While the parade was passing through town, Carl had been "sleuthing." The fact that he was wearing McGlory's working clothes gave him an idea. He didn't look like himself, so why not be some one else? All the detective books he had ever read had a good deal to say about disguises. Carl was already disguised, so he made up his mind that he would be a dago laborer.
After watching the parade file out of the show grounds, he slouched over to the side-show tent. A man was just finishing lacing the picture of a wild man to the guy ropes. Carl shuffled up to him.
"I peen der Idaliano man," he remarked, in a wonderful combination of Dutch and Italian dialect, "und I, peen make-a der look for a leedl-a gal mit der name oof Manners. Haf-a you seen-a der girl aroundt loose some-a-veres?"
The canvasman looked Carl over, and then, being of a grouchy disposition, and thinking Carl was trying to make fun of him, he gave him a push that landed him against a banner containing a painted portrait of the elastic-skin man. The banner was even more elastic than the image it bore on its surface, for Carl rebounded and struck one of the "barkers," who happened to be passing with his hands full of ice-cream cones for the bearded lady and the Zulu chief.
Disaster happened. The "barker" fell, with the Dutch "tedectif" on top of him—and the ice-cream cones in between.
The "barker" indulged in violent language, and began using his hands. Carl was pretty good at that himself, and retaliated. Two canvasmen pulled the two apart. Carl had the contents of a cone in his hair, and the "barker" had the contents of another down the back of his neck.
"Where'd that ijut come from?" yelled the "barker," dancing up and down among the broken cones.
"Who left der cage toor oben?" cried Carl, digging at his hair. "Der papoon vas esgaped."
"You put up your lightning rod," growled the "barker," "or you'll git hit with a large wad of electricity."
"Come on mit it!" whooped Carl, fanning the air with his fists. "No vone can make some ice-gream freezers oudt oof me mitoudt hafing drouples!"