CHUG'S LAST APPEARANCE,

Press, Volume LXIII, Issue 12989, 17 December 1907, Page 4

CHUG'S LAST APPEARANCE,

Bx J. S. Elms. Tho quivering, dust-laden atmosphere, a hubbub of conversation, reckless boye and excited pirn dashing through tho ranks of swelling,, lnnpcollarod adults, the bawling voices of vendera, v litter of straw covering tho cround, and the smell of animals—all this announced the groat American C 'The'voice of a "barker" was heralding the initial performance. ''Ladies an' gcn'clmen, tho opening perfo'munoo of tho aftchnopn. wnl bo the etah act of Profossah Cluig. Ho will make the marvellous and astoundinp doath-loap from the platfom erected one hundred feet in mid aih!" The crash of k band drowned tho rioting words of tho swoakor; The crowd scrambled excitedly toward a laddor which eliot upward to a dizzy height. At its foot a innn was etandinz—"Professor" Cluig. He was dressed in tin costume of an acrobat, his bare muscular arms and shoulder* bronzed by exposure to tho sun- He and his wife Uro tumblers. To swell their small weekly stipend to a respectable iicmre. once each afternoon he ascended the tall ladder and made tho "deathleap" to the net spread ■below. This day closed tJio contract, and Liuis wr.s'glad it was over. Ihe re was a moment of gripinj? horror, between the leaving of the laddor and the rebound from tho v.'A, to which ho could not grow accustomed. It had pa id. Clvi" told himself, but ho was glad that to-morrow ho and Annette would ho free. Already they had picked out a small farm which they couid buy. It I hnd a spring of sparkling water, an ] npple-treo growing by the door of tho ! cottage, and .1 row of broad-leaved I eatalpas on either side of the gate. I Tho crowd was getting impatient. llt was circling about, chattering and : jostling, Hko soma many-eyed monster. I lirown-iaced country youths in hopoi inssly high collars, red tie*, and lavender gloves; girls in dreost* cut unwoptcdly iow, whose nocfo showed fiery sunburns; smart dry-goods clerk* and grocers' boys with Hour still on their clothing—it was the s&mo crowd which Oluiii lwtl soen n hundred times in a dozen different States. The baud blared, tho crowd cheered. Nimbly Cluig ran up the ladder. Half- j way up ho stopped for breath, at tho en<l of tho four guy-ropas that held the ladder in position. Ho looked up at tho frail platform from which he was to jump, thon down at tho expectant faces. A baby began to cry, and its inoihor tossed it m her arms, saying, "Sco! See the man!" At tho top, ho eat down to compose himself before leaping. The circus hands were busy stretching and testing tJie net. Ctoig turned toward the door of hie tent a-nd caw tho flutter of Annette's red skirt. Sho blew him v kiss nnd disappeared. Annette never watcnnd liim make ti» loap. Always, when he came running in after tho act, fcho started up, round-oyed and with parted lips, from the same corner of the tent. To-day Cluig walt«J. with tho dread of tho 'leap artrongor In him that ho had erer felt it. The band played noisilTj cc if in protest against the in.-

sufforable heat. An impatient murmur came from below. *__„», o>> #_ "\«> you ready, profossan. r — signal from **V™£ 5 again at his tent, but Annette hsd dis- |^ aP^,r I l'a S t jump," bo said, nerving himself. "To-morrow wo are free! The not spread to receive him looked far down and small— criminally small, considering: the forfeit he would pay fora miscalculation. A miniature whirlwind sprinsing irp suddenly failed tno air with a cloud of dust and straw. Cling r waited for it to pass, and watched the people below him. The dust-storm wae followed by a stiff breeze, which started a flapping of tents and coYdage and a croaking of stays. At one side- of the ! circus, in a email tout, there arose startled exclamations and a cry- of "Fire. I A moment later th© tont wae ablaze and a 6heet of flame was running through an adjoining row of booths. The people stampeded toward the gates in wild confusion. Tho dry straw on tho around, acting like n train of gun- - powder, led the fire swiftly from booth to tent. , C!ui<r turned to retreat, and stopped, frozen "with horror, Flames were running alons one of the guy-rope*? that supported his ladder. The rope parted, and with a lurch that brought the heart into the throat of the man aloit the ladder sagged to a new position. Chiig began again to 'descend, but -,vith his feet on tho first round he could feel tho ladder swaying backward. Concluding that the shifting of his weight was tipping it. he darted back to the extreme edge of tho plattorm. V cloud of smoke now hid cvorything ; below from eight. Bedlam had broken ! looc-o—a liVedloy of elephant-trumpet- - ! and of roars and howle from a I score of other animals. Cluig crouched i anxiously on the frame, listening to the discordant chorus and trying to peer through tho smoke. Where was Annette? Were tho other guy-ropes burning? I A shifting of tho wind blew the smoke into another quarter, and objects he low camo into view. Dimly at first, then more distinctly, Cluig Raw that the space which a few minutes before had been thronged with peoplo was now vacant, save for a solitary figure—a woman, whoso rod. skirt whirled about ac eh© beat and stamped at the fin nice. 'Annette!" cried Cluig. She could not hear him, but a moraentlater she glanced up and waved her hand. Then the flames reached the second guy-rope, and Annette leaped toward it* and ran her hands through the - livinf blaze in her efforts to extinguish it Tho eager tongues on the ground, leaping at her red skirt, finally seized it, and she had to stop to drive them Thi* momentary delay gave tho fir© time to run up the rope beyond her reach ; and with the parting of tho Bee- ' ond guy tho ladder began to ewing m the wind. Cluig clutched at the frame, ; , as if this could save him, his starchy ' face staring down at Annette. She ' looked at him with an agony greater ' than his own, then darted under the 1 ladder and braced with all her feeble ' strength against tho iron frame, which 1 vac slowly tipping backward. ' Her hueband ehouted a warning, but ' it wae either unheard or unheeded. For an age-long minute the ladder • stood, apparently on a balance. Cluig 5 had closed his oyee arid was.trying to 3 pray, but heart and brain wore para-; 3 lysed by the suspense. Only a puff; , > of wind was lacking to carry him over, 1 but this puff did not come, and the I ladder slowly inclined forward again. 7 Cluig brushed tho beads of sweat -" from his brow; Annette eprang to> I action. The net had been partly bumff ed, but not beyond repair. With i nimble fingers she tied up the loose 5 ends and drew the cords across the 0 frame. Sho worked feveriehly; tying, a Btretdiing, -replacing. ' The confusion • r about her wae forgotten; the cries of 6 the animals, the ehout* of the people, r were unheeded. A craied elephant 1 j dashed toward her, followed by three ; ') excited attendants. , She did not look ;. n Uβ, though she was' directly in the !° path. When within a f:?.' feet of her 13 the elephant veered to one side, and c went off, followed by ite keepers. Then l " a fresh outbreak of tho fire in a new ~ quarter sent up a cloud of emoke that completely enveloped her. <* When all wo* done that could be * done, Annette waited for tho air to 19 clear. Twice it seemed as if the perf pendicular ladder was going over, and *" with all her strength she braced against lt it. She could feel it wavering in the wind. Again the smoke grew thinner. Cluig could see Annette standing below, nnd the net, dimly outlined. He saw her wave her hand, and her ringing cry came to him above the HP's- roar: k- "All ready!- Jump!" The ladder was .tottering like a great P- pine to ite fall. For an instant Cluig .°' stood erect, measuring the distance, Vj his eyes on the contre oP the net. II Annette stood liko a statue in the smoke-wreaths, with staring eyes fixed d on her husband. She caw tho ladder swing back as ho leaped, then fear , 1C blinded her. She neither saw nor vo * heard while tho man and tho ladder l<, fell; and when her husband, leaping .d- from the net. caught her in his arms, it- the whirling blaokueae that ©EBUod 6oemcd but a natural eequenoo to the ho bpejl that held her. he The next day Cluig helped a little a woman aboard an train. ;z y Her face wats a marvel of patchwork, ld : done in court-plaster, and her hands *** were bundled in white bandages. ir * They were bound for the little farm 'f? with it* spring of sparkling water and iE th» apple-tree beside the door. The l\l iK.sineis had paid-but Cluig had e % made hie last appearance. S CURB 1Nn&, 05{ 'sroMACT re rilA, AND ALL STOMACH ,!d THOUBLES id, '",1 Is thnfc they actually contain all of the J 4 natual digestants as found in * ,u . fc hSthv BtoSaol.. 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