Algernon Blackwood

“ A sound of cheering from the crown outside, swelling momentarily as the neighborhood awoke to the situation, brought us with a rush to the top of the ladder.
"It's the strong man!" cried several voices. "The strong man of the circus. He'll fix up the lion quick enough. Give him a chance!"
A huge man, who, rightly enough, proved to be the performing strong man of the circus, was seen making his way through the crowd, asking questions as he went. A pathway opened up for him as if by magic, and, carrying a might iron crowbar, he reached the foot of the ladder and began to climb up. ”

“ As soon as one's eyes got a little accustomed to the gloom the outline of the stalls became first visible. Then a human figure seated on the top of a old refrigerator, with a pistol in one hand, pointed at a corner opposite, came into view. Then another man, seated astride the division between the stalls, could be seen. And last, but not least, I saw the dark mass on the floor in the far corner, where the dead horse lay mangled and the monster of a lion sprawled across his carcass, with great paws outstretched, and shining eyes. ”

“ I think every one of us noticed these before he noticed anything else, for the instant the roar of that lion sounded up through the boards under our feet the reporters scattered like chaff before the wind, and scuttled up into those rafters with a speed, and dust, and clatter that I have never seen equalled. It was like sparrows flying from the sudden onslaught of a cat.
Fat men, lean men. long men, short men—I never saw such a collection of news-gatherers: smart men from the big papers, shabby fellows from the gutter press, hats flying, papers fluttering ”