His head commenced to swim, black spots began to dance before his eyes, and then it became dark.
There was a ringing in his ears. He could not see the train or hear the noise. Only one thought possessed him.
"I shall not be able to keep standing up. I shall fall and drop the flag; the train will pass over me. Help me, oh Lord!"
All turned black before him, his mind became a blank, and he dropped the flag; but the blood-stained banner did not fall to the ground. A hand seized it and held it high to meet the approaching train.
The engineer saw it, shut the regulator, and reversed steam.
The train came to a standstill.
People jumped out of the carriages and collected in a crowd.
They saw a man lying senseless on the footway, drenched in blood, and another man standing beside him with a blood-stained rag on a stick.
Vasily looked around at all. Then, lowering his head, he said:
"Bind me. I tore up a rail!"