“And if Peter got caught beneath him it would make a mighty sad story,” grinned Dave.
The two walked out beyond the grim shadows of the wagons, directing their course toward the light and activity beyond. Already the canvas of the “big top” was looming high in the air, a dim, shapeless patch of ghostly white. The rumble of vehicles had given place to the clink and rattle of harness, as teams were unhitched and driven across the lots.
A crowd of shouting children surrounded three elephants, while others flocked around closed cages, uttering comments which revealed their curiosity regarding the strange and savage inmates. Boys carrying buckets of water passed and repassed, straining their little arms to an alarming extent, but feeling sure that they were having the time of their lives.
Dave and his companion soon found themselves in the thick of the fray watching a pair of sturdy horses hitched to the end of a long rope which led to a block and tackle.
Crack! The driver’s whip echoed sharply. Away they went. The center of the big top was drawn slowly up to its highest point on the middle pole, and, within a short time, the limp canvas began to straighten and assume the form of a circus tent.
“Jolly well done, that,” commented Dave. “Spudger’s Great Combined Peerless Circus and Menagerie looks like a winner to me. And the mess tent is all up, too.”
They moved off toward it, each occasionally halted by piles of rubbish. Twice Victor put his foot into an unseen hole, then cracked his shin against a piece of board.
“Makes a pleasant variety, doesn’t it?” said Dave, as he heard his companion’s howl of disapproval.
“Pleasant?” snapped Victor. “It’s a wonder something hasn’t risen up off the ground and broken my legs. Are we about to fall into the town ash-pit, or what?”
“We may escape such a fate as that.”