1898 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE. 



873 



RAMBLE 156. 



Surroundings at Oro Fino. 



BY RAMBLER. 



I regretted to leave my old-time friends so 

 soon ; but duty to my agreement with Mr. 

 Levering called me further north, and again I 

 was in the little hotel at the Dos Palos station. 

 This time, instead of awakening the dispenser 

 of drinks, it would be his duty to awakeu me, 

 and I anticipated that he would have to rustle 

 around dreamland somewhat in order to fulfill 

 his function; but he was equal to the occasion, 

 and did not propose to lose sleep while this 

 age provides mechanical means to arouse a 

 lodger. He collected the lodging-fee in ad- 

 vance, and sent me to my room with an 

 alarm-clock, primed and set with a hair trig- 

 ger. At half-past one that clock was on duty 

 — whizz - bang - ker - ching - whir-zip. Now, I 

 never owned such a machine, never hired one, 

 nor run one on shares, and knew nothing about 

 the thing. To make matters worse, this clock 

 was of that breed that runs until it is stopped 

 or until it runs down, even if it takes all night. 



I nervously tried all of the springs and rings 

 I could find; but the more I twisted them the 

 louder it whanged, upside down or flatwise — 

 whizz, whir. I set it down rather impatiently, 

 and exclaimed, "Now whang, whang." It 

 did its duty faithfully. It answered all of my 

 expectations in respect to alarm-clocks. 



As I proceeded as rapidly as possible to don 

 my attire, it occurred to me that all of the 

 lodgers in the house would be liable to be 

 more or less disturbed, and I tried to smother 

 the thing under the pillow, and then all of the 

 bed-clothes ; but, no, sir ; it didn't smother 

 worth a cent. The bed-springs were in full 

 accord, and took up the vibrations and aided 

 the clock. It then occurred to me that a bath 



There were ominous noises in other rooms, 

 and my native desire to be quiet and not to 

 annoy other people was undergoing a terrible 

 strain. But I had now dressed; and with my 

 grip in one hand and the clock in the other I 

 made a hasty exit to the office. Ker-whang- 

 ker-chang, it merrily sang as I tumbled it on 

 to the table. 



"Say"— 



"S-a-y," said a voice almost with mine; 

 and the dispenser of drinks, in his dreamland 

 attire and a disheveled top-knot, strode into 

 the office. " S-a-y — you're a daisy — oh! you're 



in the water-pitcher might cure the disease; 

 but the neck of the pitcher was too small, and 

 that scheme failed. 



Well, I tell you I was getting desperate. 



a daisy," and he touched a little wire spring 

 somewhere, and the infernal machine instantly 

 stopped its clatter. 

 " You didn't expl " — 



" S-a-y, I didn't hey?" said he, interrupt- 

 ing me. "Where yer been living all yer 

 life? " and he actually acted angry. He sort 

 o' spit his words through his teeth, in a gor- 

 geous Satanic way. 



Every effort of mine to explain 

 matters was met with " Oh! you're 

 a daisy — you're a daisy ; lived in 

 the woods, hey? " 



Then I became indignant, and 

 felt like departing, and did so as 

 rapidly as possible. 



I had gotten half way across the 

 street when that same disheveled 

 top-knot appeared at the door, 

 and that same gorgeous voice 

 shouted, "Oh! you're a daisy — 

 going to Frisco, hey ? Blow out 

 the gas, hayseed ; blow out the 

 gas!" 



Well, I was glad to see the 

 headlight of the locomotive, and 

 hear the scream of the whistle to 

 drown that voice. I reflected so- 

 berly until I arrived in Sacramen- 

 to on Sunday forenoon. It came 

 clearly before me that I had met 

 an unmannerly fellow, and that 

 those who dispense drinks are of 

 that order. It also occurred to me that it is 

 better to ask instructions about the simple 

 machines of our daily life rather than to fall 

 into egregious blunders. 



