by the time he found the lane , he had an uneasy feeling ; this grew markedly , as he poked his way through the ramshackle sheds and the knots of filthy , polyglot children that broke from their play , brightening at the novel sight , and followed him , hissing unintelligible speculations to each other , but who stared blankly at him , mouths open , when he asked after captain stubbs , pointing at his own uniform by way of illustration , with a questioning wave at their surroundings .