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Show ADVENTURERS' CLUB HEADLINES FROM THE LIVES i"" OF PEOPLE LIKE YOURSELF! X "Death Spits Five Times'' By FLOYD GIBBONS Famous Headline Hunter HELLO, EVERYBODY: Here, boys and girls, is the doggondest story you ever read in your life the story of a lad who was called "yellow" and didn't like it. The story of a lad who, to show that he wasn't yellow, sat unmoved while they put up a wreath of flowers in his lap a lily in his hand while death darted at him five times across a theater stage. His name is Philip Luongo this lad who faced his maker rather than be called a coward and he lives In New York city. And if you have ever got a job to do that calls for real courage, just get Phil to do it. After what he went through six years ago, in that crowded theater up in the ' Bronx, there isn't anything in the world that is going to scare him. Phil Didn't Like to Be Called "Yellow." It was a dare that started Phil Luongo off on his big adventure. A famous French sharpshooter was appearing at a vaudeville theater on Tremont avenue, and every night he called for yolunteers to be his human mark to wear a headgear with five small glass balls on it while the Frenchman shot them off one by one. Other lads who had seen the show dared Phil to go up there and be shot at. And when Phil said he didn't like the idea they called him "yellow." Phil didn't want to be short at any more than you or I do. But they couldn't call him yellow and get away with it. With his friends he went to the theater, ready to make them eat those sneering words of theirs. Tbey took seats in the first row of the orchestra and waited for the Frenchman's act to come on. The fourth act had just ended and the Frenchman was due next. He came out suave and smiling made a short talk about his war record and showed a short moving picture of himself flying a plane in action Phil Was Scared to Death. on the Western Front. Then he went into his shooting act performing with every kind of gun imaginable, and never missing a shot Volunteered to Be Human Target. As his act drew to a close, he warmed up to his big stunt of the evening. eve-ning. He stepped to the front of the platform, asked for a volunteer to put on the headgear. But at the same time, he warned the audience that anyone who did put on the headgear would be doing it at his own risk. It was Phil's moment to speak up, and darned if Phil wanted to do it. He kept thinking of what would happen If the Frenchman French-man should miss. But suddenly out of a daze, he found himself him-self holding up his hand crying to the man on the stage that he would volunteer to be his human target. The Frenchman seemed to look surprised then he smiled. Phil was ushered to the stage by the Frenchman's assistant seated in a chair over by one of the wings. He was scared to death, but he tried not to look it. Only his heavy breathing betrayed the fact that the inside of him had gone ice-cold and that his heart was pounding so hard that he felt sure it must break through his chest Nobody tried to make it any easier for Phil. In fact it seemed as though they were deliberately trying to scare him out of it They put a wreath of flowers in his lap a lily in his hand. The orchestra began playing the Funeral March. The audience laughed. Apparently they were getting a great kick out of it. But Phil wasn't He hung onto the sides of his chair, fighting off the desire to get out of it, to run off the stage and back to his seat in the orchestra. But always when he thought of quitting, there came before his eyes the picture of those pals of his, sneering and calling him yellow. Suddenly the orchestra stopped playing. The Frenchman pushed a trunk to the middle of the stage, lay down on his back and began sighting at Phil's head along the barrel of his rifle. A new fear gripped at Phil's heart. He hadn't known the Frenchman was going to shoot at him from any such crazy position. Found Himself a Hero. The Frenchman's smile disappeared. His brow knit, and little veins stood out like ropes in his forehead. There came a sharp crack, and the first little glass ball on Phil's headgear fell to pieces. Another crack and another. Then Phil's courage came back to him. He sat calm and unafraid while the Frenchman shot off the other two balls and came toward him smiling, with outstretched hand. The theater roared in thunderous applause. Phil suddenly found the spotlight focused on him. He tried to go back to his seat, but again and again he was brought back to take bows. It might have been the big moment of Phil's life, but it wasn't The real thrill came when the Frenchman stepped forward to make a little speech. He congratulated Phil on his courage In facing his gun said it was the bravest thing he had ever seen done. And then he made a confession that surprised Phil himself. In all his years on the stage, the Frenchman said, this was the first time anyone had had courage enough to take such a chance. Usually he admitted, admit-ted, nobody volunteered, and he had to use bis assistant for his final feat. And what a look Phil gave his friends down In the front row when the Frenchman said those words. Copyright. WNU Service. |