e clean, fresh smell of the morning air, so he leaned
closer. Within a foot of Robbie, he sniffed again. Nothing. He realized
it wasn't a skunk that caused Robbie's eyes to burn. He knelt down and
took the dog's head tenderly in his rough, calloused hands and examined
his eyes. They were bloodshot and watery. He took some water from the
well and dashed it into the dog's eyes as Robbie struggled.

"Hold still, boy, I'm trying to help ya," Zack soothed. He took out a
blue work bandanna and wiped tenderly around Robbie's eyes.

"What did it, boy? How did it happen?" Zack asked. Robbie merely whined.

"What's wrong with him?" Mrs. Stewart, broom in hand, asked from the
doorway.

"Don't rightly know," Zack patted the dog, "acts like he got something
in his eyes."

"Skunk?"

"Naw," Zack shook his head. "He don't smell. Something else."

"Cat?"

"No scratches, either. He acts like they're burnin' him, like he got
dust or somethin' in 'em."

"Well, take him out to the barn and you better get after Junius."

"Yeah, Ma. Come on, Robbie." He led Robbie to the barn and made him lie
on a bed of hay in one of the stalls then returned to the kitchen for
his lantern. He put on his thick denim jacket and work cap and turned to
his wife.

"If she ain't in the woods, I'll come back and git the truck and drive
over to the Leemers and see if he seen her."

He left the kitchen and shone the lantern around in the farmyard to get
his bearings, then headed for the north end of his farm. He could see
the faint glimmer of dawn in the east, more pronounced in the northeast,
and even more so due north. He rubbed his eyes. A much brighter glow
outlined the treetops in the north woods, that made the dawn on the
eastern horizon look like a dirty gray streak. His first thought was of
fire, but there was no smoke, no flame.

Zack walked dazedly toward the woods, his eyes glued to the light above
the trees. Soon he was in the woods, and he could see the brightness
extended down through the trees from the sky, on the other side of the
woods. He approached cautiously as the light grew brighter, and came to
the clearing where it was most intense. A thick bush obstructed his
view, and Zack moved it aside then uttered a hoarse gasp, as he clutched
at his eyes.

For a moment he felt he was dreaming. He squinted between the slits of
his fingers. The glow was still piercing, but he could see the brightly
lit Junius, radiating blue-white light,