Evening star., 1921-07-17

| ranch. Now. don't you worry, Sis:
and If you amt mad. I wish you'd
Three days later he got this re-
"Go get him. Kid; I love you more
The Harlem Kid never did hnd
out that Pat Griffin. shrewdest man
hundred-word night-message to Mrs
Potter. pledging her husbands safety
and promising to start with Kid to
San Rosario the day after the match,
no matter what the result.
| No sooner had the articles been
bout, with the challenger weighing in
at three in the afternoon, than Griffin
turned the Harlem Kid over to Abdul
the Turk.
"1ve done my part" ne said. Now
you do yours. and don't forget there's
q n-thousand-dollar forfeit up Oh
his making the weight"
Where weight-reduction is the fil-
important consideration. the tragedy
of the training period is reserved for
final two weeks. and it is the last fve
days that constitute the pugilist's
| vacation, usually in the mountains,
and this fortnight frolic is delusion
and a snare, designed solely to build
up the body to the point whore 1t
| can Withstand the shock that Is In
| store for it.
! from te Sierras and settled down to
the grind Of road-work at San Rafael.
he knew what was expected OF him
| but the first time he donned the rub
Der undershirt and Abdul swathed
waist and chest in the tight flannel
| bandaRes, his spirits sank-and Grif-
I'm resorted. ahead Of time. to the old
| trick Of adjusting the scales so that
| when. they weighed in the last thing
at night, Potter believed himself making
better progress than he really was.
! Day by day the road-work In the hot
ness Of bandages and cloting was in
creased. the ration Of water which
his body craved was decreased. and
| his real weight dropped to one hun
dred and thirty-nine. then to one
hundred and thirty-eight. and then
before the contest, after four hours
on the road, and two more In the
gymnasium with lunch omitted, he
weighed exactly the same as the day
before.
Kid iaya awake at night. his mind
throbbing to the rhythmic subconsctous
demand: "A hundred and thirty-three
| at three-a hundred and thirty-three
at three"
| Turk.
ing; dry him out. Nothing but q cup
| Of coffee in the morning after this.
Potter held to the road work. and
his salivary glands dried up COM
The morning of the contest he took
! only strong coffee, and Abdul, shifting
like a child, rubbed of the hnal pound
T. X \ 4
| At exactly three o'clock in the at
n ternoon the Harlem Kid. naked
| as the day he was born. stepped on
the scales at the San Francisco Pre-
| sidio and held his breath. The bar
set at one hundred and thirty-three
pounds. trembled, lifted. settled back
and the Kid toppled of into the
| arms of Abdul the Turk. Pugilism's
Shylock had his pound Of flesh.
| In the scant seven hours that was
given them. Pat Griffin and the train
er threw all their skill and strategy
into the task Of rehabilitating Har-
lem. Within fifteen minutes after
| weighing in, they had him in a res
| taurant around the corner. where q
heavy meal was already waiting him
He was permitted to eat and drink his
| fill, and then after q brief auto-ride
they put him to bed In a hotel not halt
q block distant from the huge pavilion,
and there he remained, slipping beef
tea at regular intervals.
| This was Pat Griffin's cue to dis
play the genius that had made his
| name synonymous with ring success
He locked the Kids door and sat
/ down by the bedside.
Harlem" he began quietly, "you
know me-IYA never heen behind the