The Fiery Ring (16 page)

“That’d be a lot better. You don’t need to be out like this.”

The two fell silent, enjoying the warmth of the fire. Finally Chase said, “Why don’t you go up in the loft and see if you can get comfortable on the hay? I think I’ll just sleep here by the fire.”

“All right, Chase.” Joy rose and said quietly, “I guess Sister Hannah will be praying for us. We need it.” As she studied Chase’s features in the firelight, she saw that she wasn’t the only one who was troubled.

Chase turned to Joy. “It’ll be all right,” he said. “Don’t worry.”

“And you either. Good night, Chase.”

Chase watched her leave and then turned back and put his gaze on the fire. He poked it with a stick, releasing a puff of sparks into the darkness, then stretched out on his side and lay still until finally sleep overtook him.

****

“We’ve got to do
something,
Chase! We can’t go on like this.”

“You’re right about that.” Chase shook his head. “There’s just no work here.”

The two had returned to the barn, for they had no money to stay in a hotel. For three days they had searched diligently, but neither of them could find a job. The town seemed to be filled with people looking for work, many of them Mexicans. Their clothes were dirty now, and both of them were low in spirits. They had made another poor supper of beans and bread, this time with two doughnuts to add a little sweetness.

“I don’t know what we’re going to do, Chase.”

Chase was silent for a time, and then he looked up from the can of beans he held and stirred the remainder with his spoon. “I’ve been thinking about something. But maybe it’s not a good idea.”

“What is it? Anything’s better than what we’ve got.”

“You know how I used to work with a circus.”

“I remember.”

“Well, it was the Carter Brothers Circus. That sign said they’re coming to town tomorrow. I could get us jobs there, I think. It wouldn’t pay much, and we’d have to travel.”

“But what could I do in a circus?”

“Always things to do in a circus. Never enough hands. I had friends there once, but I don’t know if they’re still there or not.”

“Do you really think they’d take us?”

“I think so.” Chase ate the last of the beans and set the can aside. He wiped the spoon on his handkerchief and stuck it in his coat pocket. “It won’t be much of a life, though, Joy.”

“I always thought being with a circus would be exciting.”

“The performances are, but you wouldn’t believe how much work there is just getting from one place to another and getting set up.” He shook his head and said, “I don’t know if it’s a good idea or not.”

Joy waited for him to say more, but he sat there cross-legged and silent in the darkness. The fire crackled, and a heavy truck lumbered down the road. When the sound died away, she said, “I think we’re at the end of our rope, Chase. We’ll have to try it.”

The flickering flames highlighted the sharp planes of Chase’s face, and he sighed heavily. “Well, I suppose you’re right. It’s the only thing I can think of. Other than going back to Sister Hannah. She’d take us in.”

“No, I don’t want to do that. My brother would have to come all the way north, then. I’d rather wait for him here. Let’s try the circus first.”

“All right.”

The two sat in silence, watching the stars in the night sky. Feeling despondent, neither of them spoke until Joy rose and murmured, “Good night, Chase.”

“Good night, Joy.”

For a long time Chase Hardin sat in front of the small fire. From time to time he looked up at the stars, but finally he lay back and closed his eyes.
The circus is probably not a good idea—but I don’t see any other way. At least we’ll eat and have a place to sleep. . . .

CHAPTER TEN

A New World

Chase and Joy awoke early and washed up as well as they could. Joy shook out one of the dresses she had not yet worn, a tan dress with white lace around the neck and sleeves and a dropped waistline. The weather was still cool, so she slipped on a lightweight wool jacket and donned a pair of black patent leather shoes. As she stepped out of the barn, she found Chase waiting for her. He was wearing the only outfit he had, which was much the worse for wear. His black hair needed cutting and curled over his coat collar.

“Pretty dress,” he commented. “Are you ready?”

“Yes, I am.”

The two left and paused at a diner to inquire the way to the fairgrounds. It sounded like finding their way would not be difficult, but it was a long walk, and they decided a good breakfast first was in order. They ordered the special—two eggs, bacon, and toast. The portions were not particularly generous, so they wolfed them down quickly and left.

They walked steadily and reached the fairgrounds just before ten o’clock. Chase scanned the grounds, then nodded. “They must have gotten here early. The big top’s almost up.”

Joy was confused by the activity, and her eyes darted everywhere as she followed Chase across the field. The tent was up, but there were still people running every which way stretching ropes and driving stakes into the ground. She gasped when an elephant strolled by, led by a handsome man with olive
skin and flashing black eyes. Joy saw a look of astonishment cross his face as he spotted Chase.

“Well, if it isn’t Chase Hardin!” he called out and stood waiting as the two approached. The man’s bright green shirt contrasted with his crisp black curls spilling out from under a wide-brimmed gray fedora. He put his hand out, and his white teeth flashed against his dark skin. His eyebrows were black, as was the neatly trimmed mustache. “Good to see you, Chase. Where you been?”

“Oh, around, Dan.”

Chase turned and said, “This is Joy Smith, Dan. Joy, this is Dan Darvo.”

Darvo swept off his cap, and dark curls fell over his forehead. “Gypsy Dan is good enough.” His obsidian eyes studied Joy as she murmured a greeting. Then he turned back to Chase and asked, “How have you been?”

“Not too good. Is the colonel still in charge?”

“Sure. You need a job?”

“That’s why we’re here.”

The two were interrupted by another voice yelling, “Hey, Chase!”

Joy turned to see a midget hurtling across the lot. He skidded to a stop in front of Chase, slapped his hands together, and then stuck one of them up. Chase smiled and said, “How are you, Oz?”

“Better than you could guess. You old son of a gun, it’s good to see you! Who’s this? You done went and got married up on me?”

“Oh no, this is just a friend of mine. Her name’s Joy Smith.” Turning to Joy, he said, “Oz is one of the clowns in the circus.”

“I’m right proud to know you, Miss Smith. I’m Phineas Oz. Everybody just calls me Oz, though.”

“I’m glad to know you, Mr. Oz.”

“No ‘mister.’ Just Oz. You comin’ back to the show, Chase?”

“I thought I’d hit the colonel up for a job.” Then Chase added, “Just as a roustabout. And we need something for Joy here too.”

Oz chewed his lip thoughtfully and turned his head to one side. “Things have changed a little bit since you left, Chase. Mrs. House passed away about a year ago.”

Gypsy Dan added, “Had a heart attack. Dropped dead right in the middle of Ella’s dog act.”

“I’m sorry to hear it. She was a good woman,” Chase said regretfully. “The colonel’s missed her, I bet.”

“Well, you know how close they were,” Oz said, stroking his blunt chin. “He took to drinkin’ pretty hard. Next thing we knew he married up with Stella.”

Joy sensed Chase stiffen next to her, and she turned to see shock spread across his features. He recovered quickly and murmured, “Well, that’s a surprise.”

“Yeah, it was for all of us. I guess he was lonesome.”

A silence fell on the small group, and then Oz said, “Stella pretty much runs things now, but you can probably get a job.”

“Karl Ritter is doing the big cage now. You know him?” Gypsy Dan asked.

“No, never saw his act.”

“Well, he’s flashy, but I’ve seen better. You can probably find the colonel in his tent. He doesn’t get out until pretty late.”

“The tent’s around on the other side of clown alley. Just where we always put it.” Gypsy Dan turned to Joy and studied her carefully. “Do you like animals?”

“Oh yes, I do.”

“Maybe you’d like to come into my act. We could always use a pretty girl on top of an elephant.”

“Oh, I wouldn’t know how to do that.”

“Nothing to it.” Gypsy Dan turned and said, “Trunk, Ruth.” The elephant swung her trunk around, and Gypsy Dan put it toward Joy. The trunk came up in front of Joy’s face, and she reached out tentatively and stroked it. The tip of the trunk touched her shoulder with its fingerlike appendage
on the end of it. Dan reached into his pocket, saying, “Give her a bit of this. She’ll love you forever.”

Joy took the quarters of apple and handed them to the elephant, which immediately stuck them in its mouth and came back asking for more. Joy stroked the trunk again. It was very rough and hairy, but the elephant’s eyes seemed to gleam with pleasure. Joy said, “She’s really sweet.”

“Sure, sweet just like me.” Gypsy Dan winked at her. “We’ll talk later.”

Chase turned abruptly, and Joy had to hurry to catch up with him. He wound his way through the maze of equipment and canvas, and Joy noted that many of the circus workers looked at him in surprise. When some called out to him, he nodded but did not stop. He finally paused before a tall, broad-shouldered man with red hair and blue eyes wearing stained and wrinkled khakis.

“Hello, Pete.”

“Hello, Chase.” The broad-shouldered man studied him carefully, his eyes flickering over to Joy. “What’s goin’ down?”

“Bad pennies come back. I’m lookin’ for a job and one for this young lady here. Her name’s Joy Smith.”

“Well, I hope the colonel can find something for you. It’ll be good to have you working with us again.”

“We’re heading over to the colonel’s trailer right now.”

“Have you heard about Stella?”

“Yes, Oz told me.”

“Might be a problem for you.”

“No, it won’t.” Chase’s voice was clipped and short. “Guess I’ll go find out. Come along, Joy.”

Joy hurried along after Chase, saying nothing. This world was not hers, and she was confused by it. The strong smell of animals overrode most other smells, and she almost fell over a tent rope because she was so busy looking around.

Chase led her around to the back of the lot, where he saw a man in a white suit and a white straw hat. “That’s the man we’re looking for—Colonel House,” he said.

Colonel House did not turn until Chase spoke his name, and when he did, shock flickered across his florid features. He had been a big man, but now the flesh had sagged. He pulled off the straw hat, revealing his white hair. “Hello, Chase,” he said. “Surprised to see you.”

“Good to see you, Colonel. I’m sorry to hear about your wife. She was very good to me. I’ll miss her.”

Colonel House bowed his head for a moment, and sadness colored his eyes when he looked back up. “It was like the sun went out of the sky for me, my boy.” He shook his head and asked, “What can I do for you?”

“Need a job, Colonel. Not my old one, though,” he added. “Just pulling down, setting up, washing dishes. Anything. This is Miss Joy Smith. She could be handy too, I think.”

“How do you do, Miss Smith?” House had a courtly manner, and although he appeared tired, there was still an air of gallantry about him. He addressed Chase again. “Don’t know if you’ve heard about me and Stella.”

“Yes, Oz told me. Congratulations.”

A look passed between the two men, and Joy saw that both of them were uncomfortable. “We’ll have to ask Stella, but I think we can find something.”

At that moment the trailer door opened, and a woman stepped out. She was wearing a short yellow dress, and her hair was bobbed in the current flapper fashion. Her green eyes flickered over Joy, sized her up, and then moved on to Chase. She came down off the steps and walked forward with a swagger. “Hello, Chase,” she purred, keeping her eyes fixed on his.

“Hello, Stella. You’re looking well.”

“You don’t look so good yourself.”

“Little down on my luck. I was asking the colonel here for any kind of a job for me—and for Miss Joy Smith here.”

“We could certainly use some help,” House said. His eyes narrowed, and he shook his head slightly. “Karl Ritter lost his helper. But he’s pretty hard to please.”

“I can do it, Colonel.”

“Won’t be very pleasant for you,” the colonel suggested. “Cleaning out cages.”

“It doesn’t matter.”

The colonel glanced at Joy and stroked his goatee. He looked a great deal like the pictures Joy had seen of Buffalo Bill, with the white mustache and white goatee to match. She wondered if he had adopted the mannerisms as well. “What about Miss Smith, Stella?”

“Annie needs some help over in the cook tent. Can you cook?”

“Yes, I can.”

“All right. Chase, you wait here. I’ll take you to Ritter after I talk to Annie about the new help.” She turned to the young woman, saying, “All right. Come along—what’s your first name?”

“Joy.”

“Come along, then, Joy. I’ll take you over and see if you can handle the job.”

Joy obediently followed the woman, who rapidly threaded her way through the circus maze. She stopped abruptly and turned to her. “How did you get hooked up with Chase?”

“Well, it was mostly because of an accident.” Joy struggled to choose the right words, not wanting to say too much. “He got hurt, and I stayed around to take care of him.”

“Is he your boyfriend?”

“No!”

Stella stared at the girl while Joy tried to guess how old Stella was. She appeared to be in her late twenties or early thirties. There was a hardness about her, attractive though she was, both in face and form. It was more in the glint of her eyes than in any outward mark of age, and she exuded a callous boldness.

“Well, I find that hard to believe, a guy and a girl traveling around together.”

“It’s the truth, though.” Joy changed the subject. “What did Chase do when he was with the circus, Mrs. House?”

“He didn’t tell you that?”