Henry Slesar, young New York advertising executive and by now no
 longer a new-comer to either this magazine or to this field, describes
 a strange little town that you, yourself, may blunder into one of these
 evenings. But, if you do, beware—beware of the Knights!
 


  dream town
 

 by ... HENRY SLESAR
 



  The woman in the doorway looked so harmless. Who
 was to tell she had some rather startling interests?
 
 
 The
 woman in the
 doorway looked like Mom in
 the homier political cartoons.
 She was plump, apple-cheeked,
 white-haired. She
 wore a fussy, old-fashioned
 nightgown, and was busily
 clutching a worn house-robe
 around her expansive middle.
 She blinked at Sol Becker's
 rain-flattened hair and hang-dog
 expression, and said:
"What is it? What do you
 want?"
 
 "I'm sorry—" Sol's voice
 was pained. "The man in the
 diner said you might put me
 up. I had my car stolen: a
 hitchhiker; going to Salinas ..."
 He was puffing.
 
 "Hitchhiker? I don't understand."
 She clucked at the
 sight of the pool of water he
 was creating in her foyer.
"Well, come inside, for heaven's
 sake. You're soaking!"
 
 "Thanks," Sol said gratefully.
 
 With the door firmly shut
 behind him, the warm interior
 of the little house covered
 him like a blanket. He
 shivered, and let the warmth
 seep over him. "I'm terribly
 sorry. I know how late it is."
 He looked at his watch, but
 the face was too misty to
 make out the hour.
 
 "Must be nearly three," the
 woman sniffed. "You couldn't
 have come at a worse time. I
 was just on my way to
 court—"
 
 The words slid by him. "If
 I could just stay overnight.
 Until the morning. I could
 call some friends in San Fernando.
 I'm very susceptible to
 head colds," he added inanely.
 
 "Well, take those shoes off,
 first," the woman grumbled.
"You can undress in the parlor,
 if you'll keep off the rug.
 You won't mind using the
 sofa?"
 
 "No, of course not. I'd be
 happy to pay—"
 
 "Oh, tush, nobody's asking
 you to pay. This isn't a hotel.
 You mind if I go back upstairs?
 They're gonna miss
 me at the palace."
 
 "No, of course not," Sol
 said. He followed her into
 the darkened parlor, and
 watched as she turned the
 screw on a hurricane-style
 lamp, shedding a yellow pool
 of light over half a flowery
 sofa and a doily-covered wing
 chair. "You go on up. I'll be
 perfectly fine."
 
 "Guess you can use a towel,
 though. I'll get you one,
 then I'm going up. We wake
 pretty early in this house.
 Breakfast's at seven; you'll
 have to be up if you want
 any."
 
 "I really can't thank you
 enough—"
 
 "Tush," the woman said.
 She scurried out, and returned
 a moment later with a
 thick bath towel. "Sorry I
 can't give you any bedding.
 But you'll find it nice and
 warm in here." She squinted
 at the dim face of a ship's-wheel
 clock on the mantle,
 and made a noise with her
 tongue. "Three-thirty!" she
 exclaimed. "I'll miss the
 whole execution ..."
 
 "The what?"
 
 "Goodnight, young man,"
 Mom said firmly.
 
 She padded off, leaving Sol
 holding the towel. He patted
 his face, and then scrubbed
 the wet tangle of brown hair.
 Carefully, he stepped off the
 carpet and onto the stone
 floor in front of the fireplace.
 He removed his
 drenched coat and suit jacket,
 and squeezed water out
 over the ashes.
 
 He stripped down to his
 underwear, wondering about
 next morning's possible embarrassment,
 and decided to
 use the damp bath towel as a
 blanket. The sofa was downy
 and comfortable. He curled
 up under the towel, shivered
 once, and closed his eyes.
 
 
 
 He
 was tired and very
 sleepy, and his customary
 nightly review was limited to
 a few detached thoughts
 about the wedding he was
 supposed to attend in Salinas
 that weekend ... the hoodlum
 who had responded to his
 good-nature by dumping him
 out of his own car ... the slogging
 walk to the village ...
 the little round woman who
 was hurrying off, like the
 White Rabbit, to some mysterious
 appointment on the
 upper floor ...
 
 Then he went to sleep.
 
 A voice awoke him, shrill
 and questioning.
 
 "Are you nakkid ?"
 
 His eyes flew open, and he
 pulled the towel protectively
 around his body and glared
 at the little girl with the rust-red
 pigtails.
 
 "Huh, mister?" she said,
 pushing a finger against her
 freckled nose. "Are you?"
 
 "No," he said angrily. "I'm
 not naked. Will you please
 go away?"
 
 "Sally!" It was Mom, appearing
 in the doorway of the
 parlor. "You leave the gentleman
 alone." She went off
 again.
 
 "Yes," Sol said. "Please let
 me get dressed. If you don't
 mind." The girl didn't move.
"What time is it?"
 
 "Dunno," Sally shrugged.
"I like poached eggs. They're
 my favorite eggs in the whole
 world."
 
 "That's good," Sol said desperately.
"Now why don't you
 be a good girl and eat your
 poached eggs. In the kitchen."
 
 "Ain't ready yet. You going
 to stay for breakfast?"
 
 "I'm not going to do anything
 until you get out of
 here."
 
 She put the end of a pigtail
 in her mouth and sat down on
 the chair opposite. "I went to
 the palace last night. They
 had an exelution."
 
 "Please," Sol groaned. "Be
 a good girl, Sally. If you let
 me get dressed, I'll show you
 how to take your thumb off."
 
 "Oh, that's an old trick. Did
 you ever see an exelution?"
 
 "No. Did you ever see a little
 girl with her hide
 tanned?"
 
 "Huh?"
 
 " Sally! " Mom again, sterner.
"You get out of there, or
 you-know-what ..."
 
 "Okay," the girl said
 blithely. "I'm goin' to the palace
 again. If I brush my
 teeth. Aren't you ever gonna
 get up?" She skipped out of
 the room, and Sol hastily sat
 up and reached for his
 trousers.
 
 When he had dressed, the
 clothes still damp and unpleasant
 against his skin, he
 went out of the parlor and
 found the kitchen. Mom was
 busy at the stove. He said:
"Good morning."
 
 "Breakfast in ten minutes,"
 she said cheerfully. "You like
 poached eggs?"
 
 "Sure. Do you have a telephone?"
 
 "In the hallway. Party line,
 so you may have to wait."
 
 He tried for fifteen minutes
 to get through, but there
 was a woman on the line who
 was terribly upset about a
 cotton dress she had ordered
 from Sears, and was telling
 the world about it.
 
 Finally, he got his call
 through to Salinas, and a
 sleepy-voiced Fred, his old
 Army buddy, listened somewhat
 indifferently to his tale
 of woe. "I might miss the
 wedding," Sol said unhappily.
"I'm awfully sorry." Fred
 didn't seem to be half as sorry
 as he was. When Sol hung
 up, he was feeling more despondent
 than ever.
 
 A man, tall and rangy, with
 a bobbing Adam's apple and
 a lined face, came into the
 hallway. "Hullo?" he said inquiringly.
"You the fella had
 the car stolen?"
 
 "Yes."
 
 The man scratched his ear.
"Take you over to Sheriff
 Coogan after breakfast. He'll
 let the Stateys know about it.
 My name's Dawes."
 
 Sol accepted a careful
 handshake.
 
 "Don't get many people
 comin' into town," Dawes
 said, looking at him curiously.
"Ain't seen a stranger in
 years. But you look like the
 rest of us." He chuckled.
 
 Mom called out: "Breakfast!"
 
 
 
 At
 the table, Dawes
 asked his destination.
 
 "Wedding in Salinas," he
 explained. "Old Army friend
 of mine. I picked this hitchhiker
 up about two miles from
 here. He seemed okay."
 
 "Never can tell," Dawes
 said placidly, munching egg.
"Hey, Ma. That why you
 were so late comin' to court
 last night?"
 
 "That's right, Pa." She
 poured the blackest coffee
 Sol had ever seen. "Didn't
 miss much, though."
 
 "What court is that?" Sol
 asked politely, his mouth full.
 
 "Umagum," Sally said, a
 piece of toast sticking out
 from the side of her mouth.
"Don't you know nothin' ?"
 
 " Arma gon," Dawes corrected.
 He looked sheepishly at
 the stranger. "Don't expect
 Mister—" He cocked an eyebrow.
"What's the name?"
 
 "Becker."
 
 "Don't expect Mr. Becker
 knows anything about Armagon.
 It's just a dream, you
 know." He smiled apologetically.
 
 "Dream? You mean this—Armagon
 is a place you dream
 about?"
 
 "Yep," Dawes said. He lifted
 cup to lip. "Great coffee,
 Ma." He leaned back with a
 contented sigh. "Dream about
 it every night. Got so used to
 the place, I get all confused
 in the daytime."
 
 Mom said: "I get muddle-headed
 too, sometimes."
 
 "You mean—" Sol put his
 napkin in his lap. "You mean you dream about the same
 place?"
 
 "Sure," Sally piped. "We
 all go there at night. I'm goin'
 to the palace again, too."
 
 "If you brush your teeth,"
 Mom said primly.
 
 "If I brush my teeth. Boy,
 you shoulda seen the exelution!"
 
 "Execution," her father
 said.
 
 "Oh, my goodness!" Mom
 got up hastily. "That reminds
 me. I gotta call poor Mrs.
 Brundage. It's the least I
 could do."
 
 "Good idea," Dawes nodded.
"And I'll have to round
 up some folks and get old
 Brundage out of there."
 
 Sol was staring. He opened
 his mouth, but couldn't think
 of the right question to ask.
 Then he blurted out: "What
 execution?"
 
 "None of your business,"
 the man said coldly. "You eat
 up, young man. If you want
 me to get Sheriff Coogan
 lookin' for your car."
 
 The rest of the meal went
 silently, except for Sally's insistence
 upon singing her
 school song between mouthfuls.
 When Dawes was
 through, he pushed back his
 plate and ordered Sol to get
 ready.
 
 Sol grabbed his topcoat and
 followed the man out the
 door.
 
 "Have to stop someplace
 first," Dawes said. "But we'll
 be pickin' up the Sheriff on
 the way. Okay with you?"
 
 "Fine," Sol said uneasily.
 
 The rain had stopped, but
 the heavy clouds seemed reluctant
 to leave the skies over
 the small town. There was a
 skittish breeze blowing, and
 Sol Becker tightened the collar
 of his coat around his
 neck as he tried to keep up
 with the fast-stepping Dawes.
 
 
 
 They
 crossed the
 street diagonally, and entered
 a two-story wooden building.
 Dawes took the stairs at a
 brisk pace, and pushed open
 the door on the second floor.
 A fat man looked up from
 behind a desk.
 
 "Hi, Charlie. Thought I'd
 see if you wanted to help
 move Brundage."
 
 The man batted his eyes.
"Oh, Brundage!" he said.
"You know, I clean forgot
 about him?" He laughed.
"Imagine me forgetting
 that?"
 
 "Yeah." Dawes wasn't
 amused. "And you Prince Regent."
 
 "Aw, Willie—"
 
 "Well, come on. Stir that
 fat carcass. Gotta pick up
 Sheriff Coogan, too. This
 here gentleman has to see him
 about somethin' else."
 
 The man regarded Sol suspiciously.
"Never seen you
 before. Night or day. Stranger?"
 
 "Come on !" Dawes said.
 
 The fat man grunted and
 hoisted himself out of the
 swivel chair. He followed
 lamely behind the two men
 as they went out into the
 street again.
 
 A woman, with an empty
 market basket, nodded casually
 to them. "Mornin', folks.
 Enjoyed it last night.
 Thought you made a right
 nice speech, Mr. Dawes."
 
 "Thanks," Dawes answered
 gruffly, but obviously flattered.
"We were just goin'
 over to Brundage's to pick up
 the body. Ma's gonna pay a
 call on Mrs. Brundage around
 ten o'clock. You care to visit?"
 
 "Why, I think that's very
 nice," the woman said. "I'll
 be sure and do that." She
 smiled at the fat man. "Mornin',
 Prince."
 
 Sol's head was spinning. As
 they left the woman and continued
 their determined
 march down the quiet street,
 he tried to find answers.
 
 "Look, Mr. Dawes." He was
 panting; the pace was fast.
"Does she dream about this—Armagon,
 too? That woman
 back there?"
 
 "Yep."
 
 Charlie chuckled. "He's a
 stranger, all right."
 
 "And you, Mr.—" Sol
 turned to the fat man. "You
 also know about this palace
 and everything?"
 
 "I told you," Dawes said
 testily. "Charlie here's Prince
 Regent. But don't let the fancy
 title fool you. He got no
 more power than any Knight
 of the Realm. He's just too
 dern fat to do much more'n
 sit on a throne and eat grapes.
 That right, Charlie?"
 
 The fat man giggled.
 
 "Here's the Sheriff," Dawes
 said.
 
 The Sheriff, a sleepy-eyed
 citizen with a long, sad face,
 was rocking on a porch as
 they approached his house,
 trying to puff a half-lit pipe.
 He lifted one hand wearily
 when he saw them.
 
 "Hi, Cookie," Dawes
 grinned. "Thought you, me,
 and Charlie would get Brundage's
 body outa the house.
 This here's Mr. Becker; he
 got another problem. Mr.
 Becker, meet Cookie Coogan."
 
 The Sheriff joined the procession,
 pausing only once to
 inquire into Sol's predicament.
 
 He described the hitchhiker
 incident, but Coogan
 listened stoically. He murmured
 something about the
 Troopers, and shuffled alongside
 the puffing fat man.
 
 Sol soon realized that their
 destination was a barber shop.
 
 Dawes cupped his hands
 over the plate glass and
 peered inside. Gold letters on
 the glass advertised: HAIRCUT
 SHAVE & MASSAGE
 PARLOR. He reported: "Nobody
 in the shop. Must be
 upstairs."
 
 
 
 The
 fat man rang the
 bell. It was a while before an
 answer came.
 
 It was a reedy woman in a
 housecoat, her hair in curlers,
 her eyes red and swollen.
 
 "Now, now," Dawes said
 gently. "Don't you take on
 like that, Mrs. Brundage. You
 heard the charges. It hadda
 be this way."
 
 "My poor Vincent," she
 sobbed.
 
 "Better let us up," the
 Sheriff said kindly. "No use
 just lettin' him lay there,
 Mrs. Brundage."
 
 "He didn't mean no harm,"
 the woman snuffled. "He was
 just purely ornery, Vincent
 was. Just plain mean stubborn."
 
 "The law's the law," the
 fat man sighed.
 
 Sol couldn't hold himself
 in.
 
 "What law? Who's dead?
 How did it happen?"
 
 Dawes looked at him disgustedly.
"Now is it any of your business? I mean, is it?"
 
 "I don't know," Sol said
 miserably.
 
 "You better stay out of
 this," the Sheriff warned.
"This is a local matter, young
 man. You better stay in the
 shop while we go up."
 
 They filed past him and the
 crying Mrs. Brundage.
 
 When they were out of
 sight, Sol pleaded with her.
 
 "What happened? How did
 your husband die?"
 
 "Please ..."
 
 "You must tell me! Was it
 something to do with Armagon?
 Do you dream about the
 place, too?"
 
 She was shocked at the
 question. "Of course!"
 
 "And your husband? Did
 he have the same dream?"
 
 Fresh tears resulted. "Can't
 you leave me alone?" She
 turned her back. "I got things
 to do. You can make yourself
 comfortable—" She indicated
 the barber chairs, and left
 through the back door.
 
 Sol looked after her, and
 then ambled over to the first
 chair and slipped into the
 high seat. His reflection in
 the mirror, strangely gray in
 the dim light, made him
 groan. His clothes were a
 mess, and he needed a shave.
 If only Brundage had been
 alive ...
 
 He leaped out of the chair
 as voices sounded behind the
 door. Dawes was kicking it
 open with his foot, his arms
 laden with two rather large
 feet, still encased in bedroom
 slippers. Charlie was at the
 other end of the burden,
 which appeared to be a middle-aged
 man in pajamas. The
 Sheriff followed the trio up
 with a sad, undertaker expression.
 Behind him came Mrs.
 Brundage, properly weeping.
 
 "We'll take him to the funeral
 parlor," Dawes said,
 breathing hard. "Weighs a
 ton, don't he?"
 
 "What killed him?" Sol
 said.
 
 "Heart attack."
 
 The fat man chuckled.
 
 The tableau was grisly. Sol
 looked away, towards the
 comfortingly mundane atmosphere
 of the barber shop. But
 even the sight of the thick-padded
 chairs, the shaving
 mugs on the wall, the neat
 rows of cutting instruments,
 seemed grotesque and morbid.
 
 "Listen," Sol said, as they
 went through the doorway.
"About my car—"
 
 The Sheriff turned and regarded
 him lugubriously.
"Your car ? Young man, ain't
 you got no respect ?"
 
 Sol swallowed hard and fell
 silent. He went outside with
 them, the woman slamming
 the barber-shop door behind
 him. He waited in front of
 the building while the men
 toted away the corpse to some
 new destination.
 
 
 
 He
 took a walk.
 
 The town was just coming
 to life. People were strolling
 out of their houses, commenting
 on the weather, chuckling
 amiably about local affairs.
 Kids on bicycles were beginning
 to appear, jangling the
 little bells and hooting to
 each other. A woman, hanging
 wash in the back yard,
 called out to him, thinking
 he was somebody else.
 
 He found a little park, no
 more than twenty yards in
 circumference, centered
 around a weatherbeaten monument
 of some unrecognizable
 military figure. Three
 old men took their places on
 the bench that circled the
 General, and leaned on their
 canes.
 
 Sol was a civil engineer.
 But he made like a reporter.
 
 "Pardon me, sir." The old
 man, leathery-faced, with a
 fine yellow moustache, looked
 at him dumbly. "Have you
 ever heard of Armagon?"
 
 "You a stranger?"
 
 "Yes."
 
 "Thought so."
 
 Sol repeated the question.
 
 "Course I did. Been goin'
 there ever since I was a kid.
 Night-times, that is."
 
 "How—I mean, what kind
 of place is it?"
 
 "Said you're a stranger?"
 
 "Yes."
 
 "Then 'tain't your business."
 
 That was that.
 
 He left the park, and wandered
 into a thriving luncheonette.
 He tried questioning
 the man behind the counter,
 who merely snickered and
 said: "You stayin' with the
 Dawes, ain't you? Better ask
 Willie, then. He knows the
 place better than anybody."
 
 He asked about the execution,
 and the man stiffened.
 
 "Don't think I can talk
 about that. Fella broke one of
 the Laws; that's about it.
 Don't see where you come
 into it."
 
 At eleven o'clock, he returned
 to the Dawes residence,
 and found Mom in the
 kitchen, surrounded by the
 warm nostalgic odor of home-baked
 bread. She told him
 that her husband had left a
 message for the stranger, informing
 him that the State
 Police would be around to get
 his story.
 
 He waited in the house,
 gloomily turning the pages of
 the local newspaper, searching
 for references to Armagon.
 He found nothing.
 
 At eleven-thirty, a brown-faced
 State Trooper came to
 call, and Sol told his story.
 He was promised nothing,
 and told to stay in town until
 he was contacted again by
 the authorities.
 
 Mom fixed him a light
 lunch, the greatest feature of
 which was some hot biscuits
 she plucked out of the oven.
 It made him feel almost normal.
 
 He wandered around the
 town some more after lunch,
 trying to spark conversation
 with the residents.
 
 He learned little.
 
 
 
 At
 five-thirty, he returned
 to the Dawes house, and was
 promptly leaped upon by
 little Sally.
 
 "Hi! Hi! Hi!" she said,
 clutching his right leg and
 almost toppling him over.
"We had a party in school. I
 had chocolate cake. You goin'
 to stay with us?"
 
 "Just another night," Sol
 told her, trying to shake the
 girl off. "If it's okay with
 your folks. They haven't
 found my car yet."
 
 "Sally!" Mom was peering
 out of the screen door. "You
 let Mr. Becker alone and go
 wash. Your Pa will be home
 soon."
 
 "Oh, pooh," the girl said,
 her pigtails swinging. "Do
 you got a girlfriend, mister?"
 
 "No." Sol struggled towards
 the house with her
 dead weight on his leg.
"Would you mind? I can't
 walk."
 
 "Would you be my boyfriend?"
 
 "Well, we'll talk about it.
 If you let go my leg."
 
 Inside the house, she said:
"We're having pot roast. You
 stayin'?"
 
 "Of course Mr. Becker's
 stayin'," Mom said. "He's our
 guest."
 
 "That's very kind of you,"
 Sol said. "I really wish you'd
 let me pay something—"
 
 "Don't want to hear another
 word about pay."
 
 
 
 Mr. Dawes
 came home an
 hour later, looking tired.
 Mom pecked him lightly on
 the forehead. He glanced at
 the evening paper, and then
 spoke to Sol.
 
 "Hear you been asking
 questions, Mr. Becker."
 
 Sol nodded, embarrassed.
"Guess I have. I'm awfully
 curious about this Armagon
 place. Never heard of anything
 like it before."
 
 Dawes grunted. "You ain't
 a reporter?"
 
 "Oh, no. I'm an engineer. I
 was just satisfying my own
 curiosity."
 
 "Uh-huh." Dawes looked
 reflective. "You wouldn't be
 thinkin' about writing us up
 or anything. I mean, this is a
 pretty private affair."
 
 "Writing it up?" Sol
 blinked. "I hadn't thought of
 it. But you'll have to admit—it's
 sure interesting."
 
 "Yeah," Dawes said narrowly.
"I guess it would be."
 
 "Supper!" Mom called.
 
 After the meal, they spent
 a quiet evening at home. Sally
 went to bed, screaming her
 reluctance, at eight-thirty.
 Mom, dozing in the big chair
 near the fireplace, padded upstairs
 at nine. Then Dawes
 yawned widely, stood up, and
 said goodnight at quarter-of-ten.
 
 He paused in the doorway
 before leaving.
 
 "I'd think about that," he
 said. "Writing it up, I mean.
 A lot of folks would think
 you were just plum crazy."
 
 Sol laughed feebly. "I
 guess they would at that."
 
 "Goodnight," Dawes said.
 
 "Goodnight."
 
 He read Sally's copy of Treasure Island for about
 half an hour. Then he undressed,
 made himself comfortable
 on the sofa, snuggled
 under the soft blanket
 that Mom had provided, and
 shut his eyes.
 
 He reviewed the events of
 the day before dropping off
 to sleep. The troublesome
 Sally. The strange dream
 world of Armagon. The visit
 to the barber shop. The removal
 of Brundage's body.
 The conversations with the
 townspeople. Dawes' suspicious
 attitude ...
 
 Then sleep came.
 
 
 
 He
 was flanked by marble
 pillars, thrusting towards
 a high-domed ceiling.
 
 The room stretched long
 and wide before him, the
 walls bedecked in stunning
 purple draperies.
 
 He whirled at the sound of
 footsteps, echoing stridently
 on the stone floor. Someone
 was running towards him.
 
 It was Sally, pigtails
 streaming out behind her, the
 small body wearing a flowing
 white toga. She was shrieking,
 laughing as she skittered
 past him, clutching a gleaming
 gold helmet.
 
 He called out to her, but
 she was too busy outdistancing
 her pursuer. It was Sheriff
 Coogan, puffing and huffing,
 the metal-and-gold cloth
 uniform ludicrous on his
 lanky frame.
 
 "Consarn kid!" he wheezed.
"Gimme my hat!"
 
 Mom was following him,
 her stout body regal in scarlet
 robes. "Sally! You give
 Sir Coogan his helmet! You
 hear?"
 
 "Mrs. Dawes!" Sol said.
 
 "Why, Mr. Becker! How
 nice to see you again! Pa! Pa! Look who's here!"
 
 Willie Dawes appeared. No! Sol thought. This was King Dawes; nothing else
 could explain the magnificence
 of his attire.
 
 "Yes," Dawes said craftily.
"So I see. Welcome to Armagon,
 Mr. Becker."
 
 "Armagon?" Sol gaped.
"Then this is the place
 you've been dreaming about?"
 
 "Yep," the King said. "And
 now you're in it, too."
 
 "Then I'm only dreaming!"
 
 Charlie, the fat man,
 clumsy as ever in his robes of
 State, said: "So that's the
 snooper, eh?"
 
 "Yep," Dawes chuckled.
"Think you better round up
 the Knights."
 
 Sol said: "The Knights?"
 
 "Exelution! Exelution!"
 Sally shrieked.
 
 "Now wait a minute—"
 
 Charlie shouted.
 
 Running feet, clanking of
 armor. Sol backed up against
 a pillar. "Now look here.
 You've gone far enough—"
 
 "Not quite," said the King.
 
 The Knights stepped forward.
 
 "Wait!" Sol screamed.
 
 Familiar faces, under shining
 helmets, moved towards
 him; the tips of sharp-pointed
 spears gleaming wickedly.
 And Sol Becker wondered—would
 he ever awake?
What is the plot of the story?
111
02dcb04518074ba9904d94dd63e9ee19
The plot follows Sol, a veteran of the U.S. army who, after picking up a hitchhiker on the way to a wedding, gets his car robbed near a small town. He ends up staying in the house of a young family who are kind enough to host him. They are very nice with him, and even offer him breakfast the next morning. As Sol learns more of the town and the family, he learns that the people in the town share the same dream every night, in a place called the Armagon. He also learns that there was an execution last night in the same place. He follows Willie Dawes, the head of the family, to pick up the body of the person that was executed. They are also accompanied by the sheriff of the town and by a man named Charlie. When Sol sees the body of the executed person, he starts to get worried and starts asking people in the town questions about the Armagon. That night, Sol stays with the Dawes family again, and when he goes to sleep he meets with the townspeople in the Armagon, where it seems that he will be executed. 


107
151471429c8843efa27fc66c9ec01c7e
Sol Becker meets a woman at the doorway who looks like a mom from a homey cartoon. She is confused by why Sol is at her door, and he explains that he is a hitchhiker going to Salinas. She lets him come into her house, where he asks if he can stay the night. She explains that he does not have to pay and rushes back upstairs so she will not miss the execution. Sol goes to sleep and is woken up again by a little girl named Sally. He asks what time it is, but Sally responds that she likes poached eggs. Sol desperately tries to get her to leave, but Mom sends her away. Sol tries to call Fred but is met with indifference; a man named Willie Dawes offers to take him to the sheriff as Mom finishes breakfast. They talk about Armagon during breakfast, which is a place that everybody dreams about at night. Sol asks about the execution again, but Dawes tells him to eat his breakfast. They enter a wooden building to meet Charlie, and Dawes mentions that they are picking up Sheriff Coogan too. As they discuss with the other people, Sol realizes that everybody dreams about Armagon. Charlie is the Prince Regent, and they meet the sheriff too. The men go to the shop to find Mrs. Brundage, who is in grief because of her husband. Sol tries to ask what had happened in Armagon, but Mrs. Brundage refuses to tell him. Everybody is more worried about Mr. Brundage, so Sol goes on a walk and tries to ask about Armagon. Everybody says that it is none of his business, so he has no choice but to stay in the town until his car is found. Sally comes home at five thirty and asks if he is going to stay, and Mom refuses to hear anything about pay. Sol tries to ask Mr. Dawes for some more information again, but he refuses to say anything. When Sol goes to sleep that night, he finds himself awake in Armagon. Sally, Mom, and Mr. Dawes have returned wearing much finer clothing, indicating a higher status. Charlie asks if this is the snooper, and Dawes tells him that he should round up the knights. Sally screams for execution, and the knights begin to appear. They point the tips of their sharp spears at him as Sol wonders if he will ever awake.
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Sol Becker was driving to the wedding in Salinas - his old army friend Fred was getting married. Late at night, he picked up a hitchhiker who minutes later pushed Sol out of the car and drove away, leaving the man soaking near an unknown village. He knocked at the door of a village house, and a woman - he called her Mom - let him in. Sol briefly told her what had happened, and she allowed him to sleep on the couch. Anxiously whispering that she would miss some execution, Mom went upstairs, leaving Sol confused but grateful. He got woken up by a little girl named Sally, pestering him with awkward questions - Mom told her to stop and get ready for breakfast. Minutes later, he found a telephone and called Fred, who didn’t seem very upset by the news of Sol probably missing the wedding. After hanging up the phone, Sol talked to a man called Dawes, who promised to take him to Sheriff Coogan to report the car theft after breakfast. Mom called out that the breakfast was ready. Sally told Sol about Armagon - a place both parents and the daughter dreamt about every night. She also started talking about some execution, but Dawes coldly refused to answer Sol’s questions about this. Before meeting the sheriff, Sol and Dawes crossed the street and picked up a man named Charlie or, as Dawes said, Prince Regent. As they were marching down the street, they met a woman who, Sol eventually realized, was also dreaming about Armagon. They finally came to the sheriff’s house. He listened to Sol’s story while they all were walking to a barbershop to pick up the body of a man called Brundage. They saw a crying woman - the wife of the dead, and Sol again made an attempt to understand who got killed and why. Soon, they came back with the body and told Sol to wait while they were carrying it somewhere else. Sol took a walk and again tried to ask citizens about the mystery place from their dreams but didn’t get much information. He then went back to the Dawes residence. A State Trooper asked him some questions about the car and told him to remain in town until further notice. Sol ate lunch, walked for a bit, and returned in the evening. Sally - the daughter - clutched his leg and then started telling him about her day. Mr.Dawes came later and asked Sol about his questions to the citizens and then wondered if the man was a reporter. After a quiet evening, they all went to bed. Sol fell asleep and suddenly realized he was somewhere else, surrounded by marble pillars. He saw Sally running around in a white toga, then the sheriff chasing her. He finally saw Dawes dressed as a king who welcomed Becker to Armagon. The king unexpectedly asked Charlie to round up the knights, and Sally started triumphantly screaming: “Execution!”. Sol asked them to stop, but the knights kept approaching. 
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Sol Becker, an engineer whose car is stolen by a hitchhiker on his way to Salinas for his friend’s wedding, asks for a stay in a house. The owner of the house is a family with parents and a kid. On the first night when Sol makes himself in the house, he sleeps in the living room and notices Mom of the family hurry upstairs to join a court. The following morning, Sol is woken by their daughter, Sally, who asks him weird questions. After Mom orders Sally to leave Sol alone to let him dress, Sol borrows the phone to talk to his friend, whose wedding he will miss. After that, he meets Mr. Dawes, the father of Sally, and they eat breakfast together.

At the table, Sol learns that the family dreams of going to the same place called Armagon every night, where there is a palace, and execution happens there. After breakfast, Mr. Dawes takes Sol to seek Sheriff Coogan. On their way, they meet Charlie, who is called Prince Regent. Charlie joins them, and they find the Sheriff. They go to a barbershop, where the owner’s wife, Mrs. Brundage, is sobbing because her husband died. The three men from the town go into the house and carry the corpse out. Sol tries to know the truth by asking Mrs. Brundage, but he is scolded for not being respectful. After seeing the men deal with the corpse, he takes a walk in the town. During his walk, Sol realizes everyone in the town dreams of going to the same place every night. He learns little about the place. When he gets back to the house, he is allowed to stay for one more night. At night, after he falls asleep, he finds himself in a palace where Sally and Charlie are playing. When Mr. Dawes finds him, he orders Charlie to gather the Knights. The Knights surround Sol, and he realizes that he may not be able to wake again, just like Mr. Brundage.

Who is Willie Dawes, and what are his characteristics?
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Willie is the head of the family that hosts and helps Sol after his car was stolen. He seems to have a lot of influence in the town, as he helps the sheriff in his day to day tasks and everyone in the town knows him. He is described as a tall and skinny man. He is also married to Mom, which is the woman that first received Sol after his car was stolen. Together she and Willie have a child called Sally. At the end, it is revealed that Willie is actually the king of the Armagon, which is why he has so much influence in the town. 
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Willie Dawes is the husband of Mom and the father of Sally. He is a tall and rangy man, with a bobbing Adam’s apple and a lined face. When he first meets Sol, he is sympathetic to the man’s situation and tells him that they can go see the sheriff after breakfast. He is also very caring towards his family as well, always eating with Mom and Sally at home. He is very quick to correct Sally’s mistakes as well, when she mispronounces Armagon and execution. However, although Dawes seems friendly, he can turn cold when provoked. Whenever Sol asks about Armagon, Dawes responds coldly and changes the subject. He is also cautious around Sol too, believing that the other man is a reporter who is here to expose the secret of the town. However, Dawes later shows an authoritative side too, donning magnificent attire and living up to his title as a King. 
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Willie Dawes is the head of the Dawes household, Mom’s husband, Sally’s father, and, apparently, a king of Armagon. He seems relatively friendly and approachable when he first meets Sol and promises to take him over to the sheriff. Dawes is rather outgoing - a lot of citizens know him. Still, he is very protective of their town’s dream of Armagon. So whenever Sol asks about this place or the execution, Dawes becomes cold, stern, and uneasy. He plainly refuses to answer the first questions about it and then later makes sure Sol is not a prying journalist who wants to write about Armagon. Dawes also seems rational and emotionless when it comes to Armagon’s laws and those who breach them. For example, he pragmatically approaches the death of Vincent Brundage, who got executed for breaking a rule, and considers his punishment necessary.  
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Willie Dawes is the owner of the house where Sol Becker, an engineer who loses his car on his way to a friend’s wedding, borrows for a stay. He is called “Pa” by his wife, and he often calls her “Ma.” Mr. Dawes is tall and rangy. He is short-tempered, and whenever Sol asks about the dream place, he tells Sol to mind his own business coldly. He gets annoyed by Sol’s questions often. Mr. Dawes walks so fast that Sol has to try hard to catch up with him when walking in the town. Mr. Dawes seems to make a speech in the dream place the first night that Sol stays in their house. He goes to the barbershop with the other two men, carrying Mr. Brundage’s corpse, who seems to die of a heart attack. He seems to be the king in the dream place, where he wears magnificent attire.
Who is Mrs. Brundage, and what happens to her?
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Mrs. Brundage is one of the townspeople that live in the town that Sol got robbed in. She and her Husband own a barber shop, in which her husband was the barber. It is revealed that the execution in the Armagon from the first night was in fact Mr. Brundage, and that he was executed for breaking the rules. When Sol and Mr. Dawes picks up the body, she seems very distraught and sad, but she seems to understand the repercussions of her husband’s actions. 
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Mrs. Brundage is the wife of Vincent Brundage. When Sol arrives in town, her husband has been executed. Mom explains that she has to give Mrs. Brundage a call the next day to comfort her. When they go to the parlor, Mrs. Brundage is in a housecoat with her hair in curlers and has puffy red eyes. She has been grieving all day, even though the others have come to collect Brundage’s body. She tries to plead with them, saying that her husband did nothing wrong. She insists that it was all because he was too stubborn, even though the others say that it had to be this way. Even though she continues to cry as Brundage’s body is taken out, she refuses to say anything about Armagon to Sol.
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Mrs. Brundage is one of the citizens of the town. She’s Vincent Brundage’s wife and one of the people who visit Armagon at night. She witnesses the trial and the execution of her husband who apparently broke one of the laws. In the morning after his death, she gets visited by Dawes, Charlie, Sheriff Coogan, and Sol who is a stranger to her. The first three come to the barbershop to pick up the body. Becker tries to learn something from her about her husband’s trial or Armagon but she quickly leaves crying. At some point, she also gets a call from Mom
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Mrs. Brundage is the wife of Vincent Brundage, the owner of a barbershop who seems to break the law in the dream place and get executed. Mrs. Brundage sobs when Mr. Dawes and the other three men come to her home because her husband died of a heart attack. She gets a call from Mrs. Dawes around ten about her husband’s death. She wears a housecoat, has her hair in curlers, and has swollen and red eyes. When Sol keeps asking her questions about her husband’s death and the dream place, she is shocked and cannot bear to take more, so she goes inside the house. When Mr. Dawes and the other two men carry her husband’s corpse out, she is weeping behind them. When they all leave, she slams the door.
Who is Mom, and what are her characteristics?
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Mom is the wife of Willie Dawes, and is the kind woman who received Sol when his car was robbed and he was wet from the rain. She was very kind to give him the sofa, after which she hurried up to her room to attend the Armagon execution. She seems to be a very good mom, and she enjoys cooking for her family. She is very helpful to Sol, but she also makes it clear that she isn’t going to go out of her way to help him more, like he has to sleep on the sofa and that breakfast is at 7. 
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Mom is the first person Sol meets when he arrives at her doorstep in the rain. She is described to look like a mother from the homier political cartoons. She is plump, apple-cheeked, and white-haired. She also wears a fussy, old-fashioned nightgown, and a well-worn houserobe when she meets Sol. Mom is very kind, instantly welcoming Sol inside of the house and letting him sleep on the couch. Although she apologizes about the temporary accommodations, she is kind enough to refuse any form of payment from Sol. Mom is also a very good cook, as she is in charge of making all of the meals in the house. Despite Mom’s kind side, she is also a strict parent towards Sally. She often tells her to stop annoying their guest and tells her to brush her teeth before anything. Mom also looks out for the other townspeople too, giving Mrs. Brundage a phone call after her husband is executed. When Sol reaches Armagon, Mom is wearing regal scarlet robes and scolding Sally to give the sheriff his helmet back. 
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Mom is the second adult in the Dawes household and Sally’s mother. She is very kind and selfless. She allows Sol, a total stranger who knocks at her door at three at night, to sleep on their sofa and gives him a towel to clean himself. She makes him breakfast in the morning and refuses his money. Mom asks Dawes to help Sol get to the sheriff. She also decides to call Mrs. Brundage after her husband Vincent gets executed to express her condolences. She is a relatively good mother who can handle Sally’s rebellious nature and also a rather generous host who feeds her entire family and Sol every day. 
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Mom is the housewife of the Dawes family, the wife of Mr. Dawes. She is called “Ma” by Mr. Dawes. She is plump, having apple cheeks and white hair. She wears a fussy, old-fashioned nightgown when Sol Becker, an engineer who lost his car on his way to a friend’s wedding, asks for a stay. She welcomes Sol to stay in their house and lets him sleep on the sofa. She is a cheerful woman when preparing the family’s meals. She is always busy in the kitchen, and she often educates Sally, her daughter, about not doing something inappropriate. She is strict with Sally. Sometimes, she gets confused between day and night because she goes to the dream place every night. In addition, she is a sympathetic woman because she remembers to call Mrs. Brundage to comfort her after the loss of her husband. When Sol asks for another stay in the house, she agrees and insists that he does not need to pay for it.
What is the significance of the dream of townspeople?
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The dream of the townspeople is what makes the town unique, and what puts Sol in danger. At the beginning Sol thought that the Dawes family shared a dream, but then he learned that everyone in the town had the same dream every night together. Also, the dream is a courtroom style, where Dawes is the king and can execute people. Charlie, the fat man that helps Dawes, is one of the knights in the Armagon. At the end, Sol attends this shared dream and it is implied that he is going to be killed by Dawes and the others. 
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The dream of the townspeople is significant because it transports all of them to Armagon. Whenever they dream, they can go to an alternate reality that is completely different from the town. It is also worth noting that people, such as Dawes or Sally, suddenly become royalty whenever they dream. The townspeople also dream of the town every night, and it is considered to be a town secret that should not be easily told to anybody else. Since Armagon is their world, the townspeople all fulfill their roles in it. Some of the faces become knights, while others are in positions of power and have control over these forces. Anything that does not happen in the daytime, such as trials or executions, are also held in Armagon which is part of the dream. It is also important to note that anything that happens in the dream, even death, can possibly happen in real life as well. 
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The dream of Armagon connects all the townspeople. They all go there every night, every time they fall asleep. It’s another reality with marble pillars, purple draperies, and a new hierarchical system in which Dawes is the king. This place has another set of rules and is as significant for people as their daily life. They value this dream and protect it from strangers, like Sol. It seems to be interconnected with reality because Vincent, who committed a crime in Armagon and got executed, also dies in real life, though from a heart attack. It interests Sol who tries to learn more but always faces passive aggression from those who are not eager to share the secrets of Armagon. At the end, he is being surrounded by the knights of Armagon and we don’t know what’s going to happen to Sol later.  
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The dream of the townspeople is Armagon, a palace with marble pillars supporting a high-domed ceiling. The wall is decorated with purple draperies, and the room is wide and long. Townspeople seem to be the Knights of the Realm in the palace, and the Dawes family appears to be the royal family. Every night, townspeople dream of going to this same palace, which confuses Sol Becker, an outsider who lost his car. Sol tries to find out what this dream place is throughout the story, but the townspeople do not tell him a lot. Sol learns on the first morning of his stay at the Dawes' house that there was an execution the night before, in which the executed person seems to be the owner of the barbershop, Mr. Brundage, who died of a heart attack. Sol questions around the town, where he learns little about the place. In the end, Sol also gets into the dream place, where he is about to be executed, too. The dream of the townspeople is a secret that the protagonist tries to find out throughout the story, but when he finally gets there, it seems that he may also lose the ability to live in the future.