With a groan he plunged on, horribly full of aches and hunger.

Always now he would understand the Gaelic legend of Far Goila, the gaunt Man of Hunger who goes touring up and down the land in times of famine bringing luck to those who feed him.

Even his taste for cheese was returning.

The holocaust of the morning filled him with bitter regret.

As for his feet, they felt shapeless and huge and fungus-like and full of burning needles.