CHAPTER XI
UNEXPECTED HAPPENINGS
BUTTON was about to begin to tell them one of his thrilling adventures when several policemen appeared and began clubbing and driving the animals out of the park. One of them said, “Sure and I would like to know how these animals got into this park without me seein’ um. Somebody must have drove um in thinking it was a free pasture.” Another one said, “But did ye ever see such a motley bunch? There are cows, horses, donkeys, sheep, goats, pigs, cats and dogs. Will ye tell me where they come from? When I just saw um I thought I must be dreamin’.”
“I did sure!” called out the first policeman.
“Hey, there, stop runnin’ over them flower beds, will ye?”
It was astonishing how all the animals seemed to disappear so suddenly. One would have thought the earth had opened and swallowed them whole. But Billy, Stubby, Nannie and Button had started for the Northern Pacific railroad track, which road they were to follow all the way to the Pacific coast. The gray cat showed them the way so they would not get on the wrong track as there were so many it would be hard to tell which was the right one. But the grey cat knew them well. So after that they said good-by to the cat and thanked him for all the trouble he had gone to to entertain them.
“Not at all! Not at all! It was no trouble I assure you, but a pleasure to have the honor of introducing three such distinguished travelers to my friends.”
“Toot! Toot!” whistled a train behind them, and they jumped off the track just in time to save themselves from being run over. And as they stood at the side of the track, they read on the cars these signs which had been stretched the whole length of each one:
“Ringling Brothers Three Ring Circus.”
“Gee Willikins!” exclaimed Billy. “If here isn’t the very circus I used to act in! Let’s stay over, Chums, and see if we can’t meet some of our old friends. It has been so many years that probably some of them are dead or sold to other circuses, but there are sure to be one or two of them left.”
“Charmed to stay over!” said Button.
“Delighted, I am sure!” replied Stubby.
So the four of them ran down the track after the train until it came to a halt at its unloading platform. Then they pushed forward to the cars that held the wild animals and waited for their cages to be run off the train. Of course their cages were all shut up tightly with only breathing places at the top, so the people could not see the animals unless they paid to get into the circus. But the elephants and camels were so big they had not shut them up, and who should Billy see walking off the train but his old, old friend Jumbo, the oldest and finest specimen of elephant in America. He must have been nearly two hundred and fifty years old, his keeper said. Elephants frequently live to be that age and sometimes three hundred. After Jumbo came Maggie, dear old complaining Maggie, the old maid camel of the flock.
When she saw Billy and Nannie, she gave a nervous cough, stretched her neck out as long as she could and squeaked out in her complaining cracked voice: “Billy Whiskers as sure as I am alive! I am really glad to see you, though the last time I saw you I remember I was so furious at you that I was ready to chew the hair off your back. But we will bury the hatchet and let bygones be bygones.” Just then a most terrific bellowing was heard coming from the elephants. Old Jumbo had spied Billy and was calling to him to come over where he was tied to a telegraph pole until the circus people had time to erect the tents.
So Billy hurried over to where he was and introduced Nannie, Stubby and Button to him. And while they were taking in his great size, he seized Billy round the middle of his body with his trunk and held him high in the air over his head, and then let out a trumpeting that nearly deafened poor Billy.
“If you don’t say you are as glad to see me as I am to see you, I will crush every bone in your body!” trumpeted the elephant. Then the good-natured beast set Billy on his feet and began asking questions by the yard, like this: How was Nannie? Where had he been since they last met? Had he seen anything of the war? until Billy called a halt by saying, “One question at a time, if you please, and for every question you ask me, I am going to ask you one.” Billy began by asking these questions as fast as he could: “Have you the same ringmaster that I butted into the mud puddle? Is that green parrot that hated me so still alive? Is it better or worse being with a circus these days than it was years ago when I was with you?”
“Why, Billy Whiskers, how did you ever happen to get here?” heehawed a little burro. And turning, Billy beheld his old friend Bettina, the smallest burro on earth possessed with the longest ears, it was said, and the loudest voice.
“Why, Bettina! Are you still with the circus? I thought you must be owned by some private party long ere this.”
“And are you still traveling alone and doing as you please?” asked Bettina.
“No, I am not alone this time. I am with my wife and friends,” and Billy baaed for Nannie, Stubby and Button to come over and be introduced.
The elephant, camel, burro and the Chums were all standing talking and reminiscing on the long ago and asking after friends, when whiz! a rope flew over Billy’s head and he found himself lassoed and a voice saying: “That is the time I caught you off your guard, you old rascal! You see I remembered you of old and knew if I wanted to catch you I must do it quickly and talk to you afterwards, or you would kick up your heels in my face and be off. And thereby the circus would miss one of the best performers and drawing cards it ever had. Well, how are you, old fellow, and how has the world been using you? But I need not ask, for my eyes tell me you look younger and more frisky than you did when last I saw you, and that was several years ago. I do hope your temper has cooled down some since last we met, for I have a distinct recollection of how fiery it was and of being butted over a fence and you running away from me.”
Just then Stubby and Button each felt a rope slip around their necks and they found themselves like Billy—caught.
When Billy saw this, he had to laugh to think how easily the three of them had been captured. They did not lasso Nannie for they knew she would follow Billy wherever he went.
Stubby, who hated performing either in the circus or the movies, was most downcast, while Button looked mad enough to chew tacks.
“Cheer up, Chums! The best is yet to come!” said Billy. “I hear that this circus is on its way to the Pacific Coast, so if we stay with it we can be carried out there on their train instead of hoofing it. And all we will have to do will be to perform a trick or two each day. In the meantime they will feed and take good care of us clear to the Coast.”
“I don’t want to be taken care of!” whined Stubby. “I want to take care of myself and live a free life even if it is a harder one. And I am going to run away the first chance I get.”
“So am I!” meowed Button. “Me for the wild free life!”
“Those are generally my sentiments too,” said Billy, “but not in this case when thousands of miles of treeless plains, semi-deserts and alkali pools are before me to hoof it over when I could ride. Me for diplomacy until I get across the continent and when once in California, the free life again.”
“I guess you are right after all, Billy. When I think of those sandy wastes with only alkali water to drink, which means death, I believe I would prefer to perform a few tricks, much as I dislike to, to enduring cold nights, hunger and lonesomeness out on the plains,” spoke up Stubby.
“And I say the same,” said Button.
“Oh, yes, do let’s stay with the circus! It will be so much safer,” said Nannie.
Late that night after the evening performance was over and all the circus people but a few night watchmen had gone to bed, and most of them were asleep, the Chums, elephant, camel, burro, giraffe, zebra and Sacred White Bull from Egypt were all tied at equal distances round the sides of the circus, around which ring were the animal cages that belonged to the circus.
Billy kept his eye on the watchman and soon he had the pleasure of seeing him throw himself on a bundle of straw and go fast asleep, and presently begin to snore. Billy had been waiting to assure himself that the watchman was sound asleep. When he heard the snores he stood up and walked as near the center of the tent as his rope would permit. Then he baaed softly for the other animals to join him. And they all came as near as their ropes would let them. Then putting their heads down close to the ground so their voices would not carry so far, they began to talk to each other and have the time of their lives relating the experiences they had had and exchanging gossip. Presently Billy said: “Say, fellows, I tell you what let’s do! Form a Club and every night we will come here as we are now and each relate the story of his life up to the present time. It will be most interesting and instructive to those that are listening. For just see from what different quarters of the globe we have come. Here is old Jumbo who came from Asia two hundred and fifty years ago. He was old before you were born. Then here is Maggie, who has crossed the Sahara desert, which is in Africa. And Polly from the jungles of South America; the zebra and giraffe from Africa, Big Ben, the baboon, also from Africa, the kangaroo from Australia, and Stubby, Button and myself from North America. So you see we have all the continents and one of the islands of the globe represented here.
“This being a Club, we must have a president, secretary, treasurer, speaker and directors, elected to office by the members. The dues to be paid in food, not money, as we animals have no use for money. The dues of the Club are to be paid monthly instead of yearly, as we may not all be together for a year, owing to the circus breaking up into four parts to do smaller towns. What say you all to my proposal?”
Wild bellowings from the Sacred Bull, trumpeting from the elephant, growls from the baboon and heehaws from the burro; whinneyings from the zebra, squeaks from the parrot, barks from Stubby and meows from Button were here accompanied by the stamping of feet in lieu of the clapping of hands to show their approval of Billy’s suggestion to have a Club.
“Hush!” hissed Button. “We are awakening the night watchman!”
Immediately there was dead silence and each animal went back to its place and stood stock still as if sleeping, while the watchman rubbed his eyes, looked round and seeing all the animals in their places, thought he had dreamed he heard them bellowing and stamping.
As soon as he fell over on the straw again and they heard him snore, they all came back to the middle of the ring where they were before, and Bettina, the burro, suggested that they elect Billy Whiskers president. But he refused to take it, saying the elephant should be president as he was much the oldest member.
“Then you must be speaker,” they all said. This he consented to be. Stubby was elected secretary and was to notify the members by word of mouth instead of writing them. Button was treasurer and was to look after the food until it was eaten.
The directors of this Club were to be the animals that could get out of their cages to attend the Club meetings. Those who could not were to be honorary members. Polly was elected to fly from cage to cage and sit on the top and tell the animals in them what had been said at the last meeting.
Now the Club was organized, all it needed was a name. Each director selected one and when they were voted on, the Good Fellowship Club had the most votes. Then the next thing to do was for them all to go round to the different animals in the cages and tell them about the Club and ask them if they wished to join and be honorary members.
The business of starting a Club being finished, the animals went back to their places to lie down and see if they could not get a little sleep before the circus was astir in the morning. Polly awoke first and just as day was dawning, she flew from cage to cage and told the animals in them about the new Club. Every animal in the entire circus joined except the hyenas and wild boars. The other animals were glad they did not, because these animals were much disliked, the hyenas because they ate human flesh,—and the boars for their boarish disposition.
When the names of the members were read off at the next Club meeting, it was found they had as members walruses, lions, bears, sacred bulls, hippopotami, wild cats, tigers, wolves, camels, giraffes, elephants, dogs, leopards, elk, water buffaloes, rhinoceri, foxes and angora goats. The only ones of the monkey troop invited were the big baboons and chimpanzees. The members were afraid that if they invited the smaller monkeys to join they would chatter and make such a racket that it would waken the night watchman, who would break up the meeting.
They were to assemble once a week on Wednesday evenings when not on the road. Should they be on the move, the meeting would be postponed until the first evening they went in camp. It was decided that the first talk was to be by the president, the elephant, who was to tell them all he knew about elephants. The next talk was to be by the longest necked giraffe in the circus, followed by the oldest zebra.