The weekly Shasta courier. [volume] (Shasta, Calif.) 1872-190?, 1873-08-16
" Yes. Are you dead ?"

Yes. Are you dead?"
al don't know. Are your"
al guess must be if you are. How aw-
full dark it isl"
lawfully dark 1t must have been the
comet" .--
Yes. Did you get much hurt?"
"Not much. Isay-Jack?"
WHAT"
If it is the Judgment Day" Jill broke
up So did |. We lay as still as we could.
fit were the Judgment Day
thought of so many things I remem-
bered all the lies | ever told l couldn' t
help thinking how I hadn't said my pray
ers since mother had the typhoid fever. |
don't believe / ever cheated at a game of
marbles in my life, that didn't think about
then. And the queerest thing was about a
Baldwin apple took from fellow once
he was little chap-and lame had crook
ed legs poor, too. He left it in his satchel,
i couldn't seem to get over that Baldwin
apple, to think took it.
Jill :" said |.
"Oh dear me !" sobbed Jill.
We were both crying at that time. I
don't feel ashamed to own up, as far as am
concerned.
IF I'd known" said l. " that the Day of
Judgment was coming on the 18th of Au-
gust, wouldn't have been so mean about
that jack-knife of yours with the notch in
it,"
And I wouldn't have eaten up your
luncheon that day last wiuter when / got
mad at you" said Jill.
Nor we wouldn't have cheated mother
about smoking vacations" said |.
I'D never have played with the Bailey
boys out under the barn " said Jill.
81 wonder where the comet went to, y
said l.
Z" Whether we shall be plunged" quoted
Jill, in a horrible whisper, from that dreadful
newspaper shall be plunged into wild
vortex of angry space-or suffocated with
noxious gases-or scorched to helpless
crisp, or blasted-'"
when do you suppose they'll come after
us?" | interrupted Jill.
That very minute somebody came. We
heard step and the another. Then heavy
bang. Jill howled out little. 1 didn't t,
for was thinking how the cellar door bang
ed like that.
Then came voice,--an awful hoarse
and trembling voice, as ever you'd want to
hear.
George Zacharias! !"
Then ! knew it must be the Judgment
Day, and the Angel had me up in court to
answer him. For you couldn't expect an
angel to call you Jack when you we're dead.
George Zacharas " said the awful
voice again. | didn't know what else to do,
was so frightened, so | just hollered out,
Here as do at school.
"Timothy?" came the voice once more.
Now Jill had bright idea. Up he shout
ed, " Absent !" at the top of his voice.
George! Jack Jill Where are you?
Are you killed? o, wait minute, and Ill
bring a light"
This didn't sound so much like Judgment
Day as it did like Aunt John. began to
feel better So did Jill. I sat up. SO did
he. 1t wasn't minute before the light
came into sght-and something that look
ed like the cellar door, the cellar-stairs, and
Aunt Johns spotted wrapper, and Miss
Togy in a night-gown, away behind, as
white as a ghost. Aunt John held the
light above her head and looked down.
She had her hand above her eyes to shield
them. l don't believe | shall ever see an
angel that will make me feel any better to
look at than Aunt John did that night.
"Oh, you blessed boys" said Aunt John,
she was laughing and crying together.
ITO think that you should have fallen
through the old chimney to the cellar floor,
and be sitting there alive in such funny
heap as that!"
That was just what we had done. The
old hooring--not very secure-had given
away in the storm; and we'd gone down
through two stories, where the chimney
ought to have been, jam into the cellar on
the coal heap, as good as ever, except the
bedstead
And if it hadn't been true, upon my word
and honor, wouldn't have told it.