The Sleeping Car

Plot synopsis:
This story begins with Mrs. Roberts, her baby son, and her Aunt Mary headed Westbound on the Boston and Albany Railroad. They are on their way to meet Mrs. Roberts' husband and brother in Boston. Mrs. Roberts has not seen her brother in twelve years, and is nervous about how he will react to seeing her. In the time since they last saw each other, she has married and birthed a child, and has heard little from her brother except for infrequent telegraphs. The porter informs Mrs. Roberts and her aunt that the berths are now ready for them to sleep in, but the conversation continues. Mrs. Roberts worries that her husband Edward will not receive Willis well, or vice versa, because Willis is a Californian and Edward has never encountered one before. Mrs. Roberts laments that her life would be a wreck if her husband and brother do not get along nicely, and states "I do hope they're sitting down to a hot supper."
A voice from an adjacent berth interjects and sarcastically tells Mrs. Roberts to be quiet. She acquiesces for a moment, but then reverts to conversation, stating how they must go to bed. Aunt Mary insists that Mrs. Roberts and the child take the bottom bunk, because she is afraid that the child will roll off of the top bunk and injure himself. She calls the porter over to help her into the upper berth, and after successfully entering the berth, exchanges "good-night" with Mrs. Roberts.
After a few minutes, Mrs. Roberts rekindles the conversation, and expresses her concern regarding the safety of the train on which they're riding. Her aunt reassures her that the road is safe, and that the train has implemented safety measures to prevent accidents. Mrs. Roberts then goes on to discuss where her Aunt left the drinking glass in their luggage, until she is interrupted by a man from the next berth. This man politely requests silence from Mrs. Roberts, citing that he has come straight through from San Francisco and would very much like some rest. Mrs. Roberts responds apologetically, but starts conversing with this man, inquiring about California, her brother Willis, and if he has ever met his acquaintance. Midway through their conversation, a man in the upper berth sarcastically interjects and asks for quiet. The Californian takes offense to the man's tone towards Mrs. Roberts, and the two get into a verbal argument over it. Eventually, the Californian gets the man in the upper berth to back down ("You beg that lady's pardon, or I'll have you out of there before you know yourself!"). Part I ends with the Californian and Mrs. Roberts finally going to bed, with only the sounds of Aunt Mary's snoring audible.
Part II begins with Edward boarding the train at Worcester. After confirming the train's identity with the porter, Mr. Roberts attempts to search for his wife. Of course, he does not know which berth houses his wife, and he tries to jog the porter's memory with details about his wife and her traveling companions. The conductor joins the conversation, and finally all decide to wait until morning to search for Mr. Roberts's wife, when all the passengers will be awake. Edward settles into a seat on the train, and noticies what appears to be his wife's bonnet hanging from a hook next to one of the berths. The porter says that a man is in that berth, but convinced by the bonnet, Edward decides to take a chance and enter the berth, bribing the porter to allow him to do so.
Of course, the berth that Edward enters is the berth of the Californian, who is not pleased that someone has again interrupted his slumber. The Californian confronts Mr. Roberts, who attempts to talk his way out of the situation. Mrs. Roberts wakes up from this noise, and comes to her husband's side. The conductor comes to see what all the fuss is about, and it is the Californian who confesses to making the noise. The conductor decides that his problem with the Californian is not worth a confrontation. ("[If I had a problem], I'd get the biggest brakeman to do it for me.") Mr. Edwards apologizes to the Californian for waking him, and invites him to call on them whenever he pleases.
The Californian returns to his berth, and Mrs. Roberts fills her husband in on the events of the sleeping car thus far. She realizes she has neglected the child during this brief kerfuffle, and dashes back to her berth to check on him. Mrs. Roberts selects the wrong berth, and again interrupts the Californian's sleep. She explains that she was looking for her child, and the Californian decides to help the Roberts' look for their baby son. The Californian finds Mrs. Roberts's berth on his first attempt, and Mrs. Roberts shrieks with excitement. Again, the Californian returns to his berth.
However, Mrs. Roberts remains awake. She comes to the sudden and unrelenting realization that the Californian is in fact her brother Willis. ("It accounts for his being so polite and kind to me through all [of this].") Obsessed and sincere in her conviction of this thought, she and her husband yet again interrupt the sleep of the Californian, pulling open he curtains and accusing him of being her brother. The Californian jokingly rejects this premise, and assures them that he most certainly is not Willis Campbell. Disappointed and deeply sorry for again interrupting his sleep, Mr. and Mrs. Roberts return to their berth. Thus ends Part II.
Part III begins with a passenger boarding the train the next day. The porter shows this gentleman to a seat across from where the Roberts' sit. Mrs. Roberts notices the name on the bag says "Willis Campbell, San Francisco." Although this evidence should be plenty for Mrs. Roberts to immediately confront this stranger about his identity, she hesitates, and is worried that she will further humiliate herself if this person is not her brother. Eventually, she gathers the courage to ask him, and the two discover that they are indeed brother and sister. Mrs. Roberts fills in her brother on the past antics of the journey in the sleeping car, and upon hearing the description of the Californian, is convinced that he is Tom Goodall, an old acquaintance of his. However, the Californian is named Abram Sawyer, and again he has woken up for frivolous purposes.
As the train is quickly approaching Boston, Mr. Roberts suggests that Aunt Mary be woken up so that she may prepare for arrival. Aunt Mary is informed that both Edward and Willis have boarded the sleeping car overnight, and meets the acquaintance of the Californian. Upon hearing his name, Aunt Mary is convinced that she knows him as the daughter of her old friend Kate Harris. Clearly, this accusation is ridiculous, and the voices of the other sleeping car passengers make some jokes about it. The play ends with Aunt Mary requesting for the porter to help her down from the upper berth.

Tags: psychedelic, murder, flashback

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