Then I realized the danger,
and I endeavored once more to put my arm round his shoulder; but
he shook me off with hot impatience. He leaped forward with the
quickness of lightning, eluding my frantic grasp, and dashed
straight into the circle of blazing light!
I followed, but too late. At the edge of the lake he stopped,
and, stretching forth his arms toward the dancer on the column,
he cried out in a voice that made the cavern ring:
"Desiree! Desiree! Desiree!"
Chapter IX.
BEFORE THE COURT.
I expected I know not what result from Harry's hysterical
rashness: confusion, pandemonium, instant death; but none of
these followed.
I had reached his side and stood by him at the edge of the lake,
where he had halted. Desiree Le Mire stopped short in the midst
of the mad sweep of the Dance of the Sun.
For ten silent, tense seconds she looked down at us from the top
of the lofty column, bending dangerously near its edge. Her form
straightened and was stretched to its fullest height; her white,
superb body was distinctly outlined against the black background
of the upper cavern. Then she stepped backward slowly, without
taking her eyes from us.
Pages:
114
115
116
117
118
119
120
121
122
123
124
125
126
127
128
129
130
131
132
133
134
135
136
137
138