The morning journal-courier., 1908-01-15
NEW THING IN FISH STORIES.
So Very Extraordinary Was It as to

W -.S ec
 Cast Undeserved Doubt on Hero.
 T was never accused of telling a lie by the superintendent of teleeranh but once" said the old railroad tele- grapher, who would rather tell the truth than eat wooden nutmegs, "and I must confess that the circumstances were peculiar.
 You remember that switching tower along the shore of Upper Nut cong Lake, don't you? And undoubt- edly you, have heard about the size and abundance of fish in that lake? We'll, I must say that they are no idle press agents yarns.
 An operator on duty at this tower has numerous opportunities to fish right from the rear windows of the tower which overlook the lake. Many's the fine mess of fish l have yanked from its depths.
 You could just drop set line from one of the windows, pull it in every hour or so, and be sure of two or three fine pickerel or lake trout at setting. Yes, sirree. l got so much brain food at that tower that could almost have been eligible to member ship in an Indiana authors colony.
 The fishing was particularly good of night. At those times I would make my most remarkable catches. One night, or rather one early morning, l was startled by the oper- ator in the next tower east calling me viciously on the telegraph wire.
 "l am holsSng an important special up here for a clear block. Has that train backed over yet that you sig naled me had crossed to the west bound track?
 !" That's new to me- I replied. I've never signaled you that train had crossed over to the westbound track.
 :" I don't like to call you liar he flashed back, but l surely got a crossover signal from you on the bells and I demand clear signal before let this directors special come wes, to you
 !" You'd have less liking to call me q liar if were in striking distance l wired him, as no man has ever called me that and got away with it.
 He insisted. however, that I had given him a bell signal that the west bound track was occupied by a train which had crossed over from the eastbound track for some purpose at my tower.
 There, you're ringing 1t again now, he said,
 ''I was nowhere near the bell keys and l rushed over to the bell button connecting us with the next tower what dye think?
 My set line had slipped from the usual nail in the window frame and become firmly knotted around the bell button. The other end in the lake had hooked big fish and of course each violent bid the big fish made for his liberty would jerk on the bell key. which was fitted in the side of the tower nearest the lake.
 Tt just happened that the fish would make its jerks and squirms fol liberty in groups of five. We blocked trains by bells and this grouping oi five bells was our code signal to the next tower east that an eastbound train had crossed over and was occu- pying the westbound track.
 Naturally the operator in the nex tower had no way of knowing tha the signals were being waited to hin by fish He thought the westbount track had been blocked by trair crossing over. which was frequent, the case at our tower. So he held tn, special Up. We patched the thint : mp and the special was only delayed about Is minutes, "Of course l was called down {, the main office early the next mornin, for an explanation of the delay to tn special. l took the captures fish down as a working model to ex plain to the super just what did hap pen. I had no ulterior purpose il taking the fish, a lake trout weighini about six pounds, with me, Would you believe it, he wouldn' . stand for the story at all! No. sirree Said he thought I'd been asleep an didn't know just what l was doinl when I rang the bells. However, a he had no proof that I was sleeplni on duty he'd just lay me off for tel days for carelessness In letting tn fish line hang so near the bell key. /. He also kept the working mode He even intimated that l was lying Now. say. you don't think I'd tell
 lie, do you, old sporty"
 , We'll said the tall, cynical con ductor. "I am In the throes of tn ' Christmas spirit and--no, I don know as l would care to limit you t one."-New York Sun.