thing of flesh and blood, I was called upon to meet. He was no better
armed than myself, and he possessed no advantage in that darkness,
except his knowledge of surroundings. I straightened up, and advanced
slowly, testing the wall with my hand, every muscle stiffened for
action, listening for the slightest sound. I encountered nothing,
heard nothing, until my groping fingers touched the rough plank of a
sleeping berth. I explored this cautiously, lifting the edge of a
coarse blanket, and reaching up to make sure the one above was also
unoccupied. Satisfied that both were empty I worked my way blindly
along to the second tier. As I reached into the lower of the two bunks
my finger came in contact with some substance that left the impression
of a human body beneath the blanket. I jerked away, startled,
expecting my light touch would arouse the occupant. There was no
movement, however, nor could I distinguish any sound of breathing.

Convinced I had been mistaken, I reached in once more to assure myself
of the truth, and my hand touched cold, clammy flesh. The shock of
discovery sent me reeling backward so suddenly that I slipped and fell.
It was a man--a dead man! In imagination I could see the wide-open,
sightless eyes, staring toward me through the dark. Trembling with the
unreasonable terror of unstrung nerves, I yet managed to regain my
feet. It was not the dead body, so much as the black gloom, which
robbed me of manhood. I could not see where to go, how to escape. At
whatever cost I must procure light. The very desperation yielded me
reckless courage. Shaking as with palsy, yet with teeth clinched, I
reached forward, groping my way back to the side of the bunk. I
touched the edge of the blanket, and thrust it away, feeling the body.
The man was fully dressed, lying upon his back, and I experienced no
difficulty in attaining the pockets of his coat. In the third I found
what I sought--a box of matches.