CHAPTER TEN
A New World
Chase and Joy awoke early and washed up as well as they could. Joy shook out one of the dresses she had not yet worn, a tan dress with white lace around the neck and sleeves and a dropped waistline. The weather was still cool, so she slipped on a lightweight wool jacket and donned a pair of black patent leather shoes. As she stepped out of the barn, she found Chase waiting for her. He was wearing the only outfit he had, which was much the worse for wear. His black hair needed cutting and curled over his coat collar.
“Pretty dress,” he commented. “Are you ready?”
“Yes, I am.”
The two left and paused at a diner to inquire the way to the fairgrounds. It sounded like finding their way would not be difficult, but it was a long walk, and they decided a good breakfast first was in order. They ordered the special—two eggs, bacon, and toast. The portions were not particularly generous, so they wolfed them down quickly and left.
They walked steadily and reached the fairgrounds just before ten o’clock. Chase scanned the grounds, then nodded. “They must have gotten here early. The big top’s almost up.”
Joy was confused by the activity, and her eyes darted everywhere as she followed Chase across the field. The tent was up, but there were still people running every which way stretching ropes and driving stakes into the ground. She gasped when an elephant strolled by, led by a handsome man with olive skin and flashing black eyes. Joy saw a look of astonishment cross his face as he spotted Chase.
“Well, if it isn’t Chase Hardin!” he called out and stood waiting as the two approached. The man’s bright green shirt contrasted with his crisp black curls spilling out from under a wide-brimmed gray fedora. He put his hand out, and his white teeth flashed against his dark skin. His eyebrows were black, as was the neatly trimmed mustache. “Good to see you, Chase. Where you been?”
“Oh, around, Dan.”
Chase turned and said, “This is Joy Smith, Dan. Joy, this is Dan Darvo.”
Darvo swept off his cap, and dark curls fell over his forehead. “Gypsy Dan is good enough.” His obsidian eyes studied Joy as she murmured a greeting. Then he turned back to Chase and asked, “How have you been?”
“Not too good. Is the colonel still in charge?”
“Sure. You need a job?”
“That’s why we’re here.”
The two were interrupted by another voice yelling, “Hey, Chase!”
Joy turned to see a midget hurtling across the lot. He skidded to a stop in front of Chase, slapped his hands together, and then stuck one of them up. Chase smiled and said, “How are you, Oz?”
“Better than you could guess. You old son of a gun, it’s good to see you! Who’s this? You done went and got married up on me?”
“Oh no, this is just a friend of mine. Her name’s Joy Smith.” Turning to Joy, he said, “Oz is one of the clowns in the circus.”
“I’m right proud to know you, Miss Smith. I’m Phineas Oz. Everybody just calls me Oz, though.”
“I’m glad to know you, Mr. Oz.”
“No ‘mister.’ Just Oz. You comin’ back to the show, Chase?”
“I thought I’d hit the colonel up for a job.” Then Chase added, “Just as a roustabout. And we need something for Joy here too.”
Oz chewed his lip thoughtfully and turned his head to one side. “Things have changed a little bit since you left, Chase. Mrs. House passed away about a year ago.”
Gypsy Dan added, “Had a heart attack. Dropped dead right in the middle of Ella’s dog act.”
“I’m sorry to hear it. She was a good woman,” Chase said regretfully. “The colonel’s missed her, I bet.”
“Well, you know how close they were,” Oz said, stroking his blunt chin. “He took to drinkin’ pretty hard. Next thing we knew he married up with Stella.”
Joy sensed Chase stiffen next to her, and she turned to see shock spread across his features. He recovered quickly and murmured, “Well, that’s a surprise.”
“Yeah, it was for all of us. I guess he was lonesome.”
A silence fell on the small group, and then Oz said, “Stella pretty much runs things now, but you can probably get a job.”
“Karl Ritter is doing the big cage now. You know him?” Gypsy Dan asked.
“No, never saw his act.”
“Well, he’s flashy, but I’ve seen better. You can probably find the colonel in his tent. He doesn’t get out until pretty late.”
“The tent’s around on the other side of clown alley. Just where we always put it.” Gypsy Dan turned to Joy and studied her carefully. “Do you like animals?”
“Oh yes, I do.”
“Maybe you’d like to come into my act. We could always use a pretty girl on top of an elephant.”
“Oh, I wouldn’t know how to do that.”
“Nothing to it.” Gypsy Dan turned and said, “Trunk, Ruth.” The elephant swung her trunk around, and Gypsy Dan put it toward Joy. The trunk came up in front of Joy’s face, and she reached out tentatively and stroked it. The tip of the trunk touched her shoulder with its fingerlike appendage on the end of it. Dan reached into his pocket, saying, “Give her a bit of this. She’ll love you forever.”
Joy took the quarters of apple and handed them to the elephant, which immediately stuck them in its mouth and came back asking for more. Joy stroked the trunk again. It was very rough and hairy, but the elephant’s eyes seemed to gleam with pleasure. Joy said, “She’s really sweet.”
“Sure, sweet just like me.” Gypsy Dan winked at her. “We’ll talk later.”
Chase turned abruptly, and Joy had to hurry to catch up with him. He wound his way through the maze of equipment and canvas, and Joy noted that many of the circus workers looked at him in surprise. When some called out to him, he nodded but did not stop. He finally paused before a tall, broad-shouldered man with red hair and blue eyes wearing stained and wrinkled khakis.
“Hello, Pete.”
“Hello, Chase.” The broad-shouldered man studied him carefully, his eyes flickering over to Joy. “What’s goin’ down?”
“Bad pennies come back. I’m lookin’ for a job and one for this young lady here. Her name’s Joy Smith.”
“Well, I hope the colonel can find something for you. It’ll be good to have you working with us again.”
“We’re heading over to the colonel’s trailer right now.”
“Have you heard about Stella?”
“Yes, Oz told me.”
“Might be a problem for you.”
“No, it won’t.” Chase’s voice was clipped and short. “Guess I’ll go find out. Come along, Joy.”
Joy hurried along after Chase, saying nothing. This world was not hers, and she was confused by it. The strong smell of animals overrode most other smells, and she almost fell over a tent rope because she was so busy looking around.
Chase led her around to the back of the lot, where he saw a man in a white suit and a white straw hat. “That’s the man we’re looking for—Colonel House,” he said.
Colonel House did not turn until Chase spoke his name, and when he did, shock flickered across his florid features. He had been a big man, but now the flesh had sagged. He pulled off the straw hat, revealing his white hair. “Hello, Chase,” he said. “Surprised to see you.”
“Good to see you, Colonel. I’m sorry to hear about your wife. She was very good to me. I’ll miss her.”
Colonel House bowed his head for a moment, and sadness colored his eyes when he looked back up. “It was like the sun went out of the sky for me, my boy.” He shook his head and asked, “What can I do for you?”
“Need a job, Colonel. Not my old one, though,” he added. “Just pulling down, setting up, washing dishes. Anything. This is Miss Joy Smith. She could be handy too, I think.”
“How do you do, Miss Smith?” House had a courtly manner, and although he appeared tired, there was still an air of gallantry about him. He addressed Chase again. “Don’t know if yo
u’ve heard about me and Stella.”
“Yes, Oz told me. Congratulations.”
A look passed between the two men, and Joy saw that both of them were uncomfortable. “We’ll have to ask Stella, but I think we can find something.”
At that moment the trailer door opened, and a woman stepped out. She was wearing a short yellow dress, and her hair was bobbed in the current flapper fashion. Her green eyes flickered over Joy, sized her up, and then moved on to Chase. She came down off the steps and walked forward with a swagger. “Hello, Chase,” she purred, keeping her eyes fixed on his.
“Hello, Stella. You’re looking well.”
“You don’t look so good yourself.”
“Little down on my luck. I was asking the colonel here for any kind of a job for me—and for Miss Joy Smith here.”
“We could certainly use some help,” House said. His eyes narrowed, and he shook his head slightly. “Karl Ritter lost his helper. But he’s pretty hard to please.”
“I can do it, Colonel.”
“Won’t be very pleasant for you,” the colonel suggested. “Cleaning out cages.”
“It doesn’t matter.”
The colonel glanced at Joy and stroked his goatee. He looked a great deal like the pictures Joy had seen of Buffalo Bill, with the white mustache and white goatee to match. She wondered if he had adopted the mannerisms as well. “What about Miss Smith, Stella?”
“Annie needs some help over in the cook tent. Can you cook?”
“Yes, I can.”
“All right. Chase, you wait here. I’ll take you to Ritter after I talk to Annie about the new help.” She turned to the young woman, saying, “All right. Come along—what’s your first name?”
“Joy.”
“Come along, then, Joy. I’ll take you over and see if you can handle the job.”
Joy obediently followed the woman, who rapidly threaded her way through the circus maze. She stopped abruptly and turned to her. “How did you get hooked up with Chase?”
“Well, it was mostly because of an accident.” Joy struggled to choose the right words, not wanting to say too much. “He got hurt, and I stayed around to take care of him.”
“Is he your boyfriend?”
“No!”
Stella stared at the girl while Joy tried to guess how old Stella was. She appeared to be in her late twenties or early thirties. There was a hardness about her, attractive though she was, both in face and form. It was more in the glint of her eyes than in any outward mark of age, and she exuded a callous boldness.
“Well, I find that hard to believe, a guy and a girl traveling around together.”
“It’s the truth, though.” Joy changed the subject. “What did Chase do when he was with the circus, Mrs. House?”
“He didn’t tell you that?”
“No, we haven’t known each other very long, and he’s just getting over his injuries, so we haven’t talked all that much.” This was not entirely true, but true enough, Joy felt. Chase hadn’t talked about his time with the circus except to mention it once or twice.
“He was in charge of the big cats. He was the best man in the business,” Stella said.
“You mean he trained them?”
“You mean tell you never heard of the great Chase Hardin?”
“I guess I don’t keep up with circuses. I haven’t seen one since I was six years old.”
“Well, he was the star of this circus,” Stella said flatly. “But he’s not a star now, as you can see. C’mon, I don’t have time for this.” As she strode rapidly along, Stella said nothing more until they stopped in front of a tent off to one side. “Listen, you cause trouble with our men here and out you go.”
“I won’t do that, Mrs. House.”
“Be sure you don’t. That’s Annie Delaney over there.” She stepped inside the tent and called out, “Annie, I want you to meet someone. This is Joy Smith. She says she can cook and she’s looking for work. See if she can handle the job and let me know.” She turned and left the tent without even so much as a good-bye.
Joy was somewhat nonplussed by Stella House. She knew the woman didn’t like her—that was easy enough to discern—but then perhaps she didn’t like anybody. Joy looked more hopefully at the woman who was standing by a wood-burning cook stove stirring a steaming pot, and went over to her. The cook was a woman of average height with reddish hair and intense blue eyes. When she stepped toward Annie to speak to her, Joy noticed she had a limp, but otherwise she appeared strong and able.
“Well, Joy Smith?” she said, with her hands on her hips. “You say you can cook?”
“Oh yes, ma’am!”
“Well, we’ll see about that. I don’t want any prima donnas in here. I just need somebody who can cook, wash dishes, and peel potatoes. Are you a prima donna?”
“A what?”
“Do you want to be a star in the circus?”
Joy smiled. “Why, no, I never even thought of such a thing.”
“You come all by yourself? Where are you from?” Annie demanded.
“I came with Chase Hardin. He’s going to work with somebody named Ritter.”
The woman’s eyes widened with surprise. Then she asked suspiciously, “What are you doing running around with Chase? You’re not married to him, are you? You’re not old enough for that, although I guess you’re big enough, and that’s old enough these days.”
Joy knew then that she was going to get very tired of explaining her relationship with Chase, but it had to be done. “There was an accident, and Chase got hurt. He needed somebody to take care of him, so we stayed with a woman in Nebraska, Mrs. Hannah Smith. I had to get to Galveston, and Chase came along to look out after me.”
Annie Delaney listened to this with a suspicious air. “All right. You’re not telling me everything, but I’m not telling you everything either.” She turned abruptly. All of her motions were swift, and she pointed at a basket full of potatoes over against the tent wall. “Wash those potatoes and peel ’em. I’ll give you a try, but we don’t need anybody around here who can’t carry their own weight.”
****
“I’m all through with those potatoes, Miss Delaney.”
Annie turned and exclaimed, “Well, that didn’t take long!” She picked up one of the potatoes and looked at the peelings. “You can peel potatoes anyhow. Some of the help I get leave peelin’s a half-inch thick. It’ll be time for lunch soon. I want you to start cooking steaks. You ever cook steaks before?”
“Not that many,” Joy said, staring at the small mountain of steaks on a table beside the stove. “How do you want ’em cooked? Well . . . medium well . . . rare?”
Annie laughed, and it made her look much younger. She was probably in her midthirties, Joy guessed. “They don’t care,” Annie said. “They’ll be so hungry they could eat ’em any way. Just make ’em medium well. If you get a few of ’em too well done, somebody will like ’em that way. If some of ’em are rare, some will like ’em that way too.”
Joy threw herself into the work of cooking the steaks while Annie went outside to where the tables were lined up. Her husband, Pete, came over and said, “How you doin’, sweetheart?” He leaned over and kissed her, pulling her close for a hug and a love pat.
“Keep your paws to yourself, old man! Can’t you see I’m busy?”
“Aw, come on now. Be sweet.” He kissed her again, and she held on to him a moment, then said, “Did you hear about Chase?”
“Yeah, I met him and the girl that’s with him. Who told you?”
“Stella brought the girl by and wanted me to see if she could handle the work here.”
“What do you think about her?”
“She’s a funny little kid. I don’t know how old she is. Probably no more than sixteen or seventeen, I would guess, but she’s a good worker so far.”
“Well, hope it works out for you. You’ve needed some help. I’ve been gripin’ at Stella about that for a long time.”
“She might wor
k out, but I don’t know about Chase. Has he been drinkin’?”
“Couldn’t tell it if he had, but he’s lost a lot of weight.”
“The girl says he was in an accident of some kind. Just gettin’ over it.”
“Well, we don’t need any cripples around here. But he’s a pretty good guy, Chase is.”
“I don’t think he’ll make it. Remember what he said when he walked out? ‘I’ll never go in the big cage again!’ ”
“Nothin’ I can do about that.” He kissed her again and picked up an apple and left, munching it. Annie went back to join Joy at the stove. She started opening huge cans of beans and dumping them into a cast-iron pot. “We need to get another stove,” she complained. “It’s hard to cook everything at once. Just see that these get heated up.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
“You don’t have to be so formal. First names are all right, except for the colonel.” She had a sudden thought and said, “Say, you and Chase aren’t married, are you?”
“No, we’re not.”
“You don’t look like a bad girl.”
Joy’s face flushed, and she said indignantly, “I’m not! We’re just friends. I helped him out, and he’s doing me a good turn, is all. There’s nothing between us.”
Annie was not completely convinced, but she shrugged her shoulders. “Well, it’s his business and yours.”
Joy flipped the steaks over and said, “Why did Chase leave the circus?”
“You don’t know?”
“No, he never talks about it much.”
“I guess I can understand why not. It was a pretty hard time for him.”
“Mrs. House says he was the best wild-animal trainer in the world.”
“Well, in America at least,” Annie agreed. “I don’t know about Europe, but he was world-class in my book.”
“What happened to him?”
Annie hesitated for a moment, but the girl had an open air about her, and although it was hard to believe a guy and a girl could travel around together and be innocent, somehow she suspected this girl was telling the truth. “Well, it’s not a happy story. Chase rose up pretty quick in the business. He was the youngest there was, really, and the best. I was performing then too.”
The Fiery Ring Page 13
