The Arizona sentinel., 1886-05-22
A PLACID CLERK.
How He Mortified Desperately-R Revenge
 full Individual.

How He Mortified Desperately Revenge
 full Individual.
 The receiving clerks behind the desks at the telegraph offices are cool, placid fellows. They take your message of life or death with perfect indifference, mechanically count the words, and look bit bored as they reply:
 1t will be sixty-five cents, please.
 had my eye on a certain chap for several weeks before I humbled his pride. He insulted me- He insulted me by softly whispering to himself as he counted the words in the following message:
 ''Grandmother died last night very suddenly. How many of you can at tend funeral?"
 When 1 handed in that message I ex- pected him to exhibit a little emotion. While he could not have been person. ally acquainted with my grandmother, he must have suspected that she was a nice old lady, and that her sudden death had greatly overcome me. Why didn't he look up with bit of sympathy in his eye and say:
 "Too bad! know just how you feel, and I'm sorry for you"
 But no. He whistled and counted, made scratch or two with his pen, and carelessly remarked:
 "Three words over-seventy cents"
 And as he made change he told one of the boys behind the counter that he'd be hanged if he wasn't going to the dog fight that night. Then he picked up my dead grandmother dispatch and banged it on hook, showed me over some change, and turned away to re- sume the perusal of sporting paper.
 The next week I went in with a dis patch announcing that my grandmoth- er's will had been opened, and that I came in for twenty-five thousand dol lars. That man must have seen by my face that was highly elated. He never had the fifth of that sum, and his salary had just been cut down ten dollars per month, but when he had read the dis patch he calmly announced:
 ''Forty cents, and you forgot to date it."
 And then he began talking to one of his fellow-clerks about slugeing match, and how he won three dollars by betting on the right man. 1 don't say he ought to have swung his hat and cheered over my good fortune, but why couldn't he have extended his paw and s1id:
 ''EhP Old boyp In luck, ain't you? Well, I'm glad on it. Send around the cigars and we'll smoke to your good health. :"
 made up my mind when I went out that I would upset that mans equanim- ity or lose a leg. I'd tumble him off that pedestal of placidity if it cost a $1,000. I'd upset, unbalance and un- hinge him or die trying. l gave him two weeks to repent It isn't right to rush telegraph man out of the world on days notice. l went back one evening, and I felt bit sorry for him as he glanced up. knew that his wife and child were in Ohio on visit, and stepped to the desk and wrote:
 DETROIT, Mich., June 6, 1885. J 1T. Smith, Columbus, o.: accident by which Mrs. George Taylor and daughter, of this city, were instantly killed this afternon. :. r.
 I felt bit sorry as I handed It in, not knowing but the man might faint dead away as he read the terrible news. Still, had vowed revenge, and 1 would not forego it. He received the dis patch, whistled softly as was his wont, clattered the point of his pen along the words as he counted, and then drawled out:
 "A dollar and twenty-five cents, and where shall send the answer?"
 Ibid you read that dispatchP" 1 asked after looking at him for half a minute.
 ''Yes.
 Do you know the partiesP"
 ''Yes, sir"
 ''Isn't your name George Taylor?"
 "Yes, sir?"
 Aren't the parties your wife and daughterp"
 No, sir They returned home this morning your cnanger-A Qatad, in Detroit Free Press,