Excerpt: The Life and Times of Sullivan Murphy

As the train went along its course Sullivan escaped his mood in the passing countryside; content to watch the green grass and woods go by outside his boxcar. He closed his eyes slowly and listened to the sounds of a boxcar, the creaking of the boards, the whistling of the wind, the coughing of one of the old men and the steady clicking of the wheels against the rails. After a time the train seemed to sing to him, the rails and shuddering of the cars becoming a sort of music that only a traveler can hear.