The Manchester journal. [volume] (Manchester, Vt.) 1861-current, 1909-04-22

lais ana was inaAihs uuu'si'iue' 81
forls 70 sri OUT oi he' Sio'hss '. was
VI hef heha' she was 'oi' o"ee'
stuns anu neAa - ''s ~ 'a'
piaee ~ 'ne oni'
wen. Barker mas put ner inso 'he
leap oI aeath s'uhi. am nef con'
tinued ihe brunette toufse ,ha'
sinl regular circus ACT sue adueu'
somewhat mollified. ''and 10 far she's
had 10 dress with the freaks. but the
next thing we know he'll be ringin'
her IN on regular stunt aud be put.
tin her IN 10 dress with us"
mo danger OF that" sneered the
blond BARKER is too old stager 10
mix up his sheen and his goats"
Polly had again lost the thread OF
the conversation Her mind had gone
rowing to the night when the fright.
ened girl about whom they were talk
Ing had made her first appearance In
| the circus lot, clinging timidly to the
hand Of the man who had Just made
her his wife Her eyes had met Pol
lyis with look OF appeal that had
| gone straight to the childis simple
heart.
few nights later the newcomer
had allowed herself To be strained
into the cumbersome ..leap of DEATH
machine which hurled itself through
space at each performance and fiung
4
the neck OF any unskilled rider. Cour.
age and steady nerve were the reoui.
sites for tho tob 90 the manager had
said bnt anY pbysician would have
told him thai only n trained acrobat
could long endure tbe neryous strain
the muscular tension and the pbysical
rack OF such an ordeal.
What matterq The few dollars
earned in this way would mean a
great deal 10 the mother whom the
GIRLS marriage had left desolate
Polly had looked on bunprily the
night that the mother had taken the
daughter in her arms to saw farewell
lr the little country town where the
circus had played before her marriage
She could remember no woman's arms
about her for II was fourteen wears
since tender hands had carried her
mother from the performers, tent into
the moonlIt lot TO die. The baby was
90 used to seeing amumsIe" throw her.
self YEARLY on the ground after com.
Ing ont Of the "blp ton, exhausted
that she crcnt 10 the woman,s side as
usual. that night and gazed laughingly
into The sicbtIess ewes. purgling and
prattlinp and stroking the unrespon
sive face. There were tears from
those who watched but no word was
spoken.
Clown Toby and the big .boss can.
vasman" Tim had alwavs taken turns
om,s,pg ana Guarding ,,tt,e polly
wh,lo har mo,bar roda IN ,ba r,nc So
Tohr nou corr,ed tho haho 70 another
.,de q, the Iot and Tim hora tbe ,,fa.
loss hoav q, tho mo,ber "a tho distant
,,orot wagon now c,osad for tho p,obt
.nd laid II mon Tho seller,s cot
.I,s allus ,,Le this In tho and" he
u,,,,,as a. ~ d,o ,,ooo o,oor
.. 80. ~ ,,,,,o ,ooo "a ,,xnoa
.,.,s .a.u =. a., ,,,, -.
-. har.nn,,n ,o ,ooa ,ha "nrors,,
~, s,,a. =, .,a nor,armanoo
W. wv, - -, ,,,a,sa -, ~. ,,.
:, 80 IN. s,ronn orms ,ha, ,ie,ad,
Va, 80 no,,'s a,aaa ~. 49,,
'ne 'e a,,..,,s -
W. ~ - ~
'.o msn 80 ., a. -, ~
y. ,o'y "as -. - e. -, ~ -,
ways carried Polly's scanty wardrobe.
II seemed to these two men that the
eyes Of the woman were ixed steadily
upon them,
Barker. the manager, a large, noisy,
good natured fellow, at first mumbled
something about the kid being excess
baggage" but his objections were only
half hearted, for, like the others, he
was already under the hypnotic spell
OF the bnby's round. confding eyes.
and he eventually contented himself
with an occasional reprimand to Toby,
who was now sometimes late on MS
cues. Polly wondered al these times
why the OLD mans stories were 80 SUD
denly cut shtst Just as she was 30
"comiy ID the soit grass at MS ieet
Inc boys VINO useu 70 TOOK sharp
because OF .heir ooss at iohuihs ,i'he
now learned thht lhey might ioiter 80
long ht MuVver jim was niAiii
round TOT tne klu' ~ was foiiy VINO
mao dubbed pis Jim Mu'fei' anu
tne sopr'quet nad s'uch u niil 'n spite
Of his six feet two and shoulders that
an athlete might have enyied. Little |
by little Toby grew more stopped. and |
small lines OF anxiety crept into the
brownish circles beneath JIm's eyes,
the lips that had once shut 20 firmly
became tender and tremuIous, but mel.
ther OF the men would willingly have
gone back to the old emptiness.
1t was red letter day In the cir. /
Gus when Polly first managed TO climb |
ND on the pole Of an unhitched wagon |
and from there 10 the back OF friend.
,r ch.,,.,s ,onv Tim and Tobv had 1
~ S"N"N lNNs' " "