girl called after him to "never mind," but he was off on his errand.
It was a good mile to her home, but the boy knew what it meant to forget
the water-jug on a day like this.

When he returned half an hour later the sunshine had changed character and
there was a peculiar dimming of its brilliancy.

"Is it going to rain?" the girl asked as she lowered the jug to her knee.
She wiped her lips on the skirt of the faded sunbonnet she wore and looked
up again.

"Rain!" Luther Hansen swept the horizon with the air of one who knew the
signs, backing his horse about to see on all sides as he did so.

"Th' don't seem t' be any clouds," he said in surprise. "Ain't it queer!
Looks's if it might be some kind of eclipse," he said. "Do you
remember--no, of course you don't--but, th' was an eclipse of th'
sun--total, I believe they called it--when I was only about seven year
old. All th' chickens went to roost, it got so dark, an' when th' cover
come off they crowed's if 'twas mornin'. We had a blue hen an' she crowed
too. Pap killed 'er. He said it was bad luck t' have a hen crowin' about
th' place."

"You all don't believe in luck, do you?" the child asked.

"I don't, but pap does," the boy answered apologetically. "I cried about
th' blue hen; she was just like a dog; she'd let you ketch 'er, an' she'd
sing, 'co-ook, co-ook, co-ook,' to 'erself, right in your arms, an' wasn't
afraid. She wouldn't never set though. I guess that's why pap was so ready
with his axe."

Happening to look up again, the girl gave an exclamation of surprise. "Is
it snow?" she asked.

"No!"

They sat with their faces turned skyward, studying the upper air intently.
The sun was completely obscured now and the rapidly moving mass, not
unlike snow indeed, was being driven straight toward the north. Whatever
it was, it was driving fiercely ahead, as if impelled by a strong wind,
though there was not a breath of air stirring below. Soon small objects
began to detach themselves from the mass, so that the eye could
distinguish separate particles, which looked not unlike scraps of silver
driven with terrific force from the tail end of some gigantic machine. One
of these scraps struck the girl on the cheek and she put her hand up
quickly to feel the spot. While examining the place she received a similar
blow on the forehead and another on the back of her hand. Drawing her
bonnet down tight over her face for protection, she shaded her eyes and
again looked