The copper country evening news. [volume] (Calumet, Mich.) 18??-1907, 1896-06-04
HIS CONVERSION.

They were sitting In the smoking room
Or Chicago hotel, eight or ten Of them.
mostly drummers Perhaps it was che
wreathing smoke that inclined their souls
/ 10 ghostly converse For the last hour
they had been telling tales OF the super
.natural--hardly one who had not some
we'll authenticated story OF q ghostly Wis
| liant or dream warning, hardly one OF
| them who prefended 20 be telling a per
sonal experience, but all were ready % ad
| NIT that there are more things In heaven
| aud earth than can be explained by any
| philosophy.
Guess we all admit that don't We.
boysP' rf-i l-.gs .-.,e5--..
"All but Jim Parker. here. replied one
| OF the boys" He hAsn'ta grain of su.
perstition In ,his makeup. He doesn't nd
init the existence Of anything In heaven
above or earth beneath or the waters that
be- undes the earth unless 81 tangible and
reasonable o. we'll Is audible and visible
Do you, JimH
Jim turned around. He looked the sort
of man who has not "a grain OF supersti.
tion In his makeup"
"Don't know about that, Harris. Guess
you and Il haven't travelled together for
two or three years. have we'"
"Not since the Worlds fair summer"
-"weil, IL was that September thnt was
converted. Tell you bout IL, II you like.
They ali liked, and he told them.
| '.You boys have often chaffed me, he
began, because always take the same
| rooms here II can get them-the bridal
| suit' on the sixth floor. Don't you sup
pose / know as we'll rs any Of you that
only married man accompanied by his
wife and eight small children can afford
10 take a bridal suiti But ! have an af-
fection for those rooms, and you aren
likely to guy me out OF IT, When ! came
here near the end of August, 1898. the
hotel was's so huli that had 90 take those
| or nothing, and naturally decided TO take
| those.
"On the night Of Sept 8, which should
have bcsn the last night Of my stay here,
II had most unpleasant dream. l dreamed
| was In q little country churchyard
didn't remember that I had ever been
there before. Two mon were digging
grave. stood idly watching them, won
| dering for whom they dug n. One o.
. | them looked ~ his watch. Time We wer'
, | Oh, he said; then 20 me: Come. sir, ge
, In. Wore waiting for you ] drew bacl
In horror. No; I won't get in. don
: want TO get In You're all we're waitir
for, sir Hurry up Can't stop all day
, Al nd he reached out HIS hand to draw mi
! In ButI broke AWAY shouting No
: I'm not comingi Let me bet
Tho effort TO escape woke me up, bu
I. the impression did not pass with tn
! dream I could still see the churcbyar'
md the houses near by and hear in th
distance the shrek OF q passing train
Then the boy knocked nc my door 20 war;
/ me that had train 60 catch and m us
get Nd. scrambled through my break
3 fast aud got over to the station. There
! i found that had few minutes 20 walt
Z ran scross q friend, johnson Bowen. a
I that time manager az the Cosmopolita
. theater. You remember him, OF course
7 We walked up and down alongside OF III
train, chatting and smoking. A boy cam
out and spoke to my companion. and hs
9 with word Of apology TO me. followe
70 him on the train. shouting back; See 20
later, jim BE on the smoker
.Left alone, sauntered forward 10th
engine The engineer was pottering abor
y his little cab Something about the ma
70 struck me rs familiar and unpleasant
"a He turned No. ! didn't know him. but
u. was sure I had seen him faced bacl
u puzzled. I passed the baggage car and ''n
70 reached the rear end OF the smoker whe
/
10 exclaimed Time We were on Then
" me; Come, SIR, get In We're waiting Il
Is you
n where had heard those words befor
er ! glanced at the conductor, To my horr'
% saw the face OF one Of the men who
OF my dream had been digging my grave.
g. started back, mutterinR No, I won't 2
in. ! tell you ] don't want 10 get In
IN .You re ali,we'r NJ waiting for, sir. Hur
ve DIP; icah,t stop all day And he held o.
u his hand to help me- for the train W
10 starting But 1 broke -away from hiI
OF shouting, No, I'm not coming; let me
70 tell you
IN The train, pulled out OF the station
IN realized with disgust that I had missed {
n appointment that evening with big Gu
toner at Louisville all on account OF
OF dream. 1 came back 20 tho hotel. L
III elefk- sympathized with mo for havii
se missed my train. but did not eco how
40 had managed to do II.
'eI "Wtthin, three hours the boys We
10 shouting on the street: 'Extry paperi A
It's full railroad disasteri Full account OF
IN collisioni Many lives iosti' II was at
en- o'clock that the train pulled out OF q
cago, leaving me on chs platform 1t
.o at 6:l5 that that train. the Filler. as
VI was called; eoilided head sonl with a mi
as train. Neafly all the occupants OF
uy smoker, in which certainly should ha
~ been hsd been, on the tfain at all, WI
cS moro or lees ihjused. Nearly dozen WI
ny killed. Among these were the man
nv whom I had been talking and the boy y
u" called him swAy. went to One III
dred and Eighth street, the scene OF
wreck, and found that, ths l!tsle VIII
: there, Colehour, believe they call 10, Y
the villags OF my dream. was noe
me prised Ny conversion was compile
From that day, to this fve had, seve
'se grains Of superstition In my makeup a
in I always try to get that same or'
ill chamber :, though I'm not niarried IN
les and I'm getting too old for any nonse