Perrot ducked his head. From an objective point of view, there was not the slightest reason to enter the taproom in this posture. Even though it was difficult to open the massive door with its dark, almost black varnish, it still offered adequate headroom. Even Jeff, who was at least one head and a half taller than Perrot, only had to slightly bend his neck to safely cross the threshold. Perrot's reflex was attributable to his subconscious mind. The room he looked into was so low and small that Perrot had the impression he could only enter it in this way. Bulky ceiling beams which had adapted to the building's distortions towards the outer wall and inreasingly inclined towards the floor in the course of the centuries, intensified this sensation. Moreover, the room was sparsely lit so that even the whitewashed walls bathed in a hearthstone brown light. The most profound of all impressions, and thus the crucial reason for ducking his head, however, was the smell of smouldering peat, which inevitably evoked the association in Perrot of being in a narrow burrow.

Perrot ducked his head. From an objective point of view, there was not the slightest reason to enter the taproom in this posture. Even though it was difficult to open the massive door with its dark, almost black varnish, it still offered adequate headroom. Even Jeff, who was at least one head and a half taller than Perrot, only had to slightly bend his neck to safely cross the threshold. Perrot's reflex was attributable to his subconscious mind. The room he looked into was so low and small that Perrot had the impression he could only enter it in this way. Bulky ceiling beams which had adapted to the building's distortions towards the outer wall and inreasingly inclined towards the floor in the course of the centuries, intensified this sensation. Moreover, the room was sparsely lit so that even the whitewashed walls bathed in a hearthstone brown light. The most profound of all impressions, and thus the crucial reason for ducking his head, however, was the smell of smouldering peat, which inevitably evoked the association in Perrot of being in a narrow burrow.