The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1898-02-05
rIGHr-RopE wALKER's ROMANCE
The Narrowest of Pathways the
Scene of n Thrilling Incident.
From tina Neu York SIM

Scene of n Thrilling Incident.
From the New York Sun.
No one who saw the tawdry finery of his
tinsel trappngs and the cheap appoint
ments of the famous Signor Salviatoria as
single handed and alone he prepared the
paraphernalia for his tight-rope perform
ance which had brought him his glory
would have ever imagined that there
was time or space in his busy life for a
romance. The signor was a perpatetic
perambulator of the rope, and his field of
performance lay in country towns, where
1t was his wont to stretch his narrow
pathway across a street from roof to roof
of houses whose owners were willing to
extend that privilege to him in exchange
for tickets to the Great and Only Me
gatherian Concert" which followed the
outdoor exhibition. Yet he had romance
and there We're in it those elements which
one greater than the Signor Salviatoria
might easily have crystallized into a mel
odrama that would have stirred the ap-
plause of a thousand galleries.
1.-THE greatest act ever done" he eaid,
with natural and easy disregard of ac-
cent and syntaX, II done in an Ohio town
about ten years ago / was doing my
turn there for a week, as it was the coun-
ty fair season, and l was following their
trail like a sleuth, for they brought pto-
pie to town and, helped my business, never
none too good. The third night of my per-
Torrance, which was a half-hour exhibit
ton in midair before the concert had be-
gun, 1 had gone up on the roof To git
things ready, and while / was pottering
around snuggin' up the rope and seeing
that there wasn't any loose cogs to he
dropping, / heard a screech up through
the scuttle hole leading to the roof, and
cd
one of these here jumping jacks. 1t give
me hard pull on my nerves, but l flew
over to see what the matter was. 1t was
my landlady-and here 1 want to say that
when / stop for any time in town l
go to a boarding house where l can get a
rate that won't break me. Got 10 do 1t
in this line. Can't give it all to railroads
and hotels.
I'm this case / not only stopped at this
boarding house. but the landlady let me
stretch my rope from her roof to the roof
of the house across the way. and as 1t
was the main street of the town, 1t was
convenient all the way round for me. The
only drawback was that the lady had
half-crazy husband that never had done
anything for her when he had his senses,
and now she had to support him and take
his abuse of her every time he got jeal-
GUS fit, which was every time, she had a
new boarded that was anything for looks
and style"
Signor SALVATORE stopped a moment at
this remark stroked his little chin whisk-
er and smiled restrospectively.
She had only been polite to me be-
cause l had been polite TO her, as any
gent should be when there is a pretty wo-
man around, and the iandlady was the
prettiest little woman, about as big as a
piece of soap, |. had met
"As I was saying, when ] got to her she
had slung the cover to the scuttle hole
over it and was sitting on itfwith her jaw
set and trying to stick her toes into the
roof to help, hold it down. In a mighty
few words she told me her husband was on
the chase after her with Ratchet TO Till
her and he would be up from below in a
minute She wasn't as bad scared as
was, for ] didn't have much experience in
that kind of business and didn't know
what to do. ] didn't have anything 20 de-
fend myself or her with. ell Their, and the
more l thought of the situation the more
] begun to think how many things there
were that was more dangerous than walk
ing q tight rope fifty feet above the earth
and me as innocent as a babe. The little
woman told me to bring a barrel half full
Of sand there was over in one corner of
the roof and we'd set 1t over the cover of
the scuttle to hold it down. ] done II as
fast as 1 could. and when we had the bar
rel there and about fixed, the crazy hus-
'AH'tHA .A'ft'AAAA'9
As luck would have II the sand fell in on
him and knocked him off the ladder be-
low and the barrel got stuck in the hole.
so the little woman and me had a min
ute or two to think and she done the
thinking. .tf
Are you afraid? says she.
Some. says |, nodding toward the
scuttle hole.
II mean Of me?' says she smiling.
q" Not much, says l. iu tficGr
" Are you strong? says she
That's part of my adt' says J. but
not against a crazy man with Ratchet, ,
says /. wondering what she would do next
and about how long II would be tn the
crazy man was on deck with his toma-
hawk cleaning in the air.
Then. says she, grab hold of me right
quick and carry me across the rope over
to Mrs. Peck's house SOS my husband
won't get at me with that AK
She had more nerve in minute than I
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