The Bottineau courant. (Bottineau, Bottineau County, N.D.) 1895-1929, 1914-07-10

tabies and Maine pie. T." which no
Die 10 peer. he found himself awak.
ening In the middle Of the hight to a.
suage tue panxx Of hunger with hnlf u
pound OF cold roust beef.
The nOiseless customs IT tihSe about
him had affected bis own actions. and
he could now move about without max
ing u sound.
At the end Of a week Mr.. Tully OF
New York had concluded that Ordi-
nary quiet meant one thing and East
Waldoboro- Knight quiet another. He
had discovered what other men ha We
f%ound-that there IL y superiative de-
gree Of quiet that gets under a mans
skin and makes him yearn for some
sort Of noise.
The people were quiet, the horses
and cows were quiet. and the chick
n cackled In b minor, which Is just
above the first zero In sound affairs.
It was on Sunday that TuIIy spent bis
FIRST wakeful night.
He had leaped into bed with a glad
Sigh. expecting the usual hurried ap-
proach Of Morpheus. but Mr.. Morph
was visiting in Chicago. and at z In
the morning the New Yorker disem-
barked and spent the remainder of the
night reading u novel under a careful
ly shaded oil lamp.
On Tuesday night Tully was on the
fourth reading Of the same novel and
had begun to weary. The 6fth night
he simply sat still with his chin In bis
palms and fought OF \ strong desire
to weep.
During the daytime be walked far
and wide. listening with extended ears
for q sound-any sound. The exercise
tired him out. but sleep refused to
come. He began to paw over the
thought Of hurting a hitching post
through the meat shop window to see
IL anything in the way of audibility
would result.
I'm going daffy." he made judg-
ment when be found himself kicking
an empty salmon can along a deserted
lane and gloating over the sounds 1t
made.
Far away each night-milIions OF
miles in the distance-he could hear
the faint whistle Of the night freight
train. 1t passed through East Waldo
boro at 4 in the morning, bound for
Bath. Brunswick. Portland. Boston
and New York.
On sleepless nights his greatest. su-
premest Joy was to lean out Of the
broad window under the oak trees.
waiting for the farof foot. 1t was at
2 o'clock Thursday morning that be
sat m%otionless and considered a hasty
thought. For Eve minutes the details
of the thought rushed about in his
head.
Then he began to remove his paja.
mas with great speed. and. disregard.
ing all consequences. he turned up the
oil lamp and hastily packed his dress
ing case. A new light shone In his
eyes. and he was smiling glorlously.
His head felt light. as ones head does
after three glasses Of champagne on
an empty interior. He felt fine.
Dear Mrs. Knight" he wrote On the
sheet Of paper. which be pinned or bis
pillow. my stay with you and your
niece has done me a universe of good.
| am the healthiest nan in the world.
But I am going away from you. thank.
ing you over and over for your kind
ness and your thoughtful acts. l am
going away because 1t Is so quiet here
that II I stay two mor hours ! will
commit some desperate deed. haven't
the courage to face you and tell you
this. and. besides. the night freight
train is coming. and l will be in the
caboose or death will end It ALL"
Mr.. Tully let himself out Of the
Knight home on feet Of velvet and
aimed at the station. The night freight
stopped there to turn a switch. and
when the caboose slowed down q
strange young man. carrying a suit
case. climbed the steps and shook
hands with the sleepy conductor.
Tully sat up the entire trip to Port
land and enjoyed himself beyond hu-
mar understanding. rhe clatter Of the
wheels over rail joints. the. creaking.
groaning Of the brake beams and the
scratching Of the metal shoes were
sweet sounds in his long famished ears.
The ye!ls out Of the night from yard
men and station agents assailed him
like a pleasant opiate. The roar Ut
passing trains threw him into an &C.
stasy Of delight. he decided that he
would spend the remainder of life rid
ing In a freight caboose with a greasy
brakeman.
When he struck Broadway and Twen-
ty-third street TuIly was a mass Of
goose flesh. and each member Of the
said goose fesh was a unit Of Joy. He
found his apartment and entered It Sc
renely.
He drank a large glass of water, un.
dressed in three minutes. surged into
bed and for the first time in two weeks
be went to sleep-such a sleep as dying
victims of insomnia picture in their fe-
verish rawlings.
He was awakened by u large, greasy.
blue overalled figure sitting on the end
of a steel girder outside his window.
Th~ ~oo .kc~l-- Io~po o< him