CHAPTER XI
The two days that followed their arrival seemed to Derrick to be asuccession of hours born of delirium and nurtured by frenzy. Mr.Bloxford, still in his preposterous fur coat, was everywhere at once,and waving his hands as usual; Derrick, who had begun by shouting, soonbecame hoarse, and discovered why it was that Mr. Bloxford relied, onsuch occasions, entirely on gesture.
Derrick followed his example as well as he could, and by dint ofexpressive pantomime, and sometimes forcible persuasion with a fistwhich had acquired an astonishing readiness, got the motley crew ofquadrupeds and bipeds on dry land, formed up his column, marched it tothe spot outside the handsome city, and then sank on an upturned box,wiping his brows, and wondering, while he watched the experiencedbaggage hands deftly erect the monster tent, whether he should ever gethis voice back.
It was summer in England, but it was like winter here, a bland and mildwinter, with, fortunately for Bloxford's circus, no rain--at any rate,at present--and all through the day the scene had been lit up by abrilliant sun which, shining through a singularly clear atmosphere,seemed to destroy distance and to bestow sharp outlines on every object.There was something exhilarating in the air, and the bustle andexcitement, and Derrick, having rested, went to his canvas quartersfeeling his blood stir within him, and his past life stretching awaybehind him as if it had belonged to another man.
They opened to a big "house," comprising an audience of all classes, andit might be said all nationalities; for in the din that arose from thecrowd Derrick caught scraps of Italian, Spanish, and French, the thick,soft tone of the Mexican, the brogue of the Irishman; it was a veritableBabel. As he passed behind the opening through which the performersentered, Isabel Devigne stepped out from the women's dressing-room, andDerrick could not suppress a start of surprise and admiration.
As a kind of compliment to the country, she was made up to represent aqueen of the Incas, and was the personification of barbaric splendour.Her superb figure glittered and scintillated with silver and goldtinsel, which, in the garish light, would look like a plate of preciousmetal. A scarlet cloak partially draped her. The effect of her heightwas increased by a head-dress of waving plumes, and her dark brows andthe natural scarlet of her lips were intensified by her make-up. Ofcourse, she saw him start and the frank admiration in his eyes, and shesmiled as she drew herself up with a proud consciousness of her beauty.
"Shall I do?" she asked, knowing well what the answer would be.
"You're simply splendacious," Derrick assured her. "That costume suitsyou down to the ground. You're magnificent."
She flushed beneath her paint, and her lids drooped.
"I'm glad you like it," she said. "Yes, I think I shall knock them."
"You'll knock them silly," said Derrick, confidently.
Then Alice stepped out from the dressing-room, a very different figure,in her conventional short skirt and silk-clad legs. She looked veryslight and fragile, very fairy-like, against the gorgeous figure ofIsabel, and she glanced down at herself deprecatingly, then raised hereyes appealingly to Derrick, who responded promptly.
"You look too beautiful to be real, both of you," he said. "If the restare as good as you are, this show's going to be the biggest success onearth."
The band was now blaring away with all its might; the two clowns hadrolled into the ring, the master was cracking his whip, the horses,awaiting their turn impatiently, were pawing and breathing loudly. Mr.Bloxford, still in his fur coat, with a big cigar in full blast, wasseated in a coign of vantage from which he could see everything, hisSimian eyes darting everywhere, his jewelled hand ready to wave on thevarious items of the programme. The huge audience received the openingturns with a kind of judicial silence; but as Isabel, on a big blackhorse, came sweeping into the ring, a shout of admiration greeted her,and as she completed a really clever performance a roar of applausefilled the big tent. Sidcup, who was standing beside Derrick, nodded twoor three times with an air of satisfaction.
"Show's going well," he said. "We're making a good start. I shall give'em my double somersault act to-night; that ought to fetch 'em," headded, glancing down his perfectly-formed figure, clad in its skin-liketights.
"I'm sure it will," said Derrick, who had learned the value of a word ofencouragement. "Give 'em the best you've got. They've taken to MissDevigne immensely, haven't they? And no wonder."
Sidcup glanced at him sharply.
"You admire her? She's a great friend of yours, Mr. Green," he said,with a hint of significance in his tone.
"Oh, yes," assented Derrick, in a matter-of-fact way. "No one could helpadmiring her. She's one of the most beautiful women I've ever seen. Andher performance was wonderfully clever. Here she comes!"
The black horse, with its magnificent rider, came through the opening,and Derrick, as he caught the bridle, looked up and nodded hiscongratulations. Sidcup approached also, and began to praise her; butshe merely glanced at him. Her eyes fixed themselves on Derrick, and sherested her hand on his shoulder for a moment as she slipped from herhorse. Sidcup noticed her little action, and his face darkened. At thismoment Mr. Bloxford's hand waved towards him; his turn had come, and hesprang into the ring with the acrobat's conventional bow and gesture.After trying his ropes carefully, he swarmed up to the trapeze; themusic of the band slowed down, and became impressive. In almostbreathless silence, Derrick and the audience watched the man as he wentthrough his performance. It was an extremely clever and daring one, andhe brought it to a close by turning a double somersault as he left onetrapeze and caught the other, a feat which made all who watched it holdtheir breath.
The audience roared at him, Mr. Bloxford waved him on twice to bow hisacknowledgments, and Derrick, as Sidcup came tripping out of the ring,met him and held out a hand.
"Simply stunning!" said Derrick. "Cleverest thing of the kind I eversaw. You must have the pluck of the devil. You made my heart turn over.Wonderful, wasn't it, Miss Devigne?"
She took her eyes from Derrick for an instant, and smiled at Sidcup, buther gaze returned to Derrick's face, and Sidcup's smile vanished as hepassed them without a word.
Alice, too, got her share of the applause for her very pretty andrefined act of horsemanship. The rest of the company, heartened by theprevious successes, did their best, and an evidently well-pleasedaudience streamed out into the cool, clear air. Sent for by Mr.Bloxford, Derrick went to the manager's tent or office.
"Congratulations, sir!" he said.
"Here, help me count this," commanded Mr. Bloxford, nodding to the heapof notes and coin. "Yes, it's been a good start, and a jolly good thingfor us that they were pleased. I've heard since I've been here that ifthey don't ketch on, if they don't cotton to the show, they're apt tocut up rough. A man at the hotel told me that the last circus waswrecked, clean wrecked. Something they didn't like got their monkey up."
"Oh, we're all right, anyhow," said Derrick. "Our people are all verypleased. They're going to have a kind of beano over the supper. You'llcome along, Mr. Bloxford; they'll want you."
"All right," said Mr. Bloxford. "But it seems to me that you're thepopular man of this crowd. Oh, I don't walk about in my sleep, youngman. I can see as far as a blind horse. You've got through your bit likea little man; and no nonsense, neither--no side and no frills. And nofooling about with the women, eh?"
He shot a glance at Derrick who shrugged his shoulders, and Mr.Bloxford, after another glance, appeared to be satisfied with the shrug.
After they had counted the money as best they could, for some of it wasstrange to them, and had locked it in the safe, they joined the company.Their appearance was hailed with a cheer. Mr. Bloxford was conducted,with theatrical pomp, to the head of the trestle-board which served as atable, and Derrick, after some protest, was installed at the bottom. Thesimple, almost child-like, folk enjoyed themselves amazingly. Bloxford'sand Derrick's health was drunk, and it was with unfeigned reluctancethat Derrick at last broke up the party and ordered them off to the restthey ha
d so well earned.
On the second night there was another packed audience; but there was alarger proportion of the rougher element, and Mr. Bloxford remarked onthe fact somewhat anxiously to Derrick.
"There's always a lot of cowboys in the city," he said, "and there's agood many of them here to-night. They come in from the plains for alark, and they generally see that they get it."
"Oh, they'll be all right," said Derrick. "They're bound to be pleased."
"Well, keep an eye on things," remarked Mr. Bloxford, who was evidentlystill rather uneasy. "It there's any disturbance, turn on the band. Makethem play like blazes, the louder the better."
Derrick nodded, and hurried off to overlook things. He found that thewomen were rather nervous, for they had heard of the fate of the lastcircus; but they, too, were encouraged by his cool and easy manner andthe few words of cheer which seemed to come so easily to him. The earlyturns went well, especially those of Isabel, Alice, and Sidcup. Sidcup'swas followed by an exhibition of bareback riding by two men. One of themon this occasion was Jackman, who was taking the place of a rider whohad strained his ankle on the previous night. Jackman had been drinking,not heavily, or Derrick would have noticed the fact, but just enough tomake him unsteady and uncertain, and in attempting to leap from theground to the horse while it was in motion he missed and sprawled on thetan.
A roar of ridicule rose from the cheaper part of the house. Jackmansprang to his feet, ran across the ring, and made another attempt; andfailed again. The roar of mockery rose now like one vast derisive cheer.Jackman, glaring round the audience, his lips drawn from his teeth in asnarl, waited till the horse came round, then struck at it, as if toshow that the animal and not he was in fault.
The laughter, derision, gave place suddenly to a yell of objurgation.Two young men, obviously cowboys, sprang over the low barrier, andJackman, after a moment's hesitation, turned and ran. One of the cowboyscaught the horse, and the audience, breathless and silent now, waitedfor events. Derrick, who had been watching the scene closely, cameslowly, almost saunteringly, across the ring to the two young men.