Audubon County journal. (Exira, Iowa) 1884-1993, 1916-07-27
An Effect Of
A Cyclone
BY WILLARD BRAKEMAN

/ walked into Topeka, Kan, one
morning and was entering a hotel
when man in the doorway looked al
me with q growing expression of as
tonishment on his face. 1 could not
understand why he regarded me thus
for / did not remember to have ever
seen him before. 1 passed into the no
tel. Persons We're moving about, none
of whom interested me or them, till
1 ran up against another man, who
looked at me with the same expression
as the man l had met in the doorway
AS he passed me 1 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 a
voice said:
Jim Donegan, want your
This third surprise was clew to the
others. Quite likely 1 resembled a
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 l
was Jim Donegan, who 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 accusers was that 1 should openly
show myself In Topeka. But when l
denied that l was Donegan they con-
cluded that was bluff1ng.
While l was being taken to jail one
or those Kansas cyclones came up and
cut swath right through the town,
taking In me and my captor. What
became Of him I don't know to this
day. AS for me- 1 was blown against
a tree box and clung to 1t till the storm
had passed, which involved only few
minutes. What especially interested
me was to make good my escape from
those who had mistaken me for some
one else. was fearful lest my captor
would get his hands on me again.
Perhaps, considering the damage that
had been done by the storm. magni-
fled my own Importance. Nevertheless
l thought of nothing but re-arrest.
Holding to the path of the cyclone, l
ran like a deer till came to house
with hole in Its side so big that l
could walk right through it. There
was a bed inside that looked very in
wiling for tired man. l was not tired,
but it occurred to me that it would be
n ,1o0 To a. 1,,x> h
bed and covered up, all except my
eyes, resolving that would pretend to
have been killed by the cyclone.
/ 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 came?"
A woman, a. young fellow about sew
enteen years old and little girl came
into the room. 1 lay staring at the
ceiling. pretending to be dead. Il
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.
Hes not Dead" said the girl who
had discovered me. Don't you see the
color in his cheekT l concluded tina,
1t would be better to play injured.
groaned and lowered my eyes to the
group bending over me.
where am I7'' asked
"How in the world did you come to
be here?" exclaimed the woman in q
tone Of amazement.
Don't you remember anything7" ask
ed the girl
Il remember being taken up by 6
wind and landed somewhere, but wher
l stopped l lost consciousness" Then
looking In assumed wonder at the open
side of the house, "Can it be that was
blown through therew
l asked them If they couldn't cover
up the opening and let me stay there
till felt able to go somewhere else
They got blankets and tackled them VI
between me and the outside. Their
they asked me what else they could
do for me. told them that 1 would
prefer to be let alone for time till |
could collect my faculties, declaring
that l felt bruised all over. They sug
gcsted that some bones might be brok
en-, but as this would involve an imme
d1ate examination / said my bones
were all right. The girl said that
though she could understand how ]
might have been blown in at the aper
ture she couldn't understand how ]
could have been blown into bed and
covered up. l said that just before
they had come in l had felt sensa.
ton of cold and had doubtless pulled
the covers over me-
do you remember tucking yourself
in"' asked the young lady.
paid no attention to what was plain.
ly sarcasm. / was we'll tucked In
for had got under the covers without
throwing them down.
Well, played "safe" long enough
to send for my brother, dreading all
the while that the house would be
searched for me. Had / seen the dam.
age that had been done 1 would not
have feared so much for myself. A
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