He looked at me in disgust. "Here's something for you," he said,
shortly, and thrust an envelope into my hand.
In the envelope was a little card on which was written: "I ask you to
be careful, for a friend's sake." On the other side of the card was
engraved her name.
I raised my head and looked at Speed, who began to laugh nervously.
"That's better," he said; "you don't look like a surly brute any
more."
"Where is she?" I said, steadying my voice, which my leaping heart
almost stifled.
He drew me by the elbow and looked toward the right of the
amphitheatre. Following the direction of his eyes, I saw her leaning
forward, pale-faced, grave, small, gloved hands interlocked. Beside
her sat Sylvia Elven, apparently amused at the antics of the clown.
Shame filled me. Not the false shame I had felt--that vanished--but
shame that I could have misunderstood the presence of this brave
friend of mine, this brave, generous, tender-hearted girl, who had
given me her friendship, who was true enough to care what might happen
to me--and brave enough to say so.
"I will be careful," I said to Speed, in a low voice. "If it were
not for Byram I would not go on to-day--but that is a matter of honor.
Oh, Speed," I broke out, "is she not worth dying for?"
"Why not live for her?" he observed, dryly.
"I will--don't misunderstand me--I know she could never even think of
me--as I do--of her--yes, as I dare to, Speed. I dare to love her with
all this wretched heart and soul of mine! It's all right--I think I am
crazy to talk like this--but you are kind, Speed--you will forget
what I said--you have forgotten it already--bless your heart--"
"No, I haven't," he retorted, obstinately. "You must win her--you
must! Shame on you for a coward if you do not speak that word which
means life to you both!"
"Speed!" I began, angrily.
"Oh, go to the devil!" he snapped, and walked off to where Jacqueline
stood glittering, her slim limbs striking fire from every silver
scale.
"All ready, little sweetheart!" he cried, reassuringly, as she raised
her blue eyes to his and shook her elf-locks around her flushed face.
"It's our turn now; they're uncovering the tank, and Miss Crystal is
on her trapeze. Are you nervous?"
"Not when you are by me," said Jacqueline.
"I'll be there," he said, smiling. "You will see me when you are
ready. Look! There's the governor! It's your call! Quick, my child!"
"Good-bye," said Jacqueline, catching his hand in both of hers, and
she was off and in the middle of the ring before I could get to a
place of vantage to watch.
Up into the rigging she swung, higher, higher, hanging like a
brilliant fly in all that net-work of wire and rope, turning,
twisting, climbing, dropping to her knees, until the people's cheers
rose to a sustained shriek.
"Ready!" quavered Miss Crystal, hanging from her own trapeze across
the gulf.
It was the first signal. Jacqueline set her trapeze swinging and hung
by her knees, face downward.
"Ready!" called Miss Crystal again, as Jacqueline's trapeze swung
higher and higher.
"Ready!" said Jacqueline, calmly.
"Go!"
[Illustration: "I WAS ON MY KNEES"]
Like a meteor the child flashed across the space between the two
trapezes; Miss Crystal caught her by her ankles.
"Ready?" called Speed, from the ground below. He had turned quite
pale. I saw Jacqueline, hanging head down, smile at him from her dizzy
height.
"Ready," she said, calmly.
"Go!"
Down, down, like a falling star, flashed Jacqueline into the shallow
pool, then shot to the surface, shimmering like a leaping mullet,
where she played and dived and darted, while the people screamed
themselves hoarse, and Speed came out, ghastly and trembling,
colliding with me like a blind man.
"I wish I had never let her do it; I wish I had never brought her
here--never seen her," he stammered. "She'll miss it some day--like
Miss Claridge--and it will be murder--and I'll have done it! Anybody
but that child, Scarlett, anybody else--but I can't bear to have her
die that way--the pretty little thing!"
He let go of my arm and stood back as my lion-cages came rolling out,
drawn by four horses.
"It's your turn," he said, in a dazed way. "Look out for that
lioness."
As I walked out into the arena I saw only one face. She tried to
smile, and so did I; but a terrible, helpless sensation was already
creeping over me--the knowledge that I was causing her distress--the
knowledge that I was no longer sure of myself--that, with my love for
her, my authority over these caged things had gone, never to return. I
knew it, I recognized it, and admitted it now. Speed's words rang
true--horribly true.