The Forrest City times., 1897-07-23
LOST HIS NERVE.

NE day when we were stepping V down from an upper gallery and were moving toward the main pool in Millionaire Adolpb Sutro's ocean bath
 house at San Francisco heard the be- ginning of the story of the man who lost his nerve,
 l knew that Zeno had been a boxing Instructor, foot racer, seller of bar gain jewelry which the purchaser rubbed at his own risk, and had had many hints to the effect that he had once been some kind of vaudeville per former, but in what particular the stage was represented in him did not learn until that day. We sat on the balcony, and, viewing the droves of seals which squirmed in a poiato-bug fashion upon the rocks, Zeno told the story.
 Its only few years ago." he said.
 'and 1 could turn a somersault back
 ward, then forward, then backward
 again, as quick as one-two-three, and
 that, let me tell you, isn't any fool of a trick. More than that, l could turn a
 forward somersault on a tight rope; there may be other people who can do 1t, but I've never seen them. Under Itand, I'm not blowing. 1 couldn't roll over on the ground now. Do you re- member the day in Carson when we came to a mudhole, and rather than try to leap across it-four feet-l walked IS yards around? That was because [ couldn't have made the leap for my fife, and knew it. I was afraid to try. You couldn't get me to step of nov Ing car now for big money. stick right down to the solid ground. I'm coward on any movement that takes me up into the air. even for IS inches. l al- ways want to feel this old earth under me. And I used to do somersaults on tight rope"
 There was a gloom on his face as he spoke. He was. evidently thinking of those active old days.
 Its a case of gone nerve," Zeno continued. Ut wasn't the breaking of bones when I fell that drove me out of the business. It was the realizing that was coward when was up there in the air. Look here. When railroad engineer begins to see men lying on the track ahead of him and turns off steam and finds that there isn't even shadow he knows what he's got to do. He's got to quit. He may be as strong and as intelligent as he ever was; he may be able to recite time card backward, but when he. gets to seeing trouble ahead of him on the rails he's done for. He can't make time and he grows un- easy and worried, and they get on to him. and he goes by discharge if he isn't slick enough to resign and quit while his name is good. We'll, that's the way with a tight-rope man. As soon as he begins to be afraid the rope is slippery or that he won't strike it just right when he turns his somersault; as soon as he commences to calculate about the kind of breakage that would happen to his body should he fall into the orches- tra seats-why. just that quick he wants to get off the rope and stay off forever. He'll never be able to go back 10 it. He's just got to know that he can't possibly get hurt, or else he's go- ing to be killed.
 "well, in the days when did my act I knew that I couldn't miss that rope coming down if l tried. felt that if wanted to fall off I couldn't. l was sure there was no earthly show for me to get hurt, and so l was successful. | had seen four or five men drop into the chairs and be hauled off to the hos pital. where one, at least, Burlxi, died with pieces of bone stuck all through him like a cooked fish, but that didn't bluff me. l understood that those fel lows had lost their nerve, and I knew, too, that I hadn't and couldn't. You know, this was at time when we didn't use nets.
 "One week 1 found myself lined up in the Crystal palace at St. Louis. s as half way down the bill and the