The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1920-11-13
Euening Story
OIga's Bootlegger.
BY WILL T. AMES.


America circus'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.
mo man stays with this outfit"
he was prone to say, who can't do
all his getting drunk in his own town
and in five months of the year"
He was red-headed Old Man, and
hot 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-America had a
reputation in the circus world and
for years it had carried scarcely
more booze fighters than preachers
on it's journeys. But now of all times,
! with the eighteenth amendment in
force and liquor when obtainable at
all only purchasable at prices presum-
ably far beyond the pocketboot of a
circus hand, it was palpably obvious
that little stream of it was trickling
among the All-America's personnel.
At A1lenburg, on Tuesday, little
Mike Clarity, the silently efficient as
sistant wagon master, appeared sud-
denly to Gleddin, the doorkeeper, just
as the first of the afternoon crowd
was beginning to drift in, and inform
ed 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
stridently, buot now he proposed to do
what he could to change the fashion
of the nose and mouth, at least, and
retire the eyes from public observation
behind bumps. He was proceeding to
take off his coat with a view to put
ting his plan into instant effect when
the "Old Man" himself appeared
around the fly 1t took second in
credulouS 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
off the lot, for good. Two hours later
a razorback almost bit the ear off a
host1er behind No. 2 horse tent in the
course of a conflict which neither
party could afterward explain.
At Cordova, next day, Murray, the
head animal man, had to let one of
his best keepers go, having found the
man trying to get into a cat cage in
highly befuddled state, and there
was suspicious unsteadiness in the
handling of properties by two of the
ring roustaboutS during the evening
performance. At Port HarboF, on
Thursday, half the commissary gang
was palpably drunk at noon time and
wretched dinner that resulted. The
"old man. was furious. He fired
drunks and half DRINKS right and left
and read the riot act all over the lot
1t was on 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 Clarkington and
peeped out of the car window just IN
time to see familiar straw-hatted
sCl1 rr1if eli
stealthily into the shadow of shed
scarce an arms length from Olga's
berth. 1t was none else but Ranny
Boyd, the candy butcher; and Olga,
whose heart always did funny little
Jumps when she encountered Ranny
unexpectedly, was on the point of
sending a still little Hist" thru the
screened window at him, when she
discovered that-he was not alone. A
lanky, wide-hatted canvasman who
had Joined the show at Cordova. plain
ly had been waiting there for Ranny,
for they were whispering together.
Olga heard Ranny say something
about twelve pints-eight twenty
seven-be almighty careful" Then
he was gone, keeping close TO the car
and passing directly under Olga's Win
dow.
The girl went suddenly sick. Ran
ny Boyd had seemed such frank,
clean young fellow! Olga, to whom
types of cynical sophistication We're
as common as fleas in Q, dog troupe,
had believed Ranny meant it when he
said he didn't believe it was necessary
for a candy butcher to short change
or to sell fake packages, and that ne
preferred to make his living on the
level. And here he was clearly enough 1asl
mixed up in this low-lived bootleg
eing! Well, he wasn't anything TO
her, anyhow-and the 'old man
wouldn't be long in finding out where
the trouble lay. And then, good night,
Mr. Royd, And Olga, to prove to her
SELF how little Ranny Boyd and his
crookedness meant in her young me
turned over on her face and cried into
her pillow until the car porteress be-
gan to beat her reveille gong.
Ranny Boyd was all smiles when ne
almost ran into Olga just outside the
entrance to the Scoffin's tent, whence
the girl was hurrying for breakfast.
Hello, Midget" he exclaimed, "look
out YOU don't put on half an ounce of
weight this morning. 1t would show
on you. Breakfasts better today
Cooks gang must be sober again
But Olga neither stopped nor smiled.
NO thanks to you" she flung at him
and marched on into the tent.
Twice more during that day did
RAINY BOYD seek to resume the old
relations of very friendly understand
ing with Olga. And twice she cut him
point blank After Chat he gave it up
and Olga went to bed that night sur
passingly miserable.
She was awakened in less than an
four-for woe does not keep healthy
gymnast from sleep-by an unwonted
buzzng in the ear. Seemingly every
one of the thirty-odd women was talk
ing at once. It was the other Fordyce
sister, Emmy Vance, who came to
Olga's berth and explained:
They got the bootleggers tonight,
OF. And who do you suppose it was
that was running in the booze?
Nobody but that old Hanfield that
looks like college professor and runs
the instantaneous photograph booth
with the zebra for folks to sit on to
have their pictures took He always
has a lot of chemicals come by ex-
press, anyhow. Seems he lives in
West Virginia ard his family makes
moonshine. He's a moonshine booze
fiend himself, it seems, for all his not
showing it q mite, and he had TO have
his stuff sent him from home. It cost