New-York tribune., 1921-04-03
gested. 'He and Tufts seem to be
cooking something up"

THAT night Harmony said moth.
ing, but on the following
morning, while the hands were
gloomily going about their prcpara-
tions for the days exhibition, ou1
official guide, philosopher and friend
came over to where we were by the
cook tent.
'How would we like to go into
this business?" he asked.
"Not me-" said Omar. "You car
carry those telegraph poles around
on your back. if you like, but not
me-"
''It does look like hard work." ]
admitted.
~ don't mean that at ALL" Har-
mony continued. II mean, how
would you like to run this circus
and help me manage it?"
"Great!" retorted Omar. "I would
also admire to own the National
City Bank"
'We can have this circus if we
will take it," Harmony went on.
GIVE been talking things over with
Tufts, and he recalls that eight
hundred distinctly. If we say
the word this circus is ours, lock,
! stock and barrel"
'You mean he wants to give us
his circus7" Omar asked. "If he
does, there's something the matter
with it."
"There is," agreed our boss. cts
on the verge Of ruin. Nobody has
been paid for weeks. They're just
beating the sheriff over each county
line. The hands are going to quit.
But it's worth $780,"
Sometimes" Omar remarked,
"your business sense is fine, and
other times it gets like it is now"
"It's this way" Harmony said,
addressing himself to me. CAT the
present time this outfit is able to
take in enough cash to buy food,
and no more. The immediate book
ings are in dry, sparse country, with
no population, and Tufts is at the
end of his rope. If he goes on he
goes bust. If he turns the show
over to US we may, by miracle,
pull it through. If we can reach
King City everything will be lovely.
After King City we ought to make
plenty Of money. Shall we take over
Tufts Mammoth Circus?"
Fair enough" / answered. cts
up to you, Harmony. I'll do what
l can"
$50 will I, for that matter"
Omar put in.
THUS we crashed into the circus
business at Linda Vista, and
that same night, after turning over
the show to Fl. Childs, Mr.. Bernal
Tufts got himself enjoyably intoxi-
Gated and started for Seattle, where
he claimed to have a home.
"If you boys come through all
right lemme know" he said in fare
we'll MAYBE you can get along with
them hangnails. If you make any
money you're welcome to it,
After supper that evening Har-
mony walked into the cook tent, in
terrupted the hum Of vanishing soup,
stood on box of canned apples and
made the hands a speech.
Harmony is natural pleader, and
if he had been born a lawyer no rail-
road would ever win it's case against
poor widow woman.
Ladies and gentlemen" he began,
when the eaters looked up, "Bernal
z. Tufts no longer owns or operates
this circus. / am the new boss. If
you stick to me till we reach King
City / will pay off in full, together
with q nice bonus in cash for one
and ALL"
That is a brief condensation of
what he said, but he used up ten
minutes in adorning the simple
statement with the flowers of fhet~
oric he knows so we'll. At the end of
the speech Mr.. Childs stepped down,
and those sad, simple and unpaid
circus performers rose up and gave
him small cheer. They agreed to
trust in Harmony and his two
friends, and collect all back pay
when the outfit reached King City,
which is county seat, a great oil
center and the hub of a populous
and prosperous farming community.
There was money in King City, and
the performers knew it.
Under the new management a
number of changes occurred the mo-
ment B. P. Tufts faded from view.
They consisted of improvements die
tated by the new manager and
agreed to by every one, except Omar.
When he heard what Harmony laid
out for him to do he roared like