_THE FAIR._
It seemed to Teddy as if everything pleasant in life had departed from
him as he waited for the return of Uncle Nathan accompanied by the
officers of the law, and neither he nor his mother had any idea that the
visit would be long delayed.
The widow had every proof, even if her heart had not told the truth,
that her son was innocent of the charge which the angry old man made.
She knew both he and Sam remained in the house during the entire day
previous to the robbery, and it would have been almost impossible for
them to have left during the night without her knowledge; but at the
same time it was only reasonable she should be distressed in mind as to
the final outcome of the matter.
One, two, three hours passed, and yet no arrest had been made.
Teddy no longer hoped to play the part of fakir at the fair; but yet he
fancied it might be possible to sell his stock, which had already been
forwarded by the stage, to some more fortunate fellow, and in order to
do this it was necessary he should be on the grounds at the earliest
possible hour; but the charge made by his uncle held him a voluntary
prisoner.
At eight o'clock a neighbor, whose love of gossip was greater than her
desire for housework, came to the garden gate to say that she had just
heard the justice of the peace refuse to issue a warrant for either of
the boys, and she added to this information her belief that it, the
burglary, was a judgment upon Uncle Nathan for presuming to talk
business on the Sabbath.
When this busybody had departed, Mrs. Hargreaves said, as she re-entered
the house:
"There is no longer any reason, Teddy, why you shouldn't carry out your
plans. Every one in this village knows where to find you in case a
warrant is granted, which doesn't now seem possible, and it is better to
go ahead as you proposed, knowing that your mother is certain you are
innocent of any wrongdoing."
Teddy's one desire had been to be on the fair grounds, and when this
advice was given from "a fellow's best friend," he started at once,
saying as he left the house:
"I'll come back if there's nothing to do; but there's no reason to worry
if you don't see me until Saturday, for I shall stay jest as long as
things run smooth."
Ten minutes later, while he was trudging along the dusty road with no
other idea than that he would be forced to walk the entire distance, a
friend in a wagon overtook him, proposed that he ride, and before the
fair grounds were reached he had heard all the particulars of the
robbery.
It appeared that the burglars must have effected an entrance to Uncle
Nathan's store after midnight Saturday, and when the proprietor arrived
on the following morning there was absolutely no clue to the thieves.
"They must have had a wagon to take away all the old man says he has
lost," Teddy's informant added, as the story was concluded, "and because
of that the justice refused to issue a warrant for the man who slept at
the hotel last night. Of course the idea that you knew anything about it
was all in that old fool's eye."
"Then nobody has been arrested?" Teddy exclaimed, in surprise.
"Of course not, an' more than one in town hopes he'll never see hide nor
hair of his goods or money; but between you an' me I don't believe he's
lost half as much as he tries to make out."
To this last assertion Teddy gave but little heed; the all absorbing
thought in his mind was as to whether he would actually be arrested for
the crime, and this was sufficient to prevent any speculations as to
the amount of loss, or his former dreams of the future.
Arriving at the fair grounds, he found everything in a state of
confusion. Goods were arriving and being put in place; men were
quarreling for this or that vantage ground, and carpenters were busy in
every direction.
As a matter of course, he knew that all this would be changed on the
following day when the visitors began to arrive; but, nevertheless, it
gave him a homesick feeling which he could not suppress, and, for a
time, prevented him from attending to his own interests.
"Hello! What are you sittin' there for?" a voice cried, after he had
remained inactive near the entrance nearly an hour, debating in his own
mind whether or not it would be worth the while to unpack the goods
which he knew were awaiting his call somewhere on the grounds.
Looking up quickly he saw Sam, self-possessed and jaunty as at the first
moment he met him in Waterville, but wearing an air of considerably more
importance.
"Have you gone to work yet?" he asked, listlessly.
"Of course not; there's nothin' for me to do till the folks begin to
come in to see how well I can row a boat. What did the old duffer do?"
"Do you mean Uncle Nathan?"
"Of course."
"He hasn't had anybody arrested yet; but there's no knowin' how soon
he'll begin."
"He'd better not try it on me," Sam said, with an assumption of
boldness. "I've found a feller here that's goin' to show off rifles, an'
I can borrow as many as I want if he does any funny business."
"Would you shoot anybody?"
"You jest stay till an old lunatic comes along sayin' I've helped to rob
him when your mother knows where I was, an' see what I'll do," Sam
replied, in a really bloodthirsty tone as he turned to walk away, and
then, as if reconsidering the matter, he stopped long enough to say,
"Wait here a minute, an' I'll show you a feller what knows a thing or
two."
Inasmuch as Teddy had no idea of moving from the position he had taken
up near the gate it was not irksome to do as the exhibitor of boats
requested, and without troubling his head as to who this very important
person might be, he remained at the precise spot until Sam returned with
a boy who appeared to be a year or two older than himself.
"This is Dan Summers, an' he's here to help show off a dandy rifle made
in Chicopee Falls down in Massachusetts, or some such place. He'll help
us out of the scrape if anybody can."
Dan looked as if this introduction was disagreeable to him rather than
otherwise, and after nodding to Teddy, he said, in an explanatory tone:
"I'm here to help the man what exhibits goods from the Stevens Arms
Company, that's all; but I don't see how I could be of any help if you
fellers have got in a fuss."
"Neither do I," Teddy replied, and then to show that no one could aid
him, he told the whole story, including all that Uncle Nathan had said.
"I wouldn't let that worry me," Dan said, philosophically, when the tale
was ended. "If you want to make any money out of this fair it is time
you was lookin' out for a stand, an' I know of the best place on the
grounds. Come with me now, an' you can get it before the crowd of fakirs
have a chance to take it up."
Teddy, rather liking the appearance of this boy, resolved to follow his
advice, and signified the same by slipping down from the stack of
exhibits, as he said:
"Show it to me an' I'll get right to work, for there's forty-five
dollars I've got to pay back, no matter what Uncle Nathan makes up his
mind to do."
"That's the way to talk," Sam cried, approvingly, and forthwith he
proceeded to take charge of his two acquaintances, resolved that lack of
energy should not prevent him from sharing in their triumphs, if indeed,
they had any.
Dan professed to have had considerable experience with fairs, and the
manner in which he proceeded to work showed that there had been no
boasting on his part. He selected a spot where nearly all of the
visitors would be forced to pass in order to see the cattle or the
racing, and set about putting up a stand for Teddy in the most approved
manner.
He ordered Sam here and there to such places as he had seen an
accumulation of lumber, and so well did he work, after borrowing an ax
and a hatchet from a "candy butcher," that it was not yet noon when
Teddy had an inclosure sufficiently large for his purpose; the cloth was
in place and the holes cut for the canes, so that it would be but the
work of a few moments to make everything ready when business should
begin.
"You can't do the whole thing yourself if there is anything like the
crowd that ought to come," Dan said, "and I advise you to hire a clerk."
"Where'll I find one?" Teddy asked, helplessly.
"Take some of the fellers from your own village; but be sure they're
honest, for after business begins there won't be any chance to watch
'em."
Teddy thought he could find the proper party before the following day,
and then came the question of where they were to sleep.
"I've got that all fixed," Sam said, confidently.
"The man what runs the museum in that big tent is a friend of mine, an'
he won't say a word if we stay under the canvas to-night."
"How long have you known him?" Teddy asked, warned by previous
experience that Sam's statements were not always to be depended upon.
"I never saw him till this morning; but that don't make no difference so
long as he's willin' for us to stay there."
"We'll go over an' look around," Dan said, leading the way, and to the
surprise of at least one of the party it was found that Master Sam's
statement was absolutely correct.
The proprietor of the museum was more than willing to allow the boys to
sleep under his canvas, for the very good reason that they would act as
sentinels in lieu of those he had neglected to hire, and all three went
away in search of a place where they could obtain meals during the
expected five days of excitement and money-making.
This was even a more simple matter than the first. At a boarding-house
nearly opposite the main entrance to the grounds they could be
accommodated at a reasonable rate, and the preliminaries had been
settled. It only remained now to welcome the visitors, and get from them
as much money as possible.
Teddy almost forgot the terrible fact that his Uncle Nathan might yet
have him arrested, and Sam acted as if such a thing had never been
possible.
It is true all three of the boys discussed the possibility of finding
the money which had been stolen from Teddy; but neither thought of
connecting the two crimes as the work of one person.
During the afternoon Teddy looked around in the hope of seeing the man,
unjustly accused of the theft, who had promised to aid him; but as yet
he had not put in an appearance, and it seemed as if all the choice
places would be taken before he arrived.
It was anything rather than sport to wander around the almost deserted
grounds, and at an early hour, after partaking of a remarkably poor
supper, the three boys sought the seclusion granted by the mildewed
canvas of the alleged museum of the "world's wonders."
A goat, a wax baby, two or three snakes, an alligator, and a
contortionist, who was none other than the proprietor of this
magnificent array of "marvels," made up the entire list of curiosities;
but the tent would shelter the young fakirs from the wind and dew, and
it was possible they might sleep as soundly as at home.