The Fiery Ring (31 page)

Stella smiled then and said, “Do you feel like talking about our deal?”

“Sure.” Chase got to his feet and picked up the bloody shirt. “You can’t wear that,” Stella said. “I’ll get one of Maurice’s shirts. Come on.”

Chase turned and said, “Thanks for the patchwork, Joy, and thanks for being a watcher.”

Joy could think of nothing to say in return other than, “Take care of that arm, Chase.”

“I will.”

“Come on, Chase. We’ve got a lot to discuss.” Stella’s voice was insistent, and she turned swiftly and stared at Joy, who had stood up. “Chase is the man for this job, Joy. You won’t be going into any cage unless he says so. You understand that, don’t you?”

“Yes, Mrs. House.”

“Good. Come along, Chase.” She put a possessive hand on Chase’s arm and led him out of the trailer. Joy stood unmoving and then sat down again. She whispered, “He’s never gotten over her, and she’s still in love with him. That’s easy enough to see.” This thought angered her, and she got to her feet and began to clean up, furiously telling herself, “I’ll show him. My name will be up there just as big as his!”

CHAPTER NINETEEN

Bitterness Will Kill You

The mighty body of the elephant beneath Joy swayed from side to side. So accustomed was she to riding Ruth that she no longer grasped the harness, but threw her hands straight up in the air and smiled at the crowd, which applauded as the last spec of the season drew to an end. A pang went through Joy as her eyes swept the audience. She looked both ahead of her, then back at the line of performers, and thought,
I’m going to miss all of this so much!

The circus had reached as far north as Omaha, but that was the end of the line for the circus until early March. With all the big cats going to Ringling Brothers and no other big act to draw the crowds, Stella had decided to shut the show down entirely while Chase trained the new lions and tigers.

The crashing notes of the circus band reverberated as Joy tried to absorb all of it—the sounds, the colors of the brilliant costumes, the smells. Now that it was over—at least for the winter break—she wondered with panic,
What am I going to do with myself?
The uncertainty that swept through Joy had become too familiar. Since Chase had returned, her peace of mind had fled. She had worked hard doing her part of the act with Mabel and continued doing the human cannonball routine with Travis. She had also done the elephant act, but somehow everything seemed out of joint. Her relationship with Chase, she knew, lay at the heart of her discontent, and now as she looked around, he was not there. She knew he was
back with the new cats, for he spent every spare moment of his time working with them.

Karl Ritter’s mother had kept in touch with Stella by mail, giving her an update on his condition periodically. The wounds had been bad, and Karl had spent a full six weeks in the hospital in Jackson. In mid-September he had finally been stable enough to continue his recovery at his parents’ home in Monroe, Louisiana. His face was severely scarred, and he would never again be the handsome man he had been before his accident. Even though he was finally healthy and active again, rejoining the circus wasn’t something he would consider.

Chase had performed almost a miracle, everyone said, finishing out the season with cats he had not trained himself and which were not amiable to his own style. He had spent an enormous amount of time locating new animals, and two weeks ago he had taken the train across the country to view a group of young lions that had suddenly come on the market. He had returned with them and had been working with them every moment he could spare from other duties.

Ruth lifted her trunk back over her head, and as always, Joy plucked apple quarters out of the small bag she kept tied around her waist under the spangled cloak she wore. She fed Ruth the pieces one by one as the animals rolled back out of the tent. When she was clear of the main tent, without waiting for Ruth to lift her leg for a footstep, Joy slipped to the ground. She saw Slim Madden, who was an elephant man himself, and said, “Take care of the bulls, will you, Slim?”

“Sure will, Miss Joy.”

It sounded strange to call female elephants “bulls,” but that was the way of the circus. Slim said, “Well, it’s home sweet home, ain’t it?”

Joy turned and stared at the gangly individual. “What do you mean ‘home sweet home’?”

Surprise swept across Slim’s homely face. “Oh, I guess you wouldn’t know, since we worked right through the winter last
year. That’s what we call the last show of the season—home sweet home.”

“I guess I’m still learning the circus lingo after all this time.” Joy made her way through the milling crowd, avoiding the animals being herded back to the menagerie. There was a great hubbub of voices and laughter, and she wished she could join in, but the best she could do was to put an artificial smile on her face as people greeted her.

Pete Delaney suddenly stepped in front of her, causing her to stop abruptly. He had a harried look on his face, even more so than usual. “As you know, Joy, we’re gonna break up in the morning and go to Sarasota for winter quarters. We’re short a driver for one of the trucks, so I want you and Travis to drive it back.”

“All right, Pete.”

As she left the hubbub of activity and made her way to the trailer, Joy tried to put her uncertainties out of her mind. All she wanted at the moment was to be alone.

When she entered the trailer, she took off her costume and took a shower. After drying off and changing into her pajamas and robe, she pulled out her journal and began to write.

Well, it’s all over until next spring. I’ve just found out that the last show of the season is called “home sweet home.” We’ll be tearing down in the morning and going to Sarasota, Florida. I’ve never been there, but they say it’s a nice place to spend the winter.

Travis and I will be driving a truck through, Pete has just told me, but it won’t be long before Travis is going to Bible school. He’s going to a place in Chicago called Moody Bible Institute. I’m glad for him. He’s so happy and so anxious to get started on his training.

She paused for a moment and listened to the noise that filtered through the trailer. There was a celebration going on, and she expected there would be quite a bit of liquor flowing. By now she was used to the fact that quite a few of the circus people were hard drinkers. The thought of drinking made her think of Chase, and a frown creased her brow as she began to write again:

Chase is spending too much time with Stella. Ever since he came back and took over the big cat act, they have had their heads together. I know sometimes she just wants to talk to him about his plans for next year and about the business of buying new animals, but she never misses a chance to touch him. I’m afraid he’s going to make a fool of himself over her.

Writing this down depressed Joy, and she took the pen and held it up before her eyes, remembering how thrilled she had been when Chase had given it to her for her seventeenth birthday. She noted also the silver ring with the turquoise setting that he had given her on her last birthday. She treasured both of them.

Her thoughts returned to Stella’s behavior with Chase. It was obvious to everyone that she was trying to get him back. Why couldn’t Chase see it?

A loud burst of laughter somewhere near her trailer caught her attention, and she listened, but then wondered why she had deliberately chosen not to go to the celebration. She had learned to love her circus family, even those who had some pretty glaring faults. As she thought about the shortcomings of some of her friends, her mind wandered to the Tatums. She stirred uneasily as she tried to shove them out of her mind. Finally she picked up the pen and wrote, pressing down with unnecessary hardness:

I can’t forget what Albert Tatum did to Travis and me. I had hoped to put the furniture that belonged to Mom and Dad in my home someday, and now they’ve taken it. And they put all of Mom and Dad’s other stuff in the attic, and the mice are going to get at it. Travis tells me I ought not to have hard feelings toward them, but I can’t help it.

Joy lifted her head as an idea came to her. She impulsively threw off her robe, changed into a dress, and left the trailer. She went to find Pete and discovered that he had gone back to his own trailer. When she reached it and knocked on the door, he opened it and looked at her with surprise. “What are you doing here, Joy? I thought you’d be celebrating.”

“I’ve got a favor to ask, Pete.”

“Well, you don’t ask many. What is it?”

“You know how we’ll be driving that trailer down south to Sarasota?”

“Yeah, what about it?”

“We’re not too far from my old home, Pete. Would it be all right if Travis and I took the truck and went there first before we go to Florida? I’d like to get some of our things. I’m afraid they’ll get lost if we don’t.”

“Sure, if you’ll pay for the extra gas.”

“Thanks, Pete, we’ll take care of that.”

Joy whirled and half ran away from the Delaneys’ trailer. She had no trouble finding Travis, who was with a group of the web-sitters, the men who held down the ropes as the performers did their acts.

“Travis, come here. I have to tell you something.”

“Sure, sis.” Travis followed Joy with a surprised look as she tugged on his arm. She took him away from the crowds, then turned and faced him squarely. “Did Pete say anything to you about driving one of the trucks back through to Sarasota?”

“He just told me about it. He said the two of us could go together. That’ll be good. We’ll have some time together that way.”

“I just talked to Pete,” Joy said quickly. “I asked him if we could use the truck to go back to our old home first and pick up some things, and he said we could.”

“You mean go back to Uncle Albert’s?”

“Yes. They’ve got things that belong to us, Travis.”

“They’re not going to give up that furniture, sis. You might as well make up your mind to that.”

“It’s our furniture, not theirs!”

“Well, you know how he is. I don’t think it’s a good idea.” As a matter of fact, Travis had been disturbed about Joy. He had discovered the streak of bitterness that lay not deep beneath the surface concerning the Tatums, and he had tried to gently dislodge some of it. But she had been adamant, and now as he stood there hesitantly, he said, “Well, I think it’s a bad idea, but they’d probably let us get the things out of the attic, I guess.”

“Good,” Joy said. “We’ll leave first thing after tearing down in the morning.”

****

The truck was old but ran passably well as Travis and Joy pulled out of Omaha. The weather was cold, for it was now the beginning of winter, and once, as they ambled across Nebraska, Travis grinned at her. “I’m sure glad we won’t have to stay here long. I had enough of these cold winters up here. It’ll be great to be in Florida again.”

Joy was enjoying the trip. She put her problems with the circus out of her mind and turned to smile at her brother. “Me too,” she said.

Traveling across Nebraska gave Joy an idea. “Let’s stop and see Sister Hannah, Travis. It’s not that far out of the way.”

“Say, I’d like to meet that lady. From all you’ve told me about her, I think she and I would get along.”

As they pulled into Arnold, Nebraska, Joy pointed excitedly. “Look, that old caboose is still there, the one where Chase and I stayed for a couple of nights. Turn here,” she said, directing him to Sister Hannah’s house. The truck stopped, and Joy scrambled out eagerly, with Travis following close behind. As they approached the house a large German shepherd started barking, and Travis said, “I hope he doesn’t bite.”

“Come here, Jake. Good boy.”

The big shepherd, hearing his name, quieted down and came forward, wagging his tail, to get a pat on his head. “Chase tamed him. He was as wild as a tiger,” Joy said. “I hope Sister Hannah’s at home.”

No sooner had she said it than the door swung open and a voice sang out, “Well, I never! Look what the wind blowed in. Come on in out of the weather.”

“That’s Sister Hannah,” Joy said. “Come on, Travis.”

She led Travis to the house, and Joy found herself enveloped in the big woman’s arms. “Well, look at you, now! Done growed up and everything. And who’s this with you? I thought it was Chase at first.”

“No, this is my brother, Travis. Travis, this is Sister Hannah Smith.”

Travis had pulled his hat off and smiled and put his hand out. “I’m proud to meet you, Sister Smith. I’ve wanted to thank you for everything you did for my sister and for Chase.”

“Oh, don’t mention it! Come on in. I’ll bet you two could eat a little bit, couldn’t you?”

“We sure could,” Joy said. “I’ve thought about your cookin’ ever since we left.”

“Well, come on in. It won’t take long to whip up a bite.”

****

Sister Hannah’s “bite” turned out to be a meal fit for royalty—pork chops, mashed potatoes, green beans, pickled beets, fresh baked bread, and an apple pie. Hospitality was Hannah’s middle name, and she was always ready to serve
unexpected visitors. Travis leaned back and patted his stomach as he surveyed the remnants. “I can’t eat another bite, Sister Hannah. I’ve never had a better meal.”