The San Francisco call., 1913-11-06
81 '295 w. I!} g.
Continued from Yess~rday

Continued from Yesterday
His first thought was of the meteor.
His toilet was that of primeval man,
being mere matter of rising and
stretching his stiR limbs. While
lacing 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 previous night. He picked up
few and examined them. They were
hard. angular, cold to the touch, and
dull white in color.
On entering the yard he saw hun
dreds of these queer little rough peb
bles. many of them as large as peas,
some the size of marbles and a few
bigger. ones They had evidently
flown on all sides. but, encountering
lofty walls, save where they forced
way through the thin glass of the
window, had fallen back to the
ground. Interspersed with them he
found pieces of broken stone and
Jagged Jumps of material that looked
and felt like iron.
BY this time the meteor itself had
cooled sufficiently to reveal the ma
ture of its outer crust. 1t appeared
TO be an amalgam of the dark, iron
like mineral and the white pebbles.
Through one deep fissure he could
still see the fiery heart of the thing,
and he imagined that when the in
ternal heat had quite exhausted itself
the great ball would easily break
into pieces. for it was rent in all
directions.
His first exclamation was one or
thankfulness
lam jolly glad those things didn't
fall on my head" he said aloud, for
getting that had its advent been de-
layed a second or two the precise
locality selected for its impact would
not have mattered much TO him.
I wonder what it is he went on.
'Ts it worth anything? Perhaps if I
dig il out I may be able to sell it as
a curiosity"
A moments reflection told him,
however, that he would not be able
TO disinter it that day. even if he pos
sessed the requisite implements On
its lower side it was probably still red
hot Through the soles of his boots,
broken as they were, he could easily
feel the heat of the ground so the ex
pertinent must be deferred for "a
he was sure that his mysterious Wis
itor represented realizable asset,
and the knowledge gave him a sudden
distaste for coffee grounds and stale
crusts. He resolved to spend his re-
naming three halfpence on a break
fast, and at the same time make some
guarded inquiries as to the nature
and possible cash value Of the meteor
itself. Evidently its fall had attracted
II,
elements and the subsequent heavy
rain were effectual safeguards in this
respect, and Johnson's News. marked
out for demolition a fortnight later,
were practically deserted now day
and night
Philip did not know then that Lon
don had already much to talk about
in the recorded incidents of the two
storms The morning newspapers
We're hysterical with headlines an
nouncing fires collapse of buildings,
street accidents and lamentable loss
of life in all parts of the metropolis.
As the day wore and full details came
TO hand, the list of mishaps would be
doubled. while scientific observers
would begin a nine days wrangle in
the effort to determine the precise
reason why the electrical disturbance
should have been wholly confined to
the metropolitan area Philip Anson,
a ragged boy of Is. residing in a
desolate nook of the most disheveled
district in the east end. possessed
the very genesis of the mystery, yet
the web of fate was destined 10
weave a spell that would deftly close
his lips.
Meanwhile he wanted his break
fast He gathered 80 fair sized white
pebbles and few Jagged Jumps OF
the ironlike material. These he
wrapped in a piece of newspaper,
screwed up the small package tightly
and placed it in his trousers pocket
Thinking deeply about the awesome
incidents of the previous night. he
donned his coat and did not notice
the packet of letters lying in the
chair. Never before had these doeu
ments left his possession. The door
was locked and the key in his pocket
before he missed them. 1t was in his
mind to turn back. In another sec
ond he would have obeyed the i'm
pulse had not a mighty gust of wind
swept through the yard and carried
his tattered cap into the passage
That settled it, Philip ran after his
headgear, and so was blown into a
strange sea of events.
SEEKING COUNSEL
"They are quite safe there, he
thought. I'm any case it will be best
not to carry them about in future.
They get so frayed, and some day
might want them"
Emerging from the haven of the
news. he found the untidy life of the
Mile End road eddying in restless con-
fusion through a gale. The gaunt,
high walls surrounding his secluded
dwelling had sheltered him from the
clustering March wind that was now
drying the streets and creating much
i'll temper in the hearts of carriers,
stall owners and girls with large hats
and full skirts. In a word, every
thing that could be tapped or shaken
or rudely swept anywhere out of its
rightful place was dealt with ac-
cordingly. In one instance a heavy
tarpaulin was lifted clean off a wagon
and neatly lodged over the heads of
the driver and horses of a passing
omnibus. They were not extricated
from its close embrace without some
diffculty and a great quantity of
severe yet cogent remarks by the
WAGNER and the driver, assisted by
the bus conductor and various pas
sengers.
Philip laughed heartily for the first
time since his mothers death. He
waited until the driver and the wag-
nrar had exchanged their farewell