His eyes flashed with indignation as he flourished the
ponderous hammer over his head, as though it had been a small
sword--when, striking the metal he held in the forceps, a round,
well-formed shield fell from the stroke.
"Mortal!" vociferated the enchanter, in a voice of thunder, "there is
thy weapon and defence!"--flinging the weighty hammer on the ample
shield, the collision of which produced a sound in unison with the deep
bass of Muloch's voice; nor did the reverberation that succeeded cease
to ring in the ears of Abad until several minutes after the spectre had
disappeared.
Abad rejoiced when the fearful visit was over, and, well pleased with
his success, was preparing to depart; but his joy was damped on finding
the hammer so heavy that he could not, without difficulty, remove it
from off the shield. He left it in the cave, and returned with the
shield only, comforting himself that however he might be at a loss for
a weapon, he had a shield that would render him invincible.
His next care was to discover the retreat of the robbers, otherwise he
was waging a war with shadows. After making every inquiry, and wandering
in vain for several months in quest of them, he was not able to obtain
a glimpse of the objects of his search. Still they seemed to possess
ubiquity. Their depredations continued, murders multiplied, and their
attacks became more open and formidable.
Pages:
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27