THE CIRCUS
The clown listened to the story very attentively, but Jimmy gaped a
great deal while he told it. By the time he finished he could scarcely
keep his eyes open.
'You seem a bit sleepy,' said the clown.
'I'm hungry, too,' answered Jimmy.
'Well, you can't sleep here,' said the clown, 'and you don't see much to
eat, do you?'
'No, there isn't much to eat,' Jimmy admitted. 'But,' he added, 'I don't
see why I couldn't sleep here.'
'Because the tent's going to be taken down,' said the clown. 'We've been
here three days, and we're going on somewhere else.'
Jimmy looked disappointed. He rather liked the clown; at all events he
liked him a great deal better than Coote, and he did not feel at all
afraid of him.
'Just you come along with me,' said the clown, 'and I'll see what I can
do for you. Here, jump over! That's right,' he added, as Jimmy climbed
over the barrier which separated the seats from the ring in which the
performance had taken place. 'You come with me,' said the clown, 'and
we'll soon see whether we can't find you something to eat and a place to
lie down in.'
They left the tent, and outside the clown stopped to speak to the man
who had shouted from the cart and to the stout woman who had taken the
money. They often glanced at Jimmy while they talked, so that he guessed
they were talking about him.
'All right,' said the man, 'do as you like; it's no business of mine';
and then the clown came back to Jimmy and they walked away from the tent
together.
They seemed to be walking in and out amongst a number of curious-looking
carts and ornamental cars, the colour of gold, with pictures on their
sides. There were several vans too, like small houses on wheels, with
windows and curtains painted on them, such as Jimmy had often seen at
Ramsgate, with men selling brooms and baskets, walking by the horses.
There were no men selling brooms or baskets here, although they all
seemed to be very busy: some being dressed just as they had left the
ring, and others leading cream-coloured and piebald horses, instead of
going to bed, as Jimmy thought it was time to do.
'Come along,' said the clown, as the boy seemed inclined to stop to look
on.
'Where are we going?' asked Jimmy.
'You'll see,' was the answer.
'But where is it?' asked Jimmy.
'Where I live,' said the clown.
'Oh, we're going to your house,' cried Jimmy, feeling pleased at the
chance of entering a house again, for it seemed a very long time since
he had left Aunt Selina's.
'Well,' said the clown, 'it's a sort of house. You might call it a house
on wheels, and you wouldn't be far out.'
Suddenly Jimmy seized the clown's arm and gave a jump.
'What's that?' he exclaimed.
'Don't be frightened,' said the clown.
'Only what is it?' asked Jimmy, with a shaky voice.
'He won't hurt you,' was the answer. 'It's only old Billy, the lion.'
Jimmy heard him roar as if he were only a yard or two away, and he felt
rather alarmed, until they had left his cage farther behind.
'Is that the lion who had your head in his mouth?' asked Jimmy.
'Well,' said the clown, 'it isn't in his mouth now, is it?'
'I didn't see the little clown,' exclaimed Jimmy, and the clown stared
down at the ground.
'No,' he answered, as if he felt rather miserable, 'we shan't see him
again ever.'
Then they stopped at the back of one of the vans, and Jimmy saw that
there was a light inside it.
'Up you get,' said the clown, and Jimmy scrambled up a pair of wide
steps which put him in mind of a bathing-machine.
The door seemed to be made in halves, and whilst the lower part was shut
the upper part was open. Through this Jimmy could see inside the van,
and it looked exactly like a small room, only rather dirty and untidy.
As Jimmy stood on the steps staring into the van, with the clown close
behind him, a girl came out from what seemed to be a second room behind
the first. She had yellow hair, and her face looked very white; but
although she must have changed her dress, Jimmy felt certain she was the
same girl who had worn the green velvet riding-habit.
'Hullo!' she cried, seeing Jimmy, but not seeing her father. 'What do
you want?'
'All right, Nan, all right,' said the clown, and he put an arm in front
of Jimmy to push open the door. Whilst Jimmy felt glad to find shelter
from the rain, the clown went to the back room, which must have been
extremely small, and carried on a conversation with the girl whom he
called Nan. Jimmy felt certain he was telling her all about himself.
Presently they both came out again, and Nan went to a shelf and brought
some rather fat bacon and bread, and a knife and fork with black
handles. There were two beds--one in the back part of the van and one in
the front. Jimmy sat down on the one in the front to eat his supper, and
before he had finished Nan gave him a mug of tea, which made him feel
much warmer, although it did not taste very pleasant.
The clown had gone away again, and Jimmy wondered why there was such a
noise outside the van.
'They're only putting the horses in,' said Nan, when he questioned her.
'I should have thought they would be taking them out at this time of
night,' answered Jimmy.
'We always travel at night,' she explained, 'and then we're ready for
the performance in the daytime.'
'But when do you go to sleep?' asked Jimmy.
'When we get a chance,' she said. 'But the best thing you can do's to go
to sleep now. Suppose you lie down in there,' and she pointed to the
room which was boarded off behind.
'Whose bed is it?' he asked.
'Father's, when he gets time to lie in it,' was the answer.
'But he can't if I'm there,' said Jimmy.
'He's got a lot to do before he thinks of bed,' exclaimed Nan. 'He's got
to see to the horses. But I'll lie down as soon as we start, and
presently father and I'll change places.'