Fitzgerald leader enterprise and press. (Fitzgerald, Ben Hill County, Ga.) 1921-1964, 1926-07-08

cO8cn LnaC lie naQ DOATQeu, Uut hanf-
Ing yellow one. Then some lettering
on the end panels caught his eye, and
communicated the following:
BELL BROTHERS CIRCUS
Advertising Car
No. l
"You cant ride on this car" tho
tall man was saying. Its against
the rules Of the railroad company"
Il don't want to ride on It'll" ex-
claimed Henry. 81 didn't even know
l was on It,"
The tall man withdrew inside the
coach, partly closing the door and
cycling his passenger apprehensiVely.
by jingo!' yelled Henry, suddenly
getting to his feet. You're q circus
man! Say, how much does a rhinocer-
os eatr'
That was too much for the circus
man. He closed the door almost en-
tirely, leaving very narrow crack
through which he spoke soothingly:
Never mind. Never mind Don't
excite yourself I'll let you ride. only
don't try to come inside"
Say" Henry began, then paused.
This man took him for lunatic A
pretty kettle of fish! Probably. have
him arrested at the first stop! A hap
py idea came to his aid. Drawing the
= unfortunate letter abeut his inner
itance from a pocket, he. thrust 1t
through the crack Ia the doorway.
. Read. that" he called. Then maybe
yOu1l understand my pOsition-and
my feelings!"..
The letter was taken IN gingefiy,
and the door remained closed for sew
eral minutes thereafter. Then the cir
Gus man, grtnning, invited Henry in.
"What's all the excitement abOut?"
he asked, motioning toward. chair.
You appear to be the owner of the
rhinOceros, in good skin, which means
that he is a fine specimen. And, on
top of that, he is feeding"
That word feeding" electrified
Henry.
Feeding! Sure That's what wor-
ries me. He's eating his head off, and
I'm the meal ticket.
The tall man eyed him speculatively
for a momenA. A look of keen amuse-
meat came into his eyes. He took a
pair of rich-l0Oking cigars from his
desk and extended one toward Henry.
You don't know much about rhinos,
take it. Well, l am one of the, Bells,
of Bell Brothers, and it so happens
that do know about 'em; "a whole lot.
in fact" He paused and read the let
ter again. "Now, you seem to have a
rhino, In good condition, that you don't
want. Maybe you would sell it?''
"Sell It'll Holy cats! Sure I'll sell"
Hold on, now; admonished Mr..
Bell. "You want to get this thing
straight. Lucky for you that you fell
In with big circus. one that can
and will pay fair price for what it
wants. A srhinoceros, young man, is
extremely hard to come by. They
don't breed in captivity, SO all speci-
mems have to be brought overseas, at
great cost and much risk. Hence they
are high priced"
Henry sat up. "Huhl Is that fact?
Well, all that Notwithstanding, what
will you give me for miner"
Mr.. Bell, without answering, turned
to his desk and spent two minutes
writing on blank form; then he ad-
dressed Henry, paper in hand.
Il have filed out an option here"
he explained. 'If the beast Is young,
in good shape and, as the letter re-
ports, is feeding, l will take him off
your hands when we arrive at our
next stopping place. will not, pay
3 you as much as l would have to pay
an agent in New York to procure one
for me, burt I will pay a fair price
and the difference will represent the
commission that a third party would
have received. What do you say?'
How much?" demanded Henry.
.RhlnOs appeared to be somewhat In
vogue, so to- speak.
"All things being as represented,
seven thousand dollars is the price I
. have In mind" said Mr.. Bell, of Bell
:: Brothers, pretty much as an ordinary
person, one not versed IN. rhinos, would
have said seven cents or seven navy
beans.
you've bought" exclaimed Henry,
astounded and not even trying to hide
1t. He reached for the option and the
.Drofered pen. "Say. by the way, what
does that feeding business have to do
with 1t. anywayT he asked. pen
poised above paper.
when a rhino Is feeding" Mr. Bell
explained with q grin, ut means that
he Is reconciled to captivfty-won.t. Be
any further trouble. He has given up
hope of escape. and has gone to en-
joying himself. If he is not feeding
look out. Chances are he won't be
with you long"
Henry took long breath. Thanks"
he said "But, feeding or not feeding,
this one aan't going to be with me
long"
And he signed on the dotted line.