Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1911-03-10
humorous department.
rraoedy of the Street.

Tragedy of the Street.
How the hole came to be there in the
sidewalk is no part Of this New York
Mail and Express story. The janitor.
making his rounds Of the boiler-room
under the sidewalk, saw the hole from
beneath. He felt the hot air of the
vault rushing up through it, and put
piece Of tarred paper against it, trust
ing that the pressure Of the air would
hold the paper in place, and 1t did So
The men passing the hole stopped to
look into it. One poked with his UNI
brella. It struck the paper at the
bottom, and the escaping air Kissed
slightly. He jumped back with great
agility.
The other bent over to look more
closely. Several messenger boys ap-
peared from nowhere and made half
circle about them. Clerks stopped to
see what the messenger boys were
looking at, and by the time the man
had Strengthened up from his brief and
fruitless examination, there was a
crowd blocking the sidewalk.
"Whad'je drop, mister?" demanded a
messenger boy.
7 haven't dropped anything" said
one of the two who had first stopped.
Just looking what's in there"
What's in there?" he was asked.
Don't know" he replied, and that
was the only truthful thing said
thenceforth.
How was he hurted?" asked some
one out of view.
Move bit. Ye're on me feet" said
another voice.
He's bit on the feet!" cried several
at once. Mad dog! mad dog!"
No dog could be seen, and after
few moments the incipient panic sub
sided, and the circle closed up about
the hole again. AS they gazed at 1t
expectantly, a messenger boy said:
It's a snake. I hearn 1t hiss"
"Trun a rock on it. Rooney" said an
other.
Rooney scraped together a handful
of dust, and in an ecstasy of delight
full dread dropped it into the hole. 1t
was heavy enough to disturb the pa
per, and light enough to puff up, with
the air that it let escape, into Rooneys
peering face. He clasped his hands on
his eyes and yelled in terror:
He's spit in my eyes!"
Call the ambulance!"
Police! Police!"
He's blind!"
Poor kid, he's done for now!"
The ambulance aid a policeman ap-
peared together. The ambulance drew
up to the curb. where Rooney lay, and
an impetuous physician leaped down,
felt his pulse, and asked quick ques-
tions. Then he took a little hypoder-
mic syringe from his pocket and in
jected it's contents into Rooney's arm.
He laid it on the curb while he bund-
led Rooney into the ambulance, and
when he turned again to pick it up it
was gone. He drove off feeling for it
in his pockets.
Who bit the kid?" the policeman
demanded.
Snake bite" a dozen voices res
ponded. It's in the hole"
Had a fiat head, and that's sure
death"
"Snake-bite nothing" jeered the po-
liceman. Snake in Nassau street!
Booze snake, 1 guess!"
"Pythoon, officer" declared some one
versed in natural history. He's so
big he can't get nothing but his head
out the hole"
"Squirts poison like hose, pyth-
oon does"
Got a double tongue with stinger
on it."
"Stinger on his tail, too"
Jumps at you like a cat"
The policeman fell back. Then
grasping his club, he advanced firmly
but cautiously on the hole. He peered
into it.
Immunity from forked tongue and
barbed tail strengthened his courage:
He bent still farther. The skirts OF
his coat slipped apart, and he pre-
sented a broad eXpanse Of tightly
stretched cloth to the crowd. A boys
hand, armed with a hypodermlc syr-
inge, darred out and back.
The policeman leaped into the air
like q stricken Indian brave, clapplng
his hands to his coat tails.
hind me back! TIL varmint reached
round me Whisky, f'r tn love iv
heaven! I'm swellin' with poison!"