Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1905-10-19
CHAPTER VII.

CttAfIEfL VIII.
~ MERE was knock on the dool
of Captain Perez's sleeping
lSrWESI apartment.
tSsW "Cap'n Hedge" said Mrs
Snow-"Cap'n Hedge, I'm sorry t.
wake you up, but it's most 10 o'clock
and
what? Ten o'clock! Godfrey scis
sors! OF all the lazy-I'll be out in 6
jifyi Perez, turn out there! TURF
out, I tell your
Captain Fri had fallen asleep in tho
rocker where be had seated himself up
on his return from the fruitless search
for the coat. He had had no intention
Of sleeping, but he was tired after his
strenuous work at the fire and had
dropped OF in the midst OF his worry
he sprang to his feet and tried to sep.
arate dreams from realities.
Land Of love, Perezw he calculated
"Here you and me have been sleepin
hat the forenoon We'd ought to be
ashamed Of ourselves. Let's git dress.
ed qutcker"n chain nghtnin'."
'DressedT queried Perez, sitting up
In bed. RI should think you was dress.
ed now. boots and all What are you
taldn' 'boutfs
The captain glanced down at his
clothes and seemed as much surprised
as his friend. he managed to pull
himself together, however, and STAN
mered:
"Dressed7 Oh, I'm dressed, of
course! It's you I'm tryin' to git some
life into"
well. why didn't you cali a Teller
'stead Of stttin' mp aad dresstn' all by
yourself. never $50 such critter.
Where's my socksy'
To avoid further perplexing questions
Captain Fri went into the dining room.
The table was set, really set, with a
clean cloth ana dishes that shone.
The knives and forks were arranged
hy the plates. not piled in heap for
each man to help himself. The cap
tain gasped.
"Weu, swan to man!' he said.
@Has Jerry had fit, or what's struck
him7 amt seen him do anything like
this for don't know when.''
"Oh, Cap'n Burgess didn't fix the ia
bic, If that's what you meant" said the
new nurse. 'Cap'n Baxter seemed to
be sleepin' or in stupor like, and the
doctor when he come said might
leave him long enough TO run down
stairs for few minutes, So
"The doctor? Has the doctor been
here this mornin'?"
Yes; he come bout an hour ago.
Now, II you wouldn't mind goin' up
md stayin' with Cap'n Baxter for a
few minutes while 1 finish gettin'
breakfast. I've been up and down so
many times in the last ha'f hour don't
knows I'm sartin whether I'm on my
head or my heels"
The captain went upstairs I'm dazed
state. As he passed through what had
been hts room he vaguely noticed that
the bureau top was clean and that
most Of the rubbish that had ornament
ed it had disappeared.
The sick man lay just as he had left
him, his white face as colorless as
the clean pillowcase against which it
rested. Captain Err remembered that
the pillowcases In the spare room had
looked little yellow the night be-
fore, possibly owing to the fact that
rs the room had not been occupied for
months they had aot been changed.
he reasoned that the improvement was
hnother one Of the reforms instituted
by the lady from Nantucket.
He sat down in the rocker by the
bed and thought with shiver, of the
missing coat There were nine chances
put OF ten that whoever found it would
Recognize it as belonging to the old
Come Outer" The contents of the
rocket would be almost certain to re-
zeal the secret If the coat itself did not.