CHAPTER V
TAKEN BY SURPRISE
"Hurry up, Teddy!"
"What for?"
"Billy Ford is waiting for us out in the paddock."
"Oh, is that so? What does he want?"
"He's going to walk to the train with us, he says."
"That's good. I wonder if any of the other fellows willbe along?"
"No; I think not. I asked him if he were alone, and he saidhe was."
"We might give him a feed in the accommodation car,"suggested Teddy.
"No; you and I are going to bed right quick after we get back tothe train. I, for one, am tired after this strenuous day."
"It has been lively, hasn't it?"
"It has," answered Phil, laying special emphasis on the "has."
"Say, young man, where did you get that freak donkey?" demandedMr. Miaco, the head clown, approaching at that moment.
"Drew him in a prize package of chewing gum," called one ofthe performers.
"Where did you get him, anyway?" called another.
"You seem to know all about it, so what's the use of mytelling you?" retorted Teddy.
The lads had finished their work for the day, and nothing nowremained to be done except to disrobe, take a quick scrub downafter their severe exercise, don their clothes and take theirtime in getting to the train.
There was plenty of time for this, as their sleeper being on thethird and last section of the circus train, they would not leavefor nearly two hours yet, at the earliest.
The baths of the Circus Boys were more severe than pleasant, andin taking them each one had to perform a service for the other.The bath consisted of the performer's standing still while hiscompanion emptied several buckets of cold water over him,following it with a liberal smearing of soap and then some morepailfuls of water.
Once a week, over Sunday, the performers were allowed to sleepat hotels, providing the circus did not have an all day run.At such times they were able to enjoy the luxury of a hot bath,but at other times it was cold water--sometimes colder and morechilling than at others. Yet, they thrived under it, growingstrong and healthy.
Having once more gotten into their street clothes, refreshed andrested to a degree that would be scarcely believed after theirsevere exercise, both lads repaired to the paddock, where theyfound the president of the high school class waiting for them,interestedly watching the scene of life and color alwaysobservable in the circus paddock, a canvas walled enclosure whereperformers and ring stock await the call to enter the ring.
"Here we are, Billy," greeted Phil.
"Oh, so quick?" Billy started guiltily.
"That's the way we always do things," answered Teddy. "Have todo things on the jump, we circus men do."
"So I see. What are you going to do now?"
"Going to the car, of course. We always go right to the sleeperafter the show. Why?"
"Oh, nothing special. I thought maybe you might like to godowntown and visit with the boys for a while."
"I should like to do so very much, but I do not think it willbe best. We make it a rule to go straight home, as we call ourcar, and I've never broken over that rule yet, Billy."
"Very well, Phil; then I will walk along with you. I guess youknow the way."
"That's more than I do every night," laughed Phil. "It's acase of getting lost 'most every night, especially in the bigtowns, for the cars seldom are found at night where we leftthem in the morning."
"I shouldn't like that," objected Billy.
"We don't. But we can't help ourselves."
"Here, where you going?" demanded Teddy suddenly.
"Taking the path across the lot here. It is much shorter,"replied Billy.
"Oh, all right. I had forgotten about the path."
"I should think you would--"
Phil got no further in his remark. He was interrupted byPresident Billy, crying loudly:
"Here we are!"
Instantly fifteen or twenty shadowy forms sprang up from thegrass and hurled themselves upon the Circus Boys.
Taken by surprise as they were, Phil and Teddy gave a goodaccount of themselves. Shadow after shadow went down under agood stiff punch, for it must be remembered that both boys wereable to make a handsome living because of the possession of welltrained muscles.
Yet no two men could have stood up for long under the onslaught,and Phil and Teddy very soon went down with their assailantspiling on top of them.
Up to this point not a word had been spoken, nor did either ofthe lads have time to speculate as to who their enemies might be.
"Here, you fellow, get off my neck!" howled Teddy. "Let me getup and I'll clean up the whole bunch of you two at a time, ifyou'll give me half a chance."
No reply was made to this.
"Get the blankets!" commanded a deep voice.
A moment later the two lads were quickly wound in the folds of apair of large horse blankets. They were then picked up, none toogently and borne off to the other side of the field, kicking andsquirming in their efforts to escape.
Their captors, however, did not for an instant relax their hold,and further struggle proved vain.
Reaching the other side of the field, the Circus Boys were dumpedinto a wagon. This they knew because they heard the driver givethe directions regarding letting down the tail board.
Placing their burdens on the wagon floor, the captors very coollysat down on the boys. Then the wagon started. Never in the olddays of the road show, when Phil and Teddy were riding andsleeping in a springless canvas wagon, had they experienced arougher ride. It seemed as if every stone in the county had beenplaced in the path of the rickety old wagon in which they werebeing spirited away.
About this time Phil Forrest began to wonder. He could notunderstand the meaning of the attack. And what had become ofPresident Billy? He knew Teddy was lying beside him, but Billymust have made his escape. If so Billy would give the alarm, andthe show people would quickly overtake the kidnappers.
No such interruption occurred, however, rather greatly to Phil'ssurprise, so he lay still and waited for a favorable moment whenhe might take a hand in the affair himself.
Teddy's voice could be heard under his blanket, in muffled, angryprotestations, his feet now and then beating a tattoo on thewagon bottom. Such an act brought down the weight of his captorsupon the offending feet each time.
Once Teddy managed to work the covering from his mouth for onebrief instant.
"Hey, Rube!" he howled lustily, this being the signal knownto circus men the world over, when one or more of them isin trouble.
But there were no strong-armed circus men to come totheir rescue. All the circus laborers were working off onthe lot striking the tents and loading the show on the wagons.Teddy was given no further opportunity to protest.
After a journey of what seemed hours, and during which,Phil Forrest had lost all sense of direction, the wagoncame to a halt.
He could hear the hum of conversation as his captors consulted inlow tones. Then all at once he found himself jerked from thewagon and plumped down on the ground.
Teddy went through a similar experience, excepting that his fallwas considerably more severe. Teddy struck the ground with ajolt that made him utter a loud "Wow!"
He was on his feet in a twinkling, only to find himself pouncedupon and borne heavily to earth again.
Fuming and threatening, Teddy was roughly picked up, Phil beingserved likewise.
The boys felt themselves being borne up a short flight of stepsand down a long hall. Then came more steps. This time it was along flight of stairs, the kidnappers getting their burdens upthis with evident effort.
"I hope they don't drop me, now," thought Phil. "I shallsurely roll all the way to the bottom, though it might enableme to get away."
Finally an upper floor was reached. The captors bore theirburdens in and placed them on the floor. The Circus Boysrealized, at the same instant, that the vigilance of thekidnappers had been relax
ed for the second.
Throwing, the blankets off Phil and Teddy leaped to their feetready for flight. As they did so they met with the surprise oftheir lives.
The Circus Boys in Dixie Land; Or, Winning the Plaudits of the Sunny South Page 7