I saw a thousand things that were, perhaps, not really there, but were there at any rate for me.

If I was beaten to-night I was beaten once and for all....

I saw the shining road under the starlight and shadows of wounded men, groaning and stumbling, whispering their way along.
"Let's go," said Nikitin.
I drew a breath and stepped out into the moonlight.

A shell burst with a delicate splash of fire amongst the stars.

The road looked very long and very, very lonely.
However, soon I found myself walking along it quite casually and talking about unimportant peaceful things.