And, from the farther side of the city, sounded a dull and distant crash, as if of heavy falling masses.
A fearful earthquake had shaken all Ravenna.
CHAPTER XX.
As the woman turned in the direction of the sound, she stood for a moment with her back to the granaries. But she suddenly looked round, for she thought she heard the bang of a heavy door. She looked attentively in that direction, but it was too dark to see anything. She heard, however, something rustling along close to the outer wall of the building, and she thought she caught the sound of a low sigh.
"Stop!" she cried, "who moans there?"
"Peace, peace!" whispered a strange voice. "The earth--disgusted--shook and trembled! The last day has come--it will reveal all. He will soon know.--Oh!"
A groan of pain--a rustle of garments--then complete silence.
"Where art thou? Art thou wounded?" asked the woman, seeking on the ground.
A flash of lightning--the first since the earthquake--showed her a shrouded form lying at her feet. A woman dressed in white and blue.
The Gothic woman stretched out her hand, but the prostrate form sprang up at her touch, and, with a scream, disappeared into the darkness.