He rose from the bench.

A man in a long cloak entered the room, behind him a soldier bearing a lantern which he set upon a shelf above a litter of boards and kegs.
Dismissed by a gesture, he went out, shutting the door behind him.
The first man dropped his cloak, drew a heavy stool from the thrust-aside lumber, and sat down beneath the lantern.

He spoke: "Of all our many meeting-places, this looks most like the old cave in the glen!" Ian moistened his lips.

He resumed his seat against the wall.

"I wondered, after Prestonpans, if you went home." "Did you ?" "No, you are right.