The Fiery Ring (22 page)

Joy laughed. She couldn’t help liking Bert despite his constant teasing, and his sister Angel had been a good friend to her. She chatted with them for a minute, then moved down to where the clowns formed a group. Oz, the loudest, was sitting with Red Squires, Mack Button, and Oleander Jones.

The roustabouts kept to their own table, not being of the stature of the performers themselves. She smiled at Benny Yates, remembering how Doak had picked him up by the neck on her first day at the circus. Despite that introduction to Benny, she had come to like him. He played the trumpet in the circus band, and she admired his musicianship. She pulled his hair, and when he turned to grin at her, she said, “I’m going to cut off that hair of yours, Benny, before it gets down to the floor!”

“I thought women liked long, beautiful hair,” Benny said.

“Not on men, silly! You’d better keep it short if you ever want a girlfriend.”

Slim Madden, Mamie’s husband, grinned at her. He was tall and thin, in contrast to Mamie’s round form, and his glasses rode on the bridge of his nose. “Just shave it all off. He couldn’t look any worse.”

Breakfast disappeared quickly, but most of the performers and workers stayed around for extra coffee. When the dining
area finally cleared out, Joy began picking up the last of the dishes and carrying them back to the washtub. She washed while Annie dried, and the two talked about their next engagement in Chattanooga, Tennessee.

“I’ve always liked Chattanooga,” Annie said. “Pretty scenery and lots to see around there. There’s a Civil War battlefield I’ll take you to see when we get there.”

Joy said, “I love all this traveling around. It’s so exciting.”

“Well, when you’ve done it as long as I have—and that’s since I was born—you can’t imagine staying in one place.”

The two were interrupted when Karl stuck his head through the flap and grinned. “Hey, is it too late to get breakfast?”

“Yes,” Annie said.

“No, that’s all right, Annie. I’ll fix something,” Joy offered. “Eggs and bacon be all right? And I think there’s some biscuits left.”

“That’ll be fine, and you can sit down and listen to me eat it.”

“Don’t you wish!” Joy teased back, laughing, as Karl left her to the preparations.

While Joy threw the elements of the meal together, Annie put away the last of the dishes, then turned and crossed her arms. “You’re not getting sweet on Karl, are you?”

“No, of course not.”

“That’s good.”

Surprised, Joy looked up. “Why? Don’t you like him?”

“Oh, I like Karl. I think everybody does, but he’s a ladies’ man.”

“Well, I’m a lady, aren’t I?”

Annie saw that Joy was smiling at her and noted the clean lines of the girl’s face and the youthful curves of her figure. “You’re not a baby anymore, and you need to watch out for yourself.”

“Oh, Annie, I went through that last year when I first joined the circus. Doak would have broken anybody’s neck that offended me—even Karl’s.”

Joy took the plates outside and set them before Karl, who was reading a newspaper. She walked over to the coffeepot, filled a large white mug, and placed it beside him, then sat down across from him. Putting the paper down, he took a bite of the eggs and bit off a chunk of the biscuit. “I thought you weren’t going to listen to me eat.” Karl grinned at her.

“I’m not. I just thought I’d keep you company, since you’re so lonesome all the time.”

Karl winked at her and took another bite of eggs. “Hey, did you listen to Will Rogers on the radio last night?”

“No, I missed it.”

“That guy kills me! He’s the funniest man I ever heard.” Karl chuckled. He chewed thoughtfully for a moment, took a swig of coffee, then said, “Last night he reported on the state of the nation, and you know what he said? He said, ‘The nation is prosperous as a whole, but how much prosperity is there in a hole?’ ” Karl guffawed and shook his head. “How does he think of that stuff? I’d sure like to see him at the Ziegfeld Follies. I went one time. It was great.”

“Was that in New York?”

“Sure was. I would love to play New York sometime, but I don’t guess we will. The Ringling Brothers have about got that sewed up. I’m going to be with that circus one day. The biggest show on earth! That’s what I aim to do.”

“Wouldn’t you hate to leave your friends here?”

“Oh sure, but I’d make friends there.”

“I like it here. It’s a bit like a family to me.”

“Why, sure it is, but a man’s gotta make a place for himself.”

He reached over and tapped the newspaper and said, “Look at that.”

Joy picked up that section and looked at the drawing on the front page. “What’s this?” she said.

“Something new. That’s a cartoon character they call Mickey Mouse.”

“Mickey Mouse?”

“Yeah. It’s something that a fellow called Walt Disney has
come up with. He draws a series of pictures and somehow makes the pictures look like they’re moving. They’re called animated cartoons.”

“I’ve never heard of it.”

“It’s pretty new, I guess. I’d like to see it sometime. This mouse is the star of a movie called
Steamboat Willie.
I hear it’ll be on at one of the local theaters in Chattanooga. Maybe we can take in a matinee.”

“That would be fun,” she said.

“You know what my favorite radio program is?”

“Can’t guess.”

“Amos and Andy. Funniest stuff I’ve ever heard.”

“Funnier than Will Rogers?”

“Oh yeah, even funnier.”

Joy had to agree with him about Amos and Andy. “Yeah, they’re good all right, and from what I hear they’re getting rich.”

Karl glanced up at her and took a swig of coffee. “What do you say after I eat, we have another lesson with Mabel?”

Joy’s eyes lit up, and she smiled. “Oh, I’d like that!” She had grown very fond of the big tiger, and as soon as Karl finished his breakfast, the two left the cook tent. They made their way to the menagerie, where Karl guided Mabel through the tunnel into the big-top cage for the morning’s practice.

“You ready?” he asked Joy.

“Sure am.”

“As I’ve said before, always remember that you’ve got to make her know who’s boss,” Karl warned. He looked fresh and handsome as he stood beside the door wearing a navy blue shirt, open at the throat, and a pair of light blue wool trousers.

“Come on in and see if she’ll sit up for you today.”

“She always sits up for me,” Joy said, entering the gate without a moment’s hesitation.

For some weeks Joy had been entering the cage with Mabel, the most docile of all the circus cats. She went toward her
now without a trace of fear, and Mabel made a rumbling sound. Reaching out with a stick, Joy rubbed the top of her head, and the rumble became more pronounced. “Sit up,” Joy commanded.

Instantly the huge tiger rose up and pawed at the air. Joy laughed at her. “She looks just like a kitten—a really big one!”

Karl, who was standing with his chair close beside them, had strapped on his pistol with the blanks. He kept his eyes cautiously on the cat and nodded. “She’s safe enough all right, but just remember she weighs nearly five hundred pounds. She could hurt you by accident, Joy.”

Joy went through the tricks Mabel had learned. She could easily make her sit up, lie down, and roll over. Then she led her to one of the high perches and got her to leap at her command. “Up, Mabel!” The tiger gracefully leaped to the top of the perch and then, again at Joy’s command, sat up.

“That’s great. You’re going to be taking my job one of these days, Joy.”

“I love the animals.”

“Well, Mabel’s one thing, but it gets a little harder with some of the others.”

Karl unlocked the door for her, and as Joy went out, she saw that Chase had been watching. He was wearing a pair of coveralls—his usual attire for cleaning out the cages. “Hello, Chase. Did you see me make Mabel do her tricks?”

“Yes, I did.”

Something about the spare tone of Chase’s voice caught at Joy. While Karl was busy getting the cat back into her cage, she asked Chase, “What’s the matter?”

Chase just shook his head, but something dark glowered in his eyes—like a permanent shadow. “You shouldn’t be getting in the cage with that tiger.”

“Why, she wouldn’t hurt anybody!”

“She can kill you, Joy.”

“But Karl’s always in there with me.”

Chase did not answer but turned away. “I guess I’d better get to work,” he said.

Joy had felt alienated from Chase in recent weeks. She knew he did not like her getting in the cage with Mabel, but she thought there was more to it than that. He had made it known that he did not like Karl Ritter’s methods of training animals. He felt they were cruel and dangerous. Joy wasn’t sure what to think, but now she said simply, “Don’t worry about me. I’ll be all right.”

****

At the performance that afternoon, Joy played a new role for the first time. As usual, she had ridden Ruth in the spec, then had been a watcher at the animal cage along with Chase and Benny. No problems there—the act had gone well. Immediately after that she had rushed to change into a tight-fitting silver costume covered in gold spangles. She no longer felt uneasy in the immodest circus costumes, accepting that it was all part of the show. She wore a spangled top hat and a coat with a frock tail also covered in spangles. She loved putting on this particular costume, and now she met Gypsy Dan, who grinned and winked at her. “You ready to send me to my death?”

“Don’t talk like that, Dan.”

“You know I’m just kidding. You look great. Go on out and get the crowd to liking me.”

As Joy moved toward the entrance of the arena she thought about how Gypsy Dan had asked her to become a part of his human cannonball act. She had been reluctant at first until he had explained that she wouldn’t actually be doing anything with the cannon. Her part was very simple.

Joy started paying attention when she heard Colonel House saying with a dramatic flair, “ . . . and this young lady holds the life of Dan Darvo in her hands. If she does not aim the cannon right or does anything at all wrong, we’ll have a tragedy on our hands. So I give you Miss Joy Smith!” Joy smiled
and ran to the back of the cannon, which was mounted on a large truck bed, turned a pirouette, and took a bow.

“And now, Mr. Dan Darvo, the human cannonball!”

Gypsy Dan came running lightly out into the spotlight wearing a sparkling white uniform with a cape. The young ladies in the audience always cheered and applauded louder than anybody else for this handsome, dark-skinned man with dark hair and flashing eyes. Joy helped him remove his cape and handed him his silver helmet. He fastened it on, then leaned forward and gave her a kiss on the cheek, surprising her. “Just a little extra special bonus for being my helper.” He winked, then climbed swiftly to the top of the ladder and slid feet first into the barrel. He paused to wave to the crowd and then disappeared.

She had actually done nothing yet, nor would she do anything really, but she understood that her part was simply to help create the illusion. The cannon was already pointed in exactly the right place. The net where Dan would land was securely in place. The control knobs on the back of the cannon were absolutely meaningless, but she would fiddle with them for show before the cannon was fired.

The colonel shouted out, “And now the final adjustments will be made, and in a few seconds you will see a human body doing what no human body was ever made to do. It will become a projectile—not of death, we trust, but there’s always that possibility.”

Joy turned wheels and pulled switches, none of which did anything to the cannon. Finally she heard Colonel House say, “When you’re ready, Miss Joy, you may send our brave friend into flight.”

Joy put her hand on a large lever. She paused dramatically and then pulled. There was a loud explosion—and a gasp from the crowd—while Dan was flung into space by a hydraulic spring inside the cannon.

Joy held her breath as the human projectile flashed out of the cannon and arced into the air. He held his body perfectly
straight, his hands before him in the manner of a diver. As he rose higher the crowd uttered a sustained “Ahhhh!” Joy had watched this many times, but her heart still seemed to stop. As always, Dan made a perfect slow turn and landed on his back in the net. Joy began applauding as he sprang to his feet, flipped over the edge of the net in the manner of an aerialist, and then took his bows. He came running back and pulled off his helmet. When Joy reached out to him, he kissed her hand and then turned to wave at the audience. The applause was long and enthusiastic, and when the two left the ring, Benny got into the cab and slowly backed the truck that was hauling the cannon out of the arena.

“You did great,” Dan said to Joy, giving her a big hug.

“I didn’t do anything, Dan. Just pretended to push buttons.”

“Are you going out with Ritter?” Dan asked.

The sudden question took Joy aback. “Why . . . what do you mean?”

“I mean are you two going together?”

“You know we’re not. I’ve been a few places with him but that’s all. It’s nothing like that.”

Dan reached out and put his hand under her chin. His black eyes were dancing as he said, “You went out with him just two days ago.”

“Yes, he took me to an ice show. It was the first one I’d ever seen.”

“Watch out for him.”

“I’ll watch out for
you,
Dan Darvo. You’re the one who gives girls trouble.”

****

Joy was exhausted after the evening performance. The day had been long and hard. She had taken another lesson from Karl after the afternoon performance, and then had worked with Dan, learning more about the elephants. She headed back toward Ella’s trailer as the crowds filed out and the
equipment was put away. She was mentally reviewing everything she had learned about elephants in the past year.
I used to think that big hook Dan uses would hurt the elephants, but you couldn’t hurt an elephant with a thing like that.
The hook was used only to give the animals direction and not to hurt them. She smiled at her own innocence.
If people realized how strong those animals are and how impossible it would be to hurt them with the hook, they wouldn’t think like that.