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We shall soon get warm after that."
They stripped, wrung the water from their clothes, rolled themselves in
the hay until they felt a glow of returning warmth, and then put on
their clothes again. Scarcely had they done so when the man came in
with a large tankard and two hunks of bread.
"Here," he said, "drink this and then be off. We want no strangers
hanging round here."
At any other time the boys would have refused hospitality so
cheerlessly offered, but they were too weak to resist the temptation.
The tankard contained hot-spiced ale, and a sensation of warmth and
comfort stole over them as soon as they had drunk its contents and
eaten a few mouthfuls of bread. The man stood by them while they ate.
"Are you the only ones saved from the wreck?" he asked.
"I trust that we are not," Geoffrey replied. "The master of the boat
tied us to a mast as soon as she struck, and he and the two men with
him were going to try to get to shore in the same way."
As soon as they had finished they stood up and handed the tankard to
the man.


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