CHAPTER IV
WHAT HAPPENED AT THE CIRCUS
The lads had not seen a circus for two years, consequently the show had much of the air of novelty about it for them. They spent half an hour in the menagerie tent, inspecting the wild animals, and then took seats in the main tent, as close to the rings as they could get. Casso's United Railroad Shows was quite an affair, and the performance was given in two rings at a time, as well as upon a trapeze in the air between the tent poles.
First there was the usual procession of horses and riders, elephants and camels, ponies and carts and racing chariots, and then came the acts, all of more or less thrilling interest. There were six clowns, and they kept the audience in a roar of laughter.
"Say, this is an all-right show," remarked Giant, after witnessing some particularly thrilling bareback riding. "I wouldn't try to do that trick on horseback for a thousand dollars."
"Here come the acrobats," said Snap as four bespangled performers ran into the rings and bowed and kissed their hands. Then the acrobats climbed up to two bars and did various "turns," all more or less hazardous.
"Here comes a boy!" cried Shep, as another performer stepped into one of the rings and bowed.
"Just look how thin and pale he is," whispered the doctor's son, who sat not far away from the youthful acrobat.
"Looks as if he had had a spell of sickness," added Giant.
The youthful acrobat did look as if he had been sick and was not yet entirely over it. He walked slowly over to one of the ropes and grasped it in his thin, white hands.
"I—-I can't go up, Mr. Jones," the chums heard him whisper to the ringmaster.
"Yes, you can—-and will, or I'll cut you with the whip!" was the ringmaster's harsh answer, and he cracked his lash loudly.
"I—-I'm not well enough yet—-my head is dizzy," pleaded the young acrobat.
"Up you go!" snarled the ringmaster, and cracked his whip in such a fashion that the end of the lash took the young acrobat in the calf of the leg, causing him to cry with pain.
"What an outrage!" whispered Snap, clenching his fists. "That ringmaster ought to be cowhided."
Painfully the young acrobat started to pull himself up on the rope. The ringmaster glared at him and then cracked his whip once more, taking the young performer in the arm.
"Shame! shame!" cried Snap; and "Shame!" added the other boys quickly.
"Shut up, you boys!" growled the ringmaster, turning quickly.
"Then let that boy alone," answered Snap loudly.
"If you don't shut up I'll have you put out!" roared the ringmaster.
The young acrobat had climbed the rope a distance of ten feet. Now he appeared to grow dizzy, and of a sudden he lost his grip and fell in a heap in the sawdust ring.
"You rat, you, I'll fix you!" hissed the ringmaster. "What do we pay you for, anyway?"
He raised his long lash again, but before he could bring it down Snap and Shep leaped from their seats, quickly followed by Giant and Whopper and two well-dressed men.
"Don't you hit that boy," cried Snap loudly. "Don't you do it!"
"That's right—-let the kid alone," added one of the well-dressed men.
"Go back to your seats—-this is none of your affair," growled the ringmaster.
"It is our affair," put in the doctor's son. "That boy is sick—-everybody can see it. He can't perform."
He purposely spoke in a loud voice, so that many heard him. At once a murmur arose on all sides.
"That's right—-the kid is sick—-take him out of the ring."
"It's an outrage to try to make him perform."
"The Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children ought to look into this."
Half a hundred men and boys stepped up to the ring, and for a few minutes the discussion waxed warm. In the meantime the young acrobat arose unsteadily to his feet. He was so weak he could hardly stand.
"Get back to the dressing-room, and be quick about it," growled the ringmaster to him. "I'll settle with you for this later."
"Down that ringmaster! Give him his own lash!" came from a burly farmer. "We'll teach him to abuse a boy as is sick!"
This cry was taken up by several. Growing alarmed, the ringmaster took to his heals and disappeared in the direction of the dressing-tent, whence his young victim had already gone. Then the band struck up, and the manager of the show sent out the clowns to do an extra stunt to quiet the audience.
"I'm afraid that ringmaster will have it in for that boy," said Snap to his chums.
"Poor boy!" murmured the doctor's son. "He didn't look as if he was used to this hard life. I wish we could do something for him."
"Let us try to look into the dressing-room and see what is going on," suggested Snap.
The four boys watched their chance, and walking around the main tent, crawled under some slanting seats and then got close to the canvas that divided the main tent from that used by the performers in "making up."
"Grandy, you must know what became of the little rascal," they heard the ringmaster say. "He came in here."
"So he did, sir," was the answer of a canvasman. "But he didn't stay.
He just caught up some clothing and dusted."
"What! Ran away?"
"He dusted. I don't know where he went."
"Humph! He wouldn't dare to run away. If he tries that game I'll take his hide off when. I catch him."
"He couldn't run very far, Mr. Jones—-he was too weak."
"Bah! He isn't sick. He wants to shirk his act, that's all. Just wait till I get hold of him—-I'll teach him to get me into hot water with the audience!" fumed the ringmaster.
"Well; I don't know where he went," answered the canvasman, and resumed his work on the wall of the menagerie tent. Then the ringmaster walked to another part of the dressing-tent to put on his street clothing, for he did not dare appear in the ring again at that performance.
"I hope that boy did run away," said Snap as he and his friends turned back to look at the rest of the performance. "I don't see why such a nice looking lad should travel with such a crowd as this."
"Oh, I suppose some of the circus folks are good people," answered
Whopper. "But not that ringmaster."
"He ought to be tarred and feathered, and I'd like to help do it," came from Giant.
"Wonder who the boy is?" asked Shep.
"He is down on the bills as Master Buzz, the Human Fly. Of course,
Buzz isn't his real name."
"No. It is more likely to be Smith or Jones," answered Whopper. "I'd like to see him and have a talk with him."
"Perhaps we'll get a chance to-morrow. The circus is to stay two days, you know," said Snap.
"Maybe the boy is all alone," said Shep. "If he is it might be that he would like it first rate if we would help him."
The boys had lost interest in the show, and were not sorry when it came to an end. They were among the first out, and hurried directly toward Mrs. Carson's house. In doing this they had to cross the railroad track, and here a passing freight train held them up. The freight came to a halt, and backed to take on some empties. Then it proceeded slowly on its way.
"Well, I never!" cried Snap suddenly as one of the empty cars came into view, under the rays of an electric light. "Look there!"
He pointed to the open doorway of a car. A figure stood there, wrapped in a coat several sizes too large for it—-the figure of a slender boy with a whitish face,
"Was that that boy acrobat?" gasped Whopper as the freight train gathered headway and cleared the crossing.
"I think it was," answered Snap.
"So do I," put in the doctor's son.
"If it was, he is losing no time in getting out of town," was Giant's comment. "And I don't blame him."
"He had on a coat big enough for a man, and his trousers were rolled up around his feet," observed Snap. "Most likely he grabbed up the first suit he could find when he left the dressing-tent."
"If it really was the boy," said Whopper. "It looked like him, but we may be mistaken."
It did not take the four youths long to reach Mrs. Carson's home.
They went in softly, and each got a cookie and a drink of milk.
Then they went to bed and slept soundly until morning.
Promptly on time they presented themselves at Mr. Jally's studio, and found not only the photographer but also an assistant present.
"I am going to leave my assistant in charge," said Mr. Jally. "I'll go out with you, and we'll have a practical lesson in getting outdoor views."
Taking two cameras with them, the photographer and the boys started off, to be gone until noon. They walked across the city and along the river, and at the latter locality took half a dozen pictures, Mr. Jally instructing them all the while.
"Now I'll show you how a commonplace bit of scenery can be made to look quite romantic," said Mr. Jally presently. "Let us walk over to the railroad embankment. Such an embankment is not pretty in itself, but I think we can get quite a pretty view of it."
After many instructions they took a view of the embankment. Their walk had tired the photographer, who was rather stout, and he proposed that they rest. Near at hand was a section shed with some lumber piles, and there they took it easy.
During a lull in the conversation the boys noticed three men approaching. They were rather tough-looking characters, and at first the lads took them to be tramps. The men walked behind the lumber piles without noticing our friends.
"Some fellows that followed up the circus, I suppose," said Snap.
"Yes; the kind my aunt was afraid of," added the doctor's son.
"We can do it jest as well as not," they heard one of the men say.
"An' we got a right, too."
"Sure we got a right," said another of the trio in a heavy, rasp-like voice. "We'll show Casso what it means to do a feller out o' his lawful wages."
"Yes; but you look out you ain't caught," added the third man. "He's got all hands watching to spot us."
"We'll bust up his show, see if we don't," growled the first speaker.
"They must be the fellows who were discharged for drunkenness," whispered Snap.
"Yes; and they are laying plans to square up with the proprietor," added Whopper. "Wonder what they will do?"
"If they are up to anything unlawful, they ought to be exposed," was Mr. Jally's comment. He, too, had heard of the quarrel of the afternoon before.
"I don't care to put myself out to help that circus man," said Snap. "He is responsible for what happened to that sick boy. At the same time, I know 'two wrongs don't make a right.`"
The men continued to talk, but in such low tones that the others could only catch a word or two. Something was said about a lion and a chimpanzee and a toolhouse, but the boys could not imagine what the circus men had in mind to do.
Presently one of the circus men got up from his seat and walked around the lumber piles. When he saw the boys and Mr. Jally he uttered a whistle of surprise. Then he turned back to his companions, and all three of the men hurried away into the woods skirting the railroad tracks.