The Rose in the Ring Part 16

This was too much for David. He dashed in and planted a stinging right-hander on the jaw of the enraged bully, sending him to the ground beside the hunchback, who was writhing there with blood on his lips.

For a second or two the fellow's companions, four in number, stood undecided. Then, with one accord, they rushed at David Jenison.

The Virginian was not skilled in the art of self-defense, but he was brave and cool and strong. He met the rush staunchly. To his own surprise his wild swings landed with amazing precision and the most gratifying effect. Two of his a.s.sailants reeled away under the savage impact of his blows. A stone, hurled by one of the young ruffians, struck him on the shoulder; another reached his face with a cutting blow of the fist. He felt the hot blood trickling down his cheek. But he stood squarely in front of the hunchback, his fists swinging like mad, half of his blows failing to land on the person of any one of his crowding, cursing adversaries.

Suddenly a new element entered into the one-sided conflict. A whirlwind figure dashed out of an alley hard by and came crashing into the thick of the fray.

"d.i.c.k! d.i.c.k!" shrieked the cowering cripple, the fiercest glee in his shrill voice.

"Always on hand," sang out the newcomer, slashing out right and left.

"Old Nick-o'-time, my lads. So you'd jump on a cripple, would you?

Here's a Christmas gift for you, you hayseed!"

Singing glibly after this fashion, the tall recruit laid about him with devastating effect. Three of the surprised town boys were sprawling on the ground; another was trying to scale the fence ahead of an expected boot-toe; the fifth was being soundly polished off by the exhilarated David. In less time than it takes to tell it, five terrified hoodlums were "streaking it" in as many directions, their chins high with a mighty resolve, their legs working like pinwheels, their eyes popping and their mouths spread in speechless endeavor. Five seconds later you couldn't have found one of them with a telescope.

The hunchback had leaped forward and was clasping a leg of the tall, angry rescuer, whining petulantly: "Why didn't you come sooner, d.i.c.k!

You never look out for me. One of them struck me. See!"

"Struck you, did he? I'd--I'd have killed him if I'd knowed that, Ernie. But, say, who's your friend? Looked as if he was doing business all right when I came up. h.e.l.lo! They got to you, did they? Bleeding like a pig, you are. Say, young feller, never--_never_ put your nose where it can be hit. I hates the sight of blood, and always did."

David was wiping the blood from his cheek. The tall young man came over and inspected the break in the cuticle.

"Just peeled it off a little," he announced. "No harm done. Oh, I say, you're the new clown, ain't you? I saw you last night. Put it there, kid. You're a brick. I'll not forget what you did for Ernie."

The two shook hands. The satirical grin had left the stranger's face.

He was regarding David with keen gray eyes, narrowed by the odd intentness of his gaze. David had the feeling that his innermost soul was being searched by the shrewdest eyes he had ever looked into.

"I came up just in time," explained the Virginian, still somewhat out of breath. "They were teasing him, and then one of the brutes struck him. I like fair play. I couldn't help taking a hand. They might have hurt him severely."

"He's my brother," said the other, putting his hand on Ernie's misshapen shoulder. "No, I won't forget this," he went on. "You didn't have to interfere, but you did. Plucky thing to do. They say you come from Virginia. Well, you've proved it. Thank you for doing this. My name's d.i.c.k Cronk. I'm from New York. Ernest, I haven't heard you say anything that sounds like 'much obliged.' Speak up!"

The hunchback looked sullenly at the ground, his black eyebrows almost meeting in a straight line above his nose.

"He couldn't have licked 'em if you hadn't come, d.i.c.k," he protested.

"See here, Ernie," said d.i.c.k, "that's no way to act. Mr.--er--this young gentleman defended you until I--"

"I saw him looking at my--my hump yesterday. He laughed at me," cried the boy fiercely.

David's hand fell from his b.l.o.o.d.y cheek. "Laughed at you?" he cried. "I _never_ did such a thing. You are mistaken."

"What were you laughing at, then?" demanded the unfortunate boy, made over-sensitive by his dread of ridicule.

"I don't remember that I laughed," said David, perplexed and distressed.

"Well, you did," defiantly.

David caught the look of profound embarra.s.sment in d.i.c.k Cronk's face.

He felt a sharp pity for him, though he could not have explained why.

"I'm sorry you think that of me," he said. "And I am happy to have come to your a.s.sistance just now. Let's be friends."

d.i.c.k pushed Ernie forward, gently but firmly. The hunchback extended his hand grudgingly.

"All right," he said sulkily.

"Come on!" said d.i.c.k, suddenly alert. "The cops will be along here directly. Let's get back to the lot. I'm not particularly anxious to get pinched just now."

He winked at David in a most mysterious way, and then grinned broadly.

David looked puzzled. Then a deep flush spread over his unstained cheek.

"You mean because you are with me?" he demanded.

d.i.c.k Cronk stared. "What's that got to do with me? Oh!" He appeared to recall something to mind. "I didn't mean anything like that," he hastened to explain. "As far as that goes, I guess you're in worse company than I am at the present moment."

With this enigmatic rejoinder he proceeded to collect three trophies of the battle and toss them over the high board fence. Three of their late enemies had neglected to pick up their hats as they scuttled off the field of carnage.

"None of them worth keeping," was his contemptuous remark as he started off briskly in the direction of the circus lot.

For the first time in many days the sun was shining. David announced that he would proceed on his walk toward the distant hills.

"Better come along with me," advised d.i.c.k, halting abruptly. "The cops will get wind of this. They jerk up a circus man on the slightest excuse. It's something of an honor, I believe, to land one of us in jail. The darned rubes talk about it for weeks afterwards, telling how they nailed a desperate character. Everybody connected with a show is a regular devil in their eyes. And that reminds me. I had my lamps on a couple of blue boys down the street as I came up. We'd better go up this alley."

The three of them turned into the narrow alley and walked briskly along, d.i.c.k Cronk regaling the perplexed David with airy comments on the methods employed by rustic police in their efforts to preserve the city from the depredations of circus followers and scalawags. He was a revelation to the young Virginian.

Despite his jaunty, casual manner, there was a certain keen watchfulness in his face, an alert gleam in his lively eyes. He seemed to be taking in everything as they ambled through the alley. When they approached the intersecting street his gaze seemed to project itself far ahead, even to the scouring of the thoroughfare in both directions.

"I think those two cops are still at the corner below," he remarked.

"We'll turn to the left without looking to the right."

They turned to the left.

"Yes," said d.i.c.k, who, so far as David could see, had not glanced to the right, "they're still there. Let me tell you one thing, pardner. If a cop ever stops you and begins asking questions, just you tell him you're a performer. You can always prove it, whether you are one or not." He drew forth a short black pipe. "Heigho! I'm glad to be back with the show." There was a world of satisfaction in the way he said it.

"Are you a performer?" asked David, glancing out of the corner of his eye at the long, supple figure. The fellow was filling his pipe.

d.i.c.k Cronk laughed softly. "Yes. I've been performing on the perpendicular bars for the past two weeks. Not the horizontal bars, mind you. Banks and Davis do that act. Climbing up and down the bars has been my job lately."

"You mean?"

"Even the innocent must suffer sometimes," quoth the nonchalant philosopher. It was sharply revealed to David that he had been in jail.

Three abreast they moved down the main street of the town, soon mingling with the throngs of country people in the neighborhood of the public square. d.i.c.k Cronk's hands were in his trouser pockets; his shoulders were thrown back, his chin elevated, his long legs stepping out freely, confidently. His stiff black hat was c.o.c.ked airily over his right ear. He was rather flashily dressed, but he had the ease of manner that enabled him to carry his clothed with peculiar un.o.btrusiveness. They were threadbare and untidy, if you took the pains to look closely; but you never thought of looking closely; you merely took in the general effect, which was rather pleasing than otherwise.

The face of this debonair knight of Vagabondia was curiously attractive, though not what you would call handsome. The features were too p.r.o.nounced, the lips too p.r.o.ne to twist into satirical grimaces.

His dark hair grew rather low on his wide forehead; it always looked straight and damp. The nose was long and pointed. When he whistled--which was almost incessantly--the tip of it appeared to protrude at least half an inch farther out from his face and to a.s.sume a new elevation. His chin was square and his neck was long.

Swift-moving gray eyes twinkled good-humoredly under a frank, open brow.

"Are you going to be with the show the rest of the summer?" asked David hesitatingly, at one stage of their conversation.