He had, by reaching far out of the window, been able to grasp an
old-fashioned lightning rod with which the ancient wooden mansion was
provided, and by which he proposed to descend to the ground. Under the
swindler's weight, the beating of this swaying rod against the side of
the house was the sound Nick had heard.
Kilgore, whose courage was worthy a far better cause, already was
halfway to the ground.
Yet Nick had no idea of letting the knave escape thus, and he raised his
weapon to fire.
There was no need for a bullet, however, for the hand of the Almighty
did the work.
From the black vault of the heavens a bolt of liquid fire suddenly shot
earthward, with a crash of thunder that seemed to rend the entire
firmament.
The fiery bolt reached the earth--but it reached it through the rod to
which Dave Kilgore was desperately clinging.
Not a sound came from the doomed man as he went down--or if there was a
sound, it was drowned by the deafening crash and successive
reverberations of thunder.
Before Nick had fairly recovered from the blinding light and terrific
concussion, he heard the voice of Chick yelling loudly from below:
"Nick, Nick, come down here! The house is afire.
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