Beadle's Half Dime Library, No. 118 — page 6: what you’re looking at

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

6 He was now as rich as he cared to be out of oil, and with his money, he ked his and left the oil country for Pittsburg, where he stopped a week, and then went on to Cincinnat- ti, where he ran across Bob Beekman of the cat speculation. Bob was engaged with his father in the grain trade, and doing finely. wee get $e few weeks in town Jack went next into the interior of Michigan, and bought seven thousand bushels of wheat for $1.00 pe bushel, and sold it, later, to the Beekmans for a figure which realized him a profit of twenty-five cents on each bushel. ‘So that on the first day of October, a little over a year after he had started out, and after numerous expenditures for clothing, he was the ssor of eight thousand and three hundred ars. “This he resolved to invest where it would be secure, and then start out anew. Depositing the eight thousand in the bank, he retained the three hundred, and once more set out, this time to find place to invest his money securely. It was no serious undertaking. In the thriving city of Dayton, Ohio, he found four vacant acre lots for sale at one thousand dollars apiece. He instantly purchased them as they were close to the business center, an out of the four soon had fenced off sixteen fair- sized building lots. As there were no houses upon them, he rented them to a florist for gardening and horticultural purposes, on consideration of five dollars a month, in addition to which the florist was to pay the taxes upon the property. rranging things satisfactorily, Jack then visited many of the towns in Iowa, Indiana, and Illinois, but made no further investment until ‘he came across a circus and menagerie which had encountered bad luck, in Iowa, and was in the sheriff’s hands. Taking an inventory of the stock, he purchas- ed the whole thing for three thousand dollars, The original cost must have been at least ten times that sum. There were thirty cages of animals, large and small, a chariot, tent and appurtenances, eighty horses, an elephant, two camels, and fitteen brass-band instruments. All were in good order, and Jack felt satisfied that he had made a first-class investment. Re-engaging the company, and naming the ees ee oe - -- —— | coucern alter its former owner, Jack took the managerial helm of a new wation. He had read the life of um, and it had attracted him to so great an extent, that he was possessed of a desire to sample still further the sweets of a showman’s life. They visited Dubuque, Muscatine, Davenport and Burlington, lowa, then branched off into fllinois, doing all the towns of an importance, and meeting with fair success. Not quite satis- fied with the reo, Jack a bo ae on more r, and accordingly dou re- vious sacodes by extra billi About the first of December the show reached New Orleans, where Jack disbanded the com By; and en- ged winter-quarters for his stock and wagons, having cleared two thousand dollars out of his short traveling season. It occurred to him, now, that he would like to return to Lowell and spend Christmas with the Bonds, for he had not forgotten pretty, piquant Bessie, by any means, and yearned to see her once more. : During the interval of their separation he had corresponded with her frequently, and it had been a source of pleasure to him to hear from her. So he packed up his valise, and took the first train for Boston, after which he felt better. Arrived in Boston, he was not long in steam- ing on to Lowell, and soon was heart y received by the Bonds, both of whom were evidently glad to see him. In Lowell he found matters progressing about the same as usual. He erected a costly and appropriate monu- ment at the head of the graves of his mother and father; and after a weeck’s stay he took his yi me nave " dwn in Boston, he was successful in selting ouse and lot for fifteen hundred dol- which was all they were really worth. ’ ‘Then the cars, he steamed back to New Orleans by slow stages, arriving there the first | he remained idle until the first of March, when he concluded to start out with his circus. Accordingly he had the show fitted out in good shape, engaged a full three-score of driv- ers and canvas men, and a company of cheap —_——_— ee eC eer ee e+ + - me ack Hoyle. formers, who, albeit the fact they worked or low w , were excellent artists. One “child” artiste, aged seventeen, whose non-professional name was Lily Thorpe, was Jack’s special favorite, for she was a vivacious, intelligent little being, modest and virtuo and really charming to know. She was al alone in the world, her father, a circus Pap, | having recently died, while her mother ha died years before, of yellow fever. She was of Southern birth, and warm and im- pulsive of temperament, as most of the South- ern women are; then she was next to a marvel upon the trapeze and tight rope, and was equal- ly, a good equestrian, dancer, singer and banjo- ist. Jack first found her performing in a concert garden, and perceiving that she was a good ‘card,” engaged her for a fair salary for the tenting season. He afterward learned her value as a modest and charming companion. Changing his name, Jack secured a full com- pany, and started upon the road by wagon, visiting such towns as had population enough to warrant a fair audience. Until May he kept among the lower States, where there was no cold weather, but met with indifferent success. In May, 1875, he rented out his menagerie to another party, and with a few tent-wagons horses and performers, pulled for Texas an the Far West. The towns were far apart, and sometimes a day was missed in which no show was given, but when they struck a town it was certain there would be a turnout, for the bordermen are lovers of a fine equestrian display, and a town of two thousand inhabitants was good for a two or three days’ stay, the receipts of each day averaging about alike. he company traveled fully equipped with arms, for they were traveling through a rough and lawless country, and knew not what minute they might be set upon and slaughtered. uring the days of traveling, the ladies and gentlemen of the company would Bo at target shooting, and Jack and Lily Thorpe generally came off best. No trouble was encountered until the circus arrived in Sherman, Texas, which contains more ruffians to the square foot than any other town in the State. Then a fracas occurred, the results of which the company felt for a long time afterward. CHAPTER V. A TRIAL AT CIRCUS BUSINESS. THE show arrived about the middle of the forenoon, from the previous stand at EK] Corrale, and conducting the ladies of the troupe to the principal hotel, Jack returned to superintend matters at the tent ground. He found that although his agent had exten- sively billed the town and vicinity, the pros- were not large. _The people were general- y a rougher class than he had yet encountered, and not one ticket had been sold in advance. Arrived at the tent-grounds, where the men were busy in erecting a canvas of gigantic pro- portions, Jack found a gang of the town roughs already congregated, headed by one Big Con- nales, who literally bossed the town. A great overgrown fellow he was, with enormous head and limbs and a great girth—a man with evil face and gleaming bloodshot eyes; with shaggy unkempt hair and stubbly bristling beard; one that no person would care to ineet alone ina dark place was the Sherman giant. _ He was making a considerable noise, and a deal more of blow, and when he saw J ack, up to him he pranced, with a cut of the pigeon’s wing: “e Hello, you young rooster! I s’pect mebbe ye kin tell me whar ‘ll I find ther manager o’ this yere hippomenagerie. Jest wanter encounter im I do—wanter see an’ interview him on ther sublimest kind o’ bizness, an’ don’t ye fergit it. Mebbe I know him, fer instance—mebbe I do fer I’m an old sarecus hoss, I am—a tted leopard, a ring-tailed babboon, an allygator an’ a baby elefant combined—you bet!” ‘Well, sir, I am the one you want to see,” Jack replied, coolly. “I’m the owner, director, manager, boss, and financial element of this show, and if you want anything of me, spit it out, and be lively about it.” ‘You ther prime factor o’ this sarcus!” the Texan giant g d, in surprise—‘‘ you ther — o’ this show?) Waal, now, Vl! be gum b ef I don’t believe ye’re right. Ye cor- respond ter a capital dot wi’ ther description ther colonel give me, darned ef ye don’t.” “The colonel?’ Jack interrogated, — er ee ‘Yas, ther colonel! Mebbe ye don’t know ther colonel, eh?” ‘Probably not.” ‘‘ Waal, J do, an’ ther colonel he knows me, and likewise do he knoweth you. An’ he sez to me, sez he: Connales, go down to the circus, an’ ef thet p’izen imp o’ a proprietor don’t give ye the courtesies o’ ther show, jest go ter work an’ tumble his shanty all ter tophet, an’ take abso- lute persession. An’ I reckon the old colonel’s head war purty level, pilgrim, when he uttered them words, an’ I reckon we’re ther disciples o’ his religion, we be, an’ we reckon in konclusion thet we’re a-goin’ ter take in the sarcus, free Baar hey a kiss frum ther purtiest gal, and nce wi’ ther old clown, or bu’st up ther show. Thet’s ther doctrine preacheth I, Big Connales frum Corpus Christy. “ Karect!” Jack replied, bowing and turning away. He did not say more, for he had not as yet made up his mind which to do—let the giant and his pals in, or run the risk of a fight. | His hands were all first-class men, for he had picked many of them up on the route. They were all to be depended on in a row. Big Connales hung around the grounds along with his men, and watched the mammoth tent go up with sullen impatience, The bottle was passed frequently between the gang, and evident it was that they were gradu- ally ripening for a quarrel and a fight. * Ain’t there no officers of the law in the town?’ Jackson the tent boss asked of a bystand- er, when our young manager had told him the situation. ‘* Ain’t thar no sheriff, or constable, or police—{” ‘“Reckon there’s a constable, som’eres,” the man replied, ‘‘ef he ain’t ona tear. This be Lis day fer gittin’ staven drunk, ye know.” fter the tent was up, Jack assembled the men, and made known to them the condition and a of affairs, and invited their judg- ment—whether it was best to let the giant and his crowd in free, or run the risk of a ** fuss.” ‘Give the cuss aswack in the mouth, if he bothers you, an’ we'll stand by ye,” said Dick Kerby, one of the leading nab among the men. “IT reckon we allow no Texan galoots ter run this yere carryvan, ef I know it.’ And so it was arranged. The customary parade was given on tha streets, but every member of the company was armed, and in readiness to resist any attack. It was customary for Little Jewel, or Lily Thorpe, to give a tight-rope ascension outside the tent, previous to the show, but Jack wisely cut this performance, for he had noticed during the parade that Big Connales had his evil gaze fixed on the charming artiste—that he was only waiting for a chance to capture or assault her. The ticket wagon opened at one o’clock, and a few tickets were sold for the afternoon per- formance, the total receipts not exceeding iilty dollars. No row occurred, and Jack was hopeful that none would, but was doomed to be disappointed, for it came just after the evening performance had commenced. On being refused gratis admission to the show, the Texan giant had promptly purchased tickets for himself and companions, and had entered the tent. Closing the ticket wagon, Jack entered after them, for he now felt sure that the storm was impending. : moderate audience was assembled benesth the canvas, but were mostly plainsmen and settlers, but few women being present. Jack was glad of this, and sent several ushers to notify those that were present of an impend- ing row, so that they might have an opportunity to leave. Jack had calculated that the hostile demcn- stration would come when Little Jewel made her evening’s debut. The instant she came riding out into the ring upon her trained white horse, Big Connales gave a yell, and tossing his hat into the air, eaped toward the ring, followed simultaneously by a dozen of his paras. With corresponding promptness Jack’s full company, tent-hands and all, rushed from (Le dressing-room, with hand-arms of every ccn- ceivable pattern—then the crowd began to pour down from the lofty tiers of seats, firing and yelling as they came, On which side they were fighting, it was im- tong to determine, but their flying bullets d about as much damage to one party as the other. The ruffians and the tent-hands were by this time fighting like furies—the rear of fire- arms, the PR be of the fighters and cf the wounded served to make a literal pande. monium beneath the canvas, IO!IO GoOmice LL™ Eo)