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Show f- PB Bf PAtlGAR.DT F(AYO : V COPWUGHT. 158. BY DODD. MEAD AND COMfAH? (uontinueu irom last wcoic.j v cd, unwilling to ro, but unnDlo to And .. . further pretext for Rtnylnp. ; ' "Good nlRht. Toby." Douglns ex tended his linnd toward the bent figure '" - thnt wns about to shuffle past him. Tho withered hand of the white faced clown rested In tho strong grasp of tho T pastor, and his pale llttlo cyea sought the fnce of tho Btalwart man beforo , him. A numb desolation was growing in his heart. Xhe object for which ho had gone on dny by dny wa8 being left behind, and he must Btumblo forth into the night alone. "It's hard to leave her," he mumbled, mum-bled, "but tho show has got to go on." Tho door shut cut the bent, old figure. fig-ure. Douglas slood for some tlmo where Toby had loft lrtm. still thinking think-ing of his prophetic words. Ills reverie rev-erie was broken by tho sounds of tho departing wngons, tho low muttered ' curses of tho drivers, the Bhrloklng and roaring of tho animals, ns tho clr- cus train moved up tho distant hill, j "Tho show has got to go on," ho recreated re-created as ho crossed to his study tablo and Boated himself for work In the .dim light of tho old fashioned lamp. IIo put out ono hand to draw tho( sheets of his Interrupted sermon to-' to-' ward him, but instead it fell upon a small sailor hht. lie twisted tho hat absently In hln fingers, not yet reallz-j ing tho new order of things tljnt was coming into his life. Mandy tiptoed wiftly down tho stairs. She placed one, pudgy forefinger on her lips and rolled ( ' her largo eyes skyward. "Dat suro. nm nu ongcl chllo straight from hob-ben," hob-ben," she whispered. "Sho dono got a faco jes' like a llttlo flower," "Straight from heaven," Douglas repented re-pented ns she crossed softly to tho ta-- ta-- - ble and picked up the satchel nnd coat. "You can leave tho lamp, Mandy. Ij h must finish tomorrow's sermon." J Sho turned at tho threshold and 'X shook her head rather sadly as Bho M " saw tho imprint of tho day's cares on r tho young pastor's face. A,r1'il'M'jyo,inua'.be ,4)ow,'f ul tlrcd," , sho, i " - suld. l x" f t' "No, no; not at nil. Good nlght '"' r Mandy." ' She closed tho door behind her, nucl Douglns was ulone. lie gazed absent ly ut the pages of bis unfilshcd scr-,t scr-,t n,on s lie tapped his Idle pen on tho desk. "The show has got to go on," ho repented, and fnr up tho hlllsldo with tho slow moving wagons Jim nnd Toby looked with unseeing oyes luto the dim, starlit distance and echoed tho thought, "The show has got to go on." GHAPTEIl V. Ij, 1 IID church bells -wore ringing I I their first warning for -tho J B morning service when Mandy 1 J peeped into the spate bedroom for the second tlmo and glanced cautiously cau-tiously at the wisp of hair thnt bespoko a fomiulue licad somewhere between the covers Jiml the little white pillow on the four poster bed. There was no sound from the sleeper, so Mnudy ventured ven-tured -across -the room on tiptoe nnd Tulsed the shades. The drooping boughs of autumn folinge lay shimmering shim-mering against tho window panes, and through them wight be seeu tho gray outline of the church. Mandy glanced again toward the bed to make suro that tho burst of sunlight had not wakoned tho invulld, then crossed to a -small, rickety chair laden with the discarded finery of the little circus rider. "Xjvwdy sakesl" sho cried, holding up a spangled dress admiringly. "Ain't dat beautiful!" She drew near tho mirror, attempting to see the reflection reflec-tion of the tinsel and chiffon ngninst lier very ample background of glng-Iruni glng-Iruni and avoirdupois. "You'd suro be a rwcll nigger wid dat on, "honey!" Bho chuckled to liersolf. "Wouldn't ilem deacons holler if dcy done see i The picture of tin) deacons' astonishment aston-ishment ut such a spectacle so grew upon Mandy thnt she was obliged to cover her generous inouJIi to shut lu her convulsive laughter lest It awaken (bo llttlo girl in the bed. She crossed to the old fashioned bureau which for many months had stood unused ugniost tho wall. The drawer creaked us nke opoued It to lay away the gay, spangled span-gled gown. "It'll bo a mighty long time afore Bhe puts Tn dem t'Ings ag'lu," she said, with a doubtful shako of her large, round head. Then sho went bnck to the chair and picked up Polly's sandals and examined exam-ined the beadwork with a great deal tl Interest "Lawdy, lawdy!" she cried as sho compared tho size of the san-tialJj san-tialJj to that of her own rough,-wor shoes'. "r8ho was' flaln uyimTho point ot .exploding 1ttltu.Ja.ugJiterBa tbo church ucrr naacit n tvav -nnni unu more emphntic clangs to Its warning. Sho turned, with a start, motioning a vain warning out of tho window for the bell to be silent, but the little sleeper was already Btlrrlng uncnsllj on her pillow. Ono soft arm was thrown languidly over her head. Tho largo bluo eyes opened and closed "I'oh'U fcirc be a siecU tiloycr ViUl dat on, honey I" she vhucklcil. J j dreamily as she murmured the words, . or tho clown song that Jim nnd Toby ' had (aught her years ago: "TlnB llntr. That's what tho bells sing" Mnndy reached the side of tho bed ,ns tho girl's oyatt opened a-sccond time and met hers with n blank stnro of astonishment. A tiny frown enmo luto thu small white forehead. "What's tho matter?" she asked faintly, trying to find something familiar fa-miliar In the black fnco before her. "Hush, child, hush." Mandy whispered. whis-pered. "Jes' you lay pulllckly still Dnt's only de furs' bell a-rlngln'." "I'lrbt boll?" the ulrl inputted iih her eyos traveled quickly about the strange walls nnd the uufamllinr flttlngs of the room. "This nin't tlio show!" she cried suddenly. "Lor blesw you, no! DIs ain't no HhowT Mnudy answered, and she laughed roasnurlngly. "Then where am I?" Polly asked, half breathless with bewilderment. "Xebbcr you mind 'bout dat," was Mandy's unsatisfactory reply. "nut 1 do mind." protested Polly, trying to raise herself to a sitting po oitlon. "Where's tho bunch?" "Jc wut?" asked Mandy in surprise. "Tho bunch Jim nnd Toby an' the rest of tho push!" "Lor' bless yn;i," Mnudy exclaimed, "dey's done gone 'long wid de clrcun hoars ngo." "Gone! Show gone!" Polly cried in amnzemcut. "Then what am I doln' here?" "IIo!' on dnr, honey! llol on!" Mnudy cautioned. "Don't you 'cite yo'se'f." "Let me nlonol" Polly put nslde the nrm that wns trying to plnco n shawl around her. "I got to get out of here." "Youso got plenty o' tlmo for dat," Mandy answered. "Jos' yo' wait awhile." "I can't wnlt. an' I won't!" Tolly shrieked, almost beside herself with nnxlotj. "I got to get to tho next burg-Wnkcfleld, ain't it? What time is it? Let mo alone! Let me go!" sho cried, struggling desperately. The door opened softly, and tho young pastor stood looking down at the picture of the frail, white faced child and her black, determined cojh tor. "Here, Jcre! What's all this about?' ho asked in a firm tone, though evidently evi-dently nnruscd. "Who are .you?" returned the girl as she shoved herself quickly back against the f&Uows and drew the covers cov-ers close uultv her chin, looking at him oddly orir .their top. "Sho dono JUceu cuttln' up somefin awful!" Mandy cxjdalncd as she tried to regain enough breath for a new en counter. "Cutting up? i'ou surprise me, Miss Polly," he said, with mock seriousness. "How do you know Tin Polly?" the little robot asked, her eyes gleaming largo and dspcrnto above tbo friendly covers. ''U you JvHJ te very, 8x& an1 .kceD very quiei, l win try- iu run j -u, - hv said ns ho cronscd to the bed. "I won't bo quiet, not for nobody," Polly objected, with n bold disregard of double negatives. "1 got to got n move. If you ain't goln' to help mo you needn't butt In." "I nm nfraid 1 can't help you to go Just yet." Douglas replied. He wns beginning be-ginning to perceive that there were tnsks before him other than tho shaping shap-ing of Polly's character. "What are you tryin' to do to me, anyhow?" she nsked as she shot a glnnce of suspicion from the pastor to Mandy. "What tun I up against?'; "Don't you bo scared, honey," Mandy Man-dy renssurrd her. "Youso Jos' as safe here as jou done been In de circus." "Safer, wo hope." Douglas added, with n smile. "Are j cm two bug?" Polly questioned ques-tioned ns she turned her head from one tide to the other and studied them with a new idea. "Well, you can't get none the best ct me. I can get away alt right, an' 1 will too." Sho made n desperate effort to put ono foot to the floor, but fell bnok with n jrrv of pain. ""Imv, dnr," Mnndy murmured, putting put-ting tho pillow under the poor, cramped nock nnd smoothing tho tangled tan-gled hair from Polly's fornhend. "You done hurt yo'sef for suah dls lime." Tho pastor had taken a step toward the bed. Ills look of amusement hnd chnnged to ono of pity. "You see, Miss Polly, you bnvo had a very bad fall, and you can't get nwny Jjist J-et i seo your friends uutll you are better.'' "It's only ( scrnich," lolly whim rored, "1 Cnn do my work: 1 got to." On more feeble effort nnd Bho succumbed, suc-cumbed, with a faint "Jlmlny crick; cts!" "Undo Toby, told mo that you were a very good llttlo girl," Douglas said as bo drew up a chair nnd sat down by her Bide, confident by tho expression expres-sion on her" face that at last ho was master of tho situation. "Do you thin!: ho would'lllje ydulo behave like this?" "I suro am on tho blink," sho sltcA ns sho settled back wenrlly upon the pillow. "You'll bo nil right boou," Douglat answered cheerily. "Mandy nnd I will help tho tlmo to go." "I recollect now," Polly faltered without healing him. "It was the last hoop. Jim scorned to have n hunch I was goln' to bo lu for trouble when I went Into tho ring. Rlngo must n' felt It too, IIo kept a-pullln' anil n-Jcrklu from tho start. I got myself together to nudco tho last Jump, nn' I can't re member no more." Her bend drooped, and her eyos oloied, "I wouldn't try Just now If I worn you." Douglas answered tenderly. "It's my wheel, ain't It?" Polly questioned ques-tioned nfter n pause. "Yoah what, chile?" Mnndy cxclnlm-ed cxclnlm-ed as sho turned from tho table, whero sho had 'been rolling up tho unused bandages left from tho doctor's call the night beforo. "I sny It's my creeper, my pnddlo," Polly explained, trying to locate a fow of her many pnlns. "Gee, but thnt hurts!" Sho tried to bend her nnkle. "Is It punctured?" "Only sprained," Douglas answered, striving io control his amusement at tho expression on Mandy's puzzled face. "Better not talk any moro about it" "Ain't anything tho matter with my tongue, is there?" sho nsked. turning her bend to ono sldo and studying him quizzically. "I don't think there is," ho replied good tmturcdly. "How did I como to fall In hero anyhow?" any-how?" hho nsked as she studied the walls of 1he unfamiliar room. "Wo brought you here." "It's a swell place," sho conceded grudgingly. "Wo are comfortable," ho admitted as a telltale smile ngalu hovered about his lips. He was thinking of the changes that bo must presently make in Miss Polly vocnbulnry. "Is this the big top?" she osked. "The whaty he stammered. "Tho main tent," ho explained. "Well, no; not exactly. It's going to bo your room now, Mlas Polly." "My room! Gee! Think of that!" (To bo continued.) " |