Evening bulletin. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1895-1912, 1901-11-06
The WIDOW
WILKINS PHONE

81 TX
Down in Indiana is a bedridden wom-
an who lies most of the time with one
of her ears glued to telephone receiv-
err listening to Isl" Bilkins down at
"the corners" talking to Jim" Hen.
derson up at the "McNish place" or
to Pete" Lannigan conversng with
Susie Biggs, "old" Squire Biggs' sec.
ond darter by his fust marriage"
The introduction of the telephone in.
to the country was the dawning of a
new day for this bedridden woman.
Her life had been lonely one. For
over ten years she had been confined
to her bed. She lives with her son
and daughter. The son Is always too
busy around the farm and the daugh.
ter around the house to permit of their
being much with their mother, except
for the hours following supper. and so
the Widow wilkins had a lonely time
Of 1t.
She didn't get much sympathy eth.
err. The neighbors couldn't understand
why she didn't either die or get well
II she was sick. Farmer Matthews
said that he allowed the wilder was
ytSt lDo 1dEy tfN uld" Htl bltdtns ull
she oughter be ashamed Of herself to
act like that" The Widow wilkins
got her revenge when the party line
telephone was put through the coun
try and carried down the road on
which her house stands. Her son sub.
sCribed and telephone was duly in.
stalled in the house. There are ten
other subscribers on the same line.
The widow discovered quite by acci.
dent one day that she could listen to
what other people were saying osi the
wire without their being any the wiser.
When the widow found this out she
was happier than Robinson Crusoe was
when he found riday.
II had been hard work for her to
keep in touch with current events and
the happenings down at Elmtown, Ave
miles away. Suddenly sac discovered
that all the events. news. scandals.
political intrigues and miscellaneous
gossip OF all sorts were, 80 to speak.
kept right In her room. nice and fresh
every day, and al she had to do was
to turn on the tap, and let II run into
her eager ears. The fra day the wild
ow discovered that Bill Dawson was
going to sell has farm for 5000, that
Tom" Yunt wanted to be a constable.
that bill" Aliens COW was dead. and
that Spruce Hawkesby was sparkling
Luke Twanby's Sue.
After she had discovered all of these
state. secrets the Widow. wilkins had
to hing up the receiver so as to give
herself the opportunity to lie back in
bed and gasp. II was more news than
she had heard before for two wccks.
'Lawsy sakes alive" said the Widow
wilkins, then new tangled things do
beat ALL"
The next day the Widow wilkins
had the receiver at her ear before
breakfast. She heard some more
strange and startling information. Ma
linda Hawkins was talking to some
man in the city about selling out her
millinery store. and Pete Saunders
was swearing AT the man down In the
sawmill for not sending up the siils for
his barn. II made the widows blood
run cold to hear the flights of rhetoric
used by Pete, but somehow she could
not put the receiver down. "Orful. or
,ful." sighed the widow. ito hear Pete
Saunders talk that way. He used tC
he In my Sunday school class. too.
wonder IF he's swearin' yet. I'll see.
And she hurriedly picked up the re-
Iceiver.
The widows room used to be a rath
or duh place to spend the evening. and
her son and daughter were wont tC
yawn many times before Q o'clock. and
wait wistfully for the hour to retire
But now II was all different. The wild
Ow's room was turned into a social
club. The widow became most de
lightful conversationalist. Her sol
and daughter hung GREATNESS on hel
words while she related a full account
Of all the astounding things she hat
heard during the day. Then at time.
she would vary the monotony of he
rccitals by taking duwn the receive,
again. and after carefully plugging ~
the transmitter would repeat to he
eager listeners just what passed owe
the wires.
The various church societies an,
the quilting bees were never fond o
holding any Of their meetings at til,
Widow wilkins The members sal,
II was because the Widow wilkins
lived 50 far away. but the fact wa
that the Widow wilkins confined a
she Was to her house and having fey
visitors. was lamentably ignorant O
good lively morsels of gossip and al
afternoon at the widows was unus'
ally uninspiring. But some way al
OF the societies. the quilting bees an
the sewing circle began going over I
the Widow wilkins to hold their meet
ings. She had seemed to suddenly a,
quirc a wide and comprehensive II
sight into the lives of those who live
around her and her conversation wa
most interesting.
but after a while the farmers VIII
had telephones on the party wire tina
ran through the widows house becam
tired of having their secrets sprea
broadcast over the county. Farmo
'; Thompson found ont tina, cNcrythin
! he told HI Miller and Bowers wa
a. Il IN I..p e Il 10