"That? That's a feed-box, I suppose."
"What's in it?"
"I don't know. I--"
"You ought to know," said the officer sharply. He walked over to the
feed-box and flung up the lid. With a sweeping gesture he reached down
and scooped a handful of feed. "You ought to know what's in everything
when you have prisoners in your care," he added, scowling.
During the time of this incident, the girl had nearly swooned. Her
hands searched weakly over the boards for something to which to cling.
With the pallor of the dying she had watched the downward sweep of the
officer's arm, which after all had only brought forth a handful of
feed. The result was a stupefaction of her mind. She was astonished out
of her senses at this spectacle of three large men metamorphosed into a
handful of feed.