The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1904-08-07

weekly was written In bold clifography:
Hello oakey:-Fat Lawson. -
Tie saicmite read tile four words over
and over again
Hello, Oakey;-sf FARMER lawson 81
Who conld l,ave written that w lio wal
Farmer Lawson? Who in'Colorado could l
ttiftVe sent the paper? I must be. some
body familiar With some part of The
Tails Of a Ticker
Last Sunday the rehabilitated little
soundcr iii the Salem, office clicked tho
telegraph call and tho ante-bcllum OPP.
orator wheeled in his revolving chair 70
answer. The message coming In was dali
ed Christiansb,,rg--
With a Jerk, the veteran atelegrapher,
opened Ills key. a bright light came IN 20
his cold black eyes. Is He Swhirled bout
and facing his visitors, exclaimed: Far al =
mer Lawson! It's all plain now
& IKE key closed and the telegram ( I'm.
fished MIR. Oakley turned to his guests to
ltellithetri a bout Farmer Lawson.
&sin4tl,e fall Of 'd4 Mr. Oakley. wa 8 send
Ing olit,f8fro one ofSthe Confederate
Headquarters, a batch ofsinnportant tele-
grams relative the movement of sever
al$divlsions of troops. Suddenly the cur
sreiit ton Il The Wire weakened i,erceptlbly,
and some Eopcratorsv whose writing oratlie
telegraph key was not ia nj iarsto NJ rs ga ~
eye we'll trained beaiing began asking
questions The Confederate ihstattly susni-
cioned hat he had been 8intei;rupte'd TED bS4 a
Union spy who had By some hook or,
crook, managed to get son tho wire. The
tcleEra ms were quickly routed another way
and the matter was dismissed from tho
Southerner's mind.
Ten days later, there arrived In Salem
several Yankee prisoners en- route 10
richmond, one of the men asked the
guard to send forsthe Confederate opera
tor. When Mr. Oakley ariswc cred the SUM, SUM-
mons tall. handsome fellow VII lf2,larg So
grey eyes, took him by the hand lnnd TOD
him he was the man who had Interrupted
,thc iltlegrnms and asked the Questions !
the week fore. Ilo had entered ,ne
telegraph office at Christinnsb,irs*du turing
the absence OF tho operator and tried TO 9,
obtuiii certain formation for his colonel.
lHe wnsa Rewards captured at 81 gfBircll,s
Nv; Va, by some Johnnie Rebs, al id was "
ffit,wB destined ito Castle Thunder at the
,capital SofS the CO ifederacy. Mr.. Oakley
brought some thread ind meat to his
Brother II, pro fession, but IN rms ri
He asked him for his name and fl his reply
was ..Farmer Lawson. ''t Eat. (,
That night the prisoners q were taken 20
Richmond and the Incident went 70 'o -! =,
Others long forgotten. Is Il; d X z en-
ne OIE{LHSL
the8columns ofsthe Roanoke Times, was as
scopicd Tito a Colorado weekly The paper
found Its way Into the reading room 81 I
d Soldiers, Homes 1tfell into he,hnnds Of
a veteran once a teegrapher i, the Union on
Army. THAT ma WAS Farinei. Law 't g i,.}s5i
II was Sunday The Salem opera g tor !,
satin his Office Chatting withStWo friends
He picked up the Colorado paper nd l read
= cain the words. clio, Oakey:--- Far
mer Lawson. lie nondered anew IN e 7: = 4
stiffness that scrept over the room was {, z
broken by the lit tie OLD sounder cn..'
,Tts mn i,lpula tor turned to make reply.
The message it brought was from Chris n
Theirs fitted through the mind nd
Of the receiver scenes ofitwo score years ears
ago. rhe Identity Of Farmer lawson '' was
revealed. ~ SIa..5 Z. 4. !, II Il
And-.'The Tale Of d Flicker prompted g:
.'Thc Story 8 "a Story.