midday
Natalie was standing with her back to one of the band-wheels . It had begun to revolve ; in the moment it increased its speed ; and he saw a glittering web on its surface . With an exclamation of horror , he pulled her toward him ; but he was too late . The wheel , spinning now with the velocity of midday , caught the whole silver cloud in its spokes , and Natalie was swept suddenly upward . Her feet hit the low rafters , and she was whirled round and round , screams of torture torn from her rather than uttered , her body describing a circular right angle to the shaft , the bones breaking as they struck the opposite one ; then , in swift finality , she was sucked between belt and wheel . Mikhaïlof managed to get into the next room and reverse the lever . The machinery stopped as abruptly as it had started ; but Natalie was out of her agony .