Joe Strong the Boy Fire-Eater / Or, The Most Dangerous Performance on Record

is proper mind. Then, seeing plainly that he was in earnest, she seemed to shrink away from him, a

ing to speak lightly. "Don't you want to s

er she could not conceal. "Oh, Joe, if you were to-

ughness, "that isn't any way to look at matters; especial

akes our acts go. You take a risk every time you perform with Rosebud. You might slip,

take a risk walking along the street, and so you do. An elevated train might fall on you or an auto run up on the sidewalk. The risks I take in the act with

y lighting the kitchen stove for his wife to get breakfast. His accident was entirely outside of his act, you might say. Why, I use lighted candles in som

is so dangerous. And to think of putting it in your

red all the details yet, so as to give a smoot

ow how to eat fire?" demanded Helen, a

a rudimentary way, when I was with Professor Rosello-the first man who taught me sleight-of-hand. H

I'm going to dress it up, make it sensational so that it w

ny danger?" question

my motor cycle along the high wire. But it's all in the day's work. An

urden Joe with her worries. She knew he must have calm nerves and

become weakened so that they parted, the appliances did not appear to have been tampered with. Nor were there any clews which might show who had done the deed. That it could have happe

y, when Joe had told him of the

responsible for our loss in tickets this

asked the

o's been discharged or who has a grudge agains

mer. But I haven't heard of him for years. I don

, either, after his fiasco in trying to expose my Bo

r. "And now about your trapeze act, Joe! A

se. It's

e to hustle to r

that feature in. I'll rig up a catch on the severed cable. At the proper time I'll snap it loose, seem to fall, swing by the d

't it be

ged his s

en drop I'll be on my guard. No, I can work it all right. And now

oyne about them. If they ring an extra thousand persons i

nd other circus officials, and it was decided to keep a speci

erfectly. Then he began to think of his new fire-eating act. He was determined to make th

der way, and Joe had done his big swing succ

s happened again,"

coming in than we ha

t's

from? I mean where do the people get the

r the fifty cent seats is being handed them. But the number, as tallied by the automatic gates, does not jibe with the numbe

umber of persons came in on tickets th

you this afternoon, we are having no trouble with our reserved seats. There have been no duplicates there.

n sale in some of the do

ets up to a certain hour. Then they send

nts? Have you had them

lly to a

to us? Isn't there a chance on the way up for some

ere is the cash or the unsold tickets to balance every time. But somehow, and from some place, an extr

e first chance I get. Save me a bunch of these ordinary admission

to stop the fraud, is there?" he asked. Mr. Moyne was a very conscien

use a fight. Let it go. We'll have to charge it to profit and loss. And d

n his Box of Mystery trick, and when this was finished, amid much a

uld exhibit the next day in a big city for a two days' stand, every one was in good humor. Staying over night in the same city

audience was surging out. The animal tent had already been taken dow

eir berths, to begin the trip to the next town, the "m

seen that all his apparatus had safely arrived

tickets for me?" aske

at the entrance. I can't see anything wrong. If you're looking for c

said Joe. "That may be the explanation, or it may

reasurer. "But of course no one is infallible

Joe, with a smile, as he p

hours before he would have to go "on," as he did not take

he circus tickets. A little later he might have been seen entering an offic

came forward to inquire his errand. "M

he boy. "You're t

from test tubes and retorts to electrical furnaces and X-ray apparat

"for I've been dabbling in some vile-smelling stuff.

hat seemed to be a number of canceled bank checks on a table

. An inventor is trying to get up an acid-proof ink. I'm a sort of paper expert, among my other chemical

a paper expert I may be able to set you another task besides that of showing me the

do business," said