Adventure Magazine Cover, December 18, 1919 — page 143: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

Playing Safe in Piperock of ’em hit the sidewalk on their way out. “Haw! Haw! Haw!” whoops Judge Steele. “Them darned fools don’t know ss 7 Big-Foot comes backing into the door, catches his spurs on the threshold and falls flat on his back, where he lays with his eyessshut. “Take it away!” he yelps. all, take it away!” “You—you got ’em too, Big-Foot?” asks Buck. “Hawg tie me!” yells Big Foot. seen more than Wick did!” “Somebody has been monkeying with the circus, Ike,” whispers Magpie. We ducked out the back door. Bosco is setting there on the canvas. He says a couple of the dogs got loose, but noth- ing else is gone. We sat down and smoked a while, when Magpie says— “Bosco, do you know anything about this circus of ours?” “You ain’t got no circus, “T seen this aggregation when she was at her best and she wasn’t worth a whoop.” Magpie nods and considers Alcibiades. “What good was that elephant? He didn’t travel on his looks, did he?” “Him? Naw! They used to give him soft rubber balls to throw into the audience—if there was any audience. Oswald never played to capacity.” Magpie picked up a stone about as big as his fist and walked over to the ele- phant. He held out the stone and Alct= biades took it. He seems to sort of take a good hold with his trunk and then swings it back and forth, like he was weighing it. Then he whirls his trunk up and sideways, lets out a little grunt’ and away went that rock. Crash! : It bored right into the eaves of “Old Testament” Tilton’s shack about fifty yards away. We hears the crash and a moment later here comes Old Testament out of the door. He’s got his hands folded and we can see his lips moving. Over one ear is a lump the size of a egg. “Howdy, parson,’ says Magpie, but Old Testament don’t hear nor see us. As he walks past us we hears him sing- ing soft and low— 9 “Dang it af 39 says Bosco, . “Rockavages_ clef’ Rockavages “ Then he shakes his-head and starts all over again. “He can’t get over the rock!” says Magpie, awed-like, and we watches the old preacher turn into the street out of our sight. “Magpie,” says I, “this here circus is getting in bad. You can do a lot of things around here, but any time ele- phants start hitting preachers with rocks, it’s going too far. I feel within me that there’s going to be a reaction.” —rockavages cl’— E sets down to consider things, when here comes Yuma, Wick and Big-Foot. They’re sneaking along like they was afraid we'd fly away. Yuma has a sack in his hand, while the rest of “em packs guns. They stares down at Bosco and contemplates deep-like over our wild man. “You—you’re the snake-eater the judge told us about?’ asks Yuma. “IT am,” says Bosco. “Eat ’em alive! Greatest sensation of the age! Scien- tists has pondered over my marvelous powers to withstand the bite of poison reptiles. Yessir, I am Bosco! I eat em alive!”’ “You sure must be a awful handicap to the snakes,” opines Yuma. “You’ve got St. Patrick beat, feller. All he done was chase ’em. You eat pizen ones?” “Always! The flavor of poison is va- _nilly to me.” “Not rattlers?”’ says Big-Foot. “Not ' them, spotted devils?” “Rattlers? Ha! Ha! Ha! “I love "em. I’m sorry I haven’t any left, gents, but I ate the last one day before yester- day. I suppose I’ve got to go back to eating ordinary food.” “Rise up and cheer!’ says Yuma joy- ful-like, holding up the sack. “You sure get banqueted, feller. In this sack is a ol’ diamond-back with sixteen rattles and a button. Fat as a fool and you gets him free gratis for nothing.” “A-a-a-alive?’’ gasps Bosco. “Betcha! Ain’t even bruised nor shy a button. Me and Big-Foot caught him under the sidewalk. He’s a humdinger. We'll watch you eat him.” “Wait! yelps Magpie. “You fellers think I’m running a free show? This 0) JOO ANIC 129 _— (E@)