Little Falls weekly transcript. (Little Falls, Morrison Co., Minn.) 1894-19??, 1900-02-20

RES AUnAiI k-ErEi.
Hts Device FoS Swindilng lmnii-
srnvts and Othcr. Worked So Wen
Iknt &c Grew iieck.ess ami lurit.
ed the Fate Ihai Overlook i2im.
Every time l hear locomotive bel!
and see a man sprint for u train said
the station mas'er, 1T makes me think
of old Billy Holmes. who used to run a
railroad hotel in the western part Of New
York state. Billy used locomotive bell
to warn customers Of the departure of
trains. His hotel was right opposite the
station. and people passing through on
the trains would prefer to step outside
for lunch to going against the station
lunch counter. for in those days the rail
road lunch counters were the kind that
they make jokes about. Billy set u first
class table. and his place was known all
along the line. He always treated the
railroad boys we'll. and they recprocated
by turning considerable patronage his
! way. When there was stop for lunch
; and The crowd went across to Billy's. ono
Ut the boys would watch and let the pco-
. pie know when it was train time. Billy
was making good thing at the business
in Il legitimate way vixen the tide OF
J emigration to the west Sc in.
BILLY was able to speak several Ian
:,,uses, and the foreigners early learned
this and would seek him out. He kept a
number OF foreign newspapers on file and
on occasion would act as banker One
i thing Billy noticed soon after his place
| began to draw the bulk of the cmigrant
| t..,.1t hat ,nfh nr I'm
enliyrunts could speak II single word of
English they knew that the ringing of
| the locomotive bell meant that the train
was to start. and at the first tap they
would make break for the station. and
anybody in the way would BE- spilled
over. a good many times they would
leave things behind. and it was after one
German had left the change from good
sized bill in his anxiety to reach the train
before it started that Billy thought that
q bell in the hotel would be good thing.
1t wasn't a very difficult matter for him
to obtain an old locomotive bell. and be
had this rugged up in the front part Of
the dining room. where it could be heard
plainly but was out Of sight.
''Then he waited for a chance to test it.
1t was about three days after the bell
was in place that it was used for the first
! time. There was a bigger crowd than
usual that day. and Billy figured that his
| chance of detection was less than when
there were fewer people. About three
minutes before train time the porter was
sent out to pull the bell while Billy got
ready to make change if people cared to
wait. Billy told us of that first grand
rush until We were tired of hearing it.
l don't remember just how much he
made, but there had never been such
days business since the hotel was start
ed.
"After that it was poor day that
Billy didn't clear up from $40 to 500 in
the shape Of change that people couldn't
wait for. and it got so after Il time that
! he imagined he was being treated unfair
; ly if n man should happen to lay down
just the ri "ht change. Of course he didn't
! try the game ON people who were famjl
! lar with railroads. but just laid for the
foreigners.
! "l'or a time Billy was content to work
the game lr:=,itii:la;"ly-tl:at is. he
; ' ori,lnt ling TIE bell until it WAS almost
; train time. 1'lcn he got to giving the
! Il y fnw yaIl:: ul,l,"~ as soon as the
people had sat down - table. lii fiat
way he got the money without wing,
change and in good many instances
saved the meals, too. although once in a
while the elnisrant would grab every
thing in reach and sc0ot for the train
with his hands full. After awhile Billy
| devised a scheme to get back part of the
stuff that customers tried to carry OF
with them. One of the walters would
jostle the man with the handout and
make him drop it, and everything that
was dropped went hack to the kitchen to
do duty 4 second time.
| BILLY got to making such good thing
out of his bell game that he was inclined
to think that all money that came in with
emigrants belonged to him. That led
him to work the game pretty strong, and
once or twice he narrowly escaped seri-
GUS trouble. 1t was just when he was
doing the best business that the smashup
came. He had got to running with the
safety valve fastened down and the
throttle wide open all the time. so that he
might have figured how things would
end.
IA party Of Swedes came in the place
one day, and Billy gave them the grand
holdup. Even he acknowledged later that
been three months after this little episode
|
Billy's place. One of them. apparently
the leader Of the crowd, was one Of the
biggest men l ever saw. and he could
speak English after a fashion. Billy
didn't learn that until it was too late,
however. The party ordered dinner. and
as they were served the walters called
for the money. This big fcilnw pulled
out roll Of BILLS You cuul!! hardly get
your hands aro:inl ane: stl ,r,i ,n strip
off enough to pay for the dinner Ell:
made a grab, and IT," Swr!c .rahhr,i
him: First he rit"t'' him nrru* tr
room. and when B:l'y S'.' to his fcr. r.:
Swede was waiting for him, again Vhi>
time he used a chair.
"As he banged it ON Eilly'> h":::! Ec tx.
claimed: Aye don't q; rn!'"'i ,w:.rr 'h
same game. Aye bate 49, Yo' tn! ;.:r da
fairst tame. but no again. .'.;r gavr yu
ten dollar, an Aye get No r.:,:l':". Eye
gave 20 on'y da punch Gees tame.
by the time they got the 'iS fellow
away from Billy the hotel Keeper was IN
object lesson for people inclined to BE-
smart. 1t was Il matter Of ten weeks be
fore he came out Of the hospital. and dur
ing the time he had !ccn there he had
done lot Of thinking. No one said any
l -