They have loosened the bottom, like
silly children as they ar', and unless care is had, the whole will
come down!"
The words were scarcely uttered before a rushing blast of wind swept
by the spot where they stood, raising the dust in little eddies, in
its progress; and then, as if guided by a master hand, it quitted the
earth, and mounted to the precise spot on which all eyes were just
then riveted. The loosened linen felt its influence and tottered; but
regained its poise, and, for a moment, it became tranquil. The cloud
of leaves next played in circling revolutions around the place, and
then descended with the velocity of a swooping hawk, and sailed away
into the prairie in long straight lines, like a flight of swallows
resting on their expanded wings. They were followed for some distance
by the snow-white tent, which, however, soon fell behind the rock,
leaving its highest peak as naked as when it lay in the entire
solitude of the desert.
"The murderers have been here!" moaned Esther. "My babes! my babes!"
For a moment even Ishmael faltered before the weight of so unexpected
a blow.
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