Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1905-09-24
Crossed the Wires


seVeraf years ago a certain man suddenly
disappeared. as men and women sometimes
VIII. HIS family and closest friends made
every EFFORT to locate him, but with no sue
cess IL was as If the earth had swallowed
| MIN up, to use the old expression. One
Hienu, IN particular, who had importa Mt
| tealings with the missing man, was ex-
rem taemeiy anxious to find him, but at last he,
100, mad to give up the task In despair.
About two weeks after he had quit
searching, ON the very date when the
missing mans presence was most desired.
;t 70 business deal, the friend stepped
INTO booth to call up business acduain-
lance IN town hundred miles distant.
he mad just started to talk when the wire
became crossed with another, and instead
called up, he suddenly found himself listen
ing to that of the missing friend
e. aello: HeiIo!n 1t said impatiently. I'm
This is your friend Brown" shouted the
man, whose conversation had been inter-
rupted, quickly conquering his astonish-
| ment, and l want to know what on earth
made you disappear month ago and where
you've been?''
OF course, the man who had been missing
up to that moment was also duly aston
ished at the coincidence brought about by
accident. But, to make matters brief he
then and there went into consultation with
his friend concerning the latter's important
business deal, and the next day he returned
to the bosom of his family and was for
given for his protracted spree.
Told the Same Story.
A firm of publishers ordered from a we'll
known writer on things out-of-doors true
| story that he had known for many years
without using, of how a German. despond-
ent because he had spent for drink the five
dollars that his employer had sent him out
to change. wandered to a pier with the in
for nf nr31fft no hn cof
around waiting for the crowd gathered
about yacht to dispense, so no one would
be at hand to interfere with his plan, a
man mounted box to auction off the
yacht. The German, as he thought of that
stolen five dollars and his disgrace, me-
chanically nodded his head from time to
time, as some men in deep thought Will do,
and at last the auctioneer called out:
Sold to the gentleman seated over yon-
der"
At that moment in rushed a well-dressed
man and excitedly inquired whether or not
the yacht had yet been sold. He was told
that the German had purchased it.. Rush
ing up to the latter, he said: I'll give
you thousand dollars cash above the price
you paid for her" The German still think
ing hard about his disgrace, nodded me-
chanically and the next moment thou
sand dollars In bills was stuffed into his
hands.
Several months interviewed between the
purchase of the story and It's pubiication
Several days after it was published the
writer happened to pick up another period
icaf and in turning over its pages was
startled to find that here was an article
by an entire stranger relating the self
same facts that he had Incorporated in his
own article. Later, it developed that TINS
second writer, like the first had been In
possession of the information for years. and
also. only few months before the publlca-
tion of his article had it occurred to him
to make use of the plot that had been ready
at hand for so long.