Tensas gazette. [volume] (St. Joseph, La.) 1886-current, 1910-12-09

| show where he bought II down at
Coney Island. He wasn't good for
anything around the show. but he had
| that animal like a tame kitten around
him. He and Glover had all the care
of 1t, for the old fellow was asleep
most of the time. One day 1t got
loose. l heard about it from a pal
| of mine who stayed on for the sea-
son. 1t was about two, as the show
was breaking up for a new town, and
| the cheetah got out and calmly
strolled down the main street in the
moonlight 1t seemed amused and In.
terested, but when a principal citizen
got busy with a shooting iron II
| jumped at him and chewed hts shout.
(; der. Then this youngster went after
1t, but 1t had tasted blood and was
| feeling mighty airy. 1t only cuffed
at the boy, but it laid him out, and
all at once Clover heard the row and
ran out of her tent and down the
street after it. And say. she had her
belt, little elastic business with q
pretty buckle on it-you know the
! kind girls wear-and she put that
| around his neck and led 1t back to It's
wagon. How's that? Plucky? yes
While the boys were hanging back
with pitchforks and nets and hOt
irons"
| Another time 1t had toothache and
they got dentist in. and she made
him give 1T an anaesthetic. Little
things, but they made that heather
cheetah animal love thetgirl as II II
had been a pet cat
| Pop was thinking Of selling out
along this time, and the prospective
buyer came on from Kansas City to
look the show over. Instead, be
looked Clover over. and spoke to Pop
Intentions? l don't know anything
about them, son. If he had any good
ones he certainly kept them out Of
sight. But he made Clover the bonus
in the business deal and he bought
the outfit that night. Long about
1890 he comes out of Pops quarters
and makes for Glover. She hadn't
gone to bed. She was over at the
cheetah's wagon talking to 1t and te
the Kid. 1t was moonlight, those
nights in August when the moor
comes up like a great f1ame-coiorec
blossom. and they were in Kentucky
near the Ohio border. The kid was
playing on a mouth organ, real soft
and decent, when the big chap came
over, took hold of Clover's arm and
told her what the deal was.
When Glover screamed Pop him
self came out and tried to reason will
her. She was to go on that night tt
Kansas City and marry the fellow
there and then back to the show. Pol
said he was sick and tired Of the
whole show business and was goins
abroad to seek a long-deserved res
from his labors. And he struck hel
d with one Of those short whips they
use on the animals when they lif
their upper lips and growl."
There was a brief silence. The
train was speeding along at fifty
miles an hour. Sammy stared out Of
the smoker window contentedly, in
terestedly, and watched the landscape
Of New Jersey take wings to itsel
and roll up like the scroll Of a parch
ment.
Then what?" he said finally.
THE kid let the cheetah loose
said Murray slowly. And when tn,
two of them grabbed her and tried I,
carry her of 1t leaped on their backs
That's about all l know. Pop left thu
hospital five months later with scar,
that he'll bear all his life and tn,
other fellow lost one arm, That chez
tab was a discriminating animal
died from a bullet Pop managed t,
land right finally; but 1t had done 1t,
work well. And the other two skipped
out that night, the kid and Glover.
always thought they made for wher,
her mothers folks lived. In Indian,
somewhere"
That's Just what they did," brok
in Sammy happily. And the folk
down there was good to them. The,
let the kid work around the farm, an,
Clover got well and pretty. instead o
looking like wax candle most of tn
time. They lived there up to a yea
ago. 1t was a pretty good farm. Yo
haven't seen Mrs. Clancy. have you
Mrs. Sammy Clancy? No? 1 though
not. She's going to meet us in Phils
delphia tonight. She still likes tn
business. somehow. l guess us Jus
because she's Glover. and I'm that XII
that looked after the cheetah."