sheared through the mists of sleep and he sprang to his feet, alert and
ready for whatever might befall. He walked over to the window facing the
north and looked out.

For miles and miles the ruined city stretched away, a wilderness of
brick and mortar. Here and there were areas of blackness and vacancy,
where fire had worked its will, but these latter were confined for the
most part to the region along the water-front and to the poorer
residential portions. The business section, with its substantial shops
and warehouses, and the central district, made up of the clubs,
churches, theatres, and the handsomer private houses, remained intact,
in outward appearance at least. Viewed under the rays of a glorious
midsummer sun, the city seemed fair and proud as of yore, a stupendous
monument to the industry and genius of the race.

And yet, withal, the spectacle was a singularly mournful and depressing
one, for nowhere were there any signs of life. Not a plume of vapor
waved against the azure sky, not even a dog ranged the grass-grown
streets. The silence reigned infinite and profound, and Constans started
in alarm as it was suddenly broken by the scream of an eagle out of the
blue. Here was the picture of a desolation incomparably more complete
than that of the untrodden desert upon which the life-giving spirit has
never breathed. For in this place there had existed a very citadel of
being, and behold! a night had passed and it was not.

Suddenly Constans bethought himself of that indefinite twinkle of fire,
and he trained his broken binoculars on the spot where he had marked it
down the night before. The glass disclosed the existence of a
comparatively open space, doubtless one of the public squares of the
ancient city. It was bordered by a number of handsome edifices, and one
unusually large, cream-colored building, whose distinctive architectural
feature was a tower of remarkably graceful proportions, attracted
Constans's attention; it should serve him for a landmark, and he took
its bearings carefully.

Breakfast of brown bread and cold smoked beef was a simple and
expeditious meal, and, with his appetite appeased, Constans descended to
the street. He had his general direction in mind, and so was able to
proceed at once upon his journey of exploration, keeping as closely as
possible due north. He found the sidewalks and roadway encumbered by
rubbish, and here and there almost entirely blocked by fallen masonry;
but i