I could see it tremble from the attacks of the water; and, with a contraction
of the throat, I watched Cyprien cross the roof. Suddenly a rumbling was
heard. The moon rose, a round moon, whose yellow face lighted up the immense
lake. Not a detail of the catastrophe was lost to us. The Raimbeau house
collapsed. We gave a cry of terror as we saw Cyprien disappear. As the house
crumbled we could distinguish nothing but a tempest, a swirling of waves
beneath
the debris of the roof. Then calm was restored, the surface became smooth; and
out of the black hole of the engulfed house projected the skeleton of its
framework. There was a mass of entangled beams, and, amongst them, I seemed to
see a body moving, something living making superhuman efforts.

"He lives!" I cried. "Oh, God be praised! He lives!"

We laughed nervously; we clapped our hands, as if saved ourselves.

"He is going to raise himself up," said Pierre.

"Yes, yes," said Gaspard, "he is trying to seize the beam on his left."

But our laugh ceased. We had just realized the terrible situation in which
Cyprien was placed. During the fall of the house his feet had been caught
between two beams, and he hung head downward within a few inches of the
water. On the roof of the next house Aimee was still standing, holding her
two children. A convulsive tremor shook her. She did not take her eyes from
her husband, a few yards below her. And, mad with horror, she emitted
without cessation a lamentable sound like the howling of a dog.

"We can't let him die like that," said Jacques, distracted. "We must get down
there."