"I think—" began Molly, but even as she spoke there came the loudest crash of all. It was the splitting of the heavens, and with it came a fierce, sudden flash of flame that blinded them all.
The girls fell apart from one another through the mere shock, and when Molly and Midge dazedly opened their eyes, they saw Stella crumpled in a little heap on the floor.
CHAPTER XVI
FIRECRACKERS
"Is she dead?" screamed Molly. "Oh, Marjorie, is she dead?"
"I don't know," said Marjorie, whose face was almost as white as
Stella's, as she leaned over the unconscious little girl.
Although they tried, they couldn't quite manage to lift Stella up on the couch, so Marjorie sat down on the floor and took the poor child's head on her knee, while Molly ran for water.
"I'm sure it's right to douse people with water when they faint," said Molly, as she sprinkled Stella's face liberally; "and she is only in a faint, isn't she, Marjorie? Because if people are really struck by lightning they burn up, don't they, Marjorie?"
While she talked, Molly was excitedly pouring water promiscuously over
Stella, until the child looked as if she had been out in the storm.
Marjorie was patting Stella's cheek and rubbing her hands, but it all seemed of no avail; and, though Stella was breathing softly, they could not restore her to consciousness.