CanÌƒon City record. [volume] (CanÌƒon City, Colo.) 1883-192?, 1904-03-03
A Fascinating Story Of American Life
by Booth darlington

toy balloons and delectable candy
batons of spiral striped peppermint in
tightly closed. sadly sticky fingers. \
thousand cries rent the air-the stroll
Ing mountebanks and rypsying booth
merchants, the peanut venders. the
boys with palm leaf fans for sale. the
candy sellers, the popcorn peddlers, the
Italian with the toy balloons that float
like cluster of colored bubbles above
the heads of the crowd and the bal
looms that wall like baby: the red
lemonade man, shouting In the shrill
voice that reaches everywhere and en-
| dures forever: "Lemo'! Lemo'. Five
glass! Ice cole lemo'! Five cents. u
nickel, IA half dime. the twentieth
potofadollah! Lemo'! Ice cole IeIno'.''
all the vociferating harbingers of the
circus crying their wares. Timid
youths in shoes covered with dus;
through which the morning polish but
/ dimly shone and unalterably hooked
by the arm to blushing maidens bought
| recl>lessly of peanuts, OF candy. of pop.
| corn. OF all known sweetmeats. per
chance, and forced their way to the
lemonade stands, and there. all shyly.
silently slipped the crimson stained am.
| brosia Everywhere the hawkers din
ned, and everywhere was heard the
plaintive squawk of the toy balloon.
In the courthouse yard. and so sin
ming in the very eye of the law. two
swarthy, shifty looking gentlemen were
operating with some greasy walnut
shells and pea what the fanciful or
/ nm nT1a fEtf tod fFf,t
ed to call Il game of chance. and til"
most intent spectator of the group
around them was Mr.. James Bardlock,
the town marshal. He was simply and
unotIicially and earnestly interested.
Thus the eye OF the law may not be
said to have winked upon the nefari-
BUSINESS now under its vision. Ii gazed
with strong curiosity, an itch to dab
Bile and, 1t must be admitted. n grow
ing hope of profit, the game was 50 d.
rect and the player SO sure. Several
countrymen had won small sums, and
one, charmingly rustic stranger, with
peculiar accent Che said that him and
his goil should now have a smoot' olt
time Off his winninks. though the lady
was not manifested) had pocketed S25
ators seemed depressed, declaring the
luck against them and the Plattville
people too brilliant at the game.
1t was wonderful how the young
couples worked their way arm in arm
through the thickest crowds. never sepa-
rating Even ut the lemonade stands
they drank holding the glasses in their
outer hands. Such are the sacrifices
demanded by etiquette. But. observ-
ing the gracious outpouring of fortune
upon the rare rustic Just mentioned, a
youth in a green tie disengaged his
arm-for the first time in two hours
from that of girl who looked upon
him with fond. uncertain smiles and,
conducting her to corner of the yard.
bade her remain there until he return
ed. He had to speak to Hartley Bowl.
der. he explained.
Then he plunged, red faced and ex-
cited, into the circle about the shell
manipulators and offered to lay a wa
ger.
"Hol' on there. Hen Fentriss." thickly
objected n flushed young man beside
him. "Iss my turn"
I'm first, Hartley" returned the 9TH
er. "You can hold yer bosses, reckon"
"Plenty fer each and all. gents" in
terrupted one of the shell men. place
yer spondulics on de little ball. witch
is de mex lucky gent to win our mon
eyf Gent bets four sixty-five he seen de
little ball 90 under de middle shell. Up
she comes! Dis time we wins. Platt-
vile can't win every time Who's de
mex lucky gentT
Fentriss edged slowly out OF the cir
Gle, abashed and with rapidly whiten.
ing checks. He paused for a moment
outside, slowly realizing that all his
money had gone In one wild. blind
whirl-the money he had earned so
hard and saved SO hard to make n holi-
day for his sweetheart and himself. He
stole one glance around the building to
where a patient figure waited for him.
Then he fed down side alley and soon
was out upon the country road. tramp
ing soddenly homeward through the
dust, his chin sunk in his breast and his
hands clinched tight at his sides. Now
and then he stopped and bitterly hurl-
ed stone Mt piping bird on the fence
Or gay bobwhite in the fields. At noon
the patient figure was still waiting in
the corner OF the courthouse yard, meek
ly twisting n coral ring upon her finger.
But the flushed young man who had
lp In har rtay- N