"But, dear, for my sake, don't have any quarrel with Mr. Caswall. I havehad too much trial and pain lately to wish it increased by any anxietyregarding you."
"You shall not, dear--if I can help it--please God," he said solemnly,and he kissed her.
Then, in order to keep her interested so that she might forget the fearsand anxieties that had disturbed her, he began to talk over the detailsof her adventure, making shrewd comments which attracted and held herattention. Presently, _inter alia_, he said:
"That's a dangerous game Caswall is up to. It seems to me that thatyoung man--though he doesn't appear to know it--is riding for a fall!"
"How, dear? I don't understand."
"Kite flying on a night like this from a place like the tower of CastraRegis is, to say the least of it, dangerous. It is not merely courtingdeath or other accident from lightning, but it is bringing the lightninginto where he lives. Every cloud that is blowing up here--and they allmake for the highest point--is bound
to develop into a flash oflightning. That kite is up in the air and is bound to attract thelightning. Its cord makes a road for it on which to travel to earth.When it does come, it will strike the top of the tower with a weight ahundred times greater than a whole park of artillery, and will knockCastra Regis into pieces. Where it will go after that, no one can tell.If there should be any metal by which it can travel, such will not onlypoint the road, but be the road itself."
"Would it be dangerous to be out in the open air when such a thing istaking place?" she asked.
"No, little woman. It would be the safest possible place--so long as onewas not in the line of the electric current."
"Then, do let us go outside. I don't want to run into any foolishdanger--or, far more, to ask you to do so. But surely if the open issafest, that is the place for us."
Without another word, she put on again the cloak she had thrown off, anda small, tight-fitting cap. Adam too put on his cap, and, after seeingthat his revolver was all right, gave her his hand, and they left thehouse together.
"I think the best thing we can do will be to go round all the placeswhich are mixed up in this affair."
"All right, dear, I am ready. But, if you don't mind, we might go firstto Mercy. I am anxious about grandfather, and we might see that--as yet,at all events--nothing has happened there."
So they went on the high-hung road along the top of the Brow. The windhere was of great force, and made a strange booming noise as it swepthigh overhead; though not the sound of cracking and tearing as it passedthrough the woods of high slender trees which grew on either side of theroad. Mimi could hardly keep her feet. She was not afraid; but theforce to which she was opposed gave her a good excuse to hold on to herhusband extra tight.
At Mercy there was no one up--at least, all the lights were out. But toMimi, accustomed to the nightly routine of the house, there were manifestsigns that all was well, except in the little room on the first floor,where the blinds were down. Mimi could not bear to look at that, tothink of it. Adam understood her pain, for he had been keenly interestedin poor Lilla. He bent over and kissed her, and then took her hand andheld it hard. Thus they passed on together, returning to the high roadtowards Castra Regis.
At the gate of Castra Regis they were extra careful. When drawing near,Adam stumbled upon the wire that Lady Arabella had left trailing on theground.
Adam drew his breath at this, and spoke in a low, earnest whisper:
"I don't want to frighten you, Mimi dear, but wherever that wire is thereis danger."
"Danger! How?"
"That is the track where the lightning will go; at any moment, even nowwhilst we are speaking and searching, a fearful force may be loosed uponus. Run on, dear; you know the way to where the avenue joins thehighroad. If you see any sign of the wire, keep away from it, for God'ssake. I shall join you at the gateway."
"Are you going to follow that wire alone?"
"Yes, dear. One is sufficient for that work. I shall not lose a momenttill I am with you."
"Adam, when I came with you into the open, my main wish was that weshould be together if anything serious happened. You wouldn't deny methat right, would you, dear?"
"No, dear, not that or any right. Thank God that my wife has such awish. Come; we will go together. We are in the hands of God. If Hewishes, we shall be together at the end, whenever or wherever that maybe."
They picked up the trail of the wire on the steps and followed it downthe avenue, taking care not to touch it with their feet. It was easyenough to follow, for the wire, if not bright, was self-coloured, andshowed clearly. They followed it out of the gateway and into the avenueof Diana's Grove.
Here a new gravity clouded Adam's face, though Mimi saw no cause forfresh concern. This was easily enough explained. Adam knew of theexplosive works in progress regarding the well-hole, but the matter hadbeen kept from his wife. As they stood near the house, Adam asked Mimito return to the road, ostensibly to watch the course of the wire,telling her that there might be a branch wire leading somewhere else. Shewas to search the undergrowth, and if she found it, was to warn him bythe Australian native "Coo-ee!"
Whilst they were standing together, there came a blinding flash oflightning, which lit up for several seconds the whole area of earth andsky. It was only the first note of the celestial prelude, for it wasfollowed in quick succession by numerous flashes, whilst the crash androll of thunder seemed continuous.
Adam, appalled, drew his wife to him and held her close. As far as hecould estimate by the interval between lightning and thunder-clap, theheart of the storm was still some distance off, so he felt no presentconcern for their safety. Still, it was apparent that the course of thestorm was moving swiftly in their direction. The lightning flashes camefaster and faster and closer together; the thunder-roll was almostcontinuous, not stopping for a moment--a new crash beginning before theold one had ceased. Adam kept looking up in the direction where the kitestrained and struggled at its detaining cord, but, of course, the dullevening light prevented any distinct scrutiny.
At length there came a flash so appallingly bright that in its glareNature seemed to be standing still. So long did it last, that there wastime to distinguish its configuration. It seemed like a mighty treeinverted, pendent from the sky. The whole country around within theangle of vision was lit up till it seemed to glow. Then a broad ribbonof fire seemed to drop on to the tower of Castra Regis just as thethunder crashed. By the glare, Adam could see the tower shake andtremble, and finally fall to pieces like a house of cards. The passingof the lightning left the sky again dark, but a blue flame fell downwardfrom the tower, and, with inconceivable rapidity, running along theground in the direction of Diana's Grove, reached the dark silent house,which in the instant burst into flame at a hundred different points.
At the same moment there rose from the house a rending, crashing sound ofwoodwork, broken or thrown about, mixed with a quick scream so appallingthat Adam, stout of heart as he undoubtedly was, felt his blood turn intoice. Instinctively, despite the danger and their consciousness of it,husband and wife took hands and listened, trembling. Something was goingon close to them, mysterious, terrible, deadly! The shrieks continued,though less sharp in sound, as though muffled. In the midst of them wasa terrific explosion, seemingly from deep in the earth.