The Hattiesburg news. (Hattiesburg, Miss.) 1908-1917, 1908-06-05
A Greaser Girls
Opportunity.

the show business. One day, while
was punchin', Teller come along dom
all sorts of fancy tricks. He called
himself prestidigitator. He wanted
some one to help him in his perform
ance. and agreed TO do it. When the
show was over he said that was the
best help he'd ever had and allowed IT,
I'd travel with him he'd teach me the
business. | left off COW punchin and
went with him.
One reason why | wanted to get
away was that I'd been maxim love to
a greaser gal. and s. longs | didn't
want to marry anybody thought it
was prudent TO find somepin to take
me somewheres else. didn't say any
thing to her or any one about leavin',
but when the show left wasn't to be
found nowhere. agreed | wouldn't
appear In the performance till we'd got
some distance from the place where
my greaser gal lived SOS she wouldn't
be likely to find out where I'd gone to
l travelled with the wizard long
enough to learn all his tricks. then set
up for myself. l didn't show myself
in the place Id left. though | took in
settlements all around 1t within fifty
miles.
/ was mighty expert. l could take
a mans two dollar silver watch with
his initials scratched on it. ram 1t down
into a blunderbuss. fire 1t at an upright
post. and when the smoke had cleared
away there it was danglin to nail.
| just as good as ever and tickin' away
at the regular rate. Then l would
take a sombrero and breed rabbits In
it. hatchin' 'em out at the rate of a
dozen minute. I'd keep on maxim
my tricks more and more wonderful as
l went along, keepin' the aujence's
eyes a-bulgin' and a-bulgin'.
My crack trick and the one with
which ended every performance was
lettin' some one fire bullet at me
and eatchin' it between my teeth. The
way did it was this: had bullets
made out of somethiD' so that in ram
ming them down could make powder
Of 'em. would let people In the audi
ence handle real bullets, but always
put in false one when the gun was
loaded. held real bullet. In my
mouth and when the shot was fred
showed 1t with my tongue between my
teeth.
One night when | was preparin' for
this trick | caught sight Of face in
the audience that startled me. 1t was
the greaser gal got through the
rest of the performance without know
in very well what was dom, and
ten the audience dispersed ! was
partly r-,,,,aved that the greaser gal
didn't remain ben..cd moved that
night, and the next performance gave
was twenty-five miles away.
/ was congratulatin' myself the next
night that the gal wasn't goin' to make
me any trouble when all of q student,
lcolkin' down into the audience, there
she was. | was so upset that ! STUN
bled through the performance, maxim
a botch of several of the best tricks.
+, The gal sat lookin' up at me with a
queer kind of stare in her eyes that
took all the starch out of me. But she
| sat quiet, and was gatherin' NOR
sci of confidence toward the end when
she showed her hand. When ! came
to the bullet trick and asked some one
to come on to the~platform and shoot
at me, up starts the gal and comes VI
with look on her face that no one
but I saw or knew what it meant.
Well, there was nothin' for me bu
let her do the shootin'. knowed she
meant mischief, but | didn't know
how she was goin' to do it If
hadn't been so upset might IA block
ed any game she had in mind. As |
: was. didn't have even the sand t
keep an eye on her. | tried to Civ
her a look of recognition with smil'
!. that the audience wouldn't see, bu
she only stared the blacker and black
er at me. and, catchin sight of my fac
in mirror, saw that | looked like |
GRIMM corpse.
rammed my false bullet down IL
the gun and handed it to her. Then
was obliged to turn my back to her t
| go aud stand where / was to catch thu
bullet in my teeth. The girl brough
. the gun to her shoulder, lowered II
brought it back again, took long aim
dropped it to examine the lock ant
raised it again. This suspense she wa
] givin' me- was a torture hadn'
+ counted on. She played me that wa.
till the audience made such a racke
, that she saw It wouldn't stan
much more delay. Then she brough
the gun into position and took an air
4 that any one could see was no pre-
T tense.
By this time wished had splint
ON my knees, for thought they wa
goin' to let me down. They say drown
in people see all the doin's of thei
lives. | thought of an the soft sodde
: I'd given the gal. and somehow | neve
doubted she was amin at me to Civ
me dose OF Gold lead
There was areport. thud beside M
- a..