BETRAYED BY A SNEEZE
"How did that beast get up here?" demanded Mr. Sparling.
"Who, Cummings?" asked Teddy innocently.
"No, no! The donkey."
"Oh! Maybe he came up through the smoke stack. If you will look
at it you may find donkey tracks on the inside of the stack."
"That will do, that will do, young man."
It was found upon investigation that January had gnawed his
halter until only a thin strand held it together, which was easy
for the donkey to break. Then he began an investigation of the
boat, ending by his climbing the broad staircase and frightening
the pilot.
Next morning the pilot house looked as though it had been through
a shipwreck. The whole craft, in fact the entire fleet, was
laughing at the expense of Cummings, who now kept to himself,
studiously avoiding the other people. January was tied up with
a dog chain after that, and was not heard from again during any
trip of that season; that is, beyond his regular acts in the
sawdust arena.
The next day Phil Forrest began his investigation in earnest.
He knew that Mr. Sparling looked to him to discover who had
caused so much trouble in the show, besides which, Phil took a
personal interest because of the attempt that had been made on
the lives of Little Dimples and himself.
Teddy suggested that he go through the pilot's belongings,
expressing the firm belief that they would find the ostrich egg
were they to do so.
Phil consulted Little Dimples, that afternoon, as to her opinion
of the occurrences of the past week, but the star bareback rider
could shed no light on them, beyond the fact that certain people
with whom Phil had had difficulties might bear watching.
"That's what I think," answered the Circus Boy. "I do not like
to accuse anyone unjustly, but I have these suspicions of the
Spanish clown."
"Have you mentioned your suspicion to Mr. Sparling, Phil?"
"No."
"Do you intend to do so?"
"Not unless I find some facts to support my suspicion."
"You will get to the bottom of the mystery, I am sure," smiled
the woman.
"I am not so sure. Why do you think so?"
"Because you are one of the cleverest boys I ever knew,
that's why. I should hate to have you on my track if I
were guilty of any particular crime that you were trying to
run down. I should expect to land in jail, and I think I
should come straight to you and give myself up," added the
woman with a merry laugh.
"I wish I were all that you think I am, Dimples."
"You are. You saved my life again yesterday. I'm going to
pay you back, however. Someday, when you fall overboard,
Little Dimples is going to jump right in and rescue you--haul
you out by the hair of your head--"
"You can't, it is cut too short."
"Then I will pull you out by an ear."
"I shall make it my business to fall in, then, at the first
opportunity," laughed Phil. "It would be worthwhile."
Dimples gave him a playful tap.
"You can turn a compliment as well as you can do a turn in the
ring, can't you Phil Forrest?"
Despite their narrow escape from serious accident, Phil and
Dimples went through their double act in the ring that day and
evening with perfect confidence. Previous to going on, Phil had
had a ring attendant go over the sawdust circle on his hands and
knees, making a careful examination of it, to be sure that the
ring had not been tampered with.
>From that time on until the act went on, the ring was watched,
though Phil did not believe the miscreant would attempt to lay
another trap for him so soon. Still, he took nothing
for granted.
That night after the performance, the air being warm and balmy,
the Circus Boy strolled out on the lot, sitting down on a little
knoll to think matters over. There was plenty of time, for the
boat would not leave for two or three hours, and Phil wanted to
be alone.
Lights were twinkling on the lot like fireflies. There was
shouting and singing, but little of this conveyed itself to Phil,
for his mind was on other things.
All at once he pricked up his ears. He caught the sound of
running footsteps.
"Someone is coming this way," he muttered. "I wonder what
that means? Surely none of the circus people would come here.
They would go around by the road."
The lad concealed himself behind the knoll, peering over the top
of it. He resolved not to show himself until he had discovered
the identity of the newcomers.
They proved to be two men who halted a short distance beyond him,
and began to converse in guarded tones. It was so dark that Phil
could scarcely distinguish their figures and their voices were
pitched so low that it was impossible for him to hear what they
were saying.
"This looks queer," Phil muttered. "I wish I could hear what
they are talking about. Perhaps they are town fellows who have
been chased off the lot because they were in the way. At any
rate, I'm going to try to find out what they are up to.
Hello, they are coming right over here."
Phil crouched down behind the knoll and listened. The men turned
slowly and came toward him. All at once one of them stumbled on
the very knoll behind which he was secreted.
The man uttered a growl.
"Come, sit down," he said to his companion.
"We better go on," answered the other.
"No hurry. We've got all the time in the world. If we miss the
boat we can swim. That was a narrow escape. In a minute more
we'd had that wagon fixed so they would never have got off the
lot with it."
"Hello," muttered Phil under his breath. "Something surely is
going on here. One of the voices I have heard before, and the
other I seem to recognize. I believe that first fellow belongs
to the show. I am almost sure of it."
"You think the fellow suspects?"
"The tall one does. But he doesn't know whom be suspects."
"We have to take care."
"Yes."
"But we will get both before the end of the season."
"You bet we will. I have a plan that--"
"What is it?"
"It is this."
Phil had buried his head in the grass and compressed his body
into the smallest possible space that he might avoid discovery.
He could hear the two men breathe, and he reasoned that they
might hear him as well.
"You know the big net?"
"You mean the one over which the flying four perform?"
"Yes."
"What about it?"
"It can be fixed."
"How?"
"By weakening some of the strands on each side."
"That is good, but suppose someone noticed."
"Not if it is done right. I don't mean to do it all at once.
I'll doctor one or two strands every day until the net is so
weakened that it won't hold."
"Yes, but how will you do this so no one will see?"
"I'll tell you. After the act is over they roll the net up and
carry it out. It is dumped just outside the pad room, where it
is picked up by one of the property wagons later in the evening.
It's in the same place every night."
"I think somebody may see us do it."
"No danger. Keep cool; that's all. We'll get even with
those fellows. We have got to before we can carry out
the other plans we have talked over. They are too sharp.
Sooner or later they will get wise to us, and we've got to
get them out of the way before we go any further. The work
must be done in a natural sort of way, so that no suspicion
is aroused."
"Yes, that's so. But what about the others? You want to hurt
them, too?"
"I don't care, so long as we get the right one, how many get
their bumps."
"That's right. But only one of them is on trapeze. What you do
about other?"
"It is the tall one that I want most. He's got to be put out of
the running. It won't kill him, but it will lay him up in a
hospital for the rest of the season, and that's enough for us."
"Yes."
"The other one will be taken care of after we get through with
the first. The small fellow is sharp, but he can't see beyond
his nose. It's easy to fool him."
"The fiends!" muttered Phil. "I believe they are plotting
against Teddy and me. I have a good notion to sail into
them right here and settle it. I believe I could whip the
two of them. I--"
At that instant a blade of grass tickled Phil's nose. He raised
his head quickly.
"What's that?" exclaimed one of the plotters.
"I heard nothing."
"You didn't? Well, I did. There's someone around here and close
by us."
"Perhaps it was a squirrel in the grass. There is no one here."
The blade of grass had done its work, however. Phil tried hard
to control himself, but he knew he was going to sneeze.
All at once the sneeze came, louder than he had ever
sneezed before.
The men leaped to their feet in sudden alarm.