But as I lifted my head, listening intently, I knew the man to be beyond the wooden partition at my right, and that he was praying fervently.

Somehow heartened by this discovery I crept out from the bed of papers, and stole silently forward to the narrow door which apparently led into this second apartment.

The voice never ceased in its monotonous appeal, and I ventured to lift the latch, and take cautious glance through the slight opening.
It was a blacksmith shop of fair size, fully equipped with all the tools of the trade, the walls blackened by smoke, the earthen floor littered with _debris_, a leathern apron hanging over the anvil.

A curtain drawn aside formed a smaller, separate apartment, with puncheon floor, lighted by a small window through which a gleam of sun fell.

I caught therein glimpse of a bunk full of disarranged blankets, a straight-back chair, and a small table, with a few books lying upon it.