he piled his rocks into a hasty cairn , and commending his soul to the mercy of god , plunged back into the river and fled , stumbling and choking , rocks rolling and sliding under his feet , fled for as long as his trembling legs would carry him , before the smoke seized him by the throat , filled head and nose and chest , and choked him , the band of scarring a hand that squeezed out air and life , and left only blackness behind his eyes , lit by the flickering redness of fire .