The Paducah evening sun. [volume] (Paducah, Ky.) 1906-1929, 1908-04-17

noon Pull looked up from hi:
labor of pulling the whiskers
III from the evil smelling masks.
SLOW many OF these things we gotY
he inquired.
| About three hunder' and fifty,'
Thrackles replied.
well, we've got enough for me
I'm sick of this job. II stinks."
They looked at each other. could
see the disgust rising in their eyes, tn,
reek of rotten blubber expanding thei.
nostrils. With one accord they cast
| aside the masks.
1T amt such a fortune" grcwled
Pull, his evil little white face thrust
forward. There's other things worth
all the seal trimmin's Of the islands,"
"Diamon's." gloomcd the Niger.
you've hit it, doctor" cut IN Solo
mon.
There we were again. back TO the
old difficulty. only worse. likeness de-
seconded on us again. We grew touchy
on little things, as a misplaced plate,
a shortage Of frewood. too deep a
draft at the nearly empty bucket The
noise of pickering became MS constant
MS the noise of the surf. If we valued
peace. we kept our mouths shut. The
way a man sp0t or ate or slept or even
breathcd became q cause Of irritation
TO every other member Of the company
We stood the outrage as long as We
could: then we objected in a wild and
ridiculous explosion which communi-
Gated its heat 20 the object Of our
wrath. Then there was Il fight. II
needed only liquor 10 complete the de
plorablc state Of affairs.
Gradually the smaller things came 10
worry us more anI more. \ certain
harmless singer Of the cricket or per
haps Of the tree toad variety used 70
chirp his Innocent uo,e short distance.
from our cabin. For all | know h.
had done so from the moment of our
installation, but | had never noticed
him before. Now | caught myself lis
tcnirg for his Irregular recurrence with
every nerve on the CULVER. II he de
luyed by ever so little. Il WAS m agony.
yet when he did pipe IN his feeble
strain struck to my heart cold and
paralyzlnc Ike a dagger. and with
every advancing nsnutc Of the night
became broader awake, more tense.
fairly sweating with nervousness. one
nlght-good God was it only last
week? 1t seems ages ago. another ex-
istence. a state cut OF from this by
the wonder OF 4 transmigratlon at
least. Last week!
| did not sleep at ali. The moon had
risen, had mounted the heavens and
now was sailing overhead. Bv the
fretwork of its radiance through the
chinks of our rudely built cabin I had
marked Off the hours. \ thunderstorm
rumbled and flashed, hull down over
the horizon. 1t was many miles dis
tant and Yet | do not doubt that its
electrical influence had dried the mols-
ture of our equanimity, leaving us rat
Ting husks for the winds Of destiny TO
play upon Certainly | can remember
no other time In rather wide eype-
rience when | have felt myself more
on edge, more choked with the rest
less, purpOseleSs nervous energy that
leaves a mans tongue parched and his
eyes staring. And still that Internal
cricket or whatever it was ohirped.
I had thought myself alone in my
vigil, but when finally | could stand
It no longer and kicked aside my COW
ering. with an oath Of protest. | was
about me.
d that cricket ] cried.
And the dead shadows stirred from
the hunks, and the hollow eyed vic
tins of insomnia crept out to curse