Ladysmith news-budget. [volume] (Ladysmith, Rusk County, Wis.) 1907-1927, 1910-05-20

Fake! Fake! rake! rake!
FAKE!'
Standish, Ansel at his side, was once
more at the platforms edge, striving
in vain to send his mighty voice
| through the cataract of noise. One
/ tough, in the pure Joy of living and
rioting, had climbed over the rail OF
/ proscenium box-the only one still
! occupied-and, throwing an arm about
the neck of young girl, sitting there
with an elderly man and woman, tried
to kiss her. The girl screamed. Her
elderly escort thrust the rowdy back
ward, and the latter, his insecure bal
| ance on the box-rail destroyed, tum-
/ bled down among the orchestra chairs.
/ The scene was greeted with howl or
! delight from kindred spirits.
The youth scrambled to his feet
and, joined by half dozen intimates,
once more swarmed up the side OF
i the box The girl shrank back, and
! futilely tugged at the closed box door,
! which had become TANNED. The old
man, quivering with senile fury,
! leaned over the box-front and Crap
! pied the foremost assailant. He was
! brushed aside and, amid a hurricane
j of laughter from The paid phalanx IN
the gallery, the group of half-drunk,
wholly-inspired young brutes clustered
across the box rail. The whole Incl
dent had not occupied Ave seconds.
Yet it had served to draw the multi
divided attention of the mob and the
rest of the escaping audience to that
particular and new point of interest.
And now, dozens of the tougher ele-
! ment, seeing prospect of better
! sport than mere campaign row, ell
! bowed their way to the spot.
The girls cry and that of the wo-
man with her had barely reached the
stage when Give Standish, with one
tremendous spring, had cleared the
/ six-foot distance between fOotlights
and box. There was confused,
whirling, cursing mass of bodies and
| arms. Then the whole group relied
outward over the rail.
Before they had fairly touched
ground Give was on his feet, the CEN
| ire of a surprised but bellicose swirl
of opponents who were nothing loath
| to change their plan Of batting a we'll
dressed girl into the more thrilling
pastime of beating a well-dressed
| candidate.
AS the score of toughs rushed him,
Give had barely time to get his back
] into the shallow angle between the
| bullying outer bases of the two p.osce-
MUM boxes. Then the rush was upon
him.
Hitting clean and straight, and with
the speed and unerring deadliness OF
| the trained heavyweight boxer, Give
| for the moment held his own. There
was no question of guarding. He re-
/ lied rather for protection on the I'M
usual length of his arms.
Nor could a blow be planned before
| hand. 1t was hit, hit, and keep on hit
! ting Fully twenty youths and men
surged forward at him, and at rearly
| every blow one went down among the
pushing throng. But for each who
fell there were always two more to
take his place The impact and crash
of blows sounded above the yells and
shuttle of feet. This was not boxing.
| 1t was butchery.
Only his semi-sheltered position and
the self-confusing hurry and numbers
of his assailants kept Give on his feet
and allowed him to mold his own.
Yet, as he dimly realized even
through the wild lust of battle that
! gripped and intoxicated him, the fight
was but question of moments. Soon
someone running in, must grapple or
trip him, or kick would reach and
disable him. And once down, in that
bedlam of stamping, kicking feet, his
life would not be worth scrap of
| paper.
While it lasted, though, it was glor-
ious. The veneered shell of civiliza-
ton had been battered away. He was
primitive man, gigantic, furious, terri
BILE; battling against hopeless odds.
| Yet battling Gas had those ancestors
from whom his yellow hair, great
shoulders and bulldog jaw were in
herited) IL the more gladly and
doughtily because of those very odds.
! He was aware of a man who, running
! along the box rail from the stage, had
dropped to his side and stood swing
ing a gilded, blue-cushiOned chair
about his head. This apparition and
the whizzing sweep of his odd weap-
on caused the toughs to give back for
| an instant.
Good old Ansel!" painted Give.
"Save your BREATH" grunted Karl.
you'll need it."
Then a yell from twenty threats
and the rush was on again. At first,
anticipating the easy triumph which
their type so love, the toughs had
turned from the, milder fun of fright
ening a girl of the better class to the
momentary work of thrashing the soli-
tary man who had interfered with that
simple amusement. Now, bleeding
faces, swollen eyes and more than
one fractured jaw and nose had trans
forn,od tho oar1inr nhaSa of rough