Suddenly, there rose a loud roar of swine-voices, and, up from the center of the roofless house, shot a vast column of blood-red flame.  I saw the little, twisted towers and turrets flash into fire; yet still preserving their twisted crookedness.  The beams of the Green Sun, beat upon the house, and intermingled with its lurid glows; so that it appeared a blazing furnace of red and green fire.

Fascinated, I watched, until an overwhelming sense of coming danger, drew my attention.  I glanced up, and, at once, it was borne upon me, that the sun was closer; so close, in fact, that it seemed to overhang the world.  Then—­I know not how—­I was caught up into strange heights—­floating like a bubble in the awful effulgence.

Far below me, I saw the earth, with the burning house leaping into an ever growing mountain of flame, ’round about it, the ground appeared to be glowing; and, in places, heavy wreaths of yellow smoke ascended from the earth.  It seemed as though the world were becoming ignited from that one plague-spot of fire.  Faintly, I could see the Swine-things.  They appeared quite unharmed.  Then the ground seemed to cave in, suddenly, and the house, with its load of foul creatures, disappeared into the depths of the earth, sending a strange, blood colored cloud into the heights.  I remembered the hell Pit under the house.

In a while, I looked ’round.  The huge bulk of the sun, rose high above me.  The distance between it and the earth, grew rapidly less.  Suddenly, the earth appeared to shoot forward.  In a moment, it had traversed the space between it and the sun.  I heard no sound; but, out from the sun’s face, gushed an ever-growing tongue of dazzling flame.  It seemed to leap, almost to the distant Green Sun—­shearing through the emerald light, a very cataract of blinding fire.  It reached its limit, and sank; and, on the sun, glowed a vast splash of burning white—­the grave of the earth.

The sun was very close to me, now.  Presently, I found that I was rising higher; until, at last, I rode above it, in the emptiness.  The Green Sun was now so huge that its breadth seemed to fill up all the sky, ahead.  I looked down, and noted that the sun was passing directly beneath me.

A year may have gone by—­or a century—­and I was left, suspended, alone.  The sun showed far in front—­a black, circular mass, against the molten splendor of the great, Green Orb.  Near one edge, I observed that a lurid glow had appeared, marking the place where the earth had fallen.  By this, I knew that the long-dead sun was still revolving, though with great slowness.

Afar to my right, I seemed to catch, at times, a faint glow of whitish light.  For a great time, I was uncertain whether to put this down to fancy or not.  Thus, for a while, I stared, with fresh wonderings; until, at last, I knew that it was no imaginary thing; but a reality.  It grew brighter; and, presently, there slid out of the green, a pale globe of softest white.  It came nearer, and I saw that it was apparently surrounded by a robe of gently glowing clouds.  Time passed....