Gilbert wondered how long he had been unconscious, but had no means of finding out. His weapons were gone, also the money he had had in his pocket. The latter had been taken by the priest's follower, not by the Buddhist himself.
An hour went by, and the young lieutenant realized that he was both hungry and thirsty. Then came a noise which was far from welcome.
A number of rats had discovered his presence, and they came out of a hole in the wall to sniff at his hands and legs. He hissed them off, and they scampered out of sight. But soon they came back, re-enforced by others; and, when he hissed again, they merely retreated to the side of the cell, evidently realizing that he could not come after them. At last one old rat, probably the father of the colony, advanced, and proceeded to sample the flesh of one of Gilbert's lower limbs.
The yell the young lieutenant gave echoed and re-echoed throughout the cell; and for the minute every rat disappeared, but only for the minute. Then they came back, in greater numbers than ever, and ran all over Gilbert's body.
Try his best, the young officer could not fight off
