The Columbia herald. [volume] (Columbia, Tenn.) 18??-1935, 1907-09-13

unrtIy saw the mOIren splash wnicI
aecompanied It's impact He saw tn
heavy stones riven asunder as II tbs.
were tissue paper. and from the no
caused BY the thuaderbOlt or metec
game a radiance that sent spreadin /;
shaft OF licht upward like the beam -
4 searchIight The warmth. too. o. TIE
object was almost overpOwertng- Wei'.
not the surrounding walls constructe
n stone and brick there must ha
been an immediate outbreak Of fire.
As It was. the glass In the window
cracked and the woodwork began -
vcorch. In the same instant dreadful
roll OF thunder swept over the locality,
and a deluge OF rain, without any fur-
ther warning. descended.
An this seemed to Remembering boy
20 be a very long time in passing. IN
reality II occupied but very few sec
onds. People In the distant street could
not distinguish the crash OF the fallen
meteor from the accompanying hun
der, and the downpour OF rain came I'D
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 a dense
volume of steam to generate In tha
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 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 Oil
1t, the boy unfastened the rope from
his neck.
'very well, mother" he whispered
aloud. IF it is your wish, / will live
1 suppose that God speaks in this
way"
CHAPTER III.
~ HILIP descended the stairs. BE
was almost choking now from
another cause than strangula-
Il 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 as the
lurid light that still fiared red In the
back yard.
The lightning had ceased totally, and
the improvised blind plunged the room
into impenetrable 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
pavements combined with the weird
sounds in the inclosed yard to make Il
terrifying racket, but it was not likely
that youth who attributed his escape
from q 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 nun
ger. he felt an unaccountable elation OF
spirits, a new born desire to live and
Justify his mothers confidence in him,
a sense of power to achieve that which
hitherto seemed impossible. n
He even broke into desultory whisr
Ting as he bent over the hearth and
resumed the laying of the fire aban-
fioned five minutes earlier With such
sudden soul weariness The candle.
too. burned with CHEEKY glimmer, as If
pleased with the disappearance of its
formidable competitor. Fortunately he
had some coal in the hOuse-his chief
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-
tice. Philip had neither sugar nor milk,
but the hot liquid smelled well, and
he was now so cold and stiff and he
had such an empty sensation where ne
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 I'M
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 pelting 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
hrokan names no saw with SurpriSa