Atlanta Georgian., 1913-09-26
Now Read On
Copyright. 1904, by Edward ]. clOd.)
To-DAY's INSTALLMENT.


After he had eaten he dried his damp
garments and changed his soaked boots
for a pair so worn that they scarcely
held together. But their dryness was
comforting. An added feeling of con-
tentment, largely induced by the heat
of the grateful fire, rendered his actions
leisurely. Quite half an hour elapsed
before he thought OF peeping through
the back window to ascertain the prog
ress OF external events The rain was
not now pelting down with abnormal
fury. 1t was still falling, but with the
quiet persistence that marks-in London
parlance-"a genuine wet day" The
steam had almost vanished. Whens he
removed his coat from the broken panes
he saw with surprise that the hagstones
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 instantly 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 door
which led into the yard from a tiny
scullery, and cautiously approached the
place where the meteor had ploughed
its way into the ground. The stones
were Uttered with debris. but the ve-
locity 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 it 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 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 a
football, 1t 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 absolutely a
stranger to fear. He procured the han
die Of a mop and prodded the meteor
with it. The surface felt hard and brit
tie. Large sections broke away, though
they did not crumble, and he received
sharp reminder of the potency Of the
heat still stored below when the wood
burst into sudden fame.
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 mat
tress 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 aban-
doned since tho hour OF his mothers
death.
In reality. Philip was undergoing a
novel sort Of Turkish bath, and the
perspiration induced thereby probably
saved him from a dangerous cold. He
slept long and soundly. There was no
need to attend to the fire. Long ere the
coal in the CRATE was exhausted, the
presence Of the meteor had penetrated
the surrounding earth, and the house
was far above its normal temperature
when he awoke.
Strange Objects.
The sun had risen in a cloudless sky.
A lovely spring morning had succeeded
a night Of gloom and disaster, and the
first sound that greeted his wondering
ears was the twittering Of the busy
sparrows on the housetops. OF course
he owned neither clock nor watch.
These articles, with many others, were
represented by bundle of pawn tickets
stuffed into one Of the envelopes Of his
mothers packet of letters. But the ex-
perience of even a few weeks had taught
him roughly how to estimate time by
the sun, and he guessed the hour TO be
o'clock, or thereabouts.
His first thought was of the meteor.
His toilet was that of primeval man.
being a mere matter of rising and
stretching his stiff limbs. While la
ing his boots he noticed that the floor
was Uttered with tiny white specks.
the largest of which was not bigger
than a grain Of bird seed. These
were the particles which shot through
the broken window during the pre-
vious night. He picked up a few and
examined them. They were hard. an
gular, cold to the touch, and a dull
white in color.
On entering the yard he saw hun
dreds of these queer little rough pe5-