'
'Come away from the window, then,' Emma urged. 'It is useless to
show yourself.'
'Let them see me, the blackguards! They're so tight packed they
haven't a band among them to aim anything.'
As he spoke, he again leaned forward from the window-sill, and
stretched his arms towards the approaching rescuers. That same
instant a heavy fragment of stone, hurled with deadly force and
precision, struck him upon the temple. The violence of the blow
flung him back into the room; he dropped to his knees, threw out a
hand as if to save himself, then sank face foremost upon the floor.
Not a sound had escaped his lips.
Emma, with a low cry of horror, bent to him and put her arm about
his body. Raising his head, she saw that, though his eyes were
staring, they had no power of sight; on his lips were flecks of
blood. She laid her cheeks to his lips, but could discern no breath;
she tore apart the clothing from his breast, but her hand could not
find his heart. Then she rushed for a pillow, placed it beneath his
head, and began to bathe his face. Not all the great love which
leaped like flame in her bosom could call the dead to life.
The yells which had greeted Mutimer's appearance at the window were
followed by a steady roar, mingled with scornful laughter at his
speedy retreat; only a few saw or suspected that he had been gravely
hit by the missile.
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