The Mathews journal. (Mathews C.H. [Court House]) 1903-1937, 1910-10-13
WEEKLY SHORT STORY
JIM's TELEPHONE MESSAGE.
BY Sidney Dayre.

why, you're smart little fellow to
bring such a big basket. It's bigger
than YOU"
Jim looked up with a smile as Mrs.
Prices kitchen maid helped him to
take the basket of clean clothes of
his cart.
'"Taint a bit too big for me-" he
said, proudly. There wasn't any one
else to bring it, cause my brothers
hurt, and couldn't"
They carried the basket into the back
hall, and, while Jim waited for Mrs.
Price to be ready TO pay him, he saw
a wonderful thing.
1t hung on the wall in a rather dark
corner. Mrs. Price stood before il,
talking. Without trying to listen, Jim
could hear what she said. This was
II:
Hello, Is this number 204? This
is Mrs. Price, want a bushel of pota-
toes-and ten pounds of sugar-and a
pound of tea-and two punches of cell
ery-and three packages of oatmeal
and a bottle OF vanilla" She made a
little pause between each order.
Jim was amazed. The town they
lived in was small; there were only a
few telephones in it, lately put in. He
had never heard of them before.
MIS- IIlCS, ne dShSO, 40 dll lUeUl
things come when you tell 'em?"
Sometimes they keep me waiting a
little, but they come sooner or later
Jim asked his mother about it.
'She talks TO thing that sticks out
of thewall," he said. She asks for
all sorts o. good things, and she says
they come"
You must "a been mistaken, Jim
N.Y." she said, for she had lived in the
country until lately, and, like Jim, ha6
never heard of a telephone. Likely
Mrs. Price was writing out a list OF
something, and you didn't see straight.
But Jim couldn't get ii out of hi:
mind. Surely Mrs. Price said she go
Hthings by talking into that odd thing
on the wall.
One morning, as he and Jane carried
the basket of clothes into the hall, M
1 one was there. And all of a sudden {
bright idea popped into Jim's mind. i
Mrs. Price could get things that way
why could not he?
He drew a chair to it, climbed up
and put his mouth to the queer little
thing, just as Mrs. Price always did
In the half light he had not noticed
the thing she held to her ear.
''Hello!-this is Jimmy Ray. We
want lot of things to our house real
aRad-we amt got anything to eat but
heal and some potatoes. We'd like
Some bread-and some butter on it
and-Tom's real sick and have 10
bring the clothes, and-if you have
any shoes, cause mine leak real bad
and some milk for Tom-and some
kind of stun to make him well-please,
please-and don't wait very long
~ The pleading voice stopped and Jim
~climbed down, his heart beating with
hope. OF course he could not know
that his voice had not reached any one
inside the telephone.
But some one outside had heard. At
sound of the tremulous voice Mrs.
Price had come quietly to door open
ing into the hall and heard the tele-
phone message.
She made visit to Jimmys home,
and saw to it that many comforts
found their way there before the
brother was able to work and the
mother could find plenty of washing
4 to do.
- later she explained the working of
e telephone to Jim. After she left
IN, he stood for moment gazing at
8it.
"Well," he said, at length, you're
5a mighty nice, handy thing, but /
don't know but Mis- Price is about as
*gOOd as ] want"