The West Virginian. [volume] (Fairmont, W. Va.) 1914-1974, 1920-11-09

SHORT STORY
Olga's Bootlegger
BY WILL II, AALEs

copyright. 1920, by The Mcclure
Newspaper Syndicate)
n HERE was boozlns IN the
All-America cIrcuB's orgGI1i-
:ation. For thirty years the Old
Nan had run what he called blue
tt6bon shows. Drinking on the
road he could not tolerate.
y "No man stays with this outnt."
Vac was prone to say, who can't do
III his getting drunk in his, oSn
LoWn and in i've months OF the
pear"
He was a red headed Old Man
ind hot and quick and drastic
Ehare liquor was concerned. He
you'd set star performer or cage
vWeeper adriSt 1000 miles from
ZONE with equal prOmDtness on
be first noticeable sign Of drink.
Naturally, the All-Amerlca had
AZ reputation in the circus world
md for years it had carried
scarcely more booze fighters than
preachers on its journeyings. But
aow Of all times, with the eiEh-
.eenth amendment in force and
hquor when obtainable at all only
3urchagable at prices presumably
lar beyond the pocketboOk of cir
aus hand, 1t was palably obvious
hat little stream OF 1t was trick
.irg among the All-AmeTica's per-
ionnel,
At Allenburg, on Tuesday. lit
Z lie Mike Clarity, the silently eff
.tent assistant wagon master, APP
peared suddenly to Gleddln, the
:ioorkeeper, just as the first Of the
afternoon crowd was beginning to
drift in, and informed him that he
didn't like the shape of Gleddin's
nose, the color Of his eyes, the size
Of his mouth or the way he combed
his hair. He had kept still about
It for three years, he announced
Sfridently, but now he proposed to
10 what he could TO change the
fkShion OF the nose and mouth, at
! ibaSt, and retire the eyes from pub
lie observation behind bumps. He
was proceeding to take off his coat
With a view Of putting his plan
I'D instant effect when the "Old
Nan" himself appeared around the
Hy. 1t took second incredulous
look at Mike to convince the Old
Man OF the truth. Then he took
Mike by the back Of the neck and
the seat Of his trousers and ran
him clean of the lot, for good.
Two hours later razorback
almost bit the ear off hostler
behind No. horse tent in the
course 81 conflict which neither
party could afterwards explain.
4a4fs >
the head animal man, had to
let one Of his best keepers go, hav-
ing found the man trying to get
into a cat cage in highly befud-
lied state. and there was suspic-
tous unsteadiness in the handling
of properties by two the ring
roustabouts during the evening
,,fFformance. at Port Harbor, on
thursday, half the COmmisary
lang was palably drunk at noon
Zine and loud were the complaints
iyeT the wretched dinner that re-
suited. The "old man" was fur
tOis. He fred drunks and half
trunks right and left and read the
riot act all over the lot.
1t was on Friday morning that
olga Harron,s senior of the FordyCe
sisters, slack wire performers,
1pened her eyes to the murlly first
lawn of the railroad yard Ut Clark
tngton and peeped out of the car
window just in time to see . famil-
Jar straw-hattgd figure in nifty
Zreenish suit. slip stealthily into
the shadows of q shed scarce an
arms length from Olga's berth.
Twas none else but Ranny Boyd
the candy butcher; and Olga,
whose heart always did funny lit
ne jumps when she encountered
Fanny unexpectedly, was on the
Soint of sending still little
!tl4ist!" through the screened win
dow at him, when che discovered
that he was not alone. A lanky,
wide-hatted canvasman who had
Joined the show at Cordova,
plainly had been waiting there for
Rnnny, for they were whispering
together. Olga heard Ranny say
something about twelve pints--
eight twenty-seyen-be almighty
careful" Then he was gone,
Keeping close to the car and pass
ing directly Under Olga's window.
l5.ssH 4QB 3AEl went puNGSllIS Elm
Rnnny Boyd had seemed such
frank, clean young fellow! Olga,
to whom types OF cynical sophisti-
(catton were as common as fieas in
IA dog troupe, had believed Ranny
meant 1t when he said he didn't be-
lieve 1t was necessary for candy
butcher to short-chnnge or to sell
fake packages. and that he prefer
red to make his living on the level.
And here he was clearly enough
mixed. up in this low-lived boot
logging! Well, he wasn't any
thing to her, anyhow-and the
'told man" wouldn't be long in
finding out where the trouble lay.
And then, goodnight, Mr. Boyd!
And Olga, to prove to herself how
little Ranny Boyd and his crook
edness meant in her young life,
turned over on her face and cried
into her pillow until the car por-
tress began to beat her reveille
gong.
Ranny Boyd was all smiles when
he almost run into Olga just out
side the entrance to the scoffins
font whence the girl was hurFying