You ought to have seen the look of scorn on the faces of the Jap jugglers when the interpreter told them that the circus people were afraid the Russians would hurt them.  They jabbered awhile, and then the interpreter told me that the ten little Japs could whip the 20 Russians in four minutes.  Probably it was none of my business, and I never ought to have repeated it, but in a circus everybody wants to know everything that is going on, so when the big leader of the Russians asked me what those brown monkeys were talking about, I told him:  “Nothing particular, only they say the ten of them could lick you 20 Russians in four minutes.”

Gee, didn’t that Russian talk kopec and damski, and froth at the mouth.  Then he called his Russians together, and the talk sounded as though a soda fountain had burst.  Then they all yelled:  “Killovitch the monkey-ouskis.”

[Illustration:  “Gee, But Didn’t That Russian Talk Kopec and Damski.”]

I went and told pa there was going to be a riot between the Jap jugglers and the Russian horsemen, and probably the fight would take place when the Japs came out of the ring at the afternoon performance, and the Russians went in, right near the dressing-room.  I asked pa not to mix in it, but keep away in the animal tent.  Pa said, not much, he wouldn’t be away, and he told all the managers, and they all got around the dressing-room to stop the muss, if one started.

Well, to show how the Japs were organized, as soon as they felt there was going to be a row, they kept their eyes on the Russians all the time they were in the ring doing their pole balancing, and the little Jap up on the bamboo pole, with a fan, kept jabbering to the fellows down on the ground, and I could see that trouble was coming.  When their act was over the Japs bowed to the audience, and started out where the Russians were lined up to come riding in.  The big Russian said:  “Look at the little monkeys,” but he hadn’t got the words out of his mouth before the Japs turned, and every man grabbed the tail of every other horse, and jumped up behind the Russians, and each of the ten Japs took a Russian by the neck with a jiu jitsu strangle hold, and reached out his leg and wound it around the Russian on the next horse, and in ten seconds they had unhorsed the 20 Russians.  The whole 30 men were on the ground rolling in the sawdust, the Japs rolling over and under the Russians, twisting their legs and arms in an unknown manner, and making them yell for help like a mastiff that has trifled in an overbearing manner with a little bulldog, until the bulldog got mad and began the chewing act on the mastiff’s fore leg.

It was the worst mix-up ever was and the managers told pa to put a stop to it, and pa pulled off his coat and grabbed the first Jap he could dig out, and began to pull him, like you would take hold of the leg of a dog in a fight.

Pa said:  “Here, quit this foolishness, ’cause there is an armistice, and the war is over, anyway.”