The San Francisco call., 1913-11-05

the coffee stall keepers recipe for
using coffee grounds was put into
practice. Philip had neither sugar
nor milk, but the hot liquid smelled
well, and he was now so cold and stiff,
and he had such an empty sensation
where he might have worn a belt.
that some crusts of bread. softened
by immersion in the dark compound,
earned keener appreciation than was
ever given in later days to the most
costly dishes of famous restaurants
yet unbuilt-
After he had eaten he dried his
damp garments and changed his
soaked boots for pair SO worn that
they scarcely held together. But their
dryness was comforting. An added
feeling of contentment, largely in
duced by tho 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 progress of external
events. The rain was not now pelt-
Ing down with abnormal fury. 1t was
stiIl falling, but with the quiet per-
sistence that marks--in London par
lance" a genuine wet day" The
steam had almost vanished. When he
removed his coat from the broken
panes he saw with surprise that the
f1agstones 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 pres
ence of the fiery object beneath. His
boyish curiosity being thoroughly
aroused, he drew an old sack over his
head and shoulders. unlocked a door
which led into the yard from q 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 q comparatively
clean cut was made through the pave
ment. 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 a
round ball firmly Embedded in the
earth 1t was DULY red. with its sur
face all cracks and assures as the
result OF the water poured onto it.
Much larger than q football. 1t
seemed to him, at first sight, to be
81
glaring up at him from dark socket.
But the boy was absolutely a stranger
to fear. He procured the handle of
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
sharp reminder of the potency of
the heat still stored below 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
intolerably drowsy. and he fell asleep
while murmuring his prayers, prac-
tice abandoned since the hour of his
mothers death.
In reality Philip was undergoing
q novel sort of Turkish bath. and the
perspiration induced thereby probably
saved him from dangerous cold. He
slept long and soundly. There was
no need to attend to the fire. Long
ere the coal in the CRATE was ex-
hausted, the presence of the meteor
had penetrated the surrounding earth.
and the house was far above its nor
NAL temperature when he awoke.
The sun had risen in a cloudless