It looked as if a curtain had been drawn across the grass.

The horses set off at a fast trot, and the rig jolted furiously among the ruts.

It would not be dark for an hour, but the gray obscurity that had hidden the bluff was getting near.

At its edge and about a mile off a pond shone with a strange sickly gleam.
Then a dazzling flash fell from the cloud bank overhead and touched the grass.

A stunning crash of thunder rolled across the sky, and the team plunged into a frantic gallop.