The Leon reporter. (Leon, Iowa) 1887-1930, 1913-07-10

ing my eyes, and Watty would come
rushing after me firing his revolver l
would make fur the doctor and draw
my spear back to jab it clean through
him, and Watty would grab my arm.
And the doctor would whirl round and
they would wrastle me to the ground
and would be handcuffed and drag
ged back into the tent, still bowling
and struggling to break loose. On the
inside my part Of the show was to be
wild in cage. would be chained to
the floor, and every now and then
would get wilder and rattle my chains
and shake the bars and make jumps at
the crowd and carry on and make be-
lieve I was too mad to eat the pieces
of raw meat Watty throwed into the
cage.
Watty had snake charmsr woman,
with an awful long, bony kind OF
neck, working fur him, and another
Teller that was her husband and eat
glass. The show opened up with them
two doing what they said was a comic
turn. Then the fat lady come on.
While everybody was admiring her
size and looking at the number Of
pounds on them big cheat scales Wat
ty weighed her on, the long necked one
would be changing to her snake
clothes. Which she only had one snake,
and he had been in the business so
long and was so kind Of worn out and
tired with being charmed so much it
always seemed like a pity to me the
way she would take and twist him
around. After Reginald had been
charmed awhile it would be the glass
caters turn. Which he really did eat,
and the doctor says that kind always
dies before they is fifty. never know
ed his right name, but what he went
by was the Human Ostrich.
Watty's wife was awful Jealous OF
Mrs. Ostrich, fur she got the idea she
was carrying on with Watty. One
night 1 hearn an argument from the
fenced off part of the tent Watty and
his wife slept in. She was setting on
Watty's chest and he was gasping fur
mercy.
"You know it amt true" says Wat
ty, kind Of smothered like.
ut u.s." says she, 'you own up it is''
And she gave him jOunce.
mo, darling" he gets out of him,
"you know l never could bear them
thin. scrawny kind Of women" And
he begins to call her pet names of all
kinds and beg her please, if she won't
get Off complete, to set somewheres
else minute, fur his chest he can feel
giving way and his ribs caving in. He
called her his plump little woman
three or four times, and she must have
softened up some, fur she moved and
his voice come stronger, but not less
meek and lowly. And inch by inch
| Watty coaxed her clean off of him.
But the next day she hearn him and
Mrs. Ostrich giggling about something,
and she has regular tantrum and jest
fur meanness goes out and falls down
on the race track, pretending she has
tainted, and they can't move her no
ways, not even roll her. But finally
they rousted her out of that by one of
these here sprinkling carts backing up
agin her and turning loose.
But aside from them occasional mean
streaks Dolly was real nice, and kind
Of got to liking her. She tells me that
because she is so fat no one won't take
her serious like human being. and
she wisht she was like other women
and had family. That woman want
ed baby, too, and bet she would Of
been good to it, fur she was awful
good to animals.
That poor. old, fat fool had doll
yet, all hid away, and when she was
alone she used to take it out and cud-
die it. Well, Dolly never had many
friends, and you couldn't blame her
much if she did drink little too much
now and then, or get mad at Watty
fur his goings on and kneel down on
him whilst he was asleep. Them was
her only faults, and I liked the old
girl. Yet I could see Watty had his
troubles too.
That show busted up before the fair
closed. Fur one day Watty's wife gets
mad at Mrs. Ostrich and tries to set on
her. And then Mrs. Ostrich gets mad,
too, and sicks Reginald on to her.
Watty's wife is awful scared of Regi-
maid, who, don't really have ambition
enough to bite no one, let alone a lady
built so round everywhere he couldn't
Of got grip on her. And she has
some Mysteries and faints in earnest
this time. Well, they was an awful
hullabolloo when she came to, and fur
the sake of peace in the family Watty
has to fire Mr.. and Mrs. Ostrich and
poor old Reginald out Of their jobs.
and the show is busted. So DR.. Kirby
and me lit out fur other parts agin.
CHAPTER x.