We could not see the deer, but we heard
them as we passed alongside the park, the noise resembling that of a
pig, but not nearly so loud. We soon afterwards arrived at a fair-sized
village about half-way between Stratford and Kineton, where we recrossed
the river and, turning towards the right, walked along a lonely road for
an hour or two, until we reached Kineton, where we intended to stay the
night. We were, however, doomed to disappointment, for, as the railway
was being cut through there, the whole place was completely filled with
engineers and navvies, who had taken up all the accommodation. There was
not even a chair "to be let," so we were obliged to move on in the hope
that we might come to some house or village on the road where we could
obtain lodgings for the night. We had already walked thirty miles and
were sleepy and tired and could not walk quickly enough to keep
ourselves warm, for the night was damp with fog and very cold, and our
quick walk had caused us to perspire, so that we were now in what might
be termed a cold sweat, a danger to which we were often exposed during
these later stages of our long journey. Fortunately for us, however, the
cuttings from the sides of the hedges and ditches, which extended for
miles, had been tied in neat little bundles, possibly for sale, and
deposited on the sides of the road, and every now and then we set fire
to one of these and stayed a few minutes to warm ourselves, expecting
every moment to attract the attention of a policeman, and get ourselves
into trouble, but none appeared.
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