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Show A DANGEROUS SOMNAMBULIST. lie I'rracnti a I'latul to s Hotel Clerk"! Head. You see, wild the elerk of a Saa Francisco hotel, an old mining man took a room the other nijrht and some hours afterward, as I was dozing behind be-hind the desk for I was tired I wan startled by hearing footsteps shuttling down the stairs. I looked up and saw my friend the mining man with a six shooter in his right hand. Ho walked over toward me. his eyes staring blindly blind-ly and Almost staring out of their sockets. sock-ets. It ts hard to toll what thoughts flashed through my brain as he approached. ap-proached. What could he mean and was I alone with a maniac? He walked up to my desk and took deliberate aim at me. I expected him to follow the action with a couple ol shots and so I dodged down behind my desk and rang for the police. "Fork over that (:IU0 young fellow," he cried. "You can't run in any cold deck on me and get away with the spoils." Of course, 1 knew the situation immediately. immedi-ately. He had been "done up" in a game by some card sharps and had been dreaming the matter over until the operations of his mind led him in his sleep to seek redress for his griev- in ccs. I don't know why he tackled me, but perhaps the man who had worked him was good-looking and something like me in facial appearance. What did I do? I knew it would take some moments for tho police to arrive and time was very precious just then. "I'll pay you the money," I yelled. 'Put down that pistol and you can have your blasted three hundred." The miner lowered his weapon. "Come this way," wild I, and he followed mo into the barroom. Behind the bur was a big dish of water. I fumbled a moment with the money drawer to deceive de-ceive the lmirdero.is-looking . sleeper and then, quick as a Hash, 1 threw the basinful of water across the emitter into his face. Ho yelled, dropped his pistol to the floor, rubbed his eyes a second and then, fully awakened, began to look around. He begged a thousand pardons par-dons when I explained matters to him and told me how he had gone to bed wishing that he could get .hold of tho man who had played an unfair game with him in a hotel cast of the mountains. moun-tains. That man invites me to supper every time he comes to town and is one of my best friends now. 15ut it makes my soft brown hair curl, even when months had passed since the occurrence, oc-currence, whenever I cogitate on the story of the '-Bloodthirsty Dreamer or, the Lucky Watorbasin." |