holding his breath , he returned and examined the figure more closely : an untrimmed beard stained a number of colors , ancient crumbs of food still trapped within it , a glistening line of saliva down through its strands , framing teeth which had gone beyond yellow to a brownish cast , several of them broken , many missing , the remainder worn ; the heavily lined face could be seen as sallow in the light which fell upon it through the nearest hole in the roof ; nose broken at least twice ; heavy encrustations of pus at the corners of the eyes , dried upon the lashes ; hair wiry , tangled long and gray pale as smoke .