CHAPTER XIX
TEDDY JOINS THE BAND
"I would suggest that you divide the band into two parts and havethem play on deck as we approach the next stand," said Phil laterthat evening.
"I think that a most excellent plan," decided Mr. Sparling."We will work it whenever we get in after daylight. It mightnot be a bad idea to try it tomorrow morning. I'll allow themusicians overtime for it, so there should be no objection ontheir part. We will make a triumphal entry into Des Moines,providing nothing happens to us in the meantime."
Mr. Sparling's face darkened as he thought of the dastardlyattempts that had been made against his young charges.
"I will see the leader before I turn in. You had better go tobed now, Phil. You have been keeping pretty late hours andworking unusually hard. Good night."
"Good night," answered Phil pleasantly.
Man and boy had come to be very fond of each other, andPhil Forrest could not have felt a more genuine affectionfor Mr. Sparling had the latter been his own father.
"A noble fellow," was Mr. Sparling's comment as the youth walkedaway from the cabin.
At half-past three o'clock the next morning the boat's passengerswere awakened by the blare of brass, the crash of cymbals and theboom of the big bass drum.
They tumbled out of bed in a hurry, for few of them knew of theplan of the owner to give an early morning concert on the deck ofthe "Fat Marie."
Teddy Tucker struck the floor of his cabin broadside on.
"Wake up, Phil! We're late for the show. It's already begun andhere we are in bed."
"Guess again, Teddy," answered Phil sleepily. "Don't you knowwhere you are?"
"I thought I did, but I don't. Where am I?"
"In our cabin on the ship."
"But the band, the band?"
"It is playing for the benefit of the natives along the shore."
"Oh, pooh! And here I am wide awake. Do you know what timeit is?"
"No."
"It is only twenty minutes of four."
"In the afternoon? Goodness we are late."
"No, in the morning, you ninny. This is a shame. I'll bet thatband concert was your suggestion, Phil Forrest."
Phil admitted the charge.
"Then you must take your medicine with the rest of us. Come outof that!"
One of Phil's feet was peeping out from under the covers.Teddy saw it and grabbed it. Being a strong boy, the mightytug he gave was productive of results.
Phil landed on his back on the floor, with a resounding thump anda jolt that made him see stars.
"Teddy Tucker, look out; I'm coming!"
"You had better look out; I'm waiting."
The two supple-limbed youngsters met in the middle of the cabinfloor and went down together. They were evenly matched, andthe muscles of their necks stood out like whip cords as theystruggled over the floor, each seeking to get a fall fromhis antagonist.
Teddy managed to roll under the bed, and there they continuedtheir early morning battle, but under no slight difficulties.Every time one of the gladiators forgot himself and raised hishead, he bumped it. Phil tried to force Teddy out from underthe bed, but Teddy refused to be forced.
"When--when I get you out of here I am going to do something toyou that you won't like, Teddy Tucker," panted Phil.
"What--what you going to do to me?"
"I'm going to pour a pitcher of cold water on your bare feet."
"Oh!"
The thought of it sent Teddy into a nervous chill. He wouldrather take a sound thrashing, at any time, than have that doneto him. Now he struggled more desperately than ever to hold Philunder the bed. At last, however, the boys rolled out and Teddy'sshoulders struck the cabin floor with a bang that sent thepitcher jingling in the wash bowl.
Phil sprang up, seized the water pitcher, making a threateningmove with it toward his companion.
"Wow! Don't, don't!" howled Teddy.
Phil pursued him around the cabin, the water splashing from thepitcher to the floor. Teddy yelling like a wild Indian everytime he stepped in the puddles.
The window was open and the band was playing just outside.
Suddenly a new plan occurred to Teddy--a plan whereby he mightescape from his tormentor.
Taking a running start he sprang up, making a clean dive throughthe window head-first.
The lad had intended to land on his hands, do a cartwheel andcome up easily on his feet. But the best-laid plans sometimesgo wrong.
The bass drummer was pounding his drum right in line withthe window. Teddy did not see the drum until too late tochange his course. His head hit the drum with a bang.He went clear through it, his head protruding from theother side. And there he stuck!
"Oh, wow!" howled the Circus Boy.
The other members of the band, discovering that the drum wasno longer marking time for them, got out of tune and came toa discordant stop.
The leader, whose side had been toward the drummer at the time,did not know what had happened. He was furious. He was aboutto upbraid them when he discovered the head of Teddy Tuckerprotruding from the head of the drum.
"Wha--wha--what--"
The bass drummer paid no attention to him. Instead he grabbedthe offending boy by the feet, bracing his own feet against therim of the instrument, and began to pull. The drummer was redin the face, perspiring and angry.
Teddy popped out like a pea from a pod. The Circus Boy was notyet out of his trouble. With unlooked-for strength the iratedrummer threw the lad over his knees, face down, and raised thedrumstick aloft.
This drumstick, as our readers well know, is made of heavyleather--that is the beating end is--and is hard. To add to thedistress of the victim, Teddy was in his pink pajamas and theywere thin.
Whack!
The stick came down with more force than seemed necessary.
"Ouch! Stop it! I'll pay you back for keeps for that!"
Whack!
"Oh, Phil!" Teddy was making desperate efforts to squirm awaynow, but his position was such that he was unable to bring hisfull strength to bear on the task.
The stick was raised for another blow, but there came aninterruption that took all thought of continuing the punishmentout of the mind of the angry drummer.
"Stop it! I don't want to be a drum!" howled the boy.
Splash!
A pitcher of water was emptied over the drummer's head, a largepart of the water running down and soaking Teddy to the skin,causing that young gentleman to howl lustily.
It gave the boy the opportunity he was looking for, however.With a quick twist he wrenched himself free from the grasp of thedrummer, dropped on all fours and was up and away, a pink streakalong the port side of the "Fat Marie."
Phil had come to the rescue of his companion. He now jerked thewindow shut and slammed the blind in place, after which hequickly got into his clothes, fully expecting that he should havea call from the bass drummer.
There was a great uproar on deck about that time, with muchshouting and unintelligible language--at least unintelligibleto Phil.
Before he had finished dressing, Teddy came skulking in, rubbinghimself and muttering threats as to what he proposed to do tothe drummer.
"You did it! You did!" he shouted, pointing a finger atPhil Forrest.
"It strikes me that you did something, too--"
"No I didn't. Something was done to me. I had on my pajamas,too," wailed the boy. "I'm glad you soaked him, though.Why didn't you throw the pitcher at him, too?"
"Oh, no, it might have hurt him, Teddy."
"Hurt him? Pshaw! Maybe the drumstick didn't hurt me. Oh, no!"
"Well, get dressed. I will go out and see if I can pour oil onthe troubled waters. You stay here. I don't want you mixing itup with the drummer. I'll attend to him."
Phil first hunted up Mr. Sparling, whom he found shaving inhis cabin.
"Why good morning, Phil. Why this early call?"
"I called to
ask you what a new set of heads will cost for thebass drum?"
"I think they are worth about fifteen dollars. Why do you ask?"
"Because Teddy and myself have just smashed the heads out of theone belonging to the band."
Mr. Sparling paused in his shaving long enough to glance keenlyat Phil. There was a twinkle in his eyes. He knew that hisCircus Boys had been up to some mischief. Phil was as solemn asan owl.
"It was this way," explained the lad, as he related how theaccident had occurred.
Mr. Sparling sat down and laughed.
"Never mind the drum heads. We have others for just such anemergency, I do not mind a little fun once in a while. We allhave to blow off steam sometimes."
"No, sir; we shall pay for the drum heads. To whom does thedrum belong?"
"The drummer, I think."
"Very well; thank you."
Phil hastily withdrew from the cabin and hurried back to hisown stateroom.
"Teddy," he said, "I want seven-fifty from you."
"What's that?"
"Seven dollars and a half, please."
Teddy began pawing over his trousers. All at once he paused,looking up at Phil suspiciously.
"You want to borrow seven-fifty, do you?"
"No, I want you to contribute it."
"To what?"
"To the fund."
"What fund? What are you talking about?"
"Those drum heads are worth fifteen dollars and we are going topay the owner of the drum for the damage we did. I will givehalf and you half."
"What!" shrieked Teddy.
"Come, pay up!"
"What! Give that fellow money when he's taken more than twenty-five dollars worth out of my hide? I guess not! What kind of aneasy mark do you think I am? Pay him yourself. You did it."
"Teddy, do you want me to give you a good thrashing, right hereand now?"
"You can't do it. You never could," returnedTeddy, belligerently.
"Come, hand out the money!"
Teddy eyed his companion for a full minute; then, thrusting ahand slowly into his own trousers' pocket, brought forth a goodlyroll of bills from which he counted off eight dollars.
"Tell him to keep the change."
"I will, thank you," said Phil with a merry twinkle in his eyes.
"It's like taking candy out of the mouth of a babe. I'll getmore than eight dollars' worth out of that bass--he's baser thanhe is bass. Bass sounds like a fish, doesn't it--out of thatbass drummer when I get a good fair chance at him. Sometime whenhe isn't looking, you know. I wonder if he could be the fellowwho stole my egg?" questioned Teddy reflectively.
Phil went out laughing, to make his peace with the drummer.
The Circus Boys on the Mississippi; Or, Afloat with the Big Show on the Big River Page 20