 Jerry, out of the circus. Be gone. You could be bigger. What are you doing so early in the morning with all those chains and weights and things? I'm giving a special show for the very special lady. You are? You mean you're going to do some special stunts and things? Wait, I put these down. You're a knight. That's you with a load. How much did all that weigh? Oh, a ton, I guess. No, tell me. That stuff looks as if it must weigh a lot. Velco, tell you a ton. Those things weigh a ton. Maybe more. Quit, kid. No one could carry a ton of stuff. Only the great Velco. But Velco, not like most men. No. Velco, very, very strong. See, see these muscles? Of course, Velco, but that cannonball. How much does it weigh? The big one. Oh, that one was made special for the great Velco. It weighs 500 pounds. You're kidding. Velco never lies about what he can do. Oh, look, look. Here comes Mr. Randall. He'll tell you. Mr. Randall. Oh, Mr. Randall. You want something, Velco? Yeah. I want you to tell this boy here that Velco's cannonball weighs 500 pounds. Yes, of course it does, Jerry. I had it weighed and all of Velco's things checked before he was taken on as part of the side show. He just said all those things on the ground. They're weigh about a ton. Well, offhand they probably do, Jerry. Why? Well, Jiminy Crickets. You know, he carried that all the way over here from his dressing tent in one load. No. Oh, did you really, Velco? Of course, it is nothing. He's going to do some special stunts. Got a few minutes to stay and watch? Well, I'm expecting a visit from that new clown, Joe Hadley, when we took on an Allendale. We've got some business to talk over. Let's see what time it is. Oh, it's early. Just stay and watch for a few minutes. Well, I guess I've got enough time. What are you going to do, Velco? Oh, the beautiful lady. I do all my tricks. She is so lovely. So dainty. And she never, see, the great Velco do his magic. Say, who are you expecting, Velco? You not know? Miss Potsey. She is the nice lady. I show my great strength. But, Velco, I just... The next day she came up to me after I pulled those lions so nice rendering, and she said she liked very much to see me break the horseshoe, break the chain. But, Velco, are you sure she was to be here this morning? I just saw her go off the lot with bombs. She got on a bus. I thought they were going into town. No, no, no. Oh, Mr. Randall, the pretty Potsey could not have forgotten so soon. And if she did, Velco, I'm sure she didn't do it on purpose. Oh, no, no. She could not be so cruel. Yesterday she was so happy, so glad when I say some morning soon, I do the great feats of strength for her. Of course she was. It probably didn't make it clear that you would do them today. Yeah, yeah, it must be so. And for this I carry these things into the backyard. Well, couldn't you do them anyway? Ah, please. Are you sure Mr. Randall would like to see them, too? Well, like, of course, the great Velco always likes to please. Why, sure, Velco. I have a few minutes. I'm sure Jerry would like to see you break that horseshoe. You bet I would, Velco. Yeah, yeah, you lie. Good. I'll do it for you. See, I take it up so easy, and then I break it up. See, Jiminy crickets. See, is that the same kind we use over in the horse stand? It certainly is, Jerry. I bought it myself for Velco, and I thought I'd keep him in the side show. Boy, he doesn't hurt your hands, Velco. Well, these paws, look. Honest, Mr. Randall, his hands are almost as big as well as a ham, aren't they? Yeah, you see, Mr. Randall, I have a good audience, yeah? Velco, I never did say you do that chain act. No. You will not see me break the links in this iron chain. No, I did. That's a stunt you did the day bumps and I caught you. Say, and did your muscles bulge? Well, you, Mr. Randall, now I do this. See, it is easy for a superman. One, two, three. Isn't that key, Mr. Randall? Yeah, you know, Velco reminds me of a famous man in the 19th century called the Iron King who could lift two horses, one in each hand. No. Say, Velco, can you do that? Well, I never try. How I know. If another man do it, I suppose the great Velco could learn. I know a good way to start. Oh. Get two ponies and start with them. Oh, I see, then Velco would still be lifting them in a few years after they'd grown up. Sure. You see, by doing it every day, you wouldn't notice the difference in weight so much. Maybe next season I do that, huh, Mr. Randall? Well, we'll see. It's not a bad idea. Randall? Randall? Oh, who's that calling? It's the new clown you're talking about. See, here he comes. Around the wagon. Oh, hello there, Hadley. I was over to your office wagon, but one of the men said he thought he'd seen you out here. Yeah, I'm sorry, Hadley. I'm afraid I got interested in Velco here and forgot all about our appointment. Gee, Mr. Randall, I'm sorry. It's all my fault. It won't take a minute, Mr. Randall. We could just step over here where we could talk privately. Oh, of course. I'm sorry, Velco, but thanks for the entertainment. That's nothing. Sunday, Velco will really show you something. All right, Velco. Yeah, we might walk across the lot a bit, Hadley. It's so nice in the sun. Good. I'd like to. Well, what's on your mind this morning? Well, I've checked over that list of yours pretty thoroughly, Randall. Yeah? Now, this fellow's spiked. Oh, yes, yes. I explained to you about him. If I hadn't been pretty sure of him, I'd have hesitated about taking him back. Well, I realize he's not responsible in any way for that male robbery in Hansberg. The plat trial cleared that up sufficiently. Well, then I guess there's nothing against him. He proved himself as a good man while he was working for me. Well, you see, Randall, here's the danger. A man who's been shut up for four years with criminals is pretty likely to become influenced by those about him. You mean he's liable to pick up some bad tricks? Exactly. Yeah, I suppose that's true. Still, Spike strikes me as a pretty straight fellow. Yeah, that's as it may be. I took the liberty of telegraphing the penitentiary regarding him and the type of criminals with whom he was most closely associated while there. That's a good precaution to take. So if a telegram comes to your office for me, you'll know what it's all about. Yeah. Naturally, I'd like to have it as soon as possible. Oh, of course. I'll see if you get it. Meantime, I think it might be a good idea for me to meet Spike, informally, of course. You want to do a little checking up on your own account, huh? Exactly. Now, what's the least obvious way for me to contact him? Well, I should think through Jerry. Oh, you mean the boy I met yesterday? Yeah. The one you were just with? Yes. You see, he happened to get Spike his first job with us. The head canvas man needed another hand and Jerry got hold of Spike. Spike was standing around watching the circus go up. I suppose the boy feels a proprietary interest in him, huh? More than that. Spike saved his life, or at least his neck. A few days later, one of the horses Jerry was riding loosed his cinch belt and a saddle slipped over with Jerry's foot caught and the poor kid hanging on for dear life and Spike ran out and grabbed the bridle. Well, that's good enough for me. Now, if you don't mind, I'll drop off with the boy and get him to take me over to Spike. Hadley, don't be too obvious. Jerry's very loyal to Spike. Don't worry about me. Listen, I can always think up some story or some reason for all the things I want to know. That's where you're on this job, huh? I'll see. Well, I'll be seeing you, Randall. Don't forget about that telegram. I don't worry. So long. Say, Jerry, I'm leaving Mr. Hadley with you. If Belko is doing any more stunts, I'm sure he'll be interested. Okay. What about it, Belko? You're not hot enough yet. Have you ever seen a boy who didn't want more? No. Fun is fun, but this business is bad. I'm sorry, but just one more for Mr. Hadley. Some other time, Jerry. After all, Belko has a show to do today. I tell you what, Jerry. When I give the great performance for the lovely little lady Patsy, then I ask hardly to. How's that? Sounds pretty good to me, Belko. Sure, that's great. Say, am I invited, too? You are a glutton for punishment, Jerry. Now, if you will excuse me, I go and take my props back. Well, you look at that, Mr. Hadley. You know those things he's got there with? A whole ton? Well, I couldn't. That's what I thought, too. But Mr. Randall checked on their way and they really do weigh that much. Goodbye, my friends. I see you again. Bye. Say, can you imagine picking those things up like you'd grab up a pick and a shovel? I guess you're used to seeing a lot of unusual things around here, aren't you, Jerry? I'll say. Say, Jerry, Mr. Randall tells me you know a fellow, one of the canvas men, by the name of Max Peters. Max? Oh, you mean Spike. That's right. Mr. Randall did say he went by another name around a lot. Sure, he's a good friend of mine. But why, uh, how do you happen to know his other name? It's a funny thing, Jerry. But, uh, I was talking about him only a short while ago with an uncle of mine. Your uncle? Sure. He was the district attorney on a trial that came up just a little while ago. You probably wouldn't know anything about it. What trial? What was your uncle's name? Jefferson Whitley. He handled a new angle on an old mail robbery case called the Platt trial. Was he your uncle? Say, Spike would like to meet you. Your uncle did a swell job on that case. Spike told me all about it. He did? Uh-huh. See, uh, I kind of had an interest in that myself. You did? Didn't you hear about it? When we were in Hannesburg, I happened on some information that, well, it really was a cause of Platt's getting caught. Oh, so you're the boy. Well, well, well. You know, my uncle told me all about you. Say, I might have glad to meet you, Jerry. Oh, gee, it was nothing, just... Well, anyhow, I know Spike would like to know you. Well, let's go and see him. Well, we can't now. You see, he's all through. He just helps get the circus up, and then he helps load it again. He's always gone all day. He is? Now, where does he go? Well, I don't know. Around the town, I guess. I never thought to ask him. Oh, that's funny. All the rastabouts and canvas men are free while the show's up, but they sure work hard when they work. They have funny working hours, haven't they? I'll say. Up at two, three, four or five in the morning. And then start loading as soon as the show goes on at night. Yeah, I'd rather be a performer. Oh, I don't know. I like all parts of the circus. Jerry! Jerry! What you want? You know a fellow by the name of Hadley? Sure. He's right here. Who wants me? Oh, you, Hadley? Yeah. Say, Mr. Rainel told me to tell you a telegram just came for you. He did? Uh-huh. Thanks. I'll go right over and get it. I'm sorry, Jerry. I guess I'll have to leave you for the present. This telegram might turn out to be pretty important to me.