sharp, brilliant and decisive.

The first night I sat down to work at six-thirty, and in a few minutes
was receiving the worst pounding I had ever experienced, from some
operator in "CH" office who signed "JL." There was no kick coming on the
sending, it was as plain as a large sized poster, but it was so
all-fired fast, that it made me hustle for all I was worth to get it
down. There is no sense in a fellow sending so fast, because nothing is
made by it and it tires every one completely out. Ordinarily, a thirty
word a minute clip is a good stiff speed for report, but this night,
thirty-five or forty was nearer the mark. In every operator there is a
certain amount of professional pride inherent that makes him refrain
from breaking on report unless it is absolutely necessary. The sender
always keeps a record of the breaks of each receiver on the line, and if
they become too frequent the offender is gently fired. On the night in
question I didn't break, but there were several times when foreign
dispatches were coming that I faked names in great shape. It was an ugly
night out, and about nine o'clock our quad flew the track, and in a
minute "JL" said to me,

"Here's ten blacks (day messages) just handed me to send to you," and
without waiting for me to get my manifold clip out of the way he
started. I didn't get a chance to put the time or date down, and was
swearing, fighting mad. After sending five of the ten messages, "JL"
stopped a second and said,

"How do I come?"

"You come like the devil. For heaven's sake let up a bit," I replied.

"Who do you think you are talking to?" came back at me.

Seemingly, patience had ceased to be a virtue with me, so I replied,
"Some d----d ambitious chump of a fool who's stuck on making a record
for himself."

"That settles you. Call your chief operator over here."

Joe Saunders was the chief, and when he came over he said,

"What's the trouble here, kid, this wire gone down?"

"No," I answered, "the wire hasn't gone down, but that cuss up in 'CH'
who signs 'JL' has been pounding the eternal life out of me and I've
just given him a piece of my mind."

"Say anything brash?" asked Joe.

"No, not very. Just told him he was a d--d fool with a few light
embellishments."

Joe laughed very heartily and said, "I guess you are the fool in this
case, because 'JL' is a woman, Miss Jennie Love, by name, and the
swiftest lady operator in the business. If she makes this complaint
o