Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1914-02-12
COPYRIGHT 1912
BOBB5 -NERPlLLC COZ

edneSS-lt evolved you, you, the iran
of today-the Fran Of this living
hour. And it's the Fran of this living
hour that l want to marry?"
Fran covered her face with her
hands. For a while there was silence,
then she said;
Father was there, tonight"
"At the lion-show? Impossible! Mr..
Gregory go to a-a-to-a-"
Eyes, it is possible for him even to
go to a show. But to do him justice,
he was forced under the tent, he had
no intention of doing anything so
wicked as that, he only meant to do
some little thing like running away
But no, ! can't speak of him with bit
terness, now. Abbott, he seems all
changed"
Abbott murmured, as if s%tupefed:
"Mr. Gregory at a show!"
Eyes, and a lion-show. When it was
over he came to me-he was so lex.
cited"
80 was l." spoke up the other
rather"
you didn't show it. thought
maybe you wouldn't care If had been
eaten up, No, no, listen. He
wanted to claim me-he called me
daughter right there before the peo-
pie, but they thought it was just a sort
of--of church name. But he was won
derfully moved. | left the tent with
him, and we had a long talk came
from him to you. | never saw any
body so changed"
But why"
you see, he thought l was going to
be killed right there before his eyes,
and seeing it with his very own eyes
made him feel responsible. He told
me, afterwards, that when he found
out who it was in the cage, he thought
Of mother in a different wayne saw
how his desertion had driven her to
earning her living with showmen, so ]
could be supported. All in all, he is a
changed man
"Then will he acknowledge you?-
but no, no j..
You see? He can't, on account OF
Mrs. Gregory. There's no future for
him, or for her, except to go on living
as mar and wife-without the secre.
tary. He imagines4it would be a sort
of reparation to present me to the
world as his daughter, he thinks II
would give him happiness-but it can't
be. Grace Noir has found it all out
"Then she will tell" Abbott ex.
claimed, in dismay.
"She would have told but for one
thing. She doesn't dare, and it's on
her own account-of course. She has
been terribly-well, %indiscreet. You
can't think of what lengths she was
willing to go--not from coldly making
up her mind, but because she lost grip
on herself, from always thinking she
couldn't. So she went away with Bob
Clinton-sheIl marry him, and they'll
go to Chicago, out of Littleburg his
tory-poor Bob! Remember the night
he was trying to get religion? I'm
afraid he'll conclude that religion
isn't what he thought it was, living SO
close to 1t from now on"
"All this interests me greatly, dear,
because it interests you. Still, II
doesn't bear upon the main question
abbott, you don't know why ! went
to that show to act. You thought
was caring for a sick friend. What dc
you think of such deceptions?"
Il think l understand, Simon JEFF
ferson told me of a girl falling from 6
~trapeze; it was possibly La Gonizetti's
daughter. Mrs. Jefferson told me tina
Mrs. Gregory is nursing some one
The same one, l imagine. And La Con
izetti was a friend of yours, and vol
took her place, SO the mother coult
stay with the injured daughter"
you're a wonder, %yourself!" Fra1
declared, dropping her hands to stare
at him. Eyes. that's it. All these
show-people are friends of mine
When the mayor was trying to decide
what carnival company they'd have
for the street fair, l told him abou
this show, and that's why it's here
Poor La Confetti needs the none.
dreadfully-for they spend it as fas
as it's paid in. The little darling will
have to go to a hospital, and there's
nothing laid by. The boys all threw
in, but they didn't have much, them
selves. Nobody has. Everybody's poo.
in this old ~world-except you and me
I've taken La Gonizetti's place in thu
cage all day to keep her from losing