The Circus of Adventure (18 page)

One bear lay down beside him to lick in comfort. Another sigh at once went through the tense crowd. Philip gave the jar to the other bear, and then with his free hand began to fondle the bear lying beside him. It grunted in pleasure.

Now the bears were happy and at peace. They had found someone they liked and trusted. Philip knew that he had them under control—if only the crowd didn’t do something silly—make a sudden noise, or come surging towards him. But the circus-folk knew better than that. They were used to animals.

Philip stood up, doing nothing quickly—all his movements were smooth and slow. He picked up the jar, and with his other hand on one bear’s neck, began to walk to the cage. The bears followed, shambling along quietly, licking their lips.

Philip took them right to the cage, undid the door and let them shuffle in. He put the treacle jar inside, shut the door, and went quietly outside.

And then how the people cheered! ‘He’s a wonder! Who is he? Tell Fank the bears are safe. Who IS this boy?’

Chapter 24

MORNING COMES!

Philip called to Jack. ‘Jack—see if you can get some meat—plenty of it—and bring it to me.’

‘I’ll get some,’ said Toni, and raced off. He came back with a basket containing great slabs of horse-meat. Philip took it. He opened the cage door and threw in the meat, talking cheerfully to the hungry bears.

Now, they were ready for their meal. They were no longer sulky, scared or angry. They were just three very hungry bears, and they fell on the meat and gulped it down.

‘Let them have as much as they will eat,’ said Philip. ‘Then they will go to sleep. While they are asleep, someone must mend their cage bars. Keep that light in front now—none of them will venture out of the broken bars while that light is there.’

Everyone gathered round Philip. ‘He’s a friend of Jack,’ they said to one another. ‘ He fetched him here because he is good with bears. He must have come from another circus. Look—the Boss wants him.’

The Boss had watched everything from his caravan window. He was most impressed and extremely thankful. Pedro told Philip that the Boss had sent for him, and he and Jack and Philip went up the steps of the Boss’s big caravan.

The Boss poured out praise and thanks in a mixture of several languages. Pedro interpreted with a grin. ‘He says, what can he do for you? He says you’ve saved the bears from being shot. He says, ask anything you like and you can have it, if he can give it to you!’

Jack answered quickly. ‘There’s only one thing we want. Now that there is this upset in Borken, can we all stay with the circus? Philip will be glad to look after the bears, as long as Fank is ill—but he has girls with him, our sisters—can they stay too? We don’t like to let them go off by themselves, in case civil war starts up in Tauri-Hessia.’

Pedro interpreted. The Boss quite thought that these ‘sisters’ were circus performers too. He nodded his head. ‘Yes—you may let them stay. If they have tricks or shows of their own, they may get a chance here. But we must strike camp tomorrow—it will be dangerous to stay here in Borken any longer. The Count Paritolen owns this land, and as it is probably he who has something to do with the King’s disappearance, it would be best for us to leave before trouble starts.’

‘What does he say?’ asked Jack, anxiously. Pedro translated all this into English, and the two boys were much relieved. Good! They could all stay with the circus, and would leave almost immediately with the circus folk! They would soon be out of the danger zone—and then perhaps they could get a message to Bill.

The boys went down the steps of the van with Pedro. They made their way to Pedro’s own little van, feeling that they simply must have a good long talk. It was about two o’clock in the morning now, but none of the three boys felt tired—they were far too strung up with the happenings of the night.

The circus-folk as they passed clapped Philip on the back. He smiled and nodded, and then at last all three were in the little van with the two girls and Kiki.

‘Shut the door,’ said Kiki at once. ‘Wipe your feet. Fetch the King!’

‘I wish we could, Kiki,’ said Jack, with a laugh, as the parrot flew on to his shoulder. ‘But don’t you start talking about the King. Oh—Lucy-Ann—you nearly had me over! What a hug! It reminds me of the bears!’

‘I can’t help it!’ said Lucy-Ann, and gave Philip a hug too. ‘I was so anxious about you and Philip, with those bears. It all seems like a horrid dream. I was longing for you to come back to us. Gussy’s gone too. Is he really going to be a girl?’

‘He is,’ said Jack, sitting down on the mattress. ‘Now, we’ve got to talk and make plans. First of all, because of Philip’s grand performance with the bears, the Boss has said we can all stay with the circus. We couldn’t have a better hiding-place!’

‘That’s true,’ said Dinah. ‘But suppose the Count makes a search for us—and his men are sent here to look, among other places. Gussy might not be recognized if he’s dressed up as a girl—but what about me and Lucy-Ann and Philip? We’re all dressed in the English way—we’d soon be noticed.’

‘Yes. I hadn’t thought of that,’ said Jack. ‘I’m too English, as well. Pedro—I’ve got some money saved up that I made out of Kiki’s performances—could you buy some Hessian clothes for us early today?’

‘Ma will fix you all up,’ said Pedro. ‘She’s a wonder with her needle! She’ll get some cloth from old Lucia, the woman who’s in charge of the circus clothes. And we’ll borrow some grease-paint from Toni and give you all dark Tauri-Hessian faces! But don’t go speaking English!’

‘No, we won’t. We’ll talk a wonderful gibberish of our own!’ said Philip, with a laugh. ‘We’ll come from Jabberwocky, and talk the Jabberwock language! It goes like this—Goonalillypondicherrytapularkawoonatee!’

Everyone laughed. ‘Good!’ said Pedro. ‘I’ll tell any searchers that you are Jabberwockians, and then you can talk like that if they ask you anything. By the way, where is Jabberwocky?’

Kiki suddenly launched with delight into the Jabberwockian language. They all listened to her and roared. ‘You’re a very fine specimen of a Jabberwockian parrot!’ said Jack, fondling her. ‘Go to the top of the class!’

Dinah gave an enormous yawn, at once copied by Kiki. It made everyone begin to feel terribly sleepy. ‘Come on—we’ll be striking camp fairly early,’ said Pedro, getting up. ‘Sleep in peace, girls. We three boys will be just under the van, on a couple of rugs. As for Gussy, I expect he’s snoring in Ma’s extra bunk, looking like a beautiful little girl!’

Gussy was not asleep, however. He lay in the small bunk, listening to Ma’s deep breathing and sudden snorts. He was very angry and very humiliated. Ma had seen to him properly! She had tried his hair this way and that, and had finally decided that he looked more like a girl with a small bow at each side rather than with one big one on top.

She had also looked out some clothes—a longish skirt, rather dirty, very highly coloured, and decidedly ragged—and a small red blouse with a green scarf tied skittishly round the waist. Gussy could have cried with shame.

It wasn’t the slightest bit of good arguing with Ma. In fact, when Gussy refused to stand still while his bows were being tied, Ma had given him a hefty slap on a very tender place, which had given Gussy such a tremendous shock that he couldn’t even yell,

‘You know I’m a Prince, don’t you?’ he said, fiercely, under his breath.

‘Pah!’ said Ma. ‘You’re just a boy. I’ve no time for Princes.’ And she hadn’t.

Now Gussy was trying to go to sleep, his hair still tied with bows, and a peculiar sort of garment on him that looked half like a night-gown and half like a long coat. He went over the exciting escape in his mind, and shuddered. No—he wouldn’t think about that awful rope and the trapeze swing. He wondered about his uncle and shuddered again. Was he killed? Poor Gussy’s thoughts were not pleasant ones at all.

The morning came all too soon for the five tired children. Philip went across at once to the bears’ cage to see how they were. The bars had been mended and strengthened. The bears, looking extremely well-fed, were half asleep—but as soon as they saw Philip they padded to the bars and grunted amiably. One bear tried to reach him with his paw.

‘Good—they’re quite all right,’ said Philip, and gave them a little talk to which they listened entranced, as if they understood every word!

Fank was better—but still could not stand up. Philip went to see him, and the little man took his hand and poured out a stream of completely unintelligible words. Philip knew what he was saying, though! Here was a grateful man if ever there was one! Fank loved his bears as if they were his brothers, and he had been almost mad with anxiety the night before, when he heard they had escaped.

‘I’ll take them on till you’re well,’ said Philip, and Fank understood, and shook Philip’s hand fervently.

The next thing was clothes. The camp was to set off in three hours, so Ma had got to hurry if she was going to get the four of them clothes that would disguise the fact that they were English.

She went to Lucia, an old bent woman who kept the clothes of the circus-folk in order—not the ordinary ones they wore every day, but their fine ones, worn in the ring—their glittering capes and skirts, their silken shirts and magnificent cloaks. These were valuable, and old Lucia’s needle was always busy. So was her iron. Nobody could press fine clothes as well or as carefully as Lucia.

By the time the circus-folk were ready to strike camp, nobody would have recognized Dinah, Lucy-Ann, Philip and Jack! Toni had lent them grease-paint and each of them was as dark as a Tauri-Hessian—face, neck, legs, and hands! The girls wore the Tauri-Hessian dress—long skirts and shawls, and gay ribbons in their hair.

The boys looked just like roughly brought-up boys of the country, and seemed to have grown older all of a sudden. Lucy-Ann stared at Jack in surprise, hardly recognizing this brown youth, whose teeth gleamed suddenly white in his dark face.

Ma was pleased with her efforts, but most of all she was delighted with Gussy. Nobody, nobody could possibly think that Gussy was anything but a girl. He looked really pretty! All five of them, Pedro too, roared with laughter when poor Gussy came down Ma’s caravan steps, looking very red in the face, very angry, and very ashamed.

‘Dis is my little grandchild, Anna-Maria!’ said Ma, with a broad smile. ‘Be kind to her, plizz!’

Gussy looked as if he was about to burst into tears. ‘Yes, go on, cry!’ said Philip, hard-heartedly. ‘You’ll be exactly like a girl then, Anna-Maria!’

Dinah gave him a punch. ‘It’s only soft girls that cry!’ she said. ‘Oh dear—doesn’t Gussy—I mean Anna-Maria—look priceless?’

‘Smashing!’ said Jack. ‘Honestly, he’s as pretty as a picture. Thank goodness for his long hair—that’s what makes him look like a girl more than anything!’

‘I cut it short soon, soon, soon,’ said poor Gussy, furiously. ‘Snip-snip—like that!’

‘You can’t. You told us that Princes of this country have to wear it long, like you do,’ said Dinah.

‘I will not be a Prince then,’ said Gussy. He looked suddenly very forlorn, and gazed at Lucy-Ann beseechingly, feeling that she had the kindest heart of the lot.

‘Do not tizz me,’ he begged. ‘I hate zis. I am full of shamefulness.’

‘All right, Gussy, er—Anna-Maria,’ said Jack. ‘We won’t tizz you. Cheer up—you’ll be a Prince again before long, I’m sure.’

‘If my uncle is alive, I will be,’ said Gussy, soberly. ‘If he is dead—I must be King!’

‘God save the King,’ said Kiki, devoutly, and raised her crest impressively. ‘Fetch the doctor and save the King!’

Chapter 25

THE CAMP IS SEARCHED

Soon a long procession of vans was going down the winding road that led away from Borken. The two girls and Gussy were in Pedro’s little van, and he was driving the small skewbald horse that belonged to him.

Jack was driving Ma’s van for her, and the old lady looked really happy. She loved a bit of excitement, and she roared with laughter whenever she caught sight of poor Gussy.

Philip, of course, was driving the van in which the bears’ cage was built. Toni was driving Fank’s little living-van, whistling cheerfully. Fank lay on his mattress inside, glad to feel better, and to know that ‘that wonder-boy’ Philip had got his bears in charge. He felt full of gratitude to Philip—and to Toni too for so cheerfully driving his van for him. The circus-folk were always ready to help one another. That was one of the nicest things about them.

The vans rumbled along the road, going very slowly, for neither the bears nor the chimpanzees liked going fast. They were all excited at being on the move again. Feefo and Fum chattered away together, looking through the window of their van.

‘Where are we going?’ Dinah asked Pedro, through the open window of the van. Pedro shrugged his shoulders. He had no idea.

‘We must get away from Borken, where a lot of trouble may start,’ he said, ‘and try to find somewhere more peaceful. We shall probably make for some country road, and keep away from all the main roads. Soldiers will use those, if trouble starts.’

Dinah went back into the van. The Tauri-Hessian dress suited her well, and she looked exactly right in it. ‘We’re making for some country road,’ she told Lucy-Ann. ‘It’s a pity we still can’t get in touch with Mother or Bill. They really will be dreadfully worried about us by now.’

‘I suppose the police will have been told and will be hunting everywhere for us—but in England instead of here!’ said Lucy-Ann. ‘Well, anyway, we’re safe for the moment, and out of that tower-room. I was getting tired of that! Nothing to do all day but to play games with those funny cards they brought us!’

They all stopped for a meal at about one o’clock. The vans stood at one side of the road, and the circus-folk sat beside them and ate. It was like summer, although it was only April. The sun was very hot, and masses of brilliant flowers were out everywhere.

Philip’s little dormouse came out to share the meal with him. He had had it with him all the time. It was scared by the noisy talk of the circus-folk, and only appeared when things were quiet. It sat on the palm of Philip’s hand, enjoying a nut, its big black eyes now and again glancing up at the boy.