Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1907-08-01
Ind locked the door behind him.

70 be mostly diamonds and he stun
)led over the mattress in front OF the
REPLACE. Yes, the candle was there.
soon he had a light. The tiny CLEAN
fitted the black curtain, and he survey
Sd bis domain. A single glance show.
pd him that all things remained exactly
rs he left them on Saturday morning.
The packet OF letters rested on the
broken chair, tho old sack was stuffed
into the window and the rope-that
never to be forgotten rope dangled
from the hook to which he had fasten-
ed It.
The sight brought lump into his
throat. He sank to his knees, pressed
down. he felt. by some superior power.
Mother" he said humbly, forgive
me and ask God to forgive me for
what would have done We're you not
watching over me-"
In the spiritual exaltaton Of the mo-
ment he almost expected TO find that
sweet face peering at him bcnignantly
from out the dim background But he
could not see her and he rose, revivi-
ncd by this spoken communion with
her He had no shadow of doubt ms to
her presence. God to him was the uni
verse and his mother the unquestona-
BILE means of communication with the
Providence that governed his life. He
would die rather than abandon that
belief. Were it dispclled from his
mind he was quite certain that his
wealth would vanish with it. 1t was
no haphazard accident which had sent
the diamond laden meteor headlong
from the sky. He was despairing dy
mg. His mother appealed for him,
md, behold! The very elements that
rontrol the world obeyed a mighty be
hest.
lie began to work methodically. III
fhc first place. he lit a fire, for the
evening was chilly: then he shook his
mattress and swept the floor, gather
Ing into a heap all the tiny Particles
with which it was Uttered. These he
collected in a piece Of newspaper and
folded them into a parcel. which again
he inclosed In a stouter sheet of brown
paper, finally tying the whole with n
yard of string he carried i'll his pocket.
There were hundreds of tiny dia-
monds In that insignificant package
and not few the size of small peas
AS matter Of fact, he discovered sub
sequently that the net result of his
sweepng brought him in over n $1,000
Having examined every nook and
rrevice Of the apartment by the aid
of the candle. he satisfied himself that
naught remained which would indi
cate TO the most curious eye any event
out of the common having occurred in
that humble dwelling.
1t was typical of Philips implicit
faith that he did not unlock the back
door until hi interior task was ended.
He knew that his meteor was untouch-
ed.
There was no wind without. The
randlc, feeble as it's rays were, ilumi-
mated the small yard sufficiently to re-
veal Its debris of white stones and
darker Jumps of metal Beginning at
the doorway, he swept vigorously, but
with mlnutest care, until he had form
ed four good sized piles on the flag
stones.
He could not afford 70 differentiate
between the debris of the damaged
pavement and the fragments of the
meteor 1t was easy to distinguish the
larger pieces Of broken glass from the
window inside the house. In the yard
he had neither the time nor the light
to select the bits OF shattered stone.
All must go together, TO he sorted with
!eisured care subsequently.
He scrutinized the external window
LII ~ IL, toll ,l,o
small coal house door at the farther
end OF the yard, even the rough sur
faces of the walls, and removed every
speck OF loose material, More news
paper was requsitioned but after util
ling the Irvine OH his parcel Of cloth
Ing he ran short Of string
He coolly went up the stairs, unfaS
tened the rope with which he had in
= tended to hang himself and loosened
Its stiff strands. Soon he had an abun
dance of strong cord and four bulky
packages were added to the first small
pre.
They were heavy. too, weighing sew
eral pounds each. In placing then
side by side close 10 the wall beneath
the front window he suddenly realized
an unforeseen difficulty.
If these shreds of matter--the mere
husk, as it were, of the mcteor-wert
so ponderouS, what would be thu
weight OF the meteor itself? How
could he hope 10 lift it from the holt
IN which it lay, how convey It from
Johnsons News to n new and safe
hahitation? He might as we'll endeav
or to move an unwilling elephant
The thought chilled him. For thu
first time since his parting interview
with Mr.. Abingdon, Philip experienced
dread of failure. With something o
panic in his blood, he snatched tb,
candle and ran hastily into the yard
He knelt and held the light low in thu
excavation. Then he cried aloud:
"What. Am so ready TO lose fatl
in mother?'
For the huge metallic mass-so hi
that It would not enter the bore OF tn
largest cannon known to modern gun
nery-was split asunder in all direc
tions. Its fissures gaped widely as i
to mock at him. The rain and steam
had done their work well. 1t was eve
possible that he would not need tn
spade, but would be able to pick on
each separate chunk with his hand.
A.. IL, ,1.t to. 80