As he munched his bread he tried desperately to think, to
remember; but all within him was a passionate misery, capable only
of groans and curses. An intolerable weariness possessed his limbs.
After sitting for a while with his back against the wall, he could
not longer hold himself in this position, but sank down and lay at
full length; and even so he ached, ached, from head to foot.
Perhaps an hour had passed, and it was now quite dark within the
temple, when two of the men appeared with blazing torches, for they,
by means of flint and iron, had lit a fire in a hollow hard by, and
meant to keep it up through the night as a protection against
wolves. They brought Basil a draught of water in a leather bottle,
from a little stream they had found; and he drank gratefully, but
without a word. The torchlight showed bare walls and a shattered
roof. Having searched all round and discovered neither reptile nor
beast, the men made a bed of leaves and bracken, with a folded cloak
for a pillow, and invited their master to lie upon it. Basil did so,
turned his face away, and bade them leave him alone.
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