm enough; and besides gave out a pungent horsey odour that was

almost

suffocatingly powerful.

Although the King was hungry and chilly, he was also so tired and

so drowsy that these latter influences soon began to get the

advantage of the former, and he presently dozed off into a state of

semi-consciousness. Then, just as he was on the point of losing himself

wholly, he distinctly felt something touch him! He was broad awake in a

moment, and gasping for breath. The cold horror of that mysterious touch

in the dark almost made his heart stand still. He lay motionless, and

listened, scarcely breathing. But nothing stirred, and there was no

sound. He continued to listen, and wait, during what seemed a long time,

but still nothing stirred, and there was no sound. So he began to drop

into a drowse once more, at last; and all at once he felt that mysterious

touch again! It was a grisly thing, this light touch from this noiseless

and invisible presence; it made the boy sick with ghostly fears. What

should he do? That was the question; but he did not know how to answer

185

The Prince and The Pauper