“Oh, I wish to-morrow would hurry up and come!” said the twins. And all that night they dreamt of the circus.
CHAPTER XIV
THE CIRCUS
“Miss Prince really is a brick!” said Bill, and the others agreed. Miss Prince had earned this highest form of praise by granting a whole holiday on the strength of the circus, the mysterious tramp’s return, and the first day’s real haymaking.
The circus had passed on up the road to the village green. The horses had been taken out of the shafts and hobbled. Smoke rose in little blue columns from the caravan chimneys. Small brown children, with bare feet, clambered up and down the little ladders that led up to the caravan doors, where their mothers sat—stout ladies, with very black hair and gold rings in their ears.
With much hammering and shouting, an enormous round tent was being pitched in Farmer Brown’s field. Also in this field strong men struggled with boat swings, and big boys arranged cocoanut shies. Black Bill strode round calling everybody bad names and making himself generally beastly, but getting the work done in double-quick time.
Of course the entire population of the village looked on. The Cubs, feeling as if some wonderful fairy story had at last come true, stood with wide eyes, drinking it all in. Their blood ran cold as they heard the lion roar. But when they saw the lady who trained him they were not surprised that he obeyed her; she was truly fearsome.
They peered about round the caravan containing the fat lady, in hopes of catching a glimpse of her, but she was apparently too bashful to come out. The first performance was not to take place until the next day, though the “stunts” would be open to the public that evening. The Cubs would have hung round the gipsy camp all day had not Danny made a suggestion.
“Look here,” he said, “I vote we go over to Farmer Higgins’ now. I hear he is short-handed, and wants to get his hay in while this lovely weather lasts. I believe he would be glad of our help. And then in the dinner hour we will see our tramp, and hear of all he’s been doing since he went away.”
The thought of haymaking and the tramp was sufficient attraction to draw the cubs away from the circus, and with light hearts they set out for the farm.
Mr. Higgins was delighted to see them. He provided them with pitchforks and big wooden rakes, and said that if they worked very hard that day and got the hay dry enough to cart to-morrow they might have rides on top of the loaded wagons. It had always been a cherished dream of the twins to ride on a hay-cart, but up till now the farmers had been their enemies, and none of them would have allowed “one of ’em terrors” in his field.