The Iola register. [volume] (Iola, Allen County, Kansas) 1875-1902, 1886-04-09
OF pousTruL VALUE.
The Perplexfties and Enmities Caused BY .
Hand Fire ExtinGuisher.

The Perplexfties and Enmities Caused by ,
Hand Fire Extincuisher.
After the cook hurried a sluggish fire
with can of kerosene last summer.
and gave us all fright we haven't yet
entirely recovered from. my wife in
sisted that we should have portable
chemical fire extinguisher in the house.
l was almost more afraid of portable
chemical fire extinguisher than was of
fire, but finally 1 gave in to save ar
gument, and brought home a loaded
fire extinguisher. Then committed to
memory the printed directions for work.
ing it. My wife said it might be well
for Der also to become familiar with its
mysteries, so that she would not have to
send after me to set it going if q fire
CHANGED to break ont when l was not at
home. thought SO, too, and taking up
the extinguisher in the midst of my in
teresting family circle. / explained as well
as could what should be done with it
when the dread cry of fire was heard.
Unjust have turned something should
not have turned, for the thing went off
in startling way, just at the moment
my wife was carefully absorbing my di-
rections. The stream struck her in the
left eye with considerable force.
drenched the entire family circle, and
then wandered about among the bric-a-
brac and things, and it required much
protesting on my part to persuade my
wife that had not purposely turned on
the stream while she had her eve near
the nozzle trying to get knowledge of
its way of working. just because she
had favored and had opposed its pur-
chase.
When the gloom occasioned by the
accident had cleared away and all had
been forgiven, took my extinguisher
to the agent and had it loaded again.
One pleasant evening. while my wife
was entertaining me, cry of fire in a
woman's shrill voice come to our ears.
1t came from the home of the young
and happy Dabberlys. our nearest
neighbors, and almost paralyzcd us
with fear.
run with the extinguisher, cried
my wife, who is much cooler in tines of
danger than am.
Threw the extinguishcr on my back
and ran. just as l reached the door of
the Dabberlys the dread cry was re-
pcated in the same shrill voice. and
with my hand ready to let on the stream
l rushed in. Mr.. and Mrs. Dabberly
were pacing up and down the room like
a couple of maniacs, and they gave me
such a shock that my hand involun-
tarily turned the stop-cOck of the extin-
guisher. Mrs. Dabberly screamed and
fell to the floor in a faint. and happen
ing to look down saw that | was un-
consciously playing the stream OH the
baby in the cradle. Dabberly rushed
toward me just as turned the nozzle
aside and got thorough drenching.
Then in my wild excitement l turned
the stream on a fine oil painting, after
which the eXtinguisher, with a final
burst of vigor. drenched the PROSTATE
form of Mrs. Dabberly. BY this time
Dabberly had regained some of his ac-
customed composure, and taking me by
the throat rather roughly he asked for
an explanation in way that showed
him to be thoroughly in earnest about
it. l told him l had heard the blood
chilling cry of fire in his peaceful home
and had run with my extinguisher to
quench the flames. Then he told me
that there was no fire in his house save
that on the hearth and in the kitchen
range. and that had merely heard
him and Mrs. Dabberly rehearsing a
play that was to be rendered by the
Thespian Society at the town hall.
We are now getting along without a
portable fire extingu;sher. philadelphia
Press,