“True. He did. But the Gazette has not had a line on it. Do you suppose—no, it is all improbable. But we will ask Virginia and Rachel when they come. And Felicia. She and Stephen will be here. They are visiting Rachel this week. It will be good to see them. And Alexander Powers and Dr. West. They must have seen the light. And the Bishop. How I wish the Bishop were alive. I am sure he would have seen it. I told them all to come early, Mary. And there is someone now.”

Answering a ring at the door, Mr. Maxwell went himself and ushered in Virginia, Rachel, and Felicia. The moment they came in, Mr. Maxwell noted the look of deep excitement on their faces.

Rachel was the first to speak. “Have you seen it, Mr. Maxwell?”

“What?”

“The light!”

“The same that has been in the sky several times lately?”

“But it was more wonderful tonight than ever before. We all noticed it on our way here.”

“All of you?”

“Yes. We all saw it”

“Where is Stephen?”

“He is coming. He stopped to see Dr. West about the typhoid vaccinations at the Rectangle.”

“What do you think of the light?” Mr. Maxwell spoke to both Rachel and Virginia.

The friends looked at each other very seriously, and Virginia said, “We have never seen anything like it in all our lives. There is something so unusual about it that we feel afraid. It seemed to us as if we were being enveloped in fire.”

“Yes!” Rachel broke in eagerly but with a low voice. “But did you notice, Virginia, that the people we passed did not seem to notice what seemed so strange to us?”

“How was that?” Mr. Maxwell said.

“Why, it seemed to us, to Virginia and me, as if we were enveloped in a most astonishing glory of light that would be felt by everyone, but we passed very many persons who did not seem to notice anything unusual.”

“Only,” Virginia broke in eagerly, “don’t you remember, Rachel, once in a while someone would stop and exclaim, and point up into the sky?”

“Yes, I remember that.”

“Do you know who they were? I mean the persons who noticed the light?” Mr. Maxwell asked, still leaning forward.

“No, we couldn’t see them, could we, Rachel?”

“I thought I heard Martha’s voice,” replied Rachel.

“Our Martha?” Mrs. Maxwell asked. “Probably it was. She just started a little while ago to the Rectangle church service. You know they have their meeting tonight instead of Thursday, and Martha is very faithful since she joined it.”

“It was Martha, I am sure,” said Virginia. “We passed her at the corner of Main and Third, and I remember I was going to stop and speak to her. Mrs. Maxwell, doesn’t it seem like a miracle to think of Loreen’s sister coming to us as she did, only one year after Loreen’s death? And to think of Mr. Maxwell baptizing her on the day the Rectangle Church was dedicated. Every time I look at Martha, I see Loreen. Poor Loreen!”