At that moment, also, a pleasant titter saluted him
from the open window above his head; he looked up, and caught the
sparkle of a saucy eye; a round arm beckoned to him, and next he heard
light footsteps descending the staircase within. But Robin, being of
the household of a New England clergyman, was a good youth, as well as
a shrewd one; so he resisted temptation, and fled away.
He now roamed desperately, and at random, through the town,
almost ready to believe that a spell was on him, like that by which
a wizard of his country had once kept three pursuers wandering, a
whole winter night, within twenty paces of the cottage which they
sought. The streets lay before him, strange and desolate, and the
lights were extinguished in almost every house. Twice, however, little
parties of men, among whom Robin distinguished individuals in
outlandish attire, came hurrying along; but though on both occasions
they paused to address him, such intercourse did not at all
enlighten his perplexity. They did but utter a few words in some
language of which Robin knew nothing, and perceiving his inability
to answer, bestowed a curse upon him in plain English, and hastened
away.
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