Then I knew that he had
guessed who we were, and was off to warn the hue and cry; but before
Elzevir was on his feet again, the boy was out of sight, over the
hill-brow.
'Let us move on,' said Block; 'tis but a little distance now to go, and
the heat is past already. We must have slept three hours or more, for
thou art but a sorry watchman, John. 'Tis when the sentry sleeps that
the enemy laughs, and for thee the Posse might have had us both like
daylight owls.'
With that he took me on his back and made off with a lusty stride,
keeping as much as possible under the brow of the hill and in the shelter
of the walls. We had slept longer than we thought, for the sun was
westering fast, and though the rest had refreshed me, my leg had grown
stiff, and hurt the more in dangling when we started again. Elzevir was
still walking strongly, in spite of the heavy burden he carried, and in
less than half an hour I knew, though I had never been there before, we
were in the land of the old marble quarries at the back of Anvil Point.
Although I knew little of these quarries, and certainly was in evil
plight to take note of anything at that time, yet afterwards I learnt
much about them. Out of such excavations comes that black Purbeck Marble
which you see in old churches in our country, and I am told in other
parts of England as well.
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