Montpelier examiner. [volume] (Montpelier, Idaho) 1895-1937, 1908-03-27
PUT HIM I! I! TO
SLEEP
Experience OF Veteran Tsl@~
graph Operator In Sf1@ South

OMCSs HhAu the UlU Tdt1TOhu ISkSkTn
pher who gets about as close to the
truth each time he talks as the Arctic
explorers get to the north pole on
each subsequent trip. Il don't know
whether 1t was from sentiment or not
the banjo always being linked with
southern history. but anyway the
southern railway of which am speak
ing was completely equipped with ban
10 signals for the operation of trains.
For a spell the banjo signals
around Linlithgo station got out OF
whack and seemed to be going to the
eternal frankfurters. Just when some
fast special would be dashing through
Linlithgo going 2:40 on a plank road
the pesky banjo signals would go ker.
slap to danger, bringing the fast spe-
cial up on all fours. as 1t were. Then
hades would be tapped around Linlith.
20 station with an eight-inch posthole
auger while the engineer ventilated
his views.
THE company sent signal experts
and testers of all kinds to try out the
sulky signals to no avail. After this
sassiness OF the signals had been go
ing on for a spell the night operator
on duty at. Linlithgo got subject to at
tacks OF drowsiness.
He just couldn't make his eyes
behave. Every night about IL o'clock
he would drop of into the soundest
slumber.
The company couldn't stand for
any Little Bo-Peep In theirs. So the
boss asked me If wouldn't go down
to Linlithgo to try and straighten mat
| tiers out.
| Il never like to throw bouquets at
myself, but / will say that | had no
marks against my record. AS far as
wakefulness was concerned | was lit
tie Lord FaIntleroy on the job. Never,
theless, when got to doing the
night work at Linlithgo my reputation
for alertness or duty went by the
board.
Every midnight would be at
tackled by drowsiness, and before long
would be making a noise like Phila-
delphIa. Then the first thing you know
I'd be holding up all the flower Of the
time card.
"One thing ! did notice. Every
morning we would find our stock Of
copper and zines, used In the gravity
batteries, all nibbled up, as II they hSd
been attacked by a mouse with some
sort of smelter attachment inside. The
plot certainly was thickening.
81 got a good-sized mouse trap and
set 1t near the rage-battery closet,
properly baited with. cheese. This
drowsiness still came over me every
midnight. and the depredations on the
electrical stores continued undated.
"The company was getting pretty
sore at me. was just about ready tc
pass up the whole thing and come
north when / ran short of ordinary
cheese to bait the mouse trap one
night and was forced to bait my traI
with a piece of peek-a-boo, open-worl
Swiss cheese.
! Along about 12:30 my usual drowsl
spell came on. was just recitini
: .Curfew Shall Not Ring Tonight II
my dreams, when | heard an awfu
commotion out near my mouse trap.
Struggling hard to overcome tn
sleepy feeling, which grew more over
towering as / drew nearer to the traT
| ran out, and can tell you / was tn
most surprised man you ever saw t
find an electrical eel all twisted up |
that piece of Swiss cheese. You Sc
the ordinary cheese never bothere
him at all, but he attempted to crav
through the holes of the golf-cours
cheese In order to get at the electrici
stores and got all tangled up.
THE mystery OF Linlithgo static
was solved You see couple Of ele
trio cells had wriggled their way fro
the ditch along the railroad into tt
electric signal system, and after ha
ing once gorged themselves on Il
current which is 50 essential to the
system they just couldn't leave
alone.
"Then they got wise to the storai
closet up In the station. and wriggl'
up there every night to replenish Il
diving electrical embers In their bodi
at the expense OF the company. T
peculiar electrical currents they I
uded from their bodies had the sar
effect as that new electrical ana
thetic the scientists are experiment.
with now. 1t put all the operate
who worked at Linltthgo to sleep.
IF that eel hadn't got tangled
In the meshes OF that Swiss chez
the mystery never would have be
solved. guess that's about the nj
peculiar and withal true electrical
. currence on record.
Say" put In the tall, cynical c
- iuctor. there must be some of tn
cells gettin' In their fell work on t
division, for | had TO stop an wake
10 less than six operstors In a
ance of 40 miles last night"