The Crimson Flash by Roy J. Snell
CHAPTER IV "PALE FACE BONDS"
After leaving Pant, Snowball divided the money he had been given for thepurpose of purchasing Liberty Bonds into five little rolls. These hedeposited in five different pockets about his ragged trousers and coat.
"Dere now," he muttered; "dey won't nobody snatch it all from me atoncet."
He first wandered down the back ropes, accosting here and there a coloredgentleman who looked as if he might be the proud possessor of a bond.
Some laughed at this bullet-headed youngster, who claimed to be inpossession of enough money to purchase a "sho' nuff" Liberty Bond.Others, with prying eyes, leered at his pockets. These he gave a wideberth. An hour of this sort of thing netted him two bonds at forty-twodollars each.
"Huh," he grunted at last, "these here colored circus folks sho' am plumshort on Liberty Bonds. Reckon I'se gwine try some white mans."
Making his way boldly out to the front of the circus, where a thin crowdfiltered in and out, here and there, some few drifting into the sideshows, he made straight for a man in uniform who guarded the entrance tothe big tent.
"Say, Mister, you all got any Liberty Bonds to sell?"
"Liberty Bonds?" The man started and stared. "Who wants 'em?"
"Me. I do, Mister."
"Say!" The man bent low and whispered. "You see that man selling ticketsin front of the big side show, by the picture of the fat lady?"
"Uh-huh."
"He's got some. Bought them this morning, cheap. Mebbe he'll sell them toyou."
"Thank ye, Mister."
Snowball was away like a flash.
"Liberty Bonds?" said the ticket hawker of the black mustache. "Howmany?"
"I might buy one, if it's cheap, mebbe."
"How cheap?"
"How much you all want?"
"Forty dollars."
Snowball shook his head, "Thirty-nine. That's all I'm payin' jes' now."His hand was in his right trousers pocket.
"Let's see yer money."
Snowball stepped back a discreet distance, then displayed twotwenty-dollar bills.
"All right, let's have 'em."
"Let's see dat Liberty Bond."
"All right." The man dug into his inner vest pocket, produced a flatenvelope from which he extracted a square of paper.
"Here it is."
Snowball inspected it closely. "Dat's all right, Mister. I git a dollarback."
The ticket seller peeled a one-dollar bill from a bulky roll and the dealwas closed.
"Say, Mister," said Snowball, rolling his eyes, "I might buy another one,same price."
"Why didn't you say so?"
Snowball grinned.
Again the deal was closed.
Snowball put his hand into his left hip pocket and repeated hisdeclaration:
"Say, Mister, I might buy jes' one more."
For a second time the man's eyes rested on him with suspicion lurking intheir depths.
"Say, boy, who you buying these for?"
"Fo' me, mysef."
"All right, Mr. First National Bank, here you are."
The deal was quickly closed and Snowball hastened away, happy in therealization that he had accomplished the task set for him.
Making his way to the beach, he found Pant sprawled out on the sand, halfasleep.
"Did you get them?" the white man asked drowsily.
"Ya-as, sir. Here dey is." Snowball held out the five bonds. "An' here'sde change."
Pant sat up, suddenly all alert.
"You got three for thirty-nine?"
"Ya-as, sir."
"Let's have a look."
Pant's slender fingers trembled as he spread the five squares of paperout upon the sand.
"Good!" he muttered. "You got them all right. Now look at them all.Snowball. See any difference in 'em?" He held a lighted match above thebonds.
Snowball studied them as intently as his roving eyes would allow.
"No, no, sir, I don't."
"These two. Look different, don't they?"
"No, no, sir; I can't say dat."
"You're blind," grunted Pant. "Two of them are paler than the others; inkis not so dark. See? Not quite."
"Oh, yas, ya-as, sir."
"Now those two pale face bonds were folded up with one other. Rememberwhere you got them?" Pant's eyes flashed through his thick glasses.
"No, no, Oh, ya-as, ya-as, sir, I do. It were dat 'ere white man; sellin'tickets, he was."
"Good! Now here's a dollar. That's for you. You'll get another when youcome back. You take these two pale face bonds to the ticket seller andask him where he got them."
"Ya-as, sir."
Full of wonder at the strange doings of this odd fellow with the blackglasses, Snowball hurried back to the ticket seller.
"Say, Mister," he demanded, "whar'd y' git these pale face bonds?"
"What?" The man stared at him.
"Whar y' git 'em?" Snowball held them up for inspection.
"Let's see." The man made a grab for them.
"Nem' min'." The boy darted away.
"Who wants to know?" the man demanded gruffly.
"Me, myself."
"I can't tell exactly. I bought two from Tom Stick, the midget clown,three from Andy McQueen, the steam kettle cook, and two more from abunco-steerer--feller with a bite taken out of his ear. I don't knowwhich ones those are.
"Say, boy!" The expression on his face suddenly changed. "You let me havethem bonds."
"No-o, sir!"
Snowball dashed away in sudden fright. With the ticket seller close onhis heels, he dodged around a fat woman, nearly collided with a babycarriage, leaped the tent ropes. Like a jack rabbit, he scooted beneaththe ponderous wagons on which rested the electric light plant of thecircus, and, at last, dodging through the mess tent, succeeded in eludinghis pursuer.
He was still breathing hard when he reached the place of rendezvous onthe beach.
"What did he say?" demanded Pant.
"He said he bought some from dat midget clown, an' some from a steamkettle cook, an' some from a bunco-man wid a chewed ear. Say, Mister, doI get dat oder dollar?"
Pant held it out to him. "What you puffing about?"
"Dat ticket man chased me."
"What for?"
"Don't know, boss."
For a moment they were silent.
"Say, Boss," Snowball whispered after a time, "what you s'pose made datere red splotch on the groun'?"
"What red spot?" There was a suspicion of a smile lurking about thecorner of Pant's mouth.
"Man! Don' you know? 'Roun' dat fiah?"
"Oh, yes; I wasn't looking just then."
"Say, Boss!" The boy was whispering again. "I ain't afraid of almostnuthin'--nuthin' but signs and ghosts. You s'pose dat were a sign?"
"It might have been."
"An' say, Boss, what's dem colored fellers sayin' 'bout a wreck? Don'mean that ere circus train's gwine wreck? Man, that'd be some kind of awreck! Tigers fightin' b'ars, lions eatin' elephants, snakes a-crawlin'loose, wild cats a-clawin', an monkeys screamin'! Man! Oh, man!"
For a full minute Snowball sat silent, wild-eyed and staring at themental picture he had conjured up. Then a sudden thought struck him.
"Say, Boss, dis am circus day ain't it? An' I got two dollars I jes'earned and ain't spent, ain't I? Boss, I'se gone right now!"
And he was.
For a long time Pant sat there in contemplative silence. Finally, withone hand he smoothed out the sand before him. On this, with his finger,he spelled out the name: BLACKIE McCREE.
Then, with a quick glance about him, as if afraid it had been seen, heerased the letters.
* * * * * * * *
When Johnny Thompson had been introduced to the stable boss and had beengiven his assignment, he lost no time in getting on a suit of unionallsand was soon at work sleeking down his three broad backed dapple grays.
It wa
His mind, however, was not always on his brush and cloth. In the grandparade, which, in Chicago did not leave the tent, but circled about inthe mammoth enclosure, while the vast crowds cheered, Millie Gonzalesrode standing on these three fat chargers, that, with tossing manes andchamping bits, seemed at every moment ready to break her control and gorushing down the arena. Johnny was to take the horses to the entrance ofthe big tent. That much he had been told. Would he there turn them overto Millie? And would she be wearing the missing ring? The answers tothese questions he could only guess.
It was with a wildly beating heart that he at last led his three horsesdown the narrow canvas enclosure which led to the great tent. Already theprocession was forming. Here a group of clowns waited in silence. Here agreat gilded chariot rumbled forward, and here a trained elephant wasbeing fitted with his rider's canopied seat.
By this director, then that one, Johnny was guided to the spot from whichhis three dapple grays would start.
He had hardly reached the position than a high-pitched, melodious, butslightly scornful, voice said:
"Why! Who are you? Where's Peter?"
"Who's Peter?" asked Johnny, doffing his cap respectfully, but studyingthe girl's hands the meanwhile.
"Why, he's my groom."
"Begging your pardon, he's not; I am."
"You?" She stood back and surveyed him with unveiled scorn. "You? Alittle shrimp like you?"
Johnny was angry. Hot words rushed to his lips but remained unspoken. Hewas playing a big game. For the time he must repress his pride.
"I--I--" Millie stormed on, "I like a big groom, a strong one. I shallsee about this."
"Oh!" smiled Johnny, "if it's strength you want, I guess you'll find methere. And for horses, I know how to groom them."
Millie cast an appraising eye over the grays. "Did you do that?"
"Yes, please."
"They're wonderful!"
Lifting a dainty foot, she waited for Johnny's palm. Once it restedsecurely there, she gave a little spring and would have landed neatly onthe first gray's back, had not Johnny suddenly shot his arm upward. As itwas, she rose straight in the air three feet above the horses to landsquarely on the middle one of the three.
She landed fairly on her feet. A whip sang through the air. She had aimeda vicious blow at Johnny's cheek. There was a wild flare of anger in hereye.
Dodging out of her reach, Johnny stood trembling for fear he hadfoolishly wasted his grand chance.
Presently the girl's lips curved in a half disdainful smile.
"You are an impudent fellow, and I should have some one thrash you.
"You are strong, though," she went on, "and because of that, I'll forgiveyou. In the future, however, remember that I am Millie Gonzales and youare my groom."
Johnny nodded gravely. The procession moved forward. Millie passed fromhis view.
After calmly reviewing the situation, one fact stood out in bold reliefin Johnny's mind: If it were Millie Gonzales who had the ring, his taskwas to be a difficult one, for she was a keen, crafty, high-tempered,unscrupulous Spaniard, who would stop at nothing to gain her end.
"Well, anyway," he decided, "if she has it, she is not wearing it. It'snot on her hand. Here's hoping it's one of the other two."
He moved to a position where he could watch the parade. For a full threeminutes his eyes swept it from end to end. Out of it all--the troop ofelephants, the brass band, the clowns, the performers, the many strangecarts and chariots--one figure stood supreme: A girl who rode high on athrone, mounted upon a great chariot, escorted by six footmen, and drawnby six prancing chargers.
"The queen of the circus!" he thought. "I wonder who she is."
Johnny had hardly spoken the words when, for a second, the girl's smilingface was turned his way. He caught his breath sharply. "She's one of thethree," he gasped. "If it is she who has the ring--"
He did not finish, for just then the van of the procession entered thewing, and he slipped away behind the canvas to await Millie Gonzales andthe three grays.
"Say pard," he whispered to a circus hand standing beside him, "who'sthis queen of the circus?"
"Don't you know?" the other asked in surprise. "That's Gwen Maysfield,the tight-rope dancer. A regular sport she is, too; can box like a man.Packs a wallop, too. I've seen her knock this fellow who boxes the bearclean over the ropes."
"Boxes the bear?"
"Sure. Don't you know the act? Feller's got a bear; rides bicycles, andall that. One of his stunts is to put on the gloves with the bigsilver-gray. Of course it's a frost. Bear could knock him a mile, if hewanted to."
Johnny said no more, but soon began piecing together his bits ofinformation. Gwen was the queen of the circus. She was also one of thethree at whose feet the diamond ring had dropped. She liked boxing. Ifonly he could manage to get a few rounds with her, that might break downthe social barrier that stood between them. Then he could ask her aboutthe ring. But she was the queen, and he only a groom. How was he tomanage it? She boxed with the performer who boxed the bear. Perhaps hecould make the acquaintance of this bear boxer.
The time was approaching when Millie and her three grays were to go on.He hastened away to his work.
That night in the animal tent, while the exhibition was in full swing,while thousands were crowding before the long line of cages, thereoccurred a strange and startling incident; a cage plainly marked BLACKLEOPARD had appeared, in the uncertain light of night, entirely empty.
"Guess that's a fake," a spectator grumbled.
"What is it?" asked a child.
"Says 'Black Pussy,'" smiled the father, "but I guess there isn't any."
"Oh, Papa, I want to see the black pussy!" wailed the child, clinging tothe ropes, and refusing to move along.
The father was striving to quiet the child when, of a sudden, a flash ofcrimson light brought out the dark corners of the cage in bold relief. Itwas gone in a twinkling, but in that time a raging fury of black fur,flashing claws and gleaming eyes leaped against the bars.
The child screamed, the father swore softly. There was a succession ofexclamations from the crowd. A colored attendant, who chanced to bepassing with a bundle of straw, dropped his burden to stare, openmouthed, at the cage.
When he again put his trembling fingers to the bundle of straw, it was tomutter:
"Tain't no safe place fer a 'spectable colored man to wuck. 'T'ain' safe.All dem raid flashes ever'whar. Can't fry po'k chops fer 'em. Can't wuck,can't do nuttin'."
That night, after the grand performance was concluded, after the surgingcrowd had passed out, after the arc lights had fluttered, blinked, andthen left the place in darkness, Johnny went out for a breath of freshair before turning into the bunk assigned to him. He was walking aroundthe end of the big top when a sudden flash of crimson appeared againstthe canvas. It was a flash only, remaining not one second, but Johnnypaused to listen.
In another moment there came a whispered, "Hello, Johnny," and Pantappeared.
"You work for this circus?" Johnny asked.
"No. You?"
"Yes, got a job to-day."
"What?"
"Horses."
"Good. That puts you inside. You can help me, Johnny--help me a lot, andbelieve me, kid, it's big--the biggest thing we ever worked on." Pant'swords came quick and tense.
"What is it?"
"Can't tell you now, but you can help. Here, take these three LibertyBonds. They're good ones. You take 'em over town and sell 'em. Here's ahundred iron men. You buy me five more bonds from these circus men, see?Any of 'em. You're inside, see? You can do it. Buy five. They've got 'em.They'll sell 'em, too."
"I call that light business, dealing in Liberty Bonds on a small margin,"grumbled Johnny. "What shall I pay?"
"Thirty-nine."
"Nobody but a crazy man would sell 'em for that."
"Mebbe not, Johnny, but t