The Richmond palladium and sun-telegram. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1907-1939, 1908-09-16
CHAPTER I'll.

duOlltr cousC laA clIaLElid
a ton. The steam pouring in
through the fractured window panes
was stifing. He too 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 NEAR he succeeded somewhat
In shutting out h vapor as we'll as the
lurid light that still fared 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 be 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 a 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 citation 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.
He eve broke into a desultory whis-
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 be
had some coal in the house-his chief
supply was stored in a small bin at the
other side Of the yard. beyond the
burial place of the raging, steamfng
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 we'll, and
he was now so cold and stiff and he
had such an empty sensation where he
might nave worn a 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
<,-of of,,I ha,% f %Ao Er1 ,,,1aroI hi,
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. It was still falling, but
with the quiet persistence that marks
in 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 fiagstones 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 o~bliterated, and tiny Jets Of
vapor from the hole itself betrayed the
presence of the fiery object beneath.
AAto pos iSh Aoo4ly bSlh5 thoIod-hiS
aroused, he drew an ole sack owe his
head and shoulders, unlocked a door
which led into the yard from a tiny
scullery and cautiously approached the
place where the meteor had plowed it's
way into the ground. The stones were
Uttered with debris. but the velocity Of
the heavy mass had been so great that
a 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 on
the brink of the hole and peeped in.
At a good depth, nearly half his own
height he estimated, he saw q round
ball firmly imbedded in the earth. 1t
vas duly red, with its surface all
cracks and assures as the result of the
water poured onto it. Much larger
than q football, it seemed to him at
first sight to be the angry eye of some
colossal demon glaring up at him from
a dark socket. But the boy was alb
solutely a stranger to fear. He pro-
cured the handle of a mop and prodded
the meteor with 1t. The surface felt
hard and brittle. Large sections broke
away. though they did not crumble,
and he received a sharp reminder Of
the potency of the heat still stored be-
low when the woo burst into sudden
fame.
This ended his investigations for the
night. He used the sacking to block
up the window, r~eplenished 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, a practice
abandoned since the hour of his moth
er's death.
In reality Philip was undergoing a
rc~ei sort - Turkish bath. and the