Evening star., 1914-01-25

pound OF coffee back on the Shelf II competition IS
what's running him, he sit down and wait for the
other fellow to or die. grocery stock will
keep. It's different with the circus The show must
be given no matter what the odds against it. And there's
nothing to sell any day but that days tickets With
another set of White Tops in the town vicin-
y it's scramble to which gets the bigger share
of the local loose change. Many of the most interest
ing pages in circus history directly traceabe to
this struggle for the portion of the spols There's
not ffty-year-old resident of the interior United
States but tell you of bill posters But
grocervmen don't fight. They don't have to.
That was precisely what Sam Harkins saying as
the train slowed down gradually to a stop siding.
If he hadn't said it, l should probably have never
thought of it.
tom" he said, its me for the Simple Life soon
this seasons done. grocery, linen duster,
own box of vecent cigars, and plenty OF time to sit
stool the dried prunes, waiting for customers
and watching the flies and dust give the mellow touch
of age to the stock-can you me-"
Outside Sans the blboards fences, and barns
announced in screaming coors and extravagant English
the presence of two circuses in Texas For weeks the
rival bill posters contracting agents. and press men had
been jostng Notwithstanding for wind, as 1t
While there had been physical set-to, 1t
only because both the Mighty Harkins outfit and the
Wells & Howe realized that the date for the scri
mage already fixed. Each crowd overlooked no op-
portuntv harass the other but diligently saved its
wind and strength for the inevitable and impending
mixup. Sam Harkns knew all about this,-he could
smell trouble as far any MAINLAND the thought OF the
turmoil through which he stagger in the next few
days doubtless responsible for his downhearted
desire to become rasin-eating dealer in fancy and
staple eatables
Forget it,! said I. The train had come to halt and
the business of unloading the hog, the freaks, the
ticket wagons, and the rest of junk was started
Come on What YOU want is fresh air and a cup of
coffee. Be cheerful and maybe III give you of your
cigars after awhile Here's Rip now.
D Up was the youth who took care of Sans rig, and
drove him and from the train out to the lot and
wherever else he wanted to go in the tank towns
were playing in the Wild and Wooly. Just as he
climbing in Sam deserted youngster with papers, and
bought one.
"Whoa!" yelled Sam, shaking out the paper his
knee "Look at that"
His trembling fist aimed in the general direction
of half-colunn article the first page The heading
read
SMALLPOX AND CHAMBERS!
Mighty Harkns Show Due Here Tomorrow Said to Be
Reekng with Dread Diseases!
WHOLE STATE IN DANGER,
Circus, if Reports Are True Must Be Quarantincd for
Weeks Before Allowed to Go On!
Under a NIelrose dateline there followed what was
described special despatch to The Sentinel, in
which, well sprnkled with q" is alleged, "it is said
according to trustworthy reports, "rlnor has it,, and
other journalistic albis the details of the horrible
scourgcs printed Our horses supposed to be
diving by the carload An acrobat lately arrived from
South America suspected Of having contributed
the smallpox which had spread 50 fast that only half Of
the show could be given if the health officers per-
mtted the performance to go However, the lnagl
native writer figured being we'll acquainted with the
high moral and scientific caliber of the State officials
general and the Department of Health in particular,
that the circus would be stopped instantly thus pro-
tecting in thousands of lives and millions of
dollars worth of livestock
And can't to he S.,I1H H,rL
fore had finished skimming through the article. rip,
drive to the newspaper Office