The Holbrook news., 1910-07-22
The Scarlet
 Spiders Bite
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 Between sun and sun, almost in the
 twinkling of an eye, fences, sign-
 boards, even the crum5ling walls of old Corpus Christi, blazed with the
 announcement of the coming show: "EI Gran Circo. Nuevs dias en Ia Ciudad de Mexico" Human snakes, giraffes, zebras, acrobatic elephants, gleams of graceful pink proportions skimming the air, dazzled the eye of lettering youth and business-like mid dle-age alike.
 The joys of bull-ring and Easter fiesta faded into nothingnes5 In com parison with the promises of Ia reind del circo describing pink semicircles through the atmosphere; los incorpdr- dbIes dcred!istds soaring at leisure through space; Johnny Purvis 7 Charles Jing looking out of each others eyes; and marvellous other feats that made the twenty-fourth of May seem weeks. instead of days. away.
 Posters of the beautiful Clarita, "a reinG, the sunlight tangled in the meshes of her golden hair. dal- lied with bottles and casks in wine shops, toppled above melons and eggs in. restaurant windows, eclipsed the display of hats and lingerie in uptown shops, until in innumerable ways she had demoralized the gaping world that waited with bateo breath the dawning of the 24th All this because never before had the great American circus visited the City of Mexico.
 When at last the 24th actually dawned and the hour of the great street parade drew near. the walks alon gthe published line of march were 50 thronged with eager onlookers. outriders with pointed bayonets charged the crowds to clear way for the procession. And with a passing of the parade the populace formed in line while the cages and floats wound into the circus quarters, and then filed eral hours for the show to begin. Those who came earliest secured the best seats, so those who waited until the hour scheduled for the perform ance had to stand in the tent openings or line the ring.
 It was because he had arisen late, breakfasted late, loitered around the office. and arrived at the hour appoint ed for the beginning of the perform ance. that Roderiguez di Arguello. un- able to get a seat, was standing near the curtain of the dressing tent when the blare of trumpets and the stentor- Ian tones of the oily ringmaster an nounced in halting Spanish the feat of this most greatest ever" tight rope. slack-wire, and high-trapeSe ar tiste. Clarita, I'd reinG del circo.
 Young Di Arguello had watched idly while an elephant danced on a tub. a sea lion conducted a singing school glass balls had turned into live guinea pigs. and similar marvel ous feats had been peroetrated before the wide-eyed audience; but at the an- nouncement of the entrance of Clarita be turned toward the curtain expect Ing to see the usual creature of paint ed smiles and cotton roses.
 The band softened It's blare to play a few bars of La Paloma" when a rIHt in the curtain revealed a pair of wonderful blue eyes above a slender length of tinseled corslet and pink before spring and a bound landed her in the ring.
 Boldly the dark eyes of Di Arguello fixed the blue eyes as they peered from the curtain, and frankly and fearlessIy they laughed back at him The next moment the voice of the crowd arose to welcome the entrance of Ia reina del circo.
 Seizing the first trapeze. set in mo- ton by the dark-visaged little man who had reached the ring from the opposite side, the silver ankles twin kIed a moment in mid-air as she pois- ed for her flight toward the highest. Eyes and mouth agape. excitement-lov- Ing Mexico watched the little wisp Of woman swing. alight; swing aga.a and catch with unerring sureness tue next higher bar, until she reached the top the agile little man in scarlet tights "One. two. three" as she swung from bar to bar with the pre- cision of a clock.
 Until the perilous downward flight was finished not long breath was drawn in the audience; then with a triumphant fanfare of trunpets and an airy somersault she threw a hand ful Of kisses to her delighted audience and skipped across the riag. The blue