'he struck it on an old bit of iron , ' said nourishing , 'and then he walked out along the beam with it flaring , and down below i could see all the crowd , the hay racks and the straw all over the place , and the people milling around , just like , hah , just like rats ... and i thought , if you drop that , mister , the place will fill with smoke in a few seconds and they 've locked the doors and by the time they realize it they 'll be caught like , hah , yeah , like rats in a barrel and we 'll be away along the gutters .