The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1906-11-04

"Are you there, Ju?" he PRESENT.,
asked.
Jaw, smoke up! Get busy," cried
judy with an indulgent chuckle.
That nettled Manning, and on he
went with a will The Morse poured
from the saunders in a swishing tor
rent Still the receiver made no sign
At the end came an easy 80. K, Qy!'
and that was all. 1t made the old-timel
down at Wharton think of a mastif
brushing a fly from his ear. But Man
ming deceived himself: he chose to be-
lfeve that the GOODNESS of the JUDY
man was feigned. He was simply
roasted to death. and put on an air OF
nonchalance Tor effect" he told himself
But that was where Manning's
youth and lack of intuition showed
Certainly he could not have known
that Tom Quincy had years before
graduated from the Judy Junction Of
flee and was now one of the crack re-
ceivers in the Associated Press AT
Washington. Neither could he have
guessed that Tom was OH a vacation
home, and that finding his father, the
regular agent, sick and unfit for duty,
had taken hold until the old man should
be well again. Still, after even an Occa-
sional turn with such a receiver, Man
ming ought to have realized that he
:
No such virile, rollickirg Morse could
have come from any suckling's handi
Even the little lady at Okisko could
have told him better, but of course she
dared not on the wire, for 10y would
have heard. Besides, would it not have
seemed presumption on her part to
venture a pointer to so good an oper-
ator? Plainly, she liked Manning. In
deed, in Manning'S manner of working
1,
lated to excite feminine admiration.
After the renewal of their friendship,
he was very kind. He never tried to
roast her. On the contrary, he seemed
anxious to shield her from the little
rudeness that fall to the less expert
enced operators on a busy wire. In the
idle intervals, too, he made himself very
agreeable, so that through him. her
working hours were robbed of much of
their tedium.
AS the days wore on the tennion be-
tween Warwick and Judy did not relax.
On the contrary the air about Warwick
cording as the manner of the Judy
Junction man became less tolesable. At
times the latter took on an absurdly
jocular air toward Warwick, and when
irritated beyond endurance
back. Quincy would advise him
sweetly Ito take something for his tenn
per-.
At last the tension reached point
where something had to give To be
openly played with, to be made to feel
cheap before every one on the circuit"
and. most of all, in the eyes of his
friend at Okisko, and that, too, by a
green country operator who used a spe-
,ial brand of nerve food, was too much
10 be calmly borne. Manning promised
himself that he would dispose of his
once for all, on the next Ga
zette day. He would roast that Judy
farmers shirt from his back. nerve
food or no nerve food, and bring him
% his knees bowling for mercy
The day rolled round, and the news
'eport was started as before. Man
lings Morse was as swift as the wind.
md, for time, as clean and clear as
me could wish to hear. But pretty
'oon, seeing that he could not other
wise punish the receiver, he began to
ldulterate ii, feeling il must be owned,
burning sense of shame at the act.
His caricatures of the code were sim
)ly terrific. Still, there was no word
rom Judy. He did not come to his
IneeS worth a copper cent. Yet Quincy
must have been raving. Those who
Knew him knew also that. in his opin-
on, man who purposely muddled it
to be kicked. So at the end
# Manning'S effort, though he had put |
Town every word in copperplate. he
opened up hotly. go. K, Qyr' he said |
It a rafting clip. Then he added: |
Young man, you'll make a good oper- |
tor in time-after a hundred years |
lard practice. At present, however, |
'ou are not only the rawest of kids, I
tut you are more varieties OF a id |
Il
Manning was all but paralyzed at this |
'utburst. He knew that in a way he /
lad deserved ii. Yet he also knew that |
very station on the line, OkiSko in /
luded, was listening, and that, unless |
he promptly resented the insult, he /
hould sink TO zero i'm the estimation of |
us co-WOrkerS- He Steadied himself by |
n effort, and answered with what dig
lity he could. that he would take the |
rst opportunity of thrashing Quincy
within an inch of his life.
He lost no time. Next morning he
oarded an early train for Judy At his
estimation he swung to the ground and
made his way forward to the bagga ge
ar. There he knew he should find his
nan- AS he approached he singled out
smartish-loOking young chap, pen be-
ind his ear, busily checking baggage.
low precisely he fitted Manning's idea
MS enemy OF the Wlrel The jaunty
ap-the slick-combed hair-the cock
parrow manner; there could be no mis-
aking the man.
Are you the operator here?" Man
ing asked. abruptly.
Il am sir. said the other. keeping
n with his checking.
Then I've come ninety miles to
lrash you" said Manning, shedding
is coat and sailing in.
The baggage handler looked his sur
rise. but he was dead game He
uickly dropped his checks, and got on