I was thankful that we
could not see the unfortunates who were perishing in that furnace. It was
but too evident that not a soul on the tower could have escaped.
I glanced at Edmund's face. It was pale and set--the face of a man gazing
upon an awful tragedy with which he is absolutely powerless to interfere.
His breath came quick, but he did not utter a word. Then came the
reaction, and, staggering, he leaned on my shoulder, and I led him to the
bench from which he had risen. For a moment I thought he had fainted, but
when I put a flask to his lips he swallowed a mouthful and immediately
recovered sufficient strength to sit up, resting his head on his hand.
"Had we not better go on?" I asked.
"Ye-es," he replied, after a moment's hesitation. "We can do nothing.
They are all gone; the queen has perished with the rest! Pull out that
knob on the right, but gently, and then push this button. We must circle
round the outskirts until we see whether the fire will seize upon the
other towers and extend to the city below."
I followed his directions, and, as we started our circuit, the vast tower
suddenly swayed aside, and then, tumbling in upon itself, it went down in
a whirl of smoke and eddying sparks.
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