The Washington times., 1915-10-10

tune had undertaken to 80 back the
millions which had been stolen from
the Warden orphans. Violet and Fan
ME had been In a constant state OF be-
%ere 9SsF fSs nsss ss,F ,Ss R%M orssf sRSf
Blackic. that ever cleaned UP county
fair"
"Thc good old days Of my childhood. .
regretted Blsckie. while Violet laughed
and frowned at tho same time. 1T
seems like a million years since held
the rubber pea in the crook Of my little
finger while the whiskered boobs tried
to guess which walnut shell 1t was un-
sweat. wonder who has the trim
ming privilege with this circus?
We'll meet some good CRATER we
know" remarked Wallingford. then he
turned abruptly to the girl. Run away
Miss Violet Here comes BogEcr.''
T'""n was mad scramble when the
d.. bch rang. but Wallingford and
Blackie found seats waiting for them.
the hands OF Fannie Warden. They sat
down. leaving the middle chair vacant.
Fannie. keeping a sharp eye on the
door. ran to meet Elias the minute he
came In, led him TO the vacant chair
and seated him triumphantly.
Elias was spare man. considerab bly,
past middle age. whose leathery face. in
It's queer pattern Of bronze checks and
'~HIu JONlS, DetTayGu tnAt MS now
natty goatee had but recently been
whiskers; HIS sparse. long top-hair
which had tendency to become bald.
fortably In his high collar that It was
certain he had not long endured the
things. He wore. too. a rusty and dusty
and slightly frayed band of Grape upon
the sleeve OF his overly youthful suit.
the black circlet contrasting oddly. with
the gray. readymade cravat and the
Fine day FOR the Circus, " he said
to Wallingford in a hasty. little high
pitched voice. having inspected all the
ladies' In the room.
Bogscr, left the conversation to
Blackfe. who leaned forward with
days weather We're the most impor-
tant in the world.
Back In eighty-four. on July II. to
be more exact. we had Just such
another S,no. .,nd day fSr CIRCUS as this; and
all the gravity OF a deacon confcssins
his besetting sin at Wednesday night
prayermeeting.
You don't say" exclaimed Elias
curacy. You must be an old circus
man."
"Circuses." declared Blackie solemn
ly. have been In our family for many
senerations; In fact. they were named
father, Napoleon b. Circus. who in
vented this sort of moral and educa-
tional amusement"
Elias carefully smoothed dhe hair
across his balding spot. and surveyed
Not this one" explained Blackie
apologeticaliy. paving no attention to
Msiiinsiords s S,'.n% fr9wni it rn.s belongs to
waved his hand suavely in the direc-
ton OF Wallingford. j. Rufus bowed
IN reluctant acknowledgment as one
bored to be known OF strangers. Mr..
awe. II sold mine several years ago"
resumed Blackie. II was glad enough
to be rich, but at that Just natural
ly grew weary Of seeing the money
pile; 80 I retired. Now I follow cir
cuses around just for amusement: first
one and then the other
Must be lot Of money in a cir
Gus" suggested Mr.. Bogger with a
questioning glance at Wallingford.
panded. looking as nearly E" as sness possinfe eS
OF mlllion-dollar bills. To the eye he
was perfectly satisfactory.
Money!" said Blackie; with a wide
then he lowered his voice to an cx-
tremely confidential Zone. "Circrses
make so much money" he went on,
that over twenty years ago il was
found necessary to form the circus
trust, not to make more money. but
to keep circuses from taking ali the
money out OF circulation. Now no.
body Is allowed to start O new circus:
there are only twenty-five. large and
small. permitted in the United States.
and the only way to get one Is to puy
one" He grinned at J. Rufus, know
ing that Wallingford was frettlng
interfere with their later plot.
They must cost lot" guessed the
other man. keenly interested in
Blaekies array OF thoroughly I'M
promptu facts
Well. no." returned Blackic. con-
templatively searching his fancy for
statements free from monotony: the
price is standardized. Circuses run
from $4,000 to S5,0oO00O. This one, for
instance. Is a $4,000 one. being known
In the business as a Glass c show.
and Mr.. Barnes would lay himself
open to severe penalties II he asked
more for IT."
WalIingford looked properly gloomy.
lie was really SO.
It's worth lot more, isn't IT," in |
duired the goateed one, much con-
corned. 1
AT least three times that" growIed
as one aggrcved.
Then ! shouldn't think IL would ever
be for sale" shrewdly opined Mr.. Bog
ger,
"Ifs bound to be-" BIackic gently !
while Wallingford turned u