Dan looked at her face and remarked in a startled tone. "Why, the girl
is swelling, Olive, just look at her, look at her hands too, see how
swollen they are, and she is as hot as fire."

She was literally burning up with fever, and yet as pale as death, while
only a few minutes before her face was as red as blood, and her entire
person as cold as ice. What a strange case, pale when hot, and blood
red when cold, yet such was really the fact.

While the family stood looking at her, wondering what would relieve her,
for her entire body had swollen to an enormous size and she was
screaming with pain and grinding her teeth as if in a fit, a loud report
like thunder was heard in the room. They all started to their feet
instantly and seemed paralyzed with fear.

"My God!" exclaimed Olive, "the house has been struck by lightning and I
know my poor boys are killed?"

After giving vent to this exclamation, she rushed from the room to her
own where the children were, and found them both sleeping soundly, so
she returned to the room where they all stood looking at Esther, and
wondering what had produced the terrible sound. On entering, Olive told
them that the boys were both sound asleep.

"I wonder what that awful noise was?" she said. Going to the window and
raising the curtain she saw that the stars were shining brightly and was
then satisfied that it had not been thunder they had heard. Just as she
let the curtain drop, three terrific reports were heard, apparently
directly under the bed. They were so loud that the whole room shook, and