"At
present," I argued to myself, "I am strong and a match for six of these
wretches. It is imperatively necessary that I should, for my own sake, keep
both health and strength until the hour of my release comes--if it ever does."
Fortified with these resolutions, I ate and drank as much as I could, and made
Gunga Dass understand that I intended to be his master, and that the least
sign of insubordination on his part would be visited with the only punishment
I had it in my power to inflict--sudden and violent death. Shortly after this
I went to bed.
That is to say, Gunga Dass gave me a double armful of dried bents which I
thrust down the mouth of the lair to the right of his, and followed myself,
feet foremost; the hole running about nine feet into the sand with a slight
downward inclination, and being neatly shored with timbers. From my den, which
faced the river-front, I was able to watch the waters of the Sutlej flowing
past under the light of a young moon and compose myself to sleep as best I
might.
The horrors of that night I shall never forget. My den was nearly as narrow as
a coffin, and the sides had been worn smooth and greasy by the contact of
innumerable naked bodies, added to which it smelled abominably.
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