Vance Barnum

“ He then saw Professor Rosello talking to a stage-hand, and went over to speak to him.
“Well, what is it?” asked the professor, not recognizing Joe, for the place was dark.
“Don’t you remember me?” our hero questioned. “I’m Joe Strong who——”
“Well met! Say, but I am glad to see you!” cried the magician, heartily. “Perhaps you’re just the very one who can help me out!”
“Well, I’ll be very glad if I can,” said Joe. “I came to you to ask you to help me. I want a place where I can earn my living. I’ve run away from home, and I’m going to learn to be a magician. ”

“ 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. ”

“ So if a magician takes a live pig out of a hat, it is very certain he first put it there. Of course, how he gets it there is his trick—he does it so quickly and deftly that one fails to see him. Certainly, one cannot fold a guinea pig up into a packet the size of a pill box, as one can yards and yards of paper ribbon, but there are ways of getting it in a hat which differ with each conjurer.
The show was over, the audience departed, having passed an enjoyable evening, and Professor Rosello was putting away his apparatus when he saw a man walking down the aisle toward the stage. ”

“ The secret of his abilities, if secret it was, lay in the fact that his mother, now dead some years, had been one of the most daring bareback riders in any circus that ever toured the country. She was billed as Madame Hortense, though her name was Mrs. Janet Strong. She was an English woman, and Joe dimly remembered hearing that before her marriage her name had been Willoughby. ”

“ Even a momentary passage through it would likely cause death if the man inhaled the fire. At best, he would be terribly burned.
But Joe Strong knew what he was doing. As the crowd watched, they saw him take off his soaking wet coat and trousers, wet from his swim across the creek. In another instant Joe had wrapped and twisted the sodden garments around the form of the magician, covering his head and face.
It was then the work of but an instant for Joe to fasten the rope about Professor Rosello. ”

“ 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?” ”

“ Joe went on, “a fresh egg sinks in water. You can prove it at home, and I’ll prove it here for you. Just pick out any one of these eggs,” he said, and, extending them on a plate to a woman in the audience, he took from her the egg she picked up.
“The lady looks like a good cook, she ought to know good eggs,” said Joe, and again there was a laugh.
“Now I’ll just put this egg in this jar of water,” went on the young magician; “but instead of sinking, when I speak the magic word, it will remain floating half-way between the top of the water and the bottom of the jar. Now watch me closely.” ”

“ The youth was in fine physical condition, and he knew he could easily reach the freight train before it passed entirely beyond the station, for it was a long one.
“But I counted on having time to pick out a car,” thought Joe, still running toward the railroad. “I wonder what I can do now?”
The matter worried him. It is not easy to “jump” a moving freight train. There are no cars with steps, such as passenger coaches have, with convenient hand rails. Jumping a moving freight train is a risky matter, even for a trained railroad brakeman. ”

“ I may not be able to do much for you, but such as I can do, I will do gladly. I know many men and women in such lines of public life as I, myself, follow, and it may be I can help you to gratify some ambition.”
“I wonder if you could?” asked Joe, boldly. “I have only one ambition—that is at present—and that is, to be what you are.”
“A magician?” cried Professor Rosello, somewhat surprised.
“Yes,” answered Joe.
The professor was silent a moment.
“Young man,” he said, “it is not an easy life. ”

“ Though he tried to be jolly with himself, he was not in very good shape for joking. He was lame and stiff from sleeping on the hay-bed, and he felt the need of washing, as any one does, even if he travels in a real Pullman. Then, too, he was hungry.
“Wonder if we hit anything then?” Joe asked himself, for the train seemed to have stopped with unusual suddenness. “Guess I’ll take a look out.” ”

“ He then described the feat, explaining what apparatus would be necessary to have it properly worked.
“Say, that’s a good one!” cried Professor Rosello. “It’s great, Joe! And I’ll let you do it yourself, as is your right. I’ll order what you want, and you can practice it, for remember this: a new trick requires lots of practice to make it run smoothly. There’s nothing worse for a magician’s reputation than to have a slip-up when he is working a piece of magic. So practice the new trick well.” ”

“ Another explosion occurred, lifting a roof off one of the frail buildings, and depositing the blazing mass over on the railroad tracks, and rather dangerously near the passenger depot, which was not far from the freight station.
“There goes the fire alarm!” cried Harry.
“They’ll be here in no time. It’s a general alarm when anything like a fireworks factory goes up,” said Joe. “There they come,” he added, as he looked back toward the town, and pointed to an automobile fire-fighting apparatus coming along the road. The auto-engine was a new purchase for Bedford. ”

“ I might state, Joe, that of course nothing ever comes out of a tall hat, or any other kind of a hat, my own, or that of any one else, unless it has first been put there. ‘Loaded’ is the term we use. That is to say, I must first put into the hat a live rabbit, a cannon ball, a piece of cheese, an egg—anything, in fact, that I wish to produce I must first put in the prepared hat. Then I can bring it out.
“So much for the hat. Only, as I said, tall hats are rather hard to borrow, so I often work with an ordinary derby, having one of my own made with a secret compartment. ”

“ Joe thought of Helen Morton, of Benny Turton, the “human fish,” and of the kind ring-master. Joe was beginning to feel a new and strange pull at his heart strings.
And how it resulted may be learned by reading the next volume of this series, to be entitled: “Joe Strong on the Trapeze; or, The Daring Feats of a Young Circus Performer.”
“What are you thinking of, Joe?” asked the professor as they sat in the train that night.
“A new trick,” was the answer. “You take a horse named Rosebud and you——”
“What! A horse on the stage?” cried the professor, in wonder. ”

“ Joe laid out his money, and then, rather idly, he began palming coins, doing various tricks with them, sending them spinning up in the air seemingly to vanish.
“A little out of order,” Joe said, as he missed one trick. “I’ll have to practice.”
As Joe put the money in his pocket his fingers came in contact with a paper. He drew it out. It was the list of towns where Professor Rosello would play.
“That’s what I’ll do,” decided the young wizard. “I’ll go to him. He said he’d help me if he could. I don’t imagine he is very rich, but he’s good. ”

“ As Professor Rosello was not going to give a show that evening, Joe was free. He went to the afternoon and evening circus performances, and he tried to tell himself that it was to watch the “human fish” and some other special acts. But though Benny’s act was interesting and startling, Joe paid more attention to the riding of Miss Helen Morton and the tricks of her horse, Rosebud, than he did to Benny. And the performance of Mademoiselle Mortonti was well worth watching. ”

“ I wish I could see some of the boys to bid ’em good-bye, but maybe it’s just as well not to. They might laugh at me, and I wouldn’t want that. Some day, when I’m a well-known magician, I’ll come back and give ’em a show that will open their eyes!”
Joe next picked up his valise. It was rather heavy, for he had stuffed in it belongings that had accumulated for years—little mementos and keepsakes of younger days. He also had in it what clothes he felt he would need. But Joe did not feel the weight of his satchel now. It was as light as a feather to him. ”

“ Joe had made up his mind to go to the town of Lorilard, distant about fifty miles from Bedford, where Professor Rosello was to give a performance the next day, and for two or three days following. This much the magician had told Joe in the interview at the hotel, when he gave him a list of his stopping places.
“Yes, I’ll go to see the professor at Lorilard,” decided Joe. “He can’t any more than turn me down. But he promised to help me, and he was grateful to me. I believe he’ll be able to do something.” ”

“ JOE’S FEAT There was so much going on—firemen and eager volunteers working at the hose and apparatus, railroad men and factory employees endeavoring to get out of the danger zone a car loaded with explosives, others removing from the factory and store-houses some of the powder, still others rushing here and there, uselessly shouting—there was so much of this sort of thing going on that, for a moment, no one noticed Joe Strong except his four chums. ”

“ Amos Blackford came on with his wife to have a look at Joe.
Mr. Beeze, the circus manager, had artfully neglected to state, in his early letters, the fact that Joe was the orphan of a bareback rider and a “Professor of Black Art and Magic”; and when Mr. and Mrs. Blackford discovered this they were well-nigh horrified. For they were old-fashioned persons, with very strict ideas about right and wrong, and to them a woman who rode a horse in a circus was a person not to be admitted to the best society, and they regarded the dead Professor Morretti in about the same light as they would an outlaw. ”

“ But Joe knew there was a life net carried on the auto fire engine, and he depended on this.
The chief of the Bedford department had not lost his head, and Joe had no sooner lowered the form of the magician to the ground when the quick mind of the chief was directed to saving the boy.
“Bring up that life net!” he shouted through his trumpet. It had been made ready some time before, but had not been used, since most of the employees had been rescued from the first floors. ”

“ Joe was not the sort of athlete that develops into a “strong man.” He was more of the all-around type, though he did possess unusual strength for a youth of his age. He could use it to advantage, too. The trapeze was his favorite, though he could do some startling feats on the flying rings and the horizontal bars. ”

“ This he held out to Tom, who, when he took it, found that he was grasping a lemon.
“Why—what—how did you——?” he stammered.
“Merely demonstrating that the hand is quicker than the eye,” said the professor, smiling.
“Joe can do——” began Tom, when he was again stopped by a swift kick under the table.
“As I said,” resumed the magician, with a smile, “I am always on the lookout for new effects. This morning, when I was waiting for my train at the station to take me and my effects on to the next town, where I show night after to-morrow, I noticed the fireworks factory. ”

“ Just here it may be stated for the benefit of readers unacquainted with the prestidigitator’s art, that “palming,” as it is known in the profession, is the act of holding an egg, billiard ball, lemon, coin, or some similar object, in the palm of the hand, by a slight contraction of the ball of the thumb, in such a manner that the hand, when the back of it is held out in front of an audience, appears perfectly empty. Passing of articles from one hand to another, involves palming, as does causing to “disappear” certain articles apparently taken from a person’s hat, clothes and so on. ”

“ Burke Denton and Jake Harrison!” murmured the deacon. “I—I never thought of them! The papers—the investment papers—they were taken with the money—why—why——”
He seemed lost in thought for a moment.
“Look here!” he finally said. “I’m not saying you didn’t rob me, Joe, but I’m a Christian, and I don’t want to accuse anybody unjustly. It is true that the men you speak of might have done it. Where can they be found?” ”

“ Joe exclaimed, with flashing eyes. “I wish I could be such a rider as I’ve heard my mother was, and as good a magician as my father. But, as I said, I’ve had to sort of keep my ambitions under cover.
“I have done a little practicing on the side, though, and I have some books on magic I’m studying. There’s more to it than most persons suppose. No, I don’t want to get to the bottom of any of Professor Rosello’s tricks. I fancy I know most of them anyhow. But I would like to know what he was doing in that factory, especially up where he was when the fire broke out.” ”

“ But he was right after me, and I didn’t think I made much noise.
“Let’s see now,” went on our hero, musingly, as he straightened up after lacing his shoes. “What had I better do? Say, it’s great to feel free to do just as one pleases for the first time in years!”
Joe flung up his arms and gazed at the silent, blinking stars which sprinkled the sky overhead.
“It sure does feel good to be your own boss! I can go when I please, and come when I please, and 89I don’t have to stand the shame of a beating just because I burned a suit in saving a man’s life! It sure is good to be free!” ”