Almost instantly I was the centre of a snarling mass of lions; I saw
nothing; my whip rose and fell mechanically. I stood like one
stunned, while the tawny forms leaped right and left.
Suddenly I heard a keeper say, "Look out for Empress Khatoun, sir!"
And a moment later a cry, "Look out, sir!"
Something went wrong with another lion, too, for the people were
standing up and shouting, and the sleeve of my coat hung from the
elbow, showing my bare shoulder. I staggered up against the bars of
the sliding door as a lioness struck me heavily and I returned the
blow. I remember saying, aloud: "I must keep my feet; I must not
fall!" Then daylight grew red, and I was on my knees, with the foul
breath of a lion in my face. A hot iron bar shot across the cage. The
roaring of beasts and people died out in my ears; then, with a shock,
my soul seemed to be dashed out of me into a terrific darkness.