by Charles King
CHAPTER V.
_THE FAIR._
It seemed to Teddy as if everything pleasant in life had departed fromhim as he waited for the return of Uncle Nathan accompanied by theofficers of the law, and neither he nor his mother had any idea that thevisit would be long delayed.
The widow had every proof, even if her heart had not told the truth,that her son was innocent of the charge which the angry old man made.She knew both he and Sam remained in the house during the entire dayprevious to the robbery, and it would have been almost impossible forthem to have left during the night without her knowledge; but at thesame time it was only reasonable she should be distressed in mind as tothe final outcome of the matter.
One, two, three hours passed, and yet no arrest had been made.
Teddy no longer hoped to play the part of fakir at the fair; but yet hefancied it might be possible to sell his stock, which had already beenforwarded by the stage, to some more fortunate fellow, and in order todo this it was necessary he should be on the grounds at the earliestpossible hour; but the charge made by his uncle held him a voluntaryprisoner.
At eight o'clock a neighbor, whose love of gossip was greater than herdesire for housework, came to the garden gate to say that she had justheard the justice of the peace refuse to issue a warrant for either ofthe boys, and she added to this information her belief that it, theburglary, was a judgment upon Uncle Nathan for presuming to talkbusiness on the Sabbath.
When this busybody had departed, Mrs. Hargreaves said, as she re-enteredthe house:
"There is no longer any reason, Teddy, why you shouldn't carry out yourplans. Every one in this village knows where to find you in case awarrant is granted, which doesn't now seem possible, and it is better togo ahead as you proposed, knowing that your mother is certain you areinnocent of any wrongdoing."
Teddy's one desire had been to be on the fair grounds, and when thisadvice was given from "a fellow's best friend," he started at once,saying as he left the house:
"I'll come back if there's nothing to do; but there's no reason to worryif you don't see me until Saturday, for I shall stay jest as long asthings run smooth."
Ten minutes later, while he was trudging along the dusty road with noother idea than that he would be forced to walk the entire distance, afriend in a wagon overtook him, proposed that he ride, and before thefair grounds were reached he had heard all the particulars of therobbery.
It appeared that the burglars must have effected an entrance to UncleNathan's store after midnight Saturday, and when the proprietor arrivedon the following morning there was absolutely no clue to the thieves.
"They must have had a wagon to take away all the old man says he haslost," Teddy's informant added, as the story was concluded, "and becauseof that the justice refused to issue a warrant for the man who slept atthe hotel last night. Of course the idea that you knew anything about itwas all in that old fool's eye."
"Then nobody has been arrested?" Teddy exclaimed, in surprise.
"Of course not, an' more than one in town hopes he'll never see hide norhair of his goods or money; but between you an' me I don't believe he'slost half as much as he tries to make out."
To this last assertion Teddy gave but little heed; the all absorbingthought in his mind was as to whether he would actually be arrested forthe crime, and this was sufficient to prevent any speculations as tothe amount of loss, or his former dreams of the future.
Arriving at the fair grounds, he found everything in a state ofconfusion. Goods were arriving and being put in place; men werequarreling for this or that vantage ground, and carpenters were busy inevery direction.
As a matter of course, he knew that all this would be changed on thefollowing day when the visitors began to arrive; but, nevertheless, itgave him a homesick feeling which he could not suppress, and, for atime, prevented him from attending to his own interests.
"Hello! What are you sittin' there for?" a voice cried, after he hadremained inactive near the entrance nearly an hour, debating in his ownmind whether or not it would be worth the while to unpack the goodswhich he knew were awaiting his call somewhere on the grounds.
Looking up quickly he saw Sam, self-possessed and jaunty as at the firstmoment he met him in Waterville, but wearing an air of considerably moreimportance.
"Have you gone to work yet?" he asked, listlessly.
"Of course not; there's nothin' for me to do till the folks begin tocome in to see how well I can row a boat. What did the old duffer do?"
"Do you mean Uncle Nathan?"
"Of course."
"He hasn't had anybody arrested yet; but there's no knowin' how soonhe'll begin."
"He'd better not try it on me," Sam said, with an assumption ofboldness. "I've found a feller here that's goin' to show off rifles, an'I can borrow as many as I want if he does any funny business."
"Would you shoot anybody?"
"You jest stay till an old lunatic comes along sayin' I've helped to robhim when your mother knows where I was, an' see what I'll do," Samreplied, in a really bloodthirsty tone as he turned to walk away, andthen, as if reconsidering the matter, he stopped long enough to say,"Wait here a minute, an' I'll show you a feller what knows a thing ortwo."
Inasmuch as Teddy had no idea of moving from the position he had takenup near the gate it was not irksome to do as the exhibitor of boatsrequested, and without troubling his head as to who this very importantperson might be, he remained at the precise spot until Sam returned witha boy who appeared to be a year or two older than himself.
"This is Dan Summers, an' he's here to help show off a dandy rifle madein Chicopee Falls down in Massachusetts, or some such place. He'll helpus out of the scrape if anybody can."
Dan looked as if this introduction was disagreeable to him rather thanotherwise, and after nodding to Teddy, he said, in an explanatory tone:
"I'm here to help the man what exhibits goods from the Stevens ArmsCompany, that's all; but I don't see how I could be of any help if youfellers have got in a fuss."
"Neither do I," Teddy replied, and then to show that no one could aidhim, he told the whole story, including all that Uncle Nathan had said.
"I wouldn't let that worry me," Dan said, philosophically, when the talewas ended. "If you want to make any money out of this fair it is timeyou was lookin' out for a stand, an' I know of the best place on thegrounds. Come with me now, an' you can get it before the crowd of fakirshave a chance to take it up."
Teddy, rather liking the appearance of this boy, resolved to follow hisadvice, and signified the same by slipping down from the stack ofexhibits, as he said:
"Show it to me an' I'll get right to work, for there's forty-fivedollars I've got to pay back, no matter what Uncle Nathan makes up hismind to do."
"That's the way to talk," Sam cried, approvingly, and forthwith heproceeded to take charge of his two acquaintances, resolved that lack ofenergy should not prevent him from sharing in their triumphs, if indeed,they had any.
Dan professed to have had considerable experience with fairs, and themanner in which he proceeded to work showed that there had been noboasting on his part. He selected a spot where nearly all of thevisitors would be forced to pass in order to see the cattle or theracing, and set about putting up a stand for Teddy in the most approvedmanner.
He ordered Sam here and there to such places as he had seen anaccumulation of lumber, and so well did he work, after borrowing an axand a hatchet from a "candy butcher," that it was not yet noon whenTeddy had an inclosure sufficiently large for his purpose; the cloth wasin place and the holes cut for the canes, so that it would be but thework of a few moments to make everything ready when business shouldbegin.
"You can't do the whole thing yourself if there is anything like thecrowd that ought to come," Dan said, "and I advise you to hire a clerk."
"Where'll I find one?" Teddy asked, helplessly.
"Take some of the fellers from your own village; but be sure they'rehonest, for after business begins there wo
n't be any chance to watch'em."
Teddy thought he could find the proper party before the following day,and then came the question of where they were to sleep.
"I've got that all fixed," Sam said, confidently.
"The man what runs the museum in that big tent is a friend of mine, an'he won't say a word if we stay under the canvas to-night."
"How long have you known him?" Teddy asked, warned by previousexperience that Sam's statements were not always to be depended upon.
"I never saw him till this morning; but that don't make no difference solong as he's willin' for us to stay there."
"We'll go over an' look around," Dan said, leading the way, and to thesurprise of at least one of the party it was found that Master Sam'sstatement was absolutely correct.
The proprietor of the museum was more than willing to allow the boys tosleep under his canvas, for the very good reason that they would act assentinels in lieu of those he had neglected to hire, and all three wentaway in search of a place where they could obtain meals during theexpected five days of excitement and money-making.
This was even a more simple matter than the first. At a boarding-housenearly opposite the main entrance to the grounds they could beaccommodated at a reasonable rate, and the preliminaries had beensettled. It only remained now to welcome the visitors, and get from themas much money as possible.
Teddy almost forgot the terrible fact that his Uncle Nathan might yethave him arrested, and Sam acted as if such a thing had never beenpossible.
It is true all three of the boys discussed the possibility of findingthe money which had been stolen from Teddy; but neither thought ofconnecting the two crimes as the work of one person.
During the afternoon Teddy looked around in the hope of seeing the man,unjustly accused of the theft, who had promised to aid him; but as yethe had not put in an appearance, and it seemed as if all the choiceplaces would be taken before he arrived.
It was anything rather than sport to wander around the almost desertedgrounds, and at an early hour, after partaking of a remarkably poorsupper, the three boys sought the seclusion granted by the mildewedcanvas of the alleged museum of the "world's wonders."
A goat, a wax baby, two or three snakes, an alligator, and acontortionist, who was none other than the proprietor of thismagnificent array of "marvels," made up the entire list of curiosities;but the tent would shelter the young fakirs from the wind and dew, andit was possible they might sleep as soundly as at home.
