Page:Barbour--Joan of the ilsand.djvu/275

Rh slender building had ceased to rattle and vibrate, for to him it was the voice of a god, angry and vindictive. Maromi's people had always known that when the sky god spoke as fiercely as that it was the coming of death, as a punishment, and so he knew, before the charred bodies of three black labourers were found afterwards, that the god had taken toll among those who had attacked the bungalow.

"That was terribly near," Joan said, unconsciously drawing closer to Keith as though for protection.

"It struck the niggers' hut," he exclaimed, pointing. "Look! The flames are already starting!"