Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1927-02-20

into the pocket NJ his smocil. a crafty
grin on his angelic countenanCe.
Huh. Id like to see anybody take
; il from me-" he grunted
His father muSsed his sons golden
hair playfully and gave him a friendly
pat or two. Then he said:
Careless younSster. you've already
lost that louis.
Il did not exclaimed Tete don,
Indignantly
But his father smilingly held up the
coin between the clever fingers which
! had just picked the boys pocket The
youngSter stared. startled. outraged.
fascinated. How had that miracle
happened? He clamored for the coin
again. got ii easily, and as easily II
became again prey to his fathers deft
fingers. Tete dor asked how his
father had done the trick.
I'm show You" his father said. but
II YOU hope 10 keep the coin you II
have to learn how To do it yourself"
Whereupon the pickpocket took his
son y own clever fingers between his
and taught him how To keep them
Timber. sensitive and def: how to slip
them into pocket unfelt and UNI
seen: how 10 steal them out again with
loot between them. He had him prac
tice first on himself. then on his
mother. to the huge amusement of
both parents. Then he taught him to
do Il on the others in the circus. but
the others saw nothing in ii to be
amused at, though many Of them ad-
mired the little fellows devlish skill
in his new tricks.
\ new world opened TO Tete dor.
He used to watch with envy the chill
dren OF townspeople flock into the
fpir1 h..iy~ 81 fod n h.,n
bons their parents had bought them,
with small coins given them to spend.
with personal treasures which boys
would consider worth showing off
even at q circus. Tete dor would
regard these with envy.
Now he looked at them with craft
in his eyes He would mingle with
the children in the entering crowds or
when they left after the performance.
That night in many a home there
went up the wall Of youngsters who
had lost some treasure or other from
their pockets and did not in the least
know how they came to lose some
thing they had guarded SO carefully.
x Il II *
THEN when the Tete dor was 10
years old came the terrible end to
his life with the circus. One night
while the circus was playing In
suburb Of Paris, Tete doris father
came back late to the van in which
he. his wife and child lived. He was
heavy with drink. His wife and Tete
dor, somewhat used to his coming
home late and in this condition, un-
doubtedly slept on.
Duchesne must have gone on smok-
ing after he got into bed. For the
wagon caught fire, an overturned
kerosene lantern furiously fed the
flames. and when it was all over Du-
chesne and his wife were no more.
But from the burning ruins of the cir
Gus van cfept a blackened little figure,
as miraculously escaped from the
clutches of fire as he so often escaped
from every other clutch.
The orphan was not popular enough
for any one in the circus to adopt him.
So the authorities were notified and a
local orphan asylum sent man to
collect the youngster. 1 think the
word collect describes it. For Tete
dor decided that he did not want to
go with the orphan asylum man. He
wanted to remain with the circus.
So for the next two hours he roamed
all over the place-under wagons, on
top of animal cages, in with the n.y.
enas, huddled inside box not much
bigger than a Satchel, and wound up