danger! the horror of such a
repulsive death! I remember saying at the time that in his place I would
have snatched a quick respite from the lingering agonies by strangling
myself, or tearing my wrist open with my teeth. Now, as I thought of
it, I suddenly remembered my dream of being similarly smothered in the
Gnomons by slowly inpouring grain. A superstitious mind would have
feared that dream foretold my fate, but I was rational enough to
perceive that it must have been suggested to me by a vagrant memory of
the poisoning I had seen.

As I lay thinking thus, I shifted my position a little on the pillows
for better comfort, and my eyes wandered slowly from the vaulted roof to
the daylight at the two little high windows. I started in terror at what
I saw, but blinked my eyes to make sure I was awake, and then looked
more intently. There was no dreaming this time! I saw clearly, and at
both windows, a curling, purple stream of dense, noxious gas pouring
down into the room! It was much heavier than the air, and trickled
slowly down like the ghost of murky waters gradually filling up a great
well. Then I turned to look at the floor, the stones were no longer
visible, but a coat of muddy purple covered them to a depth of several
inches, and the noisome gas already reached almost to the tops of my
cushions! All this had trickled in within ten minutes, and twice as much
more would rise and cover me completely. Then an awful but silent death
would creep into my lungs, and my only friends, the common people of
Kem, would never know how I had perished.

Did I try to strangle myself or tear open my wrist? I could not get hand
and mouth near enough together for either of these expedients, had the
stubborn instinct of self-preservation left them any place in my mind. I
kicked away the cushions, which gave me a little more room to work my
knees under me. Then by straining on my thongs I was able to lift my
head and shoulders upright, and save my nostrils from the noxious stuff
for many minutes longer. All the years of my life on Ptah I had been
vain of my superior physical strength. Would it serve me now to break
the thongs that bound me? I tugged, and pulled, and struggled until I
cut the flesh, but they only drew tighter; yet at each effort I gained a
little more length of thong.

The purple surface, on which death floated, crept up toward me. The room
was gas-tight; the doors were so covered that they could not leak, and
had I