Snakeskin's Inebriating Triumph

Snakeskin examined all the prisoners on arrival to see if he recognized any former comrades among the men lined up outside the hotel. His eyes glistened with emotion at the idea that he was the arbiter of life and death over the men who stood before him. These were moments of inebriating triumph for snake skin, but they were coloured always by anguish. Snakeskin would save one day, condemn the next.