THE LION HUNT
For a moment there was silence.Then the people began shouting."Bring lights, men!" thundered the owner of the show.
Being so near the outer edges of the tent, the people had escaped almost without injury.Many had been bruised as the canvas swept over them, knocking them flat and some falling all the way through between the seats to the ground, where they were in little danger.
"Wait till the lights come!Phil!Phil!"
Phil Forrest did not answer.He had been knocked clear into the center of the arena by a falling quarter pole, and stunned.The Circus Boy's head was pretty hard, however, and no more than a minute had passed before he was at work digging his way out of the wreck.
"Phillip!" "Here!"
"Thank heaven," muttered the showman."I was afraid he had been killed.Are you all right?" Mr.Sparling made his way in Phil's direction.
"Yes.How--how many were killed?"
"I hope none," replied Mr.Sparling."As soon as the lights are on and all this stuff hauled out of the way we shall know."Most of the canvas had been blown from the circus arena proper so that little was left there save the seats, a portion of the bandstand, the wrecks of the ruined poles and circus properties, together with some of the side walls, which still were standing.
By this time the tornado, for such it had developed into, had passed entirely and the moon came out, shining down into the darkened circus arena, lighting it up brightly.
About that time torches were brought.The people had rushed down from the seats as soon as the big top had blown away.
"I want all who have been injured to wait until I can see them," shouted Mr.Sparling."Many of you owe your lives to this young man.Had you started when the blow came many of you would have been killed.
Has anyone been seriously hurt?"
A chorus of "no's" echoed from all sides.
The showman breathed a sigh of relief.A bare half dozen had to be helped down from the seats, where they had been struck by flying debris, but beyond that no one obeyed Mr.Sparling's request to remain.
The men had run quickly along under the seats to see if by any chance injured persons had fallen through.They helped a few out and these walked hurriedly away, bent on getting off the circus lot as quickly as possible after their exciting experiences.
"No one killed, Phil."
"I'm glad of that.I'm going to look for Wallace.Better get your men out right away, or he'll be too far away for us ever to catch him again.Have the menagerie men gone to look for him?""I don't know, Phil.You will remember that I have been rather busily engaged for the past ten or fifteen minutes.""We all have.Well, I'm going to take a run and see if I can get track of the lion.""Be careful.Better get your clothes on the first thing you do." "Guess he hasn't any.Histrunk and mine have goneawaysomewhere," nodded Teddy.
"Never mind the clothes.I'm on a lion hunt now," laughed Phil, starting from the enclosure on a run.
"Nothing can stop that boy," muttered Mr.Sparling.The owner was all activity now, giving his orders at rapid-fire rate.First, the men were ordered to gather the canvas and stretch it out on the lot so an inventory might be taken to determine in what shape the show had been left.Others were assigned to search the lot for show properties, costumes and the like, and in a very short time the big, machine-like organization was working methodically and without excitement.
It must not be thought that nothing was being done toward catching the escaped lion.Fully fifty men had started in pursuit immediately after the escape.They had been detained for a few minutes by the blow down, after which every man belonging to the menagerie tent, who could be spared, joined in the chase.
The lion cage, one of the few left remaining on the lot, had been blown over as it was being taken away.The shock had burst open the rear door and Wallace was quick to take advantage of the opportunity to regain his freedom.An iron-barred partition separated him from his mate.Fortunately this partition had held, leaving the lioness still confined in the cage.
The attendants quickly righted the cage, making fast the door so that there might be no repetition of the disaster.
Seeing Phil hurrying away Teddy took to his heels also, and within a short distance caught up with his companion.
"You going to look for that lion, Phil?" "Yes.""So am I."
"You had better stay here, Teddy.You might get hurt." "What about yourself?""Oh, I'm not afraid," laughed Phil.
"Don't you call me a coward, Phil Forrest.I've got as much sand as you have any time.""Why, I didn't call you a coward.I--" "Yes, you did; yes, you did!""Don't let's quarrel.Remember we are on a lion hunt just now.Hey, Bob." hailed Phil, discovering one of the menagerie attendants.
"Hello."
"Which way did he go?"
"We don't know.When the blow down came we lost all track of Wallace.He's probably headed for the open country.""Where are the searchers?"
"All over.A party went west, another north and the third to the east." "What about the village--did no one go that way to hunt for him?" "No; he wouldn't go to town.""Think not?" "Sure of it." "Why not?"
"He'd want to get away from the people as quick as he could.Youdon't catch Wallace going into any town or any other place where there's people.""I noticed that he came in under the big top where there were about three thousand of them," replied Phil dryly.
