The Jasper weekly courier. [volume] (Jasper, Ind.) 1858-1922, 1913-09-05
HosU He Found
Sleep.

BY SALLIE MENDEEM.


was this: had mighty good nerve and
wasn't afraid of any one. L seemed to
know what kind of a crib to crack and
now TO do it without waking anybody
up and getting away between midnight
and dawn, when the cops are most
orowsy. While | was doing a job l
thought of nothing except my work
and was both cool and watchful. |
wasn't one of those blokes who scare
people TO death or who are ready II
necessary to add murder to robbery.
The truth Is | never liked the prospect
of facing either charge.
AS | was saying. while engaged at
my work, however dangerous, | was
steady as Il monument. but when dan
ger had passed aud had nothing TO did
but think l went downhill very fasts
What bothered me most was that 4
couldn't sleep nlghts-that is, when
comfortably slowed away in bed. /
once took nap I'm 4 gentleman's par
Tor and was only Weakened 10y the sun
coming up and shining In my eyes. Y
Just got out I'm time TO save myself.
/ But when lying on soft mattress.
with warm covers and no chance OF
being disturbed. .sleep wouldn't come
to me. | lay awake thinking OF the
time when I would hear prison doors
clang behind me. The thought was
dreadful. I'm afraid | was too fine
grained Tor the business.
Month after month my hours HS
sleep grew less till l feared insanity.
One night | woke up ut midnight after
having slept two hours and knew there
would be no more slumber for me TIL
the next time I went to- bed. I was so
desperate that | got up with the IN
tention OF going into some house where
| had no right and there snatch an.
other couple OF hours sleep. 1 had a
crib In view, small house with not
much in II. But / was looking for
sleep, not plumber. | went there, took
out pane OF glass, entered and went |
upstairs TO find place TO settle down. |
stood In a dark hall looking into n I
room where night lamp was burning |
In the room woman was I'm bed with |
a child. both asleep. The child was
sleeping on the front OF the bed, very
near the edge. He was boy and, !
think, about five years old.
On narrow lower bed, close beside
the other, slept another child, a girl OF
about three. She was sleeping in the
center OF her bed on her side and had
her chubby fist up against her fat
check. 1t was hot summer weather.
ana none OF them except the woman
had any covers whatever.
What interested me was that the
boys head was hanging over the side
OF his bed and so much of his body,
too, that 1t looked to me as If be tfas
about to fall. He was restless. and |
knew he would be over very soon.
Somehow | wanted to see him fall,
though l kept In the dark so that he
wouldn't see me If he woke up. The
next kick he made sent him over. He
fell a couple of feet, but didn't wake
up. He landed partly on the little girl,
but she didn't wake up either. l ex-
pected she would, as she moaned once
or twice in her sleep and turned over.
but finally she slept as peacAdully as
before. .
1t was such delightful picture to
one suffering from insomnia that ]
kept on watching the children. The
boy continued his kicking and crowded
the girl, pushing her with every move
TO the front edge of her bed 1t must
have been half an hour that he kept
this up, when there was a thump, and
the girl lay on the floor But she
seemed to be as comfortable there as
On her bed. At any rate, she showed
not the least sign Of waking.
Meanwhile l heard the muttering OF
distant thunder, and while l was look
ing at them all there came one terrific
crash loud enough to wake the dead.
The mother turned over, but neither
Of the children. moved. Then followed
)ne crash after another, and l expect
I'd that at least the mother would F.,
wake up and take a look at her chill
1ren. But she slept on. She must have
been very tired or had lost a lot Of
sleep or She couldn't have slept
through those terrible bolts. Never
lad l heard such thunder before.
The only effect the storm had on any
# them was to increase the restless
less of the boy. He rolled and tum-
lied In his sleep like ship tossed by
he waves. sometimes lying for few
minutes close against his mothers bed.
hen rolling over to the outer edge or
lis own. was sure he'd In time tum-
DE out Of this bed, as he had out of
he other, and l was bound to see him
10 it. Sure enough. before 1 expected
he gave lurch and landed plumb
n top of his sister
Neither of them awoke
/ reckoR-women know in their sleep
what's going on with their children.
or, now that the storm was over and
was still as the tomb the
nother sat up in bed. glanced at her
hildren, got uneand put them in their
roper places. Then she went back to