Billy Whiskers Part 10

"You and I will have to go hunt him, John, so go saddle two horses and we will start out. He must have turned into some of the lanes we pa.s.sed on our way here, and coaxed Betty off with him. They could easily get away without being noticed when the bridge broke down. You search the town and I will take the road and lanes."

While the men were looking for the two runaways, they were quietly grazing along the road that led to the town.

Now Billy got tired of the quiet and said, "Come Betty, let's go into the town and see the sights and have some fun, and maybe we can find a grocery store where there are good things setting outside to eat, or a fruit stand," for Billy had not forgotten how luscious the pears and peaches had tasted that he had stolen from a fruit stand one day.

This was agreeable to Betty and the two trotted along side by side toward the town. Presently they came to a large sign-board on which pictures of the circus were posted. There Billy spied himself pictured as trotting along with the monkey riding on his back and jumping through the paper hoops.

At sight of the monkey Billy got mad, as usual, and before Betty knew what he was going to do, he ran up to the fence and commenced trying to b.u.t.t it down, calling to Betty to come help kick it over.

They were thus employed when a farmer came along the road and, seeing them, took out his whip and drove them off.

They ran along before him for a while and then dropped back until he had pa.s.sed them. As soon as he had pa.s.sed, Billy spied on the back of his wagon a large basket of celery with the tops sticking out over the edge.

"Look, Betty, look!" cried Billy, pointing his nose in the direction of the wagon. "Let's follow on behind and eat up his celery. It will be a good joke on him." And the two scampered after the farmer and soon caught up, for he was driving slowly; and he could not see them for the things that were piled up high behind him.

When the two rascals caught up to the wagon they ate all the celery they wanted, which was more than half of it, as it was deliciously juicy and tasted fine. They had had no breakfast except some dusty gra.s.s that grew beside the road.

While they ate the farmer whistled low to himself and planned how he would sell his celery to the grocery man; and then, with the money, go to the circus, and see the wonderful astrologer that was neither goat nor man who was advertised to perform. He little guessed that the "Wonderful Astrologer" was at that moment eating up his celery and making it doubtful whether he would have any left or not.

Billy and Betty were still eating when a dog spied them and ran out from his yard after them. Billy turned and tried to hook him but the dog was too quick. He dodged, but in trying to escape from Billy he got too near Betty's heels and she gave him a kick in the side that sent him rolling over into the dust, yelping, and before he could get up Billy helped him up by sticking his horns under him and tossing him over the fence.

[Ill.u.s.tration: THE FARMER STOPPED TO SEE WHAT ALL THE ROW WAS ABOUT.]

The owner of the dog saw this and ran out calling for the farmer to stop or he would have him arrested for allowing his goat to hook his dog. The farmer stopped to see what all the row was about, and while the owner of the dog was shaking his fist in the farmer's face, and the farmer was trying to explain that the goat and mule, as he called Betty, did not belong to him, Billy and Betty sneaked off and disappeared down a side road and to their surprise found themselves facing the circus tents.

If they went forward the circus people would catch them, and if they went back, the angry man and farmer would be after them. As they stood discussing which way to go, it was decided for them, for the animal keeper on his horse turned into the lane behind them and drove them to the circus in double-quick time with his long whip.

All the way there he scolded them as he tried to crack them with his whip, and it was no fun being hit with it as it seemed to take a piece of flesh out each time it struck.

[Ill.u.s.tration]

Betty ran in among the Shetland ponies where she belonged and Billy dodged into the first tent he saw with the flap open. For a wonder it turned out to be the one where he belonged, and in less time than it takes to tell it Billy found himself chained beside the elephant.

"There, Master Billy, I guess you won't chew yourself loose in a hurry again, and have me chasing all over the country for you,"

said the animal keeper.

And to make up for his past bad behavior Billy performed better the next day than he had at any time.

_What Billy Did on Tuesday_

Tuesday turned out to be a dismal, cold, rainy day and Billy was glad enough to stay quietly in the tent. He thought it would be a good chance to become better acquainted with the animals in the cages and he decided to call on them all by beginning at one cage and visiting each in order until he had completed the circle.

He could not stay where he was, for Nancy, the old maid camel, made him nervous; she talked so much, and when she was not talking she chewed her cud like an old maid chews gum.

"How can you stand her?" Billy whispered to the elephant.

"Oh, I have got used to it," said the elephant, "and I don't hear her half the time, and when she gets _too_ bad I just pull the flops of my ears down tight to my head, and I can't hear a word.

And then I set my trunk to wobbling and make it nod 'yes' half the time and 'no' the other, and I find it answers quite well."

"But how do you know when to say 'yes' and when to say 'no'?"

Billy asked.

"I don't mind if I do answer wrong part of the time, and if I get too much off she stops talking altogether and that pleases me better, so you see it answers very well."

"But don't you get tired leading such an inactive life?" asked Billy.

"I used to," answered the elephant, "when I was younger, and before my mate died. But since she died and I have rheumatism I don't seem to care much, for without her there would be nothing to do if I did run away; beside your climate is so cold, and your forests so skinny and bare looking there would not be any fun living in them."

"Our forests skinny and bare looking, did you say? You don't know what you are talking about. I guess our forests are as nice as yours in India, and not half so full of snakes and chattering monkeys, to say nothing of the nasty crocodiles and hippopotamuses that you have in your rivers; and vines growing all over the trees and from one tree to another, so thickly you can't walk without making a path for yourself by breaking them down."

"Oh, but that is just what I like," said the elephant, "and the air is so hot and moist you feel fine, while here you are either all dried up with heat or s.h.i.+vering with cold."

"Well, every one to his taste, I suppose," and he walked over to the hyenas' cage to make their acquaintance, out of curiosity, as he knew little about hyenas.

"My, aren't they homely, sneaky, s.h.i.+fty-eyed looking things!"

thought Billy. "I would not like to meet one alone after dark, but still I hear they are cowardly and wait until one is dead before they try to eat him up. I don't think I will make a long call, for they grin and laugh too much, and their laughter has no mirth in it. It is just a loud guffaw." So he only stayed a few minutes and then went on to a beautiful white llama's cage.

"Good morning, Miss Llama," said Billy very politely, for he wished to get in the good graces of the beautiful Miss Llama whom he admired very much for her long, silky, white hair and mild, brown eyes.

"Good morning, Mr. Whiskers," she replied. "How do you find yourself after our Sat.u.r.day night's trip?"

"Very well," said Billy, "but I am afraid you must have had a bad shaking up where the bridge was broken, if you had to go down that steep embankment to cross the creek."

"You are right; it was steep," said the llama, "and I was nearly scared to death when I felt the water running into my cage and I had just given myself up as lost when it commenced to recede, and I was thrown on my knees by the cage being pulled with a jerk up the opposite bank. How did you get across?"

"Oh, easily! I just jumped across from one pier of the bridge to the other," said Billy. "I met a friend of mine and we went off and had a fine time. How I wish you could get out of that cage, so you could go with us sometime!"

"You don't wish it more than I do, and it always makes me weep, when we are driven along the sweet smelling roads, to think that I can't get out and must be shut in here for life."

"It really is a shame, for you are too pretty to be shut in a cage. Are you sure you can't break some of those bars some night and get out?"

"I am sure," said the llama, "for I have tried time and again."

"Well, Billy Whiskers, you are the 'consarnedest' goat I ever knew, and how in the 'd.i.c.kens' you managed to break that chain is more than I can tell," Billy and Miss Llama heard someone say behind them and looking round they saw the animal keeper.

"So, so; you simply pulled up the stake you were tied to when you found you could not chew your chain in two, did you? Well, come along with me; you have been idle long enough, and we are going to teach you some new tricks."

When Billy heard this his heart sank for he disliked the ring-master and was afraid they would make him stand on his hind-legs and walk. Had he only known it, that was the easiest thing he would have to do. He was led to the performing ring and there stood the hated ring-master facing a line of animals standing in a straight line reaching from one side of the ring to the other. In the middle stood the elephant, with the summer house, as Billy called it, on his back; next him stood a camel; next the camel a giraffe; next the giraffe a horse; next the horse, a zebra, and last a little Shetland pony. On the other side of the elephant were more animals standing in the same order.

"What in the world can they want of me," thought Billy, but he soon found out for they dressed him up as a clown in a white suit with red spots on it and tied a mask on his face and a pointed clown's cap on his head. Then they led him to where the pony stood and made him walk up a step ladder, onto a little platform, strapped to the pony's back. From this he was made to walk up another step onto a similar platform on the zebra's back; here he was made to stop and make a bow and so on until he had reached the little summer house on the elephant's back. This he was made to enter and sit upright on a little seat that was inside while the elephant started forward and walked out of the ring carrying Billy with him.

[Ill.u.s.tration]

After this he was dressed as a workman, with a pipe in his mouth and a hod of mortar strapped to his shoulder, and made to walk part way round the ring on his hind legs. Then he was allowed to rest and was given a bunch of carrots to eat. While he was eating these Betty was brought in hitched to a little low wheeled cart. Then a great Dane dog was brought in hitched to a similar cart. After that a man pulled in another cart like the other two and hitched Billy to that. The carts were painted red, white, and blue and trimmed with flags. Soon three little dogs dressed as ladies were carried in, put into the carts with the reins over their necks. Then the goat, burro, and dog were put neck to neck, ready to start on the race that was to begin when the ring-master cracked his whip.