the way he always walked a couple of yards away from the railway tracks to avoid a possible collision with an onrushing train , or the manner in which he cowered and ducked his head whenever he passed by an electric pole in order to avoid possible electrocution , or how he wore a warm sweater on a sunny afternoon to quash any possible chances of pneumonia while keeping an umbrella overhead to fend off cancer causing radiations , were all tokens of the fact that this man tried to smell even the faintest traces of danger and did all in his powers to safeguard himself against them .