The Washington weekly post., 1900-05-15
TOLD BY THE OLD CIRCUS MAN.
An Encounter of Wits Refween Boss and
DENTS Over the Giant.

From the New York Sun.
Il shan't soon forget" said the old cir
Gus man, "a little joke that the old man
played, or tried to play, on the dentist.
OCr star attraction, the greatest Of all
giants, bad a tooth that needed filling. 1t
had needed it for a long time in fact; Dut
like a great many other people not as
big, the giant had let the tooth go unit!
IL began TO trouble hi!a: and then he
wanted something done 10 il right away.
and when we'd got the pain stopped, be
wanted rhe tooth filed. he didn't want 70
lose il. And here's where the old mans
joke on the dentist came IN; he was al
ways up TO this sort Of tricks.
Maybe you remember my telling you
about his going tc a laundry once and
getting The price Of doing up collars, any
collars, as he put IL, and then taking
stand-up collar that on: eighteen-foot gi-
rafTe used to wear when We dressed him
IN dude costume? But that was easily
squared by free tickets 10 the show, ard
by the pleasure the laundryman found III
seeing the giraffe walking around the ring
wearing the collar that he had done Up.
tooth. The old man goes 10 the dentist
and tells him he has an acquaintance
that wants a tooth filled, and asks how
much would il cost 10 fill il with gOld-a
double tooth. OF course the dentist can,
tell without seeing the tooth and the
cavity; and the old man tells him it's a
big man, big tooth, and biz hole: II viii
take lot of golG. You name the price
he says, and III pay it, and the dentist
sets a figure that Will cover the cost of
filling as much hole as there could be in
any tooth he ever saw, and gives the old
man a date, and at the day and hour
the old man takes the giant around
I've never told you the exact stature
of the giant, for fear you wouldn't believe
| IL. but We told you various things at enc
time and another about him that would
I am tn1 Ia fEN
| The tooth-well, if l should tell you even
| the size of that, you wouldn't believe me;
| but when the dentist saw the giant stop
| in front of the house he knew that If he
| giants tooth cOrTesponded with lis gen.
/ eral dimensions, and tnat cavity should e
/ OF about an average size, as compared
| with the tooth. he was up against II naId:
| and he knew ne was when ne had 90 the
| giant settled down where ne could COX
| into his mouth. He had C5ntr- cted 20 i'll
4 tooth with gOld for 80 or SO, or what
\ ever Il was, something like that and lera
was a hole that would take in a hundred
| ana fifty or two hundred dollars worth of
| metal. To say nothing OF the abOr.
! But the dentist evinced no surprise,
\ nor did he seek 10 fly the track; on IN =
/ contrary, he got his traps around where
/ ne could get at EN- and began work
| I'VE struck the office al II o'clock: the
/ afternoon show opened at , At l O'Clock
| the old man says:
We'll, l guess we'll have TO shut OF
now for a while, and come back after the
| afternoon show
"'Oh, no. you can't do that says the
| dentist, he'll have 20 stay right here now
/ till the job is finished
! How long will it take% says the old
man.
"'Oh, don't know says the dentist
/ I should think IL might take a day, or
maybe day and a half
| Well But | can't have him sitting
| here with the show going on Hes the
/ biggest thing in the circus. said the boss
d" You can take him away any m you
| want to- said the dentist but II yo4 DO,
/ you don't want 10 bring him b ick
| Why nOtT says the Old man Didn't
| you agree TO fill his tooth for so much2'
Yes says the dentist but the D. ice
| | named to you was Tor continuous work:
/ for a job done at one sitting. I am ready
/ 10 go right on with il now and finish II
up: but if you take him away and bring
1 him back, SO that / have Z give him a
/ number Of situngs, | should hav- 10
/ eha.ge you my regular price for such
/ teeth
e How much is that?' says the o'd man
! Two hundred dollars Is my charg- for
( teeth Of that size, done In the regular
i way, says the dentist; and DO you 10y
there was nothing for the old man 10 d.
but 10 pay it2 He simply couldn't keep
4 the giant away from the show a. hc :
{ much the biggest card the outfit had a-d
/ he couldn't slight the giant: the giant
/ knew his own value and insisted on the
( best of everything always. and always
) got Il: and then q giant with tooth CHI
would have been an incOnyeulent p-r4Ja
/ 10 have round. and n might not have
been able 10 show. and q matter of
+ fact 500 was a fair price for the Job
/ SO the long and short of IL wes that
: the old man agreed 10 pay Il and he q J
We stayed in that town two days, ami the
giant put IN all his SPARE time at the
Z dentists; and when We struck the rOa!
again the tooth was filed. There waz 50
{ much gold In IL that for day the sdant
] carried his head kind o down on that sid.
I with the weight Of II. aud it Was longer
I than that before the old man got over the
shock Of his meeting villa the dentist"