Here
they had been looking upon twelve men, living in almost barbaric fashion
amid the ruins of a great city; but the men had been eating from hand-
painted china of the finest quality, and using silverware that was
simply elegant, nothing less! Luxury in the midst of desolation!
Rolla, however, paid little attention to these details. She was scarcely
curious as to the food, which consisted of some sort of vegetable and
meat stew, together with butterless bread, a kind of small-grained corn
on the cob, a yellowish root-vegetable not unlike turnips, and large
quantities of berries. She was too hungry to be particular, and ate
heartily of all that was offered, whether cooked or uncooked. The twelve
almost forgot their own hunger in their interest in the stranger.
It was now pretty dark in the big room. The white-bearded man said
something to the young fellow at the foot of the table, whereupon the
chap got up and stepped to the nearest wall, where he pressed something
with the tip of his finger. Instantly the room was flooded with white
light--from two incandescent bulbs!
Rolla leaped to her feet in amazement, blinking painfully in the
unaccustomed glare.
"What is this?" she demanded, all the more furiously to hide her fear.
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