The Opelousas courier., 1893-08-05
HE LOST THE BET.
One Receiver which this Rapid Ope-
rator Could not ssBreak.n

[ remember a rather laughable incident
that occurred in the Oil City, Pa, West
ern Union office some fifteen years ago.
1t has been told and laughed over by
operators ever since. The office was a
hot one at that time, and any one N
ployed by the manager had to be a
tusher. Men of this kind, as a rule,
value a situation lightly, and seldom re-
NAMED there any length of time. 1t
was not unusual to employ a new man or
tive every month. At the time of which
write a dapper young chap made his
appearance in search of employment, and
secured the handling of local wires. He
was an extraordinarily fast sender, in fact,
one of the fastest and plainest 1 ever
heard on q wire, and as type writers
were yet a thing of the future for tele-
graph work, he could generally make
his man break, which apparently was en-
joyed by him. Within q few days the
boys "got on to him." as the saying
goes, and put their heads together for
the purpose of having ONE fun at his
expense.
Several miles out from Oil City is a
small town called Reno. ct is a small
country town. The agent and operator
there was also a blacksmith with a shop
across the road from the depot. Being
a very poor operator he received mes,
Bages on an ol~d-fashioned register, which
registers the dots and dashes instead OF
taking by sound as is the custom of late
years.
1t was through one of the boys know
ing OF the existence of this register that
gave them the idea of working the late
acquisition into trying to rush the ma
chine. After they had the scheme cut
and dried, n day, during lunch hour,
the conversation drifted to fast sending
and receiving, when some one made the
remark that ''the only man he never knew
to break was down at Reno" The fy
sender made the remark ''that if he was
0 good receiver he was the rankest
sender he ever heard, and that it was
all blow about him being a good re-
ce1Ver. I1l bet a box of cigars | could
make him squeal in less than one hun
dred words" He had fallen into the
trap more easily than was anticipated.
1t is needless to say that the bet was
accepted. When he had saved up mes
sages enough to cover the required
humber of words, he called the bows
Owe to hear him slaughter the man at
"Rn," which was the call for "Reno.n
AS they gathered around he began send
ing. The dots and dashes flew from be-
meath his nimble fingers as they never did
before, and the perspiration stood out
upon his forehead faster and faster went
the key, until he closed it with a bang,
never a break. Presently came back |
the slow and methodical "OKn of the
old man at Reno. The other operators
had a good laugh, after which they re-
turned to their desks.
Upon the evening of that day, the hy
sender took a train, out of curiosity, to |
see the operator who was never known
to break, and went down to Reno to get |
o glimpse of him.
Imagine his surprise and chagrin.
when on looking through the window.
to see an old register, the first he had
sver seen, instead of relay and sounder, |
IIe returned to Oil City on the next
joke too good to keep, gave it away
bought the cigars and quit in.
'ide OF a week.-IW. A. F., in C~allicooA
N. " Echo