And he dared not risk that! He dared not let the winds of heaven blow too roughly on that! If aught befel him this night, the irony of it! The mockery of it! The deadly, deadly folly of it! He sweated at the thought.

He cursed, cursed frantically his folly in omitting to give himself out for worse than he was; in omitting to take to his bed early in the day! Then he might have kept it through the night, through the fight; then he might have avoided risks.

Now he felt that every ball discharged at a venture must strike him; that if he showed so much as his face at a window death must find its opportunity.
He would not have dared to pass through a street on a windy day now--for if a tile fell it must fall on him.

And he must fight! He must fight! His manhood shrivelled within him at the thought.

He shuddered.