The Jasper weekly courier. [volume] (Jasper, Ind.) 1858-1922, 1875-05-28


il ia goen
II want Won 70 tell Jim Fellers. of Co
hoe, that the bull quit her las night, and
the sheepll eclose on his heels"
As he delivered this seutence he looked
at me as If he expected me 10 be mystifed.
But thought II best not TO appear so.
and said carlessly:
suppose you are dealer in stock
and this Is your partnerg An. sir, the
telegraph helps you fellows out of many
sharp bargain
"Ya'as," he answered slowly, evidently
pleased with the way took Ii. la'as.
that's 'um. I'm sendin' down lot o.
stock. Bought IL dog cheap over in Gene
see. yesterday. Purity lot as ever you
see.n
turned TO my instrument. What was
! 10 be doneg Though ours was a railroad
j office we often sent business messages
I and i'll did as usual now | should proba-
I bly, get rid of my unwelcome visitor with
out further trouble. BUT in the short con-
yersation with him had somewhat reoov-
cred from my first alarm, and now con-
ceived the idea OF attempting the capture
of Tim Lynch.
was only poor salar ed operator. try
ing to save enough 10 marry in the spring.
Five hundred dollars would do me a great
of good just now-to say nothing of the
eclat OF the thing. But how was it 10 be
Accomplishment Here was | alone in the
depot with man big enough TO whip his
weight In such little men as | was. several
times over. Any attempl TO secure him
/ single handed was not To be thought of.
But could not excuse myself and, going
out. fasten him in? No; well knew
from the distrustful look i'm his face that
any proposal of mine 10 leave tile room
would be peremptorily objected TO by
him. What then!
Why, simply this. Iwould telegraph to
the downtown station. But alas That
very day the connection between the two
offices had been cut for repairs. Ii was
seldom used at any time. of course. But
what of that? 1t was only question of
a few seconds more time.
All these thoughts went through my
mind with the rapidity of lightning, as
went 10 the battery. Lynch regarded me
from the corner of his uncovered eye with
a suspicion that made me shake in my
boots. AS sat down he arose and came
TO my side.
Look a here, young feller." he Kissed
in my ear, and his breath was sickening
from the fumes OF liquor, perhaps you
mean fair enough hope We do. for yer
own sake. But l don't understan' moth
in bout them tellygrams, and | just
want TO tell We that yer'd better be sudr-
for, by the eternal God Ct you 90 back on
me I'll stretch you on this we're floor as
stiff as ever did man yit." and felt
4 the cold muZzle of his revolver on my
cheek. Perhaps my voire trembled a lit
/ tie, but was still unmoved in my resolu-
ton. as | replied:
Never fear. sir /; I'll tell him all about
/ the stock" He muttered something to
himself and still remained standing over
me.
You have heard. perhaps, how much
character and expression a telegraph oper-
ator can put in his touch. Why. there
were dozens of different operators COM
/ municating with our Office, and | could
tell at the instant. without ever making
a mistake, who il was signaling. You
could tell If a man was nervous from his
telegraphing just as well as you could
/ from his handwriting. The call that |
sent hurryiDg across the State 10 Council.
Bluffs must have rung on the ears of the
operator like shrek.
&C. Il. Are you there % was what
asked and almost instantly came b OK
reply in the affirmative. Then. with a
trembling hand ratified off my message:
=" For the love of God, telegraph to our
downtown Office at once. Tell them that
I Tim Lynch is within two feet OF me and
they must send help.'
A short pause as though my message
occasioned some surprise, and then came
the response =" Ali right,- which as
sured me need not repeat.
"Wall," growlcd the deep voice of
Lynch. "are you going to send my mes
sage -
~ have sent ii. sir"
"What. Does all that ticKin' mean
what | told your"
"Yes, and if you will wait fifteen or
twenty minutes, you will get an answers
wal, dono as | want an answer.
jim he II understan' it's all right"
But I'll tell you soon whether he's
there or not. Sit down."
So Lynch reluctantly took his seat.
I looking around at the doors and windows
once In while In an uneasy way. | was
/ determined TO take him now at any cost,
and verify believe ! should have planted
myself in his path had he insisted upon
going now.
Tick, Tick. Tick, Tick - the battery
called out. and listened to the message.
Keep cool. Gould has gone for the po-
lice" Strangei 1t was, wasn't it-that |
should sit there and talk through $50 miles
space with a man not half mile from
meg
Whats that signerfy ?" inquired my
companion, as the ticking ceased: and
replied that the clerk OF Cohoe had just
written of the message and sent ii out.
He seemed satisfied and settled back in
his chair, where he sat in sullen silence.
his jaws going up and down as he chewed
his weed.
o, how long the minutes crept along.
The suspense was terrible. ! sat aud
watched the minute hand Of the clock
| five minutes seemed like many months.
My companion seemed nervous, too. He
moved uneasily In his chair.
WAin't IL about time We heard from