"It was over quickly, at least," he says. "And in a way--in a way it made them more real, more human. We don't know their names, don't know anything about them other than where they were found or what they were carrying, but it's easier to identify with them than with someone who's just a name in a churchyard."

If that. Cattle die, kinsmen die, but one thing I know that never does, and all that, but what of all the people of whom no trace remains? They mattered too.

"I don't know whether it's a failure of imagination or empathy. Maybe it's both."