“Where are we?” he asked meditatively when the older man had aroused him.
“In the Execution Grounds.”
“What are these?”
“Corpses.”
“Ah! their souls may now be with God.”
“Or in Hell.”
The storm was abating; the moans and cries from the heavens ceased; the lightning grew less violent. Suddenly all became an absolute calm and the men crept out from among the corpses under the shed.
A faint, uncertain light glimmered in the darkness above them; enormous black masses of clouds could be seen rolling close to the earth, but directly overhead was a circle of clear sky, darkly blue, and almost in its very centre shone a star of marvellous brilliancy. The youth gazed up at it in gratitude.
“It is the Eye of God.”
The elder also regarded the star, but said nothing.