The Washburn leader. [volume] (Washburn, McLean County, N.D.) 1890-1986, 1916-09-08
An Effect of.
A Cyclone
B. WILLARD BLAKEMAN

morning and was entering q hotel
when a man In the doorway looked 1t
me With a growing expression of as
Constituent on his face. I could not
understand why he regarded me thus,
for I did not remember to have ever
e him before. I passed into the ho-
tel. Persons were moving about, none
Of whom interested me or I them, till
I ran up against another man, who
looked at me with the same expression
as the man I had met In the doorway.
As he passed me I turned and looked
back at him and saw him looking back
at me.
Not ten minutes after this a hand
was clapped on my shoulder, and q
voice said:
"Jim Donegan, l want yOu!"
This third surprise was a clew to the
others. Quite likely. I resembled q
man who was wanted for crime or per-
haps supposed crime. I certainly never
broke a law in my life.
True enough, both the men who had
looked at me in surprise swore that I
was Jim Donegan. who a few days be-
fore was caught red handed in a rob-
berry, but got away. The only thing
about my case that seemed to puzzle
my cuser was that I should openly
show myself in Topeka. But when I
denied that I was Donegan they con-
cluded that I was bluf1ng.
VXYI,}1n r -voe hn{~r koI1N~ tn tail nm
Of those Kansas cyclones came up and
cut a swath right through the town,
taking in me and my captor. What
became Of him 1 don't know to this
day. As for me, l was blown against
a tree box and chung to it till the storm
had passed, which involved only a few
minutes. What especially interested
me was to make good my escape from
those who had. mistaken me for some
one else. 1 was fearful lest my captor
would get his hands on me again.
Perhaps, considering the damage that
had been done by the storm, 1 magni-
fed my own importance. Nevertheless
I thought of nothing but re-arrest.
Holding to the path Of the cyclone, I
ran like a deer till I came to q house
with a hole in it's side so big that I
could, walk right through II. There
was a bed inside that looked very in
viting for a tired nan I vas not tired.
but 1t occurred to me that 1t would be
a good place to hide. So I jumped into
bed and covered up. all except my
eyes, resolving that I would pretend to
have been killed by the cyclone.
I had not been in bed long before a
pretty girl came in and, seeing me, ran
out crying:
who In the world was in bed in the
spare room when the storm Cameo"
A woman, a young fellow about sew
enteen years old and a little girl came
into the room. I lay staring at the
ceiling, pretending to be dead. 1t
seemed to me that this was the only
way to avoid answering questions as
to how I came to be in bed In q strange
house.
He's not dead" said the girl who
had discovered me. Don't you see the
color in his cheek?" I concluded that
it would be better to play injured. I
groaned and lowered my eyes to the
group bending over me.
"Where am II" I asked.
"How in the world did you come to
be here?" exclaimed the woman In a
tone Of amazement.
Don't you remember anything" ask
ed the girl.
Il remember being taken up by a
wind and landed somewhere, but when
l stopped lost consciousness" Then
looking In assumed wonder: at the open.
side Of the house, "Can 1t be that I was
blown through there?".
I asked them II they couldn't cover
up the opening and let me stay there
till I felt able to go somewhere else.
They got blankets and tackled them up
between me and the outside. Then
they asked me what else they could
do for me. I told them that / would
prefer to be let alone for a time till I
could collect my faculties, declaring
that I felt bruised all over. They sug-
gested that some bones might be br0k-
en-, but % this would involve an imme-
date examination I said my bones
were all right. The girl said that
though she could understand how I
might have been blown In at the aper-
ture she couldn't understand how I
could have been blown into bed and
covered up. I said that just before.
they had come In I had felt a sensa-
ton Of cold and had doubtless pulled
the covers over me.
do you remember tucking yourself
IMP asked the young lady.
I paid no attention to what was plain.
" Q sarcasm. I was well tucked In,
for I had got under the covers without
throwing them down.
Well, I played .tsafe" long enough
to send for my brother, dreading ali
the while that the house would be
searched for mi. Had Isseen the dam
age that had been done Il would not
have feared 90 much for myself. A
strip Of the town several hundred
feet wide had been wrecked and
many persons injured. The house I
was In had been badly damaged, though
no one was hurt.
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