Wauwatosa news. [volume] (Wauwatosa, Wis.) 1900-1948, 1920-12-03
olga's Bootlegger
By WILL T. AMEs
&c. 1870. by Mcclure Newspaper Syndicate


ca eircuS's organization. For thirty
years the Old Man had run what he
called blue ribbon shows. Drinking
on the road he could not abide and
would not tolerate.
No man stays with this outfit" he
was prone TO say, who can't do all
ms getting drunk in his own town and
IN hve months of the year"
lie was red-headed Old Man. and
not and quick and drastic where
liquor was concerned. He would set
star performer or cage sweeper adrift
1000 miles from home with equal
promptness on the first noticeable sign
of drink.
Naturally. the All-Ameriea had a.
reputation in the circus world and
for years IT had carried scarcely more
booze fighters than preachers on its
Journeyings But now Of all times,
with the eighteenth amendment in
| force and liquor when ohtainable at
all orly purchasable at prices presum-
ably far beyond the pocketbook of a
circus hand It was palpabIy obvious
that little stream of il was trucking
among the All-America's personnel.
At Anenhurg, on Tuesday. little
Mike Garrity, the silently efficient as
| sistant wagon master, appeared sud
| denly to Gleddin, the doorkeeper Just
as the first of the afternoon crowd
vas beginning TO drift in. and in
| formed him thar he didn't like the
| shape Of Gleddin'S nose. the color OF
his eyes, the size of his mouth. or the
way he comhed his hair. He had kept
| still about Ii for three years, he an
| nounced stridently hut now he pro-
posed to do what he could TO change
the fashion Of the nose and mouth. at
least. and retire the eyes from public
observation behind humps He was
| proceeding to take off his coat with a
view TO putting his plan into instant
effect when the "Old Man" himself APP
peared around the fly II took a sec
| ond increduious look M Mike to con-
vince the Old Man Of the truth. Then
he took Mike nv the hack of the neck
and the seat of his trousers and ran
him clean off the lot. for good. Two
| hours later a razorhack almost bit the
ear off hostler behind No. horse
tent In the course of conflict which
neither party could afterward explain.
At Cordova next day. Murray. the
| head animal man. had TO let one Of his
| hest keepers so. having found the man
| trying to get into cat cage in n
highly heeGddled state. and there was
suspicious unsteadiness in the han
ding of properties by two Of the ring
| roustabouts during the evening per-
Torrance. AT Port Harhor. on Thurs
dav half the commissary gang was
| palpahly drunk AZ noon time and louG
were the complaints over the wretched
| dinner that resulted. The "Old Man"
was furious. He fred DRINKS and half
| DRINKS right and left and read the
riot act all over the lot.
It was or Friday morning that Olga
| Harron senior Of the Fordyce sisters
slack wire performers. opened her eyes
| to the murky first dawn of the railroad
yard at Carkington and neeped ont of
| the car window Just in time 10 see
! familiar strawhatted figure in a nifty
| greenish suit. slip stealthily into the
! shadow of shed scarce an arms
length from Olga's berth. II was none
| else but RAINY Boyd. the candy
butcher; and Olga. whose heart always
| did funny little jumps when she en-
countered Ranny unexpectedly was
on the point Of sending still little
"Hist :" through the screened window
| at him. when she discovered that he
was not alone. A lanky. wide-hatted
| canvaSman who bad Joined the show
| az Cordova. plainly had been waiting
there for Ranny, for they were whis-
| pering together. Olga heard Ranny
say something about twelve pints--
eight twenty-seven--he almighty care
full" Then be was gone. keeping
close to the car and passing directly
under Olga's window.
The girl went Suddenly sick. Ranny
Boyd had seemed such a frank. clean
young fellow Olga, TO whom types
of cynical sophistication were as com
mon as feas in a dog troupe, had be
lieved Ranny meant II when he said
he didn't believe Il was necessary for
| a candy butcher TO short-change or TO
sell fake packages, and that he pre-
ferred to make his living on the level.
| And here he was clearly enough mixed
up. in this low-lived bootlegging Well.
| he wasn't anything TO her. anyhow
and the "Old abfn'' wouldn't be long
in finding out where the trouble lay.
And. then, good night. Mr.. Boyd. And
Olga, TO prove 10 herself how little
Ranny Boyd and his crOOkedness
meant in her young life, turned over
on her face and cried into her pillow
until the car porteress began TO beat
her reveille gong.
Ranny BOYD was all smiles when he
almost ran into Olga just outside the
entrance TO the Scofin's tent. whence
the girl was hurrying for breakfast.
"HellO. Midget" he exclaimed look
out you don't put on half an ounce Of