Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1897-07-10
A PANIC BARELY AVERTED
Horrible Din Frightens the Boardsrs at q
Restaurant.
Sounds Which Were Mysterious and
Unenrthly Issue From Nobody
Knows Where-The Solution.

far from Pennsylvania avenue in the
northwest section of tine city where rooms
may be secured for regular boarders or
for transient guests, If they want them.
The restaurant, by the way, makes a spc-
cialty of frogs and frog legs. The green
backed acrobats can be fixed up SO daintily
By the chef at the l,lace that the scruples
OF any person, no matter how greatly he
or she Is opposed to frogs, are overcome
by the sight of them. Under that chefs
direction the frog becomes truly a dish
for the epicure.
For advertisement and convenience as
Well tanks have been placed in each Of the
front windows of the cafe and in these
the frogs are kept, they being taken out
when needed for the table. The fact that
the frogs were placed in the windows. and
that the upper rooms were occupied, came
near causing panic the other night, A
fine lot of frogs, Of extraordinary size.
mad Just been brought in, and the ia ct
was duly told on a sign, which had the
words Frogs Today in large letters.
What happened is best told by a young
man who has room al the place and
participated in the affair.
In the Wee Sma' Hours,
1T was about o'clock in the morning. 4"
he told The Star man 1T was so warm
that 1 was only about half asleep Every
thing was perfectly quiet, and 1 had Just
dozed on. Suddenly was aroused by the
most unearthly, fiendish sound ever heard
In my life. 1t was something on the order
OF an elephant with the Group and a siren
whistle.
1T was just one snort, as it were, but
that was enough. l was wide awake in
an instant l could not tell where it came
from and dozed off again. Just as 1 began
10 lose consciousness / was almost ca used
70 Jump out Of bed by the sound, which
In HI
II was had probably just tried itself be-
lore to see that everything was in working
order, had rested a little and set the ma
chinery in motion for good
Say, did You ever have one of those
squallers when you were a kid made out
OF tin can. string and rosin rubbed on
II! lou know what an unearthly sound
they made. Well, they were to this like
tuba. The noise 1oated all around, and 1
began to get alarmed. couldn't locate
were.
Presently heard people moving in the
rooms about me, and 1 heard the fellow
next me say:
Any man who shores like that ought to
De put to bed tc a round house.
Footsteps in the Corridors.
Il heard footsteps tripping down the pas
sageway and suppressed notes of alarm
from two lady government clerks VINO had
a room near mine.
This is awful heard enc OF them say.
somebody is sick or being murdered
Maybe lunatic has escaped from ST.
Elizabeth and has gotten into the town in
some way, suggested the other, and the
door was shut to and locked and the win
dow put down in spite of the heat.
In the meantime the flood of buzz-saw
sounds. with boiler-yard accompaniment,
noated out Of space, seemingly.
one OF the negro walters, who had a
room back somewhere, and who had great
confidence in me, came to the door. his
race ashen, declaring that the house was
hoodooed and the great day was near at
hand
Good God, somebody has fallen in the
sewer. ana trying to get out, and choking
10 oeath! somebody said, and a rush was
made for downstairs and out on the pave
ment. BY this time the noise had ceased.
Proprietor Scared.
The proprietor Of the place came down
with scared face and Joined the group.
He appeared puzzled for a minute. then
a smile overspread his face. He walked
quickly to the window, made a dive inside
and reappeared. holding out frog of i'm
mense proportions by the hind legs. -
There 70 the disturber of your rest, gem
,iemen.' he said. and the laugh was on us,
but we made him set 'em up"
Inc young man stated that the pronrietor
OF the place was considering whether he
would dispose of the frog as a bass singer
Tor saengerfeSt, or to furnish thunder AT
one OF the theaters.
There Is a special man at the restaurant
now, who each night goes to the tanks and
puts muZzle on every frog. The large
one Is chained securely to the window sill
ana the further precaution taken of cover
Ing 1t with bucket.