The landlord with a couple of servants stepped back as Wogan showed
himself to the light of their candles. Wogan heard their exclamations,
though he did not clearly understand them, for his ears still buzzed. He
saw their startled faces, but only dimly, for he was dazzled by the
light. He came back into the room, and pointing to his assailant,--a
sturdy, broad man, who now sat up opening and shutting his eyes in a
dazed way,--"Who is that?" he asked, gasping rather than speaking the
words.
"Who is that?" repeated the landlord, staring at Wogan.
"Who is that?" said Wogan, leaning against the bed-post.
"Why, sir, your servant. Who should he be?"
Wogan was silent for a little, considering as well as his rambling wits
allowed this new development.
"Ah!" said Wogan, "he came here with me?" "Yes, since he is your
servant."
The landlord was evidently mystified; he was no less evidently speaking
with sincerity. Wogan reflected that to proffer a charge against the
assailant would involve his own detention in Ulm.
"To be sure," said he, "I know. This is my servant. That is precisely
what I mean." His wits were at work to find a way out of his difficulty.
"This is my servant? What then?" he asked fiercely.
"But I don't understand," said the landlord.
"You don't understand!" cried Wogan. "Was there ever such a landlord? He
does not understand. This is my servant, I tell you."
"Yes, sir, but--but--"
"Well?"
"We were roused--there was a noise--a noise of men fighting."
"There would have been no noise," said Wogan, triumphantly, "if you had
prepared a bed for my servant. He would not have crept into my cupboard
to sleep off his drunkenness."
"But, sir, there was a bed."
"You should have seen that he was carried to it. As it is, here have I
been driven to beat him and to lose my night's rest in consequence. It
is not fitting. I do not think that your inn is well managed."
Wogan expressed his indignation with so majestic an air that the
landlord was soon apologising for having disturbed a gentleman in the
proper exercise of belabouring his valet.
"We will carry the fellow away," said he.
"You will do nothing of the kind," said Wogan. "He shall get back into
his cupboard and there he shall remain till daybreak. Come, get up!"