Twice-a-week plain dealer. (Cresco, Howard County, Iowa) 1895-1913, 1909-05-04

w.
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. Eoise. pale
light haired sprite, who had arrived
late and was making undignitied eff
forts to get out Of her clothes by way
Of her head. She was Polly's under
study and next in line for the stat
place in the bill
well, Barker has put her into the
leap of death stunt. amt he?" con
tinued the brunette, Course thai
amt regular circus act" she added
somewhat notified, "and so far she's
had to dress with the freaks, but the
next thing we know he'll be ringin'
her In on a regular stunt and be put
tin her in to dress with u.s.
mo danger of that" sneered the
blond. Barker is too old n stager to
mix up his sheep 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
ly's with look Of appeal that had
gone straight to the child's 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 a 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, that night and gazed laughingly
into the sightless eyes, gurgling and
prattling and stroklng 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 it upon the sellers cot.
cts allus like this in the end" he
murmured as he drew piece of can
vas over the white face and turned
away to give orders to the men who
We're beginning to load the props"
used earlier in the performance.
When the show moved on that night
1t was Jims strong arms that lifted
the mite of a Polly close to his stall
wart heart and climbed with her to
the high seat on the head wagon. I'm
Gle Toby was Entrusted with the brown
satchel in which the mother had al
ways carried Polly's scan.y wardrobe.
1t seemed to these two men that the
eyes of the woman were fixed 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 bal4-'s round. confiding eyes,
and he eventually contented himself
with an occasional reprimand to Toby,
who was now sometimes late on his
cues. Polly wondered at these times
why the old mans stories We're 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 at loading time
now learned that they might loiter so
long at "Muvver Jim" was "hikin' 1t
round for the kid" 1t was Polly who
had dubbed big Jim "Muvver," and
the sobrlquet had stuck to him In spite
Of his six feet two and shoulders thai
an athlete might have envied. Littl.
by little Toby grew more stopped, ant
small lines of anxiety crept into the
brownish circles beneath Jim's eyes
the lips that had once shut so tirml,
became tender and tremulous, but nei
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 climl
up on the pole Of an unhitched Wagon
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