Vance Barnum

“ As if it could be a disgrace to have had a mother who was a dandy circus rider, and a father who was a top-notcher when it came to magic. I’d be proud of it if my folks were that sort.”
“So would I,” added Harry.
“That’s where Joe gets his nerve,” remarked Tom. “Nerve to do just what he did now—swim the creek.”
“Yes, and that’s where he gets his liking for magic tricks and for his circus stunts,” added Charlie. “He sure is a great boy, and strong. Why, say! you ought to have seen him on the trapeze I put up in our barn the other day. ”

“ Joe hurried on to the crowd gathered about one of the flat cars.
"Look out! He's loose again!" came the yell, and Joe saw the crowd part, and a big ungainly animal come charging through.
"It's the hippopotamus!" cried Joe. "The big brute is loose!"
The big animal, the "blood-sweating behemoth of Holy Writ," as it is sometimes called on the circus bills, was out of his tank wagon, and seemed to enjoy his liberty.
"Look out there!" some one in the crowd yelled to Joe. "If he stamps on you there won't be anything left of you." ”

“ Frank and Andy, who never grew tired of discussing the problem, and of wondering when the lad's mind would come back, were strolling along the beach of Harbor View. The weather had cleared and they were thinking of going for a sail, mainly on pleasure but incidentally to look for the wrecked motor boat.
"It's queer no one has sighted her, or heard of her," remarked Andy, gazing on to sea, as if he might pick up the disabled craft on the horizon. ”

“ Then he said:
"All right, Helen, I will."
To Joe the novelty of life in a circus was beginning to wear off. To be sure there was something new and different coming up each day, but he had now gotten his act down to a system, and to him and the other performers one day was much like another, except for the weather, perhaps.
They did their acts before crowds every day—different crowds, to be sure; but, after all, men, women and children are much alike the world over. They want to be amused and thrilled, and the circus crowds in one place are no different from those in another. ”

“ With a blare of trumpets, a boom and ruffle of drums, the gay procession started around the circus arena. The stately elephants, the hideous camels and the beautiful horses went around to be looked at, wondered at, and admired. Then, when the last of the cavalcade had passed out, the various acts began. Helen had a new costume for her bareback act, and as she started it she looked over to where Joe was busy on his stage. She saw the young men and women around him. They wore fancy costumes and seemed a part of the circus. ”

“ The lacing of his shoes seemed to give the young trapeze performer some little concern. He did not want them too tight, and, on the other hand, they must not be loose enough to give any play to the ankles. For in a great measure the life of the young man who was soon to thrill the big audience with his daring depended on the firmness of his stand.
A fine figure of youthfulness was Joe Strong as he stood in his closely fitting red tights, tall and straight as an Indian arrow, with not an ounce of superfluous flesh, and yet not over-muscled. But the muscles he had were powerful. ”

“ Below them, on all sides, washing the rocky shores of the island were the heaving waters of the great bay. They could take in most of the shore line, irregular and indented as it was, but, look as they did, there was no sign of life.
They saw no curling smoke from a campfire. They saw no figure of a man—the man whom they had so fruitlessly pursued. Nor was there any vestige of a big motor boat half-burned.
"Well, nothing doing so far," remarked Frank, after a pause. "Now we'll go down and begin a circuit of the shore and see what is in some of the caves." ”

“ THE SIDE-DOOR PULLMAN Joe Strong, unaware of the exciting events that were taking place in the home of his foster-parents—a home he had deserted for what, to him, were good and sufficient reasons—hurried on down the silent and dark streets of Bedford. It was unusual in such a small town for any one to be out after midnight, unless there were some special occasion, and the young wizard had the place to himself. ”

“ To and fro, in longer and longer arcs, Joe swung. He hung by his hands. Carefully his eye gauged the distance he must hurl himself across. Finally he had momentum enough.
"Come on!" he cried to Tonzo.
The latter leaped out on his trapeze, swinging by his knees. Right toward Joe he swung.
"Here I come!" Joe shouted, amid breathless silence among the spectators below him. They realized that something unusual was going on.
"Go!" shouted Sid, who was waiting down on the ground for the conclusion of the trick.
Joe let go. He felt himself hurling through the air. ”

“ A short distance away was a dory, containing one person, and it needed but a single glance from the eyes of the Racer boys to tell them it was indeed the tall, dark stranger who had acted so oddly after questioning them about Paul Gale. The man was rowing slowly and awkwardly, as if unused to the exertion, but as the sea was fairly calm he was not having a hard time, especially as the dory was built for safety.
"Think he sees us?" asked Andy.
"No, but he'll hear us if you don't talk lower," objected Frank.
"Sounds carry very far over water."
"All right," whispered the younger lad. ”

“ Joe had bargained for the biggest goldfish he could buy, so they could easily be seen from even the far end of the tent. At night, when there was no sunlight to illuminate the scene, a big gasoline incandescent light overhead and smaller ones arranged like footlights on a stage, to shine up, would make the tank of water even more plainly visible and more brilliant than in the afternoon. ”

“ He substituted some simple tricks for the more elaborate feats of magic in which he needed Joe’s help.
Still he kept the audience amused, and that was the main point. Professor Rosello even saw Deacon Blackford laughing at some of the tricks and the “patter” which accompanied them. But immediately after he smiled, the stern man became more stern, as though ashamed of himself for having given way to mirth.
“I guess he’ll find out, if he lives long enough,” thought the performer, “that circus people and magicians aren’t as black as they are painted.” ”

“ The circus performances went off well, Joe and the other actors receiving wild applause as they did their specialties. Joe's fire-eating was eagerly watched, and when he slid down the rope on his head, through the blazing hoops, the crowd went wild, as they did when, seemingly all afire, he leaped into the tank.
"When you going to spring that sensation you've been talking of, Joe?" asked Jim Tracy, at the conclusion of one afternoon show. ”

“ The evening performance was even better attended than that of the afternoon. Jim Tracy succeeded in hiring a few men to assist with the tents, but he had not enough, and it began to look as though the performers would have to do double work again.
But there occurred one of those incidents with which circus life is replete. The place they were showing in was a large factory town, and at night crowds of men and boys—not the gentlest in the community—attended.
At something or other, a crowd of roughs felt themselves aggrieved, and under the guidance of a "gang-leader" began to make trouble. ”

“ But there was danger, too, for the rain was pouring in through the opening in the roof—a veritable stream of water, probably diverted from some puddles that had gathered from the heavy downpour. And to climb up through this, along a muddy, slimy slope, was no easy task. But it was their only means of escape, for back of them the tide was still rising relentlessly.
"All ready, Andy?" called Frank.
"As ready as I ever shall be," was the grim answer.
"Well, don't move except when you see where you're going by means of the flashes. It's the only safe way. Go ahead; I'll follow." ”

“ As the man passed Joe, after giving a pull on the last rope, the young magician became aware that Harry had been drinking—and something stronger than pink lemonade.
"I'm sorry about that!" mused Joe, as the rope rigger passed on. "If there's any place a man ought not to drink it's in a circus, and especially when he has to rig up high flying apparatus for others. It was drink that put Bill Carfax out of business. I didn't know Harry was that kind, I never noticed it before. I'm sorry. And I'll take extra precautions that my ropes won't slip. You can't trust a man who drinks." ”

“ Fortunate it was that the circus was over for the afternoon and that the small crowd of spectators in the animal tent had rushed out before the lion broke loose, or there might have been a panic in which many might have been hurt, if not killed. Not necessarily by the lion, but by being trampled on by the feet of hundreds. For it is seldom that a wild beast kills when it first breaks out of a cage. It is too dazed by its sudden freedom, and often too frightened to want to do anything except run and hide. ”

“ Professor Rosello was much interested, and asked many questions.
“Are you serious in wishing to adopt the profession, or calling, of a prestidigitator?” he asked.
“I certainly am!” answered Joe. “But I know Mr. and Mrs. Blackford will object to it. They are even ashamed to have folks know what my father and mother were.”
“A foolish pride!” murmured the professor. “There are as fine and noble men and women in the circus, or in any theatrical line, as in any other calling of life. It is hard that such a prejudice exists against them. ”

“ Bill Watson turned, and looked rather curiously at the young circus performer.
"Well, now, do you know, Joe Strong," he said, "I have an idea."
"An idea!" cried Helen gaily. "How nice, Bill. Tell us about it!"
"Now just a moment, young lady. Don't get too excited with an old man just off a sick bed. But Joe's speaking that way—I call you Joe, as I knew your folks so well—Joe's speaking that way gave me an idea. I wouldn't be so terribly surprised, my boy, if you did have money left you some day." ”

“ Andy stepped on a shell, not seeing it, and it broke under his weight with a sharp, crackling sound.
Like a flash the man leaped up, and fairly sprang out of the boat. He stood confronting the Racer boys.
"Who are you? What do you want?" he demanded sharply. Then, as he recognized them, he added: "Oh, it's you two again. Didn't I warn you to stop following me?"
"We didn't choose to," retorted Frank calmly. "We've found you after a good deal of trouble, and we intend to end this mystery now. A boy's life—the life of Paul Gale—hangs in the balance." ”

“ As the back door of the deacon’s house softly and slowly swung open, two men, wearing masks, quietly entered. And then one of them, as he reached in his pocket for an electric flash lamp, knocked against a chair.
“Keep still! What’s the matter with you, Denton, banging about in that way?” demanded the other of the men in a fierce whisper, which, however, was a most guarded whisper. The sound of it did not carry two feet. “What are you doing, anyhow?”
“I couldn’t help it,” answered Denton. “How was I to know, Jake, that the confounded chair was in the road?” ”

“ The man pulled it by means of a long, thin cord, until it was making big arcs, like some gigantic pendulum.
Joe watched it carefully, judging it to the fraction of an inch. He stood poised and tense on the gayly decorated platform, himself a fine picture of physical young manhood. The band was blaring out the latest Jazz melody.
Suddenly, from his perch, the young acrobat gave a cry, and Jim Tracy, on the ground below, hearing it, held up his white-gloved hand as a signal for the music to cease. ”

“ Joe knew that Tonzo had not proposed dissipation, for circus performers, particularly those who take their lives in their hands on high trapezes, cannot afford to live a riotous life, even for one night. Their nerves would be shattered for days to come, and once a performer's nerve is gone he is useless to himself and to others. But Joe was not going to waste his money on even an ordinary supper for the crowd. ”

“ But it takes more than one man to raise the 'main top.' There are a lot of the animal men and wagon drivers who used to be canvas hands. They haven't struck. But there aren't enough of them. It's no use."
"Yes, it is!" cried Joe. "We men performers will turn canvasmen for the time being. Give us some hands who know how to lay out the canvas, how to lace up the different sections, which ropes to pull on; men to show us how to drive stakes and to haul up the poles—do that and we'll have the tent up in time for the show!"
"Can you do it?" cried the ring-master, in an eager tone. ”

“ It was chilling them, yet they dared not move much for fear of toppling off the narrow ledge.
Frank did not answer. He was busy trying to think of some way of escape. Yet, rack his brain as he did, no way out of the cave seemed possible. Were they doomed to die there?
"Can we climb any higher?" asked Andy, after another period of silence. "If we could, we might get out of reach of the water, even when the tide is full. Let's turn on both our lights and look at the wall back of us." ”