BROWN AND HIS TELEPHONE.

Golden Bay Argus, Volume VIII, Issue 51, 21 May 1903, Page 3

BROWN AND HIS TELEPHONE.

HOW HE GOT IT REPAIRED. Brown owned a lelephono, at least the telephone company allowed one to lemain in his office while they collected every quarter one-half of Brown's income to roimburso them for this great condescension. Sometimes Brown's telephone worked and sometimes it didn't It mostly didn't Had Brown been a rude man, he would have sworn; but Brown was meek and lowly and unused to strango oaths. So he meekly and politely requested the company to remedy tho difficulty. But Brown was not aware that the telephone company considered its duty ended with placing the telephone in his office. Instead of using bad language and abusing the company Brown only thought—and waited. Buzz-z-z. It was the telephone bell, and Brown meekly answered. His telephone was No. 901.

" Hello 1" said a voice. "Is that you, Brown—No. 901?" " This isn't 901," answered Brown; "this is the I.X.L. slaughter-house. No. 872," Then the voice said something that caused Brown to blush and hang up the receiver. Buzz-z-z. Brown meekly answered. '• Is that No. 901?"

It was the telephone girl, and Brown being a polite man, took off bis hat before answering. •• Oh, no;,this is 853. Then the telephone girl drew in her breath, and said something that Brown would not allow himself to hear, and rang again. " Hello!" said Brown. " Nine-hundred-and-one?" There was some doubt in the girl's voice. And Biow,n answered: "Oh, no this is 702." Buzz-z-z.

" Hello!" said Brown. _ "Nine-hundred-and-one?" The telephone girl had given it up, and the superintendent had taken a band.

"This is 8,743," answered Brown patiently. * - For the noxt ten minutes Brown was kept busy answering the bell, and he began to /ear that his stock of numbers was going to run out, when tho r/t-11 broke, and Brown meekly lesumed his woik. Fifteen minutes later Brown's office was invaded by the superintendent, seven expert electricians, and nine linesmen, and Brown's telephone was repaired. Had Brown been a rude man, it would not have been done yet.