To thrust Kenneth into a corner, to extinguish the light, and to fling himself upon the bed was all the work of an instant.
The key grated in the lock, and Crispin answered it with a resounding snore.

The door opened, and on the threshold stood the Roundhead trooper, holding aloft a lanthorn whose rays were flashed back by his polished cuirass.

He beheld Crispin on the bed with closed eyes and open mouth, and he heard his reassuring and melodious snore.

He saw Kenneth seated peacefully upon the floor, with his back against the wall, and for a moment he was puzzled.
"Heard you aught ?" he asked.
"Aye," answered Kenneth, in a strangled voice, "I heard something like a shot out there." The gesture with which he accompanied the words was fatal.

Instinctively he had jerked his thumb towards the window, thereby drawing the soldier's eyes in that direction.