Ough!“Quickjerksasofgalvanicshocksdisclosedundertheflatcoverlettheoutlinesofmeagreandagitatedlegs；heletgomyshoulderandreachedaftersomethingintheair；hisbodytrembledtenselylikeareleasedharp-string；
andwhileIlookeddown，thespectralhorrorinhimbrokethroughhisglassygaze。Instantlyhisfaceofanoldsoldier，withitsnobleandcalmoutlines，becamedecomposedbeforemyeyesbythecorruptionofstealthycunning，ofanabominablecautionandofdesperatefear。Herestrainedacry——“Ssh!
whataretheydoingnowdownthere？“heasked，pointingtothefloorwithfantasticprecautionsofvoiceandgesture，whosemeaning，borneuponmymindinaluridflash，mademeverysickofmycleverness。“Theyareallasleep，“Ianswered，watchinghimnarrowly。Thatwasit。That’swhathewantedtohear；theseweretheexactwordsthatcouldcalmhim。Hedrewalongbreath。“Ssh!Quiet，steady。Iamanoldstagerouthere。Iknowthembrutes。Bashintheheadofthefirstthatstirs。There’stoomanyofthem，andshewon’tswimmorethantenminutes。“Hepantedagain。“Hurryup，“heyelledsuddenly，andwentoninasteadyscream：“Theyareallawake——millionsofthem。Theyaretramplingonme!Wait!Oh，wait!I’llsmashtheminheapslikeflies。Waitforme!Help!H-e-lp!“Aninterminableandsustainedhowlcompletedmydiscomfiture。Isawinthedistancetheaccidentcaseraisedeplorablybothhishandstohisbandagedhead；adresser，apronedtotheshin，showedhimselfinthevistaoftheward，asifseeninthesmallendofatelescope。Iconfessedmyselffairlyrouted，andwithoutmoreado，steppingoutthroughoneofthelongwindows，escapedintotheoutsidegallery。Thehowlpursuedmelikeavengeance。Iturnedintoadesertedlanding，andsuddenlyallbecameverystillandquietaroundme，andIdescendedthebareandshinystaircaseinasilencethatenabledmetocomposemydistractedthoughts。DownbelowImetoneoftheresidentsurgeonswhowascrossingthecourtyardandstoppedme。“Beentoseeyourman，captain？Ithinkwemaylethimgoto-morrow。Thesefoolshavenonotionoftakingcareofthemselves，though。Isay，we’vegotthechiefengineerofthatpilgrimshiphere。Acuriouscase。D。T。’softheworstkind。HehasbeendrinkinghardinthatGreek’sorItalian’sgrog-shopforthreedays。Whatcanyouexpect？Fourbottlesofthatkindofbrandyaday，Iamtold。Wonderful，iftrue。Sheetedwithboiler-ironinside，Ishouldthink。Thehead，ah!thehead，ofcourse，gone，butthecuriouspartisthere’ssomesortofmethodinhisraving。Iamtryingtofindout。Mostunusual——thatthreadoflogicinsuchadelirium。Traditionallyheoughttoseesnakes，buthedoesn’t。Goodoldtradition’satadiscountnowadays。Eh!His——er——visionsarebatrachian。Ha!ha!No，seriously，I
neverrememberbeingsointerestedinacaseofjimjamsbefore。Heoughttobedead，don’tyouknow，aftersuchafestiveexperiment。Oh!heisatoughobject。Four-and-twentyyearsofthetropicstoo。Yououghtreallytotakeapeepathim。Noble-lookingoldboozer。MostextraordinarymanIevermet——medically，ofcourse。Won’tyou？“
`Ihadbeenallalongexhibitingtheusualpolitesignsofinterest，butnowassuminganairofregretImurmuredofwantoftime，andshookhandsinahurry。“Isay，“hecriedafterme，“hecan’tattendthatinquiry。