Andy the Acrobat

by John Kendrick Bangs

  CHAPTER XIV

  BILLY BLOW, CLOWN

  Billy Blow, the clown, woke up just as the wagon reached the tent siteat Clifton. It was nearly midnight.

  His sleep did not seem to have refreshed him much. He got down from thevehicle like a man half-awake, and as if the effort hurt him. He had toshake himself to get the stiffness out of his limbs.

  "Dis vos dot poy I told you aboud, Billy," said the musician.

  "Oh, yes, yes," answered the clown in a preoccupied way, with a quicklook at Andy. "I'll take him under my wing until Marco comes along. Thisway, kid. I've some baggage to look after. Then we'll bunk."

  Andy bade Hans Snitzellbaum adieu with reluctance. He liked thebluff-hearted old German with his fatherly ways.

  "Goot py for dot bresent times," said the fat musician. "Vhen I sees youmit dose tumblers, I gives some big bang-bang, boom-boom, hey?"

  "I hope you will," responded Andy with a cheery laugh.

  He followed Billy Blow. The latter finally found the wagon he was after.He bundled its contents about and got a small wooden box and a bigwicker trunk to one side.

  "Wish you'd mind these till I see if I can't make quick sleepingquarters," Blow said to Andy.

  "Yes, sir, I'll be glad to," answered Andy willingly, and the clownhurried off in his usual nervous fashion.

  Andy was kept keenly awake for the ensuing hour. It did not seem to benight at all. The scene about him was one of constant activity.

  Andy caught a glimpse of real circus life. Its details filled him withwonderment, admiration and keen interest.

  The scene was one of constantly increasing hustle and bustle. There wasinfinite variety and excitement in the occasion. For all that, there wasa system, precision and progress in all that was done thatfascinated Andy.

  The boy was witnessing the building of a great city in itself within thespace of half-a-dozen hours.

  The caravan wound in, section by section. The wagons moved to set placesas if doing so automatically, discharged their cumbersome loads,and retired.

  First came the baggage train, then the stake and chain wagons, the sideshows, paraphernalia, and the menagerie cages.

  The circus area proper had been all marked out, the ring graded,sawdust-strewn, and straw scattered to absorb dampness.

  The blacksmiths' wagons, cooks' caravan and the minor tents all removedto the far rear. The naphtha torches were set every twenty feet apart toilluminate proceedings. Workers were hauling on the ground greathogsheads of water. Near the dining tents half-a-hundred table clothswere already hanging out on wire clothes lines to dry.

  Some men were washing small tents with paraffin to season them againstthe weather. Finally the great forty-horse team lumbered up with itsmighty load. The boss canvasman with half-a-hundred assistants began theconstruction of "the main top," or performing tent, holding fifteenthousand people.

  Andy, absorbed in every maneuver displayed, was completely lost in thedeepest interest when a voice at his side aroused him.

  "Tired waiting?" asked Billy Blow.

  "Oh, no," answered Andy, "I could watch this forever, I think."

  "It would soon get stale," declared the clown, with a faint smile. "Giveus a hand, partner--one at a time, and we'll get my togs and ourselvesunder cover."

  Andy took one handle of the box, the clown the other. They carried it tothe door of one of twenty small tents near the cook's quarters. Theybrought the wicker trunk also, and then carried box and trunk insidethe tent.

  Andy looked about it curiously. A candle burned on a bench. Beyond itwas a mattress. Near one side, and boxed in by platform sections as ifto keep off draughts, was a second smaller mattress.

  On a stool near it sat a thin-faced, lady-like woman. She was smilingdown at a little boy lying huddled up in shawls and a comforter.

  "This is my boy, Wildwood," spoke Billy Blow. "New hand, Midge--if hemakes good."

  The little fellow nodded in a grave, mature way at Andy. According tohis size, he resembled a child of four. That was why they called himMidget. Andy learned later that he was ten years old. He had an act withthe circus, going around the ring perched on the shoulders of abare-back rider. He also sometimes had a part with "the Tom Thumbacrobats," doing some clever hoop-jumping with a trick Shetland pony.

  He seemed to be just recovering from a fit of sickness. His face,prematurely old, was pinched and colorless.

  "Our Columbine in the Humpty Dumpty afterpiece," was the way the clownintroduced the lady. "I don't know how to thank you for all yourtrouble, Miss Nellis."

  "Don't mention it, Billy," responded the woman. "Any of us would fightfor it to help you or the kid, wouldn't we, Midge?"

  "I don't know why," answered the lad in a weary way. "I ain't much goodany more."

  "Now hear that ungrateful boy!" rallied Miss Nellis. "Billy, the doctorsays his whole trouble was poisoned canned stuff, bad water and a cold.He's broken the fever. Here's some medicine. Every hour a spoonful untilgone, and doctor says he'll be fit as ever in a day or two."

  "That's good," said the clown, a lone tear trickling down his cheek. "Iwish I could afford the hotel for the lad, instead of thisrough-and-tumble shack life, but my wife's hospital bills drain mepretty well."

  "Never mind. Better times coming, Billy. Don't you get disheartened,"cheered the little woman. "Remember now, don't miss that medicine."

  Miss Nellis went away. Andy heard poor Billy sigh as he adjusted thelarger mattress.

  "There's your bunk," he said to Andy. "Marco will see you early in themorning."

  Andy took off his coat and shoes and lay down on the rude bed. Hewatched Midget tracing the outlines of a picture with his white fingerin a book Miss Nellis had brought him.

  Andy saw the clown go over to a stool and place a homely, old-fashionedwatch and a spoon and medicine bottle Miss Nellis had given him upon it.

  Then Blow came back to the big mattress and sat down on it. He bent hisface in his hands in a tired way. Every minute he would sway withsleepiness, start up, and try to keep awake.

  "The man is half-dead for the want of sleep, worn out with all hisworries," thought Andy. "Mr. Blow," he said aloud, sitting up, "I can'tsleep a wink. This is all so new to me. I'll just disturb you rustlingabout here. Please let me attend to the little fellow, won't you, andyou take a good sound snooze? Come, it will do you lots of good."

  "No, no," began the clown weakly.

  "Please," persisted Andy. "Honest, I can't close my eyes. Now don't youhave a care. I'll give Midget his medicine to the second."

  Andy felt a glow of real pleasure and satisfaction as the clown laydown. He was asleep in two minutes. Andy went over to the stool.

  "I'm going to be your nurse," he told Midget. "Suppose you sleep, too."

  "I can't," answered the little fellow. "I've been asleep all day. Wish Ihad another book, I've looked this one through a hundred times."

  "I could tell you some stories," Andy suggested. "Good ones."

  "Will you, say, will you?" pleaded the clown's boy eagerly.

  "You bet--and famous ones."

  Andy kept his promise. He ransacked his mind for the brightest storieshe had ever read. Never was there a more interested listener. Andytalked in a low voice so as not to disturb the clown.

  Midget seemed most to like the real stories of his own village life thatAndy finally drifted into.

  "That's what I'd like," he said, after Andy had told of some boyishadventures back at Fairview.

  "Oh, I'm so tired of moving on--all the time moving on!"

  "Strange," thought Andy, "and that's just the kind of a life I'm tryingto get into."

  Midget became so animated that Andy finally got him to tell some storiesabout circus life. All that, however, was "shop talk" to the littleperformer, but Andy learned considerable from the keen-witted littlefellow, who appeared to know as much about the ins and outs of show lifeas some veteran of the ring.

  He enlightened his auditor greatly in the line of real
circus slang.Andy learned that in show vernacular clowns were "joys," and otherperformers "kinkers." A pocket book was a "leather," a hat a "lid," aticket a "fake," an elephant a "bull." Lemonade was "juice," eyes were"lamps," candy peddlers were "butchers," and the various tents "tops,"as, for instance: "main top," "cook top," and the side shows were"kid tops."

  Finally little Midge went to sleep. Andy woke him up each hour tilldaybreak to take his medicine. After the last dose Andy went outside tostretch his limbs and get a mouthful of fresh air.

  He saw men still tirelessly working here and there. Some were housingthe live stock, some unpacking seat stands, some fixing the banners onthe main tent.

  Andy did not go far from the clown's tent. It was fairly dawn. Happeningto glance towards the chandelier wagon he came to a dead stand-still,and stared.

  "Hello!" said Andy with animation. "There's that Jim Tapp, and the manwith him--yes, it's the fellow, Murdock, I saw with Daley in the oldhay barn."

  As he stood gazing Tapp caught sight of him. He started violently andspoke some quick words to his companion, pointing towards Andy.

  "That's the man who cut the trapeze," murmured Andy. "I'll rouse theclown and tell him. He's a dangerous man to have lurking around."

  "Hey! hey!" called out Tapp at just that moment.

  Both he and his companion started running towards Andy. There was thatin their bearing that warned Andy they meant him no good. Andy didnot pause.

  "Stop, I tell you!" shouted the man, Murdock.

  Andy made a bee-line for the clown's tent. As he neared it he glancedback over his shoulder.

  Tapp was still putting after him. His companion had stooped to pick upan iron tent stake from the ground.

  This he let drive with full force. It took Andy squarely between theshoulders, and he dropped like a shot.