MD3PAD 670-672

[Toby G Levy]

        Aunt Euphrenia says that she and Signore Drivelli lived in
France as man and wife, while he had her pretend to be an automaton oboe
player, and took side bets as to how long she could play between
breaths. She claimed she could go on for over 20 minutes, having
mastered the technique of breathing in through the nose while playing.
She said music for the oboe seldom includes pauses to breathe. She
explains why so many oboe players become insane.

        Dixon becomes transfixed by the horizon and the Indian guide
Crawfford says that Dixon has become afflicted with "rapture de west"
and may not be able to stop extending the line even when circumstances
demand it.

        On September 17th two of the axmen, William Baker and John
Carpenter are killed when a tree they were chopping down fell on them.
Mason tells Dixon that he had been looking for a sign that they should
stop and asks if this wasn't this a terrible enough sign. Dixon does not
think it was the kind of sign he was looking for and dismisses it as a
common workplace accident.

Toby