Page:The Strand Magazine (Volume 2).djvu/609

 figures, her lovely tresses hanging loose and dishevelled on her shoulders, a few leaves and flowers from the bridal wreath still clinging to her damp hair. High up among the jagged peaks the fire-ball burst asunder into thousands of gleaming sheaves and stars, pouring down a rain of fire into the depths below. Some sparks clung to the walls and shone brightly for a few brief moments; others fell and went out behind the demon-like shapes which stood grinning threateningly like so many visitors from the Inferno.

Then again all was darkness, thicker and blacker than before. A suffocating smoke and smell alone remained.

"This is heaven and hell together," said Otto. He could not hear a single word he