The Calumet news. [volume] (Calumet, Mich.) 1907-1938, 1911-08-09
II Telegraph
Joke
And HoqO II Turned
Out
By SCOTT KRAENER ~
Copyright by American Press Asso-
citation, 1911.

tunlty Tor young people or opposite sex
TO poke fun at each other than over
a telephone or telegraph wire. There
is a fascination in operating from be
hind a shield rendering one invisible
A girl will delight to say things to O
man who can't see her aud doesn't
know who she Is. / was q telegraph
operator when q young man, and
noticed this disposition in many q girl
operator with whom l talked over the
wire. l am q matter of fact sort OF
fellow myself and doubt IL II would
ever have occurred to me to bamboo
zle girl in this fashion had not tbs
girl shown a disposition TO bamboozle
me.
She who first tried IL was an oper-
ator at station about twenty miles
away from me. / was in the town of
NJ, while the girl was out at G., a
way station some twenty miles dis
tant In the country. She had more
time on her hands than /, and / sup
pose this is what set her OH to quizzing
me. She started In one night about
o'clock after having taken q message
from me. beginning by asking me
what was going on in town; how /
liked NJ; If there was any fun going
on there and expressing her dislike at
being compelled TO live in little way
station like g. From this we fell TO
talking about ourselves and naturally,
as persons of opposite sex at that age
invariably do. finally drifted on to love
and marriage. From love and mar
rage in general we dropped into spe-
cialties, ut last narrowing the topic
down to ourselves.
The girl led me along in the channel
she laid out herself till ] admitted
that. marriage being lottery, would
about us lief marry a girl had no
knowledge of as one / had met and
loved. All / required was to know
that the girl l was TO marry pos
sessed fair amount OF good looks.
One thing led TO another till II was
arranged that she should mail me her
photograph and i should send her
mine. Then II we were mutually
pleased we might proceed further to-
ward forming an acquaintance with q
view TO matrimony.
The next day / looked over my
stock of photographs-not of myself.
but my friends-and, selecting one of
Sam Atkins, the best looking fellow
In the lot, i sent It to the girl. Sam
was off at the Spanish-Amerlcan war
ut the time, and l trusted to his get
ting shot or dying of disease 80 that
might not get into trouble by pass
ing him off for myself. In return l
received a picture Of rather pretty
girl, who 1 judged from her features
was full of the Old Nick, the very
one to get up just such complication
as we were entering upon. On her
lips was an engaging smile and In her
eyes very saucy look.
After that the wires began to warm
up with our conversations. till ut last
they came to white heat with love
passages. When wo had fired "A lot OF
such missiles at each other we began
to talk about meeting At my pro-
posal to go to see her she cooled down
a bit. and it was easy to see that her
exuberance was the result of fighting
behind u masked battery. 1 made sew
eral propositions To 20 to see her on q
certain day and hour, but for every
time l set she give some reason why
IL would be inconvenient or impossi-
bic for her TO receive me. At last IL
occurred to me to go up and look her
over without an appointment. Never
having seen me. she wouldn't know |
me.
SO one day. having secured q leave, |
started TO see my charmer. On ar
rival 1 walked up into the village and |
on the street met my girl, whom / |
recognized ut once by her photograph. |
followed her into several shops and |
inally to a yellow house that stood |
back from the street. She went into |
the house, and having waited half au
hour for her to come out l concluded |
sho lived there
L knew man in the place, Tom
Foster. and. hunting him up, told him
hat there was girl I'm the town | |
wished to know. He said there was
going to be dance that evening and
Ill the girls in the place would be
here. He would take me with him
md IL he knew the girl 1 wished TO
meet no would introduce me.
thought that an excellent plan, since
{ would give me the advantage of
seeping my affairs TO myself. could
,btain an introduction to different
urls without my introducer knowing
he one was especially interested In.
That evening / went with Foster
o the hall where the dance was 10
AXE place. He asked about the girl
wished 10 know and why wished TO
NOW her, and all that, but evaded
lis questions. didn't propose to let
he girl herself know that was tho
elbow she had been making love TO
yer the wire--nt least till had learn
d all about her.
She was there sure enough, looking
IS pretty as a picture-~a brunette. with
profusion Of jet black hair, a stately
lgure and as rnischievous an eve ms
yer / saw in woman. When / first
aw her she was talking with another
'iri about her own age, and that I
night not give myself away to Foster
asked him 20 introduce me 20 tbe
ther girl.