TOD SLOAN 



called in England. Well you can guess what followed ; 

 " I pointed to the shell and the pea wasn't there. I 

 went away whistling, walked about for a time and then 

 back to our show. Talbot didn't say anything at 

 first ; he didn't remember where I'd been, but at last 

 he sung out to me : " Where's that dollar I give you 

 to get change ? " 



" I've lost it." 



" Wliat do you mean — ^lost it ? How could you do 

 that ? " 



" Well not in the way you think : it didn't hop out 

 of my pocket." And then I plucked up courage and 

 told him all about it. 



Talbot put on his hat and ordered me to follow him. 

 He walked straight over to the shell game, keeping his 

 temper until he said, "You had a bet with this kid 

 here and he lost a dollar." 



The man started to deny it, swearing that he had 

 only had one bet that morning and that was with a 

 gentleman who put a dollar on, but Talbot stuck at it 

 and there was a dangerous look in his eye until the 

 man forked up the money. Then he let his fury go. 

 He smashed up the shells, kicked the bench into 

 pieces, shook the guy by the collar, gave him an open 

 hander and a parting kick as he was running away, 

 and added certain injunctions in certain language to 

 the effect that he would do quite a number of things 

 if he saw him at those tricks again. As a matter of 

 fact we never did see him again. 



Of course Talbot's balloons were not filled with 

 gas. He couldn't always get it for one thing, and 

 anyhow it cost too much. They were inflated in the 

 old original way that Mongolfier discovered — with 

 hot air. Talbot was good enough to tell me that I 

 was the best filler he had ever seen. I was very 



14 



