Manchester Democrat. [volume] (Manchester, Iowa) 1875-1930, 1907-08-07

solutely flooded with lightning, not in
a single vivid flash, but in n trembling. |
continuous glare that suggested the eff
feet of some luminous constellation
fierce with electric energy. Before his |
eyes was exhibited 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.
81 will wait" he said. when the
thunder comes, then l will jump"
Even as the thought formed in his
mind ball of fire so glowing, SO
iridcsccnt, in its flaming heat that 1t |
dominated the electric waves fluttering |
in the orcrburdencd air darted past |
the little window that looked out over |
the tiny yard in the rear of the house
and crashed through the fiagstones
with the din of ten inch shell.
Philip. elevated on the stairway, dis.
tlnctly saw the molten splash which |
accompanied its impact. He saw the
heavy stones rlven asunder as If they
We're tissue paper, and from the hole
caused by the thunderbolt or meteor
came a radiance that sent spreading
shaft of light upward like the beam of
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 dreadful
roll of thunder swept over the locality,
and deluge of rain, without any fur
tier warning, descended.
All this seemed osthe wondering boy
to be very long time in passing. In
reality it occupied but a very few sec
onds. People in the distant street could
not distinguish the crash of the fallen
meteor from the accompanying thun-
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 dis.
astrous fire.
The torrent of water caused 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 mad kissing and
cracking rs the rain poured over the
meteor and gradually dulled its bright
ness. Pandemonium ragged in that Gu.
riously secluded nook.
Amazed and cowed, not by the nat
ural phenomenon he had witnessed.
but by the Interpretation he placed on
fbn 20 %ho
his neck.
very WELL mother" he whispered
aloud. "If it Is your wish, l will live.
l suppose that God speaks in this
way
CHAPTER III.
nHILIP descended the stairs. He
~ was almost choking now from
another cause than strangula-
q 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 tie largest cavities.
By this means he succeeded somewhat
in shutting out the vapor as well us the
lurld light that still flared red in the
back yard.
The lightning had ceased totally, and
the improvised blind plunged the loom
into impenetrab!e darkness. He felt
his way to the stairs and found the
CANDLE which he relighted. The rain
beating on the roofs and on the outer
ms no ;rI
sounds in the inclosed yard to make a
terrifying racket, but 1t was not likely
that Il youth who attributed his escape
from 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, Il new born desire to live and
justify his mothers confidence in him.
sense of power TO achieve that which
hitherto seemed impossible
He even broke into desultory whis.
Ting as he bent owe. the hearth and
resumed the laying of the fire aban-
doned five minutes earlier with such
sudden soul WEAKNESS. Yhe candle,
too, burned with CHEEKY glimmer, as II
pleased with the disappearance OF its
formidable competitor. Fortunately he
had some coal in the house-his chief
4 supply was stored in small bin at the
other side Of the yard. beyond the
burial place of the raging, steaming
meteor and consequently quite unap-
proachable
! Soon the fire burned merrily, and
the coffee stall keepers recipe for
using coffee grounds was put into prac-
| but the hot liquid smelled well, and
he was now so cold and stiff and he
had such an empty sensation where he
might have worn belt that some
crusts of bread. softened by INNER
sion in the dark compound, earned
keener appreciation than was ever
| given IN later days to the most costly
dishes of famous restaurants yet un-
built.
After he had eaten he dried his
damp garments and changed his soak
ed boots for a pair SO worn that they
scarcely held together but their dry
ness was comforting. An odd feeling
of contentment largely induced by the
grateful heat of the fire, rendered his
actions leisurely Quite half an hour
elapsed before he thought of peeping
through the back window to ascertain
the progress OF external events. The
rain was not now pe!ting down with
abnormal fury. 1t was still falling, but
with the quiet persistence that marks
lin London parlance-''a genuine wet
day" The steam had almost vanished
When he removed his coat from the
broken pancs he SAW with surprise
that the flagstone; In the yard were
dry within circle OF two feet around
f, the hole made by the meteor Such
! drops ms fell within that area were in
stnntly obliterated, and tiny jets Of
vaDor from the hole itself betrayed the
presence of the fiery object beneath
His boyish curiosity being thoroughly
aroused, he dreU; an old sack over his