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

rn yourself!" exclaimed th

rned?" question

declared the

excitement, for this was a n

she had given. She had, of course, expected some trick with fire when Joe had summoned her and the others to his own p

"I had an idea that you only pretended to put the blazing stuff in your mou

tood what she meant, for every one in the

ied. Since then the sight of fire near a human being has always a bad effect on me. But I s

ger," he declared. "If there was, I should be the fir

h the freedom befitting a "circus mother," and the privilege of an old friend. "You must

he trick again for you, and let you see that it's absol

laimed Jim Tracy

sual preparations. He merely took a drink of what seemed to be water. Then he ignited something in

art, she did not give way to emotion. Then, as Joe did the fire-eating trick again, He

t over being funny-or getting audiences to think I am-I

re trick you can truly say you don't know, for none of you will know by my telling, not even Helen, though she is in on the box secret. I'll only say that I protect my face and mouth, as well as hands, in a certain way, and that I do, actually, put the blazing ma

Jim Tracy. "That ought to g

begun on it. I got from a chemist the materials I want with which to protect myself, and I have shown, to my own and your satisfactio

e careful, won't yo

will," he

I'm coming as close as you'll let me, and I want to cri

"If there are any flaws in the ac

t into his mouth. Bill Watson watched closely,

your mouth," he testified. "No one c

mucous membrane of the throat and passages is fatal. So when the terms "fire-eating" or "fire-eater" are us

, and a hot one, too, but there is no smoke. In other words, the combustion is almost perf

's mouth something that is blazing hot: I

s-for the fraction of a second only. The water forms a protecting film for the skin, and before it is evaporated the hand must

e on their skin. They do not always use water-in fact, this is only serviceable for a momentary contact with flame

mucous membrane surfaces of the mouth and throa

alled saliva always flowing in the mouth. It comes from glands

e hand, resists the fire. But professional fire-eaters do not depend on saliva alone. The

s mouth out with it, and then, getting an audience of his chums together, might try to eat some blazing coals. He might, and very likely

ets of magic, he was particularly

sisting liquid, the formula for which was given him b

eceptacle-that is, it will go out as soon as it has burned up all the oxygen-just so surely will flame of any kind go out when a person closes his mouth on it. And as there is scarcely any air in the closed mouth-all of it going down the

will burn or scald his mouth or tongue much more painfully than will a

e of friends, for it appeared that he had been reading up on the subject an

into something that will cause a sensatio

about, playing to good business, when Joe received a letter. In th

losing money steadily by means of the bogus coupons; not as much as at first, but enough

the mystery," mused Joe