Audubon Republican. [volume] (Audubon, Iowa) 1894-1925, 1906-06-07
Concentration Of Thought

/ anlSs1mo, which to the human ear is
fortissimo; them with expressive
crescendo and staccato movements, the
| volume of tone swelled rapidly till
the Wendover airshaft and the adj
joining rooms were alive with barks
and wells.
Wilkinson tried to reason away the
revelry of sound by Christian Science
methods. He fixed his eyes on space,
as represented by the window curtains,
and said, with grave emphasis;
| There Is no dog" Another frantic
howl, following close upon this asser-
ton, made Wilkinson's major pre-
mise seem rather shaky..
THE dog does not howl" he amend
ed, consequently / cannot hear the
dog howl
Another series of yelps convinced
him that even this concession was So
! phism.
"The dog does howl" he said, and
Internally loud, too, and I'm going to
stop 'im!"
Wilkinson darted out of his own
apartment and went first to the part
ment above.
rs that your dog making all that
racket" he demanded of the white:
aproned maid.
The maid was properly indignant.
"Of course not" she said. "'Es asleep
in is basket. e amt opened is cad
to-day, except to eat, an then e didn't
make no noise about hit-not arf so
much noise as some folks makes Wen
they goes about pryin' into other peo-
pies business"
Wilkinson made his next inquiry at
the door of the apartment beneath his
own. The maid said the dog was
not theirs. Their dog was likewise
asleep in his basket Wilkinson next
directed his steps to the fourth floor.
Their dogs a bull that weighs 100
pounds if he weighs anything" he re-
Elected, "and I'll bet five dollars he
amt asleep in his basket"
But he was. La, no." said the maid,
faint Billy It's maxim all that fuss"
II suppose" said Wilkinson, with
fine sarcasm, that he is asleep in his
basket"
''He sure is" said the maid. And
she shut the door in Wilkinson's face.
Wilkinson didn't dodge about much
after that. He visited the remaining
20 apartments in regular order and in
response to his 20 inquiries he learned
that the 20 dogs were asleep in their
hoe bots Dxy nd l. hn0 n
his own apartment to mediate.
"Twenty-four dogs asleep in their
baskets he unused. Dogs of high de-
gree and low degree; dogs big and lit
tie; dogs young and old; dogs white
black, buff and brindle, all asleep in
their baskets. They must be doped
to sleep through all this racket. And
one of ems got nightmare. wonder
which it is?"
Wilkinson picked up his six lines
on Concentration Of Thought"
Through the door he heard tumble
of tones thrown out by the mouthful,
now with the sonorous effect of drum
now with the shrill cadence of the
flute. Presently he heard something
else. The janitor was ringing the bell
and demanding admittance.
Say, said the autocrat of the Wend-
over, "w'eres that dog?"
Search me-" said Wilkinson.
WELL" said the janitor, II will
search you. The rest of the folks say
they can't stand this hullabaloo any
longer, an if you can't give i'm any
thing to make i'm dry up, wy you've
got to choke i'm, that's all"
Choke who?" gasped Wilkinson.
"W'y your dog"
"My dog?" said Wilkinson. ''My
dog is asleep in his basket"
He smiled family at this trite re-
ioinder, but he knew it was the truth
and he had to let it stand. 4he jani-
tor, however, had his doubts.
Just show me the basket" he said.
"Somethin's got to be done. I've seen
all the rest of the dogs. They're all
right. Now, trot yours out"
Instead of trotting the dog out, Mr..
Wilkinson trotted the janitor in. He
led the way back to the storeroom
near the airshaft with the air of a con-
queror
Behold" he said, and opened the
door.
But he said no more, for as the door
swung on it's hinges a streak of yell
low darted down from perch beside
the airshaft window and rushed be-
tween Wilkinson's feet and against the
janitors legs with such force that
both men toppled over against the
wall.
ASLEEP in is basket, was e?"
scoffed the janitor.
Wilkinson was very humble 81 beg
your pardon" he said, "and the par
don of all my neighbors. / was so
busy writing an essay that forgot
that my wife and the maid had both
gone out this evening and left the
dog here by myself. I've been trying
for the last half hour to locate that
dog"
"Well," said the janitor, you've To-
Gated INN. Y. Press.