"As I spoke I jumped out, and got two glasses of brandy and water, hot, strong, and sweet, I had in about two minutes made, out of the house.
"'Here,' said I, 'drink—drink it all up—it will make your eyes start out of your head.'
"I spoke the truth, for what with my recommendations, and his nervousness and haste, he drank nearly half of it at a gulp.
"I shall never forget his countenance. Ha! ha! ha! I can't keep my mirth to myself. Just imagine the girl inside a covered cart, all dark, so dark that you could hardly see the outline of the shadow of a man, and then imagine, if you can, a pair of keen eyes, that shone in the dark like cat's eyes, suddenly give out a flash of light, and then turn round in their sockets, showing the whites awfully, and then listen to the fall of the glass, and see him grasp his throat with one hand, and thrust the other hand into his stomach. There was a queer kind of voice came from his throat, and then something like a curse and a groan escaped him.
"'Damn it,' said I, 'what is the matter now?—you've upset all the liquor—you are very nervous—you had better have another dose.'
"'No more—no more,' he said faintly and huskily, 'no more—for God's sake no more. I am almost choked—my throat is scalded, and my entrails on fire!'
"'I told you it was hot,' said I.
"'Yes, hot, boiling hot—go on. I'm mad with pain—push on.'
"'Will you have any water, or anything to cool your throat?' said I.
"'No, no—go on.'