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"Pull up; I'm all right."]
_Brave and Honest Series. No. 1_
Brave Tom
Or
The Battle That Won
By
Edward S. Ellis
Author of "River And Wilderness" Series, "Log Cabin" Series, "Honest Ned,""Righting The Wrong," Etc.
Illustrated
1894
Chapter I.
On a certain summer day, a few years ago, the little village ofBriggsville, in Pennsylvania, was thrown into a state of excitement, thelike of which was never known since the fearful night, a hundred yearsbefore, when a band of red men descended like a cyclone upon the littlehamlet with its block-house, and left barely a dozen settlers alive totell the story of the visitation to their descendants.
Tom Gordon lived a mile from Briggsville with his widowed mother and hisAunt Cynthia, a sister to his father, who had died five years before.
The boy had no brother or sister; and as he was bright, truthful,good-tempered, quick of perception, and obedient, it can be wellunderstood that he was the pride and hope of his mother and aunt, whosecircumstances were of the humblest nature. He attended the village school,where he was the most popular and promising of the threescore pupilsunder the care of the crabbed Mr. Jenkins. He was as active of body asmind, and took the lead among boys of his own age in athletic sports andfeats of dexterity.
One summer day the village of Briggsville blazed out in black and red andwhite, every available space being covered with immense posters, which inflaming scenes and gigantic type announced the coming of "Jones's & Co.'sGreat Moral Menagerie and Transcontinental Circus, on its triumphal tourthrough the United States and Canada."
Naturally a tremendous excitement set in among the boys, who beganhoarding their pennies and behaving with supernatural propriety, so thatnothing should interfere with the treat, which in exquisite enjoyment cannever be equaled by anything that could come to them in after-life.
Tom Gordon had never yet seen the inside of a circus and menagerie; and ashis mother promised him that the enjoyment should be his, it is impossibleto describe his state of mind for the days and nights preceding the visitof the grand aggregation, the like of which (according to the overwhelmingposters) the world had never known before. He studied the enormouspictures, with their tigers, bears, leopards, and panthers, the size of ameeting-house; their elephants of mountainous proportions, and the daringacrobats, contortionists, and performers, whose feats made one hold one'sbreath while gazing in awe at their impossible performances. The laddreamed of them at night, talked about them through the day, and discussedwith his most intimate friends the project of forming a circus of theirown when they became bigger and older. The latter project, it may beadded, owing to unforeseen obstacles, never assumed definite form.
But alas! this is a world of disappointment. On the morning of the circusTom was seized with a violent chill, which almost shook him out of hisshoes. He tried with might and main to master it; for he well knew that ifhe did not, his visit to the wonderful show must be postponedindefinitely. He strove like a hero, and was actually sick several hoursbefore the watchful eyes of his mother and aunt discovered his plight. Themoment came when he could hold out no longer, with his teeth rattling likecastanets, and his red face so hot that it was painful to the touch. Sincethe performance did not open until two o'clock in the afternoon, he didnot as yet abandon all hope.
His mother and aunt sympathized with him; but although he rallied to agreat extent from his illness, they could not give consent for him toleave the house. He partook of refreshment, and left his bed at noon. Attwo o'clock he was able to sit in the chair by the window, with his fevergreatly abated, and an hour later he was as free from all traces of theague as you or I.
But it was then too late to go to the circus. The disappointment was asore one, but the lad stood it like the really brave fellow he was. Heswallowed the lump in his throat, and smiled as he said to his aunt,--
"When the circus comes again, I don't think I'll have a chill."
"And you shall see it, if you are alive then,--of that be assured."
The day was one of the most pleasant and balmy of the season, and Tomwalked out of the house, leaned on the gate, and looked up and down thehighway.
Suddenly he observed a span of horses coming on a gallop, while the driverof the open wagon was lashing them with his whip and urging them to stillgreater speed.
"They aren't running away," mused the astonished boy; "for, if they were,the man wouldn't be trying to make them run faster. It's Mr. MacDowell! Inever saw him drive faster than a walk before; something dreadful musthave happened."
As Mr. MacDowell caught sight of the boy, and came opposite, he shoutedsomething, and with an expression of terror glanced around and pointedwith his whip behind him. The furious rattle of the wagon prevented Tom'scatching the words, and the terrified farmer did not repeat them, butlashed his team harder than ever, vanishing in a cloud of dust raised byhis own wheels.
"He must be crazy," said Tom, unable to think of any other explanation ofthe old man's frantic behavior.
The lad stood with his head turned toward the cloud of dust, wondering andspeculating over the strange affair, when hurried footsteps caused him toturn quickly and look again in the direction of the village.
This time it was Jim Travers, who was panting from his running, and whoseface was a picture of consternation, equal to that of Farmer MacDowell.
"What's the matter, Jim?" asked Tom as his schoolmate reached him.
"O Tom, ain't it awful?" gasped the new arrival, coming to a halt, stillpanting, and casting affrighted glances in the direction of Briggsville.
"Ain't _what_ awful?"
"Gracious! hain't you heard the news? I thought everybody knowed it."
And the tired boy took off his hat and rubbed his sleeve across hissteaming forehead, as though his expression of surprise at Tom's ignorancecommunicated of itself the news to him. Tom, as may be supposed, was onneedles; for, as yet, he had not received the first hint of theoccurrence, which certainly must have been of a stirring nature.
"Sam Harper, Jack Habersham, and Bill Dunham--_all killed_ before any onecould help 'em! Did you ever hear of anything like it?" continued Jim.
"I haven't heard of _that_ yet. I don't know what you're talking about,Jim; if you can't tell me, why, shut up!"
"So you hain't heard the news? I forgot; it scared me almost to death. Ithought everybody knowed it. I must hurry home."
And the bewildered youngster was on the point of dashing off again, afterpartially recovering his wind, when he seemed to awaken to the fact thathe owed something in the way of enlightenment to his friend.
"I forgot, Tom; but I did think you knowed it: guess you're the only boyin a thousand miles that hain't heard of it. Well, you see the way of itwas this: there was the biggest crowd I ever seed at the circus,--don'tbelieve any other circus in the country ever had so many people there.Everything was going 'long all right, when what did Sam Harper do, butreach out with a stick and punch it in the eye of the tiger, Tippo Sahib?The minute he done it, the tiger let out a yell that you would have heerda mile off, and, afore Sam could get out of the way, the tiger smashedright out of the cage and was among the people, chawing them up. He hadhis well eye on Sam, and crushed his head like an eggshell, with one bite!Then he made a sweep with his paw, and knocked Jack Habersham clean outthe tent. He must have gone a hundred feet through the air, for he comedown on top of the steeple, and is there yet with the spire sticking upthrough him. Then he hit Bill Dunham such a clip that he sailed outthrough the same hole in the tent that Jack passed through
. When I left,Bill hadn't been seed by anybody. Guess he hasn't come down yet.
"Then the tiger come for _me_!
"I seen him make a spring, and ducked my head. He went clean over, andlanded among the women and children, and begun chawing 'em up. Why, Tom,the sound of their bones cracking and snapping in his jaws was like thefire-crackers going off on the Fourth of July. Them as warn't swallered orkilled scattered right and left, and begun climbing trees, jumping throughwinders, and fastening the doors. All this time the tiger kept on chawing.He never took more than one bite at a man!"
"Did you see him kill any one?" asked the scared Tom, somewhat confused bythe tremendous narrative of his friend.
"Did I see him kill any one? I should say I did. I seed him kill more thanforty!"
"Did he eat 'em all?"
"Of course he did! That is, all but their boots and shoes. He don't seemto like leather," added Jim thoughtfully; "for I noticed that when themen were going down his throat, he kind of shet his jaws, so as to slipoff their boots."
"Jim, he must be a big tiger to hold so many folks inside of him."
"Course he is! The biggest that was ever catched in Greenland! He didn'tnot only swaller the men and boys and women that I'm telling you 'bout,but he took in horses, cows, dogs, and anything in his way. If I ain'tmistook, he swallered Mr. MacDowell's two horses with him."
"No, he didn't; for they went by a few minutes ago. But, Jim, what makesyou in such a hurry?"
"I'm trying to get away from Tippo Sahib," replied the frightened lad,glancing furtively again toward the village.
"Where's the tiger now?"
"He ain't fur off, and," added Jim, speaking the truth this time, "_thetiger's coming this way, and will soon be here_."
Chapter II.