Four Afoot: Being the Adventures of the Big Four on the Highway

  CHAPTER X

  IN WHICH NELSON SEES STRANGE VISIONS

  Although it had been fairly mild when they went to sleep, by earlymorning the chill had crept under the rubber blankets, and the foursleepers twisted and turned uneasily, conscious of the cold and yet toosleepy to awake. Nelson was on the outside and therefore less protectedthan the others. At length, unable to endure it any longer, he sat upand looked about him with heavy eyes. It was beginning to get light,and the crescent moon, far down in the sky, was becoming dim. The otherthree slept on. Barry raised his head above Dan’s shoulder and glancedgravely across at Nelson. Then, with a sigh, he curled up again andwent back to sleep.

  Nelson’s legs were stiff and aching, and after a moment of indecisionhe got up and began to walk around. That warmed him up considerably,and presently he paused and looked about him over the sleeping world.Back of the knoll a rosy tinge was creeping upward. The farmhouseshowed no signs of life as yet and the chimney sent no smoke into thegray sky. And everything was very still.

  And then, of a sudden, from somewhere came a strange sound, a soundthat was utterly at variance with the calm hush of early morning.Nelson puzzled over it for several moments. It was a sound made up ofmany lesser sounds, the sound of moving wheels, of creaking wagons,of heavy footfalls, of rattling harness, of clanking metal, and, soNelson thought, of voices. He looked about him in bewilderment. At thefarmhouse not a sign of life showed, nor did the sound seem to comefrom that direction. Nelson turned toward the summit of the littleknoll and listened intently. Then he hurried to the top and--rubbed hiseyes in amazement at what he saw. For a moment he thought that he wasstill asleep and dreaming.

  Across the field which lay between him and the road lumbered a hugeshape, black against the lightening sky. For a second it was formless,gigantic in that half-light. Then Nelson’s eyes served him better, andhe saw that the approaching object was an elephant and that besideit walked a man. Yet surely he was dreaming! What could an elephantbe doing in the middle of that country field at five o’clock in themorning? And then, as he looked again toward the road, he found theexplanation. For now, coming from the direction of the town, emergingfrom behind the trees which hid the road there and turning into thefield, came a procession of wagons and horses and--yes, surely thatstrange-looking thing was a camel! It was all clear enough now. Thecircus had arrived!

  Several sections of the fence had been removed, and one by one, withurging and coaxing, the big boxlike wagons were being driven into thefield. By this time the elephant had reached the end of his journey,and the attendant had brought him to a stop some fifty yards away fromwhere Nelson stood and was filling and lighting his pipe. The wagonslumbered, creaking and jolting, across the grass and were drawn up intwo rows. Then other wagons appeared, flat and low these, and madestraight for the middle of the field. And after that so many thingshappened at once and with such amazing celerity that Nelson could onlystand there on the knoll and stare.

  As if by magic a small tent arose at the end of the twin lines ofwagons. Dozens of men hurried hither and thither in squads, carryingcanvas, ropes, poles, with never a sign of confusion. The camel,its ridiculous head moving from side to side superciliously, wasdriven over to where the elephant stood. Men with stakes and malletsfollowed, and in a minute the two animals were tethered. By that timethe larger tent was lying stretched over the ground ready for raising.Fires gleamed near the smaller tent, and there came a rattling ofpots and pans. Still another heap of canvas was dragged from a wagonand stretched out. Unconsciously Nelson had moved down the hill. Theelephant watched him expectantly with his little eyes as he passed.Nelson kept on until he stood just outside the scene of operations.They were raising the big tent now. One end of it suddenly aroseinto air; men shouted and hurried; ropes were hauled and tightened,slackened and made fast; the great mallets rose and fell withresounding blows; inch by inch, foot by foot, the great gleaming canvashouse took form. From somewhere came an appealing odor of coffee andfrying bacon, and Nelson suddenly discovered that he was very hungry.He walked toward the fires.

  Those who passed him looked at him curiously but offered no word ofremonstrance. The sun came up behind the distant hills with a leap andglittered wanly on the tarnished gold carvings of the chariots andon the pots and pans of the busy cooks. There were two of these, anda youth of about sixteen was acting as helper. As Nelson approached,the youth disappeared into the tent with a basket of tin plates andcups. The flaps were up and Nelson could see a long table formed ofplanks in sections resting on wooden trestles. The boy was setting thetable for breakfast. The stoves, of which there were two, were queerround cylinders of sheet iron which were fed with wood through doorsin front. On one a great copper caldron was already beginning to throwoff steam. On the other an immense frying pan was filled with bacon,which, as fast as it was done, was removed to other pans upon a near-bytrestle. A wagon was backed up close at hand, and as they worked, thecooks went to it for salt and pepper and other ingredients, which theytook from drawers and cupboards with which the rear of the wagon wasfitted. It was all very astonishing and interesting to Nelson, and helooked and looked until presently one of the cooks saw him and spoke.

  “Hello,” he said.

  “Good morning,” answered Nelson.

  “You’re up early,” continued the other, removing the cover from thecaldron for an instant and slamming it back into place. He was athickset man with a humorous, kindly face and the largest hands Nelsonthought he had ever seen.

  “Not as early as you,” said Nelson smilingly.

  “No, that’s so. It’s our business, you see. Had your breakfast?”

  “Not yet.”

  “Have a cup of coffee, then?”

  Nelson hesitated.

  “Got plenty of it?”

  “About four gallons,” was the answer. “Here, it’ll warm you up. Toss mea cup, Joe.”

  The other cook obeyed without taking his attention from the sizzlingbacon, and Nelson’s friend held it under a faucet at the bottom of thecaldron.

  “There you are. Now you want some sugar. We haven’t got the milk outyet. O Jerry! Bring a spoon and some sugar.”

  “Thank you,” said Nelson as he accepted the tin cup of steaming coffee.“It smells mighty good.”

  “Well, it ain’t the best in the world,” answered the cook cheerfully,“but it tastes pretty good on a cold morning. You, Jerry! Oh, here youare. Pass the sugar to the gentleman.”

  Nelson turned and for the first time had sight of the boy’s face. Thehand which he had stretched forth fell to his side.

  “Why! Hello, Jerry Hinkley!” he cried.

  “‘Why! Hello, Jerry Hinkley!’”]

  “Hello,” responded Jerry with an embarrassed smile. He was quite adifferent-looking Jerry already. His hair had been cut, the fadedoveralls and blue gingham shirt had given place to a suit of plain,neat clothes, half-hidden by a long apron, and there was a newexpression of self-reliance in the gray eyes. He shook hands withNelson a bit awkwardly, but looked very glad to see him again.

  “What are you doing here, Jerry?” asked Nelson.

  “I’m cook’s boy,” was the answer. “I joined the show last Wednesday,the day after I seen you. Have some sugar?”

  Nelson helped himself, accepted the proffered tin spoon, and stirredhis coffee.

  “Do you like it?” he asked. “It must be rather a change from the farm.”

  “Yes, I like it first-rate,” said Jerry.

  “I don’t like to interrupt the meeting of old friends,” said the cookgood-naturedly, “but they’ll be in for breakfast in about ten minutes,Jerry, and if you ain’t ready for ’em they’ll scalp you alive.”

  “I better be goin’,” said Jerry. “Glad I seen you again.”

  “All right,” answered Nelson. “When can I see you? Are you busy allday?”

  “No; ’long about ten o’clock I generally don’t have much to do.”

  “Good! I’ll look you up then,” said Nelson.
“The other fellows willwant to see you too; I’ll bring them along.”

  “Will you?” asked Jerry eagerly from the door of the tent. “That’smighty kind of you. Good-by. I--I’ll look for you.”

  “Know Jerry, do you?” asked the cook as he pulled a box of tin cupstoward him and began setting them on a trestle. Nelson told of theirformer meeting, sipping the boiling hot coffee the while.

  “Well, Jerry’s a pretty good boy,” said the cook. “Tends to his workand ain’t got no highfalutin’ nonsense about bein’ too good for it.Come around and see us again.”

  “Thanks,” said Nelson. “I will. And I’m awfully much obliged for thatcoffee; it went right to the spot.”

  “Knew it would. Have some more? No? Well, so long.”

  Nelson turned away and retraced his steps. The coffee had warmed himup, and he wished the others could have some. He stopped one of thecanvasmen and asked the time.

  “Twenty-five minutes after six,” said the man, consulting a big nickelwatch.

  Nelson thanked him and went on. But it wouldn’t do to wake up theothers yet, for, of course, the telegraph office wouldn’t be openbefore eight, and they wouldn’t want to wait around without anybreakfast. So instead of joining them he turned and looked about him.The big tent was up, and so was the dressing tent alongside. Theticket seller’s box was set up beside the main entrance, and men werestretching a forty-foot length of painted canvas across some uprightpoles. He walked toward them and watched. When finally in place thecanvas advertised the attractions of the side show. There was a highlycolored picture of “Princess Zoe, the Marvelous Snake Charmer.” Theprincess was an extraordinarily beautiful young lady and was depictedstanding in a regular chaos of writhing snakes, while two others provedtheir subjugation by twining themselves caressingly about her arms andneck. Then there was a picture of “Boris, the Wild Man of the TartarySteppes.” Nelson didn’t find Boris especially attractive. According tothe picture he was a squat gentleman with a good deal of hair on hisface, a remarkably large mouth, a flat nose pierced by a brass ring,and an expression of extraordinary ferocity. Add to that that he wasshown in the act of making his dinner on unappetizing-looking pieces ofraw meat, and you will understand Nelson’s lack of enthusiasm. QueenPhyllis, the fortune teller, while not particularly beautiful, was muchmore pleasing to look upon. The last picture was that of “Zul-Zul, theCelebrated Albino Prima Donna,” singing before the crowned heads ofEurope. Having exhausted the fascinations of Zul-Zul, Nelson wanderedunchallenged into the main tent and found a squad of men erectingthe seats. Even that palled after awhile, and he went out again andwalked through the lane formed of the chariots and wagons. The cageswere still boarded up, but the legends outside threw some light on theidentity of the occupants. “Numidian Lion,” he read; “Asiatic Zebra,”“Black Wolves,” “Royal Bengal Tiger.” Now and then a cage would rockon its springs as its occupant moved about, and sometimes a snarl or agrunt reached his ears. A strip of canvas festooned the big tent on theroadside and bore the inscription in big black letters:

  +---------------------------+ | MURRAY AND WIRT’S | | MAMMOTH COMBINED SHOWS. | | | | AMERICA’S GREATEST CIRCUS | | AND HIPPODROME! | +---------------------------+

  At a little after seven, having seen all that was to be seen atpresent, he returned to the camp. On his way he stopped for a look atthe elephant and camel, which were breakfasting on a bale of hay. Inbroad daylight the elephant was distinctly disappointing. He wasn’tmuch larger than the camel, as far as height and length went, but therewas a good deal more of him. He was secured by a short chain which ledfrom an iron ring around one hind foot to a stake driven in the ground.He ate slowly and thoughtfully, with much unnecessary gesticulationof his trunk. He was sadly deficient in the matter of tusks, for heshowed only one, and that one had been broken off about three inchesfrom his mouth and looked much in need of cleaning. Yes, Nelson wasdisappointed in the elephant. Nor, for that matter, was the camel muchmore satisfying. He was a dirty, rusty camel with a malicious gleam inhis little eyes and a forbidding way of snarling his upper lip backover his discolored teeth.

  “Oh, don’t be so grouchy,” muttered Nelson. “I’m not going to swipe anyof your old hay.”

  When he got back to the knoll he found only Barry fully awake, althoughDan showed symptoms of wakefulness, muttering away at a great rate andthrowing his arms about. While Nelson watched, the expected happened.One of Dan’s arms descended forcibly on Tom’s nose, and Tom awoke withan indignant snort.

  “Hello, Nel,” he muttered. “What time is it?”

  “About a quarter after seven, I guess. I can’t tell you exactly, for Iseem to have mislaid my watch.”

  Tom gave his attention to Dan.

  “Here, wake up, you lazy brute!” he cried. “Want to sleep all day?”

  He accompanied this remark with a violent tweak of Dan’s nose, and theeffect was instantaneous. Dan sat up with a start and sent Barry flyingon to Bob.

  “Wh-what’s the matter?” he asked, startled.

  “Time to get up,” said Tom virtuously.

  “That’s right,” agreed Nelson. “Everyone’s eating breakfast.”

  “Huh!” said Tom. “Wish I was.”

  “Who’s eating breakfast?” asked Bob, rolling over with the strugglingterrier in his arms.

  “Well, the elephant and the camel, for two,” answered Nelson.

  “Elephant and cam--!” ejaculated Dan. “Say, that’s what comes ofsleeping in the moonlight. I’ve heard of it before. I wonder if you’redaffy, too, Bob. Are you? Try and say something sensible and let’s see.”

  “The moonlight can’t have any effect on you,” said Bob significantly.Dan sighed.

  “You too! I feared it! Say, Nelson, how are the pelicans and the whitemice getting on? Had their hot chocolate yet?”

  “I didn’t see them,” answered Nelson. “But the Numidian lion and theroyal Bengal tiger aren’t up yet.”

  “You don’t say? Dear, dear, most careless of them! Say, Tommy, howabout you? Are you--er--?” Dan tapped his forehead.

  “I will be if I don’t get something to eat pretty soon,” replied Tomdolefully. “How soon does that telegraph office open?”

  “Eight, I guess,” said Nelson. “Wonder where we can wash up a bit?”

  “How about the farmhouse over there?” suggested Bob.

  “All right, I guess. Let’s break camp and go over. By the way, I sawJerry a little while ago.”

  “Jerry who?” asked Tom.

  “Jerry Hinkley.”

  Dan, who had started to get up, sank back again and viewed Nelson withreal concern.

  “What are you talking about?” he demanded.

  “Why, Jerry Hinkley,” answered Nelson with a laugh. “Haven’t forgottenJerry, have you?”

  Dan shook his head sorrowfully.

  “No, but you’d better forget him. Joking aside, Nel, what’s the matterwith you?”

  “Oh, nothing. Or--well, the fact is, I thought I saw things; elephantsand camels and--and circuses, you know. I suppose I must have dreamedit.”

  “Well, rather!” said Dan relievedly.

  “What was Jerry doing?” asked Bob. “Feeding the elephant peanuts orriding the camel?”

  “He was setting the table,” replied Nelson gravely.

  “Say, you must have had a corking nightmare!” exclaimed Tom. “I did alittle dreaming myself; dreamed I was freezing to death, for one thing;but I didn’t see any menageries.”

  “Well, come on, fellows,” said Bob. “Pack up and let’s get a move on.We’ll get them to loan us some water over at the house and then moseytoward town. Gee, I’m beastly hungry! Feel as though I hadn’t had athing to eat for six weeks.”

  “I had a cup of coffee about an hour ago,” said Nelson musingly.

  “Say, chuck it, will you?” begged Dan earnestly. “You make me feelcreepy, Nel.”

  “Was it hot?” asked To
m in far-away tones as he tied up his pack.

  “Boiling,” answered Nelson. “It was great. I wished you fellows hadbeen there.”

  “Thanks. Where was it?” asked Bob. “In the Sahara desert?”

  “No; down at the mess tent.”

  “What mess tent? Jerry’s?”

  “Well, he was there. That’s where I met him. It was the circus messtent. The cook gave it to me. It was peachy!”

  “Su-say!” cried Tom. “Maybe he isn’t lying, fellows! You know therewas to be a circus here to-day!”

  “Yes, that’s what made Nel dream of ’em,” said Bob.

  But Tom was studying Nelson’s face attentively, and something about hissmile made Tom suspect that he was on the right track.

  “I’ll bu-bu-bet you it’s su-su-su-so!” cried Tom. “Where is it, Nel?”

  “Come on,” said Nelson.

  They followed him up to the brow of the hill. Before them lay the tentsand the wagons, and, nearer at hand, the elephant and the camel werestill quietly eating breakfast. They stared in amazement.

  “Well, I’ll be bu-bu-bu-bu----!”

  “Of course you will, Tommy,” said Nelson soothingly. “Only don’texplode.”

  “--bu-bu-bu-blowed!” ended Tom triumphantly. “Wouldn’t thatcu-cu-cu-craze you?”

  Then Nelson had to tell them all about it.