James exclaimed, "You cannot kill me. I will never die!"

James grabbed a small hammer-like tool and ran towards Charles.

"Yes, you will die today. Your gravestone says so," Charles yelled back.

Maria, who was in bed, was startled by the men’s shouting and crept quietly upstairs. She looked into the room, though she decided not to enter unless it became necessary . She saw Charles run into the broken leg on the table. The table collapsed, knocking Charles over, but he got back up. Once again he started running towards James in such fury that Maria, who screamed "No," ran into the room and in front of James. Charles kept running, though, and before he realized what he was doing, he had stabbed Maria with the well-sharpened chisel.

"No!" Charles yelped.

There was a crack of lightning, and James glanced out the window. The lightning had hit the gravestone. The gravestone cracked and broke into several tiny pieces. James looked back into the room. He saw Charles cradled over Maria and knew this was his chance to get away.

James ran until he reached a familiar street, Lytton Street, and from there he ran home. As James walked in the door, the clock struck midnight, and he knew he was safe.

A few days later, James was talking to his neighbor. His neighbor asked, "Did you hear about Charles Atkinson, the bloke they say stabbed his wife with his carving tools?"

James replied, "No, I haven’t--he must be a pretty sick person."`

James never told anyone about what had happened that night, but he knew that if it weren’t for that crack of lightning, he would be dead.

As for Charles, he didn’t have as much luck. He was convicted

of murdering his wife. It was almost as if he had forgotten James, though, because he doesn’t remember what the pile of rubble in his back yard is. Then again, he does not remember much of August 20, 1900, at all.