The lightning flashed in a wild dance of death
‘I'll do anything to help！’she said. She started to go up and down
acquisition the ladder，carrying the straw. In the brightness of the lightning Gabriel saw their two shadows，wildly enlarged，on the hill in front of him. Then came the loudest crash so far.
‘How terrible！’cried Bathsheba，and held on to his arm. The lightning flashed in a wild dance of death，and thunder came from every part of the huge sky. Bathsheba and Gabriel could only stare，and tremble at the strange and dangerous beauty of the storm.
As they watched，a tall tree in front of them seemed to be burning with a white flame. There was a final，violent crash of thunder，and in the bright light they saw that the tree had been torn in half by the lightning.
