Tazewell Republican. [volume] (Tazewell, Va.) 1892-1919, 1904-03-31

ming shut, but some door that was
warped or shrunk and hanging loose
between the door jambs, and with
maybe half an inch play on the latch.
"a sudden gust from outside would
draw in through the house and strike
that door and slam 1t against the door
frame, and even with only half an inch
play the bang Of 1t, when 1t brought
up, would make my heart stand still.
And then when that gust let up the
door would sag back with another
lighter kind of a sound on the latch.
"And then maybe everything would
be quiet for a minute or two and then
we might get blast that would make
all the windows of the house shake,
and make that door boom again. And
then I'd lie low and wait, scared Aalf
to death to begin with, and never
knew but what all that rafting and
banging would wake somebody up.
And sometimes 1t did.
II remember one house | was In one
windy night. There was particularly
vicious window in room on an up
stairs floor. A number Of times when
the wind got 1t thought the who e
window was going to blow in or out
and I'd about made up my mind thai
1t would be a sensible thing for me to
do, maybe, to go away, when l heard
somebody stepping around on the floor
upstairs, in the room where that win
dow was, and in a minute heard that
window stop slamming, and knew
somebody was at It, wedging 1t W
somehow so that It wouldn't rattle.
"And he got it fixed all right, and
went back to bed and things settled
down quiet as could be for about a
minute. and then:
"Zipl Br-r-r, bang! Blffboof! Bang!
Bang!' went the Window suppose
really, that about as impossible a thing
as anybody ever attempted to do was
to stop a rattley window from rafting
and up jumps the man again, out OF
bed, to try to fix 1t again.
"And he wedged 1t once more. sc
that 1t didn't make sound, and
turned toward his bed, and had got
about half way there, as near as could
guess from where was below, when;
"'Br-r-r blink. blink, biff, bang!
Bang! Bang! Bang!' went the window
and couldn't see my man, but knew
! Ill ono,oh tbot ha bod ft1rpod arOun 4
right where he was and was standing
there, shaking his fist at the window
and | heard him say:
"'Well, rattle, damn you, If you want
to! II It wasn't so bloody cold I'd kicl
you out the window
And then l heard him throw him
self into his bed again, and he broke
a slat doing that, and went through tC
the floor, and this all, Of course, was
great relief to me; but still | thought
I'd better go, anyway, away from
man Of that wakeful temperament and
violent disposition, and so l did go
with that window up in his room still
a-rattling.
"And actually that first winter l wa!
in the business I stayed home on
good many windy nights because
didn't want to hear the rafting doors
and windows. But, Of course, tina
wouldn't do. the wind might blow 36'
nights in the year, and where would
be then? So l started in again
whether the nights were windy or not
and let the windows rattle, and pretty
soon was not so much disturbed BY
them; for we can get used to most any
thing
"And then I soon discovered thai
people get used to their own ratueI
doors and windows, so that they are
not so likely to be awakened by them
And then, of course, very soon came
to be able instinctiYely and instantly
to distinguish between sound made
by windows or doors ratified by thu
wind and the sound Of the same win
dows or doors when touched by human
hands; and 1 guess l have told you be-
fore that I came to know instantly oI
the effect of the vibration caused BY
their movements, If didn't actually
hear them, when anybody was movins
about in the house.
FINALLY I got so that the rafting
and banging of windows and doors II
houses I was in on windy nights didn'
disturb me so very much; but still, a.
a matter of fact, those sounds always
made me start little, and l never
really enjoyed hearing windows rattle
in any place but home"