In their rear, a shadowy bulk, fol
lowed Rajah In placid confidence.
But he followed KagR. not the
man!
Rags slept In the thick bedding
of straw which covere.d the floor
of the elephant .car, a new home
made for him by Brace.
As for Jard Brace—Rajah obeyed
him because Rags obeyed him.
There was nothing in the mental
ity of the dog to teach him dis
trust of the man who each day
brought him dainties from the cook
house, and who petted him, oven
while he wanted to choke him
Brace longed to Ktrike out Into a
new life, where be could forget
and be forgotten. But to leave
would Invite suspicion. He was
blocked, baffled at every turn. Im
prisoned In his waking hours in
the company of two beings which
reminded him. hour after hour, of
the man he had killed; at night
he must, sleep in a car which con
tained 30 other persons, any one
of whom might wake to hear the
ravings of his disordered dreams.
He forsook the Pullman, with the
Intention of spending the night on
the bull car with Rags and the ele
phant. Rut every shadow cast by a
passing swilehllght brought him
visions of a tottering form; every
clanking of Rajah's picket chain set
him shivering; finally he clambered
over the tops of the cars back to
his berth In the Pullman
He grew gaunt. His eyes hollowed,
his features took on a haunted,
beaten look
The little mongrel rarely left
Rajah now. Parade-time found
Rajah leading the herd, and Rags
leading Rajah, his fluffy tall cocked
at a rndiier like angle as he trotted
ahead of the elephant line through
the sun-strewn streets.
In the afternoons, when Rajah
knelt In the straw for his daily
rest. Rags chambered over his big
head unmolesled. and even nestled
in the hollow behind the flapping
ear for a bit of nap. Night, when
the torches gleamed on the street
corners to mark the route to the
loading runs, s de by side they would
go to the cars, there to he locked
up for the night, two lonely things
without a master, without an inter
eat—save each other.
This. too. ate into the composure
of .Tard Brace. Rags he despised,
even though lie itetted him Rajah
he bated and feared, and from thi*
fear grew an idea- He had killed
the m.isier, now he must kill the
elephant.
I'm afraid we'll have to dig up
some more chains around the show.
Mr. Mathews.” Brace said with a
tilted whine. "He about wore me
out last night.”
■ Wore you out?” The menagerie
superintendent turned In surprise
•'Vou don't mean—”
"Vep." Brace said It with an air
of sorrow. ”T*ve seen It for a couple
of weeks— but I thought maybe 1
could pull him through But I bad
t«. stay In the car all last night
and fight him most of the time Al
most got the best of me two or
three times.”
Mathews* nhook his nean.
• Sorry to hear that. Rrarc. You’re
su re he'a—M
• Sure of it. Mr Mat hewn?" Rnire
stared at him "Why. last night 1
w .* afraid 1 wasn't going to get
out." ,
• I'd 1 teller order those chain*,
then How many'll you need" Four
or five?” (|
"I'd feel safer with si*—forged
"Sure. Rut we can't pick 'em up
cl> »* r than Fori Worth.”
Fort Worth? Why. that's over
m week away.”
"I know it. Can't help It. though
([ -■ ihe closest plncc. I'll wire in
the order. Ton can have any help
you need in the meantime"
timer turned angrily toward Ihe
p ket line II was not help he
needed' It was chains—chains that
would hind the massive legs so that
j’race could t>eat and gouge Rajah
In the hull car at night, so he
could torment Him until he Rained
what he desired—a surly, vicious
animal, waiting for the chance to
crash with his trunk the first per
son who came within range And
that would happen: some passing
workman would forget and walk loo
close Rut those chains were a
week away. It Irrltiuited him Sur
lily he turned to his work, only to
growl at Ihe query of an elephant
tender:
"IJukU*k sounded for the parade.
Hadn't we better lead ’em out?”
"Lend 'em out yourself! Rajah
don't go 1“ parade any more."
Then, wnllc the rest of the ele
phants departed to Jolt, the long
lino of glittering wngons. Brace
swerved roughly toward the tauk
lrtg Raps and struck him with his
pitchfork.
"Cut that out!” he snarled, and
went hack to his work. The dog.
puzzled by the absence of his hlg
playmate from the parade, trotted
tinder the side wall to view the ns
rambling of the street pageant.
Then he hurried bsick again, once
morn to bound about Brace, bail;
ing and ynpplng. Again the pitch
fork traveled In his direction.
"Clct out af here!"
But Bags persisted. Seething
with anger, the man struck him,
nursed, and with a kick of his heavy
boot sent him shrilling with pain
to the protection of Rajah's legs.
Then it was that Jard Brace
leaped screaming to one side and
made for the side wall, as a hol
lowing roar come from behind him,
and the wind from a smashing
blow of a trunk fanned his face.
Then came the cracking of wood.
Ing voice of the menagerie superin
tendent rang out:
"Hold them bulls In line there
until we can run a side-wall around
here. Somebody get the boss and
tell him he’ll have to make parade
without the elephants. Where's
Brace?"
"Over here.” He crawled from
beneath the wagon.
The menagerie superintendent
rode toward him
neatb the tower edge of the canvas,
and *he heavy, stocky hoofs of the
circle of elephants on guard against
another outbreak. Far away the
hand played In the big 'op. and
the crowds shouted and applauded;
the clowns roamed about the h ppo
drome track: the rings flashed with
A little doe sheltered beneath the hull.) head of Kajali.
and a tremendous form, loosed
from his bondage, broke forward in
pursuit. Jard Brace, ills hands
clawing, rjn toward the assembled
parade, his voice high with the
warning:
"Quick—quick with those bulls!
Circle 'em! Rajah's broken loose—
he's gone bad agin!"
The side walling ripped from the
menagerie tent. and. chains clank
ing. picket pins clattering. Rajah
came, a trumpeting, plunging mon
ster of revenge!
Shouts! Milling elephants hastily
circled before the approaching
beast. Scurrying horses—men run
ning. Scattering clowns, white
faced acrobats, hysterical women
performers. Rajah, blind with rage,
smashed Into one of the other ele
phants, rebounded, strove vainly to
find a loophole In the circle, then
slowly, grudgingly subsided. Far
across the lot, huddled under a
wagon, a wreck of a man cowered,
ready to run again. The command
"What happened?"
"He just went bad, sir. I 'was
Spreading the straw when he made
for me.”
For a long moment the. superin
tendent was silent, biting his lip At
last: "Hate to do it—but 1 guess
I've got to. Go down and tell the
trainmaster we‘11 want two switch
engines at 4:30. Tell him to spot
the Rajah bull-car between 'em.
and to noose up two half Inch
cables.”
"Yes, sir." Jard Brace hurried
for the railroad yards. An elephant
execution. Free! Free at last!
While he stumbled across the
rutty lot. in Inquisitive, fluffy little
inondesrr pt of a dog trotted
through the elephant circle and
took his place between the front
legs of a thing condemned.
All that afternoon Rags remained
there, looking Inquiringly at the
sidewalling which had been thrown
about the elephant, the legs of pac
ing. armed men. which showed be
the spangles of the equestriennes
and resounded with the e.ludding
hoofs nf the "rosin backs ” Only.one
thing was missing—no masSW -*4e
phants appeared, no crackling of
bull-whips or shouts of eommand
from the. pachyderm trainers no
luilricrous "hootchie-cooto.hie." no
baseball game, no blowing of harps
in the trunks of comical giant
clowns. For the elephant herd of
the world's amalgamated stood at
their posts of duty, the death guard
about a eondcmned member of their
ow n tribe.
An anxious-eyed lot superintend
ent glanced toward the sky. then
sent forth scurrying messengers to
summon the stake-and sledge crews
Word traveled within the tent to
the bandmaster, and the music—
the clock of the circus—quickened
tn signal of the approach of had
weather. The chariot races thun
dered about the hippodrome track:
the ropes of the reserved seats
were loosened, and the crowds
ABE MARTIN On High Tempers
(tradin' from right in left: Squire Swallow, Mr*. IJcklider, Mr*, IJcklider'* attorney, Mr. IJcklider. and
ntorhid onlooker*.
"Both o' you go on back home
nn' curb your temper*. an' you
wash th’ paint off o' your muR.
Vfter a woman anare* a husband
ther'a no longer any excuse for
her daubin' her fnce up like n
Cherokee Injun," roared 'Squire
Marsh Swallow this meritin', after
listenin' t' 8ue Llekllder tell her
side o’ th‘ story In th' Llekllder
divorce cose. Later ’Squire Swal
low anid: “Th' outelde world Is git-,
tin' t* believe my court is a clearin’
house fer lopslde mnrrlngr.s. I've
split up quite a few couple* In th’
last month, but l‘m going t’ call
a halt. Women nrc oo used t' Ink
in' things home on approval, an’
makln' things over, an' exchangin'
things, an' taking things back, that
they use th' same system with hue
bands. They Jest reason that they
ktn take a man an' If they don’t
like hhn they kin dump him. Some
limes they try t‘ make him over.
Men don't 1 .inker fer divorces ns
much ns women do They hain't
home much, an' besides they kin git
away with a double Ilf* better n n
woman A woman'll see anothei
man she likes better Jest as sh*
sees another hat she like* better
hut she rarely tries t' own 'em
lioth lots o’ men think that if
they give ther wives plentj ©
spondln' money they're doin' ther
bit, but women want love nn* nf
feetlon an’ money, too 1'gly tern
pers Is what mostly spins ©ottples
up. I've had couples before me
that wu* so homely an' rleh that
jealousy or money matters would
be th' last thing In th' world t
split 'em up. tlieu I'd find out that
it wu* her temper or his temper
that wu* cornin' betwein 'em Them*
tempers show up In th' mornln's
If such couples would Jest keep
away from on* another till eight
thirty, or nine o’clock, they could
worry thro' th' rest o' th' daj' nil
O K but it'« trytn' t' eat break
fast t ret her that destroys ther
happiness I've told this l.ickhdei
t Ret hts bteakfast down town til)
he rIIs better ecquainted with his
wife They wu* only married last
Saturday after Rotn' t Rethei three
hours Then ther’s anothei trou
Me- Rlttln married too soon A
Klrl'li rii married befort she > evei.
aeep her husband with his hat off
an' a f.iol boy'h hook up with «
Rirl without knowtn whethei she's
roI any ears or over one eye This
l,iekllde< fellei already owes n den
tal blh o' JSi his wits contracted
since last Saturday Couple* that
Jum| In; mama* should renictn
ho> titi each mus' Rlv« uy some
thin lie's ro. t Rtv» u| hlr wi.Re*
an i wha' h« kli Rlv «n sues
Rut t rIvs u| palntln an stay
at horns occasionally I'm thro
monkeyin' with ’ent.”
massed for the homeward journey.
At the menagerie conne. 'ion, 'he
manager summoned his first as
sistant.
Cut the concert short. Blow com
ing. Looks bad. Want to lower
the peaks of the big top. Look
after It, will you? I've got to go
down to the runs. They’re going
to bump off that Rajah bull. He's
gone bad again.”
Outside the menagerie, the strip
of sidcwslling pulled away, the
elephants were being pushed closer
to the condemned Rajah, and
formed Into a hollow square. Then
came the query:
“All set?”
“Aye!”
“All right. Jones and Kendall
lead off; the rest of you keep pace.
Now—”
"Hey, Matthews!” It was the
voice of the lot superintendent.
“How long you going to be?’*
”Oon'' know . 'Bout an hour, I
guess."
Well, keep the hull herd down at
the cats, will you? And send hack
any men you can spare. She looks
awful black over there in the west.”
“I'll let you have five in a half
hour. as soon as we get the nooses
bitched ”
Mathews spurred his horse to re
join the strange march of death—
where a titantic beast went willing
ly forward because his comrades
of rhe herd were near him. and be
side him trotted a faithful little
• companion of fair weather and
fmi!—the dog Rags. Far In the
background another figure moved,
a gaunt faced man who watched
the great mass of the hollow square
as it crossed the lot and reached
the railroad tracks. The wind had
risen, scudding the black clouds
arrow the sky, and whistling eerily
through the slats of the stockcars.
Rajah haised his trunk and trum
peted querulously; it was the first
storm since the night Mason had
died. Again he shrilled, and again.
Mathews, the superintendent,
suprred his horse about the hollow
square.
“Hold them bulls tight in line!
Jones—Kendall! Swing to the right
and bring Jennie and Maud straight
up to the runway. Then pull 'em
off quick, one on each side of the
run—and hold 'em there. The rest
of the herd will force him in!"
At the runway Rajah hesitated,
then, crowded from the rear by his
herd mates, went onward. But the
little doc stood on the runway and
barked, with a new threat in his
tone The canine mind is quick
to sense the unusual, and Rags
never had seen his great compan
ion sent to the cars at any other
time save nightfall. From ths
right and the left two switch en
gines puffed lazily. The engineers
climbed from the cabs to receive
their instructions. Matthews
leaned from his saddle.
“I'll give the signal.” he an
nounced. "We've got those cables
strung through the ends of the
cars The neck-noose is fastened
to. the roof with light twine. He'll
walk into it as soon as he begins
to tug away from the other lariat,
when we slip it around his hind
feet. I'll wave my hat. Then pull
away””
The engineers returned to their
cahs. Canvasmen looped the cables
through the drawbars of the en
gines and fastened them A me
nagerie attendant slid to the open
ing of the car and started to creep
within. But Rags, back bristl d.
teeth showing, blocked him. Math
ews raised in his saddle.
"Somebody get that dog away
from there!*’
Attendants called and cajoled. To
no avail.
A driving rain began io pxatter
Men turned up their coat collars
and glanced hastily at the skv
Rajah's trunk was curled high
His eye* showed white rims and
red rims. His forefeet moved rest
lessly. A blinding flash of light
ning creased the sky. and the ele
pliant bellowed excitedly, milling
nervously about. Then something
tightened on his hind legs, and
a shout came from the rear of tta*
car
• All right. Mr. Matthews' It#
got him He’s caught tight."
"Good' Step, alive up there
noo semen"'
K’.gures moxed atop the car.
Then came a curse
"The string's slipped—it ain't in
position for his head"
The menagerie superintendent
gritted his teeth
"Have to get in tin car and put
It around his neck, then Some
bnd' get that dog away from that
door—-weT. never be able to do
anything with him keeping that
bul' stirred up Mere, you" H*
tumw* toward a gaunt man slink*
my atony at tht side of the car*.
“Toil Know this dog—get him
away from here!”
Jant Bruce stared
"Is—-is ■■■— **
"Oh. he’s safe enough. Hind
lien is-it Grab that dog’ Ws’ve
got to go in the cat to put on th*
neck ntsise!"
The trainer hurried forward He
called— but the only ansxvei was
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