Page:Pontoppidan - Emanuel, or Children of the Soil (1896).djvu/298

 came out in his shirt sleeves, puffing at a cigar which was stuck into a wonderful carved amber mouthpiece. He observed the phenomenon of nature with indifferent superiority, his capital was disposed off in one of those safe concerns where there is neither ploughing nor reaping, and where you honestly make your four per cent, whether the Almighty sends rain or heat.

In spite of the sun, the lightning was plainly seen among the dark clouds which mounted higher and higher into the blue sky, while the sound of the thunder came nearer every minute. None the less, the Veilby peasants shook their heads. "That won't come to us; we'll get no good of it. "No, it'll go eastward.'" [sic] "Skibberup'll get a splash." "Ay, like enough, they always get what they want."

Gradually a cloud came over the sun, and it seemed to shine through a red veil. Suddenly gusts of wind rushed over the hot fields; the cocks crowed, and the swallows skimmed hither and thither over the ponds in deadly fear. At last the thunder pealed just over the village, and the flashes of lightning followed each other quicker than could be counted. It could be heard to strike the earth round about. A sheep, which had broken loose from its tether, rushed into the village with a dead companion, tied by the leg, trailing after it in the dust. The sky was now one black cloud, and indoors it was so dark that one could hardly see the time. But