The Democratic press. [volume] (Ravenna, O. [Ohio]) 1868-1901, 1878-04-18

LOWER NUMDER THREE.
II was in the Cedar Rapids sleeper.
Outside II was - dark a. the inside Of
an ink bottle. In the sleeping-car peo-
pie dept
Or kjed to.
Some Of them slept, like Christian
men and women, peacefully and sweet
ly and quietly.
Others slept like demons, malignant
ly, hideously, fiendishly, as though it
was their mission to keep everybody
else awake.
or these, the man in the lower num-
Der three was the boss When it
came to square snore with variations,
you wanted to count lower three in.
With . full hand and q pocket full Of
rocks.
We never heard anything snore like
him. 1t was the most systematic snor-
ing that was ever done, even on one
Of 90ee tournaments of snoring, sleep
fngfc He didn't begin Is soon as
the hlDps we're turned down and eve
rybody was in bed. Oh, NO. There
was more cold -bloodod diabolism in
his system than that. He waited un-
til everybody had had little taste OF
sleep, just to see how good and pleas
ant It wac, and then he broke in on
their slumbers like q winged, breath
ing demon, and they meyer knew what
peace was again that night.
He started ont with q
Gu-r-r.r.tp
That opened every eye In the car.
We all hoped it was an accident, how
ever, and trusted that he wouldn't do
ii again, we all forgave him. Then he
blasted our hopes and curdled the
sweet serenity of our forgivness by q
long drawn
DIVA -h.h-hahi
That sounded too much like busi-
ness to be accidental. Then every head
in,that sleepless sleeper was held off
the pillows for minute, waiting, in
bresthless suspense, to hear the worst,
and the sleeper in the lower three
went on in long drawn, regular caden-
ces that indicated good staying quail
ties.
Gwa ahI Gwa q a ahI Gahwah-
wahl Gahwahwahl Gahwa q q shv
Evidently it was going to last all
night and the weary heads dropped
back on the sleepless pillows and the
swearing began. 1t mumbled along in
low muttering tones, like the distant
echoes of . profane thunderstorm
Pretty soon 9ower three gave Us lit
tie variation. He shot off q spitreful
'GwookP
Which sounded IS though his nose
had got mad at him and he was going
to strike. Then there was . pause,
and we began to hope he had either
awakened from sleep or strangled to
death, nobody cared very particular
ly which. Bot he disappointed every
body with . guttral
'Guroochv
Then he paused again for breath,
and when he had accumulated enough
for his purpose he resumed business
with stentorious
KowpfY
That nearly shot the roof off the car.
Then he went on playing such fantas-
tic tricks with his nose, and breathing
things that would make the immortal
gods weep, If they did but hear him.
1t seemed an utter, preposterous i'm.
possibility that any human being could
make the mOnstrous, hideous noises
with his breathing machine that the
fellow in 9ower three was making
with his. He ran through all the
stages of the nasal gamut, he went up
and down q very chromatic scale of
snOres, he ran through intricate and
fearful variations until it seemed that
his nose must be out of joint in a
thousand places. All the night and
all night through he told his story.
Gawohi gurrah! gu-r-r! Kuwpff!
Gaw-aw-wahI gawah-hah! gwock
gwarrtI ehah-h-h-lll whoofp ]
Just as the other passengers had
consulted together how they might
slay him, morning dawned, and low
er number three awoke. Everybody
watched the curtain to see what man.
ner Of man it was that had made that
beautiful sleeping Car a pandemoni-
um. Presently the toilet was COM
pleted, the curtains parted, and 1ower
number three stood revealed.
Great heavens 1t was a fair young
girl with golden hair, and timid, pleas
ing eyes like haunted fawn's.-[ Bur-
linetOn Hawkeye. fftt