accept it and wait calmly
for the end.

The life of the world seemed so far away from me. My family, my home,
my friends and scenes that I used to know so well seemed in a misty
past, a long, long way away--a different age.

After all, it did not matter very much. It was all so very long ago.
It had all happened long ago. My absence was an accepted fact; I was
now a memory.

Now, I have already said that I awoke refreshed. I will say, further,
that I was never so clear-headed in my life. I had little power in my
limbs. My brain was never more calm and calculating and indifferent to
the death which I knew was at hand.

It was not nerve, because I had none. It had nothing to do with the
question of pluck or cowardice. It was simply the state of the brain
before its last kick. I had ceased to resist my fate; I accepted it. I
was not dead yet--but I was to die there, and that was to be my grave.

I began to think out calmly in what way my life would flicker out, and
I concluded that it would come as a result of my wound during a period
of unconsciousness, or by the slower process of thirst, starvation,
and exposure. In the latter case I should probably have violent spasms
or struggles. I had better prepare myself.

I was lying in a very uncomfortable position. There was a pile of
loose earth, which stuck against my body awkwardly. With my hands and
feet I scooped it out until my body lay comfortably in a hollow, with
the loose earth forming a sort of bed. In doing this I found a
water-bottle. Arnold must have left it behind for me. There was only a
drain in it, which I drank, and threw the bottle away.

I next searched my pockets for food and found a small crust, the
remains of what had been my food the day before the attack. I placed
this carefully in my pocket for use at the time when I should
experience the final pangs of starvation. My own water-bottle still
contained about half a pint of water. I placed this on the ground,
close to where my face would be, so that I could clutch it readily.

These preparations over, my brain began to get tired. There was
nothing else to be done; everything was ready. I would lie down now
and wait for the end. I laid my head on the ground, using the side of
the shell-hole as a pillow.

I was very comfortable, the soft earth seemed almost like a bed. After
all, I was a lucky fellow to be able to die in a comfortable way like
this. I wondered how long it would really be--days mo