.. there's a
Day of Judgment feeling in the air. It began with the donkeys waking up
and trembling; I noticed that and thought it queer. Then the drivers
jumped up--I saw the terror in their faces. Then a roar.... I remember
noticing a big black crack in the convent-wall opposite--a zig-zag crack,
like a flash of lightning in a wood-cut.... I thought of that, too, at the
time; then all the bells in the place began to ring--it made a fearful
discord.... I saw people rushing across the square ... the air was full of
crashing noises. The floor went down under me in a sickening way and then
jumped back and pitched me to the ceiling ... but where _was_ the ceiling?
And the door? I said to myself: _We're two stories up--the stairs are just
wide enough for one_.... I gave one glance at Collis: he was lying in bed,
wide awake, looking straight at me. I ran. Something struck me on the head
as I bolted downstairs--I kept on running. I suppose the knock I got dazed
me, for I don't remember much of anything till I found myself in a
vineyard a mile from the town. I was roused by the warm blood running down
my nose and heard myself explaining to Meriton exactly how it had
happened....
"When I crawled back to the town they told me that all the houses near the
inn were in ruins and that a dozen people had been killed. Collis was
among them, of course. The ceiling had come down on him."
Mr. Carstyle wiped his forehead. Vibart sat looking away from him.
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