At this
the young man roused himself, and presently turned to him of the wig,
and thanked him for his loan with an earnestness which appeared to him,
under the circumstances, rather uncalled for. He began to doubt the
prudence of sitting next to so large a man, of so singular a behavior,
and took advantage of the next vacancy that occurred to shift his
quarters, carrying the newspaper with him.
Darkness had fallen, and the lighted interior of the crowded car had
duplicated itself, through the medium of the glass window-pane, upon the
black vacancy without, long before the train halted at the station which
marked the boundary of Bressant's riding privilege. He got out, and was
immediately smitten in the face by the cold, impalpable fingers of a
thick falling snow-storm.
A bobbing lantern, carried by an invisible man, was all that came to
welcome him. He walked into the waiting-room, which was lighted by a
lamp with a dirty tin reflector behind it, and was furnished with a few
well-worn chairs, painted gray, and polished by use; a couple of
spittoons, and a pyramidal stove containing the ashes of the day's fire.
The plaster walls were ornamented by many-colored railway cards, and by
a fly-spotted and dusty map. A clock was fastened over the door.
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