Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1915-09-29
Taps Barrel of
Cider on Walk;
Sprays Passersby

Pedestrians sprayed, fountain
spoutinS gurgling amber, a prosaic
fruit store clerk unconsciously assum-
| ing the place of Psyche of the foun-
tain from whose upstretched hand
jet of water played about her, were the
amusing sequences of the 6ge old act
of tapping n barrel of cider on side
walk on North First avenue Tuesday.
! Round, full, and bulging, with its am
Der contents, a barrel of cider lay on
the walk outside the door of the In
dependent Fruit Company store.
| store elnploye' approached, buns
starter in hand. Casting the knowing
eye of experience upon it's rotund form,
he eased over the barrel until the bung
hole pointed to the sky. A few feet
above a canvas awning stretched
smooth on its frames. Bung starter in
bung. Aiming. he smote it sharply with
the mallet. The bung started in out
of sight. The bung starter plunged
after up 20 its thicker middle then
stuck. With both hands the man eased
it, and WEIGHING it back and forth
rapidly, slowly drew it from the hole.
Whiz, Buzz! Sush Phiz. Phiz.
With angry sound and propelling force
the cider burst from the buns like
spouting water from a geyser. Driven
by the pressure of pent up gases it
played lusty sizzling, kissing, stream
/ against the awning that returned 1t
in shower 20 the sidewalk.
- -. (All unprintable)
yelled the man who swung the starter
as he grabbed with one hand at the
spouting bung. The angry inch stream
drove off his hand, the cider DETECTING
in all directions from palm like
stream of water from hose PLAYED
into a dogs mouth. Again he grabbed
His hand got part way over the hole.
He chung hard. Clear over went his
hand.
The vertical stream thus depressed
sought exit from the sides beneath his
palm, between his fingers. thru every
tiny space and crack. DETECTED II
sprayed for feet on all sides like water
from d lawn sprinkler.
When the hung went in and the cider
came out two men and woman We're
passing by
Cd almight," yelled one man as
he got half of the first gallon that hit
the canvas or mis- Srstson. he beat q
hasty retreat under dry sky, mas
saying his derby and sprayed shoulders
with his handkerchief
In a sixteenth OF a second thereafter
the other two passersby were within
range By then the partly controlled
geyser was :, spray that diverged from
the common center, the palm over the
bung hole.
a half dozen streamlets squirting
SOU D" -souwest" at an angle of forty
degrees upward. sizzled against the
face ana shoulder of the woman. an
oIdish one
Ugh, she squeaked, then fled,
hobbling outside of range of the sput-
tering hole. She mopped her sprayed
face, looked ruefully al a spattered
silk waist and skirt, then delivered
glare of such hate at the barrel ard
the man bending over it as to consume
both in the heat of its hatred.
Still other diverging streamlets
caught the second man where he sat
at dinner, pattering playfully but with
force upon him.
| He leapeG as tho prodded to the flesh
with a bayonet. clutching the offended
portion. Then he turned around. The
first man had also turned. Both were
| watching the man who started the
bung.
They laughed Other gathered. They
| joined IN, Tor the man WHO swung tAe
| mallet. tina. started the bung that
| loosed the cider was busy. Press as he
| would clutch as he could al the hole
and stream. he could not plug the bung
nor stop the flow. He tried using his
finger for bung but it was not large
enough: it only parted the stream.
Finally tho gas having expended its
power, the force eased up. froth
gurglad from the bung and the spout
| ing stream descended to a gurgling
flow of white and coursed down the
| barrels side. II had spent itself "A
little later it gave UP itself to suction
thru length of small hose and
enptied its amber gallons submissive
| ~ into pals.