The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1895-01-06
pocketbool is at home in my other britches
: pocket ?-Silas GanderfoOt
TEN MINUTES OF MORTAL TERROR.

i
/ was travelling for Boston touse. said
the drummer, and stopped late one Satur-
day night in the town OF c.. In southern
Indiana. After registering at the principal
hotel asked the clerk ii there was q bar
Der shop connected with the hcasc- He SAID
no. and that owing 10 the 1ateness or the
hour Ia quarter of 10 had but one chance
to be accommodated. and slim one at
that. He explained that all the shops in
town except the one alluded to closed ut
10 o'clock Saturday night. under union
rules. The solitary nonunion place was run
by an obdurate colored fellow, he said,
who usually closed at midnight. He added
that the "city regulations prohibited ali
from opening on Sunday.
AS my beard had already three days
growth. 1 felt that I must see barber that
night, and sailed out to find the nonunion
shop, which the clerk said was three blocks
down street / found the place still open
and the barber alone. He was snoozing in
his chair, and when my somewhat sudden
entrance aroused him he tumbled out hast
lily and stared at If he thought I
was burglar.
He was a stout burly fellow. black my
Derby hat with a thick neck, heavy jaws
and savage look. accosted him TN
friendly way, and asked him il he could
Fix me up though his ferocious aspect
made me almost regret that had come
He grinned good-naturedly. and in a by no
means harsh voice said he thought he could.
and motioned me TO take the chair. /
did so.
Before beginning work on me he pulled
down the shade belonging to the only win
dow in the shop and adjusted the lights.
Accustomed as / had been TO all sorts OF
accommodations as well as meeting all
kinds of characters. l at first took little
note of the dingy shop and It's Ishmaelitish
workman. But when he stood close to me,
strapping his razor and furtivey sizing
me up with his big. rolling eyes, / felt
just slight tremor of fear, l hardly knew
why.
While he was thus engaged / took occa-
sion-I suppose by a kind of sef-defensive
instinct-to remark to him that had just
registered at the Blakely House. and had
been directed TO his shop by the clerk.
This bit of Information, l thought, would
give the fellow to understand that my
early return would be expected at the
hotel. He merely duplicated his former
grin and said "Yessa'." When he began
lathering my face / reflected that had no
real cause for precautionary action, and
felt ashamed of my momentary cowardice.
l observed at once that he was skilled
artist" His broad, fat hands were as soft
.
handled his razor like a true mechanic, and
l soon settled into an easy repose, as IL
soothed by the manipulatons of a real mes
merst My eyes were closed, and think
must have been half asleep, when | sud-
denly became conscious OF a change In the
negroes behavior.
This occurred when he had me about half
shaved ! opened my eyes just a little.
comes to us with the realization of pres
ent danger. In a moment was wide awake
and fully alert TO all that was going for
ward, though l was careful not TO betray
It by any outward sign, | first noted that
had been. The change in his demeanor was
abrupt enough to attract immediate atten-
he would stop shaving me, hold his sleam-
Ing razor over me and stand glartng at my
tnreaa bor 4e as a. h n & If
or TO go ahead and dress me decently for
the funeral Then he would mutter some
thing in a hoarse whisper and presently re-
But his hand was unsteady. and he got on
would turn from me and jerk open draw
in his cabinet, then close ii with sud-
tom-tom. l wasnow thoroughly frightened.
though i felt sense of helplsssness that
was nearer paralysis than desperation At
one time, when he turned his back. con-
ceived the idea of leapng from the chair
and making break for the door. but be-
for action the rascal was at my face again.
His mutterings became more. frequent.
but were as incoherent ever. | had
about made up my mind that the
man was crazy, and that he deliber-
| ately planning TO murder me. In moment
| all the stories / had ever heard about the
devish cunning and superhuman prowesS
| of madmen flashed into my consciousness.
The case looked both critical and hopeless.
| / knew it would be the sheerest folly for
| me to expect to cope physically with the
big ruffian, armed as he vas, too, with the
most dangerous of weapons.
Every time he touched my face / expect
ed with sort of nerveless resignation to
| feel the keen edge of the razor on my
| throat. AT last l felt that l could endure
the suspense and terror longer. The
negro had gone over my face once and
preparing to give the finishing touches. L
imagined that another minutes delay would
| find Hopping about the floor like
Thanksgiving turkey with mutiated guZ-
! Zle. All this time / had kept up the out
ward seeming ofrperfect self-control, which,
properly interpreted, was abiect and help
| less fright / the very point OF
making a sudden dash when the fellow
stunned into dumb establishment by
| breaking into the following speech:
Say, boss, listen what tole you. i had
young coon in de shop TO do de whisk an
brush act an he good. an / fired
i'm dis mo- min; an | jis dis minute 'skiv-
cred dat de cussed niger hez stole one q
my bes razo's. But laws" bursting into a
laugh, hits too late to cry TO split milk
cause he done tuck de fust train for In
jnoplis. Well. hit all goes in lifetime.
Oar you are, sah
1 crawled out of the chair half dead and
managed to pay the fellow and get away
from the shop without sho wing him the
have let him know it for $50
T |,