"Before another word could be spoken in that room I was amazed by
hearing the sound of distant thunder.
"I had carried in with me into the house a vivid impression of a
beautiful clear moonlight night, without a speck of cloud in the sky. I
could not believe my ears. Sent early abroad for my education, I was not
familiar with the most dreaded natural phenomenon of my native land.
I saw, with inexpressible astonishment, a look of terror in my chief's
eyes. Suddenly I felt giddy. The General staggered against me heavily;
the girl seemed to reel in the middle of the room, the taper fell out
of her hand and the light went out; a shrill cry of 'Misericordia!'
from the old woman pierced my ears. In the pitchy darkness I heard the
plaster off the walls falling on the floor. It is a mercy there was no
ceiling. Holding on to the latch of the door, I heard the grinding of
the roof-tiles cease above my head. The shock was over.
|