Unconsciously her voice had mimicked Nita’s, so that to the startled carnival family it seemed that Nita, the Hula dancer, had appeared suddenly in the car.
“Sounds like Nita, all right.” Gus, the barker, nodded with satisfaction. “‘Steve,’ huh? Who the devil is this Steve?”
“What did he look like, Sally?” Bybee asked.
“I don’t know,” she answered, her big blue eyes imploring him to believe her. “We couldn’t see their faces. We just recognized Nita’s voice and her yellow hair that looked almost white in the moonlight. He wasn’t tall, not any taller than Nita, and I guess he wasn’t very big either, because they were so close together that they looked almost like one person. We didn’t hear the man say a word. Nita was doing all the talking—”
“Nita would!” a voice from the crowd growled. “Reckon I can tell you something about this, Pop. I was just ready to ballyhoo the last performance of the ‘girlie’ show when Nita come slouching up to me, pulling a long face and a song-and-dance about being knocked out with the heat. Bessie had fainted at the last show and I thought Nita might really be all in, so I told her she could cut the last performance and go to the dress tent. I never seen hair nor hide of her again, and—” he paused significantly, “I don’t reckon I ever will.”
“No, I reckon you won’t, not unless the cops nab her,” Mrs. Bybee cut in bitterly. “I always said she was a snake in the grass! And that David, too! Them goody-goody kind ain’t ever worth the powder and lead it’d take to blow out their brains! I told you, Winfield Bybee, that there was something phony about that hussy and Dave! ’Tain’t like a star performer like Nita thought she was to trail around after a cook’s helper, like she done with Dave. They didn’t pull the wool over my eyes, even if they did double-cross the kid here—if they did double-cross her! Mind you, Bybee, I ain’t saying I believe a word she’s been saying! She knew where the safe was, and she tipped off the boy.
“I ain’t forgot they was both wanted by the police when they joined up with us! As I said before, if it hadn’t been that she was buried under the freak tent, she’d have skipped with Nita and Dave. You roped Nita in on your little scheme, didn’t you, because she’d had more experience cracking safes than you or the boy? That’s right, ain’t it?” the old lady demanded fiercely of Sally.
Sally shrank from her in horror, but the midget, still perched on her shoulder, patted her cheeks reassuringly. “No, no! I didn’t even tell David where the safe was! I didn’t! David didn’t do it! He couldn’t! David’s good! He’s the best man in the world!”
“Then where is he?” Mrs. Bybee screamed. “Why did he blow? I left him to guard the train, didn’t I? And he ain’t here, is he? He wasn’t here when we got back from the carnival lot after the tents was raised. If he’s so damned good, why did he blow with Nita and this Steve you’ve made up out of your head?”
“Now, now, Mother,” Pop Bybee soothed her, but his eyes were troubled and suspicious. “Reckon we’d better notify the police, folks. I hate to call in the law. I’ve always said I was the law of this outfit, but I suppose if I’ve been harboring thieves I’ll have to get the help of the law to track ’em down. Ben, you and Chuck beat it down the tracks to the police station and give ’em a description of Nita and Dave and this Steve person, as much as Sally’s been able to tell us anyway—”