They were mad for loot, but in my ignorance I supposed them to be obeying orders, and I turned aside and clambered down after them.
We crossed a roadway and plunged into a dark and deserted street at the foot of which shone a solitary lamp.

Then I learned what my comrades were after.

The first door they came to they broke down with their musket-butts.

An old man was crouching behind it; and, dragging him out, they tossed him from one to another, jabbing at him with their bayonets.

I ran on, shutting my ears to his screams.
I was alone now; and, as it seemed, in a forsaken town.