He Fooled the Telegraph.

Te Aroha News, Volume IV, Issue 205, 28 May 1887, Page 5 (Supplement)

He Fooled the Telegraph.

Countryman- That feller in the telegraph office up there thought he was mighty smart, but I fooled him. Policeman— You did ? How ? Countryman -Oh, easy enough. You see I went in there yostevday to send a message to St. Louis, and told him what I wanted. " All right," sezhe, "75 cents." So I paid him the 75 cents, and I'll be darned if he did a thing but rap thai; old brass clicker of his 15 or 20 times, and then hang the message on a hook. Policeman— Well, do you call that fooling him ? Countryman — You just hold on, and I'll tell you. To-day, I wanted to send another message to St. Louis, but I'll gosh-damned if I wanted to pay seventy-five cents. So I went up to the office, kinder polite like, and sez I, "Mister," say I, "there's a young lady outside as sez she wants to speak to you. I'll tend office for you while you're gone." Well, sir, he bit right away. Off he went in a hurry, and before he got back I had plenty of time to clink his old brass machine all I wanted, and hang my message on the hook just as he did the day before. I know they got it up, too, at the other end, for the minute I got through the old machine went to clicking like blue blazes, 's nuich's to say, " All right, old man, we hear you." Oh, I fooled him good, I did. Your Uncle Peter lrres in Wayback, but he ain't no fool, he ain't j not by a long chalk, no-sir-ec !