Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1908-09-20
JOHNNY SAVES MULE
Twas His Favorite One, So
He Had To.
DOWN, DOWN HE GOES
With Sad Eyes They Contemplate
the Mud.
THOSE AWFUL SEWER MEN
At First They Just Laugh and
Laugh, But at Last It's
All Right.
THOSE AWFUL SEWER MEN

| The sewer department. which deals
principally in very practical problems.
| came very near having a mystery on its
| hands day or two ago. In addition to
| that it did have a very much scared
| mule, an indignant driver and two or
three inspectors and contractor. whose
hearts jumped into their throats with
| such lightning-like rapidity that none
| OF them could do any work until they
| had been restored
1t all happened through an operation
known as pudding" When a ditch is
dug and large sewer pipe is placed in
1t it naturally follows that all of the
dirt taken out Of the ditch cannot be put
back In the same form, because the pipe
| takes up some room, so they put In
little dirt and little water, making al
teInate layers of dirt and water until
the whole ditch Is full of mud about the
consistency Of very soft ice cream. In
thu way they get all the dirt back again.
as the mud forms solid cake and sinks
in rapidly. On top of the puddle they
sprinkle some solid earth, so that it
looks very safe.
So when Johnny McGann. who IS as
good mule driver as any OF them work
ing out on the new sewer in Rock Greek
park, started to cross the filled-inditch
recently he got the shock of his young
life when he saw the mule, his favorite
mule, suddenly sink into the earth. the
cart tip forward. and nothing remain of
the beast except a head which stuck
above the ground
And what an injured look the mule
wore, When a man and a mule have
been companions for many months, the
| mule does not want any deal like that
handed to him.
A Sad, Sad Mule.
looked at Johnny with big mulish eyes
| that seemed to say:
"Why. johnny
Johnny is soft-hearted fellow, and
| has not felt so badly since the time he
| had to pull the plaster off his sisters
| broken arm in order to throw something
at cop who was trying to get in his
house. He just hated to see that mule
with nothing left but head. 1t is hard
to say whether or not he endeavored
| to pull the mule out by the ears, but
anyhow, in about two seconds there was
Johnny himself right m it up to his neck,
| with nothing showing but his head, SO
| that he could look right along the sur
| face of the ground and see his favorite
mules head not one foot away from him.
There they were. man and mule. Two
| heads with but a single thought. and
that was. it is safe to say, How to get
| out"
Just then the inspectors and the con-
| tractor came out from behind a wooden
shed and had to hold themselves up on
each others shoulders. For the sight of
a mans head lying on the ground Is a
fearful sight. indeed. but when it is made
even more fearful by the presence of a
| weep.
Johnny Speaks Up.
Johnny began to speak. He told the
contractors and the inspectors what he
thought of them, what he thought Of
their families, of their friends, of their
relatives, of their abilities, of their
chances in the future world. He called
them names that have never before been
uttered by man.
He drew pictures of what he would do
to them If he ever got out, and then,
seeing that perhaps he was running his
chances Of ever being anything but a
wayside plant, with roots deep in the
earth. he began to plead with them to
take him out. as he had date down
near the 7th street wharf that night and
| would surely be late If he stayed in too
long and had to spend too much time in
| cleaning up.
The contractor started in to pull john
ny out and nearly fell in himself Final
ly, after much cogitation, the inspecc-
| rails and attempted to slip a rail be-
| meath the mules stomach, but failed.
Johnny. though. being of a self-sacri6c-
| ing nature, offered to place himself on
| the altar Of friendship for his mule and
| disappeared under the earth entirely with
| the end of the rail in his hands When
| he emerged he was nothing but mud.
| but the rail was in position.
A Long Pull, Strong Pull.
Then, with long pull and a strong
| pull and pull altogether. the mule came
up out of the mud with a sucking.
| gurgling sound, ending with a neat little
| .plop'' as the mud closed back again.
Then they lassoed Johnny, and, treating
him almost as considerably as the mule.
they got him out.
They had to turn the hose on him be-
fore they dared let him go. and when
| the last layer was off he said:
i Iii. $oll Lar kas.x.i Ill