A whistle lanced the stillness, he was sensitive to a sudden stir at his
back and swung about, striking out at random and without effect; a
savage blow, likewise launched at random, fell notwithstanding squarely
upon his cheek, just forward of the ear; staggered, he reeled sideways
and blundered into a brace of ready arms. Before he could recover and
set himself to break that hold other arms found and wrapped his body
round from behind, a deft foot kicked his heels from under him, and,
fighting like a maniac, Lanyard took the floor with a crash that made
its timbers groan, beneath a writhing mass of humanity whose weight
alone was enough to crush him into breathless quiescence.
Overhead a prism chandelier blazed out like a sun-burst . . .
Pinned down by no less than five huskies, one to each arm and leg and
one, inevitably the stoutest, digging hard knees into his chest, Lanyard
turned his head to one side to give his eyes respite from than blinding
glare above, and lay looking directly into the apathetic mask of
Morphew.