“Whar’s Mark?” he cried, anxiously.
“Mark!” echoed the other four, in just as much surprise.
They had not noticed that in the excitement Mark and his friend, the prize story-teller, had gotten up and slipped away. But gone they were, after some fun, so Texas surmised, and vowed it was mean in them to leave him. As if he hadn’t had fun enough already!
We shall follow the mischief-makers, for they were destined to meet with some interesting adventures before they returned to their companions.
Mark had a definite reason for stealing away thus unceremoniously. He had a scheme he meant to put into effect; but as it happened, all thought of it was driven from his mind by something he chanced to notice a few minutes later.
At the rear of the circus tent was Smithers’ “Magnificent Menagerie.” Persons who had tickets to the circus were allowed to visit that menagerie and gaze upon its treasures—these included a single lean buffalo which was subsequently led out into the ring to perform; a single elephant which did likewise; the aforementioned laughing hyena, whose laugh had been somewhat embittered by bad treatment; and the world-famous “Smasher.”
Toward this part of the show Mark and Dewey were leisurely strolling, chatting merrily as usual. And then suddenly from inside the tent the band struck up a tune.
Now there was nothing startling about that. The band was accustomed to herald the entrance of each performer in that way. It was a very unmusical band; Dewey said it was cracked—“cracked into four pieces, b’gee!” he added. The band apparently knew only three or four tunes, one of them being “The Girl I Left Behind Me”—the song of Custer’s famous Seventh. That was where the excitement came in.
The West Point band had often played that tune and the cadets were used to marching to it. Mark had noticed four young fellows strolling just ahead of him; at the very first notes of that tune the four straightened up as one man and stepped forward—left! left! A moment later they recollected where they were and resumed their former gait.
That little incident was not lost to Mark’s sharp eyes, however. He turned and nudged Dewey on the arm.