The Lake County times. [volume] (Hammond, Ind.) 1906-1933, 1907-06-05

feet would bangle several inches above
the floor
There was q terrible GOODNESS, q set
tied fxity Of purpose far beyond his
years. in the manner OF these final
preparations. At last they were COM
pleted. He blew out the candle and
stood erect
At that instant the room became alb
solutely flooded with lightning, not in
a single vivid flash, but In a trembling.
continuous glare that suggested the eff
feet of some luminous constellation
fierce with electric energy. Before his
eyes was exhibited a startling piano.
rama OF the familiar objects of his
lonely abode. The brightness. so sus-
tanned and tremulous, startled him
back from the very brink of death.
Il will wait" he said. when the
thunder comes, then l will jump"
Even as the thought formed in his
mind a ball of fire so glowing, so
tridescent, in its flaming heat that 1t
dominated the electric waves futtering
in the overburdened air darted past
the little window that looked out over
the tiny yard in the rear of the house
and crashed through the dagstones
with the din of ten inch she'll
Philip, elevated on the stairway, dis
tinctly saw the molten splash which
accompanied its impact He saw the
heavy stones riven asunder as If they
were tissue paper, and from the hole
caused by the thunderbolt or meteor
came a radiance that sent a spreading
shaft of light upward like the beam Of
q searchlight. The warmth. too, of the
object was almost overpowering. Were
not the surrounding walls constructed
Of stone and brick there must have
been an immediate outbreak of fire
AS 1t was, the glass in the windows
cracked and the woodwork began TO
scorch. In the same instant a dreadful
roll of thunder swept over the locality,
and a deluge of rain, without any fur
Their warning, descended.
All this seemed to the wondering boy
to be q very long time in passing. In
reality it occupied but very few sec
onds. People in the distant street could
not distinguish the crash Of the fallen
meteor from the accompanying ihun-
der and the downpour OF rain came In
| the very nick of time to prevent the
wood in the house and the neighboring
factories from blazing forth into a dis
astrouS fire.
The torrent of water caused q dense
volume Of steam to generate in the
back yard, and this helped to minimize
the strange light shooting up from the
cavity. There was a mad kissing and
cracking as the rain poured over the
meteor and gradually du:led its bright
ness. Pandemonium ragged in that Gu
riousIy secluded nook
Amazed and cowed, not by the nat
ural phenomenon he had witnessed,
but by the Interpretation he placed Oh
it, the boy unfastened the rope from
his neck.
Every well, mother" he whispered
aloud. eff it is your wish, 1 will live.
1 suppose that God speaks in this
--~~"
CHAPTER III.
~ HILIP descended the stairs. He
- was almost choking now from
another cause than strangula-
a ton. The steam pouring In
through the fractured window panes
was sitting. He took of his coat, first
removing from an inner pocket the
bundle Of letters found under Mrs. An
sons pillow, and carefully stuffed the
worn garment into the largest cavities.
By this means he succeeded somewhat
in shutting out the vapor as well as the
lurid light that still Jared red in the
back yard.
The lightning had ceased totally, and
into impenetrable darkness. He felt
his way to the stairs and found the
candle, which he reiighted. The rain
beating on the roofs and on the outer
pavements combined with the weird
sounds in the inclosed yard to make a
terrifying racket, but it was not likely
that q youth who attributed his escape
from a loathsome death, self inflicted
to the direct interposition Of Provi
dence in his behalf would yield to any
sentimental fears on that account. In
deed, although quite weak from hun
, ger, he felt an unaccountable elation OF
spirits, a new born desire to live an(
. justify his mothers confidence in him
a sense of power to achieve that whict
hitherto seemed impossible.
He even broke into desultory whis
; Ting as he bent over the hearth ant
!, resumed the laying of the fire aban
: doned FIVE minutes earlier with sucl
sudden soul WEAKNESS. The candle
too, burned with CHEEKY glimmer, as 4
pleased with the disappearance Of it!
: formidable competitor. Fortunately b.
had some coal In the house-his chic
supply was stored in a small bin at th'
: other side Of the yard. beyond tn
burial place Of the raging. steamin;
meteor and consequently quite unap
proachable.
Soon the fire burned merrily, ant
. the coffee stall keepers recipe 70
, using coffee grounds was put into prac
: tice. Philip had neither sugar nor milk