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diff --git a/41721-8.txt b/41721-0.txt index 2b9eeb7..c639637 100644 --- a/41721-8.txt +++ b/41721-0.txt @@ -1,36 +1,4 @@ -The Project Gutenberg eBook, The Crimson Flash, by Roy J. Snell - - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere 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 - - - - - -Title: The Crimson Flash - - -Author: Roy J. Snell - - - -Release Date: December 28, 2012 [eBook #41721] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 - - -***START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE CRIMSON FLASH*** - - -E-text prepared by Stephen Hutcheson, Rod Crawford, Dave Morgan, and the -Online Distributed Proofreading Team (http://www.pgdp.net) - - +*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 41721 *** Mystery Stories for Boys @@ -4816,362 +4784,4 @@ Transcriber's note: --Typographical errors were corrected without comment. - - -***END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE CRIMSON FLASH*** - - -******* This file should be named 41721-8.txt or 41721-8.zip ******* - - -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: -http://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/4/1/7/2/41721 - - - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions -will be renamed. - -Creating the works from public domain print editions 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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Snell</title> <style type="text/css"> xbody, table.twocol tr td { margin-left:2em; margin-right:2em; } /* BODY */ @@ -152,18 +152,8 @@ p.t15,div.t15,.t15 { margin-left:19em;text-indent:-3em; margin-top:0; margin-b </style> </head> <body> +<div>*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 41721 ***</div> <h1>The Project Gutenberg eBook, The Crimson Flash, by Roy J. Snell</h1> -<p class="pg">This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere 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="http://www.gutenberg.org">www.gutenberg.org</a></p> -<p class="pg">Title: The Crimson Flash</p> -<p class="pg">Author: Roy J. Snell</p> -<p class="pg">Release Date: December 28, 2012 [eBook #41721]</p> -<p class="pg">Language: English</p> -<p class="pg">Character set encoding: UTF-8</p> -<p class="pg">***START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE CRIMSON FLASH***</p> <p> </p> <h3 class="pg">E-text prepared by<br /> Stephen Hutcheson, Rod Crawford, Dave Morgan,<br /> @@ -5423,360 +5413,6 @@ text—this e-text is in the public domain in the country of publication.</l <p> </p> <p> </p> -<hr class="full" /> -<p class="pg">***END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE CRIMSON FLASH***</p> -<p class="pg">******* This file should be named 41721-h.txt or 41721-h.zip *******</p> -<p class="pg">This and all associated files of various formats will be found in:<br /> -<a href="http://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/4/1/7/2/41721">http://www.gutenberg.org/4/1/7/2/41721</a></p> -<p class="pg"> -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions -will be renamed.</p> - -<p class="pg"> -Creating the works from public domain print editions 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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Thus, we do not necessarily -keep eBooks in compliance with any particular paper edition.</p> - -<p class="pg">Most people start at our Web site which has the main PG search facility: -<a href="http://www.gutenberg.org">www.gutenberg.org</a></p> - -<p class="pg">This Web site includes information about Project Gutenberg-tm, -including how to make donations to the Project Gutenberg Literary -Archive Foundation, how to help produce our new eBooks, and how to -subscribe to our email newsletter to hear about new eBooks.</p> - +<div>*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 41721 ***</div> </body> </html> diff --git a/41721.txt b/41721.txt deleted file mode 100644 index 092f20b..0000000 --- a/41721.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,5177 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg eBook, The Crimson Flash, by Roy J. Snell - - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere 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 - - - - - -Title: The Crimson Flash - - -Author: Roy J. Snell - - - -Release Date: December 28, 2012 [eBook #41721] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: ISO-646-US (US-ASCII) - - -***START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE CRIMSON FLASH*** - - -E-text prepared by Stephen Hutcheson, Rod Crawford, Dave Morgan, and the -Online Distributed Proofreading Team (http://www.pgdp.net) - - - -Mystery Stories for Boys - -THE CRIMSON FLASH - -by - -ROY J. SNELL - - - - - - - -The Reilly & Lee Co. -Chicago - -Printed in the United States of America - -Copyright, 1922 -by -The Reilly & Lee Co. -All Rights Reserved - - - - -CONTENTS - - - CHAPTER PAGE - I Johnny Loses a Fight 9 - II Boxing the Bunco-Steerer 24 - III The Feasters See a Haunt 45 - IV "Pale Face Bonds" 55 - V Strange Doings in the Night 74 - VI Johnny Boxes the Bear 85 - VII No Box-a Da Bear 100 - VIII The Girl and the Tiger 112 - IX The Tiger Springs 124 - X Gwen Meets a "Hay Maker" 134 - XI The Black Beast 144 - XII Johnny Wins Double Pay 160 - XIII Pant's Story of the Black Cat 173 - XIV In Tom Stick's House 184 - XV Bursting Balloons 198 - XVI The Wreck of the Circus 206 - XVII "Get That Black Cat" 217 - XVIII How Johnny Got the Ring 232 - - - - -THE CRIMSON FLASH - - - - - CHAPTER I - JOHNNY LOSES A FIGHT - - -In the center of the "big top," which sheltered the mammoth three-ring -circus, brass horns blared to the rhythmic beat of a huge bass drum. - -Eight trained elephants, giant actors of the sawdust ring, patiently -stood in line, awaiting the command to make way for the tumblers, trapeze -performers, bareback riders and the queen of the circus. - -The twins, Marjory and Margaret MacDonald, just past ten years of age, -and attending their first circus, stood pressed against the rope not an -arm's length from the foremost elephant. Suddenly the gigantic creature -reached out a beseeching trunk for a possible peanut. - -Sensing danger, Johnny Thompson, the one-time lightweight boxing -champion, who, besides their maid, stood guard over the millionaire -twins, sprang forward. Quick as he was, his movement was far too slow. -Marjory jumped back; there was an almost inaudible snap. The elephant -stretched his trunk to full length--then in apparent anger uttered a -hollow snort. - -A broad bar of sunlight shooting over the top of the canvas wall was cut -by a sudden flash. The flash described a circle, then blinked out at the -feet of three waiting young women performers. - -With a cry of consternation on his lips, Johnny Thompson sprang over the -ropes. Bowling over an elephant trainer in his haste, he bolted toward -the three girl acrobats at whose feet the miniature meteor had vanished. - -Again his agile movement was far too slow. Six pairs of rough hands tried -to seize him. Johnny's right shot out. With a little gurgle, an attendant -in uniform staggered backward to crumple in the sawdust. A ring-master, -leaping like a panther, landed on Johnny's back. Dropping abruptly, -Johnny executed a somersault, shook himself free and rose only to butt -his head into the stomach of a fat clown. - -And then what promised to be a beautiful scrap ended miserably. A -razor-back, or tent roustabout, struck Johnny on the head with a tent -stake. Johnny dropped like an empty meal sack. At once four attendants -dragged him beneath the tent wall into a shady corner. There, after tying -his hands and feet, they waited for his return to consciousness. - -Little by little Johnny came to himself, and began to fumble at his -fetters. - -"Wow! What hit me?" he grumbled, as he attempted to rub his bruised head. - -"You fell and struck your head on a tent pole," grinned a razor-back. - -"Some scrapper, eh?" a second man commented. - -"Dope or moonshine?" asked a third. - -"Neither," exclaimed Johnny. "It was--darn it! No. That's none of your -business. But I'll get it back if I have to follow this one-horse show -from Boston to Texas." - -"You won't follow nothin' just at present," scowled the razor-back, eying -his shackles with satisfaction. "That guy you hit had to go to the show's -surgeon." - -"Wow!" ejaculated his companion. "And I bet this little feller doesn't -weigh a hundred and ten stripped! How'd he do it?" - -"Let me loose and I'll give you a free exhibition," grinned Johnny, as he -settled back, resolved to take what was coming to him with a smile. - -He was not a quarrelsome fellow, this Johnny Thompson. He had studied the -science of boxing and wrestling because it interested him, and because he -wished to be able to take care of himself in every emergency. He never -struck a man unless forced to do so. The emergency of the past hour had -spurred him to unusual activity. In a way he regretted it now, but on -reflection decided that were the same set of conditions to confront him -again, his actions would probably be the same. His one regret was that he -had been unable to attain his end. His only problem now was to recover -lost ground and to reach the desired goal. - -Late that night, with stiffened joints and aching muscles, he made his -way to the desolate spot where but a few hours before a hilarious throng -had laughed at the antics of clowns and thrilled at the daring dance of -the tight-rope walker. - -In his hand Johnny held a small flashlight. This he flicked about here -and there for some time. - -"That's it," he exclaimed at last. "This is the very spot." - -Dropping on hands and knees he began clawing over the sawdust. Running it -through his fingers, he gathered it in little piles here and there until -presently the place resembled a miniature mountain range. He had been at -this for a half hour when he straightened up with a sigh. - -"Not a chance," he murmured, "not a solitary chance! One of those circus -dames got it; the trapeze performer, or maybe the tight-rope walker. -Which one? That's what I've got to find out." - -Suddenly he leaped to his feet. A long-drawn-out whistle sounded through -the darkness. - -"The circus train! I've just time to jump it. I'll stow away on her. -How's that? A circus stowaway!" - -Johnny dashed across the open space and, just as the train began to move, -caught at the iron bars of a gondola car loaded with tent equipment. -Climbing aboard, he groped about until he found a soft spot among some -piles of canvas, and, sinking down there, was soon fast asleep. He had -had no supper, but that mattered little. He would eat a double portion of -ham and eggs in the morning. It was enough that he was on his way. Where -to? He did not exactly know. - -When Johnny leaped over the rope in the circus tent the previous -afternoon, in his rush toward the lady performers, he had dodged behind -the trained elephants. This took him out of the view of the twins, -Marjory and Margaret. So interested were they in the elephants that they -did not miss him, and not having noted the sparkle in the sunlight which -sent Johnny on his mad chase, they remained fully occupied in watching -the regular events of the circus. - -The elephants had lumbered into the side tent, the tight-rope walker had -danced her airy way across the arena, the brown bear had taken his daily -bicycle ride, and the human statuary was on display, when Marjory -suddenly turned to Margaret and said: - -"Why, Johnny's gone!" - -"So he is," said the other twin. "Perhaps he didn't like it. He'll be -back, I'm sure." - -The maid was quite accustomed to looking after the millionaire twins, so -when Johnny failed to put in an appearance at the end of the performance, -they passed out with the throng, the maid hailed a taxi and they were -soon on their way home. - -It was then that Marjory, looking down, noticed that the fine gold chain -about her neck hung with two loose ends. Catching her breath, she uttered -a startled whisper: - -"Oo! Look! Margaret! It's gone!" - -Margaret looked once, then clasped her hands in horror. - -"And father said you mustn't take it!" - -"But it was our first, our very first circus!" - -"I know," sighed Margaret. "And wasn't it just grand! But now," she -sighed, "now, you'll have to tell father." - -"Yes, I will--right away." - -Marjory did tell. They had not been in the house a minute before she told -of their loss. - -"Where's Johnny Thompson?" their father asked. - -"We--we don't know." - -"Don't know?" - -"We haven't seen him for two hours." - -"Well, that settles it. I might have known when I hired an adventurer to -look after my thoroughbreds and guard my children that I'd be sorry. But -he was a splendid man with the horses; seemed to think of 'em as his own; -and as for boxing, I never saw a fellow like him." - -"Yes, and Daddy, we liked him," chimed in Marjory. "We liked him a lot." - -"Well," the father said thoughtfully, "guess I ought to put a man on his -trail and bring him back. Probably went off with the circus. But I won't. -He's been a soldier, and a good one, I'm told. That excuses a lot. And -then if you go dangling a few thousand dollars on a bit of gold chain, -what can you expect? Better go get your supper and then run on to bed." - -That night, before they crept into their twin beds, Marjory and Margaret -talked long and earnestly over something very important. - -"Yes," said Marjory at last, "we'll find some real circus clothes -somewhere. Then we'll have Prince and Blackie saddled and bridled. Then -we'll ride off to find that old circus and bring Johnny Thompson back. We -can't get along without him; besides, he didn't take it. I just know he -didn't." - -"And if he did, he didn't mean to," supplemented Margaret. - -A moment later they were both sound asleep. - -As Johnny Thompson bumped along in his rail gondola, with the click-click -of the wheels keeping time to the distant pant of the engine, he dreamed -a madly fantastic dream. In it he felt the nerve-benumbing shudder which -comes with the shock of a train wreck. He felt himself lifted high in air -to fall among rolls of canvas and piles of tent poles, heard the crash of -breaking timbers, the scream of grinding ironwork, and above it all the -roar of frightened animals--tigers, lions, panthers, tossed, still in -their cages, to be buried beneath the wreckage, or hurled free to tumble -down the embankment. In this dream Johnny crawled from beneath the canvas -to find himself staring into the red and gleaming eye of some great cat -that was stalking him as its prey. He struggled to draw his clasp knife -from his pocket, and in that mad struggle awoke. - -With every nerve alert he caught the click-click of wheels, the distant -pant of the engine. It had been nothing more than a dream. He was still -traveling steadily forward with the circus. - -Yet, as he settled back, he gave an involuntary shudder and, propping -himself on one elbow, stared through the darkness toward the spot where, -in his dream, the great cat had crouched. To his horror, he caught the -red gleam of a single burning eye. - -Instantly there flashed through his mind the row of great caged cats he -had seen that day. Pacing the floor of their dens, pausing now and again -for a leap, a growl, a snarl, they had fascinated him then. Now his blood -ran cold at the thought of the creature which, having escaped from its -cage, had crept along the swinging cars, leaping lightly from one to the -other until the scent of a man had arrested its course. Was it the -Senegal lion? Johnny doubted that. Perhaps the tawny yellow Bengal tiger, -or the more magnificent one from Siberia. - -All this time, while his mind had worked with the speed of a wireless, -Johnny's hand was struggling to free his clasp knife. - -Once more his eye sought the ball of fire. Suddenly as it had come, so -suddenly it had vanished. He started in astonishment. Yet he was not to -be deceived. The creature had turned its head. It was moving. Perhaps at -this very moment it was crouching for a spring. A huge pile of canvas -loomed above Johnny. A leap from this vantage, the tearing of claws, the -sinking of fangs, and this circus train would have witnessed a tragedy. - -He strained his ears for a sound, but heard none. He strove to make out a -bulk in the dark, but saw nothing. Could it be a tiger or mountain lion, -jaguar or spotted leopard? Or was it the black leopard from Asia? A fresh -chill ran down Johnny's spine at thought of this creature. Other great -cats had paced their cages, growled, snarled; the black leopard, smaller -than any, but muscular, sharp clawed, keen fanged, with glowering eyes, -had lurked in the corner of his cage and gloomed at those who passed. It -was this animal that Johnny feared the most. - -If he but had a light! At once he thought of his small electric torch. -Grasping it in his left hand, he leveled it at the spot where the burning -eye had been, and gripping the clasp knife in his right, threw on the -button. - -As the shaft of light flashed across the canvas, he stared for a second, -then his hand trembled with surprise and excitement. - -"Panther Eye, as I live!" he exclaimed. "You old rascal! What are you -doing here?" - -The former companion, for it was not a great cat, but a man, and none -other than Panther Eye, fellow free-lance in many a previous adventure, -stared at him through large smoked glasses, a smile playing over his -lips. - -"Johnny Thompson, I'll be bound! Some luck to you. What are you doing -here?" - -"Looking for something." - -"Same here, Johnny." - -"And I'll stay with this circus until I find it," said Johnny. - -"Same here, Johnny. Shake on it." - -Pant crawled over the swaying car and extended a hand. Johnny shook it -solemnly. - -"Slept any?" asked Pant. - -"A little." - -"Better sleep some more, hadn't we?" - -"I'm willing." - -"It's a go." - -Pant crept back to his hole in the canvas; Johnny sank back into his. He -was not to sleep at once, however. His mind was working on many problems. -Not the least of these was the question of Panther Eye's presence on the -circus train. This strange fellow, who appeared to be endowed with a -capacity for seeing in the dark, was always delving in dark corners, -searching out hidden mysteries. What mystery could there be about a -circus? What, indeed? Was not Johnny on the trail of a puzzling mystery -himself? - -Having reasoned thus far he was about to fall asleep, when a single red -flash lighted up the peak of the canvas pile, then faded. He thought of -the red ball of fire he had taken for a cat's eye. He remembered the -yellow glow he had seen when with Pant on other occasions. His mind -attacked the problem weakly. He was half asleep. In another second the -click-click of the car wheels was heard only in his dreams. - - - - - CHAPTER II - BOXING THE BUNCO-STEERER - - -From time to time during the night, Johnny awoke to listen for a moment -to the click-click of the wheels. Once he thought he caught again the -play of that crimson flash upon the canvas. Once he remained awake long -enough to do a little wondering and planning. How had Pant, his friend of -other days, come aboard this circus train? What was he seeking? True, -Johnny had received a letter from this strange fellow some time before, -in which he spoke in mysterious terms of a three-ring circus and the -Secret Service, but Johnny had taken this very much as a joke. What -possible connection could there be between circus and Secret Service? -Finding the problem impossible of solution, he turned his attention to -his own plight. He had started upon a strange journey of which he knew -not even the destination. In his pocket was a five-dollar bill and some -loose change. He must stick to this circus until he had regained a -certain precious bit of jewelry. How was he to do that? One of the three -lady circus performers had it, he felt sure, but how was he to find out -which one? Should he be so fortunate as to discover this, how was he to -regain possession of it? - -Hedged about as the life of the circus woman is, by those of her own -kind, the task seemed impossible, yet somehow it must be done. It had -been the utmost folly for Marjory to wear her mother's engagement ring, -set with an immense solitaire, dangling on a chain, when they attended -the circus, yet she had done it, and Johnny had promised to watch it. He -had kept a sharp lookout, but had been caught unawares when the thief had -proved to be an elephant, who doubtless had taken it for something to -eat, and, having scratched his trunk upon it, had tossed it to his lady -friends of the human species, to see what they thought of it. - -"Rotten luck!" Johnny grumbled, as he turned over once more to fall -asleep. - -By a succession of sudden stops and starts, by the bumping of cars, and -the grinding of brakes, Johnny realized that at last they had come to a -stopping place. When the starting and stopping had continued for some -time, he knew the city they were entering was a large one. Opening his -eyes sleepily, he propped himself up on one elbow and tried to peer about -him. It was still dark. A stone wall rose a short distance above the cars -on either side. Above and beyond the wall to the left great buildings -loomed. From one of these, towering far above the rest, lights gleamed -here and there. The others were totally dark. - -"Big one's a hotel, rest office buildings," was Johnny's mental comment. -"But say, where have I seen this before?" - -Lifting himself to his knees, he looked down the track in the direction -they had just come. A tower pointing skyward appeared to have closed in -on their wake. Turning, he looked in the opposite direction. A dull gray -bulk loomed out of the dark. - -"Chicago," he muttered in surprise. "Of all places! We've come all the -way from that jerk-water city of Amaraza to put on a show in good old -Chi. Can't be a bit of doubt of it, for yonder's the Auditorium hotel, -back there's the Illinois Central depot, and ahead the Art Institute. -Grant Park's our destination. The situation improves. We'll have some -real excitement. Pant will be tickled pink. - -"Pant! Oh, Pant!" he whispered hoarsely. "Pant!" He spoke the name aloud. - -Receiving no answer, he climbed over the canvas piles to the spot where -Pant had been. - -"Gone," he muttered. "Didn't think he'd shake me like that!" - -He dropped into gloomy reflections. What was his next move? He had -counted on Pant's assistance. Now he must go it alone. - -"Oh, well," he sighed at last, "I'll just hang around and let things -happen. They generally do." - -Before darkness came again things had happened--several things, in which -the fortunes of Johnny Thompson rose and fell to rise again like bits of -cork on a storm-tossed sea. - -Before putting his hand on the iron rod to lower himself to the cinder -strewn track, he gave himself over to a moment of recollection. He was -thinking of this strange fellow, Pant. Again he groped his way in the -dark cave in Siberia, with Pant's all-seeing eye to guide him. Again he -fought the Japs in Vladivostok. Again--but I will not recount all his -vivid recollections here, for you have doubtless read them in the book -called "Panther Eye." It is enough to say that the incidents of this -story proved beyond a doubt that Pant could see in the dark, but as to -how and why he was so strangely gifted, that had remained a mystery to -the end; and to Johnny Thompson it was to this time as great a mystery as -in the beginning. - - * * * * * * * * - -Pant had left the circus train at Twenty-second Street. He had drawn his -cap down to his dark goggles, and hurrying over to State Street, boarded -a north-bound surface car. - -A half hour later he climbed the last of six flights of stairs, and -turning a key in a dusty door, let himself into a room that overlooked -the river at Wells Street. - -This room had been Johnny Thompson's retreat in those stirring days told -of in "Triple Spies." Johnny had turned the key over to Pant before he -left Russia. Pant had renewed the lease, and had, from time to time, as -his strangely mysterious travels led through Chicago, climbed the stairs -to sit by the window and reflect, or to throw himself upon the bed and -give himself over to many hours of sleep. - -At present he was not in need of sleep. Swinging the blinds back without -the slightest sound, he drew a chair to the window and, dropping his chin -in his cupped hands, fell into deep reflection. His inscrutable, -mask-like face seemed a blank. Only twice during two hours did the -muscles relax. Each time it was into a cat-like smile. Just before these -moments of amusement there had appeared upon the river, far below, a -broad patch of crimson light. - - * * * * * * * * - -Morning before the circus performance is like the wash of a receding -tide. Dull gray fog still lingers in the air. In front of the ropes that -exclude visitors a few curiosity seekers wander up and down, but it is -behind these lines, on behind the kitchen, mess, and horse tents that the -real denizens of the fog are to be found. Here a host of attaches of the -circus, and those not definitely attached, wander about like beasts in -their cages, or engage in occupations of doubtful character. Here are to -be found in great numbers the colored razor-backs, mingled with the white -men of that profession. Stake drivers, rope pullers, venders of peanuts -and pop, mingle with the motley crowd of sharp-witted gentry who, like -vultures following a victorious army, live in the wake of a prosperous -circus. Later, all these would sleep, but for the moment, like owls and -bats, they cling to the last bit of morning fog. - -It was down this much trodden "gold coast" at the back door of the circus -that Johnny Thompson found himself walking. He had taken his coffee and -fried eggs at a restaurant that backed "Boul Mich." He was now in search -of Pant, also hoping for things to turn up, which, presently, they did. - -So Johnny sauntered slowly along the broad walk bordering the Lake Front -park. - -Here and there he paused to study the faces of men who sat munching their -breakfast. Faces always interested him, and besides, he knew full well -that some of the sharpest as well as the lowest criminals follow a -circus. - -His course was soon arrested by the hoarse half whisper of a man to the -right of him. About this man--a white man--was gathered a knot of other -men. - -"Five, if you pick the black card. Try your luck! Try it, brother. Five -dollars, if you pick the lucky card." These were the words the man -whispered. - -Johnny edged his way to the center of the group. In shady places at the -back of great country picnics, or in secluded sheds at county fairs, he -had seen this game played many a time, but to find it in a Chicago park -seemed unbelievable. Yet, here it was. A broad shouldered man, with an -irregular mouth and a ragged ear, evidently badly mauled in some fight, -stood with a newspaper held flat before him. On the paper, face down, -were three ordinary playing cards. The slim, tapering fingers of the man -played over the cards, as a pianist's fingers play over the keys. Now he -gathered them all up to toss them one by one, face up, on the paper. - -"See, gents; two reds and a black! Watch it! There it is! There it is! -Now, there! Five dollars, if you pick the lucky card! Five to me if you -lose." - -He shot an inquiring glance toward Johnny. Johnny remained silent. - -A short, stout man thrust a five dollar bill into the conman's hand. His -trembling fingers turned a card. It was red. With an oath he struggled -out of the ring. - -"Can't hit it always, brother," a smirky smile overspread the conman's -face. - -"Well, now, I'll make it easy. There it is! Leave it there. Who will try? -Who will try?" - -A young man wearing a green tie passed over a ten dollar bill. - -"Make it all or nothing. All or nothing," chuckled the operator. - -The youth grinned. His confident finger picked the card. It was black. - -"You win, brother, you win. I told you. Now, who'll win next?" - -Again he shot a glance at Johnny. Again Johnny was silent. - -Twice more the game was played. Each time the conman lost. - -"Everybody wins this morning." The conman's fingers played with the -cards, and in playing bent the corner of the black card ever so slightly -upward. Johnny's keen eyes saw it. When the card was turned, he had -picked it right. Five times in imaginary plays the conman tossed the -cards down and gathered them up. Each time Johnny's eye, following the -bent card, told him he was right. Six times he picked the black card -correctly. Was the conman drunk? He thought not. His keen eyes studied -the circle of faces. Then he laughed. - -"Where do you think it is?" The conman bantered. - -Johnny pointed a finger at the bent card. - -"Why don't you bet?" - -Johnny laughed again. - -"I bate." A Swede standing near Johnny thrust out a five dollar bill. - -He won. - -"See?" jeered the conman. "You're no sport. You're a coward." He leered -at Johnny. - -Johnny's cheek turned a shade redder, but he only smiled. - -Again the Swede bet and won. - -Again the conman had the word "coward" on his lips. He did not say it. - -Johnny was speaking. There was a cold smile on his lips. - -"I can tell you one thing, stranger," Johnny squared his shoulders, "I'm -not in the habit of allowing men to call me a coward. I'll tell you why I -don't play your rotten game, then I'll tell you something else. That man, -and that one, and that one and this Swede are your cappers. You had -twenty-five dollars between you when I came. You got five from that -stranger who left. When one of your cappers won, he passed the money from -hand to hand until it came back to you. If they lost it's the same. A -stranger has about as much chance with a bunch like you as a day-old -chick has in the middle of the Atlantic. But say, stranger, you called me -a coward. I'll tell you what I'll do. You've got me topped by -seventy-five pounds, and you think you know how to handle your dukes. -I'll box you three rounds, and if you touch my face in any round, I'll -give you a five-case note, the last one I have. Not bet, see! Just give! -You can't lose; you may win. What say?" - -The conman's lips parted, but no sound came. The eyes of his pals and -cappers were upon him. - -"You wouldn't let the little runt bluff y'," suggested the young capper -of the green tie. - -"Oh--all, all right, brother." The conman's voice stuck in his throat. -"All right. Somebody fetch the gloves." - -A boxing match, or even a free-for-all, is not so uncommon on the back -lines of a circus, but it never fails to draw a crowd. It was upon this -inevitable crowd that Johnny counted for his backing, should the three -rounds turn into a rough and tumble, with no mercy and no quarter. - -Once his gloves were on, he explained to the rapidly growing circle the -terms of the match. - -"There's no referee, so all of you are it," he smiled. - -"Right-O. We're wid ye," a genial Irishman shouted. - -"Go to it, kid," a sturdy stake driver echoed. - -"Are you ready?" - -Johnny moved his gloves to a position not ten inches from his body. With -fists well extended, the conman leaped across the ring. The blow he aimed -at Johnny's head would have felled an ox, had it landed. It did not land. -Johnny had sprung to one side. The next instant he tapped the conman on -his ragged ear. - -This appeared to infuriate his antagonist. Perhaps it served to bring -back memories of another battle in which he had been worsted. His rage -did him neither service nor credit. Time and again he bounded at the -elusive Johnny, to find himself fanning air. Time and again Johnny tapped -that ragged ear. The conman landed not a single blow. When, after three -minutes, a man called time, and the two paused to take a breath, the -plaudits were all for Johnny. - -As he rested, the beady eyes of the conman narrowed to slits. He was -thinking, planning. He had not scored on the first bout, the second would -see him a winner. - -Instantly upon re-entering the ring he rushed Johnny for a clinch. Taken -by surprise, the boy could not avoid it. Yet, even here, he was more than -a match for his heavier opponent. Gripping hard with his left, he rained -blows on the other's back, just above the kidney. That, in time, made a -break welcome. - -The conman's game was to clinch, then to force his opponent back to a -position where he could land his right on Johnny's chin. This would win -his point. More than that, it would enable him to break Johnny's neck, if -he chose, and he might so decide. - -Three times he clinched. Three times he received trip-hammer blows on his -back, and three times he gave way before his plucky opponent. When, at -last, time was called, he fairly reeled to his corner. - -There was a dangerous light in his eye as he stepped up for the third -round. - -"Watch him, kid. He'll do you dirt," muttered the Irishman. - -"Keep your guard," echoed another. - -Johnny, still smiling, moved forward. His face was well guarded. He was -confident of victory. - -Twice the conman feinted with his right, struck out with his left, then -retired. The third time he rushed straight on. Johnny easily dodged his -blows, but the next second doubled up in a knot. Groaning and panting for -breath he fell to the earth. - -Eagerly the conman leaped forward. His glove had barely touched Johnny's -cheek when a grip of iron pulled him back. - -"There's no referee. Then I'm one. An Irishman for a square scrap." It -was Johnny's ardent backer. - -Panting, the conman stood at bay. - -In time, Johnny, having regained his breath, sat up dizzily and looked -about. - -"Where's the five?" demanded the conman. - -Johnny held up his right glove. "I leave it to the crowd if he gets it -fair." - -"He fouled you wid his knee! He jammed it into yer stummick! A rotten -trick as ever was played!" yelled the Irishman. - -"Right-O! Sure! Sure! Kill him! Eat him alive!" came from every corner. - -Johnny rose. - -"We'll finish the round," he said quietly. - -"Keep your money," grumbled the conman. - -"No! No! No!" came from a hundred throats, for by this time a dense mob -was packed about the improvised ring. Chairs, benches and barrels had -been dragged up. On these men stood looking over the shoulders of those -in front. - -Like an enraged bull the conman stood at bay. - -"All right," he laughed savagely. "We'll finish it quick." - -He leaped squarely at Johnny. Johnny's whole body seemed to stiffen, then -to rise. Springing full ten inches from the ground and ten inches -forward, he shot out his glove. There came the thudding impact of a -master-blow. - -The conman rose slightly in the air, then reeled backward into the mob. -The point of his chin had come in contact with Johnny's fist. - -With characteristic speed, Johnny threw off the gloves, seized his coat -and lost himself in the crowd. - -He was not ashamed of his part in the affair, far from that. He knew he -had given the crook only that which he richly deserved. He was not, -however, at that moment looking for publicity, and escape was the only -way to avoid it. - -In eluding the crowd he was singularly successful. By dodging about the -horse tent, and rounding the mess tent, he was able to make his way -directly to the shore of the lake. Here he walked rapidly south until he -found himself alone. Throwing himself upon the ground, for ten minutes he -watched the small breakers coil and recoil upon the shore. Rising, he -lifted his laughing blue eyes to the sunshine. Then, scooping up -hands-full of the clear lake water, he bathed his face, his chest, his -arms. - -"Boy! Boy!" he breathed, as he beat his chest dry. "It's sure good to be -alive!" - -A moment later his face clouded. "But how about that diamond ring? Oh, -you sparkler, come to your daddy!" - -With this, he repaired to the show site. - -On returning to the rear of the circus tents, he was surprised to be -accosted at once by a smooth-shaven, sturdy man with a clean, clear look -in his eye. - -"You're the boy that's so handy with his mitts?" - -Johnny had a mind to run for it, but one look into those clear eyes told -him this would be folly. - -"That's what they say," he smiled. - -"Shake! I like you for that." The stranger extended his hand. - -Johnny gripped it warmly. - -"The way you handled that conman wasn't bad; not half-bad. You're a -sport; a regular one! The circus boys like a good sport; the real chaps -do. How'd you like a job?" - -"A--a job?" Johnny stammered. "What kind?" - -"Circus job." - -"What kind?" Johnny repeated. - -"What can you do?" - -"I--I--" suddenly Johnny had an inspiration. "Why, I'm the best little -groom there is in three states. I could shine up those fat bareback -horses of yours till you'd take them for real plate glass." - -"Could you? I believe you could, and you're going to have a chance. -Millie Gonzales' three mounts have been neglected of late." - -Millie Gonzales! Johnny caught his breath. He had gone fishing and caught -a whale the first cast. Millie Gonzales was one of the three circus girls -at whose feet the diamond ring had dropped. Perhaps she was the one who -had picked it up; who held it among her possessions now. He would know. - -"When can I go to work?" he asked unsteadily. - -"Right now. I'll take you over to the stables. Stable boss'll give you a -suit and some unionalls. You shape up the three and have 'em ready for -Millie by two o'clock, in time for the grand parade." - -"Of all the luck!" Johnny whispered into the ear of a sleek, broad backed -gray a half hour later. "To think that I should have fallen into this at -the very start! Perhaps Millie has it. Perhaps she's wearing it on one of -those tapering fingers of hers at this very moment. Is she, old boy? Is -she?" - -The horse looked at him with eyes that said nothing. - -"You won't tell," Johnny bantered. "Well, then, I'll have to find out for -myself. Come on, you two o'clock!" - - - - - CHAPTER III - THE FEASTERS SEE A HAUNT - - -Pant did not return to the neighborhood of the circus grounds until -darkness had fallen. Then it was only to go skulking along the beach, and -to perch himself at last, owl-like, on a huge pile of sand which -overlooked a particular stretch of the beach on which a huge fire of -driftwood had been built. The fire had died down now to a great, glowing -bed of coals. About the fire eight negroes were seated. - -"Razor-backs from the circus," was Pant's mental comment. "Something -doing!" - -So filled with their own thoughts were the minds of the colored gentlemen -that they had failed to note Pant's arrival. Seated there in the -darkness, motionless as an owl watching for the move of a mouse, his -mask-like face expressionless, his slim, tapering fingers still, Pant -appeared but a part of the dull drab scenery. - -"Hey, Brother Mose; time to carb de turkey-buzzard," chuckled one of the -darkies. - -"Brother Mose" turned half about, stretched out a fat hand and drew -toward him a thin object wrapped in a newspaper. - -"Sambo," he commanded, "leave me have dat cleavah!" - -Sambo handed over a butcher's cleaver. - -The next instant the package was unwrapped, revealing a clean, white -strip of meat, which had at one time been half the broad back of a -porker. - -"Po'k chops!" murmured Mose. - -"Um! Um! Um!" came in a chorus. - -"Ya-as, sir. Now you-all jes' stir up dem coals, an' put dem sweet -'taters roastin', while I does the slicin' an' de cleavin'." Mose drew a -butcher knife from his hip pocket. - -From a second bulging package on the beach, two of his comrades drew -shining yellow tubers, while others stirred up the coals, and raked some -out to a circular hole in the sand, which had previously been lined with -ashes. Having tossed the coals in, they covered them lightly with ashes, -at the same time calling: - -"Le's hab dem 'taters!" - -All this time with no observer save the unsuspected Pant, Mose was -operating skillfully on that pork loin. With a slab of drift wood as -chopping block, he sliced away with the skill of a hotel butcher. In a -twinkle, the chops lay neatly piled in heaps on the slab. Then, while no -one was looking, he caused a liberal handful of the chops to disappear -into the huge pocket at the back of his coat. - -Pant's lips curved in a smile. "Holding out," he whispered. - -"Dere dey is," exulted Mose, like a rooster calling his brood to a meal. -"Dere dem po'k chops is, all carved an' cleaned an' ready fo' de -roastin'." - -"Um, um, um," chanted his companions in gurgling approval. - -Whence had come these pork chops? This question did not trouble Pant. -They might have been bought at a butcher shop; then again, they might -have been stolen. It was enough for Pant that they were there. He was -glad. Not that he hoped to "horn in" on the feast; he had eaten -bountifully but an hour before. Nevertheless, he was glad to be here. -This little festal occasion suited his purpose beautifully. He had hoped -something like this might be going on down here. The pork chops stowed -away in Mose's pocket amused him. As he thought of them his former plan -changed slightly, his lips twisted in a smile. - -"It's all plain enough," he thought to himself. "Moses and old -Lankyshanks, his buddie, have a half hour longer to loaf than the rest of -them; that gives them time for a little extra feast. The supplies belong -to them all alike, but Mose and Lankyshanks get double portions if--" -Here he smiled again. - -The preparation for the feast went on. Each man twisted out of tangled -wire a rude but serviceable broiler. They joked and laughed as they -worked, their dark faces shining like ebony. - -"Po'k chops, po'k chops, po'k chops! Um! Um! Um!" they chanted now and -then. - -In time word was passed around the circle, and then eight right hands -shot out and eight broilers hung out over the coals. - -Snapping and sputtering, flaring up with a sudden burning of grease, -whirled now this way, now that, the pork chops rapidly turned a delicious -brown. The odor which rose in air would have made a chronic dyspeptic's -mouth water. - -"Po'k chops, po'k chops, po'k chops! Um! Um! Um!" - -Twice Pant lifted his eyes toward the stars. Twice he brought them down -again. - -"Haven't got the heart to do it," he whispered to himself; "I'll take a -chance and wait." - -The sweet potatoes had been dug from the roasting pit; the feasters had -sunk their teeth deep in juicy fat, when Pant was suddenly startled by a -groan close at hand. - -Without moving, he turned his head to see a colored boy sitting near him. - -Recognizing the round, close-cropped bullet head as one belonging not to -the circus, but to South Water Street, he leaned over and whispered: - -"'Lo, Snowball, what y' doin' here?" - -"Same's you, I reckon." The boy showed all his teeth in a grin. "Jes' -sittin' an' a-wishin', dat's all." - -"Pork chops, huh?" - -"Ain't it so, Mister? Ain't dem the grandes' you ain't most never smelt?" - -"Sh, not so loud," cautioned Pant. "Maybe there'll be some for you yet. -Sort of reserve rations." - -"Think so, mebby?" - -Pant nodded. - -Then together they sat in silence while the feast went on; sat till the -last bone and potato skin had been thrown upon the fast dulling coals. - -"Huh!" sighed Snowball. "Hain't no mo'." - -He half rose to go, but Pant pulled him back to his seat. Six of the -colored gentlemen were wiping their hands on greasy bandanas, and were -preparing to depart. - -"Reckon me and Lanky'll jes' res' here for a while," grunted Mose. - -"Eh-heh," assented Lankyshanks. - -The six had hardly disappeared over the hill when Lankyshanks' eyes -popped wide open. - -"'Mergency rations," he whispered. - -With a grunt of satisfaction, Mose handed three pork chops to -Lankyshanks, wired his own three to his broiler, stirred up the fire, -then began slowly revolving the sputtering chops over the sparkling -embers. - -For fully five minutes Pant and Snowball, on the sand pile, watched in -silence--a silence broken only by an occasional, half audible sigh from -Snowball. - -The chops were done to a brown finish when Pant suddenly fixed his gaze -intently upon the big dipper which hung high in the heavens. - -At that precise instant, Mose, uttering a groan not unlike that of a -dying man, threw his broiler high in air, rolled over backward, turned -two somersaults, then stumbling to his feet, ran wildly down the beach. -Having dropped his chops on the coals, Lanky followed close behind. The -expression of utter terror written on their faces was something to see -and marvel at. - -Pant still gazed skyward. Snowball gripped his arm, and whispered -tensely: - -"Lawdy, Mister! Look'a dere!" - -Pant removed his gaze from the heavens and looked where Snowball pointed, -at the bed of dying embers. - -"What was it, Snowball?" he drawled. "Why! Where are our friends?" - -"Dey done lef'," whispered Snowball, still gripping his arm. "An' so 'ud -you. It's a ha'nt, er a sign, er sumthin'. Blood. It was red, lak blood. -All red. Dem fellers was red, an' dem po'k chops, an' dat sand, all red -lak blood." - -"Pork chops," said Pant slowly. - -"Yes, sir, po'k chops an' everything. I done heard dat Mose say it were a -sign. Dey's be a circus wreck, er sumthin'. Train wreck of dat dere -circus." - -"Pork chops," said Pant again thoughtfully. "Where did the pork chops go? -Why! There is one broiler full on the wood pile. They must have left it -there for you." - -"No, sir! Dat Mose done throwed it dere. Dat's how scared he was." - -"They won't be back, I guess; so you'd better just warm them up a bit and -sit up to the table." - -Terror still lurked in Snowball's eyes, but in his nostrils still -lingered the savory smell of pork chops. The pork chops won out and he -was soon feasting royally. - -"Snowball," said Pant when the feast was finished, "would you like to -earn a little money?" - -"Would I? Jes' try me, Mister!" - -"All right. I want five Liberty Bonds, the fifty-dollar kind. A lot of -those circus fellows have them, and some of them will sell them, maybe -cheap. Don't pay more than forty-five for any. Get them for thirty-nine, -if you can. The cheap ones are the kind I want. Here's the money. Don't -bet it, don't lose it, and don't let any of those crooks touch you for -it. It will take you a little time to find the bonds. I'll meet you right -here in two hours." - -Snowball rolled his eyes. "Boss, I sho' am grateful fo' th' compliment, -but I is plum scared at all dat money." - -"Nobody'll hurt you or take it from you. You're honest. If you do lose -it, I'll forgive you. Good-by." - -Pant strode rapidly down the beach, leaving Snowball to make his way back -to the circus grounds in quest of thirty-nine dollar Liberty Bonds, an -article which, if he had but known it, has never existed in legitimate -channels of business. - - - - - CHAPTER IV - "PALE FACE BONDS" - - -After leaving Pant, Snowball divided the money he had been given for the -purpose of purchasing Liberty Bonds into five little rolls. These he -deposited in five different pockets about his ragged trousers and coat. - -"Dere now," he muttered; "dey won't nobody snatch it all from me at -oncet." - -He first wandered down the back ropes, accosting here and there a colored -gentleman who looked as if he might be the proud possessor of a bond. - -Some laughed at this bullet-headed youngster, who claimed to be in -possession of enough money to purchase a "sho' nuff" Liberty Bond. -Others, with prying eyes, leered at his pockets. These he gave a wide -berth. An hour of this sort of thing netted him two bonds at forty-two -dollars each. - -"Huh," he grunted at last, "these here colored circus folks sho' am plum -short on Liberty Bonds. Reckon I'se gwine try some white mans." - -Making his way boldly out to the front of the circus, where a thin crowd -filtered in and out, here and there, some few drifting into the side -shows, he made straight for a man in uniform who guarded the entrance to -the big tent. - -"Say, Mister, you all got any Liberty Bonds to sell?" - -"Liberty Bonds?" The man started and stared. "Who wants 'em?" - -"Me. I do, Mister." - -"Say!" The man bent low and whispered. "You see that man selling tickets -in front of the big side show, by the picture of the fat lady?" - -"Uh-huh." - -"He's got some. Bought them this morning, cheap. Mebbe he'll sell them to -you." - -"Thank ye, Mister." - -Snowball was away like a flash. - -"Liberty Bonds?" said the ticket hawker of the black mustache. "How -many?" - -"I might buy one, if it's cheap, mebbe." - -"How cheap?" - -"How much you all want?" - -"Forty dollars." - -Snowball shook his head, "Thirty-nine. That's all I'm payin' jes' now." -His hand was in his right trousers pocket. - -"Let's see yer money." - -Snowball stepped back a discreet distance, then displayed two -twenty-dollar bills. - -"All right, let's have 'em." - -"Let's see dat Liberty Bond." - -"All right." The man dug into his inner vest pocket, produced a flat -envelope from which he extracted a square of paper. - -"Here it is." - -Snowball inspected it closely. "Dat's all right, Mister. I git a dollar -back." - -The ticket seller peeled a one-dollar bill from a bulky roll and the deal -was closed. - -"Say, Mister," said Snowball, rolling his eyes, "I might buy another one, -same price." - -"Why didn't you say so?" - -Snowball grinned. - -Again the deal was closed. - -Snowball put his hand into his left hip pocket and repeated his -declaration: - -"Say, Mister, I might buy jes' one more." - -For a second time the man's eyes rested on him with suspicion lurking in -their depths. - -"Say, boy, who you buying these for?" - -"Fo' me, mysef." - -"All right, Mr. First National Bank, here you are." - -The deal was quickly closed and Snowball hastened away, happy in the -realization that he had accomplished the task set for him. - -Making his way to the beach, he found Pant sprawled out on the sand, half -asleep. - -"Did you get them?" the white man asked drowsily. - -"Ya-as, sir. Here dey is." Snowball held out the five bonds. "An' here's -de change." - -Pant sat up, suddenly all alert. - -"You got three for thirty-nine?" - -"Ya-as, sir." - -"Let's have a look." - -Pant's slender fingers trembled as he spread the five squares of paper -out upon the sand. - -"Good!" he muttered. "You got them all right. Now look at them all. -Snowball. See any difference in 'em?" He held a lighted match above the -bonds. - -Snowball studied them as intently as his roving eyes would allow. - -"No, no, sir, I don't." - -"These two. Look different, don't they?" - -"No, no, sir; I can't say dat." - -"You're blind," grunted Pant. "Two of them are paler than the others; ink -is not so dark. See? Not quite." - -"Oh, yas, ya-as, sir." - -"Now those two pale face bonds were folded up with one other. Remember -where you got them?" Pant's eyes flashed through his thick glasses. - -"No, no, Oh, ya-as, ya-as, sir, I do. It were dat 'ere white man; sellin' -tickets, he was." - -"Good! Now here's a dollar. That's for you. You'll get another when you -come back. You take these two pale face bonds to the ticket seller and -ask him where he got them." - -"Ya-as, sir." - -Full of wonder at the strange doings of this odd fellow with the black -glasses, Snowball hurried back to the ticket seller. - -"Say, Mister," he demanded, "whar'd y' git these pale face bonds?" - -"What?" The man stared at him. - -"Whar y' git 'em?" Snowball held them up for inspection. - -"Let's see." The man made a grab for them. - -"Nem' min'." The boy darted away. - -"Who wants to know?" the man demanded gruffly. - -"Me, myself." - -"I can't tell exactly. I bought two from Tom Stick, the midget clown, -three from Andy McQueen, the steam kettle cook, and two more from a -bunco-steerer--feller with a bite taken out of his ear. I don't know -which ones those are. - -"Say, boy!" The expression on his face suddenly changed. "You let me have -them bonds." - -"No-o, sir!" - -Snowball dashed away in sudden fright. With the ticket seller close on -his heels, he dodged around a fat woman, nearly collided with a baby -carriage, leaped the tent ropes. Like a jack rabbit, he scooted beneath -the ponderous wagons on which rested the electric light plant of the -circus, and, at last, dodging through the mess tent, succeeded in eluding -his pursuer. - -He was still breathing hard when he reached the place of rendezvous on -the beach. - -"What did he say?" demanded Pant. - -"He said he bought some from dat midget clown, an' some from a steam -kettle cook, an' some from a bunco-man wid a chewed ear. Say, Mister, do -I get dat oder dollar?" - -Pant held it out to him. "What you puffing about?" - -"Dat ticket man chased me." - -"What for?" - -"Don't know, boss." - -For a moment they were silent. - -"Say, Boss," Snowball whispered after a time, "what you s'pose made dat -ere red splotch on the groun'?" - -"What red spot?" There was a suspicion of a smile lurking about the -corner of Pant's mouth. - -"Man! Don' you know? 'Roun' dat fiah?" - -"Oh, yes; I wasn't looking just then." - -"Say, Boss!" The boy was whispering again. "I ain't afraid of almost -nuthin'--nuthin' but signs and ghosts. You s'pose dat were a sign?" - -"It might have been." - -"An' say, Boss, what's dem colored fellers sayin' 'bout a wreck? Don' -mean that ere circus train's gwine wreck? Man, that'd be some kind of a -wreck! Tigers fightin' b'ars, lions eatin' elephants, snakes a-crawlin' -loose, wild cats a-clawin', an monkeys screamin'! Man! Oh, man!" - -For a full minute Snowball sat silent, wild-eyed and staring at the -mental picture he had conjured up. Then a sudden thought struck him. - -"Say, Boss, dis am circus day ain't it? An' I got two dollars I jes' -earned and ain't spent, ain't I? Boss, I'se gone right now!" - -And he was. - -For a long time Pant sat there in contemplative silence. Finally, with -one hand he smoothed out the sand before him. On this, with his finger, -he spelled out the name: BLACKIE McCREE. - -Then, with a quick glance about him, as if afraid it had been seen, he -erased the letters. - - * * * * * * * * - -When Johnny Thompson had been introduced to the stable boss and had been -given his assignment, he lost no time in getting on a suit of unionalls -and was soon at work sleeking down his three broad backed dapple grays. - -It was a long task, painstakingly done, for Johnny loved horses and these -three were among the finest in the circus. - -His mind, however, was not always on his brush and cloth. In the grand -parade, which, in Chicago did not leave the tent, but circled about in -the mammoth enclosure, while the vast crowds cheered, Millie Gonzales -rode standing on these three fat chargers, that, with tossing manes and -champing bits, seemed at every moment ready to break her control and go -rushing down the arena. Johnny was to take the horses to the entrance of -the big tent. That much he had been told. Would he there turn them over -to Millie? And would she be wearing the missing ring? The answers to -these questions he could only guess. - -It was with a wildly beating heart that he at last led his three horses -down the narrow canvas enclosure which led to the great tent. Already the -procession was forming. Here a group of clowns waited in silence. Here a -great gilded chariot rumbled forward, and here a trained elephant was -being fitted with his rider's canopied seat. - -By this director, then that one, Johnny was guided to the spot from which -his three dapple grays would start. - -He had hardly reached the position than a high-pitched, melodious, but -slightly scornful, voice said: - -"Why! Who are you? Where's Peter?" - -"Who's Peter?" asked Johnny, doffing his cap respectfully, but studying -the girl's hands the meanwhile. - -"Why, he's my groom." - -"Begging your pardon, he's not; I am." - -"You?" She stood back and surveyed him with unveiled scorn. "You? A -little shrimp like you?" - -Johnny was angry. Hot words rushed to his lips but remained unspoken. He -was playing a big game. For the time he must repress his pride. - -"I--I--" Millie stormed on, "I like a big groom, a strong one. I shall -see about this." - -"Oh!" smiled Johnny, "if it's strength you want, I guess you'll find me -there. And for horses, I know how to groom them." - -Millie cast an appraising eye over the grays. "Did you do that?" - -"Yes, please." - -"They're wonderful!" - -Lifting a dainty foot, she waited for Johnny's palm. Once it rested -securely there, she gave a little spring and would have landed neatly on -the first gray's back, had not Johnny suddenly shot his arm upward. As it -was, she rose straight in the air three feet above the horses to land -squarely on the middle one of the three. - -She landed fairly on her feet. A whip sang through the air. She had aimed -a vicious blow at Johnny's cheek. There was a wild flare of anger in her -eye. - -Dodging out of her reach, Johnny stood trembling for fear he had -foolishly wasted his grand chance. - -Presently the girl's lips curved in a half disdainful smile. - -"You are an impudent fellow, and I should have some one thrash you. - -"You are strong, though," she went on, "and because of that, I'll forgive -you. In the future, however, remember that I am Millie Gonzales and you -are my groom." - -Johnny nodded gravely. The procession moved forward. Millie passed from -his view. - -After calmly reviewing the situation, one fact stood out in bold relief -in Johnny's mind: If it were Millie Gonzales who had the ring, his task -was to be a difficult one, for she was a keen, crafty, high-tempered, -unscrupulous Spaniard, who would stop at nothing to gain her end. - -"Well, anyway," he decided, "if she has it, she is not wearing it. It's -not on her hand. Here's hoping it's one of the other two." - -He moved to a position where he could watch the parade. For a full three -minutes his eyes swept it from end to end. Out of it all--the troop of -elephants, the brass band, the clowns, the performers, the many strange -carts and chariots--one figure stood supreme: A girl who rode high on a -throne, mounted upon a great chariot, escorted by six footmen, and drawn -by six prancing chargers. - -"The queen of the circus!" he thought. "I wonder who she is." - -Johnny had hardly spoken the words when, for a second, the girl's smiling -face was turned his way. He caught his breath sharply. "She's one of the -three," he gasped. "If it is she who has the ring--" - -He did not finish, for just then the van of the procession entered the -wing, and he slipped away behind the canvas to await Millie Gonzales and -the three grays. - -"Say pard," he whispered to a circus hand standing beside him, "who's -this queen of the circus?" - -"Don't you know?" the other asked in surprise. "That's Gwen Maysfield, -the tight-rope dancer. A regular sport she is, too; can box like a man. -Packs a wallop, too. I've seen her knock this fellow who boxes the bear -clean over the ropes." - -"Boxes the bear?" - -"Sure. Don't you know the act? Feller's got a bear; rides bicycles, and -all that. One of his stunts is to put on the gloves with the big -silver-gray. Of course it's a frost. Bear could knock him a mile, if he -wanted to." - -Johnny said no more, but soon began piecing together his bits of -information. Gwen was the queen of the circus. She was also one of the -three at whose feet the diamond ring had dropped. She liked boxing. If -only he could manage to get a few rounds with her, that might break down -the social barrier that stood between them. Then he could ask her about -the ring. But she was the queen, and he only a groom. How was he to -manage it? She boxed with the performer who boxed the bear. Perhaps he -could make the acquaintance of this bear boxer. - -The time was approaching when Millie and her three grays were to go on. -He hastened away to his work. - -That night in the animal tent, while the exhibition was in full swing, -while thousands were crowding before the long line of cages, there -occurred a strange and startling incident; a cage plainly marked BLACK -LEOPARD had appeared, in the uncertain light of night, entirely empty. - -"Guess that's a fake," a spectator grumbled. - -"What is it?" asked a child. - -"Says 'Black Pussy,'" smiled the father, "but I guess there isn't any." - -"Oh, Papa, I want to see the black pussy!" wailed the child, clinging to -the ropes, and refusing to move along. - -The father was striving to quiet the child when, of a sudden, a flash of -crimson light brought out the dark corners of the cage in bold relief. It -was gone in a twinkling, but in that time a raging fury of black fur, -flashing claws and gleaming eyes leaped against the bars. - -The child screamed, the father swore softly. There was a succession of -exclamations from the crowd. A colored attendant, who chanced to be -passing with a bundle of straw, dropped his burden to stare, open -mouthed, at the cage. - -When he again put his trembling fingers to the bundle of straw, it was to -mutter: - -"Tain't no safe place fer a 'spectable colored man to wuck. 'T'ain' safe. -All dem raid flashes ever'whar. Can't fry po'k chops fer 'em. Can't wuck, -can't do nuttin'." - -That night, after the grand performance was concluded, after the surging -crowd had passed out, after the arc lights had fluttered, blinked, and -then left the place in darkness, Johnny went out for a breath of fresh -air before turning into the bunk assigned to him. He was walking around -the end of the big top when a sudden flash of crimson appeared against -the canvas. It was a flash only, remaining not one second, but Johnny -paused to listen. - -In another moment there came a whispered, "Hello, Johnny," and Pant -appeared. - -"You work for this circus?" Johnny asked. - -"No. You?" - -"Yes, got a job to-day." - -"What?" - -"Horses." - -"Good. That puts you inside. You can help me, Johnny--help me a lot, and -believe me, kid, it's big--the biggest thing we ever worked on." Pant's -words came quick and tense. - -"What is it?" - -"Can't tell you now, but you can help. Here, take these three Liberty -Bonds. They're good ones. You take 'em over town and sell 'em. Here's a -hundred iron men. You buy me five more bonds from these circus men, see? -Any of 'em. You're inside, see? You can do it. Buy five. They've got 'em. -They'll sell 'em, too." - -"I call that light business, dealing in Liberty Bonds on a small margin," -grumbled Johnny. "What shall I pay?" - -"Thirty-nine." - -"Nobody but a crazy man would sell 'em for that." - -"Mebbe not, Johnny, but they'll sell 'em. Pay more, if you have to. The -game's a big one, I tell you. So long." Pant vanished into the night. - - - - - CHAPTER V - STRANGE DOINGS IN THE NIGHT - - -The following day Johnny carried out Pant's wish in the matter of selling -the three Liberty Bonds. When it came to picking up other bonds at Pant's -excessively low price, he experienced greater difficulty than had -Snowball. Indeed, in all his time off duty he secured only one bond. - -"Guess I haven't struck the right spot yet," was his mental comment. -"I'll try again to-morrow." - -It was just as he was about to return to his dapple grays that he -received a sudden shock. He had been idly glancing over the "Daily News" -when a headline caught his eye: - -"Offers $1,000 Reward for Return of Lost Gem." - -Quickly he read down the column, then his face fell. - -"Guess he thinks I stole it," he muttered. - -It certainly looked that way, for Major MacDonald had publicly offered a -reward of a thousand dollars for the return of the ring, and had made it -plain that no questions would be asked. - -"They won't be asked, either." Johnny set his teeth hard. "I'll let him -know that he can keep his reward. I'll get that ring back, and I'll send -it to him with no return address." - -Even as he spoke, he started. A new thought had struck him. What if the -girl who had the ring should read of the reward and return the jewelry? -Where would he be then? - -"He'd think I had stolen it and given it to a circus girl," Johnny -groaned. "Then what would he think of me?" - -But the next moment he was resolute again. "I'll get next to that boxing -bear fellow right away, and I'll cultivate the acquaintance of Millie, if -she cuts my face open with that whip of hers. I'll win yet! Watch my -smoke!" - -He hastened away, resolved upon getting better acquainted with Millie -Gonzales at once. - -That night, however, offered no further opportunity for making -acquaintances. Indeed, he was made more and more conscious of the fact -that in the circus there existed an almost unbreakable line of caste. -There were the performers and the attendants. The attendants were kept in -their places. They did not mingle with the performers; they were -distinctly considered beneath them. - -"Oh, well," Johnny said to himself, "if that's that, why I'll have to get -to be a performer, that's all." - -But when he came to think it over soberly, he could imagine no means by -which this end could be attained. - -If he had but known it, the opportunity was to present itself in a not -far distant time, and in a manner as startling as it was sudden. - -In one thing that night he was extremely fortunate--he succeeded in -securing a position where he could get a clear view of the performance of -two very interesting persons, Gwen, the Queen, and Allegretti, the man -who boxed the bear. The contrast of the two stood out in his thoughts -long after the performers had moved out of the ring. Gwen was wonderful. -Johnny was sure he had never seen anyone to equal her in all his life. -Light as a feather, waving her delicate silk parasol here and there, she -tripped across the invisible wire. Yet, fairy-like as she was, every move -spoke of strength, of well developed and perfectly trained muscles. She -wore the accustomed grease paint of the ring, but Johnny did not need to -be told that beneath this there lay the glow of a healthy skin. - -"She's all right," he decided. "I'll wager she's an American. Only an -American girl could be like that." - -Through the quarter of an hour during which Gwen was the center of -attention of the vast throng, he watched her. The breathless leaps in -air, the light, tripping dance from post to post, the bow, the smile--he -saw it all and breathed hard as she at last danced out of the ring. - -"If she has the ring, it's going to be hard to get it," he decided. "If -another could be bought, and I had the money, I'd rather buy it and let -her keep the old one, but there's only one in all the world, and if she -has it I must get it from her. Gwen, big, wonderful American girl, I'm -for you, but I'm also a hard hearted detective, and I'm on your trail." - -The antics of the swarthy foreigner who boxed the bear were as ludicrous -and grotesque as Gwen's act had been exquisite. - -"Clumsy lobster!" Johnny exclaimed, after watching him for five minutes. -"What he doesn't know about boxing would fill an encyclopedia, and if he -didn't have a good natured bear, he'd get his head knocked off. All he's -good for is to dance with a bear on the street and hold out a tin cup for -nickels. Nevertheless, Allegretti, old boy, I've got to scrape up an -acquaintance with you someway, for that's on the road to the heart of -Gwen, though how she can stand the garlic and the look of your ugly mug -long enough to box a round with you is more than I can understand." - - * * * * * * * * - -While Johnny Thompson was watching the performance, two little girls, -sitting bolt upright in their beds in the big house of Major MacDonald in -far-away Amaraza, were planning wild things for the future. Through the -aid of their maid they had succeeded in securing for themselves suits -that would do with the circus--pink tights, exceedingly short blue -skirts, red slippers and green caps. All that bright afternoon they had -spent in the back yard practicing on their ponies. Standing up on the -back of one of them had been easy after the first few attempts, but when -Marjory had tried standing with one foot on each pony she had slipped -down between them and had come near to being crushed. - -"We'll do that, too, some day," she had exclaimed resolutely. - -And now, before they went to sleep, they were planning. - -"Yes, sir," Marjory was saying, "that old circus will come back here some -time; I just know it will! Maybe next week." - -"And Johnny Thompson will be with it," broke in Margaret. "I just know he -will, and we'll get on our ponies when the parade is started. We'll ride -right in the parade, and Johnny will see us and say, 'There are my -friends, Marjory and Margaret.' Won't he be proud of us!" - -"Won't he, though!" The other twin clapped her hands in high glee. - -They went to sleep finally, still thinking of Johnny and the circus, but -little dreaming of the remarkable and thrilling adventures in store for -them. - - * * * * * * * * - -That same night, after the circus tents had been darkened, two strange -things happened. The first was never made public; the second was the talk -of the circus people the next morning. - -Scarcely had the last straggling sight-seer wandered from the grounds, -than two figures emerged from the side entrance to a small tent. They -were followed at a distance by a third. Darting directly for the wall -that lined the railway tracks, which at this point run some twelve feet -below the surface, but open to the air, they scaled the wall, and, by the -aid of a rope, let themselves down to the track. - -The third person, having followed them to the wall and noted the -direction they had taken, contented himself with following along the -wall. Coming presently to some stairs, he crept silently down, then -having listened for a moment, possibly for the sound of footsteps, he -peered down the track. For an instant a pale crimson light flashed down -the track. It might easily have been mistaken for the glow of a switch -lantern. Then he pushed on after the pair. - -The two men left the tracks at Randolph street and, taking a zigzag -course, headed for the river. Into a long, low-lying building facing the -stream they went. Not five minutes later the individual who had followed -them was braced against a wall, peering in through a crack in a broken -window pane. What he saw within was a low-ceilinged, dimly lighted room, -furnished only with a small table, four chairs and a dilapidated chest of -drawers. Four men were bent over the table. The lines of their faces -drawn in eagerness, they were staring at some flat object on the table. -Soon one of them, with the tips of his thumb and forefinger lifted the -corner of a sheet of paper. He had lifted it half off from the flat -object, to which it appeared to cling, when a startling thing -happened--the room was suddenly illuminated with a brilliant blood red -light. This lasted only a fraction of a second. The room was then left in -darkness, black as ink; for even the candle had been overturned and -snuffed out. From the darkness there came the sound of overturned chairs, -as the four men made good their escape. By the time they reached the open -air their tracker had vanished utterly. - -He was, at that very moment, flattened against the corner of a dark wall, -and was quite as unhappy over the turn of events as they were. At the -very instant when he was about to discover a secret of vast importance, -his foot had slipped, his face bumped against the glass, and the -unexpected happened. - -The second occurrence, the one which caused much talk among the circus -people, happened a short time later. As the attendants reported it, it -would seem that their attention was first attracted to the strange -phenomenon by the growl of a lion, whose cage was in the corner of the -tent. To their surprise, the cage, the lion, and even the straw upon -which he lay had turned blood red. Hardly had they finished staring at -this than the snarl of a Siberian tiger at the opposite corner had called -them to note that the red light, for light it must have been, had shifted -to the tiger's cage. The red glare had continued to play hide and seek -with the distracted animals for fully five minutes and, during all that -time, not one of the attendants could detect its source. At times it -appeared to stream down from the canvas top, then to shoot from a corner, -or to leap up from the floor. - -One notable fact was reported: In every instance save one, the animals -whose cages were illuminated with crimson light cowered in a corner in -snarling fear. The single instance in which this was not true was that of -the black leopard. That beast leaped, clawing and snarling, at the bars -of its cage, as if it would tear the originator of the crimson flash limb -from limb. - -As the report spread, the negroes of the troupe were panic stricken. They -quit in numbers. The owners and managers were hard pressed to keep enough -men to do the menial work about the tents, and sent the employment agent -to search the city for recruits. One of these recruits chanced to be -Snowball, the bullet-headed friend of the strange hanger-on, Pant. - - - - - CHAPTER VI - JOHNNY BOXES THE BEAR - - -Johnny Thompson paced the beach up which the waves of Lake Michigan were -rolling. There had been a storm, the aftermath of which was even now -coming in. Johnny's mind was in a turmoil. He had been with the circus -five days now. Two more days they would remain in Chicago. He was still -groom for Millie Gonzales' three grays. Millie was as impossible as ever. -Three times she had struck at him with her whip, when he had appeared to -overstep his rights as her menial. - -"If she has the ring, fine chance I've got unless I steal it from her," -he grumbled. - -Allegretti, the Italian boxer, was quite as impossible as Millie. Once -Johnny had bantered him for a boxing match, but the fellow had showed all -his white teeth in a snarl as he said: - -"No box-a da bum." - -He had meant Johnny. - -Johnny's blood had boiled, but he had made no response. Only when he was -out of hearing, he had declared, "Never mind, old boy, I'll get you yet." - -But thus far he had not "got" him. The way into the good graces of Gwen, -queen of the circus, seemed effectually blocked. He had not tried -approaching her, for he felt that would be folly. - -In spite of the sharply drawn lines of caste which prevailed in the -circus, life within the tented walls when the performers were off duty -was astonishingly simple. Grease paint came off at the end of the last -act. About the dressing tent and the assembly yard the women stars -appeared plain and simple-minded people. There was nothing of the bravado -that Johnny had expected to find. The three girls who held the center of -his attention, because of the ring, were wonderfully well-developed -physically. Millie was slender and quick as a cat. Mitzi von Neutin, the -trapeze performer, was also slender and strong. She was French; Johnny -knew that from the many "Mais, oui" and her "Mais, non," with which she -answered the questions of the other performers. With her abundance of -yellow hair she was like a kitten, as she curled up on a rug in the -corner of the tent reading a French novel. - -But Gwen--Gwen was perfection itself. Not too stout, not too thin; -strong, yet not masculine, she was indeed a queen. About the tent, when -off duty, she wore a short blue skirt and a blue middy blouse open at the -neck and tied with a dark red ribbon. Twice Johnny had seen her boxing -with the Italian. Each time the blood had rushed to his temples. To think -of such a queen taking her exercise with so coarse a creature filled him -with inward rage. - -"Oh, well, he's of the caste," Johnny had grumbled. "No matter; so shall -I be in time. I don't know just how, but I will." - -Pant, too, had puzzled him greatly. He had not forgotten his friend's -uncanny power of seeing in the dark. He had heard of the strange -appearance and disappearance of the crimson flash in the animal tent and -elsewhere, and suspected that Pant was at the bottom of it, but just what -his game was, or what strange secret of the power of light Pant -possessed, he could not guess. - -Johnny had at last succeeded in buying the five bonds which Pant had -wanted. He had obtained two of them for $39 each. These he had bought -from a fat, red faced man who was a guard at the entrance to the big top. -He was even now waiting to deliver them to Pant. - -Presently that individual came shuffling by, and, motioning Johnny to -follow him, continued down the beach until they had found a secluded spot -in a turn of a breakwater. - -"Got 'em?" Pant whispered. - -"Sure." - -"Good! Let's see!" - -"Good! Fine!" he exclaimed, after he had glanced over the bonds. "Now can -you tell me who sold you these two together?" - -"I don't know his name; a fat, red faced fellow at the entrance of the -big top." - -"Good! That's one of them. They're the right kind, I'll wager. Let's -see!" - -Pant spread the bonds out on a broad plank. - -"No, only one!" he mused. "Getting careful, I'd say, Johnny." He turned -suddenly. "Would you risk much for an old friend?" - -"I'd do a lot for you, Pant." - -"Thanks!" Pant gripped his hand warmly. "Take these two bonds you got -from that fat fellow and sell them to-morrow to some dealer in bonds on -La Salle street. You bought them for $39, did you not?" - -"Yes." - -"You should get $45. Good little gain, eh?" - -Johnny grinned. He knew Pant too well to think for a moment that he would -engage in a small business of trading in bonds two or three at a time. -What his real game was, he was unable to guess. - -"All right, old man. See you to-morrow," he said, rising and tucking the -bonds away in his inner pocket. "I'll hurry back now. I think I'm going -to box the fellow who boxes the bear, though how I am to arrange it, I -can't quite tell." - -Johnny wandered back to the big top. It was late morning. Many of the -circus people would be in the big tent going through their stunts. - -His hope of finding the boxer of the bear in one of the rings was not in -vain. He was, at the moment of Johnny's entrance, in the act of putting -the bear through his mock heroic battle. - -With an air of apparent indifference, Johnny leaned against a center tent -pole and watched him. Allegretti hated being watched, Johnny knew. That -was why he lingered. - -The Italian stood his scrutiny for three minutes, then with an angry -glare in his eye, he cried: - -"Go 'way, you bum!" - -Johnny's only reply was a grin. - -"Go 'way! No can box-a da bear when you all time loafin' here." - -The Italian was dancing with rage. - -"You can't box anyway, so what's the difference?" Johnny grinned again. - -"No can box?" The Italian stormed, "No can box? You wan'na see?" - -"Sure, show me," Johnny grinned. - -An extra pair of gloves lay near by. Allegretti kicked them toward him. -"Putta dem on. 'No can box,' he says. Allegretti show dat bum!" - -He squared away in such an awkward manner that Johnny found it hard to -suppress a smile. - -"Now where do you want me to hit you first?" Johnny asked politely. - -The answer was a volley of quick blows, which all fell upon Johnny's well -managed gloves. - -When the Italian paused for breath, Johnny tapped him lightly on the -nose. Enraged at being so easily scored upon, the fiery foreigner fairly -went wild in his efforts to reach Johnny with a blow that would send him -to the surgeon. To avoid these wild swings was child's play for Johnny. -Time and again the Italian left him a wide opening, but Johnny only -further enraged his opponent by tapping him lightly. - -This farce lasted for five minutes. Johnny was puzzled to know what to -do. He knew that the impostor, who called himself a boxer, was completely -within his power. By a single jab of his powerful right, he could send -him to dreamland. This, however, was farthest from his thought. To -needlessly injure a man was never part of Johnny's program. - -A large, low, paper-topped barrel, used in the trained dog act, stood -within ten feet of them. Suddenly Johnny resolved what he would do; he -would humiliate his opponent. Perhaps that would bring him to terms. - -Slowly he forced Allegretti back until he was within five feet of the -barrel when, with a quick right to the chest, he lifted him off the -ground and landed him square in the center of the top of the tub. There -followed a ripping sound, the paper burst, and Allegretti dropped from -sight. - -With a smile Johnny stood waiting the Italian's reappearance, when, to -his utter astonishment, he was struck a sledge hammer blow in the middle -of the back. - -The blow sent him sprawling. In a flash he was on his feet, and faced -about to meet this new and powerful foe. Imagine his amazement when he -found himself facing, not a man but a bear. With gloved forepaws, with -broad mouth grinning, the bear stood ready for his share of the match. - -What had happened was evident. The Italian had neglected to remove the -bear's gloves. The bear had now entered the ring. Johnny had a choice of -facing him or running. It was a novel experience, but he was not well -acquainted with flight, so he held his ground. - -The bear advanced with none of the skill of an experienced fighter. His -training had been superficial. He had been taught to swing his arms in a -certain way when his opponent swung his as a signal. The bear, however, -was six times as heavy as Johnny. One fair smash in the face with that -giant paw would send Johnny to the happy hunting grounds. - -As Johnny squared back, with his guard high, the bear hesitated, a -quizzical, almost human grin overspreading his face. Then, seeming to get -a signal to rush in, he came plowing forward, striking straight out as he -advanced. Johnny sidestepped, and, leaping off his toes, tapped him on -the ear. It was a stinging blow. Bruin's ears were sensitive. That blow -came near proving the undoing of Johnny, for instantly flying into a -rage, the bear forgot his training. Dropping on all fours, he rushed at -Johnny with the fierceness of his forest ancestors. Dodging this way and -that, Johnny sought to get in a felling blow, but in vain. - -Again the bear reared upon his hind legs. So quickly was this -accomplished Johnny did not escape the grappling swing which, open -handed, the bear let fly. The animal's stubby claws raked his face, -leaving three livid lines of red. The matter was growing serious. -Something must be done quickly. Johnny did it. Watching for an opening, -he at last leaped high and forward. His arm went up in one of his short, -lightning master blows. There was the sound as of a steel trap sprung. -The bear whirled in a circle, then crumpled to earth. - -"There's your bear," panted Johnny, wiping his face. - -"No box-a da bear," groaned the grief stricken Italian. - -"I should say not," said Johnny. "He doesn't box fair. He scratches." - -"You kill-a da bear. I get-a your goat." - -"Oh! The bear'll be all right," grinned Johnny. "Just give him a lump of -sugar and a sniff of smelling salts. He's a bit dizzy, that's all." - -"But say!" he said after a moment. "You can't get my goat. I ain't got -any. But I have a notion that I've got yours right now." - -He had, but the Italian wasn't to know it until some hours later. - -As he turned to walk away, Johnny noticed a well built, wholesome looking -girl in short skirt and middy standing a short distance off. She was -looking his way and smiling. It was Gwen, the queen. He wanted to go over -and speak to her. He was sure she had seen all that had happened. - -"Can't afford to rush things too fast," he whispered to himself and, -turning toward the bunk tent, he hastened away. - -As an hour and a half remained before he must go on duty, Johnny slicked -up a bit and went over to La Salle street to sell the bonds which Pant -had entrusted to his care. The first two dealers he approached refused to -buy; they did not purchase bonds in such small lots. The third looked -Johnny over carefully, then examined the bonds. After that, he wet the -tip of his right forefinger on a sponge and proceeded to count out a -handful of bills. These, with some small change, he shoved beneath the -lattice to Johnny. - -"Fine day," he smiled, as he turned away. - -"You bet," Johnny agreed, as he pocketed the money. - -Out on the shore of the lake he found Pant. - -The latter stared at him for a moment in silence. He was looking at the -three red lines drawn on Johnny's face by the bear. - -"Say," he whispered at last, "give me those bonds!" - -"I, I," Johnny stared, "I haven't got them!" - -"Haven't got them? Where are they?" - -"Sold 'em as you said to do." - -"Sold them? When?" - -"Half an hour ago." - -"With that on your face?" - -"Sure." - -With a low whistle, Pant sank down upon the sand. - -"Why, what's wrong?" demanded Johnny. - -"Oh! Nothing much. One of those bonds was a counterfeit, that's all." - -"Counterfeit?" - -"I said it." - -"And you sent me to sell it?" - -"I suppose I should have told you. You'd have done it just the same. -Anyway, you would have, had I told you everything. But if I had told you, -that would have made you nervous and spoiled everything. I'm a marked -man. I couldn't go myself. How was I to know that you'd go and get -branded in that fashion? - -"Ho, well," he continued after a moment's reflection, "it's all right, -I'm sure. The bond was perfect except for one trifling detail. It was a -shade lighter print than those made by Uncle Sam, and, after all, that's -really nothing. Who knows but the Government printer failed to ink his -rollers well some morning? I know it was a counterfeit, though." - -He bent over and wrote a name in the sand, then quickly erased it. - -Johnny had read it. "Who's Black McCree?" he asked promptly. - -"He," Pant whispered, "is the slickest forger that ever lived, and the -worst crook. We're going to get him, you and I, Johnny. And he's with the -circus." - -"Did--did you ever see him?" Johnny demanded. - -"I can't be sure. Perhaps. But we will, Johnny, we will!" - -For a moment they sat there in silence; then Johnny arose and without a -word, walked away. - - - - - CHAPTER VII - NO BOX-A DA BEAR - - -There was one particular part of the show that afternoon which Johnny was -anxious to see. So anxious was he, indeed, that even the danger and -mystery connected with the sale of the counterfeit Liberty Bonds were -crowded from his mind. So intent was he upon seeing it, that he half -neglected his duties, and received for the first time, directly upon his -cheek, a sharp cut from Millie's whip. Even that failed to make him -angry. Once Millie's act was over, and he had rushed the dapple grays to -their stable, he dashed out of the horse tent, through the assembly -grounds, under the canvas wall of the big top and found himself at last -beneath the bleachers in a very good position to see what was going on in -the ring to the south of the center. - -He breathed a sigh of satisfaction, as he saw the swarthy Italian bear -boxer, dressed in his green suit, come marching pompously down the -sawdust trail toward the ring. The lumbering silver tip bear was at his -heels. - -The first part of their performance, the ball rolling, the stilt walking -and bicycle riding, went off very well. The expectant smile on Johnny's -genial face was beginning to fade when finally boxing gloves were -produced, and thrust upon the fore paws of the waiting bear. - -Johnny's smile broadened. A wild look in the bear's eyes told him that -something was about to happen. - -It did happen, and that with lightninglike rapidity. No sooner had the -bear felt the gloves upon his paws than, without waiting for signals, he -let drive a tremendous right swing at the trainer's head. He missed by -but a fraction of an inch. - -"Zowie! What a wallop," whispered Johnny. "He hasn't forgotten. I thought -he wouldn't." - -Indeed, the bear had not forgotten the punishment he had received earlier -in the day and, whether or not he had the intelligence to know that -Allegretti was no match for him, he had at least resolved to demolish him -as speedily as possible, for hardly had the Italian recovered from his -surprise when a second blow aimed at his chest sent him sprawling. - -Leaping to his feet, the trainer waved his arms in frantic signals. It -was of no avail. The bear had known the taste of victory. He was not to -be signaled. - -Straight at his trainer he rushed. The Italian uttered a shout of terror, -then, closely followed by the bear, bolted from the ring. - -The spectators, thinking this was a part of the play, howled and screamed -as they rocked with laughter. - -To the Italian it was tragedy. Had not the bear grown fat in idleness, -and so impaired his running power, the affair might have ended -unfortunately for Allegretti. - -As it was, having pursued his trainer halfway down the length of the -tent, the bear paused, rose on his haunches, tore a glove from his paw -and aimed it with such force and accuracy at the trainer's back that it -sent him clawing in the dust. - -With one more yell, Allegretti rose and continued his flight. The second -glove missed its mark. With mouth open, seemingly in a broad grin, the -bear's gaze swept the circle of delighted spectators, then, appearing to -forget all about the incident, he dropped on all fours, and allowed an -attendant to lead him quietly away. - -Johnny ducked for the assembly enclosure. There he found the Italian -waving his arms before the manager. - -"No box-a da bear! No box-a da bear!" shouted Allegretti. - -"No, I'd say you didn't," smiled the manager. "But you did better than -that. You put on a scream; you made 'em laugh their heads off. Do that -every day and I'll double your pay!" - -"What!" demanded the outraged trainer. "Do dat again! Not for five time, -not for ten time my pay. He want-a keel me, dat-a bear. No box-a da bear. -No more box-a dat-a bear." - -No amount of argument could make Allegretti change his mind. He was -scared white. Johnny and the bear had got his goat. He was through. He -would never box the bear again. - -"Well," said the manager, turning to Johnny, at last, "I guess it's up to -you!" - -"Up to me? How?" gasped Johnny. - -"You crabbed the Italian's act by boxing the bear. Now you'll have to -become a professional bear boxer, and box him yourself. See?" - -"No, I don't see," said Johnny stoutly. "Why, I don't even know the -signals." - -"Make up some of your own. Pete Treco, the tumbler, used to be a bear -boxer. He can help you. We'll be out of Chicago in three days. I'll give -you till then to get in form. What say?" - -"I--I'll try," said Johnny. - -"That's all anybody can do. And say, if you can get him to pull that -stunt, chasing you, throwing the glove and all that, the double pay offer -stands." - -Johnny caught his breath. His opportunity had come. There had come a -shake-up. In three days there would be another, and he would be "shaken -up" to the position of a full-fledged performer, or he would be shaken -down out of the circus altogether. Could he make it? - -Closing his fists tight, he gritted between his teeth: - -"By all that's good, I will!" - -Fiery and high tempered Millie lost her groom that very day. - -As far as the circus people were concerned, Johnny Thompson vanished. In -a small tented enclosure, eight hours out of every twenty-four were spent -in strenuous attempts to teach that bear to do his bidding. It was a -difficult task. More times than one he barely dodged a sudden swing of -that powerful paw, which if it had landed would have increased the demand -for cut flowers and slow music. - -Pant alone saw him, and that after the shadows had fallen. It was at such -times that they talked long of those other days in Arctic Siberia. - -"Pant," Johnny shot at his friend one night, "what are you here for?" - -"Same back to you," smiled Pant. "What are you here for? You're not a -circus man. What interest can you have in learning to box a bear?" - -"It's deeper than that," smiled Johnny. "It's a matter of honor. There -are three girls in that circus I must get on speaking terms with. The -only way to do that is to become a performer." - -"Oh! It's a skirt!" - -"Not exactly--only a diamond ring." - -"A ring?" - -"Yes, listen," and Johnny proceeded to tell his story. - -"That's interesting," said Pant, "and I think I can help you. In fact, I -think I am safe in promising to tell you in time which of the three girls -has the ring." - -"You tell me? How?" - -"Leave that to me. I have ways of finding things out. It can't be done -here, though; on the road, perhaps, or at a one-night stand. Wait and -see. - -"And now," continued Pant, "I want you to promise to help me with my own -mystery. It is a much deeper and far more important affair. You know the -type of people that follow the circus?" - -Johnny nodded. - -"Well, mixed with these little crooks is a big one--a forger, a master -counterfeiter. His work is so good, as you know yourself, that it can be -passed on La Salle street, and that's going some. I have several samples -of his work. I know they are counterfeits, yet there is not a defect -except the slight lack of color. They are technically perfect. One would -almost say they were photographs of the real thing. These bonds are being -secretly passed out even here in Chicago. When we get out into the safer -small cities, I have no doubt the state will be flooded with them. It's -an easy game. You know how they work it: Circus employee has a bond he -has been saving, money all gone, must sell at a sacrifice. Greedy rubes -snatch them up. And the worst of it is, they are so perfect that only in -cases where two of the same number chance to come together will they be -detected. With the vast number of genuine bonds in the country, this is -likely never to happen. So there you are. Why, I doubt if even the -Treasury Department itself could detect them. And this Black McCree is at -the bottom of it all." - -"How do you know that?" Johnny bent forward eagerly. - -Pant smiled. "He has a foolish habit of scrawling his name about. He made -the mistake of scribbling it on one of the bonds which later came into my -hands. He's known to the police the country over, not so much as -counterfeiter, however, as a 'Red'--a dynamiter of the worst type. He has -more than once left his scribbled name above a ghastly piece of work. -That is all they know of him. He has never been identified. Just why he -has decided to take up the life of a sane crook and enter the forging -game, I can't tell unless--by George! I believe I have it! Yes, sir! It's -a financial plot!" - -"How's that?" Johnny asked. - -"Can't you see? Our country is deeply in debt. Every town and city is -flooded with national credit slips in the form of Liberty Bonds. A -nation's credit is its life. Now, if some slick fellow can fill the -safety boxes of the land with bogus bonds, what is to become of the -country's credit? In time government bonds cannot be sold at any price, -for the would-be purchaser cannot tell whether he is buying a genuine -bond or a counterfeit." - -"I see," breathed Johnny. - -"And yet," mused Pant, "it may not be a plot, after all. Perhaps this -Black McCree thinks he has discovered a way to get rich quick, and has -dropped his radical notions. They mostly drop them when they fall heir to -a piece of money. But, anyway," he straightened up with a jerk, "we've -got to get him." - -"What's he like?" asked Johnny. - -"That's what no one knows. He's never been seen. He may be large or -small. He may be, for instance, a certain husky conman with a ragged -ear." - -"The very chap," exclaimed Johnny. "He's a crook, all right. I caught him -in a crooked deal the other day. We had a little boxing match." - -"You can't be sure he's the man," smiled Pant. "Small crooks seldom do -big jobs, and big crooks don't operate con games. Yet he'll bear -watching. He may be doing that as a blind. - -"There's another fellow, though," Pant went on, "a midget clown--Tom -Stick, a queer little chap. He's the prize of the circus. Dresses like a -mosquito, and drives a huge elephant around the ring. Strange part about -him is, he insists on living all by himself in a little house built on -wheels. Far as I know, no one has ever been allowed inside that house of -his. You see the chance, don't you? He could have all kinds of an outfit -in there, and no one would be the wiser. Of course, he wouldn't sell many -bonds himself; he'd pass 'em out through others. - -"There's a third fellow, a cook, the steam kettle cook, Andy McQueen. -Don't know so much about him. What I want you to do is to get acquainted -with these men and see what you can find out. You're on the inside, so -you can do it. There's another fellow, he's--" - -At that juncture the conversation was ended by the appearance of a party -rounding a sand pile, and Johnny hastened back to the tented grounds. - -"I'm crazy to get in my first performance," he told himself. "If it's -successful, it'll put me on even ground with Gwen, the Queen. Then we'll -see what we shall see. She looks mighty interesting, to say the least." - - - - - CHAPTER VIII - THE GIRL AND THE TIGER - - -Late that night Johnny Thompson was reminded for the hundredth time of -his position as a serf among the knights and ladies of the circus. He was -just passing into the now almost deserted big top when he came face to -face with Millie Gonzales. In sudden embarrassment he was about to speak -to her and doff his cap when, with chin in air, she swept past him. - -Setting his teeth hard, Johnny hastened on. Only when he was at a safe -distance did he give vent to his feelings. - -"If it wasn't for the ring, I wouldn't stand for it," he raged in a -whisper, "I, I'd, well, I'd make her bite her own sharp tongue. Maybe," -he reflected, "maybe some time I will." - -The incident was soon forgotten, and it was not so long after that Johnny -was made to realize that not all the ladies of the circus were like -Millie, not even those who ranked above her. - -In a dark corner of the tent, Johnny threw himself on a pile of netting -to think. Life had grown strangely complicated for him since he had -joined the show. Problems great and small lay before him for solving. It -was like a lesson in algebra. There was the problem of boxing the bear. -His ability to solve that problem would be tested all too soon, on the -day after to-morrow. In some small city he would have his try-out. -Depending upon the successful solving of this problem was the other and -more important one, that of the ring. Who had it? Millie, the bareback -rider, Mitzi, the trapeze performer, or Gwen, the dancing queen of the -tight wire? Thus far he had not the slightest clue. If one of them had -it, she never had worn it while Johnny was in sight. Could it be that the -one in possession of it suspected him of seeking it? That did not seem -probable. - -"And yet," he reflected, "stranger things have happened. She may have -seen me make that foolhardy dash for it when the elephant flicked it from -the chain." - -But at once his mind swept on to the third and most important problem of -all--Pant's problem, the problem of the counterfeit bonds. Pant had named -three men who might be responsible, the conman of the ragged ear, the -midget clown, the steam kettle cook. Johnny Thompson was one of the kind -of fellows who, when they recognize a great and important problem, set -themselves to solving it, leaving all minor difficulties to take care of -themselves. As he lay there now, he realized that Pant's problem had -already become his; that for the time being, the ring might be all but -forgotten. And yet he hoped that, as the more important and difficult -problem was being solved, this one of lesser importance would work itself -out. - -"Well, anyway," he mumbled, half rising, "my success at boxing the bear -comes first, for unless I put that stunt across, I will have precious -little chance to discover the whereabouts of the ring, or to help Pant -run down the counterfeiter. To-morrow's my last day of training. Me for -my bunk." - -But just as he was about to get upon his feet he checked himself and sank -back in his place. A vision had struck his eye--a vision of lithe wonder -and beauty. It was dancing along a silver wire. - -It was Gwen, Queen of the circus. The great tent was totally dark, save -for the corner where she practiced. She had arranged a spot light in such -a manner that its brilliant rays struck squarely across the tightly drawn -wire, and there in that light, which was flashed back by her brilliant -costume and her tossing umbrella, she was performing all unconscious that -anyone was watching her. - -Johnny Thompson thought he was the only onlooker, and perhaps at first he -was. If so, it was not for long. Had he but known the nature of that -other spectator, he might have leaped to his feet and rushed to warn the -queen of her danger. Not knowing, he sat entranced by the wonderful -apparition who seemed more a being of another world, or perhaps some -tropical bird, as she flitted from end to end of that silver wire. Now -she rose straight in air and, seeming to soar aloft, swept down to the -wire again. And now she dropped upon her hands to bend and twist in a -blinding whirl, while her gleaming parasol spun above her. - -"Um," Johnny breathed; then again, "Um!" - -But what was that? He thought he detected a stealthy movement to the -right of him. It might have been but the swaying of a tent pole shaken by -the wind, but he kept his eyes upon the spot for some time. He had -concluded it was nothing, and was about to turn his attention to the girl -again, when the movement came again, this time closer at hand. At the -same time he heard a sound that in a place less quiet to an untrained ear -would be nothing at all. To Johnny it spoke of danger--perhaps danger to -himself, perhaps to the girl. He thought of the counterfeiters. Did they -know he had joined Pant in the task of hunting them down, and realizing -his importance as an inside man, had they decided to do away with him at -once? Or was this some enemy of the beautiful dancer? - -Danger, Johnny had learned, loses much of its terror when squarely faced. -He now threw himself upon the sawdust and began creeping, knife in hand, -toward the spot from which the sound had come. - -Ten feet he crawled, then paused to listen. In the stillness he heard the -occasional creak of the wire, the spatter of the spot light. Then again -he caught that gliding sound. It was retreating from him, moving closer -to the girl. This time he crept twenty feet or more before he paused. -Again the same sounds greeted his strained ears. Again the gliding sound. -The creature, whether beast or human, traveling faster than he, must be -not more than thirty feet from the swinging, swaying girl. - -And now, like a flash, his eyes, for a moment relieved from the dancer's -dazzling light, saw the creature--a gaunt tawny beast it was, a tiger -stalking human prey. For a second Johnny shivered and shrank back. How -had this creature escaped? This he could not know. Its purpose was all -too evident. Attracted by the gleam of the fairylike figure dancing on -the wire, it was thinking only of breaking her bones with its yellow -fangs. - -Johnny paused for half a minute, then resumed his forward movement. -Poorly armed as he was, he would not allow the beast to have its way -unopposed. - -Yet, after covering another yard or two, he paused. The girl was ten feet -in air. Did the tiger have the power to leap that high? For a tiger of -the jungle this would be no feat at all, but for this one of the cage, -Johnny was in doubt. And Gwen? Did she have the iron nerve to keep on -dancing down the wire with a great yellow beast leaping madly for her -feet? - -It was a tense moment. Every muscle in his body quivered. The hand that -gripped his knife almost crushed the hilt. - -The questions that surged through his brain were not long in being -answered, for now, in the dim half light about her, the girl saw the -beast. For one brief second her eyes were dilated with fear. The parasol, -trembling, wavering, almost slipped from her grasp. - -Johnny rose on one knee. "If she falls? If she falls?" he breathed -silently. - -But she did not fall. Seeming to summon all her nerve and strength, she -held her parasol high and once more danced gracefully down the wire. - - * * * * * * * * - -Two hours before this moment in our story, Pant had left the circus -grounds, and, crossing a viaduct over the tracks, had made his way down -the avenue toward the river. As he cut across the roadway and lost -himself down a dark alley near the river, he might have been heard saying -to himself: - -"The bear, driven from his lair, returns; the rabbit circles back to his -brush pile; sometimes crooks return to their rendezvous. I wonder if they -will this time? Well, we shall see what we shall see." - -He was by this time nearing a long, low-lying building that flanked the -river. Before a door which was reached by three downward steps, he -paused. All was dark, silent, mysterious. For a moment he listened -intently, then after a hasty glance up and down the deserted alley, he -darted to a low, narrow window. His efforts to lift the sash were -fruitless. Quickly drawing a thin-bladed knife from his pocket, he -inserted the blade beneath the catch. There was a click. The next instant -Pant had lifted the sash, dived through and closed the window after him. - -The room was utterly dark, yet he appeared to have no difficulty in -finding his way about the place. Whether he had a previous knowledge of -the building, was endowed with an instinctive sense of location of -things, or could see in the dark, would have been a question too -difficult for a casual thinker to answer. An observer, had there been -one, might have said that the room had a strange way of flashing crimson -for a fraction of a second, then becoming inky black again. - -After moving about for a time, Pant doubled himself up and, creeping into -the broad lower part of a dilapidated cupboard, closed the door behind -him. - -Ten minutes elapsed. A rat scurried over the uneven floor. Another -creeping through a hole in the base of the cupboard, began rattling a -loose bit of board about. Pant kicked at it. Then all was silent again. - -Five minutes more passed. Three rats had ventured out upon the floor -when, of a sudden, there sounded the rattle of a key in the outer door. -The rats scurried away. Pant caught a quick breath, as he whispered: - -"They return!" - -A match was struck. A broad, fat face appeared at the door. The man's -small, beady eyes peered about the place for a moment, then he whispered -back over his shoulder: - -"All right. C'm'on." - -"Safe?" - -"Sure!" - -Two other men followed him. One was slim, the other broad shouldered. -Pant almost let fall an exclamation, as he saw that the broad-shouldered -one had a ragged ear. - -"Perhaps Johnny's right," was his mental comment. - -Through a hole left by what had once been a lock on the cupboard door, he -could catch every move of the mysterious three. - -Gathering around the table they proceeded at once to what appeared to be -the task of the night. A flat tin affair was placed on the table. A tin -cup from which the handle of a brush protruded was set down close to the -pan. A roll of paper was produced. It was while this was being rolled -backward and then drawn across the smooth edge of the table to make it -straight that Pant felt something touch his hand. Barely checking a -start, he held himself rigidly motionless. In an instant he realized that -it was only a hungry rat. But in a minute he knew that this was quite bad -enough, for the rat began to gnaw at his finger. - -In the meantime, in the room the man of the ragged ear had taken the -broad brush and moved it several times over the pan. He dipped the brush -each time in the cup, as if applying a liquid. The fat man held a sheet -of paper as if ready to spread it out upon the pan. - -The rat persevered. He had gnawed his way through the tough outer skin of -Pant's finger, and had touched tender flesh when, with a sudden quick -movement, Pant's thumb closed down. He was not quick enough. The rat, -whirling about, was caught only by the tail. With a piercing, almost -human scream the rat struggled for freedom. - -Instantly the room went dark. In that same instant, a hand groped for the -door, behind which Pant was concealed. Pant had hoped to strangle the rat -without a sound. In this he had failed. Just what he was in for now, he -could not even guess. - - - - - CHAPTER IX - THE TIGER SPRINGS - - -In the dim half light, as Johnny crouched in the sawdust ring, knife in -hand, he saw the tiger lash his tail as he prepared for a spring. He saw -the girl dancing on the wire, twirling her parasol as she danced. His -mind whirled. Was this all a dream? Was it but a moving picture flashed -upon the screen? He shook himself. No, there were the colors in the -girl's costume, the red that came and went in her cheek, and there were -the wonderful colors in the coat of that giant cat. It was real, and the -cat was preparing for a spring. Should he cry out? Attract the beast's -attention, then stand for battle? To do so meant sudden death. No man -armed with a knife could hope to defeat a tiger. - -On the other hand, what if he waited? Could the tiger leap ten feet in -air? If he could, what then? The girl had nerve; Johnny could see that. -There was a strong chance that the tiger could not reach her. He would -wait. - -Suddenly into that brilliant circle of light there shot upward a tawny, -gleaming body. The tiger had leaped square at the girl. Johnny's heart -stood still. There came an audible gasp from the girl. The cruel fangs of -the beast flashed in the light. Up, up he rose, five feet, six, seven, -eight. Now his great paws flashed at the girl's feet. An instant of -suspense ended with a gasp of relief. The tiger had missed. - -For a fraction of a second the girl teetered on the wire. She seemed -about to lose her balance and fall, but she at once regained her -composure, and, with a smile upon her lips, such as she threw to admiring -spectators, she tripped again along the wire. - -"Bravo!" Johnny's lips formed the word, but he did not say it. - -Again the tiger crouched for a spring. The girl was gaining self-control. -Estimating the position of the tiger, she tripped away from him. Angered, -the tiger roared savagely, gave two short jumps, then leaped straight and -high. - -With a little cry, half of fear, half of defiance, the girl sprang in -air. The next instant the tiger's paw touched the wire. One breathless -second the girl appeared to hover in air, then she dropped. Her toe -touched the vibrating wire. She slipped. She uttered a low moan. - -Just at that moment the spot light blinked suddenly out, leaving the -great tent in utter darkness. - - * * * * * * * * - -For a few moments after the candle was extinguished in the mysterious -room down by the river Pant remained motionless. Then, as a groping hand -found the door to his hiding place, he leaped into spring-steel-like -action. The cupboard door banged open. A sudden flash of red light was -followed by the dull thud of a body striking the floor. A second flash -produced the same result. A chair clattered to the floor. The street door -swung suddenly open, then banged shut again. A fugitive figure sought -cover in the shadows of a dark corner of the building. - -"Are you shot?" came a gruff voice from within. - -"Thought I was, but guess I ain't." - -"So did I." - -"There wasn't any report." - -"A red flame, and a biff that floored!" - -There followed sounds of movement. A match was struck. For a moment a -light flickered in the room, then three heads appeared at the door. -Mounting to the third step, the leader glanced quickly up and down the -street. Then, followed by his two companions, he darted away. - -"Some rotten luck," grumbled Pant, for it was he who lurked in the -corner. - -Without a light, he again entered the room. When he came out a short time -later, he was straightening out a bit of crumpled paper. - - * * * * * * * * - -For Johnny, after the spot light in the circus tent blinked out, an agony -of suspense followed. The girl--had she dropped? The tiger--was he now -about to spring? Without a light Johnny could do nothing. A sudden wave -of remorse overcame him. He blamed himself for not entering the struggle -when the light was on. - -But what was this? Could it be that his straining ear caught the sing of -the wire, as the girl's foot touched it in her wild dance? He listened. -There could be no mistake about it. Even in the darkness she had regained -her footing, was dancing down the wire. - -But the tiger could see in the dark. She could not see his leaps. And he -would leap again, Johnny was sure of that. - -In this he was not mistaken, for, with sinking sensation, he heard the -cat leave the ground. There followed no sound. Breathlessly he waited -till he felt the slight shock of the cat as he dropped. Or was it Gwen? - -At this time of uncertainty a weird thing happened. Seeming to come from -a spot in mid air, a streak of crimson light flashed down at an angle -toward the floor. For an instant, it turned the costume, the parasol, the -face of the girl crimson; the next, it swept the crouching tiger with a -flood of blood red light. With a growl of fear the beast shrank back. The -light followed him. He rose and leaped away. He paused. The light was -again upon him. With a wild snarl, he sprang away toward the far end of -the tent. - -As he lay there staring open-mouthed, Johnny heard the sputter of arc -lights. In a moment the tent was ablaze with white lights. The dynamo had -been started, the light turned on. - -Johnny sprang to his feet, then facing about, looked for the girl. The -next instant he sprang toward the spot over which the wire was strung. He -was there in time to break her fall. She had tottered from the wire. - -She had not fainted, but it was in vain that she attempted to rise; her -limbs would not support her. - -"I, I guess I lost my nerve," she apologized, as she sank down upon the -sawdust. - -"If you did, you lost a lot," exclaimed Johnny in undisguised enthusiasm. -"You were great!" - -For the moment he forgot the caste of the circus, forgot he was only an -ex-groom and she the queen of performers. - -"Just sit right here," he counseled. "I'll run and get you a glass of -water; you'll be all right in a jiffy. The tiger's safe enough; keepers -have got him." - -By the time he returned, the world had righted itself again, and he was -only a slave. - -"I, I'll be running along," he stammered, "that is, if you're all right?" - -"But I'm not all right," protested Gwen. "Besides, I need some one to -talk to. Why should you go?" - -"You know," Johnny faltered, "I'm not a performer; at least, not yet." - -"Fiddle!" she puckered up her lips. "What diff does that make; you're a -brave boy. You were right near that awful tiger when I saw you, and you -weren't running away. I believe you were there all the time." - -"I was," admitted Johnny. "I was watching you dance when he came up." - -"Oh!" She gave him a queer look. "And what did you think you could do?" - -"If he had reached you, I could have put up a good scrap." - -She looked at him again. "I believe you could," she smiled. "I saw you -give that bear the knockout the other day. That was good, awful good! -Say! You can box, can't you?" - -"A little." - -"Will you give me some lessons?" - -Johnny's heart leaped. Would he? - -"Su--sure," he stammered, "any--any time." - -"All right; to-morrow morning at nine. What say?" - -"That suits me." - -"It's a go," she said, holding out her hand. Johnny gripped it warmly, -and as he did so, he realized that there was nothing soft or flabby about -that hand. - -"You see," she half apologized, "I have to keep in trim for my stunts, -and nothing will do it quite like boxing." - -"Uh-huh!" Johnny scarcely heard her. Her hand had made him think of the -diamond ring. Should he ask her about it now? It seemed what his old -professor would call the psychological moment. Yet he did not want to ask -her. He was already enjoying her friendship, knew he would enjoy it more -and more and did not wish to risk losing it. Then he thought of Pant and -his problem. Perhaps she could aid them in solving that. - -"Say," she whispered suddenly, "what was that blood red light?" - -"I, I don't know," Johnny replied. - -"Wasn't it spooky? Came from nowhere!" - -"I don't know how it was done," said Johnny, "but someone was behind -it--someone who evidently wanted to help you." - -The girl glanced at him sharply. - -"No," he smiled, "I didn't do it. I'm not that much of a magician. But -I'm not sure but that I know the person who did it." - -"Oh!" she gasped. "Will you find out and let me know?" - -"If I can," said Johnny, smiling once more. - -"Oh!" she gasped again. "I owe that person a lot. The tiger would have -got me for sure. I'd do a lot for him." - -"Would you?" asked Johnny. - -"Of course I would." - -"You may have a chance some time." - -"How strangely you talk!" - -"That's all I can tell you now." - -He arose and, assisting her to her feet, walked with her to the flap of -the ladies' dressing tent; then bade her good-night. - -"She's a real sport!" he told himself. "Now I've got to make good at -boxing the bear, even if it is a rotten job." - - - - - CHAPTER X - GWEN MEETS A "HAY MAKER" - - -Johnny Thompson did not relish giving boxing lessons. Like all true -artists, he was more interested in doing things than in teaching others -how to do them. Especially did he dislike giving lessons to women. - -Johnny had his particular ideas about the possible skill of lady boxers -and his estimate was not flattering. However, he was willing to teach -Gwen because he liked her, thought of her as a good sport, and hoped to -profit by his acquaintance with her. He was destined to find her rather a -surprise as a boxer. - -Exactly at nine o'clock next morning he was on hand in the small sawdust -circle at a remote corner of the "big top." Gwen was only three minutes -late and Johnny put that down as being much to her credit. "Most girls -would have been fifteen minutes or half an hour behind time," was his -mental comment. - -After a formal "Good morning," Johnny helped Gwen on with her gloves. -This gave him an opportunity to look her over. Naturally her hands -received his first attention. He looked for rings; found none, and then -laughed at himself for believing that any person would come for a boxing -lesson with rings on her fingers. - -Looking her up and down from head to toe, he found her good to the -eye--even better than in her professional costume. She was all of a girl -now. In her short skirt, blue middie and silk stockings and with her mass -of hair drawn tightly into form beneath a strong net, she made a picture -worth looking at. Johnny found himself catching his breath sharply as he -drew on her gloves and laced them snugly about her wrists. - -"You won't strike hard--not at first, anyway--will you?" she breathed. - -"Not at all," Johnny smiled, "but you'll have to be careful about one -thing; practice calls for boxing that is as near the real thing as -possible. I mean that I'll seem to be going to deal you a real knock-out -blow, but I'll 'pull the blow,' as they say, just before it lands, so it -will be a mere tap. The thing you'll have to be a little careful about is -running into those 'hay makers,' otherwise they may prove to be the real -thing in spite of all I can do to avoid it." - -"I'll try," Gwen smiled back. "Are you ready?" She tapped him playfully -on the nose. - -"Ready!" Johnny squared away. - -From the start, Gwen's boxing was a baffling mystery to the boy. She -seemed to fairly dance on air. Her foot movements were marvelous. Now she -was here; now there; now in another corner of the ring. Johnny had been -called the fastest boy of the ring, but Gwen was faster. For some time he -did not reach her even with a light tap. - -But time taught him new tricks and brought back to his mind many -half-forgotten old ones. He began to realize that, although her face -protection was perfect, she was exposing her chest. - -"That's where her lesson begins," he told himself, and at once began -tapping her over the heart with ever increasing force until she threw -down her hands with a sharp, "Oh-wee!" - -"Time's up," laughed Johnny, throwing himself down upon the mat and -inviting her to do the same. - -"You see," he explained, when they had caught their breath, "you box the -way you do your tight rope work. It's great stuff. I never saw a lady -boxer your equal." - -Gwen gave him a happy smile. - -"But," he went on, "you've got your weak points, just as the rest of us -have. You play your defense too high. That leaves your chest unguarded. -If you were in a real fight your opponent would deal you a knock-out blow -over the heart. You'll have to practice playing closer to the sawdust -with both your hands and your feet. It's that tight rope stuff that does -it. You box as if you were tiptoeing along the rope and holding up that -Japanese parasol to balance you." - -Gwen thanked him for his advice, then, as all good friends occasionally -do, they lapsed into silence. - -"Second round," said Johnny, two minutes later as he pocketed his watch. - -To Johnny this tight rope dancer seemed an amazingly alert pupil. It was -no time at all before he found her guard lowered and her hands traveling -so fast that only now and again was he able to score a point. To his -great surprise, he found himself thoroughly enjoying the third round. Not -only was he teaching her something about guarding and self-control, but -she was giving him pointers in speed and foot work. - -"You're great!" he breathed at the end of the third round. "You really -are." - -Flushed, highly excited, filled with a girlish enthusiasm, she beamed -back at him. The affair was a huge success; there could be no doubt of -that. Johnny saw himself safely possessed of an entirely agreeable pal, -one of the very elect, of the inner circle of star performers, too. He -saw himself frolicking with this wonderful pal day after day. A fine -day-dream! - -And just there something happened, as often is the case when one's cup of -happiness is about to overflow. In the fourth round Gwen, excited by -Johnny's praise, strove to out-do herself. Before she had not been half -so airy nor so nimble and skillful in eluding her opponent's blows. Thus -challenged, Johnny brought into play his every tactic. Maneuvers which -had lain dormant in his brain leaped to the forefront. It was as if he -were again in a real battle in a real ring. Like live things, his gloves -flashed. He leaped to the right, then to the left, then backward. He -darted suddenly forward. He ducked. He leaped high. But ever the elusive -Gwen escaped him. - -At last, in one mad rush he found himself facing her. Her round chin was -exposed. What an opportunity! He lifted himself clean off the floor; his -right hand struck out and up. It would have brushed her chin--an -admirably "pulled" blow--had she not at this instant leaped suddenly at -him. Whether she thought she saw an opening and had herself resolved to -score, or had, in the mad rush, completely lost her head, Johnny could -not tell. He only knew that there came a sickening sound of impact, -followed by a dull thud and Gwen lay crumpled, unconscious at his feet. -His blow had found its mark. The full force of it had been expended on -the girl's chin! - -Heartsick, he struggled to regain his scattered senses. The next instant -he was rushing away for water. From a bucket he dipped it ice cold, and -applied it to her forehead. Then with a towel he began to fan her. - -All the time reflections were rushing through his troubled brain: "What a -fool! Just when things were going right! All off now! Mighty funny how it -happened! All my fault! Mebby hers, too! But a girl--what a wallop to -give a girl! Who'd forgive it? Boss'd fire me if he knew it. What a muss! -Go back to the bear if I get a chance. Bear's about my class. What a nut -a fellow can make of himself! I--why dum it anyway--" - -His dismal reflections were arrested by the opening of Gwen's eyes. She -sat up dizzily and gazed about her as if looking upon a world unknown. - -"Where am I?" she faltered. "Oh!" she moaned, and held her head. - -Johnny's thoughts touched the bottom of despair. - -But the next moment she was looking at him and actually smiling. "I -suppo-pose," she said uncertainly, "that you'd call--call that a -'hay--hay maker'?" - -Johnny grinned in spite of himself. "It was," he agreed. - -"And I--I ran into your 'hay maker.'" - -"Something like that," Johnny agreed, sitting down beside her. "I hope -you feel better." - -She did not answer, but sat staring at the sawdust. They remained in just -that position until Johnny's watch had ticked off a hundred and twenty -seconds. He knew it was a hundred and twenty for he counted them all. - -"I suppose," he said, when he could endure the silence no longer, "that -that's the end of it?" - -"I suppose so," she agreed. - -Again they were silent. There seemed nothing more to say. - -"And I thought we would have some grand times together," said Johnny, at -last. "I might have known though--" - -"Oh! But aren't we?" There was a puzzled look on her face. - -"Why! You--you said that was the end of it!" - -"I suppose so for today. I'm really too shaky to box any more to-day. But -how about to-morrow?" - -With a wild shout of joy, Johnny leaped to his feet. - -"Then--then--," he stammered. "Why, you're a brick!" - -He extended his hand and helped her to her feet. - -"Why? What's so wonderful?" she smiled at him. "I ran into you and got -bumped. I don't hold that against you. Why should I? Would another boy -hate you for it?" - -"No. He might not, but a girl--" - -"Fiddle! Girls are just like boys, if you let them be. Shall I see you -to-morrow?" - -"You sure will!" - -For a moment Johnny hesitated before taking her hand for a farewell; the -question of the diamond ring had flashed through his mind. Was this the -time to ask? He hesitated; then gave it up. A moment before he had felt -that he had lost her. He would risk nothing more this day. - -"Good-bye and good luck," he murmured, as she turned to go her way. - - - - - CHAPTER XI - THE BLACK BEAST - - -"Pant," said Johnny the next evening, as they sat upon the beach in the -moonlight, with the tom, tom, tom of the circus drum sounding from the -distance, "there's one thing that puzzles me about this crimson flash." - -"Let's hear." There was a smile lurking about the corners of Pant's -mouth. - -"That big yellow cat last night was scared stiff, just frozen in his -tracks by the crimson flash," said Johnny. "They tell me that all the big -cats act that way, except one." - -"Uh!" grunted Pant. "The black panther." - -"He leaps right at it, wants to eat someone up every time it's flashed on -his cage. How's that?" asked Johnny. - -Pant smiled, as he drank in a deep breath of cool, night air. "That, -Johnny, is a rather long story, a story I've never told. But, because -you've been a good pal, because, though I've doubtless seemed mighty -queer at times, you've never asked a leading question, I've a strong -notion to tell it to you." - -Johnny waited in silence. The tom tom of the drum ceased. By that he knew -that Gwen, Queen of the circus, was just entering the ring for her part. -He had intended to see that act again, but if Pant spoke-- - -"I think I will," mused Pant. "You see," he went on, "ever since I was a -small child I have had a great interest in cats. Even before I could -walk, so they tell me, I would turn up missing, and they'd find me at -last creeping through the grass in the meadows, following an old tomato -colored cat that was hunting for moles. - -"As I grew older I came to know that a cat could see in the dark, and -that he did most of his hunting at night. These things interested me. -Night after night I would slip from my bed, steal out into the night and -follow the cats in their nightly wanderings. I guess I learned things -about cats that no one else knows; some of their secrets, I mean. I've -never told them, and I'm not going to tell them to you. Knowledge is of -very little use to people unless they go to the places where it can be -applied, and very few are willing to go all that way. - -"When I was thrown out into the world to shift for myself I still wanted -to know more about cats. Little by little I came to know that house cats -were but the pygmies among cats; that there were large, fierce, dangerous -cats--wild cats, mountain lions, tigers, and the like. It was just when -my curiosity about these big cats was at its height that I happened to -wander into a zoo. There I found tigers, panthers, leopards and mountain -lions. I was wild with joy. I watched these big cats for hours. I asked -so many questions of the attendant that he threatened to throw me out. -When night came he did force me to go away. For a week I did nothing but -haunt that zoo. - -"At last it came to me suddenly one day that I could learn nothing really -worth while about these wonderful cats unless I could watch them, as I -had watched house cats, in their native haunts, as they rested, fed, -played and wandered about or stalked their prey. I asked the keeper where -their native homes were. He showed me on a map. I was astonished. They -were from all over the world, India, Africa, South America, everywhere. - -"There were two cats that had caught my eye, the great tawny beast, the -Bengal tiger, and the smaller black cat with the shifting eye, the black -leopard. - -"When I was told that both these came from the jungles of India I was -overjoyed. I would go there and follow them day after day, until I knew -all their secrets. - -"When I told the attendant of my resolve, he laughed at me; said I'd be -killed and eaten before I had been in the jungle a day. - -"I took to thinking about that; then I tried to study out some way to -make the great cats of the jungle afraid of me. I returned again to the -zoo and studied the great animals. When the keeper was not looking I -tried many things. At last I found one thing that would make them -afraid--all but one, the black cat with the shifting eyes; he was not -afraid. He leaped at his bars snarling, but I said to myself, 'He is only -one, all other black leopards will be afraid.'" - -"Of the crimson flash?" whispered Johnny. - -Pant gave him a look of warning, then glanced away at the lake. - -"I was only a boy and not very far in my teens at that, but I went to the -jungles of India. I don't remember much how I went. I was a stowaway on a -big steamer, then in a smaller one. I helped pole long, heavy barges up -an endless river where mosses and grape vines hung thick along the banks, -and where great slimy beasts rose from the water to glare at us. I caught -the fever and lay for weeks in a bed of a hospital provided for Dutch -missionaries. - -"After I got well, I poled more boats up the river until, at last, I was -in the heart of India, where there were few white men, where there were -many naked natives, where it was all jungle, and where in the night I -could hear the call of the wild things, my friends, the great cats. Ah, -my boy! Then I was happy. I would study. I would learn secrets. I would -know things that no other man knew." - -Pant paused and, rising, began to pace restlessly back and forth, and -Johnny, watching, was reminded of the great Bengal tiger pacing the -length of his cage. - -"There was a mission station," Pant went on, still pacing to and fro; "a -little mission, with a tiny hospital and a doctor. It was in a native -village at the edge of a great jungle. The natives swarmed to it from -many miles around. When I asked the gray haired doctor why they didn't -have a large hospital, he shook his head and answered: - -"'No money.'" - -"I had a little money; I gave him that, and he let me stay there with -them. There were just his wife and one nurse and the servants. I did -little things for them about the place the time I was not sleeping during -the day. At night I went out into the jungle alone. That first night, -when they saw me starting out, they called me back; told me there were -great cats lurking in the jungle that would kill and eat me; begged me -not to go, but I said to them: - -"'I have a charmed life. Nothing can harm me. Besides, all cats are my -friends.' - -"You see," Pant sat down upon the sand, "you see, I didn't want to tell -my secret. Never tell your secrets, Johnny, at least not all of them. -You'll mean more to your friends and trouble your enemies more if you -keep them. I kept mine; but I went out into the jungle alone. - -"I found them, Johnny; I found the great tawny cats with the dark -stripes, the tigers. They were not hard to find, for I knew the secrets -of cats, and all cats are alike. - -"First I found the old tiger, then his mate. They were hunting in the -tall grass. Right away, when they saw me, they wanted to hunt me and take -me home to their cubs. But there I had them. There was my great secret. -When I showed them what I could do, they were afraid. They walked round -and round me until, in the morning, the grass was all trampled round in a -circle. - -"The next night I found their cubs playing near the roots of a fallen -tree. They were three months old--big as dogs. The father had broken the -forelegs of a deer, and had brought it home for them to kill. - -"When they saw me, the old ones wanted to get me more than ever. How they -snarled! How they circled and lashed their tails! They couldn't get me; I -had them. They were afraid. Ten men on elephants, with rifles, they would -have attacked with a rush, but not me. They were afraid. - -"But, Johnny, they were wonderful cats. Their coats! You have seen tigers -in cages. Bah! They are nothing to the great, free cats of the jungle. -The yellow! You have seen the sky at sunset sometimes when it was painted -with golden fire? It was like that, only grander. And the dark stripes! -They were like midnight. The gleam of their teeth, the burning red of -their eyes, as they prowled in the night. Ah! Johnny! I had found true -happiness. I only wanted one thing to make me perfectly happy, and that -was to have them play with me, as they played with their cubs; as the -house cats played with me when I was in rompers. That, too, would have -come, but--" - -Sighing, Pant rose and began pacing the beach again. - -"A change came over me. I began to see things and to wonder. At times I -thought how sick I had been down there in the little Dutch mission -hospital, and how the short, fat Dutch nurses had pattered about in their -wooden shoes to help make me well. Then I saw the hundreds and hundreds -of poor natives who came limping into our little station, or who were -carried in on bamboo stretchers. It all set me thinking. Up to that time, -I had thought that nothing mattered but cats. I wanted to know all about -cats. I wanted, yes, I do believe I wanted to be like a cat. Some folks -believe we were all animals once before we were born as humans. An old -native of the jungle told me that. If that is true, then I was once a -cat. - -"But I got to thinking that perhaps humans counted more than the great -cats in the jungle. I didn't want to think that, not at first, but I -couldn't shake it off. When I went into the jungle to watch the cats I -saw in my mind those sick people coming, coming, coming. I didn't like -it; didn't want to see them. There was yet the great black cat. I must -find him somewhere in the jungle. I must see him. - -"One day I talked to the doctor about my thoughts, and he told me that -people counted for much more than big cats. He said he needed medicine, -supplies, new houses, everything, and since I could go to the jungle and -come back alive, perhaps I could help him. - -"'How?' I asked. - -"It was a terrible thing he said: 'Go into the jungle and get me tiger -cubs. Traders will pay big money for them.' - -"It was terrible. I could do it. There were three cubs. I could get them, -but-- - -"'But,' I said to the doctor, 'the big cats, the father and mother, must -first be killed.' - -"'Yes,' he smiled. And that was all he said. - -"I went into the jungle again that night and, as I watched the splendor -of the great cats, I said, 'No, I will never do it! Never! Never!' And -yet I was going to do that very thing. I was going to take a rifle with -me, and lie there in that wonderful moonlight to wait for them to come -back; sooner than I thought, too. - -"It was that night, for the first time, that the old tiger left his mate -and the three cubs while I watched them and went away to hunt by himself. -Then I was glad, for I always had wished to watch him as he hunted down -the blue deer, the buffalo, wild goat or wild pig. So I followed. -Creeping after him through the moonlight I lost him many times, for his -yellow stripes were like the moonbeams, and the dark ones like wavering -shadows. But I always found him again, as he rose to leap along some path -or across an open spot in the forest. - -"At last I knew that we were nearing the village. 'Ah!' I said to myself, -'so that is your game. You will pick a calf or a fat young pig for your -dinner. Perhaps you may not fare as well as that,' for I decided that I -must use my charm to drive him from the village if he went to rob there. - -"But, before I had expected it, he began to circle. By that I knew he had -scented some prey. Narrower and narrower his circle grew. Greater and -greater became my curiosity, for I wondered what kind of prey he could -find so near the village and yet not safe in its pen. - -"Finally I climbed upon the trunk of a dead tree, and then I saw. My -blood ran cold. Out of the village had wandered a child, a little girl of -four or five years. She had crept from her bed while others were asleep, -and there she was, the pale moonlight glistening from her body, and the -tiger not four springs away. Then it was that I saw, saw clear as midday -how it was; that all big cats were men's enemies, and were but to be -killed. - -"Yet, I could not kill. I had not as much as a knife. I could do but one -thing. I had my charm. I must stand between the beast and the child. - -"Three leaps brought me in his path. Then I turned and faced him. It was -a great and terrible moment. My charm; would it work? He was terribly -angry. Lashing his tail, he leaped to one side. But that was no good. I -had him. I was now beside the child, who was not one bit afraid. - -"That time the tiger almost dared. He leaped once. Two more leaps -remained. He leaped again. I could see the round, black pupils of his -eyes; count his teeth; hear him breathe. Three times they relaxed. He did -not dare. My charm; it worked. I had him. He did not dare. - -"At last he slunk away through the tall grass. Then, because the child -was not afraid, because I knew it would be the last time I should ever -watch the cats and their cubs, I took the child and followed the tiger -back to the lair, where all night long, beneath the moon, the tiger and -his mate with their cubs beat a hard, round path about me and the little -girl. - -"Just before sunrise I heard the distant beat of the tom tom, the -bellowing of bull buffaloes. Then it was that I knew that the natives -were driving the herd of buffaloes to the jungle that they might frighten -the tigers from their lair, and secure the remains of the child. And all -the time I had the child safe in my arms." - -Pant paused and looked away over the glimmering water. The tom, tom, tom -of the circus drum was sounding. The indistinct noises wafted on the -breeze might be the lowing buffaloes. Johnny, for the second, fancied -himself in the heart of the jungle with Pant, the child, and the tigers. - -"The next night," Pant's voice had grown suddenly husky, "I went to the -jungle again, and that morning I brought in the pelts of the tiger and -his mate. The kittens were chained to a tree. The natives brought them in -later. The hospital was bigger and better after that. And I, I was a -hero, a hero to them all, but not to myself." - -"But the black cat, the panther?" suggested Johnny after a moment of -silence. - -"Oh, yes, that was later. We have not time for it now. We move to-night. -We must hurry. Already the people are leaving." - -"One thing more before we go," said Johnny eagerly. "Light, Pant, does -light travel in straight lines?" He was thinking of the crimson flash -that had leaped apparently from mid-air in the tent the previous evening. - -"I am surprised that you ask it," Pant smiled. "You have been in Alaska?" - -"Yes." - -"Then, at Cape Prince of Wales you must have seen the midnight sun?" - -"Yes, in June." - -"If the sun's rays shone straight, you must have had then as many hours -of continuous darkness in December as you had of continuous daylight in -June. Did you?" - -"No," said Johnny. "We had three or four hours of sun every day, even in -December." - -"Then," said Pant, smiling, "the sun's rays must have been bent that they -might reach you. In fact, the rays of light never travel straight. So -long! I'll leave you now to think that over. See you at our next stand. -Hope I can tell you then who has your diamond ring." - -He vanished into the night, leaving Johnny to stare after him in wonder -and admiration. - -"Some day," Johnny said to himself, "I'll hear the story of the black -leopard." - - - - - CHAPTER XII - JOHNNY WINS DOUBLE PAY - - -Johnny had scarcely reached the cluster of tents that loomed large in the -darkness, when he was startled by a sudden wild burst of activity. Men -and boys rushed silently here and there; lanterns and searchlights -flashed from place to place. For a second he stood there paralyzed. What -was it, a fire or an approaching cyclone? - -Then he laughed. - -"We move to-night. Down go the tents." - -They did go down. Before his astonished eyes they disappeared as if by -magic. In all his life he had never seen anything that came near equaling -the team work displayed in the dropping of the big top and the loading of -the circus. - -In a marvelously short time they were on their way. Johnny, because of -his prospects of becoming a regular performer, had been assigned a berth -in a sleeping car. Pant, being merely a hanger-on, slept as he had on -many another night, beneath the stars, with only a bale of canvas for -covering. - -Johnny spent a half hour in thought before the even click, click of the -wheels lulled him to sleep. They were on their way, and he was glad. -To-morrow he would have his try-out. To-morrow, too, he would give Gwen -her second lesson in boxing. Should he ask her about the ring? To-morrow -they would be in one of those small cities in which Pant had said the -counterfeiters would reap their richest harvest. When would Pant find his -man? Would he, Johnny, have a part in it? He must not fail to fulfill his -promise to Pant; to get acquainted with the steam kettle cook and the -midget clown. - -The next morning Johnny kept his boxing appointment with Gwen. It was -after a half hour of strenuous work, while they were resting on a mat, -that she turned to him suddenly and said, in a low voice: - -"A strange thing happened last night." - -"What was that?" - -"I was awakened from my sleep. I had been dreaming of a fire, and I would -have sworn that it was a flash of red light that awakened me." - -"That's strange." Johnny's tone told nothing. - -"What is stranger still, two other girls were awakened in the same -manner." - -"You had upper berths?" - -"Yes." - -"There were glass ventilator windows above you?" - -"Yes." - -"Probably the light from a switch tower shining in." - -"It was too bright for that. It was so bright it was crimson. It was -like--it was like the crimson flash that fell on the tiger that other -night!" - -"That _was_ strange," Johnny smiled, but his smile told nothing. - -He was not surprised when, as he met Pant a half hour later, the strange -fellow said to him in a matter-of-fact tone: - -"It's the slim girl, the one that rides bareback, Millie, what is it they -call her?" - -"Millie Gonzales." - -"She's the one. She's got your ring." - -"I thought you might know," Johnny said quietly. - -Pant shot him a quick glance. "Somebody been talking?" - -"Not so you'd need be alarmed. But, say, now I know she's got it, how am -I to get it from her?" - -"That's up to you," retorted Pant. - -"It's strange," said Johnny a little later; "last night I dreamed that -the circus train was wrecked, all shot to smithereens! And the -animals--they were having the time of their lives, fighting each other -and eating folks up." - -"If that ever happens," Pant gripped his arm hard, "if it ever does, you -get that big black cat! Get the black cat! See? He's a bad one; a -man-eater. Got a record. A bad one. See?" - -Johnny nodded, and thought again of the story Pant was to tell him of -that same black cat and the jungles of India. But there was no time for -it now; the show would soon begin, and then would come the great event, -his try-out. - -It came. All too soon he found himself marching down the sawdust trail. -Dressed in his tightly fitting green suit, and closely followed by the -bear, he felt foolish enough. He was a trifle awed by the immense throng, -too. He had been in many a boxing match, but never one like this. In -those other matches he had had men for opponents, and mostly men as -spectators. Here it was far different. - -Anxious questions forced their way into his consciousness. How was the -boxing bout going? Would he be able to manage the bear, or would the -animal, goaded on by the shouts of the crowd, repeat the performance of -that other day, when he had run the Italian out of the tent? - -Cold perspiration stood out on Johnny's forehead, yet he did not falter. -Bracing himself for his ordeal, he bowed low to the audience, then turned -to put the bear through his preliminary antics. All went well; still, -through it all, Johnny's eyes strayed now and then to the boxing gloves. -So real was his fear of the outcome of the match, that at times it seemed -to him the gloves were alive and ready to leap from the floor into his -face. - -Yet, when the time came, the thing seemed as simple as child's play. The -bear performed his part perfectly. Johnny even risked a little extra -exhibition by entering into a clinch with the bear and cleverly -extricating himself. The great test came, however, when the bear, -appearing to grow angry, leaped squarely at him. Three times the great -beast did this, then with a sudden cry of seeming terror, Johnny darted -from the ring and, closely followed by the bear, raced away before the -packed throng of amazed and delighted spectators. When the bear paused, -threw his gloves and turned to leer at the audience, Johnny knew that he -had not only made good, but made good _big_. He had won his double pay. - -He was just rounding the outer entrance, with the applause of the crowd -dying away, when a small, shrill voice squeaked up to him: - -"You did fine. You're all right." - -Glancing down, Johnny had no difficulty in recognizing Tom Stick, the -midget clown. He cut a comical figure as he stood there. A mere child in -size, he was dressed in an African hunting suit and carried a shiny air -rifle. Not far away, a gigantic elephant stood complacently stuffing hay -into his mouth. - -Johnny looked first at the midget, then at the elephant. - -"We go on next," squeaked the little fellow, "Jo-Jo, that's the elephant, -and myself. I play I'm hunting wild elephants. See? Shoot him. See? Shoot -him with the air gun all around the tent. Real bullets, too! He doesn't -mind. Hide's tough. We always get a laugh; Jo-Jo and I do. Want to know -how we came to be friends, Jo-Jo and me?" - -Johnny nodded. - -"Well, you see, Jo-Jo was a French elephant. They didn't need him during -the war, so they sent him over to America, and sold him here. Well, Jo-Jo -knew French all right, but he didn't understand a word of English. He was -supposed to be one of the smartest elephants in the world over in France, -but over here he was so stupid they actually had to push him off the cars -when they unloaded him. Just plumb stupid. See? Got so they wished they -didn't have him at all. - -"Well, you know, I used to show in France once myself, so I knew a little -French, and one day, just for fun, I said to Jo-Jo: - -"'Bon jour, Jo-Jo. Comment alle vous!'" - -"Well, sir, that elephant nearly wiggled his old palm leaf ears off out -of pure joy. I knew right away what made it; it was hearin' someone speak -in his own language, so I just went right on spielin' French to him, and -he kept on gettin' happier and happier until at last I had to stop for -fear he'd break a blood vessel laughin'. - -"When the Boss knew about it, he gave Jo-Jo to me, and we've been mates -ever since. - -"We've got to be movin' up. Good-by, Mr. Bear Boxer. See you some other -time." - -Johnny watched the dwarf, as he walked behind the elephant and, turning a -corner, disappeared from sight. - -"So that's one of the fellows Pant suspects of being the forger, Black -McCree? Not the man, I'd say," he muttered. "And yet, you never can -tell." - -It was the next morning, while he was preparing for his daily bout with -Gwen, that Johnny received a shock of surprise which he did not soon -forget. - -A unique plan for creating a new laugh had occurred to him. He was -telling it to Gwen. - -"They don't have the clown assist you in your turn, do they?" He smiled, -as he laced her right glove. - -"No. How could they? I never saw a clown walk the tight wire." - -"Wouldn't need to; just pretend to." He stooped to pick up her left -glove. - -"How?" - -"Well, you see, they might have two or three small balloons just large -enough to lift him off the ground. They could have small ropes attached -to each of these. The attendants--the--the--" - -Johnny's eyes had seen something which made him stutter. On the plump -third finger of Gwen's left hand reposed _the_ ring, the diamond ring, -which had been the means of making him a circus performer. - -"I--I'll take it off for you." He drew the ring from her finger. - -"Thanks," she smiled at him. "Awfully stupid of me to wear it. There's a -handkerchief in the right hand pocket of my blouse. Just wrap it in that, -and put it in my pocket, please." - -For one brief second Johnny hesitated. Was this the moment of moments? -The ring which would clear his good name was within his grasp. Should he -say, "Gwen, this belongs to a friend of mine, not to you; I must take it -to her"? - -For an instant he looked into Gwen's frank blue eyes, then, without a -word, he drew the handkerchief from her pocket, wrapped the ring -carefully up, then thrust it deep down in the pocket of her blouse. - -"As I was about to say," he continued with forced composure, "they could -hold the balloons steady, while the clown tripped lightly along the wire. -Perhaps he might even attempt a clog. When he was in the midst of the -clog, the attendants could suddenly lose control of the balloons, letting -the clown go up to the top of the tent. He could then climb to earth head -first by doing a hand-over-hand on a rope fastened to a peg in the -ground. Don't you think that would bring a laugh?" - -Gwen's brow was wrinkled in thought for a moment. - -"Yes, I think it would," she said suddenly. "I think it would be a berry! -How'd you like to be the clown?" - -"I wasn't in aviation in the Army," smiled Johnny. - -"No, but really, would you?" - -"Why! Why! Yes, I might. It might be better than boxing the bear, and -since I've got to stick around, I might as well be a clown as anything." - -"Stick around?" she asked. "Why do you have to stick around?" - -For an instant the words were on the tip of Johnny's tongue which would -have told her the whole truth. But his lips would not frame the sentence. - -"Why, I--I," he stammered; "just my nature, I guess. Always did like the -circus." - -Johnny was not a great success as a boxer that morning. He was thinking -of the diamond ring, and wondering why he had not demanded the right to -keep it, once he had it in his grasp; wondering, too, how it happened -that Millie had it one day, and Gwen another. "Queer mixup," was his -mental comment. - -Late that night, after the show was over, when the lights were dim, -Johnny wandered into the animal tent. He was just passing the cage of the -black leopard when a low hiss halted him. Then he felt a grip on his arm. -It was Pant. - -"Sit down here in the dark, Johnny," he whispered. "I'll tell you the -story of that black beast. I can tell it better with his wicked red eyes -burning holes at me through the dark, just as they did once before, and -him a free black cat!" - -Johnny started as he stared at the cage where, on a narrow wooden shelf, -the leopard must be reposing. All he could see was a pair of red balls of -fire, and it seemed to him that in all his life he had never seen -anything so full of hate as was the red gleam that seemed fairly to shoot -out from them. - - - - - CHAPTER XIII - PANT'S STORY OF THE BLACK CAT - - -"Life's like this," Pant gripped Johnny's arm, as the two red balls in -the back of the dark cage shifted from side to side; "life's just like -this: When once you've done a thing, you want to do it again. That's why -we have to watch our habits, if we want our lives to count for something. -Lots of fellows don't watch them. I told you about killing the old tiger -and his mate, and bringing in the cubs to the doctor, so he could sell -them to the traders and buy supplies for his hospital. Well, once I had -done that, I wanted to do it again. I guess there was something of my old -desire to study cats in me yet, for I was overjoyed when I heard wild -stories about a giant black leopard that haunted the trail far up the -river. You see, the mountain streams were drying up, and the big cats -were being driven out of the mountain forests to the river jungles. - -"The stories they told about that big black cat made a fellow's blood run -cold. He was big as a tiger. He was a fierce man-eater. His fangs were -twice the size of a tiger's, and each one like a knife blade. He had been -seen to seize a full grown man, and before the man's companions could -fire upon him, to leap to the bough of a tree, ten feet from the ground, -the man in his jaws, too. The others had fled in terror. They never knew -what terrible fate had overtaken their companion until a few days later a -second party passing that way had found his bones strewn beneath that -tree. - -"Of course I laughed at their stories. A black cat do a thing like that? -Why, the one in the zoo back home was not three times the size of a house -cat, and he, the keeper had told me, was eight years old. - -"I did not believe their stories, but the natives believed them, and -would not stir up the river road; and none would come down it, either; so -those who were sick could not come to the hospital I had helped to make -better. This made me angry. - -"'I will go and kill that black cat,' I said to the doctor. 'I will have -his skin for a foot mat!' - -"He smiled in a friendly way, and bade me not be rash. The black leopard, -he told me, was much more to be feared than the tiger. Unlike the tiger, -he killed for the fun of killing. He climbed trees, and there on the dark -trunk, seeming but a part of the tree itself, he waited for his prey. In -the gloom of the forest, he dropped without a sound, and his attack was -most terrible. He was truly large, too, six feet in length from tip of -nose to base of tail. - -"I did not believe the doctor. Had I not seen a full grown black leopard -in the zoo? Was he not an insignificant fellow? And yet, I was a little -afraid, for I remembered that the black cat in the zoo had not been -afraid, when all the other great cats cringed in dark corners of their -cages. I was a little afraid, but I would not admit it. - -"'Just because you have told me he is terrible,' I said, 'I will take -along a strong cage. I will bring him to you alive. We will sell him to -the traders, and buy more beds for our hospital.' - -"Then the doctor begged me not to be foolhardy. But I would not listen. -With four natives to carry the cage, with a rifle in my hand, and a big -knife at my belt, I went--went far up the river trail. When the natives -would go no farther, I called them dirty cowards, and putting my rifle -inside the cage, dragged the cage after me until I had come to a place -where, in a deep forest, at the bend of the river, the black cat was said -to make his stand. - -"I was frightened a little, Johnny, when I saw the bleached bones of a -man lying beneath a great tree where mosses and vines hung thick, but I -reassured myself by saying the man had died there alone, and the jackals -had picked his bones. - -"'That's the origin of the wild story,' I told myself. 'Like as not there -is no black cat at all, and I shall go home disappointed.' - -"But I didn't, Johnny, I didn't." - -Johnny could feel Pant's hand grip his arm hard, as the black creature in -the cage stirred and gave forth a sort of hissing yawn. - -"You were never in the jungle at night?" Pant's tense, vibrant whisper -told more plainly than words that he was living over again those hours in -the jungle alone. - -"No," breathed Johnny. - -"It's wonderful, and terrible. The sun sinks from sight. Darkness comes -and then out shines the moon. And the moonlight! Nowhere else is it like -it is in the jungle. It creeps down among the masses of leaves, -transforming swinging, swaying limbs into gigantic, twisting serpents, -ready at any moment to swing down upon you. It turns every shadow-dotted -tree trunk into a beast ready to leap at your throat. It's weird, -fascinating, terrible. Down at the river some beast plunges into the -water. You hear the splash, then the swish, swish of his strokes. He is -coming to your bank, you are sure. You are afraid. Who would not be? - -"But me, I sat by my cage, with the rifle over one knee and watched. One -hour, two hours, three hours I watched, until at last all the twisting -branches, the spotted tree trunks were familiar to me. - -"And then, then he came; the black beast, the great black cat, he came." - -Pant paused. There came a hiss from the cage, as if the black cat, too, -was living those hours over again. - -"I saw him, Johnny, I saw him. I caught the wicked gleam of his two red -eyes." Pant gripped Johnny's arm until it hurt. "He was not thirty feet -from me. Flattened against a broad tree trunk, he was glaring at me out -of the dark. How he came so close without my seeing him, I cannot tell. -He was a devil. Perhaps he had been there all that time. Who knows? - -"Anyway, there he was. I cast my charm upon him. And I had him, Johnny, I -had him. With my rifle I could have shot him on the instant. But he had -me, too. He was so wonderful. I have told you about the wonder of the -tiger's coat. It is nothing to the coat of a black leopard in the jungle. -You have seen him. You know how immense he is; seven feet from tip of -nose to base of tail. You have seen him in his cage, but will never see -him as I saw him that night, a free beast in his own wilderness, and I a -stranger, an intruder. - -"But I thought I had him. I wanted to study him: to learn his secrets. I -planned how I would follow him day after day, and learn all his secrets. -I was mad, stark mad." - -Pant paused again as if for breath. The black beast moved nearer on his -shelf within the cage. The thrashing of his tail was like the dull beat -of a drum. - -"Just when I was thinking all this," Pant rose upon his knees in his -excitement, "just when I thought I had him, he gave one piercing scream -and leaped. My man, what a leap! He struck me all unprepared; struck me -with fangs and claws tearing at my flesh. Yet my right hand was free. It -was a tense, agonizing second. In some way I got out my knife and slashed -away with it. The next instant I lost consciousness." - -Pant paused again. Once more the leopard moved his length along the cage. - -"But, Johnny, here's the strangest part of all. I cannot explain it; only -know it's true. They say that sometimes, in moments of great shock, men -lose their personality and become another person; that when they come -back to themselves they have done things they know nothing of, yet others -have seen them do. It may have been like that with me. And then, a great -teacher in the heart of India once told me that there was a great spirit -of the forest who looked after brave hunters, and did things for them in -time of great danger which they could not do for themselves. It may have -been that, too. Whatever way it may have been, it was strange; so strange -that you would not believe me were I not your friend who always told you -the truth. - -"Listen, Johnny! When I came to myself I was weak, terribly weak from -loss of blood; but the cat, the big black cat, he was raging in the cage, -and the door was fastened tight." - -Pant paused. The animal tent was still. Suddenly a crimson flash gleamed. -For an instant it turned the black cat blood red. The next moment, with a -wild snarl, the beast flattened himself against the bars of his cage. - -A keeper sprang out of the darkness. - -"What's that?" he demanded. - -"What's what?" drawled Pant. - -"I thought I saw a flash." - -"He evidently thought something of the sort," Pant replied, poking his -thumb at the black cat. - -"Well, you guys better move on. This ain't no place for spinnin' yarns." - -"That's all right," drawled Pant, "but let me tell you, friend; if -anything ever happens to this circus, a fire, a cyclone, a train wreck, -or anything like that, you get that cat. Get that black cat!" - -"What d'you know about him?" - -"Plenty that I don't tell to strangers." - -Pant lifted the wall of the tent and stepped out into the moonlight, -followed by Johnny. - -"You didn't finish," suggested Johnny. - -"There's not much more to tell. You have to hand it to that doctor, -though. When I didn't come back in the morning, he tried to organize a -party to search for me. No one would go. They were scared cold by the -black cat. So he came alone. He found me there, too weak to move, and he -carried me all the way back and put me in a bed I'd helped him to buy. - -"The natives went for the black cat and brought him back to the village -in triumph. - -"When I was better a trader came to me and offered me the price of a -tiger's cub for the black cat. I laughed in his face, and told him I'd -take the cat to the States myself. That's what I did. I got five thousand -dollars for him, and sent it all back to the doctor so he could buy beds, -and absorbent cotton, and medicine for his hospital." - -"That was good of you," said Johnny. - -"Who's good?" demanded Pant. "Didn't he teach me sense when I didn't know -anything but cats? Didn't he carry me out of the jungle on his back when -no one else dared to go in?" - -For a time they were silent. Then, gripping Johnny's arm, Pant whispered: -"But, Johnny, we're after worse cats than the black one. We're after -human tigers. Tigers that destroy man's faith in man; that make life -little worth the living. And, Johnny, we're on their trail, close on -their trail. Perhaps to-morrow, perhaps the day after, you shall -see--well, you shall see what you shall see." - - - - - CHAPTER XIV - IN TOM STICK'S HOUSE - - -That same night, by the dull glow of a half burned out camp fire on the -bank of a river, Pant told Johnny of his plans as a Secret Service man on -a big case, and how they had worked out thus far. - -"You remember the crimson flash in the animal tent, and how it frightened -a lot of the colored boys into jumping their jobs?" he chuckled. "Well, -that helped me, helped me a lot; for you see some of the boys that quit -were working for this bunch of counterfeiters that has Black McCree as -its head. Some of the boys that were hired were already getting pay from -Uncle Sam for helping me. Some of them now are getting triple pay, once -from the circus, once from me and once from the counterfeiters. See how -it works?" - -Pant chuckled again. - -"These boys with the three pay checks have helped me a lot, but not -enough. They can't get back far enough. They know only the men who pass -the bonds on to them, and those men are just helpers like themselves. -They pass the goods on, but the real man is still back in the shadows; -too far back for me to see him. He's the man I want; the man and his -outfit; and let me tell you, Johnny, that's some outfit. There's never -been anything like it before. It's a danger. Where and when they operate -is more than I know. They could hardly do it in one of the tents. They -might do it in one of the cars, and it might be Tom, the midget clown, -doing it in his house on wheels." - -"I've talked with him," said Johnny quickly. "I don't believe he's in on -it." - -"Don't be too sure. Take no chances. If he's especially friendly, that -may mean that he is onto the fact that you're working with me and that -I'm after them. A bunch like that would stab you in the back in a -second." - -For a few minutes there was silence, then Pant continued: "We are making -some progress. We know about how much of the 'queer' they are peddling in -these towns, and take my word, it's a plenty. They are planting it thick. -We've got to get 'em, and get 'em quick. Have you talked with Andy -McQueen, the steam kettle cook, yet?" - -"No, not yet." - -"Do it to-morrow. He may be important. And Johnny," Pant leaned forward -with an impressive gesture, "Johnny, watch your step. You're in danger -every moment. They may know you're with me; probably do, and if they do, -they'll get you if they can. That's all. Goodnight." - -Rising, he stretched himself like a cat, then went slouching away into -the darkness. - -For a long time Johnny lay there on the sand dreamily gazing into the -fire. It was, indeed, a tangled web of mystery the unraveling of which he -had let himself in for, and one which, as Pant had suggested, might at -any moment suddenly break and let him down with an awful fall. - -There was the ring. Gwen had it that morning; Millie had it two days -before; perhaps Mitzi had it at this very moment. He was still surprised -at himself because of his action of that morning. Well, he must have that -ring. This, if for no other reason, must hold him to his surprising -circus career. He wondered if Gwen were serious about the clown stunt -and, if so, whether she would soon have it arranged. He thought again of -Pant's problem, and wondered for the hundredth time if he should have any -part in its solving. - -But the greatest mystery of all was the crimson flash. He had seen it -leap down from the air and turn the tiger, loose in the big tent, blood -red. He had seen it do the same thing in the animal tent. In his -suggestion regarding the direction of the sun's rays in the Arctic, Pant -had intimated that rays of light could be made to follow crooked paths. -If this could be done, if Pant held within his fertile brain the secret -of this terrible power, what a wonderful fellow he was! How it would -transform modern life, modern warfare! Trenches would be utterly useless -once a light might be thrown upon them from any angle. Many things that -were dark, secret and hidden in every day life would be clear as the -light of day. What dark corner, what secret rendezvous, would be safe -from the glare of those crooked rays of gleaming light? - -Johnny pondered until his head whirled, then, rising and shaking himself, -he made his way to the sleeping car in which he now bunked. The circus -would soon be on its way to the next small city. - -That next small city, if Johnny had but known it, was only ten miles from -the home of the grandparents of the millionaire twins. They had ridden -cross country for a visit to their grandparents. Along the roads they had -seen glaring posters announcing the coming of the circus. They had -decided at once that now was the time to join that circus. Their circus -riding clothes were in the trunk, which had been sent on by express. Even -as Johnny rose from beside the fire, the twins, in their beds at their -grandfather's rambling, old house, were planning how, on the morrow, they -would slip on their circus garb underneath their dresses, and ride away -to discover their old friend, Johnny, and join the parade. - -Morning broke bright and clear on the old fair grounds of Rokford, which -was the place of the great circus' next one day stand. When Johnny had -eaten breakfast, he strolled past the cooking tent and, having paused to -admire the row of shining copper steam kettles, he thought of his promise -to get in touch with the manager of these kettles. The cook was not in -sight at that moment, so Johnny paused to study these great vats, which -resembled nothing so much as giant kettle drums. - -"Just a twist of the valve and the steam does the rest," he murmured to -himself. - -"Great, ain't they?" a voice said at his elbow. - -"Sure are." Johnny turned about. It was the cook. A tall, slender man, -well past middle age, with a drooping mustache, and a wrinkled smile, he -studied Johnny from head to toe. - -"You're a boxer," he said, getting his smile into operation. "Saw you box -a conman once. Been wonderin' ever since how such a small fellow could -pack such a wallop." - -"I don't mind tellin' you," said Johnny. "It's absurdly simple. Instead -of just getting the force of your arm muscles into the blow, or the push -of your shoulder, you leap as you strike, and that puts the whole of your -body back of your mitt. That's easy, isn't it?" - -"I suppose it is, after you been doin' it a few thousand times; easy as -fryin' flapjacks." - -"How long have you been cooking with steam kettles?" asked Johnny. - -"Only five or six years. But I've been cookin' all my life. I was cook -for a surveying outfit when the Union Pacific was built. Boy! Those were -the days of real sport. Used to run out of fuel and everything." - -A humorous twinkle lurked about the man's eyes, as he lighted his pipe -and sat down on an upturned bucket. - -"I mind one time," he mused, "when we was plumb out of wood, and nothin' -but grass; prairie all 'round us. Just enough fire to make coffee; not -enough to fry flapjacks, and the nearest supply station thirty miles -away." - -"What did you do?" asked Johnny. - -"Well, sir," the cook removed his pipe and spat on the ground, "I said, -'Boys, there'll be flapjacks for breakfast just the same.' I mixed 'em up -as usual in a big tin bucket. I gave the bucket to one of the boys, and a -hunk of bacon rind to another, and told 'em all to follow me. I struck a -match and set the prairie grass on fire; then I held my fryin' pan over -it until it was hot. I baked the first flapjack and tossed it out of the -pan over my shoulder. Some fellow caught and ate it. I did another and -another the same way, and kept that up until every fellow in the bunch -was satisfied." - -Johnny smiled. The cook smiled, spat on the ground, then concluded his -story. "When we got through breakfast we were ten miles from camp. -Prairie fire travels. So did we." - -Johnny laughed; then he thought and laughed again. After a time he rose -and went on his way. - -"That's another fellow," he told himself, "that I'd never suspect of -being a crook, but what's that about people who 'smile and smile and are -a villain still'? A fellow has to watch out." - -He was just thinking of this when a shrill voice piped: - -"Hello, Johnny! Want to see my house?" - -It was Tom Stick, the midget clown. He was offering Johnny a rare -privilege; inviting him to view the inside of his house on wheels. Pant -had told Johnny that such a boon had been granted to no one. Yet, because -it was so rare, and because of Pant's warning, "They'll stab you in the -back," he was tempted for a second to decline. - -Courage and curiosity overcame his fears, and smiling he said: - -"Sure! Lead the way." - -The clown's house was little more than a box on wheels, but once Johnny -had crowded himself through the narrow door and seated himself, much -humped up, on a miniature chair, he was surprised at the completeness of -its furnishings. He could easily imagine himself in a hunter's lodge in -the depths of the forest. An open fireplace, with a real wood fire -burning, a roughly hewn table, benches beside the fireplace, a cluster of -fox skins hanging in the corner, a bear skin on the floor, rifles hanging -on one wall; all these, with the unmistakable odor of fresh pine wood, -went far toward taking him back to the forests. - -"You see," squeaked Tom Stick, rubbing his hands in delight at Johnny's -astonishment, "I was born and brought up in the Maine woods. I loved the -wild out-of-doors, and when the circus people offered me big money to -join them, I told them no. But my mother needed the money, so, at last, I -told them if they'd build me this house, and never disturb me in it, I'd -come. You see they did. I've never had any of the other circus people in -here. Didn't think they'd understand. They've always lived in a tent. -They'd laugh at a fellow who wanted a home with four board walls, a -ceiling, and a smell of the pine woods in it. But I knew you wouldn't. -You've had a home, and you know the woods. Tell that by the color in your -cheeks, and the way you swing your arms when you walk." - -For a moment the dwarf was silent, then suddenly he shot a question at -his visitor. - -"Johnny, what do you live for?" - -"Why, why, I don't know," Johnny stammered. "Just live because it's fun -to live, I suppose." - -The midget wrinkled his small brow in thought. - -"Not so bad," he murmured. "Not so bad. But Johnny; did you ever wonder -what a little fellow like me lives for?" - -"No, I didn't," Johnny admitted. - -"Well, there's a lot of things we can't do that big folks can; but -there's one thing, Johnny, one thing," Tom's tone died to a whisper; "a -short man can have a tall bank account. He can, can't he, Johnny?" The -little fellow twisted his face into a knowing smile. - -"I guess he can," grinned Johnny, "and it's a fine thing that he can." - -Johnny had stepped over and was examining an ancient squirrel rifle, -which Tom explained had belonged to his grandfather, when he noticed the -way the walls of the house were fastened. The walls were made of fresh -pine slabs. They were wired tight to something behind them. "Iron bars," -was his mental comment. "When they made this they just built it inside a -wild animal cage. I wonder what would happen if a fellow were to get -locked in here?" - -He was speculating on this, when he heard a voice outside calling. - -"Johnny, Johnny Thompson!" It was Gwen. - -He answered the call and, turning to his little host, said: "Guess I -better go. Some work, I suppose. Great little house, you've got. Much -obliged for letting me see it." - -He backed out of the door and hurried away to join Gwen, but even as he -did so, he thought of the midget clown's reference to a tall bank -account, and of his house built inside a cage. What if this little fellow -was a miser? What if his greed for gold had led him into counterfeiting? -What if he were Black McCree? What safer place could be found for hiding -a counterfeiter's den than a house built inside a cage on wheels? - -All these speculations were cut short by the appearance of the smiling -face of his lady boxing partner, Gwen. - -"It's the clown stunt," she exclaimed excitedly. "The big chief fell for -it right away. He hurried a messenger off to Chicago for the balloons. -They're already here, and they've tried them out with a dummy and they -worked beautifully. They want you to try it right away." - -"This dummy," smiled Johnny, "he didn't fall and break his neck, did he?" - -"No, of course not, Silly!" - -"Well, here's hoping I don't, but it's a powerful long distance from the -top of the center tent pole down to the sawdust." - - - - - CHAPTER XV - BURSTING BALLOONS - - -The big top had never been more crowded than it was the night of Johnny's -first performance as a clown. And never, in the memory of the oldest -circus man, had there been a jollier throng. Never had there been an act -more thoroughly appreciated than that of Gwen, the Queen, and Johnny, the -fat clown. - -Johnny had been dressed in inflated rubber clothing until he appeared as -fat as a butcher. When, by the aid of the balloons, he rose to the tight -wire, when he tripped lightly along it, and returned cakewalking, the -spectators howled their approval. But when in apparent consternation, he -lost his step and instead of plunging downward, leaped upward with the -sudden lift of the balloons, they rose to their feet and roared their -delight. - -Silently, calmly, he rose toward the tent top. There was nothing calm -about the feelings that surged in Johnny's breast, however. He had never -been in aviation, and never would be. Going up in the air made him feel -sick. Had it not been for Gwen, he would have refused to attempt this -stunt. - -"Oh, well!" he sighed, "here's the top; now I can grab the rope and come -down. Rope's more certain than these balloons." - -Hardly had the thought passed through his brain than there came a loud -report. So close it was that it hurt his ear drums. It was followed -almost instantly by a second explosion. - -"The balloons," Johnny groaned. "They're bursting!" - -For a second his head whirled. To drop from those dizzy heights meant -death. Then his mind cleared. The rope was to his right. Already he was -beginning to shoot downward. Could he reach it? With one wild leap in -mid-air, he thrust out a hand. He grasped the rope with his left, then -lost his hold. With his right, he secured a firmer grip. At that same -instant the last balloon burst. For one sickening moment, he clung there, -swinging backward and forward, madly groping for the rope with his free -hand. At last, he found it, and, with a sigh of relief, began sliding -down the rope. - -The crowd was standing up cheering. The band was playing. Even the -performers thought it part of the act. - -For a minute or two after he had reached the ground, Johnny rested on a -mat. As he rose to go he noticed something lying in the sawdust. -Carelessly he picked it up, examined it, then gave a low whistle. It was -an arrow-like affair. The shaft was of steel wire, the head of wood. The -head had been discolored, part yellow and part dark brown. - -"Sulphur!" he murmured. "Dipped in burning sulphur, then shot at my -balloons! No wonder they exploded. Now, who played that dirty trick?" - -He examined the thing carefully. "Couldn't have been shot from a bow, no -groove for the bow string. Now I wonder. An air rifle, that's what it -was." - -Quickly there flashed before his mind a picture of a midget clown chasing -a huge elephant around the ring. The clown was dressed in equatorial -hunting garb and carried an air rifle. - -"Tom Stick!" Johnny murmured. "Tom Stick and his air rifle! I wouldn't -have thought he'd do it." - -Slowly he walked back through the alleyway that led to the dressing room. - -He had discarded his clown suit and had walked out into the open air, -when a shrill young voice called his name: - -"Johnny, Johnny Thompson." - -Whirling about, he found himself facing the millionaire twins. They were -riding astride their ponies, and were dressed as if ready for their turn -in the ring. - -"Wha--where'd you come from, and who let you in?" he gasped. - -"We came from our grandfather's to join the circus," piped Marjory. - -"Yes, and to think," Margaret fairly wailed, "we got here too late for -the parade!" - -Johnny looked at them for a moment, then laughed a good natured laugh. - -"Got let down, didn't you?" he smiled. "Well, so did I a minute ago, -mighty sudden, too. But perhaps we can get you into a part yet, since -this is positively your first and last appearance." - -"Oh, no, Johnny," exclaimed Marjory, "not the last! We've come to stay as -long as you do." - -"Then I don't stay long," laughed Johnny. "Circus is no place for -millionaire twins. You wait right here. I'll be back." - -By dint of much persuading, Johnny succeeded in getting the twins a place -on the program. At the end of the races came a pony race. The ponies were -ridden by monkeys. It was arranged that the two little girls, on their -own ponies, were to race the monkeys on their circus mounts. - -It was a wilder and more genuine race than is usually pulled off in the -circus, for the twins were dead in earnest about winning it, and so were -the monkeys. The monkeys and their ponies had played at racing so long, -however, they were not able to get seriously down to business. When the -twins were riding neck and neck, three lengths ahead of their nearest -rivals, they delighted the throng by leaping upon their feet and riding -in this manner around the last sweeping circle and out of sight. - -"That's fine," exclaimed the manager, rubbing his hands. "Who are they, -friends of yours? Can we book 'em for the rest of the season?" He was -speaking to Johnny. - -"Can't book them for another show," groaned Johnny. "And I'll get skinned -alive for letting them in on this one. They're the daughters of Major -MacDonald, the steel magnate. Ran away from their grandfather's, and they -go back to-night." - -The manager whistled. "Too bad to spoil perfectly good circus girls to -make society belles," he smiled. "But seein' that's who they are, I guess -it can't be helped." - -"Oow-wee! That was grand!" exclaimed Marjory, who now came up with her -sister. "Did we make good. Can we stay?" - -"You made good, but you can't stay," smiled Johnny. "What do you suppose -your grandparents are thinking of about now?" - -"Oh, they won't know about it at all. We are supposed to be over here -with friends who live down on Pine street. That's how they let us come at -all. These friends are real old folks and don't go to circuses. When we -got here, we called them up as if we were at home and told them we -couldn't come; so you see it's all right. And, Johnny, if we can't stay -and be circus folks, we can stay just one night, can't we, and have a -real ride in a circus train?" - -Johnny looked at the manager. - -"Sure," grinned the good natured boss of the circus. "We'll put you in -the care of Ma Kelly, the circus girls' matron, and you'll be safe as a -bean in a bowl of soup." - -"How far do we move?" asked Johnny, a bit anxiously. - -"Only forty miles, and that leaves us less than thirty miles from their -grandfather's place. They can make it back all right." - -"I'll borrow one of the rough riders' ponies, and hoof it back with -them," said Johnny. "But remember," he turned to the twins, "remember, -this is the last. To-morrow morning you turn your faces toward home. And -by thunder! I wish I could go along to stay!" - -"Why? Why can't you?" cried Marjory. "We want you to. Indeed, we do." - -"I can't tell you now. Maybe some time. You stay right here. I'll send Ma -Kelly around. Then I've got to go box the bear." - -Johnny rushed away, and that was the last they saw of him for some time. - - - - - CHAPTER XVI - THE WRECK OF THE CIRCUS - - -That night, as Johnny listened to the chant of the negroes as they went -about their tasks of breaking camp and loading, he fancied that there was -a weird and restless tone to it, foretelling some catastrophe brooding -over all. - -The night was dark, with black, rainless clouds hurrying across the sky. -Johnny shivered as he walked toward his sleeping car. His hand was on the -rail when someone touched his arm. It was Pant. - -"Johnny," he whispered, "how'd you like to ride with me in the gondola -to-night?" - -"Oh, all right," Johnny answered, a note of impatience in his voice. - -"If it's going to be a bother, don't come." - -"I'll come along." - -"Thought you might like to be in on something big." - -"I've been in on something big twice to-day. The first came near to being -my funeral, and the second will be, if I don't get those twins back to -their grandfather's pretty quick." - -Johnny told Pant of the day's experiences, as they made their way back to -a tent car. - -"Oh, you'll come out all right with the twins," said Pant. "I only hope -we don't get into things that'll muss us up to-night, but we'll go -careful." - -"Of course," he whispered, as they settled down among the piles of -canvas, "it's that Liberty bond business. I've been scouting 'round in -the towns we've been in, and the way they've been spreading the 'queer' -about is nothing short of a super-crime. - -"I've been running up a blind trail for a long time. Thought I had -something on that conman with the ragged ear and two of his pals. I -followed them down to the river in Chicago twice, and the second time -came near catching them; would have, too, if it hadn't been for a rat -that tried to eat my hand off. I got 'em the other night--outfit and -everything, and it turned out to be only a mimeograph kit for making fake -telegrams, announcing results of races, baseball games, and the like. I -was sore when I found it was nothing; might have been a blind, at that. -But I had to start all over again, and last night when we were on the -way, I made a mighty important discovery. There was a light in the rear -end of one of the horse cars most of the night. That's as far as I got. -It was moonlight. They might see me if I came spying around. Besides, I -wanted someone else along; someone with a strong arm. Didn't want to get -pitched off the train just when I had my hand on the trick. Of course, it -may be just an all night crap game, but I don't think so. Anyway, we'll -see. We'll let them get under way, then when we're clipping it up at a -lively rate, and the moon's under, we'll have a look." - -Pant fell silent, apparently lost in his intricate problem. Johnny -yawned. - -A quarter of an hour later Johnny was just dropping off into a doze, when -Pant gripped his arm and whispered: - -"C'mon. Let's go!" - -Having climbed over two gondolas and the top of a one-time express car, -they dropped cat-like from the roof of the express car to the platform of -a second express car. - -Here they stood silent, listening for fully two minutes. At first -everything appeared dark, but presently Johnny caught a faint gleam of -light that apparently came through a crack in a lower panel of the -express car door. - -"What'll we do if they come out at us. It's a rotten place," he -whispered. Just then the car gave a lurch which almost threw him from the -narrow platform. - -"Duck and jump." - -"Mighty risky." - -"Only chance. Too many of 'em. Probably guns and everything." - -"All right. Get busy." - -Pant dropped on his knee and, bracing himself to avoid being thrown -against the door by a sudden lurch, peered through the crack. - -What he saw drew forth a whispered exclamation: - -"It's the real gang!" - -For some time all was silent. Johnny's heart was doing time and a half. -What if they were forced to stand and fight or jump? He shivered as he -tried to make out the embankment through the darkness. They were racing -down grade. - -"We've got 'em! It's the gang!" Pant whispered again. "Look!" - -He rose and stepped aside. With muscles set for action, Johnny dropped on -his knees, and, shutting one eye, peered through the narrow opening. - -What he saw astonished him. In a brilliantly lighted room, the width of -the car, and some ten feet deep, four men were working rapidly, and -apparently with great skill. What surprised him most of all was that all -four men wore heavily smoked glasses, such as Pant himself wore. He saw -at a glance that neither the steam kettle cook nor the midget clown was -with them. He was glad the cook was not there. His feeling regarding the -midget, after the events of the previous day, was not unmixed. - -The things the men were doing interested him immensely. Two of them -appeared to be putting little squares of paper through a wash, such as a -photographer uses. A third was drying them before a motor-driven, -superheated electric fan. The fourth was stamping them in a small press. -Each time he stamped one, he appeared to change the type. - -Presently, the two who were handling the baths appeared to come to the -end of their tasks. Hardly had they spoken a word to their companions -than each man stepped to a corner, and, turning his back from the center -of the room, stood there motionless. - -"Wha--" Johnny's lips formed the word. There was not time to finish. The -next instant he dropped limply back upon the platform, as if he had been -shot. - -"What is it, Johnny?" Pant whispered in alarm. Johnny's hands covered his -face. - -"The flash! My eyes! They're blind!" - -Pant pushed him roughly to one side. - -"Let's see." - -Johnny slid back to the other car platform. Still dazed by the sudden -flood of light that had struck his eye, but fast recovering, he watched -Pant with interest, not unmingled with awe. By the sudden spurts of light -that shot through the crack, he knew that the flashes were being -continued, yet Pant did not remove his eye. He still crouched there -before the crack. Gazing intently within, he uttered now and then a -stifled "Ah!" and "Oh!" at the marvels which he was viewing. - -Finally he dropped back to a seat beside Johnny. - -"Eyes all right now?" he asked. - -"Sure. What was it?" queried Johnny, forgetting his aching eyes. - -"Color photography." - -"Color photography?" - -"Sure. One of the great inventions of the age, and they are using it for -making counterfeit bonds!" - -Johnny was silent. - -"You see," whispered Pant, "great inventors have been experimenting with -color photography for years. They got so they could do color work on -negatives--that is, the photographic plate--very well. They have used -these for the purpose of photographing the stages of certain diseases, -and a few things like that; but when it came to getting the color on the -positive--the picture itself--that could not be done. These fellows _can -do it_, and are doing it. The bonds are printed in brown and black. They -catch these colors perfectly, only in a little paler hue. Their paper is -nearly perfect, but whatever defects it has are counteracted by this -color photography which reproduces the very tints of the paper." - -For some time they sat there in silence. - -"Now that we know their game," whispered Pant at last, "how are we going -to get them? One of the fellows is a ticket seller. He sold Snowball some -bonds when we were in Chicago. I might have known he was in it. Another -is a guard at the entrance of the big top." - -"Sold me some bonds once." - -"That's right. The other two I don't know. Let's have another look." - -Pant had just put his eyes to the crack; Johnny was standing behind him, -when there ran through the train a sickening shiver. The next instant -there followed a deafening crash, as car jammed upon car, and, leaping -high upon one another, left the track. - -It was a wreck--such a wreck as is seldom witnessed--the wreck of a -circus train; a head-end collision with a bob-tailed freight running like -mad. - -At the moment previous to the first shock of the wreck, Gwen might have -been seen sitting in her own compartment talking earnestly with the -millionaire twins. None of the three had yet undressed for retiring. The -things the twins were telling Gwen had much to do with Johnny Thompson, -and appeared to interest her very much, for now and then there came an -amused, and again a surprised, twinkle in her eye. At one time, a close -observer might have seen her slip a ring from her finger, a ring that had -been covered by the folds of her dress. The ring she crowded deep into -the pocket of her blouse beneath her handkerchief. - -When the wreck occurred, the car they were in, a staunch steel affair, -leaped high in air, then wholly uninjured, left the track to topple over -on one side and lay there quite still. - -Gwen had been shaken from her seat and jammed beneath the one before her. -The twins, gripping the sides, held on as if riding a fractious broncho, -and were not shaken loose. - -"Oh!" cried Marjory, as the car settled to rest, "Johnny Thompson and our -ponies! We must find them. They may be killed." - -The pair of them, sliding from their seats, had crawled through a window, -and were away before Gwen could sufficiently recover her breath to call -them back. She wrung her hands in real distress. - -"They'll be killed!" she cried frantically. "Half the lions and tigers in -the circus must be loose!" - -Then she scrambled out of the car to find Johnny Thompson. He would know -what to do! - - - - - CHAPTER XVII - "GET THAT BLACK CAT" - - -At the first shock of the wreck, Johnny Thompson and Pant were thrown -with such violence against the express car door that the lock was sprung, -and they were pitched head foremost among the surprised and -panic-stricken counterfeiters. - -Pant was the first to regain his wits. The car, like many others, had -careened to one side and lay there motionless. The instruments in the -room had been tossed about. Everyone was splashed with a stinging fluid -which came from the vats. The peculiar instrument which had occupied the -center of the room, and was undoubtedly the color-photo camera, an -instrument of priceless value, had apparently sustained little injury. -Pant seized upon this and was about to dash through the door with it, -when the large man with the black moustache wrenched it from his grasp, -and, poising it for an instant in his right hand, hurled it at Pant's -head. Leaping to one side, Pant barely escaped the blow. There was a -crash, followed by the tinkle of glass and metal instruments. - -The next moment the big man shot suddenly upward and fell back with a -groan. Johnny's good right hand had got him under the chin. Two of the -men leaped from the door and fled. The one remaining sprang at Pant, but -was at once borne down by Johnny. - -"Tear some of those wires from the wall," panted Johnny. "We'll tie them -and drag them out." - -The fat man, who was completely within their power, was soon tied, then -carried out of the car to the embankment. - -"Now for the other," puffed Johnny. - -They dodged back into the car. To their astonishment, they found that the -other man had escaped. - -"Gone!" muttered Pant. - -"Faked unconsciousness." - -"And he was the prize bird of them all." - -"Too bad!" - -Suddenly Pant appeared to remember something. - -"Johnny," he whispered in a tense whisper, "Johnny, get that black cat!" - -Catching his breath, Johnny sprang from the car. - -"Wait," whispered Pant. From his pocket he had drawn a tiny vial. - -"That," he whispered, "may help you. It's what they call cat-lick in -India. An old Hindu gave it to me after I had captured the big black cat. -He said it was like catnip to the cat. When a tiger or leopard smelled -it, if he could get near the spot where a drop had been spilled he forgot -his savageness, and laid down to roll in it. I'm not sure. It sounds -queer. Try it if you must." - -"You got some?" - -"Sure." - -"I'll go up track; you go down." - -"Right! And Johnny," Pant repeated, "get the black cat!" - -Johnny had scarcely turned from the car when he almost ran into somebody. - -"Gwen!" he exclaimed in surprise. "What you doing out here? Don't you -know half the beasts are loose? Listen to that?" - -The long drawn out roar of a lion sounded above the wail of darkies, the -neighing of ponies, and the trumpeting of bull elephants. - -"I know, Johnny, but Johnny, nothing half so terrible could ever have -been dreamed of!" - -"The wreck? I know. Some people are almost sure to have been killed." - -"But the twins?" - -"Where are they?" - -"I don't know. They were in the car with me when the shock came. They -were telling me about--all about you. They got away while I was freeing -myself from the seats. Went to find you and their ponies. Oh, Johnny, we -must find them quick!" - -"Yes," Johnny answered, "but watch out for the black cat, the leopard. -He's a man-eater from the jungle." - -"Oh!" she exclaimed. "And I saw him not a minute ago. He's loose from his -cage. He was crouching in the corner of the wreck. I caught the gleam of -his eyes." - -"Where?" - -"Back there." - -Johnny started forward. - -"Johnny, you won't go?" - -"I must." - -"You'll be killed." - -"I've got to get him first." He drew an automatic from his pocket. Then -he walked steadily forward, his keen eyes studying every dark corner of -the wreck. - -Down the train lengths lights were flashing. The keepers were searching -out the cages, striving to retain those animals which had not yet -escaped, and to locate those that were free. The wooden cars of an -ancient design which carried the animals had been torn and crushed, piled -upon one another, until the wreck at this point resembled a kindling -pile. Here one heard the splintering of boards, as some beast attempted -to free himself, and here the crash of torn-up planks told that some -loyal elephant strove to free his mate. The whole scene was one of wild -confusion. Wildest, most terrifying of all, came the occasional challenge -of a great cat of the jungle, now free to do the bidding of his own wild -will. - - * * * * * * * * - -Hardly had Gwen turned, after Johnny had hurried away, than she uttered a -cry of dismay. Creeping toward her, his wild eyes gleaming, was a gaunt, -yellow tiger. For a second she was paralyzed with fear. And in that -second the cat made progress--now he was ten yards away, now eight, now -five. - -What should she do? To turn, to attempt to flee seemed futile. A tiger -could run much faster than she. He might leap as she turned. Her heart -stood still. Cold perspiration came out upon her brow. - -Just when hope seemed gone a strange thing happened; a thing which had -happened once before under very different circumstances; a crimson flash -leaped out from the darkness and played upon the tawny coat of the tiger. -Blinded, terrified, the beast shrank back, yet the light still played -full upon him. Leaping and flaring like the light of a fire, it held the -animal at bay until the keepers came with chains and led him away. - - * * * * * * * * - -When the twins jumped out of the car window to go in search of Johnny -Thompson and their ponies, they stumbled down the embankment to climb -laboriously up again, and make their way tripping and falling around -wrecked cars, from which came weird, wild sounds of animals fighting for -freedom. - -Suddenly from beneath Marjory's feet there sounded a queer chatter. Then -something clawed at her legs. With a wild scream, she shook it from her. -It was a monkey that had escaped from his broken cage. Others could be -heard chattering to the right of them. Leaping forward they were startled -by a great bulk that loomed unexpectedly before them in the dark. - -"An elephant!" screamed Margaret. - -For a minute they hesitated; the next, they leaped to one side and, -having passed the elephant, continued on down the track. Always to the -left of them there loomed the overturned cars. All at once, from beneath -the wheels of one of these there came a piercing scream. At the same -instant they caught the gleam of two red balls of fire glaring at them -out of the blackness. Some fierce, wild creature was lurking there. And -he moved. Stealthily he made his way toward them. Now he was away from -the cars. A black spot, he glided forward, his glaring eyes seeming to -grow larger and larger as he advanced. - -Seized with a sudden paralysis of fear, the twins stood rooted in their -tracks. - - * * * * * * * * - -With a little gasp Gwen sank upon the ground. She looked in vain for the -crimson flash. It was gone. And now, for the first time she realized that -she did not know the direction whence it had come. - -After leaving Gwen, Johnny Thompson made his way cautiously along the -uneven embankment. Now his eye caught a gleam that appeared to come from -the great cat's eyes. It proved but the reflection of some polished -object. Again he heard a rattle among splintered boards, only to find a -colored roustabout climbing from the pile of broken lumber under which he -had been buried. Johnny was just beginning to believe that he had missed -both the black beast and the twins when something leaped at him out of -the darkness. - -It took him but a second to realize that this was not a wild beast, but a -man; the king of the counterfeiters. - -Taken by surprise, he went down with the man upon his back. At the same -instant he caught the gleam of a knife in the outlaw's hand. There could -be not one shadow of doubt that he meant murder. - -A terrible struggle followed. The man, fully fifty pounds heavier than -Johnny, was at the same time agile and strong. Now the knife was poised -in air, only to be dashed to the ground. Now Johnny secured a -half-nelson. Now his hold was broken. And now Johnny was thrown to earth -with such force as to render him half unconscious. Struggling against a -terrible dizziness, he fought but feebly. The end seemed to have come. - -But, at that moment, there came a shrill voice: - -"I'm here, Johnny Thompson! I'm here!" - -One moment the knife poised above his chest; the next a diminutive figure -attached itself to the arm that held the knife and sent it whirling to -one side. - -"Tom Stick, the midget clown!" gasped Johnny, renewing his struggle for -freedom. - -Dimly in the half light, he saw what followed. Turning all his attention -to this new enemy, the counterfeiter appeared to seize the dwarf by the -heels and dash him with terrible force against the ground. - -Then, almost instantly, a great, brown bulk lumbered in out of the -blackness, and at that instant, with a gurgling cry, the counterfeiter -appeared to rise in air to be sent crashing again and again against the -side of the embankment. - -"Jo-Jo, the French elephant, Tom Stick's friend!" cried Johnny, leaping -to his feet to bend over the prostrate form of his little defender. - -Two attendants came hurrying up. - -"It's Tom Stick," explained Johnny. "That other fellow's dead. The big -bull elephant killed him. And right it was. He deserved it. Look after -Tom. I've got to find the twins and the black cat." - -Once more, after recovering his automatic, which had been thrown from him -in the first assault of the counterfeiter, he leaped away into the dark. - -He was not a moment too soon, for as he dropped down from a pile of -tumbled bales of canvas he came face to face with the twins. They were -standing wild-eyed, transfixed. Not ten yards away and within leaping -distance, his tail lashing, his white fangs gleaming, was the great black -cat. - -With uncommon coolness Johnny grasped his automatic and, taking careful -aim at the spot between the creature's fiery eyes, grasped the handle -tight. There came a metallic click, but no report. The gun had -jammed--was utterly useless. With a cry of consternation, Johnny dropped -the gun and reached for his clasp knife. Thus poorly armed, he was about -to rush at the man-eater, when there came the sudden glare of red light -as it played upon the great cat. - -"The crimson flash! Thank God!" he murmured. - -But the next instant he remembered the words of Pant, when he had told of -his jungle experience: "He did not fear my charm; he leaped!" - -What now would be the outcome? It was a time of terrible suspense. -Johnny's breath came in little gasps. One of the twins had dropped to the -ground. - -There was not long to wait. Whirling, the cat leaped away to the right. -Then, for the first time, Johnny saw that the crimson flash came directly -from a dark bulk, a clump of bushes close to the track. There had been no -time for tricks, Pant had flashed it direct, and he was there now. The -great cat would be upon him in another minute. - -Even as he sprang after the cat, Johnny thought for the first time of the -magic perfume, the cat-lick Pant had given him. Drawing this from his -pocket, he uncorked it as he ran. He was not a second too soon. Already -the beast's fangs were at Pant's throat. - -With mad hope beating at his heart, Johnny dashed a few drops of the -precious perfume at the beast's head. - -Prepared as he was for miracles, he was astounded at the result. The wild -beast became at once a mere house kitten rolling upon the ground. Over -and over he tumbled, while Pant, limping painfully, crept away. - -Throwing a glance about him, Johnny saw Tom Stick's house to the right of -him, and remembered how it had been built around a cage. - -"Door's still on the hinges and open," he muttered. "If I only can!" - -Six steps he took, and with each step, spilled a drop of the precious -fluid. Then, with a breathless leap, he was inside the dwarf's house. -Dashing the vial against the wall, he caught his breath at the thought -that the cat might trap him here; then with a wilder leap than before, he -cleared the door and breathed the outer air. - -He was not a second too soon. Hot on the trail of that burst of perfume, -the cat flashed past him and into the house that was a cage. - -Johnny banged the door shut and barred it, then sank down upon the ground -for a quiet breath. - -Soon he rose and, making his way to the bushes, examined the spot where -the black cat had pinned Pant to the ground. - -As he flashed a light about, he uttered a low exclamation, and stooping, -picked up the bent and lenseless ruins of Pant's glasses. He dropped -these a second later to gather up a mass of fine wires and strangely -tangled tubes and peculiar instruments. These he crammed into his jacket -pocket, and, having cast one more glance about him, hastened away to find -the twins. - - - - - CHAPTER XVIII - HOW JOHNNY GOT THE RING - - -The first red streaks of dawn were appearing as Johnny sat down on the -beam of a railroad bridge a quarter of a mile from the wreck. - -It had been a strange, wild night. Many startling things had happened; -many mysteries had been solved. Now that these mysteries were uncovered -he had come down here to think. - -Tom Stick was not one of the counterfeiters; he knew that now. Neither -was the steam kettle cook, nor the conman with the ragged ear. The real -culprits had attempted to cast the guilt upon them, that was all. The -arch criminal, Black McCree, was dead. Jo-Jo, the elephant, had thrashed -the life out of him when McCree had attempted to murder his master, the -midget clown. The fat accomplice of Black McCree had confessed that his -partner was that notorious criminal. He had denied having any knowledge -of the working of that strange color-photo camera. Black McCree had -chosen to take that secret with him to the other world. Pant had turned -the whole matter over to two of his assistants and had disappeared. That -the remains of the camera could be pieced together was doubtful. - -In the struggle with Black McCree, Tom Stick had been beaten into -unconsciousness, and had suffered severe bruises, but would be back at -his work in two or three weeks. - -The twins had been taken to a near-by farm house, where they were safe -for the night. Fortunately, their ponies had come out of the wreck -uninjured. In an hour or two Johnny would accompany them to their -grandparents' home. Should he return to the circus? He doubted it. The -mystery of the whereabouts of the diamond ring was yet unsolved. Gwen had -had it. So had Millie. He half blamed himself for not demanding the right -to keep it when it was in his own hand. But Gwen was such a good sport. -He had hoped a more appropriate time might come. Now he believed he would -go to his former employer and make the best of an unbelievable story. He -made a wry face at thought of it. - -But Pant? He had disappeared again. Johnny had not seen him after the -fight with the black cat. Mother Kelly had dressed his wounds, which were -slight, and he had vanished. - -At thought of Pant, Johnny dug into his pocket and drew forth the mass of -wires, tubes and instruments which he had picked up on the spot where the -cat had attacked Pant. - -He toyed with this mass musingly. He thought it had dropped from Pant's -pocket. "Some part of the counterfeiters' equipment," was his mental -comment. Twisting the wires about, he turned a thumb-screw here, pushed a -tiny lever there, pressed a bulb--when, of a sudden, his eyes were struck -by a blinding flash of blood red light. - -His unnerved fingers released the mass of wires, tubes and instruments, -and the next instant his startled eyes saw it disappear beneath the muddy -waters of the river. - -"The crimson flash!" he moaned. "And I had the secret of it here within -my grasp!" - -For a time he considered the possibilities of recovering it, then -dismissed the thought as futile. - -Then for a while he sat there speculating on the strange phenomenon of -the crimson flash. How had Pant achieved these wonders? Where had he worn -this mass of delicate instruments? There were times when the flash had -come and gone with the speed of the blink of an eye. Perhaps the switch -had been attached to Pant's eyelid. Such things had been done. Yet, all -this was speculation. Johnny shook his mind free from it. Speculation is -always futile. - -He was about to rise and return to the wreck, which was even now assuming -the appearance of a train again, when he heard footsteps approaching. - -It was Gwen. Johnny rose to meet her as she came toward him. - -"Sit down, Mr. Clown," she smiled. "I want to talk." - -"You're a good old clown," she smiled again, as they seated themselves, -"even if you did come near breaking your neck." - -"Somebody fired the balloons with arrows shot from an air rifle." - -"What!" - -"Sure. I thought it was Tom Stick, but it wasn't. He saved my life last -night. Guess someone must have stolen his air rifle to pull the trick." - -"As I was about to say," continued Gwen, "you're a good old clown, and -just for that I want to give you something. So, 'open your mouth and shut -your eyes, and I'll give you something to make you wise.'" - -"Steady there," warned Johnny, as he cupped his hands solidly together. -"If it's of any value don't drop it. I've lost one secret in the river -already." - -"It's valuable, all right." - -Johnny felt something touch his hand. The instant his fingers closed upon -it, he knew what it was. - -"The ring!" he exclaimed. - -"Yes; that's it," she laughed. "The twins told me all about it last -night. Of course we didn't know it was yours, or we wouldn't have kept -it. When we first found it, we three girls thought it was glass. When we -discovered it was a real diamond, we were already in Chicago and didn't -know what to do, so we just kept it, and took turns wearing it. But -Johnny, when you had it in your hands that day, why didn't you keep it?" - -"That's what I don't know," smiled Johnny. "I guess you were such a good -sport I hated to lose you as a friend, and I hoped a better time would -come." - -"It has come, Johnny; but something tells me I am the one to lose a pal. -You'll leave the circus?" - -"Yes," Johnny admitted reluctantly. "I guess I'm going to do that." - -"It's always the way with a person who is used to living in a house," -sighed Gwen. "The circus is for circus people. Anyway, I can wish you -good luck!" - -They rose. She put out her hand. He gripped it heartily. - -"And Johnny, if ever the big top calls to you, just remember the outfit -I'm with, and there'll be a job waiting for you. I'll want you for my -clown." - -She turned and walked rapidly away. - -Johnny watched her for a moment, then, crossing the bridge, made his way -toward the farm house where the twins were awaiting him. He would escort -them back to a safe dwelling place; the ring should be returned to them, -and if possible, he was resolved that the circus career of the -millionaire twins should be a secret shared only by those to whom it was -already known. - - - - - * * * * * * * * - - - - -Transcriber's note: - ---Copyright notice provided as in the original printed text--this e-text - is in the public domain in the country of publication. - ---Typographical errors were corrected without comment. - - - -***END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE CRIMSON FLASH*** - - -******* This file should be named 41721.txt or 41721.zip ******* - - -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: -http://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/4/1/7/2/41721 - - - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions -will be renamed. - -Creating the works from public domain print editions 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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