Showman (1937)

SHOWMAN made a good living playing old Southern colonels of the mint julep school— long and lean and white-haired and soft spoken as the gurgle of Bourbon out of a jug. The tenor of his remarks was in dramatic contrast to the mellifluity of his speech. He produced a long black cigar, stuck it in his face to complete the picture, chewed it for a moment in silence, and then let us have it. "Gennelmen," he said, Til lay my cahds on the table. I don't intend to follow the example of my brotheh goveneh in Texas and put the State of Ahkansaw to the expense of a special seesion of the legislatyuh to outlaw boxing within ouah bawduhs. I have a simple method in mind. Mr. Fitzsimmons," he said, letting his eye rest casually on Fitz's red head, "Ah've placed you in chahge of ouah estimable citizen, Mr. Jesse Huhd. And you, Mr. Corbett"— shifting to contemplate Jim— ' 'have been placed in chahge of ouah equally estimable citizen, Mr. Reb Houpt. As you may know, gennelmen, Mr. Huhd has killed seventeen men, Mr. Houpt sixteen. You can undehstand that Mr. Houpt would like to catch up with Mr. Huhd and Mr. Huhd is anxious to keep well ahead of Mr. Houpt. Heah and now I instruct both these officehs that the fust one of you two who so much as bats an eye at the otheh man is to leave Ahkansaw in a pine box with a hole in him. Huhd, do you undehstand?" "Yep," said Hurd. "Do you, Houpt?" 169