He stood erect and silent in their midst, and massive and square.

His brave bearing did not break their fury.

They fell upon him, a hundred hands together.

One struck at his face, another tore at his long grey hair, and a third thrust him down on to his knees.
No one had yet observed on the outer rim of the crowd the pale slight girl that stood there--blind, dumb, powerless, frail, and so softly beautiful--a waif on the margin of a tempestuous sea.

Through the thick barriers of Naomi's senses everything was coming to her ugly and terrible.