The Adventurer (S2, E16)

  "LOOK OUT!" a voice behind Jim Harris called urgently. Jim turned around to see a blonde lion with a scruffy mane growling a few feet from where he was standing. Thoughts flashed through Jim's mind as he looked past the lion at the little man who had hollered the warning. Jim's eyes raced around trying to find an escape from his present predicament. At his left, Jim saw a long handled rake such as would be used for cleaning animal pens, and without another moment of hesitation, Jim grabbed the rake.
  "Get down boy!" he ordered the lion in a steady voice, but the lion raised his head to let out a loud snarl. Jim waved the rake in front of the lions face and again ordered him to retreat. This time, the lion paused, but began to back slowly towards the pen behind him. The little man quickly threw open the gate and together the two men encouraged the grumpy lion back into his pen.
  "That was a close one!" the little man said securing the locks on the gate. "But some mighty quick thinking on your part." He smiled up at Jim. Jim looked down at the little man's cheerful face. He was only about four and a half feet tall.
  "Thank you!" Jim said emphatically, "I never could have done it without you!"
  "If you don't mind my askin', what are you doing over here in the back part of the circus anyways?" The little man was curious.
  "A bit of a long story, but right now I'm here looking for a man named Carter. Arty Gordon sent me to find him." Jim said.
  The little man threw back his head and laughed. "Well, I'm Carter, and I'll guess that he sent you here for a job, right?"
  "That's right."
  "Well, you're not the first one he's sent to me, but you're the first one I've hired in a while! Most fellows comin' in here wanting a job don't know the first thing about animals, but I can see that you do!" He gave Jim a hardy pat on the back. (Much harder than Jim would have imagined that such a small man could do.) Then he led Jim away through the maze of tents to the place where he could begin working.
  "Well, I'm in!" Jim thought to himself quite proud of his abilities.

  Carter walked slowly away from where he had left Jim sorting feed. "That's a very strange man!" he thought to himself. "Just before I came, I saw a dark clad figure loosen the locks on the lion's cage and set him free. Someone is trying very hard to stop that man without getting caught!" Carter's face was twisted up as he thought on the mystery that had fallen into his lap. "I'm gonna need to talk to Arty!"
Too be continued...

The Adventurer (S2, E15)

  Jim Harris stood behind the two men, and looked into the round pen. The young man riding the horse had exceptional balance as he stood on the running horse. Jim pushed back his hat and looked on with amazement. His faced must have shown the rider how much he was enjoying the rider's performance, for the rider smiled pleasantly back at Jim. When the rider smiled at Jim, the other two men turned around to see what he had smiled at.
  "Hello, mister, is there somethin' I can help ya with?" asked the fellow wearing a brown corduroy blazer.
  "I'm Jim Harris, Jody sent me to find a mister Arty Gordon."
  "Well, I'm Arty Gordon. What do you nee ta see me 'bout?" he looked at Jim with a pleasant grin spread across his face. Jim smiled back at him, "I didn't need Jody's last name after all..." he thought.
  "I'm a magician, and I need a job. Jody thought you could get me one." Jim said. "Course I can do anything else. Feed animals or work equipment." Jim said. He shifted his weight nervously.
  "Well, I'm sorry to say that at this point I've got way too many magicians on my hands. I could put you on as help though. If you'd like, you can go see Carter, he's the one in charge of that sorta stuff." Arty said. "You'll prob'ly find him by the animal pens."
  "Thank, you, sir!" said Jim emphatically as he shook Arty's hand. 
  Jim walked casually towards the sounds of animals. He looked at the white washed wooden pens. Jim stopped in front of the pen where a large orange tiger was sunning himself lazily in a pile of fresh straw. He put his hands on the poles of the fence and smiled down at the beautiful beast. Suddenly Jim heard someone shouting behind him.
  "LOOK OUT!" the voice cried.
  Jim turned around to see a blonde lion with a scruffy mane growling a few feet from where he was standing...
To be continued...

The Adventurer (S2, E14)

  "Where would I find Arty Gordon?" Jim Harris asked the little circus man next to him.
  "He's over there in the big top watching some trick riders trying out. Tell him you're a friend of mine, and that I sent you." The little man said
  "Well, thanks pal, but I don't know your name." Jim called after him.
  The little man turned back with a big grin on his face, "My friends call me Jody." Then he disappeared around the maze of mobile home trailers and tents.
  "Jody what?" Jim asked himself a bit confused, but he turned to the direction of the tent. "Circus people certainly have their quirks!" Jim thought to himself. "I suppose private detectives aren't free from that assumption as well..." he laughed to himself.
  There was very little noise in the tent as Jim approached it. This was quite a change from the hustle and bustle outside. A gentle sound of hooves in soft dirt was the only sound in the tent, and it echoed off the canvass walls. Jim walked quietly up behind two men who were standing outside the round-pen. They were leaning against the green iron fencing and speaking in hushed tones.
  "OK, Timmy, now stand up." the man in the green felt fedora called. "He's very good at this one, Mr. Gordon." he said turning to the man wearing the brown corduroy blazer. Jim watched quite amazed as the young man deftly maneuvered his feet on the back of the running horse until he was standing.
  "Pretty good." said Arty Gordon in a monotone voice. "Can he go any faster? He's gonna have to keep up with Angela in the ring, and she's a champion!"
  "Don't worry about that, Mr. Gordon, Timmy can keep up with anything!" the man in the green hat puffed with pride. "He has me for a trainer!" Then he looked up into the pen. "Go a little faster, Timmy!"
To be continued...

The Adventurer (S2, E13)

  A tall man stood next to a little man at the edge of a crowd of people in front of the train station. The tall man looked down at the little one with a look of fear plastered across his face. 

  "Boss doesn't fire people, he..." the tall man gulped. "You don't think he'd give me the works just cuz I lost him in the crowd?"

  "Not unless you find him again real fast!" the little man snarled.

  "Fine, give me just 24 hours and I'll deliver him!" the tall man entreated.

  "OK, 24 hours, then I tell Boss." the little man turned around and walked away into the crowd.

  The tall man walked over to the bench and sat down. He put his head in his hands. "What am I going to do? Where can I find this Jim Harris?" He thought in desperation, then the man suddenly jumped up. "Of coarse!" he said, "Jim Harris would have to be going to the circus!" He started walking towards the big tent on the other side of the town.

  The little man started through the crowd but he looked back to see the tall man sitting on the bench. "I can't understand why Boss gave me that man to work with! He has absolutely not clue about anything in life! He wouldn't make it one day in this 'club' if it weren't for me!" The little man continued on his way. "That's what its like when your uncle is the Boss's brother-in-law!" the little man mumbled under his breath.

To be continued...

The Adventurer (S2, E12)

  Jim Harris walked casually towards the red and white striped tent top standing up above all the nearby buildings. His dusty black fedora was pushed back on his head and he was holding his jacket flopped over his shoulder. He had not shaved that morning in hopes if adding authenticity to his roll.

  There was a strange mixture of smells in the air; smog and dust and a very strong odor of animal wafted in Jim's direction. Jim scrunched his nose and frowned. Loud sounds of people, equipment, and animals also warned of the presence of a circus. As Jim came near, he rehearsed his cover story once more in his head.
  "Got very sick with a fever two months ago. Stayed in Dansville while the rest of the group went on ahead. Needing any kind of position; temporary or  permanent. Am a sword-swallower/slight-of-hand magician by profession. Willing to feed animals, operate equipment, do anything just to get paid." Jim straightened his hat and looked up at the morning sun. "I wonder if this will really work. I'm going to have to infiltrate this circus and try to find a lost young man, and all the while I must keep a convincing cover story so as not to tip off the uncle who seems to be running this troup." Jim kicked his heals against the rough pavement, "I wonder what sort of man Hal Racab really is. Everybody that I have met so far has had only terrible things to say about him, yet his brother in law sent his infant son off with him. Roger Sandler must have seen something in Hal that he trusted enough to send him with a little baby."
  Jim's thoughts were rudely interrupted by somebody's angry shouting. "I should have had it an hour ago!" the voice echoed. Jim walked closer to see who was speaking. A medium height and regular featured man was standing in front of a small mobile home. In the doorway of the mobile home stood a plump lady with her arm around a tall lanky teenaged boy. The man in front of them was red faced.
  "Don't stand there with your mouth gaping like a codfish, get it to me now!" The red faced man sputtered. Jim stood back from the wagon so it wouldn't look like he was listening. A fellow walked past Jim, but Jim caught his arm. "Who's thet beet-faced fella over there hollerin' at everyone?" Jim asked indicating the direction with his head.
  "That's Hal Racab. He is the manager of this troupe." The little circus man said.
  "Hmm, and I'm needin' to ask him fer a job." Jim mumbled.
  "Well you'd better talk to Arty Gordon instead. Hal's in a rather bad mood this morning."
  "Where would I find this Arty Gordon?" Jim asked.
  "He's in the big top looking at a trick riding act. Tell him your a friend of mine and I sent you." he replied.
  "Thanks, friend, but I don't know yer name." Jim said with a jolly laugh.
  The circus man smiled cheerfully. "My friends all call me Jody."
To be continued...

The Adventurer (S2, E11)

  "Well, when you go asking for a job, just ask to speak with Arty Gordon. There's another fellow there named Hal Racab, and he is more likely to bump you off than hire you!" The clerk at the hotel warned Jim Harris.
  "Thanks fer the advice." Jim responded with a half smile, then proceeded up the stairs to the room he'd been assigned. "That Hal Racab," Jim thought to himself, "Everywhere I go, I'm warned about him. I wish there were an easy way to find out if he's as bad as everyone is saying."

MEANWHILE

  A tall thin man was weaving his way through the crowds near the train station. He seemed anxious and was acting very suspiciously, of coarse, nobody in the station seemed to notice, for they were all much too busy for anyone's business but their own. He worked his way carefully around a variety of people until he came to a bald little man at the very edge of the crowd.
  "Where'd 'e go?" the little man asked the tall one.
  "Don't know, he slipped away from me into a alley somewhere, but when I looked down the alley where I thought I saw him go, the street was empty." The tall man was acting nervously afraid of the little bald man, which seems strange since he is taller and younger than the little man. "What are you gonna tell Boss?" He asked in a mousy voice.
  "Me?" the little man said with a vicious laugh, "I ain't gonna tell Boss nothin'. You're gonna tell the Boss yerself!"
  "That's not fair!" wailed the tall man as he practically shaking in his boots. "You were the one who promised Boss that you'd deliver; swore to it! I only ever said maybe!"
  "Haha," the little man came back with his unpleasant laugh, "Well, then 'maybe' Boss wont fire you!"
  "Boss doesn't fire people, he..."
To be continued...

The Adventurer (S2, E10)

  Jim Harris walked down the street with his clothes dusty and worn looking. He had decided that he needed a ruse to get into the Happy Days circus.

  "I'll have to call on my old talent as a magician." Jim thought to himself as he neared the hotel. "I will also need a convincing story as to why I need a job and why I'm looking at the circus for that job." He was thinking longer on the problem when he came to the hotel. He slumped wearily onto the desk without looking at the clerk. His hands were grubby from rubbing dust into his clothes, and he lifted one to brush back the locks of hair that had danced across his face in the wind. 

  "Needin' a room, mister?" The clerk asked with curiosity as he looked at the somewhat sorry spectacle that was Jim Harris. 

  "Yea, you got one? I might need it fer a few nights, but I can only pay fer one night now." Jim pulled a few coins out of his pocket and began counting them out on the counter. "This oughta be enough fer a night." Jim pushed a little pile of coins towards the clerk and putting the other few back into his pocket. 

  "Run on some hard luck?" The clerk asked prying for information. 

  "Yea, got real bad sick back in Dansville a couple months ago; the others went on ahead to Hanover where we were supposed to be playing." Jim answered without looking up. 

  "Ahh, I see, an out of work circus actor then? Did you know that there is the Happy Days circus here in town? Maybe you could get a job with them." The clerk chattered. 

  "That's what I'm hoping." Jim looked up at the clerk at last. 

  "Well, when you go asking for a job, just ask to speak with Arty Gordon. There's another fellow there named Hal Racab, and he is more likely to bump you off than hire you!"

To be continued...