“ ROBERT RUDD,
THE BOY WONDER!
The Best Bareback Rider in the World."
10
"That's what the circus bills say," replied Robert, smiling. "Now let me introduce you. Gentlemen and ladies," said the boy, waving his hand, as if addressing an audience, "I have the pleasure of introducing to you,
ANAK! ”

“ Robert Rudd!" he said, touching the boy on the arm.
Robert turned, and his face became stern when he saw at his side the man who had tried to murder him.
"You villain!" he said. "How have you the face to show yourself to me?"
"Because," answered Fitzgerald, "I am prepared to make atonement for the injury I did you. No one can be more delighted to see you than I."
"How can I trust you after what has passed?" asked Robert, suspiciously.
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"Don't trust me till I show myself worthy of trust. I am prepared to do more for you than any man living." ”

“ One day Robert Rudd and Charlie Davis were standing outside the tent, near the lemonade stand, when a boy of sixteen or seventeen, clad in rustic attire and "with hayseed in his hair," approached them, and, though evidently somewhat awed by the idea that he was standing in the presence of two circus performers, ventured to ask:
"Do you two belong to the circus?"
"Yes," answered Robert.
"You bet we do," said Charlie, vivaciously. "The circus would have to shut up shop but for us." ”

“ Robert sacrificed the coin to regain his freedom, as Carden's entering the saloon seemed to offer the only mode of release.
"What a stuck-up young jackanapes!" muttered Carden, as he entered the saloon. "He thinks a deal of himself, and don't want to have nought to do with me because I'm a poor canvas man. I doubt he's got a good deal of money hid away somewhere, for he don't spend much. I heard Charlie Davis say the other day Bob had $200."
Carden's eyes glittered with cupidity as the thought passed through his mind. ”

“ So you want me to hand over my money, do you?" he said.
"Yes; and you'd better be quick about it, too," growled the tramp.
"Suppose I don't?"
"Then I'll whip you till you can't stand."
"This is better than any circus I ever attended," said Robert, delighted.
"He'll think it's a circus before he gets through," said Hercules, significantly. "Well, my ill-looking friend, I must inform you in the outset that you are taking a good deal of trouble for a very little. My stock of money is very low."
"I don't care; you can hand over what you've got."
"Or fight for it?"
"Yes," growled the tramp. ”

“ Tarbox by this time seemed thoroughly frightened. With dark, sullen looks he obeyed the giant, and Jimmy, overjoyed to recover his freedom, stretched his arms and legs.
"Now, go for the doctor as fast as you please," said Anak.
The two brothers quickly started on their errand, and Anak, turning to Tarbox, said, "You miserable brute, if I ever hear of your attempting to abuse a poor boy again, I'll travel five23 hundred miles if necessary to kick you as I have kicked your dog. Go back to your house or I may do it now." ”

“ Where's that big brute Enoch?"
"If you mean Anak, I left him in the tent."
"He needn't think he can go round insulting and committing assault and battery on his betters," said Tarbox.
"You can tell him that if you like, sir; I am not responsible for him."
"No, but you are responsible for trespassin' on my grounds."
"I would do it again if I saw you trying to flog a defenceless boy," said Robert, independently.
"You would, hey?" sneered Tarbox. "Well, now, you may change your opinion on that subject before we part company." ”

“ Were you very much frightened?" continued the constable.
"I wasn't half so much scared as you were when I wanted you to arrest the giant."
It was the constable's turn to look embarrassed. "Who said I was afraid?"
"It was enough to look at you," said Tarbox.
"Well, maybe I was a little flustered," admitted Spriggins. "Who wouldn't be afraid of a man ten feet high? They do say, Tarbox, that you did some pretty tall running, and there wasn't no tiger loose after all."
And Mr. Constable indulged in a chuckle which irritated the farmer intensely. He resolved to retaliate. ”

“ It was perhaps surprising to see at the circus a man as old as Cornelius Richmond, for this was the name of the uncle, but he had been persuaded by his nephew, Hugo, with whom he was travelling, to attend, and, as the only alternative was an evening at a dull hotel, he yielded. But during the first part of the performance he looked on in a listless manner, not seeming interested. Hugo, who was younger, appeared more attentive. But when Robert Rudd bounded into the ring, the old man started, and leaning forward, said quickly, in a tone not free from agitation, "Do you see that boy, Hugo?" ”

“ Did I look very alarming just now?"
"Yes," answered Robert; "if I hadn't known you, I might have run too."
"I don't know about that, Robert. No one can accuse you of want of courage."
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Robert smiled, and his dark face looked very attractive when he smiled.
"I am not afraid of horses," he said.
"No; you are the most daring bareback rider I ever knew."
"I don't think I ever was afraid of horses," continued the boy, thoughtfully. "I can't remember the time when I was not used to them."
"How long have you been a bareback rider?" asked Anak. ”

“ But his mother claimed to be of "genteel" family, and had imbued the boy with her own notions.
"What's the objection, if they are circus performers?" asked Sidney Grey, who might really have claimed aristocratic lineage if he had so desired.
"Do you consider circus performers fit company for you?" asked Ronald, superciliously.
"Yes, if they behave themselves like gentlemen; and these two look as well bred as we are." ”

“ He is smart enough, if he ever got an opportunity, to learn. I am selfish, however, and should not like to lose him, though I might consent if he could better himself. You see, sir, although I am in the show business myself, I don't consider it a very desirable career for a boy to follow. I've got a boy of my own, but I have placed him at boarding-school, and he shall never, with my permission, join a circus. You'll think it strange, Mr. Richmond, but so far as I know, Henry has never yet witnessed a circus performance."
"I quite agree with you, Mr. Coleman," said Hugo. ”

“ This would have suited many boys, but Robert was a boy of active temperament, and felt happier to be employed. I may remark here that, in general, nothing is worse for a boy than to be absolutely unemployed, for it is as true as the old proverb expresses itself, that "Satan finds some mischief still for idle hands to do."
One day Robert ventured to remark to his employer, "I am afraid, Mr. Fitzgerald, I am not earning my wages; I am quite ready to do more." ”

“ I ought to be goin' for a doctor. My mother may die."
"She can die for all I care," said the brutal Tarbox. "Now I've got you tied, and I'm goin' to give your jacket a good warmin'."
He raised the whip and was about to bring it down upon the shrinking limbs of the poor boy, when he was startled by a deep, stern voice only a rod behind him, "Don't touch that boy!"
Tarbox looked back and saw Anak striding towards him. He had not seen him before, but he knew who he was, for he had seen the posters of the circus. Though rather startled, he was not disposed to yield his victim easily. ”

“ Tarbox had not witnessed the untimely fate of that amiable quadruped.
At the mention of Bruiser her husband's wrath again overflowed.
"He's dead!" he shouted. "That brute killed him."
"How did he do it?" asked his wife, not without curiosity, for she knew the bull-dog's strength.
"Kicked him to death! That's how he did it."
"He must be very strong," murmured Mrs. Tarbox. "Don't you think we ought to erect a gravestone over Bruiser," she continued, "just as I did over that sweet canary? A piece of board would do, you know." ”

“ You can find out how much they pay him at the circus, and offer him more to come here. I will give him a chance to study, engage masters for him, and—"
"Make him your heir, I suppose," said Hugo to himself, with a dark frown, which his uncle did not see; "not if I am able to prevent it. My uncle must think I am a fool to bring into the house so dangerous a rival. After waiting so many weary years for Chestnutwood, does he think I am going to let it drift into the hands of an unknown boy simply because he looks like my cousin Julian?" ”

“ But the past could not be recalled, and though Fitzgerald heartily wished the boy alive, he always thought of him as lying dead at the bottom of a well in a far Western State. His busy brain was trying to contrive some plan of revenge, when he chanced to see a poster of North's circus. ”

“ Fitzgerald was secretly uneasy. If Robert's recollections should become clearer, and he should come to suspect the truth, then good-by to his plans, for the boy would of course be on his guard. His ingenuity came to his aid.
"It is more likely," he said, in an apparently indifferent tone, "that I resemble some such person. The fact is," he added with a forced laugh, "I once came near falling a victim to my unfortunate resemblance to a rascal. I was arrested on suspicion of being a forger or something of the sort, because I looked like the real culprit. ”

“ Anak, for he was the speaker, threw him down,177 and held his hands and feet as in a vise, while Tarbox, at his invitation, thrust his hands into the thief's pocket and drew out the gold and silver coins by handfuls.
Carden ground his teeth, but he felt that resistance was vain. He was a strong man, but Anak had the strength of three ordinary men, and he was disposed to exert his strength to the utmost on this occasion, not only because he was opposed to dishonesty, but because he had in his grasp the man who had assaulted Robert. ”

“ She'll see that even if you do look like a tramp you're not a professional."
"That's just what I am," responded Robert, smiling. "I am a professional—circus rider."
"You don't say so!" exclaimed Fred, with something of interest. "Are you a bareback rider?"
"Yes."
"We've got a horse in the barn. Won't you try riding on him?"
"Oh, the horse has to be trained as well as the rider: I can't perform on a horse that has never been in the ring." ”

“ What shall I do? Is he armed? Is he a strong man?"
"No matter whether he is or not. I'm middling strong myself," said the giant, with a laugh. "Get your hat, and I'll go with you, and we'll see if we can't defeat him and his plans."
"I'll go, too," added Charlie, in an important tone.
"You alone are able to frighten him, Charlie," said Anak, aroused.
Tarbox got his hat and led the way hurriedly towards the barn. Before they reached there a sudden suspicion entered his mind and he stopped short. ”

“ What could we do if we had to give up riding?"
"Oh, something would turn up," said Charlie, who was of an easy disposition. "We might take tickets or keep the candy stand."
"That wouldn't be very good employment for a man. No, Charlie, I think this will be my last season at circus riding." ”

“ It isn't because they are poor that I object to them, for I am not rich myself; but a man needn't be low because he is poor and earning small pay. I suppose Carden and the other canvas men think I am proud because I don't seek their company, but they are mistaken. I have nothing in common with them, except that we are all in the employ of the same manager. Besides, I do talk with Madigan. He is a canvas man, but he has had a good education and is fitted for something better, and only takes up with this rather than be idle."
Half an hour after, Charlie Davis joined him. ”

“ The fascinations which the circus has always exercised over the minds of young people is so well known, that the author has felt justified in selecting the hero of the present story from that class of public performers who appeal so powerfully to the imagination of his young readers. In order to prepare himself for his task, he has made personal acquaintance with more than one hero of the ring, and has sought to furnish an inside view of the life which he describes. ”

“ Is this boy, Robert Rudd, well paid?"
"Well paid? He's got two hundred dollars saved up."
"You don't tell me so! That is a good deal for a boy. Where does he keep it?"
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"In his locker," answered Carden, an expression of cupidity sweeping over his face.
This was not unnoticed by the stranger, who said to himself: "Unless I am greatly mistaken, the boy was right in charging you with trying to get at his hoard. I can read it in your face."
"You say he is a fine rider?" he said, changing the subject.
"Oh, yes; he's well enough." ”

“ Tarbox rose and paced the room.
Squire Price smiled again. It is to be feared he did not deplore, as he should have done, the sad and untimely fate of the amiable bull-dog.
"Now, what do you want me to do, Mr. Tarbox?"
"I want a warrant for the arrest of this big scoundrel."
"For killing Bruiser? That appears to have been in self-defence."
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"No; for assault and battery on me, Nathan Tarbox, a free-born American citizen. It's come to a pretty pass if I am to be attacked and nearly killed by a foreign Norwegian, who has come over to America to take the bread from our own citizens." ”

“ Robert suspected that Charlie meditated a practical joke, and did not care to take part in it.
They entered the tent—it was in the middle of the forenoon—and Charlie went to his friend the clown, and whispered a few words.
"So the young gentleman wants to take a lesson in riding, does he?" he asked.
"Yes," answered Jotham, eagerly, "if you have no objection."
"We'll do it for you as a favor," said the clown. "What's your name, young man?" ”

“ I am only surprised that you should make me such an offer, knowing so little of me."
"Perhaps I know more of you than you imagine," said Fitzgerald to himself, with a peculiar look which, however, Robert did not notice.
"I judge of persons quickly!" he said aloud,195 "and when first I saw you in the ring it occurred to me that you were just the young person I should like to have travel with me. Of course, I didn't dream then that there was any possibility of my securing you, for I was not prepared to pay a sum as large as you were doubtless paid at the circus. ”

“ Grey can be thinking of, to admit a low circus boy into his house. We don't know what associates the boy has had in the past, but he must be coarse and ill-bred, and surely he is not a fit companion for Sidney Grey. I hope my Ronald won't get intimate with him."
"You may be sure I won't, ma," said Ronald. "I wouldn't demean myself by taking notice of him. When Sidney wanted to invite him to join in our games I opposed it."
"You, Ronald, can always be relied upon to feel like a gentleman," said his mother, complacently.184 "Thank heaven! he hasn't any liking for low company." ”

“ A FARCE AND A TRAGEDY. The circus was nearing the close of its stay in Crampton. Of course, though it was a large town, it was not large enough to warrant the show in staying so long, but for the large number of visitors who were attracted from neighboring towns. Both by rail and by carriages of all sorts, from farmers' wagons to top buggies and carryalls, hundreds of people flocked to see the wonders it contained. ”