CHAPTER XXIX
"Guess I'll have to wash my hands of him," Collins told Johnny. "I knowDel Mar must have been right when he said he was the limit, but I can'tget a clue to it."
This followed upon a fight between Michael and Collins. Michael, moremorose than ever, had become even crusty-tempered, and, scarcely withprovocation at all, had attacked the man he hated, failing, as ever, toput his teeth into him, and receiving, in turn, a couple of smashingkicks under his jaw.
"He's like a gold-mine all right all right," Collins meditated, "but I'mhanged if I can crack it, and he's getting grouchier every day. Look athim. What'd he want to jump me for? I wasn't rough with him. He'spiling up a sour-ball that'll make him fight a policeman some day."
A few minutes later, one of his patrons, a tow-headed young man who wasboarding and rehearsing three performing leopards at Cedarwild, wasasking Collins for the loan of an Airedale.
"I've only got one left now," he explained, "and I ain't safe withouttwo."
"What's happened to the other one?" the master-trainer queried.
"Alphonso--that's the big buck leopard--got nasty this morning andsettled his hash. I had to put him out of his misery. He was guttedlike a horse in the bull-ring. But he saved me all right. If it hadn'tbeen for him I'd have got a mauling. Alphonso gets these bad streaksjust about every so often. That's the second dog he's killed for me."
Collins shook his head.
"Haven't got an Airedale," he said, and just then his eyes chanced tofall on Michael. "Try out the Irish terrier," he suggested. "They'relike the Airedale in disposition. Pretty close cousins, at any rate."
"I pin my faith on the Airedale when it comes to lion dogs," the leopardman demurred.
"So's an Irish terrier a lion dog. Take that one there. Look at thesize and weight of him. Also, take it from me, he's all spunk. He'llstand up to anything. Try him out. I'll lend him to you. If he makesgood I'll sell him to you cheap. An Irish terrier for a leopard dog willbe a novelty."
"If he gets fresh with them cats he'll find his finish," Johnny toldCollins, as Michael was led away by the leopard man.
"Then, maybe, the stage will lose a star," Collins answered, with a shrugof shoulders. "But I'll have him off my chest anyway. When a dog gets aperpetual sour-ball like that he's finished. Never can do a thing withthem. I've had them on my hands before."
* * * * *
And Michael went to make the acquaintance of Jack, the survivingAiredale, and to do his daily turn with the leopards. In the big spottedcats he recognized the hereditary enemy, and, even before he was thrustinto the cage, his neck was all a-prickle as the skin nervously tightenedand the hair uprose stiff-ended. It was a nervous moment for allconcerned, the introduction of a new dog into the cage. The tow-headedleopard man, who was billed on the boards as Raoul Castlemon and wascalled Ralph by his intimates, was already in the cage. The Airedale waswith him, while outside stood several men armed with iron bars and longsteel forks. These weapons, ready for immediate use, were thrust betweenthe bars as a menace to the leopards who were, very much against theirwills, to be made to perform.
They resented Michael's intrusion on the instant, spitting, lashing theirlong tails, and crouching to spring. At the same instant the trainerspoke with sharp imperativeness and raised his whip, while the men on theoutside lifted their irons and advanced them intimidatingly into thecage. And the leopards, bitter-wise of the taste of the iron, remainedcrouched, although they still spat and whipped their tails angrily.
Michael was no coward. He did not slink behind the man for protection.On the other hand, he was too sensible to rush to attack such formidablecreatures. What he did do, with bristling neck-hair, was to stalk stiff-leggedly across the cage, turn about with his face toward the danger, andstalk stiffly back, coming to a pause alongside of Jack, who gave him agood-natured sniff of greeting.
"He's the stuff," the trainer muttered in a curiously tense voice. "Theydon't get his goat."
The situation was deservedly tense, and Ralph developed it with cautiouscare, making no abrupt movements, his eyes playing everywhere over dogsand leopards and the men outside with the prods and bars. He made thesavage cats come out of their crouch and separate from one another. Athis word of command, Jack walked about among them. Michael, on his owninitiative, followed. And, like Jack, he walked very stiffly on hisguard and very circumspectly.
One of them, Alphonso, spat suddenly at him. He did not startle, thoughhis hair rippled erect and he bared his fangs in a silent snarl. At thesame moment the nearest iron bar was shoved in threateningly close toAlphonso, who shifted his yellow eyes from Michael to the bar and backagain and did not strike out.
The first day was the hardest. After that the leopards accepted Michaelas they accepted Jack. No love was lost on either side, nor werefriendly overtures ever offered. Michael was quick to realize that itwas the men and dogs against the cats and that the men and does muststand together. Each day he spent from an hour to two hours in the cage,watching the rehearsing, with nothing for him and Jack to do save standvigilantly on guard. Sometimes, when the leopards seemed better natured,Ralph even encouraged the two dogs to lie down. But, on bad mornings, hesaw to it that they were ever ready to spring in between him and anypossible attack.
For the rest of the time Michael shared his large pen with Jack. Theywere well cared for, as were all animals at Cedarwild, receiving frequentscrubbings and being kept clean of vermin. For a dog only three yearsold, Jack was very sedate. Either he had never learned to play or hadalready forgotten how. On the other hand, he was sweet-tempered andequable, and he did not resent the early shows of crustiness whichMichael made. And Michael quickly ceased from being crusty and tookpleasure in their quiet companionship. There were no demonstrations.They were content to lie awake by the hour, merely pleasantly aware ofeach other's proximity.
Occasionally, Michael could hear Sara making a distant scene or sendingout calls which he knew were for him. Once she got away from her keeperand located Michael coming out of the leopard cage. With a shrill squealof joy she was upon him, clinging to him and chattering the hystericaltale of all her woes since they had been parted. The leopard man lookedon tolerantly and let her have her few minutes. It was her keeper whotore her away in the end, cling as she would to Michael, screaming allthe while like a harridan. When her hold was broken, she sprang at theman in a fury, and, before he could throttle her to subjection, sank herteeth into his thumb and wrist. All of which was provocative of greathilarity to the onlookers, while her squalls and cries excited theleopards to spitting and leaping against their bars. And, as she wasborne away, she set up a soft wailing like that of a heart-broken child.
* * * * *
Although Michael proved a success with the leopards, Raoul Castlemonnever bought him from Collins. One morning, several days later, thearena was vexed by uproar and commotion from the animal cages. Theexcitement, starting with revolver shots, was communicated everywhere.The various lions raised a great roaring, and the many dogs barkedfrantically. All tricks in the arena stopped, the animals temporarilyunstrung and unable to continue. Several men, among them Collins, ran inthe direction of the cages. Sara's keeper dropped her chain in order tofollow.
"It's Alphonso--shillings to pence it is," Collins called to one of hisassistants who was running beside him. "He'll get Ralph yet."
The affair was all but over and leaping to its culmination when Collinsarrived. Castlemon was just being dragged out, and as Collins ran hecould see the two men drop him to the ground so that they might slam thecage-door shut. Inside, in so wildly struggling a tangle on the floorthat it was difficult to discern what animals composed it, were Alphonso,Jack, and Michael looked together. Men danced about outside, thrustingin with iron bars and trying to separate them. In the far end of thecage were the other two leopards, nursing their wounds and snarling andstriking at the iron rods that kept them out of the combat.
Sara's arrival and what followed was a matter of seconds. Trailing herchain behind her, the little green monkey, the tailed female who knewlove and hysteria and was remote cousin to human women, flashed up to thenarrow cage-bars and squeezed through. Simultaneously the tangleunderwent a violent upheaval. Flung out with such force as to be smashedagainst the near end of the cage, Michael fell to the floor, tried tospring up, but crumpled and sank down, his right shoulder streaming bloodfrom a terrible mauling and crushing. To him Sara leaped, throwing herarms around him and mothering him up to her flat little hairy breast. Sheuttered solicitous cries, and, as Michael strove to rise on his ruinedforeleg, scolded him with sharp gentleness and with her arms tried tohold him away from the battle. Also, in an interval, her eyes malevolentin her rage, she chattered piercing curses at Alphonso.
A crowbar, shoved into his side, distracted the big leopard. He struckat the weapon with his paw, and, when it was poked into him again, flunghimself upon it, biting the naked iron with his teeth. With a secondfling he was against the cage bars, with a single slash of paw rippingdown the forearm of the man who had poked him. The crowbar was droppedas the man leaped away. Alphonso flung back on Jack, a sorry antagonistby this time, who could only pant and quiver where he lay in the welterof what was left of him.
Michael had managed to get up on his three legs and was striving tostumble forward against the restraining arms of Sara. The mad leopardwas on the verge of springing upon them when deflected by another prod ofthe iron. This time he went straight at the man, fetching up against thecage-bars with such fierceness as to shake the structure.
More men began thrusting with more rods, but Alphonso was not to bebalked. Sara saw him coming and screamed her shrillest and savagest athim. Collins snatched a revolver from one of the men.
"Don't kill him!" Castlemon cried, seizing Collins's arm.
The leopard man was in a bad way himself. One arm dangled helplessly athis side, while his eyes, filling with blood from a scalp wound, he wipedon the master-trainer's shoulder so that he might see.
"He's my property," he protested. "And he's worth a hundred sick monkeysand sour-balled terriers. Anyway, we'll get them out all right. Give mea chance.--Somebody mop my eyes out, please. I can't see. I've used upmy blank cartridges. Has anybody any blanks?"
One moment Sara would interpose her body between Michael and the leopard,which was still being delayed by the prodding irons; and the next momentshe would turn to screech at the fanged cat is if by very advertisementof her malignancy she might intimidate him into keeping back.
Michael, dragging her with him, growling and bristling, staggered forwarda couple of three-legged steps, gave at the ruined shoulder, andcollapsed. And then Sara did the great deed. With one last scream ofutmost fury, she sprang full into the face of the monstrous cat, tearingand scratching with hands and feet, her mouth buried into the roots ofone of its stubby ears. The astounded leopard upreared, with hisforepaws striking and ripping at the little demon that would not let go.
The fight and the life in the little green monkey lasted a short tenseconds. But this was sufficient for Collins to get the door ajar andwith a quick clutch on Michael's hind-leg jerk him out and to the ground.