Hob arrived at the inn just at the
time when, in the court in front, Ralph, in company with the woodman,
had joined the villagers there assembled. Hob, who from long familiarity
with the habits of his master, had acquired something of a like
disposition, felt exceedingly anxious to hear what was going on; but
knowing his situation, and duly valuing his own importance as the
servant of so great a man as the village-lawyer, he conceived it
necessary to proceed with proper caution.
It is more than probable that his presence would have been unregarded
had he made his approaches freely and with confidence; but Hob was
outrageously ambitious, and mystery was delightful. He went to work in
the Indian manner, and what with occasionally taking the cover, now of a
bush, now of a pine tree, and now of a convenient hillock, Hob had got
himself very comfortably lodged in the recess of an old ditch,
originally cut to carry off a body of water which rested on what was now
in part the public mall.
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