Produced by Charles KellerPOLLY OF THE CIRCUSBy Margaret MayoTo My _KLEINE MUTTER_Chapter IThe band of the Great American Circus was playing noisily Theperformance was in full swingBeside a shabby trunk in the womens dressing tent sat a youngwistfulfaced girl chin in hand unheeding the chatter of the womenabout her or the picturesque disarray of the surrounding objects Hereyes had been so long accustomed to the glitter and tinsel of circusfineries that she saw nothing unusual in a picture that might have helda painter spellboundCircling the inside of the tent and forming a double line down thecentre were partially unpacked trunks belching forth impudent massesof satins laces artificial hair paper flowers and paste jewelsThe scent of moist earth mingled oddly with the perfumed odours of thegarments heaped on the grass Here and there high circles of lightsthrew a strong steady glare upon the halfclad figure of a robustacrobat or the thin drooping shoulders of a less stalwart sisterTemporary ropes stretched from one pole to another were laden withbrightcoloured stockings gaudy spangled gowns or dusty streetclothes discarded by the performers before slipping into their circusattire There were no nails or hooks so hats and veils were pinned tothe canvas wallsThe furniture was limited to one camp chair in front of each trunkthe till of which served as a tray for the paints powders and otheressentials of makeupA pail of water stood by the side of each chair so that the performersmight wash the delicately shaded tights handkerchiefs and other smallarticles not to be entrusted to the slow careless process of thevillage laundry Some of these had been washed tonight and hung to dryon the lines between the dusty street garmentsWomen whose turns came late sat about halfclothed reading crochetingor sewing while others added pencilled eyebrows powder or rouge totheir already exaggerated makeups Here and there a child was puttingher sawdust baby to sleep in the till of her trunk before beginningher part in the evenings entertainment Young and old went about theirduties with a systematic businesslike air and even the little knotof excited women near Pollyit seemed that one of the men had upset acircus traditionkept a sharp lookout for their turnsWhat do you think about it Polly asked a handsome brunette as shesurveyed herself in the costume of a Roman charioteerAbout what asked Polly vacantlyLeave Poll alone shes in one of her trances called a motherlygoodnatured woman whose trunk stood next to Pollys and whose businesswas to support a son and three daughters upon stalwart shoulders bothfiguratively and literallyWell _I_ aint in any trance answered the dark girl and _I_ thinkits pretty tough for him to take up with a rank outsider and expectus to warm up to her as though hed married one of our own folks Shetossed her head the pride of class distinction welling high in herample bosomHe aint asking us to warm up to her contradicted MademoiselleEloise a pale lighthaired sprite who had arrived late and was makingundignified efforts to get out of her clothes by way of her head Shewas Pollys understudy and next in line for the star place in the billWell Barker has put her into the Leap of Death stunt aint hecontinued the brunette Course that aint a regular circus actshe added somewhat mollified and so far shes had to dress withthe freaks but the next thing we know hell be ringin her in on aregular stunt and be puttin her in to dress with USNo danger of that sneered the blonde Barker is too old a stager tomix up his sheep and his goatsPolly had again lost the thread of the conversation Her mind hadgone roving to the night when the frightened girl about whom theywere talking had made her first appearance in the circus lot clingingtimidly to the hand of the man who had just made her his wife Her eyeshad met Pollys with a look of appeal that had gone straight to thechilds simple heartA few nights later the newcomer had allowed herself to be strapped intothe cumbersome Leap of Death machine which hurled itself through spaceat each performance and flung itself down with force enough to breakthe neck of any unskilled rider Courage and steady nerve were therequisites for the job so the manager had said but any physician wouldhave told him that only a trained acrobat could long endure the nervousstrain the muscular tension and the physical rack of such an ordealWhat matter The few dollars earned in this way would mean a great dealto the mother whom the girls marriage had left desolatePolly had looked on hungrily the night that the mother had taken thedaughter in her arms to say farewell in the little country town wherethe circus had played before her marriage She could remember no womansarms about HER for it was fourteen years since tender hands had carriedher mother from the performers tent into the moonlit lot to die Thebaby was so used to seeing Mumsie throw herself wearily on the groundafter coming out of the big top exhausted that she crept to thewomans side as usual that night and gazed laughingly into thesightless eyes gurgling and prattling and stroking the unresponsiveface There were tears from those who watched but no word was spokenClown Toby and the big boss canvasman Jim had always taken turnsamusing and guarding little Polly while her mother rode in the ring SoToby now carried the babe to another side of the lot and Jim bore thelifeless body of the mother to the distant ticketwagon now closed forthe night and laid it upon the sellers cotIts allus like this in the end he murmured as he drew a piece ofcanvas over the white face and turned away to give orders to the men whowere beginning to load the props used earlier in the performanceWhen the show moved on that night it was Jims strong arms that liftedthe mite of a Polly close to his stalwart heart and climbed with her tothe high seat on the head wagon Uncle Toby was entrusted