The Adventures of a Country Boy at a Country Fair

by Charles King

  THE ADVENTURES OF A COUNTRY BOY AT A COUNTRY FAIR

  by

  James Otis

  Author of Toby Tyler Etc.

  Illustrated

  BostonCharles E. Brown & Co.

  Copyright, 1893,By Charles E. Brown & Co.

  S. J. Parkhill & Co., PrintersBoston

  CONTENTS.

  CHAPTER. I.--A Young Fakir II.--An Old Fakir III.--A Friend IV.--Uncle Nathan V.--The Fair VI.--A Clue VII.--The Clerk VIII.--The Jewelry Fakir IX.--A Brave Rescue X.--An Encounter XI.--Long Jim XII.--A Discovery XIII.--Amateur Detectives XIV.--The Rendezvous XV.--Sam's Adventures XVI.--Missing XVII.--A Terrible Night XVIII.--A Narrow Escape XIX.--The Arrest XX.--A Proposition XXI.--With the Burglars XXII.--A Disaster XXIII.--A Second Arrest XXIV.--A Third Arrest XXV.--On Bail XXVI.--The Fakirs' Party XXVII.--In Hiding XXVIII.--A Failure XXIX.--The Testimonial XXX.--The Trial XXXI.--An Arrival XXXII.--In Conclusion

  _THE ADVENTURES OF A COUNTRY BOY AT A COUNTRY FAIR._

  CHAPTER I.

  _A YOUNG FAKIR._

  "I'm going to try it. Deacon Jones says I can have the right to run boththings for ten dollars, and Uncle Nathan is going to lend me moneyenough to get the stock."

  "What scheme have you got in your head now, Teddy Hargreaves?" and Mrs.Fernald looked over her spectacles at the son of her widowed sister, whowas literally breathless in his excitement.

  "I'm going to run a cane an' knife board at the Peach Bottom fair, andtry to make money enough to pay the debt mother owes on the place."

  "You're crazy--mad as a March hare! The idea of a child like you settingyourself up to earn three or four hundred dollars, when your fatherworked all his life and couldn't get so much together."

  Mrs. Fernald really appeared to be angry, and she really believed therewas good cause why she should lose her temper. The thought that littleTeddy--a "whiflet" she called him--should set up his opinion in suchmatters against his elders, and attempt to earn in one season an amountwhich Seth Hargreaves had never been able to repay during his thirty-sixyears of life, was so preposterous that the good lady looked upon theboy's assertion as positive proof that he was not only ready but willingto "fly in the face of Providence."

  "I shall try it all the same," Teddy replied in a most provokinglymatter-of-fact tone, "an' I'm going down to see Uncle Nathan this veryminute."

  "Very well, and I consider it my bounden duty to advise your mother tokeep you in the house until the fair is ended," Aunt Sarah said, as shetook from its peg the well-worn gingham sun-bonnet.

  Teddy had no desire to prolong the conversation, which had been begunsimply because his aunt insisted on knowing where he had been, buthurried away from the gate on which he had been swinging while Mrs.Fernald questioned him, as if fearful lest she might try to detain himuntil the matter could be settled according to her own ideas ofpropriety.

  "I can have the right to run what I want to, every day the fair lasts,for ten dollars, an' now, if you lend me fifteen, I'll be all right,"the boy cried as he burst into Nathan Hargreaves' store, just as the oldgentleman was adding a trifle more sand to the sugar, in order tocompensate for what might possibly have been spilled by the carelessclerk.

  "Oh, it's fixed, eh? And you're really goin' to turn fakir?" UncleNathan asked, wrinkling his face into the semblance of a laugh, butremaining silent, as if fearing to waste even such a cheap thing asmirth.

  "What's a fakir?"

  "A man, or a boy, for that matter, who goes out to sell things as youcount on doin', if I'm fool enough to let you throw away fifteen gooddollars of mine."

  "But you promised to lend me the money."

  "An' I'm going to do it; but that don't make me any less a fool jestbecause I'm holdin' to my word. Tell me what you count on doin', an'then we'll come down to the business end of the scheme."

  "I'll pay the ten dollars I've got to Deacon Jones for the right to runthe games, an' with what you lend me I'm goin' to Waterville an' buy awhole lot of knives an' canes. There's a storekeeper over there whopromises to sell that kind of goods for less than they cost him."

  "An' he's lyin' when he says it. People don't do business for the fun ofit; but that's neither here nor there so far as our trade is concerned.I'm goin' to give you the fifteen dollars now--it's a power of money fora boy of your size, Teddy--, an' if you make anything, as I allow youwill, I'm to have eighteen dollars back; don't forget that part of thetrade."

  "I'll stand to what I agreed, Uncle Nathan, and you shall be paid thevery day the fair closes."

  "Here it is," and with a sigh which was almost a groan Uncle Nathan tookfrom a fat calfskin wallet three five-dollar bills, adding, as he handedthem to Teddy: "Be careful of it, my boy, for I'm puttin' almost toomuch confidence in a child of your size, an' nobody knows how distressedI'd be if anything happened to prevent your paying it back."

  Teddy placed the money carefully in the inside pocket of his vest, and,after promising for at least the hundredth time that it should be repaidby the close of the following week, hurried home confident in the beliefthat he was on an extremely short road to wealth.

  Mrs. Hargreaves was by no means as sanguine as her son concerning thesuccess of the scheme, and actually appeared frightened when Teddyshowed her the money he had received from his Uncle Nathan, who wasreputed to be the "closest-fisted" merchant to be found within a day'sride of Peach Bottom Run.

  "If you should lose it, Teddy, and be unable to pay him back at theexact time you promised, it would be the undoing of us, for we couldnever expect to get another dollar. I know he is not generous, but havealways believed that if we should be in yet more straitenedcircumstances he would give us some assistance. He has neither charitynor mercy for any one who does not pay a little more than his justdebts--"

  "But I shall give back every cent of this, mother, so don't look as ifyou were in such distress. I want to go to Waterville to buy my stock inthe morning, an' am counting on walking. It's only seven miles, an' I'llsave fifty cents by traveling on shanks' mare."

  "I will have breakfast ready by four o'clock; but you must come back onthe stage, Teddy."

  "Yes, if I feel very tired; but I don't know of any easier way to earn adollar than by walking both ways."

  The young "fakir" believed he knew exactly what kind and amount of stockhe wished to purchase on the following day, therefore he had nopreparations to make for the journey save to get his limbs in the bestpossible condition for the tramp by retiring very early, in order to"scoop in" plenty of sleep.

  The thought of the success which should attend him in his new venturekept his eyes open a long while after getting into bed, and when hefinally succeeded in crossing over to the land of Nod, dreams of thefortune to be made during the coming week visited his brain, andremained there until his mother's voice summoned him to breakfast.

  The sun had not yet come up from behind the hills when he was trudgingsturdily along over the dusty road, carrying a generous luncheon tied ina snowy-white napkin, and with his money secured by many pins in thelining of his cap.

  "Be careful not to lose it, for your Uncle Nathan would never forgiveyou," his mother had said, and he cried cheerily, as he walked swiftlydown the lane to the highway:

  "There's no fear of anything like that happening; the bills can't getaway without my knowing it so long as they stay here," and Teddy pulledhis cap yet more closely down on his head.

  In a trifle more than two hours he was at Watervill
e, wondering why thestores were not open, no matter how early it was, when such an importantcustomer as himself came to town.

  Since the merchants were evidently ignorant of his arrival, as wasevidenced by the fact that their places of business yet remained closed,there was no more profitable occupation for him than to eat a secondbreakfast, which he proceeded to do, using a hand-truck on thedepot-platform as a seat.

  The train which left New York on the evening before had arrived sometime previous, and the station was temporarily deserted by all save aboy of about Teddy's age, who was walking to and fro in an aimlessmanner.

  By the time the young "fakir" had finished his second biscuit he noticedthat the stranger was watching him narrowly, and, holding forth thenapkin with its generous store, he asked:

  "Have one?"

  "I don't care if I do," said the boy, carelessly, and he continued:

  "I reckon you live 'round here?"

  "No, I jest come up from Peach Bottom Run, an' am waiting for the storesto be opened."

  "Why, you're from the same place where the fair is goin' to be held."

  "No; I live at the Run, an' the fair is over to Peach Bottom, most fivemiles from my house. Are you goin' there?"

  "I should reckon I was. Why, I'm goin' to help run it."

  "You are?" and Teddy's mouth opened wide in astonishment.

  "Yes, sir-ree, an' you fellers will be jest about crazy when I tell youwhat I've come to do."

  "Don't flash it upon us too quick, for we wanter kind of keep our witsabout us till the fun is over."

  The tone of sarcasm in Teddy's voice appeared to nettle the stranger.

  "I've come down here to give away a steamboat what's worth five hundreddollars."

  "Then there ain't any need for you to go any farther, 'cause I'm willin'to take it now."

  "If you won't be so smart I'll tell you about it," was the dignifiedreply. "There's a firm out in Detroit what's goin' to do that very thingto the feller that can guess how much she weighs, an' I've been hired tohelp the man who is comin' down to Peach Bottom to show off a lot ofboats."

  "What are you goin' to do?" and now Teddy was interested.

  "Row around in the creek while he looks out for the stuff in the fair.It won't be any more'n fun, an' if you'll come over I'll take you out."

  "I don't s'pose you could help me guess how much the steamer weighs,could you?"

  "There ain't anybody as can do that, 'cause you see she ain't built yet;but you can find out all about it by lookin' on the fair grounds for thecirculars what the Davis Boat and Oar Company of Detroit will throwaround, an' if there's somethin' else you wanter know jest ask for SamBalderston; all the folks will know me before I've been there verylong."

  "I'm going to work at the fair myself," Teddy replied, and then, inresponse to his new friend's questions, he gave him all the particularsof his proposed venture.

  "I reckon you'll get along all right, an' come out way ahead, if some ofthese smart fakirs don't try to get the best of you. Say, why can't I goto your house, an' stay till it's time to go over to the fair? I'll paymy way."

  "If mother's willin', I'd like to have you, an' I don't believe she'llcare. Now, I've got to buy my stuff. Where'll I meet you afterward?"

  "I'm goin' with you," Sam said, in a matter-of-fact tone. "I know a gooddeal about such things, an' won't see you cheated."

  Teddy hardly thought he was in need of any assistance; but since he didnot want to offend this fellow who was concerned in giving away asteamboat, he could not well refuse, therefore the two started up thestreet together.