But just as she was leaving the back of the horse, the animal suddenly stumbled, thus turning her halfway around, and for the instant taking her mind from her work. Dimples already had begun to turn backward, but he noted that all at once she stopped turning.
Phil knew what that meant. As show people term it, she had "frozen" in the air. She was falling, head first, right toward the wooden ring curbing.
"Turn! Turn!" cried Phil sharply.
The girl was powerless to do so, while the ringmaster, being on the opposite side of the ring, could be of no assistance to her.
"Turn!" shouted Phil, more loudly this time, giving a mighty spring in the direction of the falling woman.
CHAPTER IX
THE MULE DISTINGUISHES HIMSELF
The audience had half risen, believing that the girl would surely be killed. It did seem that it would be a miracle if she escaped without serious injury.
But the Circus Boy, his every faculty centered on the task before him, proposed to save her if he could.
He sprang up on the ring curbing, stretching both hands above his head as far as he could reach, bracing himself with legs wide apart to meet the shock.