Beadle's Dime Library, No. 406 — page 14: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

ie * lk » ee Peat . < s A A» a of Ma - bd f‘ ° ‘ a | it after ever _» “ They’re coming uF “o Moone? Oh, yes, your advance-man. . >” a ye drew him close to whispe sé h al ~ called Stone. 14 Old Pop Hicks, Showman. | | ride like the deuce as soon as King Philip breaks loose. ‘‘ I'll see to that.” Leonard shook his head. ‘* Let them take one of the show horses, then. I’m not going to put my favorite in any such position.” Stone seugeee his shoulders. ‘* As you please; but you’d have to pay for him if he gets hurt.” ‘*T’m willing to do that,” returned Leonard, more placably. ‘‘ As long as I see ’m pote something for my money, ’m willing to stan the racket.” a> CHAPTER XVII. THE DISTURBANCE, THAT afternoon Pop Hicks opened his show and waited for the crowds that usually flocked in at Coalville. He expected trouble from a riot, owing to enmity of the great man of the place, but the forethought of little Moone had provided for that. The advance-agent had been to the mayor of the place, expressed his fears of trouble from the opposition to the show, and had secured the assistance of the sheriff and the two com- panies of local militia, as a posse comitatus, and an additional attraction. For he had taken care to see the captains of the companies and persuade them that such a chance for a parade and a free show at the same time was not to be neglected. So they had promised to come in, local band and all, in full uniform; aud Pop was waiting tohear the music to open his show, when Lion Charley came to him to tell him: ‘‘They’re having trouble over at the other place. ing Philip’s on the tear, and they’re trying to tie him down and burn him. He’s right in front of their ticket-wagon, and they won't show this afternoon,” Pop rubbed his hands. ‘*So much the better for us; hey, Noble?” ** Perhaps,” was the enigmatical reply, ** and perhaps not.” ‘‘Hey, why not, why not? What d’ye mean sir, what d’ye mean?” ‘Well, the beast’s out in plain sight, and it'll be a free show,” said Noble dryly. ‘* You can trust Coalville to hang on to a free show every time, you know, and that will draw away from us.” “But I’ve got a fence up between us,” said Pop. ‘I thought they’d come some games over us, and [ moved over here on purpose,” ‘That's right,” said Noble, ‘‘ but I’ve got an idea, Mr. Hicks, that this lesson means trouble to us, or they’d have waited for the night to do hing was on the road,” Pop looked at him uneasily. ‘* You don’t mean to say he’s not tied securely mu!” * do yo han That’s just what I mean. The tree he has his chains round is but a small one, and if it does come up, there’s going to be a scatterment. What's that band?” *That’s the Coalville Invincibles and the Coal County Guards,” said Pop, proudly. in uniform, and if they don’t bring the people I’ve made a mistake in giving Moone full swing.” He man, Hicks, I knew him in & Brown’s show. He does his work well. The soldiers area good card, and we may want them if they’re good for anything, thoug I don’t believe much in soldiers.” rs ey’re to have twenty rounds of ball car- tridge with them.” Noble looked surprised. ‘* What for?” ‘In case of riot. Don’t you know who owns all this town and half the county round?” ‘‘No. Isupposed—” “Tl tell you. I don’t trust to supposings.” Then Pop Hicks gave him a short history of .. the original trouble at Popokus where the dudes _ a audience frightened Sally Hicks’s mare t and where the fight began in the dark, | n Noble let him tell it; and expressed no opinion eyond: Well, that’s all understandable, but the } man at the head of this trouble is not the owner at all. The owner’s called Leonard, a poor fool th more cash than brains. It’s another man ther, who’s in with Bownsse; a fellow He’s gone into partnership with Bownsse and pretends to know all about show ‘Stone, hey? Stone?” said Pop, thoughtfully. “*Whatsort of a looking man?” “Tall, large man, lots of diamonds; dyes his mustache, looks like a bler.” ‘* That’s the man. e very dude who tried todraw a pistol and started the muss at Popo- kus. [ thought he was Leonard.” ‘“No.. He’s a friend of his, I’ve heard, but I never saw them together except in the e, and then I didn’t know Stone claimed to belong _ business.” _ to the show.” - Here the noise of the band came nearer and nearer, and they saw the head of the little pro- a nnn Pop Hicks brightened up, and hastened to throw open the gates of the show, when the militiamen passed in free, and the silver began to rattle in on the glass plate of the ticket-wagon as the crowd pressed forward to get front seats in the show. Pretty soon after, little Moone drove up, weary looking as usual, and started a little movement of his own, composed of a few riders and tum- blers, with which he swooped down to Bownsse’s lot, and found a large crowd standing about vaguely contemplating the antics of King Philip, who was straining at his tree and looking the picture of fury, while the hands of Bownsse’s show were getting ready the ropes and chains to fasten him down. Moone drove about in the crowd, and appear- ed at first to be looking at the preparations with interest. At last hesaid, in a loud tone, to one of his men: ** Those leg chains are giving way, Billy, ain’t they? It looks so to me.” Billy, taking the cue, answered: ‘By Jerushy, so they are! We'd better get out of this. They say he killed twenty people, at a lick, last season. He’s a terror, he is, I’m glad he’s out of our show.” Then Billy turned his horse, and Moone called out as he drove off: ‘*Come along, boys. That tree’s not safe to hold much longer, and we’d better be out of the way when it comes.” The words had the effect he intended them to have. The fe = in the crowd began to saunter away, at first unwillingly; but, as the news spread and magnified, they began to run and very naturally followed the red-wheeled road-cart and circus men into the grounds of the other show, which was divided from Bownsse’s concern by a screen of white painted canvas, that acted as a fence. Once there, it was the most natural thing in the world for them to drift down toward the entrance, to stare at the big pictures, and when they got there, it was an easy job to entice them in. When the hour arrived for opening, Pop Hicks rubbed his hands gleefully, and said to Moone: “Squire, we've got ’em again. Luck’s turned. We won’t have no riot here and I’ll bet on it. Look at the guys, sir. They’re as happy as clams at high water.” Then he ordered on the entry, and the show proceeded swimmingly amid loud applause, till the time came for Noble to perform his lions. Then when the great double was wheeled in, the spectators saw a fine sig t, as the shut- ters were slammed down and the occupants of the cage were revealed. Two handsome lions, as many lionesses, a pair of grand royal tigers, and another of graceful spotted leopards, lay in an enormous cage, parted from each other by bars, each kind to itself; and into the ring sprung the lion-tamer, whip in hand, to bow to the ple and ascend the steps to the cage door. Noble had already laid his hand on the latch, and was about to open the gate; the animals had reared themselves up, roaring, against the bars, in their usual savage-looking styles, growling and showing their teeth in pre- mature resistance to their anticipated training; when a sudden noise outside the tent caused the man to stop and the beasts to drop on their feet and rush from side to side of the cage in frantic excitement. The people half-rose in their seats turnin e, a deep hush fell on the tent; the wil sts shook the iron bars as they leaped from side to side, and in the midst of all was heard, outside, the voice of a man, shrieking excitedly: “Run! Run! The elephant’s loose !” Then came the savage trumpeting of King Philip, followed by an indescribable din inside the tent as the people sprung to their feet, For a moment even Lion Charley turned pale; the next he left the and ran over to where the gayly-clad soldiers were sitting, with their muskets between their knees: © - ‘* Now, captain,” he shouted, “ let’s see what your men are made of. Quiet this parle * CBRAPTER XVIII. — STOPPING A PANIC, THE militiamen were not bad fellows, and for a wonder for militiamen, they seemed to be in fair bari on for they had not stirred when the panic began, and their officers had had sense enough to jump up and sign them to keep their seats, which they did. Pop Hicks and the professor, with all the hands, bad run into the ring at the first sound outside, and were shouting to the people to ‘keep their seats—that there was no danger.” The band, with the presence of mind of men used to emergencies, struck ‘** Yankee Doodle,” and for a moment the panic quieted down, as the strains of the band drowned the noise outside. Then Lion Charley ran over to Pop Hicks, signed to him that he was going out, made a dash for the entrance. Pop Hicks took advantage of the movement, and the curiosity that it excited, to howl: ‘‘Ladies an —gentlemen—Mr. Noble—has cexsion coming up the street, attended byagreat | gone out—to drive off—the—elephant.—Keep crowd, your seats—no danger—now.” EE EEO. eee EEE Then, as the noise quieted down, he went over to the captain and said hurriedly to him: **Can your men shoot?” ** Yes, yes—we’re the champions in the State shoot,” was the reply; but the captain’s voice shook a little. ‘‘ What do you want?” ‘““Take some of your men outside and help Lion Charley,” said Pop, ‘ He’s all alone and, res he’s a good man, I’m afraid he’ll go un- er. The captain was a young fellow with plenty of money, fond of a fine uniform; but he had pluck enough, so he said to his men, in a quick, decided voice: ‘“‘T want all the marksmen—no one else. We've got to go out and shoot the beast.” Nearly half the men rose, and Pop saw that — each wore a little badge on his breast. They were all quiet-looking fellows, and they fell in and marched out without any fuss, while Pop continued to the audience, to keep them quiet: ** Ladies and gentlemen—this tent—is the only safe place around. Mr. Noble ana the sol- diers—wil 4 you—safe, and the elephant won't dare to charge this tent ! Keep your seats till he comes back—and in the mean time—we’ll go on with the next act, till Noble comes. Wheel off the cage, boys. We must apologize for the trouble—but it’s only an accident—owing to the ople of the other show not knowing how to andle King Philip. We never had any trou- ble with him.” So he kept on talking, while the men were wheeling back the lion-cage, more to keep the sage quiet than because he believed what e said; for all the time he could hear the shrill trumpeting of the enraged elephant out- side, with the crashing of woodwork and the shouts of excited men, that told that a heavy contest was going on. Only the discipline and coolness of his men, with his own nerve and stentorian lungs, en- abled him to hold the people in their seats, where no one pretended to take any more in- terest in the show; where mothers hugged their children close to them in terror; where girls fainted, and men sat trembling, not knowing what to do, and boys were slipping off under seats, with the usua] ignorant recklessness of their class, to sneak out and find what was the matter. At last Pop could stand it no longer, and he called to Rabbetts, to whom he said in a low, hurried tone: . ‘*’m shouted out. Keep them still a while, and [ll go out to see what’s the matter.” The professor took his place in the speakin against time, and no man was better calculate to do it; for he repeated everything he said two or three times, and got the people laughing at his pompous manner so that they almost forgot what was going on outside, spite of the noise, every one was startled out of his seat by the rat- tle of a volley of musketry close to the tent, fol- lowed by aloud yell. A moment later Pop Hicks rushed into the ring radiant and ruddy, to shout: It's all safe !” ‘No better could have been said, and the people quieted instantly to listen, while he continued: Your own soldiers have behaved nobly! The infuriated monster was charging directly for this tent, when they gave him a volley, under direction of Mr. Noble, and King Philip turned and ran away!” All this, word by word, at the full power of his lungs, and he capped it with a se ‘*T— hope — Mr.—Bownsee— will—have—a— £-0-0-0-0-0-d—time—catching— him !” Pause for breath. ‘6 He’s—gone—for—Deacon—Smith’s—RARN!’? Deacon Smith's barn was a well-known place and the deacon was known as a penurious and grasping man; so the people laughed a little and Pop ended: “ Mr.—Noble—turned him—first—and now — ong eae lions! He’s—good—for any —be ever—WORE—HAIR!!" He closed with a hoarse shout, and then broke down and backed out, as Charley Noble walked back into the ring, followed by the militiamen, and bustled about crying: ‘* Where’s Moone? “Here,” replied a quiet voice, and there was the little man under a on Sea a book of loose leaves on his knee, in which he was writ- ing rapidly. He did not even look up as he answered, but: kept on rte pn D op bustled up to ask: BS Well, Moone, well, well, where were you all the time? Didn’t see ye. What are ye doing, hey? hey?” Moons calmly continued his work. **Don’t—bother me—please—I’m busy—” he said, between words. “ But what are you doing, hey?’ “Writing up—the racket—worth a good two columns—any paper—don’t talk.” And he scribbled away while Pop looked on in awe, till Moone interjected: “Get it into—Sentinel—-half an hour—go to press—at—four, ere.” As he spoke, he finished with a dash of his: half an hour. Can’t miss; “> € - “ * pencil, and sprung up. ‘*See you again in com 0\(0\(6) (E q ’ , ait 9 ‘ WwW . ' “ h ’ ' | f io as we FR -