overthrew the reason of half the unhappy wretches behind us. A wild
howl went up, and a frantic struggle commenced to get to the windows.
Those who a few minutes before had been rational Christian beings were
now to be seen fighting and striking each other as they leaped and
plunged to climb over those in front. Marian, terror-stricken by the
outburst, put her hands before her eyes, and would have been swept
away from her place like a leaf if I had not set my back to hers and
fought furiously against the lunatics behind. I can see now the dark,
flushed face of one man, his parched tongue dropping out of his mouth,
and his eyes rolling horribly, quite mad, as he flung himself upon me
and tried to tear me down. To add to the horror, the Indian soldiers
brought their torches to the windows in order to gloat on this scene.
I heard them laugh like devils as the red light flashed on the naked
heap of infuriated Englishmen writhing and fighting in that narrow
hell.

After ten minutes the struggles began to die down through sheer
exhaustion, and then those of us who stood next the windows were
allowed to drink from the skins; after which we filled hats with the
water and passed them into the back of the apartment. In this way
every one obtained some, but no good effect was wrought thereby. So
far as I was concerned, the heat and drought were so fearful that no
sooner had I swallowed my share of the fluid than my throat became as
dry as it had been before--the momentary relief served only to
aggravate my torments.

Then as the fever gained upon me, my thoughts broke bounds, and there
danced confusedly through my brain odd scraps of memories and pictures
of other scenes. For whole moments together I lost the knowledge of
where I was; those dark walls and haggard faces passed, and in their
stead came visions of the pleasant places I used to know, the ruffling
of the wind upon the Breydon Water and the dykes, the stir among the
reeds and rushes, and the cattle browsing in the Norfolk fields.
Instead of the swarthy Indian soldiers with their torches I saw the
friendly, homely figures of the carters as they rode their horses to
the pool at sundown after the day's work was over, and the familiar
groups of villagers, and the face of little Patience Thurstan as she
looked up at me, ready to weep, that time I said goodbye to her on my
last day at home; and there rose before me the likeness of the dear
old homestead, the gables and th