The Adventures of a Country Boy at a Country Fair Part 34

The man talked until he was literally forced to stop for lack of breath, and Teddy had not so much as spoken; but proved a good listener, which was all his condoler appeared to expect of him.

When the clown returned with the last installment of eatables there was nothing to prevent the a.s.sembled crowd from partaking of Mr. Sweet's hospitality. The coffee was done to a turn; the lemonade was neither too sour nor too sweet, and the proprietor of the museum summoned his guests to the feast by saying:

"Now turn to an' fill yourselves up. It ain't often I do this sort of thing; but somehow or other I've got a reg'lar admiration for our cane-board fakir, an' after comin' out as he has to-night it seems only right we should kinder spread ourselves. There's no liquor in the tent, which is as it should be, for I'm a temperance man, an' them as wants it can make hogs of themselves somewhere else. Take hold hearty, an'

remember that this layout is in honor of them as did a good turn to the whole gang by savin' the lives of the women what would likely have drowned if there hadn't been any fakirs in the country."

This was an unusually long speech for the proprietor of the museum, and when it was ended he set an example to his guests by attacking the eatables as if he had not indulged in a square meal since the fair was opened.

Each person present imitated him, and Tim whispered to Teddy, when his mouth was so full of cake that it was only with the greatest difficulty his words could be understood:

"This is what I call a great snap, an' when I've been fakin' at the fairs long enough to get some money ahead I'll give fellers like us a good chance to fill up, the same as Mr. Sweet has done."

Dan was equally enthusiastic. In all his experience, which extended over two years at the very least, he declared that he had never seen so much done for a boy, and concluded by saying:

"There's no question, Teddy, but that you're a big gun here, an' I'll advise you to keep right on in this business."

"I've had enough of it," was the reply. "Such times as these are very nice; but think of what may happen when I'm brought up for trial. Who knows but Uncle Nathan can succeed in makin' folks think I'm guilty of helpin' the burglars, an' then what'll be the consequences?"

"I know he can't do anything of the kind, an' that's enough," was the confident reply; but yet it failed to satisfy the boy who had been bound over to appear at court.

The entire party appeared to be having the jolliest kind of a jolly time; but ever before Teddy's mental vision came the picture of himself in prison, and even the fact that Long Jim had been arrested failed to render him confident as to the final result.

Again and again was he called upon to reply as one after another wished him good luck in the case, and the amount of lemonade which was consumed on each occasion caused the clown to make a third visit to the town in order to purchase the wherewithal to satisfy the demands of the guests.

It was nearly midnight when the last of the revelers departed and the boys were called upon to help set the interior of the tent to rights.

"It hasn't been sich a bad time after all," Mr. Sweet said, musingly, as Teddy and Dan aided him in wheeling the wagon into place. "A man can remember an evening like this with pleasure, when liquor has been kept out of the bill of fare, an' who shall say that we're not better off than if our legs were so tangled as to make walking an impossibility?"

The barker's red nose was slightly elevated, much as if its owner could explain why spirits were superior to lemon-juice and water; but Mr.

Sweet's question remained unanswered, and the party set about making the final preparations for the night.

"Poor Sam ain't here to be troubled by the goat, so we can set him loose," the proprietor of the museum said as he unfastened the rope from the neck of his pet.

"He'll have a great time pickin' up odds an' ends between now an'

daylight, an' then feel so lazy that it'll be hard work to make him do his tricks."

"Do you suppose Uncle Nathan will be around in the morning?" Teddy asked as he lay down by the side of Dan and Tim.

"Not a bit of it; he got sich a dose to-night that I don't count on seem' him ag'in till this fair is ended, an' then I'm going to take a trip over to the Run for the express purpose of givin' him a piece of my mind."

"But suppose he should come, what shall I say?"

"Pay no attention to the old fool, an' above all, don't let him trap you into talking. Mr. Harvey will be here to-morrow, an' he can post you better than ever I could."

"Don't fuss about the thing at all," Dan replied, philosophically.

"There's plenty here who know you hadn't anything to do with the burglaries, an' he won't have as much as a friend by the time the trial is ended."

"Dan comes pretty nigh being right," Mr. Sweet added, "an' now I want all hands to go to sleep, for there's one more day of this fair, an' we need to be somewhere near fresh, because to-morrow the dollars won't tumble without a good deal of coaxing. Good-night."

CHAPTER XXVII.

_IN HIDING._

That the incidents may be related as nearly as possible in the order of their occurrence it is time to return to the spot where the burglars are in hiding.

It will be remembered that we last saw Sam after Phil had fallen asleep, and he was feigning unconsciousness lest Long Jim, having nothing else to do, should take it into his ugly head to administer the promised flogging.

Although Sam's eyes were apparently closed, he took good care to keep strict watch on the burglar; but for what seemed a very long time he saw nothing to cause any apprehensions, and was just on the point of going to sleep in reality when Jim asked, as he gave the boy a vicious kick on the side:

"Where's the grub?"

"I don't know. You put it away after finis.h.i.+ng your dinner."

"Oh, I remember now," and the burglar, still considerably more than half stupefied by the amount of liquor he had drunk, arose to his feet so unsteadily that it seemed as if only the lightest touch would be necessary to send him headlong.

After a short search the man found that which he wanted, and proceeded to make a hearty meal, regardless of the hungry glances which the boy bestowed upon him.

"Don't think I'm goin' to give you any," he said, with a leer, as he concluded the repast, "You're lucky to be alive, an' that's enough for sich a duffer. I'll put this stuff back, an' you'll have every bone in your body broken if you so much as smell of it."

Sam made no reply. He had already learned that there are very many times when silence is indeed "golden."

"I've made up my mind to see what can be done at the fair," Jim said, as he lighted his pipe with great deliberation. "Phil thinks he's the only smart man in the world, an' it's time to show him what a mistake he's been makin' all his life. Why don't you say something?" he cried, angrily, as Sam continued silent.

"I don't know what you want me to say. If you're goin' that settles it; I sha'n't be any better off."

"You can stake your life on that, for while I'm a gentleman an' behave myself as such, Phil is a reg'lar brute, an' will make things mighty uncomfortable for a sneak like you."

Sam thought, but was very careful not to say, that it was hardly possible for a boy to have a worse master than the alleged gentleman in front of him, and the burglar continued, as he arose to his feet:

"I want to leave without wakin' Phil, but you must do it as soon as I push off from the sh.o.r.e, for we don't intend to give you a chance of slipping away. I shall watch mighty close, an' if he isn't on his feet before I'm a dozen yards out into the creek you'll get a reminder from this," and the man ostentatiously displayed a revolver.

"I don't count on runnin' off," Sam, replied, thoroughly frightened by the threat. "I can stay here till you get ready to let me go, because I've got to, an' I'm not sich a fool as to git into any worse sc.r.a.pe."

"Now you're talkin' somethin' like sense, an' if you keep on in this way I'll see to it that you don't have any harder time than a detective oughter expect; Phil will be on his ear when he knows I've gone, an' you must tell me all he says. Remember that if he isn't on his feet before I've got beyond range, I'll use your head for a target."

With this threat the burglar staggered out of the thicket, and Sam began to speculate as to whether he should make one supreme effort to escape before his other captor awakened.

A second glance at the weapon decided him in the negative, however, and he meekly stepped to the edge of the woods in order to obey the instructions given.

Despite Jim's apparent intoxication he watched the boy closely, still holding the revolver ready for use, and after pus.h.i.+ng the boat into the stream he cried:

"Now go ahead, an' let me see him in about two minutes, or I'll fill you full of bullets."

If Sam had been a brave boy he would have made a dash for liberty at this moment; but he was in nearly every sense of the word a coward, and obeyed the order literally.