Judge — August 24, 1912 — page 15: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

“INSTEAD OP INSPECTING THE WIRES, THE ELECTRICIAN INSPECTED HENTZ’3 PACE—AND GRINNED.” Adjusting “ce ILLIAM,” said Mrs. Hentz, when Mr. Hentz came home to lunch, “the doorbell wouldn’t ring this morn- ing, and I fixed it.'" Mr. Hentz took off his coat, and Mrs, Hentz realized, as she gazed into her husband’s face, that she had started something. The fact is that Mr. Hentz had an unconquerable love of tinkering and considered himself a master me- chanic. “You fixed it!’? he exploded. you probably ‘fixed it’ for good! it work?” “Not yet," replied Mrs. Hentz; ‘but the’’—— Mr. Hentz went out on the porch and pushed the button. ‘*No, it doesn’t work !’’ he announced, upon re-entering the house. ‘You've probably got it all out of adjustment. You've probably got the wires crossed and"’"—— “But, William, wife. “All I"—— “All you don’t know about an electric doorbell,’’ supplemented Mr. Hentz, “would make a good text-book on the subject. I'll take just a snatch of lunch, and then I can have the pleas- ure of devoting my afternoon to the doorbell instead of to the ball game. If you only hadn’t bothered it, I could have fixed it in just a minute. All it needed, probably, was some minor ad- justment."’ “But, William,"’ Mrs. Hentz began again, ‘I only’'—— “You only got the wires and mag- neto all balled up,’’ amended Mr. “Yes, Does listen,"’ began the By DONALD A. KAHN Hentz. A doorbell has no magneto, but, reasoned Mr. Hentz, if it hasn't one it ought to have one, and, anyway, what does a woman know about applied sci- ence? It was one o'clock when Mr. Hentz retired to the basement and began fum- bling with the network of wires he found down there. At fouro'clock Mrs. Hentz called to inform him that the lights wouldn't work. She had tried in vain to get current for her electric flat- iron. “Do you think you can fix it, Wil- liam?"’ she asked. Three hours in a cellar will take con- siderable mettle out of a man. Mr. Hentz hesitated. ‘‘I don’t know,’’ he replied. ‘‘I'm afraid it’s against the law to tamper with the city wires. Better send for a man from the light office.” Mr. Hentz had a suspicion that he'd mistaken the electric lighting wires for the doorbell circuit. Nevertheless, he went on fumbling. An hour later, when Mr. Hentz was still tampering around in the basement, TAKING HIMSELF SERIOUSLY. Difficulties. Mrs. Hentz showed the light-office elec- trician the way down, and the three of them inspected the tangle of wires. “‘Wait!’’ commanded the office man, as Mr. Hentz started fingering around. "We've got to throw the switch off first. That’s dangerous. It’s a wonder you haven't been electrocuted a dozen times — Why, the switch was down! Did you do that?”” Hentz replied in the negative. Mrs. Hentz announced that she had done it before starting to fix the doorbell that morning. “That's right !'’ commended the elec- trician, ‘‘It’s dangerous to monkey with a live wire. Now, keep your hands off that wire, mister,"’ continued the light-office man, ‘‘and we'll throw on thesswitch."’ He threw on the switch and the basement was flooded with light. “*Kee-rect!’’ pronounced the electri- cian, ‘‘There we are!’’ He turned to Mr. Hentz and said, ‘‘Your wife, when she threw that switch this morning, saved your life."” Mr. Hentz nodded gloomily and scratched his head. ‘‘Say, look over these other wires, will you?’’ he asked. “I cut these two here and connectea these others.’’ Instead of inspecting the wires, the electrician inspected Hentz’s face— and grinned. “You've put the telephone on the blink,’ he remarked cheerfully. ‘*Bet- ter call ’em up on a neighbor's ‘phone in the morning.” Mr. Hentz nodded obediently and (Continued in advertising section.) comicbooks.com