He drew nearer. She was in the dense shadow near the wall, so that he
could not see her. But on her side, as he softly approached steeped in a
grayish light, she could see him with singular distinctness. Never before
had she so plainly divined the power of his lofty brow, the intelligence
of his eyes, the firm will of his mouth. And all at once she was struck
with fulgural certainty; he was coming towards the cavity without seeing
it and he would assuredly plunge into the depths unless she should stop
him as he passed. But a little while before, she, like himself, had come
from yonder, and would have fallen unless a friendly hand had restrained
her; and the frightful shudder of that moment yet palpitated in her
veins; she could still and ever see the damp black pit with the little
lantern far below. The whole horror of it flashed before her eyes--the
ground failing one, the sudden drop with a great shriek, and the smash a
moment afterwards.
Blaise drew yet nearer. But certainly such a thing was impossible; she
would prevent it, since a little motion of her hand would suffice. Would
she not always have time to stretch out her arms when he was there before
her? And yet from the recesses of her being a very clear and frigid voice
seemed to ascend, articulating brief words which rang in her ears as if
repeated by a trumpet blast.
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