Sax Rohmer

“ A vivid flash of lightning gleamed on the distant Abbey slope. Everyone was conscious of an uncomfortable, tingling sensation. There came a deafening crash from somewhere high in the ruined tower. A great spurt of blue flame leaped up, far over their heads. There was a rending, tremulous roar. The very ground heaved beneath their feet.
“Run! Run for your lives!” cried Harley. ”

“ Each man experienced an unaccountable sense of relief on passing from the library into the lobby. The last to leave was the superintendent, who closed the door behind him.
“My God!” cried Westbury. “That's got the house!”
A third fork of lightning had leaped down upon the Abbey. There was a strange, quivering sound. The atmosphere seemed to vibrate. Every light went out. A vivid, blue radiance prevailed in the lobby for several moments. There came a vicious sparking from the library which they had just left, then a dull explosion; then darkness fell. ”

“ Chapter XVI THE TOWER IN THE library of the Abbey, the gruesome police inquiry was being conducted. The body of Mohammed Khán lay upon a settee. The police surgeon, rising from his knees, his examination concluded, shook his head in puzzled fashion.
“There is this wound on the arm, Superintendent,” he said, “which seems to have been inflicted by the teeth of some animal. No other marks of violence whatever.” ”