The Norfolk weekly news. (Norfolk, Neb.) 1888-1900, 1900-05-24
THE HOT WATER BUTTON.
A Country Couple which Accepted
the Directions Literally.


This Is n tale Of pressing the button.
Blaine Vllos OF Skowhegan tells 1t to
me. l don't know where he got the
facts; couldnV have been In Skowhe.
gan, OF course.
But, wherever II was, n couple from
the country came TO the hotel of which
the tale Is told. or course this may
have happened in Bob Haines' hotel In
Skowhegan, but I doubt IL, for Bob has
told me many times that 1t Is n liberal
education for man. woman or child to
stop In his hotel Ave minutes.
Rural parties In question asked to DO
shown to a room; boy escorted them
up; left them standing In the center OF
the room looking around.
Over the electric push button, Of
course was the usual card directing a
guest to ring once for Ice water, twice
for hot water. etc. It is evident that
the first business OF the new arrivals
was to study the card.
In about five minutes the bell on the
annunclator In the Office commenced to
ring prin-n-ng. prln-n-ng, prin-n-ng,
over and over The number shown
was the number of the room occupied
by the rural parties.
The boy rushed into the washroom
and drew pitcher of hot water. Still
the bell kept sounding steadily, two
rings in quick succession.
"Git move on" shouted the clerk
20 thn hay Urrhn,,, ,n ~ loo in clt,r, 70 IN
must be considerably fused up on the
hot water question. They must have
cold feet"
The boy was already half way up
stairs, running like deer. The bell
still kept ringing.
The clerk, crazcd by the noise of the
bell, stood up In n chair, saying things
In rapid succession, and held his hand
on the gong, dulllng its sound.
The boy tore into the room, with his
pitcher of hot water stopping. The
new arrivals, man and wife, were
standing before the electric button.
| Their eyes were on the card. The man
held bowl carefully under the button,
with his head turned away, so that the
and the woman was pressing the but
ton with regular stroke. They were
doing their best to get hot water strict
ly according to directions.
Here, stop that" yelled the boy to
the woman. "Here's your hot water"
The man with the bowl lowered that
article and looked at the boy.
| s\Vhofv cova hn-fhn man from tho
rural distrlcts-"d'ye have to bring II
in pitcher In the old fashioned way
Waal. snum! What's the trouble
| with yer waterworks here? I've been
pressin this button accordln to the
rewles here on the card, and there
hain't darned drop Of hot water come
out yit. When things amt workin, ye
ought to hang up sign sayin Out OF
Order That's the way they do on the
wcighin machine up to Sile Cobbs gro
Gerry store"
And when the bellboy came out OF
his swoon he told the clerk, and the
clerk went gravely up stairs with q
tiny card on which he had written
Not Working"
He carried n spike and hammer
and after gaining admission to room
slumteen he nailed up the card will
the spike.
The guest surveyed his work with In
terest.
There. that's businessw said the
man from the rural districts. "Ef sh,
amt workin, say so, and eff it's goin tt
trouble ye any to fetch water up here
me and the woman will come down te
the sink and wash up. Jest as soor
dew It's not."-Lewiston Journal.