They also pricked him a route on a slip of parchment, and the prior gave him a silver guilden to help him on the road, and advised him to join the first honest company he should fall in with, "and not face alone the manifold perils of the way." "Perils ?" said Gerard to himself.
That evening he came to a small straggling town where was one inn; it had no sign; but being now better versed in the customs of the country, he detected it at once by the coats of arms on its walls.

These belonged to the distinguished visitors who had slept in it at different epochs since its foundation, and left these customary tokens of their patronage.

At present it looked more like a mausoleum than a hotel.
Nothing moved nor sounded either in it or about it.

Gerard hammered on the great oak door: no answer.

He hallooed: no reply.