The herald-advance. (Milbank, S.D.) 1890-1922, 1912-10-11
him a fugitive for whom $500 would
no mold Jo,I ~ ,1,,~

SulseS Iose u his ups, ups tnat naQ
never known an oath before. Prayers
and ~pleadings were forgotten in that
bitter arraignment Of fate.
Then anne the sudden revival Of
youthful spirits. carrying with them
the reckless bravado that all boys pos
sess to the verge Of folly. The band
was playing, the show had begun. A
fierce desire 20 brave detection and
boldly enter the charmed pavilion took
possession of him. First he would buy
OF the pie mans wares. then he would
calmly present himself before the tick
ct wagon window, after which, But
ne got no further in his dream of au-
dacity. The pIacard on the fence
seemed to smite him in the face. He
drew farther back into the darkness,
shuadcrjag.
Ci"cjing the dressing tent. he came
upon men at work. They We're draw
ing stakes with the Old fashioned
chains. For awhile he DULY watched
them. They passed on. He crept from
his place Of hiding and. attracted by
the lights as a moth is drawn by the
candle. made his way to the shelter
ed spot at the joining Of the tents.
IN overpowerin@ sense Of lassitude
fell upon him. His eyes closed in alb
rupt surrender to exhaustion. The
rhythmic beat Of the quickstcp leaped
off into great distances: the champing
and snorting Of horses in the dressing
tent died away as if by magic: the
Subdued voices of the men and women
who waited their turn to bound into
the merry ring faded into indistin-
~gniShable whispers: the crack Of the
rlngmaster's whip and the responsive
yelp of the clown trailed off into ST
lence. His head fell back. his body
relaxed and he slipped off into sweet
uncOnsciousness.
\ man in motley carb. with a face Of
scarlet and white. caught sight Of an
arm and hand lying limp under the
edge Of the canvas. He stared hard
for a moment. and then, attracted by
the slim, unfamiliar member, arose
and advanced TO the spot. AS he stood
there a woman and a young girl ap-
preached.
Drunk" observed the clown with a
grimace.
The woman spoke. How long and
fine the fingers are. A boys hand. not
a mans. See who is there. Joey, do
And so it was that the fugitive was
taken.
The clown lifted the side wall and
bent over the form Of the lad. peering
into the white, mud stroaked face.
Hes not drunk" he said quickly.
He looks i'll, poor fellow. How wet
he is-and so muddy. Is he asleep? 1t
isn't-it isn't something else:" She
drew back in sudden dread.
He's alive. right enough. | say,
Mrs. Braddock. there's something queer
about this. He can't belong in this
ere town, else he wouldn't he sleepin'
ere i'll the mud. He's plain peaged
out, ma'am. Like enough 'e's some
poor fool as wants to join the circus.
Run away from 'ome, l dare say.
We've 'ad lots of 'em follow us up
lately. you know. Only this 'un looks
different. Shall | call Peterson? He'll
wake i'm up right enough and con
vince i'm that the show business is a
good thing to stay out Of while he can"
Don't call Peterson. He is q brute.
Rouse him yourself. and tell him to
come inside the tent. Poor boy, he's
half drowned. Come, dearie." to the
girl. go into the dressing room. You
must not see
He ia so white and III cooking.
mother said the girl, in plying tones,
her gaze fastened upon the face Of the
sleeper. The mother drew the child
aside.
He may be another Artful Dick. my
child ventured the mother. Your
father says the ~pickpockets are IN
commonly numerous this spring
I'm sure he isn't a thief-Im sure
Of it, said the girl eagerly.
She was a pretty, brown haired crea-
ture. whose large, serious eyes seemed
unnaturally dark and brilliant against
the vivid coloring of her cheeks and
forehead. One who understood the
secrets Of the 'makeup' could have
told at n glance that underneath the
thick layer Of powder and paint there
vas a soft. white skin. Even the
rough, careless application OF harm
less cosmetics could not in any sense
deceive one as TO the delicacy of her
features. The mouth, red with the
carmipe grease. was gentle. even trem-
ulouS; her nose. though strcaked with
a thin. white line. was straight and