Rock Island daily Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1886-1893, 1889-02-28
couaTsD DEATH IN HIS SLEEP

wsIsing Along the Gutter Six storie, from
the Sidewalk.
a rap at the door
1t was 10 O'Clock at night, The technology
students, who occupy a room on the second
door of q fremont street boarding house, not
far from Worcester street, were about to ~
tire. They supposed the rap was made by
some school friend and accordingly shouted
Come In"
The door slowly opened and revealed the
outlines of gaunt figure in white. The face
was ghastly pale.
The boys sprans TO their feet. The figure
glded into the room, and faint voice gasped
Hello, boys"
Astounded, nonplused, almost speschless,
the boys recognized the face and voice Of a
trisnd whom they supposed to be lying at his
Eshone, half dozen miles away, critically IL
with delirious fever.
SIS that you, -r
Yes" replied the weaker voice.
How, for heavens sake, did you got In
here In that garbf'
We'll, boys, hardly know. III try to tell
you about it, ind he sunk into q chair,
shivering with the cold They wrapped him
In overcoats, and he went On to say IN crazed
sort Of a way that the last he remembered
was dropping to sleep in his own bed at home
| Suddenly he was awakened by something
striking him on the head, and be found him
self In q strange house, cropping about the
hallway in his night robe.
lie heard voices He went down fight Of
stairs and listened at door.
He recognized the voices. They were those
| Of friends ct the institute Hearing them,
be knew where he wac and raped at the
door
But how did you get into the houser
II don't know. | have no recollection Of
anything more than | have told YOU and
overcome with bis ezertions. he Eank back in
stupor. Tie boys applied what reetora-
tives they had at hand, and, bringin. him
partly to himself, they clothed him in gar
ments from their wardrobe and carried him
home He lived six houses a~ay, in the
same block They walked him up the steIS
and rang the bell. The party was ushered
into the hall by the servant, and there the
invalids mother confronted her son, whom
she supposed to be lying asleep in bed up
stairs.
The Technology boys explained as far as
they were able. The amazed and thoroughly
frightened mother FASTENED her boy up stairs
and to bed again; when there she found the
first clew to the solution Of the mystery Of
his journey to the boarding house
The window Of his room was open In his
sleep he had arisen and through the window
made his escape TO the roof, a mansard, edged
by tin gutter, six stories from the sidewalk
Thence along the edge Of the roof, balancing
himself by an almost supernatural power, he
made his way along the gutter, past the dor
mer windows Of five houses, and paused at
the sixth Here he found q window open at
the top He lowered it still further and
climbed In.
It was tho landlady's room. At the time it
was vacant and the delirious sleeper made
his way through 1t to the hall. Here he
wandered about In the darkness until he
found the stairway. Then be felt his way
down the stairs TO the next floor and began
his wandarings anew.
Here, by chance, he struck his bead against
door jamb, and the shock brought him to
his senses He beard the familiar voices,
and the rest of the story has beer old-Bos-
ton Globe. -aa .4...