The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1919-08-01
EVENING STORY
Sammy's Sudden Shift.
BY JOHN HAMILTON.

biggest OF the four cfrcJSeS came nome
to winter quarters, he struck the me-
nagerie superintendent for a job. Fos-
dick sent him to Mcguire, the "cat
house" boss, and after talking to Nc
CURE for ten minutes, Sammy climbed
back into his taxi an accepted mem
Der of the Great and Only, with orders
to report Sunday morning.
After it was all settled. Sammy
broke the news to Kitty Elwood-and
Kitty. without any ado, whatever.
broke their engagement.
IF that's all the consideration I get
from you, Sam Edwards" Kitty vehe
mently remarked. "all you get from
me after this is none at all. It's Off
all off, and off for good. Here's your
hat"
S>"But.. Kit expostulated Sammy.
you don't get it at all It's only for
one year. Look-at 1 qualify as a
keepr in a couple of
months. Before the show goes out I'm
a fancy trainer and go one trip with
an animal act-see? It'll get US more
than I could save in three years at the
old job-enough to start right"
1.-TWO pu-pshaws and a pu-piffler'
Kitty, you see. worked in a paper box
factory. do you see much green in
my eye? You're going to the circus
because you've gone nuts on it-like
every little boy in this town. You in
sweeping out cages the rest of your
life-chamb ermaid to a smelly lot of
animated old fur sets You've lost
out with me. Mr.. Edwards. My hus-
bands gotta have a balance wheel
that can't be queered by circus char
lots. Good-by!"
There was a finaIity about this that
sent Sammy on his way without fur
Their word. Whereupon Kitty climbed
two flight of stairs and wept copiously
for an hour.
Sammy didn't spend all that win
ter just matchmaking to cat ami
mails. He got to be a keeper with a
certain cage of peculiarly pernickety
leopards as his most especial care. He
soon learned, however, that he
wouldn't be in any ring act by next
spring. 1t was January before Me-
CURE would let him go into the Loop
ards cage without a pointed iron bar
in his hand. and February before he
felt the least at home in that environ
ment.
But when March came. Sammy had
got along so far that when he signed
up for the touring season there was a
clause in his contract giving him
forty-five dollars a month extra for
riding in that cage of spotted cats in
the daily parade-and the show fur
nished the fleshings.
Opening in the Garden" at New
Y FORK, where circus parades have long
been a thing of the past, the second
booking was in the show's-and Sam
my's-home town. As the fates would
have it, it rained pitchforks at the
first days stand, and there was no
parade. So that Sammy was called on
to make his debut as an animal
king" before the eyes of his own
tewnspeople. Also his first appear
ance in tights.
Now Sammy had never ceased to be
sore in spirit over the detection of
Kitty Elwood. Even among the syIphs
whom her had encountered during the
winter practising and rehearsing ami
NAL acts or careering about the ring
IN the equestrian pavilion, there had
been none,-equal to the task of dis
placing Kitty in his heart-and some
very nice girls there were among
them, at that. Wherefore. as Sammy
climbed into his nest of feline revolu-
tionists it was with mingled emotions
that he assured himself that Kitty
would certainly be somewhere in the
street crowds and that she could not
tal to see him. What would she
think, he wondered.
1t was new cage. Cat animals of
all kinds hate innovations-witnes
Tabby at home. 1t was the first street
parade. Caliph the head devil of the
leopard clan, detested the noise of
band music. None of the family was
overly fond of human beings, and
crowds of them frazzled Ieopardian
nerves completely
A leopard with rasped nerves is dan
gerous. TO make it worse the cats
thanks to delays in the costuming de-
partment, had never before seen
Sammy in pink tights. And to top it
all. Sammy was nervous himself.
something a trainer has no earthly
business to- be, ever. And the more
he thought of Kitty-being somewhere
in the crowd the more nervous he be-
came.
The parade hadn't gone two blocks
before Caliph, sensing the unrest in
mis- master, began to. show his indie
pendence. He sulked every time he
passed Sammy in that never ending
promenade of the cage. glared at him
sloewlse and getting rous-
ing belt on the nose with Sammy's
rawhide that didn't improve his tenn
per. But Caliph wasn't alone in his
mood.
Eliza, his big mate. never took her
baleful eyes off Sammy for an instant,
youngsters, kept his mouth open and
his teeth barred two-thirds of the time.
Even Never and Forever, the hitherto
fairly amiable cubs, frankly and open
~ foreswore allegiance to the banner
Of King Edwards.
the very first avenue crossing some
one on the curb yel1ed:s Pipe Sammy
Edwards all done up in pinkiesi Gee.
Sammy, but it brings out the legs
great!"-an extremely emba IRA ssing
remark. since Sammy from bovhood
had been painfully conscious of his
slightly bowed neither limbs
Well. what with the animals acting
like the deuce and the kidding he got
from old acquaintances along the line,
and what with-most of all-keering
on the lookout for Kitty the eyes that
should have been attending very
strictly indeed to the leopards, it hap
pened.
The spotted beasts. always the bane
of menagerie mems existence at best,
were on the verge of getting out of
hand when the cage reached that par
ticular jupcture of two important
thorofares where Sammy's taxi had
been wont to stand o. nights.
Involunta rily Sammy let his eyes d.
vert from his snarling, feverishly pac-