The Owosso times. (Owosso, Mich.) 1897-1926, 1907-08-09

was sitting. lie took off his coat, first
removing from an inner pocket the
bundle Of letters found under Mrs. An
sons pillow, and carefully stuffed the
WON garment into Il G 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
bach yard.
Thc lightning had ceased totally and
the improvised blind plunged the room
int impenetrable darkness. He felt
hi1 way to the stairs and found the
ca-.-le. 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 Il youth who attributed his escape
from loathsome death, self inflicted,
to the direct interposition of Provi-
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 and
Justify his mothers confidence in him,
sense OF power to achieve that which
hitherto seemed impossible.
He even broke into q desultory wills
Ting as he bent over the hearth and
resumed the laying of the fire aban-
doned five minutes earlier with such
sudden soul WEAKNESS. 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 q small bin at the
Othc" side of the yard, beyond the
burial place of the raging, steaming
meteor and consequently quite unap-
proGt liable.
Soon the fire burned merrily, and
the coffee stall keepers recipe for
using coffee grounds was put into prac-
ticc. Philip had neither sugar nor milk.
but the hot liquid smelled well, and
he WIS now so cold and stiff and he
haC such an empty sensation where he
might have worn q belt that some
crrs,s of bread, softened by INNER
sion in the dark compound, easned
keencr 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 q pair so worn that they
scarcely held together, but their dry
ness was comforting. An odd feeling
of contentment. largely induced by the
nfDf, NJ 80 If,
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
broken panes he saw with surprise
that the flagstones In the yard were
dry within a circle of two feet around
the hole made by the meteor. Such
drops as fell within that area were in
stantly obliterated, and tiny jets of
vapor from the hole itself betrayed the
presence of the fiery object beneath.
His boyish curiosity being thoroughly
aroused. he drew an old sack over his
head and shoulders, unlocked q door
which led into the yard from q tiny
scullery and cautiously approached the
place where the meteor had plowed its
way into the ground. The stones were
Uttered with debris, but the velocity of
the heavy mass had been so great that
comparatively clean cut was made
through the pavement.
The air was warm with the hot
breath Of an oven, and 1t was as much
as Philip could bear when he stood OIL
the brink of the hole and peeped in.
At good depth, nearly half his own
height he estimated, he saw a round
ball firmly imbedded in the earth. 1t
was duly red, with its surface all
cracks and assures as the result of the
water poured onto It, Much larger
than football, 1t seemed to him at
first sight to be the angry eye of some
colossal demon glaring up at him from
dark socket But, the boy was abb
solutely a stranger to fear. He pro-
cured the handle Of mop and prodded
the meteor with II. The surface felt
hard and brittle Large sections broke
AWAY, though they did not crumble.
and he received n sharp reminder of
the potency Of the heat still stored be-
low when the wood burst into sudden
flame.
This ended his investigations for the
night. He used the sacking to block
up the window, replenished the fire.
set his coat to dry and dragged his
mattress from the bedroom to the front
Of the fire. The warmth within and
without the house had made him intol-
erably drowsy, and he fell asleep while
murmuring his prayers, practice
abandoned since the hour Of his moth
er's death.
In reality Philip was undergoing
novel sort Of Turkish bath. and the
yerspiration induced thereby probably
saved him from a dangerous cold. He
slept long and soundly. There was no
iced to attend to the fire. Long ere