Rescue
“You’ll get out of here all right,” said the circus man to Veve.
He spoke rather gruffly because he was annoyed to find the two girls in
the car. To send them home to their mothers would cause considerable
trouble.
“We want to go back to the Brownie camp,” said Veve with a half-sob.
“Miss Gordon will be worrying about what happened to us.”
“Who is Miss Gordon?” asked the circus man.
“Our Brownie Scout troop leader,” explained Connie.
The circus man lifted both girls down from the golden coach. Their
limbs were so cramped they barely could stand on their feet at first.
“How long have you youngsters been in this car?” he asked in a more
friendly voice.
“We don’t know,” Veve answered between sobs. “Ever since the circus
train left Shady Hollow.”
“That was late yesterday afternoon. It’s practically morning now. How
did you get in this car anyhow?”
Veve and Connie told him of their excursion into Shady Hollow to buy
groceries to take back to the Brownie Scout camp, and of their desire
to sit in the golden coach “just for a minute.”
“We didn’t mean to be carried away,” Connie explained earnestly.
“Someone just slammed the door and we couldn’t get out.”
“What will become of us?” inquired Veve anxiously.
“You’ll have to stay with the circus until your parents send for you.”
“But we don’t want to go home,” Connie said quickly. “We want to return
to Shady Hollow Camp.”
“Then we’ll notify your troop leader,” the circus man agreed. “What is
your name, little girl?”
“Connie Williams, and this is Veve McGuire.”
“I’ll send a telegram to your Brownie Scout leader right away,” the
circus man promised. “Hungry?”
“Practically starved,” said Connie.
By this time, the man who had been called “Bill” came to the doorway of
the car. He reached up his arms and the other workman handed the two
girls down to him.
Veve and Connie were relieved to escape from the dark, cramped
quarters. However, the night air was very chilly and they had no
sweaters or jackets.
“The sun soon will be up,” one of the men said, slipping his jacket
over Connie’s shoulders. “Then as soon as the cook tent is up, we’ll
have breakfast.”
“When will we get back to Shady Hollow camp?” Veve asked.
“That depends. We’re several hundred miles from there now. Someone will
have to come after you.”
“Oh,” said Connie in a thin little voice. She was thinking how very
much trouble and expense Miss Gordon would be caused.
The circus man asked for the full name of the Brownie Scout leader,
writing it on an envelope. As he talked to the girls, other circus folk
wandered by from the sleeper cars. They too paused to ask questions.
Everyone seemed quite friendly.
Suddenly, in the group, Connie caught sight of Mr. Carsdale. The animal
trainer saw her at the same instant.
“Hello!” he exclaimed. “How did _you_ get here?”
Once again Connie related how she and Veve had been locked inside the
box car.
“Mr. Carsdale, do you know these youngsters?” asked the workman who had
found them.
“Sure, they’re old friends of mine,” replied the animal trainer. He
told of his meeting with the entire Brownie troop at Rosedale.
“Then suppose I turn the girls over to you,” proposed the first man.
“You might see that they get breakfast and a place to sleep if they’re
tired. I’ll send off the telegram right away.”
“Sure, I’ll be glad to look after them,” promised Mr. Carsdale.
“Are we to have something to eat right away?” asked Veve, who was very
hungry.
“Just as soon as the cook tent is up,” replied Mr. Carsdale. “That
shouldn’t be long now, for we’re unloading the circus. Meanwhile, I’ll
get some chocolate bars to tide you over.”
“I’m thirsty too,” said Connie, licking her dry lips.
Mr. Carsdale led the two girls into the railroad station. There he
bought four chocolate bars, giving them each a couple. At the fountain,
Veve and Connie drank all the water they wanted.
“Now we’ll hop a truck and ride to the circus grounds,” declared Mr.
Carsdale. “The lot isn’t far from here.”
“Will there be a show today?” asked Veve eagerly.
“Not until tomorrow,” replied the animal trainer. “The circus is having
a day of rest.”
“I hope we get to see another show while we’re here,” declared Veve.
Already she was beginning to feel very much at home with Mr. Carsdale.
Now that she knew she was safe, she thought it would be fun to stay
with the circus several days. However, that would mean missing camp,
and neither of the girls wanted to do that.
Mr. Carsdale boosted the children up into the truck. When it was fully
loaded, the driver started off for the circus lot.
By this time the sky was brightening. Near the circus lot torches were
burning.
“Why are the torches lighted?” questioned Connie, who wished to learn
about everything. “Is it so the drivers can see better?”
“Oh, no,” laughed Mr. Carsdale. “We ‘torch the road’ so the truckmen
will know how to reach the lot. When the torch is on the left-hand
side of the curb, it means we are to turn left.”
“And a torch at the right-hand side means turn to the right?” asked
Veve.
“Yes, when there are no torches, we keep straight ahead.”
The sun was up by the time the truck rattled into the circus lot.
Workmen were driving stakes and setting up the big canvas tent. Already
nearly all of the smaller ones used by the performers were in place.
“Yonder is the cook tent,” said Mr. Carsdale, pointing it out to the
girls. “When the flag goes up, it means breakfast is ready.”
As Connie and Veve watched the work around the circus lot, they kept
within view of the cook tent. They could see curls of smoke arising
above the canvas. And then at last, the flag was raised.
“There it goes!” Veve shouted to Mr. Carsdale. “It’s flying now!”
“Then we’ll go right over,” smiled the animal trainer. “I’m pretty
hungry myself.”
The air was fragrant with the odor of frying sausages. Walking toward
the cook tent, Connie and Veve sniffed the air. They thought they never
had smelled anything so utterly delicious.
At the entrance of the tent a man stood taking tickets.
“Do we have to pay to get in?” asked Veve in surprise.
“No,” answered Mr. Carsdale, “but the workmen must have tickets.
They’re required to prevent those who don’t belong to the circus from
getting free meals.”
Veve and Connie observed that the animal trainer seemed well acquainted
with the man at the entrance of the cook tent. He guided them into
another tent which served as the circus dining room.
Already a number of performers were seated at several long tables set
with heavy china.
“Where do we sit, Mr. Carsdale?” asked Connie politely.
“My place is over here near the tent wall,” said the animal man. “You
may sit next to me.”
A waiter in a white coat brought the girls pancakes, sausages, tomato
juice and fruit. The food was very good and there was a great deal of
it. However, Veve and Connie saw so many interesting persons that after
the first few minutes they nearly forgot to eat.
Across the table from Veve sat the Thin Man from the side show. Next
to him were several little people no taller than Connie or Veve.
Although adults, they never would grow any larger, and were known as
Lilliputians.
“Why are they so small, Mr. Carsdale?” Veve asked in a whisper. “Didn’t
they have enough cod liver oil when they were children?”
Connie gave her friend a quick kick under the table. However, Mr.
Carsdale merely laughed and answered the question.
“They’re not small from any lack of food,” he explained. “They’re just
that way because they’re freaks of nature.”
Veve and Connie were only half through breakfast when Eva Leitsall
sauntered into the tent. The little circus girl stopped short on seeing
them at the table. She certainly never had expected to meet Veve and
Connie again.
“Come over here, Eva!” called Mr. Carsdale.
The little girl sat down in an empty seat next to Veve. Now that she
was not dressed in her circus costume she looked like any ordinary
child. Her curly hair had not been combed very well and her eyes were
sleepy.
“Have you joined the circus?” she asked Connie and Veve.
“Sure, they both have,” laughed Mr. Carsdale, who had decided to have a
little fun. “At least for a while.”
“What have you signed on to do?” asked Eva, not very well pleased.
Now, Mr. Carsdale liked Eva but he also enjoyed teasing her. He knew
the little circus girl was inclined to feel rather proud of her
accomplishments and that she sometimes boasted. So he said quickly:
“I may make Veve my assistant in the animal act. And Connie might be in
the riding act.”
“We don’t need anyone,” replied Eva, scowling. “Besides, she can’t
ride, can she?”
“Didn’t I hear your father say he needs someone who can do the
somersault without being afraid?” teased Mr. Carsdale.
Eva stared at the animal trainer and didn’t say a word.
“Connie wouldn’t mind practicing hard either, would you, Connie?” Mr.
Carsdale went on.
“Oh, no,” replied the little girl. “I would like to be a wonderful
rider.”
“I guess it wouldn’t seem so wonderful if you had to be in two shows
every day,” retorted Eva. “I have to work all the time. My parents
make me practice that silly old somersault over and over.”
“That’s so you will be sure of it and never fall and injure yourself,”
said Mr. Carsdale.
“Anyway, I’m sick of doing it,” announced Eva. “I’m tired of riding on
trains. I’d like to live like other children do and just have fun.” Her
gaze rested for an instant on the dancing elf pin attached to Connie’s
Brownie uniform. “I’d like to be a Brownie,” she added.
“Don’t you like the circus?” Connie asked in astonishment.
“Not when I have to work all the time.”
Connie and Veve were very much surprised by the circus girl’s words.
They realized now that Eva had only been pretending before. She had
tried to make them think circus life was exciting, only to arouse their
envy and admiration.
“Suppose you take Connie and Veve in tow and show them around the lot,”
Mr. Carsdale suggested to Eva. “Everything is new to them, you know.”
“All right,” agreed Eva willingly enough. “As soon as I finish my
breakfast.”
Presently Mr. Carsdale went away, leaving the three girls together.
“Are you really joining the circus?” Eva asked when the animal trainer
was out of hearing.
“Oh, no,” answered Connie. “We’re returning to Shady Hollow just as
soon as someone comes for us.”
She told Eva about the Brownie camp and how she and Veve had been
locked inside the railroad car.
“I knew Mr. Carsdale was teasing me,” the little circus girl said in
relief. “I was sure no one else would be given my place in the riding
act.”
Eva finished her breakfast. Then she asked the girls what they would
like to see first.
Veve said she would enjoy visiting the big kitchen. Eva took the girls
into a nearby tent where nearly all the circus food was prepared.
Instead of ordinary sized pans, huge steam cookers were used.
“My, it must take a lot of food to feed so many people,” remarked
Connie.
“We buy a hundred and seventy loaves of bread a day,” said Eva. She
spoke as if she did the ordering herself. “And we bake nearly that many
pies.”
Stacked outside the tent were many unopened crates of fruit and
vegetables. Connie and Veve saw oranges, grapefruit, apples and even
strawberries.
Next, the little circus girl led her companions to the butcher shop.
Entire quarters of beeves were lying on long wooden tables. Men in
white aprons chopped off huge steaks and tossed them into cooking pans.
“My, wouldn’t the Brownies like to see this?” murmured Connie. “I
wonder if they know yet where we are?”
Although she and Veve had been told that a telegram had been sent to
Shady Hollow Camp, as yet no reply had been received.
After seeing the butcher shop, the three girls wandered about the lot.
Eva introduced her friends to several other circus boys and girls.
However, few of the children had time to talk for more than a few
minutes. All of them seemed to have work to do. Two boys were
practicing on the trampoline, a taut canvas which tossed them into the
air when they sprang from it.
Over and over the boys would practice backward and forward somersaults.
“Want to see Sniff, our dog, do it too?” one of the boys asked. “He’s
better than we are.”
Whey they dropped Sniff on the canvas, he leaped into the air and
turned several somersaults backwards.
“Are you in an act together?” Connie asked, greatly impressed.
“Not yet,” one of the boys answered. “We’re not good enough.”
A little farther on, a mother was teaching her five year old daughter
how to hang by her teeth from a rope. The rope, however, was only a few
inches from the ground.
“That’s Fifi,” said Eva, nodding toward the child. “She’ll be in the
butterfly act when she’s older.”
Now Connie and Veve did not say much, but already they recognized that
to be in the circus one needed to be very skillful. Apparently, even
the children had to work hard and practice almost constantly.
“How many children are there on the lot?” Connie asked curiously.
“Oh, eight or ten or twelve,” Eva said. “I never know for certain. They
come and go.”
“Any girls your own age?” inquired Veve.
“Oh, sure. Elsie, Mae, Charmaine and Cleo.”
“Enough for a Brownie Scout troop,” said Connie jokingly.
“I wish we could have a club,” replied Eva in a serious tone. “But no!
All we do is work, work, work.”
Now that Veve and Connie were getting fairly well acquainted with the
little circus girl they liked her much better than they had at first.
She did not act as know-it-all as she had at Rosedale.
“What do you want to see now?” asked Eva.
“Could we look at the elephants?” Veve requested.
“Of course. I think the elephants are the most interesting part of the
circus myself. They’re one of the smartest animals in the world.”
The elephants had been chained to heavy iron stakes now that their
morning’s work was done. An attendant had just given them their ration
of hay.
Veve and Connie laughed aloud as they watched the elephants swish it up
with their long, snaky trunks.
“That big fellow over there is Old Sal,” said Eva. She pointed to an
elephant with a very wrinkled skin. “You should see her boss the others
around.”
“And do they really obey her?” asked Veve.
“They have to,” answered Eva. “When they don’t, she beats them hard
with her trunk. That makes them come to time right away.”
The little circus girl told the pair more about the ways and habits of
elephants.
“Don’t get too near Old Sal,” she warned Veve. “She might take that
blue hair ribbon when you’re not looking.”
“Why would she want my ribbon?” Veve asked, backing away.
“Old Sal collects everything bright colored,” explained Eva. “You’ll
notice she has bits of paper and ribbons hidden in the hay. Old shoes
too and cigar butts.”
At another stake the circus girl pointed out Bubbles, an elephant that
had been captured in Ceylon.
“My, it must be hard to tame an elephant,” Connie said. “They’re such
big animals.”
“You’d think so if one ever stepped on you,” laughed Eva. “Bubbles
weighed nearly five tons when she first came to the circus!”
“How was she captured?” Veve asked curiously.
“Oh, elephants always travel in herds, you know,” the circus girl
explained carelessly. “To catch one elephant you have to catch a herd
of them.”
“You didn’t ever do it?” Veve questioned, for Eva talked exactly as if
she had taken part in the big elephant drive.
“Oh, no, but I’d like to! I’ve heard the circus men talk about it lots
of times. To trap a herd of elephants, the hunters first mark out
a huge circle in the jungle and set up log posts all around. That’s
called the _kraal_.”
“Why do they build a _kraal_?” Connie asked, puzzled.
“Because after they trap the elephants, they’d break right out again if
the pen weren’t terribly strong. After the fence has been built, the
hunters cover it with leaves and underbrush.”
“That’s to fool the elephant?” Veve guessed.
“Elephants are pretty smart,” the circus girl nodded. “If they wised up
that they were being driven into a trap, they’d put up an awful fight.”
“How do the hunters get the elephants into the _kraal_?” inquired
Connie.
“Oh, hundreds of native boys go into the jungle and frighten the
elephants by shouting and beating on toms-toms. The herd is driven
through the gates into the enclosure. Then quick as a flash, they light
fires, so the elephants won’t try to get out the way they came in.”
“That doesn’t sound very hard,” Veve said. “I thought it would be a
much bigger job to catch an elephant.”
“I guess it would be if you were doing it,” Eva replied. “Sometimes
the elephants get so angry at being trapped that they tear down the
_kraal_. But if it has been strongly built, they can’t get away. After
a while, the elephants quiet down and behave themselves. Then the men
ride in on tame elephants and pick out the elephant they want.”
“After going to all that trouble, why not keep them all?” questioned
Veve. “If I were a hunter, that’s what I would do.”
“Oh, no you wouldn’t!” corrected Eva, tossing Bubbles a peanut. “One
can’t hunt elephants without a permit. And the government never allows
many to be taken at one time. That’s to protect the herds from being
destroyed.”
“Well, anyway, it would be fun to capture even one elephant,” Veve
declared. “And once you had him, he would live a long time.”
“Wrong again!” laughed the little circus girl. “Elephants have a life
span the same as a man. They do their best work in their twenties and
thirties and are old when they get to be seventy or eighty.”
“Eva, did you ever hear of a rogue elephant?” Connie asked. She had
read the name in an animal book but did not understand its meaning.
“Oh, sure,” the circus girl replied, eager to impart information.
“Every elephant herd has a natural leader. Usually it’s the bull that
is the best fighter. But sometimes another elephant will try to become
the leader. Then he fights him. The winner becomes the herd leader, and
the loser usually goes off, turning bad.”
“What do you mean, he turns bad?” Veve inquired, rather puzzled.
“Oh, if it’s in the jungle, he tears up small trees and smashes
branches. Sometimes he raids the plantations. Such an elephant is
called a rogue. We had one once here in the circus and had to get rid
of him because he made so much trouble.”
Connie and Veve very much enjoyed watching the elephants and hearing
about them. But despite their interest, they were growing very tired.
Veve especially, kept rubbing her eyes.
“I guess you’ve seen enough of the circus for now,” said Eva. “After
you’ve rested, I’ll show you more. We’ll go now and ask Mr. Carsdale
where you’re to sleep.”
“Do circus folks sleep in the daytime?” Veve asked, trying to cover a
yawn.
“You can if you like,” Eva answered, leading the girls across the lot.
“I guess you had a hard time of it in that box car and are pretty
tired.”
“We’re dead,” admitted Connie.
She felt very grateful to the little circus girl for showing so much
interest in helping them. Eva really was very nice.
“I wonder when we’ll hear from Miss Gordon,” remarked Veve anxiously,
following the other two girls.
“Probably by the time you’ve had your snooze a telegram will be here.”
“Then we’ll have to go home or back to camp,” said Veve. “I won’t mind
if it’s the latter. But first, I want to see the circus performance
again.”
“I know something I should like to do too,” declared Connie earnestly.
“Something important.”
“What?” asked Veve and Eva.
“I should like to find the man who took Miss Gordon’s wrist watch and
the Brownie Scout money. Then maybe she would forgive us for riding
away on the circus train.”
“I don’t think there’s a chance we’ll ever see that old pickpocket
again,” replied Veve.
“We might,” insisted Connie. “Detective Clem Gregg told us that
pickpockets usually follow the circus from one town to another.”
“That’s so, they do,” agreed Eva. “That man might be in the crowd at
the show tomorrow.”
“I intend to watch for him if we’re still here,” announced Connie. “If
Miss Gordon should recover her wrist watch, she might be glad we were
carried away on the circus train!”
“I’ll keep my eyes open too,” offered the little circus girl. “If we
see that old pickpocket, we’ll make Clem Gregg arrest him.”