Five Mile Beach weekly journal., 1918-02-15

two members of the circus band, play
ing comets, appeared on the scene.
and, keeping march time to the march
they delivered, the clowns daughter,
all radiant with tulle and tinsel, drove
slowly into the ring, seated in her
gilded chariot, white ribbon lines
guiding the two snowy ponies. *;
And then, the wonder of wonders for
Eva, into the ring bounded the clown.
Oh, but he was funny and oh, the
rapturous delight of Eva and the out
side audience, as Napoleon Bonaparte
came upon the scene, the gifted, trick
mule who chased his master in a cir
Gle, toppled him over the ropes, threw
him off his back and danced about
him on his own hind feetl
Never was so much delight crowded
into the space of a single hour, and
the child wonder of the white ponies
came into the room where Eva was,
and kissed her, and presented her
with a great overlooking bag of pea
nuts, pop corn and candy, and the
clown made a speech to Eva's actor
friends, and the air rang with the ac-
carnations of the juvenile group.
$50 you're back from your grand
philanthropic excursion, are your"
hailed the ringmaster, as the clown
r%eappeared ON the circus grounds.
eyes, what's your interest, Espey?"
challenged the clown keenly. Say,
you're not by any means the gruff old
bear you pretend to be, and if you had
seen all the good a little attention to
the poor and lowly has worked out,
you'd come out of that close shell of
yours. Look here, I've given a pass
to that odd dozen amateur actors for
tomorrow night. See hat it's hon.
ored, will your"
"What about the six dollars and fifty
cents? OF course you got that"
"Sure I did," acknowledged the open
hearted clown frankly, 'and added as
much more to it, and donated the
whole of it to buy an invalid chair for
the little MISS" and then he was quite
amazed at the persistency of the ring
master in betraying an interest in de-
tails of the incident of the afternoon,
ever to the location of the widows
home.
At dusk that evening Gurdon Espey
left the circus grounds after carefully
placing a bank note in an envelope. He
sought u the scene of the amateur
circus of the afternoon and the home
of Mrs. Daniels adjoining. He was
almost stealthy as he advanced up the
garden path. The front door was
closed, but light streamed broadly
across the middle of the porch, al
though it was in shadow.
Espey crept up the steps on tip toe.
He stopped down, drew out the en-
velope and attempted to push it under
the door, but this set so closely shut
that the interstices would not admit
the envelope.
"What is it, p~lease?" spoke a voice
at the Swallowed end of the porch,
startling Espey quite, and %straining
his vision, he made out a feminine
form rising from a chair.
81 fancy am detected ~ and he half
laughed in an embarrassed way. II
am one of the circus men, madam, and
we are all so interested in that little
tot of yours, that we want to make it
easier for her, and I vas leaving a
trifie-"
There Gurdon Espey paused. There,
directly in front Of the window, both
had come to a halt. The full radiance
from the lamplight within flooded their
faces. They were stunned at the I'M
expected ~confrontment man and
wife!
"Gurdon !" died upon the lips of the
woman, and she wavered and was
forced to steady herself by grasping
the porch rail.
"Alice!' uttered the man, and the
habitual cynical expression left his
face, and the glowing eyes told of a
new soul aroused.
She shrank back. It was under the
memory of five years previous when
| she had fled from this man as from a
pestilence, for soul and body were
given over to drink until she had
| feared for her life. She had hidden
J away from him and now-he had found
her.
"Alicel' he said, his tones tremu-
lous, but not uncertain, "since the day
of your absence and that of your dear
little one awakened me to a realiza-
ton of m " utter unworthiness, no drop
of liquor has passed my lips"
sour little one" she corrected him,
for she recognized in him the regen-
Grated man.
MAY l come back?" he added, with
a longing glance through the window
at a little white-robed form lying on
q trundle cot.
Her hands clasped, her eyes were
suffused, her care-worn, but still beau
tiful face looked up to him trustingly,
hopeful, longingly.
"Oh, Gurdon p she sobbed, twill you
ooDoo haoI1 70 90