and then the coming of the mob-that moment of frenzy-the struggle to escape-siferra beside him , and beenay nearby , and then the mob surging around them like a river in full spate , separating them , pulling them in opposite directions- into his mind came a single last glimpse of old athor , his eyes bright and glazed with the wildness of utter madness , standing majestically on a chair , furiously ordering the intruders out of his building as though he were not merely the director of the observatory but its king .