The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1900-06-27
THE HOT WATER BUTTON.
Country Couple Which Accepted
the Directions Literally.
This is tale Of pressing the butte

the Directions Literally.
This is q tale OF pressing the button.
Blaine Viles of Skowhegan tells it to
me. 1 don't know where lie got the
facts; couldn't have been in Skowhe-
gan, OF course.
But. wherever 1t was, a couple from
the country came to tho hotel OF which
the tale Is told. OF course this may
have happened in Bob Haines' hotel In
Skowhegan, but doubt It, for Bob hds
told me many times that 1t Is liberal
education f0r man. woman or child to
stop In his hotel five minutes.
Rural parties In question asked to be
shown to 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. 1t Is evident that
the first business OF the new arrivals
was to study the card.
IN about Eve minutes the bell on the
annunciator in the Office commenced to
ring = prin-n-ng, prln-n-ng, prin-n-ng,
prin-n-ng!-giving the hot water call
was the number of the room occupied
by the rural parties.
The boy rushed into the wasnroom
aud drew pitcher Of hot water. Still
the bell kept sounding steadily, two
rings In quick succession.
"Git move on!' shouted the clerk
to the boy. "Them parties In slumteen
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, crazed by the noise Of the
bell, stood up in chair. saying things
In rapid succession, and held his hand
on the gong, dulling 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
hot water wouldn't squirt In his eyes,
and the woman was pressing the but
ton with regular stroke. They were
doing their best to get hot water strict
Iy according to directions.
'Here, stop thatv yelled the boy to
the woman. Here's your hot waterw
The man with the bowl lowered that
article and looked at the boy.
what" says he-the man from the
rural districts-"d'ye have to bring it
in pitcher In the old fashioned way
Waal, 1 shum! What's the trouble
with yer waterworks here? I've been
pressin this button accordin to the
rewles here on the card, and there
hain't a 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
weighin machine up to Sile CObb's gro-
Gerry store"
And when the bcllboy came out Of
his swoon lie 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 a hammer,
and after gaining admission to room
slumteen he nailed up the card with
the spike.
The guest surveyed his work with in
terest.
4There, that's business'' said the
man from the rural districts. "Ef she
amt workin, say so, and eff it's goin to
trouble ye any to fetch water up here
me and the woman will come down ter
the sink and wash up. Jest as soon
dew It's not."-Lewiston Journal.