The storm shrieked over the _veldt_. It was
pandemonium.
Stiffly he straightened his cramped muscles. His heart was
thumping in heavy, uneven strokes, obstructing his breathing. He
fought for a few seconds to fill his lungs. The atmosphere was
dense with sand. It came swirling in upon him, suffocating him.
He stood up, and was astounded to feel his own weakness against
that terrific onslaught. Grimly he forced his way to the open
window. The _veldt_ was alight with lurid, leaping flame. The
far-off hills stood up like ramparts in the amazing glare, stabbed
here and there with molten swords of an unendurable brightness. He
had seen many a raging storm before, but never a storm like this.
The sand blinded him and he dragged the window shut, using all his
strength. It beat upon the glass with baffled fury. The thunder
rolled and echoed overhead like the chariot-wheels of God, shaking
the world. The clouds above the lightning were black as night.
Suddenly far across the blazing _veldt_ he saw a sight that
tightened every muscle, sending a wild thrill through every nerve.
It came from the hills, a black, swift-moving pillar, seeming to
trail just above the ground, travelling straight forward through
the storm. Over rocks and past _kopjes_ it travelled, propelled by
a force unseen, and ever as it drew nearer it loomed more black and
terrible.
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