The Fairmont West Virginian. (Fairmont, W. Va.) 1904-1914, 1909-04-15

/ tiers upon stalwart shoulders, both fig.
uratIyely and literally.
"well, amt In any trance" answer.
ed the dark girl, land think its pref.
ty tough for him to tale up with a
rank outsider and expect us to warm
up to her as though he'd married one
Of our own folks" She tossed her
head, the pride Of class distinction
yelling high In her ample bosom.
He amt askin' US to warm up to
her." contradicted Mile. Elolse, pale,
light haired sprite, who had arrived
late and was making undlgnlfed ef-
forts to get out of her clothes by way
of her head. She was Pollys under
study and next in line for the star
place in the bin.
well, Barker has put her into the
leap of death stunt. amt beg" con-
tnued the brunette. Course that
amt a regular circus act" she added.
somewhat Modified, "and so far she's
had to dress with the freaks, but the
next thing we know he'll be rlngin'
her In on regular stunt and be put
tin her in to dress with u.s."
mo danger Of that" sncered the
blond. Barker is too old a stager to
mix up his sheep and his gouts."
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 we're talk
ing had made her first appearance In
the circus lot, cllnglng timIdIy to the
hand Of the man who had just made
her his wife. Her eyes had met Pol
ly's with a look of appeal that had
gone straight to the chIlds simple
heart.
A few nights later the newcomer
had allowed herself to be strapped
Into the cumbersome leap Of death"
machine which hurled itself through
space at each performance and flung
Itself down with force enough to break
the neck Of any unskilled rider. Cour-
age and steady nerve were the reuui.
sites for the job, so the manager had
said. but any physician would have
told him that only trained acrobat
could long endure the nervous strain.
the muscular tension and the physical
rack of such an ordeal.
What matter? The few dollars
earned in this way would mean a
great deal to the mother whom the
girls marriage had left desolate.
Polly had looked on hungrily the
night that the mother had taken the
daughter in her arms to say farewell
In the little country town where the
circus had played before her marriage.
She could remember no woman's arms
about her, for 1t was fourteen years
since tender hands had carried her
mother from the performers tent into
the moonlit lot to die. The baby was
so used to seeing "mumsie" throw her
self YEARLY on the ground after COM
Ing out of the big top" exhausted
that she crept to the woman's side. as
usual, th%t night and gaZcd laughingly
into the 'si%h;!ess eyes, gurgling and
prattIlng and ssrokirG the unrespon
sive face. There were tears from
those who watched. but no word was
spoken
Clown Toby and the big ''boss can.
vasman" Jim had always taken turns
amusing and guarding little Polly
while her mother rode in the ring. So
Toby now carried the babe to another
side Of the lot. and Jim bore the life
less body of the mother to the distant
ticket wagon. now closed for the night,
and laid 1t upon the sellers cot.
Its allus like this in the end" he
murmured rs he drew piece of can
vas over the white face and turned
away to give orders to the men who
were beginning to load the props"
used earlier in the performance.
When the show moved on that night
1t was Jim's strong arms that lifted
the mite of Polly close to his stall
wart heart and climbed with her to
the high seat on the head wagon. Tn
Gle Toby was mtrusted with the brown
satchel In which the mother had al
ways carried Polly's scanty wardrobe.
1t seemed to these two men that the
eyes of the woman were fixed steadily
upon them.
Barker, the manager, 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 baby's round, confding eyes,
and he eventually contented himself
with an occasional reprmand to Toby,
who was now sometimes late on his
cues. Polly wondered at these times
why the old mans stories were SO sud.
denly cut short just as she was so
''comfy" in the soft grass at his feet.
The boys who used to look sharp
because Of their boss ut loading time
now learned that they might loiter so
long at "Afuvver Jim" was "hikln' 1t
round for the kid" 1t wns H'olIy who
had dubbed big Jim "AIuvver," and
the sobriquet had stuck 10 him in spite
OF IFS six feet two and shoulders that
an athlete might have cnvied. Little
by little Toby grew more stopped, and
small lines of anxiety crepr into the
brownish circles beneath JIm's eyes,
the lips that had once shut SO firmly
became tender and trcmulOus, but nei-
Their of the men would willingly have
4.