Weekly expositor. (Brockway Centre, Mich.) 1882-1894, 1882-06-01
SETH PIPER'S CON b
TRIVANCE.

LII CduScu BOOu Ao"i V SN~-
in Piperville for some time. Nobody
knew what it was.s some people said
it was one thing, others thought 1t
might be something else; but everybody
agreed that it was rather startling to
behold on dark night A boy named
Tom Jackson, who had deem put out
of singing school one evening, for
making a disturbance. was the first to
discover it; and it was said that bis
hair "stood on enc" when he rushed
back into the school.house and shouted
to everybody to come out A few
moments later all Piperville stood out
door in the darkness and wind, looking
at 1.-THE bright image of a man in the
sky. holding a long sword raised above
its head in the right hand, and some
thing that glimmered like lantern in
the left. First it appeared to be as.
eending straight up then it paused
awhile, and afterward moved off across
the river, where it remained stationary
some minutes. Next it came down
slowly and hesitatingly, until 1t seemed
almost to touch the top of one of the
tall pines on the opposite side OF the
river. Then suddenly it went up, up,
higher and higher, and vanished.
Not even the schoolmaster attempted
to explain what it was. Comets, fall
ing stars, an eclipse or two, and sever
al other celestial wonders had been
predicted for the year in the almanac
and newspapers; but nothing like this
mysterious thing had been mentioned.
1t made everybody feel a trife awed,
if not really scared, and the next day
hardly anything else was talked about.
81 believe it's one of those pesky
things that there's always pictures OF
in the front of the almanac" said a
boy named Jake Pixley. "Its got
loose somehow and is hyin'round, L
reckon"
oval, guess not sonny" replied
xood-natured old man, Uncle Simeon.
aBut maybe now its the Angel 'Gabri-
ell a-huntin' for SOMEBODY Jest as like as
not that's what it's"
They were among the crowd gather
ed around the stove in the village
grocery store, and Seth Piper stood near
at hand, listening to all that was said
He was round-faced, thick-set, quiet
kind of boy, who never talked much,
but always kept up a good deal OF
thinking" people said. Any one
watching him closely on the present
occasion might have fancied he wanted
to laugh when Uncle Simeon suggested
that the strange phenomenon was the
Angel Gabriel. His eyes twinkled and
the corners of his mouth, twitched a
little; but he suppressed whatever risi-
BILE feeling he had and continued to
whittle quietly a stick he held in one
at don't believe anything like it has
ever been seen in this ere part of the
world before or anywheres else" said
the store-keeper. ~
"Nor I either" agreed bronzed old
farmer, who was sitting on barrel
and resting his cowhide boots on the
rim Of the stove. According to my
idee, it's one of those kind Of things
that don't turn up every day IN the
year" i,
"Inever heared tell of anything like
it afore,' Uncle Simeon said. - 81 ~
eff it was the Angel Gabriel, per-
haps he was after thieves Seth yen.
tured to suggest, turning a trifle RED
and looking around.
"Thievesl said the storekeeper, o
little surprised. eYTVe ' -
"Thieyesl Ehis' qserfed Uncle Sim
con. "Why, sonny, what put tha'
idee into vollr head2"
"Ohl nothing much. 1 was only
thinking he might light on those fel
lows who've been shearing my sheer
over on the island. Stealing the wool
youknow@ LII /, LIN
Seth let the glance he cast at thos'
about him rest Just an instant ienger
perhaps, on Jake Pixley and his broth
er Dave than on any of the others, ant
then went ON whiting as before.sl
The farmer said it beat all how
mean some people could be, and during
moment or two the conversation toel