"Here am I!" he cried--"Huddlestone! Kill me, and spare the others!"
His sudden appearance daunted, I suppose, our hidden enemies; for
Northmour and I had time to recover, to seize Clara between us, one by
each arm, and to rush forth to his assistance, ere anything further had
taken place. But scarce had we passed the threshold when there came near a
dozen reports and flashes from every direction among the hollows of the
links. Mr. Huddlestone staggered, uttered a weird and freezing cry, threw
up his arms over his head, and fell backward on the turf.
_"Traditore! Traditore!"_ cried the invisible avengers.
And just then a part of the roof of the pavilion fell in, so rapid was the
progress of the fire. A loud, vague, and horrible noise accompanied the
collapse, and a vast volume of flame went soaring up to heaven. It must
have been visible at that moment from twenty miles out at sea, from the
shore at Graden Wester, and far inland from the peak of Graystiel, the
most eastern summit of the Caulder Hills. Bernard Huddlestone, although
God knows what were his obsequies, had a fine pyre at the moment of his
death.
IX
I should have the greatest difficulty to tell you what followed next after
this tragic circumstance. It is all to me, as I look back upon it, mixed,
strenuous, and ineffectual, like the struggles of a sleeper in a
nightmare.
Pages:
260
261
262
263
264
265
266
267
268
269
270
271
272
273
274
275
276
277
278
279
280
281
282
283
284