IN THE HANDS OF THE ENEMY
Teddy had squared off, and was landing sledge-hammer blows on the empty air.
Phil, too, had squared himself prepared to give battle, but his hands fell sharply to his sides.
"Wha--what--" he gasped."Come on!" bellowed Teddy.
They were in a large room, brilliantly lighted, and about them, in a semi-circle, was a line of laughing faces.From them the eyes of the astonished Circus Boys wandered to a long table on which were flowers and plenty of good things to eat.
"Why, it's our old recitation room in the high school, Teddy," breathed Phil.
"I don't care what it is.I can lick the whole outfit!" shouted Teddy Tucker advancing belligerently.
"It's the boys, Teddy, don't you understand?" laughed Phil."Well, of all the ways of inviting a fellow to dinner, this beats anything I ever saw before.""How does it feel to be kidnaped?" grinned President Billy, extending his hand.
"So you are the young gentleman who put up this job on us, are you?" demanded Phil.
"I guess I am one of them.But I wasn't unlucky enough to get a black eye, like Walter over there.You gave that to him, Teddy.My, what a punch you have!" laughed Billy.
"That isn't a circumstance to what's coming to you.I'll wait till I get back to school, next fall, and then I'll take it out of you.You'll have something coming to you all summer.Did I paint Walt's eye that way?""You did.It's up to you to apologize to him now." "Apologize?""Yes; that's what I said."
"I like that!I have a good notion to apologize by painting the othereye the same color," growled Teddy.
"But, what does all this mean?" urged Phil, looking about him, still a bit dazed.
"It means that we fellows wanted to give you and Teddy a little supper.It isn't much, but there are sandwiches and cookies and pie and lots of other stuff that you'll like.""Cookies?" interrupted Teddy, his face relaxing into a half smile."Yes.""We knew you wouldn't come, so we planned to kidnap you both and bring you over here by main force.After we eat supper we'll have a little entertainment among ourselves.Walter is going to sing--""What's that? Walt going to sing?" demanded Teddy, halting on his way to inspect the table.
"Yes."
"Then I'm going, right now!" answered the lad, turning sharply and heading for the door."Why, why--""I've heard him sing before.Good night!"
"Come back here," laughed Phil, grabbing his companion by the shoulder."We can stand even Walter's singing if he can.But really, fellows, we can't stay more than fifteen or twenty minutes.""Why not?"
"Because we must get to the train.Were we to be left we might come in for a fine.Mr.Sparling is very strict.He expects everybody to live up to the rules.I'm sorry, but--""It's all fixed, Phil.No need to worry," President Billy informed him."Fixed?What do you mean?""With Mr.Sparling." "You--you told him?" "Yes.""See here, Billy Ford," interrupted Teddy."What is it, Teddy?""Did you say Boss Sparling was in on this little kidnaping game-- did he know you were going to raise roughhouse with--with us?""I--I guess he did," admitted President Billy.
"I'll settle with him tomorrow," nodded Teddy, swelling out his chest."Did you tell him you were going to have a supper up here?" askedPhil.
"He knows all about it.You need not worry about the train going away without you.Mr.Sparling said you had a short run tonight, and that the last section would not pull out until three o'clock in the morning.That's honest Injun, Phil.""Well, if that is the case, then we'll stay.""Hurrah for the Circus Boys!" shouted the class, making a rush for seats at the table.
"Ready for the coffee," announced the President.
Who should come in at that moment, with a steaming coffeepot, but the Widow Cahill.
"Are you in this, too?" Teddy demanded.
"I am afraid I am," laughed Mrs.Cahill."The boys needed some grown-ups to help them out.""You're no friend of mine, then.I'll--"
"But you are going to have some of those molasses cookies that I told you I baked for you--""Cookies?Where?" exclaimed Teddy, forgetting his anger instantly."Help yourself.There they are.""It isn't much of a spread," apologized the president."We have a little of everything and not much of anything--""And a good deal of nothing," added Teddy humorously."Everybody eat!" ordered Mrs.Cahill.
They did.Thirty boys with boys' appetites made the home-cooked spread disappear with marvelous quickness.Each had brought something from home, and Mrs.Cahill, whom they had taken into their confidence two days before the Sparling Shows reached town, had furnished the rest.Everything was cold except the coffee, but the feasters gave no thought to that.It was food, and good wholesome food at that, and the lads were doing full justice to it.
"Say, Phil, that was a wonderful act of yours," nodded President Billy, while the admiring gaze of the class was fixed on Phil Forrest.
"I wish I might learn to do that," said Walter.
"You? You couldn't ride a wooden rocking horse without falling off and getting a black eye," jeered Teddy, at which there was a shout of laughter.
"Can you?" cut in Phil.
"I can ride anything from a giraffe to a kangaroo--that is, until I fall off," Teddy added in a lower voice."I rode a greased pig at a country fair once.Anybody who can do that, can sit on a giraffe's neck without slipping off.""Where was that?" questioned a voice."I never heard of your riding a greased pig around these parts.""I guess that must have been before you were born," retorted Teddy witheringly.
"Say, Phil," persisted Walter, this time in a confidential tone."Yes?""Do you suppose you could get me a job in the circus?""I don't know about that, Walt.What do you think you could do?" "Well, I can do a cartwheel and--""Oh, fudge!" interrupted Teddy.
"That's more than Tucker could do when he joined the show.Do you know what he did, first of all?" said Phil.
"No; what did he do?" chorused the boys.
