Circus Days Again Page 3

  Jumbo the elephant trumpeted in terror—but he was safely tethered by a hind-leg to a great tree, and he could not run away. Mr. Tonks ran to him at once.

  The horses were all safely in their travelling-stables, for Lal and Laddo would not leave them out in such a gale. The dogs, too, were safe in their cages, and the side-doors were safely closed. Sammy was with Mr. Wally in his caravan, drinking hot milk and eating a bunch of bananas.

  But Mr. Volla and his five bears were walking together across the dark, wind-swept field to their cage when the great white tent rose into the air and flew flapping over the grass. The bears saw the big white thing coming and they were terrified. They couldn’t imagine what it was! Mr. Volla knew it was only the tent, and he pulled quickly at the thick rope which guided the bears. The tent missed them and flapped away—but the bears howled in fright. Two of them, Dobby and Grizel, broke the rope that held them, and ran grunting across the field.

  “Help! Help!” yelled Mr. Volla. “Two of my bears have escaped. Jimmy! Brownie! Wally! Where are you! Take my bears so that I can run after the others.”

  Jimmy heard him yelling and at once he and Lucky ran to help Mr. Volla. Brownie, Jimmy’s father, ran too, and soon they were leading three frightened bears to their cages, whilst poor Mr. Volla ran wildly about the field shouting for his beloved bear-cub, Dobby, and the bigger bear, Grizel.

  The whole circus turned out to help. The hedges and banks and ditches were thoroughly searched, and torches flashed all about the cliff-side. Mr. Volla yelled the names of his bears at the top of his voice, but they did not appear.

  And then another thing happened! The big tent flapped itself round the field—and then laid itself very carefully right over the top of Madame Prunella’s caravan! She was safely inside with her parrots, with all the windows shut. Her parrots, scared of the gale, were screeching loudly, and she let them screech. Other people might not like her parrots’ harsh voices, but to Madame Prunella they were as sweet as the sound of larks or nightingales!

  Madame Prunella did not know that the tent had draped itself over her caravan. She could hear nothing but her parrots. The birds knew that something strange had happened, and they squealed and screeched all the more.

  Nobody noticed what the tent had done. Jimmy’s father, who was the carpenter and handy-man of the circus, noticed only that the tent had come to rest—and he quickly pegged it down where it was, meaning to see to it in the morning. He was thankful that it had not blown down when the people of Bigminton had been inside!

  Nobody guessed that Prunella’s caravan was hidden beneath the tent. It was quite dark, and only the big white bulge of the enormous tent could be seen dimly by the light of the torches. So there the tent was left, with Madame Prunella’s caravan beneath it, till the morning.

  Everyone was worried about the bears. Mr. Galliano knew only too well what might happen to escaped circus-animals. They would be shot without a doubt. Jimmy knew that too. He remembered how once Sammy the chimpanzee had escaped, and how he, Jimmy, had only just managed to find and save Sammy before he was killed.

  He went to find Lotta. The little girl was with Black Beauty, who was trembling nervously at all the shouting and upset.

  “Lotta,” said Jimmy. “Will you come with me? I’m going to find Mr. Volla’s bears. Lucky can trace them for me, I’m sure—and if we manage to get on their track soon, we could bring them back before they are captured and shot by someone who doesn’t know they are only harmless circus-animals.

  “They may be harmless in the circus, Jimmy,” said Lotta, “but when they are away from us and frightened and lonely, they may not be so harmless! They might hurt someone! All right—I’ll come. Just give me time to put Black Beauty safely into his stable.”

  She slipped away. Jimmy went to the bears’ cage and took Lucky to Dobby’s sleeping-straw.

  “Smell it, Lucky, smell it,” said Jimmy, pressing his dog’s sharp nose down into the straw. “Then we’ll follow! Where’s Dobby? Where’s that cub, Dobby?”

  Lucky yelped joyously. She liked Dobby, the comical, clumsy bear-cub. Dobby and she very often played together, and although the bear was heavy and powerful, he was always very gentle with the small dog.

  Lucky sniffed eagerly, and then Jimmy took her to where the bears had escaped. Lucky put her nose to the ground and then, with a yelp, tore across the field! She had found Dobby’s trail!

  “Hie, Lucky! Come back!” cried Jimmy, looking round for Lotta. “Let me put you on a lead! I can’t see you or follow you if you go tearing off like that!”

  Lucky came back. Lotta appeared, wearing a thick coat and scarf, for the wind was still strong and bitterly cold. She held out a woollen scarf to Jimmy.

  “Come on,” she said. “Your mother has told Galliano that she can’t find you, and if Galliano roars for us, we’ll have to go to him. Hurry, before we’re missed!”

  So through the dark, windy night the two children followed little dog Lucky. She was on a lead, and she pulled and strained at it, as her sharp, doggy nose smelt the strong scent of the smell left by Dobby and Grizel, the two escaped bears.

  “I hope they haven’t gone too far!” said Jimmy anxiously. “Goodness knows where they might be by morning!”

  “Well—we’ll be there, too!” said brave Lotta. “I’ll walk all night if it means we can get the bears before anything happens!”

  The Hunt for the Bears

  THE two children made their way through the dark windy night, guided by Lucky, who was pulling hard at her lead. The wind was still very strong indeed and blew the clouds to rags—but every now and again the moon shone out and the children could see where they were.

  “I say, Lucky is taking us down to the seashore!” said Jimmy anxiously. “I hope to goodness the bears haven’t gone there.”

  But they had, for Lucky was still following their scent. Nose to ground she smelt out the footsteps of the two bears and whined a little because she couldn’t go as fast as she liked.

  Down a steep, rocky cliff-path went the two children—and when the moon came out for a moment, Jimmy gave a cry, and pointed to the ground.

  “Look!” he said. “Can you see the claw-marks of Dobby and Grizel? See how they dug their claws into the path to keep themselves from slipping!”

  The children reached the shore. They looked around, wondering if they would see the bears anywhere. The moon swept out from the clouds at that moment, and they could see the track of foot-marks going over the sand.

  “Come on! They’ve gone that way!” cried Jimmy, pleased. “Hurry, Lotta—we may find them round the corner of that cliff.”

  They followed the foot-prints eagerly and went right round the point of the rocky cliff. Lucky pulled at the lead again, and the children let her drag them where she wanted to go. They could not see the foot-marks when the moon was behind the clouds, but Lucky could always smell them.

  They went on round the cliff. A great wave suddenly tore up the beach and splashed Jimmy from head to foot. He looked at the dark raging sea in alarm. “I say, Lotta! I wonder if we ought to have come all the way round that rocky cliff. If the tide’s coming in, we may not be able to get back.”

  “Gracious!” said Lotta, frightened. “What sillies we are. Of course the tide is coming in. Jimmy, what shall we do—go back, do you think? The sea comes right up to the cliff here, when the tide is in. We may be cut off unless we get round that corner again quickly.”

  The moon sailed out again, and the restless sea tossed beneath the silver light. Another great wave came swirling up the beach, and the children jumped up on to a rock to escape it. Jimmy looked back.

  “We’re cut off already,” he said, in dismay. “Look—the tide is right round that rocky corner. We’d never get back. Our only chance is to climb the cliff here.”

  “But where have the bears gone?” asked Lotta, who had almost forgotten them in the worry of the moment.

  “Goodness knows,” groaned Jimmy. “Swept off the
ir feet and drowned, I expect. And the same thing will happen to us and Lucky if we don’t get up this cliff mighty quick. Come on, Lucky—hurry! Look out, Lotta, there’s another enormous wave.

  The children began to climb the rocky cliff at the back of the shore. It was slippery, and when the moon went in, it was hard to feel the best way to climb. It was slow work too, and all the time the tide came in a little more, splashing foamy fingers up the cliff, trying to catch their feet.

  “I don’t like the sea when it behaves like this,” said Lotta, half crying. “I’m cold and wet and frightened. We were silly to come, Jimmy. We didn’t think of the darkness and the wind.”

  “Well, the wind’s dying down a bit now,” said Jimmy, helping Lotta over a slippery piece of rock. Come on—here’s a nice easy bit now.”

  “Have we got to stay and shiver on this cliff all night long?” asked Lotta miserably, her teeth chattering. “My goodness—what will everyone say?”

  The wind certainly was dying down. It no longer wailed and roared around them like a mad thing. The clouds in the sky slowed down a little, and the moon shone more steadily.

  “Look! There’s a cave or something over there,” said Jimmy suddenly. He had spied a dark opening just above them.” Let’s see if we can get in there, Lotta. We shall at least be sheltered from the gale.”

  They waited for the moon to sail out once again and then they climbed up to the cave. The opening was small, but big enough to squeeze into. It was so dark inside that the children could see nothing at all. They groped their way in, and found a rocky ledge to sit on.

  It was quiet and sheltered there—but how cold the two children were!

  “I think we’ve behaved very stupidly,” said Lotta, shivering. “We just rushed off after the bears without thinking. Why in the world didn’t we bring a torch? We shall both get awful colds too, sitting here all night—and then we shan’t be able to go into the ring and Galliano will be angry and scold us for being stupid.”

  The two sat and thought about Mr. Galliano. He was very good-tempered when things went well, but both children had been in trouble before with him, and they knew that he might be angry about this. Whatever had made them come out without telling someone? Now no one would know where they were, and half the circus-folk would waste the night looking for them. Worst of all, nobody would find them in the little cave half-way up the dark cliff.

  Lotta shivered so much that Jimmy was anxious about her. He lifted Lucky on to her knee.

  “Cuddle her,” he said. “She’s warm, Lotta. I’d give you my coat only it’s so wet. I wonder if there’s any dry seaweed in the cave. I’ll feel around and see. We could make a kind of bed of that.”

  He got up and began to stumble round the cave. It was quite big inside. Jimmy felt about but could find no seaweed—only sand on the floor and stones, and rock all around.

  And then the two children suddenly heard a most peculiar noise in the cave. They listened. It sounded exactly like somebody breathing.

  “Lotta! Can you hear that noise?” asked Jimmy, coming back to her. “Do you think it’s the wind—or the sound of the sea coming up into the cave?”

  “No,” said Lotta, holding his hand rather tightly. “It’s in the cave. But whatever can it be? It’s funny that Lucky doesn’t growl or bark. She always does if there’s any stranger about, or if anything’s wrong.”

  Lucky wagged her tail. She settled down even more comfortably on Lotta’s knee. The breathing in the cave didn’t seem to worry her at all.

  The children listened hard. The noise went on and on, quite regularly, as if someone was fast asleep and breathing peacefully.

  “Well, I’m going to see what is making that noise,” said Jimmy, at last. “I can’t sit here and wonder any more. If there’s something in this cave I’m going to find out what it is. Here, Lucky—come with me.”

  “Be careful, Jimmy,” said Lotta.

  Jimmy and Lucky made their way to the back of the cave. Lucky didn’t bark or growl at all. Jimmy couldn’t understand it.

  And then he suddenly touched something warm—and furry—and soft. He jumped in surprise.

  A grunt came from the furry bundle at the back of the cave. Jimmy gave such a yell that Lotta fell off the ledge she was sitting on, and shook with fright.

  “Lotta! Lotta! The bears are here too! It’s their breathing we heard. Oh, Lotta, we’ve found the bears! They had the sense to find this cave too, and creep into it.”

  Lotta was thrilled. She stumbled over to the corner and touched the bears. They were awake now, but did not mind the children at all. They knew their smell and they loved Jimmy and Lucky, who often played with them. Dobby, the half-grown bear-cub, grunted and rubbed his head against Jimmy’s arm.

  “Well, that’s one piece of luck, at any rate,” said Lotta. She sat down with her back to the furry bear. He was warm and soft. “Come on, Jimmy. Let’s cuddle up to the bears. They will soon make us warm. Get on to my knee, Lucky—I’ll have hot-water bottles at my back then, and a hot-water bottle on my knee too.”

  The children cuddled up to the sleepy bears. They were like warm fur rugs. The bears liked feeling the children there. They were company. They made the bears feel safe, for they had been very much frightened by the wind and by the flapping white tent that had flown out of the night at them.

  And there in the cliff-cave slept the five creatures all night long. Dobby and Grizel, the bears, grunted and twisted in their sleep. Lucky yelped once or twice as she dreamed of chasing rabbits. The children lay against one another, feeling the delicious warmth of the furry bodies behind them. The noise of the sea and the wind did not come into the cave. All was peace and quiet.

  But how surprised Jimmy was when he awoke! Daylight crept in at the small cave-entrance, and for a moment the boy could not imagine where he was. Then he stood up and stretched himself, stiff with the night’s strange bed. The bears awoke too, and Lucky leapt off Lotta’s knee and licked her hands. The little girl rubbed her eyes and stared around her.

  “Gracious! Where am I?” she cried. Then she remembered, and her face fell.

  “Oh, Jimmy—do you think we’ll get into trouble?”

  she said. “Let’s hurry back with the bears quickly. Perhaps we haven’t been missed.”

  “No such luck,” said Jimmy, peeping out of the cave. “I say, look—there’s a boat out. Perhaps it’s looking for us. We’ll get out of the cave with the bears and hail the boat. The tide is still swishing round the cliff.”

  So the two children took hold of the bears’ great paws, and with Lucky behind urging them on, the great animals shuffled to the cave-entrance. They all squeezed out, and Jimmy hailed the boat below.

  “Hie! Will you rescue us?”

  The two men in the boat looked up and their eyes nearly fell out of their heads when they saw the children with two bears! They stared and they stared.

  “We must be dreaming,” said one to the other. But when the children shouted again, they knew they were not, and they drove their boat in closer to the cliff. They didn’t mind rescuing the children—but they drew the line at bears.

  Back to the Camp

  “WE got caught by the tide last night and couldn’t get back!” yelled Jimmy to the two surprised fishermen. “We’ll be down to you in a minute.”

  The bears climbed clumsily down the cliff-side, grunting when they slipped. Lucky leapt about nimbly, quite enjoying herself. Such adventures didn’t usually happen to the little dog!

  The children and Lucky were soon standing on a rock, whilst the boat rocked nearby. The men brought it nearer. They stared at the bears, afraid and puzzled.

  “How did those bears get here?” shouted one man. “Are they circus-bears? Did they escape?”

  “Yes, haven’t you heard?” shouted Jimmy, his voice rising above the roar of the waves. “They ran away last night and we tracked them here—but the tide cut us off and we couldn’t get back. So we cuddled up to the bears and spent the nig
ht in a cave. Now we want to take them back to the circus.”

  “I’m not having any bears in my boat,” said one man firmly. “They might claw me.”

  “Of course they won’t,” said Jimmy, who couldn’t imagine anyone being afraid of bears or of any other animal either. “Oh, do let them come—they’ll only run away again if we leave them here.”

  “Well, you keep the bears at your end of the boat then,” said the man at last. “And mind you, boy, if one of those bears comes near me, I’ll push him overboard!”

  “He’d be difficult to push!” laughed Lotta. “Come on, Dobby—come on, Grizel. Oh, Jimmy, it’s going to be awfully difficult to get the bears in, isn’t it!”

  It was difficult, especially as the two men wouldn’t help at all. They crouched back into their end of the boat and looked really scared. Dobby playfully put out a paw to one of the men.

  “No, Dobby,” said Lotta, smacking the bear’s paw back. “Don’t try to be funny in a boat.”

  The bear sat himself down and the boat shook. Then Grizel clambered in, almost falling into the sea as he did so. Last of all, little dog Lucky leapt lightly in—and my goodness, the boat was as full as it could be!

  Jimmy had to take the oars, for neither of the men would get into the middle of the boat to row. The bears were so heavy at their end that the other end of the boat was quite high up in the water.

  “Never had a boat-load like this before!” grumbled one of the men. “Whoever heard of taking bears for a row?”

  Jimmy laughed as he rowed. He was glad to be going back to the circus, though he couldn’t help feeling uncomfortable inside about whether Mr. Galliano would be angry because he and Lotta had gone off without a word.

  “Still, everyone would guess we’d gone after the bears,” said the boy to Lotta. She nodded her head. She was busy quieting the bears, who didn’t much like the up-and-down movement of the boat.