Silence fell--silence deep and black as the darkness which was around me.

The silence fell, it gathered as the cloud gathered on the face of the moon that night when, a lad, I prayed upon the pylon towers.

It gathered denser and yet more dense till it seemed to creep into my heart and call aloud therein; for utter silence has a voice that is more terrible than any cry.

I spoke; the echoes of my words came back upon me from the walls and seemed to beat me down.

The stillness was lighter to endure than an echo such as this.