The Fiery Ring

by Gilbert, Morris

  “What did you tell him?” Joy demanded.

  “I laid it out flat. I told him that he would have to pay the money back and also that he would have to give you your furniture and any other property that belonged to your parents.”

  “I bet he refused, didn’t he.”

  “Well, that’s what he did. I told him he’d go to jail because he committed embezzlement. A felony like that could get a fellow twenty years.”

  “Good!” Joy exclaimed and struck the table with her fist. “I hope he goes for life.”

  “Wait a minute, Joy,” Chase said. “You don’t mean that.”

  “Well, of course, I mean it! He’s done wrong, and he ought to pay for it.”

  “There’s a verse in the psalms,” Chase said quietly, “that says, ‘If thou, Lord, shouldest mark iniquities, O Lord, who shall stand?’ ”

  Joy shook her head, her mouth set in a defiant expression. “I’m sure that makes sense to you, Chase, but all I know is I want that man put in jail. He deserves it.”

  Tom was unhappy with her decision—Joy could see that plainly—but she insisted on going after the Tatums. “You can take your fee out of the money when he pays it to us.”

  “There won’t be any fee, Joy. This is a family matter,” Tom said gently.

  After he left, Chase said, “Travis won’t agree with you. We talked about it the last time I saw him.”

  “Travis is too soft.”

  “I don’t think it’s soft to be forgiving, Joy.”

  “We’re going to get what’s coming to us and so is Albert Tatum, and I don’t want to talk about it anymore!”

  ****

  After the meeting with Tom Winslow, Joy found herself preoccupied with the wrongs done to her by Albert Tatum. She thought about it constantly. A couple of weeks later she received a letter from Travis telling her that Tom had written to him and described the situation. Travis wrote: Don’t get hard about this, sis. You and I have done things ourselves we wouldn’t want put on the front page of the newspaper. The Bible says to forgive your enemies, and I think that’s what you should do.

  Joy had ignored the letter and had gone about her work. When the show moved on to Springfield, Missouri, the quality of her work began to suffer. Chase noticed this and knew the reason, but she did not pay any heed to him.

  It was on the second night in Springfield that something happened that all animal trainers dread worse than anything else. The act had gone well, and the crowd had been warm and receptive. Joy and Chase took their bows, but as they were leaving the cage, they heard someone yelling behind the canvas where the tunnel led from the big cage.

  “Something’s wrong!” Chase said. He broke into a run, and Joy followed him. They met Doak, whose eyes were wide with fear. “Somebody left the doors open, and three of the tigers got out!”

  Joy went cold with fear. She was afraid of what would happen if other people encountered these large wild animals and did not know what to do.

  “Where are they, Doak?”

  “Two of them went that way and one went that way.” Doak pointed in different directions.

  “I’ll take the two. You take that one, Joy.”

  “All right,” Joy said. She raced away, and the thought crossed her mind, I wonder how he can take care of two? One is enough.

  She had no idea what to do. She began to walk around the edge of the big top, searching everywhere. Since it was nighttime, she knew the tiger had the advantage, for cats could see much better than humans in the dark. She moved cautiously, carrying only the training stick in her hand. She had gone halfway around the tent when she caught a flash of movement between two of the trucks.

  She moved forward slowly, and when she had cleared the front of the truck, she saw the glowing eyes of a tiger, reflecting in the dim lights overhead. Her heart sank when she realized she had encountered Brutus. She heard people over to her left and knew that if Brutus turned that way, he would encounter people who were moving back and forth between the tent and the refreshment stand. She moved to put herself between the cat and the crowd and heard the rumble of the big cat. She had never really handled Brutus. Chase had said he was too dangerous for her to handle until she had more experience. She had no choice now, however, and she moved forward, talking as Chase had taught her. “There’s a good tiger. Come on now, Brutus. We’re going to go back in the cage. Wouldn’t you like a bit of nice horsemeat? Come on, Brutus, you’re going to be all right.”

  Brutus eyed her steadily and switched his tail, but then he crouched slightly. Joy had enough experience to know that this was a danger sign. She knew that if they were in the familiar cage and one of the cats crouched, she would rap the tiger with the training stick or reprimand it vocally, and the cat would obey.

  But here outside the cage everything was different. Brutus drew his lips back, but in the semidarkness it didn’t look anything like a smile. It was frightening to stand there in front of the five-hundred-pound tiger with claws that could rip flesh off the bone in a flash, but Joy was determined not to show any signs of fear.

  Keeping her voice steady, Joy edged forward, knowing that no tiger could be pushed into doing something it didn’t want to do. Brutus was probably as nervous as Joy was, and he crouched even lower as Joy advanced an inch at a time. “All right, Brutus, be a good boy. Come on now, we’re going to go back and get in the cage.”

  Brutus suddenly whirled and turned to his left and made one of those magnificent leaps that tigers are capable of. At least he’s headed back in the right direction, Joy thought. She dashed after him and then stopped abruptly when she saw he had stopped and whirled to face her again. “Come on, boy, you’re going in the right direction. Go this way.” She continued to speak strongly but gently and showed no fear. As she advanced, Brutus swung from side to side, and she thought he was going to charge. But then he moved back in the direction of the cages.

  The two seesawed back and forth. When Brutus tried to move to the left, Joy would step that way and wave the training stick with a stern command. “No, not this way, Brutus!” When he moved to the right, she did the same thing. It was like herding a recalcitrant kitten, except this kitten carried death in his jaws and razor-sharp claws.

  How long this went on Joy didn’t know, but it seemed like forever. Finally she reached the menagerie. She saw Doak appear, and he nodded at her and said quietly, “Mr. Chase has got the other two. He’s comin’ to help.”

  Relief washed through Joy, and she even heard herself breathing the words, “Thank you, God.”

  Joy never knew what it was that set Brutus off. They were almost to Brutus’s cage when, without warning, the big cat leaped straight at her. She had no time to dodge, and she cried out, “Back, Brutus!” and struck at him. But he slashed at her with his mighty front paw and caught her on the leg. She felt the flesh tear and heard her slacks rip, and before she knew it, she was under the animal. Reacting instinctively now, she dropped the stick and punched his nose as hard as she could. That hurt the cat enough to make him rear back, and as he retreated, she felt the heat of his breath and saw the gaping red mouth and savage teeth.

  Then she heard Chase, who had thought to grab his whip. He popped it at Brutus’s nose, which startled the beast, and herded him into the cage. Joy rolled over and tried to sit up, despite the searing pain in her leg, but immediately felt light-headed and lay back down. Doak ran to her side and said, “Are you all right, Miss Joy?”

  “No, Doak, he got my leg,” she whispered as she felt the blood pouring out. She heard the sound of metal on metal as Chase closed the doors of the cage. Almost at once he was back, his face pale.

  “How bad is it?”

  “It’s pretty bad, I think.” The pain was coming now in waves, and Chase scooped her up, saying, “We’ll have to get you to the hospital.”

  As Joy clung to Chase she knew she had escaped death by an eyelash, and as his feet pounded on the hard ground, she felt secure in his arms. She held on to him, thinking,
It must have been God. I would have been dead if Chase hadn’t come when he did.

  ****

  Several nights later Dr. Knox was bent over examining Joy’s leg. Chase stood over to his left. Joy was so sick she could hardly hold her head up. Chase came over and took her hand. “You all right, Joy?”

  “Not really,” Joy whispered. “I haven’t been able to keep anything down all day.” She looked at Dr. Knox and said, “Is my leg all right?”

  Knox was a big, burly man with a thick southern accent. “No, it’s not all right,” he said quietly. “It’s not healing properly. I thought we had it all taken care of the night you were brought in, but something has gone wrong. Your leg is badly infected. I’m afraid it could be blood poisoning. That may be what’s causing all the nausea.”

  Fear gripped Joy’s heart, and she tightened her grip on Chase’s hand. “What . . . what can you do about it?”

  Dr. Knox did not answer for a moment. He chewed his lip and said, “We’ll take good care of you, but I must warn you that you might get a lot sicker before you get better.”

  Joy groaned. She couldn’t imagine being much sicker. She hesitated to ask the question that was now on her mind. “Doctor . . . am I going to die?”

  “I don’t want to be that pessimistic, Miss Winslow, but in all honesty, this is indeed very, very serious. But we’ll do everything we can.”

  Joy closed her eyes as another wave of nausea swept over her.

  “I’ve sent for a colleague of mine from St. Louis. He’s a specialist in these matters. If anybody can help, it’s him.”

  “Don’t worry, Joy,” Chase said, “God will be with you. You’ll be up and out of here before you know it.”

  Joy felt tears form in her eyes, and the vision of Chase’s face swarmed so that she could not see him clearly. “Stay with me, Chase,” she pleaded. “Don’t leave me.”

  “Don’t worry. The circus can do without me. They pulled out yesterday.”

  Joy sank back on the pillow, but she clung to Chase’s hand. “Don’t leave me,” she whispered again, and then she descended into the darkness of unconsciousness.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

  Home at Last!

  The worst sensation was that she was falling from some terrible height—down, down, down into a black hole. She would tense her muscles and brace herself for striking the bottom, and her ears would be filled with the roaring of a tornado. Sometimes she would open her mouth and try to call out, but the howling wind would fill her lungs, stifling her cry.

  Sometimes there would be no sound at all, merely an eerie quietness that seemed to have its own tiny echo deep inside. And with the quietness there would come a light—soft and gentle—bathing her in a warmth that drove away the bone-cracking chill that wracked her.

  Sometimes she would dream she was on fire, her body parched with the scorching heat, but then when the heat became unbearable she would feel a coolness come over her face, and cool moisture would bathe her burning body, washing away the pain and the fear.

  More than anything she had the feeling she was drowning, trapped under a horrible weight far beneath the surface, swallowed in darkness. More than once she almost broke through but would always sink back into the stygian blackness. In that dark abyss she learned to distinguish, somehow, between the hands that touched her and the voices that spoke to her. One voice and one touch was more soothing and more comforting than the rest. The voice would seem to call her up out of the dark pit, and although she couldn’t understand the words, she knew this one was trying to help her.

  And then everything changed. She rose out of the darkness and opened her eyes cautiously. Memory came rushing back, and although she tried to speak, her lips were terribly dry. She finally whispered, “Chase—” and saw his eyes open wide. He leaned over her and put his hand on her brow. It seemed cool, and she tried to speak.

  “Wait a minute. Let me get you some water.”

  Joy lay there and heard the sound of water pouring. It was the most beautiful sound she had ever heard, and then his hand was behind her head and she felt the coldness of the glass and gulped the water down, grasping at the glass with her hands. The water spilled down the sides of her mouth and ran down her neck, and that felt good.

  “Take it easy. Just little swallows at a time.”

  She stopped obediently, and he held her firmly until she had drained the glass. “You can have some more in a minute,” he said. He put the glass down, then leaned over her. “How do you feel?”

  “I’ve been so far away. . . .” She looked around the room. “How . . . long have I been here?”

  “Not long,” he said quickly. “You’ve been having a hard time, though.”

  Joy said, “Could I have some more water?”

  “Sure.”

  She drank again and then said, “I remember coming to the hospital, but I got so sick.”

  “You have been pretty sick, Joy.”

  Joy looked down and said, “My leg. I remember. Brutus clawed me, didn’t he?”

  “Yes, he did.” She saw him hesitate; then he said, “The wound got infected. You’ve had a very high fever. We’ve all been worried about you.”

  Joy studied him and saw that he looked pale and drawn. Her eyes went to the clock on the wall. It was almost two o’clock. From the sun streaming in the window, she knew it was afternoon. “Why aren’t you doing the act? It’s time for the matinee.”

  Chase laughed softly and took one of her hands in his, saying, “The circus will have to wait.”

  Joy tried to understand this, but confusion swept through her.

  “Does Travis know I’m in the hospital?”

  “I called him to let him know. He came down as soon as he heard about the accident, and he’s been here most of the time. I sent him back to the trailer to get a little sleep. The city said we could keep one of the smallest circus trailers on the grounds for as long as you’re here.”

  “But what about school? He’ll be missing classes.”

  “His professors were very understanding and told him to stay as long as he needs to.”

  She finally asked the question that was on her mind, “How’s my leg?”

  He said quietly, “It has a pretty bad infection, Joy. That’s why you had such a high fever.”

  Joy considered his answer, but then saw that he was fidgeting and avoiding eye contact. “How bad is it?”

  “The doctors aren’t happy.”

  “Would you help me sit up?”

  For a moment Chase hesitated, then said, “I guess it’d be all right.” He cranked the bed up, and as it slowly came up into position, she looked down at her leg. She pulled the sheet back and saw that her leg was swathed in bandages. She tried to bend it, and pain shot through her.

  “Don’t try to move it. Look, Joy, I’m going to go get Dr. Knox. He’s here making his rounds.”

  Before Joy could speak, he turned and left the room. Joy stared at her leg as if it belonged to someone else. She knew there was more to her condition than Chase was telling her, and fear began to nibble at her. This was the first time she had ever been seriously hurt, and it wasn’t an experience she intended to repeat.

  Dr. Knox came in followed by Chase. Knox approached the bed, saying, “Well, now, you’re awake.” He put his large, rough hand on her brow and then took her wrist. As he stood there silently, his bright blue eyes studied her, and finally he said, “You’ve given us all quite a fright.”

  “I’m sorry. What’s wrong with me?”

  Knox did not answer at once, and his hesitation increased the fright that ran through Joy. “What is it?” she cried, and her eyes went to Chase, who was standing slightly behind Dr. Knox.

  “The infection in your leg has gotten out of hand. We don’t know why. We’ve tried everything we know to do. We even went in and cleaned out the wounds again, but—”

  “What is it?” Joy whispered.

  “If the situation doesn’t improve soon, we may have to take more
. . . well, more serious measures.”

  Joy lay there staring at him, not wanting to hear the rest but knowing that she must. “What kind of measures, Doctor?”

  Knox chewed his lower lip and then, after a moment’s silence, said reluctantly, “We may have to amputate the leg, Miss Winslow.”

  Knox’s words struck Joy like a fist, and she stared at him in disbelief. Her eyes went to Chase, and she cried out, “No, Chase, don’t let them do it!” She reached out, and Chase shouldered his way past the doctor. He put his arms around her and held her. “It won’t happen,” he said fiercely. “God won’t let it happen!”

  Joy clung to him in her weakness, tears running down her cheeks. She could not face the possibility of losing her leg, and she whispered, “Please, Chase, don’t let them do it.”

  ****

  Joy did not fall back into a coma, but she slept fitfully. From time to time the nurses would wake her for a bath or to give her some medication. Chase was usually there, but once when she opened her eyes, she found Travis, and he went to her side at once. “Hello, sis,” he said quietly.

  “Travis, they say if my leg doesn’t get better they might have to—”

  She could not finish the sentence. Even saying the words frightened her.

  Travis’s grip tightened on her hand, and he said, “We serve a great God, Joy. He’s able to do all things. You’ve got to believe that He’s going to do a healing work in you.”

  Tears began to roll down her face. She cried so easily now, it seemed. “How God must hate me.”

  “Don’t be silly,” Travis smiled. “He loves you. You know that.”

  “But I’ve been so awful.”

  “Haven’t we all? But Jesus died for awful people. He died for sinners, and that includes us. Don’t think about yourself. Think about Him. He died for you.”