The Princeton union. [volume] (Princeton, Minn.) 1876-1976, 1922-06-01
The
jeff Twins
By HUBERT RAY

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'It's a matter of split seconds in
the ring, and calculation of split
lnillimeters. I don't know just what
those are, but I'm told they're some
thing pretty small. Anyway, the
jeff twins knew that-and, by the
way, Tom and Bill weren't twins, nor
even brothers, I'm glad to say.
"They weren't relations at all, in
fact, but they'd agreed to work to-
gether and they took that title for
business purposes. They'd been do
ing circus work ever since they could
remember. Grew up in the ring, and
so did Maisie Harlow, though it wasn't
until three months before my story
opens that the jeff twins met Maisie.
"She surely was peach. And by
peach I mean peach, not nectarine or
apricot. Pink and white skin, blue
eyes, soft, fluffy hair-every one was
in love with her. But it was the jeff
twins that she favored. And they
had the biggest part in Broxton's.
'"They did the trapeze stunt in the
middle ring, which never failed to
bring down the house. Imagine two
trapezes, yards and yards apart, at
! opposite sides Of the tent. One Of
the twins hangs by his feet; the other,
after getting up speed, lets the trap
exc swing him off and shoot him
hn ,sin 7
saying it's a matter of split MILNE
tiers, and that's what it was. They'd
got it down so fine that, just at the
second when the upward movement
of the flying body stops, and the
downward plunge begins, Tom, hang
ing by his feet, with his arms down,
catches Bills hand, and holds him.
There's Tom, hanging from the
trapeze, with Bill swinging under
meath. A strain? Not at all, sir.
You see, there's the momentum, as
they call it, and no, I can't figure it
out. A professor did once, and he
said it was the prettiest thing he'd
ever seen.
$50 Bill catches Toms hand, and
then the upward swing brings him to
the trapeze. He gets his feet on 1t,
the twins hang side by side second
or two, and then the audience, that
had pictured Bills body hitting it with
the force Of a cyclone, rises and
shouts.
1T wasn't long before Maisie be-
gan to show which Of the Jelfs she pre-
ferred, and that was Bill. AS soon
as Tom knew for sure he walked
about all day in black rage. He
was crazed over pretty Maisie, and
don't blame him.
but when he was heard threaten
ing Bill, things began to look serious.
You see, you can't have bad blood
among circus folk. Never saw one
! of them in a rage, did you? In gen
eraL it's understood that their minds
have got to be Free so that they can
do their jobs properly. Naturally,
with Tom and Bill doing their stunt
and bad blood between them, old Brox.
ton began to worry.
AT last he went to Tom-it was
common talk by then-and told him
he'd fire the pair of them unless he
made up with Bill. Tom pulled the
wool over the old mans eyes, all
right; took him to Bills tent and
shook hands with him. But Maisie
came to Bill that night.
ct don't want you to act with Tom,
she said, crying. I don't trust him
He was threatening me this morning
and
"Bill was an easy-going fellow, ant
laughed at her. 4 guess Toms al
right he said. Anyway, we're hiking
tomorrow, and we can't spoil tonight:
show, now that old Broxton's salts
fed
II heard about all this afterward
My part is bringing in the sawdus
and helping out where I'm wanted.
used to be-but never mind me.
felt sick that night as I watched from
the runway and saw Tom and Bill
each on his trapeze, smiling and blow
ing kisses to the audience, and prett!
Maisie, riding her two horses rount
the ring, and looking up and-well,
thought she'd fall, and that's thin,
that nobody ever forgives.
"Something told me what was com
ing, and yet I had sort of instinc
that it would be all right in the end
I waited for the big dive. It came
Bill shot like lightning through the al
across the ring to where Tom wa
hanging by his feet, head downward.
"And then I saw-mind, sir, m,
eyes trained-how Tom deliberatel