Hopkinsville Kentuckian. [volume] (Hopkinsville, Ky.) 1889-1918, 1896-12-11

Two Y5ungs crs ~ a Csh!l Vault
MYstify p p

song: just tell taa'n tllt you 81"
me.
There YVES quiet On Fifth avenue
between Gist anu Junonvillp streets
one night that was Only acccatuated
by the whirr Of an occasional cricket
and the modified CHATTER Of few be-
lated wayfarers, says the Pittsburgh
Chronicle Telegraph Fair Luna, to
keep the chill off, threw over Mother
Earth a's,lawl of silvary sheen. Peo-
pie sat On tha,r doorstops doing
nothing ana appearing 70 ell2y u.
Suddenly there Drosc u5ol their
listening ears (the plural is used ce-
cause more than one ear WIS
brought into reqli3ition), q yellow
cry from the steel blue night, as
Stephen Crane would have it, Just
tell them that you saw me.
In all that wide expanse Qron
Gist street to Jumonville street, not
a soul was to be seen, save the peo-
pie on the doorsteps The crier
was not on passing car, for there
were no passing cars. The cars had
passed, and had lost their grip.
Over ell that section q halo Of mys-
ticism lowered. Conjecture was
spelled with a capital &C" And
even while folks wondered, again
there rose that weirdest of cries:
Just tell them that you sew me. "
One man expressed the belief that
photograph had been placed in
the conduit by some practical joker.
Another man declared that-a ban
shee was expressing its disapproval
of the coming overhead trolley
wires. Still another gave it as his
opinion that the words were uttered
by the "spook" Of conductor who
had been knocked down by death in
the spring, after doing little knock
ing down of his own. And then the
harmless but necessary wag, who is
to be found everywhere, suggested
that the only way to solve the mys-
terry was to drop nickel u the
slot His suggestion was not acted
upon, for just at that moment there
appeared at an adjacent man-hole
of the cable line the tousled head,
mischievous eye and dirty face of
newsboy and bootblack, who, inn
pudently winking at the crowd as
sembled, before returning to the
conduit, cried in accents shrill but
clear: Just tell them thai you saw
me"
Now, nobody objected to the boy
understanding the rat by going into
this underground trap, but every
body objected to the youngster leav-
ing the trap-doors open behind him.
The open man. holes were a source of
great danger to cyclists and pedes-
TRANS, The police were notified
Even as the messengers moved
toward the station house there was
heard the cry: Just tell them that
you saw me.
A couple of policemen went to the
spot. Like modern Esops, they
wandered up and down the street,
with lanterns in their hands, but
for long time nothing came OF it,
Ever and anon the back of one of
the boys (there were two of them in
the conduit) would be seen through
the slot, and the policemen would
call to them. But it did no good.
At the end of an hour the policemen
decided to watch a couple of man
holes and tire the boys out. They
were quite sure the boys were be-
tween the two man-holes, but they
were mistaken. The policemen had
no sooner settled themselves to waic
than a man-hole down the street
was thrown open, and one of the
boys popped out his head just long
enough to shout: Just tell them
that you saw mel!
BY this time q large number Of
people had gathered on the street,
and the majority OF those present
entered into the humor of the situa-
ton and sympathized with the boys.
Men talked to them through the
slot, and posted them as to the
whereabouts of the policemen. By
this means the youngsters were en-
abled to lead the officers a merry
chase. But trouble was brewing
for little johnny Brew (the name Of
one of the boysl. When he tired of
his sport he tried TO sneak through
q man-hole, and was arrested. His
companion, however, managed to
get away, his last words being, as
he turned the corner Of Gist street:
Just tell them that you saw mel
Young Brew had hearing be-
fore Alderman David j. McGarey at
the central station. He told very
ingenious story about having
dropped quarter in the conduit,
which his honor apparently only
half believed. He was discharged
with a caution.