Wauwatosa news. [volume] (Wauwatosa, Wis.) 1900-1948, 1905-10-28
CHAPTER VIII Continued
BY LOUIS TRACY.

..Tbere have We bin TO, at ali at an :
,ez heard what the murtherin' war
q afther dom to me? l haven't
p pnI sowl to sphake to about the
,Srouble they've put on me IN me o"id
age u;o.,,, ooourat, ORrien
"a no nestered the whole neighborhood with
I ha~ itorv of his withheld pension and the
,nsterous claim made on him by
pr red tape enthusiast in Pail Mall.
S d. his plant effectually stopped all
i pu reference to Philips disappear
l~ e''~ As TO the bit o shtone," that was
.,no,'tbur alum nor lime, he hadn't a
word to say.
ph;l;n borrowed a spade, a small sweep
inn brush and strong sack without
waking the slightest comment from the
nensioner. who diseoursed necessarily on
The iniauity of the government" and
hose farewell remark dealt with the at
.o,nnt to rob him of "a hundred gowlden
ov'rins."
Decidedly the boy was in luck's way.
He had secured some necessary imple-
mepts without attracting any attention.
Watching favorable opportunity, he
sinped unseen into the gloom of John
son's News. He tried the door of No. 3.
II was locked. He inserted the key and
uttered The darkness within was that
If inter blindness, but he dumped his
jmpedimenta on the floor and locked the
door behind him.
Then he CROPPED his doubtful path to
the mantelpiece where he had left a
candle and a box of matches. His boots
e,unched. as he went, on what he knew
10 be mostly diamonds, and he stumbled
orer the mattress in front of the fire
place Yes. the candle was there Soon
he had a light. The tiny CLEAN lifted
the black curtain, and he surveyed his
domain. A single glance showed him
that all things remained exactly as he
left them on Saturday morning The
packet of letters rested on the broken
chair the old sack was stuffed into the
window, and the rope-that never to- be-
forgotten rope -dangled from the hook to
which he had fastened it.
The sigth brought lump into his
throat He sank to his knees. pressed
down, he felt, my some superior power.
'Mother!" he said, humbly, forgive
me, and ask God to forgive me, for what
| would have done were you not watch
ing over me-"
In the spiritual exaltation of the mo-
ment he almost expected to find that
sweet face peering at him benignantly
from out the dim background. But he
could not see her, and he rose. revivified
by this spoken communion with her. He
ahd no shadow of doubt as to her pres
ence. God to him was the universe. and
his mother the unquestionable means of
communication with the Providence that
governed his life. He would die rather
than abandon that belief Were it dis
Yelled from his mind he was quite certain
that his wealth would vanish with it.
/ was no haphazard accident which had
sent the diamond laden meteor headlong
IRON the sky. He was despairing. dying;
his mother appealed for him; and, be
hold the S5ry elements that control the
world obeyed mighty behest.
tie began to work methodically In the
hrat place, he lit a fire, for the evening
was chilly. Then he shook his mattress
and swept the floor, gathering into a
heap all the tiny particles with which it
was Uttered. These he collected in a
piece Of newspaper. and folded them into
parcel, which again he inclosed in a
stouter sheet of brown paper. finally
tying the whole with yard of string he
carried IN his pocket.
There were hundreds of tiny diamonds
III that Insignificant package, and not a
ie" the size of small peas AS a matter
no Hican<-orol IT. I,E
me net result of his sweeping brought
hlm IN over thousand pounds.
Having examined every nook and GREY
ice OF the apartment by the aid of the
candle he satisfied himself that naught
renamed which would indicate to the
most curious eve any event out of the
common having occurred in that humble
dwelling.
IL was typical of Philips implicit
''''h that he did not unlock the back
Hoot until his interior task was ended.
ne knew that his meteor was untouched.
,, mere was no wind without. The can
u'e' feeble as its rays were, Illuminated
'"e small yard sufficiently to reveal its
debris Of white stones and darker humps
- metal. Beginning at the doorway. he
,"fPl Hgorously but with minutest care,
on'll ne had formed four good sized piles
on the tlagstones.
lie could not afford to differentiate be-
,"teh the debris of the damaged pave
L.e''' and the fragments of the meteor.
:: Was easy to distinguish the larger
i''stS OF broken glass from the window
,., .4 the house-in the ward he had
t11 .'It' The time nor the light to select
W., "'s ol'- Of shattered stone. All must 90
~, ''ef' to be sorted with leisured care
'ogsolUcntly.
IN 'e .'rutinized the external window
-. -; me door posts. the chinks of the
=. '',,' eoal-house door at the further end
n. me yard, even the rough surfaces of
" walls. and removed every speck of
- ,f material. More newspaper was
-. t+'tloned. but, after utilizing the
.sl,' ' "h his parcel of clothing, he ran
+9' Of string.
tow -'y polly went mp the stairs. unfas-
j. .0 me rope with which he had intend
g '' iang himself and loosened its stiff
s, .'.''~. Soon he had an abundance of
~ cord and four bulky packages
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