The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1908-10-10
The EVENING STORY
Jim's Hot Finish.
(By Colin S. Collins.)


| What luck?" asked Ben Strome. as
Jim Petite, his partner, and the other
half of the Altar Brothers, emerged
from the red ticket wagon, where
Richard Clute was counting up" the
afternoon receipts.
| Worst sort of luck" was the reply.
I thought if 1 tackled the old man
after good matinee 1 could catch him
in a fine humor. but it seems that the
sheriff held him up just before I got
there. One of the grafters he pinched
! told that the old man got rakeoff,
ana the snerlH came around to get his
and got mine. The old mans going
70 send Daisy to boarding school, and
ne mentioned place might go to
but it's nowhere near Daisy's school.
You can bet on that"
| can't you two hook p" suggested
Ben. ITS pretty close to the end of
weeks l can stand my share of the
loss If l don't get a chance to work a
| single act at some of the late fairs.
See what the kid thinks
cont have to see," was the
gloomy resuonse. ST know now what
her answer would be. She won't beat
IL: She's going to have regular we'd
ding, with the old man giving her
away. or there won't be a wedding.
She's told me that dozen times. and
Strome nodded. Ever since they
mad Joined the Clute show in midsea-
son Petite had been making violent
love to Daisy Clute, the owners
one-ring affair-thcugh they travel
ed by railroad instead of by wagon.
Inc performers all lived in a single
car, and in theory formed one large
Iamliy. Daisy and her father had
car to themselves. but she was much
around the tents and her preference
for the clean-limbed young gymnast
had soon become a matter for COM
ment.
By supper time the fact that the old
man had refused his consent to their
marriage was all over the dressing
tent and it did not need Daisy's red
rlmmed eyes and Pettie's frown to
confirm the report.
Daisy was standing near the on
trance when Petite came out for the
double act. He did a turn on the fv-
Ing rings earlier on the bill, while
Strome did strong-man act in the
the ring feature of the show@"the
hottest act in the business thew
ciaimed-and Daisy always tried to be
near in case of accident, though she
could not bear to watch them.
Strome did the neutrality-suspicious.
Jim as he leaped from his own trapeze
to Strome's hands. He was reliable
worker, but Daisy always feared that
some night those steady nerves would
fail. and that Jim's body would go
hurting through the air until it
struck the ring bank or the seats a
limp and lifeless mass. She had seen
one accident, and it had remained
vivid in her memory.
Presently Strome Joined the pair as
they stood talking, and an instant later
the four horses used in the double
riding act dashed into the tent follow
ed by Paul and Lefty Murphy-who
boosted very different names on the
bill.
The band struck up their music and
the two men ran into the ring 1t was
the work of moment to climb to
their perches. The apparatus consist
ed of two trapeze swings, one long one
used by Petite for the leaps. and the
shorter one from which Strome hung
when he made the catches On Pettie's
end there was platform from which
he leaped to gain momentum. and this
was but a few feet from the center
pole which held up the tent
The first two swings were made
without trouble, and then Strome did
some single work to give Petite an
opportunity to rest. Jim leaned
against the ropes to steady himself
and glanced below at the well-filled
tent sea of faces. white in the
flare of the lamps. gazed intently up-
ward as Strome hung by his toes from
the short swing.
An odd roar caught Pettie's atten-
ton. and he glanced at the lamps. A
cluster of gasoline flares hung from
the center pole and supplied light for
the tent
Two huge reservoirs were fastened
together to form ring about the pole.
and from these radiated the burners
Clute was old-fashioned in many of
ideas, and his fondness for the old
fashioned light amounted to a hobby.
Jim could see that one of the tanks
had sprung a leak, and in some way
the escaping gas had caught fire from
the flames below. The heat was va
porizing the inflammable LIQUID more
rapidly than usual, and 1t was only a
matter of minutes before the heat
would cause an explosion that
would send the blazing fluid flying over
the crowd below and the tinderlike
tent.
There had been no rain for several
days, and on the other hand the bIaz-
ing sun had been pouring it's rays on
the tent since early morning. The
flames would run to the guy ropes,
and when these gave way the crowd be-
low would be enveloped in a mass of
fame.
There was no time to signal below to
lower the lights. 1t was too far to
jump to the pole. Strome was just
climbing to the trapeze bar for a mo-
ment's rest, and Jim seized his own
swing.
strome gasped as he saw the move
ment and hurried to reverse on the ira
swing and Strome could not under
stand the move. AS the long swing
reached the limit of its fight, Strome
caught inns voice.
He heard only the words Elmer
gency lights" but he guessed the rest
and as coolly as though It was q part