I had been led to think that something extraordinary
must accompany the periodical appearances of the great orb, and if I
could have known that an apparition was at hand I might have made
preparations for it and we might have been able to save Ala. When I saw
what was going on, I tried to reach her, and you know the result."
"But is it not incredible that a people of so peaceable a disposition
should be seized with such murderous instincts when driven out of their
senses by the effect of the rays?"
"No, it does not seem so to me. You know the general tendency of sudden
madness, which usually produces a complete reversal of the ordinary
instincts of the demented persons, making them dangerous to their dearest
friends. But why talk longer of this? It is too painful--too
overwhelming. What can man do against the great forces of Nature? At this
moment I solemnly declare to you that I regret that I ever entered upon
this expedition."
While we had been talking, the car had receded to a great distance from
the city, and now all but the tops of a few of the airy pinnacles were
lost to our sight forever. But as we gazed, straining our sight for a
last look, we perceived a familiar flickering of prismatic lightning on
the horizon.
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