in fact , over time , the effort involved in ignoring the whistling , the shoes ( the goofy expression , splay-footed walk , ears etc ) became so excruciating that this guy ( lying at night on the mattress in the shitty little room , having freshly escaped ned in the hallway ) would contemplate , as a kind of relief , throwing himself on the floor at neds feet with a magnifying glass ( for example ) or even placing his chin on neds shoulder so that his own ( normal ) ear might rest beside neds pursed and whistling lips ; and at that point , lying at night on the mattress in the shitty little room , having freshly escaped ned in the hall , this guy just threw in the towel .