Evening star., 1932-08-28


pretty tough season for the tent
show business"
"Tl say it has!" agreed trim little Nell
Jones' who had been Mrs. Joe Darby since
way back when Barnum teamed up with Bailey.
zone tough season is right. Specially with an
outfit like Shapiro's.'
We'll things have been slow in a lot Of
lines" I said. Maybe business will pick up
when you start your swing back East. Now,
look here, Joe and Nell don't want to hurry
you, but it's almost 7 O'Clock. Hadn't better
get the car around and take you out to the
lot?"
Old Joe Darby squirmed in his chair and
looked pleadingly toward his wife.
''Well don't start throwing out distress sig
mails at me-" she scolded him. You ought to
tell him yourself, Joe. Go on now. Joe, speak
up"
Her husband turned to me, started to say
something smiled a smile which trembled at
the corners and then drank a tumberful OF
water. From under the table came the sound
of small but capable foot encounter1ng
long, lean shin.
"Ouch!" he said. Now you lay off me,
Ma. You said you was going to tell him, and
I sure do think you'd ="
"Oh all right, all right" said Nell and as
she busted herself with mirror and lipstick
suddenly realized that she was trying to keep
back the tears. You see, WELL Joe and me
and it's mighty fine of you to offer to shoot
us back to the lot in your car. But, you see
we don't have to 60 back. :"
'No," Joe Darby chimed in. 'Ha, ha! We
don't have to go back"
I've don't have to go back because we're
all through" explained Ma with little choke
"Yair all through" her husband confirmed
her. We're canned, fired, ousayed umfray the
ointjay."
HE means we haven't got a job" explained
Nell. Say listen, Joe Darby, you ought to be
ashamed of yourself talking that cheap car
nival talk in a high-grade private residence
like this"
Old Joe Darby hurried around the table knelt
beside his wife and patted her awkwardly on
the back. Jaw, now, Ma, you're crying, amt
you? Don't cry, Ma-come on, now Nellie,
just little smile for Papa, alta girl. .
She'll be okay in just minute" he explained
apologetically. TITS just that we had kind
of tough season. And then about Boy-Joe
"Boy-Joe?" I repeated, suddenly remember
ing their grown son. "Oh, why, sure, meant
to ask about him. Do you mean that some
thing happened?"
"Yes," said Joe Darby in a matter fact
tone. "BoyJoe got killed. 1t was my fault"
mo, it wasn't" declared Nell recovering her
self with final sniffle 1T my fault. But
any way. it don't matter whose fault it was,
because Boy-Joe's dead and now we amt got
a son any more"
"Uh-huh," nodded her husband "I guess
that's just about the size of it. Having job
Is a cinch beside having no son. But still and
all, guess it was more of Sam Shapiros fault
than anybody else's, don't you think so,
Mamma?"
"Oh OH oh! What difference does it make?"
she said, swaying from side to side. Wen
never see Boy-Joe any more, and we'll never
see Sam Shapiro any more, so what difference
does it make?"
"That's right, We'll never see Sam Shapiro
any more either, will we? 1t was him that
give us the ate-gay this afternoon"
"Ate-gay!" repeated Mrs. Darby Indignantly.
"Ate-gay If you mean gate Joe Darby, say
gate and stop talking like spieler."
INA /ELL, am spieler, amt ~" he an
w swered I'm the best spieler in the
business. If you ask me, and when Sam Sha-
piro says that old age is getting to my voice,
he lies"
"Of course, he does" nodded Ma Darby. Its
whisky. But even so, Joes spiel is that loud
you can hear it clear across the lot when the
calliope is whooping.''
"YeS, and even the shooting gallery, too
that's just what I told Sam Shapiro when he
first got picking on me back in the middle Of
the season. says to him, See here SAM
says, no matter what you say, can spiel EN-
in better than the best in the business My
voice amt only loud it's got personality-per
sonality and magnetism. And you mustn't for
get either says to him, that my spiels Is
all new, original stuff. and that's why I panic
EN- in. Now, you take for instance, the part
when I'm through with Fatima the Naughty
Nautch Girl and I'm spelling 'em into Flambo
the Fire Eater-that part where suddenly
screams 'Fi-ah! F-ahI Fi-ah! :. >
"Yair,' says Shapiro in that nasty way of his.
"Thats another thing you gotta cut out. You
panic EN- all right, but in the other direction
Why don't you yell murder, murder, murder
xuhiI ut hat yhaezy, of