Billy Whiskers Part 11

At the signal the dog got started ahead, but half way around the ring Billy pa.s.sed him; the next time around, the dog was again ahead, when slow little Betty balked in the middle of the course and both the goat and dog ran into her upsetting the carts and spilling out the little lady dog drivers. None of them were hurt and the little dogs ran around stepping on their silk petticoats and getting their hats askew, they enjoying the upset by barking and making all the noise they could.

"Well, boys, you want to do it better at the regular performance," said the ring-master, as the animals were led from the ring.

_What Billy Did on Wednesday_

Wednesday, Billy was not tied up and after wandering around the circus and visiting the different animals and stopping to chat with Betty, he decided to watch his chance and slip into town.

This was not hard for him to do and he soon found himself on the main street. At first he walked quietly along looking into the windows, but presently he saw before him a well-known figure, that of the ring-master.

"Now is my chance," thought Billy, "to get even with him for giving me all those cuts with his whip. I'll just give him a b.u.t.t and land him in the middle of that mud puddle, and I am going to do it so hard he will hear his spine crack and I guess he won't hit me with his whip again very soon."

So Billy started quietly on a run, going on his tiptoes so the ring-master would not hear him until it was too late to get out of the way. Just as Billy got to him the man raised his arm to doff his hat to a pretty girl, and the next thing he knew he was flying through the air with his hat in his hand. Still holding his arm extended, he landed in the deep puddle of muddy water in the middle of the street, while the young lady threw up her hands and fled.

[Ill.u.s.tration]

It is needless to say that Billy immediately disappeared down a side street. Here he ran into a livery stable where a dog fight had been going on in the back yard. Two ferocious bull-dogs, had fought so wickedly that their jaws had had to be pried apart.

One of the dogs had a chain around its neck and its owner was going to lead it off when one of the livery men saw Billy and called out:

"Wait a minute Mr. Pride, here's a Billy goat I bet can lick your dog. Let us turn them loose in the yard and have another fight."

"Why, man what are you talking about? My dog would make just one grab at the goat's throat and kill him."

"I am not so sure of that," replied the man, "but I am mighty sure he will lick your dog if he is the goat I think he is, for I believe he is the trained goat from the circus."

"Let's have a fight," said the other men that were standing around. "It will be great sport to see the goat lick the dog that can whip every other dog in town."

"So you think the goat can lick my dog, do you? I'll bet one or all of you twenty dollars that he can't."

"It is a go!" said two or three. Then the man that had proposed the fight said: "It is all well enough to have a little fight for fun but I hate to see your dog killed, as he may be."

"Oh, don't you worry about my dog. Leave all your worrying for the goat."

All this time the dog had been pulling at his chain and straining to get at the goat, while Billy quietly walked around inspecting things, chewing anything he could find.

"Won't I fix that conceited dog!" said Billy to himself. So he allowed himself to be driven into the back-yard. Here the men formed a circle with Billy in the center; then the man unfastened the chain from the dog's neck. With a rush he went for the goat, who quickly stood on his hind legs, lowered his head and met the dog's onslaught with his horns, running one of them into his chest, which sent the blood spitting out. Then the dog tried to get behind Billy for another charge but Billy wheeled and met him again as before and no matter which way the dog tried to approach him, Billy was always head foremost with his long, pointed horns sticking straight out to meet him.

The dog was getting more and more furious at each failure and at last he made a blind plunge at the goat, but, as before, Billy was too quick for him and this time he sent the dog yelping back to his master.

"Here! what do you mean by shutting our goat up?" they heard someone say and turning around they saw one of the men from the circus who had been sent out to look for Billy as it was nearly time for the performance to begin.

"We did not shut him up. He walked in of his own accord; but you should have been here a minute sooner and you would have seen the prettiest fight you ever saw in your life, between your goat and the bulliest bull-dog of the town."

"I am sorry I did not see it; but perhaps we can have another sometime."

"Never!" said the dog's owner very emphatically. "I doubt if he lives through this."

"Well, good-bye, boys; come and see Billy Whiskers perform in the circus this afternoon and you will see as good a performance as fighting, and I'll give all pa.s.ses who bet on him this time.

"Billy, I would not have given much for your skin after the ring-master got through with you if it had not been for this fight; but now I think he will forgive you for the b.u.t.t you gave him this morning, since you whipped Mr. Pride's dog for he hates Mr. Pride because he forbade him calling on his daughter."

[Ill.u.s.tration]

_What Billy Did on Thursday_

Thursday there was no performance as the circus was to break camp and move to the next town where they were to take the train for a large city. Here they would meet the rest of the circus which had been divided up into small bands and sent into the country, like the one Billy was now with. When they met in the city, all the companies joined forces.

The elephant told Billy to wait and see what elegant performances they gave when they were all together. "Why!" he said, "we have three rings with acting going on in each one at the same time, and all the performers wear their best clothes and try their best to outshine each other; beside we have three or four times as many animal side-tents as we do now.

"When we meet I will introduce you to my chum who is the oldest and largest elephant in the circus business. He is a fine fellow and tells a good story, and one could listen for hours to him telling of his adventures and experiences while in the jungle and traveling in this country. But it nearly makes him weep when he tells of how he was once the pet elephant of a Prince of India and how the Prince would never ride any other but himself when hunting or riding in the royal processions. 'Only think of the come-down,' he used to add, 'from having a Prince of the royal blood on your back to a common circus rider in gaudy skirts! Then my blankets and trappings were of velvet, studded with real precious stones. Now they are velveteen with gla.s.s to imitate the precious jewels. Oh, dear! Oh, dear! That I should ever live to see this day.'"

Here the elephant's conversation was cut short by someone screaming, "Fire, fire!"

"Where? where?" called Billy who was all excitement in a minute and he started to run in the direction he heard the voice come from, but alas for Billy! He forgot he was tied until he came to the end of his rope and it gave him a quick jerk which sent him head over heels, breaking the rope.

"Gee whiz! I nearly broke my neck. Blame their old rope!"

[Ill.u.s.tration]

"Fire, fire, fire!" called the voice again, followed by a laugh and Billy, looking up, saw a green poll-parrot swinging on a rope overhead, that commenced to call: "April fool, April fool!" as loud as she could.

"How I do hate parrots and monkeys! I dare you to come down here, you disagreeable, impertinent, pea-green, old maid of a bird!"

bleated Billy.

He had hardly gotten the words out of his mouth when something struck him on the back and began to pull his hair out by the roots. It was Miss Polly who had dropped like a torpedo and who was screeching, pecking and clawing him at a great rate. She was in a bad humor that day as they had forgotten to feed her her accustomed crackers and coffee.

As soon as Billy got over his surprise, which was in a second, he lay down and rolled. This knocked Polly off but the minute he stopped she flew onto his back again and pecked him until the blood ran. The second time she lit on his back he thought of a way to get even. He saw the elephant's tub of water a little way before him and with two bounds he was by its side and before Miss Polly was aware of what was up, she found herself doused in the tub, and when she came up from under the water there was no goat in sight.

As Billy went out of the tent he ran into the animal keeper who was just coming in.

"Ho, ho! Master Billy, not so fast. I was coming to look for you, for we are about to start and you have a way of turning up missing just when you are most wanted." As he said this he caught hold of the piece of rope around Billy's neck that Billy had broken when he took his somersault, and said: "Come along with me. I am going to put you for once where you can't get out, no matter how hard you bite, chew or kick."

"I wonder what he is going to do with me," thought Billy.

But he soon found out, for the man led him to a vacant cage that a wild cat had died in the day before, and made him walk up an inclined board into it.

"Heavens!" thought Billy, "I'll never get out of here unless I die and am carried out like the wild cat was, and if I don't die I know I will go crazy, shut up in a little cooped up place like this, with only room enough to take one step and not enough to turn around unless you turn yourself in sections."

"Well, Billy, how do you like being caged?" asked the animal keeper.