The Columbian. [volume] (Bloomsburg, Pa.) 1866-1910, 1895-10-25
BROKE TEE BOTTLE.
An Accident saved the Drug Clerk From
consequences of Blunder.

n
Consequences of u Blunder.
This is tragedy or comedy, according
70 the light in which you view 1t.
One o. the prorrietors OF drug store
IN A:lanta was not long lg a drug cier<
IN 4 small city There were two drug
clerks in the store AZ the tme. They di-
vidcd the time, answering the calls at
night and gett. shor.er hours IN the
day and the other doing long hours.
zone ntgn.." said The Atlanta man,
az was in my room over the drug store.
I couldn't sleep, somehow, and l tossed
sb)u. on my bed until ] decided 10 pass
the time reading. After a bit ! heard
someone come in the drug store below
All heard my partner get zip and walt on
Nh, customer In a few minutes heard
the customer 90 out and everything was
quiet again. But quiet only for short
time.
Presently I heard my colleague be-
low walking about uneasily, and could
tell by the nervous way in which he walk
ell about 'sha. something was the matter.
1 went down and found the young man
walking up and down the floor. great
beads Of persplraton standing out on his
brow and agony written all over his face.
I don't know what on earth to do.
he broke ou, in absolute despair, I made
a mistake with that prescription. I was
50 sleepy did not know--but somehow I
kept thinking after the boy LEFT that had
made mistake. and ! went to the ar
senic and found that sure enough I'd put
enough arsenic in that prescription %
kill three men. For Gods sake, If you
thnk Of any thing that can be done. tell
me quick
His face was drawn and white and
MS mind was at terrible tension.
Speak, speak. for Gods sake. for the boy
was in a hurry and the mans already
taken Il, I'm afraid
Where does he llve?' asked.
His face fell and an expression of ter
ror came over 1t. He dropped into a
chair.
"I don't know he gasped
"I 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
words can tell. We saw the dreadful ef-
fect of the mistake-death, disgrace to us,
ruin to the establishment criminal charge
and forever afterwards the frightful
Knowledge of having been cr.minally
careless. Black pictures filled our minds.
1T was an awful moment.
I'VE started at every nttle sound. We
listened for the cry of the family of the
sick one. We could see the patient writh-
ing in the throes of death-death brought
on by a terrible, a criminal, an inexcus-
ah,e mistake. The cold sweat stood out
all over US.
There came a sound outside We u.s.
tened intently. There was knock on the
door. We both sprang to our feet. I
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 eyes and cried as r his heart
would break.
"'Oh mister, please, slr-please SIR he
blubbered I couldn't help 1t. l stumped
my toe and boo hoo!-fell down, and
boo hoo!-broke the bottle
I'VE both seized him in our arms. My
companion gave him the sort of an em-
brace that one gives to his sweetheart
after years separation and we wept on
his neck. The way we set that boy up
before letting him go ought to have set
a premium on breaking bottles among the
small boys OF tha. ,own."-Atlanta Con-
stitution-