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diff --git a/.gitattributes b/.gitattributes new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6833f05 --- /dev/null +++ b/.gitattributes @@ -0,0 +1,3 @@ +* text=auto +*.txt text +*.md text diff --git a/2474-0.txt b/2474-0.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..2d4ae1c --- /dev/null +++ b/2474-0.txt @@ -0,0 +1,7647 @@ +The Project Gutenberg eBook of The Circus Boys on the Flying Rings, by Edgar B. P. Darlington + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and +most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions +whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms +of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at +www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you +will have to check the laws of the country where you are located before +using this eBook. + +Title: The Circus Boys on the Flying Rings + +Author: Edgar B. P. Darlington + +Release Date: January, 2001 [eBook #2474] +[Most recently updated: October 29, 2020] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: UTF-8 + +Produced by: Greg Berckes + +*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE CIRCUS BOYS ON THE FLYING RINGS *** + +[Illustration] + + + + +The Circus Boys on the Flying Rings + +Or +Making the Start in the Sawdust Life + +by Edgar B. P. Darlington + + +Contents + + I THE LURE OF THE CIRCUS + II PHIL HEARS HIS DISMISSAL + III MAKING HIS START IN THE WORLD + IV THE CIRCUS COMES TO TOWN + V WHEN THE BANDS PLAYED + VI PROVING HIS METTLE + VII MAKING FRIENDS WITH THE ELEPHANTS + VIII IN THE SAWDUST ARENA + IX GETTING HIS FIRST CALL + X PHIL GETS A SURPRISE + XI THE FIRST NIGHT WITH THE SHOW + XII A THRILLING RESCUE + XIII THE DAWNING OF A NEW DAY + XIV AN UNEXPECTED HIT + XV A STROKE OF GOOD FORTUNE + XVI HIS FIRST SETBACK + XVII LEFT BEHIND + XVIII A STARTLING DISCOVERY + XIX TEDDY DISTINGUISHES HIMSELF + XX THE RETURN TO THE SAWDUST LIFE + XXI AN ELEPHANT IN JAIL + XXII EMPEROR ANSWERS THE SIGNAL + XXIII THE MYSTERY SOLVED + XXIV CONCLUSION + + + + +CHAPTER I. +THE LURE OF THE CIRCUS + + +“I say, Phil, I can do that.” + +“Do what, Teddy?” + +“A cartwheel in the air like that fellow is doing in the picture on the +billboard there.” + +“Oh, pshaw! You only think you can. Besides, that’s not a cartwheel; +that’s a double somersault. It’s a real stunt, let me tell you. Why, I +can do a cartwheel myself. But up in the air like that—well, I don’t +know. I guess not. I’d be willing to try it, though, if I had something +below to catch me,” added the lad, critically surveying the figures on +the poster before them. + +“How’d you like to be a circus man, Phil?” + +Phil’s dark eyes glowed with a new light, his slender figure +straightening until the lad appeared fully half a head taller. + +“More than anything else in the world,” he breathed. “Would you?” + +“Going to be,” nodded Teddy decisively, as if the matter were already +settled. + +“Oh, you are, eh?” + +“Uh-huh!” + +“When?” + +“I don’t know. Someday—someday when I get old enough, maybe.” + +Phil Forrest surveyed his companion with a half critical smile on his +face. + +“What are you going to do—be a trapeze performer or what?” + +“Well,” reflected the lad wisely, “maybe I shall be an ‘Or What.’ I’m +not sure. Sometimes I think I should like to be the fellow who cracks +the whip with the long lash and makes the clowns hop around on one +foot—” + +“You mean the ringmaster?” + +“I guess that’s the fellow. He makes ’em all get around lively. Then, +sometimes, I think I would rather be a clown. I can skin a cat on the +flying rings to beat the band, now. What would you rather be, Phil?” + +“Me? Oh, something up in the air—high up near the peak of the +tent—something thrilling that would make the people sit up on the board +seats and gasp, when, all dressed in pink and spangles, I’d go flying +through the air—” + +“Just like a bird?” questioned Teddy, with a rising inflection in his +voice. + +“Yes. That’s what I’d like most to do, Teddy,” concluded the lad, his +face flushed with the thought of the triumphs that might be his. + +Teddy Tucker uttered a soft, long-drawn whistle. + +“My, you’ve got it bad, haven’t you? Never thought you were that set on +the circus. Wouldn’t it be fine, now, if we both could get with a +show?” + +“Great!” agreed Phil, with an emphatic nod. “Sometimes I think my uncle +would be glad to have me go away—that he wouldn’t care whether I joined +a circus, or what became of me.” + +“Ain’t had much fun since your ma died, have you, Phil?” questioned +Teddy sympathetically. + +“Not much,” answered the lad, a thin, gray mist clouding his eyes. “No, +not much. But, then, I’m not complaining.” + +“Your uncle’s a mean old—” + +“There, there, Teddy, please don’t say it. He may be all you think he +is, but for all the mean things he’s said and done to me, I’ve never +given him an impudent word, Teddy. Can you guess why?” + +“Cause he’s your uncle, maybe,” grumbled Teddy. + +“No, ’cause he’s my mother’s brother—that’s why.” + +“I don’t know. Maybe I’d feel that way if I’d had a mother.” + +“But you did.” + +“Nobody ever introduced us, if I did. Guess she didn’t know me. But if +your uncle was my uncle do you know what I’d do with him, Phil +Forrest?” + +“Don’t let’s talk about him. Let’s talk about the circus. It’s more +fun,” interrupted Phil, turning to the billboard again and gazing at it +with great interest. + +They were standing before the glowing posters of the Great Sparling +Combined Shows, that was to visit Edmeston on the following Thursday. + +Phillip Forrest and Teddy Tucker were fast friends, though they were as +different in appearance and temperament as two boys well could be. Phil +was just past sixteen, while Teddy was a little less than a year +younger. Phil’s figure was slight and graceful, while that of his +companion was short and chubby. + +Both lads were orphans. Phil’s parents had been dead for something more +than five years. Since their death he had been living with a penurious +old uncle who led a hermit-like existence in a shack on the outskirts +of Edmeston. + +But the lad could remember when it had been otherwise—when he had lived +in his own home, surrounded by luxury and refinement, until evil days +came upon them without warning. His father’s property had been swept +away, almost in a night. A year later both of his parents had died, +leaving him to face the world alone. + +The boy’s uncle had taken him in begrudgingly, and Phil’s life from +that moment on had been one of self-denial and hard work. Yet he was +thankful for one thing—thankful that his miserly old uncle had +permitted him to continue at school. + +Standing high in his class meant something in Phil’s case, for the boy +was obliged to work at whatever he could find to do after school hours, +his uncle compelling him to contribute something to the household +expenses every week. His duties done, Phil was obliged to study far +into the night, under the flickering light of a tallow candle, because +oil cost too much. Sometimes his candle burned far past the midnight +hour, while he applied himself to his books that he might be prepared +for the next day’s classes. + +Hard lines for a boy? + +Yes. But Phil Forrest was not the lad to complain. He went about his +studies the same as he approached any other task that was set for him +to do—went about it with a grim, silent determination to conquer it. +And he always did. + +As for Teddy—christened Theodore, but so long ago that he had forgotten +that that was his name—he studied, not because he possessed a burning +desire for knowledge, but as a matter of course, and much in the same +spirit he did the chores for the people with whom he lived. + +Teddy was quite young when his parents died leaving him without a +relative in the world. A poor, but kind-hearted family in Edmeston had +taken the lad in rather than see him become a public charge. With them +he had lived and been cared for ever since. Of late years, however, he +had been able to do considerable toward lightening the burden for them +by the money he managed to earn here and there. + +The two boys were on their way home from school. There remained but one +more day before the close of the term, which was a matter of sincere +regret to Phil and of keen satisfaction to his companion. Just now both +were too full of the subject of the coming show to think of much else. + +“Going to the show, Phil?” + +“I am afraid not.” + +“Why not?” + +“I haven’t any money; that’s the principal reason,” smiled the boy. +“Are you?” + +“Sure. Don’t need any money to go to a circus.” + +“You don’t?” + +“No.” + +“How do you manage it?” + +“Crawl in under the tent when the man ain’t looking,” answered Teddy +promptly. + +“I wouldn’t want to do that,” decided the older lad, with a shake of +the head. “It wouldn’t be quite honest. Do you think so?” + +Teddy Tucker shrugged his shoulders indifferently. + +“Never thought about it. Don’t let myself think about it. Isn’t safe, +for I might not go to the show if I did. What’s your other reason?” + +“For not going to the circus?” + +“Yes.” + +“Well, I don’t think Uncle would let me; that’s a fact.” + +“Why not?” + +“Says circuses and all that sort of thing are evil influences.” + +“Oh, pshaw! Wish he was my uncle,” decided Teddy belligerently. “How +long are you going to stand for being mauled around like a little +yellow dog?” + +“I’ll stand most anything for the sake of getting an education. When I +get that then I’m going to strike out for myself, and do something in +the world. You’ll hear from me yet, Teddy Tucker, and maybe I’ll hear +from you, too.” + +“See me, you mean—see me doing stunts on a high something-or- other in +a circus. Watch me turn a somersault.” + +The lad stood poised on the edge of the ditch, on the other side of +which the billboard stood. This gave him the advantage of an elevated +position from which to attempt his feat. + +“Look out that you don’t break your neck,” warned Phil. “I’d try it on +a haymow, or something like that, first.” + +“Don’t you worry about me. See how easy that fellow in the picture is +doing it. Here goes!” + +Teddy launched himself into the air, with a very good imitation of a +diver making a plunge into the water, hands stretched out before him, +legs straight behind him. + +He was headed straight for the ditch. + +“Turn, Teddy! Turn! You’ll strike on your head.” + +Teddy was as powerless to turn as if he had been paralyzed from head to +foot. Down he went, straight as an arrow. There followed a splash as +his head struck the water of the ditch, the lad’s feet beating a tattoo +in the air while his head was stuck fast in the mud at the bottom of +the ditch. + +“He’ll drown,” gasped Phil, springing down into the little stream, +regardless of the damage liable to be done to his own clothes. + +Throwing both arms about the body of his companion he gave a mighty +tug. Teddy stuck obstinately, and Phil was obliged to take a fresh hold +before he succeeded in hauling the lad from his perilous position. +Teddy was gasping for breath. His face, plastered with mud, was +unrecognizable, while his clothes were covered from head to foot. + +Phil dumped him on the grass beneath the circus billboard and began +wiping the mud from his companion’s face, while Teddy quickly sat up, +blinking the mud out of his eyes and grumbling unintelligibly. + +“You’re a fine circus performer, you are,” laughed Phil. “Suppose you +had been performing on a flying trapeze in a circus, what do you +suppose would have happened to you?” + +“I’d have had a net under me then, and I wouldn’t have fallen in the +ditch,” grunted Teddy sullenly. + +“What do you suppose the folks will say when you go home in that +condition?” + +“Don’t care what they say. Fellow has got to learn sometime, and if I +don’t have any worse thing happen to me than falling in a ditch I ought +to be pretty well satisfied. Guess I’ll go back now. Come on, go ’long +with me.” + +Phil turned and strode along by the side of his companion until they +reached the house where Teddy lived. + +“Come on in.” + +“I’m sorry, Teddy, but I can’t. My uncle will be expecting me, and he +won’t like it if I am late.” + +“All right; see you tomorrow if you don’t come out again tonight. We’ll +try some more stunts then.” + +“I wouldn’t till after the circus, were I in your place,” laughed Phil. + +“Why not!” + +“Cause, if you break your neck, you won’t be able to go to the show.” + +“Huh!” grunted Teddy, hastily turning his back on his companion and +starting for the house. + +Phil took his way home silently and thoughtfully, carrying his precious +bundle of books under an arm, his active mind planning as to how he +might employ his time to the best advantage during the summer vacation +that was now so close at hand. + +A rheumatic, bent figure was standing in front of the shack where the +lad lived, glaring up the street from beneath bushy eyebrows, noting +Phil Forrest’s leisurely gait disapprovingly. + +Phil saw him a moment later. + +“I’m in for a scolding,” he muttered. “Wonder what it is all about this +time. I don’t seem able to do a thing to please Uncle Abner.” + + + + +CHAPTER II. +PHIL HEARS HIS DISMISSAL + + +“Where you been, young man?” The question was a snarl rather than a +sentence. + +“To school, Uncle, of course.” + +“School’s been out more than an hour. I say, where have you been?” + +“I stopped on the way for a few minutes.” + +“You did?” exploded Abner Adams. “Where?” + +“Teddy Tucker and I stopped to read a circus bill over there on Clover +Street. We did not stop but a few minutes. Was there any harm in that?” + +“Harm? Circus bill—” + +“And I want to go to the circus, too, Uncle, when it comes here. You +know? I have not been to anything of that sort since mother died—not +once. I’ll work and earn the money. I can go in the evening after my +work is finished. Please let me go, Uncle.” + +For a full minute Abner Adams was too overcome with his emotions to +speak. He hobbled about in a circle, smiting the ground with his cane, +alternately brandishing it threateningly in the air over the head of +the unflinching Phil. + +“Circus!” he shouted. “I might have known it! I might have known it! +You and that Tucker boy are two of a kind. You’ll both come to some bad +ending. Only fools and questionable characters go to such places—” + +“My mother and father went, and they always took me,” replied the boy, +drawing himself up with dignity. “You certainly do not include them in +either of the two classes you have named?” + +“So much the worse for them! So much the worse for them. They were a +pair of—” + +“Uncle, Uncle!” warned Phil. “Please don’t say anything against my +parents. I won’t stand it. Don’t forget that my mother was your own +sister, too.” + +“I’m not likely to forget it, after she’s bundled such a baggage as you +into my care. You’re turning out a worthless, good-for- nothing loaf—” + +“You haven’t said whether or not I might go to the circus, Uncle,” +reminded Phil. + +“Circus? No! I’ll have none of my money spent on any such worthless—” + +“But I didn’t ask you to spend your money, even though you have plenty +of it. I said I would earn the money—” + +“You’ll have a chance to earn it, and right quick at that. No, you +won’t go to any circus so long as you’re living under my roof.” + +“Very well, Uncle, I shall do as you wish, of course,” answered Phil, +hiding his disappointment as well as he could. The lad shifted his +bundle of books to the other hand and started slowly for the house. + +Abner Adams hobbled about until he faced the lad again, an angry gleam +lighting up his squinting eyes. + +“Come back here!” + +Phil halted, turning. + +“I said come back here.” + +The lad did so, his self-possession and quiet dignity never deserting +him for an instant. This angered the crabbed old uncle more than ever. + +“When will you get through school?” + +“Tomorrow, I believe.” + +“Huh! Then, I suppose you intend to loaf for the rest of the summer and +live on my hard earned savings. Is that it?” + +“No, sir; I hadn’t thought of doing anything of the sort. I thought—” + +“What did you think?” + +“I thought I would find something to do. Of course, I do not expect to +be idle. I shall work at something until school begins again next fall, +then, of course, I shall not be able to do so much.” + +“School! You’ve had enough school! In my days boys didn’t spend the +best part of their lives in going to school. They worked.” + +“Yes, sir; I am willing to work, too. But, Uncle, I must have an +education. I shall be able to earn so much more then, and, if +necessary, I shall be able to pay you for all you have spent on me, +which isn’t much, you know.” + +“What, what? You dare to be impudent to me? You—” + +“No, sir, I am not impudent. I have never been that and I never shall +be; but you are accusing me wrongfully.” + +“Enough. You have done with school—” + +“You—you mean that I am not to go to school any more—that I have got to +go through life with the little I have learned? Is that what you mean, +Uncle?” asked the boy, with a sinking heart. + +“You heard me.” + +“What do you want me to do?” + +“Work!” + +“I am working and I shall be working,” Phil replied. + +“You’re right you will, or you’ll starve. I have been thinking this +thing over a lot lately. A boy never amounts to anything if he’s +mollycoddled and allowed to spend his days depending on someone else. +Throw him out and let him fight his own way. That’s what my father used +to tell me, and that’s what I’m going to say to you.” + +“What do you mean, Uncle?” + +“Mean? Can’t you understand the English language? Have I got to draw a +picture to make you understand? Get to work!” + +“I am going to as soon as school is out.” + +“You’ll do it now. Get yourself out of my house, bag and baggage!” + +“Uncle, Uncle!” protested the lad in amazement. “Would you turn me +out?” + +“Would I? I have, only you are too stupid to know it. You’ll thank me +for it when you get old enough to have some sense.” + +Phil’s heart sank within him, and it required all his self-control to +keep the bitter tears from his eyes. + +“When do you wish me to go?” he asked without a quaver in his voice. + +“Now.” + +“Very well, I’ll go. But what do you think my mother would say, could +she know this?” + +“That will do, young man. Do your chores, and then—” + +“I am not working for you now, Uncle, you know, so I shall have to +refuse to do the chores. There is fifty cents due me from Mr. Churchill +for fixing his chicken coop. You may get that, I don’t want it.” + +Phil turned away once more, and with head erect entered the house, +going straight to his room, leaving Abner Adams fuming and stamping +about in the front yard. The old man’s rage knew no bounds. He was so +beside himself with anger over the fancied impudence of his nephew +that, had the boy been present, he might have so far forgotten himself +as to have used his cane on Phil. + +But Phil by this time had entered his own room, locking the door behind +him. The lad threw his books down on the bed, dropped into a chair and +sat palefaced, tearless and silent. Slowly his eyes rose to the +old-fashioned bureau, where his comb and brush lay. The eyes halted +when at length they rested on the picture of his mother. + +The lad rose as if drawn by invisible hands, reached out and clasped +the photograph to him. Then the pent-up tears welled up in a flood. +With the picture pressed to his burning cheek Phil Forrest threw +himself on his bed and sobbed out his bitter grief. He did not hear the +thump of Abner Adams’ cane on the bedroom door, nor the angry demands +that he open it. + +“Mother, Mother!” breathed the unhappy boy, as his sobs gradually +merged into long-drawn, trembling sighs. + +Perhaps his appeal was not unheard. At least Phil Forrest sprang from +his bed, holding the picture away from him with both hands and gazing +into the eyes of his mother. + +Slowly his shoulders drew back and his head came up, while an +expression of strong determination flashed into his own eyes. + +“I’ll do it—I’ll be a man, Mother!” he exclaimed in a voice in which +there was not the slightest tremor now. “I’ll fight the battle and I’ll +win.” + +Phil Forest had come to the parting of the ways, which he faced with a +courage unusual in one of his years. There was little to be done. He +packed his few belongings in a bag that had been his mother’s. The lad +possessed one suit besides the one he wore, and this he stowed away as +best he could, determining to press it out when he had located himself. + +Finally his task was finished. He stood in the middle of the floor +glancing around the little room that had been his home for so long. But +he felt no regrets. He was only making sure that he had not left +anything behind. Having satisfied himself on this point, Phil gathered +up his bundle of books, placed the picture of his mother in his inside +coat pocket, then threw open the door. + +The lad’s uncle had stamped to the floor below, where he was awaiting +Phil’s coming. + +“Good-bye, Uncle,” he said quietly, extending a hand. + +“Let me see that bag,” snapped the old man. + +“The bag is mine—it belonged to my mother,” explained the boy. “Surely +you don’t object to my taking it with me?” + +“You’re welcome to it, and good riddance; but I’m going to find out +what’s inside of it.” + +“You surely don’t think I would take anything that doesn’t belong to +me—you can’t mean that?” + +“Ain’t saying what I mean. Hand over that bag.” + +With burning cheeks, Phil did as he was bid, his unwavering eyes fixed +almost sternly on the wrathful face of Abner Adams. + +“Huh!” growled the old man, tumbling the contents out on the floor, +shaking Phil’s clothes to make sure that nothing was concealed in them. + +Apparently satisfied, the old man threw the bag on the floor with an +exclamation of disgust. Phil once more gathered up his belongings and +stowed them away in the satchel. + +“Turn out your pockets!” + +“There is nothing in them, Uncle, save some trinkets of my own and my +mother’s picture.” + +“Turn them out!” thundered the old man. + +“Uncle, I have always obeyed you. Obedience was one of the things that +my mother taught me, but I’m sure that were she here she would tell me +I was right in refusing to humiliate myself as you would have me do. +There is nothing in my pockets that does not belong to me. I am not a +thief.” + +“Then I’ll turn them out myself!” snarled Abner Adams, starting +forward. + +Phil stepped back a pace, satchel in hand. + +“Uncle, I am a man now,” said the boy, straightening to his full +height. “Please don’t force me to do something that I should be sorry +for all the rest of my life. Will you shake hands with me?” + +“No!” thundered Abner Adams. “Get out of my sight before I lay the +stick over your head!” + +Phil stretched out an appealing hand, then hastily withdrew it. + +“Good-bye, Uncle Abner,” he breathed. + +Without giving his uncle a chance to reply, the lad turned, opened the +door and ran down the steps. + + + + +CHAPTER III. +MAKING HIS START IN THE WORLD + + +The sun was just setting as Phil Forrest strode out of the yard. Once +outside of the gate he paused, glancing irresolutely up and down the +street. Which way to turn or where to go he did not know. He had not +thought before of what he should do. + +Phil heard the clatter of Abner Adams’ stick as the old man thumped +about in the kitchen. + +Suddenly the door was jerked open with unusual violence. + +“Begone!” bellowed Mr. Adams, brandishing his cane threateningly. + +Phil turned down the street, without casting so much as a glance in the +direction of his wrathful uncle, and continued on toward the open +country. To anyone who had observed him there was nothing of +uncertainty in the lad’s walk as he swung along. As a matter of fact, +Phil had not the slightest idea where he was going. He knew only that +he wanted to get away by himself. + +On the outskirts of the village men had been at work that day, cutting +and piling up hay. The field was dotted with heaps of the fragrant, +freshly garnered stuff. + +Phil hesitated, glanced across the field, and, noting that the men had +all gone home for the day, climbed the fence. He walked on through the +field until he had reached the opposite side of it. Then the lad placed +his bag on the ground and sat down on a pile of hay. + +With head in hands, he tried to think, to plan, but somehow his mind +seemed unable to perform its proper functions. It simply would not +work. + +“Not much of a start in the world, this,” grinned Phil, shifting his +position so as to command a better view of the world, for he did not +want anyone to see him. “I suppose Uncle Abner is getting supper now. +But where am I going to get mine? I hadn’t thought of that before. It +looks very much as if I should have to go without. But I don’t care. +Perhaps it will do me good to miss a meal,” decided the boy +sarcastically. “I’ve been eating too much lately, anyhow.” + +Twilight came; then the shadows of night slowly settled over the +landscape, while the lad lay stretched out on the sweet-smelling hay, +hands supporting his head, gazing up into the starlit sky. + +Slowly his heavy eyelids fluttered and closed, and Phil was asleep. The +night was warm and he experienced no discomfort. He was a strong, +healthy boy, so that sleeping out of doors was no hardship to him. All +through the night he slept as soundly as if he had been in his own bed +at home. Nor did he awaken until the bright sunlight of the morning +finally burned his eyelids apart. + +Phil started up rubbing his eyes. + +At first he wondered where he was. But the sight of his bag lying a +little to one side brought back with a rush the memory of what had +happened to him the evening before. + +“Why, it’s morning,” marveled the lad, blinking in the strong sunlight. +“And I’ve slept on this pile of hay all night. It’s the first time I +ever slept out of doors, and I never slept better in my life. Guess +I’ll fix myself up a little.” + +Phil remembered that a little trout stream cut across the field off to +the right. Taking up his bag, he started for the stream, where he made +his toilet as best he could, finishing up by lying flat on his stomach, +taking a long, satisfying drink of the sparkling water. + +“Ah, that feels better,” he breathed, rolling over on the bank. After a +little he helped himself to another drink. “But I’ve got to do +something. I can’t stay out here in this field all the rest of my life. +And if I don’t find something to eat I’ll starve to death. I’ll go +downtown and see if I can’t earn my breakfast somehow.” + +Having formed this resolution, Phil took up his belongings and started +away toward the village. His course led him right past Abner Adams’ +house, but, fortunately, Mr. Adams was not in sight. Phil would have +felt a keen humiliation had he been forced to meet the taunts of his +uncle. He hurried on past the house without glancing toward it. + +He had gone on for some little way when he was halted by a familiar +voice. + +“Hello, Phil! Where are you going in such a hurry and so early in the +morning?” + +Phil started guiltily and looked up quickly at the speaker. + +“Good morning, Mrs. Cahill. What time is it?” + +“It’s just past four o’clock in the morning.” + +“Gracious! I had no idea it was so early as that,” exclaimed the lad. + +“If you are not in such a great hurry, stop a bit,” urged the woman, +her keen eyes noting certain things that she did not give voice to. She +had known Phil Forrest for many years, and his parents before him. +Furthermore, she knew something of the life he had led since the death +of his parents. “Had your breakfast?” + +“Well—” + +“Of course you haven’t. Come right in and eat with me,” urged the +good-hearted widow. + +“If you will let me do some chores, or something to pay for it, I +will,” agreed Phil hesitatingly. + +“Nothing of the kind! You’ll keep me company at breakfast; then you’ll +be telling me all about it.” + +“About what?” + +“ ’Bout your going away,” pointing significantly to the bag that Phil +was carrying. + +He was ravenously hungry, though he did not realize it fully until the +odor of the widow’s savory cooking smote his nostrils. + +She watched him eat with keen satisfaction. + +“Now tell me what’s happened,” urged Mrs. Cahill, after he had finished +the meal. + +Phil did so. He opened his heart to the woman who had known his mother, +while she listened in sympathetic silence, now and then uttering an +exclamation of angry disapproval when his uncle’s words were repeated +to her. + +“And you’re turned out of house and home? Is that it, my boy?” + +“Well, yes, that’s about it,” grinned Phil. + +“It’s a shame.” + +“I’m not complaining, you know, Mrs. Cahill. Perhaps it’s the best +thing that could have happened to me. I’ve got to start out for myself +sometime, you know. I’m glad of one thing, and that is that I didn’t +have to go until school closed. I get through the term today, you +know?” + +“And you’re going to school today?” + +“Oh, yes. I wouldn’t want to miss the last day.” + +“Then what?” + +“I don’t know. I shall find something else to do, I guess. I want to +earn enough money this summer so that I can go to school again in the +fall.” + +“And you shall. You shall stay right here with the Widow Cahill until +you’ve got through with your schooling, my lad.” + +“I couldn’t think of that. No; I am not going to be a burden to anyone. +Don’t you see how I feel—that I want to earn my own living now?” + +She nodded understandingly. + +“You can do some chores and—” + +“I’ll stay here until I find something else to do,” agreed Phil slowly. +“I shan’t be able to look about much today, because I’ll be too busy at +school; but tomorrow I’ll begin hunting for a job. What can I do for +you this morning?” + +“Well, you might chop some wood if you are aching to exercise your +muscles,” answered the widow, with a twinkle in her eyes. She knew that +there was plenty of wood stored in the woodhouse, but she was too +shrewd an observer to tell Phil so, realizing, as she did, that the +obligation he felt for her kindness was too great to be lightly +treated. + +Phil got at his task at once, and in a few moments she heard him +whistling an accompaniment to the steady thud, thud of the axe as he +swung it with strong, resolute arms. + +“He’s a fine boy,” was the Widow Cahill’s muttered conclusion. + +Phil continued at his work without intermission until an hour had +passed. Mrs. Cahill went out, begging that he come in and rest. + +“Rest? Why, haven’t I been resting all night? I feel as if I could chop +down the house and work it up into kindling wood, all before school +time. What time is it?” + +“Nigh on to seven o’clock. I’ve wanted to ask you something ever since +you told me you had left Abner Adams. It’s rather a personal question.” + +The lad nodded. + +“Did your uncle send you away without any money?” + +“Of course. Why should he have given me anything so long as I was going +to leave him?” + +“Did you ever hear him say that your mother had left a little money +with him before she died—money that was to be used for your education +as long as it lasted?” + +Phil straightened up slowly, his axe falling to the ground, an +expression of surprise appeared in his eyes. + +“My mother left money—for me, you say?” he wondered. + +“No, Phil, I haven’t said so. I asked you if Abner had ever said +anything of the sort?” + +“No. Do you think she did?” + +“I’m not saying what I think. I wish I was a man; I’d read old Abner +Adams a lecture that he wouldn’t forget as long as he lives.” + +Phil smiled indulgently. + +“He’s an old man, Mrs. Cahill. He’s all crippled up with rheumatism, +and maybe he’s got a right to be cranky—” + +“And to turn his own sister’s child outdoors, eh? Not by a long shot. +Rheumatics don’t give anybody any call to do any such a thing as that. +He ought to have his nose twisted, and it’s me, a good church member, +as says so.” + +The lad picked up his axe and resumed his occupation, while Mrs. Cahill +turned up a chunk of wood and sat down on it, keeping up a running fire +of comment, mostly directed at Abner Adams, and which must have made +his ears burn. + +Shortly after eight o’clock Phil gathered his books, strapped them and +announced that he would be off for school. + +“I’ll finish the woodpile after school,” he called back, as he was +leaving the gate. + +“You’ll do nothing of the sort,” retorted the Widow Cahill. + +Darting out of the yard, Phil ran plump into someone, and halted +sharply with an earnest apology. + +“Seems to me you’re in a terrible rush about something. Where you +going?” + +“Hello, Teddy, that you?” + +“It’s me,” answered Teddy ungrammatically. + +“I’m on my way to school.” + +“Never could understand why anybody should want to run when he’s going +to school. Now, I always run when I start off after school’s out. What +you doing here?” demanded the boy, drawing his eyelids down into a +squint. + +“I’ve been chopping some wood for Mrs. Cahill.” + +“Huh! What’s the matter with the bear this morning?” + +“The bear?” + +Teddy jerked a significant thumb in the direction of Phil’s former +home. + +“Bear’s got a grouch on a rod wide this morning.” + +“Oh, you mean Uncle Abner,” answered Phil, his face clouding. + +“Yep.” + +“Why?” + +“I just dropped in to see if you were ready to go to school. He yelled +at me like he’d gone crazy.” + +“That all?” grinned the other boy. + +“No. He chased me down the road till his game knee gave out; then he +fell down.” + +Phil could not repress a broad grin at this news. + +“Good thing for me that I could run. He’d have given me a walloping for +sure if he’d caught me. I’ll bet that stick hurts when it comes down on +a fellow. Don’t it, Phil?” + +“I should think it would. I have never felt it, but I have had some +pretty narrow escapes. What did the folks you are living with say when +you got home all mud last night?” + +Teddy grinned a sheepish sort of grin. + +“Told me I’d better go out in the horse barn—said my particular style +of beauty was better suited to the stable than to the kitchen.” + +“Did you?” + +“Well, no, not so as you might notice it. I went down to the creek and +went in swimming, clothes and all. That was the easiest way. You see, I +could wash the mud off my clothes and myself all at the same time.” + +“It’s a wonder they let you in at all, then.” + +“They didn’t; at least not until I had wrung the water out of my +trousers and twisted my hair up into a regular top-knot. Then I crawled +in behind the kitchen stove and got dried out after a while. But I got +my supper. I always do.” + +“Yes; I never knew you to go without meals.” + +“Sorry you ain’t going to the circus tomorrow, Phil.” + +“I am. Teddy, I’m free. I can do as I like now. Yes, I’ll go to the +circus with you, and maybe if I can earn some money tonight I’ll treat +you to red lemonade and peanuts.” + +“Hooray!” shouted Teddy, tossing his hat high in the air. + + + + +CHAPTER IV. +THE CIRCUS COMES TO TOWN + + +The Sparling Combined Shows came rumbling into Edmeston at about three +o’clock the next morning. But, early as was the hour, two boys sat on +the Widow Cahill’s door-yard fence watching the wagons go by. + +The circus was one of the few road shows that are now traveling through +the country, as distinguished from the great modern organizations that +travel by rail with from one to half a dozen massive trains. The +Sparling people drove from town to town. They carried twenty-five +wagons, besides a band wagon, a wild-west coach and a calliope. + +“Phil! Phil! Look!” exclaimed Teddy, clutching at his companion’s coat +sleeve, as two hulking, swaying figures appeared out of the shadows of +the early morning. + +“Where?” + +“There.” + +“Elephants! There’s two of them.” + +“Ain’t that great? I didn’t suppose they’d have any elephants. Wonder +if there’s any lions and tigers in those big wagons.” + +“Of course there are. Didn’t you see pictures of them on the bills, +Teddy?” + +“I don’t know. Dan Marts, the postmaster, says you can’t set any store +by the pictures. He says maybe they’ve got the things you see in the +pictures, and maybe they haven’t. There’s a camel! Look at it! How’d +you like to ride on that hump all day?” questioned Teddy gleefully. + +“Shouldn’t like it at all.” + +“I read in my geography that they ride on them all the time on +the—on—on Sarah’s Desert.” + +“Oh, you mean the Sahara Desert—that’s what you mean,” laughed Phil. + +“Well, maybe.” + +“I should rather ride an elephant. See, it’s just like a rocking chair. +I could almost go to sleep watching them move along.” + +“I couldn’t,” declared Teddy. “I couldn’t any more go to sleep when a +circus is going by than I could fly without wings.” + +“See, there comes a herd of ponies. Look how small they are. Not much +bigger than St. Bernard dogs. They could walk right under the elephants +and not touch them.” + +“Where do they all sleep?” wondered Teddy. + +“Who, the ponies?” + +“No, of course not. The people.” + +“I don’t know unless they sleep in the cages with the animals,” laughed +Phil. “Some of the folks appear to be sleeping on the horses.” + +“I’d be willing to go without sleep if I could be a showman,” mused +Teddy. “Wouldn’t you?” + +“Sure,” agreed Phil. “Hello! There come some more wagons. Come on! +We’ll run down to meet them.” + +“No; Let’s go over to the grounds where the circus is coming off. +They’ll be putting up the tents first thing we know.” + +“That’s so, and I want to be around. You going to work any, Teddy?” + +“Not I. I’m going to see the show, but you don’t catch me carrying +pails of water for the elephants for a ticket of admission that don’t +admit you to anything except a stand-up. I can stand up cheaper than +that.” + +Both boys slipped from the fence, and, setting off at a jog trot, began +rapidly overhauling and passing the slow-moving wagons with their tired +horses and more tired drivers. + +By the time Teddy and Phil reached the circus grounds several wagons +were already there. Shouts sprang up from all parts of the field, while +half a dozen men began measuring off the ground in the dim morning +light, locating the best places in which to pitch the tents. Here and +there they would drive in a stake, on one of which they tied a piece of +newspaper. + +“Wonder what that’s for,” thought Phil aloud. + +“Hey, what’s the paper tied on the peg for?” shouted Teddy to a passing +showman. + +“That’s the front door, sonny.” + +“Funniest looking front door I ever saw,” grunted Teddy. + +“He means that’s the place where the people enter and leave their +tickets.” + +“Oh, yes. That’s what they call the ‘Main Entrance,’” nodded Teddy. +“I’ve seen it, but I don’t usually go in that way.” + +With the early dawn figures began emerging from several of the wagons. +They were a sleepy looking lot, and for a time stood about in various +attitudes, yawning, stretching their arms and rubbing their eyes. + +“Hey, boy, what town is this?” questioned a red-haired youth, dragging +himself toward the two lads. + +“Edmeston.” + +“Oh, yes. I remember; I was here once before.” + +“With a show?” asked Teddy. + +“Yes, with a Kickapoo Indian medicine man. And he was bad medicine. +Say, where can I wash my countenance?” + +“Come on; I’ll show you,” exclaimed Teddy and Phil in the same breath. + +They led the way to the opposite side of the field, where there was a +stream of water. While the circus boy was making his morning toilet the +lads watched him in admiring silence. + +“What do you do?” ventured Phil. + +“I perform on the rings.” + +“Up in the air?” + +“Uh-huh.” + +“Ever fall off?” + +“I get my bumps,” grinned the red-haired boy. “My name is Rodney +Palmer. What’s your names?” + +They told him. + +“We’re going to be circus men, too,” Teddy informed him, but the +announcement did not seem to stir a deep interest in the circus boy. He +had heard other boys say the same thing. “Is it very hard work?” + +“Worst ever.” + +“When do you sleep?” + +“When we ain’t awake.” + +“And you perform on the flying rings?” + +Rodney nodded his head indifferently. + +“I should think you’d burn the tent up with that head of red hair,” +grinned Teddy. + +Instead of getting angry at the boy’s thrust, Rodney glanced at Teddy +with a half questioning look in his eyes, then burst out laughing. + +“You’re a cheerful idiot, aren’t you?” he twinkled. “I’ll tell you why +I don’t. Confidentially, you know?” + +“Sure.” + +“I wear a wig when I’m performing. Mebby if it wasn’t for that I might +set something on fire. I must get over on the lot now.” + +“You’re in a lot already,” Teddy informed him. + +“We call the place where we pitch the tents ‘the lot.’ The cook tent +must be up by this time, and I’m half starved. The performance was so +late yesterday afternoon that they had the cook tent down before I got +my supper. Will you come along?” + +They did. + +“Do you think there is anything I could do to earn a ticket to the show +today?” asked Phil. + +“Yes, there’s most always something for a boy to do.” + +“Whom do I ask about it?” + +“Go see the boss canvasman. I’ll point him out to you as we go along.” + +“Thank you. You want to see him, too, Teddy?” + +“No; I don’t have to.” + +“That’s him over there. He’s a grouch, but just don’t let him bluff +you. Yes, the cook tent’s about ready. I’ll sneak in and hook something +before breakfast; then mebby I’ll come back and talk with you.” + +“We’ll look for you in the show this afternoon,” said Phil. + +“All right, if I see you I’ll swing my hand to you,” Rodney replied, +starting for the cook tent, where the meals were served to the show +people. + +“Now, I’m going to see that boss canvasman,” announced Phil. “See, they +are laying the pieces of the tents flat on the ground. I suppose they +fasten them all together when they get them placed, then raise them up +on the poles.” + +“I guess so. I don’t care much so long as I don’t have to do it.” + +“Teddy Tucker, actually you are the laziest boy I ever knew. Why don’t +you brace up?” + +“Don’t I have just as good a time and better, than you do?” + +“Guess you do.” + +“Don’t I get just as much to eat?” + +“I presume so,” admitted Phil. + +“Don’t I see all the shows that come to town, and go to all the +picnics?” + +“Yes.” + +“Then, what’s the use of being any more’n lazy?” + +Teddy’s logic was too much for his companion, and Phil laughed +heartily. + +“Look, the elephant is butting one of the wagons,” cried Teddy. + +“No, they are using the elephant to push the cage around in place. I +wonder what’s in it,” said Phil. + +A roar that fairly made the ground shake answered Phil’s question. The +cage in question held a lion, and a big, ugly one if his voice was any +indication. The great elephant, when the cage was being placed, would, +at a signal from its keeper, place its ponderous head against one side +of the cage and push, while a driver would steer the wagon by taking +hold of the end of the tongue. + +It was a novel sight for the two boys, and they watched it with the +keenest interest. A man dressed in riding clothes, carrying a short +crop in his hand, was observing the operations with equal interest. He +was James Sparling, the proprietor and manager of the Great Combined +Shows, but the lads were unaware of that fact. Even had they known, it +is doubtful if Mr. Sparling would have been of sufficient attraction to +draw their attention from the working elephant. + +All at once there was a warning shout from Mr. Sparling. + +The men set up a yell, followed by a sudden scurrying from the +immediate vicinity of the cage that the elephant had been shunting +about. + +“Stop it! Brace it!” bellowed the owner of the show, making frantic +motions with his free hand, cutting circles and dashes in the air with +the short crop held in the other. + +“What’s the row?” wondered Teddy. + +“I—I don’t know,” stammered Phil. + +“The elephant’s tipping the lion cage over!” shouted someone. “Run for +your lives!” + +For once in his life Teddy Tucker executed a lightning-like movement. +He was one of several dark streaks on the landscape running as if +Wallace, the biggest lion in captivity, were in reality hard upon his +heels. As he ran, Teddy uttered a howl that could have been heard from +one end of the circus lot to the other. + +A few of the more fearless ones, the old hands of the show, did not +attempt to run. Instead they stood still, fairly holding their breaths, +waiting to see what would happen next. + +Mr. Sparling was too far away to be able to do anything to prevent the +catastrophe that was hanging over them, but it did not prevent him from +yelling like a madman at the inactive employees of the show. + +At the first cry—the instant he comprehended what was happening— Phil +Forrest moved every bit as quickly as had his companion, though he +leaped in the opposite direction. + +All about on the ground lay tent poles of various length and thickness, +side poles, quarter poles and the short side poles used to hold the +tent walls in place. These were about twenty feet in length and light +enough to be easily handled. + +With ready resourcefulness and quick comprehension, Phil pounced upon +one of these and darted toward the cage which was toppling over in his +direction. + +The roof of the lion cage that housed Wallace projected over the edge +some six inches, and this had caught the keen eyes of the lad at the +first alarm. His plan had been formed in a flash. + +He shot one end of the side pole up under the projecting roof, jammed +the other end into the ground, throwing his whole weight upon the foot +of the pole to hold it in place. + +For an instant the tent pole bent like a bow under the pull of the +archer. It seemed as if it must surely snap under the terrific strain. + +Phil saw this, too. Now that the foot of the pole was firmly imbedded +in the ground, there was no further need for him to hold it down. He +sprang under the pole with the swaying cage directly over him, grabbed +the pole at the point where it was arching so dangerously, and pulling +himself from the ground, held to the slippery stick desperately. + +Light as he was the boy’s weight saved the pole. It bent no further. + +The cage swayed from side to side, threatening to topple over at one +end or the other. + +“Get poles under the ends,” shouted the boy in a shrill voice. “I can’t +hold it here all day.” + +“Get poles, you lazy good-for-nothings!” bellowed the owner. “Brace +those ends. Look out for the elephant. Don’t you see he’s headed for +the cage again?” + +Orders flew thick and fast, but through it all Phil Forrest hung grimly +to the side pole, taking a fresh overhand hold, now and then, as his +palms slipped down the painted stick. + +Now that he had shown the way, others sprang to his assistance. Half a +dozen poles were thrust up under the roof and the cage began slowly +settling back the other way. + +“Hadn’t you better have some poles braced against the other side, sir?” +suggested Phil, touching his hat to Mr. Sparling, who, he had +discovered, was some person in authority. “The cage may tip clear over +on the other side, or it may drop so heavily on the wheels as to break +the axles.” + +“Right. Brace the off side. That’s right. Now let it down slowly. Not +so hard on the nigh side there. Ease off there, Bill. Push, Patsy. What +do you think this is—a game of croquet? There you go. Right. Now let’s +see if you woodenheads know enough to keep the wagon right side up.” + +Mr. Sparling took off his hat and wiped the perspiration from his +forehead, while Phil stood off calmly surveying the men who were +straightening the wagon, but with more caution than they had exercised +before. + +“Come here, boy.” + +Someone touched Phil on the arm. + +“What is it?” + +“Boss wants to speak to you.” + +“Who?” + +“Boss Sparling, the fellow over there with the big voice and the +sombrero.” + +Phil walked over and touched his hat to Mr. Sparling. + +The showman looked the lad over from head to foot. + +“What’s your name?” He shot the question at the lad as if angry about +something, and he undoubtedly was. + +“Phil Forrest.” + +“Do they grow your kind around here?” + +“I can’t say, sir.” + +“If they do, I’d like to hire a dozen or more of them. You’ve got more +sense than any boy of your age I ever saw. How old are you?” + +“Sixteen.” + +“Huh! I wish I had him!” growled Mr. Sparling. “What do you want?” + +“I should like to have a chance to earn a pass to the show this +afternoon. Rodney Palmer said the boss canvasman might give me a chance +to earn one.” + +“Earn one? Earn one?” Mr. Sparling’s voice rose to a roar again. “What +in the name of Old Dan Rice do you think you’ve been doing? Here you’ve +kept a cage with a five-thousand-dollar lion from tipping over, to say +nothing of the people who might have been killed had the brute got out, +and you want to know how you can earn a pass to the show? What d’ye +think of that?” and the owner appealed helplessly to an assistant who +had run across the lot, having been attracted to the scene by the +uproar. + +The assistant grinned. + +“He’s too modest to live.” + +“Pity modesty isn’t more prevalent in this show, then. How many do you +want? Have a whole section if you say the word.” + +“How many are there in a section?” asked Phil. + +“ ’Bout a hundred seats.” + +Phil gasped. + +“I—I guess two will be enough,” he made answer. + +“Here you are,” snapped the owner, thrusting a card at the lad, on +which had been scribbled some characters, puzzling to the uninitiated. +“If you want anything else around this show you just ask for it, young +man. Hey, there! Going to be all day getting that canvas up? Don’t you +know we’ve got a parade coming along in a few hours?” + +Phil Forrest, more light of heart than in many days, turned away to +acquaint his companion of his good fortune. Teddy Tucker was making his +way cautiously back to the scene of the excitement of a few moments +before. + +“Did he get away?” Teddy questioned, ready to run at the drop of the +hat should the danger prove to be still present. + +“Who, the manager?” + +“No, the lion.” + +“He’s in the cage where he’s been all the time. They haven’t opened it +yet, but I guess he’s all right. Say, Teddy!” + +“Say it.” + +“I’ve got a pass to the show for two people for both performances—this +afternoon and tonight.” + +The interest that the announcement brought to Teddy’s eyes died away +almost as soon as it appeared. + +“Going?” + +“Am I going? I should say so. Want to go in with me on my pass, Teddy?” + +The lad hitched his trousers, took a critical squint at the canvas that +was slowly mounting the center pole to the accompaniment of creaking +ropes, groaning tackle and confused shouting. + +“They’re getting the menagerie tent up. I’ll bet it’s going to be a +dandy show,” he vouchsafed. “How’d you get the tickets?” + +“Manager gave them to me.” + +“What for?” + +“I did a little work for him. Helped get the lion’s cage straightened +up. How about it—are you going in on my pass?” + +“N-o-o,” drawled Teddy. “Might get me into bad habits to go in on a +pass. I’d rather sneak in under the tent when the boss isn’t looking.” + + + + +CHAPTER V. +WHEN THE BANDS PLAYED + + +Phil started for the Widow Cahill’s on the run after having procured +his tickets. “Here’s a ticket for the circus, Mrs. Cahill,” he shouted, +bursting into the room, with excited, flushed face. + +“What’s this you say—the circus? Land sakes, I haven’t seen one since I +was—well, since I was a girl. I don’t know.” + +“You’ll go, won’t you?” urged Phil. + +“Of course, I’ll go,” she made haste to reply, noting the +disappointment in his face over her hesitation. “And thank you very +much.” + +“Shall I come and get you, Mrs. Cahill, or can you get over to the +circus grounds alone?” + +“Don’t worry about me, my boy. I’ll take care of myself.” + +“Your seat will be right next to mine, and we can talk while we are +watching the performers.” + +“Yes; you run along now. Here’s a quarter for spending money. Never +mind thanking me. Just take it and have a good time. Where’s your +friend?” + +“Teddy?” + +“Yes.” + +“Over on the lot.” + +“He going in with you, too?” + +“Oh, no. Teddy is too proud to go in that way. He crawls in under the +tent,” laughed Phil, running down the steps and setting off for the +circus grounds with all speed. + +When he arrived there he saw at once that something was going on. The +tents were all in place, the little white city erected with as much +care and attention to detail as if the show expected to remain in +Edmeston all summer. The lad could scarcely make himself believe that, +only a few hours before, this very lot had been occupied by the birds +alone. It was a marvel to him, even in after years, when he had become +as thoroughly conversant with the details of a great show as any man in +America. + +Just now there was unusual activity about the grounds. Men in gaudy +uniforms, clowns in full makeup, and women with long glistening trains, +glittering with spangles from head to feet, were moving about, while +men were decorating the horses with bright blankets and fancy +headdress. + +“What are they going to do?” asked Phil of a showman. + +“Going to parade.” + +“Oh, yes, that’s so; I had forgotten about that.” + +“Hello, boy—I’ve forgotten your name—” + +“Forrest,” explained Phil, turning. The speaker was Mr. Sparling’s +assistant, whom the lad had seen just after saving the lion cage from +turning over. + +“Can you blow a horn as well as you can stop a wagon?” + +“Depends upon what kind of a horn. I think I can make as much noise on +a fish horn as anyone else.” + +“That’ll do as well as anything else. Want to go in the parade?” + +“I’d love to!” The color leaped to the cheeks of Phil Forrest and a +sparkle to his eyes. This was going beyond his fondest dreams. + +The assistant motioned to a clown. + +“Fix this boy up in some sort of a rig. I’m going to put him in the +Kazoo Band. Bring him back here when he is ready. Be quick.” + +A long, yellow robe was thrown about the boy, a peaked cap thrust on +his head, after which a handful of powder was slapped on his face and +rubbed down with the flat of the clown’s hand. The fine dust got into +the lad’s nostrils and throat, causing him to sneeze until the tears +rolled down his cheeks, streaking his makeup like a freshet through a +plowed field. + +“Good,” laughed the clown. “That’s what your face needs. You’d make a +good understudy for Chief Rain-In-The-Face. Now hustle along.” + +Phil picked up the long skirts and ran full speed to the place where +the assistant had been standing. There he waited until the assistant +returned from a journey to some other part of the lot. + +“That’s right; you know how to obey orders,” he nodded. “That’s a good +clown makeup. Did Mr. Miaco put those streaks on your face?” + +“No, I sneezed them there,” answered Phil, with a sheepish grin. + +The assistant laughed heartily. Somehow, he had taken a sudden liking +to this boy. + +“Do you live at home, Forrest?” + +“No; I have no home now.” + +“Here’s a fish horn. Now get up in the band wagon—no, not the big one, +I mean the clowns’ band wagon with the hayrack on it. When the parade +starts blow your confounded head off if you want to. Make all the noise +you can. You’ll have plenty of company. When the parade breaks up, just +take off your makeup and turn it over to Mr. Miaco.” + +“You mean these clothes?” + +“Yes. They’re a part of the makeup. You’ll have to wash the makeup off +your face. I don’t expect you to return the powder to us,” grinned the +assistant humorously. + +The clowns were climbing to the hayrack. A bugle had blown as a signal +that the parade was ready to move. Phil had not seen Teddy Tucker since +returning to the lot. He did not know where the boy was, but he was +quite sure that Teddy was not missing any of the fun. Tucker had been +around circuses before, and knew how to make the most of his +opportunities. And he was doing so now. + +“Ta ra, ta ra, ta ra!” sang the bugle. + +Crash! answered the cymbals and the bass drums. The snare drums buzzed +a long, thrilling roll; then came the blare of the brass as the whole +band launched into a lively tune such as only circus bands know how to +play. + +The parade had begun to move. + +It was a thrilling moment—the moment of all moments of Phil Forrest’s +life. + +The clowns’ wagon had been placed well back in the line, so as not to +interfere with the music of the band itself. But Phil did not care +where he was placed. He only knew that he was in a circus parade, doing +his part with the others, and that, so far as anyone knew, he was as +much a circus man as any of them. + +As the cavalcade drew out into the main street and straightened away, +Phil was amazed to see what a long parade it was. It looked as if it +might reach the whole length of the village. + +The spring sun was shining brightly, lighting up the line, transforming +it into a moving, flashing, brilliant ribbon of light and color. + +“Splendid!” breathed the boy, removing the fish horn from his lips for +a brief instant, then blowing with all his might again. + +As the wagons moved along he saw many people whom he knew. As a matter +of fact, Phil knew everyone in the village, but there were hundreds of +people who had driven in from the farms whom he did not know. Nor did +anyone appear to recognize him. + +“If they only knew, wouldn’t they be surprised?” chuckled the lad. +“Hello, there’s Mrs. Cahill.” + +The widow was standing on her front door step with a dishtowel in one +hand. + +In the excess of his excitement, Phil stood up, waving his horn and +yelling. + +She heard him—as everybody else within a radius of a quarter of a mile +might have—and she recognized the voice. Mrs. Cahill brandished the +dishtowel excitedly. + +“He’s a fine boy,” she glowed. “And he’s having the first good time +he’s had in five years.” + +The Widow Cahill was right. For the first time in all these years, +since the death of his parents, Phil Forrest was carefree and perfectly +happy. + +The clowns on the wagon with him were uproariously funny. When the +wagon stopped now and then, one whom Phil recognized as the head clown, +Mr. Miaco, would spring to the edge of the rack and make a stump speech +in pantomime, accompanied by all the gestures included in the pouring +and drinking of a glass of water. So humorous were the clown’s antics +that the spectators screamed with laughter. + +Suddenly the lad espied that which caused his own laughter to die away, +and for the moment he forgot to toot the fish horn. The parade was +passing his former home, and there, standing hunched forward, leaning +on his stick and glaring at the procession from beneath bushy eyebrows, +stood Phil’s uncle, Abner Adams. + +Phil’s heart leaped into his throat; at least that was the sensation +that he experienced. + +“I—I hope he doesn’t know me,” muttered the lad, shrinking back a +little. “But I’m a man now. I don’t care. He’s driven me out and he has +no right to say a thing.” + +The lad lost some of his courage, however, when the procession halted, +and he found that his wagon was directly in front of Mr. Adams’ +dooryard, with his decrepit uncle not more than twenty feet away from +him. The surly, angry eyes of Abner Adams seemed to be burning through +Phil’s makeup, and the lad instinctively shrank back ever so little. + +However, at that instant the boy’s attention was attracted to another +part of the wagon. The head clown stepped from the wagon and, with +dignified tread, approached Abner Adams. He grasped the old man by the +hand, which he shook with great warmth, making a courtly bow. + +At first Abner Adams was too surprised to protest. Then, uttering an +angry snarl, he threw the clown off, making a vicious pass at him with +his heavy stick. + +The clown dodged the blow, and made a run for the wagon, which was now +on the move again. + +Phil breathed a sigh of relief. The people had roared at the funny +sight of the clown shaking hands with the crabbed old man; but to Phil +Forrest there had been nothing of humor in it. The sight of his uncle +brought back too many unhappy memories. + +The lad soon forgot his depression, however, in the rapid changes that +followed each other in quick succession as on a moving- picture film. + +Reaching the end of the village street the procession was obliged to +turn and retrace its steps over the same ground until it reached the +business part of the town, where it would turn off and pass through +some of the side streets. + +Now there were two lines, moving in opposite directions. This was of +interest to Phil, enabling him, as it did, to get a good look at the +other members of the troupe. Mr. Sparling was riding ahead in a +carriage drawn by four splendid white horses, driven by a coachman +resplendent in livery and gold lace, while the bobbing plumes on the +heads of the horses added to the impressiveness of the picture. + +“I’d give anything in the world to be able to ride in a carriage like +that,” decided Phil. “Maybe someday I shall. We’ll see.” + +Now came the elephants, lumbering along on velvet feet. On the second +one there crouched a figure that somehow seemed strangely familiar to +Phil Forrest. The figure was made up to represent a huge frog. + +A peculiar gesture of one of the frog’s legs revealed the identity of +the figure beneath the mask. + +“Teddy!” howled Phil. + +“Have a frog’s leg,” retorted Teddy, shaking one of them vigorously at +the motley collection of clowns. + +“Not eating frogs legs today,” jeered a clown, as Teddy went swinging +past them, a strange, grotesque figure on the back of the huge, hulking +beast. + +The clowns’ wagon was just on the point of turning when the men heard a +loud uproar far down the line. At first they thought it was a part of +the show, but it soon became apparent that something was wrong. + +Phil instinctively let the horn fall away from his lips. He peered +curiously over the swaying line to learn what, if anything, had gone +wrong. + +He made out the cause of the trouble almost at once. A pony with a +woman on its back had broken from the line, and was plunging toward +them at a terrific pace. She appeared to have lost all control of the +animal, and the pony, which proved to be an ugly broncho, was bucking +and squealing as it plunged madly down the street. + +The others failed to see what Phil had observed almost from the first. +The bit had broken in the mouth of the broncho and the reins hung +loosely in the woman’s helpless hands. + +They were almost up with the clowns’ wagon when the woman was seen to +sway dizzily in her saddle, as the leather slipped beneath her. Then +she plunged headlong to the ground. + +Instead of falling in a heap, the circus woman, with head dragging, +bumping along the ground, was still fast to the pony. + +“Her foot is caught in the stirrup!” yelled half a dozen men at once, +but not a man of them made an effort to rescue her. Perhaps this was +because none of the real horsemen of the show were near enough to do +so. + +Mr. Sparling, however, at the first alarm, had leaped from his +carriage, and, thrusting a rider from his mount, sprang into the saddle +and came tearing down the line in a cloud of dust. He was bearing down +on the scene at express train speed. + +“The woman will be killed!” + +“Stop him! Stop him!” + +“Stop him yourself!” + +But not a man made an effort to do anything. + +It had all occurred in a few seconds, but rapidly as the events +succeeded each other, Phil Forrest seemed to be the one among them who +retained his presence of mind. + +He fairly launched himself into the air as the ugly broncho shot +alongside the clowns’ wagon. + + + + +CHAPTER VI. +PROVING HIS METTLE + + +Familiar as they were with daring deeds, those of the circus people who +witnessed Phil Forrest’s dive gasped. + +They expected to see the boy fall beneath the feet of the plunging +pony, where he would be likely to be trampled and kicked to death. + +But Phil had looked before he leaped. He had measured his distance +well—had made up his mind exactly what he was going to do, or rather +what he was going to try to do. + +The pony, catching a brief glimpse of the dark figure that was being +hurled through the air directly toward him, made a swift leap to one +side. But the animal was not quick enough. The boy landed against the +broncho with a jolt that nearly knocked the little animal over, while +to Phil the impact could not have been much more severe, it seemed to +him, had he collided with a locomotive. + +“Hang on!” howled a voice from the wagon. + +That was exactly what he intended to do. + +The cloud of dust, with Mr. Sparling in the center of it, had not +reached them, but his keen eyes already had observed what was going on. + +“G-g-g-grab the woman!” shouted Phil. + +His left arm had been thrown about the broncho’s neck, while his right +hand was groping frantically for the animal’s nose. But during all this +time the pony was far from idle. He was plunging like a ship in a gale, +cracking the whip with Phil Forrest until it seemed as if every bone in +the lad’s body would be broken. He could hear his own neck snap with +every jerk. + +With a howl Miaco, the head clown, launched himself from the wagon, +too. Darting in among the flying hoofs—there seemed to be a score of +them—he caught the woman, jerked her foot free of the stirrup and +dragged her quickly from her perilous position. + +“She’s free. Let go!” he roared to the boy holding the pony. + +But by this time Phil had fastened his right hand on the pony’s +nostrils, and with a quick pressure shut off the animal’s wind. He had +heard the warning cry. The lad’s grit had been aroused, however, and he +was determined that he would not let go until he should have conquered +the fighting broncho. + +With a squeal of rage, the pony leaped sideways. A deep ditch led along +by the side of the road, but this the enraged animal had not noticed. +Into it he went, kicking and fighting, pieces of Phil’s yellow robe +streaming from his hoofs. + +The lad’s body was half under the neck of the pony, but he was clinging +to the neck and the nose of the beast with desperate courage. + +“Get the boy out of there!” thundered Mr. Sparling, dashing up and +leaping from his pony. “Want to let him be killed?” + +By this time others had ridden up, and some of the real horsemen in the +outfit sprang off and rushed to Phil Forrest’s assistance. Ropes were +cast over the flying hoofs before the men thought it wise to get near +them. Then they hauled Phil out, very much the worse for wear. + +In the meantime Mr. Sparling’s carriage had driven up and he was +helping the woman in. + +“Is the boy hurt?” he called. + +“No, I’m all right, thank you,” answered Phil, smiling bravely, though +he was bruised from head to foot and his clothing hung in tatters. His +peaked clown’s cap someone picked up in a field over the fence and +returned to him. That was about all that was left of Phil Forrest’s +gaudy makeup, save the streaks on his face, which by now had become +blotches of white and red. + +The clowns picked him up and boosted him to the wagon, jabbering like a +lot of sparrows perched on a telephone wire. + +“See you later!” shouted the voice of Mr. Sparling as he drove rapidly +away. + +Phil found his horn, and despite his aches and pains he began blowing +it lustily. The story of his brave rescue had gone on ahead, however, +and as the clowns’ wagon moved on it was greeted by tremendous +applause. + +The onlookers had no difficulty in picking out the boy who had saved +the woman’s life, and somehow the word had been passed around as to his +identity. + +“Hooray for Phil Forrest!” shouted the multitude. + +Phil flushed under the coating of powder and paint, and sought to +crouch down in the wagon out of sight. + +“Here, get up there where they can see you!” admonished a clown. “If +you’re going to be a showman you mustn’t be afraid to get yourself in +the spotlight.” + +Two of them hoisted the blushing Phil to their shoulders and broke into +a rollicking song, swaying their bodies in imitation of the movements +of an elephant as they sang. + +At this the populace fairly howled with delight. + +“He’s the boy, even if he ain’t purty to look at,” jeered someone in +the crowd. + +“Handsome is as handsome does!” retorted a clown in a loud voice, and +the people cheered. + +After this the parade went on without further incident, though there +could be no doubt that the exciting dash and rescue by one of their own +boys had aroused the town to a high pitch of excitement. And the +showmen smiled, for they knew what that meant. + +“Bet we’ll have a turn-away this afternoon,” announced a clown. + +“Looks that way,” agreed another, “and all on account of the kid.” + +“What’s a turn-away?” asked Phil. + +“That’s when there are more people want to get in than the tent will +hold. And it means, too, that the boss will be good natured till it +rains again, and the wagons get stuck in the mud so that we’ll make the +next town behind time. At such times he can make more noise than the +steam calliope.” + +“He seems to me to be a pretty fine sort of a man, even if he is +gruff,” suggested Phil. + +“The best ever,” agreed several clowns. “You’ll look a long way before +you’ll find a better showman, or a better man to his help, than Jim +Sparling. Ever been in the show business, kid?” + +Phil shook his head. + +“Anybody’d think you always had been, the way you take hold of things. +I’ll bet you’ll be in it before you are many years older.” + +“I’d like to,” glowed the lad. + +“Ask the boss.” + +“No, he wouldn’t want me. There is nothing I could do now, I guess.” + +Further conversation was interrupted by the bugle’s song announcing the +disbanding of the parade, the right of the line having already reached +the circus lot. + +The clowns piled from the hayrack like a cataract, the cataract having +all the colors of the rainbow. + +Phil, not to be behind, followed suit, though he did not quite +understand what the rush was about. He ran until he caught up with +Miaco. + +“What’s the hurry about?” he questioned. + +“Parade’s over. Got to hurry and get dinner, so as to be ready for the +afternoon performance.” + +All hands were heading for the dressing tent in a mad rush. + +Phil was halted by the assistant manager. + +The lad glanced down rather sheepishly at his costume, which was +hanging in tatters, then up at the quizzically smiling face of the +showman. + +“I—I’m sorry I’ve spoiled it, sir, but I couldn’t help it.” + +“Don’t worry about that, young man. How did it happen?” he questioned, +pretending not to know anything about the occurrence in which Phil had +played a leading part. + +“Well, you see, there was a horse ran away, and I happened to get in +the way of it. I—” + +“Yes, Forrest, I understand all about it. Somebody did something to +that animal to make it run away and the boss is red headed over it.” + +“I—I didn’t.” + +“No, that’s right. It was lucky that there was one person in the parade +who had some sense left, or there would have been a dead woman with +this outfit,” growled the assistant. + +“Was she badly hurt?” + +“No. Only bruised up a bit. These show people get used to hard knocks.” + +“I’m glad she is all right. Who is she?” + +“Don’t you know?” + +“No.” + +“That was Mr. Sparling’s wife whose life you saved, and I reckon the +boss will have something to say to you when he gets sight of you +again.” + + + + +CHAPTER VII. +MAKING FRIENDS WITH THE ELEPHANTS + + +“Is it possible? I didn’t know that,” marveled the boy. “And does she +perform?” + +“Everybody works in this outfit, young man,” laughed the assistant, “as +you will learn if you hang around long enough. Going to the show?” + +“Yes, sir.” + +“Got seats?” + +“Mr. Sparling provided me with tickets, thank you. But I’ve got to get +home first and put on some other clothes. This suit is about done for, +isn’t it?” + +“I should say it was. You did that stopping the horse, didn’t you?” + +Phil nodded. + +“Boss will buy you a new suit for that.” + +“Oh, no; I couldn’t allow him to do that,” objected Phil. + +“Well, you are a queer youngster. So long. I’ll see you when you come +in this afternoon. Wait, let me see your tickets.” + +The lad handed them over wonderingly, at which his questioner nodded +approvingly. + +“They’re good seats. Hope you will enjoy the show.” + +“Thank you; I am sure I shall,” answered Phil, touching his hat and +starting on a run for home. + +Arriving there, Mrs. Cahill met him and threw up her hands in horror +when she observed the condition of his clothes. + +“I am afraid they are gone for good,” grinned Phil rather ruefully. + +“No. You leave them with me. I’ll fix them up for you. I heard how you +saved that show woman’s life. That was fine, my boy. I’m proud of you, +that I am. You did more than all those circus men could do, and the +whole town is talking about it.” + +“If you are going to the show you had better be getting ready,” urged +Phil, wishing to change the subject. + +“All right, I will. I’ll fix your clothes when I get back. Will you be +home to supper?” + +“I don’t know for sure. If I can I’ll be back in time, but please don’t +wait for me. Here is your ticket.” + +The lad hurried to the room the good woman had set aside for him and +quickly made the change of clothing. He was obliged to change +everything he had on, for even his shirt had been torn in his battle +with the broncho. After bathing and putting on the fresh clothes, Phil +hurried from the house, that he might miss nothing of the show. + +The sideshow band was blaring brazenly when he reached the lot. The +space in front of the main entrance was packed with people, many of +whom pointed to him, nodding their heads and directing the attention of +their companions to the lad. + +Phil wished he might be able to skulk in by the back door and thus +avoid their attention, but as this was impossible, he pulled his hat +down over his eyes and worked his way slowly toward the front of the +crowd. + +Getting near the entrance, he saw Mr. Sparling’s assistant. The latter, +chancing to catch sight of Phil, motioned him to crawl under the ropes +and come in. The boy did so gratefully. + +“The doors are not open yet, but you may go in. You will have time to +look over the animals before the crowd arrives, then you can reach your +seat before the others get in. Please let me see those checks once +more.” + +The assistant made a mental note of the section and number of the seats +for future reference and handed back the coupons. + +Phil stole into the menagerie tent, relieved to be away from the gaze +and comments of the crowd that was massed in front. + +“Gracious, I’m afraid I wouldn’t make a very good circus man. I hate to +have everybody looking at me as if I were some natural or unnatural +curiosity. Wonder if I will know any of the show people when they are +made up, as they call it, and performing in the ring? I shouldn’t +wonder if they didn’t know me in my best clothes, though,” grinned the +boy. + +Phil had had the forethought to bring a few lumps of sugar in his +pocket. Entering the menagerie tent, he quickly made his way to the +place where the elephants were chained, giving each one of the big +beasts a lump. He felt no fear of them and permitted them to run their +sensitive trunks over him and into his pockets, where they soon found +the rest of the sugar. + +After disposing of the sweets, both beasts emitted a loud trumpeting. +At such close quarters the noise they made seemed to shake the ground. + +“Why do they do that?” questioned Phil of the keeper. + +“That’s their way of thanking you for the sugar. You’ve made friends of +both of them for life. They’ll never forget you, even if they don’t see +you for several seasons.” + +“Do they like peanuts?” + +“Do they? Just try them.” + +Phil ran to a snack stand at the opposite side of the tent and bought +five cents’ worth of peanuts, then hurried back to the elephants with +the package. + +“What are their names?” + +“The big one is Emperor and the smaller one is called Jupiter,” +answered the keeper, who had already recognized his young visitor. + +“Are they ever ugly?” + +“Never have been. But you can’t tell. An elephant is liable to go bad +most any time, then you—” + +“But how can you tell, or can’t you?” + +“Most always, unless they are naturally bad.” + +“How do you know?” + +“See that little slit on the cheek up there?” + +“Yes,” said Phil, peering at the great jowls wonderingly. + +“Well, several days before they get in a tantrum you will see a few +tear drops—that’s what I call them—oozing from that little slit. I +don’t know whether it’s water on the brain or what it is. But when you +see the tear drops you want to get from under and chain Mr. Elephant +down as quickly as possible. + +“That is strange.” + +“Very. But it’s a sure sign. Never knew it to fail, and I’ve known some +elephants in my time. But Emperor and Jupiter never have shed a tear +drop since I’ve known them. They are not the crying kind, you know.” + +The lad nodded understandingly. + +“How about the lions and the tigers—can you tell when they are going to +have bad spells?” + +“Well,” reflected the showman, “it’s safe to say that they’ve always +got a grouch on. The cats are always—” + +“Cats?” + +“Yes. All that sort of animals belong to the cat family and they’ve got +only one ambition in life.” + +“What’s that?” + +“To kill somebody or something.” + +“But their keepers—don’t they become fond of their keepers or +trainers?” + +The elephant tender laughed without changing the expression of his +face. His laugh was all inside of him, as Phil characterized it. + +“Not they! They may be afraid of their keeper, but they would as soon +chew him up as anybody else—I guess they would rather, for they’ve +always got a bone to pick with him.” + +“Do any of the men go in the cages and make the animals perform here?” + +“Oh, yes. Wallace, the big lion over there, performs every afternoon +and night. So does the tiger in the cage next to him.” + +Phil had dumped the bag of peanuts into his hat, which he held out +before him while talking. Two squirming trunks had been busy conveying +the peanuts to the pink mouths of their owners, so that by the time +Phil happened to remember what he had brought them, there was not a nut +left in the hat. + +He glanced up in surprise. + +“Emperor, you are a greedy old elephant,” laughed Phil, patting the +trunk. + +Emperor trumpeted loudly, and the call was immediately taken up even +more loudly by his companion. + +“No, you can’t have any more,” chided Phil. “You will have indigestion +from what you’ve already eaten, I’m afraid. Behave, and I’ll bring you +some more tonight if I come to the show,” he laughed. + +Two caressing trunks touched his hands, then traveled gently over his +cheeks. They tickled, but Phil did not flinch. + +“You could do most anything with them now, you see,” nodded the keeper. +“They’d follow you home if I would let them.” + +“Especially if my pockets were full of sweets.” + +“There’s the animal trainer getting ready to go into the lion cage, if +you want to see him,” the attendant informed him. + +“Yes, I should like to. And thank you very much for your kindness.” + +“You’re welcome. Come around again.” + +The boy hurried over to the lion cage. The people were now crowding +into the menagerie tent in throngs. There seemed to Phil to be +thousands already there. But all eyes now being centered on Wallace’s +cage, they had no time to observe Phil, for which he was duly thankful. + +The animal trainer, clad in red tights, his breast covered with +spangles, was already at the door of the cage, whip in hand. When a +sufficient crowd had gathered about him, he opened the door, and, +entering the cage threw wide the iron grating that shut Wallace off +from the door end of the wagon. The big lion bounded out with a roar +that caused the people to crowd back instinctively. + +Then the trainer began putting the savage beast through its paces, +causing it to leap over his whip, jump through paper hoops, together +with innumerable other tricks that caused the spectators to open their +mouths in wonder. All the time Wallace kept up a continual snarling, +interspersed now and then with a roar that might have been heard a +quarter of a mile away. + +This was a part of the exhibition, as Phil shrewdly discovered. The boy +was a natural showman, though unaware of the fact. He noted all the +little fine points of the trainer’s work with as much appreciation as +if he had himself been an animal trainer. + +“I half believe I should like to try that myself,” was his mental +conclusion. “But I should want to make the experiment on a very little +lion at first. If I got out with a whole skin I might want to tackle +something bigger. I wonder if he is going into the tiger cage?” + +As if in answer to his question, an announcer shouted out the +information that the trainer would give an exhibition in the cage of +the tiger just before the evening performance. + +“I’ll have to see that,” muttered Phil. “Guess I had better get in and +find my seat now.” + +At the same time the crowd, understanding that the lion performance was +over, began crowding into the circus tent. + +The band inside swung off into a sprightly tune and Phil could scarcely +repress the inclination to keep time to it with his feet. Altogether, +things were moving pretty well with Phil Forrest. They had done so ever +since he left home the day before. In that one day he had had more fun +than had come to him in many years. + +But his happy day would soon be ended. He sighed as he thought of it. +Then his face broke out into a sunny smile as he caught a glimpse of +the ropes and apparatus, seen dimly through the afternoon haze, in the +long circus tent. + +As he gained the entrance between the two large tents he saw the silk +curtains at the far end of the circus arena fall apart, while a troop +of gayly caparisoned horses and armored riders suddenly appeared +through the opening. + +The grand entry was beginning. + +“Gracious, here the show has begun and I am not anywhere near my seat,” +he exclaimed. “But, if I am going to be late I won’t be alone. There +are a whole lot more of us that were too much interested in the animal +trainer to think to come in and get our seats. I guess I had better +run. I—” + +Phil started to run, but he got no further than the start. + +All at once his waist was encircled in a powerful grip and he felt his +feet leaving the ground. Phil was being raised straight up into the air +by some strange force, the secret of which he did not understand. + + + + +CHAPTER VIII. +IN THE SAWDUST ARENA + + +The lad repressed an inclination to cry out, for the thing that had +encircled his waist and raised him up seemed to be tightening about +him. + +A familiar voice just behind him served to calm Phil’s disquieted +nerves. + +“Don’t be frightened, kid. It’s only Emperor having a little joke. He’s +a funny fellow,” said the elephant’s attendant. + +Phil had read somewhere that elephants possessed a keen sense of humor, +and now he was sure of it. But he never thought he would have an +opportunity to have the theory demonstrated on himself. + +The elephants were on their way to participate in the grand entry, and +there was not a minute to spare now. Emperor on his way into the other +tent had come across his new-found friend and recognized him instantly, +while Phil had not even heard the approach of the elephants. + +No sooner had the elephant discovered the lad than he picked him up +with his trunk, slowly hoisting the boy high in the air. + +“Steady, Emperor! Steady!” cautioned the attendant. But Emperor needed +no admonition to deal gently with his young friend. He handled Phil +with almost the gentleness of a mother lifting a babe. + +Phil Forrest experienced a thrill that ran all through him when he +realized what was taking place. + +“We can’t stop to put you down now, my boy. You’ll have to go through +the performance with us. Grab the head harness when he lets you down on +his head. You can sit on the head without danger, but keep hold of the +harness with one hand. I’ll bet you’ll make a hit.” + +“I will if I fall off,” answered Phil a bit unsteadily. + +As it was, the unusual motion made him a little giddy. + +“That’s a good stunt. Stick to him, Forrest,” directed a voice as they +swept on toward the ring. + +The voice belonged to Mr. Sparling, the owner of the show. He was quick +to grasp the value of Phil’s predicament—that is, its value to the show +as a drawing card. + +By now the people began to understand that something unusual was going +on, and they asked each other what it was all about. + +“It’s Phil Forrest riding the elephant,” shouted one of the lad’s +school friends, recognizing him all at once. “Hooray for Phil!” + +There were many of the pupils from his school there, and the howling +and shouting that greeted him made the lad’s cheeks burn. But now, +instead of wanting to crawl under something and hide, Phil felt a +thrill of pleasure, of pride in the achievement that was denied to all +the rest of his friends. + +The inspiring music of the circus band, too, added to his exhilaration. +He felt like throwing up his hands and shouting. + +Suddenly he felt something tugging at his coat pocket, and glancing +down gave a start as he discovered the inquisitive trunk of Emperor +thrust deep down in the pocket. + +When the trunk came away it brought with it a lump of sugar that Phil +did not know he possessed. The sugar was promptly conveyed to the +elephant’s mouth, the beast uttering a loud scream of satisfaction. + +“Emperor, you rascal!” laughed Phil, patting the beast on the head. + +Once more the trunk curled up in search of more sugar, but a stern +command from the trainer caused the beast to lower it quickly. The time +for play had passed. The moment had arrived for Emperor to do his work +and he was not the animal to shirk his act. In fact, he seemed to +delight in it. All elephants work better when they have with them some +human being or animal on which they have centered their affections. +Sometimes it is a little black and tan dog, sometimes a full-grown man. +In this instance it happened to be a boy, and that boy Phil Forrest. + +“Waltz!” commanded the trainer. + +If Phil’s head had swum before, it spun like a top now. Round and round +pirouetted the huge beasts, keeping in perfect step with the music of +the band, and tighter and tighter did the lad grip the head harness of +old Emperor. Phil closed his eyes after a little because he had grown +so dizzy that he feared he would fall off. + +“Hang on, kid. It’ll be Christmas by and by,” comforted the trainer +humorously. + +“That’s what I am trying to do,” answered Phil a bit unsteadily. + +“How’s your head?” + +“Whirling like a merry-go-round.” + +He heard the trainer chuckling. + +The spectators were shouting out Phil’s name all over the big tent. + +“Fine, fine!” chuckled James Sparling, rubbing his palms together. +“That ought to fill the tent tonight.” + +The spectators realized, too, that they were being treated to something +not down on the bills and their shouts and laughter grew louder and +louder. + +“Do you think you could stand up on his head?” came the voice of the +trainer just loud enough for Phil to hear. + +“Me? Stand on the elephant’s head?” + +“Yes. Think you can do it?” + +“If I had a net underneath to catch me, maybe I’d try it.” + +“Emperor won’t let you fall. When I give the word he’ll wrap his trunk +around your legs. That will hold you steady from the waist down. If you +can keep the rest of yourself from lopping over you’ll be all right. +It’ll make a hit—see if it don’t.” + +“I—I’ll try it.” + +“Wait till I give the word, then get up on all fours, but don’t +straighten up till you feel the trunk about you. We’ll make a showman +of you before you know it.” + +“I seem to be the whole show as it is,” grumbled Phil. + +“You are, just now—you and Emperor. Good thing the other performers are +not in the ring, or they would all be jealous of you.” + +“I wish Uncle Abner could see me now. Wouldn’t he be mad!” grinned +Phil, as the memory of his crabbed relative came back to him. “He’d +come right out after me with his stick, he’d be so angry. But I guess +Emperor wouldn’t let him touch me,” decided the boy proudly, with an +affectionate pat to which the elephant responded with a cough that +sounded not unlike the explosion of a dynamite cartridge. + +“All ready now. Don’t be afraid. Hold each position till I give you the +word to change it.” + +“Ready,” announced the lad. + +“Emperor! Jupiter!” + +The twitching of a ponderous ear of each animal told that they had +heard and understood. + +“Rise!” + +Phil had scrambled to all fours. + +“Hold him, Emperor!” + +The great trunk curled up, ran over the boy’s legs and twined about +them. + +“Up you go, kid!” + +Phil raised himself fearlessly, straightened and stood full upon his +feet. That strong grip on his legs gave him confidence and told him he +had nothing to fear. All he would have to do would be to keep his ears +open for the trainer’s commands both to himself and the beast, and he +would be all right. + +He felt himself going up again. + +The sensation was something akin to that which Phil had once +experienced when jumping off a haystack. He felt as if his whole body +were being tickled by straws. + +The elephants were rising on their hind legs, uttering shrill screams +and mighty coughs, as if enraged over the humiliation that was being +put upon them. + +It seemed to Phil as if Emperor would never stop going up until the +lad’s head was against the top of the tent. He ventured to look down. + +What a distance it was! Phil hastily directed his glances upward. + +At last the elephant had risen as high as he could go. He was standing +almost straight up and down, and on his head the slender figure of the +boy appeared almost unreal to those off on the seats. + +Thunders of applause swept over the assemblage. People rose up in their +seats, the younger ones hurling hats high in the air and uttering +catcalls and shrill whistles, until pandemonium reigned under the “big +top,” as the circus tent proper is called by the showmen. + +“Swing your hat at them!” + +The trainer had to shout to make himself heard, and as it was Phil +caught the words as from afar off. + +He took off his soft hat and waved it on high, gazing wonderingly off +over the seats. He could distinguish nothing save a waving, undulating +mass of moving life and color. + +It was intoxicating. And Phil Forrest went suddenly dizzy again. + +“I’m losing my head,” rebuked the lad. “If I don’t pull myself together +I shall surely fall off. Then they will have something to laugh at +rather than to applaud.” + +He took himself firmly in hand. But the applause did not abate one +whit. + +“Watch out, we’re going down,” warned the trainer. + +“Right!” + +The elephant trainer’s command came out like the crack of a +ringmaster’s whip. + +Slowly the great beasts lowered themselves toward the sawdust ring. + +“Stoop over and grab the harness!” + +Phil did so. + +“Sit! Let go, Emperor!” + +The trunk was released instantly and Phil plumped to the beast’s head +once more, amid the wildest applause. + +The band swung into another tune, which was the signal for the next act +to be brought on. At the same time the ringmaster blew a shrill blast +on his whistle. + +The trainer left the ring with his charges by an exit that he seldom +departed through. But he did so in order to leave Phil near the place +where his seats were, first having ascertained where these were +located. + +“Put him down, Emperor! Down, I say!” + +Emperor reached up an unwilling trunk, grasped Phil about the waist and +stood him on the ground. At the trainer’s command the beast released +his hold of his friend and as the hook was gently pressed against his +side to hurry him, Emperor started reluctantly away. + +Phil, with flushed face, a happy look in his eyes, had turned to run up +the aisle to his seats, when, with a loud trumpeting, Emperor wheeled, +and breaking away from his trainer, swept down toward the spot where he +had left Phil Forrest. + +The movement almost threw those in that section into a panic. Women +screamed, believing the animal had suddenly gone crazy, while men +sprang to their feet. + +Phil had turned at the first alarm, and, observing what was taking +place, with rare presence of mind trotted down to the arena again. + +He reached there about the same time that Emperor did. + +With a shrill scream Emperor threw his long trunk about the lad, and +before Phil had time to catch his breath, he had been hurled to the +elephant’s back. + +Uttering loud trumpetings the great elephant started on a swift shamble +for his quarters, giving not the slightest heed to his trainer’s +commands to halt. + + + + +CHAPTER IX. +GETTING HIS FIRST CALL + + +“Let him go. Emperor won’t hurt me,” laughed Phil as soon as he could +get his breath, for he was moving along at a pace which would have +meant a tumble to the ground had the elephant not supported the lad +with its trunk. + +The audience soon seeing that no harm had come to the boy, set up +another roar, which was still loud in Phil’s ears when Emperor set his +burden down after reaching the elephant quarters in the menagerie tent. + +“You’re a bad boy. Get down, sir, and let me off,” chided Phil. + +The elephant, to his surprise, cautiously let himself down to his +knees, his trunk at the same time reaching out surreptitiously for a +wisp of fresh grass. + +Phil slipped off, laughing heartily. He had lost all fear of the great, +hulking beast. + +“Don’t punish him, please,” begged the boy when the keeper came +hurrying along with Jupiter. “But if you will make him let me alone, +I’ll go in the other tent. I want to see the circus.” + +“Wait a moment. I’ll chain him up.” + +The keeper soon had Emperor fast. Then after a final affectionate +petting Phil ran lightly to the other tent and quickly made his way to +his seat. The people were so engrossed in the acts in the ring that +they did not observe the boy particularly this time. + +“Did I make a show of myself, Mrs. Cahill?” questioned the lad, with +sparkling eyes. + +“You did not. You were as handsome as a picture. There isn’t one of all +those people that looks so handsome or so manly as—” + +“Please, please, Mrs. Cahill!” begged the lad, blushing violently. +“Have you seen anything of my friend Teddy? I had forgotten all about +him.” + +“That looks like him down there.” + +“Where?” + +“There, leaning against that pole,” she pointed. + +Phil gazed in the direction indicated, and there, sure enough, was +Teddy Tucker leaning carelessly against the center pole. He had no +right to be there, as Phil well knew, and he watched with amused +interest for the moment when the other boy’s presence would be +discovered. + +It came shortly afterwards. All at once the ringmaster fixed a cold eye +on Teddy. + +“Hey, you!” + +Teddy gave no heed to him. + +“Get out of there! Think you own this show?” + +The lad made believe that he did not hear. + +The ringmaster’s long whip lash curled through the air, going off with +a crack that sounded as if a pistol had been fired, and within an inch +of Teddy’s nose. + +Teddy sprang back, slapping a hand to his face, believing that he had +been hit. Then there followed a series of disconcerting snaps all +around his head as the long lash began to work, but so skillfully was +it wielded that the end of it did not touch him. + +But Teddy had had enough. He turned and ran for the seats. + +“Come up here,” cried Phil, laughing immoderately. “Here’s a seat right +beside us and there won’t be any ringmaster to bother you.” + +Considerably crestfallen, the lad climbed up to where Phil and Mrs. +Cahill were sitting. + +“You mustn’t go down there, you know, Teddy. They don’t allow outsiders +in the ring while the performance is going on. Someone might get hurt—” + +“They let you in,” bristled Teddy. + +“That was different. They couldn’t help themselves, and neither could +I. Emperor took me in whether I would or not; and, in fact, I didn’t +know I was going till I was halfway there.” + +Phil’s companion surveyed him with admiration. + +“My, but you did cut a figure up on that elephant’s head! I should have +been afraid.” + +“There was nothing to be afraid of. But let’s watch the performance. +There’s a trapeze act going on now.” + +For a few moments the lads watched the graceful bodies of the +performers slipping through the air. One would swing out from his +perch, flying straight into the arms of his fellow-performer who was +hanging head down from another swinging bar. On the return sweep the +first performer would catch his own bar and return to his perch. + +“Looks easy. I’ll bet I could do that,” nodded Teddy. + +Phil shook his head. + +“Not so easy as it looks.” + +“How much do you suppose they get—think they must get as much as a +dollar and a half a day for doing that? I’d do it for a dollar, if I +could,” averred the irrepressible Teddy Tucker. + +“They get a good many more dollars than that, Teddy. I’ve heard that +some of them get all of twenty-five or thirty dollars a week.” + +Phil’s companion whistled. + +The next act was a bareback riding exhibition, by a pretty, graceful +young woman whom the ringmaster introduced as Mademoiselle Mora. + +At the crack of the whip she sprang lightly to the back of the gray old +ring horse and began a series of feats that made the boys sit forward +in their seats. + +At the conclusion of the act Mademoiselle Mora ran out to the edge of +the ring, and blowing a kiss at the blushing Phil, tripped away on +fairy feet for the dressing tent. + +“Did you see her? She bowed to me?” exclaimed Teddy enthusiastically. + +“Guess she didn’t see you at all, young man,” replied Mrs. Cahill +dryly. “There’s others in the tent besides you, even if the ringmaster +did crack his whip in your face and just miss your nose.” + +A clown came out and sang a song about a boy who had rescued a +beautiful young woman from a runaway horse and got kidnaped by an +elephant. The song made a hit, for most of the audience understood that +it referred to Phil Forrest. + +And so the performance went on, with a glitter and a crash, a haze of +yellow dust hanging like a golden cloud in the afternoon sun, over +spectators and performers alike. + +“Hello, there’s Rod!” exclaimed Teddy. + +“Who?” + +“Rod. The red-haired kid we saw this morning, only his hair is black +now. He’s covered up his own looks so he won’t set the tent on fire.” + +“Oh, you mean Rodney Palmer? Yes, I guess that is he.” + +“See, they’re pulling him up on a rope. I wonder where he is going?” + +“To those flying rings,” explained Phil. “And there is a young woman +going up, too.” + +One after another was pulled up, until a troupe of four had ascended +and swung off to the rings that were suspended far up there in the +haze. + +Both Phil and Teddy were more than ordinarily interested in this act, +for they were no mean performers on the rings themselves. In the +schoolyard an apparatus had been rigged with flying rings, and on this +the boys had practiced untiringly during the spring months, until they +had both become quite proficient. + +“Isn’t he great?” breathed Teddy, as Rodney Palmer swung out into the +air, letting his legs slip through the rings until only his toes were +hanging to the slender support. + +“Yes; he certainly does do it fine.” + +“We can do it just as well.” + +“Perhaps, but not so gracefully.” + +“See, he’s swinging his hand at us.” + +Sure enough, Rodney had picked out the two lads, and was smiling at +them and waving a hand in their direction. The two lads felt very proud +of this, knowing as they did that they were the envy of every boy of +their acquaintance within sight of them. + +The climax of the act was when the young woman seemed to plunge +straight down toward the ground. + +The women in the audience uttered sharp little cries of alarm. But the +performer was not falling. Strong slender ropes had been fastened to +her heels, the other ends being held by one of the performers who was +hanging from the rings. + +As a result the falling girl’s flight was checked just before she +reached the ground and the spectators breathed a sigh of profound +relief. + +“My, that was great! I wouldn’t want to do that.” + +“No, you’re too heavy, Teddy. That’s why they have a girl do it. She is +slender and light—” + +“I’d be light headed.” + +“Guess, I would, too,” laughed Phil. + +At this juncture an attendant came running up the steps, halting before +the lads. + +“Are you Phil Forrest?” he asked. + +“Yes.” + +“The boss wants to see you.” + +“Mr. Sparling? All right. I wanted to see the rest of the show, but +I’ll go.” Phil rose reluctantly and followed the guide. “I’ll meet you +by the ticket wagon if I don’t get back here, Teddy,” he said. + + + + +CHAPTER X. +PHIL GETS A SURPRISE + + +“Where will I find Mr. Sparling?” + +“In the doghouse.” + +“Where’s that?” + +“Out back of the ticket wagon. It’s a little A tent, and we call it the +boss’s doghouse, because it’s only big enough to hold a couple of St. +Bernards.” + +“Oh! What does he want of me?” + +“Ask him,” grinned the attendant, who, it developed, was an usher in +the reserved-seat section. “He don’t tell us fellows his business. Say, +that was a great stunt you did with Emperor.” + +“Oh, I don’t know.” + +“I do. There’s the doghouse over there. See it?” + +“Yes, thank you.” + +The attendant leaving him, Phil walked on alone to Mr. Sparling’s +private office, for such was the use to which he put the little tent +that the usher had called the “doghouse.” + +“I wonder what he can want of me?” mused Phil. “Probably he wants to +thank me for stopping that pony. I hope he doesn’t. I don’t like to be +thanked. And it wasn’t much of anything that I did anyway. Maybe he’s +going to—but what’s the use of guessing?” + +The lad stepped up to the tent, the flaps of which were closed. He +stretched out his hand to knock, then grinned sheepishly. + +“I forgot you couldn’t knock at a tent door. I wonder how visitors +announce themselves, anyway.” + +His toe, at that moment, chanced to touch the tent pole and that gave +him an idea. Phil tapped against the pole with his foot. + +“Come in!” bellowed the voice of the owner of the show. + +Phil entered, hat in hand. At the moment the owner was busily engaged +with a pile of bills for merchandise recently purchased at the local +stores, and he neither looked up nor spoke. + +Phil stood quietly waiting, noting amusedly the stern scowl that +appeared to be part of Mr. Sparling’s natural expression. + +“Well, what do you want?” he demanded, with disconcerting suddenness. + +“I—I was told that you had sent for me, that you wanted to see me,” +began the lad, with a show of diffidence. + +“So I did, so I did.” + +The showman hitched his camp chair about so he could get a better look +at his visitor. He studied Phil from head to foot with his usual scowl. + +“Sit down!” + +“On the ground, sir?” + +“Ground? No, of course not. Where’s that chair? Oh, my lazy tent man +didn’t open it. I’ll fire him the first place we get to where he won’t +be likely to starve to death. I hear you’ve been trying to put my show +out of business.” + +“I wasn’t aware of it, sir,” replied Phil, looking squarely at his +questioner. “Perhaps I was not wholly blameless in attaching myself to +Emperor.” + +“Huh!” grunted Mr. Sparling, but whether or not it was a grunt of +disapproval, Phil could not determine. + +“So you’re not living at home?” + +“I have no home now, sir.” + +“Just so, just so. Brought up in refined surroundings, parents dead, +crabbed old uncle turned you out of doors for reasons best known to +himself—” + +Phil was amazed. + +“You seem to know all about me, sir.” + +“Of course. It’s my business to know something about everything. I +ought to thank you for getting Mrs. Sparling out of that mix-up this +morning, but I’ll let her do that for herself. She wants to see you +after the performance.” + +“I don’t like to be thanked, Mr. Sparling, though I should like to know +Mrs. Sparling,” said Phil boldly. + +“Neither do I, neither do I. Emperor has gone daffy over you. What did +you feed him?” + +“Some sugar and peanuts. That was all.” + +“Huh! You ought to be a showman.” + +“I have always wanted to be, Mr. Sparling.” + +“Oh, you have, eh?” + +“Yes, sir.” + +“Well, why don’t you?” + +“I have never had the opportunity.” + +“You mean you’ve never looked for an opportunity. There are always +opportunities for everything, but we have to go after them. You’ve been +going after them today for the first time, and you’ve nailed one of +them clear up to the splice of the center pole. Understand?” + +“Not entirely, sir.” + +“Well, do you want to join out with the Great Sparling Combined Shows, +or don’t you?” + +“You mean—I join the—the—” + +Mr. Sparling was observing him narrowly. + +“I said, would you like to join our show?” + +“I should like it better than anything else in the world.” + +“Sign this contract, then,” snapped the showman, thrusting a paper +toward Phil Forrest, at the same time dipping a pen in the ink bottle +and handing it to him. + +“You will allow me to read it first, will you not?” + +“Good! That’s the way I like to hear a boy talk. Shows he’s got some +sense besides what he’s learned in books at some—well, never mind.” + +“What—what is this, ten dollars a week?” gasped Phil, scarcely able to +believe his eyes as he looked at the paper. + +“That’s what the contract says, doesn’t it?” + +“Yes, sir.” + +“Then, that’s what it is. Traveling expenses and feed included. You are +an easy keeper?” + +“Well, I don’t eat quite as much as a horse, if that’s what you mean,” +laughed Phil. + +“Huh!” + +After reading the contract through, the lad affixed his signature to it +with trembling hand. It was almost too good to be true. + +“Thank you, sir,” he said, laying the paper before Mr. Sparling. + +“And now, my lad,” added the showman more mildly, “let me give you some +advice. Some folks look upon circus people as rough and intemperate. +That day’s past. When a man gets bad habits he’s of no further use in +the circus business. He closes mighty quick. Remember that.” + +“Yes, sir. You need not worry about my getting into any such trouble.” + +“I don’t, or I wouldn’t take you. And another thing: Don’t get it into +your head, as a good many show people do, that you know more about +running the business than the boss does. He might not agree with you. +It’s a bad thing to disagree with the boss, eh?” + +“I understand, sir.” + +“You’d better.” + +“What do you want me to do? I don’t know what I can do to earn that +salary, but I am willing to work at whatever you may put me to—” + +“That’s the talk. I was waiting for you to come to that. But leave the +matter to me. You’ll have a lot of things to do, after you get your +bearings and I find out what you can do best. As it is, you have earned +your salary for the first season whether you do anything else or not. +You saved the big cat and you probably saved my wife’s life, but we’ll +let that pass. When can you join out?” + +“I’m ready now, sir. I shall want to go home and get my things and my +books.” + +“Huh! That’s right. Take your time. We shan’t be pulling out of here +till after midnight, so you’d better go home and get ready. You’ll want +to bid good-bye to Mrs. Ca—Ca—Cahill.” + +“I wonder if there is anything that he doesn’t know about,” marveled +Phil. + +“Anything you want to ask me about—any favor you’d like? If there is, +get it out.” + +“Well, yes, there is, but I scarcely feel like asking it, you have been +so kind to me.” + +“Shucks!” + +“I—I have a little friend, who—who, like myself, has no parents and is +crazy over the circus. He wants to be a circus man just as much as I +do. If you had a place—if you could find something for him to do, I +should appreciate it very much.” + +“Who is he, that youngster with the clown face, who crawled in under +the tent this afternoon?” + +Phil laughed outright. + +“I presume so. That’s the way he usually gets in.” + +“Where is he now?” + +“Seeing the performance, sir.” + +“Nail him when he comes out. We’ll give him all the show he wants.” + +With profuse thanks Phil Forrest backed from the tent and walked +rapidly toward the entrance. It seemed to him as if he were walking on +air. + +“Let that boy through. He’s with the show now,” bellowed Mr. Sparling, +poking his head from the doghouse tent. + +The gateman nodded. + +“How soon will the performance be over?” inquired Phil, approaching the +gateman. + +“Ten minutes now.” + +“Then, I guess I won’t go in. I promised to meet Teddy over by the +ticket wagon anyway.” + +But Phil could not stand still. Thrusting his hands in his pockets he +began pacing back and forth, pondering deeply. He did not observe the +shrewd eyes of Mr. Sparling fixed upon him from behind the flap of the +little tent. + +“At last, at last!” mused Phil. “I’m a real live showman at last, but +what kind of a showman I don’t know. Probably they’ll make me help put +up the tents and take them down. But, I don’t care. I’ll do anything. +And think of the money I’ll earn. Ten dollars a week!” he exclaimed, +pausing and glancing up at the fluttering flags waving from center and +quarter poles. “Why, it’s a fortune! I shall be able to save most all +of it, too. Oh, I’m so happy!” + +“They’re coming out,” called the gateman to him. + +“Thank you.” + +Phil’s face was full of repressed excitement when Teddy came slouching +up to him. + +“Bully show,” announced the lad. “Didn’t know which way to look, there +was so much to be seen.” + +“How would you like to join the show and be a real circus man?” +demanded Phil. + +“Great!” + +“Maybe I can fix it for you.” + +“You?” + +“Yes.” + +“Don’t give me such a shock, Phil. You said it almost as if you meant +it.” + +“And I did.” + +Teddy gazed at his companion for a full minute. + +“Something’s been going on, I guess—something that I don’t seem to know +anything about.” + +“There has, Teddy. I’m already a showman. You come with me. Mr. +Sparling wants to speak with you. Don’t be afraid of him. He talks as +if he was mad all the time, but I’m sure he isn’t.” + +Grasping Teddy by the arm Phil rushed him into Mr. Sparling’s tent, +entering this time without knocking. + +“This is my friend whom I spoke to you about,” announced Phil, +thrusting Teddy up before the showman. + +Mr. Sparling eyed the lad suspiciously. + +“Want to join out, too, eh?” + +“I—I’d like to,” stammered Teddy. + +“Do your parents approve of your going with a show?” + +“I—I don’t know, sir.” + +“You’d better find out, then. Ask them mighty quick. This is no camp +meeting outfit that plays week stands.” + +“Can’t.” + +“Why not?” + +“’Cause they’re dead.” + +“Huh! Why didn’t you say so before?” + +“You didn’t ask me.” + +“You’re too smart, young man.” + +“Takes a smart man to be a circus man, doesn’t it?” + +“I guess you’re right at that,” answered the showman, his stern +features relaxing into a smile. “You’ll do. But you’d better not hand +out that line of sharp talk in bunches when you get with the show. It +might get you into trouble if you did.” + +“Yes, sir; I’ll be good.” + +“Now, you boys had better run along and make your preparations. You may +take your supper in the cook tent tonight if you wish. But you will +have to be on hand promptly, as they take down the cook tent first of +all.” + +“Thank you; we will,” answered Phil. + +“What act—what do I perform?” questioned Teddy, swelling with pride. + +“Perform?” + +“Yes.” + +“Ho, ho, ho!” + +“I’m going to be a performer and wear pink pants, ain’t I?” + +“A performer? Oh, that’s too good. Yes, my son, you shall be a +performer. How would you like to be a juggler?” + +“Fine!” + +“Then, I think I’ll let you juggle the big coffeepot in the cook tent +for the edification of the hungry roustabouts,” grinned Mr. Sparling. + +“What do I do?” + +“Do, young man—do?” + +“Yes, sir.” + +“Why, you stand by the coffee boiler in the cook tent, and when you +hear a waiter bawl ‘Draw one,’ at the same time throwing a pitcher at +you from halfway across the tent, you catch the pitcher and have it +filled and ready for him by the time he gets to you.” + +“Do I throw the pitcherful of coffee back at him?” questioned Teddy +innocently. + +“You might, but you wouldn’t be apt to try it a second time. You’d be +likely to get a resounding slap from the flat of his hand—” + +“I’d hit him on the nose if he did,” declared Teddy belligerently. + +Mr. Sparling could not resist laughing. + +“That’s not the way to begin. But you will learn. Follow your friend +Phil, here, and you will be all right if I am any judge of boys. I +ought to be, for I have boys of my own. You’d better be going now.” + +The two lads started off at a brisk pace. Phil to tell Mrs. Cahill of +his good fortune. Teddy to bid good-bye to the people with whom he had +been living as chore boy. + + + + +CHAPTER XI. +THE FIRST NIGHT WITH THE SHOW + + +“Teddy, you and I are a pair of lucky boys. Do you know it?” asked +Phil. + +Each, with his bag of belongings, was on his way to the circus lot, the +boys having bid good-bye to their friends in the village. + +The people with whom Teddy lived had given a reluctant consent to his +going with the circus, after he had explained that Phil Forrest had +gotten him the place and that Phil himself was going to join the show. +The lad told them he was going to make a lot of money and that someday +he would pay them for all they had done for him. And he kept his word +faithfully. + +“Maybe. I reckon Barnum & Bailey will be wanting us first thing we +know,” answered Teddy. + +“We shall be lucky if we hold on to the job we have already. Did Mr. +Sparling say what he would pay you?” + +“No, he didn’t think of that—at least I didn’t. Did he tell you how +much you were going to get?” + +Phil nodded. + +“How much?” + +“I don’t think I had better say,” answered the lad doubtfully. “If you +ask him and he tells you, of course that will be all right. I shall be +glad to do so then. It isn’t that I don’t want you to know, you +understand, but it might be better business, just now, to say nothing +about it,” added Phil, with a wisdom far beyond his years. + +“Dark secret, eh?” jeered Teddy Tucker. + +“No; there’s no secret about it. It is just plain business, that’s +all.” + +“Business! Huh! Who ever heard of a circus being business?” + +“You’ll find business enough when you get in, Teddy Tucker.” + +“Don’t believe it. It’s just good fun and that’s all.” + +They had reached the circus lot by this time and were now making their +way to Mr. Sparling’s tent. + +“We have come to report, sir,” announced Phil, entering the tent with +Teddy close behind him. “We are ready for work.” + +There was a proud ring in Phil Forrest’s voice as he made the +announcement. + +“Very well, boys. Hand your baggage over to the man at the baggage +wagon. If there is anything in either of your grips that you will want +during the night you had better get it out, for you will be unable to +get into the wagon after the show is on the road. That’s one of the +early wagons to move, too.” + +“I guess there is nothing except our tooth brushes and combs that we +shall need. We have those in our pockets.” + +“Better take a couple of towels along as well.” + +“Yes, sir; thank you.” + +“The cook tent is open. Go over and have your suppers now. Wait a +moment, I’ll go with you. They might not let you in. You see, they +don’t know you there yet.” + +Mr. Sparling, after closing and locking his trunk, escorted the lads to +the cook tent, where he introduced both to the manager of that +department. + +“Give them seats at the performers’ table for tonight,” he directed. +“They will be with the show from now on. Mr. Forrest here will remain +at that table, but the other, the Tucker boy, I shall probably turn +over to you for a coffee boy.” + +The manager nodded good naturedly, taking quick mental measure of the +two lads. + +The boys were directed to their seats, which they took, almost as if in +a dream. It was a new and unfamiliar experience to them. The odor of +the food, the sweet scents from the green grass underneath their feet, +all so familiar to the showman, gave Phil and Teddy appetites that even +a canvasman might have envied. + +The performers glanced at them curiously, some of the former nodding to +Phil, having recognized in him the boy who had ridden the elephant into +the arena in the grand entry. + +“Not so much after all, are they?” grunted Teddy. + +“They are all human beings like ourselves, I guess,” replied Phil. + +Stripped of their gaudy costumes and paint, the performers looked just +like other normal beings. But instead of talking about the show and +their work, they were discussing the news of the day, and it seemed to +the two lads to be more like a large family at supper than a crowd of +circus performers. + +Rodney Palmer nodded good naturedly to them from further up the long +table, but they had no more than time to nod back when a waiter +approached to take their orders. Teddy ordered pretty much everything +on the bill, while Phil was more modest in his demands. + +“Don’t eat everything they have,” he warned laughingly. + +“Plenty more where this came from. That’s one good thing about a show.” + +“What’s that?” + +“If the food gives out they can eat the animals.” + +“Better look out that the animals don’t make a meal of you.” + +“Joining out?” asked the man sitting next to Phil. + +“Yes, sir.” + +“Ring act?” + +“I don’t know yet what I am to do. Mr. Sparling is giving me a chance +to find out what I am good for, if anything,” smiled Phil. + +“Boss is all right,” nodded the circus man. “That was a good stunt you +did this afternoon. Why don’t you work that up?” + +“I—I’ll think about it.” Phil did not know exactly what was meant by +the expression, but it set him to thinking, and out of the suggestion +he was destined to “work up” something that was really worthwhile, and +that was to give him his first real start in the circus world. + +“What’s that funny-looking fellow over there doing?” interrupted Teddy. + +“That man down near the end of the table?” + +“Yes.” + +“That’s Billy Thorpe, the Armless Wonder,” the performer informed him. + +“And he hasn’t any hands?” wondered the boy. + +“Naturally not, not having any arms. He uses his feet for hands.” + +“What’s he doing now?” + +“Eating with his feet. He can use them almost as handily as you can +your hands. You should see Billy sew, and write and do other things. +Why, they say he writes the best foot of anybody in the show.” + +“Doesn’t he ever get cold feet?” questioned Teddy humorously. + +“Circus people are not afflicted with that ailment. Doesn’t go well +with their business.” + +“May I ask what you do?” inquired Phil. + +“I am the catcher in the principal trapeze act. You may have seen me +today. I think you were in the big top then.” + +“Oh, yes, I saw you this afternoon.” + +“How many people are with the show?” asked Teddy. + +“At a rough guess, I should say a hundred and fifty including canvasmen +and other labor help. It’s a pretty big organization for a road show, +the biggest in the country; but it’s small, so small it would be lost +if one of the big railroad shows was around.” + +“Is that another armless or footless wonder next to Billy Thorpe?” +asked Teddy. + +“It’s a freak, yes, but with hands and feet. That’s the living +skeleton, but if he keeps on eating the way he’s been doing lately the +boss will have to change the bills and bill him as the fattest man on +earth.” + +“Huh!” grunted Teddy. “He could crawl through a rat hole in a barn door +now. He’s thin enough to cut cheese with.” + +Phil gave his companion a vigorous nudge under the table. + +“You’ll get into trouble if you are so free in expressing your +opinions,” he whispered. “Don’t forget the advice Mr. Sparling gave +you.” + +“Apple or custard pie?” broke in the voice of the waiter. + +“Custard,” answered Phil. + +“Both for mine,” added Teddy. + +He got what he had ordered and without the least question, for the +Sparling show believed that the best way to make its people contented +was to feed them. + +Mr. Sparling and his assistants, Phil observed, occupied a table by +themselves. After he had finished the owner motioned to him to join +them, and there Mrs. Sparling made a place for him by her side and +thanked him briefly but warmly for his brave act. + +“I shall have to keep an eye on you two boys,” she smiled. “Any time I +can help you with advice or otherwise you come right to me. Don’t you +be backward about doing so, will you?” + +Phil assured her that he would not. + +The two lads after some further conversation strolled from the cook +tent. + +“I think I’ll go in and see how the animals are getting along,” decided +Phil, beginning to realize that he was free to go where he would and +without fear of being ordered off. + +Already people were gathering in front of the entrance for the night +performance. The doors were advertised to open at seven o’clock, so +that the spectators might have plenty of time in which to view the +collection of “rare and wonderful beasts, gathered from the remote +places of the earth,” as the announcer proclaimed from the vantage +point of a dry goods box. + +Phil bought a bag of peanuts and took them in to his friend Emperor, +the beast uttering a shrill cry of joy when he saw Phil approaching. + +“I’ll try to teach him my whistle,” said the boy, puckering his lips +and giving the signal that the boys of his school used in summoning +each other. + +“Think he’ll remember that, Mr. Kennedy?” he asked of the trainer. + +“Never forget it, will you, Emperor?” + +The elephant coughed. + +“Never forgets anything. Knows more than any man in the show now, +because he has lived longer.” + +“How old is he?” + +“Close to a hundred.” + +“You don’t say?” marveled Teddy. “Hope I’ll be able to squeal as loud +as that when I’m a hundred. Has he got a hole through his trunk?” + +“Not that anybody knows of.” + +“Come on; I want to see the fellow tame the tiger. I missed that today, +because he didn’t do it at the afternoon show.” + +They found Mr. Sparling standing in front of the cage. He, too, was +there to watch the performance. + +“This looks to me like ready money,” he observed to Phil, nodding his +head toward the people who were crowding into the tent. + +“Mr. Forrest, will you ride Emperor in again tonight? I think that’s +one of the reasons they have come here,” said the showman, shrewdly +grasping the least thing that would tend to popularize his show. + +“Certainly, sir. I shall enjoy it very much.” + +They now turned their attention to the cage where the trainer had begun +with the savage tiger. + +“Bengal is in an ugly temper about something tonight,” announced Mr. +Sparling in a low tone. “Better be careful, Bob,” he cautioned, after +having stepped up close to the cage. + +“I’ll take care of him,” answered the trainer, without taking his eyes +from the beast for the fraction of a second. + +Phil had heard the dialogue and now drew closer to the cage, stepping +under the rope and joining Mr. Sparling. + +Teddy, of course, not to be left behind, crawled under the rope also. + +“Sit down in front,” shouted someone. “We can’t see the animals play.” + +In a moment the spectators saw a play that was not down on the bills. + +Bob was swinging the whip over Bengal’s nose, the cruel lash cutting +the tender snout with every blow. But he was not doing it from sheer +cruelty, as many of the spectators who raised their voices in loud +protest imagined. + +Not understanding wild animals as the trainer did, they did not realize +that this plucky fellow was fighting for his life, even though he used +but a slender rawhide in his effort to do so. + +Bengal was crowding him. The least mistake on the trainer’s part now +and the savage tiger would put a quick and terrible end to him. + +“Stand back, everybody! Bring the prods!” bellowed Mr. Sparling. + +Phil understood that something was wrong, though he never would have +guessed it from the calm expression on the trainer’s face. + +Not a word did the performer speak, but his hand rained blows on the +nose, while snarl after snarl was spit from between Bengal’s gleaming +teeth. + +The trainer was edging slowly toward the door. He knew that nothing +could be done with the beast in its present state of terrible temper. + +His only hope was that at a favorable moment, when the attendants came +with their long, iron bars, he might be able to spring from the door at +his back, which he was trying to reach. + +Phil’s mind was working like an automatic machine. He saw now what the +trainer was attempting to do, and was seeking for some means of helping +the man. But what could a slender boy hope to do against the power of a +great, savage brute like Bengal? + +Phil concluded there was nothing. + +A pistol flashed almost in the face of the two lads. Mr. Sparling had +started away on a run to fetch the attendants who either had not heard +or failed to heed his call. + +“What did he do that f-f-for?” stammered Teddy. + +“To drive the tiger back. It was a blank cartridge that he fired. I +think the tiger is going to attack him. Yes, there he goes! Oh, that’s +_terrible_!” + +The trainer had been forced against the bars at the back of the cage by +the animal, whose length was more than the width of the cage itself. + +In an unsuspected moment the beast had sprung upon the unfortunate man, +and with one sweep of his powerful paw had laid the man low. + +With a growl of savage joy, the brute settled back against the bars of +the cage near which the lads were standing. + +Women shrieked and men grew pale as they stood helpless to do aught to +avert the impending tragedy. + +Teddy slipped out from under the rope, his face ashen gray. But Phil +stood his ground. He felt that he _must_ do something. + +Then his opportunity came. The beast’s great silken tail popped out +through the bars against which he was backing. + +Phil Forrest, without an instant’s thought of the danger into which he +was placing himself, sprang forward. + +His hands closed over the tail, which he twisted about his right arm in +a flash, at the same time throwing up his feet and bracing them against +a wheel of the wagon. + +No sooner had he done so than Bengal, uttering a frightful roar, +whirled. The force of the jerk as the brute turned hurled Phil Forrest +against the bars of the cage with a crash, and Bengal’s sharp-clawed +feet made a vicious sweep for the body of the lad pressed so tightly +against the bars. + + + + +CHAPTER XII. +A THRILLING RESCUE + + +“Open the door and let the man out!” shouted Phil, with great presence +of mind. But no one seemed to have the power to move. + +One sweep of the powerful claw and one side of the lad’s clothes was +literally stripped from him, though he had managed to shrink back just +far enough to save himself from the needle like claws of the tiger. + +At this moment men came rushing from other parts of the tent. Some bore +iron rods, while two or three carried tent poles and sticks—anything +that the circus men could lay their hands upon. + +Mr. Sparling was in the lead of the procession that dashed through the +crowd, hurling the people right and left as they ran. + +With every spring of the tiger Phil was being thrown against the bars +with terrific force, but still he clung to the tail that was wrapped +about his arm, hanging on with desperate courage. + +Though the lad was getting severe punishment, he was accomplishing just +what he had hoped for—to keep Bengal busy until help arrived to +liberate the unconscious trainer, who lay huddled against the bars on +the opposite side of the cage. + +“Poke one of the tent poles in to him and let him bite it!” roared Mr. +Sparling. “Half a dozen of you get around behind the cage and when we +have his attention one of you pull Bob out. Keep your poles in the +opening when you open the door, so Bengal doesn’t jump out. Everybody +stand back!” + +The commands of the showman came out like so many explosions of a +pistol. But it had its effect. His men sprang to their work like +machines. + +In the meantime Mr. Sparling himself had grabbed the tail of the beast, +taking a hold higher up than Phil’s. + +“Pull the boy off. He’s hanging on like a bull dog. If you had half his +sense you’d have put a stop to this mix-up minutes ago.” + +Teddy by this time had gotten in under the ropes again, and, grasping +his companion about the waist, he held on until he had untwisted the +tiger’s tail from his companion’s arm and released Phil, staggering +back with his burden against the rope. + +Phil’s limp body, the moment Teddy let go of him, collapsed in a heap. + +The circus men were too busy at the moment to notice him. One of the +men had thrust a short tent pole between the bars. Bengal was upon it +like an avalanche. + +Biting, clawing, uttering fierce growls, he tore the hard wood into +shreds, the man at the other end poking at the beast with all his +might. + +Cautiously the rear door of the cage was opened. Two men grasped Bob by +the shoulders and hauled him out with a quick pull. + +The crowd shouted in approval. + +“All out! Let go!” shouted Mr. Sparling. + +It took the strength of two men to pull the tent pole from Bengal’s +grip. The instant he lost the pole the beast whirled and pounced upon +the spot where he had left his victim. + +Finding that he had lost his prey, the savage beast uttered roar upon +roar, that made every spectator in the tent tremble and draw back, +fearing the animal would break through the bars and attack them. + +“Where’s that boy?” + +“Here he is, and I guess he’s hurt,” answered Teddy. + +“Give him to me. I’ll get him outside where we can get some decent air +into him. Is he much hurt?” + +“I—I don’t know.” + +The showman grabbed Phil, and as a helper lifted the bottom of the +tent’s side wall, Mr. Sparling ran to his own small tent with the +unconscious Phil. + +“Fetch a pail of water.” + +Teddy ran for the cook tent to get the water. He was amazed to find no +cook tent there. Instead, there remained only the open plot of grass, +trampled down, with a litter of papers and refuse scattered about. + +By the time he had dashed back to the tent to inquire where he could +find a pail, one of the showmen had brought some water and Mr. Sparling +was bathing Phil’s face with it. + +He had made a hasty examination of the unconscious boy’s wounds, which +he did not believe were serious. + +Phil soon came to, and by that time the show’s doctor had arrived, +having been in attendance on the wounded animal trainer. + +“No; he’ll be sore for a few days, but there’s nothing dangerous about +those scratches, I should say. I’ll dress the wounds and he can go on +about his business,” was the surgeon’s verdict. + +“I’ve got to ride Emperor in tonight,” objected Phil. + +“You’ll do nothing of the sort. You’ll get into my wagon and go to bed. +That’s what you will do, and right quick, at that.” + +“But,” urged the lad, “the people will all think I am seriously hurt if +they see no more of me. Don’t you think it would be a good plan for me +to show myself? They are liable to be uneasy all through the +performance. If I show myself they will settle down and forget all +about it in a few minutes.” + +Mr. Sparling turned to his assistant with a significant nod. + +“I told you that boy was a natural born showman. You can’t stop that +kind with a club. Can you stand up alone?” + +“Yes.” + +Phil scrambled to his feet, steadying himself with a hand on the table. + +“I’ll be all right after I walk about a bit. How long before the +elephants go in?” + +“You’ve got fifteen minutes yet.” + +“Then I may go on?” + +“Yes, yes, go on. You’ll never be satisfied if you don’t. But I ought +to take you over my knee and give you a sound walloping.” + +“Thank you. How is Mr.—Mr.—the trainer?” + +“He isn’t badly hurt, thanks to your presence of mind, young man,” +answered the surgeon. + +“That makes two people you’ve saved today, Forrest,” emphasized Mr. +Sparling. “We will call that a day’s work. You have earned your meal +ticket. Better run back to the dressing tent and ask them to fix up +some clothes for you. Ask for Mrs. Waite, the wardrobe woman. Teddy +Tucker, you run in and tell Mr. Kennedy, who has charge of the +elephants, that Phil will ride tonight, and to wait until he gets in.” + +Both boys hurried away on their respective missions. All that Mrs. +Waite had that would come anywhere near fitting Phil was a yellow robe +that looked like a night gown. Phil grinned as he tucked it under his +arm and hurried back to the menagerie tent. As he passed through the +“big top” he saw that it was filling up rapidly. + +“I guess we are going to have a good house tonight,” muttered the lad +with a pleased smile. It did not occur to him that he himself was +responsible for a large part of the attendance—that the part he had +played in the exciting incidents of the day had done more to advertise +the Great Sparling Combined Shows than any other one factor. + +“I am all ready, Mr. Kennedy,” announced Phil, running to the elephant +quarters. The horns were blowing the signal for the grand entry, so the +lad grasped the head harness, as Emperor stooped, and was quickly +hoisted to the position in which he would enter the ring. + +When the people saw that it was indeed Phil they set up a great shout. +The lad was pale but resolute. As he went through the performance, his +wounds smarted frightfully. At times the pain made him dizzy. + +But Phil smiled bravely, waving his hands to the cheering people. + +After the finish of the act Mr. Kennedy headed the elephants into the +concourse, the open space between the rings and the seats, making a +complete circuit of the tent, so that all might see Phil Forrest. + +“This is a kind of farewell appearance, you know,” grinned Kennedy. And +so the audience took it. + +The lad’s former companions shouted all manner of things to him. + +“Good-bye, Phil!” + +“Don’t stick your head in the lion’s mouth.” + +“Be careful when you twist the tiger’s tail. Better put some salt on it +before you do.” + +“We’ll look out for Uncle Abner.” + +Phil was grinning broadly as he rode back into the menagerie tent. +Everybody in town now knew that he had joined the circus, which brought +forth a variety of comments. Some said it would be the end of the boy, +but Phil Forrest knew that a boy could behave himself with a circus +just as well as in any other occupation, and so far as his observations +went, the circus people were much better than some folks he knew at +home. + +No sooner had they gotten into the menagerie tent than a sudden bustle +and excitement were apparent. Confused shouts were heard on all sides. +Teams, fully harnessed, were being led into the tent, quarter-poles +were coming down without regard to where they struck, everybody +appearing to have gone suddenly crazy. + +“They’re striking the tent,” nodded Mr. Kennedy, noting the boy’s +wonderment. “You had better look out for yourself. Don’t stand in the +way or you may get hurt,” he warned. + +“Get the bulls out!” called a man, hurrying by. + +“They’re getting,” answered Kennedy. + +“What do they mean by that?” + +“In circus parlance, the ‘bulls’ are the elephants. Where you going to +ride tonight?” + +“I don’t know. Hello, there’s my friend Teddy. I guess I had better +attach myself to him or he may get lost.” + +As a matter of fact, Phil was not sure where he was himself, activities +were following each other with such surprising rapidity. + +But the lads stuck to their ground until it was no longer safe to do +so. Phil was determined to see all there was to be seen, and what he +saw he remembered. He had no need to be told after that, providing he +understood the meaning of a certain thing at first. + +Observing that one man was holding to the peak rope, and that it was +rapidly getting the best of him, both lads sprang to his assistance. + +“That’s right, boys. That’s the way to do it. Always be ready to take +advantage of every opening. You’ll learn faster that way, and you’ll +both be full-fledged showmen before you know it.” + +“O Mr. Sparling,” exclaimed Phil, after others had relieved them on the +rope. + +“Yes? What is it?” + +“I have been wanting to see you, to ask what you wish us to do +tonight—where we are to travel?” + +“You may sleep in my wagon. I’ll take a horse for tonight.” + +“I could not think of doing such a thing. No, Mr. Sparling, if I am to +be a circus man, I want to do just as the rest of them do. Where do the +other performers sleep?” + +“Wherever they can find places. Some few of the higher paid ones have +berths in wagons. Others sleep in the band wagon. The rest, I guess, +don’t sleep at all, except after we get into a town. The menagerie +outfit will be leaving town very soon now. You may go through with them +if you wish.” + +“If you do not object, I think I should prefer to remain until the rest +of the show goes out.” + +“Suit yourself.” + +Mr. Sparling understood how the lads felt, and perhaps it would be +better to let them break in at once, he reasoned. They would become +seasoned much sooner. + +The tent was taken down and packed away in the wagons in an almost +incredibly short time. + +“Come on; let’s go into the circus tent and see what’s going on there,” +suggested Teddy. + +Phil agreed, and the lads strolled in. They found the performance +nearly over. When it was finished quite a large number remained to see +the “grand concert” that followed. + +While this was going on there was a crash and a clatter as the men +ripped up and loaded the seats, piling them into waiting wagons that +had been driven into the tent from the rear so as not to be in the way +of the people going out. + +“It’s more fun to watch the men work than it is to see the concert. +That concert’s a bum show,” averred Teddy, thrusting his hands in his +pockets and turning his back on the “grand concert.” + +“I agree with you,” laughed Phil. “There’s nothing but the freaks +there, and we’ll see them, after this, every time we go for our meals.” + +“Have you been in the dressing tent yet?” asked Teddy. + +“No, I haven’t had time. We’ll have to look in there tomorrow, though I +don’t think they care about having people visit them unless they belong +there. Just now we don’t. Do you start work in the cook tent tomorrow?” + +“Yes. I am to be the champion coffee drawer. I expect they will have my +picture on the billboards after a little. Wouldn’t I look funny with a +pitcher of hot, steaming coffee in my hand leaping over a table in the +cook tent?” and Teddy laughed heartily at the thought. “I’ll bet I’d +make a hit.” + +“You mean you would get hit.” + +“Well, maybe.” + +The boys hung about until the big top had disappeared from the lot. The +tent poles and boxes of properties were being loaded on the wagons, +while out on the field, the ring horses, performing ponies and the like +stood sleeping, waiting for the moment when they should be aroused for +the start. + +“Come on, Teddy; let’s you and I go make up our beds.” + +“Where are they?” + +“We’ll have to ask the porter,” laughed Phil, who had traveled a little +with his parents years before. + +“It’s a shame that that old tiger has to have a cage all to himself. We +could make up a fine bed if we had half of his cage and some blankets,” +complained Teddy. + +“Thank you. I should prefer to walk. I have had all the argument I want +with that beast. Let’s go try the band wagon.” + +“All right; that would be fine to sleep way up there.” + +Laughing and chattering, the lads hunted about on the lot until they +found the great glittering band wagon. Being now covered with canvas to +protect it from the weather, they had difficulty in making it out, but +finally they discovered it, off near the road that ran by the grounds. +Four horses were hitched to it, while the driver lay asleep on the high +seat. + +“Where will we get in?” + +“I don’t know, Teddy; we will climb up and find out.” + +Getting on the rear wheel they pulled themselves up, and finding the +canvas covering loose, threw it open. Teddy plumped in feet first. + +Immediately there followed such a howling, such a snarling and torrent +of invective that, startled as he was, Phil lost his balance on the +wheel and fell off. + +No sooner had he struck the ground than a dark figure came shooting +from above, landing on him and nearly knocking all the breath out of +his body. + +Phil threw off the burden, which upon investigation proved to be Teddy +Tucker. + +“Wha—what happened?” stammered Phil. “Sounds as if we had gotten into a +wild animal cage.” + +“I—I walked on somebody’s face and he threw me out,” answered Teddy +ruefully. Phil leaned against the wagon wheel and laughed until his +throat ached. + +“Get out of here! What do you mean?” bellowed an angry voice over their +heads. “Think my face is a tight rope to be walked on by every Rube +that comes along?” + +“Come—come on away, Teddy. We made a mistake. We got into the wrong +berth.” + +“Here’s another wagon, Phil. They’re just hitching the horses. Let’s +try this.” + +“All right, it’s a canvas wagon. Go ahead, we’ll try it.” + +“I’ve tried one wagon. It’s your turn now,” growled Teddy. + +“I guess you’re right. If I get thrown out you catch me the same as I +did you,” laughed Phil. + +“Yes, you _caught_ me, didn’t you?” + +Phil climbed up, but with more caution than Teddy had exercised in the +case of the band wagon. + +“Anybody living in this bedroom tonight?” questioned Phil of the +driver. + +“Guess you are. First come first served. Pile in. You’re the kid that +rode the bull, ain’t you?” + +“And twisted the tiger’s tail,” added Teddy. + +“All right. Probably some others will be along later, but I’ll see to +it that they don’t throw you out.” + +“Thank you. Come on up, Teddy; it’s all right.” + +Teddy Tucker hastily scrambled up into the wagon which proved to be a +canvas wagon—an open wagon, over which a canvas cover was stretched in +case of storm only. + +“Where’s the bed clothes?” demanded Teddy. + +“I guess the skies will have to be our quilts tonight,” answered Phil. + +The boys succeeded in crawling down between the folds of the canvas, +however, and, snuggling close together, settled down for their first +night on the road with a circus. Soon the wagons began to move in +response to a chorus of hoarse shouts. The motion of the canvas wagon +very soon lulled the lads to sleep, as the big wagon show slowly +started away and disappeared in the soft summer night. + + + + +CHAPTER XIII. +THE DAWNING OF A NEW DAY + + +“Hi! Stop the train! Stop the train!” howled Teddy, as he landed flat +on his back on the hard ground. + +“Here, here! What are you fellows doing?” shouted Phil, scrambling to +his feet. + +“I dreamed I was in a train of cars and they ran off the track,” said +Teddy, struggling to his feet and rubbing his shins gingerly. “Did you +do that?” + +“You bet. Think I can wait for you kids to take your beauty sleep? +Don’t you suppose this show’s got something else to do besides furnish +sleeping accommodations for lazy kids? Take hold here, and help us get +this canvas out if you want any breakfast.” + +“Take it out yourself,” growled Teddy, dodging the flat of the +canvasman’s hand. + +The lads had been hurled from their sleeping place by a rough tentman +in a hurry to get at his work. The chill of the early dawn was in the +air. The boys stood, with shoulders hunched forward, shivering, their +teeth chattering, not knowing where they were and caring still less. +They knew only that they were most uncomfortable. The glamor was gone. +They were face to face with the hardships of the calling they had +chosen, though they did not know that it was only a beginning of those +hardships. + +“B-r-r-r!” shivered Teddy. + +“T-h-h-h-at’s what I say,” chattered Phil. + +“Say, are you kids going to get busy, or do you want me to help you +to?” + +Phil did not object to work, but he did not like the way the canvasman +spoke to them. + +“I guess you’ll have to do your own work. Come on, Teddy; let’s take a +run and warm ourselves up.” + +Hand in hand the lads started off across the field. The field was so +dark that they could scarcely distinguish objects about them. Here and +there they dodged wagons and teams that stood like silent sentinels in +the uncertain light. + +“Turn a little, Teddy. We’ll be lost before we know it, if we don’t +watch out—” + +“Ouch! We’re lost already!” + +The ground seemed suddenly to give way beneath them. Both lads were +precipitated into a stream of water that stretched across one end of +the circus lot. + +Shouting and struggling about they finally floundered to the bank, +drenched from head to foot. If they had been shivering before, they +were suffering from violent attacks of ague now. + +“Whew! I’m freezing to death!” cried Phil. + +“I feel like the North Pole on Christmas morning,” added Teddy. “I wish +I was home, so I could thaw out behind the kitchen stove.” + +“Brace up, Teddy. This is only the beginning of the fun. We shall have +worse experiences than this, late in the fall, when the weather gets +cool; that is, if they do not get enough of us in the meantime and send +us away.” + +“I—I wish they would send us home now.” + +“Come now; we’ve got to run again. We shall surely take our death of +cold, if we stand here much longer.” + +“Run? No, thank you. I’ve had one run.” + +“And you don’t want another? Is that it?” + +“Not I.” + +“Don’t know as I blame you. Well, if you don’t want to run, just stand +in one place and jump up and down. Whip your hands, and you’ll see how +soon it will start your blood to circulating,” advised Phil, who +immediately proceeded to put his own theory into execution. “That feel +better?” + +“Yes, some,” replied Teddy, rather doubtfully. “But I could be warmer. +I wonder what time the cook tent will be up.” + +“That’s an idea. Suppose we go over and find out?” + +“Yes, but where is it?” + +“I don’t know. But we won’t find it if we stand here.” + +They started off again, this time exercising more caution as to where +their feet touched. They had not gone far before they came upon some +men who were driving small stakes in the ground, marking out the spot +where one of the tents was to be pitched. + +“Can you tell us where the cook tent is going up?” asked Phil politely. + +“North side of the field,” grunted the man, not very good-naturedly. + +“Which way is north?” + +“Get a compass, get a compass,” was the discourteous answer. + +“He’s a grouch. Come along,” urged Teddy Tucker. + +A few moments later, attracted by a light that looked like a fire, the +lads hurried toward it. + +“Where will we find the cook tent?” questioned Phil again. + +“Right here,” was the surprising answer. + +“What time will it be ready?” + +“About seven o’clock. What’s the matter, hungry?” + +“More cold than hungry,” replied Phil, his teeth chattering. + +“Got to get used to that. Come here. I’ve got something that will +doctor you up in no time,” announced the man in a cheerful voice, so +different from the answers the lads had received to their questions +that morning, that they were suddenly imbued with new courage. + +“What is it?” asked Phil. + +“Coffee, my lad. We always make coffee the first thing when we get in, +these chilly mornings. The men work much better after getting something +warm inside them. Got a cup?” + +They had not. + +“Wait, I’ll get you one,” said the accommodating showman. + +Never had anything tasted so good as did the coffee that morning. It +was excellent coffee, too, and the boys drank two cups apiece. + +“We mustn’t drink any more,” warned Phil. + +“Why not?” wondered Teddy. + +“Because we shall be so nervous that we shall not be able to work +today. And, by the way, were I in your place, I should get busy here +and help in the cook tent until you are told to do something else. I +think it will make a good impression on Mr. Sparling.” + +Teddy consented rather grudgingly. + +“I’ll turn in and do something at the same time. What can we do to help +you, sir? That coffee was very good.” + +“Might get busy and unpack some dishes from those barrels. Be careful +that you don’t break any of them.” + +“All right. Where shall we put them?” + +“Pile them on the ground, all the dishes of the same size together. Be +sure to set a lantern by them so nobody falls over them in the dark.” + +The boys, glad of some task to perform, began their work with a will. +With something to do it was surprising how quickly they forgot their +misfortunes. In a short time they were laughing and joking with the +good-natured cooktent man and making the dishes fairly fly out of the +barrels. + +“Guess I’ll have to keep you two boys with my outfit,” grinned the +showman. + +“I think Mr. Sparling said my friend, Teddy here, was to work in the +cook tent for the present.” + +“All right, Mr. Teddy. There’s one thing about working in the cook tent +that ought to please you.” + +“What’s that?” + +“You can piece between meals all you want to. If you are like most +boys, you ought to have a good healthy appetite all the time, except +when you are sleeping.” + +“That’s right. I could eat an elephant steak now—right this minute. How +long before breakfast?” + +“Seven o’clock, I told you.” + +“What time does Mr. Sparling get up?” inquired Phil. + +“Up? Ask me what time he goes to bed. I can answer one question as well +as the other. Nobody knows. He’s always around when you least expect +him. There he is now.” + +The owner was striding toward the cook tent for his morning cup of +coffee. + +“Good morning, sir,” greeted the boys, pausing in their work long +enough to touch their hats, after which they continued unpacking the +dishes. + +“Morning, boys. I see you are up early and getting right at it. That’s +right. No showman was ever made out of a sleepy-head. Where did you +sleep last night?” + +“In a wagon on a pile of canvas,” answered Phil. + +“And they threw us out of bed this morning,” Teddy informed him, with a +grimace. + +Mr. Sparling laughed heartily. + +“And we fell in a creek,” added Teddy. + +“Well, well, you certainly are having your share of experiences.” + +“Will you allow me to make a suggestion, Mr. Sparling?” asked Phil. + +“Of course. You need not ask that question. What is it?” + +“I think I ought to have some sort of a costume if I am to continue to +ride Emperor in the grand entry.” + +“H-m-m-m. What kind do you think you want?” + +“Could I wear tights?” + +Mr. Sparling was about to laugh, but one glance into the earnest eyes +of Phil Forrest told him that the boy’s interest was wholly in wishing +to improve the act—not for the sake of showing himself, alone. + +“Yes, I think perhaps it might not be a bad idea. You go tell Mrs. +Waite to fix you up with a suit. But I would prefer to have you wear +your own clothes today.” + +“Yes, sir. Thank you, sir.” + +“I’ll tell you why. I telegraphed on to my advance man all about you +last night, and what you did yesterday will be spread all over town +here today. It will be a rattling good advertisement. You and the tiger +are my best drawing cards today,” smiled Mr. Sparling. + +“Glad I have proved of some use to you, sir.” + +“Use? Use?” + +“Yes, sir.” + +“Don’t be a fool!” exploded the showman, almost brutally. + +Phil’s countenance fell. + +“Don’t you understand, yet, that you already have been worth several +thousand dollars to me?” + +“I—I—” + +“Well, don’t get a swelled head about it, for—” + +“There is no danger of that, sir.” + +“And you don’t have to potter around the cook tent working, either. +That is, not unless you want to.” + +“But, I do, Mr. Sparling. I want to learn everything there is to be +learned about the show business,” protested Phil. + +Mr. Sparling regarded him quizzically. + +“You’ll do,” he said, turning away. + +As soon as the dressing tent had been erected and the baggage was moved +in, Phil hurried to the entrance of the women’s dressing tent and +calling for Mrs. Waite, told her what was wanted. + +She measured his figure with her eyes, and nodded understandingly. + +“Think I’ve got something that will fit you. A young fellow who worked +on the trapeze fell off and broke a leg. He was just about your size, +and I guess his tights will be about right for you. Not superstitious, +are you?” + +Phil assured her he was not. + +“You will be, after you have been in the show business a while. Wait, +I’ll get them.” + +Phil’s eyes glowed as he saw her returning with a suit of bright red +tights, trunk and shirt to match. + +“Oh, thank you ever so much.” + +“You’re welcome. Have you a trunk to keep your stuff in?” + +“No; I have only a bag.” + +“I’ve got a trunk in here that’s not in use. If you want to drag it +over to the men’s dressing tent you’re welcome to it.” + +Phil soon had the trunk, which he hauled across the open paddock to the +place where the men were settling their belongings. He espied Mr. +Miaco, the head clown. + +“Does it make any difference where I place my trunk, Mr. Miaco?” + +“It does, my lad. The performers’ trunks occupy exactly the same +position every day during the show year. I’ll pick out a place for you, +and every morning when you come in you will find your baggage there. +Let me see. I guess we’ll place you up at the end, next to the side +wall of the dressing room. You will be more by yourself there. You’ll +like that, won’t you?” + +“Yes, sir.” + +“Going in in costume, today?” + +“No, sir. Mr. Sparling thought I had better wear my own clothes today, +for advertising purposes.” + +Miaco nodded understandingly. + +“Then you’ll want to fix up again. Been in the gutter?” + +“I fell into a ditch in the darkness this morning,” grinned Phil. + +“You’ll get used to that. Mr. Ducro, the ringmaster, carries a lantern +with him so he won’t fall in, but none of the rest of us do. We call +him Old Diogenes because he always has a lantern in his hand. If you’ll +take off that suit I’ll put it in shape for you.” + +“Undress—here?” + +“Sure. You’ll have to get used to that.” + +Phil retired to the further end of the tent where his trunk had been +placed in the meantime, and there took off his clothes, handing them to +the head clown. Mr. Miaco tossed the lad a bath robe, for the morning +was still chilly. + +“After you get broken in you will have to do all this for yourself. +There’s nothing like the show business to teach a fellow to depend upon +himself. He soon becomes a jack-of-all-trades. As soon as you can +you’ll want to get yourself a rubber coat and a pair of rubber boots. +We’ll get some beastly weather by-and-by.” + +The good-natured clown ran on with much good advice while he was +sponging and pressing Phil’s clothes. When he had finished, the suit +looked as if it had just come from a tailor shop. + +Phil thanked him warmly. + +“Now, you and I will see about some breakfast.” + +Reaching the cook tent, the first person Phil set eyes on was his chum, +Teddy Tucker. Teddy was presiding over the big nickel coffeepot, his +face flushed with importance. He was bossing the grinning waiters, none +of whom found it in his heart to get impatient with the new boy. + + + + +CHAPTER XIV. +AN UNEXPECTED HIT + + +“Another turn-away,” decided a ticket taker, casting his eyes over the +crowds that had gathered for the afternoon performance. + +“I guess Mr. Sparling knows his business pretty well,” mused Phil. “He +knows how to catch the crowd. I wonder how many of them have come here +to see me. How they would look and stare if they knew I was the kid +that twisted the tiger’s tail.” + +Phil’s color rose. + +It was something for a boy who had been a circus performer for less +than two days to have his name heralded ahead of the show as one of the +leading attractions. + +But Phil Forrest had a level head. He did not delude himself with any +extravagant idea of his own importance. He knew that what he had done +was purely the result of accident. + +“I’ll do something, someday, that will be worthwhile,” he told himself. + +Phil’s act that afternoon was fully as successful as it had been on the +previous day back in his home town. Besides, he now had more confidence +in himself. He felt that in a very short time he might be able to keep +his feet on the elephant’s head without the support of Emperor’s trunk. +That would be an achievement. + +On this particular afternoon he rode with as much confidence as if he +had been doing it all the season. + +“You’ll make a performer,” encouraged Kennedy. “You’ve got the poise +and everything necessary to make you a good one.” + +“What kind, do you think?” + +“Any old kind. Do you get dizzy when up in the air?” + +“I don’t remember that I have ever been up much further than Emperor +hoists me,” laughed Phil. + +For the next two minutes the man and the boy were too busy with their +act to continue their conversation. The audience was enthusiastic, and +they shouted out Phil Forrest’s name several times, which made him +smile happily. + +“What would you advise me to do, Mr. Kennedy?” he asked as the +elephants started to leave the ring, amid the plaudits of the +spectators. + +“Ever try the rings?” + +“Yes, but not so high up as those that Rod and his partners perform +on.” + +“Height doesn’t make much difference. Get them to let the rings down so +you can reach them, then each day raise them a little higher, if you +find you can work on them.” + +“Thank you. Perhaps I’ll try it this afternoon. I am anxious to be a +real performer. Anybody could do this. Though it’s easy, I think I +might work up this act of ours to make it rather funny.” + +It will be observed that Phil was rapidly falling into the vernacular +of the showman. + +“If you’ve got any ideas we’ll thresh them out. Emperor will be +willing. He’ll say yes to anything you suggest. What is it?” + +“Don’t you think Mr. Sparling would object?” + +“Not he. Wait till I get the bulls chained; then we’ll talk.” + +After attending to his charges, Mr. Kennedy and Phil stepped behind the +elephants and sat down on a pile of straw against the side walls of the +menagerie tent. + +Phil confided at length what he had in mind, Kennedy nodding from time +to time as Phil made points that met with the trainer’s approval. + +“Boy, you’ve got a head on you a yard wide. You’ll make your +everlasting fortune. Why, I’d never even thought of that before.” + +“Don’t you think I had better speak to Mr. Sparling?” + +Kennedy reflected for a moment. + +“Perhaps you had better do so. But you needn’t tell him what it is. +We’ll give them a surprise. Let’s go see the property man and the +carpenter. We’ll find out what they can do for us.” + +Slipping out under the canvas, the two hurried back to the property +room, an enclosure where all the costumes were kept, together with the +armor used in the grand entry, and the other trappings employed in the +show, known as properties. + +Mr. Kennedy explained to the property man what was wanted. The latter +called in the carpenter. After consulting for a few minutes, they +decided that they could give the elephant trainer and his assistant +what they sought. + +“When will you have it ready?” + +“Maybe in time for tonight’s performance, but I can’t promise for +sure.” + +“Thank you,” exclaimed Phil, hurrying away to consult with Mr. +Sparling. + +“I have been thinking out a plan to work up my part of the elephant +act,” announced Phil, much to the owner’s surprise. + +“You have, eh?” + +“Yes, sir.” + +“What is it?” + +“I was in hopes you wouldn’t ask me that. I wanted to surprise you.” + +Mr. Sparling shook his head doubtfully. + +“I’m afraid you haven’t had experience enough to warrant my trusting so +important a matter to you,” answered the showman, knowing how serious a +bungled act might be, and how it would be likely to weaken the whole +show. + +Phil’s face showed his disappointment. + +“Mr. Kennedy says it will be a fine act. I have seen the property man +and the carpenter, and they both think it’s great. They are getting my +properties ready now.” + +“So, so?” wondered the owner, raising his eyebrows ever so little. “You +seem to be making progress, young man. Let’s see, how long have you +been in the show business?” he reflected. + +“Twenty-four hours,” answered Phil promptly. + +Mr. Sparling grinned. + +“M-m-m-m. You’re certainly getting on fast. Who told you you might give +orders to my property man and my carpenter, sir?” the proprietor +demanded, somewhat sternly. + +“I took that upon myself, sir. I’m sure it would improve the act, even +though I have not had as much experience as I might have. Will you let +me try it?” demanded the boy boldly. + +“I’ll think about it. Yes, I’ll think about it. H-m-m-m! H-m-m-m!” + +Thus encouraged, Phil left his employer, going in to watch some of the +other acts. + +About that time Mr. Sparling found it convenient to make a trip back to +the property man’s room, where he had quite a long talk with that +functionary. The proprietor came away smiling and nodding. + +About an hour later Phil sauntered out and passed in front of Mr. +Sparling’s tent, hoping the showman would see him and call him in. + +Phil was not disappointed. Mr. Sparling did that very thing. + +“How’s that new act of yours coming along, young man?” he demanded. + +“I have done no more than think it over since talking with you a little +while ago. If the props are ready Mr. Kennedy and I will have a quiet +rehearsal this afternoon. That is, if we can shoo everybody out of the +tent and you are willing we should try it. How about it, sir?” + +“I must say you are a most persistent young man.” + +“Yes, sir.” + +“And what if this act falls down flat? What then?” + +“It mustn’t.” + +“But if it does?” + +“Then, sir, I’ll give up the show business and go back to Edmeston, +where I’ll hire out to work on a farm. If I can’t do a little thing +like this I guess the farm will be the best place for me.” + +Phil was solemn and he meant every word he said. Mr. Sparling, however, +unable to maintain his serious expression, laughed heartily. + +“My boy, you are all right. Go ahead and work up your act. You have my +full permission to do that in your own way, acting, of course, under +the approval of Mr. Kennedy. He knows what would go with his bulls.” + +“Thank you, thank you very much,” exclaimed Phil, impulsively. “I hope +you will be pleasantly surprised.” + +“I expect to be.” + +Phil ran as fast as his legs would carry him to convey the good news to +Mr. Kennedy. Active preparations followed, together with several +hurried trips to the property room. The property man was getting along +famously with his part of the plan, and both Phil and Mr. Kennedy +approved of what had been done thus far. + +According to programme, after the afternoon show had been finished and +all the performers had gone to the cook tent the rehearsal took place +in the menagerie tent. Faithful to his promise, Mr. Sparling kept away, +but a pair of eyes representing him was peering through a pin-hole in +the canvas stretched across the main opening where the ticket takers +stood when at work. + +“That’s great, kid! Great, you bet!” shouted Mr. Kennedy after a +successful trial of their new apparatus. + +With light heart, an expansive grin overspreading his countenance, the +lad ran to the cook tent for his supper. He came near missing it as it +was, for the cook was about to close the tent. Mr. Sparling, who was +standing near the exit, nodded to the chief steward to give Phil and +Mr. Kennedy their suppers. + +“Well, did the rehearsal fall down?” he asked, with a quizzical smile +on his face. + +“It fell down, but not in the way you think,” laughed Phil happily. + +No further questions were asked of him. + +That night, when the grand entry opened the show to a packed house, a +shout of laughter from the great assemblage greeted the entrance of old +Emperor. Emperor was clad in a calico gown of ancient style, with a +market basket tucked in the curl of his trunk. But the most humorous +part of the long-suffering elephant’s makeup was his head gear. + +There, perched jauntily to one side was the most wonderful bonnet that +any of the vast audience ever had gazed upon. It was tied with bright +red ribbons under Emperor’s chops with a collection of vari-colored, +bobbing roses protruding from its top. Altogether it was a very +wonderful piece of head gear. + +The further the act proceeded the more the humor of Emperor’s makeup +appeared to impress the audience. They laughed and laughed until the +tears ran down their cheeks, while the elephant himself, appearing to +share in the humor of the hour, never before had indulged in so many +funny antics. + +Mr. Kennedy, familiar with side-splitting exhibitions, forgot himself +so far as actually to laugh out loud. + +But where was Phil Forrest? Thus far everybody had been too much +interested in the old lady with the trunk and the market basket to give +a thought to the missing boy, though some of the performers found +themselves wondering if he had closed with the show already. + +Those of the performers not otherwise engaged at the moment were +assembled inside the big top at one side of the bandstand, fairly +holding their sides with laughter over old Emperor’s exhibition. + +Standing back in the shadow of the seats, where the rays from the +gasoline lamps did not reach, stood Mr. Sparling, a pleased smile on +his face, his eyes twinkling with merriment. It was a good act that +could draw from James Sparling these signs of approval. + +The act was nearing its close. + +The audience thought they had seen the best of it. But there was still +a surprise to come—a surprise that they did not even dream of. + +The time was at hand for the elephants to rear in a grand finale. An +attendant quietly led Jupiter from the ring and to his quarters, +Emperor making a circuit of the sawdust arena to cover the going of the +other elephant and that there might be no cessation of action in the +exhibition. + +Emperor and his trainer finally halted, standing facing the reserved +seats, as motionless as statues. + +The audience sat silent and expectant. They felt that something still +was before them, but what they had not the least idea, of course. + +“Up, Emperor!” commanded Mr. Kennedy in a quiet voice. “All ready, +Phil.” + +The elephant reared slowly on its hind legs, going higher and higher, +as it did in its regular performance. + +As he went up, the bonnet on Emperor’s head was seen to take on sudden +life. The old calico gown fell away from the huge beast at the same +time, leaving him clothed in a brilliant blanket of white and gold. + +But a long drawn “a-h-h-h,” rippled over the packed seats as the old +elephant’s bonnet suddenly collapsed. + +Out of the ruins rose a slender, supple figure, topping the pyramid of +elephant flesh in a graceful poise. The figure, clad in red silk +tights, appeared to be that of a beautiful girl. + +The audience broke out into a thunder of approval, their feet drumming +on the board seats sounding not unlike the rattle of musketry. + +The girl’s hand was passed around to the back of her waist, where it +lingered for an instant, then both hands were thrown forward just as a +diver does before taking the plunge. + +“Ready?” + +“Yes.” + +“Fly!” + +The young girl floated out and off from the elephant’s back, landing +gently on her feet just outside the sawdust ring. + +Emperor, at this juncture, threw himself forward on his forelegs, +stretched out his trunk, encircling the performer’s waist and lifting +her clear off the ground. + +At that moment the supposed young woman stripped her blonde wig from +her head, revealing the fact that the supposed girl was no girl at all. +It was a boy, and that boy was Phil Forrest. + +Emperor, holding his young friend at full length ahead of him, started +rapidly for his quarters, Phil lying half on his side, appearing to be +floating on the air, save for the black trunk that held him securely in +its grip. + +At this the audience fairly howled in its surprise and delight, but +Phil never varied his pose by a hair’s breadth until Emperor finally +set him down, flushed and triumphant, in the menagerie tent. + +At that moment Phil became conscious of a figure running toward him. + +He discovered at once that it was Mr. Sparling. + +Grasping both the lad’s hands, the showman wrung them until it seemed +to Phil as if his arms would be wrenched from their sockets. + +“Great, great, great!” cried the owner of the show. + +“Did you like it?” questioned the blushing Phil. + +“Like it? Like it? Boy, it’s the greatest act I ever saw. It’s a +winner. Come back with me.” + +“What, into the ring?” + +“Yes.” + +“But what shall I do?” + +“You don’t have to do anything. You’ve done it already. Show yourself, +that’s all. Hurry! Don’t you hear them howling like a band of Comanche +Indians?” + +“Y-yes.” + +“They want you.” + +By this time Mr. Sparling was fairly dragging Phil along with him. As +they entered the big top the cheering broke out afresh. + +Phil was more disturbed than ever before in his life. It seemed as +though his legs would collapse under him. + +“Buck up! Buck up!” snapped the showman. “You are not going to get an +attack of stage fright at this late hour, are you?” + +That was exactly what was the matter with Phil Forrest. He was nearly +scared out of his wits, but he did not realize the nature of his +affliction. + +“Bow and kiss your hand to them,” admonished the showman. + +Phil did so, but his face refused to smile. He couldn’t have smiled at +that moment to save his life. + +All at once he wrenched himself loose from Mr. Sparling’s grip, and ran +full speed for the dressing tent. He had not gone more than a dozen +feet before he tripped over a rope, landing on head and shoulders. But +Phil was up like a rubber man and off again as if every animal in the +menagerie was pursuing him. + +The spectators catching the meaning of his flight, stood up in their +seats and howled lustily. + +Phil Forrest had made a hit that comes to few men in the sawdust arena. + + + + +CHAPTER XV. +A STROKE OF GOOD FORTUNE + + +“That was a knockout, kid,” nodded Mr. Miaco, with emphasis. “I’m +laughing on the inside of me yet. I don’t dare let my face laugh, for +fear the wrinkles will break through my makeup.” + +“Thank you,” smiled Phil, tugging at his silk tights, that fitted so +closely as to cause him considerable trouble in stripping them off. + +“You’ll have the whole show jealous of you if you don’t watch out. But +don’t get a swelled head—” + +“Not unless I fall off and bump it,” laughed Phil. “Where do I wash?” + +“You always want to get a pail of water before you undress.” + +“Say, Phil, did you really fly?” queried Teddy, who was standing by +eyeing his companion admiringly. + +“Sure. Didn’t you see me?” + +“I did and I didn’t. Will you show me how to fly like that?” + +“’Course I will. You come in under the big top tomorrow after the show +and I’ll give you a lesson.” + +Teddy had not happened to observe the simple mechanical arrangement +that had permitted the young circus performer to carry out his flying +act. + +“I reckon you ought to get a dollar a day for that stunt,” decided +Teddy. + +“Yes, I think so myself,” grinned Phil. + +Teddy now turned his attention to Mr. Miaco, who, made up for his clown +act in the ring, presented a most grotesque appearance. + +“How do I look?” asked the clown, noting the lad’s observant gaze. + +“You look as if you’d stuck your head in a flour barrel,” grunted +Teddy. + +“Ho ho,” laughed the clown. “I’ll have to try that on the audience. +That’s a good joke. To look at you, one wouldn’t think it of you, +either.” + +“Oh, that’s nothing. I can say funnier things than that when I want to. +Why—” + +But their conversation was cut short by the band striking up the tune +to which Mr. Miaco always entered the ring. + +“Listen to me, kid. You’ll hear them laugh when I tell ’em the story,” +he called back. And they did. The audience roared when the funny man +told them what his young friend had said. + +His work for the day having been finished, Phil bethought himself of +his trunk, which had not yet been packed. His costume was suspended +from a line in the dressing tent where many other costumes were hanging +to air and dry after the strenuous labors of their owners. + +Phil took his slender belongings down, shook them out well and laid +them in the trunk that Mrs. Waite had given him. It was too late for +Phil to get his bag from the baggage wagon, so with a grin he locked +his tights and his wig in the trunk. + +“Guess they won’t break their backs lifting that outfit,” he mused. + +Phil then strolled in to watch the show. He found many new points of +interest and much that was instructive, as he studied each act +attentively and with the keenness of one who had been in the show +business all his life. + +“Someday I’ll have a show like this myself,” nodded the boy. He did not +know that he expressed his thoughts aloud until he noticed that the +people sitting nearest to him were regarding him with amused smiles. + +Phil quickly repressed his audible comments. + +The show was soon over; then came the noise and the confusion of the +breaking up. The illusion was gone—the glamor was a thing of the past. +The lad strolled about slowly in search of his companion, whom he +eventually found in the dressing tent. + +“Teddy, isn’t it about time you and I went to bed?” he asked. + +“Oh, I don’t know. Circus people sleep when there isn’t anything else +to do. Where we going to sleep?” + +“Same place, I presume, if no one gets ahead of us.” + +“They’d better not. I’ll throw them out if they do.” + +Phil laughed good-naturedly. + +“If I remember correctly, somebody was thrown out last night and this +morning, but it didn’t happen to be the other fellow. I’m hungry; wish +I had something to eat.” + +“So am I,” agreed Teddy. + +“You boys should get a sandwich or so and keep the stuff in your trunk +while we are playing these country towns. When we get into the cities, +where they have restaurants, you can get a lunch downtown after you +have finished your act and then be back in time to go out with the +wagons,” Mr. Miaco informed them. “You’ll pick up these little tricks +as we go along, and it won’t be long before you are full-fledged +showmen. You are pretty near that point already.” + +The lads strolled out on the lot and began hunting for their wagon. +They found nothing that looked like it for sometime and had about +concluded that the canvas wagon had gone, when they chanced to come +across the driver of the previous night, who directed them to where +they would find it. + +“The wagon isn’t loaded yet. You’ll have to wait half an hour or so,” +he said. + +They thanked him and went on in the direction indicated, where they +soon found that which they were in search of. + +“I think we had better wait here until it is loaded,” advised Phil, +throwing himself down on the ground. + +“This having to hunt around over a ten-acre lot for your bedroom every +night isn’t as much fun as you would think, is it?” grinned Teddy. + +“Might be worse. I have an idea we haven’t begun to experience the real +hardships of the circus life.” And indeed they had not. + +Soon after that the wagon was loaded, and, bidding the driver a cheery +good night, the circus boys tumbled in and crawled under the canvas. + +They were awakened sometime before daylight by a sudden heavy downpour +of rain. The boys were soaked to the skin, the water having run in +under the canvas until they were lying in a puddle of water. + +There was thunder and lightning. Phil scrambled out first and glanced +up at the driver, who, clothed in oilskins, was huddled on his seat +fast asleep. He did not seem to be aware that there was anything +unusual about the weather. + +“I wish I was home,” growled Teddy. + +“Well, I don’t. Bad as it is, it’s better than some other things that I +know of. I’ll tell you what I’ll do—I’ll get rubber coats for us both +when we get in in the morning.” + +“Got the money?” + +“That’s so. I had forgotten that,” laughed Phil. “I never thought that +I should need money to buy a coat with. We’ll have to wait until +payday. I wonder when that is?” + +“Ask Mr. Sparling.” + +“No; I would rather not.” + +“All right; get wet then.” + +“I am. I couldn’t be any more so were I to jump in the mill pond at +home,” laughed Phil. + +Home! It seemed a long way off to these two friendless, or at least +homeless, boys, though the little village of Edmeston was less than +thirty miles away. + +The show did not get in to the next town until sometime after daylight, +owing to the heavy condition of the roads. The cook tent was up when +they arrived and the lads lost no time in scrambling from the wagon. +They did not have to be thrown out this morning. + +“Come on,” shouted Phil, making a run for the protection of the cook +tent, for the rain was coming down in sheets. + +Teddy was not far behind. + +“I’m the coffee boy. Where’s the coffee?” he shouted. + +“Have it in a few minutes,” answered the attendant who had been so kind +to them the previous morning. “Here, you boys, get over by the steam +boiler there and dry out your clothes,” he added, noting that their +teeth were chattering. + +“Wish somebody would pour a pail of water over me,” shivered Teddy. + +“Water? What for?” + +“To wash the rain off. I’m soaked,” he answered humorously. + +They huddled around the steam boiler, the warmth from which they found +very comforting in their bedraggled condition. + +“I’m steaming like an engine,” laughed Phil, taking off his coat and +holding it near the boiler. + +“Yes; I’ve got enough of it in my clothes to run a sawmill,” agreed +Teddy. “How about that coffee?” + +“Here it is.” + +After helping themselves they felt much better. Phil, after a time, +walked to the entrance of the cook tent and looked out. The same bustle +and excitement as on the previous two days was noticeable everywhere, +and the men worked as if utterly oblivious of the fact that the rain +was falling in torrents. + +“Do we parade today?” called Phil, observing Mr. Sparling hurrying past +wrapped in oilskins and slouch hat. + +“This show gives a parade and two performances a day, rain, shine, snow +or earthquake,” was the emphatic answer. “Come over to my tent in half +an hour. I have something to say to you.” + +Phil ran across to Mr. Sparling’s tent at the expiration of half an +hour, but he was ahead of time evidently, for the showman was not +there. Nice dry straw had been piled on the ground in the little tent +to take up the moisture, giving it a cosy, comfortable look inside. + +“This wouldn’t be a half bad place to sleep,” decided Phil, looking +about him. “I don’t suppose we ever play the same town two nights in +succession. I must find out.” + +Mr. Sparling bustled in at this point, stripping off his wet oilskins +and hanging them on a hook on the tent pole at the further end. + +“Where’d you sleep?” + +“In wagon No. 10.” + +“Get wet?” + +“Very.” + +“Humph!” + +“We dried out in the cook tent when we got in. It might have been +worse.” + +“Easily satisfied, aren’t you?” + +“I don’t know about that. I expect to meet with some disagreeable +experiences.” + +“You won’t be disappointed. You’ll get all that’s coming to you. It’ll +make a man of you if you stand it.” + +“And if I don’t?” questioned Phil Forrest, with a smile. + +Mr. Sparling answered by a shrug of the shoulders. + +“We’ll have to make some different arrangements for you,” he added in a +slightly milder tone. “Can’t afford to have you get sick and knock your +act out. It’s too important. I’ll fire some lazy, good-for-nothing +performer out of a closed wagon and give you his place.” + +“Oh, I should rather not have you do that, sir.” + +“Who’s running this show?” snapped the owner. + +Phil made no reply. + +“I am. I’ll turn out whom I please and when I please. I’ve been in the +business long enough to know when I’ve got a good thing. Where’s your +rubber coat?” he demanded, changing the subject abruptly. + +“I have none, sir. I shall get an outfit later.” + +“No money, I suppose?” + +“Well, no, sir.” + +“Humph! Why didn’t you ask for some?” + +“I did not like to.” + +“You’re too modest. If you want a thing go after it. That’s my motto. +Here’s ten dollars. Go downtown and get you a coat, and be lively about +it. Wait a minute!” as Phil, uttering profuse thanks, started away to +obey his employer’s command. + +“Yes, sir.” + +“About that act of yours. Did you think it out all yourself?” + +“The idea was mine. Of course the property man and Mr. Kennedy worked +it out for me. I should not have been able to do it alone.” + +“Humph! Little they did. They wouldn’t have thought of it in a thousand +years. Performers usually are too well satisfied with themselves to +think there’s anything worthwhile except what they’ve been doing since +they came out of knickerbockers. How’d you get the idea?” + +“I don’t know—it just came to me.” + +“Then keep on thinking. That act is worth real money to any show. How +much did I say I’d pay you?” + +“Ten dollars a week, sir.” + +“Humph! I made a mistake. I won’t give you ten.” + +Phil looked solemn. + +“I’ll give you twenty. I’d give you more, but it might spoil you. Get +out of here and go buy yourself a coat.” + + + + +CHAPTER XVI. +HIS FIRST SETBACK + + +“Tha—thank—” + +“Out with you!” + +Laughing, his face flushed with pride and satisfaction, Phil did move. +Not even pausing to note what direction he should go, he hurried on +toward the village, perhaps more by instinct than otherwise. He was too +full of this wonderful thing that had come to him—success—to take note +of his surroundings. + +To Phil there was no rain. Though he already was drenched to the skin +he did not know it. + +All at once he pulled himself up sharply. + +“Phil Forrest, you are getting excited,” he chided. “Now, don’t you try +to make yourself believe you are the whole show, for you are only a +little corner of it. You are not even a side show. You are a lucky boy, +but you are going to keep your head level and try to earn your money. +Twenty dollars a week! Why, it’s wealth! I can see Uncle Abner shaking +his stick when he hears of it. I must write to Mrs. Cahill and tell her +the good news. She’ll be glad, though I’ll warrant the boys at home +will be jealous when they hear about how I am getting on in the world.” + +Thus talking to himself, Phil plodded on in the storm until he reached +the business part of the town. There he found a store and soon had +provided himself with a serviceable rubber coat, a pair of rubber boots +and a soft hat. He put on his purchases, doing up his shoes and +carrying them back under his arm. + +The parade started at noon. It was a dismal affair—that is, so far as +the performers were concerned, and the clowns looked much more funny +than they felt. + +Mr. Miaco enlivened the spirits of those on the hayrack by climbing to +the back of one of the horses drawing the clowns’ wagon, where he sat +with a doll’s parasol over his head and a doll in his arms singing a +lullaby. + +The people who were massed along the sidewalks of the main street did +not appear to mind the rain at all. They were too much interested in +the free show being given for their benefit. + +The show people ate dinner with their feet in the mud that day, the +cook tent having been pitched on a barren strip of ground. + +“This is where the Armless Wonder has the best of us today,” nodded +Teddy, with his usual keen eye for humor. + +“How is that?” questioned Mr. Miaco. + +“’Cause he don’t have to put his feet in the mud like the rest of us +do. He keeps them on the table. I wish I could put my feet on the +table.” + +Everybody within hearing laughed heartily. + +In the tents there was little to remind one of the dismal weather, save +for the roar of the falling rain on the canvas overhead. Straw had been +piled all about on the ground inside the two large tents, and only here +and there were there any muddy spots, though the odor of fresh wet +grass was everywhere. + +The afternoon performance went off without a hitch, though the +performers were somewhat more slow than usual, owing to the uncertainty +of the footing for man and beast. Phil Forrest’s exhibition was even +more successful than it had been in the last show town. He was obliged +to run back to the ring and show himself after having been carried from +the tent by Emperor. This time, however, his stage fright had entirely +left him, never to return. He was now a seasoned showman, after +something less than three days under canvas. + +The afternoon show being finished, and supper out of the way, Phil and +Teddy returned to the big top to practice on the flying rings, which +they had obtained permission to use. + +Mr. Miaco, himself an all around acrobat, was on hand to watch their +work and to offer suggestions. He had taken a keen interest in Phil +Forrest, seeing in the lad the making of a high-class circus performer. + +The rings were let down to within about ten feet of the sawdust ring, +and one at a time the two lads were hoisted by the clown until their +fingers grasped the iron rings. + +With several violent movements of their bodies they curled their feet +up, slipping them through the rings, first having grasped the ropes +above the rings. + +“That was well done. Quite professional,” nodded the clown. “Take hold +of this rope and I will swing you. If it makes you dizzy, tell me.” + +“Don’t worry; it won’t,” laughed Phil. + +“Give me a shove, too,” urged Teddy. + +“In a minute.” + +Mr. Miaco began swinging Phil backwards and forwards, his speed ever +increasing, and as he went higher and higher, Phil let himself down, +fastening his hands on the rings that he might assist in the swinging. + +“Now, see if you can get back in the rings with your legs.” + +“That’s easy,” answered Phil, his breath coming sharp and fast, for he +never had taken such a long sweep in the rings before. + +The feat was not quite so easy as he had imagined. Phil made three +attempts before succeeding. But he mastered it and came up smiling. + +“Good,” cried the clown, clapping his hands approvingly. + +“Give me another swing. I want to try something else.” + +Having gained sufficient momentum, the lad, after reaching the point +where the rings would start on their backward flight, permitted his +legs to slip through the rings, catching them with his feet. + +He swept back, head and arms hanging down, as skillfully as if he had +been doing that very thing right along. + +“You’ll do,” emphasized the clown. “You will need to put a little more +finish in your work. I’ll give you a lesson in that next time.” + +Teddy, not to be outdone, went through the same exhibition, though not +quite with the same speed that Phil had shown. + +It being the hour when the performers always gathered in the big top to +practice and play, many of them stood about watching the boys work. +They nodded their heads approvingly when Phil finished and swung +himself to the ground. + +Teddy, on his part, overrated his ability when it came to hanging by +his feet. + +“Look out!” warned half a dozen performers at once. + +He had not turned his left foot into the position where it would catch +and hold in the ring. Their trained eyes had noted this omission +instantly. + +The foot, of course, failed to catch, and Teddy uttered a howl when he +found himself falling. His fall, however, was checked by a sharp jolt. +The right foot had caught properly. As he swept past the laughing +performers he was dangling in the air like a huge spider, both hands +and one foot clawing the air in a desperate manner. + +There was nothing they could do to liberate him from his uncomfortable +position until the momentum of his swing had lessened sufficiently to +enable them to catch him. + +“Hold your right steady!” cautioned Miaco. “If you twist it you’ll take +a beauty tumble.” + +Teddy hadn’t thought of that before. Had Miaco known the lad better he +would not have made the mistake of giving that advice. + +Teddy promptly turned his foot. + +He shot from the flying rings as if he had been fired from a cannon. + +Phil tried to catch him, but stumbled and fell over a rope, while Teddy +shot over his head, landing on and diving head first into a pile of +straw that had just been brought in to bed down the tent for the +evening performance. + +Nothing of Teddy save his feet was visible. + +They hauled him out by those selfsame feet, and, after disentangling +him from the straws that clung to him, were relieved to find that he +had not been hurt in the least. + +“I guess we shall have to put a net under you. Lucky for you that that +pile of straw happened to get in your way. Do you know what would have +happened to you had it not been?” demanded Mr. Miaco. + +“I—I guess I’d have made a hit,” decided Teddy wisely. + +“I guess there is no doubt about that.” + +The performers roared. + +“I’m going to try it again.” + +“No; you’ve done enough for one day. You won’t be able to hold up the +coffeepot tomorrow morning if you do much more.” + +“Do you think we will be able to accomplish anything on the flying +rings, Mr. Miaco?” asked Phil after they had returned to the dressing +tent. + +“There is no doubt of it. Were I in your place I should take an hour’s +work on them every day. Besides building you up generally, it will make +you surer and better able to handle yourself. Then, again, you never +know what minute you may be able to increase your income. People in +this business often profit by others’ misfortunes,” added the clown +significantly. + +“I would prefer not to profit that way,” answered Phil. + +“You would rather do it by your own efforts?” + +“Yes.” + +“It all amounts to the same thing. You are liable to be put out any +minute yourself, then somebody else will get your job, if you are a +performer of importance to the show.” + +“You mean if my act is?” + +“That’s what I mean.” + +The old clown and the enthusiastic young showman talked in the dressing +tent until it was time for each to begin making up for the evening +performance. + +The dressing tent was the real home of the performers. They knew no +other. It was there that they unpacked their trunks—there that during +their brief stay they pinned up against the canvas walls the pictures +of their loved ones, many of whom were far across the sea. A bit of +ribbon here, a faded flower drawn from the recess of a trunk full of +silk and spangles, told of the tender hearts that were beating beneath +those iron-muscled breasts, and that they were as much human beings as +their brothers in other walks of life. + +Much of this Phil understood in a vague way as he watched them from day +to day. He was beginning to like these big-hearted, big-muscled +fellows, though there were those among them who were not desirable as +friends. + +“I guess it’s just the same as it is at home,” decided Phil. “Some of +the folks are worthwhile, and others are not.” + +He had summed it up. + +Sometime before the evening performance was due to begin Phil was made +up and ready for his act. As his exhibition came on at the very +beginning he had to be ready early. Then, again, he was obliged to walk +all the way to the menagerie tent to reach his elephant. + +Throwing a robe over his shoulders and pulling his hat well down over +his eyes, the lad pushed the silken curtains aside and began working +his way toward the front, beating against the human tide that had set +in against him, wet, dripping, but good natured. + +“Going to have a wet night,” observed Teddy, whom he met at the +entrance to the menagerie tent. + +“Looks that way. But never mind; I’ll share my rubber coat with you. We +can put it over us and sit up to sleep. That will make a waterproof +tent. Perhaps we may be able to find a stake or something to stick up +in the middle of the coat.” + +“But the canvas under us will be soaked,” grumbled Teddy. “We’ll be +wetter than ever.” + +“We’ll gather some straw and tie it up in a tight bundle to put under +us when we get located. There goes the band. I must be off, or you’ll +hear Emperor screaming for me.” + +“He’s at it now. Hear him?” + +“I couldn’t well help hearing that roar,” laughed Phil, starting off on +a run. + +The grand entry was made, Phil crouching low in the bonnet on the big +beast’s head. It was an uncomfortable position, but he did not mind it +in the least. The only thing that troubled Phil was the fear that the +head gear might become disarranged and spoil the effect of his +surprise. There were many in the tent who had seen him make his flight +at the afternoon performance, and had returned with their friends +almost solely to witness the pretty spectacle again. + +The time had arrived for Emperor to rise for his grand salute to the +audience. Mr. Kennedy had given Phil his cue, the lad had braced +himself to straighten up suddenly. A strap had been attached to the +elephant’s head harness for Phil to take hold of to steady himself by +when he first straightened up. Until his position was erect Emperor +could not grasp the boy’s legs with his trunk. + +“Right!” came the trainer’s command. + +The circus boy thrust out his elbows, and the bonnet fell away, as he +rose smiling to face the sea of white, expectant faces before him. + +While they were applauding he fastened the flying wire to the ring in +his belt. The wire, which was suspended from above, was so small that +it was wholly invisible to the spectators, which heightened the effect +of his flight. So absorbed were the people in watching the slender +figure each time that they failed to observe an attendant hauling on a +rope near the center pole, which was the secret of Phil’s ability to +fly. + +Throwing his hands out before him the little performer dove gracefully +out into the air. + +There was a slight jolt. Instantly he knew that something was wrong. +The audience, too, instinctively felt that the act was not ending as it +should. + +Phil was falling. He was plunging straight toward the ring, head first. +He struck heavily, crumpling up in a little heap, then straightening +out, while half a dozen attendants ran to the lad, hastily picking him +up and hurrying to the dressing tent with the limp, unconscious form. + + + + +CHAPTER XVII. +LEFT BEHIND + + +“Is he hurt much?” + +“Don’t know. Maybe he’s broken his neck.” + +This brief dialogue ensued between two painted clowns hurrying to their +stations. + +In the meantime the band struck up a lively air, the clowns launched +into a merry medley of song and jest and in a few moments the +spectators forgot the scene they had just witnessed, in the noise, the +dash and the color. It would come back to them later like some +long-past dream. + +Mr. Kennedy, with grim, set face, uttered a stern command to Emperor, +who for a brief instant had stood irresolute, as if pondering as to +whether he should turn and plunge for the red silk curtains behind +which his little friend had disappeared in the arms of the attendants. + +The trainer’s voice won, and Emperor trumpeting loudly, took his way to +his quarters without further protest. + +In the dressing tent another scene was being enacted. On two drawn-up +trunks, over which had been thrown a couple of horse blankets, they had +laid the slender, red-clad figure of Phil Forrest. + +The boy’s pale face appeared even more ashen than it really was under +the flickering glare of the gasoline torches. His head had been propped +up on a saddle, while about him stood a half circle of solemn-faced +performers in various stages of undress and makeup. + +“Is he badly hurt?” asked one. + +“Can’t say. Miaco has gone for the doc. We’ll know pretty soon. That +was a dandy tumble he took.” + +“How did it happen?” + +“Wire broke. You can’t put no faith on a wire with a kink in it. I +nearly got my light put out, out in St. Joe, Missouri, by a trick like +that. No more swinging wire for me. Guess the kid, if he pulls out of +this, will want to hang on to a rope after this. He will if he’s wise.” + +“What’s this? What’s this?” roared Mr. Sparling, who, having heard of +the accident, came rushing into the tent. “Who’s hurt?” + +“The kid,” informed someone. + +“What kid? Can’t you fellows talk? Oh, it’s Forrest, is it? How did it +happen?” + +One of the performers who had witnessed the accident related what he +had observed. + +“Huh!” grunted the showman, stepping up beside Phil and placing a hand +on the boy’s heart. + +“Huh!” + +“He’s alive, isn’t he, Mr. Sparling?” + +“Yes. Anybody gone for the doctor?” + +“Miaco has.” + +“Wonder any of you had sense enough to think of that. I congratulate +you. Somebody will suffer when I find out who was responsible for +hanging that boy’s life on a rotten old piece of wire. I presume it’s +been kicking around this outfit for the last seven years.” + +“Here comes the doc,” announced a voice. + +There was a tense silence in the dressing tent, broken only by the +patter of the rain drops on the canvas roof, while the show’s surgeon +was making his examination. + +“Well, well! What about it?” demanded Mr. Sparling impatiently. + +The surgeon did not answer at once. His calm, professional demeanor was +not to be disturbed by the blustering but kind- hearted showman, and +the showman, knowing this from past experience, relapsed into silence +until such time as the surgeon should conclude to answer him. + +“Did he fall on his head?” he questioned, looking up, at the same time +running his fingers over Phil’s dark-brown hair. + +“Looks that way, doesn’t it?” + +“I should say so.” + +“What’s the matter with him?” + +“I shall be unable to decide definitely for an hour or so yet, unless +he regains consciousness in the meantime. It may be a fracture of the +skull or a mere concussion.” + +“Huh!” + +Mr. Sparling would have said more, but for the fact that the calm eyes +of the surgeon were fixed upon him in a level gaze. + +“Any bones broken?” + +“No; I think not. How far did he fall?” + +“Fell from Emperor’s head when the bull was up in the air. He must have +taken all of a twenty-foot dive, I should say.” + +“Possible? It’s a great wonder he didn’t break his neck. But he is very +well muscled for a boy of his age. I don’t suppose they have a hospital +in this town?” + +“Of course not. They never have anything in these tank towns. You ought +to know that by this time.” + +“They have a hotel. I know for I took dinner there today. If you will +get a carriage of some sort I think we had better take him there.” + +“Leave him, you mean?” questioned Mr. Sparling. + +“Yes; that will be best. We can put him in charge of a local physician +here. He ought to be able to take care of the boy all right.” + +“Not by a jug full!” roared Mr. James Sparling. “We’ll do nothing of +the sort.” + +“It will not be safe to take him with us, Sparling.” + +“Did I say it would? Did I? Of course, he shan’t be moved, nor will he +be left to one of these know-nothing sawbones. You’ll stay here with +him yourself, and you’ll take care of him if you know what’s good for +you. I’d rather lose most any five men in this show than that boy +there.” + +The surgeon nodded his approval of the sentiment. He, too, had taken +quite a fancy to Phil, because of the lad’s sunny disposition and +natural brightness. + +“Get out the coach some of you fellows. Have my driver hook up and +drive back into the paddock here, and be mighty quick about it. Here, +doc, is a head of lettuce (roll of money). If you need any more, you +know where to reach us. Send me a telegram in the morning and another +tomorrow night. Keep me posted and pull that boy out of this scrape or +you’ll be everlastingly out of a job with the Sparling Combined Shows. +Understand?” + +The surgeon nodded understandingly. He had heard Mr. Sparling bluster +on other occasions, and it did not make any great impression upon him. + +The carriage was quickly at hand. Circus people were in the habit of +obeying orders promptly. A quick drive was made to the hotel, where the +circus boy was quickly undressed and put to bed. + +All during the night the surgeon worked faithfully over his little +charge, and just as the first streaks of daylight slanted through the +window and across the white counterpane, Phil opened his eyes. + +For only a moment did they remain open, then closed again. + +The surgeon drew a long, deep breath. + +“Not a fracture,” he announced aloud. “I’m thankful for that.” He drew +the window shades down to shut out the light, as it was all important +that Phil should be kept quiet for a time. But the surgeon did not +sleep. He sat keen-eyed by the side of the bed, now and then noting the +pulse of his patient, touching the lad’s cheeks with light fingers. + +After a time the fresh morning air, fragrant with the fields and +flowers, drifted in, and the birds in the trees took up their morning +songs. + +“I guess the storm must be over,” muttered the medical man, rising +softly and peering out from behind the curtain. + +The day was dawning bright and beautiful. + +“My, it feels good to be in bed!” said a voice from the opposite side +of the room. “Where am I?” + +The surgeon wheeled sharply. + +“You are to keep very quiet. You had a tumble that shook you up +considerably.” + +“What time is it?” demanded Phil sharply. + +“About five o’clock in the morning.” + +“I must get up; I must get up.” + +“You will lie perfectly still. The show will get along without you +today, I guess.” + +“You don’t mean they have gone on and left me?” + +“Of course; they couldn’t wait for you.” + +The boys eyes filled with tears. + +“I knew it couldn’t last. I knew it.” + +“See here, do you want to join the show again?” + +“Of course, I do.” + +“Well, then, lie still. The more quiet you keep the sooner you will be +able to get out. Try to go to sleep. I must go downstairs and send a +message to Mr. Sparling, for he is very much concerned about you.” + +“Then he will take me back?” asked Phil eagerly. + +“Of course he will.” + +“I’ll go to sleep, doctor.” + +Phil turned over on his side and a moment later was breathing +naturally. + +The doctor tip-toed from the room and hastened down to the hotel office +where he penned the following message: + +James Sparling, + + +Sparling Combined Shows, + + +Boyertown. + + +Forrest recovers consciousness. Not a fracture. Expect him to be all +right in a few days. Will stay unless further orders. + + +Irvine. + + +“I think I’ll go upstairs and get a bit of a nap myself,” decided the +surgeon, after having directed the sleepy clerk to see to it that the +message was dispatched to its destination at once. + +He found Phil sleeping soundly. Throwing himself into a chair the +surgeon, used to getting a catnap whenever and wherever possible, was +soon sleeping as soundly as was his young patient. + +Neither awakened until the day was nearly done. + + + + +CHAPTER XVIII. +A STARTLING DISCOVERY + + +Phil’s recovery was rapid, though four days passed before he was +permitted to leave his bed. As soon as he was able to get downstairs +and sit out on the front porch of the hotel he found himself an object +of interest as well as curiosity. + +The story of his accident had been talked of until it had grown out of +all proportion to the real facts in the case. The boys of the village +hung over the porch rail and eyed him wonderingly and admiringly. It +did not fall to their lot every day to get acquainted with a real +circus boy. They asked him all manner of questions, which the lad +answered gladly, for even though he had suffered a severe accident, he +was not beyond enjoying the admiration of his fellows. + +“It must be great to be a circus boy,” marveled one. + +“It is until you fall off and crack your head,” laughed Phil. “It’s not +half so funny then.” + +After returning to his room that day Phil pondered deeply over the +accident. He could not understand it. + +“Nobody seems to know what really did happen,” he mused. “Dr. Irvine +says the wire broke. That doesn’t seem possible.” + +Off in the little dog tent of the owner of the show, Mr. James +Sparling, on the day following the accident, was asking himself almost +the same questions. + +He sent for Mr. Kennedy after having disposed of his early morning +business. There was a scowl on the owner’s face, but it had not been +caused by the telegram which lay on the desk before him, informing him +that Phil was not seriously hurt. That was a source of keen +satisfaction to the showman, for he felt that he could not afford to +lose the young circus boy. + +Teddy was so upset over it, however, that the boss had about made up +his mind to let Phil’s companion go back and join him. + +While the showman was thinking the matter over, Mr. Kennedy appeared at +the opening of the dog tent. + +“Morning,” he greeted, which was responded to by a muttered “Huh!” from +James Sparling. + +“Come in. What are you standing out there for?” + +Kennedy was so used to this form of salutation that he paid no further +attention to it than to obey the summons. + +He entered and stood waiting for his employer to speak. + +“I want you to tell me exactly what occurred last night, when young +Forrest got hurt, Kennedy.” + +“I can’t tell you any more about it than you heard last night. He had +started to make his dive before I noticed that anything was wrong. He +didn’t stop until he landed on his head. They said the wire snapped.” + +“Did it?” + +“I guess so,” grinned Kennedy. + +“Who is responsible for having picked out that wire?” + +“I guess I am.” + +“And you have the face to stand there and tell me so?” + +“I usually tell the truth, don’t I?” + +“Yes, yes; you do. That’s what I like about you.” + +“Heard from the kid this morning?” + +“Yes; he’ll be all right in a few days. Concussion and general shaking +up; that’s all, but it’s enough. How are the bulls this morning?” + +“Emperor is sour. Got a regular grouch on.” + +“Misses that young rascal Phil, I suppose?” + +“Yes.” + +“H-m-m-m!” + +“Didn’t want to come through last night at all.” + +“H-m-m-m. Guess we’d better fire you and let the boy handle the bulls; +don’t you think so?” + +The trainer grinned and nodded. + +“Kennedy, you’ve been making your brags that you always tell me the +truth. I am going to ask you a question, and I want you to see if you +can make that boast good.” + +“Yes, sir.” + +Perhaps the trainer understood something of what was in his employer’s +mind, for his lips closed sharply while his jaw took on a belligerent +look. + +“How did that wire come to break, Kennedy?” + +The question came out with a snap, as if the showman already had made +up his mind as to what the answer should be. + +“It was cut, sir,” answered the trainer promptly. + +The lines in Mr. Sparling’s face drew hard and tense. Instead of a +violent outburst of temper, which Kennedy fully expected, the owner sat +silently contemplating his trainer for a full minute. + +“Who did it?” + +“I couldn’t guess.” + +“I didn’t ask you to guess. I can guess for myself. I asked who did +it?” + +“I don’t know. I haven’t the least idea who would do a job like that in +this show. I hope the mean hound will take French leave before I get +him spotted, sir.” + +Mr. Sparling nodded with emphasis. + +“I hope so, Kennedy. What makes you think the wire was cut?” + +With great deliberation the trainer drew a small package from his +inside coat pocket, carefully unwrapped it, placing the contents on the +table in front of Mr. Sparling. + +“What’s this—what’s this?” + +“That’s the wire.” + +“But there are two pieces here—” + +“Yes. I cut off a few feet on each side of where the break occurred. +Those are the two.” + +Mr. Sparling regarded them critically. + +“How can you tell that the wire has been cut, except where you cut it +yourself?” + +“It was cut halfway through with a file, as you can see, sir. When +Forrest threw his weight on it, of course the wire parted at the +weakened point.” + +“H-m-m-m.” + +“If you will examine it, an inch or two above the cut, you will find +two or three file marks, where the file started to cut, then was moved +down. Probably slipped. Looks like it. Don’t you think I’m right, sir?” + +Mr. Sparling nodded reflectively. + +“There can be no doubt of it. You think it was done between the two +performances yesterday?” + +“Oh, yes. That cut wouldn’t have held through one performance. It was +cut during the afternoon.” + +“Who was in the tent between the shows?” + +“Pretty much the whole crowd. But, if you will remember, the day was +dark and stormy. There was a time late in the afternoon, before the +torches were lighted, when the big top was almost in darkness. It’s my +idea that the job was done then. Anybody could have done it without +being discovered. It’s likely there wasn’t anybody in the tent except +himself at the time.” + +“Kennedy, I want you to find out who did that. Understand?” + + + + +CHAPTER XIX. +TEDDY DISTINGUISHES HIMSELF + + +“The boss has an awful grouch on.” + +“Yes; I wonder what’s the matter with him,” pondered the clown. + +His brother fun-maker shrugged his shoulders. + +“Guess he’s mad because of young Forrest’s accident. Just got a good +act started when he had to go and spoil it.” + +Not a hint of the suspicion entertained by the owner and his elephant +trainer had been breathed about the show. Nearly a week had passed +since Phil’s narrow escape from death; yet, despite all the efforts of +Kennedy or the shrewd observation of his employer, they were no nearer +a solution of the mystery than before. The days passed, and with them +the anger of James Sparling increased. + +“That chum of Forrest’s is a funny fellow,” continued the first +speaker. “He’d make a good clown?” + +“Make? He’s one already. Look at him.” + +Teddy was perched on the back of Jumbo, the trick mule of the show, out +in the paddock, where the performers were indulging in various strange +antics for the purpose of limbering themselves up prior to entering the +ring for their acts. + +The bright, warm sunlight was streaming down, picking up little flames +from the glistening spangles sprinkled over the costumes of many of the +circus folks. + +Teddy and Jumbo had become fast friends—a strangely assorted pair, and +whenever the opportunity presented itself Teddy would mount the ugly +looking mule, riding him about the paddock or the ring when there was +nothing going on under the big top. Every time the pair made their +appearance it was the signal for a shout of merriment from the +performers. + +Teddy had perched himself on Jumbo’s back while the mule was awaiting +his turn to enter the ring, which he did alone, performing his act with +nothing save the crack of the ringmaster’s whip to guide him. + +Somebody had jammed a clown’s cap on Teddy’s head, while someone else +had hit it a smash with the flat of his hand, until the peak of the cap +lopped over to one side disconsolately. + +Teddy’s face wore an appreciative grin, Jumbo’s long ears lying as far +back on his head as they would reach. To the ordinary observer it might +have been supposed that the mule was angry about something. On the +contrary, it was his way of showing his pleasure. When a pan of oats +was thrust before Jumbo, or he chanced upon a patch of fresh, tender +grass, the ears expressed the animal’s satisfaction. + +Jumbo could do pretty much everything except talk, but occasionally the +stubbornness of his kind took possession of him. At such times the +trick mule was wont to do the most erratic things. + +“How’d you like to ride him in?” chuckled Miaco, who stood regarding +the lad with a broad smile. + +“If I had a saddle I wouldn’t mind it,” grinned Teddy’s funny face as +an accompaniment to his words. + +Jumbo’s equipment consisted of a cinch girth and a pair of bridle reins +connected with a headstall. There was no bit, but the effect was to +arch his neck like that of a proud stallion. + +“You’d make the hit of your life if you did,” laughed Miaco. “Wonder +the boss don’t have you do it.” + +“Would if he knew about it,” spoke up a performer. “The really funny +things don’t get into the ring in a circus, unless by accident.” + +In the meantime the ringmaster was making his loud-voiced announcement +out under the big top. + +“Ladies and gentlemen,” he roared, after a loud crack of his +long-lashed whip, to attract the attention of the people to him, “we +are now about to introduce the wonderful performing mule Jumbo, the +only broncho-bucking, bobtailed mule in the world. You will notice that +he performs without a rider, without human interference. Please do not +speak to Jumbo while he is going through his act. Ladies and gentlemen, +Jumbo, the great educated mule, will now make his appearance unaided by +human hand.” + +The audience applauded the announcement. + +At that moment the band struck up the tune by which Jumbo always made +his entrance. At the first blare of the brass a fun-loving clown jabbed +Jumbo with a pin. The mule did the rest. + +“Here! Here! Get off that mule!” shouted the animal’s trainer. “He’s +going on!” + +“Let him go!” roared clowns and other performers. + +Jumbo had never made as quick a start in all his circus career as he +did that day. He fairly leaped into the air, though only one man +understood the reason for the mule’s sudden move. + +With a bray that was heard all over the big top Jumbo burst through the +red curtains like a tornado. There he paused for one brief instant, as +if uncertain whether to do a certain thing or not. + +Recalling the ringmaster’s words, the spectators at first were at a +loss to account for the odd-looking figure that was clinging to the +back of the educated mule. + +Suddenly they broke out into roars of laughter, while the performers +peering through the red curtain fairly howled with delight. + +Teddy was hanging to the cinch girth uncertain what to do. The +ringmaster, amazed beyond words, stood gaping at the spectacle, for the +moment powerless to use his usually ready tongue. + +Jumbo launched into the arena. + +“Get off!” thundered the ringmaster, suddenly recovering himself. + +“I can’t!” howled Teddy, though from present indications it appeared as +if he would dismount without any effort on his own part. + +Jumbo’s heels flew into the air, then began a series of lunges, bucking +and terrific kicking such as none among the vast audience ever had +witnessed in or out of a show ring. + +One instant Teddy would be standing on his head on the mule’s back, the +next lying on his back with feet toward the animal’s head. Next he +would be dragged along the ground, to be plumped back again at the next +bounce. + +No feat seemed too difficult for Jumbo to attempt that day. + +“Stop him! Stop him!” howled the ringmaster. + +Ring attendants rushed forward to obey his command, but they might as +well have tried to stop a tornado. Jumbo eluded them without the least +trouble, but their efforts to keep out of range of his flying hoofs +were not so easy. Some of them had narrow escapes from being seriously +injured. + +Mr. Sparling, attracted by the roars of laughter of the audience and +the unusual disturbance, had hurried into the big top, where he stood, +at first in amazement, then with a broad grin overspreading his +countenance. + +Now Jumbo began a race with himself about the arena, following the +concourse, now and then sending his heels into the air right over the +heads of the spectators of the lower row of seats, sending them +scrambling under the seats for protection. + +A clown ran out with half a dozen paper covered hoops, which he was +holding in readiness for the next bareback act. + +He flaunted them in the face of the runaway mule. + +Jumbo ducked his head under them and Teddy Tucker’s head went through +the paper with a crash, the mule’s heels at that instant being high in +the air. + +With the rings hung about his neck, Teddy cut a more ridiculous figure +than ever. The audience went wild with excitement. + +Now the ringmaster, angered beyond endurance, began reaching for Teddy +with the long lash of his whip. The business end of the lash once +brushed the boy’s cheek. + +It stung him. + +“Ouch!” howled Teddy as he felt the lash. + +“Stop that!” exploded Mr. Sparling, who, by this time, had gotten into +the ring to take a hand in the performance himself. He grabbed the +irate ringmaster by the collar, giving him a jerk that that functionary +did not forget in a hurry. + +Jumbo, however, was no respecter of persons. He had taken a short cut +across the ring just as the owner had begun his correction of the +ringmaster. Jumbo shook out his heels again. They caught the owner’s +sombrero and sent it spinning into the air. + +Mr. Sparling, in his excitement, forgot all about the ringmaster. +Picking up a tent stake, he hurled it after the educated mule, missing +him by a full rod. + +The audience by this time was in a tempest of excitement. At first they +thought it was all a part of the show. But they were soon undeceived, +which made their enjoyment and appreciation all the greater. + +Jumbo took a final sprint about the arena, Teddy’s legs and free arm +most of the time in the air. He had long since lost his clown’s cap, +which Jumbo, espying, had kicked off into the audience. + +“You fool mule! You fool mule!” bellowed Mr. Sparling. + +Jumbo suddenly decided that he would go back to the paddock. With him, +to decide was to act. Taking a fresh burst of speed, he shot straight +at the red curtains. To reach these he was obliged to pass close to the +bandstand, where the band was playing as if the very existence of the +show depended upon them. + +Teddy’s grip was relaxing. His arm was so benumbed that he could not +feel that he had any arm on that side at all. + +His fingers slowly relaxed their grip on the cinch girth. In a moment +he had bounced back to the educated mule’s rump. In another instant he +would be plumped to the hard ground with a jolt that would shake him to +his foundations. + +But Jumbo had other plans—more spectacular plans—in mind. He put them +into execution at once. The moment he felt his burden slipping over his +back that active end grew busy again. Jumbo humped himself, letting out +a volley of kicks so lightning-like in their swiftness that human eye +could not follow. + +Teddy had slipped half over the mule’s rump when the volley began. + +“Catch him! He’ll be killed!” shouted someone. + +All at once the figure of Teddy Tucker shot straight up into the air, +propelled there by the educated mule. The lad’s body described what +somebody afterwards characterized as “graceful somersault in the air,” +then began its downward flight. + +He landed right in the midst of the band. + +Crash! + +There was a yell of warning, a jingle and clatter of brass, several +chairs went down under the impact, the floor gave way and half the +band, with Teddy Tucker in the middle of the heap, sank out of sight. + + + + +CHAPTER XX. +THE RETURN TO THE SAWDUST LIFE + + +“Is he dead?” + +“No; you can’t kill a thick-head like that,” snarled the ringmaster. + +The audience was still roaring. + +With angry imprecations the members of the band who had fallen through +were untangling themselves as rapidly as possible. Teddy, in the +meantime, had dragged himself from beneath the heap and slunk out from +under the broken platform. He lost no time in escaping to the paddock, +but the bandmaster, espying him, started after the lad, waving his +baton threateningly. + +No sooner had Teddy gained the seclusion of the dressing tent than +James Sparling burst in. + +“Where’s that boy? Where’s that boy?” + +“Here he is,” grinned a performer, thrusting Teddy forward, much +against the lad’s inclinations. + +Mr. Sparling surveyed him with narrow eyes. + +“You young rascal! Trying to break up my show, are you?” + +“N-no—sir.” + +“Can you do that again, do you think?” + +“I—I don’t know.” + +“That’s the greatest Rube mule act that ever hit a sawdust ring. I’ll +double your salary if you think you can get away with it every +performance,” fairly shouted the owner. + +“I—I’m willing if the mule is,” stammered Teddy somewhat doubtfully. + +As a result the lad left his job in the cook tent, never to return to +it. After many hard knocks and some heavy falls he succeeded in so +mastering the act that he was able to go through with it without great +risk of serious injury to himself. The educated mule and the boy became +a feature of the Sparling Combined Shows from that moment on, but after +that Teddy took good care not to round off his act by a high dive into +the big bass horn. + +No one was more delighted at Teddy Tucker’s sudden leap to fame than +was his companion, Phil Forrest. Phil and Dr. Irvine returned to the +show, one afternoon, about a week after the accident. They had come on +by train. + +Phil, though somewhat pale after his setback, was clear-eyed, and +declared himself as fit as ever. He insisted upon going on with his act +at the evening performance, but Mr. Sparling told him to wait until the +day following. In the meantime Phil could get his apparatus in working +order. + +“I’ll look it over myself this time,” announced the showman. “I don’t +want any more such accidents happening in this show. Your friend Teddy +nearly put the whole outfit to the bad—he and the fool mule.” + +That afternoon Phil had an opportunity to witness for himself the +exhibition of his companion and the “fool mule.” He laughed until his +sides ached. + +“O Teddy, you’ll break your neck doing that stunt one of these times,” +warned Phil, hastening back to the dressing tent after Teddy and the +mule had left the ring. + +“Don’t you think it’s worth the risk?” + +“That depends.” + +“For two dollars a day?” + +“Is that what you are getting?” + +“Yep. I’m a high-priced performer,” insisted Teddy, snapping his +trousers pocket significantly. “I’d jump off the big top, twice every +day, for that figure.” + +“What are you going to do with all your money? Spend it?” + +“I—rather thought I’d buy a bicycle.” + +Phil shook his head. + +“You couldn’t carry it, and, besides, nobody rides bicycles these days. +They ride in automobiles.” + +“Then I’ll buy one of them.” + +“I’ll tell you what you do, Teddy.” + +“Lend the money to you, eh?” + +“No; I am earning plenty for myself. But every week, now, I shall send +all my money home to Mrs. Cahill. I wrote to her about it while I was +sick. She is going to put it in the bank for me at Edmeston, with +herself appointed as trustee. That’s necessary, you see, because I am +not of age. Then no one can take it away from me.” + +“You mean your Uncle Abner?” questioned Teddy. + +“Yes. I don’t know that he would want to; but I’m not taking any +chances. Now, why not send your money along at the same time? Mrs. +Cahill will deposit it in the same way, and at the end of the season +think what a lot of money you will have?” + +“Regular fortune?” + +“Yes, a regular fortune.” + +“What’ll I do with all that money?” + +“Do what I’m going to do—get an education.” + +“What, and leave the show business? No, siree!” + +“I didn’t mean that. You can go to school between seasons. I don’t +intend to leave the show business, but I’m going to know something +besides that.” + +“Well, I guess it would be a good idea,” reflected Teddy. + +“Will you do it?” + +“Yes; I’ll do it,” he nodded. + +“Good for you! We’ll own a show of our own, one of these days. You mark +me, Teddy,” glowed Phil. + +“Of our own?” marveled Teddy, his face wreathing in smiles. “Say, +wouldn’t that be great?” + +“I think so. Have you been practicing on the rings since I left?” + +“No.” + +“That’s too bad. You and I will begin tomorrow. We ought to be pretty +expert on the flying rings in a few weeks, if I don’t get hurt again,” +added the boy, a shadow flitting across his face. + +“Then, you’d better begin by taking some bends,” suggested Mr. Miaco, +who, approaching, had overheard Phil’s remark. + +“Bends?” questioned Teddy + +“What are they?” wondered Phil. “Oh, I know. I read about them in the +papers. It’s an attack that fellows working in a tunnel get when +they’re digging under a river. I don’t want anything like that.” + +“No, no, no,” replied Mr. Miaco in a tone of disgust. “It’s no disease +at all.” + +“No?” + +“What I mean by bends is exercises. You have seen the performers do +it—bend forward until their hands touch the ground, legs stiff, then +tipping as far backwards as possible. Those are bending exercises, and +the best things to do. The performers limber up for their act that way. +If you practice it slowly several times a day you will be surprised to +see what it will do for you. I’d begin today were I in your place, +Phil. You’ll find yourself a little stiff when you go on in your +elephant act tonight—” + +“I’m not going on tonight—not until tomorrow. Mr. Sparling doesn’t wish +me to.” + +“All right. All the better. Exercise! I wouldn’t begin on the rings +today either. Just take your bends, get steady on your feet and start +in in a regular, systematic way tomorrow,” advised the head clown. + +“Thank you, Mr. Miaco; I shall do so. I am much obliged to you. You are +very kind to us.” + +“Because I like you, and because you boys don’t pretend to know more +about the circus business than men who have spent their lives in it.” + +“I hope I shall never be like that,” laughed Phil. “I know I shall +always be willing to learn.” + +“And there always is something to learn in the circus life. None of us +knows it all. There are new things coming up every day,” added the +clown. + +Phil left the dressing tent to go around to the menagerie tent for a +talk with Mr. Kennedy and Emperor. Entering the tent the lad gave his +whistle signal, whereat Emperor trumpeted loudly. + +The big elephant greeted his young friend with every evidence of joy +and excitement. Phil, of course, had brought Emperor a bag of peanuts +as well as several lumps of sugar, and it was with difficulty that the +lad got away from him after finishing his chat with Mr. Kennedy. + +Phil was making a round of calls that afternoon, so he decided that he +would next visit Mr. Sparling, having seen him only a moment, and that +while others were around. + +“May I come in?” he asked. + +“Yes; what do you want?” + +“To thank you for your kindness.” + +“Didn’t I tell you never to thank me for anything?” thundered the +showman. + +“I beg your pardon, sir; I’ll take it all back,” twinkled Phil. + +“Oh, you will, will you, young scapegrace? What did you come here for +anyway? Not to palaver about how thankful you are that you got knocked +out, stayed a week in bed and had your salary paid all the time. I’ll +bet you didn’t come for that. Want a raise of salary already?” + +“Hardly. If you’ll give me a chance, I’ll tell you, Mr. Sparling.” + +“Go on. Say it quick.” + +“I have been thinking about the fall I got, since I’ve been laid up.” + +“Nothing else to think about, eh?” + +“And the more I think about it, the more it bothers me.” + +“Does, eh?” grunted Mr. Sparling, busying himself with his papers. + +“Yes, sir. I don’t suppose it would be possible for me to get the +broken wire now, would it? No doubt it was thrown away.” + +The showman peered up at the boy suspiciously. + +“What do you want of it?” + +“I thought I should like to examine it.” + +“Why?” + +“To see what had been done to it.” + +“Oh, you do, eh?” + +“Yes, sir.” + +“What do you think happened to that wire? It broke, didn’t it?” + +“Yes, I guess there is no doubt about it but somebody helped to break +it.” + +“Young man, you are too confoundedly smart. Mark my words, you’ll die +young. Yes; I have the wire. Here it is. Look at it. You are right; +something happened to it, and I’ve been tearing myself to pieces, ever +since, to find out who it was. I’ve got all my amateur sleuths working +on the case, this very minute, to find out who the scoundrel is who cut +the wire. Have you any idea about it? But there’s no use in asking you. +I—” + +“I’ve got this,” answered Phil, tossing a small file on the table in +front of Mr. Sparling. + +“What, what, what? A file?” + +“Yes, will you see if it fits the notch in the wire there?” + +The showman did so, holding file and wire up to the light for a better +examination of them. + +“There can be no doubt of it,” answered the amazed showman, fixing +wondering eyes on the young man. “Where did you get it?” + +“Picked it up.” + +“Where?” + +“In the dressing tent.” + +“Pooh! Then it doesn’t mean anything,” grunted Mr. Sparling. + +“If you knew where I picked it up you might think differently.” + +“Then where _did_ you get it?” + +“Found it in my own trunk.” + +“In your trunk?” + +Phil nodded. + +“How did it get there?” + +“I had left my trunk open after placing some things in it. When I went +out to watch Teddy’s mule act I was in such a hurry that I forgot all +about the trunk. When I came back, there it lay, near the end—” + +“Somebody put it there!” exploded the showman. + +“Yes.” + +“But who? Find that out for me—let me know who the man is and you’ll +hear an explosion in this outfit that will raise the big top right off +the ground.” + +“Leave it to me, Mr. Sparling, I’ll find him.” + +The owner laughed harshly. + +“How?” + +“I think I know who the man is at this very minute,” was Phil Forrest’s +startling announcement, uttered in a quiet, even tone. + +Mr. Sparling leaped from his chair so suddenly that he overturned the +table in front of him, sending his papers flying all over the place. + + + + +CHAPTER XXI. +AN ELEPHANT IN JAIL + + +“Who is he?” + +“I would not care to answer that question just now, Mr. Sparling,” +answered Phil calmly. “It would not be right—that is, not until I am +sure about it.” + +“Tell me, or get out.” + +“Remember, Mr. Sparling, it is a serious accusation you ask me to make +against a man on proof that you would say was not worth anything. It +may take some time, but before I get through I’m going either to fasten +the act on someone—on a particular one—or else prove that I am wholly +mistaken.” + +The showman stormed, but Phil was obdurate. He refused to give the +slightest intimation as to whom he suspected. + +“Am I to go, Mr. Sparling?” he asked after the interview had come to an +end. + +“No! I expect you’ll own this show yet.” + +He watched Phil walking away from the tent. There was a scowl on the +face of James Sparling. + +“If I thought that young rascal really thought he knew, I’d take him +across my knee and spank him until he told me. No; he’s more of a man +than any two in the whole outfit. I’d rather lose a horse than have +anything happen to that lad.” + +Days followed each other in quick succession. The show had by this time +swung around into Pennsylvania, and was playing a circuit of small +mining towns with exceptionally good attendance. The owner of the show +was in high good humor over the profits the show was earning. The acts +of Phil Forrest and Teddy Tucker had proved to be among the best +drawing cards in the circus performance proper. So important did the +owner consider them that the names of the two circus boys were now +prominently displayed in the advertisements, as well as on the +billboards. + +During all this time, Phil and Teddy had worked faithfully on the rings +under the instruction of Mr. Miaco. On the side they were taking +lessons in tumbling as well. For this purpose what is known as a +“mechanic” was used to assist them in their schooling. This consisted +of a belt placed about the beginner’s waist. >From it a rope led up +over a pulley, the other end of the rope being securely held by +someone. + +When all was ready the pupil would take a running start, jump into the +air and try to turn. At the same time, the man holding the free end of +the rope would give it a hard pull, thus jerking the boy free of the +ground and preventing his falling on his head. + +After a few days of this, both boys had progressed so far that they +were able to work on a mat, made up of several layers of thick carpet, +without the aid of the “mechanic.” Of course their act lacked finish. +Their movements were more or less clumsy, but they had mastered the +principle of the somersault in remarkably quick time. + +Mr. Miaco said that in two more weeks they ought to be able to join the +performers in their general tumbling act, which was one of the features +of the show. + +There was not an hour of the day that found the two boys idle, now, and +all this activity was viewed by Mr. Sparling with an approving eye. + +But one day there came an interruption that turned the thoughts of the +big show family in another direction. + +An accident had happened at the morning parade that promised trouble +for the show. A countryman, who had heard that the hide of an elephant +could not be punctured, was struck by the happy thought of finding out +for himself the truth or falsity of this theory. He had had an argument +with some of his friends, he taking the ground that an elephant’s hide +was no different from the hide of any other animal. And he promised to +show them that it was not. + +All he needed was the opportunity. With his friends he had followed +along with the parade, keeping abreast of the elephants, until finally +the parade was halted by the crossing gates at a railroad. + +Now was the man’s chance to prove the theory false. The crowd closed in +on the parade to get a closer view of the people, and this acted as a +cover for the man’s experiment. + +Taking his penknife out he placed the point of it against the side of +Emperor, as it chanced. + +“Now watch me,” he said, at the same time giving the knife a quick +shove, intending merely to see if he could prick through the skin. His +experiment succeeded beyond the fellow’s fondest expectations. The +point of the knife had gone clear through Emperor’s hide. + +Emperor, ordinarily possessed of a keen sense of humor, coupled with +great good nature, in this instance failed to see the humor of the +proceeding. In fact, he objected promptly and in a most surprising +manner. + +Like a flash, his trunk curled back. It caught the bold experimenter +about the waist, and the next instant the fellow was dangling in the +air over Emperor’s head, yelling lustily for help. The elephant had +been watching the man, apparently suspecting something, and therefore +was ready for him. + +“Put him down!” thundered Kennedy. + +The elephant obeyed, but in a manner not intended by the trainer when +he gave the command. + +With a quick sweep of his trunk, Emperor hurled his tormentor from him. +The man’s body did not stop until it struck a large plate glass window +in a store front, disappearing into the store amid a terrific crashing +of glass and breaking of woodwork, the man having carried most of the +window with him in his sudden entry into the store. + +This was a feature of the parade that had not been advertised on the +bills. + +The procession moved on a moment later, with old Emperor swinging along +as meekly as if he had not just stirred up a heap of trouble for +himself and his owner. + +The man, it was soon learned, had been badly hurt. + +But Mr. Sparling was on the ground almost at once, making an +investigation. He quickly learned what had caused the trouble. And then +he was mad all through. He raved up and down the line threatening to +get out a warrant for the arrest of the man who had stuck a knife into +his elephant. + +Later in the afternoon matters took a different turn. A lawyer called +on the showman, demanding the payment of ten thousand dollars damages +for the injuries sustained by his client, and which, he said, would in +all probability make the man a cripple for life. + +If the showman had been angry before, he was in a towering rage now. + +“Get off this lot!” he roared. “If you show your face here again I’ll +set the canvasmen on you! Then you won’t be able to leave without +help.” + +The lawyer stood not upon the order of his going, and they saw no more +of him. They had about concluded that they had heard the last of his +demands, until just before the evening performance, when, as the cook +tent was being struck, half a dozen deputy sheriffs suddenly made their +appearance. + +They held papers permitting them to levy on anything they could lay +their hands upon and hold it until full damages had been fixed by the +courts. + +There was no trifling with the law, at least not then, and Mr. Sparling +was shrewd enough to see that. However, he stormed and threatened, but +all to no purpose. + +The intelligent deputies reasoned that Emperor, having been the cause +of all the trouble, would be the proper chattel to levy upon. So they +levied on him. + +The next thing was to get Emperor to jail. He would not budge an inch +when the officers sought to take him. Then a happy thought struck them. +They ordered the trainer to lead the elephant and follow them under +pain of instant arrest if he refused. + +There was nothing for it but to obey. Protesting loudly, Kennedy +started for the village with his great, hulking charge. + +Phil Forrest was as disconsolate as his employer was enraged. The boy’s +act was spoiled, perhaps indefinitely, which might mean the loss of +part of his salary. + +“That’s country justice,” growled the owner. “But I’ll telegraph my +lawyer in the city and have him here by morning. Maybe it won’t be such +a bad speculation tomorrow, for I’ll make this town go broke before it +has fully settled the damages I’ll get out of it. Don’t be down in the +mouth, Forrest. You’ll have your elephant back, and before many days at +that. Go watch the show and forget your troubles.” + +It will be observed that, under his apparently excitable exterior, Mr. +James Sparling was a philosopher. + +“Emperor’s in jail,” mourned Phil. + +The moment Mr. Kennedy returned, sullen and uncommunicative, Phil +sought him out. He found the trainer in Mr. Sparling’s tent. + +“Where did they take him?” demanded Phil, breaking in on their +conversation. + +“To jail,” answered Kennedy grimly. “First time I ever heard of such a +thing as an elephant’s going to jail.” + +“That’s the idea. We’ll use that for an advertisement,” cried the ever +alert showman, slapping his thighs. “Emperor, the performing elephant +of the Great Sparling Combined Shows, jailed for assault. Fine, fine! +How’ll that look in the newspapers? Why, men, it will fill the tent +when we get to the next stand, whether we have the elephant or not.” + +“No; you’ve got to have the elephant,” contended Kennedy. + +“Well, perhaps that’s so. But I’ll wire our man ahead, just the same, +and let him use the fact in his press notices.” + +“But how could they get him in the jail?” questioned Phil. + +“Jail? You see, they couldn’t. They wanted to, but the jail wouldn’t +fit, or the elephant wouldn’t fit the jail, either way you please. When +they discovered that they didn’t know what to do with him. Somebody +suggested that they might lock him up in the blacksmith shop.” + +“The blacksmith shop?” exploded the owner. + +“I hope they don’t try to fit him with shoes,” he added, with a grim +smile. + +“Well, maybe it wouldn’t be so bad if they did. We’d have our elephant +right quick. Yes, they tried the blacksmith shop on, and it worked, but +it was a close fit. If Emperor had had a bump on his back as big as an +egg he wouldn’t have gone in.” + +“And he’s there now?” + +“Yes. I reckon I’d better stay here and camp at the hotel, hadn’t I, +so’s to be handy when your lawyer comes on? Emperor might tear up the +town if he got loose.” + +Mr. Sparling reflected for a moment. + +“Kennedy, you’ll go with the show tonight. I don’t care if Emperor +tears this town up by the roots. If none of us is here, then we shall +not be to blame for what happens. We didn’t tell them to lock him up in +the blacksmith shop. You can get back after the lawyer has gotten him +out. That will be time enough.” + +“Where is the blacksmith shop?” questioned Phil. + +“Know where the graveyard is?” + +“Yes.” + +“It’s just the other side of that,” said Kennedy. “Church on this side, +blacksmith shop on the other. Why?” + +“Oh, nothing. I was just wondering,” answered Phil, glancing up and +finding the eyes of Mr. Sparling bent keenly upon him. + +The lad rose hastily, went out, and climbing up to the seat of a long +pole wagon, sat down to ponder over the situation. He remained there +until a teamster came to hook to the wagon and drive it over to be +loaded. Then Phil got down, standing about with hands in his pockets. + +He was trying to make up his mind about something. + +“Where do we show tomorrow?” he asked of an employee. + +“Dobbsville, Ohio. We’ll be over the line before daybreak.” + +“Oh.” + +The circus tent was rapidly disappearing now. “In another state in the +morning,” mused Phil. + +One by one the wagons began moving from the circus lot. + +“Get aboard the sleeping car,” called the driver of the wagon that Phil +and Teddy usually slept in, as he drove past. + +“Hey, Phil!” called Teddy, suddenly appearing above the top of the box. + +“Hello, Teddy!” + +“What are you standing there for?” + +“Perhaps I’m getting the night air,” laughed Phil. “Fine, isn’t it?” + +“It might be better. But get in; get in. You’ll be left.” + +“Never mind me. I am not going on your wagon tonight. You may have the +bed all to yourself. Don’t forget to leave your window open,” he +jeered. + +“I have it open already. I’m going to put the screen in now to keep the +mosquitoes out,” retorted Teddy, not to be outdone. + +“Has Mr. Sparling gone yet do you know?” + +“No; he and Kennedy are over yonder where the front door was, talking.” + +“All right.” + +Teddy’s head disappeared. No sooner had it done so than Phil Forrest +turned and ran swiftly toward the opposite side of the lot. He ran in a +crouching position, as if to avoid being seen. + +Reaching a fence which separated the road from the field, he threw +himself down in the tall grass there and hid. + +“In Ohio tomorrow. I’m going to try it,” he muttered. “It can’t be +wrong. They had no business, no right to do it,” he decided, his voice +full of indignation. + +He heard the wagons rumbling by him on the hard road, the rattle of +wheels accompanied by the shouts of the drivers as they urged their +horses on. + +And there Phil lay hidden until every wagon had departed, headed for +the border, and the circus lot became a barren, deserted and silent +field. + + + + +CHAPTER XXII. +EMPEROR ANSWERS THE SIGNAL + + +Making sure that everybody had left, Phil Forrest ran swiftly toward +the village. He knew the way, having been downtown during the day. + +A light twinkled here and there in a house, where the people, no doubt, +were discussing the exciting events of the day. As Phil drew near the +cemetery he heard voices. + +It would not do to be discovered, so the lad climbed the fence and +crept along the edge of the open plot. He was nearing the blacksmith +shop and it was soon apparent to him that quite a number of men had +gathered in front of the shop itself. + +Skulking up to the corner, the last rod being traversed on all fours, +the circus boy flattened himself on the ground to listen, in an effort +to learn if possible what were the plans of the villagers. If they had +any he did not learn them, for their conversation was devoted +principally to discussing what they had done to the Sparling show and +what they would do further before they had finished with this business. + +Phil did learn, however, that the man who had been hurled through the +store window was not fatally injured, as had been thought at first. +Someone announced that the doctor had said the man would be about again +in a couple of weeks. + +“I’m glad of that,” muttered Phil. “I shouldn’t like to think that +Emperor had killed anyone. I wonder how he likes it in there.” + +Evidently the elephant was not well pleased, for the lad could hear him +stirring restlessly and tugging at his chains. + +“Won’t he be surprised, though?” chuckled Phil. “I shouldn’t be +surprised if he made a lot of noise. I hope he doesn’t, for I don’t +want to stir the town up. I wonder if those fellows are going to stay +there all night?” + +The loungers showed no inclination to move, so there was nothing for +the boy to do but to lie still and wait. + +After a little he began to feel chilled, and began hopping around on +hands and feet to start his blood moving. A little of this warmed him +up considerably. This time he sat down in the fence corner. The night +was moonless, but the stars were quite bright, enabling Phil to make +out objects some distance away. He could see quite plainly the men +gathered in front of the blacksmith shop. + +After a wait of what seemed hours to Phil, one of the watchers stirred +himself. + +“Well, fellows, we might as well go home. The brute’s settled down for +the night, I reckon.” + +“What time is it?” + +“Half past two,” announced the first speaker. + +“Well, well, I should say it was time to go. Not going to stay with +him, are you, sheriff?” + +“Not necessary. He can’t get out.” + +After listening at the closed door, the one whom Phil judged to be an +officer joined his companions and all walked leisurely down the road. + +The lad remained in the fence corner for sometime, but he stood up +after they had gone. He did not dare move about much, fearing that +Emperor might hear and know him and raise a great tumult. + +Phil waited all of half an hour; then he climbed the fence and slipped +cautiously to the door of the shop. + +It was securely locked. + +“Oh, pshaw! That’s too bad,” grumbled the lad. “How am I going to do +it?” + +Phil ran his fingers lightly over the fastening, which consisted of a +strong hasp and a padlock. + +“What shall I do? I dare not try to break the lock. I should be +committing a crime if I did. Perhaps I am already. No; I’m not, and I +shall not. I’ll just speak to Emperor, then start off on foot after the +show. It was foolish of me to think I could do anything to help Mr. +Sparling and the elephant out of his trouble. I ought to be able to +walk to the next stand and get there in time for the last breakfast +call, providing I can find the way.” + +Perhaps Phil’s conscience troubled him a little, though he had done +nothing worse than to follow the dictates of his kind heart in his +desire to be of assistance to his employer and to befriend old Emperor. + +Placing his lips close to the door, Phil called softly. + +“Emperor!” he said. + +The restless swaying and heavy breathing within ceased suddenly. + +“Emperor!” repeated the lad, at the same time uttering the low whistle +that the big elephant had come to know so well. + +A mighty cough from the interior of the blacksmith shop answered Phil +Forrest’s signal. + +“Be quiet, Emperor. Be quiet! We are going to get you out as soon as we +can, old fellow! You just behave yourself now. Do you hear?” + +Emperor emitted another loud cough. + +“Good old Emperor. I’ve got some peanuts for you, but I don’t know how +I am going to give them to you. Wait a minute. Perhaps there is a +window somewhere that I can toss them through.” + +Phil, after looking around, found a window with the small panes of +glass missing. The window was so high that he could not reach it, so he +stood on the ground and tossed the peanuts in, while the big elephant +demonstrated the satisfaction he felt, in a series of sharp intakes of +breath. + +“Now I’m going,” announced Phil. “Goodbye, Emperor. Here’s a lump of +sugar. That’s all I have for you.” + +Phil turned away sorrowfully. His purpose had failed. Not because he +doubted his ability to carry it out, but he was not sure that he would +be right in doing so. + +A few rods down the road he paused, turned and uttered his shrill +signal whistle, with no other idea in mind than to bring some comfort +to the imprisoned beast. + +Emperor interpreted the signal otherwise, however. He uttered a loud, +shrill trumpet; then things began to happen with a rapidity that fairly +made the circus boy’s head whirl. + +A sudden jingle of metal, a crashing and rending from within the shop, +caused Phil to halt sharply after he had once more started on his way. + +Crash! Bang! + +Emperor had brought his wonderful strength to bear on his flimsily +constructed prison with disastrous results to the latter. First he had +torn the blacksmith’s bellows out by the roots and hurled it from him. +Next he set to work to smash everything within reach. A moment of this +and the elephant had freed himself from the light chains with which the +keeper had secured him. + +“Wha—oh, what is he doing?” gasped Phil Forrest. + +The boards on one side of the shop burst out as from a sudden +explosion. Down came half a dozen of the light studdings that supported +the roof on that side. + +By this time Emperor had worked himself into a fine temper. He turned +his attention to the other side of the shop with similar disastrous +results. The interior of the blacksmith shop was a wreck. It could not +have been in much worse condition had it been struck by a cyclone. + +All of a sudden the elephant threw his whole weight against the big +sliding door. It burst out with a report like that of a cannon. + +Emperor came staggering out into the open. There he paused, with +twitching ears and curling trunk, peering into the darkness in search +of Phil Forrest. + +Phil recovered from his surprise sufficiently to realize what had +happened and that old Emperor was free once more. + +The lad uttered a shrill whistle. Emperor responded by a piercing +scream. He then whirled, facing up the road in Phil’s direction, though +unable to see the lad. + +Once more the boy whistled. Emperor was off in a twinkling. + +“Steady, steady, Emperor!” cautioned the lad, as he saw the huge hulk +bearing swiftly down on him. “Easy, old boy!” + +But the elephant did not lessen his speed one particle. Phil felt sure, +however, that he himself would not be harmed. He knew Emperor too well. +With perfect confidence in the great animal, the lad threw both hands +above his head, standing motionless in the center of the street right +in the path of the oncoming beast. + +“Steady, steady, steady!” cautioned Phil. “Now up, Emperor!” + +The elephant’s long, sinuous trunk uncurled, coiled about the lad’s +waist and the next instant Phil felt himself being lifted to the big +beast’s head. + +“I’ve got him!” shouted Phil, carried away by the excitement of the +moment. “Now, go it! Emperor! Go faster than you ever have since you +chased lions in the jungle.” + +And Emperor did go it! As he tore down the village street he woke the +echoes with his shrill trumpetings, bringing every man and woman in the +little village tumbling from their beds. + +“The elephant is escaping!” cried the people, as they threw up their +windows and gazed out. As they looked they saw a huge, shadowy shape +hurling itself down the street, whereat they hastily withdrew their +heads. In a few moments the men of the village came rushing out, all +running toward the blacksmith shop to learn what had happened there. +There followed a perfect pandemonium of yells when they discovered the +wrecked condition of the place. + +In the meantime Phil had guided Emperor into the road that led to the +show grounds of the previous day. The elephant was about to turn into +the lot, when a sharp slap from his rider caused him to swing back into +the highway on the trail of the wagons that had passed on some hours +before. + +Once he had fairly started Emperor followed the trail, making the turns +and following the twists of the road as unerringly as an Indian follows +the trail of his enemy. + +“Hurrah!” shouted Phil, after they had got clear of the village. “I’ve +won, I’ve won! But, oh, won’t there be a row back there when they find +out what has happened, I wonder if they will follow us.” + +The thought startled him. + +“If they do they are liable to arrest me, believing that I let him out. +_Go it_, Emperor! Go faster!” + +Emperor flapped his ears in reply and swung off at an increased gait. +The darkness of early morn was soon succeeded by the graying dawn, and +Phil felt a certain sense of relief as he realized that day was +breaking. On they swept, past hamlets, by farm houses, where here and +there men with milkpails in hand paused, startled, to rub their eyes +and gaze upon the strange outfit that was rushing past them at such a +pace. + +Phil could not repress a chuckle at such times, at thought of the +sensation he was creating. + +The hours drew on until seven o’clock had arrived, and the sun was high +in the heavens. + +“I must be getting near the place,” decided Phil. He knew he was on the +right road, for he could plainly see the trail of the wagons and of the +stock in the dust of the road before him. “Yes; there is some sort of a +village way off yonder. I wonder if that is it?” + +A fluttering flag from the top of a far away center-pole, which he +caught sight of a few minutes later, told the boy that it was. + +“Hurrah!” shouted Phil, waving his hat on high. + +At that moment a distant chorus of yells smote his ears. The lad +listened intently. The shout was repeated. Holding fast to the +headstall, he glanced back over the road. There, far to his rear, he +discovered a cloud of dust, which a few minutes later resolved itself +into a party of horsemen, riding at top speed. + +“They’re after me! Go faster! Go faster!” shouted the lad. As he spoke +a rifle cracked somewhere behind him, but as Phil heard no bullet the +leaden missile must have fallen far short of the mark. + + + + +CHAPTER XXIII. +THE MYSTERY SOLVED + + +As he neared the village Phil began to shout and wave his hat. After a +time his shouts attracted the attention of some of the people on the +circus lot, which was on his side of the village. + +“It’s Emperor coming back!” cried someone. “There’s somebody on him,” +added another. + +“I’ll bet the day’s receipts that it’s that rascally Phil Forrest,” +exclaimed Mr. Sparling, examining the cloud of dust with shaded eyes. +“How in the world did it ever happen? I’ve been hunting all over the +outfit for that boy this morning. Young Tucker said he thought Phil had +remained behind, and I was afraid something had happened to the boy or +that he had skipped the show. I might have known better. What’s that +back of him?” + +“Somebody chasing them, boss,” a tentman informed him. + +“And they’re going to catch old Emperor sure.” + +“Not if I know it,” snapped Mr. Sparling. “_Hey, Rube_!” he howled. + +Canvasmen, roustabouts, performers and everybody within reach of his +voice swarmed out into the open, armed with clubs, stones and anything +they could lay their hands upon. + +“There’s a posse trying to catch Phil Forrest and old Emperor. Get a +going! Head them off and drive them back!” + +Every man started on a run, some leaping on horses, clearing the circus +lot, riding like so many cowboys. As they approached the lad perched on +the bobbing head of the elephant the showmen set up a chorus of wild +yells, to which Phil responded by waving his hat. He tried to stand up +on Emperor’s head, narrowly missing a tumble, which he surely would +have taken had not the elephant given him quick support with the +ever-handy trunk. + +“They’re shooting at me,” cried Phil, as he swept by the showmen. + +“Line up!” commanded Mr. Sparling. + +His men stretched across the highway, with the mounted ones in front, +his infantry behind. Soon the horsemen of the pursuing party came +dashing up and brought their horses to a sudden stop. + +“What do you want?” + +“We demand the turning over of the elephant which one of your men stole +from us. They’ve wrecked the blacksmith shop and there’ll be a pretty +bill of damages to pay! Come now, before we take you back with us.” + +Mr. Sparling grinned. + +“Perhaps you don’t know that you are in the State of Ohio at the +present moment, eh? If you’ll take my advice you’ll turn about and get +home as fast as horseflesh will carry you. My lawyer will be in your +town today, and he will arrange for the payment of all just damages. We +decline to be robbed, however. We’ve got the elephant and we’re going +to keep him.” + +“And we’re going to have the boy that broke in and released him.” + +“Ho, ho, ho!” laughed Mr. Sparling jovially. “I guess you’ll have the +liveliest scrimmage you ever had in all your lives if you attempt to +lay hands on that boy. Come, now, get out of here! If you attempt to +raise the slightest disturbance I’ll have the bunch of you in the +cooler, and we’ll be the boys to put you there if the town officials +don’t act quickly enough.” + +“Boys, I guess it’s up to us,” decided the leader of the party. + +“Looks that way.” + +“Then what do you say if we stop and see the show?” + +“Good idea!” + +“I don’t care how many of you go to the show; but, mark me, it will +cost you fifty cents a head, and at the first sign of disturbance +you’ll see the biggest bunch of trouble headed your way!” + +“It’s all right, Mr. Sparling. We admit we’ve been done.” + +And that was the end of it. Mr. Sparling’s lawyer visited the town +where the disturbance had occurred on the previous day, and at his +client’s direction made a settlement that should have been wholly +satisfactory to the injured parties. Ordinarily the showman would not +have settled the case, in view of the fact that neither he nor any of +his employees was directly responsible for the series of disasters. He +did it almost wholly on account of Phil Forrest, who had asked him to. + +“Well, young man, I’ve paid the bills,” announced Mr. Sparling that +afternoon before the evening performance. + +“Thank you,” glowed Phil. + +“Stop that! If there’s any thanks in it, they’re coming to you. Between +you and the elephant we’ll have another turn-away today. You have +already put a good bit of money in my pocket, and I’m not forgetting +it. I have made definite arrangements for you and your chum to have a +berth in a closed wagon after this. You will be good enough to offer no +objections this time. What I say goes.” + +“I hope I did not do anything wrong in taking Emperor away. I’m afraid +my conscience has troubled me ever since. But I didn’t intend to do +anything wrong or to cause any further damage than already had been +done.” + +“You did perfectly right, Forrest. That was a stroke of genius. As for +damage, I tell you I have settled all of that. One of these days you +come in when I’m not busy and we’ll talk about next season. I want you +to stay with me.” + +Phil left his employer, the lad’s face flushed and his eyes sparkling. +Altogether, he was a very happy boy. The only real cloud that had +darkened his horizon was that anyone should feel such an enmity toward +him as to desire to take his life; or, at least, to cause him so +serious an injury as to put an end to the career that now seemed so +promising. + +“I know why, of course,” mused the lad. “It was jealousy. I am more +sure than ever as to the identity of the man who did it. When I get a +good opportunity I am going to face him with it. I’m not afraid of the +man. As it is, he might try it again; but if he understands that I know +he will not dare try it, fearing I may have told someone else.” + +Having come to this wise conclusion, Phil proceeded to the big top, +where he and Teddy Tucker were to take their afternoon practice on the +flying rings, pausing on the way to pass a handful of peanuts to +Emperor, who was again in his place, and give the elephant’s trainer a +happy nod. + +“I’ve noticed of late that Signor Navaro acts rather grouchy over you +boys working on his apparatus. You want to look out for these +foreigners. Some of them are revengeful,” cautioned Mr. Miaco. + +Signor Navaro was the leading performer in the flying-rings act. With +him was his young son, Rodney Palmer and a young girl performer, whose +father was a clown in the show. + +Phil shot a sharp glance at Mr. Miaco, then dropped his eyes. + +“I guess nobody would be jealous of me,” laughed the lad. “I’m only a +beginner, and a clumsy one at that. All I can do is to ride an elephant +and fall off, nearly killing myself.” + +“Nevertheless, you take my advice.” + +“I will, thank you.” + +The boys began their work after putting on their working clothes, +consisting of old silk undershirts and linen trunks. This left them +free for the full play of their muscles, which, by this time, were of +exceptionally fine quality. Not big and bunchy, but like thin bands of +pliable steel. Both Phil and Teddy appeared to have grown half a head +taller since they joined out with the circus. + +“Put a little more finish in that cutoff movement,” directed their +instructor. “The way you do it, Teddy, you remind me of a man trying to +kick out a window. There, that’s better.” + +And so it went on. Days came and went and the steady practice of the +two circus boys continued, but if Mr. Sparling knew what they were +doing he made no reference to it. He probably did know, for little went +on in the Sparling Combined Shows that he was not aware of. + +Nothing out of the routine occurred, until, late in the season, they +pitched their tents in Canton, Ohio, when something happened that +brought to a climax the certainty of the careers of the circus boys. + +All day long the clouds had been threatening. But, though keen eyes +were watching the scudding clouds, no apprehension was felt, as it was +believed to be but a passing thunderstorm that was coming up. + +The storm did not break until late in the afternoon when the show was +more than half over. Phil had made his grand entry on Emperor, and +Teddy had nearly sent the spectators into hysterics by his funny antics +on the back of Jumbo, the educated mule. + +All at once the circus men glanced aloft as the shrill whistle of the +boss canvasman trilled somewhere outside the big top. The audience, if +they heard, gave no heed. They were too much interested in the show. + +To the showmen the whistle meant that the emergency gang was being +summoned in haste to stake down emergency ropes to protect the tent +from a windstorm that was coming up. + +Phil took a quick survey of the upper part of the tent. Two acts were +just beginning up there. A trapeze act was on, and the four performers +were swinging out on the flying rings. + +Both sets of performers were in rather perilous positions were the wind +to blow very hard, as Phil well understood. He stepped off until he +found a quarter pole at his back against which he leaned that he might +watch the better the lofty performers. + +All at once there was a blast against the big top that sounded as if a +great blow had been delivered. The audience half rose. The tent shook +from end to end. + +“Sit down!” bellowed the ringmaster. “It’s only a puff of wind.” + +Before the words were out of his mouth a piercing scream roused the +audience almost to the verge of panic. + +Phil, whose attention had been drawn to the people for the moment, shot +a swift glance up into the somber haze of the peak of the big top. + +Something had happened. But what? + +“They’re falling!” he gasped. + +The blow had loosened nearly every bit of the aerial apparatus under +the circus tent. + +“There go the trapeze performers!” + +Down they came, landing with a whack in the net with their apparatus +tumbling after them. But they were out of the net in a twinkling, none +the worse for their accident. Almost at the same moment there were +other screams. + +“There go the rings!” + +There was no net under the flying ring performers. Two of them shot +toward the ground. When they struck, one was on top of the other. The +man at the bottom was Signor Navaro, his son having fallen prone across +him. The two other performers in the act had grabbed a rope and saved +themselves. + +Men picked the two fallen performers up hastily and bore them to the +dressing tent, where Phil hastened the moment he was sure that all +danger of a panic had passed. The gust of wind had driven the clouds +away and the sun flashed out brilliantly. + +A moment later the performance was going on with a rush, the band +playing a lively tune. + +Phil, when he reached the dressing tent, learned that Signor Navaro was +seriously hurt, though his son was suffering merely from shock. The +father had sustained several broken bones. + +Phil approached the injured performer and leaned over him. The man was +conscious. + +“I’m sorry, very sorry, sir,” breathed the boy sympathetically. + +“You needn’t be. You’ll get what you want,” murmured the circus man. + +“I don’t understand,” wondered Phil. + +“You’ll get my act.” + +“Is that what you think I have been working for?” + +Signor Navaro nodded. + +“You are mistaken. Of course, if you are not able to perform any more +this season I shall try to get it, but when you are able to go to work +I shall give it up willingly, even if I succeed in getting it during +that time. Is that why you played that trick on me?” demanded the lad. + +“You know?” questioned Signor Navaro, with a start. + +Phil gave a slight nod. + +“Why did you put the file in my trunk—the file you cut the wire with?” + +“I thought I dropped it in my own trunk. Somebody surprised me and I +was afraid they would catch me with it in my hand and suspect.” + +“That’s what I thought.” + +“You are sharp. And you told no one?” + +“No. But I had made up my mind to tell you. I didn’t think it would +have to be this way, though. I’m sorry it is.” + +“Well, I have my punishment. It served me right. I was crazed with +jealousy. I—how is the boy?” + +“Not badly hurt, I believe. He will be all right in a few days, and I +hope you will be able to join out in a short time.” + +Signor Navaro extended a feeble hand, which Phil pressed softly. + +“Forgive me, boy. Will you?” + +“Yes,” whispered Phil. + +“And you will tell no—” + +“There is nothing to tell, Signor Navaro. If there is anything I can do +for you, tell me, and I shall have great happiness in doing it,” +breathed the lad. + +A final grip of the hands of the boy and the injured performer +followed, after which Phil Forrest stepped back to make way for the +surgeon, who had hurried to a wagon to fetch his case. + + + + +CHAPTER XXIV. +CONCLUSION + + +“You see, an accident always casts a cloud over a show and makes the +performers uncertain,” said Mr. Miaco that night as he and Phil were +watching the performance from the end of the band platform. + +“I should think it would,” mused the boy. + +Soon after that Phil went to his wagon and turned in, his mind still on +Signor Navaro, who had been taken to a hospital, where he was destined +to remain for many weeks. + +“I guess it doesn’t pay, in the long run, to be dishonorable,” mused +the lad as he was dropping off to sleep. + +The next morning Phil was up bright and early, very much refreshed +after a good night’s rest between his blankets in the comfortable +sleeping wagon. Teddy, however, declared that he didn’t like it. He +said he preferred to sleep on a pile of canvas in the open air, even if +he did get wet once in a while. + +Later in the morning, after Mr. Sparling had had time to dispose of his +usual rush of morning business, which consisted of hearing reports from +his heads of departments, and giving his orders for the day, Phil +sought out his employer in the little dog tent. + +“I’m very sorry about the accident, Mr. Sparling,” greeted Phil. + +“Yes; it ties up one act. It will be some days before I can get another +team in to take it up, and here we are just beginning to play the big +towns. I have been trying to figure out if there was not someone in the +show who could double in that act and get away with it,” mused the +showman. “How’d you sleep?” + +“Fine. Is there no one you can think of who could fill the bill, Mr. +Sparling?” + +“No; that’s the rub. You know of anyone?” + +“How about myself.” + +“What?” + +Mr. Sparling surveyed the lad in surprised inquiry. + +“I think I can make a pretty fair showing on the rings. Of course, if +Signor Navaro gets well and comes back, I shall be glad to give the act +back to him. I know something about the flying rings.” + +“Young man, is there anything in this show that you can’t do?” demanded +Mr. Sparling, with an attempt at sternness. + +“A great many things, sir. Then, again, there are some others that I +have confidence enough in myself to believe I can do. You see, I have +been practicing on the rings ever since I joined out.” + +“But you are only one. We shall need two performers,” objected the +owner. + +“Teddy Tucker has been working with me. He is fully as good on the +flying rings as I am, if not better.” + +“H-m-m-m!” mused the showman. “Come over to the big top and let’s see +what you really can do,” he said, starting up. + +Phil ran in search of Teddy and in a few minutes the two boys appeared +in the arena, ready for the rehearsal. + +Mr. Miaco, who had been called on and informed of the news, accompanied +them. It was he who hauled the boys up to the rings far up toward the +top of the tent. + +“Get a net under there! We don’t want to lose any more performers this +season,” the clown commanded. + +After some little delay the net was spread and the showman motioned for +the performance to proceed, walking over and taking his seat on the +boards so that he might watch the performance from the viewpoint of the +audience. + +With the utmost confidence the boys went through the act without a +slip. They did everything that Signor Navaro had done in his +performance, adding some clever feats of their own that had been +devised with the help of Mr. Miaco. Mr. Sparling looked on with +twinkling eyes and frequent nods of approval. + +“Fine! Fine! One of the best flying-ring acts I ever saw,” he shouted, +when finally the lads rounded out their act by a series of rapid +evolutions commonly known as “skinning the cat.” Even in this their act +was attended with variations. + +The boys concluded by a graceful drop into the net, from which they +bounded into the air, swung themselves to the ground, each throwing a +kiss to the grinning manager. + +A number of performers who had been a witness to the performance +clapped their hands and shouted “bravo!” + +Mr. Sparling called the lads to him. + +“The act is yours,” he said. “It is better than Navaro’s. Each of you +will draw twenty five dollars a week for the rest of the season,” he +announced to the proud circus boys, who thereupon ran to the dressing +tent to take a quick bath and get into their costumes ready for the +parade. + +“See to it that they have the net spread, Mr. Ducro,” he directed. +“Never permit them to perform without it.” + +That afternoon the boys made their first appearance in the flying-ring +exhibition, and their act really proved a sensation. Mr. Sparling, who +was observing it from the side, kept his head bobbing with nods of +approval and muttered comments. + +After the show Phil suggested that thereafter Teddy be allowed to use a +clown makeup, because his funny antics in the air were more fitted to +the character of a clown than to that of a finished performer. + +To this the owner readily agreed, and that night they tried it with +tremendous success. + +The days that followed were bright ones for the circus boys. Each day +seemed an improvement over the previous one. The season drew rapidly to +a close and they looked forward to the day with keen regret. + +One day Mr. Sparling summoned them to his tent. + +“Are you boys ready to sign up for next season?” he asked. + +“I should like to,” answered Phil. + +“This will be a railroad show next season, the third largest show on +the road, and I want you both.” + +“Thank you; I shall join gladly.” + +“So will I,” chorused Teddy. + +“Your salaries will be fifty dollars a week next season. And if you +wish a vaudeville engagement for the winter I think I shall be able to +get one for you.” + +“We are going to school, Mr. Sparling. Teddy and I will be hard at work +over our books next week. But we are going to keep up our practice all +winter and perhaps we may have some new acts to surprise you with in +the spring,” laughed Phil, his face aglow with happiness. + +A week later found the lads back in Edmeston, bronzed, healthy, manly +and admired by all who saw them. Phil had nearly four hundred dollars +in the bank, while Teddy had about one hundred less. + +Phil’s first duty after greeting Mrs. Cahill was to call on his uncle, +who begrudgingly allowed his nephew to shake hands with him. Next day +the circus boys dropped into their old routine life and applied +themselves to their studies, at the same time looking forward to the +day when the grass should grow green again and the little red wagons +roll out for their summer journeyings. + +Here we will leave them. But Phil and his companion will be heard from +again in a following volume, to be published immediately, entitled, +“THE CIRCUS BOYS ACROSS THE CONTINENT; Or, Winning New Laurels on the +Tanbark.” In this volume their thrilling adventures under the billowing +canvas are to be continued, leading them on to greater triumphs and +successes. + + + + +*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE CIRCUS BOYS ON THE FLYING RINGS *** + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions will +be renamed. + +Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright +law means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works, +so the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the +United States without permission and without paying copyright +royalties. 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Darlington</title> +<link rel="coverpage" href="images/cover.jpg" /> +<style type="text/css"> + +body { margin-left: 20%; + margin-right: 20%; + text-align: justify; } + +h1, h2, h3, h4, h5 {text-align: center; font-style: normal; font-weight: +normal; line-height: 1.5; margin-top: .5em; margin-bottom: .5em;} + +h1 {font-size: 300%; + margin-top: 0.6em; + margin-bottom: 0.6em; + letter-spacing: 0.12em; + word-spacing: 0.2em; + text-indent: 0em;} +h2 {font-size: 150%; margin-top: 2em; margin-bottom: 1em;} +h3 {font-size: 130%; margin-top: 1em;} +h4 {font-size: 120%;} +h5 {font-size: 110%;} + +hr {width: 80%; margin-top: 2em; margin-bottom: 2em;} + +div.chapter {page-break-before: always; margin-top: 4em;} + +p {text-indent: 1em; + margin-top: 0.25em; + margin-bottom: 0.25em; } + +div.fig { display:block; + margin:0 auto; + text-align:center; + margin-top: 1em; + margin-bottom: 1em;} + +a:link {color:blue; text-decoration:none} +a:visited {color:blue; text-decoration:none} +a:hover {color:red} + +</style> + +</head> + +<body> + +<div style='text-align:center; font-size:1.2em; font-weight:bold'>The Project Gutenberg eBook of The Circus Boys on the Flying Rings, by Edgar B. P. Darlington</div> +<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and +most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions +whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms +of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online +at <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org">www.gutenberg.org</a>. If you +are not located in the United States, you will have to check the laws of the +country where you are located before using this eBook. +</div> +<div style='display:block; margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:1em; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em'>Title: The Circus Boys on the Flying Rings</div> +<div style='display:block; margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:1em; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em'>Author: Edgar B. P. Darlington</div> +<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'>Release Date: January, 2001 [eBook #2474]<br /> +[Most recently updated: October 29, 2020]</div> +<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'>Language: English</div> +<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'>Character set encoding: UTF-8</div> +<div style='display:block; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em'>Produced by: Greg Berckes</div> +<div style='margin-top:2em; margin-bottom:4em'>*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE CIRCUS BOYS ON THE FLYING RINGS ***</div> + +<div class="fig" style="width:55%;"> +<img src="images/cover.jpg" style="width:100%;" alt="[Illustration]" /> +</div> + +<h1>The Circus Boys on the Flying Rings</h1> + +<h4>Or<br /> +Making the Start in the Sawdust Life</h4> + +<h2>by Edgar B. P. Darlington</h2> + +<hr /> + +<h2>Contents</h2> + +<table summary="" style=""> + +<tr> +<td> <a href="#chap01">I THE LURE OF THE CIRCUS</a></td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> <a href="#chap02">II PHIL HEARS HIS DISMISSAL</a></td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> <a href="#chap03">III MAKING HIS START IN THE WORLD</a></td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> <a href="#chap04">IV THE CIRCUS COMES TO TOWN</a></td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> <a href="#chap05">V WHEN THE BANDS PLAYED</a></td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> <a href="#chap06">VI PROVING HIS METTLE</a></td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> <a href="#chap07">VII MAKING FRIENDS WITH THE ELEPHANTS</a></td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> <a href="#chap08">VIII IN THE SAWDUST ARENA</a></td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> <a href="#chap09">IX GETTING HIS FIRST CALL</a></td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> <a href="#chap10">X PHIL GETS A SURPRISE</a></td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> <a href="#chap11">XI THE FIRST NIGHT WITH THE SHOW</a></td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> <a href="#chap12">XII A THRILLING RESCUE</a></td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> <a href="#chap13">XIII THE DAWNING OF A NEW DAY</a></td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> <a href="#chap14">XIV AN UNEXPECTED HIT</a></td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> <a href="#chap15">XV A STROKE OF GOOD FORTUNE</a></td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> <a href="#chap16">XVI HIS FIRST SETBACK</a></td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> <a href="#chap17">XVII LEFT BEHIND</a></td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> <a href="#chap18">XVIII A STARTLING DISCOVERY</a></td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> <a href="#chap19">XIX TEDDY DISTINGUISHES HIMSELF</a></td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> <a href="#chap20">XX THE RETURN TO THE SAWDUST LIFE</a></td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> <a href="#chap21">XXI AN ELEPHANT IN JAIL</a></td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> <a href="#chap22">XXII EMPEROR ANSWERS THE SIGNAL</a></td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> <a href="#chap23">XXIII THE MYSTERY SOLVED</a></td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td> <a href="#chap24">XXIV CONCLUSION</a></td> +</tr> + +</table> + +<div class="chapter"> + +<h2><a name="chap01"></a>CHAPTER I.<br /> +THE LURE OF THE CIRCUS</h2> + +<p> +“I say, Phil, I can do that.” +</p> + +<p> +“Do what, Teddy?” +</p> + +<p> +“A cartwheel in the air like that fellow is doing in the picture on the +billboard there.” +</p> + +<p> +“Oh, pshaw! You only think you can. Besides, that’s not a +cartwheel; that’s a double somersault. It’s a real stunt, let me +tell you. Why, I can do a cartwheel myself. But up in the air like +that—well, I don’t know. I guess not. I’d be willing to try +it, though, if I had something below to catch me,” added the lad, +critically surveying the figures on the poster before them. +</p> + +<p> +“How’d you like to be a circus man, Phil?” +</p> + +<p> +Phil’s dark eyes glowed with a new light, his slender figure +straightening until the lad appeared fully half a head taller. +</p> + +<p> +“More than anything else in the world,” he breathed. “Would +you?” +</p> + +<p> +“Going to be,” nodded Teddy decisively, as if the matter were +already settled. +</p> + +<p> +“Oh, you are, eh?” +</p> + +<p> +“Uh-huh!” +</p> + +<p> +“When?” +</p> + +<p> +“I don’t know. Someday—someday when I get old enough, +maybe.” +</p> + +<p> +Phil Forrest surveyed his companion with a half critical smile on his face. +</p> + +<p> +“What are you going to do—be a trapeze performer or what?” +</p> + +<p> +“Well,” reflected the lad wisely, “maybe I shall be an +‘Or What.’ I’m not sure. Sometimes I think I should like to +be the fellow who cracks the whip with the long lash and makes the clowns hop +around on one foot—” +</p> + +<p> +“You mean the ringmaster?” +</p> + +<p> +“I guess that’s the fellow. He makes ’em all get around +lively. Then, sometimes, I think I would rather be a clown. I can skin a cat on +the flying rings to beat the band, now. What would you rather be, Phil?” +</p> + +<p> +“Me? Oh, something up in the air—high up near the peak of the +tent—something thrilling that would make the people sit up on the board +seats and gasp, when, all dressed in pink and spangles, I’d go flying +through the air—” +</p> + +<p> +“Just like a bird?” questioned Teddy, with a rising inflection in +his voice. +</p> + +<p> +“Yes. That’s what I’d like most to do, Teddy,” +concluded the lad, his face flushed with the thought of the triumphs that might +be his. +</p> + +<p> +Teddy Tucker uttered a soft, long-drawn whistle. +</p> + +<p> +“My, you’ve got it bad, haven’t you? Never thought you were +that set on the circus. Wouldn’t it be fine, now, if we both could get +with a show?” +</p> + +<p> +“Great!” agreed Phil, with an emphatic nod. “Sometimes I +think my uncle would be glad to have me go away—that he wouldn’t +care whether I joined a circus, or what became of me.” +</p> + +<p> +“Ain’t had much fun since your ma died, have you, Phil?” +questioned Teddy sympathetically. +</p> + +<p> +“Not much,” answered the lad, a thin, gray mist clouding his eyes. +“No, not much. But, then, I’m not complaining.” +</p> + +<p> +“Your uncle’s a mean old—” +</p> + +<p> +“There, there, Teddy, please don’t say it. He may be all you think +he is, but for all the mean things he’s said and done to me, I’ve +never given him an impudent word, Teddy. Can you guess why?” +</p> + +<p> +“Cause he’s your uncle, maybe,” grumbled Teddy. +</p> + +<p> +“No, ’cause he’s my mother’s brother—that’s +why.” +</p> + +<p> +“I don’t know. Maybe I’d feel that way if I’d had a +mother.” +</p> + +<p> +“But you did.” +</p> + +<p> +“Nobody ever introduced us, if I did. Guess she didn’t know me. But +if your uncle was my uncle do you know what I’d do with him, Phil +Forrest?” +</p> + +<p> +“Don’t let’s talk about him. Let’s talk about the +circus. It’s more fun,” interrupted Phil, turning to the billboard +again and gazing at it with great interest. +</p> + +<p> +They were standing before the glowing posters of the Great Sparling Combined +Shows, that was to visit Edmeston on the following Thursday. +</p> + +<p> +Phillip Forrest and Teddy Tucker were fast friends, though they were as +different in appearance and temperament as two boys well could be. Phil was +just past sixteen, while Teddy was a little less than a year younger. +Phil’s figure was slight and graceful, while that of his companion was +short and chubby. +</p> + +<p> +Both lads were orphans. Phil’s parents had been dead for something more +than five years. Since their death he had been living with a penurious old +uncle who led a hermit-like existence in a shack on the outskirts of Edmeston. +</p> + +<p> +But the lad could remember when it had been otherwise—when he had lived +in his own home, surrounded by luxury and refinement, until evil days came upon +them without warning. His father’s property had been swept away, almost +in a night. A year later both of his parents had died, leaving him to face the +world alone. +</p> + +<p> +The boy’s uncle had taken him in begrudgingly, and Phil’s life from +that moment on had been one of self-denial and hard work. Yet he was thankful +for one thing—thankful that his miserly old uncle had permitted him to +continue at school. +</p> + +<p> +Standing high in his class meant something in Phil’s case, for the boy +was obliged to work at whatever he could find to do after school hours, his +uncle compelling him to contribute something to the household expenses every +week. His duties done, Phil was obliged to study far into the night, under the +flickering light of a tallow candle, because oil cost too much. Sometimes his +candle burned far past the midnight hour, while he applied himself to his books +that he might be prepared for the next day’s classes. +</p> + +<p> +Hard lines for a boy? +</p> + +<p> +Yes. But Phil Forrest was not the lad to complain. He went about his studies +the same as he approached any other task that was set for him to do—went +about it with a grim, silent determination to conquer it. And he always did. +</p> + +<p> +As for Teddy—christened Theodore, but so long ago that he had forgotten +that that was his name—he studied, not because he possessed a burning +desire for knowledge, but as a matter of course, and much in the same spirit he +did the chores for the people with whom he lived. +</p> + +<p> +Teddy was quite young when his parents died leaving him without a relative in +the world. A poor, but kind-hearted family in Edmeston had taken the lad in +rather than see him become a public charge. With them he had lived and been +cared for ever since. Of late years, however, he had been able to do +considerable toward lightening the burden for them by the money he managed to +earn here and there. +</p> + +<p> +The two boys were on their way home from school. There remained but one more +day before the close of the term, which was a matter of sincere regret to Phil +and of keen satisfaction to his companion. Just now both were too full of the +subject of the coming show to think of much else. +</p> + +<p> +“Going to the show, Phil?” +</p> + +<p> +“I am afraid not.” +</p> + +<p> +“Why not?” +</p> + +<p> +“I haven’t any money; that’s the principal reason,” +smiled the boy. “Are you?” +</p> + +<p> +“Sure. Don’t need any money to go to a circus.” +</p> + +<p> +“You don’t?” +</p> + +<p> +“No.” +</p> + +<p> +“How do you manage it?” +</p> + +<p> +“Crawl in under the tent when the man ain’t looking,” +answered Teddy promptly. +</p> + +<p> +“I wouldn’t want to do that,” decided the older lad, with a +shake of the head. “It wouldn’t be quite honest. Do you think +so?” +</p> + +<p> +Teddy Tucker shrugged his shoulders indifferently. +</p> + +<p> +“Never thought about it. Don’t let myself think about it. +Isn’t safe, for I might not go to the show if I did. What’s your +other reason?” +</p> + +<p> +“For not going to the circus?” +</p> + +<p> +“Yes.” +</p> + +<p> +“Well, I don’t think Uncle would let me; that’s a +fact.” +</p> + +<p> +“Why not?” +</p> + +<p> +“Says circuses and all that sort of thing are evil influences.” +</p> + +<p> +“Oh, pshaw! Wish he was my uncle,” decided Teddy belligerently. +“How long are you going to stand for being mauled around like a little +yellow dog?” +</p> + +<p> +“I’ll stand most anything for the sake of getting an education. +When I get that then I’m going to strike out for myself, and do something +in the world. You’ll hear from me yet, Teddy Tucker, and maybe I’ll +hear from you, too.” +</p> + +<p> +“See me, you mean—see me doing stunts on a high something-or- other +in a circus. Watch me turn a somersault.” +</p> + +<p> +The lad stood poised on the edge of the ditch, on the other side of which the +billboard stood. This gave him the advantage of an elevated position from which +to attempt his feat. +</p> + +<p> +“Look out that you don’t break your neck,” warned Phil. +“I’d try it on a haymow, or something like that, first.” +</p> + +<p> +“Don’t you worry about me. See how easy that fellow in the picture +is doing it. Here goes!” +</p> + +<p> +Teddy launched himself into the air, with a very good imitation of a diver +making a plunge into the water, hands stretched out before him, legs straight +behind him. +</p> + +<p> +He was headed straight for the ditch. +</p> + +<p> +“Turn, Teddy! Turn! You’ll strike on your head.” +</p> + +<p> +Teddy was as powerless to turn as if he had been paralyzed from head to foot. +Down he went, straight as an arrow. There followed a splash as his head struck +the water of the ditch, the lad’s feet beating a tattoo in the air while +his head was stuck fast in the mud at the bottom of the ditch. +</p> + +<p> +“He’ll drown,” gasped Phil, springing down into the little +stream, regardless of the damage liable to be done to his own clothes. +</p> + +<p> +Throwing both arms about the body of his companion he gave a mighty tug. Teddy +stuck obstinately, and Phil was obliged to take a fresh hold before he +succeeded in hauling the lad from his perilous position. Teddy was gasping for +breath. His face, plastered with mud, was unrecognizable, while his clothes +were covered from head to foot. +</p> + +<p> +Phil dumped him on the grass beneath the circus billboard and began wiping the +mud from his companion’s face, while Teddy quickly sat up, blinking the +mud out of his eyes and grumbling unintelligibly. +</p> + +<p> +“You’re a fine circus performer, you are,” laughed Phil. +“Suppose you had been performing on a flying trapeze in a circus, what do +you suppose would have happened to you?” +</p> + +<p> +“I’d have had a net under me then, and I wouldn’t have fallen +in the ditch,” grunted Teddy sullenly. +</p> + +<p> +“What do you suppose the folks will say when you go home in that +condition?” +</p> + +<p> +“Don’t care what they say. Fellow has got to learn sometime, and if +I don’t have any worse thing happen to me than falling in a ditch I ought +to be pretty well satisfied. Guess I’ll go back now. Come on, go +’long with me.” +</p> + +<p> +Phil turned and strode along by the side of his companion until they reached +the house where Teddy lived. +</p> + +<p> +“Come on in.” +</p> + +<p> +“I’m sorry, Teddy, but I can’t. My uncle will be expecting +me, and he won’t like it if I am late.” +</p> + +<p> +“All right; see you tomorrow if you don’t come out again tonight. +We’ll try some more stunts then.” +</p> + +<p> +“I wouldn’t till after the circus, were I in your place,” +laughed Phil. +</p> + +<p> +“Why not!” +</p> + +<p> +“Cause, if you break your neck, you won’t be able to go to the +show.” +</p> + +<p> +“Huh!” grunted Teddy, hastily turning his back on his companion and +starting for the house. +</p> + +<p> +Phil took his way home silently and thoughtfully, carrying his precious bundle +of books under an arm, his active mind planning as to how he might employ his +time to the best advantage during the summer vacation that was now so close at +hand. +</p> + +<p> +A rheumatic, bent figure was standing in front of the shack where the lad +lived, glaring up the street from beneath bushy eyebrows, noting Phil +Forrest’s leisurely gait disapprovingly. +</p> + +<p> +Phil saw him a moment later. +</p> + +<p> +“I’m in for a scolding,” he muttered. “Wonder what it +is all about this time. I don’t seem able to do a thing to please Uncle +Abner.” +</p> + +</div><!--end chapter--> + +<div class="chapter"> + +<h2><a name="chap02"></a>CHAPTER II.<br /> +PHIL HEARS HIS DISMISSAL</h2> + +<p> +“Where you been, young man?” The question was a snarl rather than a +sentence. +</p> + +<p> +“To school, Uncle, of course.” +</p> + +<p> +“School’s been out more than an hour. I say, where have you +been?” +</p> + +<p> +“I stopped on the way for a few minutes.” +</p> + +<p> +“You did?” exploded Abner Adams. “Where?” +</p> + +<p> +“Teddy Tucker and I stopped to read a circus bill over there on Clover +Street. We did not stop but a few minutes. Was there any harm in that?” +</p> + +<p> +“Harm? Circus bill—” +</p> + +<p> +“And I want to go to the circus, too, Uncle, when it comes here. You +know? I have not been to anything of that sort since mother died—not +once. I’ll work and earn the money. I can go in the evening after my work +is finished. Please let me go, Uncle.” +</p> + +<p> +For a full minute Abner Adams was too overcome with his emotions to speak. He +hobbled about in a circle, smiting the ground with his cane, alternately +brandishing it threateningly in the air over the head of the unflinching Phil. +</p> + +<p> +“Circus!” he shouted. “I might have known it! I might have +known it! You and that Tucker boy are two of a kind. You’ll both come to +some bad ending. Only fools and questionable characters go to such +places—” +</p> + +<p> +“My mother and father went, and they always took me,” replied the +boy, drawing himself up with dignity. “You certainly do not include them +in either of the two classes you have named?” +</p> + +<p> +“So much the worse for them! So much the worse for them. They were a pair +of—” +</p> + +<p> +“Uncle, Uncle!” warned Phil. “Please don’t say anything +against my parents. I won’t stand it. Don’t forget that my mother +was your own sister, too.” +</p> + +<p> +“I’m not likely to forget it, after she’s bundled such a +baggage as you into my care. You’re turning out a worthless, good-for- +nothing loaf—” +</p> + +<p> +“You haven’t said whether or not I might go to the circus, +Uncle,” reminded Phil. +</p> + +<p> +“Circus? No! I’ll have none of my money spent on any such +worthless—” +</p> + +<p> +“But I didn’t ask you to spend your money, even though you have +plenty of it. I said I would earn the money—” +</p> + +<p> +“You’ll have a chance to earn it, and right quick at that. No, you +won’t go to any circus so long as you’re living under my +roof.” +</p> + +<p> +“Very well, Uncle, I shall do as you wish, of course,” answered +Phil, hiding his disappointment as well as he could. The lad shifted his bundle +of books to the other hand and started slowly for the house. +</p> + +<p> +Abner Adams hobbled about until he faced the lad again, an angry gleam lighting +up his squinting eyes. +</p> + +<p> +“Come back here!” +</p> + +<p> +Phil halted, turning. +</p> + +<p> +“I said come back here.” +</p> + +<p> +The lad did so, his self-possession and quiet dignity never deserting him for +an instant. This angered the crabbed old uncle more than ever. +</p> + +<p> +“When will you get through school?” +</p> + +<p> +“Tomorrow, I believe.” +</p> + +<p> +“Huh! Then, I suppose you intend to loaf for the rest of the summer and +live on my hard earned savings. Is that it?” +</p> + +<p> +“No, sir; I hadn’t thought of doing anything of the sort. I +thought—” +</p> + +<p> +“What did you think?” +</p> + +<p> +“I thought I would find something to do. Of course, I do not expect to be +idle. I shall work at something until school begins again next fall, then, of +course, I shall not be able to do so much.” +</p> + +<p> +“School! You’ve had enough school! In my days boys didn’t +spend the best part of their lives in going to school. They worked.” +</p> + +<p> +“Yes, sir; I am willing to work, too. But, Uncle, I must have an +education. I shall be able to earn so much more then, and, if necessary, I +shall be able to pay you for all you have spent on me, which isn’t much, +you know.” +</p> + +<p> +“What, what? You dare to be impudent to me? You—” +</p> + +<p> +“No, sir, I am not impudent. I have never been that and I never shall be; +but you are accusing me wrongfully.” +</p> + +<p> +“Enough. You have done with school—” +</p> + +<p> +“You—you mean that I am not to go to school any more—that I +have got to go through life with the little I have learned? Is that what you +mean, Uncle?” asked the boy, with a sinking heart. +</p> + +<p> +“You heard me.” +</p> + +<p> +“What do you want me to do?” +</p> + +<p> +“Work!” +</p> + +<p> +“I am working and I shall be working,” Phil replied. +</p> + +<p> +“You’re right you will, or you’ll starve. I have been +thinking this thing over a lot lately. A boy never amounts to anything if +he’s mollycoddled and allowed to spend his days depending on someone +else. Throw him out and let him fight his own way. That’s what my father +used to tell me, and that’s what I’m going to say to you.” +</p> + +<p> +“What do you mean, Uncle?” +</p> + +<p> +“Mean? Can’t you understand the English language? Have I got to +draw a picture to make you understand? Get to work!” +</p> + +<p> +“I am going to as soon as school is out.” +</p> + +<p> +“You’ll do it now. Get yourself out of my house, bag and +baggage!” +</p> + +<p> +“Uncle, Uncle!” protested the lad in amazement. “Would you +turn me out?” +</p> + +<p> +“Would I? I have, only you are too stupid to know it. You’ll thank +me for it when you get old enough to have some sense.” +</p> + +<p> +Phil’s heart sank within him, and it required all his self-control to +keep the bitter tears from his eyes. +</p> + +<p> +“When do you wish me to go?” he asked without a quaver in his +voice. +</p> + +<p> +“Now.” +</p> + +<p> +“Very well, I’ll go. But what do you think my mother would say, +could she know this?” +</p> + +<p> +“That will do, young man. Do your chores, and then—” +</p> + +<p> +“I am not working for you now, Uncle, you know, so I shall have to refuse +to do the chores. There is fifty cents due me from Mr. Churchill for fixing his +chicken coop. You may get that, I don’t want it.” +</p> + +<p> +Phil turned away once more, and with head erect entered the house, going +straight to his room, leaving Abner Adams fuming and stamping about in the +front yard. The old man’s rage knew no bounds. He was so beside himself +with anger over the fancied impudence of his nephew that, had the boy been +present, he might have so far forgotten himself as to have used his cane on +Phil. +</p> + +<p> +But Phil by this time had entered his own room, locking the door behind him. +The lad threw his books down on the bed, dropped into a chair and sat +palefaced, tearless and silent. Slowly his eyes rose to the old-fashioned +bureau, where his comb and brush lay. The eyes halted when at length they +rested on the picture of his mother. +</p> + +<p> +The lad rose as if drawn by invisible hands, reached out and clasped the +photograph to him. Then the pent-up tears welled up in a flood. With the +picture pressed to his burning cheek Phil Forrest threw himself on his bed and +sobbed out his bitter grief. He did not hear the thump of Abner Adams’ +cane on the bedroom door, nor the angry demands that he open it. +</p> + +<p> +“Mother, Mother!” breathed the unhappy boy, as his sobs gradually +merged into long-drawn, trembling sighs. +</p> + +<p> +Perhaps his appeal was not unheard. At least Phil Forrest sprang from his bed, +holding the picture away from him with both hands and gazing into the eyes of +his mother. +</p> + +<p> +Slowly his shoulders drew back and his head came up, while an expression of +strong determination flashed into his own eyes. +</p> + +<p> +“I’ll do it—I’ll be a man, Mother!” he exclaimed +in a voice in which there was not the slightest tremor now. “I’ll +fight the battle and I’ll win.” +</p> + +<p> +Phil Forest had come to the parting of the ways, which he faced with a courage +unusual in one of his years. There was little to be done. He packed his few +belongings in a bag that had been his mother’s. The lad possessed one +suit besides the one he wore, and this he stowed away as best he could, +determining to press it out when he had located himself. +</p> + +<p> +Finally his task was finished. He stood in the middle of the floor glancing +around the little room that had been his home for so long. But he felt no +regrets. He was only making sure that he had not left anything behind. Having +satisfied himself on this point, Phil gathered up his bundle of books, placed +the picture of his mother in his inside coat pocket, then threw open the door. +</p> + +<p> +The lad’s uncle had stamped to the floor below, where he was awaiting +Phil’s coming. +</p> + +<p> +“Good-bye, Uncle,” he said quietly, extending a hand. +</p> + +<p> +“Let me see that bag,” snapped the old man. +</p> + +<p> +“The bag is mine—it belonged to my mother,” explained the +boy. “Surely you don’t object to my taking it with me?” +</p> + +<p> +“You’re welcome to it, and good riddance; but I’m going to +find out what’s inside of it.” +</p> + +<p> +“You surely don’t think I would take anything that doesn’t +belong to me—you can’t mean that?” +</p> + +<p> +“Ain’t saying what I mean. Hand over that bag.” +</p> + +<p> +With burning cheeks, Phil did as he was bid, his unwavering eyes fixed almost +sternly on the wrathful face of Abner Adams. +</p> + +<p> +“Huh!” growled the old man, tumbling the contents out on the floor, +shaking Phil’s clothes to make sure that nothing was concealed in them. +</p> + +<p> +Apparently satisfied, the old man threw the bag on the floor with an +exclamation of disgust. Phil once more gathered up his belongings and stowed +them away in the satchel. +</p> + +<p> +“Turn out your pockets!” +</p> + +<p> +“There is nothing in them, Uncle, save some trinkets of my own and my +mother’s picture.” +</p> + +<p> +“Turn them out!” thundered the old man. +</p> + +<p> +“Uncle, I have always obeyed you. Obedience was one of the things that my +mother taught me, but I’m sure that were she here she would tell me I was +right in refusing to humiliate myself as you would have me do. There is nothing +in my pockets that does not belong to me. I am not a thief.” +</p> + +<p> +“Then I’ll turn them out myself!” snarled Abner Adams, +starting forward. +</p> + +<p> +Phil stepped back a pace, satchel in hand. +</p> + +<p> +“Uncle, I am a man now,” said the boy, straightening to his full +height. “Please don’t force me to do something that I should be +sorry for all the rest of my life. Will you shake hands with me?” +</p> + +<p> +“No!” thundered Abner Adams. “Get out of my sight before I +lay the stick over your head!” +</p> + +<p> +Phil stretched out an appealing hand, then hastily withdrew it. +</p> + +<p> +“Good-bye, Uncle Abner,” he breathed. +</p> + +<p> +Without giving his uncle a chance to reply, the lad turned, opened the door and +ran down the steps. +</p> + +</div><!--end chapter--> + +<div class="chapter"> + +<h2><a name="chap03"></a>CHAPTER III.<br /> +MAKING HIS START IN THE WORLD</h2> + +<p> +The sun was just setting as Phil Forrest strode out of the yard. Once outside +of the gate he paused, glancing irresolutely up and down the street. Which way +to turn or where to go he did not know. He had not thought before of what he +should do. +</p> + +<p> +Phil heard the clatter of Abner Adams’ stick as the old man thumped about +in the kitchen. +</p> + +<p> +Suddenly the door was jerked open with unusual violence. +</p> + +<p> +“Begone!” bellowed Mr. Adams, brandishing his cane threateningly. +</p> + +<p> +Phil turned down the street, without casting so much as a glance in the +direction of his wrathful uncle, and continued on toward the open country. To +anyone who had observed him there was nothing of uncertainty in the lad’s +walk as he swung along. As a matter of fact, Phil had not the slightest idea +where he was going. He knew only that he wanted to get away by himself. +</p> + +<p> +On the outskirts of the village men had been at work that day, cutting and +piling up hay. The field was dotted with heaps of the fragrant, freshly +garnered stuff. +</p> + +<p> +Phil hesitated, glanced across the field, and, noting that the men had all gone +home for the day, climbed the fence. He walked on through the field until he +had reached the opposite side of it. Then the lad placed his bag on the ground +and sat down on a pile of hay. +</p> + +<p> +With head in hands, he tried to think, to plan, but somehow his mind seemed +unable to perform its proper functions. It simply would not work. +</p> + +<p> +“Not much of a start in the world, this,” grinned Phil, shifting +his position so as to command a better view of the world, for he did not want +anyone to see him. “I suppose Uncle Abner is getting supper now. But +where am I going to get mine? I hadn’t thought of that before. It looks +very much as if I should have to go without. But I don’t care. Perhaps it +will do me good to miss a meal,” decided the boy sarcastically. +“I’ve been eating too much lately, anyhow.” +</p> + +<p> +Twilight came; then the shadows of night slowly settled over the landscape, +while the lad lay stretched out on the sweet-smelling hay, hands supporting his +head, gazing up into the starlit sky. +</p> + +<p> +Slowly his heavy eyelids fluttered and closed, and Phil was asleep. The night +was warm and he experienced no discomfort. He was a strong, healthy boy, so +that sleeping out of doors was no hardship to him. All through the night he +slept as soundly as if he had been in his own bed at home. Nor did he awaken +until the bright sunlight of the morning finally burned his eyelids apart. +</p> + +<p> +Phil started up rubbing his eyes. +</p> + +<p> +At first he wondered where he was. But the sight of his bag lying a little to +one side brought back with a rush the memory of what had happened to him the +evening before. +</p> + +<p> +“Why, it’s morning,” marveled the lad, blinking in the strong +sunlight. “And I’ve slept on this pile of hay all night. It’s +the first time I ever slept out of doors, and I never slept better in my life. +Guess I’ll fix myself up a little.” +</p> + +<p> +Phil remembered that a little trout stream cut across the field off to the +right. Taking up his bag, he started for the stream, where he made his toilet +as best he could, finishing up by lying flat on his stomach, taking a long, +satisfying drink of the sparkling water. +</p> + +<p> +“Ah, that feels better,” he breathed, rolling over on the bank. +After a little he helped himself to another drink. “But I’ve got to +do something. I can’t stay out here in this field all the rest of my +life. And if I don’t find something to eat I’ll starve to death. +I’ll go downtown and see if I can’t earn my breakfast +somehow.” +</p> + +<p> +Having formed this resolution, Phil took up his belongings and started away +toward the village. His course led him right past Abner Adams’ house, +but, fortunately, Mr. Adams was not in sight. Phil would have felt a keen +humiliation had he been forced to meet the taunts of his uncle. He hurried on +past the house without glancing toward it. +</p> + +<p> +He had gone on for some little way when he was halted by a familiar voice. +</p> + +<p> +“Hello, Phil! Where are you going in such a hurry and so early in the +morning?” +</p> + +<p> +Phil started guiltily and looked up quickly at the speaker. +</p> + +<p> +“Good morning, Mrs. Cahill. What time is it?” +</p> + +<p> +“It’s just past four o’clock in the morning.” +</p> + +<p> +“Gracious! I had no idea it was so early as that,” exclaimed the +lad. +</p> + +<p> +“If you are not in such a great hurry, stop a bit,” urged the +woman, her keen eyes noting certain things that she did not give voice to. She +had known Phil Forrest for many years, and his parents before him. Furthermore, +she knew something of the life he had led since the death of his parents. +“Had your breakfast?” +</p> + +<p> +“Well—” +</p> + +<p> +“Of course you haven’t. Come right in and eat with me,” urged +the good-hearted widow. +</p> + +<p> +“If you will let me do some chores, or something to pay for it, I +will,” agreed Phil hesitatingly. +</p> + +<p> +“Nothing of the kind! You’ll keep me company at breakfast; then +you’ll be telling me all about it.” +</p> + +<p> +“About what?” +</p> + +<p> +“ ’Bout your going away,” pointing significantly to the bag +that Phil was carrying. +</p> + +<p> +He was ravenously hungry, though he did not realize it fully until the odor of +the widow’s savory cooking smote his nostrils. +</p> + +<p> +She watched him eat with keen satisfaction. +</p> + +<p> +“Now tell me what’s happened,” urged Mrs. Cahill, after he +had finished the meal. +</p> + +<p> +Phil did so. He opened his heart to the woman who had known his mother, while +she listened in sympathetic silence, now and then uttering an exclamation of +angry disapproval when his uncle’s words were repeated to her. +</p> + +<p> +“And you’re turned out of house and home? Is that it, my +boy?” +</p> + +<p> +“Well, yes, that’s about it,” grinned Phil. +</p> + +<p> +“It’s a shame.” +</p> + +<p> +“I’m not complaining, you know, Mrs. Cahill. Perhaps it’s the +best thing that could have happened to me. I’ve got to start out for +myself sometime, you know. I’m glad of one thing, and that is that I +didn’t have to go until school closed. I get through the term today, you +know?” +</p> + +<p> +“And you’re going to school today?” +</p> + +<p> +“Oh, yes. I wouldn’t want to miss the last day.” +</p> + +<p> +“Then what?” +</p> + +<p> +“I don’t know. I shall find something else to do, I guess. I want +to earn enough money this summer so that I can go to school again in the +fall.” +</p> + +<p> +“And you shall. You shall stay right here with the Widow Cahill until +you’ve got through with your schooling, my lad.” +</p> + +<p> +“I couldn’t think of that. No; I am not going to be a burden to +anyone. Don’t you see how I feel—that I want to earn my own living +now?” +</p> + +<p> +She nodded understandingly. +</p> + +<p> +“You can do some chores and—” +</p> + +<p> +“I’ll stay here until I find something else to do,” agreed +Phil slowly. “I shan’t be able to look about much today, because +I’ll be too busy at school; but tomorrow I’ll begin hunting for a +job. What can I do for you this morning?” +</p> + +<p> +“Well, you might chop some wood if you are aching to exercise your +muscles,” answered the widow, with a twinkle in her eyes. She knew that +there was plenty of wood stored in the woodhouse, but she was too shrewd an +observer to tell Phil so, realizing, as she did, that the obligation he felt +for her kindness was too great to be lightly treated. +</p> + +<p> +Phil got at his task at once, and in a few moments she heard him whistling an +accompaniment to the steady thud, thud of the axe as he swung it with strong, +resolute arms. +</p> + +<p> +“He’s a fine boy,” was the Widow Cahill’s muttered +conclusion. +</p> + +<p> +Phil continued at his work without intermission until an hour had passed. Mrs. +Cahill went out, begging that he come in and rest. +</p> + +<p> +“Rest? Why, haven’t I been resting all night? I feel as if I could +chop down the house and work it up into kindling wood, all before school time. +What time is it?” +</p> + +<p> +“Nigh on to seven o’clock. I’ve wanted to ask you something +ever since you told me you had left Abner Adams. It’s rather a personal +question.” +</p> + +<p> +The lad nodded. +</p> + +<p> +“Did your uncle send you away without any money?” +</p> + +<p> +“Of course. Why should he have given me anything so long as I was going +to leave him?” +</p> + +<p> +“Did you ever hear him say that your mother had left a little money with +him before she died—money that was to be used for your education as long +as it lasted?” +</p> + +<p> +Phil straightened up slowly, his axe falling to the ground, an expression of +surprise appeared in his eyes. +</p> + +<p> +“My mother left money—for me, you say?” he wondered. +</p> + +<p> +“No, Phil, I haven’t said so. I asked you if Abner had ever said +anything of the sort?” +</p> + +<p> +“No. Do you think she did?” +</p> + +<p> +“I’m not saying what I think. I wish I was a man; I’d read +old Abner Adams a lecture that he wouldn’t forget as long as he +lives.” +</p> + +<p> +Phil smiled indulgently. +</p> + +<p> +“He’s an old man, Mrs. Cahill. He’s all crippled up with +rheumatism, and maybe he’s got a right to be cranky—” +</p> + +<p> +“And to turn his own sister’s child outdoors, eh? Not by a long +shot. Rheumatics don’t give anybody any call to do any such a thing as +that. He ought to have his nose twisted, and it’s me, a good church +member, as says so.” +</p> + +<p> +The lad picked up his axe and resumed his occupation, while Mrs. Cahill turned +up a chunk of wood and sat down on it, keeping up a running fire of comment, +mostly directed at Abner Adams, and which must have made his ears burn. +</p> + +<p> +Shortly after eight o’clock Phil gathered his books, strapped them and +announced that he would be off for school. +</p> + +<p> +“I’ll finish the woodpile after school,” he called back, as +he was leaving the gate. +</p> + +<p> +“You’ll do nothing of the sort,” retorted the Widow Cahill. +</p> + +<p> +Darting out of the yard, Phil ran plump into someone, and halted sharply with +an earnest apology. +</p> + +<p> +“Seems to me you’re in a terrible rush about something. Where you +going?” +</p> + +<p> +“Hello, Teddy, that you?” +</p> + +<p> +“It’s me,” answered Teddy ungrammatically. +</p> + +<p> +“I’m on my way to school.” +</p> + +<p> +“Never could understand why anybody should want to run when he’s +going to school. Now, I always run when I start off after school’s out. +What you doing here?” demanded the boy, drawing his eyelids down into a +squint. +</p> + +<p> +“I’ve been chopping some wood for Mrs. Cahill.” +</p> + +<p> +“Huh! What’s the matter with the bear this morning?” +</p> + +<p> +“The bear?” +</p> + +<p> +Teddy jerked a significant thumb in the direction of Phil’s former home. +</p> + +<p> +“Bear’s got a grouch on a rod wide this morning.” +</p> + +<p> +“Oh, you mean Uncle Abner,” answered Phil, his face clouding. +</p> + +<p> +“Yep.” +</p> + +<p> +“Why?” +</p> + +<p> +“I just dropped in to see if you were ready to go to school. He yelled at +me like he’d gone crazy.” +</p> + +<p> +“That all?” grinned the other boy. +</p> + +<p> +“No. He chased me down the road till his game knee gave out; then he fell +down.” +</p> + +<p> +Phil could not repress a broad grin at this news. +</p> + +<p> +“Good thing for me that I could run. He’d have given me a walloping +for sure if he’d caught me. I’ll bet that stick hurts when it comes +down on a fellow. Don’t it, Phil?” +</p> + +<p> +“I should think it would. I have never felt it, but I have had some +pretty narrow escapes. What did the folks you are living with say when you got +home all mud last night?” +</p> + +<p> +Teddy grinned a sheepish sort of grin. +</p> + +<p> +“Told me I’d better go out in the horse barn—said my +particular style of beauty was better suited to the stable than to the +kitchen.” +</p> + +<p> +“Did you?” +</p> + +<p> +“Well, no, not so as you might notice it. I went down to the creek and +went in swimming, clothes and all. That was the easiest way. You see, I could +wash the mud off my clothes and myself all at the same time.” +</p> + +<p> +“It’s a wonder they let you in at all, then.” +</p> + +<p> +“They didn’t; at least not until I had wrung the water out of my +trousers and twisted my hair up into a regular top-knot. Then I crawled in +behind the kitchen stove and got dried out after a while. But I got my supper. +I always do.” +</p> + +<p> +“Yes; I never knew you to go without meals.” +</p> + +<p> +“Sorry you ain’t going to the circus tomorrow, Phil.” +</p> + +<p> +“I am. Teddy, I’m free. I can do as I like now. Yes, I’ll go +to the circus with you, and maybe if I can earn some money tonight I’ll +treat you to red lemonade and peanuts.” +</p> + +<p> +“Hooray!” shouted Teddy, tossing his hat high in the air. +</p> + +</div><!--end chapter--> + +<div class="chapter"> + +<h2><a name="chap04"></a>CHAPTER IV.<br /> +THE CIRCUS COMES TO TOWN</h2> + +<p> +The Sparling Combined Shows came rumbling into Edmeston at about three +o’clock the next morning. But, early as was the hour, two boys sat on the +Widow Cahill’s door-yard fence watching the wagons go by. +</p> + +<p> +The circus was one of the few road shows that are now traveling through the +country, as distinguished from the great modern organizations that travel by +rail with from one to half a dozen massive trains. The Sparling people drove +from town to town. They carried twenty-five wagons, besides a band wagon, a +wild-west coach and a calliope. +</p> + +<p> +“Phil! Phil! Look!” exclaimed Teddy, clutching at his +companion’s coat sleeve, as two hulking, swaying figures appeared out of +the shadows of the early morning. +</p> + +<p> +“Where?” +</p> + +<p> +“There.” +</p> + +<p> +“Elephants! There’s two of them.” +</p> + +<p> +“Ain’t that great? I didn’t suppose they’d have any +elephants. Wonder if there’s any lions and tigers in those big +wagons.” +</p> + +<p> +“Of course there are. Didn’t you see pictures of them on the bills, +Teddy?” +</p> + +<p> +“I don’t know. Dan Marts, the postmaster, says you can’t set +any store by the pictures. He says maybe they’ve got the things you see +in the pictures, and maybe they haven’t. There’s a camel! Look at +it! How’d you like to ride on that hump all day?” questioned Teddy +gleefully. +</p> + +<p> +“Shouldn’t like it at all.” +</p> + +<p> +“I read in my geography that they ride on them all the time on +the—on—on Sarah’s Desert.” +</p> + +<p> +“Oh, you mean the Sahara Desert—that’s what you mean,” +laughed Phil. +</p> + +<p> +“Well, maybe.” +</p> + +<p> +“I should rather ride an elephant. See, it’s just like a rocking +chair. I could almost go to sleep watching them move along.” +</p> + +<p> +“I couldn’t,” declared Teddy. “I couldn’t any +more go to sleep when a circus is going by than I could fly without +wings.” +</p> + +<p> +“See, there comes a herd of ponies. Look how small they are. Not much +bigger than St. Bernard dogs. They could walk right under the elephants and not +touch them.” +</p> + +<p> +“Where do they all sleep?” wondered Teddy. +</p> + +<p> +“Who, the ponies?” +</p> + +<p> +“No, of course not. The people.” +</p> + +<p> +“I don’t know unless they sleep in the cages with the +animals,” laughed Phil. “Some of the folks appear to be sleeping on +the horses.” +</p> + +<p> +“I’d be willing to go without sleep if I could be a showman,” +mused Teddy. “Wouldn’t you?” +</p> + +<p> +“Sure,” agreed Phil. “Hello! There come some more wagons. +Come on! We’ll run down to meet them.” +</p> + +<p> +“No; Let’s go over to the grounds where the circus is coming off. +They’ll be putting up the tents first thing we know.” +</p> + +<p> +“That’s so, and I want to be around. You going to work any, +Teddy?” +</p> + +<p> +“Not I. I’m going to see the show, but you don’t catch me +carrying pails of water for the elephants for a ticket of admission that +don’t admit you to anything except a stand-up. I can stand up cheaper +than that.” +</p> + +<p> +Both boys slipped from the fence, and, setting off at a jog trot, began rapidly +overhauling and passing the slow-moving wagons with their tired horses and more +tired drivers. +</p> + +<p> +By the time Teddy and Phil reached the circus grounds several wagons were +already there. Shouts sprang up from all parts of the field, while half a dozen +men began measuring off the ground in the dim morning light, locating the best +places in which to pitch the tents. Here and there they would drive in a stake, +on one of which they tied a piece of newspaper. +</p> + +<p> +“Wonder what that’s for,” thought Phil aloud. +</p> + +<p> +“Hey, what’s the paper tied on the peg for?” shouted Teddy to +a passing showman. +</p> + +<p> +“That’s the front door, sonny.” +</p> + +<p> +“Funniest looking front door I ever saw,” grunted Teddy. +</p> + +<p> +“He means that’s the place where the people enter and leave their +tickets.” +</p> + +<p> +“Oh, yes. That’s what they call the ‘Main +Entrance,’” nodded Teddy. “I’ve seen it, but I +don’t usually go in that way.” +</p> + +<p> +With the early dawn figures began emerging from several of the wagons. They +were a sleepy looking lot, and for a time stood about in various attitudes, +yawning, stretching their arms and rubbing their eyes. +</p> + +<p> +“Hey, boy, what town is this?” questioned a red-haired youth, +dragging himself toward the two lads. +</p> + +<p> +“Edmeston.” +</p> + +<p> +“Oh, yes. I remember; I was here once before.” +</p> + +<p> +“With a show?” asked Teddy. +</p> + +<p> +“Yes, with a Kickapoo Indian medicine man. And he was bad medicine. Say, +where can I wash my countenance?” +</p> + +<p> +“Come on; I’ll show you,” exclaimed Teddy and Phil in the +same breath. +</p> + +<p> +They led the way to the opposite side of the field, where there was a stream of +water. While the circus boy was making his morning toilet the lads watched him +in admiring silence. +</p> + +<p> +“What do you do?” ventured Phil. +</p> + +<p> +“I perform on the rings.” +</p> + +<p> +“Up in the air?” +</p> + +<p> +“Uh-huh.” +</p> + +<p> +“Ever fall off?” +</p> + +<p> +“I get my bumps,” grinned the red-haired boy. “My name is +Rodney Palmer. What’s your names?” +</p> + +<p> +They told him. +</p> + +<p> +“We’re going to be circus men, too,” Teddy informed him, but +the announcement did not seem to stir a deep interest in the circus boy. He had +heard other boys say the same thing. “Is it very hard work?” +</p> + +<p> +“Worst ever.” +</p> + +<p> +“When do you sleep?” +</p> + +<p> +“When we ain’t awake.” +</p> + +<p> +“And you perform on the flying rings?” +</p> + +<p> +Rodney nodded his head indifferently. +</p> + +<p> +“I should think you’d burn the tent up with that head of red +hair,” grinned Teddy. +</p> + +<p> +Instead of getting angry at the boy’s thrust, Rodney glanced at Teddy +with a half questioning look in his eyes, then burst out laughing. +</p> + +<p> +“You’re a cheerful idiot, aren’t you?” he twinkled. +“I’ll tell you why I don’t. Confidentially, you know?” +</p> + +<p> +“Sure.” +</p> + +<p> +“I wear a wig when I’m performing. Mebby if it wasn’t for +that I might set something on fire. I must get over on the lot now.” +</p> + +<p> +“You’re in a lot already,” Teddy informed him. +</p> + +<p> +“We call the place where we pitch the tents ‘the lot.’ The +cook tent must be up by this time, and I’m half starved. The performance +was so late yesterday afternoon that they had the cook tent down before I got +my supper. Will you come along?” +</p> + +<p> +They did. +</p> + +<p> +“Do you think there is anything I could do to earn a ticket to the show +today?” asked Phil. +</p> + +<p> +“Yes, there’s most always something for a boy to do.” +</p> + +<p> +“Whom do I ask about it?” +</p> + +<p> +“Go see the boss canvasman. I’ll point him out to you as we go +along.” +</p> + +<p> +“Thank you. You want to see him, too, Teddy?” +</p> + +<p> +“No; I don’t have to.” +</p> + +<p> +“That’s him over there. He’s a grouch, but just don’t +let him bluff you. Yes, the cook tent’s about ready. I’ll sneak in +and hook something before breakfast; then mebby I’ll come back and talk +with you.” +</p> + +<p> +“We’ll look for you in the show this afternoon,” said Phil. +</p> + +<p> +“All right, if I see you I’ll swing my hand to you,” Rodney +replied, starting for the cook tent, where the meals were served to the show +people. +</p> + +<p> +“Now, I’m going to see that boss canvasman,” announced Phil. +“See, they are laying the pieces of the tents flat on the ground. I +suppose they fasten them all together when they get them placed, then raise +them up on the poles.” +</p> + +<p> +“I guess so. I don’t care much so long as I don’t have to do +it.” +</p> + +<p> +“Teddy Tucker, actually you are the laziest boy I ever knew. Why +don’t you brace up?” +</p> + +<p> +“Don’t I have just as good a time and better, than you do?” +</p> + +<p> +“Guess you do.” +</p> + +<p> +“Don’t I get just as much to eat?” +</p> + +<p> +“I presume so,” admitted Phil. +</p> + +<p> +“Don’t I see all the shows that come to town, and go to all the +picnics?” +</p> + +<p> +“Yes.” +</p> + +<p> +“Then, what’s the use of being any more’n lazy?” +</p> + +<p> +Teddy’s logic was too much for his companion, and Phil laughed heartily. +</p> + +<p> +“Look, the elephant is butting one of the wagons,” cried Teddy. +</p> + +<p> +“No, they are using the elephant to push the cage around in place. I +wonder what’s in it,” said Phil. +</p> + +<p> +A roar that fairly made the ground shake answered Phil’s question. The +cage in question held a lion, and a big, ugly one if his voice was any +indication. The great elephant, when the cage was being placed, would, at a +signal from its keeper, place its ponderous head against one side of the cage +and push, while a driver would steer the wagon by taking hold of the end of the +tongue. +</p> + +<p> +It was a novel sight for the two boys, and they watched it with the keenest +interest. A man dressed in riding clothes, carrying a short crop in his hand, +was observing the operations with equal interest. He was James Sparling, the +proprietor and manager of the Great Combined Shows, but the lads were unaware +of that fact. Even had they known, it is doubtful if Mr. Sparling would have +been of sufficient attraction to draw their attention from the working +elephant. +</p> + +<p> +All at once there was a warning shout from Mr. Sparling. +</p> + +<p> +The men set up a yell, followed by a sudden scurrying from the immediate +vicinity of the cage that the elephant had been shunting about. +</p> + +<p> +“Stop it! Brace it!” bellowed the owner of the show, making frantic +motions with his free hand, cutting circles and dashes in the air with the +short crop held in the other. +</p> + +<p> +“What’s the row?” wondered Teddy. +</p> + +<p> +“I—I don’t know,” stammered Phil. +</p> + +<p> +“The elephant’s tipping the lion cage over!” shouted someone. +“Run for your lives!” +</p> + +<p> +For once in his life Teddy Tucker executed a lightning-like movement. He was +one of several dark streaks on the landscape running as if Wallace, the biggest +lion in captivity, were in reality hard upon his heels. As he ran, Teddy +uttered a howl that could have been heard from one end of the circus lot to the +other. +</p> + +<p> +A few of the more fearless ones, the old hands of the show, did not attempt to +run. Instead they stood still, fairly holding their breaths, waiting to see +what would happen next. +</p> + +<p> +Mr. Sparling was too far away to be able to do anything to prevent the +catastrophe that was hanging over them, but it did not prevent him from yelling +like a madman at the inactive employees of the show. +</p> + +<p> +At the first cry—the instant he comprehended what was happening— +Phil Forrest moved every bit as quickly as had his companion, though he leaped +in the opposite direction. +</p> + +<p> +All about on the ground lay tent poles of various length and thickness, side +poles, quarter poles and the short side poles used to hold the tent walls in +place. These were about twenty feet in length and light enough to be easily +handled. +</p> + +<p> +With ready resourcefulness and quick comprehension, Phil pounced upon one of +these and darted toward the cage which was toppling over in his direction. +</p> + +<p> +The roof of the lion cage that housed Wallace projected over the edge some six +inches, and this had caught the keen eyes of the lad at the first alarm. His +plan had been formed in a flash. +</p> + +<p> +He shot one end of the side pole up under the projecting roof, jammed the other +end into the ground, throwing his whole weight upon the foot of the pole to +hold it in place. +</p> + +<p> +For an instant the tent pole bent like a bow under the pull of the archer. It +seemed as if it must surely snap under the terrific strain. +</p> + +<p> +Phil saw this, too. Now that the foot of the pole was firmly imbedded in the +ground, there was no further need for him to hold it down. He sprang under the +pole with the swaying cage directly over him, grabbed the pole at the point +where it was arching so dangerously, and pulling himself from the ground, held +to the slippery stick desperately. +</p> + +<p> +Light as he was the boy’s weight saved the pole. It bent no further. +</p> + +<p> +The cage swayed from side to side, threatening to topple over at one end or the +other. +</p> + +<p> +“Get poles under the ends,” shouted the boy in a shrill voice. +“I can’t hold it here all day.” +</p> + +<p> +“Get poles, you lazy good-for-nothings!” bellowed the owner. +“Brace those ends. Look out for the elephant. Don’t you see +he’s headed for the cage again?” +</p> + +<p> +Orders flew thick and fast, but through it all Phil Forrest hung grimly to the +side pole, taking a fresh overhand hold, now and then, as his palms slipped +down the painted stick. +</p> + +<p> +Now that he had shown the way, others sprang to his assistance. Half a dozen +poles were thrust up under the roof and the cage began slowly settling back the +other way. +</p> + +<p> +“Hadn’t you better have some poles braced against the other side, +sir?” suggested Phil, touching his hat to Mr. Sparling, who, he had +discovered, was some person in authority. “The cage may tip clear over on +the other side, or it may drop so heavily on the wheels as to break the +axles.” +</p> + +<p> +“Right. Brace the off side. That’s right. Now let it down slowly. +Not so hard on the nigh side there. Ease off there, Bill. Push, Patsy. What do +you think this is—a game of croquet? There you go. Right. Now let’s +see if you woodenheads know enough to keep the wagon right side up.” +</p> + +<p> +Mr. Sparling took off his hat and wiped the perspiration from his forehead, +while Phil stood off calmly surveying the men who were straightening the wagon, +but with more caution than they had exercised before. +</p> + +<p> +“Come here, boy.” +</p> + +<p> +Someone touched Phil on the arm. +</p> + +<p> +“What is it?” +</p> + +<p> +“Boss wants to speak to you.” +</p> + +<p> +“Who?” +</p> + +<p> +“Boss Sparling, the fellow over there with the big voice and the +sombrero.” +</p> + +<p> +Phil walked over and touched his hat to Mr. Sparling. +</p> + +<p> +The showman looked the lad over from head to foot. +</p> + +<p> +“What’s your name?” He shot the question at the lad as if +angry about something, and he undoubtedly was. +</p> + +<p> +“Phil Forrest.” +</p> + +<p> +“Do they grow your kind around here?” +</p> + +<p> +“I can’t say, sir.” +</p> + +<p> +“If they do, I’d like to hire a dozen or more of them. You’ve +got more sense than any boy of your age I ever saw. How old are you?” +</p> + +<p> +“Sixteen.” +</p> + +<p> +“Huh! I wish I had him!” growled Mr. Sparling. “What do you +want?” +</p> + +<p> +“I should like to have a chance to earn a pass to the show this +afternoon. Rodney Palmer said the boss canvasman might give me a chance to earn +one.” +</p> + +<p> +“Earn one? Earn one?” Mr. Sparling’s voice rose to a roar +again. “What in the name of Old Dan Rice do you think you’ve been +doing? Here you’ve kept a cage with a five-thousand-dollar lion from +tipping over, to say nothing of the people who might have been killed had the +brute got out, and you want to know how you can earn a pass to the show? What +d’ye think of that?” and the owner appealed helplessly to an +assistant who had run across the lot, having been attracted to the scene by the +uproar. +</p> + +<p> +The assistant grinned. +</p> + +<p> +“He’s too modest to live.” +</p> + +<p> +“Pity modesty isn’t more prevalent in this show, then. How many do +you want? Have a whole section if you say the word.” +</p> + +<p> +“How many are there in a section?” asked Phil. +</p> + +<p> +“ ’Bout a hundred seats.” +</p> + +<p> +Phil gasped. +</p> + +<p> +“I—I guess two will be enough,” he made answer. +</p> + +<p> +“Here you are,” snapped the owner, thrusting a card at the lad, on +which had been scribbled some characters, puzzling to the uninitiated. +“If you want anything else around this show you just ask for it, young +man. Hey, there! Going to be all day getting that canvas up? Don’t you +know we’ve got a parade coming along in a few hours?” +</p> + +<p> +Phil Forrest, more light of heart than in many days, turned away to acquaint +his companion of his good fortune. Teddy Tucker was making his way cautiously +back to the scene of the excitement of a few moments before. +</p> + +<p> +“Did he get away?” Teddy questioned, ready to run at the drop of +the hat should the danger prove to be still present. +</p> + +<p> +“Who, the manager?” +</p> + +<p> +“No, the lion.” +</p> + +<p> +“He’s in the cage where he’s been all the time. They +haven’t opened it yet, but I guess he’s all right. Say, +Teddy!” +</p> + +<p> +“Say it.” +</p> + +<p> +“I’ve got a pass to the show for two people for both +performances—this afternoon and tonight.” +</p> + +<p> +The interest that the announcement brought to Teddy’s eyes died away +almost as soon as it appeared. +</p> + +<p> +“Going?” +</p> + +<p> +“Am I going? I should say so. Want to go in with me on my pass, +Teddy?” +</p> + +<p> +The lad hitched his trousers, took a critical squint at the canvas that was +slowly mounting the center pole to the accompaniment of creaking ropes, +groaning tackle and confused shouting. +</p> + +<p> +“They’re getting the menagerie tent up. I’ll bet it’s +going to be a dandy show,” he vouchsafed. “How’d you get the +tickets?” +</p> + +<p> +“Manager gave them to me.” +</p> + +<p> +“What for?” +</p> + +<p> +“I did a little work for him. Helped get the lion’s cage +straightened up. How about it—are you going in on my pass?” +</p> + +<p> +“N-o-o,” drawled Teddy. “Might get me into bad habits to go +in on a pass. I’d rather sneak in under the tent when the boss +isn’t looking.” +</p> + +</div><!--end chapter--> + +<div class="chapter"> + +<h2><a name="chap05"></a>CHAPTER V.<br /> +WHEN THE BANDS PLAYED</h2> + +<p> +Phil started for the Widow Cahill’s on the run after having procured his +tickets. “Here’s a ticket for the circus, Mrs. Cahill,” he +shouted, bursting into the room, with excited, flushed face. +</p> + +<p> +“What’s this you say—the circus? Land sakes, I haven’t +seen one since I was—well, since I was a girl. I don’t know.” +</p> + +<p> +“You’ll go, won’t you?” urged Phil. +</p> + +<p> +“Of course, I’ll go,” she made haste to reply, noting the +disappointment in his face over her hesitation. “And thank you very +much.” +</p> + +<p> +“Shall I come and get you, Mrs. Cahill, or can you get over to the circus +grounds alone?” +</p> + +<p> +“Don’t worry about me, my boy. I’ll take care of +myself.” +</p> + +<p> +“Your seat will be right next to mine, and we can talk while we are +watching the performers.” +</p> + +<p> +“Yes; you run along now. Here’s a quarter for spending money. Never +mind thanking me. Just take it and have a good time. Where’s your +friend?” +</p> + +<p> +“Teddy?” +</p> + +<p> +“Yes.” +</p> + +<p> +“Over on the lot.” +</p> + +<p> +“He going in with you, too?” +</p> + +<p> +“Oh, no. Teddy is too proud to go in that way. He crawls in under the +tent,” laughed Phil, running down the steps and setting off for the +circus grounds with all speed. +</p> + +<p> +When he arrived there he saw at once that something was going on. The tents +were all in place, the little white city erected with as much care and +attention to detail as if the show expected to remain in Edmeston all summer. +The lad could scarcely make himself believe that, only a few hours before, this +very lot had been occupied by the birds alone. It was a marvel to him, even in +after years, when he had become as thoroughly conversant with the details of a +great show as any man in America. +</p> + +<p> +Just now there was unusual activity about the grounds. Men in gaudy uniforms, +clowns in full makeup, and women with long glistening trains, glittering with +spangles from head to feet, were moving about, while men were decorating the +horses with bright blankets and fancy headdress. +</p> + +<p> +“What are they going to do?” asked Phil of a showman. +</p> + +<p> +“Going to parade.” +</p> + +<p> +“Oh, yes, that’s so; I had forgotten about that.” +</p> + +<p> +“Hello, boy—I’ve forgotten your name—” +</p> + +<p> +“Forrest,” explained Phil, turning. The speaker was Mr. +Sparling’s assistant, whom the lad had seen just after saving the lion +cage from turning over. +</p> + +<p> +“Can you blow a horn as well as you can stop a wagon?” +</p> + +<p> +“Depends upon what kind of a horn. I think I can make as much noise on a +fish horn as anyone else.” +</p> + +<p> +“That’ll do as well as anything else. Want to go in the +parade?” +</p> + +<p> +“I’d love to!” The color leaped to the cheeks of Phil Forrest +and a sparkle to his eyes. This was going beyond his fondest dreams. +</p> + +<p> +The assistant motioned to a clown. +</p> + +<p> +“Fix this boy up in some sort of a rig. I’m going to put him in the +Kazoo Band. Bring him back here when he is ready. Be quick.” +</p> + +<p> +A long, yellow robe was thrown about the boy, a peaked cap thrust on his head, +after which a handful of powder was slapped on his face and rubbed down with +the flat of the clown’s hand. The fine dust got into the lad’s +nostrils and throat, causing him to sneeze until the tears rolled down his +cheeks, streaking his makeup like a freshet through a plowed field. +</p> + +<p> +“Good,” laughed the clown. “That’s what your face +needs. You’d make a good understudy for Chief Rain-In-The-Face. Now +hustle along.” +</p> + +<p> +Phil picked up the long skirts and ran full speed to the place where the +assistant had been standing. There he waited until the assistant returned from +a journey to some other part of the lot. +</p> + +<p> +“That’s right; you know how to obey orders,” he nodded. +“That’s a good clown makeup. Did Mr. Miaco put those streaks on +your face?” +</p> + +<p> +“No, I sneezed them there,” answered Phil, with a sheepish grin. +</p> + +<p> +The assistant laughed heartily. Somehow, he had taken a sudden liking to this +boy. +</p> + +<p> +“Do you live at home, Forrest?” +</p> + +<p> +“No; I have no home now.” +</p> + +<p> +“Here’s a fish horn. Now get up in the band wagon—no, not the +big one, I mean the clowns’ band wagon with the hayrack on it. When the +parade starts blow your confounded head off if you want to. Make all the noise +you can. You’ll have plenty of company. When the parade breaks up, just +take off your makeup and turn it over to Mr. Miaco.” +</p> + +<p> +“You mean these clothes?” +</p> + +<p> +“Yes. They’re a part of the makeup. You’ll have to wash the +makeup off your face. I don’t expect you to return the powder to +us,” grinned the assistant humorously. +</p> + +<p> +The clowns were climbing to the hayrack. A bugle had blown as a signal that the +parade was ready to move. Phil had not seen Teddy Tucker since returning to the +lot. He did not know where the boy was, but he was quite sure that Teddy was +not missing any of the fun. Tucker had been around circuses before, and knew +how to make the most of his opportunities. And he was doing so now. +</p> + +<p> +“Ta ra, ta ra, ta ra!” sang the bugle. +</p> + +<p> +Crash! answered the cymbals and the bass drums. The snare drums buzzed a long, +thrilling roll; then came the blare of the brass as the whole band launched +into a lively tune such as only circus bands know how to play. +</p> + +<p> +The parade had begun to move. +</p> + +<p> +It was a thrilling moment—the moment of all moments of Phil +Forrest’s life. +</p> + +<p> +The clowns’ wagon had been placed well back in the line, so as not to +interfere with the music of the band itself. But Phil did not care where he was +placed. He only knew that he was in a circus parade, doing his part with the +others, and that, so far as anyone knew, he was as much a circus man as any of +them. +</p> + +<p> +As the cavalcade drew out into the main street and straightened away, Phil was +amazed to see what a long parade it was. It looked as if it might reach the +whole length of the village. +</p> + +<p> +The spring sun was shining brightly, lighting up the line, transforming it into +a moving, flashing, brilliant ribbon of light and color. +</p> + +<p> +“Splendid!” breathed the boy, removing the fish horn from his lips +for a brief instant, then blowing with all his might again. +</p> + +<p> +As the wagons moved along he saw many people whom he knew. As a matter of fact, +Phil knew everyone in the village, but there were hundreds of people who had +driven in from the farms whom he did not know. Nor did anyone appear to +recognize him. +</p> + +<p> +“If they only knew, wouldn’t they be surprised?” chuckled the +lad. “Hello, there’s Mrs. Cahill.” +</p> + +<p> +The widow was standing on her front door step with a dishtowel in one hand. +</p> + +<p> +In the excess of his excitement, Phil stood up, waving his horn and yelling. +</p> + +<p> +She heard him—as everybody else within a radius of a quarter of a mile +might have—and she recognized the voice. Mrs. Cahill brandished the +dishtowel excitedly. +</p> + +<p> +“He’s a fine boy,” she glowed. “And he’s having +the first good time he’s had in five years.” +</p> + +<p> +The Widow Cahill was right. For the first time in all these years, since the +death of his parents, Phil Forrest was carefree and perfectly happy. +</p> + +<p> +The clowns on the wagon with him were uproariously funny. When the wagon +stopped now and then, one whom Phil recognized as the head clown, Mr. Miaco, +would spring to the edge of the rack and make a stump speech in pantomime, +accompanied by all the gestures included in the pouring and drinking of a glass +of water. So humorous were the clown’s antics that the spectators +screamed with laughter. +</p> + +<p> +Suddenly the lad espied that which caused his own laughter to die away, and for +the moment he forgot to toot the fish horn. The parade was passing his former +home, and there, standing hunched forward, leaning on his stick and glaring at +the procession from beneath bushy eyebrows, stood Phil’s uncle, Abner +Adams. +</p> + +<p> +Phil’s heart leaped into his throat; at least that was the sensation that +he experienced. +</p> + +<p> +“I—I hope he doesn’t know me,” muttered the lad, +shrinking back a little. “But I’m a man now. I don’t care. +He’s driven me out and he has no right to say a thing.” +</p> + +<p> +The lad lost some of his courage, however, when the procession halted, and he +found that his wagon was directly in front of Mr. Adams’ dooryard, with +his decrepit uncle not more than twenty feet away from him. The surly, angry +eyes of Abner Adams seemed to be burning through Phil’s makeup, and the +lad instinctively shrank back ever so little. +</p> + +<p> +However, at that instant the boy’s attention was attracted to another +part of the wagon. The head clown stepped from the wagon and, with dignified +tread, approached Abner Adams. He grasped the old man by the hand, which he +shook with great warmth, making a courtly bow. +</p> + +<p> +At first Abner Adams was too surprised to protest. Then, uttering an angry +snarl, he threw the clown off, making a vicious pass at him with his heavy +stick. +</p> + +<p> +The clown dodged the blow, and made a run for the wagon, which was now on the +move again. +</p> + +<p> +Phil breathed a sigh of relief. The people had roared at the funny sight of the +clown shaking hands with the crabbed old man; but to Phil Forrest there had +been nothing of humor in it. The sight of his uncle brought back too many +unhappy memories. +</p> + +<p> +The lad soon forgot his depression, however, in the rapid changes that followed +each other in quick succession as on a moving- picture film. +</p> + +<p> +Reaching the end of the village street the procession was obliged to turn and +retrace its steps over the same ground until it reached the business part of +the town, where it would turn off and pass through some of the side streets. +</p> + +<p> +Now there were two lines, moving in opposite directions. This was of interest +to Phil, enabling him, as it did, to get a good look at the other members of +the troupe. Mr. Sparling was riding ahead in a carriage drawn by four splendid +white horses, driven by a coachman resplendent in livery and gold lace, while +the bobbing plumes on the heads of the horses added to the impressiveness of +the picture. +</p> + +<p> +“I’d give anything in the world to be able to ride in a carriage +like that,” decided Phil. “Maybe someday I shall. We’ll +see.” +</p> + +<p> +Now came the elephants, lumbering along on velvet feet. On the second one there +crouched a figure that somehow seemed strangely familiar to Phil Forrest. The +figure was made up to represent a huge frog. +</p> + +<p> +A peculiar gesture of one of the frog’s legs revealed the identity of the +figure beneath the mask. +</p> + +<p> +“Teddy!” howled Phil. +</p> + +<p> +“Have a frog’s leg,” retorted Teddy, shaking one of them +vigorously at the motley collection of clowns. +</p> + +<p> +“Not eating frogs legs today,” jeered a clown, as Teddy went +swinging past them, a strange, grotesque figure on the back of the huge, +hulking beast. +</p> + +<p> +The clowns’ wagon was just on the point of turning when the men heard a +loud uproar far down the line. At first they thought it was a part of the show, +but it soon became apparent that something was wrong. +</p> + +<p> +Phil instinctively let the horn fall away from his lips. He peered curiously +over the swaying line to learn what, if anything, had gone wrong. +</p> + +<p> +He made out the cause of the trouble almost at once. A pony with a woman on its +back had broken from the line, and was plunging toward them at a terrific pace. +She appeared to have lost all control of the animal, and the pony, which proved +to be an ugly broncho, was bucking and squealing as it plunged madly down the +street. +</p> + +<p> +The others failed to see what Phil had observed almost from the first. The bit +had broken in the mouth of the broncho and the reins hung loosely in the +woman’s helpless hands. +</p> + +<p> +They were almost up with the clowns’ wagon when the woman was seen to +sway dizzily in her saddle, as the leather slipped beneath her. Then she +plunged headlong to the ground. +</p> + +<p> +Instead of falling in a heap, the circus woman, with head dragging, bumping +along the ground, was still fast to the pony. +</p> + +<p> +“Her foot is caught in the stirrup!” yelled half a dozen men at +once, but not a man of them made an effort to rescue her. Perhaps this was +because none of the real horsemen of the show were near enough to do so. +</p> + +<p> +Mr. Sparling, however, at the first alarm, had leaped from his carriage, and, +thrusting a rider from his mount, sprang into the saddle and came tearing down +the line in a cloud of dust. He was bearing down on the scene at express train +speed. +</p> + +<p> +“The woman will be killed!” +</p> + +<p> +“Stop him! Stop him!” +</p> + +<p> +“Stop him yourself!” +</p> + +<p> +But not a man made an effort to do anything. +</p> + +<p> +It had all occurred in a few seconds, but rapidly as the events succeeded each +other, Phil Forrest seemed to be the one among them who retained his presence +of mind. +</p> + +<p> +He fairly launched himself into the air as the ugly broncho shot alongside the +clowns’ wagon. +</p> + +</div><!--end chapter--> + +<div class="chapter"> + +<h2><a name="chap06"></a>CHAPTER VI.<br /> +PROVING HIS METTLE</h2> + +<p> +Familiar as they were with daring deeds, those of the circus people who +witnessed Phil Forrest’s dive gasped. +</p> + +<p> +They expected to see the boy fall beneath the feet of the plunging pony, where +he would be likely to be trampled and kicked to death. +</p> + +<p> +But Phil had looked before he leaped. He had measured his distance +well—had made up his mind exactly what he was going to do, or rather what +he was going to try to do. +</p> + +<p> +The pony, catching a brief glimpse of the dark figure that was being hurled +through the air directly toward him, made a swift leap to one side. But the +animal was not quick enough. The boy landed against the broncho with a jolt +that nearly knocked the little animal over, while to Phil the impact could not +have been much more severe, it seemed to him, had he collided with a +locomotive. +</p> + +<p> +“Hang on!” howled a voice from the wagon. +</p> + +<p> +That was exactly what he intended to do. +</p> + +<p> +The cloud of dust, with Mr. Sparling in the center of it, had not reached them, +but his keen eyes already had observed what was going on. +</p> + +<p> +“G-g-g-grab the woman!” shouted Phil. +</p> + +<p> +His left arm had been thrown about the broncho’s neck, while his right +hand was groping frantically for the animal’s nose. But during all this +time the pony was far from idle. He was plunging like a ship in a gale, +cracking the whip with Phil Forrest until it seemed as if every bone in the +lad’s body would be broken. He could hear his own neck snap with every +jerk. +</p> + +<p> +With a howl Miaco, the head clown, launched himself from the wagon, too. +Darting in among the flying hoofs—there seemed to be a score of +them—he caught the woman, jerked her foot free of the stirrup and dragged +her quickly from her perilous position. +</p> + +<p> +“She’s free. Let go!” he roared to the boy holding the pony. +</p> + +<p> +But by this time Phil had fastened his right hand on the pony’s nostrils, +and with a quick pressure shut off the animal’s wind. He had heard the +warning cry. The lad’s grit had been aroused, however, and he was +determined that he would not let go until he should have conquered the fighting +broncho. +</p> + +<p> +With a squeal of rage, the pony leaped sideways. A deep ditch led along by the +side of the road, but this the enraged animal had not noticed. Into it he went, +kicking and fighting, pieces of Phil’s yellow robe streaming from his +hoofs. +</p> + +<p> +The lad’s body was half under the neck of the pony, but he was clinging +to the neck and the nose of the beast with desperate courage. +</p> + +<p> +“Get the boy out of there!” thundered Mr. Sparling, dashing up and +leaping from his pony. “Want to let him be killed?” +</p> + +<p> +By this time others had ridden up, and some of the real horsemen in the outfit +sprang off and rushed to Phil Forrest’s assistance. Ropes were cast over +the flying hoofs before the men thought it wise to get near them. Then they +hauled Phil out, very much the worse for wear. +</p> + +<p> +In the meantime Mr. Sparling’s carriage had driven up and he was helping +the woman in. +</p> + +<p> +“Is the boy hurt?” he called. +</p> + +<p> +“No, I’m all right, thank you,” answered Phil, smiling +bravely, though he was bruised from head to foot and his clothing hung in +tatters. His peaked clown’s cap someone picked up in a field over the +fence and returned to him. That was about all that was left of Phil +Forrest’s gaudy makeup, save the streaks on his face, which by now had +become blotches of white and red. +</p> + +<p> +The clowns picked him up and boosted him to the wagon, jabbering like a lot of +sparrows perched on a telephone wire. +</p> + +<p> +“See you later!” shouted the voice of Mr. Sparling as he drove +rapidly away. +</p> + +<p> +Phil found his horn, and despite his aches and pains he began blowing it +lustily. The story of his brave rescue had gone on ahead, however, and as the +clowns’ wagon moved on it was greeted by tremendous applause. +</p> + +<p> +The onlookers had no difficulty in picking out the boy who had saved the +woman’s life, and somehow the word had been passed around as to his +identity. +</p> + +<p> +“Hooray for Phil Forrest!” shouted the multitude. +</p> + +<p> +Phil flushed under the coating of powder and paint, and sought to crouch down +in the wagon out of sight. +</p> + +<p> +“Here, get up there where they can see you!” admonished a clown. +“If you’re going to be a showman you mustn’t be afraid to get +yourself in the spotlight.” +</p> + +<p> +Two of them hoisted the blushing Phil to their shoulders and broke into a +rollicking song, swaying their bodies in imitation of the movements of an +elephant as they sang. +</p> + +<p> +At this the populace fairly howled with delight. +</p> + +<p> +“He’s the boy, even if he ain’t purty to look at,” +jeered someone in the crowd. +</p> + +<p> +“Handsome is as handsome does!” retorted a clown in a loud voice, +and the people cheered. +</p> + +<p> +After this the parade went on without further incident, though there could be +no doubt that the exciting dash and rescue by one of their own boys had aroused +the town to a high pitch of excitement. And the showmen smiled, for they knew +what that meant. +</p> + +<p> +“Bet we’ll have a turn-away this afternoon,” announced a +clown. +</p> + +<p> +“Looks that way,” agreed another, “and all on account of the +kid.” +</p> + +<p> +“What’s a turn-away?” asked Phil. +</p> + +<p> +“That’s when there are more people want to get in than the tent +will hold. And it means, too, that the boss will be good natured till it rains +again, and the wagons get stuck in the mud so that we’ll make the next +town behind time. At such times he can make more noise than the steam +calliope.” +</p> + +<p> +“He seems to me to be a pretty fine sort of a man, even if he is +gruff,” suggested Phil. +</p> + +<p> +“The best ever,” agreed several clowns. “You’ll look a +long way before you’ll find a better showman, or a better man to his +help, than Jim Sparling. Ever been in the show business, kid?” +</p> + +<p> +Phil shook his head. +</p> + +<p> +“Anybody’d think you always had been, the way you take hold of +things. I’ll bet you’ll be in it before you are many years +older.” +</p> + +<p> +“I’d like to,” glowed the lad. +</p> + +<p> +“Ask the boss.” +</p> + +<p> +“No, he wouldn’t want me. There is nothing I could do now, I +guess.” +</p> + +<p> +Further conversation was interrupted by the bugle’s song announcing the +disbanding of the parade, the right of the line having already reached the +circus lot. +</p> + +<p> +The clowns piled from the hayrack like a cataract, the cataract having all the +colors of the rainbow. +</p> + +<p> +Phil, not to be behind, followed suit, though he did not quite understand what +the rush was about. He ran until he caught up with Miaco. +</p> + +<p> +“What’s the hurry about?” he questioned. +</p> + +<p> +“Parade’s over. Got to hurry and get dinner, so as to be ready for +the afternoon performance.” +</p> + +<p> +All hands were heading for the dressing tent in a mad rush. +</p> + +<p> +Phil was halted by the assistant manager. +</p> + +<p> +The lad glanced down rather sheepishly at his costume, which was hanging in +tatters, then up at the quizzically smiling face of the showman. +</p> + +<p> +“I—I’m sorry I’ve spoiled it, sir, but I couldn’t +help it.” +</p> + +<p> +“Don’t worry about that, young man. How did it happen?” he +questioned, pretending not to know anything about the occurrence in which Phil +had played a leading part. +</p> + +<p> +“Well, you see, there was a horse ran away, and I happened to get in the +way of it. I—” +</p> + +<p> +“Yes, Forrest, I understand all about it. Somebody did something to that +animal to make it run away and the boss is red headed over it.” +</p> + +<p> +“I—I didn’t.” +</p> + +<p> +“No, that’s right. It was lucky that there was one person in the +parade who had some sense left, or there would have been a dead woman with this +outfit,” growled the assistant. +</p> + +<p> +“Was she badly hurt?” +</p> + +<p> +“No. Only bruised up a bit. These show people get used to hard +knocks.” +</p> + +<p> +“I’m glad she is all right. Who is she?” +</p> + +<p> +“Don’t you know?” +</p> + +<p> +“No.” +</p> + +<p> +“That was Mr. Sparling’s wife whose life you saved, and I reckon +the boss will have something to say to you when he gets sight of you +again.” +</p> + +</div><!--end chapter--> + +<div class="chapter"> + +<h2><a name="chap07"></a>CHAPTER VII.<br /> +MAKING FRIENDS WITH THE ELEPHANTS</h2> + +<p> +“Is it possible? I didn’t know that,” marveled the boy. +“And does she perform?” +</p> + +<p> +“Everybody works in this outfit, young man,” laughed the assistant, +“as you will learn if you hang around long enough. Going to the +show?” +</p> + +<p> +“Yes, sir.” +</p> + +<p> +“Got seats?” +</p> + +<p> +“Mr. Sparling provided me with tickets, thank you. But I’ve got to +get home first and put on some other clothes. This suit is about done for, +isn’t it?” +</p> + +<p> +“I should say it was. You did that stopping the horse, didn’t +you?” +</p> + +<p> +Phil nodded. +</p> + +<p> +“Boss will buy you a new suit for that.” +</p> + +<p> +“Oh, no; I couldn’t allow him to do that,” objected Phil. +</p> + +<p> +“Well, you are a queer youngster. So long. I’ll see you when you +come in this afternoon. Wait, let me see your tickets.” +</p> + +<p> +The lad handed them over wonderingly, at which his questioner nodded +approvingly. +</p> + +<p> +“They’re good seats. Hope you will enjoy the show.” +</p> + +<p> +“Thank you; I am sure I shall,” answered Phil, touching his hat and +starting on a run for home. +</p> + +<p> +Arriving there, Mrs. Cahill met him and threw up her hands in horror when she +observed the condition of his clothes. +</p> + +<p> +“I am afraid they are gone for good,” grinned Phil rather ruefully. +</p> + +<p> +“No. You leave them with me. I’ll fix them up for you. I heard how +you saved that show woman’s life. That was fine, my boy. I’m proud +of you, that I am. You did more than all those circus men could do, and the +whole town is talking about it.” +</p> + +<p> +“If you are going to the show you had better be getting ready,” +urged Phil, wishing to change the subject. +</p> + +<p> +“All right, I will. I’ll fix your clothes when I get back. Will you +be home to supper?” +</p> + +<p> +“I don’t know for sure. If I can I’ll be back in time, but +please don’t wait for me. Here is your ticket.” +</p> + +<p> +The lad hurried to the room the good woman had set aside for him and quickly +made the change of clothing. He was obliged to change everything he had on, for +even his shirt had been torn in his battle with the broncho. After bathing and +putting on the fresh clothes, Phil hurried from the house, that he might miss +nothing of the show. +</p> + +<p> +The sideshow band was blaring brazenly when he reached the lot. The space in +front of the main entrance was packed with people, many of whom pointed to him, +nodding their heads and directing the attention of their companions to the lad. +</p> + +<p> +Phil wished he might be able to skulk in by the back door and thus avoid their +attention, but as this was impossible, he pulled his hat down over his eyes and +worked his way slowly toward the front of the crowd. +</p> + +<p> +Getting near the entrance, he saw Mr. Sparling’s assistant. The latter, +chancing to catch sight of Phil, motioned him to crawl under the ropes and come +in. The boy did so gratefully. +</p> + +<p> +“The doors are not open yet, but you may go in. You will have time to +look over the animals before the crowd arrives, then you can reach your seat +before the others get in. Please let me see those checks once more.” +</p> + +<p> +The assistant made a mental note of the section and number of the seats for +future reference and handed back the coupons. +</p> + +<p> +Phil stole into the menagerie tent, relieved to be away from the gaze and +comments of the crowd that was massed in front. +</p> + +<p> +“Gracious, I’m afraid I wouldn’t make a very good circus man. +I hate to have everybody looking at me as if I were some natural or unnatural +curiosity. Wonder if I will know any of the show people when they are made up, +as they call it, and performing in the ring? I shouldn’t wonder if they +didn’t know me in my best clothes, though,” grinned the boy. +</p> + +<p> +Phil had had the forethought to bring a few lumps of sugar in his pocket. +Entering the menagerie tent, he quickly made his way to the place where the +elephants were chained, giving each one of the big beasts a lump. He felt no +fear of them and permitted them to run their sensitive trunks over him and into +his pockets, where they soon found the rest of the sugar. +</p> + +<p> +After disposing of the sweets, both beasts emitted a loud trumpeting. At such +close quarters the noise they made seemed to shake the ground. +</p> + +<p> +“Why do they do that?” questioned Phil of the keeper. +</p> + +<p> +“That’s their way of thanking you for the sugar. You’ve made +friends of both of them for life. They’ll never forget you, even if they +don’t see you for several seasons.” +</p> + +<p> +“Do they like peanuts?” +</p> + +<p> +“Do they? Just try them.” +</p> + +<p> +Phil ran to a snack stand at the opposite side of the tent and bought five +cents’ worth of peanuts, then hurried back to the elephants with the +package. +</p> + +<p> +“What are their names?” +</p> + +<p> +“The big one is Emperor and the smaller one is called Jupiter,” +answered the keeper, who had already recognized his young visitor. +</p> + +<p> +“Are they ever ugly?” +</p> + +<p> +“Never have been. But you can’t tell. An elephant is liable to go +bad most any time, then you—” +</p> + +<p> +“But how can you tell, or can’t you?” +</p> + +<p> +“Most always, unless they are naturally bad.” +</p> + +<p> +“How do you know?” +</p> + +<p> +“See that little slit on the cheek up there?” +</p> + +<p> +“Yes,” said Phil, peering at the great jowls wonderingly. +</p> + +<p> +“Well, several days before they get in a tantrum you will see a few tear +drops—that’s what I call them—oozing from that little slit. I +don’t know whether it’s water on the brain or what it is. But when +you see the tear drops you want to get from under and chain Mr. Elephant down +as quickly as possible. +</p> + +<p> +“That is strange.” +</p> + +<p> +“Very. But it’s a sure sign. Never knew it to fail, and I’ve +known some elephants in my time. But Emperor and Jupiter never have shed a tear +drop since I’ve known them. They are not the crying kind, you +know.” +</p> + +<p> +The lad nodded understandingly. +</p> + +<p> +“How about the lions and the tigers—can you tell when they are +going to have bad spells?” +</p> + +<p> +“Well,” reflected the showman, “it’s safe to say that +they’ve always got a grouch on. The cats are always—” +</p> + +<p> +“Cats?” +</p> + +<p> +“Yes. All that sort of animals belong to the cat family and they’ve +got only one ambition in life.” +</p> + +<p> +“What’s that?” +</p> + +<p> +“To kill somebody or something.” +</p> + +<p> +“But their keepers—don’t they become fond of their keepers or +trainers?” +</p> + +<p> +The elephant tender laughed without changing the expression of his face. His +laugh was all inside of him, as Phil characterized it. +</p> + +<p> +“Not they! They may be afraid of their keeper, but they would as soon +chew him up as anybody else—I guess they would rather, for they’ve +always got a bone to pick with him.” +</p> + +<p> +“Do any of the men go in the cages and make the animals perform +here?” +</p> + +<p> +“Oh, yes. Wallace, the big lion over there, performs every afternoon and +night. So does the tiger in the cage next to him.” +</p> + +<p> +Phil had dumped the bag of peanuts into his hat, which he held out before him +while talking. Two squirming trunks had been busy conveying the peanuts to the +pink mouths of their owners, so that by the time Phil happened to remember what +he had brought them, there was not a nut left in the hat. +</p> + +<p> +He glanced up in surprise. +</p> + +<p> +“Emperor, you are a greedy old elephant,” laughed Phil, patting the +trunk. +</p> + +<p> +Emperor trumpeted loudly, and the call was immediately taken up even more +loudly by his companion. +</p> + +<p> +“No, you can’t have any more,” chided Phil. “You will +have indigestion from what you’ve already eaten, I’m afraid. +Behave, and I’ll bring you some more tonight if I come to the +show,” he laughed. +</p> + +<p> +Two caressing trunks touched his hands, then traveled gently over his cheeks. +They tickled, but Phil did not flinch. +</p> + +<p> +“You could do most anything with them now, you see,” nodded the +keeper. “They’d follow you home if I would let them.” +</p> + +<p> +“Especially if my pockets were full of sweets.” +</p> + +<p> +“There’s the animal trainer getting ready to go into the lion cage, +if you want to see him,” the attendant informed him. +</p> + +<p> +“Yes, I should like to. And thank you very much for your kindness.” +</p> + +<p> +“You’re welcome. Come around again.” +</p> + +<p> +The boy hurried over to the lion cage. The people were now crowding into the +menagerie tent in throngs. There seemed to Phil to be thousands already there. +But all eyes now being centered on Wallace’s cage, they had no time to +observe Phil, for which he was duly thankful. +</p> + +<p> +The animal trainer, clad in red tights, his breast covered with spangles, was +already at the door of the cage, whip in hand. When a sufficient crowd had +gathered about him, he opened the door, and, entering the cage threw wide the +iron grating that shut Wallace off from the door end of the wagon. The big lion +bounded out with a roar that caused the people to crowd back instinctively. +</p> + +<p> +Then the trainer began putting the savage beast through its paces, causing it +to leap over his whip, jump through paper hoops, together with innumerable +other tricks that caused the spectators to open their mouths in wonder. All the +time Wallace kept up a continual snarling, interspersed now and then with a +roar that might have been heard a quarter of a mile away. +</p> + +<p> +This was a part of the exhibition, as Phil shrewdly discovered. The boy was a +natural showman, though unaware of the fact. He noted all the little fine +points of the trainer’s work with as much appreciation as if he had +himself been an animal trainer. +</p> + +<p> +“I half believe I should like to try that myself,” was his mental +conclusion. “But I should want to make the experiment on a very little +lion at first. If I got out with a whole skin I might want to tackle something +bigger. I wonder if he is going into the tiger cage?” +</p> + +<p> +As if in answer to his question, an announcer shouted out the information that +the trainer would give an exhibition in the cage of the tiger just before the +evening performance. +</p> + +<p> +“I’ll have to see that,” muttered Phil. “Guess I had +better get in and find my seat now.” +</p> + +<p> +At the same time the crowd, understanding that the lion performance was over, +began crowding into the circus tent. +</p> + +<p> +The band inside swung off into a sprightly tune and Phil could scarcely repress +the inclination to keep time to it with his feet. Altogether, things were +moving pretty well with Phil Forrest. They had done so ever since he left home +the day before. In that one day he had had more fun than had come to him in +many years. +</p> + +<p> +But his happy day would soon be ended. He sighed as he thought of it. Then his +face broke out into a sunny smile as he caught a glimpse of the ropes and +apparatus, seen dimly through the afternoon haze, in the long circus tent. +</p> + +<p> +As he gained the entrance between the two large tents he saw the silk curtains +at the far end of the circus arena fall apart, while a troop of gayly +caparisoned horses and armored riders suddenly appeared through the opening. +</p> + +<p> +The grand entry was beginning. +</p> + +<p> +“Gracious, here the show has begun and I am not anywhere near my +seat,” he exclaimed. “But, if I am going to be late I won’t +be alone. There are a whole lot more of us that were too much interested in the +animal trainer to think to come in and get our seats. I guess I had better run. +I—” +</p> + +<p> +Phil started to run, but he got no further than the start. +</p> + +<p> +All at once his waist was encircled in a powerful grip and he felt his feet +leaving the ground. Phil was being raised straight up into the air by some +strange force, the secret of which he did not understand. +</p> + +</div><!--end chapter--> + +<div class="chapter"> + +<h2><a name="chap08"></a>CHAPTER VIII.<br /> +IN THE SAWDUST ARENA</h2> + +<p> +The lad repressed an inclination to cry out, for the thing that had encircled +his waist and raised him up seemed to be tightening about him. +</p> + +<p> +A familiar voice just behind him served to calm Phil’s disquieted nerves. +</p> + +<p> +“Don’t be frightened, kid. It’s only Emperor having a little +joke. He’s a funny fellow,” said the elephant’s attendant. +</p> + +<p> +Phil had read somewhere that elephants possessed a keen sense of humor, and now +he was sure of it. But he never thought he would have an opportunity to have +the theory demonstrated on himself. +</p> + +<p> +The elephants were on their way to participate in the grand entry, and there +was not a minute to spare now. Emperor on his way into the other tent had come +across his new-found friend and recognized him instantly, while Phil had not +even heard the approach of the elephants. +</p> + +<p> +No sooner had the elephant discovered the lad than he picked him up with his +trunk, slowly hoisting the boy high in the air. +</p> + +<p> +“Steady, Emperor! Steady!” cautioned the attendant. But Emperor +needed no admonition to deal gently with his young friend. He handled Phil with +almost the gentleness of a mother lifting a babe. +</p> + +<p> +Phil Forrest experienced a thrill that ran all through him when he realized +what was taking place. +</p> + +<p> +“We can’t stop to put you down now, my boy. You’ll have to go +through the performance with us. Grab the head harness when he lets you down on +his head. You can sit on the head without danger, but keep hold of the harness +with one hand. I’ll bet you’ll make a hit.” +</p> + +<p> +“I will if I fall off,” answered Phil a bit unsteadily. +</p> + +<p> +As it was, the unusual motion made him a little giddy. +</p> + +<p> +“That’s a good stunt. Stick to him, Forrest,” directed a +voice as they swept on toward the ring. +</p> + +<p> +The voice belonged to Mr. Sparling, the owner of the show. He was quick to +grasp the value of Phil’s predicament—that is, its value to the +show as a drawing card. +</p> + +<p> +By now the people began to understand that something unusual was going on, and +they asked each other what it was all about. +</p> + +<p> +“It’s Phil Forrest riding the elephant,” shouted one of the +lad’s school friends, recognizing him all at once. “Hooray for +Phil!” +</p> + +<p> +There were many of the pupils from his school there, and the howling and +shouting that greeted him made the lad’s cheeks burn. But now, instead of +wanting to crawl under something and hide, Phil felt a thrill of pleasure, of +pride in the achievement that was denied to all the rest of his friends. +</p> + +<p> +The inspiring music of the circus band, too, added to his exhilaration. He felt +like throwing up his hands and shouting. +</p> + +<p> +Suddenly he felt something tugging at his coat pocket, and glancing down gave a +start as he discovered the inquisitive trunk of Emperor thrust deep down in the +pocket. +</p> + +<p> +When the trunk came away it brought with it a lump of sugar that Phil did not +know he possessed. The sugar was promptly conveyed to the elephant’s +mouth, the beast uttering a loud scream of satisfaction. +</p> + +<p> +“Emperor, you rascal!” laughed Phil, patting the beast on the head. +</p> + +<p> +Once more the trunk curled up in search of more sugar, but a stern command from +the trainer caused the beast to lower it quickly. The time for play had passed. +The moment had arrived for Emperor to do his work and he was not the animal to +shirk his act. In fact, he seemed to delight in it. All elephants work better +when they have with them some human being or animal on which they have centered +their affections. Sometimes it is a little black and tan dog, sometimes a +full-grown man. In this instance it happened to be a boy, and that boy Phil +Forrest. +</p> + +<p> +“Waltz!” commanded the trainer. +</p> + +<p> +If Phil’s head had swum before, it spun like a top now. Round and round +pirouetted the huge beasts, keeping in perfect step with the music of the band, +and tighter and tighter did the lad grip the head harness of old Emperor. Phil +closed his eyes after a little because he had grown so dizzy that he feared he +would fall off. +</p> + +<p> +“Hang on, kid. It’ll be Christmas by and by,” comforted the +trainer humorously. +</p> + +<p> +“That’s what I am trying to do,” answered Phil a bit +unsteadily. +</p> + +<p> +“How’s your head?” +</p> + +<p> +“Whirling like a merry-go-round.” +</p> + +<p> +He heard the trainer chuckling. +</p> + +<p> +The spectators were shouting out Phil’s name all over the big tent. +</p> + +<p> +“Fine, fine!” chuckled James Sparling, rubbing his palms together. +“That ought to fill the tent tonight.” +</p> + +<p> +The spectators realized, too, that they were being treated to something not +down on the bills and their shouts and laughter grew louder and louder. +</p> + +<p> +“Do you think you could stand up on his head?” came the voice of +the trainer just loud enough for Phil to hear. +</p> + +<p> +“Me? Stand on the elephant’s head?” +</p> + +<p> +“Yes. Think you can do it?” +</p> + +<p> +“If I had a net underneath to catch me, maybe I’d try it.” +</p> + +<p> +“Emperor won’t let you fall. When I give the word he’ll wrap +his trunk around your legs. That will hold you steady from the waist down. If +you can keep the rest of yourself from lopping over you’ll be all right. +It’ll make a hit—see if it don’t.” +</p> + +<p> +“I—I’ll try it.” +</p> + +<p> +“Wait till I give the word, then get up on all fours, but don’t +straighten up till you feel the trunk about you. We’ll make a showman of +you before you know it.” +</p> + +<p> +“I seem to be the whole show as it is,” grumbled Phil. +</p> + +<p> +“You are, just now—you and Emperor. Good thing the other performers +are not in the ring, or they would all be jealous of you.” +</p> + +<p> +“I wish Uncle Abner could see me now. Wouldn’t he be mad!” +grinned Phil, as the memory of his crabbed relative came back to him. +“He’d come right out after me with his stick, he’d be so +angry. But I guess Emperor wouldn’t let him touch me,” decided the +boy proudly, with an affectionate pat to which the elephant responded with a +cough that sounded not unlike the explosion of a dynamite cartridge. +</p> + +<p> +“All ready now. Don’t be afraid. Hold each position till I give you +the word to change it.” +</p> + +<p> +“Ready,” announced the lad. +</p> + +<p> +“Emperor! Jupiter!” +</p> + +<p> +The twitching of a ponderous ear of each animal told that they had heard and +understood. +</p> + +<p> +“Rise!” +</p> + +<p> +Phil had scrambled to all fours. +</p> + +<p> +“Hold him, Emperor!” +</p> + +<p> +The great trunk curled up, ran over the boy’s legs and twined about them. +</p> + +<p> +“Up you go, kid!” +</p> + +<p> +Phil raised himself fearlessly, straightened and stood full upon his feet. That +strong grip on his legs gave him confidence and told him he had nothing to +fear. All he would have to do would be to keep his ears open for the +trainer’s commands both to himself and the beast, and he would be all +right. +</p> + +<p> +He felt himself going up again. +</p> + +<p> +The sensation was something akin to that which Phil had once experienced when +jumping off a haystack. He felt as if his whole body were being tickled by +straws. +</p> + +<p> +The elephants were rising on their hind legs, uttering shrill screams and +mighty coughs, as if enraged over the humiliation that was being put upon them. +</p> + +<p> +It seemed to Phil as if Emperor would never stop going up until the lad’s +head was against the top of the tent. He ventured to look down. +</p> + +<p> +What a distance it was! Phil hastily directed his glances upward. +</p> + +<p> +At last the elephant had risen as high as he could go. He was standing almost +straight up and down, and on his head the slender figure of the boy appeared +almost unreal to those off on the seats. +</p> + +<p> +Thunders of applause swept over the assemblage. People rose up in their seats, +the younger ones hurling hats high in the air and uttering catcalls and shrill +whistles, until pandemonium reigned under the “big top,” as the +circus tent proper is called by the showmen. +</p> + +<p> +“Swing your hat at them!” +</p> + +<p> +The trainer had to shout to make himself heard, and as it was Phil caught the +words as from afar off. +</p> + +<p> +He took off his soft hat and waved it on high, gazing wonderingly off over the +seats. He could distinguish nothing save a waving, undulating mass of moving +life and color. +</p> + +<p> +It was intoxicating. And Phil Forrest went suddenly dizzy again. +</p> + +<p> +“I’m losing my head,” rebuked the lad. “If I +don’t pull myself together I shall surely fall off. Then they will have +something to laugh at rather than to applaud.” +</p> + +<p> +He took himself firmly in hand. But the applause did not abate one whit. +</p> + +<p> +“Watch out, we’re going down,” warned the trainer. +</p> + +<p> +“Right!” +</p> + +<p> +The elephant trainer’s command came out like the crack of a +ringmaster’s whip. +</p> + +<p> +Slowly the great beasts lowered themselves toward the sawdust ring. +</p> + +<p> +“Stoop over and grab the harness!” +</p> + +<p> +Phil did so. +</p> + +<p> +“Sit! Let go, Emperor!” +</p> + +<p> +The trunk was released instantly and Phil plumped to the beast’s head +once more, amid the wildest applause. +</p> + +<p> +The band swung into another tune, which was the signal for the next act to be +brought on. At the same time the ringmaster blew a shrill blast on his whistle. +</p> + +<p> +The trainer left the ring with his charges by an exit that he seldom departed +through. But he did so in order to leave Phil near the place where his seats +were, first having ascertained where these were located. +</p> + +<p> +“Put him down, Emperor! Down, I say!” +</p> + +<p> +Emperor reached up an unwilling trunk, grasped Phil about the waist and stood +him on the ground. At the trainer’s command the beast released his hold +of his friend and as the hook was gently pressed against his side to hurry him, +Emperor started reluctantly away. +</p> + +<p> +Phil, with flushed face, a happy look in his eyes, had turned to run up the +aisle to his seats, when, with a loud trumpeting, Emperor wheeled, and breaking +away from his trainer, swept down toward the spot where he had left Phil +Forrest. +</p> + +<p> +The movement almost threw those in that section into a panic. Women screamed, +believing the animal had suddenly gone crazy, while men sprang to their feet. +</p> + +<p> +Phil had turned at the first alarm, and, observing what was taking place, with +rare presence of mind trotted down to the arena again. +</p> + +<p> +He reached there about the same time that Emperor did. +</p> + +<p> +With a shrill scream Emperor threw his long trunk about the lad, and before +Phil had time to catch his breath, he had been hurled to the elephant’s +back. +</p> + +<p> +Uttering loud trumpetings the great elephant started on a swift shamble for his +quarters, giving not the slightest heed to his trainer’s commands to +halt. +</p> + +</div><!--end chapter--> + +<div class="chapter"> + +<h2><a name="chap09"></a>CHAPTER IX.<br /> +GETTING HIS FIRST CALL</h2> + +<p> +“Let him go. Emperor won’t hurt me,” laughed Phil as soon as +he could get his breath, for he was moving along at a pace which would have +meant a tumble to the ground had the elephant not supported the lad with its +trunk. +</p> + +<p> +The audience soon seeing that no harm had come to the boy, set up another roar, +which was still loud in Phil’s ears when Emperor set his burden down +after reaching the elephant quarters in the menagerie tent. +</p> + +<p> +“You’re a bad boy. Get down, sir, and let me off,” chided +Phil. +</p> + +<p> +The elephant, to his surprise, cautiously let himself down to his knees, his +trunk at the same time reaching out surreptitiously for a wisp of fresh grass. +</p> + +<p> +Phil slipped off, laughing heartily. He had lost all fear of the great, hulking +beast. +</p> + +<p> +“Don’t punish him, please,” begged the boy when the keeper +came hurrying along with Jupiter. “But if you will make him let me alone, +I’ll go in the other tent. I want to see the circus.” +</p> + +<p> +“Wait a moment. I’ll chain him up.” +</p> + +<p> +The keeper soon had Emperor fast. Then after a final affectionate petting Phil +ran lightly to the other tent and quickly made his way to his seat. The people +were so engrossed in the acts in the ring that they did not observe the boy +particularly this time. +</p> + +<p> +“Did I make a show of myself, Mrs. Cahill?” questioned the lad, +with sparkling eyes. +</p> + +<p> +“You did not. You were as handsome as a picture. There isn’t one of +all those people that looks so handsome or so manly as—” +</p> + +<p> +“Please, please, Mrs. Cahill!” begged the lad, blushing violently. +“Have you seen anything of my friend Teddy? I had forgotten all about +him.” +</p> + +<p> +“That looks like him down there.” +</p> + +<p> +“Where?” +</p> + +<p> +“There, leaning against that pole,” she pointed. +</p> + +<p> +Phil gazed in the direction indicated, and there, sure enough, was Teddy Tucker +leaning carelessly against the center pole. He had no right to be there, as +Phil well knew, and he watched with amused interest for the moment when the +other boy’s presence would be discovered. +</p> + +<p> +It came shortly afterwards. All at once the ringmaster fixed a cold eye on +Teddy. +</p> + +<p> +“Hey, you!” +</p> + +<p> +Teddy gave no heed to him. +</p> + +<p> +“Get out of there! Think you own this show?” +</p> + +<p> +The lad made believe that he did not hear. +</p> + +<p> +The ringmaster’s long whip lash curled through the air, going off with a +crack that sounded as if a pistol had been fired, and within an inch of +Teddy’s nose. +</p> + +<p> +Teddy sprang back, slapping a hand to his face, believing that he had been hit. +Then there followed a series of disconcerting snaps all around his head as the +long lash began to work, but so skillfully was it wielded that the end of it +did not touch him. +</p> + +<p> +But Teddy had had enough. He turned and ran for the seats. +</p> + +<p> +“Come up here,” cried Phil, laughing immoderately. +“Here’s a seat right beside us and there won’t be any +ringmaster to bother you.” +</p> + +<p> +Considerably crestfallen, the lad climbed up to where Phil and Mrs. Cahill were +sitting. +</p> + +<p> +“You mustn’t go down there, you know, Teddy. They don’t allow +outsiders in the ring while the performance is going on. Someone might get +hurt—” +</p> + +<p> +“They let you in,” bristled Teddy. +</p> + +<p> +“That was different. They couldn’t help themselves, and neither +could I. Emperor took me in whether I would or not; and, in fact, I +didn’t know I was going till I was halfway there.” +</p> + +<p> +Phil’s companion surveyed him with admiration. +</p> + +<p> +“My, but you did cut a figure up on that elephant’s head! I should +have been afraid.” +</p> + +<p> +“There was nothing to be afraid of. But let’s watch the +performance. There’s a trapeze act going on now.” +</p> + +<p> +For a few moments the lads watched the graceful bodies of the performers +slipping through the air. One would swing out from his perch, flying straight +into the arms of his fellow-performer who was hanging head down from another +swinging bar. On the return sweep the first performer would catch his own bar +and return to his perch. +</p> + +<p> +“Looks easy. I’ll bet I could do that,” nodded Teddy. +</p> + +<p> +Phil shook his head. +</p> + +<p> +“Not so easy as it looks.” +</p> + +<p> +“How much do you suppose they get—think they must get as much as a +dollar and a half a day for doing that? I’d do it for a dollar, if I +could,” averred the irrepressible Teddy Tucker. +</p> + +<p> +“They get a good many more dollars than that, Teddy. I’ve heard +that some of them get all of twenty-five or thirty dollars a week.” +</p> + +<p> +Phil’s companion whistled. +</p> + +<p> +The next act was a bareback riding exhibition, by a pretty, graceful young +woman whom the ringmaster introduced as Mademoiselle Mora. +</p> + +<p> +At the crack of the whip she sprang lightly to the back of the gray old ring +horse and began a series of feats that made the boys sit forward in their +seats. +</p> + +<p> +At the conclusion of the act Mademoiselle Mora ran out to the edge of the ring, +and blowing a kiss at the blushing Phil, tripped away on fairy feet for the +dressing tent. +</p> + +<p> +“Did you see her? She bowed to me?” exclaimed Teddy +enthusiastically. +</p> + +<p> +“Guess she didn’t see you at all, young man,” replied Mrs. +Cahill dryly. “There’s others in the tent besides you, even if the +ringmaster did crack his whip in your face and just miss your nose.” +</p> + +<p> +A clown came out and sang a song about a boy who had rescued a beautiful young +woman from a runaway horse and got kidnaped by an elephant. The song made a +hit, for most of the audience understood that it referred to Phil Forrest. +</p> + +<p> +And so the performance went on, with a glitter and a crash, a haze of yellow +dust hanging like a golden cloud in the afternoon sun, over spectators and +performers alike. +</p> + +<p> +“Hello, there’s Rod!” exclaimed Teddy. +</p> + +<p> +“Who?” +</p> + +<p> +“Rod. The red-haired kid we saw this morning, only his hair is black now. +He’s covered up his own looks so he won’t set the tent on +fire.” +</p> + +<p> +“Oh, you mean Rodney Palmer? Yes, I guess that is he.” +</p> + +<p> +“See, they’re pulling him up on a rope. I wonder where he is +going?” +</p> + +<p> +“To those flying rings,” explained Phil. “And there is a +young woman going up, too.” +</p> + +<p> +One after another was pulled up, until a troupe of four had ascended and swung +off to the rings that were suspended far up there in the haze. +</p> + +<p> +Both Phil and Teddy were more than ordinarily interested in this act, for they +were no mean performers on the rings themselves. In the schoolyard an apparatus +had been rigged with flying rings, and on this the boys had practiced +untiringly during the spring months, until they had both become quite +proficient. +</p> + +<p> +“Isn’t he great?” breathed Teddy, as Rodney Palmer swung out +into the air, letting his legs slip through the rings until only his toes were +hanging to the slender support. +</p> + +<p> +“Yes; he certainly does do it fine.” +</p> + +<p> +“We can do it just as well.” +</p> + +<p> +“Perhaps, but not so gracefully.” +</p> + +<p> +“See, he’s swinging his hand at us.” +</p> + +<p> +Sure enough, Rodney had picked out the two lads, and was smiling at them and +waving a hand in their direction. The two lads felt very proud of this, knowing +as they did that they were the envy of every boy of their acquaintance within +sight of them. +</p> + +<p> +The climax of the act was when the young woman seemed to plunge straight down +toward the ground. +</p> + +<p> +The women in the audience uttered sharp little cries of alarm. But the +performer was not falling. Strong slender ropes had been fastened to her heels, +the other ends being held by one of the performers who was hanging from the +rings. +</p> + +<p> +As a result the falling girl’s flight was checked just before she reached +the ground and the spectators breathed a sigh of profound relief. +</p> + +<p> +“My, that was great! I wouldn’t want to do that.” +</p> + +<p> +“No, you’re too heavy, Teddy. That’s why they have a girl do +it. She is slender and light—” +</p> + +<p> +“I’d be light headed.” +</p> + +<p> +“Guess, I would, too,” laughed Phil. +</p> + +<p> +At this juncture an attendant came running up the steps, halting before the +lads. +</p> + +<p> +“Are you Phil Forrest?” he asked. +</p> + +<p> +“Yes.” +</p> + +<p> +“The boss wants to see you.” +</p> + +<p> +“Mr. Sparling? All right. I wanted to see the rest of the show, but +I’ll go.” Phil rose reluctantly and followed the guide. +“I’ll meet you by the ticket wagon if I don’t get back here, +Teddy,” he said. +</p> + +</div><!--end chapter--> + +<div class="chapter"> + +<h2><a name="chap10"></a>CHAPTER X.<br /> +PHIL GETS A SURPRISE</h2> + +<p> +“Where will I find Mr. Sparling?” +</p> + +<p> +“In the doghouse.” +</p> + +<p> +“Where’s that?” +</p> + +<p> +“Out back of the ticket wagon. It’s a little A tent, and we call it +the boss’s doghouse, because it’s only big enough to hold a couple +of St. Bernards.” +</p> + +<p> +“Oh! What does he want of me?” +</p> + +<p> +“Ask him,” grinned the attendant, who, it developed, was an usher +in the reserved-seat section. “He don’t tell us fellows his +business. Say, that was a great stunt you did with Emperor.” +</p> + +<p> +“Oh, I don’t know.” +</p> + +<p> +“I do. There’s the doghouse over there. See it?” +</p> + +<p> +“Yes, thank you.” +</p> + +<p> +The attendant leaving him, Phil walked on alone to Mr. Sparling’s private +office, for such was the use to which he put the little tent that the usher had +called the “doghouse.” +</p> + +<p> +“I wonder what he can want of me?” mused Phil. “Probably he +wants to thank me for stopping that pony. I hope he doesn’t. I +don’t like to be thanked. And it wasn’t much of anything that I did +anyway. Maybe he’s going to—but what’s the use of +guessing?” +</p> + +<p> +The lad stepped up to the tent, the flaps of which were closed. He stretched +out his hand to knock, then grinned sheepishly. +</p> + +<p> +“I forgot you couldn’t knock at a tent door. I wonder how visitors +announce themselves, anyway.” +</p> + +<p> +His toe, at that moment, chanced to touch the tent pole and that gave him an +idea. Phil tapped against the pole with his foot. +</p> + +<p> +“Come in!” bellowed the voice of the owner of the show. +</p> + +<p> +Phil entered, hat in hand. At the moment the owner was busily engaged with a +pile of bills for merchandise recently purchased at the local stores, and he +neither looked up nor spoke. +</p> + +<p> +Phil stood quietly waiting, noting amusedly the stern scowl that appeared to be +part of Mr. Sparling’s natural expression. +</p> + +<p> +“Well, what do you want?” he demanded, with disconcerting +suddenness. +</p> + +<p> +“I—I was told that you had sent for me, that you wanted to see +me,” began the lad, with a show of diffidence. +</p> + +<p> +“So I did, so I did.” +</p> + +<p> +The showman hitched his camp chair about so he could get a better look at his +visitor. He studied Phil from head to foot with his usual scowl. +</p> + +<p> +“Sit down!” +</p> + +<p> +“On the ground, sir?” +</p> + +<p> +“Ground? No, of course not. Where’s that chair? Oh, my lazy tent +man didn’t open it. I’ll fire him the first place we get to where +he won’t be likely to starve to death. I hear you’ve been trying to +put my show out of business.” +</p> + +<p> +“I wasn’t aware of it, sir,” replied Phil, looking squarely +at his questioner. “Perhaps I was not wholly blameless in attaching +myself to Emperor.” +</p> + +<p> +“Huh!” grunted Mr. Sparling, but whether or not it was a grunt of +disapproval, Phil could not determine. +</p> + +<p> +“So you’re not living at home?” +</p> + +<p> +“I have no home now, sir.” +</p> + +<p> +“Just so, just so. Brought up in refined surroundings, parents dead, +crabbed old uncle turned you out of doors for reasons best known to +himself—” +</p> + +<p> +Phil was amazed. +</p> + +<p> +“You seem to know all about me, sir.” +</p> + +<p> +“Of course. It’s my business to know something about everything. I +ought to thank you for getting Mrs. Sparling out of that mix-up this morning, +but I’ll let her do that for herself. She wants to see you after the +performance.” +</p> + +<p> +“I don’t like to be thanked, Mr. Sparling, though I should like to +know Mrs. Sparling,” said Phil boldly. +</p> + +<p> +“Neither do I, neither do I. Emperor has gone daffy over you. What did +you feed him?” +</p> + +<p> +“Some sugar and peanuts. That was all.” +</p> + +<p> +“Huh! You ought to be a showman.” +</p> + +<p> +“I have always wanted to be, Mr. Sparling.” +</p> + +<p> +“Oh, you have, eh?” +</p> + +<p> +“Yes, sir.” +</p> + +<p> +“Well, why don’t you?” +</p> + +<p> +“I have never had the opportunity.” +</p> + +<p> +“You mean you’ve never looked for an opportunity. There are always +opportunities for everything, but we have to go after them. You’ve been +going after them today for the first time, and you’ve nailed one of them +clear up to the splice of the center pole. Understand?” +</p> + +<p> +“Not entirely, sir.” +</p> + +<p> +“Well, do you want to join out with the Great Sparling Combined Shows, or +don’t you?” +</p> + +<p> +“You mean—I join the—the—” +</p> + +<p> +Mr. Sparling was observing him narrowly. +</p> + +<p> +“I said, would you like to join our show?” +</p> + +<p> +“I should like it better than anything else in the world.” +</p> + +<p> +“Sign this contract, then,” snapped the showman, thrusting a paper +toward Phil Forrest, at the same time dipping a pen in the ink bottle and +handing it to him. +</p> + +<p> +“You will allow me to read it first, will you not?” +</p> + +<p> +“Good! That’s the way I like to hear a boy talk. Shows he’s +got some sense besides what he’s learned in books at some—well, +never mind.” +</p> + +<p> +“What—what is this, ten dollars a week?” gasped Phil, +scarcely able to believe his eyes as he looked at the paper. +</p> + +<p> +“That’s what the contract says, doesn’t it?” +</p> + +<p> +“Yes, sir.” +</p> + +<p> +“Then, that’s what it is. Traveling expenses and feed included. You +are an easy keeper?” +</p> + +<p> +“Well, I don’t eat quite as much as a horse, if that’s what +you mean,” laughed Phil. +</p> + +<p> +“Huh!” +</p> + +<p> +After reading the contract through, the lad affixed his signature to it with +trembling hand. It was almost too good to be true. +</p> + +<p> +“Thank you, sir,” he said, laying the paper before Mr. Sparling. +</p> + +<p> +“And now, my lad,” added the showman more mildly, “let me +give you some advice. Some folks look upon circus people as rough and +intemperate. That day’s past. When a man gets bad habits he’s of no +further use in the circus business. He closes mighty quick. Remember +that.” +</p> + +<p> +“Yes, sir. You need not worry about my getting into any such +trouble.” +</p> + +<p> +“I don’t, or I wouldn’t take you. And another thing: +Don’t get it into your head, as a good many show people do, that you know +more about running the business than the boss does. He might not agree with +you. It’s a bad thing to disagree with the boss, eh?” +</p> + +<p> +“I understand, sir.” +</p> + +<p> +“You’d better.” +</p> + +<p> +“What do you want me to do? I don’t know what I can do to earn that +salary, but I am willing to work at whatever you may put me to—” +</p> + +<p> +“That’s the talk. I was waiting for you to come to that. But leave +the matter to me. You’ll have a lot of things to do, after you get your +bearings and I find out what you can do best. As it is, you have earned your +salary for the first season whether you do anything else or not. You saved the +big cat and you probably saved my wife’s life, but we’ll let that +pass. When can you join out?” +</p> + +<p> +“I’m ready now, sir. I shall want to go home and get my things and +my books.” +</p> + +<p> +“Huh! That’s right. Take your time. We shan’t be pulling out +of here till after midnight, so you’d better go home and get ready. +You’ll want to bid good-bye to Mrs. Ca—Ca—Cahill.” +</p> + +<p> +“I wonder if there is anything that he doesn’t know about,” +marveled Phil. +</p> + +<p> +“Anything you want to ask me about—any favor you’d like? If +there is, get it out.” +</p> + +<p> +“Well, yes, there is, but I scarcely feel like asking it, you have been +so kind to me.” +</p> + +<p> +“Shucks!” +</p> + +<p> +“I—I have a little friend, who—who, like myself, has no +parents and is crazy over the circus. He wants to be a circus man just as much +as I do. If you had a place—if you could find something for him to do, I +should appreciate it very much.” +</p> + +<p> +“Who is he, that youngster with the clown face, who crawled in under the +tent this afternoon?” +</p> + +<p> +Phil laughed outright. +</p> + +<p> +“I presume so. That’s the way he usually gets in.” +</p> + +<p> +“Where is he now?” +</p> + +<p> +“Seeing the performance, sir.” +</p> + +<p> +“Nail him when he comes out. We’ll give him all the show he +wants.” +</p> + +<p> +With profuse thanks Phil Forrest backed from the tent and walked rapidly toward +the entrance. It seemed to him as if he were walking on air. +</p> + +<p> +“Let that boy through. He’s with the show now,” bellowed Mr. +Sparling, poking his head from the doghouse tent. +</p> + +<p> +The gateman nodded. +</p> + +<p> +“How soon will the performance be over?” inquired Phil, approaching +the gateman. +</p> + +<p> +“Ten minutes now.” +</p> + +<p> +“Then, I guess I won’t go in. I promised to meet Teddy over by the +ticket wagon anyway.” +</p> + +<p> +But Phil could not stand still. Thrusting his hands in his pockets he began +pacing back and forth, pondering deeply. He did not observe the shrewd eyes of +Mr. Sparling fixed upon him from behind the flap of the little tent. +</p> + +<p> +“At last, at last!” mused Phil. “I’m a real live +showman at last, but what kind of a showman I don’t know. Probably +they’ll make me help put up the tents and take them down. But, I +don’t care. I’ll do anything. And think of the money I’ll +earn. Ten dollars a week!” he exclaimed, pausing and glancing up at the +fluttering flags waving from center and quarter poles. “Why, it’s a +fortune! I shall be able to save most all of it, too. Oh, I’m so +happy!” +</p> + +<p> +“They’re coming out,” called the gateman to him. +</p> + +<p> +“Thank you.” +</p> + +<p> +Phil’s face was full of repressed excitement when Teddy came slouching up +to him. +</p> + +<p> +“Bully show,” announced the lad. “Didn’t know which way +to look, there was so much to be seen.” +</p> + +<p> +“How would you like to join the show and be a real circus man?” +demanded Phil. +</p> + +<p> +“Great!” +</p> + +<p> +“Maybe I can fix it for you.” +</p> + +<p> +“You?” +</p> + +<p> +“Yes.” +</p> + +<p> +“Don’t give me such a shock, Phil. You said it almost as if you +meant it.” +</p> + +<p> +“And I did.” +</p> + +<p> +Teddy gazed at his companion for a full minute. +</p> + +<p> +“Something’s been going on, I guess—something that I +don’t seem to know anything about.” +</p> + +<p> +“There has, Teddy. I’m already a showman. You come with me. Mr. +Sparling wants to speak with you. Don’t be afraid of him. He talks as if +he was mad all the time, but I’m sure he isn’t.” +</p> + +<p> +Grasping Teddy by the arm Phil rushed him into Mr. Sparling’s tent, +entering this time without knocking. +</p> + +<p> +“This is my friend whom I spoke to you about,” announced Phil, +thrusting Teddy up before the showman. +</p> + +<p> +Mr. Sparling eyed the lad suspiciously. +</p> + +<p> +“Want to join out, too, eh?” +</p> + +<p> +“I—I’d like to,” stammered Teddy. +</p> + +<p> +“Do your parents approve of your going with a show?” +</p> + +<p> +“I—I don’t know, sir.” +</p> + +<p> +“You’d better find out, then. Ask them mighty quick. This is no +camp meeting outfit that plays week stands.” +</p> + +<p> +“Can’t.” +</p> + +<p> +“Why not?” +</p> + +<p> +“’Cause they’re dead.” +</p> + +<p> +“Huh! Why didn’t you say so before?” +</p> + +<p> +“You didn’t ask me.” +</p> + +<p> +“You’re too smart, young man.” +</p> + +<p> +“Takes a smart man to be a circus man, doesn’t it?” +</p> + +<p> +“I guess you’re right at that,” answered the showman, his +stern features relaxing into a smile. “You’ll do. But you’d +better not hand out that line of sharp talk in bunches when you get with the +show. It might get you into trouble if you did.” +</p> + +<p> +“Yes, sir; I’ll be good.” +</p> + +<p> +“Now, you boys had better run along and make your preparations. You may +take your supper in the cook tent tonight if you wish. But you will have to be +on hand promptly, as they take down the cook tent first of all.” +</p> + +<p> +“Thank you; we will,” answered Phil. +</p> + +<p> +“What act—what do I perform?” questioned Teddy, swelling with +pride. +</p> + +<p> +“Perform?” +</p> + +<p> +“Yes.” +</p> + +<p> +“Ho, ho, ho!” +</p> + +<p> +“I’m going to be a performer and wear pink pants, ain’t +I?” +</p> + +<p> +“A performer? Oh, that’s too good. Yes, my son, you shall be a +performer. How would you like to be a juggler?” +</p> + +<p> +“Fine!” +</p> + +<p> +“Then, I think I’ll let you juggle the big coffeepot in the cook +tent for the edification of the hungry roustabouts,” grinned Mr. +Sparling. +</p> + +<p> +“What do I do?” +</p> + +<p> +“Do, young man—do?” +</p> + +<p> +“Yes, sir.” +</p> + +<p> +“Why, you stand by the coffee boiler in the cook tent, and when you hear +a waiter bawl ‘Draw one,’ at the same time throwing a pitcher at +you from halfway across the tent, you catch the pitcher and have it filled and +ready for him by the time he gets to you.” +</p> + +<p> +“Do I throw the pitcherful of coffee back at him?” questioned Teddy +innocently. +</p> + +<p> +“You might, but you wouldn’t be apt to try it a second time. +You’d be likely to get a resounding slap from the flat of his +hand—” +</p> + +<p> +“I’d hit him on the nose if he did,” declared Teddy +belligerently. +</p> + +<p> +Mr. Sparling could not resist laughing. +</p> + +<p> +“That’s not the way to begin. But you will learn. Follow your +friend Phil, here, and you will be all right if I am any judge of boys. I ought +to be, for I have boys of my own. You’d better be going now.” +</p> + +<p> +The two lads started off at a brisk pace. Phil to tell Mrs. Cahill of his good +fortune. Teddy to bid good-bye to the people with whom he had been living as +chore boy. +</p> + +</div><!--end chapter--> + +<div class="chapter"> + +<h2><a name="chap11"></a>CHAPTER XI.<br /> +THE FIRST NIGHT WITH THE SHOW</h2> + +<p> +“Teddy, you and I are a pair of lucky boys. Do you know it?” asked +Phil. +</p> + +<p> +Each, with his bag of belongings, was on his way to the circus lot, the boys +having bid good-bye to their friends in the village. +</p> + +<p> +The people with whom Teddy lived had given a reluctant consent to his going +with the circus, after he had explained that Phil Forrest had gotten him the +place and that Phil himself was going to join the show. The lad told them he +was going to make a lot of money and that someday he would pay them for all +they had done for him. And he kept his word faithfully. +</p> + +<p> +“Maybe. I reckon Barnum & Bailey will be wanting us first thing we +know,” answered Teddy. +</p> + +<p> +“We shall be lucky if we hold on to the job we have already. Did Mr. +Sparling say what he would pay you?” +</p> + +<p> +“No, he didn’t think of that—at least I didn’t. Did he +tell you how much you were going to get?” +</p> + +<p> +Phil nodded. +</p> + +<p> +“How much?” +</p> + +<p> +“I don’t think I had better say,” answered the lad +doubtfully. “If you ask him and he tells you, of course that will be all +right. I shall be glad to do so then. It isn’t that I don’t want +you to know, you understand, but it might be better business, just now, to say +nothing about it,” added Phil, with a wisdom far beyond his years. +</p> + +<p> +“Dark secret, eh?” jeered Teddy Tucker. +</p> + +<p> +“No; there’s no secret about it. It is just plain business, +that’s all.” +</p> + +<p> +“Business! Huh! Who ever heard of a circus being business?” +</p> + +<p> +“You’ll find business enough when you get in, Teddy Tucker.” +</p> + +<p> +“Don’t believe it. It’s just good fun and that’s +all.” +</p> + +<p> +They had reached the circus lot by this time and were now making their way to +Mr. Sparling’s tent. +</p> + +<p> +“We have come to report, sir,” announced Phil, entering the tent +with Teddy close behind him. “We are ready for work.” +</p> + +<p> +There was a proud ring in Phil Forrest’s voice as he made the +announcement. +</p> + +<p> +“Very well, boys. Hand your baggage over to the man at the baggage wagon. +If there is anything in either of your grips that you will want during the +night you had better get it out, for you will be unable to get into the wagon +after the show is on the road. That’s one of the early wagons to move, +too.” +</p> + +<p> +“I guess there is nothing except our tooth brushes and combs that we +shall need. We have those in our pockets.” +</p> + +<p> +“Better take a couple of towels along as well.” +</p> + +<p> +“Yes, sir; thank you.” +</p> + +<p> +“The cook tent is open. Go over and have your suppers now. Wait a moment, +I’ll go with you. They might not let you in. You see, they don’t +know you there yet.” +</p> + +<p> +Mr. Sparling, after closing and locking his trunk, escorted the lads to the +cook tent, where he introduced both to the manager of that department. +</p> + +<p> +“Give them seats at the performers’ table for tonight,” he +directed. “They will be with the show from now on. Mr. Forrest here will +remain at that table, but the other, the Tucker boy, I shall probably turn over +to you for a coffee boy.” +</p> + +<p> +The manager nodded good naturedly, taking quick mental measure of the two lads. +</p> + +<p> +The boys were directed to their seats, which they took, almost as if in a +dream. It was a new and unfamiliar experience to them. The odor of the food, +the sweet scents from the green grass underneath their feet, all so familiar to +the showman, gave Phil and Teddy appetites that even a canvasman might have +envied. +</p> + +<p> +The performers glanced at them curiously, some of the former nodding to Phil, +having recognized in him the boy who had ridden the elephant into the arena in +the grand entry. +</p> + +<p> +“Not so much after all, are they?” grunted Teddy. +</p> + +<p> +“They are all human beings like ourselves, I guess,” replied Phil. +</p> + +<p> +Stripped of their gaudy costumes and paint, the performers looked just like +other normal beings. But instead of talking about the show and their work, they +were discussing the news of the day, and it seemed to the two lads to be more +like a large family at supper than a crowd of circus performers. +</p> + +<p> +Rodney Palmer nodded good naturedly to them from further up the long table, but +they had no more than time to nod back when a waiter approached to take their +orders. Teddy ordered pretty much everything on the bill, while Phil was more +modest in his demands. +</p> + +<p> +“Don’t eat everything they have,” he warned laughingly. +</p> + +<p> +“Plenty more where this came from. That’s one good thing about a +show.” +</p> + +<p> +“What’s that?” +</p> + +<p> +“If the food gives out they can eat the animals.” +</p> + +<p> +“Better look out that the animals don’t make a meal of you.” +</p> + +<p> +“Joining out?” asked the man sitting next to Phil. +</p> + +<p> +“Yes, sir.” +</p> + +<p> +“Ring act?” +</p> + +<p> +“I don’t know yet what I am to do. Mr. Sparling is giving me a +chance to find out what I am good for, if anything,” smiled Phil. +</p> + +<p> +“Boss is all right,” nodded the circus man. “That was a good +stunt you did this afternoon. Why don’t you work that up?” +</p> + +<p> +“I—I’ll think about it.” Phil did not know exactly what +was meant by the expression, but it set him to thinking, and out of the +suggestion he was destined to “work up” something that was really +worthwhile, and that was to give him his first real start in the circus world. +</p> + +<p> +“What’s that funny-looking fellow over there doing?” +interrupted Teddy. +</p> + +<p> +“That man down near the end of the table?” +</p> + +<p> +“Yes.” +</p> + +<p> +“That’s Billy Thorpe, the Armless Wonder,” the performer +informed him. +</p> + +<p> +“And he hasn’t any hands?” wondered the boy. +</p> + +<p> +“Naturally not, not having any arms. He uses his feet for hands.” +</p> + +<p> +“What’s he doing now?” +</p> + +<p> +“Eating with his feet. He can use them almost as handily as you can your +hands. You should see Billy sew, and write and do other things. Why, they say +he writes the best foot of anybody in the show.” +</p> + +<p> +“Doesn’t he ever get cold feet?” questioned Teddy humorously. +</p> + +<p> +“Circus people are not afflicted with that ailment. Doesn’t go well +with their business.” +</p> + +<p> +“May I ask what you do?” inquired Phil. +</p> + +<p> +“I am the catcher in the principal trapeze act. You may have seen me +today. I think you were in the big top then.” +</p> + +<p> +“Oh, yes, I saw you this afternoon.” +</p> + +<p> +“How many people are with the show?” asked Teddy. +</p> + +<p> +“At a rough guess, I should say a hundred and fifty including canvasmen +and other labor help. It’s a pretty big organization for a road show, the +biggest in the country; but it’s small, so small it would be lost if one +of the big railroad shows was around.” +</p> + +<p> +“Is that another armless or footless wonder next to Billy Thorpe?” +asked Teddy. +</p> + +<p> +“It’s a freak, yes, but with hands and feet. That’s the +living skeleton, but if he keeps on eating the way he’s been doing lately +the boss will have to change the bills and bill him as the fattest man on +earth.” +</p> + +<p> +“Huh!” grunted Teddy. “He could crawl through a rat hole in a +barn door now. He’s thin enough to cut cheese with.” +</p> + +<p> +Phil gave his companion a vigorous nudge under the table. +</p> + +<p> +“You’ll get into trouble if you are so free in expressing your +opinions,” he whispered. “Don’t forget the advice Mr. +Sparling gave you.” +</p> + +<p> +“Apple or custard pie?” broke in the voice of the waiter. +</p> + +<p> +“Custard,” answered Phil. +</p> + +<p> +“Both for mine,” added Teddy. +</p> + +<p> +He got what he had ordered and without the least question, for the Sparling +show believed that the best way to make its people contented was to feed them. +</p> + +<p> +Mr. Sparling and his assistants, Phil observed, occupied a table by themselves. +After he had finished the owner motioned to him to join them, and there Mrs. +Sparling made a place for him by her side and thanked him briefly but warmly +for his brave act. +</p> + +<p> +“I shall have to keep an eye on you two boys,” she smiled. +“Any time I can help you with advice or otherwise you come right to me. +Don’t you be backward about doing so, will you?” +</p> + +<p> +Phil assured her that he would not. +</p> + +<p> +The two lads after some further conversation strolled from the cook tent. +</p> + +<p> +“I think I’ll go in and see how the animals are getting +along,” decided Phil, beginning to realize that he was free to go where +he would and without fear of being ordered off. +</p> + +<p> +Already people were gathering in front of the entrance for the night +performance. The doors were advertised to open at seven o’clock, so that +the spectators might have plenty of time in which to view the collection of +“rare and wonderful beasts, gathered from the remote places of the +earth,” as the announcer proclaimed from the vantage point of a dry goods +box. +</p> + +<p> +Phil bought a bag of peanuts and took them in to his friend Emperor, the beast +uttering a shrill cry of joy when he saw Phil approaching. +</p> + +<p> +“I’ll try to teach him my whistle,” said the boy, puckering +his lips and giving the signal that the boys of his school used in summoning +each other. +</p> + +<p> +“Think he’ll remember that, Mr. Kennedy?” he asked of the +trainer. +</p> + +<p> +“Never forget it, will you, Emperor?” +</p> + +<p> +The elephant coughed. +</p> + +<p> +“Never forgets anything. Knows more than any man in the show now, because +he has lived longer.” +</p> + +<p> +“How old is he?” +</p> + +<p> +“Close to a hundred.” +</p> + +<p> +“You don’t say?” marveled Teddy. “Hope I’ll be +able to squeal as loud as that when I’m a hundred. Has he got a hole +through his trunk?” +</p> + +<p> +“Not that anybody knows of.” +</p> + +<p> +“Come on; I want to see the fellow tame the tiger. I missed that today, +because he didn’t do it at the afternoon show.” +</p> + +<p> +They found Mr. Sparling standing in front of the cage. He, too, was there to +watch the performance. +</p> + +<p> +“This looks to me like ready money,” he observed to Phil, nodding +his head toward the people who were crowding into the tent. +</p> + +<p> +“Mr. Forrest, will you ride Emperor in again tonight? I think +that’s one of the reasons they have come here,” said the showman, +shrewdly grasping the least thing that would tend to popularize his show. +</p> + +<p> +“Certainly, sir. I shall enjoy it very much.” +</p> + +<p> +They now turned their attention to the cage where the trainer had begun with +the savage tiger. +</p> + +<p> +“Bengal is in an ugly temper about something tonight,” announced +Mr. Sparling in a low tone. “Better be careful, Bob,” he cautioned, +after having stepped up close to the cage. +</p> + +<p> +“I’ll take care of him,” answered the trainer, without taking +his eyes from the beast for the fraction of a second. +</p> + +<p> +Phil had heard the dialogue and now drew closer to the cage, stepping under the +rope and joining Mr. Sparling. +</p> + +<p> +Teddy, of course, not to be left behind, crawled under the rope also. +</p> + +<p> +“Sit down in front,” shouted someone. “We can’t see the +animals play.” +</p> + +<p> +In a moment the spectators saw a play that was not down on the bills. +</p> + +<p> +Bob was swinging the whip over Bengal’s nose, the cruel lash cutting the +tender snout with every blow. But he was not doing it from sheer cruelty, as +many of the spectators who raised their voices in loud protest imagined. +</p> + +<p> +Not understanding wild animals as the trainer did, they did not realize that +this plucky fellow was fighting for his life, even though he used but a slender +rawhide in his effort to do so. +</p> + +<p> +Bengal was crowding him. The least mistake on the trainer’s part now and +the savage tiger would put a quick and terrible end to him. +</p> + +<p> +“Stand back, everybody! Bring the prods!” bellowed Mr. Sparling. +</p> + +<p> +Phil understood that something was wrong, though he never would have guessed it +from the calm expression on the trainer’s face. +</p> + +<p> +Not a word did the performer speak, but his hand rained blows on the nose, +while snarl after snarl was spit from between Bengal’s gleaming teeth. +</p> + +<p> +The trainer was edging slowly toward the door. He knew that nothing could be +done with the beast in its present state of terrible temper. +</p> + +<p> +His only hope was that at a favorable moment, when the attendants came with +their long, iron bars, he might be able to spring from the door at his back, +which he was trying to reach. +</p> + +<p> +Phil’s mind was working like an automatic machine. He saw now what the +trainer was attempting to do, and was seeking for some means of helping the +man. But what could a slender boy hope to do against the power of a great, +savage brute like Bengal? +</p> + +<p> +Phil concluded there was nothing. +</p> + +<p> +A pistol flashed almost in the face of the two lads. Mr. Sparling had started +away on a run to fetch the attendants who either had not heard or failed to +heed his call. +</p> + +<p> +“What did he do that f-f-for?” stammered Teddy. +</p> + +<p> +“To drive the tiger back. It was a blank cartridge that he fired. I think +the tiger is going to attack him. Yes, there he goes! Oh, that’s +<i>terrible</i>!” +</p> + +<p> +The trainer had been forced against the bars at the back of the cage by the +animal, whose length was more than the width of the cage itself. +</p> + +<p> +In an unsuspected moment the beast had sprung upon the unfortunate man, and +with one sweep of his powerful paw had laid the man low. +</p> + +<p> +With a growl of savage joy, the brute settled back against the bars of the cage +near which the lads were standing. +</p> + +<p> +Women shrieked and men grew pale as they stood helpless to do aught to avert +the impending tragedy. +</p> + +<p> +Teddy slipped out from under the rope, his face ashen gray. But Phil stood his +ground. He felt that he <i>must</i> do something. +</p> + +<p> +Then his opportunity came. The beast’s great silken tail popped out +through the bars against which he was backing. +</p> + +<p> +Phil Forrest, without an instant’s thought of the danger into which he +was placing himself, sprang forward. +</p> + +<p> +His hands closed over the tail, which he twisted about his right arm in a +flash, at the same time throwing up his feet and bracing them against a wheel +of the wagon. +</p> + +<p> +No sooner had he done so than Bengal, uttering a frightful roar, whirled. The +force of the jerk as the brute turned hurled Phil Forrest against the bars of +the cage with a crash, and Bengal’s sharp-clawed feet made a vicious +sweep for the body of the lad pressed so tightly against the bars. +</p> + +</div><!--end chapter--> + +<div class="chapter"> + +<h2><a name="chap12"></a>CHAPTER XII.<br /> +A THRILLING RESCUE</h2> + +<p> +“Open the door and let the man out!” shouted Phil, with great +presence of mind. But no one seemed to have the power to move. +</p> + +<p> +One sweep of the powerful claw and one side of the lad’s clothes was +literally stripped from him, though he had managed to shrink back just far +enough to save himself from the needle like claws of the tiger. +</p> + +<p> +At this moment men came rushing from other parts of the tent. Some bore iron +rods, while two or three carried tent poles and sticks—anything that the +circus men could lay their hands upon. +</p> + +<p> +Mr. Sparling was in the lead of the procession that dashed through the crowd, +hurling the people right and left as they ran. +</p> + +<p> +With every spring of the tiger Phil was being thrown against the bars with +terrific force, but still he clung to the tail that was wrapped about his arm, +hanging on with desperate courage. +</p> + +<p> +Though the lad was getting severe punishment, he was accomplishing just what he +had hoped for—to keep Bengal busy until help arrived to liberate the +unconscious trainer, who lay huddled against the bars on the opposite side of +the cage. +</p> + +<p> +“Poke one of the tent poles in to him and let him bite it!” roared +Mr. Sparling. “Half a dozen of you get around behind the cage and when we +have his attention one of you pull Bob out. Keep your poles in the opening when +you open the door, so Bengal doesn’t jump out. Everybody stand +back!” +</p> + +<p> +The commands of the showman came out like so many explosions of a pistol. But +it had its effect. His men sprang to their work like machines. +</p> + +<p> +In the meantime Mr. Sparling himself had grabbed the tail of the beast, taking +a hold higher up than Phil’s. +</p> + +<p> +“Pull the boy off. He’s hanging on like a bull dog. If you had half +his sense you’d have put a stop to this mix-up minutes ago.” +</p> + +<p> +Teddy by this time had gotten in under the ropes again, and, grasping his +companion about the waist, he held on until he had untwisted the tiger’s +tail from his companion’s arm and released Phil, staggering back with his +burden against the rope. +</p> + +<p> +Phil’s limp body, the moment Teddy let go of him, collapsed in a heap. +</p> + +<p> +The circus men were too busy at the moment to notice him. One of the men had +thrust a short tent pole between the bars. Bengal was upon it like an +avalanche. +</p> + +<p> +Biting, clawing, uttering fierce growls, he tore the hard wood into shreds, the +man at the other end poking at the beast with all his might. +</p> + +<p> +Cautiously the rear door of the cage was opened. Two men grasped Bob by the +shoulders and hauled him out with a quick pull. +</p> + +<p> +The crowd shouted in approval. +</p> + +<p> +“All out! Let go!” shouted Mr. Sparling. +</p> + +<p> +It took the strength of two men to pull the tent pole from Bengal’s grip. +The instant he lost the pole the beast whirled and pounced upon the spot where +he had left his victim. +</p> + +<p> +Finding that he had lost his prey, the savage beast uttered roar upon roar, +that made every spectator in the tent tremble and draw back, fearing the animal +would break through the bars and attack them. +</p> + +<p> +“Where’s that boy?” +</p> + +<p> +“Here he is, and I guess he’s hurt,” answered Teddy. +</p> + +<p> +“Give him to me. I’ll get him outside where we can get some decent +air into him. Is he much hurt?” +</p> + +<p> +“I—I don’t know.” +</p> + +<p> +The showman grabbed Phil, and as a helper lifted the bottom of the tent’s +side wall, Mr. Sparling ran to his own small tent with the unconscious Phil. +</p> + +<p> +“Fetch a pail of water.” +</p> + +<p> +Teddy ran for the cook tent to get the water. He was amazed to find no cook +tent there. Instead, there remained only the open plot of grass, trampled down, +with a litter of papers and refuse scattered about. +</p> + +<p> +By the time he had dashed back to the tent to inquire where he could find a +pail, one of the showmen had brought some water and Mr. Sparling was bathing +Phil’s face with it. +</p> + +<p> +He had made a hasty examination of the unconscious boy’s wounds, which he +did not believe were serious. +</p> + +<p> +Phil soon came to, and by that time the show’s doctor had arrived, having +been in attendance on the wounded animal trainer. +</p> + +<p> +“No; he’ll be sore for a few days, but there’s nothing +dangerous about those scratches, I should say. I’ll dress the wounds and +he can go on about his business,” was the surgeon’s verdict. +</p> + +<p> +“I’ve got to ride Emperor in tonight,” objected Phil. +</p> + +<p> +“You’ll do nothing of the sort. You’ll get into my wagon and +go to bed. That’s what you will do, and right quick, at that.” +</p> + +<p> +“But,” urged the lad, “the people will all think I am +seriously hurt if they see no more of me. Don’t you think it would be a +good plan for me to show myself? They are liable to be uneasy all through the +performance. If I show myself they will settle down and forget all about it in +a few minutes.” +</p> + +<p> +Mr. Sparling turned to his assistant with a significant nod. +</p> + +<p> +“I told you that boy was a natural born showman. You can’t stop +that kind with a club. Can you stand up alone?” +</p> + +<p> +“Yes.” +</p> + +<p> +Phil scrambled to his feet, steadying himself with a hand on the table. +</p> + +<p> +“I’ll be all right after I walk about a bit. How long before the +elephants go in?” +</p> + +<p> +“You’ve got fifteen minutes yet.” +</p> + +<p> +“Then I may go on?” +</p> + +<p> +“Yes, yes, go on. You’ll never be satisfied if you don’t. But +I ought to take you over my knee and give you a sound walloping.” +</p> + +<p> +“Thank you. How is Mr.—Mr.—the trainer?” +</p> + +<p> +“He isn’t badly hurt, thanks to your presence of mind, young +man,” answered the surgeon. +</p> + +<p> +“That makes two people you’ve saved today, Forrest,” +emphasized Mr. Sparling. “We will call that a day’s work. You have +earned your meal ticket. Better run back to the dressing tent and ask them to +fix up some clothes for you. Ask for Mrs. Waite, the wardrobe woman. Teddy +Tucker, you run in and tell Mr. Kennedy, who has charge of the elephants, that +Phil will ride tonight, and to wait until he gets in.” +</p> + +<p> +Both boys hurried away on their respective missions. All that Mrs. Waite had +that would come anywhere near fitting Phil was a yellow robe that looked like a +night gown. Phil grinned as he tucked it under his arm and hurried back to the +menagerie tent. As he passed through the “big top” he saw that it +was filling up rapidly. +</p> + +<p> +“I guess we are going to have a good house tonight,” muttered the +lad with a pleased smile. It did not occur to him that he himself was +responsible for a large part of the attendance—that the part he had +played in the exciting incidents of the day had done more to advertise the +Great Sparling Combined Shows than any other one factor. +</p> + +<p> +“I am all ready, Mr. Kennedy,” announced Phil, running to the +elephant quarters. The horns were blowing the signal for the grand entry, so +the lad grasped the head harness, as Emperor stooped, and was quickly hoisted +to the position in which he would enter the ring. +</p> + +<p> +When the people saw that it was indeed Phil they set up a great shout. The lad +was pale but resolute. As he went through the performance, his wounds smarted +frightfully. At times the pain made him dizzy. +</p> + +<p> +But Phil smiled bravely, waving his hands to the cheering people. +</p> + +<p> +After the finish of the act Mr. Kennedy headed the elephants into the +concourse, the open space between the rings and the seats, making a complete +circuit of the tent, so that all might see Phil Forrest. +</p> + +<p> +“This is a kind of farewell appearance, you know,” grinned Kennedy. +And so the audience took it. +</p> + +<p> +The lad’s former companions shouted all manner of things to him. +</p> + +<p> +“Good-bye, Phil!” +</p> + +<p> +“Don’t stick your head in the lion’s mouth.” +</p> + +<p> +“Be careful when you twist the tiger’s tail. Better put some salt +on it before you do.” +</p> + +<p> +“We’ll look out for Uncle Abner.” +</p> + +<p> +Phil was grinning broadly as he rode back into the menagerie tent. Everybody in +town now knew that he had joined the circus, which brought forth a variety of +comments. Some said it would be the end of the boy, but Phil Forrest knew that +a boy could behave himself with a circus just as well as in any other +occupation, and so far as his observations went, the circus people were much +better than some folks he knew at home. +</p> + +<p> +No sooner had they gotten into the menagerie tent than a sudden bustle and +excitement were apparent. Confused shouts were heard on all sides. Teams, fully +harnessed, were being led into the tent, quarter-poles were coming down without +regard to where they struck, everybody appearing to have gone suddenly crazy. +</p> + +<p> +“They’re striking the tent,” nodded Mr. Kennedy, noting the +boy’s wonderment. “You had better look out for yourself. +Don’t stand in the way or you may get hurt,” he warned. +</p> + +<p> +“Get the bulls out!” called a man, hurrying by. +</p> + +<p> +“They’re getting,” answered Kennedy. +</p> + +<p> +“What do they mean by that?” +</p> + +<p> +“In circus parlance, the ‘bulls’ are the elephants. Where you +going to ride tonight?” +</p> + +<p> +“I don’t know. Hello, there’s my friend Teddy. I guess I had +better attach myself to him or he may get lost.” +</p> + +<p> +As a matter of fact, Phil was not sure where he was himself, activities were +following each other with such surprising rapidity. +</p> + +<p> +But the lads stuck to their ground until it was no longer safe to do so. Phil +was determined to see all there was to be seen, and what he saw he remembered. +He had no need to be told after that, providing he understood the meaning of a +certain thing at first. +</p> + +<p> +Observing that one man was holding to the peak rope, and that it was rapidly +getting the best of him, both lads sprang to his assistance. +</p> + +<p> +“That’s right, boys. That’s the way to do it. Always be ready +to take advantage of every opening. You’ll learn faster that way, and +you’ll both be full-fledged showmen before you know it.” +</p> + +<p> +“O Mr. Sparling,” exclaimed Phil, after others had relieved them on +the rope. +</p> + +<p> +“Yes? What is it?” +</p> + +<p> +“I have been wanting to see you, to ask what you wish us to do +tonight—where we are to travel?” +</p> + +<p> +“You may sleep in my wagon. I’ll take a horse for tonight.” +</p> + +<p> +“I could not think of doing such a thing. No, Mr. Sparling, if I am to be +a circus man, I want to do just as the rest of them do. Where do the other +performers sleep?” +</p> + +<p> +“Wherever they can find places. Some few of the higher paid ones have +berths in wagons. Others sleep in the band wagon. The rest, I guess, +don’t sleep at all, except after we get into a town. The menagerie outfit +will be leaving town very soon now. You may go through with them if you +wish.” +</p> + +<p> +“If you do not object, I think I should prefer to remain until the rest +of the show goes out.” +</p> + +<p> +“Suit yourself.” +</p> + +<p> +Mr. Sparling understood how the lads felt, and perhaps it would be better to +let them break in at once, he reasoned. They would become seasoned much sooner. +</p> + +<p> +The tent was taken down and packed away in the wagons in an almost incredibly +short time. +</p> + +<p> +“Come on; let’s go into the circus tent and see what’s going +on there,” suggested Teddy. +</p> + +<p> +Phil agreed, and the lads strolled in. They found the performance nearly over. +When it was finished quite a large number remained to see the “grand +concert” that followed. +</p> + +<p> +While this was going on there was a crash and a clatter as the men ripped up +and loaded the seats, piling them into waiting wagons that had been driven into +the tent from the rear so as not to be in the way of the people going out. +</p> + +<p> +“It’s more fun to watch the men work than it is to see the concert. +That concert’s a bum show,” averred Teddy, thrusting his hands in +his pockets and turning his back on the “grand concert.” +</p> + +<p> +“I agree with you,” laughed Phil. “There’s nothing but +the freaks there, and we’ll see them, after this, every time we go for +our meals.” +</p> + +<p> +“Have you been in the dressing tent yet?” asked Teddy. +</p> + +<p> +“No, I haven’t had time. We’ll have to look in there +tomorrow, though I don’t think they care about having people visit them +unless they belong there. Just now we don’t. Do you start work in the +cook tent tomorrow?” +</p> + +<p> +“Yes. I am to be the champion coffee drawer. I expect they will have my +picture on the billboards after a little. Wouldn’t I look funny with a +pitcher of hot, steaming coffee in my hand leaping over a table in the cook +tent?” and Teddy laughed heartily at the thought. “I’ll bet +I’d make a hit.” +</p> + +<p> +“You mean you would get hit.” +</p> + +<p> +“Well, maybe.” +</p> + +<p> +The boys hung about until the big top had disappeared from the lot. The tent +poles and boxes of properties were being loaded on the wagons, while out on the +field, the ring horses, performing ponies and the like stood sleeping, waiting +for the moment when they should be aroused for the start. +</p> + +<p> +“Come on, Teddy; let’s you and I go make up our beds.” +</p> + +<p> +“Where are they?” +</p> + +<p> +“We’ll have to ask the porter,” laughed Phil, who had +traveled a little with his parents years before. +</p> + +<p> +“It’s a shame that that old tiger has to have a cage all to +himself. We could make up a fine bed if we had half of his cage and some +blankets,” complained Teddy. +</p> + +<p> +“Thank you. I should prefer to walk. I have had all the argument I want +with that beast. Let’s go try the band wagon.” +</p> + +<p> +“All right; that would be fine to sleep way up there.” +</p> + +<p> +Laughing and chattering, the lads hunted about on the lot until they found the +great glittering band wagon. Being now covered with canvas to protect it from +the weather, they had difficulty in making it out, but finally they discovered +it, off near the road that ran by the grounds. Four horses were hitched to it, +while the driver lay asleep on the high seat. +</p> + +<p> +“Where will we get in?” +</p> + +<p> +“I don’t know, Teddy; we will climb up and find out.” +</p> + +<p> +Getting on the rear wheel they pulled themselves up, and finding the canvas +covering loose, threw it open. Teddy plumped in feet first. +</p> + +<p> +Immediately there followed such a howling, such a snarling and torrent of +invective that, startled as he was, Phil lost his balance on the wheel and fell +off. +</p> + +<p> +No sooner had he struck the ground than a dark figure came shooting from above, +landing on him and nearly knocking all the breath out of his body. +</p> + +<p> +Phil threw off the burden, which upon investigation proved to be Teddy Tucker. +</p> + +<p> +“Wha—what happened?” stammered Phil. “Sounds as if we +had gotten into a wild animal cage.” +</p> + +<p> +“I—I walked on somebody’s face and he threw me out,” +answered Teddy ruefully. Phil leaned against the wagon wheel and laughed until +his throat ached. +</p> + +<p> +“Get out of here! What do you mean?” bellowed an angry voice over +their heads. “Think my face is a tight rope to be walked on by every Rube +that comes along?” +</p> + +<p> +“Come—come on away, Teddy. We made a mistake. We got into the wrong +berth.” +</p> + +<p> +“Here’s another wagon, Phil. They’re just hitching the +horses. Let’s try this.” +</p> + +<p> +“All right, it’s a canvas wagon. Go ahead, we’ll try +it.” +</p> + +<p> +“I’ve tried one wagon. It’s your turn now,” growled +Teddy. +</p> + +<p> +“I guess you’re right. If I get thrown out you catch me the same as +I did you,” laughed Phil. +</p> + +<p> +“Yes, you <i>caught</i> me, didn’t you?” +</p> + +<p> +Phil climbed up, but with more caution than Teddy had exercised in the case of +the band wagon. +</p> + +<p> +“Anybody living in this bedroom tonight?” questioned Phil of the +driver. +</p> + +<p> +“Guess you are. First come first served. Pile in. You’re the kid +that rode the bull, ain’t you?” +</p> + +<p> +“And twisted the tiger’s tail,” added Teddy. +</p> + +<p> +“All right. Probably some others will be along later, but I’ll see +to it that they don’t throw you out.” +</p> + +<p> +“Thank you. Come on up, Teddy; it’s all right.” +</p> + +<p> +Teddy Tucker hastily scrambled up into the wagon which proved to be a canvas +wagon—an open wagon, over which a canvas cover was stretched in case of +storm only. +</p> + +<p> +“Where’s the bed clothes?” demanded Teddy. +</p> + +<p> +“I guess the skies will have to be our quilts tonight,” answered +Phil. +</p> + +<p> +The boys succeeded in crawling down between the folds of the canvas, however, +and, snuggling close together, settled down for their first night on the road +with a circus. Soon the wagons began to move in response to a chorus of hoarse +shouts. The motion of the canvas wagon very soon lulled the lads to sleep, as +the big wagon show slowly started away and disappeared in the soft summer +night. +</p> + +</div><!--end chapter--> + +<div class="chapter"> + +<h2><a name="chap13"></a>CHAPTER XIII.<br /> +THE DAWNING OF A NEW DAY</h2> + +<p> +“Hi! Stop the train! Stop the train!” howled Teddy, as he landed +flat on his back on the hard ground. +</p> + +<p> +“Here, here! What are you fellows doing?” shouted Phil, scrambling +to his feet. +</p> + +<p> +“I dreamed I was in a train of cars and they ran off the track,” +said Teddy, struggling to his feet and rubbing his shins gingerly. “Did +you do that?” +</p> + +<p> +“You bet. Think I can wait for you kids to take your beauty sleep? +Don’t you suppose this show’s got something else to do besides +furnish sleeping accommodations for lazy kids? Take hold here, and help us get +this canvas out if you want any breakfast.” +</p> + +<p> +“Take it out yourself,” growled Teddy, dodging the flat of the +canvasman’s hand. +</p> + +<p> +The lads had been hurled from their sleeping place by a rough tentman in a +hurry to get at his work. The chill of the early dawn was in the air. The boys +stood, with shoulders hunched forward, shivering, their teeth chattering, not +knowing where they were and caring still less. They knew only that they were +most uncomfortable. The glamor was gone. They were face to face with the +hardships of the calling they had chosen, though they did not know that it was +only a beginning of those hardships. +</p> + +<p> +“B-r-r-r!” shivered Teddy. +</p> + +<p> +“T-h-h-h-at’s what I say,” chattered Phil. +</p> + +<p> +“Say, are you kids going to get busy, or do you want me to help you +to?” +</p> + +<p> +Phil did not object to work, but he did not like the way the canvasman spoke to +them. +</p> + +<p> +“I guess you’ll have to do your own work. Come on, Teddy; +let’s take a run and warm ourselves up.” +</p> + +<p> +Hand in hand the lads started off across the field. The field was so dark that +they could scarcely distinguish objects about them. Here and there they dodged +wagons and teams that stood like silent sentinels in the uncertain light. +</p> + +<p> +“Turn a little, Teddy. We’ll be lost before we know it, if we +don’t watch out—” +</p> + +<p> +“Ouch! We’re lost already!” +</p> + +<p> +The ground seemed suddenly to give way beneath them. Both lads were +precipitated into a stream of water that stretched across one end of the circus +lot. +</p> + +<p> +Shouting and struggling about they finally floundered to the bank, drenched +from head to foot. If they had been shivering before, they were suffering from +violent attacks of ague now. +</p> + +<p> +“Whew! I’m freezing to death!” cried Phil. +</p> + +<p> +“I feel like the North Pole on Christmas morning,” added Teddy. +“I wish I was home, so I could thaw out behind the kitchen stove.” +</p> + +<p> +“Brace up, Teddy. This is only the beginning of the fun. We shall have +worse experiences than this, late in the fall, when the weather gets cool; that +is, if they do not get enough of us in the meantime and send us away.” +</p> + +<p> +“I—I wish they would send us home now.” +</p> + +<p> +“Come now; we’ve got to run again. We shall surely take our death +of cold, if we stand here much longer.” +</p> + +<p> +“Run? No, thank you. I’ve had one run.” +</p> + +<p> +“And you don’t want another? Is that it?” +</p> + +<p> +“Not I.” +</p> + +<p> +“Don’t know as I blame you. Well, if you don’t want to run, +just stand in one place and jump up and down. Whip your hands, and you’ll +see how soon it will start your blood to circulating,” advised Phil, who +immediately proceeded to put his own theory into execution. “That feel +better?” +</p> + +<p> +“Yes, some,” replied Teddy, rather doubtfully. “But I could +be warmer. I wonder what time the cook tent will be up.” +</p> + +<p> +“That’s an idea. Suppose we go over and find out?” +</p> + +<p> +“Yes, but where is it?” +</p> + +<p> +“I don’t know. But we won’t find it if we stand here.” +</p> + +<p> +They started off again, this time exercising more caution as to where their +feet touched. They had not gone far before they came upon some men who were +driving small stakes in the ground, marking out the spot where one of the tents +was to be pitched. +</p> + +<p> +“Can you tell us where the cook tent is going up?” asked Phil +politely. +</p> + +<p> +“North side of the field,” grunted the man, not very +good-naturedly. +</p> + +<p> +“Which way is north?” +</p> + +<p> +“Get a compass, get a compass,” was the discourteous answer. +</p> + +<p> +“He’s a grouch. Come along,” urged Teddy Tucker. +</p> + +<p> +A few moments later, attracted by a light that looked like a fire, the lads +hurried toward it. +</p> + +<p> +“Where will we find the cook tent?” questioned Phil again. +</p> + +<p> +“Right here,” was the surprising answer. +</p> + +<p> +“What time will it be ready?” +</p> + +<p> +“About seven o’clock. What’s the matter, hungry?” +</p> + +<p> +“More cold than hungry,” replied Phil, his teeth chattering. +</p> + +<p> +“Got to get used to that. Come here. I’ve got something that will +doctor you up in no time,” announced the man in a cheerful voice, so +different from the answers the lads had received to their questions that +morning, that they were suddenly imbued with new courage. +</p> + +<p> +“What is it?” asked Phil. +</p> + +<p> +“Coffee, my lad. We always make coffee the first thing when we get in, +these chilly mornings. The men work much better after getting something warm +inside them. Got a cup?” +</p> + +<p> +They had not. +</p> + +<p> +“Wait, I’ll get you one,” said the accommodating showman. +</p> + +<p> +Never had anything tasted so good as did the coffee that morning. It was +excellent coffee, too, and the boys drank two cups apiece. +</p> + +<p> +“We mustn’t drink any more,” warned Phil. +</p> + +<p> +“Why not?” wondered Teddy. +</p> + +<p> +“Because we shall be so nervous that we shall not be able to work today. +And, by the way, were I in your place, I should get busy here and help in the +cook tent until you are told to do something else. I think it will make a good +impression on Mr. Sparling.” +</p> + +<p> +Teddy consented rather grudgingly. +</p> + +<p> +“I’ll turn in and do something at the same time. What can we do to +help you, sir? That coffee was very good.” +</p> + +<p> +“Might get busy and unpack some dishes from those barrels. Be careful +that you don’t break any of them.” +</p> + +<p> +“All right. Where shall we put them?” +</p> + +<p> +“Pile them on the ground, all the dishes of the same size together. Be +sure to set a lantern by them so nobody falls over them in the dark.” +</p> + +<p> +The boys, glad of some task to perform, began their work with a will. With +something to do it was surprising how quickly they forgot their misfortunes. In +a short time they were laughing and joking with the good-natured cooktent man +and making the dishes fairly fly out of the barrels. +</p> + +<p> +“Guess I’ll have to keep you two boys with my outfit,” +grinned the showman. +</p> + +<p> +“I think Mr. Sparling said my friend, Teddy here, was to work in the cook +tent for the present.” +</p> + +<p> +“All right, Mr. Teddy. There’s one thing about working in the cook +tent that ought to please you.” +</p> + +<p> +“What’s that?” +</p> + +<p> +“You can piece between meals all you want to. If you are like most boys, +you ought to have a good healthy appetite all the time, except when you are +sleeping.” +</p> + +<p> +“That’s right. I could eat an elephant steak now—right this +minute. How long before breakfast?” +</p> + +<p> +“Seven o’clock, I told you.” +</p> + +<p> +“What time does Mr. Sparling get up?” inquired Phil. +</p> + +<p> +“Up? Ask me what time he goes to bed. I can answer one question as well +as the other. Nobody knows. He’s always around when you least expect him. +There he is now.” +</p> + +<p> +The owner was striding toward the cook tent for his morning cup of coffee. +</p> + +<p> +“Good morning, sir,” greeted the boys, pausing in their work long +enough to touch their hats, after which they continued unpacking the dishes. +</p> + +<p> +“Morning, boys. I see you are up early and getting right at it. +That’s right. No showman was ever made out of a sleepy-head. Where did +you sleep last night?” +</p> + +<p> +“In a wagon on a pile of canvas,” answered Phil. +</p> + +<p> +“And they threw us out of bed this morning,” Teddy informed him, +with a grimace. +</p> + +<p> +Mr. Sparling laughed heartily. +</p> + +<p> +“And we fell in a creek,” added Teddy. +</p> + +<p> +“Well, well, you certainly are having your share of experiences.” +</p> + +<p> +“Will you allow me to make a suggestion, Mr. Sparling?” asked Phil. +</p> + +<p> +“Of course. You need not ask that question. What is it?” +</p> + +<p> +“I think I ought to have some sort of a costume if I am to continue to +ride Emperor in the grand entry.” +</p> + +<p> +“H-m-m-m. What kind do you think you want?” +</p> + +<p> +“Could I wear tights?” +</p> + +<p> +Mr. Sparling was about to laugh, but one glance into the earnest eyes of Phil +Forrest told him that the boy’s interest was wholly in wishing to improve +the act—not for the sake of showing himself, alone. +</p> + +<p> +“Yes, I think perhaps it might not be a bad idea. You go tell Mrs. Waite +to fix you up with a suit. But I would prefer to have you wear your own clothes +today.” +</p> + +<p> +“Yes, sir. Thank you, sir.” +</p> + +<p> +“I’ll tell you why. I telegraphed on to my advance man all about +you last night, and what you did yesterday will be spread all over town here +today. It will be a rattling good advertisement. You and the tiger are my best +drawing cards today,” smiled Mr. Sparling. +</p> + +<p> +“Glad I have proved of some use to you, sir.” +</p> + +<p> +“Use? Use?” +</p> + +<p> +“Yes, sir.” +</p> + +<p> +“Don’t be a fool!” exploded the showman, almost brutally. +</p> + +<p> +Phil’s countenance fell. +</p> + +<p> +“Don’t you understand, yet, that you already have been worth +several thousand dollars to me?” +</p> + +<p> +“I—I—” +</p> + +<p> +“Well, don’t get a swelled head about it, for—” +</p> + +<p> +“There is no danger of that, sir.” +</p> + +<p> +“And you don’t have to potter around the cook tent working, either. +That is, not unless you want to.” +</p> + +<p> +“But, I do, Mr. Sparling. I want to learn everything there is to be +learned about the show business,” protested Phil. +</p> + +<p> +Mr. Sparling regarded him quizzically. +</p> + +<p> +“You’ll do,” he said, turning away. +</p> + +<p> +As soon as the dressing tent had been erected and the baggage was moved in, +Phil hurried to the entrance of the women’s dressing tent and calling for +Mrs. Waite, told her what was wanted. +</p> + +<p> +She measured his figure with her eyes, and nodded understandingly. +</p> + +<p> +“Think I’ve got something that will fit you. A young fellow who +worked on the trapeze fell off and broke a leg. He was just about your size, +and I guess his tights will be about right for you. Not superstitious, are +you?” +</p> + +<p> +Phil assured her he was not. +</p> + +<p> +“You will be, after you have been in the show business a while. Wait, +I’ll get them.” +</p> + +<p> +Phil’s eyes glowed as he saw her returning with a suit of bright red +tights, trunk and shirt to match. +</p> + +<p> +“Oh, thank you ever so much.” +</p> + +<p> +“You’re welcome. Have you a trunk to keep your stuff in?” +</p> + +<p> +“No; I have only a bag.” +</p> + +<p> +“I’ve got a trunk in here that’s not in use. If you want to +drag it over to the men’s dressing tent you’re welcome to +it.” +</p> + +<p> +Phil soon had the trunk, which he hauled across the open paddock to the place +where the men were settling their belongings. He espied Mr. Miaco, the head +clown. +</p> + +<p> +“Does it make any difference where I place my trunk, Mr. Miaco?” +</p> + +<p> +“It does, my lad. The performers’ trunks occupy exactly the same +position every day during the show year. I’ll pick out a place for you, +and every morning when you come in you will find your baggage there. Let me +see. I guess we’ll place you up at the end, next to the side wall of the +dressing room. You will be more by yourself there. You’ll like that, +won’t you?” +</p> + +<p> +“Yes, sir.” +</p> + +<p> +“Going in in costume, today?” +</p> + +<p> +“No, sir. Mr. Sparling thought I had better wear my own clothes today, +for advertising purposes.” +</p> + +<p> +Miaco nodded understandingly. +</p> + +<p> +“Then you’ll want to fix up again. Been in the gutter?” +</p> + +<p> +“I fell into a ditch in the darkness this morning,” grinned Phil. +</p> + +<p> +“You’ll get used to that. Mr. Ducro, the ringmaster, carries a +lantern with him so he won’t fall in, but none of the rest of us do. We +call him Old Diogenes because he always has a lantern in his hand. If +you’ll take off that suit I’ll put it in shape for you.” +</p> + +<p> +“Undress—here?” +</p> + +<p> +“Sure. You’ll have to get used to that.” +</p> + +<p> +Phil retired to the further end of the tent where his trunk had been placed in +the meantime, and there took off his clothes, handing them to the head clown. +Mr. Miaco tossed the lad a bath robe, for the morning was still chilly. +</p> + +<p> +“After you get broken in you will have to do all this for yourself. +There’s nothing like the show business to teach a fellow to depend upon +himself. He soon becomes a jack-of-all-trades. As soon as you can you’ll +want to get yourself a rubber coat and a pair of rubber boots. We’ll get +some beastly weather by-and-by.” +</p> + +<p> +The good-natured clown ran on with much good advice while he was sponging and +pressing Phil’s clothes. When he had finished, the suit looked as if it +had just come from a tailor shop. +</p> + +<p> +Phil thanked him warmly. +</p> + +<p> +“Now, you and I will see about some breakfast.” +</p> + +<p> +Reaching the cook tent, the first person Phil set eyes on was his chum, Teddy +Tucker. Teddy was presiding over the big nickel coffeepot, his face flushed +with importance. He was bossing the grinning waiters, none of whom found it in +his heart to get impatient with the new boy. +</p> + +</div><!--end chapter--> + +<div class="chapter"> + +<h2><a name="chap14"></a>CHAPTER XIV.<br /> +AN UNEXPECTED HIT</h2> + +<p> +“Another turn-away,” decided a ticket taker, casting his eyes over +the crowds that had gathered for the afternoon performance. +</p> + +<p> +“I guess Mr. Sparling knows his business pretty well,” mused Phil. +“He knows how to catch the crowd. I wonder how many of them have come +here to see me. How they would look and stare if they knew I was the kid that +twisted the tiger’s tail.” +</p> + +<p> +Phil’s color rose. +</p> + +<p> +It was something for a boy who had been a circus performer for less than two +days to have his name heralded ahead of the show as one of the leading +attractions. +</p> + +<p> +But Phil Forrest had a level head. He did not delude himself with any +extravagant idea of his own importance. He knew that what he had done was +purely the result of accident. +</p> + +<p> +“I’ll do something, someday, that will be worthwhile,” he +told himself. +</p> + +<p> +Phil’s act that afternoon was fully as successful as it had been on the +previous day back in his home town. Besides, he now had more confidence in +himself. He felt that in a very short time he might be able to keep his feet on +the elephant’s head without the support of Emperor’s trunk. That +would be an achievement. +</p> + +<p> +On this particular afternoon he rode with as much confidence as if he had been +doing it all the season. +</p> + +<p> +“You’ll make a performer,” encouraged Kennedy. +“You’ve got the poise and everything necessary to make you a good +one.” +</p> + +<p> +“What kind, do you think?” +</p> + +<p> +“Any old kind. Do you get dizzy when up in the air?” +</p> + +<p> +“I don’t remember that I have ever been up much further than +Emperor hoists me,” laughed Phil. +</p> + +<p> +For the next two minutes the man and the boy were too busy with their act to +continue their conversation. The audience was enthusiastic, and they shouted +out Phil Forrest’s name several times, which made him smile happily. +</p> + +<p> +“What would you advise me to do, Mr. Kennedy?” he asked as the +elephants started to leave the ring, amid the plaudits of the spectators. +</p> + +<p> +“Ever try the rings?” +</p> + +<p> +“Yes, but not so high up as those that Rod and his partners perform +on.” +</p> + +<p> +“Height doesn’t make much difference. Get them to let the rings +down so you can reach them, then each day raise them a little higher, if you +find you can work on them.” +</p> + +<p> +“Thank you. Perhaps I’ll try it this afternoon. I am anxious to be +a real performer. Anybody could do this. Though it’s easy, I think I +might work up this act of ours to make it rather funny.” +</p> + +<p> +It will be observed that Phil was rapidly falling into the vernacular of the +showman. +</p> + +<p> +“If you’ve got any ideas we’ll thresh them out. Emperor will +be willing. He’ll say yes to anything you suggest. What is it?” +</p> + +<p> +“Don’t you think Mr. Sparling would object?” +</p> + +<p> +“Not he. Wait till I get the bulls chained; then we’ll talk.” +</p> + +<p> +After attending to his charges, Mr. Kennedy and Phil stepped behind the +elephants and sat down on a pile of straw against the side walls of the +menagerie tent. +</p> + +<p> +Phil confided at length what he had in mind, Kennedy nodding from time to time +as Phil made points that met with the trainer’s approval. +</p> + +<p> +“Boy, you’ve got a head on you a yard wide. You’ll make your +everlasting fortune. Why, I’d never even thought of that before.” +</p> + +<p> +“Don’t you think I had better speak to Mr. Sparling?” +</p> + +<p> +Kennedy reflected for a moment. +</p> + +<p> +“Perhaps you had better do so. But you needn’t tell him what it is. +We’ll give them a surprise. Let’s go see the property man and the +carpenter. We’ll find out what they can do for us.” +</p> + +<p> +Slipping out under the canvas, the two hurried back to the property room, an +enclosure where all the costumes were kept, together with the armor used in the +grand entry, and the other trappings employed in the show, known as properties. +</p> + +<p> +Mr. Kennedy explained to the property man what was wanted. The latter called in +the carpenter. After consulting for a few minutes, they decided that they could +give the elephant trainer and his assistant what they sought. +</p> + +<p> +“When will you have it ready?” +</p> + +<p> +“Maybe in time for tonight’s performance, but I can’t promise +for sure.” +</p> + +<p> +“Thank you,” exclaimed Phil, hurrying away to consult with Mr. +Sparling. +</p> + +<p> +“I have been thinking out a plan to work up my part of the elephant +act,” announced Phil, much to the owner’s surprise. +</p> + +<p> +“You have, eh?” +</p> + +<p> +“Yes, sir.” +</p> + +<p> +“What is it?” +</p> + +<p> +“I was in hopes you wouldn’t ask me that. I wanted to surprise +you.” +</p> + +<p> +Mr. Sparling shook his head doubtfully. +</p> + +<p> +“I’m afraid you haven’t had experience enough to warrant my +trusting so important a matter to you,” answered the showman, knowing how +serious a bungled act might be, and how it would be likely to weaken the whole +show. +</p> + +<p> +Phil’s face showed his disappointment. +</p> + +<p> +“Mr. Kennedy says it will be a fine act. I have seen the property man and +the carpenter, and they both think it’s great. They are getting my +properties ready now.” +</p> + +<p> +“So, so?” wondered the owner, raising his eyebrows ever so little. +“You seem to be making progress, young man. Let’s see, how long +have you been in the show business?” he reflected. +</p> + +<p> +“Twenty-four hours,” answered Phil promptly. +</p> + +<p> +Mr. Sparling grinned. +</p> + +<p> +“M-m-m-m. You’re certainly getting on fast. Who told you you might +give orders to my property man and my carpenter, sir?” the proprietor +demanded, somewhat sternly. +</p> + +<p> +“I took that upon myself, sir. I’m sure it would improve the act, +even though I have not had as much experience as I might have. Will you let me +try it?” demanded the boy boldly. +</p> + +<p> +“I’ll think about it. Yes, I’ll think about it. H-m-m-m! +H-m-m-m!” +</p> + +<p> +Thus encouraged, Phil left his employer, going in to watch some of the other +acts. +</p> + +<p> +About that time Mr. Sparling found it convenient to make a trip back to the +property man’s room, where he had quite a long talk with that +functionary. The proprietor came away smiling and nodding. +</p> + +<p> +About an hour later Phil sauntered out and passed in front of Mr. +Sparling’s tent, hoping the showman would see him and call him in. +</p> + +<p> +Phil was not disappointed. Mr. Sparling did that very thing. +</p> + +<p> +“How’s that new act of yours coming along, young man?” he +demanded. +</p> + +<p> +“I have done no more than think it over since talking with you a little +while ago. If the props are ready Mr. Kennedy and I will have a quiet rehearsal +this afternoon. That is, if we can shoo everybody out of the tent and you are +willing we should try it. How about it, sir?” +</p> + +<p> +“I must say you are a most persistent young man.” +</p> + +<p> +“Yes, sir.” +</p> + +<p> +“And what if this act falls down flat? What then?” +</p> + +<p> +“It mustn’t.” +</p> + +<p> +“But if it does?” +</p> + +<p> +“Then, sir, I’ll give up the show business and go back to Edmeston, +where I’ll hire out to work on a farm. If I can’t do a little thing +like this I guess the farm will be the best place for me.” +</p> + +<p> +Phil was solemn and he meant every word he said. Mr. Sparling, however, unable +to maintain his serious expression, laughed heartily. +</p> + +<p> +“My boy, you are all right. Go ahead and work up your act. You have my +full permission to do that in your own way, acting, of course, under the +approval of Mr. Kennedy. He knows what would go with his bulls.” +</p> + +<p> +“Thank you, thank you very much,” exclaimed Phil, impulsively. +“I hope you will be pleasantly surprised.” +</p> + +<p> +“I expect to be.” +</p> + +<p> +Phil ran as fast as his legs would carry him to convey the good news to Mr. +Kennedy. Active preparations followed, together with several hurried trips to +the property room. The property man was getting along famously with his part of +the plan, and both Phil and Mr. Kennedy approved of what had been done thus +far. +</p> + +<p> +According to programme, after the afternoon show had been finished and all the +performers had gone to the cook tent the rehearsal took place in the menagerie +tent. Faithful to his promise, Mr. Sparling kept away, but a pair of eyes +representing him was peering through a pin-hole in the canvas stretched across +the main opening where the ticket takers stood when at work. +</p> + +<p> +“That’s great, kid! Great, you bet!” shouted Mr. Kennedy +after a successful trial of their new apparatus. +</p> + +<p> +With light heart, an expansive grin overspreading his countenance, the lad ran +to the cook tent for his supper. He came near missing it as it was, for the +cook was about to close the tent. Mr. Sparling, who was standing near the exit, +nodded to the chief steward to give Phil and Mr. Kennedy their suppers. +</p> + +<p> +“Well, did the rehearsal fall down?” he asked, with a quizzical +smile on his face. +</p> + +<p> +“It fell down, but not in the way you think,” laughed Phil happily. +</p> + +<p> +No further questions were asked of him. +</p> + +<p> +That night, when the grand entry opened the show to a packed house, a shout of +laughter from the great assemblage greeted the entrance of old Emperor. Emperor +was clad in a calico gown of ancient style, with a market basket tucked in the +curl of his trunk. But the most humorous part of the long-suffering +elephant’s makeup was his head gear. +</p> + +<p> +There, perched jauntily to one side was the most wonderful bonnet that any of +the vast audience ever had gazed upon. It was tied with bright red ribbons +under Emperor’s chops with a collection of vari-colored, bobbing roses +protruding from its top. Altogether it was a very wonderful piece of head gear. +</p> + +<p> +The further the act proceeded the more the humor of Emperor’s makeup +appeared to impress the audience. They laughed and laughed until the tears ran +down their cheeks, while the elephant himself, appearing to share in the humor +of the hour, never before had indulged in so many funny antics. +</p> + +<p> +Mr. Kennedy, familiar with side-splitting exhibitions, forgot himself so far as +actually to laugh out loud. +</p> + +<p> +But where was Phil Forrest? Thus far everybody had been too much interested in +the old lady with the trunk and the market basket to give a thought to the +missing boy, though some of the performers found themselves wondering if he had +closed with the show already. +</p> + +<p> +Those of the performers not otherwise engaged at the moment were assembled +inside the big top at one side of the bandstand, fairly holding their sides +with laughter over old Emperor’s exhibition. +</p> + +<p> +Standing back in the shadow of the seats, where the rays from the gasoline +lamps did not reach, stood Mr. Sparling, a pleased smile on his face, his eyes +twinkling with merriment. It was a good act that could draw from James Sparling +these signs of approval. +</p> + +<p> +The act was nearing its close. +</p> + +<p> +The audience thought they had seen the best of it. But there was still a +surprise to come—a surprise that they did not even dream of. +</p> + +<p> +The time was at hand for the elephants to rear in a grand finale. An attendant +quietly led Jupiter from the ring and to his quarters, Emperor making a circuit +of the sawdust arena to cover the going of the other elephant and that there +might be no cessation of action in the exhibition. +</p> + +<p> +Emperor and his trainer finally halted, standing facing the reserved seats, as +motionless as statues. +</p> + +<p> +The audience sat silent and expectant. They felt that something still was +before them, but what they had not the least idea, of course. +</p> + +<p> +“Up, Emperor!” commanded Mr. Kennedy in a quiet voice. “All +ready, Phil.” +</p> + +<p> +The elephant reared slowly on its hind legs, going higher and higher, as it did +in its regular performance. +</p> + +<p> +As he went up, the bonnet on Emperor’s head was seen to take on sudden +life. The old calico gown fell away from the huge beast at the same time, +leaving him clothed in a brilliant blanket of white and gold. +</p> + +<p> +But a long drawn “a-h-h-h,” rippled over the packed seats as the +old elephant’s bonnet suddenly collapsed. +</p> + +<p> +Out of the ruins rose a slender, supple figure, topping the pyramid of elephant +flesh in a graceful poise. The figure, clad in red silk tights, appeared to be +that of a beautiful girl. +</p> + +<p> +The audience broke out into a thunder of approval, their feet drumming on the +board seats sounding not unlike the rattle of musketry. +</p> + +<p> +The girl’s hand was passed around to the back of her waist, where it +lingered for an instant, then both hands were thrown forward just as a diver +does before taking the plunge. +</p> + +<p> +“Ready?” +</p> + +<p> +“Yes.” +</p> + +<p> +“Fly!” +</p> + +<p> +The young girl floated out and off from the elephant’s back, landing +gently on her feet just outside the sawdust ring. +</p> + +<p> +Emperor, at this juncture, threw himself forward on his forelegs, stretched out +his trunk, encircling the performer’s waist and lifting her clear off the +ground. +</p> + +<p> +At that moment the supposed young woman stripped her blonde wig from her head, +revealing the fact that the supposed girl was no girl at all. It was a boy, and +that boy was Phil Forrest. +</p> + +<p> +Emperor, holding his young friend at full length ahead of him, started rapidly +for his quarters, Phil lying half on his side, appearing to be floating on the +air, save for the black trunk that held him securely in its grip. +</p> + +<p> +At this the audience fairly howled in its surprise and delight, but Phil never +varied his pose by a hair’s breadth until Emperor finally set him down, +flushed and triumphant, in the menagerie tent. +</p> + +<p> +At that moment Phil became conscious of a figure running toward him. +</p> + +<p> +He discovered at once that it was Mr. Sparling. +</p> + +<p> +Grasping both the lad’s hands, the showman wrung them until it seemed to +Phil as if his arms would be wrenched from their sockets. +</p> + +<p> +“Great, great, great!” cried the owner of the show. +</p> + +<p> +“Did you like it?” questioned the blushing Phil. +</p> + +<p> +“Like it? Like it? Boy, it’s the greatest act I ever saw. +It’s a winner. Come back with me.” +</p> + +<p> +“What, into the ring?” +</p> + +<p> +“Yes.” +</p> + +<p> +“But what shall I do?” +</p> + +<p> +“You don’t have to do anything. You’ve done it already. Show +yourself, that’s all. Hurry! Don’t you hear them howling like a +band of Comanche Indians?” +</p> + +<p> +“Y-yes.” +</p> + +<p> +“They want you.” +</p> + +<p> +By this time Mr. Sparling was fairly dragging Phil along with him. As they +entered the big top the cheering broke out afresh. +</p> + +<p> +Phil was more disturbed than ever before in his life. It seemed as though his +legs would collapse under him. +</p> + +<p> +“Buck up! Buck up!” snapped the showman. “You are not going +to get an attack of stage fright at this late hour, are you?” +</p> + +<p> +That was exactly what was the matter with Phil Forrest. He was nearly scared +out of his wits, but he did not realize the nature of his affliction. +</p> + +<p> +“Bow and kiss your hand to them,” admonished the showman. +</p> + +<p> +Phil did so, but his face refused to smile. He couldn’t have smiled at +that moment to save his life. +</p> + +<p> +All at once he wrenched himself loose from Mr. Sparling’s grip, and ran +full speed for the dressing tent. He had not gone more than a dozen feet before +he tripped over a rope, landing on head and shoulders. But Phil was up like a +rubber man and off again as if every animal in the menagerie was pursuing him. +</p> + +<p> +The spectators catching the meaning of his flight, stood up in their seats and +howled lustily. +</p> + +<p> +Phil Forrest had made a hit that comes to few men in the sawdust arena. +</p> + +</div><!--end chapter--> + +<div class="chapter"> + +<h2><a name="chap15"></a>CHAPTER XV.<br /> +A STROKE OF GOOD FORTUNE</h2> + +<p> +“That was a knockout, kid,” nodded Mr. Miaco, with emphasis. +“I’m laughing on the inside of me yet. I don’t dare let my +face laugh, for fear the wrinkles will break through my makeup.” +</p> + +<p> +“Thank you,” smiled Phil, tugging at his silk tights, that fitted +so closely as to cause him considerable trouble in stripping them off. +</p> + +<p> +“You’ll have the whole show jealous of you if you don’t watch +out. But don’t get a swelled head—” +</p> + +<p> +“Not unless I fall off and bump it,” laughed Phil. “Where do +I wash?” +</p> + +<p> +“You always want to get a pail of water before you undress.” +</p> + +<p> +“Say, Phil, did you really fly?” queried Teddy, who was standing by +eyeing his companion admiringly. +</p> + +<p> +“Sure. Didn’t you see me?” +</p> + +<p> +“I did and I didn’t. Will you show me how to fly like that?” +</p> + +<p> +“’Course I will. You come in under the big top tomorrow after the +show and I’ll give you a lesson.” +</p> + +<p> +Teddy had not happened to observe the simple mechanical arrangement that had +permitted the young circus performer to carry out his flying act. +</p> + +<p> +“I reckon you ought to get a dollar a day for that stunt,” decided +Teddy. +</p> + +<p> +“Yes, I think so myself,” grinned Phil. +</p> + +<p> +Teddy now turned his attention to Mr. Miaco, who, made up for his clown act in +the ring, presented a most grotesque appearance. +</p> + +<p> +“How do I look?” asked the clown, noting the lad’s observant +gaze. +</p> + +<p> +“You look as if you’d stuck your head in a flour barrel,” +grunted Teddy. +</p> + +<p> +“Ho ho,” laughed the clown. “I’ll have to try that on +the audience. That’s a good joke. To look at you, one wouldn’t +think it of you, either.” +</p> + +<p> +“Oh, that’s nothing. I can say funnier things than that when I want +to. Why—” +</p> + +<p> +But their conversation was cut short by the band striking up the tune to which +Mr. Miaco always entered the ring. +</p> + +<p> +“Listen to me, kid. You’ll hear them laugh when I tell ’em +the story,” he called back. And they did. The audience roared when the +funny man told them what his young friend had said. +</p> + +<p> +His work for the day having been finished, Phil bethought himself of his trunk, +which had not yet been packed. His costume was suspended from a line in the +dressing tent where many other costumes were hanging to air and dry after the +strenuous labors of their owners. +</p> + +<p> +Phil took his slender belongings down, shook them out well and laid them in the +trunk that Mrs. Waite had given him. It was too late for Phil to get his bag +from the baggage wagon, so with a grin he locked his tights and his wig in the +trunk. +</p> + +<p> +“Guess they won’t break their backs lifting that outfit,” he +mused. +</p> + +<p> +Phil then strolled in to watch the show. He found many new points of interest +and much that was instructive, as he studied each act attentively and with the +keenness of one who had been in the show business all his life. +</p> + +<p> +“Someday I’ll have a show like this myself,” nodded the boy. +He did not know that he expressed his thoughts aloud until he noticed that the +people sitting nearest to him were regarding him with amused smiles. +</p> + +<p> +Phil quickly repressed his audible comments. +</p> + +<p> +The show was soon over; then came the noise and the confusion of the breaking +up. The illusion was gone—the glamor was a thing of the past. The lad +strolled about slowly in search of his companion, whom he eventually found in +the dressing tent. +</p> + +<p> +“Teddy, isn’t it about time you and I went to bed?” he asked. +</p> + +<p> +“Oh, I don’t know. Circus people sleep when there isn’t +anything else to do. Where we going to sleep?” +</p> + +<p> +“Same place, I presume, if no one gets ahead of us.” +</p> + +<p> +“They’d better not. I’ll throw them out if they do.” +</p> + +<p> +Phil laughed good-naturedly. +</p> + +<p> +“If I remember correctly, somebody was thrown out last night and this +morning, but it didn’t happen to be the other fellow. I’m hungry; +wish I had something to eat.” +</p> + +<p> +“So am I,” agreed Teddy. +</p> + +<p> +“You boys should get a sandwich or so and keep the stuff in your trunk +while we are playing these country towns. When we get into the cities, where +they have restaurants, you can get a lunch downtown after you have finished +your act and then be back in time to go out with the wagons,” Mr. Miaco +informed them. “You’ll pick up these little tricks as we go along, +and it won’t be long before you are full-fledged showmen. You are pretty +near that point already.” +</p> + +<p> +The lads strolled out on the lot and began hunting for their wagon. They found +nothing that looked like it for sometime and had about concluded that the +canvas wagon had gone, when they chanced to come across the driver of the +previous night, who directed them to where they would find it. +</p> + +<p> +“The wagon isn’t loaded yet. You’ll have to wait half an hour +or so,” he said. +</p> + +<p> +They thanked him and went on in the direction indicated, where they soon found +that which they were in search of. +</p> + +<p> +“I think we had better wait here until it is loaded,” advised Phil, +throwing himself down on the ground. +</p> + +<p> +“This having to hunt around over a ten-acre lot for your bedroom every +night isn’t as much fun as you would think, is it?” grinned Teddy. +</p> + +<p> +“Might be worse. I have an idea we haven’t begun to experience the +real hardships of the circus life.” And indeed they had not. +</p> + +<p> +Soon after that the wagon was loaded, and, bidding the driver a cheery good +night, the circus boys tumbled in and crawled under the canvas. +</p> + +<p> +They were awakened sometime before daylight by a sudden heavy downpour of rain. +The boys were soaked to the skin, the water having run in under the canvas +until they were lying in a puddle of water. +</p> + +<p> +There was thunder and lightning. Phil scrambled out first and glanced up at the +driver, who, clothed in oilskins, was huddled on his seat fast asleep. He did +not seem to be aware that there was anything unusual about the weather. +</p> + +<p> +“I wish I was home,” growled Teddy. +</p> + +<p> +“Well, I don’t. Bad as it is, it’s better than some other +things that I know of. I’ll tell you what I’ll do—I’ll +get rubber coats for us both when we get in in the morning.” +</p> + +<p> +“Got the money?” +</p> + +<p> +“That’s so. I had forgotten that,” laughed Phil. “I +never thought that I should need money to buy a coat with. We’ll have to +wait until payday. I wonder when that is?” +</p> + +<p> +“Ask Mr. Sparling.” +</p> + +<p> +“No; I would rather not.” +</p> + +<p> +“All right; get wet then.” +</p> + +<p> +“I am. I couldn’t be any more so were I to jump in the mill pond at +home,” laughed Phil. +</p> + +<p> +Home! It seemed a long way off to these two friendless, or at least homeless, +boys, though the little village of Edmeston was less than thirty miles away. +</p> + +<p> +The show did not get in to the next town until sometime after daylight, owing +to the heavy condition of the roads. The cook tent was up when they arrived and +the lads lost no time in scrambling from the wagon. They did not have to be +thrown out this morning. +</p> + +<p> +“Come on,” shouted Phil, making a run for the protection of the +cook tent, for the rain was coming down in sheets. +</p> + +<p> +Teddy was not far behind. +</p> + +<p> +“I’m the coffee boy. Where’s the coffee?” he shouted. +</p> + +<p> +“Have it in a few minutes,” answered the attendant who had been so +kind to them the previous morning. “Here, you boys, get over by the steam +boiler there and dry out your clothes,” he added, noting that their teeth +were chattering. +</p> + +<p> +“Wish somebody would pour a pail of water over me,” shivered Teddy. +</p> + +<p> +“Water? What for?” +</p> + +<p> +“To wash the rain off. I’m soaked,” he answered humorously. +</p> + +<p> +They huddled around the steam boiler, the warmth from which they found very +comforting in their bedraggled condition. +</p> + +<p> +“I’m steaming like an engine,” laughed Phil, taking off his +coat and holding it near the boiler. +</p> + +<p> +“Yes; I’ve got enough of it in my clothes to run a sawmill,” +agreed Teddy. “How about that coffee?” +</p> + +<p> +“Here it is.” +</p> + +<p> +After helping themselves they felt much better. Phil, after a time, walked to +the entrance of the cook tent and looked out. The same bustle and excitement as +on the previous two days was noticeable everywhere, and the men worked as if +utterly oblivious of the fact that the rain was falling in torrents. +</p> + +<p> +“Do we parade today?” called Phil, observing Mr. Sparling hurrying +past wrapped in oilskins and slouch hat. +</p> + +<p> +“This show gives a parade and two performances a day, rain, shine, snow +or earthquake,” was the emphatic answer. “Come over to my tent in +half an hour. I have something to say to you.” +</p> + +<p> +Phil ran across to Mr. Sparling’s tent at the expiration of half an hour, +but he was ahead of time evidently, for the showman was not there. Nice dry +straw had been piled on the ground in the little tent to take up the moisture, +giving it a cosy, comfortable look inside. +</p> + +<p> +“This wouldn’t be a half bad place to sleep,” decided Phil, +looking about him. “I don’t suppose we ever play the same town two +nights in succession. I must find out.” +</p> + +<p> +Mr. Sparling bustled in at this point, stripping off his wet oilskins and +hanging them on a hook on the tent pole at the further end. +</p> + +<p> +“Where’d you sleep?” +</p> + +<p> +“In wagon No. 10.” +</p> + +<p> +“Get wet?” +</p> + +<p> +“Very.” +</p> + +<p> +“Humph!” +</p> + +<p> +“We dried out in the cook tent when we got in. It might have been +worse.” +</p> + +<p> +“Easily satisfied, aren’t you?” +</p> + +<p> +“I don’t know about that. I expect to meet with some disagreeable +experiences.” +</p> + +<p> +“You won’t be disappointed. You’ll get all that’s +coming to you. It’ll make a man of you if you stand it.” +</p> + +<p> +“And if I don’t?” questioned Phil Forrest, with a smile. +</p> + +<p> +Mr. Sparling answered by a shrug of the shoulders. +</p> + +<p> +“We’ll have to make some different arrangements for you,” he +added in a slightly milder tone. “Can’t afford to have you get sick +and knock your act out. It’s too important. I’ll fire some lazy, +good-for-nothing performer out of a closed wagon and give you his place.” +</p> + +<p> +“Oh, I should rather not have you do that, sir.” +</p> + +<p> +“Who’s running this show?” snapped the owner. +</p> + +<p> +Phil made no reply. +</p> + +<p> +“I am. I’ll turn out whom I please and when I please. I’ve +been in the business long enough to know when I’ve got a good thing. +Where’s your rubber coat?” he demanded, changing the subject +abruptly. +</p> + +<p> +“I have none, sir. I shall get an outfit later.” +</p> + +<p> +“No money, I suppose?” +</p> + +<p> +“Well, no, sir.” +</p> + +<p> +“Humph! Why didn’t you ask for some?” +</p> + +<p> +“I did not like to.” +</p> + +<p> +“You’re too modest. If you want a thing go after it. That’s +my motto. Here’s ten dollars. Go downtown and get you a coat, and be +lively about it. Wait a minute!” as Phil, uttering profuse thanks, +started away to obey his employer’s command. +</p> + +<p> +“Yes, sir.” +</p> + +<p> +“About that act of yours. Did you think it out all yourself?” +</p> + +<p> +“The idea was mine. Of course the property man and Mr. Kennedy worked it +out for me. I should not have been able to do it alone.” +</p> + +<p> +“Humph! Little they did. They wouldn’t have thought of it in a +thousand years. Performers usually are too well satisfied with themselves to +think there’s anything worthwhile except what they’ve been doing +since they came out of knickerbockers. How’d you get the idea?” +</p> + +<p> +“I don’t know—it just came to me.” +</p> + +<p> +“Then keep on thinking. That act is worth real money to any show. How +much did I say I’d pay you?” +</p> + +<p> +“Ten dollars a week, sir.” +</p> + +<p> +“Humph! I made a mistake. I won’t give you ten.” +</p> + +<p> +Phil looked solemn. +</p> + +<p> +“I’ll give you twenty. I’d give you more, but it might spoil +you. Get out of here and go buy yourself a coat.” +</p> + +</div><!--end chapter--> + +<div class="chapter"> + +<h2><a name="chap16"></a>CHAPTER XVI.<br /> +HIS FIRST SETBACK</h2> + +<p> +“Tha—thank—” +</p> + +<p> +“Out with you!” +</p> + +<p> +Laughing, his face flushed with pride and satisfaction, Phil did move. Not even +pausing to note what direction he should go, he hurried on toward the village, +perhaps more by instinct than otherwise. He was too full of this wonderful +thing that had come to him—success—to take note of his +surroundings. +</p> + +<p> +To Phil there was no rain. Though he already was drenched to the skin he did +not know it. +</p> + +<p> +All at once he pulled himself up sharply. +</p> + +<p> +“Phil Forrest, you are getting excited,” he chided. “Now, +don’t you try to make yourself believe you are the whole show, for you +are only a little corner of it. You are not even a side show. You are a lucky +boy, but you are going to keep your head level and try to earn your money. +Twenty dollars a week! Why, it’s wealth! I can see Uncle Abner shaking +his stick when he hears of it. I must write to Mrs. Cahill and tell her the +good news. She’ll be glad, though I’ll warrant the boys at home +will be jealous when they hear about how I am getting on in the world.” +</p> + +<p> +Thus talking to himself, Phil plodded on in the storm until he reached the +business part of the town. There he found a store and soon had provided himself +with a serviceable rubber coat, a pair of rubber boots and a soft hat. He put +on his purchases, doing up his shoes and carrying them back under his arm. +</p> + +<p> +The parade started at noon. It was a dismal affair—that is, so far as the +performers were concerned, and the clowns looked much more funny than they +felt. +</p> + +<p> +Mr. Miaco enlivened the spirits of those on the hayrack by climbing to the back +of one of the horses drawing the clowns’ wagon, where he sat with a +doll’s parasol over his head and a doll in his arms singing a lullaby. +</p> + +<p> +The people who were massed along the sidewalks of the main street did not +appear to mind the rain at all. They were too much interested in the free show +being given for their benefit. +</p> + +<p> +The show people ate dinner with their feet in the mud that day, the cook tent +having been pitched on a barren strip of ground. +</p> + +<p> +“This is where the Armless Wonder has the best of us today,” nodded +Teddy, with his usual keen eye for humor. +</p> + +<p> +“How is that?” questioned Mr. Miaco. +</p> + +<p> +“’Cause he don’t have to put his feet in the mud like the +rest of us do. He keeps them on the table. I wish I could put my feet on the +table.” +</p> + +<p> +Everybody within hearing laughed heartily. +</p> + +<p> +In the tents there was little to remind one of the dismal weather, save for the +roar of the falling rain on the canvas overhead. Straw had been piled all about +on the ground inside the two large tents, and only here and there were there +any muddy spots, though the odor of fresh wet grass was everywhere. +</p> + +<p> +The afternoon performance went off without a hitch, though the performers were +somewhat more slow than usual, owing to the uncertainty of the footing for man +and beast. Phil Forrest’s exhibition was even more successful than it had +been in the last show town. He was obliged to run back to the ring and show +himself after having been carried from the tent by Emperor. This time, however, +his stage fright had entirely left him, never to return. He was now a seasoned +showman, after something less than three days under canvas. +</p> + +<p> +The afternoon show being finished, and supper out of the way, Phil and Teddy +returned to the big top to practice on the flying rings, which they had +obtained permission to use. +</p> + +<p> +Mr. Miaco, himself an all around acrobat, was on hand to watch their work and +to offer suggestions. He had taken a keen interest in Phil Forrest, seeing in +the lad the making of a high-class circus performer. +</p> + +<p> +The rings were let down to within about ten feet of the sawdust ring, and one +at a time the two lads were hoisted by the clown until their fingers grasped +the iron rings. +</p> + +<p> +With several violent movements of their bodies they curled their feet up, +slipping them through the rings, first having grasped the ropes above the +rings. +</p> + +<p> +“That was well done. Quite professional,” nodded the clown. +“Take hold of this rope and I will swing you. If it makes you dizzy, tell +me.” +</p> + +<p> +“Don’t worry; it won’t,” laughed Phil. +</p> + +<p> +“Give me a shove, too,” urged Teddy. +</p> + +<p> +“In a minute.” +</p> + +<p> +Mr. Miaco began swinging Phil backwards and forwards, his speed ever +increasing, and as he went higher and higher, Phil let himself down, fastening +his hands on the rings that he might assist in the swinging. +</p> + +<p> +“Now, see if you can get back in the rings with your legs.” +</p> + +<p> +“That’s easy,” answered Phil, his breath coming sharp and +fast, for he never had taken such a long sweep in the rings before. +</p> + +<p> +The feat was not quite so easy as he had imagined. Phil made three attempts +before succeeding. But he mastered it and came up smiling. +</p> + +<p> +“Good,” cried the clown, clapping his hands approvingly. +</p> + +<p> +“Give me another swing. I want to try something else.” +</p> + +<p> +Having gained sufficient momentum, the lad, after reaching the point where the +rings would start on their backward flight, permitted his legs to slip through +the rings, catching them with his feet. +</p> + +<p> +He swept back, head and arms hanging down, as skillfully as if he had been +doing that very thing right along. +</p> + +<p> +“You’ll do,” emphasized the clown. “You will need to +put a little more finish in your work. I’ll give you a lesson in that +next time.” +</p> + +<p> +Teddy, not to be outdone, went through the same exhibition, though not quite +with the same speed that Phil had shown. +</p> + +<p> +It being the hour when the performers always gathered in the big top to +practice and play, many of them stood about watching the boys work. They nodded +their heads approvingly when Phil finished and swung himself to the ground. +</p> + +<p> +Teddy, on his part, overrated his ability when it came to hanging by his feet. +</p> + +<p> +“Look out!” warned half a dozen performers at once. +</p> + +<p> +He had not turned his left foot into the position where it would catch and hold +in the ring. Their trained eyes had noted this omission instantly. +</p> + +<p> +The foot, of course, failed to catch, and Teddy uttered a howl when he found +himself falling. His fall, however, was checked by a sharp jolt. The right foot +had caught properly. As he swept past the laughing performers he was dangling +in the air like a huge spider, both hands and one foot clawing the air in a +desperate manner. +</p> + +<p> +There was nothing they could do to liberate him from his uncomfortable position +until the momentum of his swing had lessened sufficiently to enable them to +catch him. +</p> + +<p> +“Hold your right steady!” cautioned Miaco. “If you twist it +you’ll take a beauty tumble.” +</p> + +<p> +Teddy hadn’t thought of that before. Had Miaco known the lad better he +would not have made the mistake of giving that advice. +</p> + +<p> +Teddy promptly turned his foot. +</p> + +<p> +He shot from the flying rings as if he had been fired from a cannon. +</p> + +<p> +Phil tried to catch him, but stumbled and fell over a rope, while Teddy shot +over his head, landing on and diving head first into a pile of straw that had +just been brought in to bed down the tent for the evening performance. +</p> + +<p> +Nothing of Teddy save his feet was visible. +</p> + +<p> +They hauled him out by those selfsame feet, and, after disentangling him from +the straws that clung to him, were relieved to find that he had not been hurt +in the least. +</p> + +<p> +“I guess we shall have to put a net under you. Lucky for you that that +pile of straw happened to get in your way. Do you know what would have happened +to you had it not been?” demanded Mr. Miaco. +</p> + +<p> +“I—I guess I’d have made a hit,” decided Teddy wisely. +</p> + +<p> +“I guess there is no doubt about that.” +</p> + +<p> +The performers roared. +</p> + +<p> +“I’m going to try it again.” +</p> + +<p> +“No; you’ve done enough for one day. You won’t be able to +hold up the coffeepot tomorrow morning if you do much more.” +</p> + +<p> +“Do you think we will be able to accomplish anything on the flying rings, +Mr. Miaco?” asked Phil after they had returned to the dressing tent. +</p> + +<p> +“There is no doubt of it. Were I in your place I should take an +hour’s work on them every day. Besides building you up generally, it will +make you surer and better able to handle yourself. Then, again, you never know +what minute you may be able to increase your income. People in this business +often profit by others’ misfortunes,” added the clown +significantly. +</p> + +<p> +“I would prefer not to profit that way,” answered Phil. +</p> + +<p> +“You would rather do it by your own efforts?” +</p> + +<p> +“Yes.” +</p> + +<p> +“It all amounts to the same thing. You are liable to be put out any +minute yourself, then somebody else will get your job, if you are a performer +of importance to the show.” +</p> + +<p> +“You mean if my act is?” +</p> + +<p> +“That’s what I mean.” +</p> + +<p> +The old clown and the enthusiastic young showman talked in the dressing tent +until it was time for each to begin making up for the evening performance. +</p> + +<p> +The dressing tent was the real home of the performers. They knew no other. It +was there that they unpacked their trunks—there that during their brief +stay they pinned up against the canvas walls the pictures of their loved ones, +many of whom were far across the sea. A bit of ribbon here, a faded flower +drawn from the recess of a trunk full of silk and spangles, told of the tender +hearts that were beating beneath those iron-muscled breasts, and that they were +as much human beings as their brothers in other walks of life. +</p> + +<p> +Much of this Phil understood in a vague way as he watched them from day to day. +He was beginning to like these big-hearted, big-muscled fellows, though there +were those among them who were not desirable as friends. +</p> + +<p> +“I guess it’s just the same as it is at home,” decided Phil. +“Some of the folks are worthwhile, and others are not.” +</p> + +<p> +He had summed it up. +</p> + +<p> +Sometime before the evening performance was due to begin Phil was made up and +ready for his act. As his exhibition came on at the very beginning he had to be +ready early. Then, again, he was obliged to walk all the way to the menagerie +tent to reach his elephant. +</p> + +<p> +Throwing a robe over his shoulders and pulling his hat well down over his eyes, +the lad pushed the silken curtains aside and began working his way toward the +front, beating against the human tide that had set in against him, wet, +dripping, but good natured. +</p> + +<p> +“Going to have a wet night,” observed Teddy, whom he met at the +entrance to the menagerie tent. +</p> + +<p> +“Looks that way. But never mind; I’ll share my rubber coat with +you. We can put it over us and sit up to sleep. That will make a waterproof +tent. Perhaps we may be able to find a stake or something to stick up in the +middle of the coat.” +</p> + +<p> +“But the canvas under us will be soaked,” grumbled Teddy. +“We’ll be wetter than ever.” +</p> + +<p> +“We’ll gather some straw and tie it up in a tight bundle to put +under us when we get located. There goes the band. I must be off, or +you’ll hear Emperor screaming for me.” +</p> + +<p> +“He’s at it now. Hear him?” +</p> + +<p> +“I couldn’t well help hearing that roar,” laughed Phil, +starting off on a run. +</p> + +<p> +The grand entry was made, Phil crouching low in the bonnet on the big +beast’s head. It was an uncomfortable position, but he did not mind it in +the least. The only thing that troubled Phil was the fear that the head gear +might become disarranged and spoil the effect of his surprise. There were many +in the tent who had seen him make his flight at the afternoon performance, and +had returned with their friends almost solely to witness the pretty spectacle +again. +</p> + +<p> +The time had arrived for Emperor to rise for his grand salute to the audience. +Mr. Kennedy had given Phil his cue, the lad had braced himself to straighten up +suddenly. A strap had been attached to the elephant’s head harness for +Phil to take hold of to steady himself by when he first straightened up. Until +his position was erect Emperor could not grasp the boy’s legs with his +trunk. +</p> + +<p> +“Right!” came the trainer’s command. +</p> + +<p> +The circus boy thrust out his elbows, and the bonnet fell away, as he rose +smiling to face the sea of white, expectant faces before him. +</p> + +<p> +While they were applauding he fastened the flying wire to the ring in his belt. +The wire, which was suspended from above, was so small that it was wholly +invisible to the spectators, which heightened the effect of his flight. So +absorbed were the people in watching the slender figure each time that they +failed to observe an attendant hauling on a rope near the center pole, which +was the secret of Phil’s ability to fly. +</p> + +<p> +Throwing his hands out before him the little performer dove gracefully out into +the air. +</p> + +<p> +There was a slight jolt. Instantly he knew that something was wrong. The +audience, too, instinctively felt that the act was not ending as it should. +</p> + +<p> +Phil was falling. He was plunging straight toward the ring, head first. He +struck heavily, crumpling up in a little heap, then straightening out, while +half a dozen attendants ran to the lad, hastily picking him up and hurrying to +the dressing tent with the limp, unconscious form. +</p> + +</div><!--end chapter--> + +<div class="chapter"> + +<h2><a name="chap17"></a>CHAPTER XVII.<br /> +LEFT BEHIND</h2> + +<p> +“Is he hurt much?” +</p> + +<p> +“Don’t know. Maybe he’s broken his neck.” +</p> + +<p> +This brief dialogue ensued between two painted clowns hurrying to their +stations. +</p> + +<p> +In the meantime the band struck up a lively air, the clowns launched into a +merry medley of song and jest and in a few moments the spectators forgot the +scene they had just witnessed, in the noise, the dash and the color. It would +come back to them later like some long-past dream. +</p> + +<p> +Mr. Kennedy, with grim, set face, uttered a stern command to Emperor, who for a +brief instant had stood irresolute, as if pondering as to whether he should +turn and plunge for the red silk curtains behind which his little friend had +disappeared in the arms of the attendants. +</p> + +<p> +The trainer’s voice won, and Emperor trumpeting loudly, took his way to +his quarters without further protest. +</p> + +<p> +In the dressing tent another scene was being enacted. On two drawn-up trunks, +over which had been thrown a couple of horse blankets, they had laid the +slender, red-clad figure of Phil Forrest. +</p> + +<p> +The boy’s pale face appeared even more ashen than it really was under the +flickering glare of the gasoline torches. His head had been propped up on a +saddle, while about him stood a half circle of solemn-faced performers in +various stages of undress and makeup. +</p> + +<p> +“Is he badly hurt?” asked one. +</p> + +<p> +“Can’t say. Miaco has gone for the doc. We’ll know pretty +soon. That was a dandy tumble he took.” +</p> + +<p> +“How did it happen?” +</p> + +<p> +“Wire broke. You can’t put no faith on a wire with a kink in it. I +nearly got my light put out, out in St. Joe, Missouri, by a trick like that. No +more swinging wire for me. Guess the kid, if he pulls out of this, will want to +hang on to a rope after this. He will if he’s wise.” +</p> + +<p> +“What’s this? What’s this?” roared Mr. Sparling, who, +having heard of the accident, came rushing into the tent. “Who’s +hurt?” +</p> + +<p> +“The kid,” informed someone. +</p> + +<p> +“What kid? Can’t you fellows talk? Oh, it’s Forrest, is it? +How did it happen?” +</p> + +<p> +One of the performers who had witnessed the accident related what he had +observed. +</p> + +<p> +“Huh!” grunted the showman, stepping up beside Phil and placing a +hand on the boy’s heart. +</p> + +<p> +“Huh!” +</p> + +<p> +“He’s alive, isn’t he, Mr. Sparling?” +</p> + +<p> +“Yes. Anybody gone for the doctor?” +</p> + +<p> +“Miaco has.” +</p> + +<p> +“Wonder any of you had sense enough to think of that. I congratulate you. +Somebody will suffer when I find out who was responsible for hanging that +boy’s life on a rotten old piece of wire. I presume it’s been +kicking around this outfit for the last seven years.” +</p> + +<p> +“Here comes the doc,” announced a voice. +</p> + +<p> +There was a tense silence in the dressing tent, broken only by the patter of +the rain drops on the canvas roof, while the show’s surgeon was making +his examination. +</p> + +<p> +“Well, well! What about it?” demanded Mr. Sparling impatiently. +</p> + +<p> +The surgeon did not answer at once. His calm, professional demeanor was not to +be disturbed by the blustering but kind- hearted showman, and the showman, +knowing this from past experience, relapsed into silence until such time as the +surgeon should conclude to answer him. +</p> + +<p> +“Did he fall on his head?” he questioned, looking up, at the same +time running his fingers over Phil’s dark-brown hair. +</p> + +<p> +“Looks that way, doesn’t it?” +</p> + +<p> +“I should say so.” +</p> + +<p> +“What’s the matter with him?” +</p> + +<p> +“I shall be unable to decide definitely for an hour or so yet, unless he +regains consciousness in the meantime. It may be a fracture of the skull or a +mere concussion.” +</p> + +<p> +“Huh!” +</p> + +<p> +Mr. Sparling would have said more, but for the fact that the calm eyes of the +surgeon were fixed upon him in a level gaze. +</p> + +<p> +“Any bones broken?” +</p> + +<p> +“No; I think not. How far did he fall?” +</p> + +<p> +“Fell from Emperor’s head when the bull was up in the air. He must +have taken all of a twenty-foot dive, I should say.” +</p> + +<p> +“Possible? It’s a great wonder he didn’t break his neck. But +he is very well muscled for a boy of his age. I don’t suppose they have a +hospital in this town?” +</p> + +<p> +“Of course not. They never have anything in these tank towns. You ought +to know that by this time.” +</p> + +<p> +“They have a hotel. I know for I took dinner there today. If you will get +a carriage of some sort I think we had better take him there.” +</p> + +<p> +“Leave him, you mean?” questioned Mr. Sparling. +</p> + +<p> +“Yes; that will be best. We can put him in charge of a local physician +here. He ought to be able to take care of the boy all right.” +</p> + +<p> +“Not by a jug full!” roared Mr. James Sparling. “We’ll +do nothing of the sort.” +</p> + +<p> +“It will not be safe to take him with us, Sparling.” +</p> + +<p> +“Did I say it would? Did I? Of course, he shan’t be moved, nor will +he be left to one of these know-nothing sawbones. You’ll stay here with +him yourself, and you’ll take care of him if you know what’s good +for you. I’d rather lose most any five men in this show than that boy +there.” +</p> + +<p> +The surgeon nodded his approval of the sentiment. He, too, had taken quite a +fancy to Phil, because of the lad’s sunny disposition and natural +brightness. +</p> + +<p> +“Get out the coach some of you fellows. Have my driver hook up and drive +back into the paddock here, and be mighty quick about it. Here, doc, is a head +of lettuce (roll of money). If you need any more, you know where to reach us. +Send me a telegram in the morning and another tomorrow night. Keep me posted +and pull that boy out of this scrape or you’ll be everlastingly out of a +job with the Sparling Combined Shows. Understand?” +</p> + +<p> +The surgeon nodded understandingly. He had heard Mr. Sparling bluster on other +occasions, and it did not make any great impression upon him. +</p> + +<p> +The carriage was quickly at hand. Circus people were in the habit of obeying +orders promptly. A quick drive was made to the hotel, where the circus boy was +quickly undressed and put to bed. +</p> + +<p> +All during the night the surgeon worked faithfully over his little charge, and +just as the first streaks of daylight slanted through the window and across the +white counterpane, Phil opened his eyes. +</p> + +<p> +For only a moment did they remain open, then closed again. +</p> + +<p> +The surgeon drew a long, deep breath. +</p> + +<p> +“Not a fracture,” he announced aloud. “I’m thankful for +that.” He drew the window shades down to shut out the light, as it was +all important that Phil should be kept quiet for a time. But the surgeon did +not sleep. He sat keen-eyed by the side of the bed, now and then noting the +pulse of his patient, touching the lad’s cheeks with light fingers. +</p> + +<p> +After a time the fresh morning air, fragrant with the fields and flowers, +drifted in, and the birds in the trees took up their morning songs. +</p> + +<p> +“I guess the storm must be over,” muttered the medical man, rising +softly and peering out from behind the curtain. +</p> + +<p> +The day was dawning bright and beautiful. +</p> + +<p> +“My, it feels good to be in bed!” said a voice from the opposite +side of the room. “Where am I?” +</p> + +<p> +The surgeon wheeled sharply. +</p> + +<p> +“You are to keep very quiet. You had a tumble that shook you up +considerably.” +</p> + +<p> +“What time is it?” demanded Phil sharply. +</p> + +<p> +“About five o’clock in the morning.” +</p> + +<p> +“I must get up; I must get up.” +</p> + +<p> +“You will lie perfectly still. The show will get along without you today, +I guess.” +</p> + +<p> +“You don’t mean they have gone on and left me?” +</p> + +<p> +“Of course; they couldn’t wait for you.” +</p> + +<p> +The boys eyes filled with tears. +</p> + +<p> +“I knew it couldn’t last. I knew it.” +</p> + +<p> +“See here, do you want to join the show again?” +</p> + +<p> +“Of course, I do.” +</p> + +<p> +“Well, then, lie still. The more quiet you keep the sooner you will be +able to get out. Try to go to sleep. I must go downstairs and send a message to +Mr. Sparling, for he is very much concerned about you.” +</p> + +<p> +“Then he will take me back?” asked Phil eagerly. +</p> + +<p> +“Of course he will.” +</p> + +<p> +“I’ll go to sleep, doctor.” +</p> + +<p> +Phil turned over on his side and a moment later was breathing naturally. +</p> + +<p> +The doctor tip-toed from the room and hastened down to the hotel office where +he penned the following message: +</p> + +<p> +James Sparling, + +</p> <blockquote> <p> +Sparling Combined Shows, + +</p> <blockquote> <p> +Boyertown. + +</p> </blockquote> <p> +Forrest recovers consciousness. Not a fracture. Expect him to be all right in a +few days. Will stay unless further orders. + +</p> <blockquote> <p> +Irvine. + +</p> </blockquote> </blockquote> <p> +“I think I’ll go upstairs and get a bit of a nap myself,” +decided the surgeon, after having directed the sleepy clerk to see to it that +the message was dispatched to its destination at once. +</p> + +<p> +He found Phil sleeping soundly. Throwing himself into a chair the surgeon, used +to getting a catnap whenever and wherever possible, was soon sleeping as +soundly as was his young patient. +</p> + +<p> +Neither awakened until the day was nearly done. +</p> + +</div><!--end chapter--> + +<div class="chapter"> + +<h2><a name="chap18"></a>CHAPTER XVIII.<br /> +A STARTLING DISCOVERY</h2> + +<p> +Phil’s recovery was rapid, though four days passed before he was +permitted to leave his bed. As soon as he was able to get downstairs and sit +out on the front porch of the hotel he found himself an object of interest as +well as curiosity. +</p> + +<p> +The story of his accident had been talked of until it had grown out of all +proportion to the real facts in the case. The boys of the village hung over the +porch rail and eyed him wonderingly and admiringly. It did not fall to their +lot every day to get acquainted with a real circus boy. They asked him all +manner of questions, which the lad answered gladly, for even though he had +suffered a severe accident, he was not beyond enjoying the admiration of his +fellows. +</p> + +<p> +“It must be great to be a circus boy,” marveled one. +</p> + +<p> +“It is until you fall off and crack your head,” laughed Phil. +“It’s not half so funny then.” +</p> + +<p> +After returning to his room that day Phil pondered deeply over the accident. He +could not understand it. +</p> + +<p> +“Nobody seems to know what really did happen,” he mused. “Dr. +Irvine says the wire broke. That doesn’t seem possible.” +</p> + +<p> +Off in the little dog tent of the owner of the show, Mr. James Sparling, on the +day following the accident, was asking himself almost the same questions. +</p> + +<p> +He sent for Mr. Kennedy after having disposed of his early morning business. +There was a scowl on the owner’s face, but it had not been caused by the +telegram which lay on the desk before him, informing him that Phil was not +seriously hurt. That was a source of keen satisfaction to the showman, for he +felt that he could not afford to lose the young circus boy. +</p> + +<p> +Teddy was so upset over it, however, that the boss had about made up his mind +to let Phil’s companion go back and join him. +</p> + +<p> +While the showman was thinking the matter over, Mr. Kennedy appeared at the +opening of the dog tent. +</p> + +<p> +“Morning,” he greeted, which was responded to by a muttered +“Huh!” from James Sparling. +</p> + +<p> +“Come in. What are you standing out there for?” +</p> + +<p> +Kennedy was so used to this form of salutation that he paid no further +attention to it than to obey the summons. +</p> + +<p> +He entered and stood waiting for his employer to speak. +</p> + +<p> +“I want you to tell me exactly what occurred last night, when young +Forrest got hurt, Kennedy.” +</p> + +<p> +“I can’t tell you any more about it than you heard last night. He +had started to make his dive before I noticed that anything was wrong. He +didn’t stop until he landed on his head. They said the wire +snapped.” +</p> + +<p> +“Did it?” +</p> + +<p> +“I guess so,” grinned Kennedy. +</p> + +<p> +“Who is responsible for having picked out that wire?” +</p> + +<p> +“I guess I am.” +</p> + +<p> +“And you have the face to stand there and tell me so?” +</p> + +<p> +“I usually tell the truth, don’t I?” +</p> + +<p> +“Yes, yes; you do. That’s what I like about you.” +</p> + +<p> +“Heard from the kid this morning?” +</p> + +<p> +“Yes; he’ll be all right in a few days. Concussion and general +shaking up; that’s all, but it’s enough. How are the bulls this +morning?” +</p> + +<p> +“Emperor is sour. Got a regular grouch on.” +</p> + +<p> +“Misses that young rascal Phil, I suppose?” +</p> + +<p> +“Yes.” +</p> + +<p> +“H-m-m-m!” +</p> + +<p> +“Didn’t want to come through last night at all.” +</p> + +<p> +“H-m-m-m. Guess we’d better fire you and let the boy handle the +bulls; don’t you think so?” +</p> + +<p> +The trainer grinned and nodded. +</p> + +<p> +“Kennedy, you’ve been making your brags that you always tell me the +truth. I am going to ask you a question, and I want you to see if you can make +that boast good.” +</p> + +<p> +“Yes, sir.” +</p> + +<p> +Perhaps the trainer understood something of what was in his employer’s +mind, for his lips closed sharply while his jaw took on a belligerent look. +</p> + +<p> +“How did that wire come to break, Kennedy?” +</p> + +<p> +The question came out with a snap, as if the showman already had made up his +mind as to what the answer should be. +</p> + +<p> +“It was cut, sir,” answered the trainer promptly. +</p> + +<p> +The lines in Mr. Sparling’s face drew hard and tense. Instead of a +violent outburst of temper, which Kennedy fully expected, the owner sat +silently contemplating his trainer for a full minute. +</p> + +<p> +“Who did it?” +</p> + +<p> +“I couldn’t guess.” +</p> + +<p> +“I didn’t ask you to guess. I can guess for myself. I asked who did +it?” +</p> + +<p> +“I don’t know. I haven’t the least idea who would do a job +like that in this show. I hope the mean hound will take French leave before I +get him spotted, sir.” +</p> + +<p> +Mr. Sparling nodded with emphasis. +</p> + +<p> +“I hope so, Kennedy. What makes you think the wire was cut?” +</p> + +<p> +With great deliberation the trainer drew a small package from his inside coat +pocket, carefully unwrapped it, placing the contents on the table in front of +Mr. Sparling. +</p> + +<p> +“What’s this—what’s this?” +</p> + +<p> +“That’s the wire.” +</p> + +<p> +“But there are two pieces here—” +</p> + +<p> +“Yes. I cut off a few feet on each side of where the break occurred. +Those are the two.” +</p> + +<p> +Mr. Sparling regarded them critically. +</p> + +<p> +“How can you tell that the wire has been cut, except where you cut it +yourself?” +</p> + +<p> +“It was cut halfway through with a file, as you can see, sir. When +Forrest threw his weight on it, of course the wire parted at the weakened +point.” +</p> + +<p> +“H-m-m-m.” +</p> + +<p> +“If you will examine it, an inch or two above the cut, you will find two +or three file marks, where the file started to cut, then was moved down. +Probably slipped. Looks like it. Don’t you think I’m right, +sir?” +</p> + +<p> +Mr. Sparling nodded reflectively. +</p> + +<p> +“There can be no doubt of it. You think it was done between the two +performances yesterday?” +</p> + +<p> +“Oh, yes. That cut wouldn’t have held through one performance. It +was cut during the afternoon.” +</p> + +<p> +“Who was in the tent between the shows?” +</p> + +<p> +“Pretty much the whole crowd. But, if you will remember, the day was dark +and stormy. There was a time late in the afternoon, before the torches were +lighted, when the big top was almost in darkness. It’s my idea that the +job was done then. Anybody could have done it without being discovered. +It’s likely there wasn’t anybody in the tent except himself at the +time.” +</p> + +<p> +“Kennedy, I want you to find out who did that. Understand?” +</p> + +</div><!--end chapter--> + +<div class="chapter"> + +<h2><a name="chap19"></a>CHAPTER XIX.<br /> +TEDDY DISTINGUISHES HIMSELF</h2> + +<p> +“The boss has an awful grouch on.” +</p> + +<p> +“Yes; I wonder what’s the matter with him,” pondered the +clown. +</p> + +<p> +His brother fun-maker shrugged his shoulders. +</p> + +<p> +“Guess he’s mad because of young Forrest’s accident. Just got +a good act started when he had to go and spoil it.” +</p> + +<p> +Not a hint of the suspicion entertained by the owner and his elephant trainer +had been breathed about the show. Nearly a week had passed since Phil’s +narrow escape from death; yet, despite all the efforts of Kennedy or the shrewd +observation of his employer, they were no nearer a solution of the mystery than +before. The days passed, and with them the anger of James Sparling increased. +</p> + +<p> +“That chum of Forrest’s is a funny fellow,” continued the +first speaker. “He’d make a good clown?” +</p> + +<p> +“Make? He’s one already. Look at him.” +</p> + +<p> +Teddy was perched on the back of Jumbo, the trick mule of the show, out in the +paddock, where the performers were indulging in various strange antics for the +purpose of limbering themselves up prior to entering the ring for their acts. +</p> + +<p> +The bright, warm sunlight was streaming down, picking up little flames from the +glistening spangles sprinkled over the costumes of many of the circus folks. +</p> + +<p> +Teddy and Jumbo had become fast friends—a strangely assorted pair, and +whenever the opportunity presented itself Teddy would mount the ugly looking +mule, riding him about the paddock or the ring when there was nothing going on +under the big top. Every time the pair made their appearance it was the signal +for a shout of merriment from the performers. +</p> + +<p> +Teddy had perched himself on Jumbo’s back while the mule was awaiting his +turn to enter the ring, which he did alone, performing his act with nothing +save the crack of the ringmaster’s whip to guide him. +</p> + +<p> +Somebody had jammed a clown’s cap on Teddy’s head, while someone +else had hit it a smash with the flat of his hand, until the peak of the cap +lopped over to one side disconsolately. +</p> + +<p> +Teddy’s face wore an appreciative grin, Jumbo’s long ears lying as +far back on his head as they would reach. To the ordinary observer it might +have been supposed that the mule was angry about something. On the contrary, it +was his way of showing his pleasure. When a pan of oats was thrust before +Jumbo, or he chanced upon a patch of fresh, tender grass, the ears expressed +the animal’s satisfaction. +</p> + +<p> +Jumbo could do pretty much everything except talk, but occasionally the +stubbornness of his kind took possession of him. At such times the trick mule +was wont to do the most erratic things. +</p> + +<p> +“How’d you like to ride him in?” chuckled Miaco, who stood +regarding the lad with a broad smile. +</p> + +<p> +“If I had a saddle I wouldn’t mind it,” grinned Teddy’s +funny face as an accompaniment to his words. +</p> + +<p> +Jumbo’s equipment consisted of a cinch girth and a pair of bridle reins +connected with a headstall. There was no bit, but the effect was to arch his +neck like that of a proud stallion. +</p> + +<p> +“You’d make the hit of your life if you did,” laughed Miaco. +“Wonder the boss don’t have you do it.” +</p> + +<p> +“Would if he knew about it,” spoke up a performer. “The +really funny things don’t get into the ring in a circus, unless by +accident.” +</p> + +<p> +In the meantime the ringmaster was making his loud-voiced announcement out +under the big top. +</p> + +<p> +“Ladies and gentlemen,” he roared, after a loud crack of his +long-lashed whip, to attract the attention of the people to him, “we are +now about to introduce the wonderful performing mule Jumbo, the only +broncho-bucking, bobtailed mule in the world. You will notice that he performs +without a rider, without human interference. Please do not speak to Jumbo while +he is going through his act. Ladies and gentlemen, Jumbo, the great educated +mule, will now make his appearance unaided by human hand.” +</p> + +<p> +The audience applauded the announcement. +</p> + +<p> +At that moment the band struck up the tune by which Jumbo always made his +entrance. At the first blare of the brass a fun-loving clown jabbed Jumbo with +a pin. The mule did the rest. +</p> + +<p> +“Here! Here! Get off that mule!” shouted the animal’s +trainer. “He’s going on!” +</p> + +<p> +“Let him go!” roared clowns and other performers. +</p> + +<p> +Jumbo had never made as quick a start in all his circus career as he did that +day. He fairly leaped into the air, though only one man understood the reason +for the mule’s sudden move. +</p> + +<p> +With a bray that was heard all over the big top Jumbo burst through the red +curtains like a tornado. There he paused for one brief instant, as if uncertain +whether to do a certain thing or not. +</p> + +<p> +Recalling the ringmaster’s words, the spectators at first were at a loss +to account for the odd-looking figure that was clinging to the back of the +educated mule. +</p> + +<p> +Suddenly they broke out into roars of laughter, while the performers peering +through the red curtain fairly howled with delight. +</p> + +<p> +Teddy was hanging to the cinch girth uncertain what to do. The ringmaster, +amazed beyond words, stood gaping at the spectacle, for the moment powerless to +use his usually ready tongue. +</p> + +<p> +Jumbo launched into the arena. +</p> + +<p> +“Get off!” thundered the ringmaster, suddenly recovering himself. +</p> + +<p> +“I can’t!” howled Teddy, though from present indications it +appeared as if he would dismount without any effort on his own part. +</p> + +<p> +Jumbo’s heels flew into the air, then began a series of lunges, bucking +and terrific kicking such as none among the vast audience ever had witnessed in +or out of a show ring. +</p> + +<p> +One instant Teddy would be standing on his head on the mule’s back, the +next lying on his back with feet toward the animal’s head. Next he would +be dragged along the ground, to be plumped back again at the next bounce. +</p> + +<p> +No feat seemed too difficult for Jumbo to attempt that day. +</p> + +<p> +“Stop him! Stop him!” howled the ringmaster. +</p> + +<p> +Ring attendants rushed forward to obey his command, but they might as well have +tried to stop a tornado. Jumbo eluded them without the least trouble, but their +efforts to keep out of range of his flying hoofs were not so easy. Some of them +had narrow escapes from being seriously injured. +</p> + +<p> +Mr. Sparling, attracted by the roars of laughter of the audience and the +unusual disturbance, had hurried into the big top, where he stood, at first in +amazement, then with a broad grin overspreading his countenance. +</p> + +<p> +Now Jumbo began a race with himself about the arena, following the concourse, +now and then sending his heels into the air right over the heads of the +spectators of the lower row of seats, sending them scrambling under the seats +for protection. +</p> + +<p> +A clown ran out with half a dozen paper covered hoops, which he was holding in +readiness for the next bareback act. +</p> + +<p> +He flaunted them in the face of the runaway mule. +</p> + +<p> +Jumbo ducked his head under them and Teddy Tucker’s head went through the +paper with a crash, the mule’s heels at that instant being high in the +air. +</p> + +<p> +With the rings hung about his neck, Teddy cut a more ridiculous figure than +ever. The audience went wild with excitement. +</p> + +<p> +Now the ringmaster, angered beyond endurance, began reaching for Teddy with the +long lash of his whip. The business end of the lash once brushed the +boy’s cheek. +</p> + +<p> +It stung him. +</p> + +<p> +“Ouch!” howled Teddy as he felt the lash. +</p> + +<p> +“Stop that!” exploded Mr. Sparling, who, by this time, had gotten +into the ring to take a hand in the performance himself. He grabbed the irate +ringmaster by the collar, giving him a jerk that that functionary did not +forget in a hurry. +</p> + +<p> +Jumbo, however, was no respecter of persons. He had taken a short cut across +the ring just as the owner had begun his correction of the ringmaster. Jumbo +shook out his heels again. They caught the owner’s sombrero and sent it +spinning into the air. +</p> + +<p> +Mr. Sparling, in his excitement, forgot all about the ringmaster. Picking up a +tent stake, he hurled it after the educated mule, missing him by a full rod. +</p> + +<p> +The audience by this time was in a tempest of excitement. At first they thought +it was all a part of the show. But they were soon undeceived, which made their +enjoyment and appreciation all the greater. +</p> + +<p> +Jumbo took a final sprint about the arena, Teddy’s legs and free arm most +of the time in the air. He had long since lost his clown’s cap, which +Jumbo, espying, had kicked off into the audience. +</p> + +<p> +“You fool mule! You fool mule!” bellowed Mr. Sparling. +</p> + +<p> +Jumbo suddenly decided that he would go back to the paddock. With him, to +decide was to act. Taking a fresh burst of speed, he shot straight at the red +curtains. To reach these he was obliged to pass close to the bandstand, where +the band was playing as if the very existence of the show depended upon them. +</p> + +<p> +Teddy’s grip was relaxing. His arm was so benumbed that he could not feel +that he had any arm on that side at all. +</p> + +<p> +His fingers slowly relaxed their grip on the cinch girth. In a moment he had +bounced back to the educated mule’s rump. In another instant he would be +plumped to the hard ground with a jolt that would shake him to his foundations. +</p> + +<p> +But Jumbo had other plans—more spectacular plans—in mind. He put +them into execution at once. The moment he felt his burden slipping over his +back that active end grew busy again. Jumbo humped himself, letting out a +volley of kicks so lightning-like in their swiftness that human eye could not +follow. +</p> + +<p> +Teddy had slipped half over the mule’s rump when the volley began. +</p> + +<p> +“Catch him! He’ll be killed!” shouted someone. +</p> + +<p> +All at once the figure of Teddy Tucker shot straight up into the air, propelled +there by the educated mule. The lad’s body described what somebody +afterwards characterized as “graceful somersault in the air,” then +began its downward flight. +</p> + +<p> +He landed right in the midst of the band. +</p> + +<p> +Crash! +</p> + +<p> +There was a yell of warning, a jingle and clatter of brass, several chairs went +down under the impact, the floor gave way and half the band, with Teddy Tucker +in the middle of the heap, sank out of sight. +</p> + +</div><!--end chapter--> + +<div class="chapter"> + +<h2><a name="chap20"></a>CHAPTER XX.<br /> +THE RETURN TO THE SAWDUST LIFE</h2> + +<p> +“Is he dead?” +</p> + +<p> +“No; you can’t kill a thick-head like that,” snarled the +ringmaster. +</p> + +<p> +The audience was still roaring. +</p> + +<p> +With angry imprecations the members of the band who had fallen through were +untangling themselves as rapidly as possible. Teddy, in the meantime, had +dragged himself from beneath the heap and slunk out from under the broken +platform. He lost no time in escaping to the paddock, but the bandmaster, +espying him, started after the lad, waving his baton threateningly. +</p> + +<p> +No sooner had Teddy gained the seclusion of the dressing tent than James +Sparling burst in. +</p> + +<p> +“Where’s that boy? Where’s that boy?” +</p> + +<p> +“Here he is,” grinned a performer, thrusting Teddy forward, much +against the lad’s inclinations. +</p> + +<p> +Mr. Sparling surveyed him with narrow eyes. +</p> + +<p> +“You young rascal! Trying to break up my show, are you?” +</p> + +<p> +“N-no—sir.” +</p> + +<p> +“Can you do that again, do you think?” +</p> + +<p> +“I—I don’t know.” +</p> + +<p> +“That’s the greatest Rube mule act that ever hit a sawdust ring. +I’ll double your salary if you think you can get away with it every +performance,” fairly shouted the owner. +</p> + +<p> +“I—I’m willing if the mule is,” stammered Teddy +somewhat doubtfully. +</p> + +<p> +As a result the lad left his job in the cook tent, never to return to it. After +many hard knocks and some heavy falls he succeeded in so mastering the act that +he was able to go through with it without great risk of serious injury to +himself. The educated mule and the boy became a feature of the Sparling +Combined Shows from that moment on, but after that Teddy took good care not to +round off his act by a high dive into the big bass horn. +</p> + +<p> +No one was more delighted at Teddy Tucker’s sudden leap to fame than was +his companion, Phil Forrest. Phil and Dr. Irvine returned to the show, one +afternoon, about a week after the accident. They had come on by train. +</p> + +<p> +Phil, though somewhat pale after his setback, was clear-eyed, and declared +himself as fit as ever. He insisted upon going on with his act at the evening +performance, but Mr. Sparling told him to wait until the day following. In the +meantime Phil could get his apparatus in working order. +</p> + +<p> +“I’ll look it over myself this time,” announced the showman. +“I don’t want any more such accidents happening in this show. Your +friend Teddy nearly put the whole outfit to the bad—he and the fool +mule.” +</p> + +<p> +That afternoon Phil had an opportunity to witness for himself the exhibition of +his companion and the “fool mule.” He laughed until his sides +ached. +</p> + +<p> +“O Teddy, you’ll break your neck doing that stunt one of these +times,” warned Phil, hastening back to the dressing tent after Teddy and +the mule had left the ring. +</p> + +<p> +“Don’t you think it’s worth the risk?” +</p> + +<p> +“That depends.” +</p> + +<p> +“For two dollars a day?” +</p> + +<p> +“Is that what you are getting?” +</p> + +<p> +“Yep. I’m a high-priced performer,” insisted Teddy, snapping +his trousers pocket significantly. “I’d jump off the big top, twice +every day, for that figure.” +</p> + +<p> +“What are you going to do with all your money? Spend it?” +</p> + +<p> +“I—rather thought I’d buy a bicycle.” +</p> + +<p> +Phil shook his head. +</p> + +<p> +“You couldn’t carry it, and, besides, nobody rides bicycles these +days. They ride in automobiles.” +</p> + +<p> +“Then I’ll buy one of them.” +</p> + +<p> +“I’ll tell you what you do, Teddy.” +</p> + +<p> +“Lend the money to you, eh?” +</p> + +<p> +“No; I am earning plenty for myself. But every week, now, I shall send +all my money home to Mrs. Cahill. I wrote to her about it while I was sick. She +is going to put it in the bank for me at Edmeston, with herself appointed as +trustee. That’s necessary, you see, because I am not of age. Then no one +can take it away from me.” +</p> + +<p> +“You mean your Uncle Abner?” questioned Teddy. +</p> + +<p> +“Yes. I don’t know that he would want to; but I’m not taking +any chances. Now, why not send your money along at the same time? Mrs. Cahill +will deposit it in the same way, and at the end of the season think what a lot +of money you will have?” +</p> + +<p> +“Regular fortune?” +</p> + +<p> +“Yes, a regular fortune.” +</p> + +<p> +“What’ll I do with all that money?” +</p> + +<p> +“Do what I’m going to do—get an education.” +</p> + +<p> +“What, and leave the show business? No, siree!” +</p> + +<p> +“I didn’t mean that. You can go to school between seasons. I +don’t intend to leave the show business, but I’m going to know +something besides that.” +</p> + +<p> +“Well, I guess it would be a good idea,” reflected Teddy. +</p> + +<p> +“Will you do it?” +</p> + +<p> +“Yes; I’ll do it,” he nodded. +</p> + +<p> +“Good for you! We’ll own a show of our own, one of these days. You +mark me, Teddy,” glowed Phil. +</p> + +<p> +“Of our own?” marveled Teddy, his face wreathing in smiles. +“Say, wouldn’t that be great?” +</p> + +<p> +“I think so. Have you been practicing on the rings since I left?” +</p> + +<p> +“No.” +</p> + +<p> +“That’s too bad. You and I will begin tomorrow. We ought to be +pretty expert on the flying rings in a few weeks, if I don’t get hurt +again,” added the boy, a shadow flitting across his face. +</p> + +<p> +“Then, you’d better begin by taking some bends,” suggested +Mr. Miaco, who, approaching, had overheard Phil’s remark. +</p> + +<p> +“Bends?” questioned Teddy +</p> + +<p> +“What are they?” wondered Phil. “Oh, I know. I read about +them in the papers. It’s an attack that fellows working in a tunnel get +when they’re digging under a river. I don’t want anything like +that.” +</p> + +<p> +“No, no, no,” replied Mr. Miaco in a tone of disgust. +“It’s no disease at all.” +</p> + +<p> +“No?” +</p> + +<p> +“What I mean by bends is exercises. You have seen the performers do +it—bend forward until their hands touch the ground, legs stiff, then +tipping as far backwards as possible. Those are bending exercises, and the best +things to do. The performers limber up for their act that way. If you practice +it slowly several times a day you will be surprised to see what it will do for +you. I’d begin today were I in your place, Phil. You’ll find +yourself a little stiff when you go on in your elephant act +tonight—” +</p> + +<p> +“I’m not going on tonight—not until tomorrow. Mr. Sparling +doesn’t wish me to.” +</p> + +<p> +“All right. All the better. Exercise! I wouldn’t begin on the rings +today either. Just take your bends, get steady on your feet and start in in a +regular, systematic way tomorrow,” advised the head clown. +</p> + +<p> +“Thank you, Mr. Miaco; I shall do so. I am much obliged to you. You are +very kind to us.” +</p> + +<p> +“Because I like you, and because you boys don’t pretend to know +more about the circus business than men who have spent their lives in +it.” +</p> + +<p> +“I hope I shall never be like that,” laughed Phil. “I know I +shall always be willing to learn.” +</p> + +<p> +“And there always is something to learn in the circus life. None of us +knows it all. There are new things coming up every day,” added the clown. +</p> + +<p> +Phil left the dressing tent to go around to the menagerie tent for a talk with +Mr. Kennedy and Emperor. Entering the tent the lad gave his whistle signal, +whereat Emperor trumpeted loudly. +</p> + +<p> +The big elephant greeted his young friend with every evidence of joy and +excitement. Phil, of course, had brought Emperor a bag of peanuts as well as +several lumps of sugar, and it was with difficulty that the lad got away from +him after finishing his chat with Mr. Kennedy. +</p> + +<p> +Phil was making a round of calls that afternoon, so he decided that he would +next visit Mr. Sparling, having seen him only a moment, and that while others +were around. +</p> + +<p> +“May I come in?” he asked. +</p> + +<p> +“Yes; what do you want?” +</p> + +<p> +“To thank you for your kindness.” +</p> + +<p> +“Didn’t I tell you never to thank me for anything?” thundered +the showman. +</p> + +<p> +“I beg your pardon, sir; I’ll take it all back,” twinkled +Phil. +</p> + +<p> +“Oh, you will, will you, young scapegrace? What did you come here for +anyway? Not to palaver about how thankful you are that you got knocked out, +stayed a week in bed and had your salary paid all the time. I’ll bet you +didn’t come for that. Want a raise of salary already?” +</p> + +<p> +“Hardly. If you’ll give me a chance, I’ll tell you, Mr. +Sparling.” +</p> + +<p> +“Go on. Say it quick.” +</p> + +<p> +“I have been thinking about the fall I got, since I’ve been laid +up.” +</p> + +<p> +“Nothing else to think about, eh?” +</p> + +<p> +“And the more I think about it, the more it bothers me.” +</p> + +<p> +“Does, eh?” grunted Mr. Sparling, busying himself with his papers. +</p> + +<p> +“Yes, sir. I don’t suppose it would be possible for me to get the +broken wire now, would it? No doubt it was thrown away.” +</p> + +<p> +The showman peered up at the boy suspiciously. +</p> + +<p> +“What do you want of it?” +</p> + +<p> +“I thought I should like to examine it.” +</p> + +<p> +“Why?” +</p> + +<p> +“To see what had been done to it.” +</p> + +<p> +“Oh, you do, eh?” +</p> + +<p> +“Yes, sir.” +</p> + +<p> +“What do you think happened to that wire? It broke, didn’t +it?” +</p> + +<p> +“Yes, I guess there is no doubt about it but somebody helped to break +it.” +</p> + +<p> +“Young man, you are too confoundedly smart. Mark my words, you’ll +die young. Yes; I have the wire. Here it is. Look at it. You are right; +something happened to it, and I’ve been tearing myself to pieces, ever +since, to find out who it was. I’ve got all my amateur sleuths working on +the case, this very minute, to find out who the scoundrel is who cut the wire. +Have you any idea about it? But there’s no use in asking you. +I—” +</p> + +<p> +“I’ve got this,” answered Phil, tossing a small file on the +table in front of Mr. Sparling. +</p> + +<p> +“What, what, what? A file?” +</p> + +<p> +“Yes, will you see if it fits the notch in the wire there?” +</p> + +<p> +The showman did so, holding file and wire up to the light for a better +examination of them. +</p> + +<p> +“There can be no doubt of it,” answered the amazed showman, fixing +wondering eyes on the young man. “Where did you get it?” +</p> + +<p> +“Picked it up.” +</p> + +<p> +“Where?” +</p> + +<p> +“In the dressing tent.” +</p> + +<p> +“Pooh! Then it doesn’t mean anything,” grunted Mr. Sparling. +</p> + +<p> +“If you knew where I picked it up you might think differently.” +</p> + +<p> +“Then where <i>did</i> you get it?” +</p> + +<p> +“Found it in my own trunk.” +</p> + +<p> +“In your trunk?” +</p> + +<p> +Phil nodded. +</p> + +<p> +“How did it get there?” +</p> + +<p> +“I had left my trunk open after placing some things in it. When I went +out to watch Teddy’s mule act I was in such a hurry that I forgot all +about the trunk. When I came back, there it lay, near the end—” +</p> + +<p> +“Somebody put it there!” exploded the showman. +</p> + +<p> +“Yes.” +</p> + +<p> +“But who? Find that out for me—let me know who the man is and +you’ll hear an explosion in this outfit that will raise the big top right +off the ground.” +</p> + +<p> +“Leave it to me, Mr. Sparling, I’ll find him.” +</p> + +<p> +The owner laughed harshly. +</p> + +<p> +“How?” +</p> + +<p> +“I think I know who the man is at this very minute,” was Phil +Forrest’s startling announcement, uttered in a quiet, even tone. +</p> + +<p> +Mr. Sparling leaped from his chair so suddenly that he overturned the table in +front of him, sending his papers flying all over the place. +</p> + +</div><!--end chapter--> + +<div class="chapter"> + +<h2><a name="chap21"></a>CHAPTER XXI.<br /> +AN ELEPHANT IN JAIL</h2> + +<p> +“Who is he?” +</p> + +<p> +“I would not care to answer that question just now, Mr. Sparling,” +answered Phil calmly. “It would not be right—that is, not until I +am sure about it.” +</p> + +<p> +“Tell me, or get out.” +</p> + +<p> +“Remember, Mr. Sparling, it is a serious accusation you ask me to make +against a man on proof that you would say was not worth anything. It may take +some time, but before I get through I’m going either to fasten the act on +someone—on a particular one—or else prove that I am wholly +mistaken.” +</p> + +<p> +The showman stormed, but Phil was obdurate. He refused to give the slightest +intimation as to whom he suspected. +</p> + +<p> +“Am I to go, Mr. Sparling?” he asked after the interview had come +to an end. +</p> + +<p> +“No! I expect you’ll own this show yet.” +</p> + +<p> +He watched Phil walking away from the tent. There was a scowl on the face of +James Sparling. +</p> + +<p> +“If I thought that young rascal really thought he knew, I’d take +him across my knee and spank him until he told me. No; he’s more of a man +than any two in the whole outfit. I’d rather lose a horse than have +anything happen to that lad.” +</p> + +<p> +Days followed each other in quick succession. The show had by this time swung +around into Pennsylvania, and was playing a circuit of small mining towns with +exceptionally good attendance. The owner of the show was in high good humor +over the profits the show was earning. The acts of Phil Forrest and Teddy +Tucker had proved to be among the best drawing cards in the circus performance +proper. So important did the owner consider them that the names of the two +circus boys were now prominently displayed in the advertisements, as well as on +the billboards. +</p> + +<p> +During all this time, Phil and Teddy had worked faithfully on the rings under +the instruction of Mr. Miaco. On the side they were taking lessons in tumbling +as well. For this purpose what is known as a “mechanic” was used to +assist them in their schooling. This consisted of a belt placed about the +beginner’s waist. >From it a rope led up over a pulley, the other end +of the rope being securely held by someone. +</p> + +<p> +When all was ready the pupil would take a running start, jump into the air and +try to turn. At the same time, the man holding the free end of the rope would +give it a hard pull, thus jerking the boy free of the ground and preventing his +falling on his head. +</p> + +<p> +After a few days of this, both boys had progressed so far that they were able +to work on a mat, made up of several layers of thick carpet, without the aid of +the “mechanic.” Of course their act lacked finish. Their movements +were more or less clumsy, but they had mastered the principle of the somersault +in remarkably quick time. +</p> + +<p> +Mr. Miaco said that in two more weeks they ought to be able to join the +performers in their general tumbling act, which was one of the features of the +show. +</p> + +<p> +There was not an hour of the day that found the two boys idle, now, and all +this activity was viewed by Mr. Sparling with an approving eye. +</p> + +<p> +But one day there came an interruption that turned the thoughts of the big show +family in another direction. +</p> + +<p> +An accident had happened at the morning parade that promised trouble for the +show. A countryman, who had heard that the hide of an elephant could not be +punctured, was struck by the happy thought of finding out for himself the truth +or falsity of this theory. He had had an argument with some of his friends, he +taking the ground that an elephant’s hide was no different from the hide +of any other animal. And he promised to show them that it was not. +</p> + +<p> +All he needed was the opportunity. With his friends he had followed along with +the parade, keeping abreast of the elephants, until finally the parade was +halted by the crossing gates at a railroad. +</p> + +<p> +Now was the man’s chance to prove the theory false. The crowd closed in +on the parade to get a closer view of the people, and this acted as a cover for +the man’s experiment. +</p> + +<p> +Taking his penknife out he placed the point of it against the side of Emperor, +as it chanced. +</p> + +<p> +“Now watch me,” he said, at the same time giving the knife a quick +shove, intending merely to see if he could prick through the skin. His +experiment succeeded beyond the fellow’s fondest expectations. The point +of the knife had gone clear through Emperor’s hide. +</p> + +<p> +Emperor, ordinarily possessed of a keen sense of humor, coupled with great good +nature, in this instance failed to see the humor of the proceeding. In fact, he +objected promptly and in a most surprising manner. +</p> + +<p> +Like a flash, his trunk curled back. It caught the bold experimenter about the +waist, and the next instant the fellow was dangling in the air over +Emperor’s head, yelling lustily for help. The elephant had been watching +the man, apparently suspecting something, and therefore was ready for him. +</p> + +<p> +“Put him down!” thundered Kennedy. +</p> + +<p> +The elephant obeyed, but in a manner not intended by the trainer when he gave +the command. +</p> + +<p> +With a quick sweep of his trunk, Emperor hurled his tormentor from him. The +man’s body did not stop until it struck a large plate glass window in a +store front, disappearing into the store amid a terrific crashing of glass and +breaking of woodwork, the man having carried most of the window with him in his +sudden entry into the store. +</p> + +<p> +This was a feature of the parade that had not been advertised on the bills. +</p> + +<p> +The procession moved on a moment later, with old Emperor swinging along as +meekly as if he had not just stirred up a heap of trouble for himself and his +owner. +</p> + +<p> +The man, it was soon learned, had been badly hurt. +</p> + +<p> +But Mr. Sparling was on the ground almost at once, making an investigation. He +quickly learned what had caused the trouble. And then he was mad all through. +He raved up and down the line threatening to get out a warrant for the arrest +of the man who had stuck a knife into his elephant. +</p> + +<p> +Later in the afternoon matters took a different turn. A lawyer called on the +showman, demanding the payment of ten thousand dollars damages for the injuries +sustained by his client, and which, he said, would in all probability make the +man a cripple for life. +</p> + +<p> +If the showman had been angry before, he was in a towering rage now. +</p> + +<p> +“Get off this lot!” he roared. “If you show your face here +again I’ll set the canvasmen on you! Then you won’t be able to +leave without help.” +</p> + +<p> +The lawyer stood not upon the order of his going, and they saw no more of him. +They had about concluded that they had heard the last of his demands, until +just before the evening performance, when, as the cook tent was being struck, +half a dozen deputy sheriffs suddenly made their appearance. +</p> + +<p> +They held papers permitting them to levy on anything they could lay their hands +upon and hold it until full damages had been fixed by the courts. +</p> + +<p> +There was no trifling with the law, at least not then, and Mr. Sparling was +shrewd enough to see that. However, he stormed and threatened, but all to no +purpose. +</p> + +<p> +The intelligent deputies reasoned that Emperor, having been the cause of all +the trouble, would be the proper chattel to levy upon. So they levied on him. +</p> + +<p> +The next thing was to get Emperor to jail. He would not budge an inch when the +officers sought to take him. Then a happy thought struck them. They ordered the +trainer to lead the elephant and follow them under pain of instant arrest if he +refused. +</p> + +<p> +There was nothing for it but to obey. Protesting loudly, Kennedy started for +the village with his great, hulking charge. +</p> + +<p> +Phil Forrest was as disconsolate as his employer was enraged. The boy’s +act was spoiled, perhaps indefinitely, which might mean the loss of part of his +salary. +</p> + +<p> +“That’s country justice,” growled the owner. “But +I’ll telegraph my lawyer in the city and have him here by morning. Maybe +it won’t be such a bad speculation tomorrow, for I’ll make this +town go broke before it has fully settled the damages I’ll get out of it. +Don’t be down in the mouth, Forrest. You’ll have your elephant +back, and before many days at that. Go watch the show and forget your +troubles.” +</p> + +<p> +It will be observed that, under his apparently excitable exterior, Mr. James +Sparling was a philosopher. +</p> + +<p> +“Emperor’s in jail,” mourned Phil. +</p> + +<p> +The moment Mr. Kennedy returned, sullen and uncommunicative, Phil sought him +out. He found the trainer in Mr. Sparling’s tent. +</p> + +<p> +“Where did they take him?” demanded Phil, breaking in on their +conversation. +</p> + +<p> +“To jail,” answered Kennedy grimly. “First time I ever heard +of such a thing as an elephant’s going to jail.” +</p> + +<p> +“That’s the idea. We’ll use that for an advertisement,” +cried the ever alert showman, slapping his thighs. “Emperor, the +performing elephant of the Great Sparling Combined Shows, jailed for assault. +Fine, fine! How’ll that look in the newspapers? Why, men, it will fill +the tent when we get to the next stand, whether we have the elephant or +not.” +</p> + +<p> +“No; you’ve got to have the elephant,” contended Kennedy. +</p> + +<p> +“Well, perhaps that’s so. But I’ll wire our man ahead, just +the same, and let him use the fact in his press notices.” +</p> + +<p> +“But how could they get him in the jail?” questioned Phil. +</p> + +<p> +“Jail? You see, they couldn’t. They wanted to, but the jail +wouldn’t fit, or the elephant wouldn’t fit the jail, either way you +please. When they discovered that they didn’t know what to do with him. +Somebody suggested that they might lock him up in the blacksmith shop.” +</p> + +<p> +“The blacksmith shop?” exploded the owner. +</p> + +<p> +“I hope they don’t try to fit him with shoes,” he added, with +a grim smile. +</p> + +<p> +“Well, maybe it wouldn’t be so bad if they did. We’d have our +elephant right quick. Yes, they tried the blacksmith shop on, and it worked, +but it was a close fit. If Emperor had had a bump on his back as big as an egg +he wouldn’t have gone in.” +</p> + +<p> +“And he’s there now?” +</p> + +<p> +“Yes. I reckon I’d better stay here and camp at the hotel, +hadn’t I, so’s to be handy when your lawyer comes on? Emperor might +tear up the town if he got loose.” +</p> + +<p> +Mr. Sparling reflected for a moment. +</p> + +<p> +“Kennedy, you’ll go with the show tonight. I don’t care if +Emperor tears this town up by the roots. If none of us is here, then we shall +not be to blame for what happens. We didn’t tell them to lock him up in +the blacksmith shop. You can get back after the lawyer has gotten him out. That +will be time enough.” +</p> + +<p> +“Where is the blacksmith shop?” questioned Phil. +</p> + +<p> +“Know where the graveyard is?” +</p> + +<p> +“Yes.” +</p> + +<p> +“It’s just the other side of that,” said Kennedy. +“Church on this side, blacksmith shop on the other. Why?” +</p> + +<p> +“Oh, nothing. I was just wondering,” answered Phil, glancing up and +finding the eyes of Mr. Sparling bent keenly upon him. +</p> + +<p> +The lad rose hastily, went out, and climbing up to the seat of a long pole +wagon, sat down to ponder over the situation. He remained there until a +teamster came to hook to the wagon and drive it over to be loaded. Then Phil +got down, standing about with hands in his pockets. +</p> + +<p> +He was trying to make up his mind about something. +</p> + +<p> +“Where do we show tomorrow?” he asked of an employee. +</p> + +<p> +“Dobbsville, Ohio. We’ll be over the line before daybreak.” +</p> + +<p> +“Oh.” +</p> + +<p> +The circus tent was rapidly disappearing now. “In another state in the +morning,” mused Phil. +</p> + +<p> +One by one the wagons began moving from the circus lot. +</p> + +<p> +“Get aboard the sleeping car,” called the driver of the wagon that +Phil and Teddy usually slept in, as he drove past. +</p> + +<p> +“Hey, Phil!” called Teddy, suddenly appearing above the top of the +box. +</p> + +<p> +“Hello, Teddy!” +</p> + +<p> +“What are you standing there for?” +</p> + +<p> +“Perhaps I’m getting the night air,” laughed Phil. +“Fine, isn’t it?” +</p> + +<p> +“It might be better. But get in; get in. You’ll be left.” +</p> + +<p> +“Never mind me. I am not going on your wagon tonight. You may have the +bed all to yourself. Don’t forget to leave your window open,” he +jeered. +</p> + +<p> +“I have it open already. I’m going to put the screen in now to keep +the mosquitoes out,” retorted Teddy, not to be outdone. +</p> + +<p> +“Has Mr. Sparling gone yet do you know?” +</p> + +<p> +“No; he and Kennedy are over yonder where the front door was, +talking.” +</p> + +<p> +“All right.” +</p> + +<p> +Teddy’s head disappeared. No sooner had it done so than Phil Forrest +turned and ran swiftly toward the opposite side of the lot. He ran in a +crouching position, as if to avoid being seen. +</p> + +<p> +Reaching a fence which separated the road from the field, he threw himself down +in the tall grass there and hid. +</p> + +<p> +“In Ohio tomorrow. I’m going to try it,” he muttered. +“It can’t be wrong. They had no business, no right to do it,” +he decided, his voice full of indignation. +</p> + +<p> +He heard the wagons rumbling by him on the hard road, the rattle of wheels +accompanied by the shouts of the drivers as they urged their horses on. +</p> + +<p> +And there Phil lay hidden until every wagon had departed, headed for the +border, and the circus lot became a barren, deserted and silent field. +</p> + +</div><!--end chapter--> + +<div class="chapter"> + +<h2><a name="chap22"></a>CHAPTER XXII.<br /> +EMPEROR ANSWERS THE SIGNAL</h2> + +<p> +Making sure that everybody had left, Phil Forrest ran swiftly toward the +village. He knew the way, having been downtown during the day. +</p> + +<p> +A light twinkled here and there in a house, where the people, no doubt, were +discussing the exciting events of the day. As Phil drew near the cemetery he +heard voices. +</p> + +<p> +It would not do to be discovered, so the lad climbed the fence and crept along +the edge of the open plot. He was nearing the blacksmith shop and it was soon +apparent to him that quite a number of men had gathered in front of the shop +itself. +</p> + +<p> +Skulking up to the corner, the last rod being traversed on all fours, the +circus boy flattened himself on the ground to listen, in an effort to learn if +possible what were the plans of the villagers. If they had any he did not learn +them, for their conversation was devoted principally to discussing what they +had done to the Sparling show and what they would do further before they had +finished with this business. +</p> + +<p> +Phil did learn, however, that the man who had been hurled through the store +window was not fatally injured, as had been thought at first. Someone announced +that the doctor had said the man would be about again in a couple of weeks. +</p> + +<p> +“I’m glad of that,” muttered Phil. “I shouldn’t +like to think that Emperor had killed anyone. I wonder how he likes it in +there.” +</p> + +<p> +Evidently the elephant was not well pleased, for the lad could hear him +stirring restlessly and tugging at his chains. +</p> + +<p> +“Won’t he be surprised, though?” chuckled Phil. “I +shouldn’t be surprised if he made a lot of noise. I hope he +doesn’t, for I don’t want to stir the town up. I wonder if those +fellows are going to stay there all night?” +</p> + +<p> +The loungers showed no inclination to move, so there was nothing for the boy to +do but to lie still and wait. +</p> + +<p> +After a little he began to feel chilled, and began hopping around on hands and +feet to start his blood moving. A little of this warmed him up considerably. +This time he sat down in the fence corner. The night was moonless, but the +stars were quite bright, enabling Phil to make out objects some distance away. +He could see quite plainly the men gathered in front of the blacksmith shop. +</p> + +<p> +After a wait of what seemed hours to Phil, one of the watchers stirred himself. +</p> + +<p> +“Well, fellows, we might as well go home. The brute’s settled down +for the night, I reckon.” +</p> + +<p> +“What time is it?” +</p> + +<p> +“Half past two,” announced the first speaker. +</p> + +<p> +“Well, well, I should say it was time to go. Not going to stay with him, +are you, sheriff?” +</p> + +<p> +“Not necessary. He can’t get out.” +</p> + +<p> +After listening at the closed door, the one whom Phil judged to be an officer +joined his companions and all walked leisurely down the road. +</p> + +<p> +The lad remained in the fence corner for sometime, but he stood up after they +had gone. He did not dare move about much, fearing that Emperor might hear and +know him and raise a great tumult. +</p> + +<p> +Phil waited all of half an hour; then he climbed the fence and slipped +cautiously to the door of the shop. +</p> + +<p> +It was securely locked. +</p> + +<p> +“Oh, pshaw! That’s too bad,” grumbled the lad. “How am +I going to do it?” +</p> + +<p> +Phil ran his fingers lightly over the fastening, which consisted of a strong +hasp and a padlock. +</p> + +<p> +“What shall I do? I dare not try to break the lock. I should be +committing a crime if I did. Perhaps I am already. No; I’m not, and I +shall not. I’ll just speak to Emperor, then start off on foot after the +show. It was foolish of me to think I could do anything to help Mr. Sparling +and the elephant out of his trouble. I ought to be able to walk to the next +stand and get there in time for the last breakfast call, providing I can find +the way.” +</p> + +<p> +Perhaps Phil’s conscience troubled him a little, though he had done +nothing worse than to follow the dictates of his kind heart in his desire to be +of assistance to his employer and to befriend old Emperor. +</p> + +<p> +Placing his lips close to the door, Phil called softly. +</p> + +<p> +“Emperor!” he said. +</p> + +<p> +The restless swaying and heavy breathing within ceased suddenly. +</p> + +<p> +“Emperor!” repeated the lad, at the same time uttering the low +whistle that the big elephant had come to know so well. +</p> + +<p> +A mighty cough from the interior of the blacksmith shop answered Phil +Forrest’s signal. +</p> + +<p> +“Be quiet, Emperor. Be quiet! We are going to get you out as soon as we +can, old fellow! You just behave yourself now. Do you hear?” +</p> + +<p> +Emperor emitted another loud cough. +</p> + +<p> +“Good old Emperor. I’ve got some peanuts for you, but I don’t +know how I am going to give them to you. Wait a minute. Perhaps there is a +window somewhere that I can toss them through.” +</p> + +<p> +Phil, after looking around, found a window with the small panes of glass +missing. The window was so high that he could not reach it, so he stood on the +ground and tossed the peanuts in, while the big elephant demonstrated the +satisfaction he felt, in a series of sharp intakes of breath. +</p> + +<p> +“Now I’m going,” announced Phil. “Goodbye, Emperor. +Here’s a lump of sugar. That’s all I have for you.” +</p> + +<p> +Phil turned away sorrowfully. His purpose had failed. Not because he doubted +his ability to carry it out, but he was not sure that he would be right in +doing so. +</p> + +<p> +A few rods down the road he paused, turned and uttered his shrill signal +whistle, with no other idea in mind than to bring some comfort to the +imprisoned beast. +</p> + +<p> +Emperor interpreted the signal otherwise, however. He uttered a loud, shrill +trumpet; then things began to happen with a rapidity that fairly made the +circus boy’s head whirl. +</p> + +<p> +A sudden jingle of metal, a crashing and rending from within the shop, caused +Phil to halt sharply after he had once more started on his way. +</p> + +<p> +Crash! Bang! +</p> + +<p> +Emperor had brought his wonderful strength to bear on his flimsily constructed +prison with disastrous results to the latter. First he had torn the +blacksmith’s bellows out by the roots and hurled it from him. Next he set +to work to smash everything within reach. A moment of this and the elephant had +freed himself from the light chains with which the keeper had secured him. +</p> + +<p> +“Wha—oh, what is he doing?” gasped Phil Forrest. +</p> + +<p> +The boards on one side of the shop burst out as from a sudden explosion. Down +came half a dozen of the light studdings that supported the roof on that side. +</p> + +<p> +By this time Emperor had worked himself into a fine temper. He turned his +attention to the other side of the shop with similar disastrous results. The +interior of the blacksmith shop was a wreck. It could not have been in much +worse condition had it been struck by a cyclone. +</p> + +<p> +All of a sudden the elephant threw his whole weight against the big sliding +door. It burst out with a report like that of a cannon. +</p> + +<p> +Emperor came staggering out into the open. There he paused, with twitching ears +and curling trunk, peering into the darkness in search of Phil Forrest. +</p> + +<p> +Phil recovered from his surprise sufficiently to realize what had happened and +that old Emperor was free once more. +</p> + +<p> +The lad uttered a shrill whistle. Emperor responded by a piercing scream. He +then whirled, facing up the road in Phil’s direction, though unable to +see the lad. +</p> + +<p> +Once more the boy whistled. Emperor was off in a twinkling. +</p> + +<p> +“Steady, steady, Emperor!” cautioned the lad, as he saw the huge +hulk bearing swiftly down on him. “Easy, old boy!” +</p> + +<p> +But the elephant did not lessen his speed one particle. Phil felt sure, +however, that he himself would not be harmed. He knew Emperor too well. With +perfect confidence in the great animal, the lad threw both hands above his +head, standing motionless in the center of the street right in the path of the +oncoming beast. +</p> + +<p> +“Steady, steady, steady!” cautioned Phil. “Now up, +Emperor!” +</p> + +<p> +The elephant’s long, sinuous trunk uncurled, coiled about the lad’s +waist and the next instant Phil felt himself being lifted to the big +beast’s head. +</p> + +<p> +“I’ve got him!” shouted Phil, carried away by the excitement +of the moment. “Now, go it! Emperor! Go faster than you ever have since +you chased lions in the jungle.” +</p> + +<p> +And Emperor did go it! As he tore down the village street he woke the echoes +with his shrill trumpetings, bringing every man and woman in the little village +tumbling from their beds. +</p> + +<p> +“The elephant is escaping!” cried the people, as they threw up +their windows and gazed out. As they looked they saw a huge, shadowy shape +hurling itself down the street, whereat they hastily withdrew their heads. In a +few moments the men of the village came rushing out, all running toward the +blacksmith shop to learn what had happened there. There followed a perfect +pandemonium of yells when they discovered the wrecked condition of the place. +</p> + +<p> +In the meantime Phil had guided Emperor into the road that led to the show +grounds of the previous day. The elephant was about to turn into the lot, when +a sharp slap from his rider caused him to swing back into the highway on the +trail of the wagons that had passed on some hours before. +</p> + +<p> +Once he had fairly started Emperor followed the trail, making the turns and +following the twists of the road as unerringly as an Indian follows the trail +of his enemy. +</p> + +<p> +“Hurrah!” shouted Phil, after they had got clear of the village. +“I’ve won, I’ve won! But, oh, won’t there be a row back +there when they find out what has happened, I wonder if they will follow +us.” +</p> + +<p> +The thought startled him. +</p> + +<p> +“If they do they are liable to arrest me, believing that I let him out. +<i>Go it</i>, Emperor! Go faster!” +</p> + +<p> +Emperor flapped his ears in reply and swung off at an increased gait. The +darkness of early morn was soon succeeded by the graying dawn, and Phil felt a +certain sense of relief as he realized that day was breaking. On they swept, +past hamlets, by farm houses, where here and there men with milkpails in hand +paused, startled, to rub their eyes and gaze upon the strange outfit that was +rushing past them at such a pace. +</p> + +<p> +Phil could not repress a chuckle at such times, at thought of the sensation he +was creating. +</p> + +<p> +The hours drew on until seven o’clock had arrived, and the sun was high +in the heavens. +</p> + +<p> +“I must be getting near the place,” decided Phil. He knew he was on +the right road, for he could plainly see the trail of the wagons and of the +stock in the dust of the road before him. “Yes; there is some sort of a +village way off yonder. I wonder if that is it?” +</p> + +<p> +A fluttering flag from the top of a far away center-pole, which he caught sight +of a few minutes later, told the boy that it was. +</p> + +<p> +“Hurrah!” shouted Phil, waving his hat on high. +</p> + +<p> +At that moment a distant chorus of yells smote his ears. The lad listened +intently. The shout was repeated. Holding fast to the headstall, he glanced +back over the road. There, far to his rear, he discovered a cloud of dust, +which a few minutes later resolved itself into a party of horsemen, riding at +top speed. +</p> + +<p> +“They’re after me! Go faster! Go faster!” shouted the lad. As +he spoke a rifle cracked somewhere behind him, but as Phil heard no bullet the +leaden missile must have fallen far short of the mark. +</p> + +</div><!--end chapter--> + +<div class="chapter"> + +<h2><a name="chap23"></a>CHAPTER XXIII.<br /> +THE MYSTERY SOLVED</h2> + +<p> +As he neared the village Phil began to shout and wave his hat. After a time his +shouts attracted the attention of some of the people on the circus lot, which +was on his side of the village. +</p> + +<p> +“It’s Emperor coming back!” cried someone. +“There’s somebody on him,” added another. +</p> + +<p> +“I’ll bet the day’s receipts that it’s that rascally +Phil Forrest,” exclaimed Mr. Sparling, examining the cloud of dust with +shaded eyes. “How in the world did it ever happen? I’ve been +hunting all over the outfit for that boy this morning. Young Tucker said he +thought Phil had remained behind, and I was afraid something had happened to +the boy or that he had skipped the show. I might have known better. +What’s that back of him?” +</p> + +<p> +“Somebody chasing them, boss,” a tentman informed him. +</p> + +<p> +“And they’re going to catch old Emperor sure.” +</p> + +<p> +“Not if I know it,” snapped Mr. Sparling. “<i>Hey, +Rube</i>!” he howled. +</p> + +<p> +Canvasmen, roustabouts, performers and everybody within reach of his voice +swarmed out into the open, armed with clubs, stones and anything they could lay +their hands upon. +</p> + +<p> +“There’s a posse trying to catch Phil Forrest and old Emperor. Get +a going! Head them off and drive them back!” +</p> + +<p> +Every man started on a run, some leaping on horses, clearing the circus lot, +riding like so many cowboys. As they approached the lad perched on the bobbing +head of the elephant the showmen set up a chorus of wild yells, to which Phil +responded by waving his hat. He tried to stand up on Emperor’s head, +narrowly missing a tumble, which he surely would have taken had not the +elephant given him quick support with the ever-handy trunk. +</p> + +<p> +“They’re shooting at me,” cried Phil, as he swept by the +showmen. +</p> + +<p> +“Line up!” commanded Mr. Sparling. +</p> + +<p> +His men stretched across the highway, with the mounted ones in front, his +infantry behind. Soon the horsemen of the pursuing party came dashing up and +brought their horses to a sudden stop. +</p> + +<p> +“What do you want?” +</p> + +<p> +“We demand the turning over of the elephant which one of your men stole +from us. They’ve wrecked the blacksmith shop and there’ll be a +pretty bill of damages to pay! Come now, before we take you back with +us.” +</p> + +<p> +Mr. Sparling grinned. +</p> + +<p> +“Perhaps you don’t know that you are in the State of Ohio at the +present moment, eh? If you’ll take my advice you’ll turn about and +get home as fast as horseflesh will carry you. My lawyer will be in your town +today, and he will arrange for the payment of all just damages. We decline to +be robbed, however. We’ve got the elephant and we’re going to keep +him.” +</p> + +<p> +“And we’re going to have the boy that broke in and released +him.” +</p> + +<p> +“Ho, ho, ho!” laughed Mr. Sparling jovially. “I guess +you’ll have the liveliest scrimmage you ever had in all your lives if you +attempt to lay hands on that boy. Come, now, get out of here! If you attempt to +raise the slightest disturbance I’ll have the bunch of you in the cooler, +and we’ll be the boys to put you there if the town officials don’t +act quickly enough.” +</p> + +<p> +“Boys, I guess it’s up to us,” decided the leader of the +party. +</p> + +<p> +“Looks that way.” +</p> + +<p> +“Then what do you say if we stop and see the show?” +</p> + +<p> +“Good idea!” +</p> + +<p> +“I don’t care how many of you go to the show; but, mark me, it will +cost you fifty cents a head, and at the first sign of disturbance you’ll +see the biggest bunch of trouble headed your way!” +</p> + +<p> +“It’s all right, Mr. Sparling. We admit we’ve been +done.” +</p> + +<p> +And that was the end of it. Mr. Sparling’s lawyer visited the town where +the disturbance had occurred on the previous day, and at his client’s +direction made a settlement that should have been wholly satisfactory to the +injured parties. Ordinarily the showman would not have settled the case, in +view of the fact that neither he nor any of his employees was directly +responsible for the series of disasters. He did it almost wholly on account of +Phil Forrest, who had asked him to. +</p> + +<p> +“Well, young man, I’ve paid the bills,” announced Mr. +Sparling that afternoon before the evening performance. +</p> + +<p> +“Thank you,” glowed Phil. +</p> + +<p> +“Stop that! If there’s any thanks in it, they’re coming to +you. Between you and the elephant we’ll have another turn-away today. You +have already put a good bit of money in my pocket, and I’m not forgetting +it. I have made definite arrangements for you and your chum to have a berth in +a closed wagon after this. You will be good enough to offer no objections this +time. What I say goes.” +</p> + +<p> +“I hope I did not do anything wrong in taking Emperor away. I’m +afraid my conscience has troubled me ever since. But I didn’t intend to +do anything wrong or to cause any further damage than already had been +done.” +</p> + +<p> +“You did perfectly right, Forrest. That was a stroke of genius. As for +damage, I tell you I have settled all of that. One of these days you come in +when I’m not busy and we’ll talk about next season. I want you to +stay with me.” +</p> + +<p> +Phil left his employer, the lad’s face flushed and his eyes sparkling. +Altogether, he was a very happy boy. The only real cloud that had darkened his +horizon was that anyone should feel such an enmity toward him as to desire to +take his life; or, at least, to cause him so serious an injury as to put an end +to the career that now seemed so promising. +</p> + +<p> +“I know why, of course,” mused the lad. “It was jealousy. I +am more sure than ever as to the identity of the man who did it. When I get a +good opportunity I am going to face him with it. I’m not afraid of the +man. As it is, he might try it again; but if he understands that I know he will +not dare try it, fearing I may have told someone else.” +</p> + +<p> +Having come to this wise conclusion, Phil proceeded to the big top, where he +and Teddy Tucker were to take their afternoon practice on the flying rings, +pausing on the way to pass a handful of peanuts to Emperor, who was again in +his place, and give the elephant’s trainer a happy nod. +</p> + +<p> +“I’ve noticed of late that Signor Navaro acts rather grouchy over +you boys working on his apparatus. You want to look out for these foreigners. +Some of them are revengeful,” cautioned Mr. Miaco. +</p> + +<p> +Signor Navaro was the leading performer in the flying-rings act. With him was +his young son, Rodney Palmer and a young girl performer, whose father was a +clown in the show. +</p> + +<p> +Phil shot a sharp glance at Mr. Miaco, then dropped his eyes. +</p> + +<p> +“I guess nobody would be jealous of me,” laughed the lad. +“I’m only a beginner, and a clumsy one at that. All I can do is to +ride an elephant and fall off, nearly killing myself.” +</p> + +<p> +“Nevertheless, you take my advice.” +</p> + +<p> +“I will, thank you.” +</p> + +<p> +The boys began their work after putting on their working clothes, consisting of +old silk undershirts and linen trunks. This left them free for the full play of +their muscles, which, by this time, were of exceptionally fine quality. Not big +and bunchy, but like thin bands of pliable steel. Both Phil and Teddy appeared +to have grown half a head taller since they joined out with the circus. +</p> + +<p> +“Put a little more finish in that cutoff movement,” directed their +instructor. “The way you do it, Teddy, you remind me of a man trying to +kick out a window. There, that’s better.” +</p> + +<p> +And so it went on. Days came and went and the steady practice of the two circus +boys continued, but if Mr. Sparling knew what they were doing he made no +reference to it. He probably did know, for little went on in the Sparling +Combined Shows that he was not aware of. +</p> + +<p> +Nothing out of the routine occurred, until, late in the season, they pitched +their tents in Canton, Ohio, when something happened that brought to a climax +the certainty of the careers of the circus boys. +</p> + +<p> +All day long the clouds had been threatening. But, though keen eyes were +watching the scudding clouds, no apprehension was felt, as it was believed to +be but a passing thunderstorm that was coming up. +</p> + +<p> +The storm did not break until late in the afternoon when the show was more than +half over. Phil had made his grand entry on Emperor, and Teddy had nearly sent +the spectators into hysterics by his funny antics on the back of Jumbo, the +educated mule. +</p> + +<p> +All at once the circus men glanced aloft as the shrill whistle of the boss +canvasman trilled somewhere outside the big top. The audience, if they heard, +gave no heed. They were too much interested in the show. +</p> + +<p> +To the showmen the whistle meant that the emergency gang was being summoned in +haste to stake down emergency ropes to protect the tent from a windstorm that +was coming up. +</p> + +<p> +Phil took a quick survey of the upper part of the tent. Two acts were just +beginning up there. A trapeze act was on, and the four performers were swinging +out on the flying rings. +</p> + +<p> +Both sets of performers were in rather perilous positions were the wind to blow +very hard, as Phil well understood. He stepped off until he found a quarter +pole at his back against which he leaned that he might watch the better the +lofty performers. +</p> + +<p> +All at once there was a blast against the big top that sounded as if a great +blow had been delivered. The audience half rose. The tent shook from end to +end. +</p> + +<p> +“Sit down!” bellowed the ringmaster. “It’s only a puff +of wind.” +</p> + +<p> +Before the words were out of his mouth a piercing scream roused the audience +almost to the verge of panic. +</p> + +<p> +Phil, whose attention had been drawn to the people for the moment, shot a swift +glance up into the somber haze of the peak of the big top. +</p> + +<p> +Something had happened. But what? +</p> + +<p> +“They’re falling!” he gasped. +</p> + +<p> +The blow had loosened nearly every bit of the aerial apparatus under the circus +tent. +</p> + +<p> +“There go the trapeze performers!” +</p> + +<p> +Down they came, landing with a whack in the net with their apparatus tumbling +after them. But they were out of the net in a twinkling, none the worse for +their accident. Almost at the same moment there were other screams. +</p> + +<p> +“There go the rings!” +</p> + +<p> +There was no net under the flying ring performers. Two of them shot toward the +ground. When they struck, one was on top of the other. The man at the bottom +was Signor Navaro, his son having fallen prone across him. The two other +performers in the act had grabbed a rope and saved themselves. +</p> + +<p> +Men picked the two fallen performers up hastily and bore them to the dressing +tent, where Phil hastened the moment he was sure that all danger of a panic had +passed. The gust of wind had driven the clouds away and the sun flashed out +brilliantly. +</p> + +<p> +A moment later the performance was going on with a rush, the band playing a +lively tune. +</p> + +<p> +Phil, when he reached the dressing tent, learned that Signor Navaro was +seriously hurt, though his son was suffering merely from shock. The father had +sustained several broken bones. +</p> + +<p> +Phil approached the injured performer and leaned over him. The man was +conscious. +</p> + +<p> +“I’m sorry, very sorry, sir,” breathed the boy +sympathetically. +</p> + +<p> +“You needn’t be. You’ll get what you want,” murmured +the circus man. +</p> + +<p> +“I don’t understand,” wondered Phil. +</p> + +<p> +“You’ll get my act.” +</p> + +<p> +“Is that what you think I have been working for?” +</p> + +<p> +Signor Navaro nodded. +</p> + +<p> +“You are mistaken. Of course, if you are not able to perform any more +this season I shall try to get it, but when you are able to go to work I shall +give it up willingly, even if I succeed in getting it during that time. Is that +why you played that trick on me?” demanded the lad. +</p> + +<p> +“You know?” questioned Signor Navaro, with a start. +</p> + +<p> +Phil gave a slight nod. +</p> + +<p> +“Why did you put the file in my trunk—the file you cut the wire +with?” +</p> + +<p> +“I thought I dropped it in my own trunk. Somebody surprised me and I was +afraid they would catch me with it in my hand and suspect.” +</p> + +<p> +“That’s what I thought.” +</p> + +<p> +“You are sharp. And you told no one?” +</p> + +<p> +“No. But I had made up my mind to tell you. I didn’t think it would +have to be this way, though. I’m sorry it is.” +</p> + +<p> +“Well, I have my punishment. It served me right. I was crazed with +jealousy. I—how is the boy?” +</p> + +<p> +“Not badly hurt, I believe. He will be all right in a few days, and I +hope you will be able to join out in a short time.” +</p> + +<p> +Signor Navaro extended a feeble hand, which Phil pressed softly. +</p> + +<p> +“Forgive me, boy. Will you?” +</p> + +<p> +“Yes,” whispered Phil. +</p> + +<p> +“And you will tell no—” +</p> + +<p> +“There is nothing to tell, Signor Navaro. If there is anything I can do +for you, tell me, and I shall have great happiness in doing it,” breathed +the lad. +</p> + +<p> +A final grip of the hands of the boy and the injured performer followed, after +which Phil Forrest stepped back to make way for the surgeon, who had hurried to +a wagon to fetch his case. +</p> + +</div><!--end chapter--> + +<div class="chapter"> + +<h2><a name="chap24"></a>CHAPTER XXIV.<br /> +CONCLUSION</h2> + +<p> +“You see, an accident always casts a cloud over a show and makes the +performers uncertain,” said Mr. Miaco that night as he and Phil were +watching the performance from the end of the band platform. +</p> + +<p> +“I should think it would,” mused the boy. +</p> + +<p> +Soon after that Phil went to his wagon and turned in, his mind still on Signor +Navaro, who had been taken to a hospital, where he was destined to remain for +many weeks. +</p> + +<p> +“I guess it doesn’t pay, in the long run, to be +dishonorable,” mused the lad as he was dropping off to sleep. +</p> + +<p> +The next morning Phil was up bright and early, very much refreshed after a good +night’s rest between his blankets in the comfortable sleeping wagon. +Teddy, however, declared that he didn’t like it. He said he preferred to +sleep on a pile of canvas in the open air, even if he did get wet once in a +while. +</p> + +<p> +Later in the morning, after Mr. Sparling had had time to dispose of his usual +rush of morning business, which consisted of hearing reports from his heads of +departments, and giving his orders for the day, Phil sought out his employer in +the little dog tent. +</p> + +<p> +“I’m very sorry about the accident, Mr. Sparling,” greeted +Phil. +</p> + +<p> +“Yes; it ties up one act. It will be some days before I can get another +team in to take it up, and here we are just beginning to play the big towns. I +have been trying to figure out if there was not someone in the show who could +double in that act and get away with it,” mused the showman. +“How’d you sleep?” +</p> + +<p> +“Fine. Is there no one you can think of who could fill the bill, Mr. +Sparling?” +</p> + +<p> +“No; that’s the rub. You know of anyone?” +</p> + +<p> +“How about myself.” +</p> + +<p> +“What?” +</p> + +<p> +Mr. Sparling surveyed the lad in surprised inquiry. +</p> + +<p> +“I think I can make a pretty fair showing on the rings. Of course, if +Signor Navaro gets well and comes back, I shall be glad to give the act back to +him. I know something about the flying rings.” +</p> + +<p> +“Young man, is there anything in this show that you can’t +do?” demanded Mr. Sparling, with an attempt at sternness. +</p> + +<p> +“A great many things, sir. Then, again, there are some others that I have +confidence enough in myself to believe I can do. You see, I have been +practicing on the rings ever since I joined out.” +</p> + +<p> +“But you are only one. We shall need two performers,” objected the +owner. +</p> + +<p> +“Teddy Tucker has been working with me. He is fully as good on the flying +rings as I am, if not better.” +</p> + +<p> +“H-m-m-m!” mused the showman. “Come over to the big top and +let’s see what you really can do,” he said, starting up. +</p> + +<p> +Phil ran in search of Teddy and in a few minutes the two boys appeared in the +arena, ready for the rehearsal. +</p> + +<p> +Mr. Miaco, who had been called on and informed of the news, accompanied them. +It was he who hauled the boys up to the rings far up toward the top of the +tent. +</p> + +<p> +“Get a net under there! We don’t want to lose any more performers +this season,” the clown commanded. +</p> + +<p> +After some little delay the net was spread and the showman motioned for the +performance to proceed, walking over and taking his seat on the boards so that +he might watch the performance from the viewpoint of the audience. +</p> + +<p> +With the utmost confidence the boys went through the act without a slip. They +did everything that Signor Navaro had done in his performance, adding some +clever feats of their own that had been devised with the help of Mr. Miaco. Mr. +Sparling looked on with twinkling eyes and frequent nods of approval. +</p> + +<p> +“Fine! Fine! One of the best flying-ring acts I ever saw,” he +shouted, when finally the lads rounded out their act by a series of rapid +evolutions commonly known as “skinning the cat.” Even in this their +act was attended with variations. +</p> + +<p> +The boys concluded by a graceful drop into the net, from which they bounded +into the air, swung themselves to the ground, each throwing a kiss to the +grinning manager. +</p> + +<p> +A number of performers who had been a witness to the performance clapped their +hands and shouted “bravo!” +</p> + +<p> +Mr. Sparling called the lads to him. +</p> + +<p> +“The act is yours,” he said. “It is better than +Navaro’s. Each of you will draw twenty five dollars a week for the rest +of the season,” he announced to the proud circus boys, who thereupon ran +to the dressing tent to take a quick bath and get into their costumes ready for +the parade. +</p> + +<p> +“See to it that they have the net spread, Mr. Ducro,” he directed. +“Never permit them to perform without it.” +</p> + +<p> +That afternoon the boys made their first appearance in the flying-ring +exhibition, and their act really proved a sensation. Mr. Sparling, who was +observing it from the side, kept his head bobbing with nods of approval and +muttered comments. +</p> + +<p> +After the show Phil suggested that thereafter Teddy be allowed to use a clown +makeup, because his funny antics in the air were more fitted to the character +of a clown than to that of a finished performer. +</p> + +<p> +To this the owner readily agreed, and that night they tried it with tremendous +success. +</p> + +<p> +The days that followed were bright ones for the circus boys. Each day seemed an +improvement over the previous one. The season drew rapidly to a close and they +looked forward to the day with keen regret. +</p> + +<p> +One day Mr. Sparling summoned them to his tent. +</p> + +<p> +“Are you boys ready to sign up for next season?” he asked. +</p> + +<p> +“I should like to,” answered Phil. +</p> + +<p> +“This will be a railroad show next season, the third largest show on the +road, and I want you both.” +</p> + +<p> +“Thank you; I shall join gladly.” +</p> + +<p> +“So will I,” chorused Teddy. +</p> + +<p> +“Your salaries will be fifty dollars a week next season. And if you wish +a vaudeville engagement for the winter I think I shall be able to get one for +you.” +</p> + +<p> +“We are going to school, Mr. Sparling. Teddy and I will be hard at work +over our books next week. But we are going to keep up our practice all winter +and perhaps we may have some new acts to surprise you with in the +spring,” laughed Phil, his face aglow with happiness. +</p> + +<p> +A week later found the lads back in Edmeston, bronzed, healthy, manly and +admired by all who saw them. Phil had nearly four hundred dollars in the bank, +while Teddy had about one hundred less. +</p> + +<p> +Phil’s first duty after greeting Mrs. Cahill was to call on his uncle, +who begrudgingly allowed his nephew to shake hands with him. Next day the +circus boys dropped into their old routine life and applied themselves to their +studies, at the same time looking forward to the day when the grass should grow +green again and the little red wagons roll out for their summer journeyings. +</p> + +<p> +Here we will leave them. But Phil and his companion will be heard from again in +a following volume, to be published immediately, entitled, “THE CIRCUS +BOYS ACROSS THE CONTINENT; Or, Winning New Laurels on the Tanbark.” In +this volume their thrilling adventures under the billowing canvas are to be +continued, leading them on to greater triumphs and successes. +</p> + +</div><!--end chapter--> + +<div style='display:block; margin-top:4em'>*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE CIRCUS BOYS ON THE FLYING RINGS ***</div> +<div style='text-align:left'> + +<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> +Updated editions will replace the previous one—the old editions will +be renamed. +</div> + +<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> +Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright +law means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works, +so the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United +States without permission and without paying copyright +royalties. 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FOR PUBLIC DOMAIN ETEXTS*Ver.04.29.93*END* + + + + + +This Etext was prepared for Project Gutenberg by Greg Berckes + + + + + +CONTENTS + +CHAPTER +I THE LURE OF THE CIRCUS +II PHIL HEARS HIS DISMISSAL +III MAKING HIS START IN THE WORLD +IV THE CIRCUS COMES TO TOWN +V WHEN THE BANDS PLAYED +VI PROVING HIS METTLE +VII MAKING FRIENDS WITH THE ELEPHANTS +VIII IN THE SAWDUST ARENA +IX GETTING HIS FIRST CALL +X PHIL GETS A SURPRISE +XI THE FIRST NIGHT WITH THE SHOW +XII A THRILLING RESCUE +XIII THE DAWNING OF A NEW DAY +XIV AN UNEXPECTED HIT +XV A STROKE OF GOOD FORTUNE +XVI HIS FIRST SETBACK +XVII LEFT BEHIND +XVIII A STARTLING DISCOVERY +XIX TEDDY DISTINGUISHES HIMSELF +XX THE RETURN TO THE SAWDUST LIFE +XXI AN ELEPHANT IN JAIL +XXII EMPEROR ANSWERS THE SIGNAL +XXIII THE MYSTERY SOLVED +XXIV CONCLUSION + + + +The Circus Boys on the Flying Rings + + + +CHAPTER I + +THE LURE OF THE CIRCUS + +"I say, Phil, I can do that." + +"Do what, Teddy?" + +"A cartwheel in the air like that fellow is doing in the picture +on the billboard there." + +"Oh, pshaw! You only think you can. Besides, that's not a +cartwheel; that's a double somersault. It's a real stunt, let me +tell you. Why, I can do a cartwheel myself. But up in the air +like that--well, I don't know. I guess not. I'd be willing to +try it, though, if I had something below to catch me," added the +lad, critically surveying the figures on the poster before them. + +"How'd you like to be a circus man, Phil?" + +Phil's dark eyes glowed with a new light, his slender figure +straightening until the lad appeared fully half a head taller. + +"More than anything else in the world," he breathed. "Would +you?" + +"Going to be," nodded Teddy decisively, as if the matter were +already settled. + +"Oh, you are, eh?" + +"Uh-huh!" + +"When?" + +"I don't know. Someday--someday when I get old enough, maybe." + +Phil Forrest surveyed his companion with a half critical smile on +his face. + +"What are you going to do--be a trapeze performer or what?" + +"Well," reflected the lad wisely, "maybe I shall be an 'Or What.' +I'm not sure. Sometimes I think I should like to be the fellow +who cracks the whip with the long lash and makes the clowns hop +around on one foot--" + +"You mean the ringmaster?" + +"I guess that's the fellow. He makes 'em all get around lively. +Then, sometimes, I think I would rather be a clown. I can skin a +cat on the flying rings to beat the band, now. What would you +rather be, Phil?" + +"Me? Oh, something up in the air--high up near the peak of the +tent--something thrilling that would make the people sit up on +the board seats and gasp, when, all dressed in pink and spangles, +I'd go flying through the air--" + +"Just like a bird?" questioned Teddy, with a rising inflection in +his voice. + +"Yes. That's what I'd like most to do, Teddy," concluded the +lad, his face flushed with the thought of the triumphs that might +be his. + +Teddy Tucker uttered a soft, long-drawn whistle. + +"My, you've got it bad, haven't you? Never thought you were that +set on the circus. Wouldn't it be fine, now, if we both could +get with a show?" + +"Great!" agreed Phil, with an emphatic nod. "Sometimes I think +my uncle would be glad to have me go away--that he wouldn't care +whether I joined a circus, or what became of me." + +"Ain't had much fun since your ma died, have you, Phil?" +questioned Teddy sympathetically. + +"Not much," answered the lad, a thin, gray mist clouding his +eyes. "No, not much. But, then, I'm not complaining." + +"Your uncle's a mean old--" + +"There, there, Teddy, please don't say it. He may be all you +think he is, but for all the mean things he's said and done to +me, I've never given him an impudent word, Teddy. Can you guess +why?" + +"Cause he's your uncle, maybe," grumbled Teddy. + +"No, 'cause he's my mother's brother--that's why." + +"I don't know. Maybe I'd feel that way if I'd had a mother." + +"But you did." + +"Nobody ever introduced us, if I did. Guess she didn't know me. +But if your uncle was my uncle do you know what I'd do with him, +Phil Forrest?" + +"Don't let's talk about him. Let's talk about the circus. It's +more fun," interrupted Phil, turning to the billboard again and +gazing at it with great interest. + +They were standing before the glowing posters of the Great +Sparling Combined Shows, that was to visit Edmeston on the +following Thursday. + +Phillip Forrest and Teddy Tucker were fast friends, though they +were as different in appearance and temperament as two boys well +could be. Phil was just past sixteen, while Teddy was a little +less than a year younger. Phil's figure was slight and graceful, +while that of his companion was short and chubby. + +Both lads were orphans. Phil's parents had been dead for +something more than five years. Since their death he had been +living with a penurious old uncle who led a hermit-like existence +in a shack on the outskirts of Edmeston. + +But the lad could remember when it had been otherwise--when he +had lived in his own home, surrounded by luxury and refinement, +until evil days came upon them without warning. His father's +property had been swept away, almost in a night. A year later +both of his parents had died, leaving him to face the world +alone. + +The boy's uncle had taken him in begrudgingly, and Phil's life +from that moment on had been one of self-denial and hard work. +Yet he was thankful for one thing--thankful that his miserly old +uncle had permitted him to continue at school. + +Standing high in his class meant something in Phil's case, for +the boy was obliged to work at whatever he could find to do after +school hours, his uncle compelling him to contribute something to +the household expenses every week. His duties done, Phil was +obliged to study far into the night, under the flickering light +of a tallow candle, because oil cost too much. Sometimes his +candle burned far past the midnight hour, while he applied +himself to his books that he might be prepared for the next day's +classes. + +Hard lines for a boy? + +Yes. But Phil Forrest was not the lad to complain. He went +about his studies the same as he approached any other task that +was set for him to do--went about it with a grim, silent +determination to conquer it. And he always did. + +As for Teddy--christened Theodore, but so long ago that he had +forgotten that that was his name--he studied, not because he +possessed a burning desire for knowledge, but as a matter of +course, and much in the same spirit he did the chores for the +people with whom he lived. + +Teddy was quite young when his parents died leaving him without a +relative in the world. A poor, but kind-hearted family in +Edmeston had taken the lad in rather than see him become a public +charge. With them he had lived and been cared for ever since. Of +late years, however, he had been able to do considerable toward +lightening the burden for them by the money he managed to earn +here and there. + +The two boys were on their way home from school. There remained +but one more day before the close of the term, which was a matter +of sincere regret to Phil and of keen satisfaction to his +companion. Just now both were too full of the subject of the +coming show to think of much else. + +"Going to the show, Phil?" + +"I am afraid not." + +"Why not?" + +"I haven't any money; that's the principal reason," smiled the +boy. "Are you?" + +"Sure. Don't need any money to go to a circus." + +"You don't?" + +"No." + +"How do you manage it?" + +"Crawl in under the tent when the man ain't looking," answered +Teddy promptly. + +"I wouldn't want to do that," decided the older lad, with a shake +of the head. "It wouldn't be quite honest. Do you think so?" + +Teddy Tucker shrugged his shoulders indifferently. + +"Never thought about it. Don't let myself think about it. Isn't +safe, for I might not go to the show if I did. What's your other +reason?" + +"For not going to the circus?" + +"Yes." + +"Well, I don't think Uncle would let me; that's a fact." + +"Why not?" + +"Says circuses and all that sort of thing are evil influences." + +"Oh, pshaw! Wish he was my uncle," decided Teddy belligerently. +"How long are you going to stand for being mauled around like a +little yellow dog?" + +"I'll stand most anything for the sake of getting an education. +When I get that then I'm going to strike out for myself, and do +something in the world. You'll hear from me yet, Teddy Tucker, +and maybe I'll hear from you, too." + +"See me, you mean--see me doing stunts on a high something-or- +other in a circus. Watch me turn a somersault." + +The lad stood poised on the edge of the ditch, on the other side +of which the billboard stood. This gave him the advantage of an +elevated position from which to attempt his feat. + +"Look out that you don't break your neck," warned Phil. "I'd try +it on a haymow, or something like that, first." + +"Don't you worry about me. See how easy that fellow in the +picture is doing it. Here goes!" + +Teddy launched himself into the air, with a very good imitation +of a diver making a plunge into the water, hands stretched out +before him, legs straight behind him. + +He was headed straight for the ditch. + +"Turn, Teddy! Turn! You'll strike on your head." + +Teddy was as powerless to turn as if he had been paralyzed from +head to foot. Down he went, straight as an arrow. There +followed a splash as his head struck the water of the ditch, the +lad's feet beating a tattoo in the air while his head was stuck +fast in the mud at the bottom of the ditch. + +"He'll drown," gasped Phil, springing down into the little +stream, regardless of the damage liable to be done to his own +clothes. + +Throwing both arms about the body of his companion he gave a +mighty tug. Teddy stuck obstinately, and Phil was obliged to +take a fresh hold before he succeeded in hauling the lad from his +perilous position. Teddy was gasping for breath. His face, +plastered with mud, was unrecognizable, while his clothes were +covered from head to foot. + +Phil dumped him on the grass beneath the circus billboard and +began wiping the mud from his companion's face, while Teddy +quickly sat up, blinking the mud out of his eyes and grumbling +unintelligibly. + +"You're a fine circus performer, you are," laughed Phil. +"Suppose you had been performing on a flying trapeze in a circus, +what do you suppose would have happened to you?" + +"I'd have had a net under me then, and I wouldn't have fallen in +the ditch," grunted Teddy sullenly. + +"What do you suppose the folks will say when you go home in that +condition?" + +"Don't care what they say. Fellow has got to learn sometime, and +if I don't have any worse thing happen to me than falling in a +ditch I ought to be pretty well satisfied. Guess I'll go back +now. Come on, go 'long with me." + +Phil turned and strode along by the side of his companion until +they reached the house where Teddy lived. + +"Come on in." + +"I'm sorry, Teddy, but I can't. My uncle will be expecting me, +and he won't like it if I am late." + +"All right; see you tomorrow if you don't come out again tonight. +We'll try some more stunts then." + +"I wouldn't till after the circus, were I in your place," laughed +Phil. + +"Why not!" + +"Cause, if you break your neck, you won't be able to go to the +show." + +"Huh!" grunted Teddy, hastily turning his back on his companion +and starting for the house. + +Phil took his way home silently and thoughtfully, carrying his +precious bundle of books under an arm, his active mind planning +as to how he might employ his time to the best advantage during +the summer vacation that was now so close at hand. + +A rheumatic, bent figure was standing in front of the shack where +the lad lived, glaring up the street from beneath bushy eyebrows, +noting Phil Forrest's leisurely gait disapprovingly. + +Phil saw him a moment later. + +"I'm in for a scolding," he muttered. "Wonder what it is all +about this time. I don't seem able to do a thing to please Uncle +Abner." + + + +CHAPTER II + +PHIL HEARS HIS DISMISSAL + +"Where you been, young man?" The question was a snarl rather +than a sentence. + +"To school, Uncle, of course." + +"School's been out more than an hour. I say, where have you +been?" + +"I stopped on the way for a few minutes." + +"You did?" exploded Abner Adams. "Where?" + +"Teddy Tucker and I stopped to read a circus bill over there on +Clover Street. We did not stop but a few minutes. Was there any +harm in that?" + +"Harm? Circus bill--" + +"And I want to go to the circus, too, Uncle, when it comes here. +You know? I have not been to anything of that sort since mother +died--not once. I'll work and earn the money. I can go in the +evening after my work is finished. Please let me go, Uncle." + +For a full minute Abner Adams was too overcome with his emotions +to speak. He hobbled about in a circle, smiting the ground with +his cane, alternately brandishing it threateningly in the air +over the head of the unflinching Phil. + +"Circus!" he shouted. "I might have known it! I might have +known it! You and that Tucker boy are two of a kind. You'll +both come to some bad ending. Only fools and questionable +characters go to such places--" + +"My mother and father went, and they always took me," replied the +boy, drawing himself up with dignity. "You certainly do not +include them in either of the two classes you have named?" + +"So much the worse for them! So much the worse for them. They +were a pair of--" + +"Uncle, Uncle!" warned Phil. "Please don't say anything against +my parents. I won't stand it. Don't forget that my mother was +your own sister, too." + +"I'm not likely to forget it, after she's bundled such a baggage +as you into my care. You're turning out a worthless, good-for- +nothing loaf--" + +"You haven't said whether or not I might go to the circus, +Uncle," reminded Phil. + +"Circus? No! I'll have none of my money spent on any such +worthless--" + +"But I didn't ask you to spend your money, even though you have +plenty of it. I said I would earn the money--" + +"You'll have a chance to earn it, and right quick at that. No, +you won't go to any circus so long as you're living under my +roof." + +"Very well, Uncle, I shall do as you wish, of course," answered +Phil, hiding his disappointment as well as he could. The lad +shifted his bundle of books to the other hand and started slowly +for the house. + +Abner Adams hobbled about until he faced the lad again, an angry +gleam lighting up his squinting eyes. + +"Come back here!" + +Phil halted, turning. + +"I said come back here." + +The lad did so, his self-possession and quiet dignity never +deserting him for an instant. This angered the crabbed old uncle +more than ever. + +"When will you get through school?" + +"Tomorrow, I believe." + +"Huh! Then, I suppose you intend to loaf for the rest of the +summer and live on my hard earned savings. Is that it?" + +"No, sir; I hadn't thought of doing anything of the sort. I +thought--" + +"What did you think?" + +"I thought I would find something to do. Of course, I do not +expect to be idle. I shall work at something until school begins +again next fall, then, of course, I shall not be able to do so +much." + +"School! You've had enough school! In my days boys didn't spend +the best part of their lives in going to school. They worked." + +"Yes, sir; I am willing to work, too. But, Uncle, I must have an +education. I shall be able to earn so much more then, and, if +necessary, I shall be able to pay you for all you have spent on +me, which isn't much, you know." + +"What, what? You dare to be impudent to me? You--" + +"No, sir, I am not impudent. I have never been that and I never +shall be; but you are accusing me wrongfully." + +"Enough. You have done with school--" + +"You--you mean that I am not to go to school any more--that I +have got to go through life with the little I have learned? Is +that what you mean, Uncle?" asked the boy, with a sinking heart. + +"You heard me." + +"What do you want me to do?" + +"Work!" + +"I am working and I shall be working," Phil replied. + +"You're right you will, or you'll starve. I have been thinking +this thing over a lot lately. A boy never amounts to anything if +he's mollycoddled and allowed to spend his days depending on +someone else. Throw him out and let him fight his own way. +That's what my father used to tell me, and that's what I'm going +to say to you." + +"What do you mean, Uncle?" + +"Mean? Can't you understand the English language? Have I got to +draw a picture to make you understand? Get to work!" + +"I am going to as soon as school is out." + +"You'll do it now. Get yourself out of my house, bag and +baggage!" + +"Uncle, Uncle!" protested the lad in amazement. "Would you turn +me out?" + +"Would I? I have, only you are too stupid to know it. You'll +thank me for it when you get old enough to have some sense." + +Phil's heart sank within him, and it required all his +self-control to keep the bitter tears from his eyes. + +"When do you wish me to go?" he asked without a quaver in his +voice. + +"Now." + +"Very well, I'll go. But what do you think my mother would say, +could she know this?" + +"That will do, young man. Do your chores, and then--" + +"I am not working for you now, Uncle, you know, so I shall have +to refuse to do the chores. There is fifty cents due me from Mr. +Churchill for fixing his chicken coop. You may get that, I don't +want it." + +Phil turned away once more, and with head erect entered the +house, going straight to his room, leaving Abner Adams fuming and +stamping about in the front yard. The old man's rage knew no +bounds. He was so beside himself with anger over the fancied +impudence of his nephew that, had the boy been present, he might +have so far forgotten himself as to have used his cane on Phil. + +But Phil by this time had entered his own room, locking the door +behind him. The lad threw his books down on the bed, dropped +into a chair and sat palefaced, tearless and silent. Slowly his +eyes rose to the old-fashioned bureau, where his comb and brush +lay. The eyes halted when at length they rested on the picture of +his mother. + +The lad rose as if drawn by invisible hands, reached out and +clasped the photograph to him. Then the pent-up tears welled up +in a flood. With the picture pressed to his burning cheek Phil +Forrest threw himself on his bed and sobbed out his bitter grief. +He did not hear the thump of Abner Adams' cane on the bedroom +door, nor the angry demands that he open it. + +"Mother, Mother!" breathed the unhappy boy, as his sobs gradually +merged into long-drawn, trembling sighs. + +Perhaps his appeal was not unheard. At least Phil Forrest sprang +from his bed, holding the picture away from him with both hands +and gazing into the eyes of his mother. + +Slowly his shoulders drew back and his head came up, while an +expression of strong determination flashed into his own eyes. + +"I'll do it--I'll be a man, Mother!" he exclaimed in a voice in +which there was not the slightest tremor now. "I'll fight the +battle and I'll win." + +Phil Forest had come to the parting of the ways, which he faced +with a courage unusual in one of his years. There was little to +be done. He packed his few belongings in a bag that had been his +mother's. The lad possessed one suit besides the one he wore, +and this he stowed away as best he could, determining to press it +out when he had located himself. + +Finally his task was finished. He stood in the middle of the +floor glancing around the little room that had been his home for +so long. But he felt no regrets. He was only making sure that +he had not left anything behind. Having satisfied himself on +this point, Phil gathered up his bundle of books, placed the +picture of his mother in his inside coat pocket, then threw open +the door. + +The lad's uncle had stamped to the floor below, where he was +awaiting Phil's coming. + +"Good-bye, Uncle," he said quietly, extending a hand. + +"Let me see that bag," snapped the old man. + +"The bag is mine--it belonged to my mother," explained the boy. +"Surely you don't object to my taking it with me?" + +"You're welcome to it, and good riddance; but I'm going to find +out what's inside of it." + +"You surely don't think I would take anything that doesn't belong +to me--you can't mean that?" + +"Ain't saying what I mean. Hand over that bag." + +With burning cheeks, Phil did as he was bid, his unwavering eyes +fixed almost sternly on the wrathful face of Abner Adams. + +"Huh!" growled the old man, tumbling the contents out on the +floor, shaking Phil's clothes to make sure that nothing was +concealed in them. + +Apparently satisfied, the old man threw the bag on the floor with +an exclamation of disgust. Phil once more gathered up his +belongings and stowed them away in the satchel. + +"Turn out your pockets!" + +"There is nothing in them, Uncle, save some trinkets of my own +and my mother's picture." + +"Turn them out!" thundered the old man. + +"Uncle, I have always obeyed you. Obedience was one of the +things that my mother taught me, but I'm sure that were she here +she would tell me I was right in refusing to humiliate myself as +you would have me do. There is nothing in my pockets that does +not belong to me. I am not a thief." + +"Then I'll turn them out myself!" snarled Abner Adams, starting +forward. + +Phil stepped back a pace, satchel in hand. + +"Uncle, I am a man now," said the boy, straightening to his full +height. "Please don't force me to do something that I should be +sorry for all the rest of my life. Will you shake hands with +me?" + +"No!" thundered Abner Adams. "Get out of my sight before I lay +the stick over your head!" + +Phil stretched out an appealing hand, then hastily withdrew it. + +"Good-bye, Uncle Abner," he breathed. + +Without giving his uncle a chance to reply, the lad turned, +opened the door and ran down the steps. + + + +CHAPTER III + +MAKING HIS START IN THE WORLD + +The sun was just setting as Phil Forrest strode out of the yard. +Once outside of the gate he paused, glancing irresolutely up and +down the street. Which way to turn or where to go he did not +know. He had not thought before of what he should do. + +Phil heard the clatter of Abner Adams' stick as the old man +thumped about in the kitchen. + +Suddenly the door was jerked open with unusual violence. + +"Begone!" bellowed Mr. Adams, brandishing his cane threateningly. + +Phil turned down the street, without casting so much as a glance +in the direction of his wrathful uncle, and continued on toward +the open country. To anyone who had observed him there was +nothing of uncertainty in the lad's walk as he swung along. As a +matter of fact, Phil had not the slightest idea where he was +going. He knew only that he wanted to get away by himself. + +On the outskirts of the village men had been at work that day, +cutting and piling up hay. The field was dotted with heaps of +the fragrant, freshly garnered stuff. + +Phil hesitated, glanced across the field, and, noting that the +men had all gone home for the day, climbed the fence. He walked +on through the field until he had reached the opposite side of +it. Then the lad placed his bag on the ground and sat down on a +pile of hay. + +With head in hands, he tried to think, to plan, but somehow his +mind seemed unable to perform its proper functions. It simply +would not work. + +"Not much of a start in the world, this," grinned Phil, shifting +his position so as to command a better view of the world, for he +did not want anyone to see him. "I suppose Uncle Abner is +getting supper now. But where am I going to get mine? I hadn't +thought of that before. It looks very much as if I should have +to go without. But I don't care. Perhaps it will do me good to +miss a meal," decided the boy sarcastically. "I've been eating +too much lately, anyhow." + +Twilight came; then the shadows of night slowly settled over the +landscape, while the lad lay stretched out on the sweet-smelling +hay, hands supporting his head, gazing up into the starlit sky. + +Slowly his heavy eyelids fluttered and closed, and Phil was +asleep. The night was warm and he experienced no discomfort. He +was a strong, healthy boy, so that sleeping out of doors was no +hardship to him. All through the night he slept as soundly as if +he had been in his own bed at home. Nor did he awaken until the +bright sunlight of the morning finally burned his eyelids apart. + +Phil started up rubbing his eyes. + +At first he wondered where he was. But the sight of his bag +lying a little to one side brought back with a rush the memory of +what had happened to him the evening before. + +"Why, it's morning," marveled the lad, blinking in the strong +sunlight. "And I've slept on this pile of hay all night. It's +the first time I ever slept out of doors, and I never slept +better in my life. Guess I'll fix myself up a little." + +Phil remembered that a little trout stream cut across the field +off to the right. Taking up his bag, he started for the stream, +where he made his toilet as best he could, finishing up by lying +flat on his stomach, taking a long, satisfying drink of the +sparkling water. + +"Ah, that feels better," he breathed, rolling over on the bank. +After a little he helped himself to another drink. "But I've got +to do something. I can't stay out here in this field all the +rest of my life. And if I don't find something to eat I'll +starve to death. I'll go downtown and see if I can't earn my +breakfast somehow." + +Having formed this resolution, Phil took up his belongings and +started away toward the village. His course led him right past +Abner Adams' house, but, fortunately, Mr. Adams was not in sight. +Phil would have felt a keen humiliation had he been forced to +meet the taunts of his uncle. He hurried on past the house +without glancing toward it. + +He had gone on for some little way when he was halted by a +familiar voice. + +"Hello, Phil! Where are you going in such a hurry and so early +in the morning?" + +Phil started guiltily and looked up quickly at the speaker. + +"Good morning, Mrs. Cahill. What time is it?" + +"It's just past four o'clock in the morning." + +"Gracious! I had no idea it was so early as that," exclaimed the +lad. + +"If you are not in such a great hurry, stop a bit," urged the +woman, her keen eyes noting certain things that she did not give +voice to. She had known Phil Forrest for many years, and his +parents before him. Furthermore, she knew something of the life +he had led since the death of his parents. "Had your breakfast?" + +"Well--" + +"Of course you haven't. Come right in and eat with me," urged +the good-hearted widow. + +"If you will let me do some chores, or something to pay for it, I +will," agreed Phil hesitatingly. + +"Nothing of the kind! You'll keep me company at breakfast; then +you'll be telling me all about it." + +"About what?" + +" 'Bout your going away," pointing significantly to the bag that +Phil was carrying. + +He was ravenously hungry, though he did not realize it fully +until the odor of the widow's savory cooking smote his nostrils. + +She watched him eat with keen satisfaction. + +"Now tell me what's happened," urged Mrs. Cahill, after he had +finished the meal. + +Phil did so. He opened his heart to the woman who had known his +mother, while she listened in sympathetic silence, now and then +uttering an exclamation of angry disapproval when his uncle's +words were repeated to her. + +"And you're turned out of house and home? Is that it, my boy?" + +"Well, yes, that's about it," grinned Phil. + +"It's a shame." + +"I'm not complaining, you know, Mrs. Cahill. Perhaps it's the +best thing that could have happened to me. I've got to start out +for myself sometime, you know. I'm glad of one thing, and that +is that I didn't have to go until school closed. I get through +the term today, you know?" + +"And you're going to school today?" + +"Oh, yes. I wouldn't want to miss the last day." + +"Then what?" + +"I don't know. I shall find something else to do, I guess. I +want to earn enough money this summer so that I can go to school +again in the fall." + +"And you shall. You shall stay right here with the Widow Cahill +until you've got through with your schooling, my lad." + +"I couldn't think of that. No; I am not going to be a burden to +anyone. Don't you see how I feel--that I want to earn my own +living now?" + +She nodded understandingly. + +"You can do some chores and--" + +"I'll stay here until I find something else to do," agreed Phil +slowly. "I shan't be able to look about much today, because I'll +be too busy at school; but tomorrow I'll begin hunting for a job. +What can I do for you this morning?" + +"Well, you might chop some wood if you are aching to exercise +your muscles," answered the widow, with a twinkle in her eyes. +She knew that there was plenty of wood stored in the woodhouse, +but she was too shrewd an observer to tell Phil so, realizing, as +she did, that the obligation he felt for her kindness was too +great to be lightly treated. + +Phil got at his task at once, and in a few moments she heard him +whistling an accompaniment to the steady thud, thud of the axe as +he swung it with strong, resolute arms. + +"He's a fine boy," was the Widow Cahill's muttered conclusion. + +Phil continued at his work without intermission until an hour had +passed. Mrs. Cahill went out, begging that he come in and rest. + +"Rest? Why, haven't I been resting all night? I feel as if I +could chop down the house and work it up into kindling wood, all +before school time. What time is it?" + +"Nigh on to seven o'clock. I've wanted to ask you something ever +since you told me you had left Abner Adams. It's rather a +personal question." + +The lad nodded. + +"Did your uncle send you away without any money?" + +"Of course. Why should he have given me anything so long as I +was going to leave him?" + +"Did you ever hear him say that your mother had left a little +money with him before she died--money that was to be used for +your education as long as it lasted?" + +Phil straightened up slowly, his axe falling to the ground, an +expression of surprise appeared in his eyes. + +"My mother left money--for me, you say?" he wondered. + +"No, Phil, I haven't said so. I asked you if Abner had ever said +anything of the sort?" + +"No. Do you think she did?" + +"I'm not saying what I think. I wish I was a man; I'd read old +Abner Adams a lecture that he wouldn't forget as long as he +lives." + +Phil smiled indulgently. + +"He's an old man, Mrs. Cahill. He's all crippled up with +rheumatism, and maybe he's got a right to be cranky--" + +"And to turn his own sister's child outdoors, eh? Not by a long +shot. Rheumatics don't give anybody any call to do any such a +thing as that. He ought to have his nose twisted, and it's me, a +good church member, as says so." + +The lad picked up his axe and resumed his occupation, while Mrs. +Cahill turned up a chunk of wood and sat down on it, keeping up a +running fire of comment, mostly directed at Abner Adams, and +which must have made his ears burn. + +Shortly after eight o'clock Phil gathered his books, strapped +them and announced that he would be off for school. + +"I'll finish the woodpile after school," he called back, as he +was leaving the gate. + +"You'll do nothing of the sort," retorted the Widow Cahill. + +Darting out of the yard, Phil ran plump into someone, and halted +sharply with an earnest apology. + +"Seems to me you're in a terrible rush about something. Where you +going?" + +"Hello, Teddy, that you?" + +"It's me," answered Teddy ungrammatically. + +"I'm on my way to school." + +"Never could understand why anybody should want to run when he's +going to school. Now, I always run when I start off after +school's out. What you doing here?" demanded the boy, drawing +his eyelids down into a squint. + +"I've been chopping some wood for Mrs. Cahill." + +"Huh! What's the matter with the bear this morning?" + +"The bear?" + +Teddy jerked a significant thumb in the direction of Phil's +former home. + +"Bear's got a grouch on a rod wide this morning." + +"Oh, you mean Uncle Abner," answered Phil, his face clouding. + +"Yep." + +"Why?" + +"I just dropped in to see if you were ready to go to school. He +yelled at me like he'd gone crazy." + +"That all?" grinned the other boy. + +"No. He chased me down the road till his game knee gave out; +then he fell down." + +Phil could not repress a broad grin at this news. + +"Good thing for me that I could run. He'd have given me a +walloping for sure if he'd caught me. I'll bet that stick hurts +when it comes down on a fellow. Don't it, Phil?" + +"I should think it would. I have never felt it, but I have had +some pretty narrow escapes. What did the folks you are living +with say when you got home all mud last night?" + +Teddy grinned a sheepish sort of grin. + +"Told me I'd better go out in the horse barn--said my particular +style of beauty was better suited to the stable than to the +kitchen." + +"Did you?" + +"Well, no, not so as you might notice it. I went down to the +creek and went in swimming, clothes and all. That was the +easiest way. You see, I could wash the mud off my clothes and +myself all at the same time." + +"It's a wonder they let you in at all, then." + +"They didn't; at least not until I had wrung the water out of my +trousers and twisted my hair up into a regular top-knot. Then I +crawled in behind the kitchen stove and got dried out after a +while. But I got my supper. I always do." + +"Yes; I never knew you to go without meals." + +"Sorry you ain't going to the circus tomorrow, Phil." + +"I am. Teddy, I'm free. I can do as I like now. Yes, I'll go +to the circus with you, and maybe if I can earn some money +tonight I'll treat you to red lemonade and peanuts." + +"Hooray!" shouted Teddy, tossing his hat high in the air. + + + +CHAPTER IV + +THE CIRCUS COMES TO TOWN + +The Sparling Combined Shows came rumbling into Edmeston at about +three o'clock the next morning. But, early as was the hour, two +boys sat on the Widow Cahill's door-yard fence watching the +wagons go by. + +The circus was one of the few road shows that are now traveling +through the country, as distinguished from the great modern +organizations that travel by rail with from one to half a dozen +massive trains. The Sparling people drove from town to town. +They carried twenty-five wagons, besides a band wagon, a +wild-west coach and a calliope. + +"Phil! Phil! Look!" exclaimed Teddy, clutching at his +companion's coat sleeve, as two hulking, swaying figures appeared +out of the shadows of the early morning. + +"Where?" + +"There." + +"Elephants! There's two of them." + +"Ain't that great? I didn't suppose they'd have any elephants. +Wonder if there's any lions and tigers in those big wagons." + +"Of course there are. Didn't you see pictures of them on the +bills, Teddy?" + +"I don't know. Dan Marts, the postmaster, says you can't set any +store by the pictures. He says maybe they've got the things you +see in the pictures, and maybe they haven't. There's a camel! +Look at it! How'd you like to ride on that hump all day?" +questioned Teddy gleefully. + +"Shouldn't like it at all." + +"I read in my geography that they ride on them all the time on +the--on--on Sarah's Desert." + +"Oh, you mean the Sahara Desert--that's what you mean," laughed +Phil. + +"Well, maybe." + +"I should rather ride an elephant. See, it's just like a rocking +chair. I could almost go to sleep watching them move along." + +"I couldn't," declared Teddy. "I couldn't any more go to sleep +when a circus is going by than I could fly without wings." + +"See, there comes a herd of ponies. Look how small they are. Not +much bigger than St. Bernard dogs. They could walk right under +the elephants and not touch them." + +"Where do they all sleep?" wondered Teddy. + +"Who, the ponies?" + +"No, of course not. The people." + +"I don't know unless they sleep in the cages with the animals," +laughed Phil. "Some of the folks appear to be sleeping on the +horses." + +"I'd be willing to go without sleep if I could be a showman," +mused Teddy. "Wouldn't you?" + +"Sure," agreed Phil. "Hello! There come some more wagons. Come +on! We'll run down to meet them." + +"No; Let's go over to the grounds where the circus is coming off. +They'll be putting up the tents first thing we know." + +"That's so, and I want to be around. You going to work any, +Teddy?" + +"Not I. I'm going to see the show, but you don't catch me +carrying pails of water for the elephants for a ticket of +admission that don't admit you to anything except a stand-up. I +can stand up cheaper than that." + +Both boys slipped from the fence, and, setting off at a jog trot, +began rapidly overhauling and passing the slow-moving wagons with +their tired horses and more tired drivers. + +By the time Teddy and Phil reached the circus grounds several +wagons were already there. Shouts sprang up from all parts of +the field, while half a dozen men began measuring off the ground +in the dim morning light, locating the best places in which to +pitch the tents. Here and there they would drive in a stake, on +one of which they tied a piece of newspaper. + +"Wonder what that's for," thought Phil aloud. + +"Hey, what's the paper tied on the peg for?" shouted Teddy to a +passing showman. + +"That's the front door, sonny." + +"Funniest looking front door I ever saw," grunted Teddy. + +"He means that's the place where the people enter and leave their +tickets." + +"Oh, yes. That's what they call the 'Main Entrance,'" nodded +Teddy. "I've seen it, but I don't usually go in that way." + +With the early dawn figures began emerging from several of the +wagons. They were a sleepy looking lot, and for a time stood +about in various attitudes, yawning, stretching their arms and +rubbing their eyes. + +"Hey, boy, what town is this?" questioned a red-haired youth, +dragging himself toward the two lads. + +"Edmeston." + +"Oh, yes. I remember; I was here once before." + +"With a show?" asked Teddy. + +"Yes, with a Kickapoo Indian medicine man. And he was bad +medicine. Say, where can I wash my countenance?" + +"Come on; I'll show you," exclaimed Teddy and Phil in the same +breath. + +They led the way to the opposite side of the field, where there +was a stream of water. While the circus boy was making his +morning toilet the lads watched him in admiring silence. + +"What do you do?" ventured Phil. + +"I perform on the rings." + +"Up in the air?" + +"Uh-huh." + +"Ever fall off?" + +"I get my bumps," grinned the red-haired boy. "My name is Rodney +Palmer. What's your names?" + +They told him. + +"We're going to be circus men, too," Teddy informed him, but the +announcement did not seem to stir a deep interest in the circus +boy. He had heard other boys say the same thing. "Is it very +hard work?" + +"Worst ever." + +"When do you sleep?" + +"When we ain't awake." + +"And you perform on the flying rings?" + +Rodney nodded his head indifferently. + +"I should think you'd burn the tent up with that head of red +hair," grinned Teddy. + +Instead of getting angry at the boy's thrust, Rodney glanced at +Teddy with a half questioning look in his eyes, then burst out +laughing. + +"You're a cheerful idiot, aren't you?" he twinkled. "I'll tell +you why I don't. Confidentially, you know?" + +"Sure." + +"I wear a wig when I'm performing. Mebby if it wasn't for that I +might set something on fire. I must get over on the lot now." + +"You're in a lot already," Teddy informed him. + +"We call the place where we pitch the tents 'the lot.' The cook +tent must be up by this time, and I'm half starved. The +performance was so late yesterday afternoon that they had the +cook tent down before I got my supper. Will you come along?" + +They did. + +"Do you think there is anything I could do to earn a ticket to +the show today?" asked Phil. + +"Yes, there's most always something for a boy to do." + +"Whom do I ask about it?" + +"Go see the boss canvasman. I'll point him out to you as we go +along." + +"Thank you. You want to see him, too, Teddy?" + +"No; I don't have to." + +"That's him over there. He's a grouch, but just don't let him +bluff you. Yes, the cook tent's about ready. I'll sneak in and +hook something before breakfast; then mebby I'll come back and +talk with you." + +"We'll look for you in the show this afternoon," said Phil. + +"All right, if I see you I'll swing my hand to you," Rodney +replied, starting for the cook tent, where the meals were served +to the show people. + +"Now, I'm going to see that boss canvasman," announced Phil. +"See, they are laying the pieces of the tents flat on the ground. +I suppose they fasten them all together when they get them +placed, then raise them up on the poles." + +"I guess so. I don't care much so long as I don't have to do +it." + +"Teddy Tucker, actually you are the laziest boy I ever knew. Why +don't you brace up?" + +"Don't I have just as good a time and better, than you do?" + +"Guess you do." + +"Don't I get just as much to eat?" + +"I presume so," admitted Phil. + +"Don't I see all the shows that come to town, and go to all the +picnics?" + +"Yes." + +"Then, what's the use of being any more'n lazy?" + +Teddy's logic was too much for his companion, and Phil laughed +heartily. + +"Look, the elephant is butting one of the wagons," cried Teddy. + +"No, they are using the elephant to push the cage around in +place. I wonder what's in it," said Phil. + +A roar that fairly made the ground shake answered Phil's +question. The cage in question held a lion, and a big, ugly one +if his voice was any indication. The great elephant, when the +cage was being placed, would, at a signal from its keeper, place +its ponderous head against one side of the cage and push, while a +driver would steer the wagon by taking hold of the end of the +tongue. + +It was a novel sight for the two boys, and they watched it with +the keenest interest. A man dressed in riding clothes, carrying +a short crop in his hand, was observing the operations with equal +interest. He was James Sparling, the proprietor and manager of +the Great Combined Shows, but the lads were unaware of that fact. +Even had they known, it is doubtful if Mr. Sparling would have +been of sufficient attraction to draw their attention from the +working elephant. + +All at once there was a warning shout from Mr. Sparling. + +The men set up a yell, followed by a sudden scurrying from the +immediate vicinity of the cage that the elephant had been +shunting about. + +"Stop it! Brace it!" bellowed the owner of the show, making +frantic motions with his free hand, cutting circles and dashes in +the air with the short crop held in the other. + +"What's the row?" wondered Teddy. + +"I--I don't know," stammered Phil. + +"The elephant's tipping the lion cage over!" shouted someone. +"Run for your lives!" + +For once in his life Teddy Tucker executed a lightning-like +movement. He was one of several dark streaks on the landscape +running as if Wallace, the biggest lion in captivity, were in +reality hard upon his heels. As he ran, Teddy uttered a howl +that could have been heard from one end of the circus lot to the +other. + +A few of the more fearless ones, the old hands of the show, did +not attempt to run. Instead they stood still, fairly holding +their breaths, waiting to see what would happen next. + +Mr. Sparling was too far away to be able to do anything to +prevent the catastrophe that was hanging over them, but it did +not prevent him from yelling like a madman at the inactive +employees of the show. + +At the first cry--the instant he comprehended what was +happening-- Phil Forrest moved every bit as quickly as had his +companion, though he leaped in the opposite direction. + +All about on the ground lay tent poles of various length and +thickness, side poles, quarter poles and the short side poles +used to hold the tent walls in place. These were about twenty +feet in length and light enough to be easily handled. + +With ready resourcefulness and quick comprehension, Phil pounced +upon one of these and darted toward the cage which was toppling +over in his direction. + +The roof of the lion cage that housed Wallace projected over the +edge some six inches, and this had caught the keen eyes of the +lad at the first alarm. His plan had been formed in a flash. + +He shot one end of the side pole up under the projecting roof, +jammed the other end into the ground, throwing his whole weight +upon the foot of the pole to hold it in place. + +For an instant the tent pole bent like a bow under the pull of +the archer. It seemed as if it must surely snap under the +terrific strain. + +Phil saw this, too. Now that the foot of the pole was firmly +imbedded in the ground, there was no further need for him to hold +it down. He sprang under the pole with the swaying cage directly +over him, grabbed the pole at the point where it was arching so +dangerously, and pulling himself from the ground, held to the +slippery stick desperately. + +Light as he was the boy's weight saved the pole. It bent no +further. + +The cage swayed from side to side, threatening to topple over at +one end or the other. + +"Get poles under the ends," shouted the boy in a shrill voice. "I +can't hold it here all day." + +"Get poles, you lazy good-for-nothings!" bellowed the owner. +"Brace those ends. Look out for the elephant. Don't you see +he's headed for the cage again?" + +Orders flew thick and fast, but through it all Phil Forrest hung +grimly to the side pole, taking a fresh overhand hold, now and +then, as his palms slipped down the painted stick. + +Now that he had shown the way, others sprang to his assistance. +Half a dozen poles were thrust up under the roof and the cage +began slowly settling back the other way. + +"Hadn't you better have some poles braced against the other side, +sir?" suggested Phil, touching his hat to Mr. Sparling, who, he +had discovered, was some person in authority. "The cage may tip +clear over on the other side, or it may drop so heavily on the +wheels as to break the axles." + +"Right. Brace the off side. That's right. Now let it down +slowly. Not so hard on the nigh side there. Ease off there, +Bill. Push, Patsy. What do you think this is--a game of croquet? +There you go. Right. Now let's see if you woodenheads know +enough to keep the wagon right side up." + +Mr. Sparling took off his hat and wiped the perspiration from his +forehead, while Phil stood off calmly surveying the men who were +straightening the wagon, but with more caution than they had +exercised before. + +"Come here, boy." + +Someone touched Phil on the arm. + +"What is it?" + +"Boss wants to speak to you." + +"Who?" + +"Boss Sparling, the fellow over there with the big voice and the +sombrero." + +Phil walked over and touched his hat to Mr. Sparling. + +The showman looked the lad over from head to foot. + +"What's your name?" He shot the question at the lad as if angry +about something, and he undoubtedly was. + +"Phil Forrest." + +"Do they grow your kind around here?" + +"I can't say, sir." + +"If they do, I'd like to hire a dozen or more of them. You've +got more sense than any boy of your age I ever saw. How old are +you?" + +"Sixteen." + +"Huh! I wish I had him!" growled Mr. Sparling. "What do you +want?" + +"I should like to have a chance to earn a pass to the show this +afternoon. Rodney Palmer said the boss canvasman might give me a +chance to earn one." + +"Earn one? Earn one?" Mr. Sparling's voice rose to a roar again. +"What in the name of Old Dan Rice do you think you've been doing? +Here you've kept a cage with a five-thousand-dollar lion from +tipping over, to say nothing of the people who might have been +killed had the brute got out, and you want to know how you can +earn a pass to the show? What d'ye think of that?" and the owner +appealed helplessly to an assistant who had run across the lot, +having been attracted to the scene by the uproar. + +The assistant grinned. + +"He's too modest to live." + +"Pity modesty isn't more prevalent in this show, then. How many +do you want? Have a whole section if you say the word." + +"How many are there in a section?" asked Phil. + +" 'Bout a hundred seats." + +Phil gasped. + +"I--I guess two will be enough," he made answer. + +"Here you are," snapped the owner, thrusting a card at the lad, +on which had been scribbled some characters, puzzling to the +uninitiated. "If you want anything else around this show you +just ask for it, young man. Hey, there! Going to be all day +getting that canvas up? Don't you know we've got a parade coming +along in a few hours?" + +Phil Forrest, more light of heart than in many days, turned away +to acquaint his companion of his good fortune. Teddy Tucker was +making his way cautiously back to the scene of the excitement of +a few moments before. + +"Did he get away?" Teddy questioned, ready to run at the drop of +the hat should the danger prove to be still present. + +"Who, the manager?" + +"No, the lion." + +"He's in the cage where he's been all the time. They haven't +opened it yet, but I guess he's all right. Say, Teddy!" + +"Say it." + +"I've got a pass to the show for two people for both +performances--this afternoon and tonight." + +The interest that the announcement brought to Teddy's eyes died +away almost as soon as it appeared. + +"Going?" + +"Am I going? I should say so. Want to go in with me on my pass, +Teddy?" + +The lad hitched his trousers, took a critical squint at the +canvas that was slowly mounting the center pole to the +accompaniment of creaking ropes, groaning tackle and confused +shouting. + +"They're getting the menagerie tent up. I'll bet it's going to +be a dandy show," he vouchsafed. "How'd you get the tickets?" + +"Manager gave them to me." + +"What for?" + +"I did a little work for him. Helped get the lion's cage +straightened up. How about it--are you going in on my pass?" + +"N-o-o," drawled Teddy. "Might get me into bad habits to go in +on a pass. I'd rather sneak in under the tent when the boss +isn't looking." + + + +CHAPTER V + +WHEN THE BANDS PLAYED + +Phil started for the Widow Cahill's on the run after having +procured his tickets. "Here's a ticket for the circus, Mrs. +Cahill," he shouted, bursting into the room, with excited, +flushed face. + +"What's this you say--the circus? Land sakes, I haven't seen one +since I was--well, since I was a girl. I don't know." + +"You'll go, won't you?" urged Phil. + +"Of course, I'll go," she made haste to reply, noting the +disappointment in his face over her hesitation. "And thank you +very much." + +"Shall I come and get you, Mrs. Cahill, or can you get over to +the circus grounds alone?" + +"Don't worry about me, my boy. I'll take care of myself." + +"Your seat will be right next to mine, and we can talk while we +are watching the performers." + +"Yes; you run along now. Here's a quarter for spending money. +Never mind thanking me. Just take it and have a good time. +Where's your friend?" + +"Teddy?" + +"Yes." + +"Over on the lot." + +"He going in with you, too?" + +"Oh, no. Teddy is too proud to go in that way. He crawls in +under the tent," laughed Phil, running down the steps and setting +off for the circus grounds with all speed. + +When he arrived there he saw at once that something was going on. +The tents were all in place, the little white city erected with +as much care and attention to detail as if the show expected to +remain in Edmeston all summer. The lad could scarcely make +himself believe that, only a few hours before, this very lot had +been occupied by the birds alone. It was a marvel to him, even +in after years, when he had become as thoroughly conversant with +the details of a great show as any man in America. + +Just now there was unusual activity about the grounds. Men in +gaudy uniforms, clowns in full makeup, and women with long +glistening trains, glittering with spangles from head to feet, +were moving about, while men were decorating the horses with +bright blankets and fancy headdress. + +"What are they going to do?" asked Phil of a showman. + +"Going to parade." + +"Oh, yes, that's so; I had forgotten about that." + +"Hello, boy--I've forgotten your name--" + +"Forrest," explained Phil, turning. The speaker was Mr. +Sparling's assistant, whom the lad had seen just after saving the +lion cage from turning over. + +"Can you blow a horn as well as you can stop a wagon?" + +"Depends upon what kind of a horn. I think I can make as much +noise on a fish horn as anyone else." + +"That'll do as well as anything else. Want to go in the parade?" + +"I'd love to!" The color leaped to the cheeks of Phil Forrest +and a sparkle to his eyes. This was going beyond his fondest +dreams. + +The assistant motioned to a clown. + +"Fix this boy up in some sort of a rig. I'm going to put him in +the Kazoo Band. Bring him back here when he is ready. Be +quick." + +A long, yellow robe was thrown about the boy, a peaked cap thrust +on his head, after which a handful of powder was slapped on his +face and rubbed down with the flat of the clown's hand. The fine +dust got into the lad's nostrils and throat, causing him to +sneeze until the tears rolled down his cheeks, streaking his +makeup like a freshet through a plowed field. + +"Good," laughed the clown. "That's what your face needs. You'd +make a good understudy for Chief Rain-In-The-Face. Now hustle +along." + +Phil picked up the long skirts and ran full speed to the place +where the assistant had been standing. There he waited until the +assistant returned from a journey to some other part of the lot. + +"That's right; you know how to obey orders," he nodded. "That's +a good clown makeup. Did Mr. Miaco put those streaks on your +face?" + +"No, I sneezed them there," answered Phil, with a sheepish grin. + +The assistant laughed heartily. Somehow, he had taken a sudden +liking to this boy. + +"Do you live at home, Forrest?" + +"No; I have no home now." + +"Here's a fish horn. Now get up in the band wagon--no, not the +big one, I mean the clowns' band wagon with the hayrack on it. +When the parade starts blow your confounded head off if you want +to. Make all the noise you can. You'll have plenty of company. +When the parade breaks up, just take off your makeup and turn it +over to Mr. Miaco." + +"You mean these clothes?" + +"Yes. They're a part of the makeup. You'll have to wash the +makeup off your face. I don't expect you to return the powder to +us," grinned the assistant humorously. + +The clowns were climbing to the hayrack. A bugle had blown as a +signal that the parade was ready to move. Phil had not seen +Teddy Tucker since returning to the lot. He did not know where +the boy was, but he was quite sure that Teddy was not missing any +of the fun. Tucker had been around circuses before, and knew how +to make the most of his opportunities. And he was doing so now. + +"Ta ra, ta ra, ta ra!" sang the bugle. + +Crash! answered the cymbals and the bass drums. The snare drums +buzzed a long, thrilling roll; then came the blare of the brass +as the whole band launched into a lively tune such as only circus +bands know how to play. + +The parade had begun to move. + +It was a thrilling moment--the moment of all moments of Phil +Forrest's life. + +The clowns' wagon had been placed well back in the line, so as +not to interfere with the music of the band itself. But Phil did +not care where he was placed. He only knew that he was in a +circus parade, doing his part with the others, and that, so far +as anyone knew, he was as much a circus man as any of them. + +As the cavalcade drew out into the main street and straightened +away, Phil was amazed to see what a long parade it was. It +looked as if it might reach the whole length of the village. + +The spring sun was shining brightly, lighting up the line, +transforming it into a moving, flashing, brilliant ribbon of +light and color. + +"Splendid!" breathed the boy, removing the fish horn from his +lips for a brief instant, then blowing with all his might again. + +As the wagons moved along he saw many people whom he knew. As a +matter of fact, Phil knew everyone in the village, but there were +hundreds of people who had driven in from the farms whom he did +not know. Nor did anyone appear to recognize him. + +"If they only knew, wouldn't they be surprised?" chuckled the +lad. "Hello, there's Mrs. Cahill." + +The widow was standing on her front door step with a dishtowel in +one hand. + +In the excess of his excitement, Phil stood up, waving his horn +and yelling. + +She heard him--as everybody else within a radius of a quarter of +a mile might have--and she recognized the voice. Mrs. Cahill +brandished the dishtowel excitedly. + +"He's a fine boy," she glowed. "And he's having the first good +time he's had in five years." + +The Widow Cahill was right. For the first time in all these +years, since the death of his parents, Phil Forrest was carefree +and perfectly happy. + +The clowns on the wagon with him were uproariously funny. When +the wagon stopped now and then, one whom Phil recognized as the +head clown, Mr. Miaco, would spring to the edge of the rack and +make a stump speech in pantomime, accompanied by all the gestures +included in the pouring and drinking of a glass of water. So +humorous were the clown's antics that the spectators screamed +with laughter. + +Suddenly the lad espied that which caused his own laughter to die +away, and for the moment he forgot to toot the fish horn. The +parade was passing his former home, and there, standing hunched +forward, leaning on his stick and glaring at the procession from +beneath bushy eyebrows, stood Phil's uncle, Abner Adams. + +Phil's heart leaped into his throat; at least that was the +sensation that he experienced. + +"I--I hope he doesn't know me," muttered the lad, shrinking back +a little. "But I'm a man now. I don't care. He's driven me out +and he has no right to say a thing." + +The lad lost some of his courage, however, when the procession +halted, and he found that his wagon was directly in front of Mr. +Adams' dooryard, with his decrepit uncle not more than twenty +feet away from him. The surly, angry eyes of Abner Adams seemed +to be burning through Phil's makeup, and the lad instinctively +shrank back ever so little. + +However, at that instant the boy's attention was attracted to +another part of the wagon. The head clown stepped from the wagon +and, with dignified tread, approached Abner Adams. He grasped +the old man by the hand, which he shook with great warmth, making +a courtly bow. + +At first Abner Adams was too surprised to protest. Then, +uttering an angry snarl, he threw the clown off, making a vicious +pass at him with his heavy stick. + +The clown dodged the blow, and made a run for the wagon, which +was now on the move again. + +Phil breathed a sigh of relief. The people had roared at the +funny sight of the clown shaking hands with the crabbed old man; +but to Phil Forrest there had been nothing of humor in it. The +sight of his uncle brought back too many unhappy memories. + +The lad soon forgot his depression, however, in the rapid changes +that followed each other in quick succession as on a moving- +picture film. + +Reaching the end of the village street the procession was obliged +to turn and retrace its steps over the same ground until it +reached the business part of the town, where it would turn off +and pass through some of the side streets. + +Now there were two lines, moving in opposite directions. This +was of interest to Phil, enabling him, as it did, to get a good +look at the other members of the troupe. Mr. Sparling was riding +ahead in a carriage drawn by four splendid white horses, driven +by a coachman resplendent in livery and gold lace, while the +bobbing plumes on the heads of the horses added to the +impressiveness of the picture. + +"I'd give anything in the world to be able to ride in a carriage +like that," decided Phil. "Maybe someday I shall. We'll see." + +Now came the elephants, lumbering along on velvet feet. On the +second one there crouched a figure that somehow seemed strangely +familiar to Phil Forrest. The figure was made up to represent a +huge frog. + +A peculiar gesture of one of the frog's legs revealed the +identity of the figure beneath the mask. + +"Teddy!" howled Phil. + +"Have a frog's leg," retorted Teddy, shaking one of them +vigorously at the motley collection of clowns. + +"Not eating frogs legs today," jeered a clown, as Teddy went +swinging past them, a strange, grotesque figure on the back of +the huge, hulking beast. + +The clowns' wagon was just on the point of turning when the men +heard a loud uproar far down the line. At first they thought it +was a part of the show, but it soon became apparent that +something was wrong. + +Phil instinctively let the horn fall away from his lips. He +peered curiously over the swaying line to learn what, if +anything, had gone wrong. + +He made out the cause of the trouble almost at once. A pony with +a woman on its back had broken from the line, and was plunging +toward them at a terrific pace. She appeared to have lost all +control of the animal, and the pony, which proved to be an ugly +broncho, was bucking and squealing as it plunged madly down the +street. + +The others failed to see what Phil had observed almost from the +first. The bit had broken in the mouth of the broncho and the +reins hung loosely in the woman's helpless hands. + +They were almost up with the clowns' wagon when the woman was +seen to sway dizzily in her saddle, as the leather slipped +beneath her. Then she plunged headlong to the ground. + +Instead of falling in a heap, the circus woman, with head +dragging, bumping along the ground, was still fast to the pony. + +"Her foot is caught in the stirrup!" yelled half a dozen men at +once, but not a man of them made an effort to rescue her. Perhaps +this was because none of the real horsemen of the show were near +enough to do so. + +Mr. Sparling, however, at the first alarm, had leaped from his +carriage, and, thrusting a rider from his mount, sprang into the +saddle and came tearing down the line in a cloud of dust. He was +bearing down on the scene at express train speed. + +"The woman will be killed!" + +"Stop him! Stop him!" + +"Stop him yourself!" + +But not a man made an effort to do anything. + +It had all occurred in a few seconds, but rapidly as the events +succeeded each other, Phil Forrest seemed to be the one among +them who retained his presence of mind. + +He fairly launched himself into the air as the ugly broncho shot +alongside the clowns' wagon. + + + +CHAPTER VI + +PROVING HIS METTLE + +Familiar as they were with daring deeds, those of the circus +people who witnessed Phil Forrest's dive gasped. + +They expected to see the boy fall beneath the feet of the +plunging pony, where he would be likely to be trampled and kicked +to death. + +But Phil had looked before he leaped. He had measured his +distance well--had made up his mind exactly what he was going to +do, or rather what he was going to try to do. + +The pony, catching a brief glimpse of the dark figure that was +being hurled through the air directly toward him, made a swift +leap to one side. But the animal was not quick enough. The boy +landed against the broncho with a jolt that nearly knocked the +little animal over, while to Phil the impact could not have been +much more severe, it seemed to him, had he collided with a +locomotive. + +"Hang on!" howled a voice from the wagon. + +That was exactly what he intended to do. + +The cloud of dust, with Mr. Sparling in the center of it, had not +reached them, but his keen eyes already had observed what was +going on. + +"G-g-g-grab the woman!" shouted Phil. + +His left arm had been thrown about the broncho's neck, while his +right hand was groping frantically for the animal's nose. But +during all this time the pony was far from idle. He was plunging +like a ship in a gale, cracking the whip with Phil Forrest until +it seemed as if every bone in the lad's body would be broken. He +could hear his own neck snap with every jerk. + +With a howl Miaco, the head clown, launched himself from the +wagon, too. Darting in among the flying hoofs--there seemed to +be a score of them--he caught the woman, jerked her foot free of +the stirrup and dragged her quickly from her perilous position. + +"She's free. Let go!" he roared to the boy holding the pony. + +But by this time Phil had fastened his right hand on the pony's +nostrils, and with a quick pressure shut off the animal's wind. +He had heard the warning cry. The lad's grit had been aroused, +however, and he was determined that he would not let go until he +should have conquered the fighting broncho. + +With a squeal of rage, the pony leaped sideways. A deep ditch +led along by the side of the road, but this the enraged animal +had not noticed. Into it he went, kicking and fighting, pieces +of Phil's yellow robe streaming from his hoofs. + +The lad's body was half under the neck of the pony, but he was +clinging to the neck and the nose of the beast with desperate +courage. + +"Get the boy out of there!" thundered Mr. Sparling, dashing up +and leaping from his pony. "Want to let him be killed?" + +By this time others had ridden up, and some of the real horsemen +in the outfit sprang off and rushed to Phil Forrest's assistance. +Ropes were cast over the flying hoofs before the men thought it +wise to get near them. Then they hauled Phil out, very much the +worse for wear. + +In the meantime Mr. Sparling's carriage had driven up and he was +helping the woman in. + +"Is the boy hurt?" he called. + +"No, I'm all right, thank you," answered Phil, smiling bravely, +though he was bruised from head to foot and his clothing hung in +tatters. His peaked clown's cap someone picked up in a field +over the fence and returned to him. That was about all that was +left of Phil Forrest's gaudy makeup, save the streaks on his +face, which by now had become blotches of white and red. + +The clowns picked him up and boosted him to the wagon, jabbering +like a lot of sparrows perched on a telephone wire. + +"See you later!" shouted the voice of Mr. Sparling as he drove +rapidly away. + +Phil found his horn, and despite his aches and pains he began +blowing it lustily. The story of his brave rescue had gone on +ahead, however, and as the clowns' wagon moved on it was greeted +by tremendous applause. + +The onlookers had no difficulty in picking out the boy who had +saved the woman's life, and somehow the word had been passed +around as to his identity. + +"Hooray for Phil Forrest!" shouted the multitude. + +Phil flushed under the coating of powder and paint, and sought to +crouch down in the wagon out of sight. + +"Here, get up there where they can see you!" admonished a clown. +"If you're going to be a showman you mustn't be afraid to get +yourself in the spotlight." + +Two of them hoisted the blushing Phil to their shoulders and +broke into a rollicking song, swaying their bodies in imitation +of the movements of an elephant as they sang. + +At this the populace fairly howled with delight. + +"He's the boy, even if he ain't purty to look at," jeered someone +in the crowd. + +"Handsome is as handsome does!" retorted a clown in a loud voice, +and the people cheered. + +After this the parade went on without further incident, though +there could be no doubt that the exciting dash and rescue by one +of their own boys had aroused the town to a high pitch of +excitement. And the showmen smiled, for they knew what that +meant. + +"Bet we'll have a turn-away this afternoon," announced a clown. + +"Looks that way," agreed another, "and all on account of the +kid." + +"What's a turn-away?" asked Phil. + +"That's when there are more people want to get in than the tent +will hold. And it means, too, that the boss will be good natured +till it rains again, and the wagons get stuck in the mud so that +we'll make the next town behind time. At such times he can make +more noise than the steam calliope." + +"He seems to me to be a pretty fine sort of a man, even if he is +gruff," suggested Phil. + +"The best ever," agreed several clowns. "You'll look a long way +before you'll find a better showman, or a better man to his help, +than Jim Sparling. Ever been in the show business, kid?" + +Phil shook his head. + +"Anybody'd think you always had been, the way you take hold of +things. I'll bet you'll be in it before you are many years +older." + +"I'd like to," glowed the lad. + +"Ask the boss." + +"No, he wouldn't want me. There is nothing I could do now, I +guess." + +Further conversation was interrupted by the bugle's song +announcing the disbanding of the parade, the right of the line +having already reached the circus lot. + +The clowns piled from the hayrack like a cataract, the cataract +having all the colors of the rainbow. + +Phil, not to be behind, followed suit, though he did not quite +understand what the rush was about. He ran until he caught up +with Miaco. + +"What's the hurry about?" he questioned. + +"Parade's over. Got to hurry and get dinner, so as to be ready +for the afternoon performance." + +All hands were heading for the dressing tent in a mad rush. + +Phil was halted by the assistant manager. + +The lad glanced down rather sheepishly at his costume, which was +hanging in tatters, then up at the quizzically smiling face of +the showman. + +"I--I'm sorry I've spoiled it, sir, but I couldn't help it." + +"Don't worry about that, young man. How did it happen?" he +questioned, pretending not to know anything about the occurrence +in which Phil had played a leading part. + +"Well, you see, there was a horse ran away, and I happened to get +in the way of it. I--" + +"Yes, Forrest, I understand all about it. Somebody did something +to that animal to make it run away and the boss is red headed +over it." + +"I--I didn't." + +"No, that's right. It was lucky that there was one person in the +parade who had some sense left, or there would have been a dead +woman with this outfit," growled the assistant. + +"Was she badly hurt?" + +"No. Only bruised up a bit. These show people get used to hard +knocks." + +"I'm glad she is all right. Who is she?" + +"Don't you know?" + +"No." + +"That was Mr. Sparling's wife whose life you saved, and I reckon +the boss will have something to say to you when he gets sight of +you again." + + + +CHAPTER VII + +MAKING FRIENDS WITH THE ELEPHANTS + +"Is it possible? I didn't know that," marveled the boy. "And +does she perform?" + +"Everybody works in this outfit, young man," laughed the +assistant, "as you will learn if you hang around long enough. +Going to the show?" + +"Yes, sir." + +"Got seats?" + +"Mr. Sparling provided me with tickets, thank you. But I've got +to get home first and put on some other clothes. This suit is +about done for, isn't it?" + +"I should say it was. You did that stopping the horse, didn't +you?" + +Phil nodded. + +"Boss will buy you a new suit for that." + +"Oh, no; I couldn't allow him to do that," objected Phil. + +"Well, you are a queer youngster. So long. I'll see you when +you come in this afternoon. Wait, let me see your tickets." + +The lad handed them over wonderingly, at which his questioner +nodded approvingly. + +"They're good seats. Hope you will enjoy the show." + +"Thank you; I am sure I shall," answered Phil, touching his hat +and starting on a run for home. + +Arriving there, Mrs. Cahill met him and threw up her hands in +horror when she observed the condition of his clothes. + +"I am afraid they are gone for good," grinned Phil rather +ruefully. + +"No. You leave them with me. I'll fix them up for you. I heard +how you saved that show woman's life. That was fine, my boy. I'm +proud of you, that I am. You did more than all those circus men +could do, and the whole town is talking about it." + +"If you are going to the show you had better be getting ready," +urged Phil, wishing to change the subject. + +"All right, I will. I'll fix your clothes when I get back. Will +you be home to supper?" + +"I don't know for sure. If I can I'll be back in time, but +please don't wait for me. Here is your ticket." + +The lad hurried to the room the good woman had set aside for him +and quickly made the change of clothing. He was obliged to +change everything he had on, for even his shirt had been torn in +his battle with the broncho. After bathing and putting on the +fresh clothes, Phil hurried from the house, that he might miss +nothing of the show. + +The sideshow band was blaring brazenly when he reached the lot. +The space in front of the main entrance was packed with people, +many of whom pointed to him, nodding their heads and directing +the attention of their companions to the lad. + +Phil wished he might be able to skulk in by the back door and +thus avoid their attention, but as this was impossible, he pulled +his hat down over his eyes and worked his way slowly toward the +front of the crowd. + +Getting near the entrance, he saw Mr. Sparling's assistant. The +latter, chancing to catch sight of Phil, motioned him to crawl +under the ropes and come in. The boy did so gratefully. + +"The doors are not open yet, but you may go in. You will have +time to look over the animals before the crowd arrives, then you +can reach your seat before the others get in. Please let me see +those checks once more." + +The assistant made a mental note of the section and number of the +seats for future reference and handed back the coupons. + +Phil stole into the menagerie tent, relieved to be away from the +gaze and comments of the crowd that was massed in front. + +"Gracious, I'm afraid I wouldn't make a very good circus man. I +hate to have everybody looking at me as if I were some natural or +unnatural curiosity. Wonder if I will know any of the show +people when they are made up, as they call it, and performing in +the ring? I shouldn't wonder if they didn't know me in my best +clothes, though," grinned the boy. + +Phil had had the forethought to bring a few lumps of sugar in his +pocket. Entering the menagerie tent, he quickly made his way to +the place where the elephants were chained, giving each one of +the big beasts a lump. He felt no fear of them and permitted +them to run their sensitive trunks over him and into his pockets, +where they soon found the rest of the sugar. + +After disposing of the sweets, both beasts emitted a loud +trumpeting. At such close quarters the noise they made seemed to +shake the ground. + +"Why do they do that?" questioned Phil of the keeper. + +"That's their way of thanking you for the sugar. You've made +friends of both of them for life. They'll never forget you, even +if they don't see you for several seasons." + +"Do they like peanuts?" + +"Do they? Just try them." + +Phil ran to a snack stand at the opposite side of the tent and +bought five cents' worth of peanuts, then hurried back to the +elephants with the package. + +"What are their names?" + +"The big one is Emperor and the smaller one is called Jupiter," +answered the keeper, who had already recognized his young +visitor. + +"Are they ever ugly?" + +"Never have been. But you can't tell. An elephant is liable to +go bad most any time, then you--" + +"But how can you tell, or can't you?" + +"Most always, unless they are naturally bad." + +"How do you know?" + +"See that little slit on the cheek up there?" + +"Yes," said Phil, peering at the great jowls wonderingly. + +"Well, several days before they get in a tantrum you will see a +few tear drops--that's what I call them--oozing from that little +slit. I don't know whether it's water on the brain or what it is. +But when you see the tear drops you want to get from under and +chain Mr. Elephant down as quickly as possible. + +"That is strange." + +"Very. But it's a sure sign. Never knew it to fail, and I've +known some elephants in my time. But Emperor and Jupiter never +have shed a tear drop since I've known them. They are not the +crying kind, you know." + +The lad nodded understandingly. + +"How about the lions and the tigers--can you tell when they are +going to have bad spells?" + +"Well," reflected the showman, "it's safe to say that they've +always got a grouch on. The cats are always--" + +"Cats?" + +"Yes. All that sort of animals belong to the cat family and +they've got only one ambition in life." + +"What's that?" + +"To kill somebody or something." + +"But their keepers--don't they become fond of their keepers or +trainers?" + +The elephant tender laughed without changing the expression of +his face. His laugh was all inside of him, as Phil characterized +it. + +"Not they! They may be afraid of their keeper, but they would as +soon chew him up as anybody else--I guess they would rather, for +they've always got a bone to pick with him." + +"Do any of the men go in the cages and make the animals perform +here?" + +"Oh, yes. Wallace, the big lion over there, performs every +afternoon and night. So does the tiger in the cage next to him." + +Phil had dumped the bag of peanuts into his hat, which he held +out before him while talking. Two squirming trunks had been busy +conveying the peanuts to the pink mouths of their owners, so that +by the time Phil happened to remember what he had brought them, +there was not a nut left in the hat. + +He glanced up in surprise. + +"Emperor, you are a greedy old elephant," laughed Phil, patting +the trunk. + +Emperor trumpeted loudly, and the call was immediately taken up +even more loudly by his companion. + +"No, you can't have any more," chided Phil. "You will have +indigestion from what you've already eaten, I'm afraid. Behave, +and I'll bring you some more tonight if I come to the show," he +laughed. + +Two caressing trunks touched his hands, then traveled gently over +his cheeks. They tickled, but Phil did not flinch. + +"You could do most anything with them now, you see," nodded the +keeper. "They'd follow you home if I would let them." + +"Especially if my pockets were full of sweets." + +"There's the animal trainer getting ready to go into the lion +cage, if you want to see him," the attendant informed him. + +"Yes, I should like to. And thank you very much for your +kindness." + +"You're welcome. Come around again." + +The boy hurried over to the lion cage. The people were now +crowding into the menagerie tent in throngs. There seemed to +Phil to be thousands already there. But all eyes now being +centered on Wallace's cage, they had no time to observe Phil, for +which he was duly thankful. + +The animal trainer, clad in red tights, his breast covered with +spangles, was already at the door of the cage, whip in hand. When +a sufficient crowd had gathered about him, he opened the door, +and, entering the cage threw wide the iron grating that shut +Wallace off from the door end of the wagon. The big lion bounded +out with a roar that caused the people to crowd back +instinctively. + +Then the trainer began putting the savage beast through its +paces, causing it to leap over his whip, jump through paper +hoops, together with innumerable other tricks that caused the +spectators to open their mouths in wonder. All the time Wallace +kept up a continual snarling, interspersed now and then with a +roar that might have been heard a quarter of a mile away. + +This was a part of the exhibition, as Phil shrewdly discovered. +The boy was a natural showman, though unaware of the fact. He +noted all the little fine points of the trainer's work with as +much appreciation as if he had himself been an animal trainer. + +"I half believe I should like to try that myself," was his mental +conclusion. "But I should want to make the experiment on a very +little lion at first. If I got out with a whole skin I might +want to tackle something bigger. I wonder if he is going into +the tiger cage?" + +As if in answer to his question, an announcer shouted out the +information that the trainer would give an exhibition in the cage +of the tiger just before the evening performance. + +"I'll have to see that," muttered Phil. "Guess I had better get +in and find my seat now." + +At the same time the crowd, understanding that the lion +performance was over, began crowding into the circus tent. + +The band inside swung off into a sprightly tune and Phil could +scarcely repress the inclination to keep time to it with his +feet. Altogether, things were moving pretty well with Phil +Forrest. They had done so ever since he left home the day before. +In that one day he had had more fun than had come to him in many +years. + +But his happy day would soon be ended. He sighed as he thought +of it. Then his face broke out into a sunny smile as he caught a +glimpse of the ropes and apparatus, seen dimly through the +afternoon haze, in the long circus tent. + +As he gained the entrance between the two large tents he saw the +silk curtains at the far end of the circus arena fall apart, +while a troop of gayly caparisoned horses and armored riders +suddenly appeared through the opening. + +The grand entry was beginning. + +"Gracious, here the show has begun and I am not anywhere near my +seat," he exclaimed. "But, if I am going to be late I won't be +alone. There are a whole lot more of us that were too much +interested in the animal trainer to think to come in and get our +seats. I guess I had better run. I--" + +Phil started to run, but he got no further than the start. + +All at once his waist was encircled in a powerful grip and he +felt his feet leaving the ground. Phil was being raised straight +up into the air by some strange force, the secret of which he did +not understand. + + + +CHAPTER VIII + +IN THE SAWDUST ARENA + +The lad repressed an inclination to cry out, for the thing that +had encircled his waist and raised him up seemed to be tightening +about him. + +A familiar voice just behind him served to calm Phil's disquieted +nerves. + +"Don't be frightened, kid. It's only Emperor having a little +joke. He's a funny fellow," said the elephant's attendant. + +Phil had read somewhere that elephants possessed a keen sense of +humor, and now he was sure of it. But he never thought he would +have an opportunity to have the theory demonstrated on himself. + +The elephants were on their way to participate in the grand +entry, and there was not a minute to spare now. Emperor on his +way into the other tent had come across his new-found friend and +recognized him instantly, while Phil had not even heard the +approach of the elephants. + +No sooner had the elephant discovered the lad than he picked him +up with his trunk, slowly hoisting the boy high in the air. + +"Steady, Emperor! Steady!" cautioned the attendant. But Emperor +needed no admonition to deal gently with his young friend. He +handled Phil with almost the gentleness of a mother lifting a +babe. + +Phil Forrest experienced a thrill that ran all through him when +he realized what was taking place. + +"We can't stop to put you down now, my boy. You'll have to go +through the performance with us. Grab the head harness when he +lets you down on his head. You can sit on the head without +danger, but keep hold of the harness with one hand. I'll bet +you'll make a hit." + +"I will if I fall off," answered Phil a bit unsteadily. + +As it was, the unusual motion made him a little giddy. + +"That's a good stunt. Stick to him, Forrest," directed a voice +as they swept on toward the ring. + +The voice belonged to Mr. Sparling, the owner of the show. He +was quick to grasp the value of Phil's predicament--that is, its +value to the show as a drawing card. + +By now the people began to understand that something unusual was +going on, and they asked each other what it was all about. + +"It's Phil Forrest riding the elephant," shouted one of the lad's +school friends, recognizing him all at once. "Hooray for Phil!" + +There were many of the pupils from his school there, and the +howling and shouting that greeted him made the lad's cheeks burn. +But now, instead of wanting to crawl under something and hide, +Phil felt a thrill of pleasure, of pride in the achievement that +was denied to all the rest of his friends. + +The inspiring music of the circus band, too, added to his +exhilaration. He felt like throwing up his hands and shouting. + +Suddenly he felt something tugging at his coat pocket, and +glancing down gave a start as he discovered the inquisitive trunk +of Emperor thrust deep down in the pocket. + +When the trunk came away it brought with it a lump of sugar that +Phil did not know he possessed. The sugar was promptly conveyed +to the elephant's mouth, the beast uttering a loud scream of +satisfaction. + +"Emperor, you rascal!" laughed Phil, patting the beast on the +head. + +Once more the trunk curled up in search of more sugar, but a +stern command from the trainer caused the beast to lower it +quickly. The time for play had passed. The moment had arrived +for Emperor to do his work and he was not the animal to shirk his +act. In fact, he seemed to delight in it. All elephants work +better when they have with them some human being or animal on +which they have centered their affections. Sometimes it is a +little black and tan dog, sometimes a full-grown man. In this +instance it happened to be a boy, and that boy Phil Forrest. + +"Waltz!" commanded the trainer. + +If Phil's head had swum before, it spun like a top now. Round +and round pirouetted the huge beasts, keeping in perfect step +with the music of the band, and tighter and tighter did the lad +grip the head harness of old Emperor. Phil closed his eyes after +a little because he had grown so dizzy that he feared he would +fall off. + +"Hang on, kid. It'll be Christmas by and by," comforted the +trainer humorously. + +"That's what I am trying to do," answered Phil a bit unsteadily. + +"How's your head?" + +"Whirling like a merry-go-round." + +He heard the trainer chuckling. + +The spectators were shouting out Phil's name all over the big +tent. + +"Fine, fine!" chuckled James Sparling, rubbing his palms +together. "That ought to fill the tent tonight." + +The spectators realized, too, that they were being treated to +something not down on the bills and their shouts and laughter +grew louder and louder. + +"Do you think you could stand up on his head?" came the voice of +the trainer just loud enough for Phil to hear. + +"Me? Stand on the elephant's head?" + +"Yes. Think you can do it?" + +"If I had a net underneath to catch me, maybe I'd try it." + +"Emperor won't let you fall. When I give the word he'll wrap his +trunk around your legs. That will hold you steady from the waist +down. If you can keep the rest of yourself from lopping over +you'll be all right. It'll make a hit--see if it don't." + +"I--I'll try it." + +"Wait till I give the word, then get up on all fours, but don't +straighten up till you feel the trunk about you. We'll make a +showman of you before you know it." + +"I seem to be the whole show as it is," grumbled Phil. + +"You are, just now--you and Emperor. Good thing the other +performers are not in the ring, or they would all be jealous of +you." + +"I wish Uncle Abner could see me now. Wouldn't he be mad!" +grinned Phil, as the memory of his crabbed relative came back to +him. "He'd come right out after me with his stick, he'd be so +angry. But I guess Emperor wouldn't let him touch me," decided +the boy proudly, with an affectionate pat to which the elephant +responded with a cough that sounded not unlike the explosion of a +dynamite cartridge. + +"All ready now. Don't be afraid. Hold each position till I give +you the word to change it." + +"Ready," announced the lad. + +"Emperor! Jupiter!" + +The twitching of a ponderous ear of each animal told that they +had heard and understood. + +"Rise!" + +Phil had scrambled to all fours. + +"Hold him, Emperor!" + +The great trunk curled up, ran over the boy's legs and twined +about them. + +"Up you go, kid!" + +Phil raised himself fearlessly, straightened and stood full upon +his feet. That strong grip on his legs gave him confidence and +told him he had nothing to fear. All he would have to do would +be to keep his ears open for the trainer's commands both to +himself and the beast, and he would be all right. + +He felt himself going up again. + +The sensation was something akin to that which Phil had once +experienced when jumping off a haystack. He felt as if his whole +body were being tickled by straws. + +The elephants were rising on their hind legs, uttering shrill +screams and mighty coughs, as if enraged over the humiliation +that was being put upon them. + +It seemed to Phil as if Emperor would never stop going up until +the lad's head was against the top of the tent. He ventured to +look down. + +What a distance it was! Phil hastily directed his glances +upward. + +At last the elephant had risen as high as he could go. He was +standing almost straight up and down, and on his head the slender +figure of the boy appeared almost unreal to those off on the +seats. + +Thunders of applause swept over the assemblage. People rose up +in their seats, the younger ones hurling hats high in the air and +uttering catcalls and shrill whistles, until pandemonium reigned +under the "big top," as the circus tent proper is called by the +showmen. + +"Swing your hat at them!" + +The trainer had to shout to make himself heard, and as it was +Phil caught the words as from afar off. + +He took off his soft hat and waved it on high, gazing wonderingly +off over the seats. He could distinguish nothing save a waving, +undulating mass of moving life and color. + +It was intoxicating. And Phil Forrest went suddenly dizzy again. + +"I'm losing my head," rebuked the lad. "If I don't pull myself +together I shall surely fall off. Then they will have something +to laugh at rather than to applaud." + +He took himself firmly in hand. But the applause did not abate +one whit. + +"Watch out, we're going down," warned the trainer. + +"Right!" + +The elephant trainer's command came out like the crack of a +ringmaster's whip. + +Slowly the great beasts lowered themselves toward the sawdust +ring. + +"Stoop over and grab the harness!" + +Phil did so. + +"Sit! Let go, Emperor!" + +The trunk was released instantly and Phil plumped to the beast's +head once more, amid the wildest applause. + +The band swung into another tune, which was the signal for the +next act to be brought on. At the same time the ringmaster blew +a shrill blast on his whistle. + +The trainer left the ring with his charges by an exit that he +seldom departed through. But he did so in order to leave Phil +near the place where his seats were, first having ascertained +where these were located. + +"Put him down, Emperor! Down, I say!" + +Emperor reached up an unwilling trunk, grasped Phil about the +waist and stood him on the ground. At the trainer's command the +beast released his hold of his friend and as the hook was gently +pressed against his side to hurry him, Emperor started +reluctantly away. + +Phil, with flushed face, a happy look in his eyes, had turned to +run up the aisle to his seats, when, with a loud trumpeting, +Emperor wheeled, and breaking away from his trainer, swept down +toward the spot where he had left Phil Forrest. + +The movement almost threw those in that section into a panic. +Women screamed, believing the animal had suddenly gone crazy, +while men sprang to their feet. + +Phil had turned at the first alarm, and, observing what was +taking place, with rare presence of mind trotted down to the +arena again. + +He reached there about the same time that Emperor did. + +With a shrill scream Emperor threw his long trunk about the lad, +and before Phil had time to catch his breath, he had been hurled +to the elephant's back. + +Uttering loud trumpetings the great elephant started on a swift +shamble for his quarters, giving not the slightest heed to his +trainer's commands to halt. + + + +CHAPTER IX + +GETTING HIS FIRST CALL + +"Let him go. Emperor won't hurt me," laughed Phil as soon as he +could get his breath, for he was moving along at a pace which +would have meant a tumble to the ground had the elephant not +supported the lad with its trunk. + +The audience soon seeing that no harm had come to the boy, set up +another roar, which was still loud in Phil's ears when Emperor +set his burden down after reaching the elephant quarters in the +menagerie tent. + +"You're a bad boy. Get down, sir, and let me off," chided Phil. + +The elephant, to his surprise, cautiously let himself down to his +knees, his trunk at the same time reaching out surreptitiously +for a wisp of fresh grass. + +Phil slipped off, laughing heartily. He had lost all fear of the +great, hulking beast. + +"Don't punish him, please," begged the boy when the keeper came +hurrying along with Jupiter. "But if you will make him let me +alone, I'll go in the other tent. I want to see the circus." + +"Wait a moment. I'll chain him up." + +The keeper soon had Emperor fast. Then after a final +affectionate petting Phil ran lightly to the other tent and +quickly made his way to his seat. The people were so engrossed +in the acts in the ring that they did not observe the boy +particularly this time. + +"Did I make a show of myself, Mrs. Cahill?" questioned the lad, +with sparkling eyes. + +"You did not. You were as handsome as a picture. There isn't +one of all those people that looks so handsome or so manly as--" + +"Please, please, Mrs. Cahill!" begged the lad, blushing +violently. "Have you seen anything of my friend Teddy? I had +forgotten all about him." + +"That looks like him down there." + +"Where?" + +"There, leaning against that pole," she pointed. + +Phil gazed in the direction indicated, and there, sure enough, +was Teddy Tucker leaning carelessly against the center pole. He +had no right to be there, as Phil well knew, and he watched with +amused interest for the moment when the other boy's presence +would be discovered. + +It came shortly afterwards. All at once the ringmaster fixed a +cold eye on Teddy. + +"Hey, you!" + +Teddy gave no heed to him. + +"Get out of there! Think you own this show?" + +The lad made believe that he did not hear. + +The ringmaster's long whip lash curled through the air, going off +with a crack that sounded as if a pistol had been fired, and +within an inch of Teddy's nose. + +Teddy sprang back, slapping a hand to his face, believing that he +had been hit. Then there followed a series of disconcerting +snaps all around his head as the long lash began to work, but so +skillfully was it wielded that the end of it did not touch him. + +But Teddy had had enough. He turned and ran for the seats. + +"Come up here," cried Phil, laughing immoderately. "Here's a +seat right beside us and there won't be any ringmaster to bother +you." + +Considerably crestfallen, the lad climbed up to where Phil and +Mrs. Cahill were sitting. + +"You mustn't go down there, you know, Teddy. They don't allow +outsiders in the ring while the performance is going on. Someone +might get hurt--" + +"They let you in," bristled Teddy. + +"That was different. They couldn't help themselves, and neither +could I. Emperor took me in whether I would or not; and, in +fact, I didn't know I was going till I was halfway there." + +Phil's companion surveyed him with admiration. + +"My, but you did cut a figure up on that elephant's head! I +should have been afraid." + +"There was nothing to be afraid of. But let's watch the +performance. There's a trapeze act going on now." + +For a few moments the lads watched the graceful bodies of the +performers slipping through the air. One would swing out from +his perch, flying straight into the arms of his fellow-performer +who was hanging head down from another swinging bar. On the +return sweep the first performer would catch his own bar and +return to his perch. + +"Looks easy. I'll bet I could do that," nodded Teddy. + +Phil shook his head. + +"Not so easy as it looks." + +"How much do you suppose they get--think they must get as much as +a dollar and a half a day for doing that? I'd do it for a +dollar, if I could," averred the irrepressible Teddy Tucker. + +"They get a good many more dollars than that, Teddy. I've heard +that some of them get all of twenty-five or thirty dollars a +week." + +Phil's companion whistled. + +The next act was a bareback riding exhibition, by a pretty, +graceful young woman whom the ringmaster introduced as +Mademoiselle Mora. + +At the crack of the whip she sprang lightly to the back of the +gray old ring horse and began a series of feats that made the +boys sit forward in their seats. + +At the conclusion of the act Mademoiselle Mora ran out to the +edge of the ring, and blowing a kiss at the blushing Phil, +tripped away on fairy feet for the dressing tent. + +"Did you see her? She bowed to me?" exclaimed Teddy +enthusiastically. + +"Guess she didn't see you at all, young man," replied Mrs. Cahill +dryly. "There's others in the tent besides you, even if the +ringmaster did crack his whip in your face and just miss your +nose." + +A clown came out and sang a song about a boy who had rescued a +beautiful young woman from a runaway horse and got kidnaped by an +elephant. The song made a hit, for most of the audience +understood that it referred to Phil Forrest. + +And so the performance went on, with a glitter and a crash, a +haze of yellow dust hanging like a golden cloud in the afternoon +sun, over spectators and performers alike. + +"Hello, there's Rod!" exclaimed Teddy. + +"Who?" + +"Rod. The red-haired kid we saw this morning, only his hair is +black now. He's covered up his own looks so he won't set the +tent on fire." + +"Oh, you mean Rodney Palmer? Yes, I guess that is he." + +"See, they're pulling him up on a rope. I wonder where he is +going?" + +"To those flying rings," explained Phil. "And there is a young +woman going up, too." + +One after another was pulled up, until a troupe of four had +ascended and swung off to the rings that were suspended far up +there in the haze. + +Both Phil and Teddy were more than ordinarily interested in this +act, for they were no mean performers on the rings themselves. In +the schoolyard an apparatus had been rigged with flying rings, +and on this the boys had practiced untiringly during the spring +months, until they had both become quite proficient. + +"Isn't he great?" breathed Teddy, as Rodney Palmer swung out into +the air, letting his legs slip through the rings until only his +toes were hanging to the slender support. + +"Yes; he certainly does do it fine." + +"We can do it just as well." + +"Perhaps, but not so gracefully." + +"See, he's swinging his hand at us." + +Sure enough, Rodney had picked out the two lads, and was smiling +at them and waving a hand in their direction. The two lads felt +very proud of this, knowing as they did that they were the envy +of every boy of their acquaintance within sight of them. + +The climax of the act was when the young woman seemed to plunge +straight down toward the ground. + +The women in the audience uttered sharp little cries of alarm. +But the performer was not falling. Strong slender ropes had been +fastened to her heels, the other ends being held by one of the +performers who was hanging from the rings. + +As a result the falling girl's flight was checked just before she +reached the ground and the spectators breathed a sigh of profound +relief. + +"My, that was great! I wouldn't want to do that." + +"No, you're too heavy, Teddy. That's why they have a girl do it. +She is slender and light--" + +"I'd be light headed." + +"Guess, I would, too," laughed Phil. + +At this juncture an attendant came running up the steps, halting +before the lads. + +"Are you Phil Forrest?" he asked. + +"Yes." + +"The boss wants to see you." + +"Mr. Sparling? All right. I wanted to see the rest of the show, +but I'll go." Phil rose reluctantly and followed the guide. +"I'll meet you by the ticket wagon if I don't get back here, +Teddy," he said. + + + +CHAPTER X + +PHIL GETS A SURPRISE + +"Where will I find Mr. Sparling?" + +"In the doghouse." + +"Where's that?" + +"Out back of the ticket wagon. It's a little A tent, and we call +it the boss's doghouse, because it's only big enough to hold a +couple of St. Bernards." + +"Oh! What does he want of me?" + +"Ask him," grinned the attendant, who, it developed, was an usher +in the reserved-seat section. "He don't tell us fellows his +business. Say, that was a great stunt you did with Emperor." + +"Oh, I don't know." + +"I do. There's the doghouse over there. See it?" + +"Yes, thank you." + +The attendant leaving him, Phil walked on alone to Mr. Sparling's +private office, for such was the use to which he put the little +tent that the usher had called the "doghouse." + +"I wonder what he can want of me?" mused Phil. "Probably he +wants to thank me for stopping that pony. I hope he doesn't. I +don't like to be thanked. And it wasn't much of anything that I +did anyway. Maybe he's going to--but what's the use of +guessing?" + +The lad stepped up to the tent, the flaps of which were closed. +He stretched out his hand to knock, then grinned sheepishly. + +"I forgot you couldn't knock at a tent door. I wonder how +visitors announce themselves, anyway." + +His toe, at that moment, chanced to touch the tent pole and that +gave him an idea. Phil tapped against the pole with his foot. + +"Come in!" bellowed the voice of the owner of the show. + +Phil entered, hat in hand. At the moment the owner was busily +engaged with a pile of bills for merchandise recently purchased +at the local stores, and he neither looked up nor spoke. + +Phil stood quietly waiting, noting amusedly the stern scowl that +appeared to be part of Mr. Sparling's natural expression. + +"Well, what do you want?" he demanded, with disconcerting +suddenness. + +"I--I was told that you had sent for me, that you wanted to see +me," began the lad, with a show of diffidence. + +"So I did, so I did." + +The showman hitched his camp chair about so he could get a better +look at his visitor. He studied Phil from head to foot with his +usual scowl. + +"Sit down!" + +"On the ground, sir?" + +"Ground? No, of course not. Where's that chair? Oh, my lazy +tent man didn't open it. I'll fire him the first place we get to +where he won't be likely to starve to death. I hear you've been +trying to put my show out of business." + +"I wasn't aware of it, sir," replied Phil, looking squarely at +his questioner. "Perhaps I was not wholly blameless in attaching +myself to Emperor." + +"Huh!" grunted Mr. Sparling, but whether or not it was a grunt of +disapproval, Phil could not determine. + +"So you're not living at home?" + +"I have no home now, sir." + +"Just so, just so. Brought up in refined surroundings, parents +dead, crabbed old uncle turned you out of doors for reasons best +known to himself--" + +Phil was amazed. + +"You seem to know all about me, sir." + +"Of course. It's my business to know something about everything. +I ought to thank you for getting Mrs. Sparling out of that mix-up +this morning, but I'll let her do that for herself. She wants to +see you after the performance." + +"I don't like to be thanked, Mr. Sparling, though I should like +to know Mrs. Sparling," said Phil boldly. + +"Neither do I, neither do I. Emperor has gone daffy over you. +What did you feed him?" + +"Some sugar and peanuts. That was all." + +"Huh! You ought to be a showman." + +"I have always wanted to be, Mr. Sparling." + +"Oh, you have, eh?" + +"Yes, sir." + +"Well, why don't you?" + +"I have never had the opportunity." + +"You mean you've never looked for an opportunity. There are +always opportunities for everything, but we have to go after +them. You've been going after them today for the first time, and +you've nailed one of them clear up to the splice of the center +pole. Understand?" + +"Not entirely, sir." + +"Well, do you want to join out with the Great Sparling Combined +Shows, or don't you?" + +"You mean--I join the--the--" + +Mr. Sparling was observing him narrowly. + +"I said, would you like to join our show?" + +"I should like it better than anything else in the world." + +"Sign this contract, then," snapped the showman, thrusting a +paper toward Phil Forrest, at the same time dipping a pen in the +ink bottle and handing it to him. + +"You will allow me to read it first, will you not?" + +"Good! That's the way I like to hear a boy talk. Shows he's got +some sense besides what he's learned in books at some--well, +never mind." + +"What--what is this, ten dollars a week?" gasped Phil, scarcely +able to believe his eyes as he looked at the paper. + +"That's what the contract says, doesn't it?" + +"Yes, sir." + +"Then, that's what it is. Traveling expenses and feed included. +You are an easy keeper?" + +"Well, I don't eat quite as much as a horse, if that's what you +mean," laughed Phil. + +"Huh!" + +After reading the contract through, the lad affixed his signature +to it with trembling hand. It was almost too good to be true. + +"Thank you, sir," he said, laying the paper before Mr. Sparling. + +"And now, my lad," added the showman more mildly, "let me give +you some advice. Some folks look upon circus people as rough and +intemperate. That day's past. When a man gets bad habits he's +of no further use in the circus business. He closes mighty +quick. Remember that." + +"Yes, sir. You need not worry about my getting into any such +trouble." + +"I don't, or I wouldn't take you. And another thing: Don't get +it into your head, as a good many show people do, that you know +more about running the business than the boss does. He might not +agree with you. It's a bad thing to disagree with the boss, eh?" + +"I understand, sir." + +"You'd better." + +"What do you want me to do? I don't know what I can do to earn +that salary, but I am willing to work at whatever you may put me +to--" + +"That's the talk. I was waiting for you to come to that. But +leave the matter to me. You'll have a lot of things to do, after +you get your bearings and I find out what you can do best. As it +is, you have earned your salary for the first season whether you +do anything else or not. You saved the big cat and you probably +saved my wife's life, but we'll let that pass. When can you join +out?" + +"I'm ready now, sir. I shall want to go home and get my things +and my books." + +"Huh! That's right. Take your time. We shan't be pulling out +of here till after midnight, so you'd better go home and get +ready. You'll want to bid good-bye to Mrs. Ca--Ca--Cahill." + +"I wonder if there is anything that he doesn't know about," +marveled Phil. + +"Anything you want to ask me about--any favor you'd like? If +there is, get it out." + +"Well, yes, there is, but I scarcely feel like asking it, you +have been so kind to me." + +"Shucks!" + +"I--I have a little friend, who--who, like myself, has no parents +and is crazy over the circus. He wants to be a circus man just +as much as I do. If you had a place--if you could find something +for him to do, I should appreciate it very much." + +"Who is he, that youngster with the clown face, who crawled in +under the tent this afternoon?" + +Phil laughed outright. + +"I presume so. That's the way he usually gets in." + +"Where is he now?" + +"Seeing the performance, sir." + +"Nail him when he comes out. We'll give him all the show he +wants." + +With profuse thanks Phil Forrest backed from the tent and walked +rapidly toward the entrance. It seemed to him as if he were +walking on air. + +"Let that boy through. He's with the show now," bellowed Mr. +Sparling, poking his head from the doghouse tent. + +The gateman nodded. + +"How soon will the performance be over?" inquired Phil, +approaching the gateman. + +"Ten minutes now." + +"Then, I guess I won't go in. I promised to meet Teddy over by +the ticket wagon anyway." + +But Phil could not stand still. Thrusting his hands in his +pockets he began pacing back and forth, pondering deeply. He did +not observe the shrewd eyes of Mr. Sparling fixed upon him from +behind the flap of the little tent. + +"At last, at last!" mused Phil. "I'm a real live showman at +last, but what kind of a showman I don't know. Probably they'll +make me help put up the tents and take them down. But, I don't +care. I'll do anything. And think of the money I'll earn. Ten +dollars a week!" he exclaimed, pausing and glancing up at the +fluttering flags waving from center and quarter poles. "Why, +it's a fortune! I shall be able to save most all of it, too. Oh, +I'm so happy!" + +"They're coming out," called the gateman to him. + +"Thank you." + +Phil's face was full of repressed excitement when Teddy came +slouching up to him. + +"Bully show," announced the lad. "Didn't know which way to look, +there was so much to be seen." + +"How would you like to join the show and be a real circus man?" +demanded Phil. + +"Great!" + +"Maybe I can fix it for you." + +"You?" + +"Yes." + +"Don't give me such a shock, Phil. You said it almost as if you +meant it." + +"And I did." + +Teddy gazed at his companion for a full minute. + +"Something's been going on, I guess--something that I don't seem +to know anything about." + +"There has, Teddy. I'm already a showman. You come with me. Mr. +Sparling wants to speak with you. Don't be afraid of him. He +talks as if he was mad all the time, but I'm sure he isn't." + +Grasping Teddy by the arm Phil rushed him into Mr. Sparling's +tent, entering this time without knocking. + +"This is my friend whom I spoke to you about," announced Phil, +thrusting Teddy up before the showman. + +Mr. Sparling eyed the lad suspiciously. + +"Want to join out, too, eh?" + +"I--I'd like to," stammered Teddy. + +"Do your parents approve of your going with a show?" + +"I--I don't know, sir." + +"You'd better find out, then. Ask them mighty quick. This is no +camp meeting outfit that plays week stands." + +"Can't." + +"Why not?" + +" 'Cause they're dead." + +"Huh! Why didn't you say so before?" + +"You didn't ask me." + +"You're too smart, young man." + +"Takes a smart man to be a circus man, doesn't it?" + +"I guess you're right at that," answered the showman, his stern +features relaxing into a smile. "You'll do. But you'd better +not hand out that line of sharp talk in bunches when you get with +the show. It might get you into trouble if you did." + +"Yes, sir; I'll be good." + +"Now, you boys had better run along and make your preparations. +You may take your supper in the cook tent tonight if you wish. +But you will have to be on hand promptly, as they take down the +cook tent first of all." + +"Thank you; we will," answered Phil. + +"What act--what do I perform?" questioned Teddy, swelling with +pride. + +"Perform?" + +"Yes." + +"Ho, ho, ho!" + +"I'm going to be a performer and wear pink pants, ain't I?" + +"A performer? Oh, that's too good. Yes, my son, you shall be a +performer. How would you like to be a juggler?" + +"Fine!" + +"Then, I think I'll let you juggle the big coffeepot in the cook +tent for the edification of the hungry roustabouts," grinned Mr. +Sparling. + +"What do I do?" + +"Do, young man--do?" + +"Yes, sir." + +"Why, you stand by the coffee boiler in the cook tent, and when +you hear a waiter bawl 'Draw one,' at the same time throwing a +pitcher at you from halfway across the tent, you catch the +pitcher and have it filled and ready for him by the time he gets +to you." + +"Do I throw the pitcherful of coffee back at him?" questioned +Teddy innocently. + +"You might, but you wouldn't be apt to try it a second time. +You'd be likely to get a resounding slap from the flat of his +hand--" + +"I'd hit him on the nose if he did," declared Teddy +belligerently. + +Mr. Sparling could not resist laughing. + +"That's not the way to begin. But you will learn. Follow your +friend Phil, here, and you will be all right if I am any judge of +boys. I ought to be, for I have boys of my own. You'd better be +going now." + +The two lads started off at a brisk pace. Phil to tell Mrs. +Cahill of his good fortune. Teddy to bid good-bye to the people +with whom he had been living as chore boy. + + + +CHAPTER XI + +THE FIRST NIGHT WITH THE SHOW + +"Teddy, you and I are a pair of lucky boys. Do you know it?" +asked Phil. + +Each, with his bag of belongings, was on his way to the circus +lot, the boys having bid good-bye to their friends in the +village. + +The people with whom Teddy lived had given a reluctant consent to +his going with the circus, after he had explained that Phil +Forrest had gotten him the place and that Phil himself was going +to join the show. The lad told them he was going to make a lot +of money and that someday he would pay them for all they had done +for him. And he kept his word faithfully. + +"Maybe. I reckon Barnum & Bailey will be wanting us first thing +we know," answered Teddy. + +"We shall be lucky if we hold on to the job we have already. Did +Mr. Sparling say what he would pay you?" + +"No, he didn't think of that--at least I didn't. Did he tell you +how much you were going to get?" + +Phil nodded. + +"How much?" + +"I don't think I had better say," answered the lad doubtfully. +"If you ask him and he tells you, of course that will be all +right. I shall be glad to do so then. It isn't that I don't want +you to know, you understand, but it might be better business, +just now, to say nothing about it," added Phil, with a wisdom far +beyond his years. + +"Dark secret, eh?" jeered Teddy Tucker. + +"No; there's no secret about it. It is just plain business, +that's all." + +"Business! Huh! Who ever heard of a circus being business?" + +"You'll find business enough when you get in, Teddy Tucker." + +"Don't believe it. It's just good fun and that's all." + +They had reached the circus lot by this time and were now making +their way to Mr. Sparling's tent. + +"We have come to report, sir," announced Phil, entering the tent +with Teddy close behind him. "We are ready for work." + +There was a proud ring in Phil Forrest's voice as he made the +announcement. + +"Very well, boys. Hand your baggage over to the man at the +baggage wagon. If there is anything in either of your grips that +you will want during the night you had better get it out, for you +will be unable to get into the wagon after the show is on the +road. That's one of the early wagons to move, too." + +"I guess there is nothing except our tooth brushes and combs that +we shall need. We have those in our pockets." + +"Better take a couple of towels along as well." + +"Yes, sir; thank you." + +"The cook tent is open. Go over and have your suppers now. Wait +a moment, I'll go with you. They might not let you in. You see, +they don't know you there yet." + +Mr. Sparling, after closing and locking his trunk, escorted the +lads to the cook tent, where he introduced both to the manager of +that department. + +"Give them seats at the performers' table for tonight," he +directed. "They will be with the show from now on. Mr. Forrest +here will remain at that table, but the other, the Tucker boy, I +shall probably turn over to you for a coffee boy." + +The manager nodded good naturedly, taking quick mental measure of +the two lads. + +The boys were directed to their seats, which they took, almost as +if in a dream. It was a new and unfamiliar experience to them. +The odor of the food, the sweet scents from the green grass +underneath their feet, all so familiar to the showman, gave Phil +and Teddy appetites that even a canvasman might have envied. + +The performers glanced at them curiously, some of the former +nodding to Phil, having recognized in him the boy who had ridden +the elephant into the arena in the grand entry. + +"Not so much after all, are they?" grunted Teddy. + +"They are all human beings like ourselves, I guess," replied +Phil. + +Stripped of their gaudy costumes and paint, the performers looked +just like other normal beings. But instead of talking about the +show and their work, they were discussing the news of the day, +and it seemed to the two lads to be more like a large family at +supper than a crowd of circus performers. + +Rodney Palmer nodded good naturedly to them from further up the +long table, but they had no more than time to nod back when a +waiter approached to take their orders. Teddy ordered pretty +much everything on the bill, while Phil was more modest in his +demands. + +"Don't eat everything they have," he warned laughingly. + +"Plenty more where this came from. That's one good thing about a +show." + +"What's that?" + +"If the food gives out they can eat the animals." + +"Better look out that the animals don't make a meal of you." + +"Joining out?" asked the man sitting next to Phil. + +"Yes, sir." + +"Ring act?" + +"I don't know yet what I am to do. Mr. Sparling is giving me a +chance to find out what I am good for, if anything," smiled Phil. + +"Boss is all right," nodded the circus man. "That was a good +stunt you did this afternoon. Why don't you work that up?" + +"I--I'll think about it." Phil did not know exactly what was +meant by the expression, but it set him to thinking, and out of +the suggestion he was destined to "work up" something that was +really worthwhile, and that was to give him his first real start +in the circus world. + +"What's that funny-looking fellow over there doing?" interrupted +Teddy. + +"That man down near the end of the table?" + +"Yes." + +"That's Billy Thorpe, the Armless Wonder," the performer informed +him. + +"And he hasn't any hands?" wondered the boy. + +"Naturally not, not having any arms. He uses his feet for +hands." + +"What's he doing now?" + +"Eating with his feet. He can use them almost as handily as you +can your hands. You should see Billy sew, and write and do other +things. Why, they say he writes the best foot of anybody in the +show." + +"Doesn't he ever get cold feet?" questioned Teddy humorously. + +"Circus people are not afflicted with that ailment. Doesn't go +well with their business." + +"May I ask what you do?" inquired Phil. + +"I am the catcher in the principal trapeze act. You may have +seen me today. I think you were in the big top then." + +"Oh, yes, I saw you this afternoon." + +"How many people are with the show?" asked Teddy. + +"At a rough guess, I should say a hundred and fifty including +canvasmen and other labor help. It's a pretty big organization +for a road show, the biggest in the country; but it's small, so +small it would be lost if one of the big railroad shows was +around." + +"Is that another armless or footless wonder next to Billy +Thorpe?" asked Teddy. + +"It's a freak, yes, but with hands and feet. That's the living +skeleton, but if he keeps on eating the way he's been doing +lately the boss will have to change the bills and bill him as the +fattest man on earth." + +"Huh!" grunted Teddy. "He could crawl through a rat hole in a +barn door now. He's thin enough to cut cheese with." + +Phil gave his companion a vigorous nudge under the table. + +"You'll get into trouble if you are so free in expressing your +opinions," he whispered. "Don't forget the advice Mr. Sparling +gave you." + +"Apple or custard pie?" broke in the voice of the waiter. + +"Custard," answered Phil. + +"Both for mine," added Teddy. + +He got what he had ordered and without the least question, for +the Sparling show believed that the best way to make its people +contented was to feed them. + +Mr. Sparling and his assistants, Phil observed, occupied a table +by themselves. After he had finished the owner motioned to him +to join them, and there Mrs. Sparling made a place for him by her +side and thanked him briefly but warmly for his brave act. + +"I shall have to keep an eye on you two boys," she smiled. "Any +time I can help you with advice or otherwise you come right to +me. Don't you be backward about doing so, will you?" + +Phil assured her that he would not. + +The two lads after some further conversation strolled from the +cook tent. + +"I think I'll go in and see how the animals are getting along," +decided Phil, beginning to realize that he was free to go where +he would and without fear of being ordered off. + +Already people were gathering in front of the entrance for the +night performance. The doors were advertised to open at seven +o'clock, so that the spectators might have plenty of time in +which to view the collection of "rare and wonderful beasts, +gathered from the remote places of the earth," as the announcer +proclaimed from the vantage point of a dry goods box. + +Phil bought a bag of peanuts and took them in to his friend +Emperor, the beast uttering a shrill cry of joy when he saw Phil +approaching. + +"I'll try to teach him my whistle," said the boy, puckering his +lips and giving the signal that the boys of his school used in +summoning each other. + +"Think he'll remember that, Mr. Kennedy?" he asked of the +trainer. + +"Never forget it, will you, Emperor?" + +The elephant coughed. + +"Never forgets anything. Knows more than any man in the show +now, because he has lived longer." + +"How old is he?" + +"Close to a hundred." + +"You don't say?" marveled Teddy. "Hope I'll be able to squeal as +loud as that when I'm a hundred. Has he got a hole through his +trunk?" + +"Not that anybody knows of." + +"Come on; I want to see the fellow tame the tiger. I missed that +today, because he didn't do it at the afternoon show." + +They found Mr. Sparling standing in front of the cage. He, too, +was there to watch the performance. + +"This looks to me like ready money," he observed to Phil, nodding +his head toward the people who were crowding into the tent. + +"Mr. Forrest, will you ride Emperor in again tonight? I think +that's one of the reasons they have come here," said the showman, +shrewdly grasping the least thing that would tend to popularize +his show. + +"Certainly, sir. I shall enjoy it very much." + +They now turned their attention to the cage where the trainer had +begun with the savage tiger. + +"Bengal is in an ugly temper about something tonight," announced +Mr. Sparling in a low tone. "Better be careful, Bob," he +cautioned, after having stepped up close to the cage. + +"I'll take care of him," answered the trainer, without taking his +eyes from the beast for the fraction of a second. + +Phil had heard the dialogue and now drew closer to the cage, +stepping under the rope and joining Mr. Sparling. + +Teddy, of course, not to be left behind, crawled under the rope +also. + +"Sit down in front," shouted someone. "We can't see the animals +play." + +In a moment the spectators saw a play that was not down on the +bills. + +Bob was swinging the whip over Bengal's nose, the cruel lash +cutting the tender snout with every blow. But he was not doing +it from sheer cruelty, as many of the spectators who raised their +voices in loud protest imagined. + +Not understanding wild animals as the trainer did, they did not +realize that this plucky fellow was fighting for his life, even +though he used but a slender rawhide in his effort to do so. + +Bengal was crowding him. The least mistake on the trainer's part +now and the savage tiger would put a quick and terrible end to +him. + +"Stand back, everybody! Bring the prods!" bellowed Mr. Sparling. + +Phil understood that something was wrong, though he never would +have guessed it from the calm expression on the trainer's face. + +Not a word did the performer speak, but his hand rained blows on +the nose, while snarl after snarl was spit from between Bengal's +gleaming teeth. + +The trainer was edging slowly toward the door. He knew that +nothing could be done with the beast in its present state of +terrible temper. + +His only hope was that at a favorable moment, when the attendants +came with their long, iron bars, he might be able to spring from +the door at his back, which he was trying to reach. + +Phil's mind was working like an automatic machine. He saw now +what the trainer was attempting to do, and was seeking for some +means of helping the man. But what could a slender boy hope to +do against the power of a great, savage brute like Bengal? + +Phil concluded there was nothing. + +A pistol flashed almost in the face of the two lads. Mr. +Sparling had started away on a run to fetch the attendants who +either had not heard or failed to heed his call. + +"What did he do that f-f-for?" stammered Teddy. + +"To drive the tiger back. It was a blank cartridge that he +fired. I think the tiger is going to attack him. Yes, there he +goes! Oh, that's _terrible!_" + +The trainer had been forced against the bars at the back of the +cage by the animal, whose length was more than the width of the +cage itself. + +In an unsuspected moment the beast had sprung upon the +unfortunate man, and with one sweep of his powerful paw had laid +the man low. + +With a growl of savage joy, the brute settled back against the +bars of the cage near which the lads were standing. + +Women shrieked and men grew pale as they stood helpless to do +aught to avert the impending tragedy. + +Teddy slipped out from under the rope, his face ashen gray. But +Phil stood his ground. He felt that he _must_ do something. + +Then his opportunity came. The beast's great silken tail popped +out through the bars against which he was backing. + +Phil Forrest, without an instant's thought of the danger into +which he was placing himself, sprang forward. + +His hands closed over the tail, which he twisted about his right +arm in a flash, at the same time throwing up his feet and bracing +them against a wheel of the wagon. + +No sooner had he done so than Bengal, uttering a frightful roar, +whirled. The force of the jerk as the brute turned hurled Phil +Forrest against the bars of the cage with a crash, and Bengal's +sharp-clawed feet made a vicious sweep for the body of the lad +pressed so tightly against the bars. + + + +CHAPTER XII + +A THRILLING RESCUE + +"Open the door and let the man out!" shouted Phil, with great +presence of mind. But no one seemed to have the power to move. + +One sweep of the powerful claw and one side of the lad's clothes +was literally stripped from him, though he had managed to shrink +back just far enough to save himself from the needle like claws +of the tiger. + +At this moment men came rushing from other parts of the tent. +Some bore iron rods, while two or three carried tent poles and +sticks--anything that the circus men could lay their hands upon. + +Mr. Sparling was in the lead of the procession that dashed +through the crowd, hurling the people right and left as they ran. + +With every spring of the tiger Phil was being thrown against the +bars with terrific force, but still he clung to the tail that was +wrapped about his arm, hanging on with desperate courage. + +Though the lad was getting severe punishment, he was +accomplishing just what he had hoped for--to keep Bengal busy +until help arrived to liberate the unconscious trainer, who lay +huddled against the bars on the opposite side of the cage. + +"Poke one of the tent poles in to him and let him bite it!" +roared Mr. Sparling. "Half a dozen of you get around behind the +cage and when we have his attention one of you pull Bob out. +Keep your poles in the opening when you open the door, so Bengal +doesn't jump out. Everybody stand back!" + +The commands of the showman came out like so many explosions of a +pistol. But it had its effect. His men sprang to their work +like machines. + +In the meantime Mr. Sparling himself had grabbed the tail of the +beast, taking a hold higher up than Phil's. + +"Pull the boy off. He's hanging on like a bull dog. If you had +half his sense you'd have put a stop to this mix-up minutes ago." + +Teddy by this time had gotten in under the ropes again, and, +grasping his companion about the waist, he held on until he had +untwisted the tiger's tail from his companion's arm and released +Phil, staggering back with his burden against the rope. + +Phil's limp body, the moment Teddy let go of him, collapsed in a +heap. + +The circus men were too busy at the moment to notice him. One of +the men had thrust a short tent pole between the bars. Bengal +was upon it like an avalanche. + +Biting, clawing, uttering fierce growls, he tore the hard wood +into shreds, the man at the other end poking at the beast with +all his might. + +Cautiously the rear door of the cage was opened. Two men grasped +Bob by the shoulders and hauled him out with a quick pull. + +The crowd shouted in approval. + +"All out! Let go!" shouted Mr. Sparling. + +It took the strength of two men to pull the tent pole from +Bengal's grip. The instant he lost the pole the beast whirled +and pounced upon the spot where he had left his victim. + +Finding that he had lost his prey, the savage beast uttered roar +upon roar, that made every spectator in the tent tremble and draw +back, fearing the animal would break through the bars and attack +them. + +"Where's that boy?" + +"Here he is, and I guess he's hurt," answered Teddy. + +"Give him to me. I'll get him outside where we can get some +decent air into him. Is he much hurt?" + +"I--I don't know." + +The showman grabbed Phil, and as a helper lifted the bottom of +the tent's side wall, Mr. Sparling ran to his own small tent with +the unconscious Phil. + +"Fetch a pail of water." + +Teddy ran for the cook tent to get the water. He was amazed to +find no cook tent there. Instead, there remained only the open +plot of grass, trampled down, with a litter of papers and refuse +scattered about. + +By the time he had dashed back to the tent to inquire where he +could find a pail, one of the showmen had brought some water and +Mr. Sparling was bathing Phil's face with it. + +He had made a hasty examination of the unconscious boy's wounds, +which he did not believe were serious. + +Phil soon came to, and by that time the show's doctor had +arrived, having been in attendance on the wounded animal trainer. + +"No; he'll be sore for a few days, but there's nothing dangerous +about those scratches, I should say. I'll dress the wounds and +he can go on about his business," was the surgeon's verdict. + +"I've got to ride Emperor in tonight," objected Phil. + +"You'll do nothing of the sort. You'll get into my wagon and go +to bed. That's what you will do, and right quick, at that." + +"But," urged the lad, "the people will all think I am seriously +hurt if they see no more of me. Don't you think it would be a +good plan for me to show myself? They are liable to be uneasy +all through the performance. If I show myself they will settle +down and forget all about it in a few minutes." + +Mr. Sparling turned to his assistant with a significant nod. + +"I told you that boy was a natural born showman. You can't stop +that kind with a club. Can you stand up alone?" + +"Yes." + +Phil scrambled to his feet, steadying himself with a hand on the +table. + +"I'll be all right after I walk about a bit. How long before the +elephants go in?" + +"You've got fifteen minutes yet." + +"Then I may go on?" + +"Yes, yes, go on. You'll never be satisfied if you don't. But I +ought to take you over my knee and give you a sound walloping." + +"Thank you. How is Mr.--Mr.--the trainer?" + +"He isn't badly hurt, thanks to your presence of mind, young +man," answered the surgeon. + +"That makes two people you've saved today, Forrest," emphasized +Mr. Sparling. "We will call that a day's work. You have earned +your meal ticket. Better run back to the dressing tent and ask +them to fix up some clothes for you. Ask for Mrs. Waite, the +wardrobe woman. Teddy Tucker, you run in and tell Mr. Kennedy, +who has charge of the elephants, that Phil will ride tonight, and +to wait until he gets in." + +Both boys hurried away on their respective missions. All that +Mrs. Waite had that would come anywhere near fitting Phil was a +yellow robe that looked like a night gown. Phil grinned as he +tucked it under his arm and hurried back to the menagerie tent. +As he passed through the "big top" he saw that it was filling up +rapidly. + +"I guess we are going to have a good house tonight," muttered the +lad with a pleased smile. It did not occur to him that he +himself was responsible for a large part of the attendance--that +the part he had played in the exciting incidents of the day had +done more to advertise the Great Sparling Combined Shows than any +other one factor. + +"I am all ready, Mr. Kennedy," announced Phil, running to the +elephant quarters. The horns were blowing the signal for the +grand entry, so the lad grasped the head harness, as Emperor +stooped, and was quickly hoisted to the position in which he +would enter the ring. + +When the people saw that it was indeed Phil they set up a great +shout. The lad was pale but resolute. As he went through the +performance, his wounds smarted frightfully. At times the pain +made him dizzy. + +But Phil smiled bravely, waving his hands to the cheering people. + +After the finish of the act Mr. Kennedy headed the elephants into +the concourse, the open space between the rings and the seats, +making a complete circuit of the tent, so that all might see Phil +Forrest. + +"This is a kind of farewell appearance, you know," grinned +Kennedy. And so the audience took it. + +The lad's former companions shouted all manner of things to him. + +"Good-bye, Phil!" + +"Don't stick your head in the lion's mouth." + +"Be careful when you twist the tiger's tail. Better put some +salt on it before you do." + +"We'll look out for Uncle Abner." + +Phil was grinning broadly as he rode back into the menagerie +tent. Everybody in town now knew that he had joined the circus, +which brought forth a variety of comments. Some said it would be +the end of the boy, but Phil Forrest knew that a boy could behave +himself with a circus just as well as in any other occupation, +and so far as his observations went, the circus people were much +better than some folks he knew at home. + +No sooner had they gotten into the menagerie tent than a sudden +bustle and excitement were apparent. Confused shouts were heard +on all sides. Teams, fully harnessed, were being led into the +tent, quarter-poles were coming down without regard to where they +struck, everybody appearing to have gone suddenly crazy. + +"They're striking the tent," nodded Mr. Kennedy, noting the boy's +wonderment. "You had better look out for yourself. Don't stand +in the way or you may get hurt," he warned. + +"Get the bulls out!" called a man, hurrying by. + +"They're getting," answered Kennedy. + +"What do they mean by that?" + +"In circus parlance, the 'bulls' are the elephants. Where you +going to ride tonight?" + +"I don't know. Hello, there's my friend Teddy. I guess I had +better attach myself to him or he may get lost." + +As a matter of fact, Phil was not sure where he was himself, +activities were following each other with such surprising +rapidity. + +But the lads stuck to their ground until it was no longer safe to +do so. Phil was determined to see all there was to be seen, and +what he saw he remembered. He had no need to be told after that, +providing he understood the meaning of a certain thing at first. + +Observing that one man was holding to the peak rope, and that it +was rapidly getting the best of him, both lads sprang to his +assistance. + +"That's right, boys. That's the way to do it. Always be ready +to take advantage of every opening. You'll learn faster that +way, and you'll both be full-fledged showmen before you know it." + +"O Mr. Sparling," exclaimed Phil, after others had relieved them +on the rope. + +"Yes? What is it?" + +"I have been wanting to see you, to ask what you wish us to do +tonight--where we are to travel?" + +"You may sleep in my wagon. I'll take a horse for tonight." + +"I could not think of doing such a thing. No, Mr. Sparling, if I +am to be a circus man, I want to do just as the rest of them do. +Where do the other performers sleep?" + +"Wherever they can find places. Some few of the higher paid ones +have berths in wagons. Others sleep in the band wagon. The +rest, I guess, don't sleep at all, except after we get into a +town. The menagerie outfit will be leaving town very soon now. +You may go through with them if you wish." + +"If you do not object, I think I should prefer to remain until +the rest of the show goes out." + +"Suit yourself." + +Mr. Sparling understood how the lads felt, and perhaps it would +be better to let them break in at once, he reasoned. They would +become seasoned much sooner. + +The tent was taken down and packed away in the wagons in an +almost incredibly short time. + +"Come on; let's go into the circus tent and see what's going on +there," suggested Teddy. + +Phil agreed, and the lads strolled in. They found the +performance nearly over. When it was finished quite a large +number remained to see the "grand concert" that followed. + +While this was going on there was a crash and a clatter as the +men ripped up and loaded the seats, piling them into waiting +wagons that had been driven into the tent from the rear so as not +to be in the way of the people going out. + +"It's more fun to watch the men work than it is to see the +concert. That concert's a bum show," averred Teddy, thrusting his +hands in his pockets and turning his back on the "grand concert." + +"I agree with you," laughed Phil. "There's nothing but the +freaks there, and we'll see them, after this, every time we go +for our meals." + +"Have you been in the dressing tent yet?" asked Teddy. + +"No, I haven't had time. We'll have to look in there tomorrow, +though I don't think they care about having people visit them +unless they belong there. Just now we don't. Do you start work +in the cook tent tomorrow?" + +"Yes. I am to be the champion coffee drawer. I expect they will +have my picture on the billboards after a little. Wouldn't I +look funny with a pitcher of hot, steaming coffee in my hand +leaping over a table in the cook tent?" and Teddy laughed +heartily at the thought. "I'll bet I'd make a hit." + +"You mean you would get hit." + +"Well, maybe." + +The boys hung about until the big top had disappeared from the +lot. The tent poles and boxes of properties were being loaded on +the wagons, while out on the field, the ring horses, performing +ponies and the like stood sleeping, waiting for the moment when +they should be aroused for the start. + +"Come on, Teddy; let's you and I go make up our beds." + +"Where are they?" + +"We'll have to ask the porter," laughed Phil, who had traveled a +little with his parents years before. + +"It's a shame that that old tiger has to have a cage all to +himself. We could make up a fine bed if we had half of his cage +and some blankets," complained Teddy. + +"Thank you. I should prefer to walk. I have had all the +argument I want with that beast. Let's go try the band wagon." + +"All right; that would be fine to sleep way up there." + +Laughing and chattering, the lads hunted about on the lot until +they found the great glittering band wagon. Being now covered +with canvas to protect it from the weather, they had difficulty +in making it out, but finally they discovered it, off near the +road that ran by the grounds. Four horses were hitched to it, +while the driver lay asleep on the high seat. + +"Where will we get in?" + +"I don't know, Teddy; we will climb up and find out." + +Getting on the rear wheel they pulled themselves up, and finding +the canvas covering loose, threw it open. Teddy plumped in feet +first. + +Immediately there followed such a howling, such a snarling and +torrent of invective that, startled as he was, Phil lost his +balance on the wheel and fell off. + +No sooner had he struck the ground than a dark figure came +shooting from above, landing on him and nearly knocking all the +breath out of his body. + +Phil threw off the burden, which upon investigation proved to be +Teddy Tucker. + +"Wha--what happened?" stammered Phil. "Sounds as if we had +gotten into a wild animal cage." + +"I--I walked on somebody's face and he threw me out," answered +Teddy ruefully. Phil leaned against the wagon wheel and laughed +until his throat ached. + +"Get out of here! What do you mean?" bellowed an angry voice +over their heads. "Think my face is a tight rope to be walked on +by every Rube that comes along?" + +"Come--come on away, Teddy. We made a mistake. We got into the +wrong berth." + +"Here's another wagon, Phil. They're just hitching the horses. +Let's try this." + +"All right, it's a canvas wagon. Go ahead, we'll try it." + +"I've tried one wagon. It's your turn now," growled Teddy. + +"I guess you're right. If I get thrown out you catch me the same +as I did you," laughed Phil. + +"Yes, you _caught_ me, didn't you?" + +Phil climbed up, but with more caution than Teddy had exercised +in the case of the band wagon. + +"Anybody living in this bedroom tonight?" questioned Phil of the +driver. + +"Guess you are. First come first served. Pile in. You're the +kid that rode the bull, ain't you?" + +"And twisted the tiger's tail," added Teddy. + +"All right. Probably some others will be along later, but I'll +see to it that they don't throw you out." + +"Thank you. Come on up, Teddy; it's all right." + +Teddy Tucker hastily scrambled up into the wagon which proved to +be a canvas wagon--an open wagon, over which a canvas cover was +stretched in case of storm only. + +"Where's the bed clothes?" demanded Teddy. + +"I guess the skies will have to be our quilts tonight," answered +Phil. + +The boys succeeded in crawling down between the folds of the +canvas, however, and, snuggling close together, settled down for +their first night on the road with a circus. Soon the wagons +began to move in response to a chorus of hoarse shouts. The +motion of the canvas wagon very soon lulled the lads to sleep, as +the big wagon show slowly started away and disappeared in the +soft summer night. + + + +CHAPTER XIII + +THE DAWNING OF A NEW DAY + +"Hi! Stop the train! Stop the train!" howled Teddy, as he +landed flat on his back on the hard ground. + +"Here, here! What are you fellows doing?" shouted Phil, +scrambling to his feet. + +"I dreamed I was in a train of cars and they ran off the track," +said Teddy, struggling to his feet and rubbing his shins +gingerly. "Did you do that?" + +"You bet. Think I can wait for you kids to take your beauty +sleep? Don't you suppose this show's got something else to do +besides furnish sleeping accommodations for lazy kids? Take hold +here, and help us get this canvas out if you want any breakfast." + +"Take it out yourself," growled Teddy, dodging the flat of the +canvasman's hand. + +The lads had been hurled from their sleeping place by a rough +tentman in a hurry to get at his work. The chill of the early +dawn was in the air. The boys stood, with shoulders hunched +forward, shivering, their teeth chattering, not knowing where +they were and caring still less. They knew only that they were +most uncomfortable. The glamor was gone. They were face to face +with the hardships of the calling they had chosen, though they +did not know that it was only a beginning of those hardships. + +"B-r-r-r!" shivered Teddy. + +"T-h-h-h-at's what I say," chattered Phil. + +"Say, are you kids going to get busy, or do you want me to help +you to?" + +Phil did not object to work, but he did not like the way the +canvasman spoke to them. + +"I guess you'll have to do your own work. Come on, Teddy; let's +take a run and warm ourselves up." + +Hand in hand the lads started off across the field. The field +was so dark that they could scarcely distinguish objects about +them. Here and there they dodged wagons and teams that stood like +silent sentinels in the uncertain light. + +"Turn a little, Teddy. We'll be lost before we know it, if we +don't watch out--" + +"Ouch! We're lost already!" + +The ground seemed suddenly to give way beneath them. Both lads +were precipitated into a stream of water that stretched across +one end of the circus lot. + +Shouting and struggling about they finally floundered to the +bank, drenched from head to foot. If they had been shivering +before, they were suffering from violent attacks of ague now. + +"Whew! I'm freezing to death!" cried Phil. + +"I feel like the North Pole on Christmas morning," added Teddy. +"I wish I was home, so I could thaw out behind the kitchen +stove." + +"Brace up, Teddy. This is only the beginning of the fun. We +shall have worse experiences than this, late in the fall, when +the weather gets cool; that is, if they do not get enough of us +in the meantime and send us away." + +"I--I wish they would send us home now." + +"Come now; we've got to run again. We shall surely take our +death of cold, if we stand here much longer." + +"Run? No, thank you. I've had one run." + +"And you don't want another? Is that it?" + +"Not I." + +"Don't know as I blame you. Well, if you don't want to run, just +stand in one place and jump up and down. Whip your hands, and +you'll see how soon it will start your blood to circulating," +advised Phil, who immediately proceeded to put his own theory +into execution. "That feel better?" + +"Yes, some," replied Teddy, rather doubtfully. "But I could be +warmer. I wonder what time the cook tent will be up." + +"That's an idea. Suppose we go over and find out?" + +"Yes, but where is it?" + +"I don't know. But we won't find it if we stand here." + +They started off again, this time exercising more caution as to +where their feet touched. They had not gone far before they came +upon some men who were driving small stakes in the ground, +marking out the spot where one of the tents was to be pitched. + +"Can you tell us where the cook tent is going up?" asked Phil +politely. + +"North side of the field," grunted the man, not very +good-naturedly. + +"Which way is north?" + +"Get a compass, get a compass," was the discourteous answer. + +"He's a grouch. Come along," urged Teddy Tucker. + +A few moments later, attracted by a light that looked like a +fire, the lads hurried toward it. + +"Where will we find the cook tent?" questioned Phil again. + +"Right here," was the surprising answer. + +"What time will it be ready?" + +"About seven o'clock. What's the matter, hungry?" + +"More cold than hungry," replied Phil, his teeth chattering. + +"Got to get used to that. Come here. I've got something that +will doctor you up in no time," announced the man in a cheerful +voice, so different from the answers the lads had received to +their questions that morning, that they were suddenly imbued with +new courage. + +"What is it?" asked Phil. + +"Coffee, my lad. We always make coffee the first thing when we +get in, these chilly mornings. The men work much better after +getting something warm inside them. Got a cup?" + +They had not. + +"Wait, I'll get you one," said the accommodating showman. + +Never had anything tasted so good as did the coffee that morning. +It was excellent coffee, too, and the boys drank two cups apiece. + +"We mustn't drink any more," warned Phil. + +"Why not?" wondered Teddy. + +"Because we shall be so nervous that we shall not be able to work +today. And, by the way, were I in your place, I should get busy +here and help in the cook tent until you are told to do something +else. I think it will make a good impression on Mr. Sparling." + +Teddy consented rather grudgingly. + +"I'll turn in and do something at the same time. What can we do +to help you, sir? That coffee was very good." + +"Might get busy and unpack some dishes from those barrels. Be +careful that you don't break any of them." + +"All right. Where shall we put them?" + +"Pile them on the ground, all the dishes of the same size +together. Be sure to set a lantern by them so nobody falls over +them in the dark." + +The boys, glad of some task to perform, began their work with a +will. With something to do it was surprising how quickly they +forgot their misfortunes. In a short time they were laughing and +joking with the good-natured cooktent man and making the dishes +fairly fly out of the barrels. + +"Guess I'll have to keep you two boys with my outfit," grinned +the showman. + +"I think Mr. Sparling said my friend, Teddy here, was to work in +the cook tent for the present." + +"All right, Mr. Teddy. There's one thing about working in the +cook tent that ought to please you." + +"What's that?" + +"You can piece between meals all you want to. If you are like +most boys, you ought to have a good healthy appetite all the +time, except when you are sleeping." + +"That's right. I could eat an elephant steak now--right this +minute. How long before breakfast?" + +"Seven o'clock, I told you." + +"What time does Mr. Sparling get up?" inquired Phil. + +"Up? Ask me what time he goes to bed. I can answer one question +as well as the other. Nobody knows. He's always around when you +least expect him. There he is now." + +The owner was striding toward the cook tent for his morning cup +of coffee. + +"Good morning, sir," greeted the boys, pausing in their work long +enough to touch their hats, after which they continued unpacking +the dishes. + +"Morning, boys. I see you are up early and getting right at it. +That's right. No showman was ever made out of a sleepy-head. +Where did you sleep last night?" + +"In a wagon on a pile of canvas," answered Phil. + +"And they threw us out of bed this morning," Teddy informed him, +with a grimace. + +Mr. Sparling laughed heartily. + +"And we fell in a creek," added Teddy. + +"Well, well, you certainly are having your share of experiences." + +"Will you allow me to make a suggestion, Mr. Sparling?" asked +Phil. + +"Of course. You need not ask that question. What is it?" + +"I think I ought to have some sort of a costume if I am to +continue to ride Emperor in the grand entry." + +"H-m-m-m. What kind do you think you want?" + +"Could I wear tights?" + +Mr. Sparling was about to laugh, but one glance into the earnest +eyes of Phil Forrest told him that the boy's interest was wholly +in wishing to improve the act--not for the sake of showing +himself, alone. + +"Yes, I think perhaps it might not be a bad idea. You go tell +Mrs. Waite to fix you up with a suit. But I would prefer to have +you wear your own clothes today." + +"Yes, sir. Thank you, sir." + +"I'll tell you why. I telegraphed on to my advance man all about +you last night, and what you did yesterday will be spread all +over town here today. It will be a rattling good advertisement. +You and the tiger are my best drawing cards today," smiled Mr. +Sparling. + +"Glad I have proved of some use to you, sir." + +"Use? Use?" + +"Yes, sir." + +"Don't be a fool!" exploded the showman, almost brutally. + +Phil's countenance fell. + +"Don't you understand, yet, that you already have been worth +several thousand dollars to me?" + +"I--I--" + +"Well, don't get a swelled head about it, for--" + +"There is no danger of that, sir." + +"And you don't have to potter around the cook tent working, +either. That is, not unless you want to." + +"But, I do, Mr. Sparling. I want to learn everything there is to +be learned about the show business," protested Phil. + +Mr. Sparling regarded him quizzically. + +"You'll do," he said, turning away. + +As soon as the dressing tent had been erected and the baggage was +moved in, Phil hurried to the entrance of the women's dressing +tent and calling for Mrs. Waite, told her what was wanted. + +She measured his figure with her eyes, and nodded +understandingly. + +"Think I've got something that will fit you. A young fellow who +worked on the trapeze fell off and broke a leg. He was just +about your size, and I guess his tights will be about right for +you. Not superstitious, are you?" + +Phil assured her he was not. + +"You will be, after you have been in the show business a while. +Wait, I'll get them." + +Phil's eyes glowed as he saw her returning with a suit of bright +red tights, trunk and shirt to match. + +"Oh, thank you ever so much." + +"You're welcome. Have you a trunk to keep your stuff in?" + +"No; I have only a bag." + +"I've got a trunk in here that's not in use. If you want to drag +it over to the men's dressing tent you're welcome to it." + +Phil soon had the trunk, which he hauled across the open paddock +to the place where the men were settling their belongings. He +espied Mr. Miaco, the head clown. + +"Does it make any difference where I place my trunk, Mr. Miaco?" + +"It does, my lad. The performers' trunks occupy exactly the same +position every day during the show year. I'll pick out a place +for you, and every morning when you come in you will find your +baggage there. Let me see. I guess we'll place you up at the +end, next to the side wall of the dressing room. You will be +more by yourself there. You'll like that, won't you?" + +"Yes, sir." + +"Going in in costume, today?" + +"No, sir. Mr. Sparling thought I had better wear my own clothes +today, for advertising purposes." + +Miaco nodded understandingly. + +"Then you'll want to fix up again. Been in the gutter?" + +"I fell into a ditch in the darkness this morning," grinned Phil. + +"You'll get used to that. Mr. Ducro, the ringmaster, carries a +lantern with him so he won't fall in, but none of the rest of us +do. We call him Old Diogenes because he always has a lantern in +his hand. If you'll take off that suit I'll put it in shape for +you." + +"Undress--here?" + +"Sure. You'll have to get used to that." + +Phil retired to the further end of the tent where his trunk had +been placed in the meantime, and there took off his clothes, +handing them to the head clown. Mr. Miaco tossed the lad a bath +robe, for the morning was still chilly. + +"After you get broken in you will have to do all this for +yourself. There's nothing like the show business to teach a +fellow to depend upon himself. He soon becomes a +jack-of-all-trades. As soon as you can you'll want to get +yourself a rubber coat and a pair of rubber boots. We'll get +some beastly weather by-and-by." + +The good-natured clown ran on with much good advice while he was +sponging and pressing Phil's clothes. When he had finished, the +suit looked as if it had just come from a tailor shop. + +Phil thanked him warmly. + +"Now, you and I will see about some breakfast." + +Reaching the cook tent, the first person Phil set eyes on was his +chum, Teddy Tucker. Teddy was presiding over the big nickel +coffeepot, his face flushed with importance. He was bossing the +grinning waiters, none of whom found it in his heart to get +impatient with the new boy. + + + +CHAPTER XIV + +AN UNEXPECTED HIT + +"Another turn-away," decided a ticket taker, casting his eyes +over the crowds that had gathered for the afternoon performance. + +"I guess Mr. Sparling knows his business pretty well," mused +Phil. "He knows how to catch the crowd. I wonder how many of +them have come here to see me. How they would look and stare if +they knew I was the kid that twisted the tiger's tail." + +Phil's color rose. + +It was something for a boy who had been a circus performer for +less than two days to have his name heralded ahead of the show as +one of the leading attractions. + +But Phil Forrest had a level head. He did not delude himself +with any extravagant idea of his own importance. He knew that +what he had done was purely the result of accident. + +"I'll do something, someday, that will be worthwhile," he told +himself. + +Phil's act that afternoon was fully as successful as it had been +on the previous day back in his home town. Besides, he now had +more confidence in himself. He felt that in a very short time he +might be able to keep his feet on the elephant's head without the +support of Emperor's trunk. That would be an achievement. + +On this particular afternoon he rode with as much confidence as +if he had been doing it all the season. + +"You'll make a performer," encouraged Kennedy. "You've got the +poise and everything necessary to make you a good one." + +"What kind, do you think?" + +"Any old kind. Do you get dizzy when up in the air?" + +"I don't remember that I have ever been up much further than +Emperor hoists me," laughed Phil. + +For the next two minutes the man and the boy were too busy with +their act to continue their conversation. The audience was +enthusiastic, and they shouted out Phil Forrest's name several +times, which made him smile happily. + +"What would you advise me to do, Mr. Kennedy?" he asked as the +elephants started to leave the ring, amid the plaudits of the +spectators. + +"Ever try the rings?" + +"Yes, but not so high up as those that Rod and his partners +perform on." + +"Height doesn't make much difference. Get them to let the rings +down so you can reach them, then each day raise them a little +higher, if you find you can work on them." + +"Thank you. Perhaps I'll try it this afternoon. I am anxious to +be a real performer. Anybody could do this. Though it's easy, I +think I might work up this act of ours to make it rather funny." + +It will be observed that Phil was rapidly falling into the +vernacular of the showman. + +"If you've got any ideas we'll thresh them out. Emperor will be +willing. He'll say yes to anything you suggest. What is it?" + +"Don't you think Mr. Sparling would object?" + +"Not he. Wait till I get the bulls chained; then we'll talk." + +After attending to his charges, Mr. Kennedy and Phil stepped +behind the elephants and sat down on a pile of straw against the +side walls of the menagerie tent. + +Phil confided at length what he had in mind, Kennedy nodding from +time to time as Phil made points that met with the trainer's +approval. + +"Boy, you've got a head on you a yard wide. You'll make your +everlasting fortune. Why, I'd never even thought of that +before." + +"Don't you think I had better speak to Mr. Sparling?" + +Kennedy reflected for a moment. + +"Perhaps you had better do so. But you needn't tell him what it +is. We'll give them a surprise. Let's go see the property man +and the carpenter. We'll find out what they can do for us." + +Slipping out under the canvas, the two hurried back to the +property room, an enclosure where all the costumes were kept, +together with the armor used in the grand entry, and the other +trappings employed in the show, known as properties. + +Mr. Kennedy explained to the property man what was wanted. The +latter called in the carpenter. After consulting for a few +minutes, they decided that they could give the elephant trainer +and his assistant what they sought. + +"When will you have it ready?" + +"Maybe in time for tonight's performance, but I can't promise for +sure." + +"Thank you," exclaimed Phil, hurrying away to consult with Mr. +Sparling. + +"I have been thinking out a plan to work up my part of the +elephant act," announced Phil, much to the owner's surprise. + +"You have, eh?" + +"Yes, sir." + +"What is it?" + +"I was in hopes you wouldn't ask me that. I wanted to surprise +you." + +Mr. Sparling shook his head doubtfully. + +"I'm afraid you haven't had experience enough to warrant my +trusting so important a matter to you," answered the showman, +knowing how serious a bungled act might be, and how it would be +likely to weaken the whole show. + +Phil's face showed his disappointment. + +"Mr. Kennedy says it will be a fine act. I have seen the +property man and the carpenter, and they both think it's great. +They are getting my properties ready now." + +"So, so?" wondered the owner, raising his eyebrows ever so +little. "You seem to be making progress, young man. Let's see, +how long have you been in the show business?" he reflected. + +"Twenty-four hours," answered Phil promptly. + +Mr. Sparling grinned. + +"M-m-m-m. You're certainly getting on fast. Who told you you +might give orders to my property man and my carpenter, sir?" the +proprietor demanded, somewhat sternly. + +"I took that upon myself, sir. I'm sure it would improve the +act, even though I have not had as much experience as I might +have. Will you let me try it?" demanded the boy boldly. + +"I'll think about it. Yes, I'll think about it. H-m-m-m! +H-m-m-m!" + +Thus encouraged, Phil left his employer, going in to watch some +of the other acts. + +About that time Mr. Sparling found it convenient to make a trip +back to the property man's room, where he had quite a long talk +with that functionary. The proprietor came away smiling and +nodding. + +About an hour later Phil sauntered out and passed in front of Mr. +Sparling's tent, hoping the showman would see him and call him +in. + +Phil was not disappointed. Mr. Sparling did that very thing. + +"How's that new act of yours coming along, young man?" he +demanded. + +"I have done no more than think it over since talking with you a +little while ago. If the props are ready Mr. Kennedy and I will +have a quiet rehearsal this afternoon. That is, if we can shoo +everybody out of the tent and you are willing we should try it. +How about it, sir?" + +"I must say you are a most persistent young man." + +"Yes, sir." + +"And what if this act falls down flat? What then?" + +"It mustn't." + +"But if it does?" + +"Then, sir, I'll give up the show business and go back to +Edmeston, where I'll hire out to work on a farm. If I can't do a +little thing like this I guess the farm will be the best place +for me." + +Phil was solemn and he meant every word he said. Mr. Sparling, +however, unable to maintain his serious expression, laughed +heartily. + +"My boy, you are all right. Go ahead and work up your act. You +have my full permission to do that in your own way, acting, of +course, under the approval of Mr. Kennedy. He knows what would +go with his bulls." + +"Thank you, thank you very much," exclaimed Phil, impulsively. "I +hope you will be pleasantly surprised." + +"I expect to be." + +Phil ran as fast as his legs would carry him to convey the good +news to Mr. Kennedy. Active preparations followed, together with +several hurried trips to the property room. The property man was +getting along famously with his part of the plan, and both Phil +and Mr. Kennedy approved of what had been done thus far. + +According to programme, after the afternoon show had been +finished and all the performers had gone to the cook tent the +rehearsal took place in the menagerie tent. Faithful to his +promise, Mr. Sparling kept away, but a pair of eyes representing +him was peering through a pin-hole in the canvas stretched across +the main opening where the ticket takers stood when at work. + +"That's great, kid! Great, you bet!" shouted Mr. Kennedy after a +successful trial of their new apparatus. + +With light heart, an expansive grin overspreading his +countenance, the lad ran to the cook tent for his supper. He +came near missing it as it was, for the cook was about to close +the tent. Mr. Sparling, who was standing near the exit, nodded to +the chief steward to give Phil and Mr. Kennedy their suppers. + +"Well, did the rehearsal fall down?" he asked, with a quizzical +smile on his face. + +"It fell down, but not in the way you think," laughed Phil +happily. + +No further questions were asked of him. + +That night, when the grand entry opened the show to a packed +house, a shout of laughter from the great assemblage greeted the +entrance of old Emperor. Emperor was clad in a calico gown of +ancient style, with a market basket tucked in the curl of his +trunk. But the most humorous part of the long-suffering +elephant's makeup was his head gear. + +There, perched jauntily to one side was the most wonderful bonnet +that any of the vast audience ever had gazed upon. It was tied +with bright red ribbons under Emperor's chops with a collection +of vari-colored, bobbing roses protruding from its top. +Altogether it was a very wonderful piece of head gear. + +The further the act proceeded the more the humor of Emperor's +makeup appeared to impress the audience. They laughed and +laughed until the tears ran down their cheeks, while the elephant +himself, appearing to share in the humor of the hour, never +before had indulged in so many funny antics. + +Mr. Kennedy, familiar with side-splitting exhibitions, forgot +himself so far as actually to laugh out loud. + +But where was Phil Forrest? Thus far everybody had been too much +interested in the old lady with the trunk and the market basket +to give a thought to the missing boy, though some of the +performers found themselves wondering if he had closed with the +show already. + +Those of the performers not otherwise engaged at the moment were +assembled inside the big top at one side of the bandstand, fairly +holding their sides with laughter over old Emperor's exhibition. + +Standing back in the shadow of the seats, where the rays from the +gasoline lamps did not reach, stood Mr. Sparling, a pleased smile +on his face, his eyes twinkling with merriment. It was a good +act that could draw from James Sparling these signs of approval. + +The act was nearing its close. + +The audience thought they had seen the best of it. But there was +still a surprise to come--a surprise that they did not even dream +of. + +The time was at hand for the elephants to rear in a grand finale. +An attendant quietly led Jupiter from the ring and to his +quarters, Emperor making a circuit of the sawdust arena to cover +the going of the other elephant and that there might be no +cessation of action in the exhibition. + +Emperor and his trainer finally halted, standing facing the +reserved seats, as motionless as statues. + +The audience sat silent and expectant. They felt that something +still was before them, but what they had not the least idea, of +course. + +"Up, Emperor!" commanded Mr. Kennedy in a quiet voice. "All +ready, Phil." + +The elephant reared slowly on its hind legs, going higher and +higher, as it did in its regular performance. + +As he went up, the bonnet on Emperor's head was seen to take on +sudden life. The old calico gown fell away from the huge beast +at the same time, leaving him clothed in a brilliant blanket of +white and gold. + +But a long drawn "a-h-h-h," rippled over the packed seats as the +old elephant's bonnet suddenly collapsed. + +Out of the ruins rose a slender, supple figure, topping the +pyramid of elephant flesh in a graceful poise. The figure, clad +in red silk tights, appeared to be that of a beautiful girl. + +The audience broke out into a thunder of approval, their feet +drumming on the board seats sounding not unlike the rattle of +musketry. + +The girl's hand was passed around to the back of her waist, where +it lingered for an instant, then both hands were thrown forward +just as a diver does before taking the plunge. + +"Ready?" + +"Yes." + +"Fly!" + +The young girl floated out and off from the elephant's back, +landing gently on her feet just outside the sawdust ring. + +Emperor, at this juncture, threw himself forward on his forelegs, +stretched out his trunk, encircling the performer's waist and +lifting her clear off the ground. + +At that moment the supposed young woman stripped her blonde wig +from her head, revealing the fact that the supposed girl was no +girl at all. It was a boy, and that boy was Phil Forrest. + +Emperor, holding his young friend at full length ahead of him, +started rapidly for his quarters, Phil lying half on his side, +appearing to be floating on the air, save for the black trunk +that held him securely in its grip. + +At this the audience fairly howled in its surprise and delight, +but Phil never varied his pose by a hair's breadth until Emperor +finally set him down, flushed and triumphant, in the menagerie +tent. + +At that moment Phil became conscious of a figure running toward +him. + +He discovered at once that it was Mr. Sparling. + +Grasping both the lad's hands, the showman wrung them until it +seemed to Phil as if his arms would be wrenched from their +sockets. + +"Great, great, great!" cried the owner of the show. + +"Did you like it?" questioned the blushing Phil. + +"Like it? Like it? Boy, it's the greatest act I ever saw. It's +a winner. Come back with me." + +"What, into the ring?" + +"Yes." + +"But what shall I do?" + +"You don't have to do anything. You've done it already. Show +yourself, that's all. Hurry! Don't you hear them howling like a +band of Comanche Indians?" + +"Y-yes." + +"They want you." + +By this time Mr. Sparling was fairly dragging Phil along with +him. As they entered the big top the cheering broke out afresh. + +Phil was more disturbed than ever before in his life. It seemed +as though his legs would collapse under him. + +"Buck up! Buck up!" snapped the showman. "You are not going to +get an attack of stage fright at this late hour, are you?" + +That was exactly what was the matter with Phil Forrest. He was +nearly scared out of his wits, but he did not realize the nature +of his affliction. + +"Bow and kiss your hand to them," admonished the showman. + +Phil did so, but his face refused to smile. He couldn't have +smiled at that moment to save his life. + +All at once he wrenched himself loose from Mr. Sparling's grip, +and ran full speed for the dressing tent. He had not gone more +than a dozen feet before he tripped over a rope, landing on head +and shoulders. But Phil was up like a rubber man and off again +as if every animal in the menagerie was pursuing him. + +The spectators catching the meaning of his flight, stood up in +their seats and howled lustily. + +Phil Forrest had made a hit that comes to few men in the sawdust +arena. + + + +CHAPTER XV + +A STROKE OF GOOD FORTUNE + +"That was a knockout, kid," nodded Mr. Miaco, with emphasis. "I'm +laughing on the inside of me yet. I don't dare let my face +laugh, for fear the wrinkles will break through my makeup." + +"Thank you," smiled Phil, tugging at his silk tights, that fitted +so closely as to cause him considerable trouble in stripping them +off. + +"You'll have the whole show jealous of you if you don't watch +out. But don't get a swelled head--" + +"Not unless I fall off and bump it," laughed Phil. "Where do I +wash?" + +"You always want to get a pail of water before you undress." + +"Say, Phil, did you really fly?" queried Teddy, who was standing +by eyeing his companion admiringly. + +"Sure. Didn't you see me?" + +"I did and I didn't. Will you show me how to fly like that?" + +" 'Course I will. You come in under the big top tomorrow after +the show and I'll give you a lesson." + +Teddy had not happened to observe the simple mechanical +arrangement that had permitted the young circus performer to +carry out his flying act. + +"I reckon you ought to get a dollar a day for that stunt," +decided Teddy. + +"Yes, I think so myself," grinned Phil. + +Teddy now turned his attention to Mr. Miaco, who, made up for his +clown act in the ring, presented a most grotesque appearance. + +"How do I look?" asked the clown, noting the lad's observant +gaze. + +"You look as if you'd stuck your head in a flour barrel," grunted +Teddy. + +"Ho ho," laughed the clown. "I'll have to try that on the +audience. That's a good joke. To look at you, one wouldn't think +it of you, either." + +"Oh, that's nothing. I can say funnier things than that when I +want to. Why--" + +But their conversation was cut short by the band striking up the +tune to which Mr. Miaco always entered the ring. + +"Listen to me, kid. You'll hear them laugh when I tell 'em the +story," he called back. And they did. The audience roared when +the funny man told them what his young friend had said. + +His work for the day having been finished, Phil bethought himself +of his trunk, which had not yet been packed. His costume was +suspended from a line in the dressing tent where many other +costumes were hanging to air and dry after the strenuous labors +of their owners. + +Phil took his slender belongings down, shook them out well and +laid them in the trunk that Mrs. Waite had given him. It was too +late for Phil to get his bag from the baggage wagon, so with a +grin he locked his tights and his wig in the trunk. + +"Guess they won't break their backs lifting that outfit," he +mused. + +Phil then strolled in to watch the show. He found many new +points of interest and much that was instructive, as he studied +each act attentively and with the keenness of one who had been in +the show business all his life. + +"Someday I'll have a show like this myself," nodded the boy. He +did not know that he expressed his thoughts aloud until he +noticed that the people sitting nearest to him were regarding him +with amused smiles. + +Phil quickly repressed his audible comments. + +The show was soon over; then came the noise and the confusion of +the breaking up. The illusion was gone--the glamor was a thing +of the past. The lad strolled about slowly in search of his +companion, whom he eventually found in the dressing tent. + +"Teddy, isn't it about time you and I went to bed?" he asked. + +"Oh, I don't know. Circus people sleep when there isn't anything +else to do. Where we going to sleep?" + +"Same place, I presume, if no one gets ahead of us." + +"They'd better not. I'll throw them out if they do." + +Phil laughed good-naturedly. + +"If I remember correctly, somebody was thrown out last night and +this morning, but it didn't happen to be the other fellow. I'm +hungry; wish I had something to eat." + +"So am I," agreed Teddy. + +"You boys should get a sandwich or so and keep the stuff in your +trunk while we are playing these country towns. When we get into +the cities, where they have restaurants, you can get a lunch +downtown after you have finished your act and then be back in +time to go out with the wagons," Mr. Miaco informed them. +"You'll pick up these little tricks as we go along, and it won't +be long before you are full-fledged showmen. You are pretty near +that point already." + +The lads strolled out on the lot and began hunting for their +wagon. They found nothing that looked like it for sometime and +had about concluded that the canvas wagon had gone, when they +chanced to come across the driver of the previous night, who +directed them to where they would find it. + +"The wagon isn't loaded yet. You'll have to wait half an hour or +so," he said. + +They thanked him and went on in the direction indicated, where +they soon found that which they were in search of. + +"I think we had better wait here until it is loaded," advised +Phil, throwing himself down on the ground. + +"This having to hunt around over a ten-acre lot for your bedroom +every night isn't as much fun as you would think, is it?" grinned +Teddy. + +"Might be worse. I have an idea we haven't begun to experience +the real hardships of the circus life." And indeed they had not. + +Soon after that the wagon was loaded, and, bidding the driver a +cheery good night, the circus boys tumbled in and crawled under +the canvas. + +They were awakened sometime before daylight by a sudden heavy +downpour of rain. The boys were soaked to the skin, the water +having run in under the canvas until they were lying in a puddle +of water. + +There was thunder and lightning. Phil scrambled out first and +glanced up at the driver, who, clothed in oilskins, was huddled +on his seat fast asleep. He did not seem to be aware that there +was anything unusual about the weather. + +"I wish I was home," growled Teddy. + +"Well, I don't. Bad as it is, it's better than some other things +that I know of. I'll tell you what I'll do--I'll get rubber +coats for us both when we get in in the morning." + +"Got the money?" + +"That's so. I had forgotten that," laughed Phil. "I never +thought that I should need money to buy a coat with. We'll have +to wait until payday. I wonder when that is?" + +"Ask Mr. Sparling." + +"No; I would rather not." + +"All right; get wet then." + +"I am. I couldn't be any more so were I to jump in the mill pond +at home," laughed Phil. + +Home! It seemed a long way off to these two friendless, or at +least homeless, boys, though the little village of Edmeston was +less than thirty miles away. + +The show did not get in to the next town until sometime after +daylight, owing to the heavy condition of the roads. The cook +tent was up when they arrived and the lads lost no time in +scrambling from the wagon. They did not have to be thrown out +this morning. + +"Come on," shouted Phil, making a run for the protection of the +cook tent, for the rain was coming down in sheets. + +Teddy was not far behind. + +"I'm the coffee boy. Where's the coffee?" he shouted. + +"Have it in a few minutes," answered the attendant who had been +so kind to them the previous morning. "Here, you boys, get over +by the steam boiler there and dry out your clothes," he added, +noting that their teeth were chattering. + +"Wish somebody would pour a pail of water over me," shivered +Teddy. + +"Water? What for?" + +"To wash the rain off. I'm soaked," he answered humorously. + +They huddled around the steam boiler, the warmth from which they +found very comforting in their bedraggled condition. + +"I'm steaming like an engine," laughed Phil, taking off his coat +and holding it near the boiler. + +"Yes; I've got enough of it in my clothes to run a sawmill," +agreed Teddy. "How about that coffee?" + +"Here it is." + +After helping themselves they felt much better. Phil, after a +time, walked to the entrance of the cook tent and looked out. The +same bustle and excitement as on the previous two days was +noticeable everywhere, and the men worked as if utterly oblivious +of the fact that the rain was falling in torrents. + +"Do we parade today?" called Phil, observing Mr. Sparling +hurrying past wrapped in oilskins and slouch hat. + +"This show gives a parade and two performances a day, rain, +shine, snow or earthquake," was the emphatic answer. "Come over +to my tent in half an hour. I have something to say to you." + +Phil ran across to Mr. Sparling's tent at the expiration of half +an hour, but he was ahead of time evidently, for the showman was +not there. Nice dry straw had been piled on the ground in the +little tent to take up the moisture, giving it a cosy, +comfortable look inside. + +"This wouldn't be a half bad place to sleep," decided Phil, +looking about him. "I don't suppose we ever play the same town +two nights in succession. I must find out." + +Mr. Sparling bustled in at this point, stripping off his wet +oilskins and hanging them on a hook on the tent pole at the +further end. + +"Where'd you sleep?" + +"In wagon No. 10." + +"Get wet?" + +"Very." + +"Humph!" + +"We dried out in the cook tent when we got in. It might have +been worse." + +"Easily satisfied, aren't you?" + +"I don't know about that. I expect to meet with some +disagreeable experiences." + +"You won't be disappointed. You'll get all that's coming to you. +It'll make a man of you if you stand it." + +"And if I don't?" questioned Phil Forrest, with a smile. + +Mr. Sparling answered by a shrug of the shoulders. + +"We'll have to make some different arrangements for you," he +added in a slightly milder tone. "Can't afford to have you get +sick and knock your act out. It's too important. I'll fire some +lazy, good-for-nothing performer out of a closed wagon and give +you his place." + +"Oh, I should rather not have you do that, sir." + +"Who's running this show?" snapped the owner. + +Phil made no reply. + +"I am. I'll turn out whom I please and when I please. I've been +in the business long enough to know when I've got a good thing. +Where's your rubber coat?" he demanded, changing the subject +abruptly. + +"I have none, sir. I shall get an outfit later." + +"No money, I suppose?" + +"Well, no, sir." + +"Humph! Why didn't you ask for some?" + +"I did not like to." + +"You're too modest. If you want a thing go after it. That's my +motto. Here's ten dollars. Go downtown and get you a coat, and +be lively about it. Wait a minute!" as Phil, uttering profuse +thanks, started away to obey his employer's command. + +"Yes, sir." + +"About that act of yours. Did you think it out all yourself?" + +"The idea was mine. Of course the property man and Mr. Kennedy +worked it out for me. I should not have been able to do it +alone." + +"Humph! Little they did. They wouldn't have thought of it in a +thousand years. Performers usually are too well satisfied with +themselves to think there's anything worthwhile except what +they've been doing since they came out of knickerbockers. How'd +you get the idea?" + +"I don't know--it just came to me." + +"Then keep on thinking. That act is worth real money to any +show. How much did I say I'd pay you?" + +"Ten dollars a week, sir." + +"Humph! I made a mistake. I won't give you ten." + +Phil looked solemn. + +"I'll give you twenty. I'd give you more, but it might spoil +you. Get out of here and go buy yourself a coat." + + + +CHAPTER XVI + +HIS FIRST SETBACK + +"Tha--thank--" + +"Out with you!" + +Laughing, his face flushed with pride and satisfaction, Phil did +move. Not even pausing to note what direction he should go, he +hurried on toward the village, perhaps more by instinct than +otherwise. He was too full of this wonderful thing that had come +to him--success--to take note of his surroundings. + +To Phil there was no rain. Though he already was drenched to the +skin he did not know it. + +All at once he pulled himself up sharply. + +"Phil Forrest, you are getting excited," he chided. "Now, don't +you try to make yourself believe you are the whole show, for you +are only a little corner of it. You are not even a side show. +You are a lucky boy, but you are going to keep your head level +and try to earn your money. Twenty dollars a week! Why, it's +wealth! I can see Uncle Abner shaking his stick when he hears of +it. I must write to Mrs. Cahill and tell her the good news. +She'll be glad, though I'll warrant the boys at home will be +jealous when they hear about how I am getting on in the world." + +Thus talking to himself, Phil plodded on in the storm until he +reached the business part of the town. There he found a store +and soon had provided himself with a serviceable rubber coat, a +pair of rubber boots and a soft hat. He put on his purchases, +doing up his shoes and carrying them back under his arm. + +The parade started at noon. It was a dismal affair--that is, so +far as the performers were concerned, and the clowns looked much +more funny than they felt. + +Mr. Miaco enlivened the spirits of those on the hayrack by +climbing to the back of one of the horses drawing the clowns' +wagon, where he sat with a doll's parasol over his head and a +doll in his arms singing a lullaby. + +The people who were massed along the sidewalks of the main street +did not appear to mind the rain at all. They were too much +interested in the free show being given for their benefit. + +The show people ate dinner with their feet in the mud that day, +the cook tent having been pitched on a barren strip of ground. + +"This is where the Armless Wonder has the best of us today," +nodded Teddy, with his usual keen eye for humor. + +"How is that?" questioned Mr. Miaco. + +" 'Cause he don't have to put his feet in the mud like the rest +of us do. He keeps them on the table. I wish I could put my +feet on the table." + +Everybody within hearing laughed heartily. + +In the tents there was little to remind one of the dismal +weather, save for the roar of the falling rain on the canvas +overhead. Straw had been piled all about on the ground inside the +two large tents, and only here and there were there any muddy +spots, though the odor of fresh wet grass was everywhere. + +The afternoon performance went off without a hitch, though the +performers were somewhat more slow than usual, owing to the +uncertainty of the footing for man and beast. Phil Forrest's +exhibition was even more successful than it had been in the last +show town. He was obliged to run back to the ring and show +himself after having been carried from the tent by Emperor. This +time, however, his stage fright had entirely left him, never to +return. He was now a seasoned showman, after something less than +three days under canvas. + +The afternoon show being finished, and supper out of the way, +Phil and Teddy returned to the big top to practice on the flying +rings, which they had obtained permission to use. + +Mr. Miaco, himself an all around acrobat, was on hand to watch +their work and to offer suggestions. He had taken a keen +interest in Phil Forrest, seeing in the lad the making of a +high-class circus performer. + +The rings were let down to within about ten feet of the sawdust +ring, and one at a time the two lads were hoisted by the clown +until their fingers grasped the iron rings. + +With several violent movements of their bodies they curled their +feet up, slipping them through the rings, first having grasped +the ropes above the rings. + +"That was well done. Quite professional," nodded the clown. +"Take hold of this rope and I will swing you. If it makes you +dizzy, tell me." + +"Don't worry; it won't," laughed Phil. + +"Give me a shove, too," urged Teddy. + +"In a minute." + +Mr. Miaco began swinging Phil backwards and forwards, his speed +ever increasing, and as he went higher and higher, Phil let +himself down, fastening his hands on the rings that he might +assist in the swinging. + +"Now, see if you can get back in the rings with your legs." + +"That's easy," answered Phil, his breath coming sharp and fast, +for he never had taken such a long sweep in the rings before. + +The feat was not quite so easy as he had imagined. Phil made +three attempts before succeeding. But he mastered it and came up +smiling. + +"Good," cried the clown, clapping his hands approvingly. + +"Give me another swing. I want to try something else." + +Having gained sufficient momentum, the lad, after reaching the +point where the rings would start on their backward flight, +permitted his legs to slip through the rings, catching them with +his feet. + +He swept back, head and arms hanging down, as skillfully as if he +had been doing that very thing right along. + +"You'll do," emphasized the clown. "You will need to put a +little more finish in your work. I'll give you a lesson in that +next time." + +Teddy, not to be outdone, went through the same exhibition, +though not quite with the same speed that Phil had shown. + +It being the hour when the performers always gathered in the big +top to practice and play, many of them stood about watching the +boys work. They nodded their heads approvingly when Phil +finished and swung himself to the ground. + +Teddy, on his part, overrated his ability when it came to hanging +by his feet. + +"Look out!" warned half a dozen performers at once. + +He had not turned his left foot into the position where it would +catch and hold in the ring. Their trained eyes had noted this +omission instantly. + +The foot, of course, failed to catch, and Teddy uttered a howl +when he found himself falling. His fall, however, was checked by +a sharp jolt. The right foot had caught properly. As he swept +past the laughing performers he was dangling in the air like a +huge spider, both hands and one foot clawing the air in a +desperate manner. + +There was nothing they could do to liberate him from his +uncomfortable position until the momentum of his swing had +lessened sufficiently to enable them to catch him. + +"Hold your right steady!" cautioned Miaco. "If you twist it +you'll take a beauty tumble." + +Teddy hadn't thought of that before. Had Miaco known the lad +better he would not have made the mistake of giving that advice. + +Teddy promptly turned his foot. + +He shot from the flying rings as if he had been fired from a +cannon. + +Phil tried to catch him, but stumbled and fell over a rope, while +Teddy shot over his head, landing on and diving head first into a +pile of straw that had just been brought in to bed down the tent +for the evening performance. + +Nothing of Teddy save his feet was visible. + +They hauled him out by those selfsame feet, and, after +disentangling him from the straws that clung to him, were +relieved to find that he had not been hurt in the least. + +"I guess we shall have to put a net under you. Lucky for you +that that pile of straw happened to get in your way. Do you know +what would have happened to you had it not been?" demanded Mr. +Miaco. + +"I--I guess I'd have made a hit," decided Teddy wisely. + +"I guess there is no doubt about that." + +The performers roared. + +"I'm going to try it again." + +"No; you've done enough for one day. You won't be able to hold +up the coffeepot tomorrow morning if you do much more." + +"Do you think we will be able to accomplish anything on the +flying rings, Mr. Miaco?" asked Phil after they had returned to +the dressing tent. + +"There is no doubt of it. Were I in your place I should take an +hour's work on them every day. Besides building you up +generally, it will make you surer and better able to handle +yourself. Then, again, you never know what minute you may be able +to increase your income. People in this business often profit by +others' misfortunes," added the clown significantly. + +"I would prefer not to profit that way," answered Phil. + +"You would rather do it by your own efforts?" + +"Yes." + +"It all amounts to the same thing. You are liable to be put out +any minute yourself, then somebody else will get your job, if you +are a performer of importance to the show." + +"You mean if my act is?" + +"That's what I mean." + +The old clown and the enthusiastic young showman talked in the +dressing tent until it was time for each to begin making up for +the evening performance. + +The dressing tent was the real home of the performers. They knew +no other. It was there that they unpacked their trunks--there +that during their brief stay they pinned up against the canvas +walls the pictures of their loved ones, many of whom were far +across the sea. A bit of ribbon here, a faded flower drawn from +the recess of a trunk full of silk and spangles, told of the +tender hearts that were beating beneath those iron-muscled +breasts, and that they were as much human beings as their +brothers in other walks of life. + +Much of this Phil understood in a vague way as he watched them +from day to day. He was beginning to like these big-hearted, +big-muscled fellows, though there were those among them who were +not desirable as friends. + +"I guess it's just the same as it is at home," decided Phil. +"Some of the folks are worthwhile, and others are not." + +He had summed it up. + +Sometime before the evening performance was due to begin Phil was +made up and ready for his act. As his exhibition came on at the +very beginning he had to be ready early. Then, again, he was +obliged to walk all the way to the menagerie tent to reach his +elephant. + +Throwing a robe over his shoulders and pulling his hat well down +over his eyes, the lad pushed the silken curtains aside and began +working his way toward the front, beating against the human tide +that had set in against him, wet, dripping, but good natured. + +"Going to have a wet night," observed Teddy, whom he met at the +entrance to the menagerie tent. + +"Looks that way. But never mind; I'll share my rubber coat with +you. We can put it over us and sit up to sleep. That will make a +waterproof tent. Perhaps we may be able to find a stake or +something to stick up in the middle of the coat." + +"But the canvas under us will be soaked," grumbled Teddy. "We'll +be wetter than ever." + +"We'll gather some straw and tie it up in a tight bundle to put +under us when we get located. There goes the band. I must be +off, or you'll hear Emperor screaming for me." + +"He's at it now. Hear him?" + +"I couldn't well help hearing that roar," laughed Phil, starting +off on a run. + +The grand entry was made, Phil crouching low in the bonnet on the +big beast's head. It was an uncomfortable position, but he did +not mind it in the least. The only thing that troubled Phil was +the fear that the head gear might become disarranged and spoil +the effect of his surprise. There were many in the tent who had +seen him make his flight at the afternoon performance, and had +returned with their friends almost solely to witness the pretty +spectacle again. + +The time had arrived for Emperor to rise for his grand salute to +the audience. Mr. Kennedy had given Phil his cue, the lad had +braced himself to straighten up suddenly. A strap had been +attached to the elephant's head harness for Phil to take hold of +to steady himself by when he first straightened up. Until his +position was erect Emperor could not grasp the boy's legs with +his trunk. + +"Right!" came the trainer's command. + +The circus boy thrust out his elbows, and the bonnet fell away, +as he rose smiling to face the sea of white, expectant faces +before him. + +While they were applauding he fastened the flying wire to the +ring in his belt. The wire, which was suspended from above, was +so small that it was wholly invisible to the spectators, which +heightened the effect of his flight. So absorbed were the people +in watching the slender figure each time that they failed to +observe an attendant hauling on a rope near the center pole, +which was the secret of Phil's ability to fly. + +Throwing his hands out before him the little performer dove +gracefully out into the air. + +There was a slight jolt. Instantly he knew that something was +wrong. The audience, too, instinctively felt that the act was not +ending as it should. + +Phil was falling. He was plunging straight toward the ring, head +first. He struck heavily, crumpling up in a little heap, then +straightening out, while half a dozen attendants ran to the lad, +hastily picking him up and hurrying to the dressing tent with the +limp, unconscious form. + + + +CHAPTER XVII + +LEFT BEHIND + +"Is he hurt much?" + +"Don't know. Maybe he's broken his neck." + +This brief dialogue ensued between two painted clowns hurrying to +their stations. + +In the meantime the band struck up a lively air, the clowns +launched into a merry medley of song and jest and in a few +moments the spectators forgot the scene they had just witnessed, +in the noise, the dash and the color. It would come back to them +later like some long-past dream. + +Mr. Kennedy, with grim, set face, uttered a stern command to +Emperor, who for a brief instant had stood irresolute, as if +pondering as to whether he should turn and plunge for the red +silk curtains behind which his little friend had disappeared in +the arms of the attendants. + +The trainer's voice won, and Emperor trumpeting loudly, took his +way to his quarters without further protest. + +In the dressing tent another scene was being enacted. On two +drawn-up trunks, over which had been thrown a couple of horse +blankets, they had laid the slender, red-clad figure of Phil +Forrest. + +The boy's pale face appeared even more ashen than it really was +under the flickering glare of the gasoline torches. His head had +been propped up on a saddle, while about him stood a half circle +of solemn-faced performers in various stages of undress and +makeup. + +"Is he badly hurt?" asked one. + +"Can't say. Miaco has gone for the doc. We'll know pretty soon. +That was a dandy tumble he took." + +"How did it happen?" + +"Wire broke. You can't put no faith on a wire with a kink in it. +I nearly got my light put out, out in St. Joe, Missouri, by a +trick like that. No more swinging wire for me. Guess the kid, +if he pulls out of this, will want to hang on to a rope after +this. He will if he's wise." + +"What's this? What's this?" roared Mr. Sparling, who, having +heard of the accident, came rushing into the tent. "Who's hurt?" + +"The kid," informed someone. + +"What kid? Can't you fellows talk? Oh, it's Forrest, is it? How +did it happen?" + +One of the performers who had witnessed the accident related what +he had observed. + +"Huh!" grunted the showman, stepping up beside Phil and placing a +hand on the boy's heart. + +"Huh!" + +"He's alive, isn't he, Mr. Sparling?" + +"Yes. Anybody gone for the doctor?" + +"Miaco has." + +"Wonder any of you had sense enough to think of that. I +congratulate you. Somebody will suffer when I find out who was +responsible for hanging that boy's life on a rotten old piece of +wire. I presume it's been kicking around this outfit for the +last seven years." + +"Here comes the doc," announced a voice. + +There was a tense silence in the dressing tent, broken only by +the patter of the rain drops on the canvas roof, while the show's +surgeon was making his examination. + +"Well, well! What about it?" demanded Mr. Sparling impatiently. + +The surgeon did not answer at once. His calm, professional +demeanor was not to be disturbed by the blustering but kind- +hearted showman, and the showman, knowing this from past +experience, relapsed into silence until such time as the surgeon +should conclude to answer him. + +"Did he fall on his head?" he questioned, looking up, at the same +time running his fingers over Phil's dark-brown hair. + +"Looks that way, doesn't it?" + +"I should say so." + +"What's the matter with him?" + +"I shall be unable to decide definitely for an hour or so yet, +unless he regains consciousness in the meantime. It may be a +fracture of the skull or a mere concussion." + +"Huh!" + +Mr. Sparling would have said more, but for the fact that the calm +eyes of the surgeon were fixed upon him in a level gaze. + +"Any bones broken?" + +"No; I think not. How far did he fall?" + +"Fell from Emperor's head when the bull was up in the air. He +must have taken all of a twenty-foot dive, I should say." + +"Possible? It's a great wonder he didn't break his neck. But he +is very well muscled for a boy of his age. I don't suppose they +have a hospital in this town?" + +"Of course not. They never have anything in these tank towns. +You ought to know that by this time." + +"They have a hotel. I know for I took dinner there today. If +you will get a carriage of some sort I think we had better take +him there." + +"Leave him, you mean?" questioned Mr. Sparling. + +"Yes; that will be best. We can put him in charge of a local +physician here. He ought to be able to take care of the boy all +right." + +"Not by a jug full!" roared Mr. James Sparling. "We'll do +nothing of the sort." + +"It will not be safe to take him with us, Sparling." + +"Did I say it would? Did I? Of course, he shan't be moved, nor +will he be left to one of these know-nothing sawbones. You'll +stay here with him yourself, and you'll take care of him if you +know what's good for you. I'd rather lose most any five men in +this show than that boy there." + +The surgeon nodded his approval of the sentiment. He, too, had +taken quite a fancy to Phil, because of the lad's sunny +disposition and natural brightness. + +"Get out the coach some of you fellows. Have my driver hook up +and drive back into the paddock here, and be mighty quick about +it. Here, doc, is a head of lettuce (roll of money). If you need +any more, you know where to reach us. Send me a telegram in the +morning and another tomorrow night. Keep me posted and pull that +boy out of this scrape or you'll be everlastingly out of a job +with the Sparling Combined Shows. Understand?" + +The surgeon nodded understandingly. He had heard Mr. Sparling +bluster on other occasions, and it did not make any great +impression upon him. + +The carriage was quickly at hand. Circus people were in the +habit of obeying orders promptly. A quick drive was made to the +hotel, where the circus boy was quickly undressed and put to bed. + +All during the night the surgeon worked faithfully over his +little charge, and just as the first streaks of daylight slanted +through the window and across the white counterpane, Phil opened +his eyes. + +For only a moment did they remain open, then closed again. + +The surgeon drew a long, deep breath. + +"Not a fracture," he announced aloud. "I'm thankful for that." +He drew the window shades down to shut out the light, as it was +all important that Phil should be kept quiet for a time. But the +surgeon did not sleep. He sat keen-eyed by the side of the bed, +now and then noting the pulse of his patient, touching the lad's +cheeks with light fingers. + +After a time the fresh morning air, fragrant with the fields and +flowers, drifted in, and the birds in the trees took up their +morning songs. + +"I guess the storm must be over," muttered the medical man, +rising softly and peering out from behind the curtain. + +The day was dawning bright and beautiful. + +"My, it feels good to be in bed!" said a voice from the opposite +side of the room. "Where am I?" + +The surgeon wheeled sharply. + +"You are to keep very quiet. You had a tumble that shook you up +considerably." + +"What time is it?" demanded Phil sharply. + +"About five o'clock in the morning." + +"I must get up; I must get up." + +"You will lie perfectly still. The show will get along without +you today, I guess." + +"You don't mean they have gone on and left me?" + +"Of course; they couldn't wait for you." + +The boys eyes filled with tears. + +"I knew it couldn't last. I knew it." + +"See here, do you want to join the show again?" + +"Of course, I do." + +"Well, then, lie still. The more quiet you keep the sooner you +will be able to get out. Try to go to sleep. I must go +downstairs and send a message to Mr. Sparling, for he is very +much concerned about you." + +"Then he will take me back?" asked Phil eagerly. + +"Of course he will." + +"I'll go to sleep, doctor." + +Phil turned over on his side and a moment later was breathing +naturally. + +The doctor tip-toed from the room and hastened down to the hotel +office where he penned the following message: + + + +James Sparling, + + Sparling Combined Shows, + + Boyertown. + + Forrest recovers consciousness. Not a fracture. Expect him +to be all right in a few days. Will stay unless further orders. + + Irvine. + + + +"I think I'll go upstairs and get a bit of a nap myself," decided +the surgeon, after having directed the sleepy clerk to see to it +that the message was dispatched to its destination at once. + +He found Phil sleeping soundly. Throwing himself into a chair +the surgeon, used to getting a catnap whenever and wherever +possible, was soon sleeping as soundly as was his young patient. + +Neither awakened until the day was nearly done. + + + +CHAPTER XVIII + +A STARTLING DISCOVERY + +Phil's recovery was rapid, though four days passed before he was +permitted to leave his bed. As soon as he was able to get +downstairs and sit out on the front porch of the hotel he found +himself an object of interest as well as curiosity. + +The story of his accident had been talked of until it had grown +out of all proportion to the real facts in the case. The boys of +the village hung over the porch rail and eyed him wonderingly and +admiringly. It did not fall to their lot every day to get +acquainted with a real circus boy. They asked him all manner of +questions, which the lad answered gladly, for even though he had +suffered a severe accident, he was not beyond enjoying the +admiration of his fellows. + +"It must be great to be a circus boy," marveled one. + +"It is until you fall off and crack your head," laughed Phil. +"It's not half so funny then." + +After returning to his room that day Phil pondered deeply over +the accident. He could not understand it. + +"Nobody seems to know what really did happen," he mused. "Dr. +Irvine says the wire broke. That doesn't seem possible." + +Off in the little dog tent of the owner of the show, Mr. James +Sparling, on the day following the accident, was asking himself +almost the same questions. + +He sent for Mr. Kennedy after having disposed of his early +morning business. There was a scowl on the owner's face, but it +had not been caused by the telegram which lay on the desk before +him, informing him that Phil was not seriously hurt. That was a +source of keen satisfaction to the showman, for he felt that he +could not afford to lose the young circus boy. + +Teddy was so upset over it, however, that the boss had about made +up his mind to let Phil's companion go back and join him. + +While the showman was thinking the matter over, Mr. Kennedy +appeared at the opening of the dog tent. + +"Morning," he greeted, which was responded to by a muttered +"Huh!" from James Sparling. + +"Come in. What are you standing out there for?" + +Kennedy was so used to this form of salutation that he paid no +further attention to it than to obey the summons. + +He entered and stood waiting for his employer to speak. + +"I want you to tell me exactly what occurred last night, when +young Forrest got hurt, Kennedy." + +"I can't tell you any more about it than you heard last night. He +had started to make his dive before I noticed that anything was +wrong. He didn't stop until he landed on his head. They said +the wire snapped." + +"Did it?" + +"I guess so," grinned Kennedy. + +"Who is responsible for having picked out that wire?" + +"I guess I am." + +"And you have the face to stand there and tell me so?" + +"I usually tell the truth, don't I?" + +"Yes, yes; you do. That's what I like about you." + +"Heard from the kid this morning?" + +"Yes; he'll be all right in a few days. Concussion and general +shaking up; that's all, but it's enough. How are the bulls this +morning?" + +"Emperor is sour. Got a regular grouch on." + +"Misses that young rascal Phil, I suppose?" + +"Yes." + +"H-m-m-m!" + +"Didn't want to come through last night at all." + +"H-m-m-m. Guess we'd better fire you and let the boy handle the +bulls; don't you think so?" + +The trainer grinned and nodded. + +"Kennedy, you've been making your brags that you always tell me +the truth. I am going to ask you a question, and I want you to +see if you can make that boast good." + +"Yes, sir." + +Perhaps the trainer understood something of what was in his +employer's mind, for his lips closed sharply while his jaw took +on a belligerent look. + +"How did that wire come to break, Kennedy?" + +The question came out with a snap, as if the showman already had +made up his mind as to what the answer should be. + +"It was cut, sir," answered the trainer promptly. + +The lines in Mr. Sparling's face drew hard and tense. Instead of +a violent outburst of temper, which Kennedy fully expected, the +owner sat silently contemplating his trainer for a full minute. + +"Who did it?" + +"I couldn't guess." + +"I didn't ask you to guess. I can guess for myself. I asked who +did it?" + +"I don't know. I haven't the least idea who would do a job like +that in this show. I hope the mean hound will take French leave +before I get him spotted, sir." + +Mr. Sparling nodded with emphasis. + +"I hope so, Kennedy. What makes you think the wire was cut?" + +With great deliberation the trainer drew a small package from his +inside coat pocket, carefully unwrapped it, placing the contents +on the table in front of Mr. Sparling. + +"What's this--what's this?" + +"That's the wire." + +"But there are two pieces here--" + +"Yes. I cut off a few feet on each side of where the break +occurred. Those are the two." + +Mr. Sparling regarded them critically. + +"How can you tell that the wire has been cut, except where you +cut it yourself?" + +"It was cut halfway through with a file, as you can see, sir. +When Forrest threw his weight on it, of course the wire parted at +the weakened point." + +"H-m-m-m." + +"If you will examine it, an inch or two above the cut, you will +find two or three file marks, where the file started to cut, then +was moved down. Probably slipped. Looks like it. Don't you +think I'm right, sir?" + +Mr. Sparling nodded reflectively. + +"There can be no doubt of it. You think it was done between the +two performances yesterday?" + +"Oh, yes. That cut wouldn't have held through one performance. +It was cut during the afternoon." + +"Who was in the tent between the shows?" + +"Pretty much the whole crowd. But, if you will remember, the day +was dark and stormy. There was a time late in the afternoon, +before the torches were lighted, when the big top was almost in +darkness. It's my idea that the job was done then. Anybody could +have done it without being discovered. It's likely there wasn't +anybody in the tent except himself at the time." + +"Kennedy, I want you to find out who did that. Understand?" + + + +CHAPTER XIX + +TEDDY DISTINGUISHES HIMSELF + +"The boss has an awful grouch on." + +"Yes; I wonder what's the matter with him," pondered the clown. + +His brother fun-maker shrugged his shoulders. + +"Guess he's mad because of young Forrest's accident. Just got a +good act started when he had to go and spoil it." + +Not a hint of the suspicion entertained by the owner and his +elephant trainer had been breathed about the show. Nearly a week +had passed since Phil's narrow escape from death; yet, despite +all the efforts of Kennedy or the shrewd observation of his +employer, they were no nearer a solution of the mystery than +before. The days passed, and with them the anger of James +Sparling increased. + +"That chum of Forrest's is a funny fellow," continued the first +speaker. "He'd make a good clown?" + +"Make? He's one already. Look at him." + +Teddy was perched on the back of Jumbo, the trick mule of the +show, out in the paddock, where the performers were indulging in +various strange antics for the purpose of limbering themselves up +prior to entering the ring for their acts. + +The bright, warm sunlight was streaming down, picking up little +flames from the glistening spangles sprinkled over the costumes +of many of the circus folks. + +Teddy and Jumbo had become fast friends--a strangely assorted +pair, and whenever the opportunity presented itself Teddy would +mount the ugly looking mule, riding him about the paddock or the +ring when there was nothing going on under the big top. Every +time the pair made their appearance it was the signal for a shout +of merriment from the performers. + +Teddy had perched himself on Jumbo's back while the mule was +awaiting his turn to enter the ring, which he did alone, +performing his act with nothing save the crack of the +ringmaster's whip to guide him. + +Somebody had jammed a clown's cap on Teddy's head, while someone +else had hit it a smash with the flat of his hand, until the peak +of the cap lopped over to one side disconsolately. + +Teddy's face wore an appreciative grin, Jumbo's long ears lying +as far back on his head as they would reach. To the ordinary +observer it might have been supposed that the mule was angry +about something. On the contrary, it was his way of showing his +pleasure. When a pan of oats was thrust before Jumbo, or he +chanced upon a patch of fresh, tender grass, the ears expressed +the animal's satisfaction. + +Jumbo could do pretty much everything except talk, but +occasionally the stubbornness of his kind took possession of him. +At such times the trick mule was wont to do the most erratic +things. + +"How'd you like to ride him in?" chuckled Miaco, who stood +regarding the lad with a broad smile. + +"If I had a saddle I wouldn't mind it," grinned Teddy's funny +face as an accompaniment to his words. + +Jumbo's equipment consisted of a cinch girth and a pair of bridle +reins connected with a headstall. There was no bit, but the +effect was to arch his neck like that of a proud stallion. + +"You'd make the hit of your life if you did," laughed Miaco. +"Wonder the boss don't have you do it." + +"Would if he knew about it," spoke up a performer. "The really +funny things don't get into the ring in a circus, unless by +accident." + +In the meantime the ringmaster was making his loud-voiced +announcement out under the big top. + +"Ladies and gentlemen," he roared, after a loud crack of his +long-lashed whip, to attract the attention of the people to him, +"we are now about to introduce the wonderful performing mule +Jumbo, the only broncho-bucking, bobtailed mule in the world. +You will notice that he performs without a rider, without human +interference. Please do not speak to Jumbo while he is going +through his act. Ladies and gentlemen, Jumbo, the great educated +mule, will now make his appearance unaided by human hand." + +The audience applauded the announcement. + +At that moment the band struck up the tune by which Jumbo always +made his entrance. At the first blare of the brass a fun-loving +clown jabbed Jumbo with a pin. The mule did the rest. + +"Here! Here! Get off that mule!" shouted the animal's trainer. +"He's going on!" + +"Let him go!" roared clowns and other performers. + +Jumbo had never made as quick a start in all his circus career as +he did that day. He fairly leaped into the air, though only one +man understood the reason for the mule's sudden move. + +With a bray that was heard all over the big top Jumbo burst +through the red curtains like a tornado. There he paused for one +brief instant, as if uncertain whether to do a certain thing or +not. + +Recalling the ringmaster's words, the spectators at first were at +a loss to account for the odd-looking figure that was clinging to +the back of the educated mule. + +Suddenly they broke out into roars of laughter, while the +performers peering through the red curtain fairly howled with +delight. + +Teddy was hanging to the cinch girth uncertain what to do. The +ringmaster, amazed beyond words, stood gaping at the spectacle, +for the moment powerless to use his usually ready tongue. + +Jumbo launched into the arena. + +"Get off!" thundered the ringmaster, suddenly recovering himself. + +"I can't!" howled Teddy, though from present indications it +appeared as if he would dismount without any effort on his own +part. + +Jumbo's heels flew into the air, then began a series of lunges, +bucking and terrific kicking such as none among the vast audience +ever had witnessed in or out of a show ring. + +One instant Teddy would be standing on his head on the mule's +back, the next lying on his back with feet toward the animal's +head. Next he would be dragged along the ground, to be plumped +back again at the next bounce. + +No feat seemed too difficult for Jumbo to attempt that day. + +"Stop him! Stop him!" howled the ringmaster. + +Ring attendants rushed forward to obey his command, but they +might as well have tried to stop a tornado. Jumbo eluded them +without the least trouble, but their efforts to keep out of range +of his flying hoofs were not so easy. Some of them had narrow +escapes from being seriously injured. + +Mr. Sparling, attracted by the roars of laughter of the audience +and the unusual disturbance, had hurried into the big top, where +he stood, at first in amazement, then with a broad grin +overspreading his countenance. + +Now Jumbo began a race with himself about the arena, following +the concourse, now and then sending his heels into the air right +over the heads of the spectators of the lower row of seats, +sending them scrambling under the seats for protection. + +A clown ran out with half a dozen paper covered hoops, which he +was holding in readiness for the next bareback act. + +He flaunted them in the face of the runaway mule. + +Jumbo ducked his head under them and Teddy Tucker's head went +through the paper with a crash, the mule's heels at that instant +being high in the air. + +With the rings hung about his neck, Teddy cut a more ridiculous +figure than ever. The audience went wild with excitement. + +Now the ringmaster, angered beyond endurance, began reaching for +Teddy with the long lash of his whip. The business end of the +lash once brushed the boy's cheek. + +It stung him. + +"Ouch!" howled Teddy as he felt the lash. + +"Stop that!" exploded Mr. Sparling, who, by this time, had gotten +into the ring to take a hand in the performance himself. He +grabbed the irate ringmaster by the collar, giving him a jerk +that that functionary did not forget in a hurry. + +Jumbo, however, was no respecter of persons. He had taken a +short cut across the ring just as the owner had begun his +correction of the ringmaster. Jumbo shook out his heels again. +They caught the owner's sombrero and sent it spinning into the +air. + +Mr. Sparling, in his excitement, forgot all about the ringmaster. +Picking up a tent stake, he hurled it after the educated mule, +missing him by a full rod. + +The audience by this time was in a tempest of excitement. At +first they thought it was all a part of the show. But they were +soon undeceived, which made their enjoyment and appreciation all +the greater. + +Jumbo took a final sprint about the arena, Teddy's legs and free +arm most of the time in the air. He had long since lost his +clown's cap, which Jumbo, espying, had kicked off into the +audience. + +"You fool mule! You fool mule!" bellowed Mr. Sparling. + +Jumbo suddenly decided that he would go back to the paddock. +With him, to decide was to act. Taking a fresh burst of speed, +he shot straight at the red curtains. To reach these he was +obliged to pass close to the bandstand, where the band was +playing as if the very existence of the show depended upon them. + +Teddy's grip was relaxing. His arm was so benumbed that he could +not feel that he had any arm on that side at all. + +His fingers slowly relaxed their grip on the cinch girth. In a +moment he had bounced back to the educated mule's rump. In +another instant he would be plumped to the hard ground with a +jolt that would shake him to his foundations. + +But Jumbo had other plans--more spectacular plans--in mind. He +put them into execution at once. The moment he felt his burden +slipping over his back that active end grew busy again. Jumbo +humped himself, letting out a volley of kicks so lightning-like +in their swiftness that human eye could not follow. + +Teddy had slipped half over the mule's rump when the volley +began. + +"Catch him! He'll be killed!" shouted someone. + +All at once the figure of Teddy Tucker shot straight up into the +air, propelled there by the educated mule. The lad's body +described what somebody afterwards characterized as "graceful +somersault in the air," then began its downward flight. + +He landed right in the midst of the band. + +Crash! + +There was a yell of warning, a jingle and clatter of brass, +several chairs went down under the impact, the floor gave way and +half the band, with Teddy Tucker in the middle of the heap, sank +out of sight. + + + +CHAPTER XX + +THE RETURN TO THE SAWDUST LIFE + +"Is he dead?" + +"No; you can't kill a thick-head like that," snarled the +ringmaster. + +The audience was still roaring. + +With angry imprecations the members of the band who had fallen +through were untangling themselves as rapidly as possible. Teddy, +in the meantime, had dragged himself from beneath the heap and +slunk out from under the broken platform. He lost no time in +escaping to the paddock, but the bandmaster, espying him, started +after the lad, waving his baton threateningly. + +No sooner had Teddy gained the seclusion of the dressing tent +than James Sparling burst in. + +"Where's that boy? Where's that boy?" + +"Here he is," grinned a performer, thrusting Teddy forward, much +against the lad's inclinations. + +Mr. Sparling surveyed him with narrow eyes. + +"You young rascal! Trying to break up my show, are you?" + +"N-no--sir." + +"Can you do that again, do you think?" + +"I--I don't know." + +"That's the greatest Rube mule act that ever hit a sawdust ring. +I'll double your salary if you think you can get away with it +every performance," fairly shouted the owner. + +"I--I'm willing if the mule is," stammered Teddy somewhat +doubtfully. + +As a result the lad left his job in the cook tent, never to +return to it. After many hard knocks and some heavy falls he +succeeded in so mastering the act that he was able to go through +with it without great risk of serious injury to himself. The +educated mule and the boy became a feature of the Sparling +Combined Shows from that moment on, but after that Teddy took +good care not to round off his act by a high dive into the big +bass horn. + +No one was more delighted at Teddy Tucker's sudden leap to fame +than was his companion, Phil Forrest. Phil and Dr. Irvine +returned to the show, one afternoon, about a week after the +accident. They had come on by train. + +Phil, though somewhat pale after his setback, was clear-eyed, and +declared himself as fit as ever. He insisted upon going on with +his act at the evening performance, but Mr. Sparling told him to +wait until the day following. In the meantime Phil could get his +apparatus in working order. + +"I'll look it over myself this time," announced the showman. "I +don't want any more such accidents happening in this show. Your +friend Teddy nearly put the whole outfit to the bad--he and the +fool mule." + +That afternoon Phil had an opportunity to witness for himself the +exhibition of his companion and the "fool mule." He laughed +until his sides ached. + +"O Teddy, you'll break your neck doing that stunt one of these +times," warned Phil, hastening back to the dressing tent after +Teddy and the mule had left the ring. + +"Don't you think it's worth the risk?" + +"That depends." + +"For two dollars a day?" + +"Is that what you are getting?" + +"Yep. I'm a high-priced performer," insisted Teddy, snapping his +trousers pocket significantly. "I'd jump off the big top, twice +every day, for that figure." + +"What are you going to do with all your money? Spend it?" + +"I--rather thought I'd buy a bicycle." + +Phil shook his head. + +"You couldn't carry it, and, besides, nobody rides bicycles these +days. They ride in automobiles." + +"Then I'll buy one of them." + +"I'll tell you what you do, Teddy." + +"Lend the money to you, eh?" + +"No; I am earning plenty for myself. But every week, now, I +shall send all my money home to Mrs. Cahill. I wrote to her +about it while I was sick. She is going to put it in the bank +for me at Edmeston, with herself appointed as trustee. That's +necessary, you see, because I am not of age. Then no one can +take it away from me." + +"You mean your Uncle Abner?" questioned Teddy. + +"Yes. I don't know that he would want to; but I'm not taking any +chances. Now, why not send your money along at the same time? +Mrs. Cahill will deposit it in the same way, and at the end of +the season think what a lot of money you will have?" + +"Regular fortune?" + +"Yes, a regular fortune." + +"What'll I do with all that money?" + +"Do what I'm going to do--get an education." + +"What, and leave the show business? No, siree!" + +"I didn't mean that. You can go to school between seasons. I +don't intend to leave the show business, but I'm going to know +something besides that." + +"Well, I guess it would be a good idea," reflected Teddy. + +"Will you do it?" + +"Yes; I'll do it," he nodded. + +"Good for you! We'll own a show of our own, one of these days. +You mark me, Teddy," glowed Phil. + +"Of our own?" marveled Teddy, his face wreathing in smiles. "Say, +wouldn't that be great?" + +"I think so. Have you been practicing on the rings since I +left?" + +"No." + +"That's too bad. You and I will begin tomorrow. We ought to be +pretty expert on the flying rings in a few weeks, if I don't get +hurt again," added the boy, a shadow flitting across his face. + +"Then, you'd better begin by taking some bends," suggested Mr. +Miaco, who, approaching, had overheard Phil's remark. + +"Bends?" questioned Teddy + +"What are they?" wondered Phil. "Oh, I know. I read about them +in the papers. It's an attack that fellows working in a tunnel +get when they're digging under a river. I don't want anything +like that." + +"No, no, no," replied Mr. Miaco in a tone of disgust. "It's no +disease at all." + +"No?" + +"What I mean by bends is exercises. You have seen the performers +do it--bend forward until their hands touch the ground, legs +stiff, then tipping as far backwards as possible. Those are +bending exercises, and the best things to do. The performers +limber up for their act that way. If you practice it slowly +several times a day you will be surprised to see what it will do +for you. I'd begin today were I in your place, Phil. You'll +find yourself a little stiff when you go on in your elephant act +tonight--" + +"I'm not going on tonight--not until tomorrow. Mr. Sparling +doesn't wish me to." + +"All right. All the better. Exercise! I wouldn't begin on the +rings today either. Just take your bends, get steady on your +feet and start in in a regular, systematic way tomorrow," advised +the head clown. + +"Thank you, Mr. Miaco; I shall do so. I am much obliged to you. +You are very kind to us." + +"Because I like you, and because you boys don't pretend to know +more about the circus business than men who have spent their +lives in it." + +"I hope I shall never be like that," laughed Phil. "I know I +shall always be willing to learn." + +"And there always is something to learn in the circus life. None +of us knows it all. There are new things coming up every day," +added the clown. + +Phil left the dressing tent to go around to the menagerie tent +for a talk with Mr. Kennedy and Emperor. Entering the tent the +lad gave his whistle signal, whereat Emperor trumpeted loudly. + +The big elephant greeted his young friend with every evidence of +joy and excitement. Phil, of course, had brought Emperor a bag +of peanuts as well as several lumps of sugar, and it was with +difficulty that the lad got away from him after finishing his +chat with Mr. Kennedy. + +Phil was making a round of calls that afternoon, so he decided +that he would next visit Mr. Sparling, having seen him only a +moment, and that while others were around. + +"May I come in?" he asked. + +"Yes; what do you want?" + +"To thank you for your kindness." + +"Didn't I tell you never to thank me for anything?" thundered the +showman. + +"I beg your pardon, sir; I'll take it all back," twinkled Phil. + +"Oh, you will, will you, young scapegrace? What did you come +here for anyway? Not to palaver about how thankful you are that +you got knocked out, stayed a week in bed and had your salary +paid all the time. I'll bet you didn't come for that. Want a +raise of salary already?" + +"Hardly. If you'll give me a chance, I'll tell you, Mr. +Sparling." + +"Go on. Say it quick." + +"I have been thinking about the fall I got, since I've been laid +up." + +"Nothing else to think about, eh?" + +"And the more I think about it, the more it bothers me." + +"Does, eh?" grunted Mr. Sparling, busying himself with his +papers. + +"Yes, sir. I don't suppose it would be possible for me to get +the broken wire now, would it? No doubt it was thrown away." + +The showman peered up at the boy suspiciously. + +"What do you want of it?" + +"I thought I should like to examine it." + +"Why?" + +"To see what had been done to it." + +"Oh, you do, eh?" + +"Yes, sir." + +"What do you think happened to that wire? It broke, didn't it?" + +"Yes, I guess there is no doubt about it but somebody helped to +break it." + +"Young man, you are too confoundedly smart. Mark my words, +you'll die young. Yes; I have the wire. Here it is. Look at +it. You are right; something happened to it, and I've been +tearing myself to pieces, ever since, to find out who it was. +I've got all my amateur sleuths working on the case, this very +minute, to find out who the scoundrel is who cut the wire. Have +you any idea about it? But there's no use in asking you. I--" + +"I've got this," answered Phil, tossing a small file on the table +in front of Mr. Sparling. + +"What, what, what? A file?" + +"Yes, will you see if it fits the notch in the wire there?" + +The showman did so, holding file and wire up to the light for a +better examination of them. + +"There can be no doubt of it," answered the amazed showman, +fixing wondering eyes on the young man. "Where did you get it?" + +"Picked it up." + +"Where?" + +"In the dressing tent." + +"Pooh! Then it doesn't mean anything," grunted Mr. Sparling. + +"If you knew where I picked it up you might think differently." + +"Then where _did_ you get it?" + +"Found it in my own trunk." + +"In your trunk?" + +Phil nodded. + +"How did it get there?" + +"I had left my trunk open after placing some things in it. When +I went out to watch Teddy's mule act I was in such a hurry that I +forgot all about the trunk. When I came back, there it lay, near +the end--" + +"Somebody put it there!" exploded the showman. + +"Yes." + +"But who? Find that out for me--let me know who the man is and +you'll hear an explosion in this outfit that will raise the big +top right off the ground." + +"Leave it to me, Mr. Sparling, I'll find him." + +The owner laughed harshly. + +"How?" + +"I think I know who the man is at this very minute," was Phil +Forrest's startling announcement, uttered in a quiet, even tone. + +Mr. Sparling leaped from his chair so suddenly that he overturned +the table in front of him, sending his papers flying all over the +place. + + + +CHAPTER XXI + +AN ELEPHANT IN JAIL + +"Who is he?" + +"I would not care to answer that question just now, Mr. +Sparling," answered Phil calmly. "It would not be right--that +is, not until I am sure about it." + +"Tell me, or get out." + +"Remember, Mr. Sparling, it is a serious accusation you ask me to +make against a man on proof that you would say was not worth +anything. It may take some time, but before I get through I'm +going either to fasten the act on someone--on a particular +one--or else prove that I am wholly mistaken." + +The showman stormed, but Phil was obdurate. He refused to give +the slightest intimation as to whom he suspected. + +"Am I to go, Mr. Sparling?" he asked after the interview had come +to an end. + +"No! I expect you'll own this show yet." + +He watched Phil walking away from the tent. There was a scowl on +the face of James Sparling. + +"If I thought that young rascal really thought he knew, I'd take +him across my knee and spank him until he told me. No; he's more +of a man than any two in the whole outfit. I'd rather lose a +horse than have anything happen to that lad." + +Days followed each other in quick succession. The show had by +this time swung around into Pennsylvania, and was playing a +circuit of small mining towns with exceptionally good attendance. +The owner of the show was in high good humor over the profits the +show was earning. The acts of Phil Forrest and Teddy Tucker had +proved to be among the best drawing cards in the circus +performance proper. So important did the owner consider them +that the names of the two circus boys were now prominently +displayed in the advertisements, as well as on the billboards. + +During all this time, Phil and Teddy had worked faithfully on the +rings under the instruction of Mr. Miaco. On the side they were +taking lessons in tumbling as well. For this purpose what is +known as a "mechanic" was used to assist them in their schooling. +This consisted of a belt placed about the beginner's waist. >From +it a rope led up over a pulley, the other end of the rope being +securely held by someone. + +When all was ready the pupil would take a running start, jump +into the air and try to turn. At the same time, the man holding +the free end of the rope would give it a hard pull, thus jerking +the boy free of the ground and preventing his falling on his +head. + +After a few days of this, both boys had progressed so far that +they were able to work on a mat, made up of several layers of +thick carpet, without the aid of the "mechanic." Of course their +act lacked finish. Their movements were more or less clumsy, but +they had mastered the principle of the somersault in remarkably +quick time. + +Mr. Miaco said that in two more weeks they ought to be able to +join the performers in their general tumbling act, which was one +of the features of the show. + +There was not an hour of the day that found the two boys idle, +now, and all this activity was viewed by Mr. Sparling with an +approving eye. + +But one day there came an interruption that turned the thoughts +of the big show family in another direction. + +An accident had happened at the morning parade that promised +trouble for the show. A countryman, who had heard that the hide +of an elephant could not be punctured, was struck by the happy +thought of finding out for himself the truth or falsity of this +theory. He had had an argument with some of his friends, he +taking the ground that an elephant's hide was no different from +the hide of any other animal. And he promised to show them that +it was not. + +All he needed was the opportunity. With his friends he had +followed along with the parade, keeping abreast of the elephants, +until finally the parade was halted by the crossing gates at a +railroad. + +Now was the man's chance to prove the theory false. The crowd +closed in on the parade to get a closer view of the people, and +this acted as a cover for the man's experiment. + +Taking his penknife out he placed the point of it against the +side of Emperor, as it chanced. + +"Now watch me," he said, at the same time giving the knife a +quick shove, intending merely to see if he could prick through +the skin. His experiment succeeded beyond the fellow's fondest +expectations. The point of the knife had gone clear through +Emperor's hide. + +Emperor, ordinarily possessed of a keen sense of humor, coupled +with great good nature, in this instance failed to see the humor +of the proceeding. In fact, he objected promptly and in a most +surprising manner. + +Like a flash, his trunk curled back. It caught the bold +experimenter about the waist, and the next instant the fellow was +dangling in the air over Emperor's head, yelling lustily for +help. The elephant had been watching the man, apparently +suspecting something, and therefore was ready for him. + +"Put him down!" thundered Kennedy. + +The elephant obeyed, but in a manner not intended by the trainer +when he gave the command. + +With a quick sweep of his trunk, Emperor hurled his tormentor +from him. The man's body did not stop until it struck a large +plate glass window in a store front, disappearing into the store +amid a terrific crashing of glass and breaking of woodwork, the +man having carried most of the window with him in his sudden +entry into the store. + +This was a feature of the parade that had not been advertised on +the bills. + +The procession moved on a moment later, with old Emperor swinging +along as meekly as if he had not just stirred up a heap of +trouble for himself and his owner. + +The man, it was soon learned, had been badly hurt. + +But Mr. Sparling was on the ground almost at once, making an +investigation. He quickly learned what had caused the trouble. +And then he was mad all through. He raved up and down the line +threatening to get out a warrant for the arrest of the man who +had stuck a knife into his elephant. + +Later in the afternoon matters took a different turn. A lawyer +called on the showman, demanding the payment of ten thousand +dollars damages for the injuries sustained by his client, and +which, he said, would in all probability make the man a cripple +for life. + +If the showman had been angry before, he was in a towering rage +now. + +"Get off this lot!" he roared. "If you show your face here again +I'll set the canvasmen on you! Then you won't be able to leave +without help." + +The lawyer stood not upon the order of his going, and they saw no +more of him. They had about concluded that they had heard the +last of his demands, until just before the evening performance, +when, as the cook tent was being struck, half a dozen deputy +sheriffs suddenly made their appearance. + +They held papers permitting them to levy on anything they could +lay their hands upon and hold it until full damages had been +fixed by the courts. + +There was no trifling with the law, at least not then, and Mr. +Sparling was shrewd enough to see that. However, he stormed and +threatened, but all to no purpose. + +The intelligent deputies reasoned that Emperor, having been the +cause of all the trouble, would be the proper chattel to levy +upon. So they levied on him. + +The next thing was to get Emperor to jail. He would not budge an +inch when the officers sought to take him. Then a happy thought +struck them. They ordered the trainer to lead the elephant and +follow them under pain of instant arrest if he refused. + +There was nothing for it but to obey. Protesting loudly, Kennedy +started for the village with his great, hulking charge. + +Phil Forrest was as disconsolate as his employer was enraged. The +boy's act was spoiled, perhaps indefinitely, which might mean the +loss of part of his salary. + +"That's country justice," growled the owner. "But I'll telegraph +my lawyer in the city and have him here by morning. Maybe it +won't be such a bad speculation tomorrow, for I'll make this town +go broke before it has fully settled the damages I'll get out of +it. Don't be down in the mouth, Forrest. You'll have your +elephant back, and before many days at that. Go watch the show +and forget your troubles." + +It will be observed that, under his apparently excitable +exterior, Mr. James Sparling was a philosopher. + +"Emperor's in jail," mourned Phil. + +The moment Mr. Kennedy returned, sullen and uncommunicative, Phil +sought him out. He found the trainer in Mr. Sparling's tent. + +"Where did they take him?" demanded Phil, breaking in on their +conversation. + +"To jail," answered Kennedy grimly. "First time I ever heard of +such a thing as an elephant's going to jail." + +"That's the idea. We'll use that for an advertisement," cried +the ever alert showman, slapping his thighs. "Emperor, the +performing elephant of the Great Sparling Combined Shows, jailed +for assault. Fine, fine! How'll that look in the newspapers? +Why, men, it will fill the tent when we get to the next stand, +whether we have the elephant or not." + +"No; you've got to have the elephant," contended Kennedy. + +"Well, perhaps that's so. But I'll wire our man ahead, just the +same, and let him use the fact in his press notices." + +"But how could they get him in the jail?" questioned Phil. + +"Jail? You see, they couldn't. They wanted to, but the jail +wouldn't fit, or the elephant wouldn't fit the jail, either way +you please. When they discovered that they didn't know what to +do with him. Somebody suggested that they might lock him up in +the blacksmith shop." + +"The blacksmith shop?" exploded the owner. + +"I hope they don't try to fit him with shoes," he added, with a +grim smile. + +"Well, maybe it wouldn't be so bad if they did. We'd have our +elephant right quick. Yes, they tried the blacksmith shop on, +and it worked, but it was a close fit. If Emperor had had a bump +on his back as big as an egg he wouldn't have gone in." + +"And he's there now?" + +"Yes. I reckon I'd better stay here and camp at the hotel, +hadn't I, so's to be handy when your lawyer comes on? Emperor +might tear up the town if he got loose." + +Mr. Sparling reflected for a moment. + +"Kennedy, you'll go with the show tonight. I don't care if +Emperor tears this town up by the roots. If none of us is here, +then we shall not be to blame for what happens. We didn't tell +them to lock him up in the blacksmith shop. You can get back +after the lawyer has gotten him out. That will be time enough." + +"Where is the blacksmith shop?" questioned Phil. + +"Know where the graveyard is?" + +"Yes." + +"It's just the other side of that," said Kennedy. "Church on +this side, blacksmith shop on the other. Why?" + +"Oh, nothing. I was just wondering," answered Phil, glancing up +and finding the eyes of Mr. Sparling bent keenly upon him. + +The lad rose hastily, went out, and climbing up to the seat of a +long pole wagon, sat down to ponder over the situation. He +remained there until a teamster came to hook to the wagon and +drive it over to be loaded. Then Phil got down, standing about +with hands in his pockets. + +He was trying to make up his mind about something. + +"Where do we show tomorrow?" he asked of an employee. + +"Dobbsville, Ohio. We'll be over the line before daybreak." + +"Oh." + +The circus tent was rapidly disappearing now. "In another state +in the morning," mused Phil. + +One by one the wagons began moving from the circus lot. + +"Get aboard the sleeping car," called the driver of the wagon +that Phil and Teddy usually slept in, as he drove past. + +"Hey, Phil!" called Teddy, suddenly appearing above the top of +the box. + +"Hello, Teddy!" + +"What are you standing there for?" + +"Perhaps I'm getting the night air," laughed Phil. "Fine, isn't +it?" + +"It might be better. But get in; get in. You'll be left." + +"Never mind me. I am not going on your wagon tonight. You may +have the bed all to yourself. Don't forget to leave your window +open," he jeered. + +"I have it open already. I'm going to put the screen in now to +keep the mosquitoes out," retorted Teddy, not to be outdone. + +"Has Mr. Sparling gone yet do you know?" + +"No; he and Kennedy are over yonder where the front door was, +talking." + +"All right." + +Teddy's head disappeared. No sooner had it done so than Phil +Forrest turned and ran swiftly toward the opposite side of the +lot. He ran in a crouching position, as if to avoid being seen. + +Reaching a fence which separated the road from the field, he +threw himself down in the tall grass there and hid. + +"In Ohio tomorrow. I'm going to try it," he muttered. "It can't +be wrong. They had no business, no right to do it," he decided, +his voice full of indignation. + +He heard the wagons rumbling by him on the hard road, the rattle +of wheels accompanied by the shouts of the drivers as they urged +their horses on. + +And there Phil lay hidden until every wagon had departed, headed +for the border, and the circus lot became a barren, deserted and +silent field. + + + +CHAPTER XXII + +EMPEROR ANSWERS THE SIGNAL + +Making sure that everybody had left, Phil Forrest ran swiftly +toward the village. He knew the way, having been downtown during +the day. + +A light twinkled here and there in a house, where the people, no +doubt, were discussing the exciting events of the day. As Phil +drew near the cemetery he heard voices. + +It would not do to be discovered, so the lad climbed the fence +and crept along the edge of the open plot. He was nearing the +blacksmith shop and it was soon apparent to him that quite a +number of men had gathered in front of the shop itself. + +Skulking up to the corner, the last rod being traversed on all +fours, the circus boy flattened himself on the ground to listen, +in an effort to learn if possible what were the plans of the +villagers. If they had any he did not learn them, for their +conversation was devoted principally to discussing what they had +done to the Sparling show and what they would do further before +they had finished with this business. + +Phil did learn, however, that the man who had been hurled through +the store window was not fatally injured, as had been thought at +first. Someone announced that the doctor had said the man would +be about again in a couple of weeks. + +"I'm glad of that," muttered Phil. "I shouldn't like to think +that Emperor had killed anyone. I wonder how he likes it in +there." + +Evidently the elephant was not well pleased, for the lad could +hear him stirring restlessly and tugging at his chains. + +"Won't he be surprised, though?" chuckled Phil. "I shouldn't be +surprised if he made a lot of noise. I hope he doesn't, for I +don't want to stir the town up. I wonder if those fellows are +going to stay there all night?" + +The loungers showed no inclination to move, so there was nothing +for the boy to do but to lie still and wait. + +After a little he began to feel chilled, and began hopping around +on hands and feet to start his blood moving. A little of this +warmed him up considerably. This time he sat down in the fence +corner. The night was moonless, but the stars were quite bright, +enabling Phil to make out objects some distance away. He could +see quite plainly the men gathered in front of the blacksmith +shop. + +After a wait of what seemed hours to Phil, one of the watchers +stirred himself. + +"Well, fellows, we might as well go home. The brute's settled +down for the night, I reckon." + +"What time is it?" + +"Half past two," announced the first speaker. + +"Well, well, I should say it was time to go. Not going to stay +with him, are you, sheriff?" + +"Not necessary. He can't get out." + +After listening at the closed door, the one whom Phil judged to +be an officer joined his companions and all walked leisurely down +the road. + +The lad remained in the fence corner for sometime, but he stood +up after they had gone. He did not dare move about much, fearing +that Emperor might hear and know him and raise a great tumult. + +Phil waited all of half an hour; then he climbed the fence and +slipped cautiously to the door of the shop. + +It was securely locked. + +"Oh, pshaw! That's too bad," grumbled the lad. "How am I going +to do it?" + +Phil ran his fingers lightly over the fastening, which consisted +of a strong hasp and a padlock. + +"What shall I do? I dare not try to break the lock. I should be +committing a crime if I did. Perhaps I am already. No; I'm not, +and I shall not. I'll just speak to Emperor, then start off on +foot after the show. It was foolish of me to think I could do +anything to help Mr. Sparling and the elephant out of his +trouble. I ought to be able to walk to the next stand and get +there in time for the last breakfast call, providing I can find +the way." + +Perhaps Phil's conscience troubled him a little, though he had +done nothing worse than to follow the dictates of his kind heart +in his desire to be of assistance to his employer and to befriend +old Emperor. + +Placing his lips close to the door, Phil called softly. + +"Emperor!" he said. + +The restless swaying and heavy breathing within ceased suddenly. + +"Emperor!" repeated the lad, at the same time uttering the low +whistle that the big elephant had come to know so well. + +A mighty cough from the interior of the blacksmith shop answered +Phil Forrest's signal. + +"Be quiet, Emperor. Be quiet! We are going to get you out as +soon as we can, old fellow! You just behave yourself now. Do +you hear?" + +Emperor emitted another loud cough. + +"Good old Emperor. I've got some peanuts for you, but I don't +know how I am going to give them to you. Wait a minute. Perhaps +there is a window somewhere that I can toss them through." + +Phil, after looking around, found a window with the small panes +of glass missing. The window was so high that he could not reach +it, so he stood on the ground and tossed the peanuts in, while +the big elephant demonstrated the satisfaction he felt, in a +series of sharp intakes of breath. + +"Now I'm going," announced Phil. "Goodbye, Emperor. Here's a +lump of sugar. That's all I have for you." + +Phil turned away sorrowfully. His purpose had failed. Not +because he doubted his ability to carry it out, but he was not +sure that he would be right in doing so. + +A few rods down the road he paused, turned and uttered his shrill +signal whistle, with no other idea in mind than to bring some +comfort to the imprisoned beast. + +Emperor interpreted the signal otherwise, however. He uttered a +loud, shrill trumpet; then things began to happen with a rapidity +that fairly made the circus boy's head whirl. + +A sudden jingle of metal, a crashing and rending from within the +shop, caused Phil to halt sharply after he had once more started +on his way. + +Crash! Bang! + +Emperor had brought his wonderful strength to bear on his +flimsily constructed prison with disastrous results to the +latter. First he had torn the blacksmith's bellows out by the +roots and hurled it from him. Next he set to work to smash +everything within reach. A moment of this and the elephant had +freed himself from the light chains with which the keeper had +secured him. + +"Wha--oh, what is he doing?" gasped Phil Forrest. + +The boards on one side of the shop burst out as from a sudden +explosion. Down came half a dozen of the light studdings that +supported the roof on that side. + +By this time Emperor had worked himself into a fine temper. He +turned his attention to the other side of the shop with similar +disastrous results. The interior of the blacksmith shop was a +wreck. It could not have been in much worse condition had it +been struck by a cyclone. + +All of a sudden the elephant threw his whole weight against the +big sliding door. It burst out with a report like that of a +cannon. + +Emperor came staggering out into the open. There he paused, with +twitching ears and curling trunk, peering into the darkness in +search of Phil Forrest. + +Phil recovered from his surprise sufficiently to realize what had +happened and that old Emperor was free once more. + +The lad uttered a shrill whistle. Emperor responded by a +piercing scream. He then whirled, facing up the road in Phil's +direction, though unable to see the lad. + +Once more the boy whistled. Emperor was off in a twinkling. + +"Steady, steady, Emperor!" cautioned the lad, as he saw the huge +hulk bearing swiftly down on him. "Easy, old boy!" + +But the elephant did not lessen his speed one particle. Phil +felt sure, however, that he himself would not be harmed. He knew +Emperor too well. With perfect confidence in the great animal, +the lad threw both hands above his head, standing motionless in +the center of the street right in the path of the oncoming beast. + +"Steady, steady, steady!" cautioned Phil. "Now up, Emperor!" + +The elephant's long, sinuous trunk uncurled, coiled about the +lad's waist and the next instant Phil felt himself being lifted +to the big beast's head. + +"I've got him!" shouted Phil, carried away by the excitement of +the moment. "Now, go it! Emperor! Go faster than you ever have +since you chased lions in the jungle." + +And Emperor did go it! As he tore down the village street he +woke the echoes with his shrill trumpetings, bringing every man +and woman in the little village tumbling from their beds. + +"The elephant is escaping!" cried the people, as they threw up +their windows and gazed out. As they looked they saw a huge, +shadowy shape hurling itself down the street, whereat they +hastily withdrew their heads. In a few moments the men of the +village came rushing out, all running toward the blacksmith shop +to learn what had happened there. There followed a perfect +pandemonium of yells when they discovered the wrecked condition +of the place. + +In the meantime Phil had guided Emperor into the road that led to +the show grounds of the previous day. The elephant was about to +turn into the lot, when a sharp slap from his rider caused him to +swing back into the highway on the trail of the wagons that had +passed on some hours before. + +Once he had fairly started Emperor followed the trail, making the +turns and following the twists of the road as unerringly as an +Indian follows the trail of his enemy. + +"Hurrah!" shouted Phil, after they had got clear of the village. +"I've won, I've won! But, oh, won't there be a row back there +when they find out what has happened, I wonder if they will +follow us." + +The thought startled him. + +"If they do they are liable to arrest me, believing that I let +him out. _Go it,_ Emperor! Go faster!" + +Emperor flapped his ears in reply and swung off at an increased +gait. The darkness of early morn was soon succeeded by the +graying dawn, and Phil felt a certain sense of relief as he +realized that day was breaking. On they swept, past hamlets, by +farm houses, where here and there men with milkpails in hand +paused, startled, to rub their eyes and gaze upon the strange +outfit that was rushing past them at such a pace. + +Phil could not repress a chuckle at such times, at thought of the +sensation he was creating. + +The hours drew on until seven o'clock had arrived, and the sun +was high in the heavens. + +"I must be getting near the place," decided Phil. He knew he was +on the right road, for he could plainly see the trail of the +wagons and of the stock in the dust of the road before him. +"Yes; there is some sort of a village way off yonder. I wonder +if that is it?" + +A fluttering flag from the top of a far away center-pole, which +he caught sight of a few minutes later, told the boy that it was. + +"Hurrah!" shouted Phil, waving his hat on high. + +At that moment a distant chorus of yells smote his ears. The lad +listened intently. The shout was repeated. Holding fast to the +headstall, he glanced back over the road. There, far to his +rear, he discovered a cloud of dust, which a few minutes later +resolved itself into a party of horsemen, riding at top speed. + +"They're after me! Go faster! Go faster!" shouted the lad. As +he spoke a rifle cracked somewhere behind him, but as Phil heard +no bullet the leaden missile must have fallen far short of the +mark. + + + +CHAPTER XXIII + +THE MYSTERY SOLVED + +As he neared the village Phil began to shout and wave his hat. +After a time his shouts attracted the attention of some of the +people on the circus lot, which was on his side of the village. + +"It's Emperor coming back!" cried someone. "There's somebody on +him," added another. + +"I'll bet the day's receipts that it's that rascally Phil +Forrest," exclaimed Mr. Sparling, examining the cloud of dust +with shaded eyes. "How in the world did it ever happen? I've +been hunting all over the outfit for that boy this morning. +Young Tucker said he thought Phil had remained behind, and I was +afraid something had happened to the boy or that he had skipped +the show. I might have known better. What's that back of him?" + +"Somebody chasing them, boss," a tentman informed him. + +"And they're going to catch old Emperor sure." + +"Not if I know it," snapped Mr. Sparling. _"Hey, Rube!"_ he +howled. + +Canvasmen, roustabouts, performers and everybody within reach of +his voice swarmed out into the open, armed with clubs, stones and +anything they could lay their hands upon. + +"There's a posse trying to catch Phil Forrest and old Emperor. +Get a going! Head them off and drive them back!" + +Every man started on a run, some leaping on horses, clearing the +circus lot, riding like so many cowboys. As they approached the +lad perched on the bobbing head of the elephant the showmen set +up a chorus of wild yells, to which Phil responded by waving his +hat. He tried to stand up on Emperor's head, narrowly missing a +tumble, which he surely would have taken had not the elephant +given him quick support with the ever-handy trunk. + +"They're shooting at me," cried Phil, as he swept by the showmen. + +"Line up!" commanded Mr. Sparling. + +His men stretched across the highway, with the mounted ones in +front, his infantry behind. Soon the horsemen of the pursuing +party came dashing up and brought their horses to a sudden stop. + +"What do you want?" + +"We demand the turning over of the elephant which one of your men +stole from us. They've wrecked the blacksmith shop and there'll +be a pretty bill of damages to pay! Come now, before we take you +back with us." + +Mr. Sparling grinned. + +"Perhaps you don't know that you are in the State of Ohio at the +present moment, eh? If you'll take my advice you'll turn about +and get home as fast as horseflesh will carry you. My lawyer +will be in your town today, and he will arrange for the payment +of all just damages. We decline to be robbed, however. We've +got the elephant and we're going to keep him." + +"And we're going to have the boy that broke in and released him." + +"Ho, ho, ho!" laughed Mr. Sparling jovially. "I guess you'll +have the liveliest scrimmage you ever had in all your lives if +you attempt to lay hands on that boy. Come, now, get out of +here! If you attempt to raise the slightest disturbance I'll have +the bunch of you in the cooler, and we'll be the boys to put you +there if the town officials don't act quickly enough." + +"Boys, I guess it's up to us," decided the leader of the party. + +"Looks that way." + +"Then what do you say if we stop and see the show?" + +"Good idea!" + +"I don't care how many of you go to the show; but, mark me, it +will cost you fifty cents a head, and at the first sign of +disturbance you'll see the biggest bunch of trouble headed your +way!" + +"It's all right, Mr. Sparling. We admit we've been done." + +And that was the end of it. Mr. Sparling's lawyer visited the +town where the disturbance had occurred on the previous day, and +at his client's direction made a settlement that should have been +wholly satisfactory to the injured parties. Ordinarily the +showman would not have settled the case, in view of the fact that +neither he nor any of his employees was directly responsible for +the series of disasters. He did it almost wholly on account of +Phil Forrest, who had asked him to. + +"Well, young man, I've paid the bills," announced Mr. Sparling +that afternoon before the evening performance. + +"Thank you," glowed Phil. + +"Stop that! If there's any thanks in it, they're coming to you. +Between you and the elephant we'll have another turn-away today. +You have already put a good bit of money in my pocket, and I'm +not forgetting it. I have made definite arrangements for you and +your chum to have a berth in a closed wagon after this. You will +be good enough to offer no objections this time. What I say +goes." + +"I hope I did not do anything wrong in taking Emperor away. I'm +afraid my conscience has troubled me ever since. But I didn't +intend to do anything wrong or to cause any further damage than +already had been done." + +"You did perfectly right, Forrest. That was a stroke of genius. +As for damage, I tell you I have settled all of that. One of +these days you come in when I'm not busy and we'll talk about +next season. I want you to stay with me." + +Phil left his employer, the lad's face flushed and his eyes +sparkling. Altogether, he was a very happy boy. The only real +cloud that had darkened his horizon was that anyone should feel +such an enmity toward him as to desire to take his life; or, at +least, to cause him so serious an injury as to put an end to the +career that now seemed so promising. + +"I know why, of course," mused the lad. "It was jealousy. I am +more sure than ever as to the identity of the man who did it. +When I get a good opportunity I am going to face him with it. I'm +not afraid of the man. As it is, he might try it again; but if +he understands that I know he will not dare try it, fearing I may +have told someone else." + +Having come to this wise conclusion, Phil proceeded to the big +top, where he and Teddy Tucker were to take their afternoon +practice on the flying rings, pausing on the way to pass a +handful of peanuts to Emperor, who was again in his place, and +give the elephant's trainer a happy nod. + +"I've noticed of late that Signor Navaro acts rather grouchy over +you boys working on his apparatus. You want to look out for +these foreigners. Some of them are revengeful," cautioned Mr. +Miaco. + +Signor Navaro was the leading performer in the flying-rings act. +With him was his young son, Rodney Palmer and a young girl +performer, whose father was a clown in the show. + +Phil shot a sharp glance at Mr. Miaco, then dropped his eyes. + +"I guess nobody would be jealous of me," laughed the lad. "I'm +only a beginner, and a clumsy one at that. All I can do is to +ride an elephant and fall off, nearly killing myself." + +"Nevertheless, you take my advice." + +"I will, thank you." + +The boys began their work after putting on their working clothes, +consisting of old silk undershirts and linen trunks. This left +them free for the full play of their muscles, which, by this +time, were of exceptionally fine quality. Not big and bunchy, +but like thin bands of pliable steel. Both Phil and Teddy +appeared to have grown half a head taller since they joined out +with the circus. + +"Put a little more finish in that cutoff movement," directed +their instructor. "The way you do it, Teddy, you remind me of a +man trying to kick out a window. There, that's better." + +And so it went on. Days came and went and the steady practice of +the two circus boys continued, but if Mr. Sparling knew what they +were doing he made no reference to it. He probably did know, for +little went on in the Sparling Combined Shows that he was not +aware of. + +Nothing out of the routine occurred, until, late in the season, +they pitched their tents in Canton, Ohio, when something happened +that brought to a climax the certainty of the careers of the +circus boys. + +All day long the clouds had been threatening. But, though keen +eyes were watching the scudding clouds, no apprehension was felt, +as it was believed to be but a passing thunderstorm that was +coming up. + +The storm did not break until late in the afternoon when the show +was more than half over. Phil had made his grand entry on +Emperor, and Teddy had nearly sent the spectators into hysterics +by his funny antics on the back of Jumbo, the educated mule. + +All at once the circus men glanced aloft as the shrill whistle of +the boss canvasman trilled somewhere outside the big top. The +audience, if they heard, gave no heed. They were too much +interested in the show. + +To the showmen the whistle meant that the emergency gang was +being summoned in haste to stake down emergency ropes to protect +the tent from a windstorm that was coming up. + +Phil took a quick survey of the upper part of the tent. Two acts +were just beginning up there. A trapeze act was on, and the four +performers were swinging out on the flying rings. + +Both sets of performers were in rather perilous positions were +the wind to blow very hard, as Phil well understood. He stepped +off until he found a quarter pole at his back against which he +leaned that he might watch the better the lofty performers. + +All at once there was a blast against the big top that sounded as +if a great blow had been delivered. The audience half rose. The +tent shook from end to end. + +"Sit down!" bellowed the ringmaster. "It's only a puff of wind." + +Before the words were out of his mouth a piercing scream roused +the audience almost to the verge of panic. + +Phil, whose attention had been drawn to the people for the +moment, shot a swift glance up into the somber haze of the peak +of the big top. + +Something had happened. But what? + +"They're falling!" he gasped. + +The blow had loosened nearly every bit of the aerial apparatus +under the circus tent. + +"There go the trapeze performers!" + +Down they came, landing with a whack in the net with their +apparatus tumbling after them. But they were out of the net in a +twinkling, none the worse for their accident. Almost at the same +moment there were other screams. + +"There go the rings!" + +There was no net under the flying ring performers. Two of them +shot toward the ground. When they struck, one was on top of the +other. The man at the bottom was Signor Navaro, his son having +fallen prone across him. The two other performers in the act had +grabbed a rope and saved themselves. + +Men picked the two fallen performers up hastily and bore them to +the dressing tent, where Phil hastened the moment he was sure +that all danger of a panic had passed. The gust of wind had +driven the clouds away and the sun flashed out brilliantly. + +A moment later the performance was going on with a rush, the band +playing a lively tune. + +Phil, when he reached the dressing tent, learned that Signor +Navaro was seriously hurt, though his son was suffering merely +from shock. The father had sustained several broken bones. + +Phil approached the injured performer and leaned over him. The +man was conscious. + +"I'm sorry, very sorry, sir," breathed the boy sympathetically. + +"You needn't be. You'll get what you want," murmured the circus +man. + +"I don't understand," wondered Phil. + +"You'll get my act." + +"Is that what you think I have been working for?" + +Signor Navaro nodded. + +"You are mistaken. Of course, if you are not able to perform any +more this season I shall try to get it, but when you are able to +go to work I shall give it up willingly, even if I succeed in +getting it during that time. Is that why you played that trick +on me?" demanded the lad. + +"You know?" questioned Signor Navaro, with a start. + +Phil gave a slight nod. + +"Why did you put the file in my trunk--the file you cut the wire +with?" + +"I thought I dropped it in my own trunk. Somebody surprised me +and I was afraid they would catch me with it in my hand and +suspect." + +"That's what I thought." + +"You are sharp. And you told no one?" + +"No. But I had made up my mind to tell you. I didn't think it +would have to be this way, though. I'm sorry it is." + +"Well, I have my punishment. It served me right. I was crazed +with jealousy. I--how is the boy?" + +"Not badly hurt, I believe. He will be all right in a few days, +and I hope you will be able to join out in a short time." + +Signor Navaro extended a feeble hand, which Phil pressed softly. + +"Forgive me, boy. Will you?" + +"Yes," whispered Phil. + +"And you will tell no--" + +"There is nothing to tell, Signor Navaro. If there is anything I +can do for you, tell me, and I shall have great happiness in +doing it," breathed the lad. + +A final grip of the hands of the boy and the injured performer +followed, after which Phil Forrest stepped back to make way for +the surgeon, who had hurried to a wagon to fetch his case. + + + +CHAPTER XXIV + +CONCLUSION + +"You see, an accident always casts a cloud over a show and makes +the performers uncertain," said Mr. Miaco that night as he and +Phil were watching the performance from the end of the band +platform. + +"I should think it would," mused the boy. + +Soon after that Phil went to his wagon and turned in, his mind +still on Signor Navaro, who had been taken to a hospital, where +he was destined to remain for many weeks. + +"I guess it doesn't pay, in the long run, to be dishonorable," +mused the lad as he was dropping off to sleep. + +The next morning Phil was up bright and early, very much +refreshed after a good night's rest between his blankets in the +comfortable sleeping wagon. Teddy, however, declared that he +didn't like it. He said he preferred to sleep on a pile of canvas +in the open air, even if he did get wet once in a while. + +Later in the morning, after Mr. Sparling had had time to dispose +of his usual rush of morning business, which consisted of hearing +reports from his heads of departments, and giving his orders for +the day, Phil sought out his employer in the little dog tent. + +"I'm very sorry about the accident, Mr. Sparling," greeted Phil. + +"Yes; it ties up one act. It will be some days before I can get +another team in to take it up, and here we are just beginning to +play the big towns. I have been trying to figure out if there +was not someone in the show who could double in that act and get +away with it," mused the showman. "How'd you sleep?" + +"Fine. Is there no one you can think of who could fill the bill, +Mr. Sparling?" + +"No; that's the rub. You know of anyone?" + +"How about myself." + +"What?" + +Mr. Sparling surveyed the lad in surprised inquiry. + +"I think I can make a pretty fair showing on the rings. Of +course, if Signor Navaro gets well and comes back, I shall be +glad to give the act back to him. I know something about the +flying rings." + +"Young man, is there anything in this show that you can't do?" +demanded Mr. Sparling, with an attempt at sternness. + +"A great many things, sir. Then, again, there are some others +that I have confidence enough in myself to believe I can do. You +see, I have been practicing on the rings ever since I joined +out." + +"But you are only one. We shall need two performers," objected +the owner. + +"Teddy Tucker has been working with me. He is fully as good on +the flying rings as I am, if not better." + +"H-m-m-m!" mused the showman. "Come over to the big top and +let's see what you really can do," he said, starting up. + +Phil ran in search of Teddy and in a few minutes the two boys +appeared in the arena, ready for the rehearsal. + +Mr. Miaco, who had been called on and informed of the news, +accompanied them. It was he who hauled the boys up to the rings +far up toward the top of the tent. + +"Get a net under there! We don't want to lose any more +performers this season," the clown commanded. + +After some little delay the net was spread and the showman +motioned for the performance to proceed, walking over and taking +his seat on the boards so that he might watch the performance +from the viewpoint of the audience. + +With the utmost confidence the boys went through the act without +a slip. They did everything that Signor Navaro had done in his +performance, adding some clever feats of their own that had been +devised with the help of Mr. Miaco. Mr. Sparling looked on with +twinkling eyes and frequent nods of approval. + +"Fine! Fine! One of the best flying-ring acts I ever saw," he +shouted, when finally the lads rounded out their act by a series +of rapid evolutions commonly known as "skinning the cat." Even +in this their act was attended with variations. + +The boys concluded by a graceful drop into the net, from which +they bounded into the air, swung themselves to the ground, each +throwing a kiss to the grinning manager. + +A number of performers who had been a witness to the performance +clapped their hands and shouted "bravo!" + +Mr. Sparling called the lads to him. + +"The act is yours," he said. "It is better than Navaro's. Each +of you will draw twenty five dollars a week for the rest of the +season," he announced to the proud circus boys, who thereupon ran +to the dressing tent to take a quick bath and get into their +costumes ready for the parade. + +"See to it that they have the net spread, Mr. Ducro," he +directed. "Never permit them to perform without it." + +That afternoon the boys made their first appearance in the +flying-ring exhibition, and their act really proved a sensation. +Mr. Sparling, who was observing it from the side, kept his head +bobbing with nods of approval and muttered comments. + +After the show Phil suggested that thereafter Teddy be allowed to +use a clown makeup, because his funny antics in the air were more +fitted to the character of a clown than to that of a finished +performer. + +To this the owner readily agreed, and that night they tried it +with tremendous success. + +The days that followed were bright ones for the circus boys. Each +day seemed an improvement over the previous one. The season drew +rapidly to a close and they looked forward to the day with keen +regret. + +One day Mr. Sparling summoned them to his tent. + +"Are you boys ready to sign up for next season?" he asked. + +"I should like to," answered Phil. + +"This will be a railroad show next season, the third largest show +on the road, and I want you both." + +"Thank you; I shall join gladly." + +"So will I," chorused Teddy. + +"Your salaries will be fifty dollars a week next season. And if +you wish a vaudeville engagement for the winter I think I shall +be able to get one for you." + +"We are going to school, Mr. Sparling. Teddy and I will be hard +at work over our books next week. But we are going to keep up +our practice all winter and perhaps we may have some new acts to +surprise you with in the spring," laughed Phil, his face aglow +with happiness. + +A week later found the lads back in Edmeston, bronzed, healthy, +manly and admired by all who saw them. Phil had nearly four +hundred dollars in the bank, while Teddy had about one hundred +less. + +Phil's first duty after greeting Mrs. Cahill was to call on his +uncle, who begrudgingly allowed his nephew to shake hands with +him. Next day the circus boys dropped into their old routine life +and applied themselves to their studies, at the same time looking +forward to the day when the grass should grow green again and the +little red wagons roll out for their summer journeyings. + +Here we will leave them. But Phil and his companion will be +heard from again in a following volume, to be published +immediately, entitled, "THE CIRCUS BOYS ACROSS THE CONTINENT; Or, +Winning New Laurels on the Tanbark." In this volume their +thrilling adventures under the billowing canvas are to be +continued, leading them on to greater triumphs and successes. + + + + + +End of Project Gutenberg Etext: The Circus Boys on the Flying +Rings Or Making the Start in the Sawdust Life. + |
