The Virginia enterprise. [volume] (Virginia, St. Louis County, Minn.) 1893-19??, 1895-09-06
HE BROKE H BOTTLE.
II Contained Poison, and tho Drug Clerl
- was Happy.

- = oAeOup S1au Uu0 1Tuk Cl0fk
was Happy.
This is tragedy or comedy; according
70 the light in which you view it.
One of the proprietors Of Il drug store
III Atlanta was not long ago II drug clerk
IN y small city. There were two drug
clerks IN the store ut the time. They
divided the time, one answering the calls
at night and getting shorter hours in the
day, and the other doing long hours.
"One night" said the Atlanta man, Il
was IN my, room over the drug store. l
couldn't sleep, somehow, and l tossed
about on my bed until l decided to pass
the time reading. After u bit l heard
and heard my partner get up and wait
on the customer. In Il few minutes L
heard the customer go out and every
thing was quiet. again. But quiet only
for II short time.
presently heard my colleague below
walking about uneasily, and l could tell
by the nervous way in which he walked
about that something was the matter. l
went down and found the young man
walking up and down the hoor, great
beads OF perspiratiOn standing out ON
his brow and agony written all over his
"'I don't know what on earth to do
be broke out in absolute despair, L
made u mistake with that prescription.
III was so sleepy l did not know, but
somehow | kept thinking after the boy
left that | had made a mistake and l
went to the arsenic and found that sure
enough Id put enough arsenic in that
prescription to kill three men. For
| Gods sake, if you think of anything
that can be done, tell me quick
Ills face was drawn and white and
his mind was at a terrible tension.
Speak, speak, for Gods sake, for the
boy was i'll Il hurry and the mans al
ready taken it. Pm afraid
"'Where does he live" I asked.
His face fell and an expression of ter
ror came over it. He dropped into a
chair.
81 don't know he gasped.
Il sat down facing him and for what
seemed an hour we sat there looking at
each other, not speaking a word. What
passed through our minds no human
feet of the mistake-leath, disgrace to us,
ruin to the ablishment, criminal charge
and forever afterward the frightful
knowledge of having been criminally care
less. Black pictures fitted through our
minds. 1t was an awful moment.
1--WE started at every little sound. We
listened for the cry of the family of the
sick one: We could see the patient with
on by a terrible. a criminal, al in~excusa-
bic mistake. The cold sweat stood. out
all over us.
There came Il sound outside. We lis
tened intently. There was a knock on the
door. We both sprang to our feet.
rushed to the door.
"A small boy stood there crying. He
held the remnants of some broken pieces
of glass in his hands. He threw his arm
over his yes and cried as if his heart
| would break.
"'Oh, mister, please. sir-please. sir,
he blubbered, I couldn't help it. l
and-boo hoo!-brokc the bottle
1--WE both seized him in our arms. My
companion ave him the sort of embrace
that one gives to his sweetheart after a
years separation and we wept on his
neck. The way we set that boy up before
letting him 20 ought to have set a premi-
um on breaking bottles among the small
boys of that town."-Atlanta Constitu-
ton.