Oxford Democrat. [volume] (Paris, Me.) 1833-1933, 1900-06-26

eRlNDLg COW REPORTED ON TIME.
John Z. Foley, chief deputy In the
ofYice Of the United States marshal here,
used TO be Z telegraph operator, and hts
last service In that capacity was at the
little statiou'of Denver, Ind. He bad .
night job and q lonesome one, for the In
habltants OF Denver were usually 10 bed
BY 8 O'Clock, and from that time till 30
A. H., when be left his Office, there WAS
not . soul stirring In tho town.
The operator was on duty - soon %
the 30 fast freight passed the station,
and his report was sent In, but the time
dragged intolerably upon bis hands, and
be often fell asleep despite his desire 70
stay awake. After while he began TO
take the risk Of mapping . little during
the night and, ~ the fast freight was
the only train that passed through be-
tween 10 o'clock and daylight, he felt
himself reasonably sure Of being awak-
ened by the noise of the train.
One night, however, he was awakened
suddenly and he thought he heard No.
Il 20 past the station. He rubbed his
eyes and listened and then rushed TO the
door and looked up the track. He could
hear rumbling noise, but q curve IN
the track cut of view of the trains red
lights, II u Was really train, and Foley
did not know what TO do. He seated
himself ct bis instrument, and pretty
soon he heard the agent ut . station
further north report the train on time.
Foley then sent In his belated mes
sage and fully expected to be called up
the next day for an explanation, but his
hardness appeared to escape attention.
The Incident convinced him, though,
that he could no longer depend upon
the passing train TO awaken him and he
must stay awake. Several nights OF
close watchfulness followed, but he
found IL difficult to keep awake without
going out and walking up and down the
track. This proved more lonesome than
staying In the Office, but II finally sug-
gested an expedient which he proceeded
to put in operation the next night.
As soon as all the loungers about the
little station had left for their homes,
Foley tied . cord to . telegraph pole
across the track just opposite the sta
ton window and passed the other end
into the station. To this end OF the
cord he tied couple Of oyster cans,
and then he sat down and viewed his
work and called 1t good. He could now
take nap, he thought, without fear OF
No. Il passing by without waking him,
for the engine would snap the cord In
two and the falling cans would bring
him TO himself In an Instant. SO Foley
adjusted himself In his chair, placed
his feet on the table by the ticker and
leaned back for nap. He was aroused
by the falling Of the cans about him,
and In the confusion he heard or
thought he heard the CHATTER OF the
rapidly passing train. Looking at the
clock he saw II was precisely ! 30 and
he sent In this message to the chief train
dispatcher:
Number Il on time"
Satisfied with his experience, Foley
gathered up his cans and laid them
away for another occasion, and then put
out the lights, locked the station door
and turned to 90 home. At that mo-
ment his eyes fell on brindle COW
standing By the side Of the track and
gazing at him In mute astonishment.
At the same moment he heard the
whistle Of an approaching locomotive
and realized that he had reported No. 81
on time when 1t was fully five minutes
late.
The next day an operator appeared at
Denver to take Foley's place and before
night he Was out looking for another job,
but he still contends that his scheme
would have worked had not the brindle
COW broken the cord to which the oyster
cans were attached.-Indianapolis
special In New York Sun.