The Manitowoc pilot. [volume] (Manitowoc, Wis.) 1859-1932, 1900-05-31
TIE WIFE'S WAY.
LucE of a Husband Who Tried t.
Prepare for nm Impending
Water Famine.

The man with the red mustache hap
pened to be in the neighborhood of his
own home at one o'clock the other day,
20 he concluded to 60 in and get
bite to eat. His wife and the maid were
both out, but the icebox had supply
of cold and uncooked viands and he
helped himself and sat down to meal
of his own preparing, says the New
York Sun. While he was drinking q
second cup of coffee, he heard man
in the lower hall bawling out some
information which might have been
trainman's statement of incoming
and outgoing trains, or a crier's call
to court, or any other unintelhglble
warning Thrice was this strange cry
repeated and then the man with the
red mustache went out to see what
was the matter. When he stepped into
the hall the man who had been raising
all the rumpus appeared at the top OF
the stairway.
"Oh-oh-ah-ah- he shout
ed. vigorously.
"Hello," said the man with the led
mustache. whats the matter?"
Hello" returned the strong-lunged
individual, in observation-disclosures
ceYn tones. "You live here? l was
just going to ring you up. Water
mains broken in this street. Water
will be turned off at three o'clock to
allow of repairs. Won't be turned on
again until tomorrow evening. We've
sent men around all through this
neighborhood to tell everybody, SOS
you can draw off enough to last you for
the next "a hours"
The bearer of evil tidings passed on
up to the floor above to notify the ten
ants there of the impending water
famine, and the man with the red mus
tache returned to his luncheon. When
he had finished eating he made calcu-
lation as to the amount of water that
would be required to tide a family of
three over "a hours of absolute
drought. AS result of his reckoning
he made stupendous preparations for
the approaching dry spell. He filled
the bathtub with water, likewise the
wash boiler, four pitchers, the dish
pan, the stew kettles and the teaket-
tie. Then he went back downtown
thanking his lucky star that he
CHANGED to be home in that particular
hour of need
When the man with the red mustache
got home in the evening he found his
wife fretting and fussing around hys-
terically.
I'm glad you've come at last" she
said. "I've had the most terrible time.
Everything has gone wrong. Patty
hasn't come home yet and to make
matters worse she went away leaving
the luncheon dishes unwashed. Be
sides that she left the bathroom and
kitchen all stopped over as if we had
been going through a spring deluge.
And now | can't get any water to
cook supper with. I've pounded on the
pipes till my hands are sore and called
down the tube to the janitor till I'm
hoarse. The water pipes only respond
with dull, hollow echo and the janitor
doesn't give me even that much sats-
faction. Whatever I shall do l don't
know for there isn't drop of water to
be had for love or money"
The man with the red mustaohe
stopped on the threshold and peered
cautiously into the kitchen.
'No water?" he said. "Why, you
ought not have any trouble on that
score. I happened to be here when
the man came around to notify us that
it would be shut off, and / filled every
thing about the place so we'd have
plenty to do u.s."
His wife looked back at the teallettle
and the dishpan and the row of pitch
ers with despairing glance.
"Oh," she said, weakly, II emptied all
that out when first came home"