Had the place been the
scene of a battle?
Just when she had got rather accustomed to the place and was feeling
more or less at her ease, she stopped short. At the same time the doctor
himself fairly jumped in his chair. Somewhere, right near at hand, on
one of the larger structures, a bell began to ring!
It clanged loudly and confidently, giving out perhaps thirty strokes
before it stopped. The stillness which followed was pretty painful. In a
moment, however, it was broken as effectively as any silence can be
broken.
A man's voice sounded within the building.
Immediately it was replied to, more faintly, by several others. Then
came the clatter of some sort of utensils, and sundry other noises which
spoke loudly of humans. Rolla froze in her tracks, and her teeth began
to chatter.
Next moment she got a grip on herself. "What difference doth it make,
whether they be friend or enemy?" she argued severely, for the benefit
of her shaking nerves. "They will give thee food, anyhow. And perchance
they know where liveth the magic stone!"
In the end Rolla's high purpose prevailed over her weak knees, and she
began to look for the entrance to the place. It was partly in ruins--
that is, the upper stories--but the two lower floors seemed, so far as
their interior could be seen through the high, unglazed windows, to be
in good condition.
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