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The Eagle's Claws by Ellis Parker Butler. As Filo Gubb boarded the train for

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Riverbank. After recovering the silver loving
Cup from the interior of the petrified man,

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he cast a regretful glance backward.
It was for Cyrilla. There was

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half a ton of her pink,
white beauty, and her placid cow like

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expression touched an echoing cord in Philo
Gubb's heart. Philo felt, however,

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that his admiration must be hopeless,
for Syrilla must earn a salary in keeping

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with her size, and his income
was too irregular and small to keep even

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a thin wife. Five hundred dollars
was a large reward for a loving cup

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that cost not over thirty dollars.
It is true, but mister Jonas Meadowbrook

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had afford to pay what he chose, and as he was passionately fond of

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golf and passionately poor at the game, and as this was probably the only

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golf prize he would ever win,
he was justified in paying liberally, especially

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as this cup was not merely a
tankard, but almost large enough to be

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called a tank. Detective Gub hastened
to the home of mister Meadowbrook. But

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when the door of that palatial house
opened, the colored butler told mister Gubb

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that mister Meadowbrook was at the golf
club, attending the annual banquet of the

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fifty worst Duffers. Mister Gubb started
for the golf club. As he walked,

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he thought of Sorilla, and he
was at the gate of the golf

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club before he knew it. He
walked up the path toward the clubhouse,

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but when halfway he stopped short.
All his detective instincts aroused. The windows

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of the clubhouse glowed with light,
and sounds of merriment issued from them.

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But the cause of Philo Gub's sudden
pause was ahead, silhouetted against one of

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the glowing windows. As mister Gubb
watched, he saw the head disappear in

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the gloom below the window. Only
two reappear at another window. Mister Gubb,

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following the directions as laid down in
less than four of the correspondences,

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Lessons, dropped to his hands and
knees and crept silently toward the Paul Prye.

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When within a few feet of him, mister Gubb seated himself tailor fashion

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on the grass. As Filo sat
on the damp grass, the man at

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the window turned his head, and
mister Gubb noted with surprise that the stranger

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had none of the marks of a
sodden criminal. The face was that of

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a respectably benevolent old German American gentleman. Kindliness and good nature beamed from its

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lines, but at the moment the
plump little man seemed in trouble. Good

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evening, said mister Gubb. I
presume you are taking an observation of the

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dinner party within the inside of the
club. The old gentleman turned sharply.

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Jess, he said, I look
at their people's eating and drinking, as

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I like to see that unsouch good
at e thes dot Man mit Der Blackbeard,

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he vas es splendid e There mister
Gubb raised himself to his knees and

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looked into the dining room. That
he said, is the honorable mister Jonas

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Meadowbrook, the wealthiest rich man in
Riverbank Metterbrook Mehta Krook, said the old

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German American not Chons ah not Jones
to my present personal knowledge at this time,

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said Philo Gubb. Not Chons repeated
the plumply benevolent looking German American dot

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vas strange, you vas sure I
vas not Johns. I'm quite almost positive

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upon that point of knowledge, said
Philo Gubb. For I have under my

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arm a golf cup. I am
returning back to mister meadowbrook to receive five

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hundred dollars reward from him. For
so queried the stranger fife hundr dollars.

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Wouldn't it is his cup? It
is, said Filo Gubb. He raised

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the cup in his hand that the
stranger might read the inscription, stating that

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the cup was Jonas Meadowbrooks. The
light of the window made the engraving easy

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to read, but the old German
American first drew from his pocket a pair

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of gold rimmed spectacles and adjusted them
carefully on his nose. He then took

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the cup and moved closer to the
window and read the inscription. Jez jesz,

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he agreed, nodding his head several
times, and then he smiled at

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mister Gubb, a broadly benevolent smile. Excuse me, he added, and

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with gentle deliberation, he removed mister
Gubb's hat. Just a minute, please,

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he continued, and with his free
hand, he felt gently on the

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top of mister Gubb's head. He
turned mister Gubb's head gently to the right,

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so he exclaimed, dat vaskuld.
He raised the cup above his head

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and brought it down on top of
mister Gubb's head in the exact spot he

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had selected. For two moments,
mister Gubb made motions with his hands resembling

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those of a swimmer, and then
he collapsed in a heap. The kindly

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looking old German American gentleman, seeing
he was quite unconscious, tucked the golf

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cup under his own arm and waddled
slowly down the path to the club gates.

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Ten minutes later, a small automobile
drove up and young doctor Anson Briggs

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hopped out. Mister Gubb was just
getting to his feet, feeling the top

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of his head with his hand as
he did so. Here said doctor Briggs.

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You must not do that. Why
can't I do it? Mister Gubb

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asked Crossley. It is my own
personal head, and if I wish to

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desire to rub it, you are
not concerned in the occasion. Whatever,

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Oh rub your head if you want
to, exclaimed the doctor. I say

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you must not stand up a man
that has just had a fit must not

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stand up. Who had a fit, asked Filo Gub. You did,

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said doctor Briggs. I am told
you had a very bad fit and fell

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and knocked your head against the building. You're dazed, lie down. I

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prefer to wish to stand erect on
my feet, said mister Gubb firmly.

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Where's my cup? What cub who
told you I was suffering from the symptoms

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of a fit, demanded Philo Gubb. Why a short, plump little german

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did, said the doctor. He
sent me here and he gave me this

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to give to you. The doctor
held an envelope toward mister Gubb, and

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the detective took it and tore it
open. By the light of the window,

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he read received of J. Jones
golf cup worth five hundred dollars p

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H. Schrekenheim. Filo Gubb turned
to doctor Briggs. I am much obliged

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for the hastiness with which you came
to relieve one you considered to think in

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trouble, Doctor, he said,
but fits are not in my line of

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sickness, which mainly is dyspeptic to
date. Now, what is all this,

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asked the doctor. Suspicion. What
is that letter anyway? It is

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a clue, said Filo Gubb,
which connected with the bump on the top

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of the cranium of my skull,
will no doubt land somebody into jail.

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So good evening, doctor. He
picked his hat from the lawn and in

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his most stately manner, walked around
the clubhouse and in at the door.

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Inside the clubhouse, mister Gubb asked
one of the waiters to call mister Meadowbrook,

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and mister Meadobrook immediately appeared. As
he came from the dining room rapidly,

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the napkin he had tucked in his
neck fell over his shoulder behind him,

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and mister Meadowbrook, instead of turning
around, bent backwards until he could

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pick up the napkin with his teeth, after which he resumed his normal upright

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position. Excuse me, Gub,
he said, I didn't think what I

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was doing. Where's the cup,
the detective explained. He handed mister Meaderbrook

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the receipt that had been sent by
mister Schrekenheim, and the moment mister Meaderbrook's

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eyes fell upon it, he turned
red. That infernal dutchman. He cried,

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although mister Schrekenheim was not a Dutchman
at all, but a German American.

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I'll jail him for this. He
stopped short, Gubb. He said,

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did that fellow tell you what his
business was? He did not,

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said Filo Gubb. He failed to
express any mention of it. That man,

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said mister Meadowbrook bitterly. Is Schrekenheim
the greatest tattoo artist in the world.

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He is the king of them all, a connoisseur in tattooish art Cantella

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Schrekenheim as easily as a picture dealer
Cantella corot. But no matter, mister

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Gubb. You are a detective,
and I believe what is told detectives is

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held inviolable. Yes, you and
all Riverbanks see me an ordinary citizen.

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Wealthy perhaps, but ordinary. As
a matter of fact. I was once,

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he looked cautiously around. I was
once a contortionist. I was once

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the contortionist, and now I am
a wealthy man. My wife left me

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because she said I was stingy,
and she took my child, my only

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daughter. I have never seen either
of them since. I have searched high

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and low, but I cannot find
them. Mister Gubb, I would give

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the man that finds my daughter,
if she is alive, a thousand dollars.

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You don't object to my attempting to
try, said Filo Gubb. No,

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said mister Jonas Meadobrook. But that
is not what I wished to explain

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in my contortion act. Mister Gubb, I was obliged to wear the most

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expensive silk tights. Wiggling on the
floor destroys them rapidly. I had a

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happy thought. I was known as
the man serpent. Could I not save

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all expenses of tights by having myself
tattooed so that my skin would represent scales?

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Look, mister Meadowbrook pulled up his
cuff and showed mister Gubb his arm.

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It was beautifully tattooed in red and
blue, like the scales of a

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cobra. The cost continued, mister
Meadowbrook was great. Herr Schreckenheim worked continuously

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on me, and when he reached
my manly chest, I had a brilliant

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thought I would have tattooed upon it
an American eagle. Imagine the enthusiasm of

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an audience when I stood straight,
spread my arms and showed that noble emblem

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of our nation's strength and freedom.
I told Herr Schreckenheim, and he set

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to work. When and the contract
price, by the way, for doing

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that eagle was five hundred dollars.
When the eagle was about completed, I

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said to Herr Schreckenheim, of course
you will do no more eagles. More

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eagles, he said, questioningly on
other men. I said, I want

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to be the only man with an
eagle on my chest. I am doing

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an eagle on another man now,
he said. I was angry at once.

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I jumped from the table and threw
on my clothes cheater. I cried,

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not another spot or dot shall you
make on me? Go? I

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will never pay you a cent.
He was very angry. It is a

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contract, he cried, five hundred
dollars you owe me. I owe it

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to you when the job is complete. I declared that was the contract.

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Is this job complete? Where are
the eagle's claws? I'll never pay you

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a cent. We had a lot
of angry words. He demanded that I

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give him a chance to put the
claws on the eagle. I refused.

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I said I would never pay.
He said he would follow me to the

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end of the world and collect He
said he would do those eagle claws if

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he had to do them on my
infant daughter. I dared him to touch

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the child. And now, said
mister Meadowbrook, he has taken the golf

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cup I value at five hundred dollars. He has won. At the mention

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of the threat regarding the child,
Filo Gubb's eyes opened wide, but he

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kept silent. Gubb said mister Meadobrook. Suddenly, I'll give you one thousand

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dollars if you can recover my poor
child. The detecative profession is full of

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complicity of detail, said mister Gubb. And the impossible is quite possible when

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put in the right hands. The
cub bother the cup, said mister Meadowbrook

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carelessly. I want my child.
I'll give ten thousand dollars for my child.

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Gub with difficulty, could Filo Gub
restrain his eagerness to depart. He

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had a clue. Ordinarily, mister
Gubb would have taken any disguise that seemed

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to him best suited for the work
in hand. But now he was going

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to see and be seen by Sorilla. Mister Gub ran down the list number

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seven card sharp number nine Minister of
the Gospel number twelve, Butcher number sixteen,

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Negro hack driver number seventeen, Chinese
laundryman number twenty. Cowboy Filo Gub

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paused he would be a cowboy,
for it was a jaunty disguise. Chaps,

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sombrero, spurs, buckskin gloves,
holsters and pistols, blue shirt,

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yellow hair, stubby mustache. He
donned the complete disguise, put his street

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garments in a suit case, and
viewed himself in his small mirror. He

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highly approved of the disguise. He
touched his cheeks with red to give himself

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a healthy outdoor appearance. Early the
next morning, before the earliest merchants had

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opened their shops, Filo Gubb boarded
the train for West Higgins, for it

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was there the world's greatest combined shows
were to appear. The few sleepy passengers

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did not open their eyes. The
conductor, as he took mister Gubb's ticket,

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merely remarked joining the show at West
Higgins and passed on. Boys were

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already gathering on the West Higgins station
platform when the train pulled in, and

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they cheered mister Gubb, thinking him
part of the show. This greatly increased

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the difficulty of mister Gubb's detective work. He had hoped to steal unobserved,

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to the circus grounds, but a
dozen small boys immediately attached themselves to him,

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running before him and whooping with joy. Boys said mister Gubb sternly,

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I wish you to run away and
play elsewhere than in front of me,

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continuously all the time, and they
cheered because he had spoken. Only the

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glad news that the circus trains had
reached town finally dragged them reluctantly away.

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Detective Gub hurried to the circus grounds. The cook tent was already up and

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the grub tent was being put up
presently, the side show tent was up

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and the big top rising. It
was not until nine o'clock, however,

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that the side show ladies and gentlemen
began to appear. And when they arrived,

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they went at once to the grub
tent and seated themselves at the table.

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From a corner of the big top's
side wall, Detective Gub watched them.

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Look there, deary, said Marilla
suddenly to Princess Zozo. Don't that

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cowboy look like mister Gubb that was
at Bardville and got the golf cup.

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It don't look like him, said
Princess Zozo. It is him. Why

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don't you ask him to come over
and help at the eats? You seem

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to like him yesterday. I thought
he was a real gentlemanly gentleman, dearie,

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if that's what you mean, said
Sorilla, and raising her voice,

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she called to mister Gobb. For
a moment, he hesitated, and then

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he came forward. We knowed you
the minute we seen you. Mister Gubb,

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Come and sit in beside me and
have some breakfast. If you ain't

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dined, I thought you went home
last night. You ain't after no more

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criminals, are you. There are
variously many ends to the detecative business,

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said mister Gubb, as he seated
himself beside Sorilla. I'm upon a most

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important case at the present time.
Sorilla reached for her fifth boiled potato,

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and as her her arm past mister
Gubb's face, he thrilled he had not

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been mistaken. Upon that arm was
a pair of eagle's claws tattooed in red

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00:16:10,159 --> 00:16:14,879
and blue. How little these had
meant to him before, and how much

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00:16:15,000 --> 00:16:19,360
they meant now? I presume you
don't hardly ever long for a home in

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00:16:19,440 --> 00:16:23,600
one place, miss Sorilla. He
began, with his eye fixed on her

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00:16:23,720 --> 00:16:29,799
arm, just above the elbow.
Well believe me, dearie, said Sorilla.

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00:16:30,360 --> 00:16:33,559
You don't want to think that just
because I travel with a side show,

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00:16:33,639 --> 00:16:37,639
I don't long for the refinements of
a true home just like other folks.

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Some folks think I'm easy to see
through and that I ain't nothin but

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00:16:41,000 --> 00:16:45,519
fat and appetite. But they've got
me down wrong, mister Gubb. I

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00:16:45,679 --> 00:16:49,639
was unfortunate in getting lost from my
father and mother when a babe. But

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00:16:49,879 --> 00:16:55,200
many as the time I've said to
Zozo, I've got a refined strain in

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00:16:55,279 --> 00:16:59,759
my nature, haven't i? Zozo? You say it every time we begin

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00:16:59,799 --> 00:17:03,960
to rag you about falling in love
with every new thin man you see,

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00:17:03,200 --> 00:17:07,599
said Princess Zozo. You said it
last night when we was joshing you about

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00:17:07,599 --> 00:17:15,359
mister Gubb. Here, Sorilla colored, but mister Gubb thrilled joyously just the

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00:17:15,400 --> 00:17:19,880
same, Deary Sorilla said to Princess
Zozo, I've got myself listed right when

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00:17:19,920 --> 00:17:25,160
I say I got a refined nature, I've got all the instincts of a

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00:17:25,200 --> 00:17:29,319
real society lady, and sometimes it
irks me awful not to be able to

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00:17:29,400 --> 00:17:36,240
let myself loose and bant like pant, asked mister Gubb. Bant was the

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00:17:36,279 --> 00:17:40,799
word I used, mister Gubb,
Sorilla replied, maybe you wouldn't guess it

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00:17:41,000 --> 00:17:44,920
looking at me shovelin' in the etibles
this way. But eating food is the

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00:17:45,000 --> 00:17:48,839
cruelest thing I have to do.
It charged me something terrible, yes,

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00:17:48,920 --> 00:17:52,599
dearie. What I longed for day
and night is a chance to take my

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00:17:52,720 --> 00:17:57,480
place in the social stratums I was
born for and bant off the fat like

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00:17:57,559 --> 00:18:03,039
other social ladies, is to ride
along. I don't eat food because i'd

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00:18:03,119 --> 00:18:06,759
like it, mister Gubb, but
because a lady in a profession like mine

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00:18:06,880 --> 00:18:11,160
has got to keep fat it up. My outside may be fat, mister

224
00:18:11,200 --> 00:18:15,160
Gubb, but I got a soul
inside of me as skinny as any fashionable

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00:18:15,240 --> 00:18:18,799
lady would care to have. And
as soon as possible, I'm going to

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00:18:18,920 --> 00:18:22,319
quit the road and bant off six
or seven hundred pounds. Would you believe

227
00:18:22,359 --> 00:18:26,319
it possible that I ain't dared to
eat a pickle for over seven years because

228
00:18:26,359 --> 00:18:32,559
it might start me on the thin
word road. I presume to suppose,

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00:18:33,039 --> 00:18:37,480
said mister Gubb politely, that if
you was to be offered a home that

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00:18:37,720 --> 00:18:41,160
was rich with wealth, and I
was to take you there and place you

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00:18:41,240 --> 00:18:47,400
beside your parental father, would you
refuse. Mister Gubb awaited the reply with

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00:18:47,480 --> 00:18:49,920
eagerness. He tried to remain calm, but in spite of himself, he

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00:18:51,079 --> 00:18:55,839
was nervous. Watch me, said
Marilla, if you could show me a

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00:18:55,920 --> 00:18:59,079
nook like that, you couldn't hold
me in this show business with a tense

235
00:18:59,079 --> 00:19:03,240
steak and a bull. But that's
a rosy dream. You ain't got a

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00:19:03,440 --> 00:19:07,759
locket with the photo of your mother's
picture into it, asked mister Gubb.

237
00:19:08,680 --> 00:19:14,839
No, said Marilla. My pa
Ma was unknown to me. I dare

238
00:19:14,880 --> 00:19:18,200
say they got sick of hearin me
ball and left me on a doorstep.

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00:19:18,759 --> 00:19:22,880
The first I knew of things was
that I was travelin with a show representing

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00:19:22,920 --> 00:19:26,720
a new born babe in an incubator
machine. I was incubated up to the

241
00:19:26,720 --> 00:19:30,319
time I was five years old and
got too long to go into the glass

242
00:19:30,400 --> 00:19:36,200
case. But some one was your
guardian in charge of you, no doubt,

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00:19:36,839 --> 00:19:40,839
asked Gub. I had forty of
them, deary, said Sorilla.

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00:19:41,240 --> 00:19:45,559
Whenever money run low, they quit
because they couldn't get paid on Saturday night.

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00:19:45,559 --> 00:19:49,720
Huh, said mister Gubb. And
does the name Jones bring back the

246
00:19:49,960 --> 00:19:55,839
memory of any remembrance to you?
No, mister Gubb, said Sorilla,

247
00:19:55,880 --> 00:20:00,359
regretfully, seeing how eager he was. It don't in that state of the

248
00:20:00,440 --> 00:20:03,359
case of things, said mister Gubb. I've got to go over to that

249
00:20:03,559 --> 00:20:07,839
wagon pole and sit down and think. Awhile, I've got a certain clue.

250
00:20:07,839 --> 00:20:11,200
I've got to think over and make
sure it leads right, and if

251
00:20:11,240 --> 00:20:17,200
it does, I'll have something important
to say to you. The wagon pole

252
00:20:17,240 --> 00:20:21,839
in question was attached to a canvas
wagon near by, and Detective Gub seated

253
00:20:21,880 --> 00:20:26,279
himself on it and thought the side
show ladies and gentlemen, having finished,

254
00:20:26,400 --> 00:20:30,400
entered the side show tent, with
the exception of Sorilla, who remained to

255
00:20:30,519 --> 00:20:34,240
finish her meal. She ate a
great deal at meals. Before meals and

256
00:20:34,400 --> 00:20:38,920
after meals, Mister Gubb, from
his seat on the wagon pole, looked

257
00:20:38,920 --> 00:20:45,039
at Sorilla thoughtfully. He had not
the least doubt that Sorilla was the lost

258
00:20:45,119 --> 00:20:49,119
daughter of mister Jones, or Meadowbrook, as he now called himself. The

259
00:20:49,200 --> 00:20:53,720
German American tattoo artist had sworn to
complete the eagle by putting its claws on

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00:20:53,799 --> 00:21:00,319
mister Jones's daughter if need be,
And here were the claws on Marilla's arm.

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00:21:00,799 --> 00:21:03,799
But just as it is desirable at
times to have a handwriting expert identify

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00:21:03,839 --> 00:21:07,680
a bit of writing, mister Gubb
felt that if he could prove that the

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00:21:07,799 --> 00:21:12,519
claws tattooed on Marilla's arm where the
work of mister Schrekenheim, his case would

264
00:21:12,559 --> 00:21:18,680
be complete. He longed for mister
Schreckenheim's presence, but lacking that, he

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00:21:18,839 --> 00:21:22,799
had a happy idea. Mister Enderberry, the tattooed man of the side show,

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00:21:22,880 --> 00:21:27,799
should be a connoisseur and would perhaps
be able to identify the eagle's claws.

267
00:21:29,759 --> 00:21:34,000
Leaving Marilla still eating, mister Gubb
entered the side show tent. Mister

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00:21:34,119 --> 00:21:38,240
Enderberry, seated on a blue property
case, was engaged in biting the entire

269
00:21:38,440 --> 00:21:44,119
row of finger nails on his right
hand, and a frown creased his brow.

270
00:21:44,920 --> 00:21:48,599
He was enwrapped by a long purple
bathrobe which tied closely about his neck.

271
00:21:49,359 --> 00:21:53,039
As he caught sight of mister Gubb. He started slightly and doubled his

272
00:21:53,200 --> 00:21:59,200
hand into a fist, but he
immediately calmed himself and assumed a nonchalant air.

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00:22:00,039 --> 00:22:03,759
As a matter of fact, mister
Endburry led a dog's life for years.

274
00:22:03,799 --> 00:22:07,839
He had loved Sorilla devotedly, but
he was so bashful he had never

275
00:22:07,920 --> 00:22:11,839
dared to confess his love to her. And year after year he saw her

276
00:22:11,920 --> 00:22:18,839
smile upon one thin man after another. Now it was mister Lonardon. Again

277
00:22:18,960 --> 00:22:22,920
it was mister Winterbury, or it
was mister Gubb, or Smith, or

278
00:22:22,000 --> 00:22:26,880
Jones or Doe. But for mister
Enderberry, she seemed to have nothing but

279
00:22:27,000 --> 00:22:33,200
contempt. Mister Enderberry had first seen
her when she was posing in the infant

280
00:22:33,279 --> 00:22:37,799
incubator, and had loved her even
then, For he was twenty when she

281
00:22:37,079 --> 00:22:41,759
was but five. The coming of
a new rival always affected him, as

282
00:22:41,759 --> 00:22:47,200
the coming of mister Gubb had,
But for good reason. He hated mister

283
00:22:47,279 --> 00:22:52,640
Gubb worse than any of the others. Excuse me for begging your pardon,

284
00:22:52,119 --> 00:22:56,759
said mister Gubb. But in the
detecative business, questions have to be asked.

285
00:22:57,319 --> 00:23:02,279
Have you ever chanced to happen to
notice some tattoo work upon the arm

286
00:23:02,400 --> 00:23:07,519
of Miss Sorilla of the side show, I have, said mister Edinbury.

287
00:23:07,640 --> 00:23:11,920
Shortly a pair of eagle's claws,
said mister Gubb. Can you tell me,

288
00:23:12,039 --> 00:23:17,039
from your knowledge and belief if the
work they're done was the work of

289
00:23:17,119 --> 00:23:22,279
mister Harrer Schreckenheim. I can tell
you if I want to, said mister

290
00:23:22,400 --> 00:23:26,880
Enderburry. What do you want to
know for? If those claws are the

291
00:23:26,880 --> 00:23:30,799
work of mister Harrer Schreckenheim, said
mister Gubb. I am prepared to offer

292
00:23:30,880 --> 00:23:36,440
to miss Sorilla her daughterly place in
a home of wealth at Riverbank, Iowa.

293
00:23:37,039 --> 00:23:41,480
If those claws are Schrekenheim clause,
Miss Sorilla is the daughter of mister

294
00:23:41,599 --> 00:23:45,559
Jonas Meadowbrook of the said Bergh.
Beyond the question of a particle of doubt.

295
00:23:47,640 --> 00:23:52,079
Mister Enderburry looked at mister Gubb with
surprise. That's not he began.

296
00:23:52,839 --> 00:23:59,240
And if Schrekenheim did those claws,
You'll take Sorilla away from this show forever,

297
00:23:59,680 --> 00:24:03,559
he asked. Asked, I will, said Filo Gubb. If she

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00:24:03,759 --> 00:24:07,400
desires to wish to go, then
I have nothing whatever to say, said

299
00:24:07,440 --> 00:24:11,839
mister Enderburry. And he shut his
mouth firmly, nor would he say more.

300
00:24:14,039 --> 00:24:18,119
Do you desire to wish me to
understand that they are not the work

301
00:24:18,160 --> 00:24:23,880
of mister Herr Schreckenheim persisted mister Gubb, I have nothing to say, said

302
00:24:23,920 --> 00:24:30,599
mister Enderberry. I consider that conclusive, circumstantial evidence that they are, said

303
00:24:30,640 --> 00:24:34,920
Detective Gubb, and he clanked out
of the side show. Marilla was still

304
00:24:34,960 --> 00:24:40,599
seated at the grub table, finishing
her meal, and mister Gubb seated himself

305
00:24:40,640 --> 00:24:45,599
opposite her. As delicately as he
could, he told of Jonas Meadowbrook and

306
00:24:45,680 --> 00:24:49,079
his lost daughter, of the home
of wealth that awaited that daughter, and

307
00:24:49,200 --> 00:24:55,039
finally, of his belief that Cyrilla
was that daughter. It was clear that

308
00:24:55,039 --> 00:24:59,119
Marilla was quite willing to take up
a life of refinement and dieting if she

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00:24:59,279 --> 00:25:03,000
was given an oper tunity such as
mister Gubb was able to offer in the

310
00:25:03,079 --> 00:25:07,799
name of Jonas Meadowbrook. And this
being so, he questioned her regarding the

311
00:25:07,920 --> 00:25:12,240
eagle's claws, Mister Gubb, she
said, I wish to die on the

312
00:25:12,319 --> 00:25:17,160
spot if I know how I got
them claws tattooed on me. If you

313
00:25:17,240 --> 00:25:19,640
ask me, I'll say it was
the mystery of my life. They've been

314
00:25:19,680 --> 00:25:23,559
on me since I was a little
girl, no bigger than why who is

315
00:25:23,640 --> 00:25:27,960
that? Mister Gubb turned his head
quickly, but he was not in time

316
00:25:29,000 --> 00:25:33,440
to see a plump, good natured
looking little German Americans slip quickly out of

317
00:25:33,480 --> 00:25:37,119
sight behind the cook tent. Neither
did he see the glitter of the sun

318
00:25:37,240 --> 00:25:42,000
on a large silver golf cup the
plump German American carried under his arm.

319
00:25:42,240 --> 00:25:47,759
But the German American had recognized mister
Gubb, even through his disguise of a

320
00:25:47,799 --> 00:25:52,079
cowboy. No matter, said Marilla. But these claws have been on my

321
00:25:52,359 --> 00:25:56,920
arm since I was a wee little
girl, mister Gubb. I always thought

322
00:25:56,960 --> 00:26:02,240
they was a trade mark of a
hospital. I was not knowingly aware that

323
00:26:02,359 --> 00:26:07,799
hospitals had trade marks, said mister
Gubb. Maybe they don't, said Zyrilla.

324
00:26:07,000 --> 00:26:10,839
But when I was a small child, I had an accident and had

325
00:26:10,839 --> 00:26:14,480
to be took to the hospital,
and it wasn't until after that that anybody

326
00:26:14,480 --> 00:26:18,759
saw the eagle's claws on me.
I considered that maybe it was like the

327
00:26:18,880 --> 00:26:23,079
mark the laundry puts on a handkerchief
it has laundered. I don't know much

328
00:26:23,119 --> 00:26:27,319
about the manners of the ways of
hospitals, admitted mister Gubb. And that

329
00:26:27,519 --> 00:26:32,519
may be so, but I have
another idea. Did you ever hear of

330
00:26:32,640 --> 00:26:37,759
mister Harrer Schrekenheim, Only that mister
Enderburry has always cross on the days of

331
00:26:37,759 --> 00:26:41,839
the month that he gets mister Shrekenheim's
statements of money too. Mister Shrekenheim is

332
00:26:41,880 --> 00:26:48,079
the man that tattooed mister Enderburry so
beautiful, but poor mister Enderberry has never

333
00:26:48,160 --> 00:26:52,640
been able to pay him in full. Filo Gubb arose, I am going

334
00:26:52,640 --> 00:26:56,960
to telegraph mister Meadowbrook to come on
to wes Higgins immediately by the three p

335
00:26:57,079 --> 00:27:00,640
m. Afternoon train, he said, and you will meet him as your

336
00:27:00,799 --> 00:27:04,799
perternal father, and arranged to make
your home with him as soon as you

337
00:27:04,920 --> 00:27:11,200
desire to wish it. At five
o'clock that afternoon, mister Meadobrook, escorted

338
00:27:11,200 --> 00:27:15,839
by mister Gubb, entered the side
show tent. The lady and gentlemen freaks

339
00:27:15,880 --> 00:27:19,680
were resting. Before evening, Grubb
and all were gathered around Marilla's platform for

340
00:27:19,759 --> 00:27:23,240
the news that she was to leave
the show to enter a home of wealth

341
00:27:23,279 --> 00:27:29,880
and refinement had spread quickly. Marilla
herself was in tears. Now that the

342
00:27:29,960 --> 00:27:34,119
time had come, she was loath
to part from her kind companions. I

343
00:27:34,319 --> 00:27:37,599
tell you, mister Gubb, mister
Meadobrook said, as they entered the side

344
00:27:37,599 --> 00:27:41,000
show. If you have indeed found
my daughter, you have made me a

345
00:27:41,039 --> 00:27:47,240
happy man. You cannot know how
lonesome my life has been. Now which

346
00:27:47,279 --> 00:27:52,200
is she? She is the female
lady in the pink satin dress on the

347
00:27:52,279 --> 00:27:57,920
platform, said mister Gubb. Mister
Meadobrook looked towards Marilla and gasped, Why

348
00:27:59,359 --> 00:28:03,119
that that's the fat woman. That's
the fat woman of a side show,

349
00:28:03,200 --> 00:28:07,799
he exclaimed. I thought, I
why my daughter wouldn't be a fat woman

350
00:28:07,839 --> 00:28:15,240
in a side show. But she
is, said mister Gubb. Great Scott,

351
00:28:15,599 --> 00:28:19,720
exclaimed mister Meadowbrook. For years,
mister Meadobrook had retained a memory of

352
00:28:19,759 --> 00:28:25,559
his daughter as he had seen her
last, a tender babe in long clothes

353
00:28:26,200 --> 00:28:29,440
as he rode toward West Higgins.
However, he had thought about his daughter,

354
00:28:29,559 --> 00:28:33,359
and he had revised his conception of
her. She was older now,

355
00:28:33,519 --> 00:28:37,359
of course, and he had finally
settled the matter by deciding that she would

356
00:28:37,400 --> 00:28:41,200
be a dainty slip of a girl, probably a tight rope walker or one

357
00:28:41,200 --> 00:28:45,759
of the toe dancers in the Grand
Spectacle, or perhaps even engaged as the

358
00:28:45,920 --> 00:28:52,240
ten thousand dollar beauty. But a
fat lady, jes said a voice.

359
00:28:52,240 --> 00:28:56,960
Suddenly, you'll bet i've us here. Well, I fand my money years

360
00:28:57,000 --> 00:29:02,279
I have been collecting dot bill un
Still you owe me. Now I come

361
00:29:02,319 --> 00:29:04,000
and you pay me all that you
owe me, or I make trouble.

362
00:29:04,920 --> 00:29:10,240
The voice came from outside the tent, and with surprising agility, Detective Gubb

363
00:29:10,440 --> 00:29:15,640
dived under the platform and wriggled under
the canvas wall. I don't know you

364
00:29:15,720 --> 00:29:19,079
a cent, exclaimed the voice of
mister Enderburry. I've paid you for every

365
00:29:19,079 --> 00:29:25,240
bit of tattoo I have on me. Seven hundred dollars vas der contract,

366
00:29:25,799 --> 00:29:30,319
cried the voice of Herr Schreckenheim.
Ound ten dollars is due me? Yet

367
00:29:30,440 --> 00:29:34,480
I wanted? Well, you'll keep
on wanting it, said mister Enderberry's voice.

368
00:29:34,960 --> 00:29:38,279
Look here, look at my chest. There's the eagle you did on

369
00:29:38,400 --> 00:29:42,039
me. Do you see any claws
on it? No? You don't.

370
00:29:42,519 --> 00:29:45,119
Well, I'm not going to pay
for claws that are not on me.

371
00:29:45,480 --> 00:29:49,960
No, sir, claws. I'd
do some claws on you, don't I

372
00:29:51,079 --> 00:29:56,680
ven i'd do that eagle, asked
the German American. Yes, but they're

373
00:29:56,720 --> 00:30:00,119
not on me now are they asked
mister Enderburry. You can go and collect

374
00:30:00,119 --> 00:30:03,440
from the person that has them.
What do I care for her? Now?

375
00:30:03,880 --> 00:30:07,559
She's going to quit the circus business. I've paid for all the tattoo

376
00:30:07,599 --> 00:30:11,359
that's on me. You go and
collect ten dollars for those claws from Cyrilla.

377
00:30:12,559 --> 00:30:17,960
Und how does she get those claws
on her, asked harr Schreckenheim.

378
00:30:18,039 --> 00:30:22,599
Shrewdly, I'll tell you how,
said mister Enerbury. You remember when Griggs

379
00:30:22,640 --> 00:30:27,119
and Barton's circus burned down years ago. Well, Sorilla was burned in that

380
00:30:27,240 --> 00:30:30,880
fire, burned on the arm,
and they took her to a hospital and

381
00:30:30,920 --> 00:30:36,079
her arm wouldn't heal. So somebody
had to furnish some skin for a skin

382
00:30:36,200 --> 00:30:40,519
grafting job. And I did it. The piece they took had those claws

383
00:30:40,559 --> 00:30:44,880
on it. That's what happened.
I gave those eagles claws to cure her.

384
00:30:45,160 --> 00:30:48,279
And I've hung around her all these
years like a faithful dog, and

385
00:30:48,319 --> 00:30:51,920
she don't care a hang for me. And now she's going away. Go

386
00:30:51,960 --> 00:30:56,160
and collect for those claws from her. I haven't got them. She's going

387
00:30:56,200 --> 00:31:00,359
to be rich. She can pay
you. Simultaneously, there was an exclamation

388
00:31:00,480 --> 00:31:06,559
from mister Meadowbrook, a cry from
Syrilla, and a short, sharp yell

389
00:31:06,680 --> 00:31:11,160
from outside the tent. Mister Gubb
entered, spurs first, creeping backward under

390
00:31:11,200 --> 00:31:15,720
the canvas. As he backed from
under the platform, it was observed that

391
00:31:15,799 --> 00:31:19,240
he held a shoe about number eight
size in one hand, and that a

392
00:31:19,279 --> 00:31:22,640
foot was in the shoe, and
the foot on a leg, and the

393
00:31:22,799 --> 00:31:26,920
leg on a short, plump elderly
German American, who yelled as he was

394
00:31:27,000 --> 00:31:32,480
dragged into the tent on his back. In one hand of the German American

395
00:31:32,640 --> 00:31:37,640
was a large silver golf cup with
a deep dent on one side. As

396
00:31:37,680 --> 00:31:41,480
mister Gubb arose to his feet,
still holding the German American tattoo artist's foot

397
00:31:41,480 --> 00:31:47,119
in his hand, he said,
mister Meadowbrook, the detecative business is not

398
00:31:47,240 --> 00:31:52,279
always completely satisfactory in all kinds of
respects. And it looks as if it

399
00:31:52,359 --> 00:31:56,640
appeared that the daughter I found for
you is somebody else's. But if you

400
00:31:56,720 --> 00:32:00,279
will look at the other end of
the assaulter and batterer I have in hand.

401
00:32:00,359 --> 00:32:05,240
You will see that I have recovered
the silver golf cup trophy once again

402
00:32:05,400 --> 00:32:09,440
for the second time. And that, said mister Meadowbrook as he took the

403
00:32:09,440 --> 00:32:15,920
cup from the German American's hand,
is remarkable work. The ordinary detective is

404
00:32:15,000 --> 00:32:21,440
usually satisfied to recover stolen property once, but you have recovered this cup twice.

405
00:32:22,559 --> 00:32:28,079
The motto of my detecative business,
said mister Gubb, modestly is perfection.

406
00:32:28,559 --> 00:32:31,920
No matter how many times mister Gubb
might have said more, but he

407
00:32:32,000 --> 00:32:37,799
was interrupted by Princess Zozo, the
snake charmer, who had walked around Soyrilla

408
00:32:37,880 --> 00:32:40,880
and unhooked two of the hooks at
the top of Sorilla's low necked gown.

409
00:32:42,880 --> 00:32:46,559
Look, she exclaimed, and she
pointed to a second pair of eagle's claws

410
00:32:46,599 --> 00:32:52,839
tattooed between Marilla's shoulder blades. Without
a word, mister Meadowbrook took five hundred

411
00:32:52,880 --> 00:32:57,400
dollars from his purse and handed them
to mister Schrekenheim. That pays you for

412
00:32:57,480 --> 00:33:00,279
the cup, he said, and
then turning to Cyril, come to my

413
00:33:00,519 --> 00:33:06,799
arms, my long lost daughter.
After Sorilla had hugged her father affectionately,

414
00:33:07,039 --> 00:33:09,680
mister Gubb and the freaks laid him
on the ground, and by fanning him

415
00:33:09,759 --> 00:33:15,519
vigorously, were able to bring him
back to life. Mister Meadowbrook's first act,

416
00:33:15,599 --> 00:33:17,920
upon opening his eyes was to hold
out his hand to mister Gubb.

417
00:33:19,799 --> 00:33:22,400
Thank you, Gub, he panted. It's a big price, but I'll

418
00:33:22,480 --> 00:33:30,160
keep my word. The ten thousand
dollars shall be yours. Into ordinary circumstances,

419
00:33:30,160 --> 00:33:35,079
said mister Gubb gravely. Ten thousand
dollars would be a largely big price

420
00:33:35,160 --> 00:33:38,400
to pay for recovering back a lost
daughter, mister Meadobrook. But into the

421
00:33:38,480 --> 00:33:43,440
present case, it don't amount to
more than ten dollars per pound of daughter,

422
00:33:43,880 --> 00:33:53,119
which ain't a largely great rate per
pound. And of the eagle's claus

423
00:33:53,759 --> 00:33:55,480
by Ellis Parker Butler