He watched it with a grim elation, drawn irresistibly by its
immensity, its awfulness. Straight towards him it came, and the
lightning was dulled by its nearness and the thunder hushed. He
heard a swishing, whistling sound like the shriek of a shell, and
instinctively he gathered himself together for the last great shock
which no human power could withstand, the shattering asunder of
soul and body, the swift amazing release of the spirit.
Involuntarily he shut his eyes as the thing drew near; but he did
not shrink, nor was there terror in his heart.
"Thank God I shall die like a man!" he said through his set teeth.
And then--while he waited tense and ready for the great revelation,
while all that was mortal in him throbbed with anguished
expectation--the monster of destruction swerved as if drawn by a
giant hand and passed him by.
He opened his eyes upon a flicker of lightning and saw it whirling
onwards, growing ever in volume, towards the _kopje_ which Sylvia
had never conquered. The blackness of the sky above was appalling.
It hung so near, pressing earthwards through that mighty spout.
With bated breath he watched till the _kopje_ was blotted from his
sight, and the demons of the storm came shrieking back. Then
suddenly there came a crash that shook the world and made the
senses reel. He heard the rush and swish of water, water
torrential that fell in a streaming mass, and as his understanding
came staggering back he knew that the first, most menacing danger
was past.
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