THE CIRCUS BOY'S STORY
Snap was right; it was indeed the youthful circus performer. He
looked as thin as ever, but his face bore a far more healthy color
than when the young hunters had seen him before.
"I say, what do you mean by running off with our boat?" repeated
the doctor's son wrathfully.
"Is this your boat?" asked the circus boy calmly.
"It is."
"I didn't run off with it. I found it drifting along the shore,
and I took off my shoes and socks and waded in after it."
"You didn't run off with it?" asked Snap.
"I give you my word of honor," replied the boy quickly. He ran
the boat to shore and stepped out. "If it's your property, I'm
glad to hand it over to you. I---Say, didn't I see you somewhere
before?" he demanded excitedly.
I rather guess you did---at the circus, replied Shep.
"Oh! You were the fellows who---who talked to Jones, the ringmaster."
"Exactly. And you're the chap who ran away."
"That's true, I did run away. Can you blame me? They half starved
me and beat me, and wanted me to go up on the trapeze after I had
had a spell of sickness."
"We saw you on a freight train leaving Rallings."
"Oh, did you? Yes, I left town on a freight. It was the easiest way
to go---and the cheapest." And the boy smiled quietly.
"Now give us the truth about our boat," said Shep sternly. "You
ran off with it last night, didn't you?"
"No, sir!" And the boy looked the doctor's son squarely in the eyes.
"I never took any property that didn't belong to me in my life."
"And where did you find the boat?"
"About half a mile from here, along the shore. I made up my mind
it had broken loose somehow, and I thought if I found the owner he
might---er---that is-----"
"Give you a reward?" suggested Snap. Something about the lad's
manner pleased him.
"Well, he might give me something to eat."
"Hungry?"
The boy nodded.
"Well, we'll give you something to eat---all you want---if you are
quite sure you didn't take the boat," answered the doctor's son.
"I told you the truth."
"Then get into the boat again, and we'll row to our camp."
The three got in, the strange boy sitting in the stern. Shep and
Snap took up the oars and soon the craft was heading for the cove
where it had been tied up the night before. A shot was fired to
notify Giant and Whopper that the boat had been found.
"What's your name?" asked Snap on the way.
"Tommy Cabot; but up to the show they called me Buzz."
"Are your folks with the circus?"
"My folks are dead---that is, my father and mother are. I've got
a sister somewhere, older than myself, but I don't know just where
she is."
"How did you happen to go with the circus?" asked Shep.
"They picked me up at Centerport. They saw that I was limber and
could do a turn or two, and they made me join. They promised me
good wages and a fine time, but as soon as we got on the road they
treated me worse than my dog."
"Your dog?"
"Yes. I had a dog, and I said I wouldn't join unless they took the
dog, too. Jones wanted me to give him, the dog---he was a fine
collie---but I wouldn't do it, and when I left I took my dog with me."
"Where is he now?"
"I don't know. He ran away several days ago, and I haven't seen him
since."
"And he was a collie?" asked Snap.
"Yes." Tommy Cabot's eyes brightened expectantly. "You haven't
seen him, have you? He must be somewhere around these lakes."
"We found a dog---a collie. He's got a tag on his collar---number
444."
"My dog!" cried the circus boy. "Oh, I'll be glad to see him! He's
my best friend, even if he did run away. Anyway, I guess he went
to get something to eat. I hadn't much for him."
"What do you call your dog?" asked the doctor's son.
"Wags---because he moves his tail so much."
"Well, I never! That's what we dubbed him."
"Tell me," broke in Snap. "Do you know what happened at the circus
after you left?"
"I heard that some of the animals got away. I didn't hear the
particulars. I went down among the farms and laid low, waiting for
the circus to go east."
"A lion got away, and also Abe, the educated chimpanzee. The circus
folks think those men who were discharged and you were responsible."
"Me! I didn't do it, and I never had anything to do with those men
who were discharged. They were a hard crowd."
A little later the camp was gained. As soon as the dog saw Tommy
Cabot he became frantic with joy and leaped up and licked the
hand of his youthful master. Tommy fairly hugged Wags to his
breast.
Of course, Whopper and Giant were surprised to see the circus boy
and glad to know the boat had been found. How the craft had gotten
loose was a mystery nobody was able to solve.
A substantial breakfast was prepared for the circus boy, and while
he was eating he told his story in detail---how his parents had
died years before, and how his sister Grace had been taken by some
friends in the Middle West.
"I sold papers and blacked boots for a living, and I learned to do
handsprings and the like," said Tommy. "Then the circus came along
and I went with it, taking Wags. Some of the circus men were kind
to me, but most of them were rough, and Jones and Casso were cruel.
When I ran away I made up my mind I'd never go back, but would try
to get work in some city and also try to find my sister Grace. But
I ran short of money and then I came out here, thinking I could get
work on some farm, or go with some sportsmen to carry their traps
for 'em. But I didn't find any farms out here, and the only
sportsmen I met were some well-dressed young fellows who jeered
me and called me a scarecrow---I suppose on account of my shabby
clothes." The circus boy still wore the big suit of rags the
young hunters had noticed before.
"Must have been Ham Spink and his crowd," murmured Whopper. "It
would be just like them to do that."
In spite of the color in his cheeks the young hunters could see
that the circus lad was far from strong. He was nervous, and
evidently needed plenty of food and a rest.
Having heard the runaway's tale, Snap and the others told something
about themselves. Tommy listened with keen interest, and presently
his eyes showed considerable enthusiasm.
"I wish I was going with you," he said. "Such an outing would suit
me down to the ground. I can cook some, and I could wash the
dishes and cut wood and keep the camp in order, and all that.
But I don't suppose you'd want me along in these old duds."
And he looked sadly at his torn and faded suit, so much too big
for him.
"Oh, we might fit you out with a sweater and a cap," said Snap. The
more he saw of the circus boy the better he liked the young fellow.
"But I don't know," he added hastily, looking at his chums.
"We didn't expect to take anybody," said the doctor's son slowly.
"But you might stay with us for a day or two, anyway---and we can
talk it over. We ought to be better acquainted before we make a
bargain."
"He could help us take our outfit to the mountains," said Giant. "We
could pay him for the work."
"I don't want any pay. Just give me my meals, and it will be all
right."
"We can settle the whole thing later," said Shep. "But you can
stay for the present."
"Wasn't it queer?" cried Whopper. "We found your dog and you found
our boat!"
"It was queer---but I'm glad of it, for it kind of squares up,"
answered the circus boy. "I don't know how much you think of your
boat, but I think a whole lot of Wags."
"If we hadn't got the boat back our outing would have been spoiled,"
said the doctor's son. "But come; if we are going fishing, let us
start at once. We can do the rest of our talking after our lines
are in."