Little Falls herald. [volume] (Little Falls, Morrison County, Minn.) 1889-1950, 1901-04-12


raised his paper and at once seemed to
be deeply engrossed In his reading.
The cause CT this Sudden transition
Immediately sought for. but could see
nothing to warrant it. The few people
scattered about the room were yawn.
ing as usual and lolling about on the
nard benches in the most uugracefui
attitudes. while in the doorway the lli.
rection IN which my father had looked
there stood little man Of a dark, for
eign appearance. but whether he was
Turk, Malay or Mongoi could not tell
he merely stood there for few mo.
ments while he surveyed the room. but
evidently not liking the appearance OF
II turned away and began slowly to
promenade up and down the platform
AS soon as he had gone my father as
though instinctiyeIy aware OF the
mans departure. stole stealthy
4. glance over the top Of his paper. and !
saw that his usually pale face was If
anything more CHASTITY. than usual: r
you are i'll. SIR said What is
the matter?'
Nothing" he answered sharply. irri
tably. except the cursed cold Of this
drearY room" Ard hp hud(lled up
closer into the corner. as though he
gained warmth thereby. -"
Now. to me the room seemed IN.
:spleasantly warm. permeated as it was
Dy an cdor which seems inseparable
from such places. and could not help
saying something to that effect.
"A no aDcyvornl ..l,,,< 10 a,c~,
the fever in you as ! have you'd wish
yourself well out Of this cursed drafty
= country.
Well, as far as the country was con:
cerned. he had little to complain IT. He
had moi. troubled it much ct late years.
!: Presently train Numbered into the
station, and | went to the door. to
watch the people coming and going.
=: When. ! returned. my father eyincpd
some curiosity as to the passengers
:. who. had departed. and even went SO
liar as'Eolug TO the door and looking
out. The scrutiny evidently satisfied
i him.. for he came back with a st,iil.i and:
. told NE to bring my things out on the.
platform.
=, PunctuaIly to time our train slid into.
the station. and my father and. en-.
q tered a first class smoker During the
few minutes that the train STOOD there
be glued his face to the window and
watched anxiously the entrance 10 the
! platform. But at last the guards wills
i: tie sounded. the engine replied with q
short. sharp shrek. and slowly. we
crert out Of the station Then MY ia
Their threw himself back with a sigh of
content. rested his feet on the stl, on.
posite and quietly hogan to ill his pipe
Once the train was fairly under way.
the land skimming by us on either side.
and no sound came but the roar and
the rush Of the wheels. my father set
tied himself down to read and |
scarcely think he moved unless it wax
to refill his pipe or TO cross or uncross
bis hogs. tried hard TO- follow ills ex,
ample. tried hard to convince. myself
that found my varied store Of Ii,era.
ture interesting, hut | was CONSCIOUS
all the time OF the utter sa.ilarp Of my
endeavor. 80,
AS we began to approach Shrewsbury
my father dived once more into his
valise and extracted therefrom Brad.
shaw. which be began intently to
study. And here may state that this
bradshaw was q companion of his
which was in constant reQuisition.
Thunbed and dog cared. pencil marked
on the margin. it showed a mutilation
or all indignity upon almost every
page. 10 me- Bradshaw has always
been WEAKNESS to the flesh thing
devised to drive men mad and hurry
their souls to -perdition. but to my IA.
Their it was an en''nSs page of ilnatic
delight. 1t didr t matter where the ed
1tors hid away 4 train. he pounced up.
on it like a hawk. Their ingenuity was
wasted on him. He reveled in noun
tains OF bewildering figures: he read
the columns Of hieroglyphcs as easily
as | could read the English alphabet.
The compilers little knew when they
chVckled in secret over their tiendish
work that they were creating all in
finite source of Intricate happiness for
at least one son Of man. ~.
After studying the mystic pages for
some time he. having absorbed his in
Formations, carefully deposited the pre-
cious tome once more in his bag. Then
he began to collect his various papers.
which he also placed in the bag 1t
looked to me as though: he was making
preparations for leaving the train: mt
knowing this to be an impossibillty. l
n merely regarded it as another of his
little eccentricities. However. as we
began to slacken down he cried out
suddenly. Stand by" - Z Cat f&s=s "
Hooked at him. He repeated almost
harshly:sstand by. Get ready. Don't
i stare at Ineslike a fool" 4.s.s
W. = But this Is Shrewsbury"
know that as we'll as YOU" %
Thinking It just possible that the
liquor he had slipped might have made
him forget. said: = But we started for
Denbigh??" ,.s $s. n. ~ =. > .s
did nothing CT the kind We
B started for Shrew sbury. and here We !
Il are 81 4. q 55 # :, FL. s S5
II AT that moment the train glided into
d the station and 80 cut short all further
I remembrance. But z think be ii, "