"

Allerdyce's lips twisted in a smile though to the casual observer,
those lips seemed to snarl. "I can't say I won't be glad that this
long grind is over. Three years of this fakery is enough to try the
soul of a saint. But now that the goal is in sight I can only feel a
sort of fear that maybe...."

Grogan knew what the other meant. For on that afternoon, long, long
gone, Allerdyce had told him why he had answered the ad. It was to
achieve enough money to permit the building of a dream, a laboratory
of research in plastics. For Algernon Allerdyce had graduated _cum
laude_ from one of the finest technical schools in the country, his
heart set on research, but with his goal closed to him because of his
fearsome appearance. He had tried time and again to enter any of the
phases of his calling but after the first interview there had never
been a second. Sam Grogan had shown him how enough money could be made
at wrestling to do what he wanted to. Allerdyce had not always been
Oogie the Caveman. Once he had been billed as The Gentleman Grunter,
but laughter had only greeted his appearance. As Oogie, he looked the
part and the fans had never failed him.

"So don't go soft now!" Grogan said sharply. "It's in the bag,
kid...."

* * * * *

Allerdyce leaned back and the chair creaked loudly at the unexpected
movement.

"What's the set-up, Sam?" he asked.

"The whole troupe goes; the Bear, the Irishman, the Masked Marvel and
all the others. London, Paris, Berlin, Moscow.... Yep, Oog, all
eighteen of us on the European circuit.... Hey! What's wrong?"

Grogan had observed the darkening thunderhead of a frown on the
wrestler's forehead.

"Sam, this may sound a bit childish because the whole thing is
childish, but I don't like Ed Finster.... Now wait! I know we've been
packing them in with our act, the Russian Bear and Oogie the Caveman.
But Ed's been taking the deal a little more seriously than it
warrants. Like tonight. He threw a double hammer on me and _really_
used pressure. Nor was tonight the first time.

"A week ago in Omaha he almost tore my ears off with a headlock...."

Sam Grogan beamed. Allerdyce didn't know it but Sam had been the
motivating force behind the grudge which had developed between the two
men. Finster had complained one night that the public didn't like him,
said that the name he had been given made them mad. Sam had mentioned
the name was Oogie's idea. Finster