Connie was almost afraid to touch the keys. But plucking up her courage, she began to play the first measure of “The Merry Sleigh Ride.”
The keys played almost like those of her piano at home. However, as she touched them, a terrific blast of sound shook the wagon.
With a startled exclamation, Connie jerked her fingers away from the keyboard.
“You’d get used to it if you played a calliope all day,” the operator laughed. “But it helps to keep cotton in your ears.”
To show the girls how easily the instrument operated, the man began to play “There Will be a Hot Time in the Old Town Tonight.”
Veve and Connie hastily scrambled down from the wagon.
“Why, I’m surprised you don’t like my music,” the man laughed.
“Oh, we like it very much,” Connie said politely after he had stopped playing so she could make herself heard. “It’s just a little bit loud.”
“Well, it should be,” Pat chuckled. “This horse piano is a special-built job and can be heard for nearly six miles on a quiet day.”
After leaving the calliope wagon, Veve and Connie chatted for a while with the Fat Lady and Madam Womba, the sword swallower.