The News-Herald. [volume] (Hillsboro, Highland Co., Ohio) 1886-1973, 1900-04-12
How Western Union Won
THE Dugan domicile is so yards

= h6 DuSdu uOHlCkic 10 W yoAup
from the end of the railroad bridge,
but the Dugan front yard straggles
all the way down the hillside to the
mud fats, where the ducks and the
little Dugans wade and sun them
selves all the summer time. The rail-
road bridge, which IL . viaduct more
than mile long, carries the track
across the valley far above the shin
ing water, and often the high arches
in the distance are hidden from the
little Dugans by the blue smoke that
drifts thinly down the valley from
the mills where Mr.. Dugan works In
the mornings the little Dugans carry
his dinner-pail as far as the end of
the bridge, which gives him short
Icut to the mills, although he deties
the railway company's rules when he
resorts to it.
At the end of the bridge Dugan al
ways sends his children back to the
cabin, for the bank goes down in very
precipitous fashion to the river bed
from the high abutments. But John
ny Dugan, the eldest boy, often ven
lures on the bridge to throw stones
az OhC OiuO ioSo AhbuAubOAo OA uAAO
last telegraph pole-the top of that
pole is almost on a level with the
track on the bridge, and its base is
so feet below, close by the stone abut-
1nsnt. Johnny feels brave to stand
where he can glance down the tall
white pole to where the Dugan ducks
are padding In the puddles and his
own small tracks are visible in the
adjacent mud.
Johnny Dugan and the Barry boys
had spent many pleasant hours, one
April day, throwing stones at the in
sulators, when they were caught in
the act by big Ed Conlin, the tele-
graph company's lineman, the man Of
wonderful spurs and leg-strsps. No
doubt they would have noticed his
approach and escaped recognition, az
usual had they not been lost in ad-
miration of Jimmy Barry, who had
at last succeeded in breaking one Of
the insulators. Ed Conlin promptly
called ON Mrs. Barry, who "blarneyed"
him wisely, and then on Mrs. Dugan,
who happened to be in an irate mood,
and SO gave him the rough side Of
her tongue and ordered him off the
place. Then Ed vowed that If he ever
found Johnny Dugan on the bridge
he would throw him into the Dugan
duckpond; after which nothing but
enmity could rule between the Dugans
and Western Union. And rule it did
until one May morning after heavy
rain.
q The rain had made the gully along
the track roaring torrent of muddy
water. The river itself, from previous
freshets, was high over the fats. And
Johnny was on the end of the bridge,
Ipelting the insulators and keeping an
eye on all roads by which any section
hand or lineman might approach.
Such was the situation when some
thing went wrong with the telegraph
pole that had suffered SO many as
sauits. It suddenly fell toward the
bridge, so that the top red cross-arm
was close to the ends of the ties.
There the wires held it. Johnny
peered down and made out that the
earth had been washed away from the
base of the pole by the stream from
the ditch. Two of the wires had
broken under the strain.
'Hi kidsi" cried Johnny to his
mates, who were hunting for car-seala
among the cinders. 1--WE can get the
glasses!"
, The others came up to inspect, but
the humming wire and the great white
pole that extended from their feet to
the fat below awed them. Johnny
alone was undaunted; greed pos
sessed him wholly as soon as he saw
! that the top row Of insulators were
loose and free of wire.
Huh, you kids afraid" cried lie
I'm going to get the whole row."
Johnny secured short board anG
carefully laid it from the bridge tc
the cross arm of the telegraph pole
He tried his weight ON the board ant
then slid out until he could grasI
the pole with his legs and arms. Their
he reached for the glass insulators.
Hi. Johnny. the sectionmen art
coming!" sang out Jimmy Barry.
AS johnny made hasty swing
around the pole to get back to the
bridge his fright ht being discovered
!. vanished in great terror. for the tele
graph pole lurched. another wire
snapped. and the big stick swung ou,
until it hung at an angle OF 60 de
grees toward the river, with Johnny
Il clinging desperately to the cross-arm
80 feet from the swirling brown watel
3snd 20 feet from his frightened com
%panions on the bridge. Az the pol,
fstopped careening, Johnny gave on'
frightened glance downward and ther
TUNED white. freckled face towart
the bridge.
"Run, fellers!" he shouted. wealdy
and up the track the trio few.
Ed Conlin and one of the section
men were coming down the track
looking for the cause of Western
Unions trouble, and when he saw thu
4 boys hurrying away. he suspected
them.
"Get out!" he shouted. 1T catcl
you here again, I'll" But just thei
h, saw Johnny Dugan far out on th'
tremu1ous pole.
How'd he get there?" said tn
: staring sectionman.
! Big Ed Conlin did not stop to ex
plain. In three bounds he reached
the bridge looked down. and saw th'
treacherous water swirling arount
Z the base Of the pole. How long wouk