The Project Gutenberg eBook of On the Sweeny wire This ebook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this ebook or online at www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you will have to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this eBook. Title: On the Sweeny wire Author: Charles R. Barnes Release date: October 1, 2023 [eBook #71765] Most recently updated: November 8, 2023 Language: English Original publication: New York: Street & Smith Corporation, 1926 Credits: Roger Frank and Sue Clark *** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK ON THE SWEENY WIRE *** [Illustration] ON THE SWEENY WIRE By Charles R. Barnes Author of “The Sweeny Motor Car,” “Mr. Sweeny: Financier,” Etc. A party telephone wire is like a political picnic--lots of strangers on the ground and all full-fledged listeners-in. And Belle Sweeny, the race-track gambler’s widow, found her neighbors’ conversation irresistible, but, sad to relate, almost as disastrous. A telephone inspector was in the Sweeny apartment, looking over the instrument. Mrs. Sweeny stood by, evidently suspicious, and watched the man as he worked. Sometimes telephone inspectors turned out to be evil-disposed persons, bent on loot. If one’s back were toward them, they would deftly collect whatever property happened to be available and decamp. So Mrs. Sweeny gave this man no opportunity at all to develop a burglarious streak, but watched his every move. At last he finished brushing out the transmitter, tapping here and there with an inquisitive finger, tightening contact screws and the like, and went his way. His observer, now off duty, made her way to the Boarder’s rooms for a chat. “Good mornin’,” she said, as she entered. He returned the greeting and offered her a chair. “Thanks,” said she, seating herself. “One of them telephone fellers was just here, fixin’ the thing. I been watchin’ him. You don’t find me takin’ chances on parties that comes around like that, bein’ flat workers. Not me!” “It’s best to be careful,” agreed the Boarder. “That’s what my Danny usta tell me b’fore he was shot,” she continued. “We was on a party line then----” She broke off abruptly, as if memory had flashed a message. “Say,” she resumed, “was you ever a party liner?” “A what?” the Boarder asked. “A party liner,” came the repetition. “You’re one when you and three or four other people all listens to what each other says on the phone, b’cause they’re on the same line and can. Anybody that would listen like that would peek through a keyhole--and I never met nobody that wouldn’t listen. After you’ve been a party liner for a while, you’ve got more of a rubberneck disposition than a’ astronomer. You watch a show from beginnin’ to end, through op’ry glasses, b’cause it makes you think you’re peekin’ at somethin’ on the sly. It’s a worse habit than whis’lin’ through your teeth; but there’s times when it comes in handy for some folks. The fine young one I had almost put Mr. Dan Sweeny and wife down and out.” “I suppose the telephone company got after you?” the Boarder hazarded. “You don’t get no coupon with that guess.” Mrs. Sweeny assured him. “Nothin’ like that happened; but somethin’ else did. Me and Danny seen our bank roll all made up and ready to go on in a disappearin’ act. It was a scary time for me, I tell you, mister.” * * * * * The boarder left off whittling the end of a pencil and began to make himself comfortable. Mrs. Sweeny continued: “About that time Danny had had a fallin’ out with a feller named ‘Mike the Wop’ that was workin’ at one of them race-track books. My husban’ wouldn’t stand for somethin’ he done, and told him so. They quarreled somethin’ outrag’ous; but afterward they made it up. Danny brought him out to dinner, and we treated him real stylish, like he was in the legislature and willin’ to be bought on the racin’ question. But that there Mike wasn’t no kind of a man. He had a low, backbitin’ disposition--he said he had Sicilian blood in him, and I believe it. Them Sicilians is great on that revenge thing, mister.” The Boarder nodded. “And,” his landlady went on, “I didn’t trust him; and afterward I told Danny to watch him like he was a tack on a dark floor. I remember that time at dinner that the telephone was talked about--somethin’ brought it out--and our party line got a hearin’. And Mike, bein’ one of them fellers that alwus likes to pan out wimmin for bein’ mutts and havin’ no principles, says he bet I listened on the line. “‘Well,’ I says, ‘bein’ that I’m honust by nature,’ I says, ‘I’ll say this much: If I happen to take down the receiver and the line’s busy,’ I says, ‘mebbe I don’t put the thing right back up on the hook,’ I says. “Mike laughs. “‘Haw-haw-haw!’ he says, ‘you’re like all the rest of ’em, Mis’ Sweeny,’ he says. ‘Wimmin would listen on a telephone line, if what they heard was that their own house was burnin’ down,’ he says. ‘They’d stick till the folks got through talkin’ and then take a chance at gettin’ out alive,’ he says. “Well, I didn’t have no argument with him, seein’ that he’s nothin’ but a rowdy. And then the talk turns to who’s on the line with us. You know how them things will come off. You bring up somethin’ to talk about and tell all you know about it, and then begin to lie. We told Mike that a Presbyterian minister was the L party; and a clairvoyant was the X party, and a feller named Doyle, that run a corner saloon over on Amsterdam Av-noo, was the R party, and we was the J party. I knew, for I’d called up the information operator from downtown and asked. Mebbe I was buttin’ in, but I just had to know. At first I was goin’ to kick about havin’ a saloon on our line, but the phone wasn’t there; it was at the man’s house. Of course all this patter didn’t mean nothin’ much to Mike at the time. It was just somethin’ that comes off between ladies and gent’m’n. But wait! I seen the time when I wished we’d never said a word about who was on our line. All the trouble come from that.” The Boarder was showing considerable interest. “I don’t see how----” he began. But Mrs. Sweeny had the floor, and reminded him of it. “Sometimes,” she declared, “you don’t seem like you had sense. Ain’t I doin’ my best to tell you how?” He subsided, and she went on: * * * * * “That evenin’ when Mike left, Danny walked to the corner saloon with him and interduced him to the proprietor, Doyle. This here Doyle was crazy about the horses, and had more respect for Danny, who was a bookmaker, than for the man that made the subway. Danny didn’t stay, though, but come home right away. He wasn’t one of them stay-out-all-nights, except when there was somethin’ special to celebrate, like makin’ a big winnin’ at the track. When he come in, he says to me: “‘Belle,’ he says, ‘Mike ain’t such a bad feller.’ “‘There’s worse,’ I says, ‘but they’re in jail. Take it from me, Danny, the Wop is the kind that’ll meet you with a glad face and then forget that he ever looked pleasant--he’s a smile-that-won’t-stay-on feller,’ I says. ‘I like him much,’ I says; ‘about as much as you’d like doin’ the housework,’ I says. “You see, mister, a woman’s got a’ instinct that’s wound up all the time and rings up people and things like a cash register.” The Boarder was moved to comment. “Woman’s intuition is a strange thing,” he said. “I bet on mine,” she assured him, “and I don’t have to walk home much, as you might say. And when it told me the Wop’s number--which was 00--I was sure that the right record was playin’. I tried to make Danny listen to it, but he was goin’ to sleep in his chair and wanted peace. So we let the thing drop. “One mornin’ not long after that our telephone rung, and some party ast for Mr. Doyle. “‘You’re in the wrong pew,’ I says. “‘Ain’t this the R party?’ says the feller talkin’, and his voice sounded familiar. “‘No,’ I says, ‘this is the J party.’ “I heard him laughin’.” “‘Hello, Mrs. Sweeny,’ he says, ‘rubberin’ in on the line again? This is Mike talkin’.’ “‘No,’ I says, gettin’ mad. ‘I ain’t rubberin’ in on the line. Our bell rung,’ I says, ‘and a lady’s got a puffec’ right to answer her telephone if the bell rings,’ I says. “He laughs again. “‘Correct,’ he says; ‘go to the head of the class.’ Then he told me he didn’t mean nothin’ and for me not to go away mad. But I hung up, and throwed a salt cellar across the room, I was so put out. “After a while, though, the thing got to easin’ up on my chest, and I begun to wonder what the Wop’s business with Mr. Doyle was. I knew that Doyle was makin’ considerable money out of his place; so, puttin’ two and two together, it looked to me that mebbe the Wop was after it. Now, mister, we’ve brought up at the place where there’s a curious woman to deal with--and somethin’ usually happens when one of them persons is turned loose, don’t it?” “I believe so,” laughed the Boarder. “You better had,” she told him. “Oh, don’t they know human nature, though!” “Who?” inquired he, not knowing where he stood. “Them gamblers,” she replied. “They know it better than a s’ciety woman thinks she knows bridge. Well, let me go on with my story. The next day, about the same time in the mornin’, our phone rings again, and it is another case of wrong number and another case of Mike. After we’d rung off, I gets to thinkin’ again: ‘What does he want with Doyle?’ And the next minute I’ve got the receiver down, and there I am, a peeping Tomerino, waitin’ for what’s comin’ off. I didn’t stay in suspense. Right off I heard Mr. Doyle sayin’: “‘Hello!’ And then come Mike’s voice. They was talkin’ about a winner that was bein’ held for a killin’. Mr. Doyle was to play it on Mike’s tip. “‘I ain’t quite sure yet,’ says Mike. ‘They’re keepin’ that horse covered up; but I’ll give you the info in time. You’ll know in two or three days. Then get on, and get on hard.’ “Mr. Doyle was for it, mister. And mebbe you think I ain’t the curious little girl about that time! What horse was goin’ to come through? If I could find out and tell Danny, we’d have a fine, soft place to cut loose in, after the horse had got home ahead of ’em all. The thing got me all excited. I couldn’t hardly wait till the next day, for I meant to listen in again--that telephone had took all my morals away from me, and I just didn’t care what happened, as long as I got that information. I didn’t even excuse myself on the grounds that I was doin’ a’ underhanded thing for the husban’ I loved--and at that, I figgered on gettin’ a swell dress out of the killin’. This money thing, mister, is somethin’ that’s awful quick and sure in givin’ wimmin a crool attack of bein’ wicked. Ain’t it?” The Boarder thought so. “Well,” Mrs. Sweeny went on, “it took me out of the Sunday-school class right away. And to make the temptation all the stronger, Mike the Wop alwus seemed to get our number b’fore he got what he wanted. You’d ought to of heard him pan out the service! He was real worked up about them girls makin’ so many mistakes. But I didn’t care. When the bell rung, I knew that them two men was goin’ to talk, so I got right on the job. And I stuck like garlic smell on a’ I-talian. I got crazy to know the name of that horse; and you can know how anxious I was, when I tell you that I almost cut out bein’ company for Mrs. ‘Big Joe’ Goss----” “Er----” the Boarder began. “She was a sick lady I was sittin’ up with afternoons,” Mrs. Sweeny hastened to explain. “And there’s more telephone stuff to her side of the story. But just you wait. It’ll all come out in time. Mrs. Big Joe was the wife of a pool-room keeper that me and Danny knowed real well, and her bein’ all in with neuritis, I was puttin’ out a helpin’ hand and gnawin’ on the rag all afternoon, so’s she wouldn’t have a relapse thinkin’ how Big Joe abused her. I’d been doin’ it about ten days; and lately I’d of gave my right mitt to stick around and listen to what might come over the telephone. Gee! but I was anxious to get the name of that horse, mister! It was real deep anxiety, the kind that makes you forget hatin’ people.” “I think I can appreciate your position,” the Boarder assured her with sympathy. “You don’t have to be a bettin’ man to do it,” she said. “If you’ve ever walked down street in a new suit, without no umbrella, and you’re dead sure it’s goin’ to rain, and it don’t,-then you have went through somethin’ like I did about that horse. But things have a habit of comin’ to ends, and this here pony business wasn’t any exception. A day or two later, it all come out. My bell had rung, as usual, and when me and the Wop had quit roastin’ the telephone company to each other, I. hung up and waited long enough for Mike to get his number. Then I kicks in. Mr. Doyle took down his receiver at just about the time I did--say, I had the thing timed to a second--for I heard him say: “‘Hello!’ “Mike says ‘Hello!’ too. Then he went on; “‘Doyle,’ he says, ‘I’ve got it. They’re goin’ to pull it in the fourth race to-morruh,’ he says. “‘What is it?’ says Doyle. “‘Whirlwind, Junior,’ says Mike, ‘and go to it, Doyle, like it was beefsteak and mushrooms,’ he says, ‘and you hadn’t et in a week. It’s the best thing that’s happened since Doc Cook discovered easy money,’ he says. ‘And don’t let this info get away. There’s twenty to one, if you get on early, and half that, anyway,’ he says. “Mr. Doyle didn’t take a second to answer. “‘You’re on,’ he says, ‘and I’ll carry fifty for you.’ “‘Fifty?’ says the Wop, in a voice that might mean anything. “‘I mean a hundred,’ says Doyle. And then they babbled along for five minutes about the horse, and the best pool room to put up the money in, and such a line of stuff. Doyle never went to the track, b’cause if he did he couldn’t help bettin’ on every race, and that alwus busted him.” Mrs. Sweeny paused a moment, a bit out of breath. “I can’t help rememberin’,” she continued, “how fine I felt when I’d got that tip away from them men. I couldn’t wait till Danny come home that night. Once or twice I thought of tryin’ to locate him in some of them Broadway bootleggeries, but I stopped to think that mebbe some one else might be in on the line--some telephone girl--and spread the Whirlwind, Junior, stuff. You see, mister, when you’re bad yourself, you find yourself believin’ that everybody else is a crook, too. It’s caused by what you tell me is the sighological moment----” “No,” interrupted the Boarder, “it is a psychic phenomena--a brain condition----” “Put that in storage,” Mrs. Sweeny indignantly cut in. “Don’t you s’pose I know what I’m talkin’ about? Sighological moment is good enough for me. I heard Mrs. ‘Gold Dollar’ Cohen say that a few evenin’s ago, and she ain’t got nothin’ on me. If she can use them there words, I guess Belle Sweeny can. They don’t cost nothin’ and----” The Boarder smiled. “I meant no offense,” he said. “Won’t you please go on with the story?” Mollified, the good lady gave her upturned nose the “going down” signal, and sailed forthwith into her yarn. * * * * * “Well,” she continued. “I was fidgety as a crate of hens till Danny come home. Then I told him all about what I’d heard. “‘Belle,’ he says, when I’d shook it out of the trap, ‘you get a nice, new dress just for this. What does that there one cost you was tellin’ me about--the grape de foy grass?’ he says. “‘Danny,’ I says, ‘it ain’t grapes, it’s crépe,’ I says. But I didn’t bother him with the rest of the name, b’cause I knowed he wouldn’t understand. I only mentioned somethin’ like two fifty, which was nearer his idea of information, and he stood for it. “‘To-morruh,’ he says, ‘when I bring home the money,’ he says, ‘you get yours. I’ll go to it for a thousand,’ he says, ‘and when everything’s added up, there ought to be enough to pay our hired girl with, anyhow,’ he says. And with that he went to readin’ his paper, after havin’ asked when in--well, he wanted to know when dinner would be ready, he bein’ as hungry as never no man was b’fore. So I left him go ahead and read his paper, and we didn’t mention the horse again till the next day. “I tell you, mister, I was just about crazy to go out to the track and see that Whirlwind, Junior, eat ’em up. I could see in my mind about how it would be. The horse would keep pretty well in front for a while, till the jockey seen just what he had to beat, then he’d give Whirlwind his head, and mebbe beat him up, down the stretch. And there’d be a gang of howlin’ maniacs, yellin’ for the fav’rite to make good. “You bet there’d be excitement enough to satisfy a modust young thing like me, and I wanted to mix up in it. Also, I wanted to set around with a knew-it-all grin all over my face and collect my bit, me havin’ gave Danny fifty to put down for me. Did you ever make a surething bet?” she asked. “No,” replied the Boarder. “Then,” Mrs. Sweeny said, “you don’t know the thrillin’ feelin’ you get, waitin’ for things to come across. I can’t describe it to you, but it sure is some feelin’. It begun with me as soon as Danny went out of the house, and kep’ up right along. At noon, I slips over to Mrs. Big Joe’s house for lunch and to stay there with her all afternoon. I couldn’t go to no track, with her feelin’ like she wanted to jump out of the window and spendin’ her time quarrelin’ with her nurse. She wouldn’t row none with me, b’cause she kept too interested in what scandal was goin’ on in our set. * * * * * “I guess mebbe I’d been there a’ hour, when the phone, that was set on a stand by her bed, begun to ring. “‘I wisht,’ she says, all nervous, ‘I wisht, Belle, that some one would kick this thing in the eye for me. It like to drives me bugs,’ she says, puttin’ the receiver to her ear. I was siftin' close b’side her, and when she says ‘Hello!’ I could hear the voice at the other end real plain. “‘Is Joe there?’ it says. And you can just guess that I set up and took notice. That there voice belonged to Mike the Wop, and I seen, just as clear as anything, that Big Joe was in on the deal, too. Somethin’ told me he was. Mrs. Big Joe said her husban’ wasn’t nowhere around. He was down at his pool room, she was sure. “‘No,’ says Mike, ‘he ain’t there. I called up. Say, Mrs. Goss,’ he says, ‘I wisht I knew where to find him.’ “‘What you want with him?’ she says. “‘There’s a bad tip loose,’ he says, ‘on Whirlwind, Junior,’ he says, ‘and I don’t want Joe to fall for it,’ he says. ‘Nobody’s supposed to play it,’ he says, ‘but Sweeny. It’s a plant,’ he says. “Mrs. Big Joe looks up at me, and I’m bendin’ down close to the receiver that was against her ear. She pulled it away a little bit, so I could hear better. ‘This here’s too good to be true,’ she says, forgettin’ that anything was the matter of her. Then to Mike: “‘What’s this you’re sayin’?’ “‘Sweeny’s goin’ to get his this afternoon,’ Mike tells her, ‘and I guess him and his rubberneckin’ wife is goin’ to have somethin’ to study about to-night,’ he says. Then we heard him laugh. ‘Ha-ha-ha!’ he says, ‘I bet they have their telephone tore out by the roots,’ he says. ‘And I bet she never rubbers again, as long as she lives.’ “Mrs. Big Joe gets awful anxious at that. ‘What you drivin’ at, Mike?’ she says. “‘You’ll hear later on,’ he says. ‘I’m showin’ Dan Sweeny that he can’t make a monkey of me and get away with it,’ he says. ‘And I’m flatterin’ myself today that I’m clever enough to walk home alone, anyway. So Joe ain’t there? Well, I got to hunt him up. If you should happen to get him on the phone, tell him I said not to play that Whirlwind thing. It’s goin’ all up and down the line, and how it got loose I don’t know. Tell him, if you find him. Good-by.’ And Mike hung up b’fore we could get any more out of him. “Mrs. Big Joe was so interested that she couldn’t hardly stay in bed. “‘Tell me, Belle,’ she says, ‘what all this here funny business means,’ she says. “I just set there and bowed my poor, whirlin’ head in my hands. For I seen it all now. The Wop had been nursin’ his grudge against Danny, and he had played a slick hand. He’d been callin’ up our number right along, figgerin’ that I’d rubber in and hear what was goin’ on. I s’pose he kept at it so long to be sure that I’d get the phony tip. He’d prob’ly been listenin’ for that little click you hear when somebody takes down another receiver on a party-line wire, and he’d found out when I was listenin’ that way, takin’ a chance, like all them gamblers does, that it was me, and not somebody else. And right now he was havin’ his little giggle and warnin’ his good fr’en’s off the information. “It sure had me goin’, mister, and for a while I was so flustered that I couldn’t get my head workin’ even good enough to tell Mrs. Big Joe what had happened. Wasn’t it a’ awful thing, mister, me gettin’ my husban’ in wrong, through my sneakin’ ways?” “I suppose you felt decidedly unpleasant,” the Boarder said. “But what of Doyle? Was he being slaughtered, too?” “It looked like this to me,” Mrs. Sweeny told him. “What do you think the Wop cared about Mr. Doyle? Nothin’. He wasn’t no fr’en’ of the Wop’s--just a’ acquaintance--a fr’en’ of a man that the sneakin’, lyin’ Sicilian didn’t like, anyway. Doyle was only a tool, that’s all. Nobody cared what happened to him.” “I see,” said the Boarder. “Well,” she resumed, “I fin’ly got settled down enough to tell Mrs. Big Joe the whole story. I didn’t hide a bit of it. But she didn’t have a word to say against me. “‘I’d of did the same,’ she said. ‘A lady has got a puffec’ right to listen if she wants to. What do we have party lines for, if they ain’t to listen at, when a pusson ain’t got nothing else to do?’ she says. And I thought it was real lovely in her. Some folks is too narrow-minded to take her kind of a view of things. “But she was full of the idee that we ought to find Danny and make him run away from that Whirlwind stuff. For the life of me, I didn’t know where to telephone to, for sometimes Danny left his pardner run the book and stayed in town, even when he was bettin’. And them times he was usually in a hotel room, playin’ poker and such a line of work. “‘Be-lieve me,’ I said to Mrs. Big Joe, ‘I’m clean up in the air,’ I says, ‘for I don’t know where to look for him.’ “But she wanted to do somethin’. “‘Belle,’ she says, ‘call up all the live dives along Broadway, close to Forty-second Street,’ she says, ‘and if he ain’t in one of ’em, we’ll get the track. Now begin.’ She takes the book from the table and hands it to me. * * * * * “For a while, it seemed as if the type just danced around, but soon I was able to read, and then I begun to call up numbers. My only hope was that, as Whirlwind, Junior, wasn’t to start till the fourth race, Danny might fool around with some of his pals till late, and then ride out to the track in a’ automobile. When I got that far in my reasonin’, I kept repeatin’ that word, ‘automobile, automobile, automobile.’ It struck me like a hunch, but it was several minutes before I knew what it meant. After that, I didn’t telephone no more places. I rung up Mrs. Gold Dollar Cohen. “‘Say,’ I says, ‘somethin’ turrible has happened,’ I says, ‘and I must get to Danny,’ I says, ‘b’fore the fourth race. And will you lend me your car for a fast ride, and your choofer?' I says. Follerin’ which, I told her of the mean trick that the Wop had pulled on me and Danny. Mrs. Gold Dollar spoke right up, as soon as she seen what was happenin’. “‘Belle,’ she says, ‘you can have the French car,’ she says, ‘and, what’s more, I’ll go along. Where are you now?’ “‘At Mrs. Big Joe’s,’ I says. “‘Then,’ she says, ‘get trimmed up, Belle,’ she says, ‘b’cause it won’t be more’n ten minutes till I’m yellin’ my head off out in front of that there place for you,’ she says. Then we hangs up, and I’m the busy party for a while, gettin’ fixed for the trip. Oncet I says to Mrs. Big Joe that I’d ought to stick around and take care of her, but she let out a awful holler at that. “‘There is big things to be did this day,’ says she, ‘and I’m sure I’m able to take care of myself,’ she says, ‘for there’s the nurse to bawl out,’ she says, ‘when I want somethin’ to do. And, anyway, I want Mike the Wop to understand that ladies has a puffec’ right to listen at a telephone. I do it myself,’ she says, ‘and I ain’t goin’ to stand for no call down from no cheap Sicilian,’ she says. ‘Our husban’s ought to beat him up.’ “‘Ain’t that the truth!’ I says, real emphatically. And then I was on my way, hopefuller than I’d been since the Wop showed us his hand. * * * * * “Mrs. Gold Dollar was waitin’ for me when I got downstairs. “‘Belle,’ she says to me, ‘wait till we get over in Brooklyn,’ she says. ‘I’ve told my man to hit it up and make Sheepshead Bay quicker than it was ever did b’fore. I don’t care if we do get pinched,’ she says, ‘for the Gold Dollar is havin’ a great season with his book, and his wife ought to be allowed a little fun now and then,’ she says. “My eyes was shut all durin’ that trip, mister, so I can’t tell just what happened. All I know is that them new French-make cars hits only every sixteenth high spot, and even at that they touch so light that you can’t notice it. Mrs. Gold Dollar screamed all the way out. When she begun, the choofer stopped the car, but she hollers: “‘Ferdunund, if you do that again, I’ll scream! Go on! Make them wheels go round like they was paid for it. I’m havin’ the time of my life!’ “And you can take it from me, mister, he done just that. Whee! We sure did go; and it didn’t seem hardly ten minutes b’fore the thing stopped, and there we was. Both of us set right out on a hunt for Danny, and pretty soon we found him talkin’ with a couple of gents. “‘Danny,’ I says, ‘we been bunked,’ I says. “‘Give it a name, Belle,’ he says. “‘The Wop,’ I says, ‘has handed us somethin’.’ “‘Whirlwind, Junior?’ says he. “‘Yep,’ says I. ‘It’s bad. He ain’t goin’ to win.’ Then I told him the story as fast as I could patter it out. When I was through, he only kinda laughed. “‘Well, Belle,’ he says, ‘I’m sorry you and Mrs. Gold Dollar took the trouble to come way out here and tell me,’ he says, ‘for I didn’t get on Whirlwind. They was a big tip out that he was to make a killin’, and it didn’t look good to me. I don’t never fall for them hot ones, Belle, for I never seen many of ’em get across,’ he says, ‘but thanks, just the same, for the bother you and Mrs. Gold Dollar has went to on my account,’ he says. ‘It makes a man think he’s got fr’en’s.’ “I was so surprised, mister, that I couldn’t do nothin’ but stare. “‘You didn’t get on?’ I managed to say, after a while. “‘Nope, I didn’t,’ he says. “‘Well,’ says I, comin’ to my senses, ‘it looks to me as if the only man that gets stung is Mr. Doyle,’ I says, ‘and I guess somebody ought to call him up.’ “Danny looked at me hard when I said that. In another minute he was runnin’ away as hard as he could go. “‘I’m goin' to phone him,’ he says. “And five minutes afterward he was back, mister, with a grin on his face that made it look like a half-opened steamer trunk. “‘Belle,’ he says, ‘nobody has got no worries but Mike the Wop. My fr’en’ Doyle didn’t make no bets,’ he says, ‘b’cause he was in on the plant. He was stallin’ for Mike; only he didn’t know it was us,’ he says. “‘Who was meant, then?’ I says. “‘Haw-haw-haw!’ says Danny, 'who do you s’pose?' “‘The minister on the line,’ says I. “‘You lose,’ says he. ‘Doyle said that he thought they were after the clairvoyant!’ “‘My sakes!’ I says. “‘Yes,’ he says. ‘Mike the Wop says to Doyle that the clairvoyant had trimmed him some way. And Doyle didn’t have no use for her, b’cause his wife kept goin’ there and spendin’ money for bum information. So he got in on the plant, and there you are,’ he says. “Mrs. Gold Dollar and me was so supprised that we couldn’t chatter. And that’s some supprised for a woman. Then Mrs. Gold Dollar come to. She dug down in her shoppin’ bag, and brought out a hundred. “‘Well,’ she says, ‘somebody’s got to lose somethin’ this day, Mr. Sweeny,’ she says. ‘Go put this on Roller Skates for me, to show,’ she says.” * * * * * TURN THE DIALS Perhaps the next time the radio set begins to howl as if a dozen cat fights were mewling inside of the loud speaker, it is not static that is interfering with the reception from the broadcasting station, but a newspaper photograph which is being sent through the air. For an event has occurred that has been anticipated for some time--it has been found possible to send pictures for long distances by wireless. Though the apparatus has not been brought to that point of perfection where we can sit at home and see, cast upon a screen, moving pictures, the while spoken or sung words of the performer issue from the loud speaker--this development will probably come later--photographs can be transferred as great a distance as across the Atlantic Ocean. The picture to be sent is first translated into radio impulses by photoelectric cells. These radio impulses are broadcast, received on the other side of the ocean, where they actuate a receiving apparatus which reproduces the picture as a sketch in hot brown wax. The wax flows from a fountain pen, which is operated by radio impulses. The reproduction is a sketch in wavy lines of wax, which is deposited on the paper a little thicker than the ink on an engraved card. So, the next time the loud speaker emits squeaks, howls, squeals, or absolutely impossible-to-be-identified noises--don’t blame it on static! Just turn the dials and try to get something else, for you may be listening to a drawing or a photograph flying through the air in bits. [Transcriber’s Note: This story appeared in the July 7, 1926 issue of The Popular Magazine. The prescient description of television that would “probably come later,” included here, appeared on the final page of the story.] *** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK ON THE SWEENY WIRE *** Updated editions will replace the previous one—the old editions will be renamed. Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright law means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without permission and without paying copyright royalties. Special rules, set forth in the General Terms of Use part of this license, apply to copying and distributing Project Gutenberg™ electronic works to protect the PROJECT GUTENBERG™ concept and trademark. Project Gutenberg is a registered trademark, and may not be used if you charge for an eBook, except by following the terms of the trademark license, including paying royalties for use of the Project Gutenberg trademark. If you do not charge anything for copies of this eBook, complying with the trademark license is very easy. You may use this eBook for nearly any purpose such as creation of derivative works, reports, performances and research. Project Gutenberg eBooks may be modified and printed and given away—you may do practically ANYTHING in the United States with eBooks not protected by U.S. copyright law. Redistribution is subject to the trademark license, especially commercial redistribution. START: FULL LICENSE THE FULL PROJECT GUTENBERG LICENSE PLEASE READ THIS BEFORE YOU DISTRIBUTE OR USE THIS WORK To protect the Project Gutenberg™ mission of promoting the free distribution of electronic works, by using or distributing this work (or any other work associated in any way with the phrase “Project Gutenberg”), you agree to comply with all the terms of the Full Project Gutenberg™ License available with this file or online at www.gutenberg.org/license. Section 1. General Terms of Use and Redistributing Project Gutenberg™ electronic works 1.A. By reading or using any part of this Project Gutenberg™ electronic work, you indicate that you have read, understand, agree to and accept all the terms of this license and intellectual property (trademark/copyright) agreement. If you do not agree to abide by all the terms of this agreement, you must cease using and return or destroy all copies of Project Gutenberg™ electronic works in your possession. If you paid a fee for obtaining a copy of or access to a Project Gutenberg™ electronic work and you do not agree to be bound by the terms of this agreement, you may obtain a refund from the person or entity to whom you paid the fee as set forth in paragraph 1.E.8. 1.B. “Project Gutenberg” is a registered trademark. It may only be used on or associated in any way with an electronic work by people who agree to be bound by the terms of this agreement. There are a few things that you can do with most Project Gutenberg™ electronic works even without complying with the full terms of this agreement. See paragraph 1.C below. There are a lot of things you can do with Project Gutenberg™ electronic works if you follow the terms of this agreement and help preserve free future access to Project Gutenberg™ electronic works. See paragraph 1.E below. 1.C. The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation (“the Foundation” or PGLAF), owns a compilation copyright in the collection of Project Gutenberg™ electronic works. Nearly all the individual works in the collection are in the public domain in the United States. If an individual work is unprotected by copyright law in the United States and you are located in the United States, we do not claim a right to prevent you from copying, distributing, performing, displaying or creating derivative works based on the work as long as all references to Project Gutenberg are removed. Of course, we hope that you will support the Project Gutenberg™ mission of promoting free access to electronic works by freely sharing Project Gutenberg™ works in compliance with the terms of this agreement for keeping the Project Gutenberg™ name associated with the work. You can easily comply with the terms of this agreement by keeping this work in the same format with its attached full Project Gutenberg™ License when you share it without charge with others. 1.D. The copyright laws of the place where you are located also govern what you can do with this work. Copyright laws in most countries are in a constant state of change. If you are outside the United States, check the laws of your country in addition to the terms of this agreement before downloading, copying, displaying, performing, distributing or creating derivative works based on this work or any other Project Gutenberg™ work. The Foundation makes no representations concerning the copyright status of any work in any country other than the United States. 1.E. Unless you have removed all references to Project Gutenberg: 1.E.1. The following sentence, with active links to, or other immediate access to, the full Project Gutenberg™ License must appear prominently whenever any copy of a Project Gutenberg™ work (any work on which the phrase “Project Gutenberg” appears, or with which the phrase “Project Gutenberg” is associated) is accessed, displayed, performed, viewed, copied or distributed: This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you will have to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this eBook. 1.E.2. If an individual Project Gutenberg™ electronic work is derived from texts not protected by U.S. copyright law (does not contain a notice indicating that it is posted with permission of the copyright holder), the work can be copied and distributed to anyone in the United States without paying any fees or charges. If you are redistributing or providing access to a work with the phrase “Project Gutenberg” associated with or appearing on the work, you must comply either with the requirements of paragraphs 1.E.1 through 1.E.7 or obtain permission for the use of the work and the Project Gutenberg™ trademark as set forth in paragraphs 1.E.8 or 1.E.9. 1.E.3. If an individual Project Gutenberg™ electronic work is posted with the permission of the copyright holder, your use and distribution must comply with both paragraphs 1.E.1 through 1.E.7 and any additional terms imposed by the copyright holder. Additional terms will be linked to the Project Gutenberg™ License for all works posted with the permission of the copyright holder found at the beginning of this work. 1.E.4. Do not unlink or detach or remove the full Project Gutenberg™ License terms from this work, or any files containing a part of this work or any other work associated with Project Gutenberg™. 1.E.5. Do not copy, display, perform, distribute or redistribute this electronic work, or any part of this electronic work, without prominently displaying the sentence set forth in paragraph 1.E.1 with active links or immediate access to the full terms of the Project Gutenberg™ License. 1.E.6. You may convert to and distribute this work in any binary, compressed, marked up, nonproprietary or proprietary form, including any word processing or hypertext form. However, if you provide access to or distribute copies of a Project Gutenberg™ work in a format other than “Plain Vanilla ASCII” or other format used in the official version posted on the official Project Gutenberg™ website (www.gutenberg.org), you must, at no additional cost, fee or expense to the user, provide a copy, a means of exporting a copy, or a means of obtaining a copy upon request, of the work in its original “Plain Vanilla ASCII” or other form. Any alternate format must include the full Project Gutenberg™ License as specified in paragraph 1.E.1. 1.E.7. Do not charge a fee for access to, viewing, displaying, performing, copying or distributing any Project Gutenberg™ works unless you comply with paragraph 1.E.8 or 1.E.9. 1.E.8. You may charge a reasonable fee for copies of or providing access to or distributing Project Gutenberg™ electronic works provided that: • You pay a royalty fee of 20% of the gross profits you derive from the use of Project Gutenberg™ works calculated using the method you already use to calculate your applicable taxes. The fee is owed to the owner of the Project Gutenberg™ trademark, but he has agreed to donate royalties under this paragraph to the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation. Royalty payments must be paid within 60 days following each date on which you prepare (or are legally required to prepare) your periodic tax returns. Royalty payments should be clearly marked as such and sent to the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation at the address specified in Section 4, “Information about donations to the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation.” • You provide a full refund of any money paid by a user who notifies you in writing (or by e-mail) within 30 days of receipt that s/he does not agree to the terms of the full Project Gutenberg™ License. You must require such a user to return or destroy all copies of the works possessed in a physical medium and discontinue all use of and all access to other copies of Project Gutenberg™ works. • You provide, in accordance with paragraph 1.F.3, a full refund of any money paid for a work or a replacement copy, if a defect in the electronic work is discovered and reported to you within 90 days of receipt of the work. • You comply with all other terms of this agreement for free distribution of Project Gutenberg™ works. 1.E.9. If you wish to charge a fee or distribute a Project Gutenberg™ electronic work or group of works on different terms than are set forth in this agreement, you must obtain permission in writing from the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation, the manager of the Project Gutenberg™ trademark. Contact the Foundation as set forth in Section 3 below. 1.F. 1.F.1. Project Gutenberg volunteers and employees expend considerable effort to identify, do copyright research on, transcribe and proofread works not protected by U.S. copyright law in creating the Project Gutenberg™ collection. Despite these efforts, Project Gutenberg™ electronic works, and the medium on which they may be stored, may contain “Defects,” such as, but not limited to, incomplete, inaccurate or corrupt data, transcription errors, a copyright or other intellectual property infringement, a defective or damaged disk or other medium, a computer virus, or computer codes that damage or cannot be read by your equipment. 1.F.2. LIMITED WARRANTY, DISCLAIMER OF DAMAGES - Except for the “Right of Replacement or Refund” described in paragraph 1.F.3, the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation, the owner of the Project Gutenberg™ trademark, and any other party distributing a Project Gutenberg™ electronic work under this agreement, disclaim all liability to you for damages, costs and expenses, including legal fees. YOU AGREE THAT YOU HAVE NO REMEDIES FOR NEGLIGENCE, STRICT LIABILITY, BREACH OF WARRANTY OR BREACH OF CONTRACT EXCEPT THOSE PROVIDED IN PARAGRAPH 1.F.3. YOU AGREE THAT THE FOUNDATION, THE TRADEMARK OWNER, AND ANY DISTRIBUTOR UNDER THIS AGREEMENT WILL NOT BE LIABLE TO YOU FOR ACTUAL, DIRECT, INDIRECT, CONSEQUENTIAL, PUNITIVE OR INCIDENTAL DAMAGES EVEN IF YOU GIVE NOTICE OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGE. 1.F.3. LIMITED RIGHT OF REPLACEMENT OR REFUND - If you discover a defect in this electronic work within 90 days of receiving it, you can receive a refund of the money (if any) you paid for it by sending a written explanation to the person you received the work from. If you received the work on a physical medium, you must return the medium with your written explanation. The person or entity that provided you with the defective work may elect to provide a replacement copy in lieu of a refund. If you received the work electronically, the person or entity providing it to you may choose to give you a second opportunity to receive the work electronically in lieu of a refund. If the second copy is also defective, you may demand a refund in writing without further opportunities to fix the problem. 1.F.4. Except for the limited right of replacement or refund set forth in paragraph 1.F.3, this work is provided to you ‘AS-IS’, WITH NO OTHER WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR ANY PURPOSE. 1.F.5. Some states do not allow disclaimers of certain implied warranties or the exclusion or limitation of certain types of damages. If any disclaimer or limitation set forth in this agreement violates the law of the state applicable to this agreement, the agreement shall be interpreted to make the maximum disclaimer or limitation permitted by the applicable state law. The invalidity or unenforceability of any provision of this agreement shall not void the remaining provisions. 1.F.6. INDEMNITY - You agree to indemnify and hold the Foundation, the trademark owner, any agent or employee of the Foundation, anyone providing copies of Project Gutenberg™ electronic works in accordance with this agreement, and any volunteers associated with the production, promotion and distribution of Project Gutenberg™ electronic works, harmless from all liability, costs and expenses, including legal fees, that arise directly or indirectly from any of the following which you do or cause to occur: (a) distribution of this or any Project Gutenberg™ work, (b) alteration, modification, or additions or deletions to any Project Gutenberg™ work, and (c) any Defect you cause. Section 2. Information about the Mission of Project Gutenberg™ Project Gutenberg™ is synonymous with the free distribution of electronic works in formats readable by the widest variety of computers including obsolete, old, middle-aged and new computers. It exists because of the efforts of hundreds of volunteers and donations from people in all walks of life. Volunteers and financial support to provide volunteers with the assistance they need are critical to reaching Project Gutenberg™’s goals and ensuring that the Project Gutenberg™ collection will remain freely available for generations to come. In 2001, the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation was created to provide a secure and permanent future for Project Gutenberg™ and future generations. To learn more about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation and how your efforts and donations can help, see Sections 3 and 4 and the Foundation information page at www.gutenberg.org. Section 3. Information about the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation The Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation is a non-profit 501(c)(3) educational corporation organized under the laws of the state of Mississippi and granted tax exempt status by the Internal Revenue Service. The Foundation’s EIN or federal tax identification number is 64-6221541. Contributions to the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation are tax deductible to the full extent permitted by U.S. federal laws and your state’s laws. The Foundation’s business office is located at 809 North 1500 West, Salt Lake City, UT 84116, (801) 596-1887. Email contact links and up to date contact information can be found at the Foundation’s website and official page at www.gutenberg.org/contact Section 4. Information about Donations to the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation Project Gutenberg™ depends upon and cannot survive without widespread public support and donations to carry out its mission of increasing the number of public domain and licensed works that can be freely distributed in machine-readable form accessible by the widest array of equipment including outdated equipment. Many small donations ($1 to $5,000) are particularly important to maintaining tax exempt status with the IRS. The Foundation is committed to complying with the laws regulating charities and charitable donations in all 50 states of the United States. Compliance requirements are not uniform and it takes a considerable effort, much paperwork and many fees to meet and keep up with these requirements. We do not solicit donations in locations where we have not received written confirmation of compliance. To SEND DONATIONS or determine the status of compliance for any particular state visit www.gutenberg.org/donate. While we cannot and do not solicit contributions from states where we have not met the solicitation requirements, we know of no prohibition against accepting unsolicited donations from donors in such states who approach us with offers to donate. International donations are gratefully accepted, but we cannot make any statements concerning tax treatment of donations received from outside the United States. U.S. laws alone swamp our small staff. Please check the Project Gutenberg web pages for current donation methods and addresses. Donations are accepted in a number of other ways including checks, online payments and credit card donations. To donate, please visit: www.gutenberg.org/donate. Section 5. General Information About Project Gutenberg™ electronic works Professor Michael S. Hart was the originator of the Project Gutenberg™ concept of a library of electronic works that could be freely shared with anyone. For forty years, he produced and distributed Project Gutenberg™ eBooks with only a loose network of volunteer support. Project Gutenberg™ eBooks are often created from several printed editions, all of which are confirmed as not protected by copyright in the U.S. unless a copyright notice is included. Thus, we do not necessarily keep eBooks in compliance with any particular paper edition. Most people start at our website which has the main PG search facility: www.gutenberg.org. This website includes information about Project Gutenberg™, including how to make donations to the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation, how to help produce our new eBooks, and how to subscribe to our email newsletter to hear about new eBooks.