The Circus Boys on the Flying Rings; Or, Making the Start in the Sawdust Life

by Edgar B. P. Darlington

  CHAPTER VII

  MAKING FRIENDS WITH THE ELEPHANTS

  "Is it possible? I didn't know that," marveled the boy. "Anddoes she perform?"

  "Everybody works in this outfit, young man," laughed theassistant, "as you will learn if you hang around long enough.Going to the show?"

  "Yes, sir."

  "Got seats?"

  "Mr. Sparling provided me with tickets, thank you. But I've gotto get home first and put on some other clothes. This suit isabout done for, isn't it?"

  "I should say it was. You did that stopping the horse, didn'tyou?"

  Phil nodded.

  "Boss will buy you a new suit for that."

  "Oh, no; I couldn't allow him to do that," objected Phil.

  "Well, you are a queer youngster. So long. I'll see you whenyou come in this afternoon. Wait, let me see your tickets."

  The lad handed them over wonderingly, at which his questionernodded approvingly.

  "They're good seats. Hope you will enjoy the show."

  "Thank you; I am sure I shall," answered Phil, touching his hatand starting on a run for home.

  Arriving there, Mrs. Cahill met him and threw up her hands inhorror when she observed the condition of his clothes.

  "I am afraid they are gone for good," grinned Phil ratherruefully.

  "No. You leave them with me. I'll fix them up for you. I heardhow you saved that show woman's life. That was fine, my boy. I'mproud of you, that I am. You did more than all those circus mencould do, and the whole town is talking about it."

  "If you are going to the show you had better be getting ready,"urged Phil, wishing to change the subject.

  "All right, I will. I'll fix your clothes when I get back. Willyou be home to supper?"

  "I don't know for sure. If I can I'll be back in time, butplease don't wait for me. Here is your ticket."

  The lad hurried to the room the good woman had set aside for himand quickly made the change of clothing. He was obliged tochange everything he had on, for even his shirt had been torn inhis battle with the broncho. After bathing and putting on thefresh clothes, Phil hurried from the house, that he might missnothing of the show.

  The sideshow band was blaring brazenly when he reached the lot.The space in front of the main entrance was packed with people,many of whom pointed to him, nodding their heads and directingthe attention of their companions to the lad.

  Phil wished he might be able to skulk in by the back door andthus avoid their attention, but as this was impossible, he pulledhis hat down over his eyes and worked his way slowly toward thefront of the crowd.

  Getting near the entrance, he saw Mr. Sparling's assistant. Thelatter, chancing to catch sight of Phil, motioned him to crawlunder the ropes and come in. The boy did so gratefully.

  "The doors are not open yet, but you may go in. You will havetime to look over the animals before the crowd arrives, then youcan reach your seat before the others get in. Please let me seethose checks once more."

  The assistant made a mental note of the section and number of theseats for future reference and handed back the coupons.

  Phil stole into the menagerie tent, relieved to be away from thegaze and comments of the crowd that was massed in front.

  "Gracious, I'm afraid I wouldn't make a very good circus man. Ihate to have everybody looking at me as if I were some natural orunnatural curiosity. Wonder if I will know any of the showpeople when they are made up, as they call it, and performing inthe ring? I shouldn't wonder if they didn't know me in my bestclothes, though," grinned the boy.

  Phil had had the forethought to bring a few lumps of sugar in hispocket. Entering the menagerie tent, he quickly made his way tothe place where the elephants were chained, giving each one ofthe big beasts a lump. He felt no fear of them and permittedthem to run their sensitive trunks over him and into his pockets,where they soon found the rest of the sugar.

  After disposing of the sweets, both beasts emitted a loudtrumpeting. At such close quarters the noise they made seemed toshake the ground.

  "Why do they do that?" questioned Phil of the keeper.

  "That's their way of thanking you for the sugar. You've madefriends of both of them for life. They'll never forget you, evenif they don't see you for several seasons."

  "Do they like peanuts?"

  "Do they? Just try them."

  Phil ran to a snack stand at the opposite side of the tent andbought five cents' worth of peanuts, then hurried back to theelephants with the package.

  "What are their names?"

  "The big one is Emperor and the smaller one is called Jupiter,"answered the keeper, who had already recognized his youngvisitor.

  "Are they ever ugly?"

  "Never have been. But you can't tell. An elephant is liable togo bad most any time, then you--"

  "But how can you tell, or can't you?"

  "Most always, unless they are naturally bad."

  "How do you know?"

  "See that little slit on the cheek up there?"

  "Yes," said Phil, peering at the great jowls wonderingly.

  "Well, several days before they get in a tantrum you will see afew tear drops--that's what I call them--oozing from that littleslit. I don't know whether it's water on the brain or what it is.But when you see the tear drops you want to get from under andchain Mr. Elephant down as quickly as possible.

  "That is strange."

  "Very. But it's a sure sign. Never knew it to fail, and I'veknown some elephants in my time. But Emperor and Jupiter neverhave shed a tear drop since I've known them. They are not thecrying kind, you know."

  The lad nodded understandingly.

  "How about the lions and the tigers--can you tell when they aregoing to have bad spells?"

  "Well," reflected the showman, "it's safe to say that they'vealways got a grouch on. The cats are always--"

  "Cats?"

  "Yes. All that sort of animals belong to the cat family andthey've got only one ambition in life."

  "What's that?"

  "To kill somebody or something."

  "But their keepers--don't they become fond of their keepers ortrainers?"

  The elephant tender laughed without changing the expression ofhis face. His laugh was all inside of him, as Phil characterizedit.

  "Not they! They may be afraid of their keeper, but they would assoon chew him up as anybody else--I guess they would rather, forthey've always got a bone to pick with him."

  "Do any of the men go in the cages and make the animals performhere?"

  "Oh, yes. Wallace, the big lion over there, performs everyafternoon and night. So does the tiger in the cage next to him."

  Phil had dumped the bag of peanuts into his hat, which he heldout before him while talking. Two squirming trunks had been busyconveying the peanuts to the pink mouths of their owners, so thatby the time Phil happened to remember what he had brought them,there was not a nut left in the hat.

  He glanced up in surprise.

  "Emperor, you are a greedy old elephant," laughed Phil, pattingthe trunk.

  Emperor trumpeted loudly, and the call was immediately taken upeven more loudly by his companion.

  "No, you can't have any more," chided Phil. "You will haveindigestion from what you've already eaten, I'm afraid. Behave,and I'll bring you some more tonight if I come to the show," helaughed.

  Two caressing trunks touched his hands, then traveled gently overhis cheeks. They tickled, but Phil did not flinch.

  "You could do most anything with them now, you see," nodded thekeeper. "They'd follow you home if I would let them."

  "Especially if my pockets were full of sweets."

  "There's the animal trainer getting ready to go into the lioncage, if you want to see him," the attendant informed him.

  "Yes, I should like to. And thank you very much for yourkindness."

  "You're welcome. Come around again."

  The boy hurried over to the lion cage. The people were nowcrowding into
the menagerie tent in throngs. There seemed toPhil to be thousands already there. But all eyes now beingcentered on Wallace's cage, they had no time to observe Phil, forwhich he was duly thankful.

  The animal trainer, clad in red tights, his breast covered withspangles, was already at the door of the cage, whip in hand. Whena sufficient crowd had gathered about him, he opened the door,and, entering the cage threw wide the iron grating that shutWallace off from the door end of the wagon. The big lion boundedout with a roar that caused the people to crowd backinstinctively.

  Then the trainer began putting the savage beast through itspaces, causing it to leap over his whip, jump through paperhoops, together with innumerable other tricks that caused thespectators to open their mouths in wonder. All the time Wallacekept up a continual snarling, interspersed now and then with aroar that might have been heard a quarter of a mile away.

  This was a part of the exhibition, as Phil shrewdly discovered.The boy was a natural showman, though unaware of the fact. Henoted all the little fine points of the trainer's work with asmuch appreciation as if he had himself been an animal trainer.

  "I half believe I should like to try that myself," was his mentalconclusion. "But I should want to make the experiment on a verylittle lion at first. If I got out with a whole skin I mightwant to tackle something bigger. I wonder if he is going intothe tiger cage?"

  As if in answer to his question, an announcer shouted out theinformation that the trainer would give an exhibition in the cageof the tiger just before the evening performance.

  "I'll have to see that," muttered Phil. "Guess I had better getin and find my seat now."

  At the same time the crowd, understanding that the lionperformance was over, began crowding into the circus tent.

  The band inside swung off into a sprightly tune and Phil couldscarcely repress the inclination to keep time to it with hisfeet. Altogether, things were moving pretty well with PhilForrest. They had done so ever since he left home the day before.In that one day he had had more fun than had come to him in manyyears.

  But his happy day would soon be ended. He sighed as he thoughtof it. Then his face broke out into a sunny smile as he caught aglimpse of the ropes and apparatus, seen dimly through theafternoon haze, in the long circus tent.

  As he gained the entrance between the two large tents he saw thesilk curtains at the far end of the circus arena fall apart,while a troop of gayly caparisoned horses and armored riderssuddenly appeared through the opening.

  The grand entry was beginning.

  "Gracious, here the show has begun and I am not anywhere near myseat," he exclaimed. "But, if I am going to be late I won't bealone. There are a whole lot more of us that were too muchinterested in the animal trainer to think to come in and get ourseats. I guess I had better run. I--"

  Phil started to run, but he got no further than the start.

  All at once his waist was encircled in a powerful grip and hefelt his feet leaving the ground. Phil was being raised straightup into the air by some strange force, the secret of which he didnot understand.