The crowd saw what he wanted and began at once tearing off roofs in a wide circle around the fire so as to isolate it, Schubert demonstrating until scarcely a handful of thatch remained on the roof he honored and he had to stand awkwardly on the crisscross poles, while the owner and his women wept.
Within ten minutes after the commencement of the fire there was under way a regular orgy of roof pulling.

Whoever had an enemy ran and tore his roof off, and there were several instances of reciprocity, two families tearing off each other's roofs, each believing the other to be at the fire.
Muanza was a furious place--a riot--a home of din and tumult while the fire lasted, and when it was put out it took another hour to stop the fights between victims of the flames and unofficial salvage-men.
"D'ye get the idea of it ?" asked Will.

"D'ye see the Achilles heel ?" In that second, I believe, Fred Oakes and I betrayed ourselves genuine adventurers.

Any fool could have talked glibly about setting the town on fire; any coward could have yelped about the danger of it, and improbability of success.

It needed adventurers to size up instantly all the odds against the idea, recognize the one infinitesimal chance, and plump for it.