Omaha daily bee., 1901-02-06
SCHOOLMA'AM RIGS A PHONE
Under Smallpox Quarantine, Miss Pearl
Matthews Talks with Swssthsart
CASE OF LOVE DEFYING THE locKsMITH
south Omaha school Teacher studies
Practical Electricity and Estsb-
fishes Commun ication Across
the Dead Line.

Miss Pearl Matthews. a teacher in the
Hawthorne school, South Omaha, is the
heroine OF an incident growing out OF the
recent smallpox scare In that city, and as
a result. she knows more about the practi-
cal application of electricity now than Is
required by the school curriculum. Con-
valescng from u siege OF the malady, cut
off from the outside world by a rigid
quarantine, she put in place a telephone,
connected 1t with wire, and thereafter
held hourly converse with the young man
with whom she had been keeping company
before the armed guard was stationed out
side her boarding house.
The young man in the case doesn't want
his name made public. as he fears the tele-
phone company would cause him trouble
for violating one OF it's rules. so. for the
purpose of this narrative he will be known
as John Harcourt.
Mr.. Harcourt had been calling upon Miss
Matthews at her boarding house. 1913 Mis-
souri, avenue, regularly three nights every
week One day he received a note from her
saying she was Ill with all the symptoms OF
smallpox and advising him not to call until
after her case had been diagnosed.
barred From Her House.
The next time he attempted to see her
he found all communication cut of. The
guard who was patrolling the street in front
OF the house told him he couldn't go in, as
there was a smallpox patient inside and the
premises were under quarantine.
A week passed. during which Mr.. Har-
courts lonliness was conducive to thought.
He finally hit upon a scheme
Preliminary to carrying IL into execution
he procured little handbook entitled The
I I'M ~ at oil atrir
and began TO study up. Then he negoti-
ated with the telephone company for an
other phone in his office.
As the workmen were putting II in he
watched them closely and asked many
questions.
They had been out OF the ONCE but few
minutes when he was engaged in removing
it.
A handful OF cigars paved the way with
the quarantine guard and by 10 o'clock that
night the instrument had crossed the dead
line and was within the prescribed premises,
accompanied by letter OF explanation ad-
dressed to Miss Matthews.
Man on the Roof.
Later in the night the dark outlines Of
man appeared upon the roof OF vacant
house adjoining. The guard-comfortably
putting one OF the cigars--saw him attach
stone to the end of long wire and toss
IL through the second story window OF the
quarantined house. The apparition on the
roof then disappeared and returned to its
home in another part OF the city, but from
that chamber window a light shone during
the greater part OF the night.
Miss Matthews was anchoring the instru-
ment to the wall and connecting It with the
wire.
The next morning a conversation opened
over that wire which, during the next ten
days, was interrupted only for meals and
sleep. Miss Matthews found the telephone
great boon. 1t dispelled the ennui Of her
long convalescence and kept her in touch
with what was going on in the outer world.
And on his part, Mr.. Harcourt was well
pleased. II couldn't exactly compensate for
his tri-weekly calls, but 1t was better than
total Punishment, and he made the most OF
II.
Miss Matthews has entirely recovered now
and the quarantine Is off, but she will never
have occasion to regret the night she put
in mastering the art of electricity.