Joe Strong

“ Joe Strong was puzzled. Nothing like this had ever come up before. True, there had been swindlers who tried to mulct the circus of money, and there were always small boys, and grown men, too, who tried to crawl in under the tent. But such a wholesale game as this Joe had never before known.
"Well, five hundred dollars, for once, won't break us," he said grimly, as he fastened on a brightly spangled belt, "but I wouldn't want it to happen very often. Now I wonder what luck I'll have in my big swing. ”

“ 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." ”

“ Joe Strong was in two minds as he heard this warning and observed the face of the man he was befriending. His first thought was that Ham had broken his promise and was indulging in intoxicants. Naturally the man would want to conceal this as long as possible. The other thought was that the tramp fire-eater was up to some trick—perhaps he was jealous of Joe's success and his own failure and wanted to spoil some of Joe's apparatus. ”

“ 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. ”

“ Joe Strong seemed to dominate the situation. He displayed splendid nerve.
Helen went slowly from the room.
"The clerk will tell you where to find a policeman," Joe called to her. "You needn't tell him why one is needed. It may be that we shall get along without one, and there's no need of causing any excitement unless we have to."
"Joe—Joe," faltered Helen. "You will be careful—won't you?"
"Well," and Joe smiled quizzically, "I'll be as careful as he'll let me," and he nodded toward the law clerk.
"What do you mean?" demanded Sanford, uneasily. ”

“ 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. ”

“ And looking at it all was a vast throng of eager-eyed men, women and children. It was the opening performance of the circus.
"Good crowd all right," remarked Joe Strong, as he came back to the dressing tent from a preliminary survey of the audience. He took up one hole in the belt of his acrobatic suit of tights.
"Full house—is there?" asked a dark-complexioned, foreign-looking man, as he rubbed some rosin on the soles of his soft shoes, so they would not slip when he attempted some feat high up on a trapeze bar, or let himself down a rope head first, disdaining the use of his hands. ”

“ Joe had made up his mind to take the midnight freight that stopped at Bedford, and which arrived in Lorilard some time in the early morning. Joe was not particular as to time.
“I’ll have to save what money I have,” thought 91the boy, “so I won’t have any to waste on railroad fare. A freight car will suit me.”
Joe Strong walked on through the dark and silent streets. He kept on the grass as much as possible, for his footsteps rang out loudly in the quietness, and Joe knew that “Hen” Sylvester and Tim Donovan, the two policemen of Bedford, did not spend quite all the night in sleep. ”

“ The two could carry on a low-voiced conversation while "taking" their applause.
"Yes, I'm glad to see them that way," answered the youth. "It's not much fun playing to a frosty house."
"I should say not! Well, Joe, get ready for your pigeon-omelet trick, and I'll prepare the fire apparatus."
The professor, with a final bow, made an exit to one side of the stage, which was fitted up with Oriental splendor. As he went off, and as Joe Strong picked up some apparatus from a table near him, a disturbed look came over the face of the boy wizard.
"I don't like that fire trick," he mused. ”

“ 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. ”

“ Joe Strong, ever having the interest of the circus at heart, had decided to do this dangerous swing. He was an acrobat, as well as a stage magician, and he had decided to take up some of his earlier acts which had been so successful.
"But I wish he wouldn't," said Helen to herself. "I have a premonition that something will happen." Helen was very superstitious in certain ways.
But to all she said, Joe only laughed.
"I'm going to do the big swing," he replied simply.
CHAPTER III TOO MANY PEOPLE
Hundreds of men toiling and sweating over stiff canvas and stiffer ropes. ”

“ 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. ”

“ Helen Morton received much applause at the conclusion of her act with her trick horse, Rosebud. Joe Strong's promised wife was an accomplished bareback rider, as well as one of her fiancé's helpers in his mystery tricks.
"Well, I'm glad to-day is over," said Helen to Joe that night, as they went to the train that was to take them to the next city where the circus performance would be given. "What with doing the vanishing lady act for the first time in a long while and the tiger getting loose, we have had quite a bit of excitement." ”

“ One day "Professor Rosello" gave an exhibition of magic in Bedford, and new events in Joe's life dated from then. The young man saved the professor's life, and then, because of threatened punishment on the part of Deacon Blackford, Joe ran away from home, eventually joining Professor Rosello, who made him an assistant.
Joe Strong was then started on his career to become a magician, and he "made good," as they say in theatrical circles. He invented some startling tricks and was a great help to the professor. ”

“ At length she was calmer, and withdrawing herself from his arms, said, "Send Lige to me."
As he was leaving the room she stopped him.
"Joe, dear," she said, "thee must not feel hardly toward thy father. He is not a fanatic. His belief in the wickedness and futility of war is as deep and strong as his belief in God. He could not change it now—even for thee."
When Joe left the room his heart felt ready to burst with pain. He knew that the call of his country was a sacred one. He felt in every fibre of his being that he was doing his plain duty as a man and an American. ”

“ Joe is wild and reckless, yet his heart is a well of gold. He is a diamond in the rough. Just now he is possessed by wild notions of hunting Indians and roaming through the forests; but he'll come round all right. I wish I could tell you how much he has done for me, how much I love him, how I know him! He can be made worthy of any woman. He will outgrow this fiery, daring spirit, and then—won't you help him?"
"I will, if he will let me," softly whispered Nell, irresistibly drawn by the strong, earnest love thrilling in his voice. ”

“ 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. ”

“ But Professor Joe Strong, who will shortly have the pleasure of entertaining you, not only makes eggs disappear, but what is far more difficult, he causes a lady to vanish into thin air.
"You will see a beautiful lady seated in full view of you. A moment later, by the practice of his magical art, Professor Strong will cause the same lady to disappear utterly, and he will defy any of you to tell how it is done. ”

“ Moyne. "It's too easy money for the criminals to give up, I'm afraid. I'm on the lookout every day for more counterfeits."
"Well, I'll leave it to you," remarked Joe. "Whenever anything happens let me know and we'll take some action."
Joe Strong was now kept very busy in the circus. In fact he was what would be called a "star." He did his mystery box trick, and, with Helen, worked the "vanishing lady" trick so neatly that no one guessed how it was done. ”

“ 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." ”

“ I know you fellows have been calling me a 'tight-wad' and all that. I stood for it because——"
At that moment a dusty youth came pushing his way up to Joe, the Lascallas and some others of the circus folk who had formed a group about the boy fish. The youth was in the uniform of a telegraph messenger, and he pushed a dusty wheel, chewing gum the while.
"Say, where's Joe Strong?" he asked of no one in particular. "I've got a wire for him. Is he de guy what does dat tank act? Say! dat's swell, all right. ”

“ Then Joe performed his tricks, those with the celluloid cards seeming especially to please the audience.
"Mr. Strong will now show you how long it is possible for him to stay under water," announced the ring-master, "and if any of you think it is an easy thing to do, just take out your watches and time him, holding your own breaths as long as does the boy fish. We challenge the world to produce his equal!"
The band blared as Joe made his bow, and then, having inflated his lungs to their capacity, he slipped into the tank, and began "eating." ”

“ But Joe liked to work out new and difficult feats of strength, skill and daring, and he was generally successful.
He had not relaxed his policy of vigilance, and he never went up on a bar or on the rings without first testing his apparatus. For he never forgot the strangely rotted rope. That it had been eaten by some acid, he was sure.
He did not again get sight of that particular small trapeze, nor did he ask Sid or Tonzo what had become of it. He did not want to know.
"It's best to let sleeping dogs lie," reasoned Joe. "But I'll be on the lookout." ”

“ Joe's worst, whatever it might be, could not hurt me very badly. I was not so deeply into anything yet for that.
"He's a big man, and can hurt,—and he hurts everybody that runs up against him."
I leaned over against the window ledge and surveyed Rita.
"Well,—" I said, "I'm not as big as Joe is, but I have been schooled to hold my own. Joe shall have a good run for his money when he starts."
"Oh!—I know you're strong, and big, though not as big as him, and that you ain't afraid. Maybe that's why I like Joe sometimes,—he's never afraid. ”

“ Joe’s lips parted, and his voice came out of them, strained and shaken, and hoarse, like the voice of an old and hoary man.
“Judge Maxwell, your honor––”
“No, no! Don’t tell it, Joe!”
The words sounded like a warning call to one about to leap to destruction. They broke the tenseness of that moment like the noise of a shot. It was a woman’s voice, rich and full in the cadence of youth; eager, quick, and strong.
Mrs. Newbolt turned sharply, her face suddenly clouded, as if to administer a rebuke; the prosecutor wheeled about and peered into the room with a scowl. ”

“ 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. ”

“ 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. ”