Resting on the edge of the hill, was a far-spreading crimson cloud, not the rosy glow of sunset, but the color of blood.

So remarkable was its appearance, that Don Ferdinand paused in involuntary awe.

The blackness closed gradually round it; but much decreased, and still decreasing in size, it floated onwards--preserving its blood-red hue, in appalling contrast with the murky sky.

Slowly Morales turned in the direction of the castle, glancing up at times, and unable to suppress a thrill of supernatural horror, as he observed this remarkable appearance floating just before him wherever he turned.

Denser and denser became the atmosphere, and blacker the sky, till he could not see a single yard before him; thunder growled in the distance, and a few vivid flashes of lightning momentarily illumined the gloom, but still the cloud remained.