Pueblo chieftain. (Pueblo, Colo.) 1889-current, 1921-10-04

short. laughed a. merry laugh and
walked over and kissed Androcles on
| both cheeks. 1t was the lion Androcles
had uniformed OF course they tried
to make the lion nibble Androclcs,
| They got pepper and salt and tried
that, and then they tried to serve An
drocles with powdered sugar. No use!
Lion wouldn't cat Androcles.
Well, Oily read the story three
| times. and then he tore out the page
| and carried it away with him and
,, studied it. 1t made a big hit with him.
He would sit across the tent from Leo
| and read that tale and then look at
Leo and wonder how it would work.
| Finally he came to me. He gave me
the tale to read and I read It.
What do you think of it, Mack"
| he asked eagerly.
We'll. Oily" / said. II don't know,
| 1t seems sort of phony to mo. You
don't remember Bony Harger-he was
with us before your time; he was the
man that pulled tho liberated tooth for
tho black panther when we were in
winter quarters at De Soto. I never in
my life know a beast to suffer as that
panther did with that tooth or to feel
| better than that panther did after the
tooth was out. That should have been
| a grateful panther-but the first
| chance he got, he reached out of the
cage and clawed all the meat off
Bony's face.
Leo is naturally good-naturcd
| animal" said Oily.
OH" said. getting the drift Of his
| meaning. 80 that's it. is 1t? Well. Oily,
to tell you the truth, I think this An
| drocles stuff is pretty steep. You can
believe 1t. but I can't just see It II
| that cottage cheese"
I'D rather you didn't call Leo that.
| Mack said Oily gently. Pink don't
| like that I Just thought that IT, may
be. Leo should get thorn in his foot
and 7 pulled it out
Well. IT wouldn't hurt to try II.
, Oily" / said doubtfully. Maybe 1t
would work"
So we tried II We started with
| thorns. Oily would go out into the
wood lot nearest the show grounds
and get the thorns-auy kind he could
/ ret-and I scattered them in the cage.
Then Leo would walk around on them
and never know there were any thorns
| In the world. I suppose that tread
Ing on the hard floor of the cage had
toughened tho old cottage cheese's
pads until they were like sole leather.
So then We tried tacks-carpet tacks
and Swedish iron upholstery tacks and
any kind OF lacks that were guaran-
teed to have sharp points and to be
tough and business likc-and old Leo
Just ramped around on them as ie
they were the flowers that bloom In
tho spring.
Oily was Just worrying himself to
! death over 1t. A girl like Pinky isn't
like nun in a nunnery when she is
with a big show, and there were plenty
OF men around who were willing and
eager to take the widow curse off her
II She would sive them chance.
Every time Oily saw ono OF those
would-be husbands talking with Pink
nc would simply writhc in Jealousy
and rush out and buy fresh paper
OF taciss. The old he-chs seemed to be
puncturc- proof But he wasn't. He
stopped on a tack and got 1t between
his toes along about ten o'clock one
night when We wero showing at a
little place in Kansas we'll toward the
end of the season.
Oily WAS worn down to almost moth
ing at all by that time. and ne hardly
cared whether he was alive or dead.
Pink had put the big cats thru their
tricks about nine o'clock and had gone
hack to the bunk-car on tho spur to
get her beauty sleep, and when
heard Leo yowl. I guessed what had
happened. Tho sides werc up on his
cage. and tho menagcrie top was down