The Washington weekly post. (Washington, D.C.) 1878-1916, 1899-09-12

same. retired within the shade of an al
cove produced a bunch Of copy paper.
and indited the days weather story. II
was bird when he got through with IT.
As he wrote the skies We're of turquoise,
the sun shOne resplendently, and there
wasn't even a haze over Jersey City way.
II was a perfect summers day. But he
wrote a forecast that predicted the star
headliner of an electrical storm of the
season TO happen early in the afternoon.
He went into the prediction deliberately,
and stated that New York scientists in
terested in the photographing of lightning
had their cameras all pTimed and cooked
for the celestial pyrotechnics that were
going TO blaze out on schedule time along
toward o'clock that afternoon. He sent
the copy over TO his paper by a messenger
boy. and then he leaned back and con-
tinued his absorption of the products Of
the Only Williams deft fingers. About
an hour later he purchased the first edi-
lions Of the other afternoon papers to see
if his weather story was anywhere near
being IN line. 1t wasn't The Dunn fore
cast as set forth in all the rest of the
papers including the rival WOild, was that
the beauteOus weather was 10 continue
Indefinitely.
away from the office, unless 1 want 10
experience the modification of being
dumped, ditehed, fired, and mangled at
the extreme bottom of the elevator shaft
Of the ChOinal,' unused the Chicago news
paper man. Then he walked forth to re-
fleet, in the open air, upon ways and
cans whereby he could secure employ
ment on some other newspaper that
would permit him TO take an occasional
chance with q long shot IL was then
o'clock and big, black clouds were roll
ing up over Brooklyn. AT $50 the open
ing gun of the electrical Orgie was fired,
and for 4 solid hour il Numbered and
lightninged so hard over Manhattan Isl
and that IL made peoples teeth ache II
was continuance performance of hcav-
emily artillery for a straight sixty min
utos, and the blue, purple, and green
lightning { used 81 orSt'':ous folks to
imagine THAI the wOTlu n 7 about 4 rived
at its finish. Ii was jus about as hard
an electrical disturbance as New York
had ever been through. and the photo
graphic sharps did take views of the
lightning ribbons ripping the heavens
from zenith 10 horizon. That was a bad
afternoon for Farmer Dunn. The city
editors Of all the 9th. afternoon papers
saw the ChOinaTs exclusive weather pre-
diction was being verified, and they COM
plctod the sizzling OF the wires Jaat the
Chicago mans electrical storm had be
gun.
Il pass was all Dunn could say.
Not guilty. Hands up. The ChOinal has
scooped ne - wen as you people
"Along toward 5 o'clock in the afternoon
when the storm was subSiding. the Chi
CagO newspaper man StrOlled into the
Choinal Office, and Topped YEARLY into a
chair. When he was recognized the whole
office rose at him. The city editor gath
cred him in his embrace, and two strong
men from the business Office brought him
up a bag Of Flittering gold.
"'How die do IL? inquired the city ed
itor admriugly.
"'Hit the pipe and traneed it, was n,
Chicago fakirs reply. The city editor
handed him his own old gold watch ari
chain, and all hands around Rugged hin
again"