It was very clear. The words rang in my head. But always only those two. And then at last—it may have been an hour later—other words:
"Death! The black cloud of death! You can see it coming! See it coming! Death! To you Jac! To all of you in the city!"
We rushed to the casement. The broad lagoon before the palace lay like a mirror tinted red and purple. Beyond it, palms and the outlines of houses lay dark against the star-strewn sky.
But out there, over the city, in the distance a dark patch obscured the stars. We watched it breathless. A dark patch which soon took shape. A cloud! A black cloud—unnatural of aspect somehow—a rolling, low-lying black cloud. Growing larger; spreading out side-wise; sweeping toward the city on a wind which had not reached us.
"Jac! Jac dear! Danger! Death to all the city!"
Elza's words were still beating in my brain. Soundless words of terror and warning!
"Death, Jac! Death to all the city! The black cloud of death!"