Wessington Springs herald. (Wessington Springs, Aurora County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1891, 1890-12-19
CALMLY BREAKING THE LAWS.

CALMLY BREAKING THE LAWS.
Two Messenger Hoys ENJOY n Smoke In
the Car ofan Elevated Train.
The amount of sly acuteness, quick
PERCEPTION and subtlety of intellect
compactly slowed away in the small
Uranium of the average diminutive
American District Telegraph messenger
boy, bears favorable comparison with
that quick and subtitle fluid by whose
mysterious agency the work of the
great concern for which these lads
labor is accomplished. An illustration
OF this fact occurred the other day e..
the elevated road. Two of these mes
senger boys boarded down train about
dusk. They looked enough alike to be
twins. Both heads were crowned with
masses of red shocked hair: they had
narrow, freckly faces; unkempt clothes,
and shoes through whose interstices
could be seen plainly the pedal cuti-
Gle, while eyes as sharp as weasel's
cast penetrating glances about the car.
Neither one was over IA years old.
They came down the aisle and sat fac
ing each other in two of the middle
section seats. Right above them,
neatly framed, hung the follow
ing notice of the ear company: "Smok-
ing or carrying lighted cigars or cigar
cites into the cars of this company is
prohibited. Trainmen must enforce
this rule"
One of the boys dived down into the
depths of his pocket and produced the
remains of a half consumed cigarette.
Look out fur de guard, Bill" ex-
claimed his companion.
Bill cast surreptitions glance about
and remarked: "Der's no danger.
Tim; de cully's looking de other way"
He then took a match from his
pocket, and after he had performed the
acrobatic feat of trying to touch the
floor in front Of him with his head with
out leaving his seat, he quickly lighted
his cigarette took puff. then thrust
the hand holding the precious stump
out of the open window, and followed
it with his head, and let the smoke
vanish in the outer air. As Bill held
the cigarette out of his window aud
met the devoted weed half way. Tim
then in his turn performed the office of
cigarette holder, while Bill thrust his
head out and took puff. Thus they
played an amicable draw" game as the
train rolled on, till Bill accused Tim
OF taking two puffs in succession, to
which he wrathfully replied that he
could not get his head out of the win
dow far enough to reach it at oil.
The two youths were TINS guilty of
double offence, one against the car
company and the other against the
law which denies the luxury Of a smoke
to lads under 16. BY this time the
cigarette had become so small that it
was necessary to hold it with pin
thrust through to keep it from burning
the fingers. Immunity from danger
begot carelessness, and they did not
see the policeman who was intently
watching them from the station plat
form as the train pulled into the Forty
seventh-st station. The policeman
rushed to the window and said: "Tll
arrest you Youngsters; you are under 16
aud smoking" Bill had the stump in
his lap, and sang out: cav, we amt
srnokin'." The policeman made dive
for the car entrance, just as the accom-
modating guard swung the gates to.
u want to arrest couple of boys in
there for smoking exclaimed the pre-
server Of the peace.
stake the next train" said the
guard in an exasperatingly mellow tone
and with q malicious grin. AS the train
pulled away "Tim" put his thumb to
his nose in suggestive manner and
gave the discounted copper" parting
salute.
"Bill" and Tim" smoked on, the
cigarette became shorter, and the pin a
more necessary adjunct. till the guard
spied them,: and into the car he
rushed.
"Cheese it, Bill" exclaimed Tim,
3de cully's comm"
The guard came up, but Bill was
equal to the emergency. Hethrust the
cigarette behind him, and pinned it to
the back of his coat. The guard &C.
cused them of the offense of smoking in
the cars of the company. The boys
protested innocence. He made them
stand up, looked at their hands, the
seats, the floor, but found nothing, so
he retired.
Once more "Bill" and "Tim" settled
back to their doubly illicit enjoyment,
which continued till the cause of the
trouble had vanished into thin air, and
nothing but the pin remained as o re-
minder of what had been. York
Tribune.
How He Knew That He Had Been in
Europe.
Perhaps said = business man,
@there are good many of us who be-
lieve that all the world has absolute