Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1895-10-12
BROKE THE poTTLE.

An Accident Saved tho Drug Clerk
From tho ConseQueRces of . B1uhder.
From the Atlanta Constitution
This is tragedy or comedy. according to
the light in which YOU view it. ~.
One Of the proprietoysr Of a drug store in
Atlanta was not long ago drug clerk in a
small city. There were two drug clerks in
the store at 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. 81
zone night" said the, Atlanta man, II
was in my room over the drug store. !
couldn't sleep, somehow, and tossed about
on my bed until decided to pass the time
reading. After bit heard some one come
In the drug store below and heard my part
ner get UP and wait on the customer. In a
few minutes I heard the customer go out,
and everything was quiet again. But quiet
only fer short time.
Presently I heard my colleague below
walking about uneasily, and could tell by
the nervous way in which he walked about
that something was the matter I went
down and found the young man walking up
and down the floor, great beads of per-
spiratlon standing out on his brow and
agony written all over his face
II don't know what on earth to do he
broke out in absolute despair, I made a
mistake with that prescription. I was SO
sleepy did not know-hut somehow kept
thinking after the boy left that had made
found that, sure enough. I'd put enough
arsenic in that prescription to kill three
men. For Gods sake II you think Of any
thing that can be done, tell me quick
His face was drawn and white and his
mind was at terrible tension. Speak,
speak, for Gods sake, for the boy was in q
hurry, and the mans already taken it. I'm
afraid
sWhoro hol iua9s
"IIis face fell and an expression of terror
came over it. He dropped into a chair.
I 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 words
can tell. We saw the dreadful effect of the
mistake-death. disgrace to us, ruin to the
establishment, criminal charge and forever
afterward the frightful knowledge of hav-
ing been criminally careless. Black pic
lures fitted through our minds. 1t was an
awful moment.
listened for the cry of the family of the
sick one. We could see the patient with
ing in the throes of death-death brought
on by a terrible, a criminal. an inexcusable
mistake. The cold sweat stood out all over
There came sound outside. We listened
intently. There was q 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
lis eyes and cried as II his heart would
break
"'Oh mister, please. sir-please. SIR he
blubbered, I couldn't help 1t. I stumped
my toe, and-boo-hoo!-fell down, and-boo-
hoo!-broke the bottle
1--WE both seized him in our arms. My
companion gave him the sort of an en-
brace 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 go ought to have set pre-
MUM on breaking bottles among the small
boys of that town."