The Richmond palladium and sun-telegram. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1907-1939, 1908-09-15

was absurd to seek any aegree OF COM
fort for the few minutes he had to
live. Better end it at once. Moreover,
the storm was sweeping up over the
East End with such marvellous speed
that the lightning now played through
the tiny room with dazzling brilliancy,
and the wretched candle burned with
blue and ghostlike feebleness. The
cold Of the house, too, began to strike
chilly. He was so exhausted from
hunger that If he did not eat soon he
would not have the strength left to
carry out his dread purpose.
He sprang erect with q hooking lit
tie laugh, picked up the candle and the
piece of rope and climbed the stairs.
He paused irresolutely at the top, but,
yielding to overwhelming desire, went
on and stood at the side of the bed on
which his mother had died. He fam
cied he could see her lying there still,
with a smile on her wane face and
unspoken words of welcome on her
lips.
A food Of tears came and he trem-
bled violently.
all COlulhS W you, u1olACis hC
murmured. you told me to trust in
me. l don't want to live. I want to
join you, and then perhaps God will
remember me-"
He stopped and kissed the pillow,
nesting his face against 1t, as he was
wont to fondle the dear face that rest
ed there so many weary days. Then
he resolutely turned away, descended
four steps of the ladder-like stairs and
tied the clothesline firmly to a hook
which had been driven into the ceiling
during the harness room period of the
room beneath. With equal delibera-
ton he knotted the other end of the
cord round his neck, and he calculated
that by springing from the stairs he
would receive sufficient shock to be-
come inssnsible very quickly, while his
feet would dangle several inches above
the floor.
There was a terrible GOODNESS, q set
tied 6xity of purpose far beyond his
years, in the manner of these final
preparations. At last they were COM
pleted. He blew out the candle and
stood erect.
At that instant the room became alb
solutely flooded with lightning. not in
a single vivid fash, but in a trembling.
continuous glare that suggested the eff
feet of some luminous constellation
| fierce with electric energy. Before his
| eyes was exhibited a 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.
Il will wait" he said. When the
thunder comes, then I will jump"
Even as the thought formed in his
mind ball of fire so glowing, so
iridescent. in its flaming heat that it
| dominated the electric waves fiuttering
in the oyerburdened air darted past
the little window that looked out over
| the tiny yard in the rear of the house
and crashed through the fagstones
with the din of a ten inch she'll,
| Philip, elevated on the stairway. dis
tinctly saw the molten splash which
| accompanied its impact. He saw the
| heavy stones riven asunder as If they
We're tissue paper, and from the hole
caused by the tEunderbolt or meteor
came a radiance that sent a spreading
shaft Of light upward like the beam of
a searehlight. 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 a dreadful
roll Of thunder swept over the locality.
and deluge of rain, without any fur
ther warning, descended
All this seemed to the 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
woedi in tie house and the n<jRhborias