The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1901-07-07

moi" said Soper. shortly, and resum-
ed his writing. The men continued to
yell deafeningly. They made one sale
in the block (Soper watched them fur
lively as he wrote) and they uttered
twenty-seven yens in various keys, not
counting the commands to the horse.
Soper fidgeted a little in his chair. The
work on those specifications was exact
ing ana required his full attention. He
shited his position, with his back to the
/ window.
Doh, re, mi, ia, sol, la, 81, doh!
A piano had started into action. But
Soper went on writing. He was not cas-
lily disturbed. Yet how near the piano
sounded 1t might almost be in the same
room with him. Still, to a man with a
sensitive Garland Soper did have SEN
sitiye musical ear-the scales were not
so lad. 1t was this Internal tinkering of
coon songs, out of tune, that sometimes
gave his philosophy a hard wrench, be-
cause
The fifteen minutes of practice ceased
ana an hour Of popular tunes, banged
steadily for half hour. The potpourri
beneath him was IN tull blast. He loo4-
/ cd troubled, and started to rise He
| often Walkel up and down when he
wanted to tn nix. But he had forgotten
! his lame ankle. This sitting still all the
! time was certainly wearing And that
infant down below-how long would she
! keep it up?
1T is a nuisance said Mrs Soper
| sweetly, coming IN from her superinteni-
ance of the kalsominers. But it isn't
/ as bad as those children overhead were.
/ Bes.Ges, she Loesn't co it at night, or on
! Sundays"
.Sh-a-d! Fresh sh-a-d!"
This new explosion lasted only five
1 minutes, but it seemed longer to Soper,
| who had tegun to lose interest In the
! strenuous lite Of the street.
Il was going to have the machine
| brought in here for the seamstress, but
} / concluded to put 1t off for q daY.' said
Mrs. Soper.
! Soper homehow felt relieved Not that
! he minded a little thing like a sewing
! mach ne, but perhaps it was just as well
not to have too many distractions when
! he had that work to finish and was feel
ing cut OF sorts. Once more he attacked
! the specifications. 1t was II o'clock. The
/ infant nineteen, if a day) had given the
piano a last resounding thwack. For
4 luly ten minutes there had been II
/ greater disturbance than the parrot
! across the way and the intermittent bark
| Of pug dog next door. 1t seemed like
Ndrvana to Soper. He was getting
warmed up to his work. He scarcely no
/ ticed the noise MADE by d man across
! the way who slid three tons Of coal from
| a wagon GOWN an IRON chute. 1t was a
/ good, honest noise, anyway, after that
/ piano, and
/ We can't get en- up, we can't get EN-
Up, We can't get EN- up III The morn
We can t get EN- up, we can't get EN-
up, we can't get EN- up all day!
Soper had always liked the trumpet
calls. In his youth he had lived az an
army post and they had seemed partic-
LlalIy inspiring. Slin, tne-e were times
and places Tor things, and this man with
a cornet-
Coo to bs-ed, go to bed, go to bed,
80 10 bed, 60 to bed
The man with the cornet was trying
taps, aid not succeeding very Wen
cd nd t4r,T
WIND: Then he went back to ''reveuIe,
| took a IuIn at 'adjutant CALL" and
! sounded 'IeJreat TIL he had 1t to his
| satisfaction. After that ne repeated MS
! tGI repertory. 1t seemed to ooper that
| he never would let up. 1t began 10 CRATE
OH ms nerves. "KuLn!' he called.
Yes, dear.
docs That tiend with d cOrnet do this
| sort Of thInS often?"
Why, yes, i erumand. l think he must
work somewhere near by, and TINS is his
| lunch hour. only instead OF eating he
pays. W hats tnat Shakespeare says
ii music be tho food Of love, play on.
Il think that's right. But, seriously;
dear, he S very mucn in earnest. Per-
haps he wants to go in the army. And,
on, he's improved wonderfully III Ene last
month or 50. lie used to make a IrignL-
tul noise"
Used To" said Soper under his breath
Don't YOU find him hlm very tlresome?'
ITS wonderful how you grow accus-
lOlilCd W SUCH lulHSSy Sdlu MIS-. SoODGT,
cheerfuIly. They say that people VINO
I'VE on the elevated road get used to il
after while. And Susie Meyer has
friend Who lives in the officers quarters
at Fort Columbus, on Governors island
ana Susie says she doesn't notice the
DuSleIS at all, even when they blow four
at once, as they 90 for some Of the calls,
believe. And then, of course, 1 sup
pose yOn don't mind it. It's so qnet
here after down town" -.o4
Mo- SAID Soper But sometimes
there might lie d sick person living in The
block, ana then 1t would be a hardship
BeSideS, there are so many nervous WOra-
en-, and all this noise-or music / re-
HeNe you would call lt-might have bad
effect on Them fer
I'd no idea you were so sensitive to
these things" exclaimed Mrs. Soper. IT'S
too bad you can't go into the dInlng
room How are you getting on?' .,.
on, fairly well. m making the best
Of 1t. And Soper grinned with the
siel1iy grin of a Chinaman. But what's
that he suddenly asked.
From aIar came the thump Of drums
mingled With the familiar strains of the
piano organ. There seemed to mixed
with it clash of cymbals. 1t could be
heard for two blocks. Mrs. Soper had
retired again, and Soper had resumed his
worn his nerves were on edge, and he
smut the window against this new de-
slroyer of his peace. An office overlook
ing broadway. two flights up, wasn't as
noisy as he had supposed. But what was
inns Latest thing in band music?
He did not have long to walt 1t
came on four wheels. 1T was only a
piano organ, after all, but a piano organ
mounted with snare and a bass drum,
ana reinforced, so to speak by some
other mechanism for the production OF
ElcIent sound, Compared with it, the or
dinary hurdy-gurdy seemed like silence.
II came To rest two doors away, and then
Droke loose. Literally, it played to beat
the pand. For fifteen minutes it crashed
ana SurSled airs so old that Soper had
| forgotten cheIr very names. At first the
tAIilS was endurable. But an hc.,S of ii
In the nelghbOrhOod! Soper WINGED. Al
ready ne could hardly think for the noise.
he tried TO shut it out from his mind,
ana tired all the old devices Of viii
power 1hey would not work. His ears
battered all morning, took on an inten-
slled capacity for hearing. 1t seemed as
IL the auditory apparatus would burst.
ne mad read that voice pitched in the
same vibration a wineglass gives
L9rth would break the glass il uttered
directly In it. Well he was the glass
ard that diabolical thing outside was
FEELING for the right vibration to crack
MN WITH lie glanced out of the window
! heavens! Some one was giving money
actually reWarding the man who turned
the crank 1t was insupportaHe He
Soper, would. give him money. too
money to go blocks away. He felt an
almost irresistible desire to kick the
tbng to pieces instead. But being a
iaW-abidlng citizen with lame ankle he
! merely put his hand in his pocket and
nshed out half a dollar. He threw II 10
the man and called to him to go away.
me !talian seemed well satisfied He