Page:Restless Earth.djvu/51

“———and as I come round the corner the whole hillside lifted up in the air and spread out like a fan. I saw the woman come running out the front door with a couple of kiddies after her; then all that rock come down on ’em—millions of tons of it—and buried ’em, house and all. I saw it—and I’ll never forget it as long as I live!”

The only inaccurate detail of the story was that the narrator had not witnessed the terrible incident, but the other passengers did not question anything. All were avid for earthquake horrors, and the wildest tales were given credence.

There was a strange hush in the town. Business was at a standstill. Motor-cars were parked thickly on each side of the single shopping street in defiance of all traffic . People stood in groups upon the side-walks and in the roadway, discussing, conjecturing, arguing in subdued tones. The two paper offices were besieged by orderly, silent crowds awaiting the scant news.

It was a moment of national disaster.

****

Patricia did not alight in the town. She continued on to her flat.

She packed a portmanteau and a small cabin trunk. Her face was set in grim determination, her lips a thin line, her brows drawn down, her cheeks colourless, her eyes glittering with an emotion sternly suppressed.

Grace was in Napier. Jimmy had told her so.

It was the moment for action.

It was after six o’clock when James Harley rolled over and sat up. He struggled to complete wakefulness with an effort, conscious that he had made some sort of an appointment with somebody. When he remembered with whom the appointment had been made he yanked out his watch in mild panic. He