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diff --git a/.gitattributes b/.gitattributes new file mode 100644 index 0000000..d7b82bc --- /dev/null +++ b/.gitattributes @@ -0,0 +1,4 @@ +*.txt text eol=lf +*.htm text eol=lf +*.html text eol=lf +*.md text eol=lf diff --git a/LICENSE.txt b/LICENSE.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6312041 --- /dev/null +++ b/LICENSE.txt @@ -0,0 +1,11 @@ +This eBook, including all associated images, markup, improvements, +metadata, and any other content or labor, has been confirmed to be +in the PUBLIC DOMAIN IN THE UNITED STATES. + +Procedures for determining public domain status are described in +the "Copyright How-To" at https://www.gutenberg.org. + +No investigation has been made concerning possible copyrights in +jurisdictions other than the United States. Anyone seeking to utilize +this eBook outside of the United States should confirm copyright +status under the laws that apply to them. diff --git a/README.md b/README.md new file mode 100644 index 0000000..af578ce --- /dev/null +++ b/README.md @@ -0,0 +1,2 @@ +Project Gutenberg (https://www.gutenberg.org) public repository for +eBook #69477 (https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/69477) diff --git a/old/69477-0.txt b/old/69477-0.txt deleted file mode 100644 index 6aaf445..0000000 --- a/old/69477-0.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,6354 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg eBook of Joe Strong, the boy wizard, by Vance -Barnum - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and -most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions -whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms -of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at -www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you -will have to check the laws of the country where you are located before -using this eBook. - -Title: Joe Strong, the boy wizard - or The mysteries of magic exposed - -Author: Vance Barnum - -Release Date: December 4, 2022 [eBook #69477] - -Language: English - -Produced by: Richard Tonsing and the Online Distributed Proofreading - Team at https://www.pgdp.net (This book was produced from - images made available by the HathiTrust Digital Library.) - -*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK JOE STRONG, THE BOY -WIZARD *** - - - - - - JOE STRONG - THE BOY WIZARD - OR - _THE MYSTERIES OF MAGIC EXPOSED_ - - - BY - VANCE BARNUM - - Author of “Joe Strong on the Trapeze,” “Joe Strong, the Boy Fish,” “Joe - Strong on the High Wire,” “Joe Strong and His Wings of Steel,” etc. - - - WHITMAN PUBLISHING CO. - RACINE, WISCONSIN - - - - - BOOKS FOR BOYS - BY - VANCE BARNUM - - - THE JOE STRONG SERIES - - JOE STRONG, THE BOY WIZARD - _Or, The Mysteries of Magic Exposed_ - - JOE STRONG ON THE TRAPEZE - _Or, The Daring Feats of a Young Circus Performer_ - - JOE STRONG, THE BOY FISH - _Or, Marvelous Doings in a Big Tank_ - - JOE STRONG ON THE HIGH WIRE - _Or, Motor-Cycle Perils of the Air_ - - JOE STRONG AND HIS WINGS OF STEEL - _Or, A Young Acrobat in the Clouds_ - - JOE STRONG—HIS BOX OF MYSTERY - _Or, The Ten Thousand Dollar Prize Trick_ - - JOE STRONG, THE BOY FIRE EATER - _Or, The Most Dangerous Performance on Record_ - - COPYRIGHT, 1916 - GEORGE SULLY & COMPANY - - Printed by - WESTERN PRINTING & LITHOGRAPHING CO. - Racine, Wisconsin - - Printed in U. S. A. - - - - - JOE STRONG, THE BOY WIZARD - - - - - CHAPTER I - JOE SOLVES A PUZZLE - - -“How did he do it? That’s what I’d like to know.” - -“So would I. It sure was a queer trick all right—and it looked so easy, -too.” - -“Well, I’ve tried to guess, but I can’t. The more I think of it the more -I believe that the professor really is a magician, in a certain way.” - -“Pooh! It couldn’t be anything like that! It was just a trick, like all -the others he did. But I’d like to know how to do it.” - -Four boys sat under the shade of a big willow tree in a grassy meadow on -the bank of a stream. They were earnestly discussing something, the -import of which may be gathered from their talk. - -“I tried to do the trick after I got home last night,” confessed Harry -Martin. - -“You didn’t do it, did you?” asked Charlie Ford, rumpling up his red -hair. Charlie was not at all ashamed of his red hair. His sister Mazie -called it “auburn,” but Charlie himself stuck to plain “red.” - -“Do it? I should say not!” cried Harry. “I didn’t come within a mile of -it, and our folks just laughed at me.” - -“And yet how easy Professor Rosello did it,” observed Henry Blake. - -“Yes, and he didn’t have any machinery or truck on the stage to do it -with, as he had for his other tricks,” remarked Tom Simpson. “All he had -was a plain slate, same as the little kids use in our school.” - -“It must have been a trick slate,” said Harry. “That’s the only way I -can account for the figures getting on it.” - -“No, there wasn’t any trick about the slate,” declared Charlie Ford. “I -was sitting right up front, and he passed the slate to me first, to look -at. There wasn’t a sign of a number on it when I had it.” - -“And you handed it right over to Mr. Burton to hold, didn’t you?” asked -Tom. - -“Yes; and Mr. Burton held it until the figures came out on it—under the -handkerchief, of course. It sure was a good trick.” Charlie shook his -head in wonderment. - -“I’d like to know how it was done,” said Henry Blake. “But I don’t -s’pose he’d tell us if we asked him. He’s in town yet. I saw him around -the hotel when I came past a little while ago.” - -“It isn’t very likely he’d tell us how he did it,” said Harry. “That’s -the way he makes his living—by doing magical tricks—and it isn’t to be -supposed that he’d give away his secrets. But all the same——” - -“Hello, fellows! What’s up now?” asked a new voice. “Talking secrets -that you don’t want me to hear?” - -The four boys, gathered under the willow tree, looked up quickly. Looks -of welcome accompanied by smiles greeted the newcomer. - -“Hello, Joe!” shouted Charlie Ford. - -“Say, you’re looking good!” added Tom. - -“I’m feeling good,” was the response. “What’s up?” - -“Oh, we’re just talking about the show last night. You were there, -weren’t you?” - -“Yes, I saw the great Professor Alonzo Rosello give his world-mystifying -exhibition of black and allied arts,” and Joe smiled as he quoted from -the circulars that had been scattered broadcast over the town of -Bedford, advertising the exhibition given in the Opera House the -previous evening. - -“What did you think of him?” asked Henry Blake. - -“Why, he was pretty fair in some things,” said Joe, slowly. - -“Pretty fair? Why, say! he was great!” cried Tom Simpson. “I’d like to -see you do even the simplest trick that he did!” - -“Perhaps I can,” replied Joe, quietly. - -His chums looked curiously at him. And, for the moment, we can do no -better than to observe this boy, who had sunk down in an easy position -on the grass. A moment’s study of him now will help greatly in -understanding the nature of a youth destined to have many curious and -thrilling adventures. And he was a lad well adapted by nature for a life -of daring excitement. - -Briefly, Joe Strong was a remarkable boy. From the time of his early -infancy he had never known what it was to be ill or ailing. Even the -simplest childish diseases seemed to pass him by as one too strong and -sturdy to try to weaken. He had a superb physical form, and as soon as -he was old enough to take regular exercise he added to his suppleness -and strength in a systematic way. - -There was no better runner, jumper, swimmer, diver or all-around athlete -in Bedford than Joe Strong. Added to this he could ride any horse he -ever saw; he could climb to the roof of the church and walk the ridge -pole, with never a qualm of dizziness; he was an excellent shot with a -rifle; and he could juggle with stones, baseball bats, balls—in fact -with almost anything that he could handle. Taking it all in all, Joe was -rather remarkable. - -Another point in his favor, and one that was destined to stand him in -good stead in after life, was the fact that he seemed absolutely without -nerves. Rather be it said that his nerves were under such perfect -control that he was their master, not their slave. It took high-strung -but perfectly controlled nerves to do some of the things Joe did. - -The secret of his abilities, if secret it was, lay in the fact that his -mother, now dead some years, had been one of the most daring bareback -riders in any circus that ever toured the country. She was billed as -Madame Hortense, though her name was Mrs. Janet Strong. She was an -English woman, and Joe dimly remembered hearing that before her marriage -her name had been Willoughby. Beyond that fact he knew little of his -mother’s early history. - -But it was not alone from his mother that Joe inherited certain health, -nerve, daring, ability to ride a horse and to take risks higher up off -this solid earth than most persons care to go. He also was indebted to -his father for many of his talents and abilities. - -Professor Morretti—known in private life as Alexander Strong—had been in -his day, one of the best-known and best-drawing (from a theatrical -standpoint) magicians that ever brought a live rabbit out of a silk hat, -or locked himself up in a solid box, only to be found missing when the -box was opened, the professor himself afterward walking coolly down the -aisle of the playhouse. - -Thus Joe inherited two totally different sets of talents. And that was -about all he had inherited from his parents. For they had both died when -he was about five years old, the professor first, following a severe -attack of pneumonia contracted when one of his water tricks went wrong, -and he received a drenching on a zero night. - -Mrs. Strong did not long survive her husband. Perhaps she lost her -nerve, following news of his sudden death. At that they were traveling -in different shows, Joe being with his mother. Usually, however, -Professor Morretti and Madame Hortense went about together, caring for -little Joe between them. - -Only a few months after the professor died, Madame Hortense had a bad -fall from a new horse she was trying, and she received injuries which -resulted in her death in a few weeks. - -Joe was left alone in the world, with only an inheritance of a superb -set of muscles, nerves, hawklike eyes and an active brain. - -The circus people were kind to him, and did what they could, but a -circus is not the best place in the world for an orphan boy, and the -manager soon realized this. - -Consequently he was glad to read an advertisement of a couple who wanted -to adopt a strong, healthy boy of about Joe’s age. Letters were written, -and Mr. Amos Blackford came on with his wife to have a look at Joe. - -Mr. Beeze, the circus manager, had artfully neglected to state, in his -early letters, the fact that Joe was the orphan of a bareback rider and -a “Professor of Black Art and Magic”; and when Mr. and Mrs. Blackford -discovered this they were well-nigh horrified. For they were -old-fashioned persons, with very strict ideas about right and wrong, and -to them a woman who rode a horse in a circus was a person not to be -admitted to the best society, and they regarded the dead Professor -Morretti in about the same light as they would an outlaw. - -At first they were going back without Joe. But Mrs. Blackford could not -resist the heart-appeal of the attractive little chap, and so he was -taken, and carried to the Blackford home in Bedford by his -foster-parents, who had since brought him up. - -They had done well by Joe, as far as their rather narrow minds let them. -They treated Joe harshly at times, without understanding that they did -so. They wanted him to forget that he was ever in a circus, that his -mother ever rode bareback, and that his father juggled Indian clubs and -produced live rabbits from the vest pockets of innocent persons in the -audience. - -But Joe could not forget those things. He had been born in a circus, and -the smell of the sawdust, the jungle odor from the animal tent, always -brought back to him, most vividly, his early days. - -He had not lived long in Bedford before he became known as a daring -little fellow. Mrs. Blackford nearly fainted when once she saw him -walking the back fence like a tight rope, with a clothes pole as a -balancer in his chubby hands. - -And from then on, by gradual stages, Joe advanced to more and more -daring tricks, until one day on a challenge he walked the ridgepole of -the church. - -His foster-father whipped him for that—whipped him cruelly—and from that -time Joe came to dislike, with a dislike that never ceased, the man who -had brought him up. From then on his life was more or less miserable. -But he did not give up what was born to him in his blood. In secret he -imitated the acts of circus performers, remembering some of them from -his childhood days, seeing pictures of others on the gaudy fence bills, -and, rarely, getting into a show himself. That was his seventh heaven of -delight. - -As the years went on, Joe gained in health, strength, nerve and daring. -Joe was not a paragon—far from it. But he was certainly a remarkable -youth, and perhaps “daring” is the best word to use in describing him. -He seemed never to be afraid to take a chance, but, if the truth were -known, his keen eye and active brain had already figured the chances out -in his favor before he undertook any feat. - -And now, on this sunny day, he was sitting under a willow tree with his -companions, discussing a show given the night before by Professor -Rosello. - -“Do you mean to tell me, Joe,” asked Tom Simpson, “that you can do _any_ -of those tricks the professor did?” - -“Some of ’em, yes,” answered Joe. “Of course I can’t do those that need -a whole lot of trick apparatus, a darkened stage, and all that. I could -if I had the stuff. But I think I can do the one you were talking about -as I came up,” and Joe regarded his companions with sparkling eyes. - -“You mean the slate trick?” asked Harry. - -“Yes. Adding up a sum and making the answer come on the slate. I could -do that now, if I had the slate. That was the only trick thing about it -all.” - -“Was that slate a trick one?” asked Charlie, rumpling up his red hair. - -“Yes. It was a trick slate, but not very complicated. Now just watch a -moment and I’ll do the trick, as nearly like the professor as is -possible. I guess I’ve got some papers and a pencil.” - -From his pocket Joe brought out some white slips and a stub of a pencil. - -“Now you fellows just sit in a row a little way apart, and I’ll pretend -this is the stage,” went on Joe, as he stood beside a flat stump near -the willow tree. “Here, Charlie, you put down a number on this slip of -paper. Any number of four figures, say 1,876, or anything you like.” - -“All right,” said Charlie, and he wrote a number. - -“Now, Harry, you set down a number under Charlie’s,” directed Joe, “and -then it will be Henry’s turn. This is the way the professor did it, -isn’t it?” - -“Yes, only he talked more,” replied Tom. - -“Well, I could sling the ‘patter,’ as they call it, if I wanted to,” -said Joe. “Only as I’m going to show you how the trick is worked I don’t -need a lot of talk.” - -“Are you really going to show us?” asked Harry. - -“Sure I am! Now, Harry, if you’ve got your number written pass the paper -to Henry. You set down a number of four figures, Henry, and draw a line -under the sum. Tom, you’re pretty good at addition, aren’t you?” - -“Pretty fair, yes.” - -“Well, I don’t want any mistake made,” Joe, with a smile, warned them. -“Here you go now. Add up those figures Tom, and get ’em right,” and he -passed a slip of paper to the boy who had not set down any of the -numbers. “Add ’em up, and set the result down in pencil under the line -Henry drew. When you’ve done that I’ll make the answer appear on this -flat piece of stone. Here, you hold it, Charlie,” and picking up a flat -stone from the ground, Joe threw his handkerchief over it and passed it -to Charlie to hold. “Don’t take off the handkerchief until I tell you -to,” he warned the lad. - -“Is the sum added, Tom?” asked Joe, a moment later. - -“Yes.” - -“What is it?” - -“Ten thousand, four hundred and sixty-seven.” - -“Good!” cried Joe, and, unconsciously perhaps, he imitated the language, -manner and gestures of Professor Rosello. “Now then,” went on the boy -wizard, “you three boys each set down a separate number. None of you -knew what the others wrote, and Tom, who didn’t write any figures, -announces the sum of the other three fellows’ numbers to be ten thousand -four hundred and sixty-seven. Am I right, Tom?” - -“That’s right Here’s the paper. I’m sure I added ’em up right.” - -“Well, I’ve no doubt but you did, Tom. Now then, I think you’ll agree -that I didn’t know beforehand what numbers you fellows were going to -write, so, of course, I couldn’t tell what they’d add up to. Could I?” - -“I don’t see how you could,” admitted Henry, but a little doubtfully. - -“Well, now comes the magic part. I’m going, without touching it, to -cause this sum, which Tom announces as ten thousand four hundred and -sixty-seven, to appear on that flat stone Charlie holds under the -handkerchief. I won’t touch the stone, which answers the same purpose as -the professor’s slate. But I’ll take the paper you have, Tom, with the -sum of ten thousand four hundred and sixty-seven on it,” and Joe did so. - -“Now to make the trick more simple I’ll just burn this paper with the -sum on, where you can all see it,” Joe went on. He held up the paper in -plain sight and set fire to it with a match. - -“I will now pronounce the magic words: _oshkalaloolu presto, smacko!_ -The sum has now vanished in smoke, and will appear on the flat stone. -Charlie, lift the handkerchief and hold up the stone so we can all see -it.” - -Charlie did so, and there, in black pencil on the gray surface of the -stone, was the answer to the little sum—10,467! - -“Whew!” whistled Charlie. “How under the sun did you do it, Joe?” - -“And right under our very noses, too!” added Tom, in amazement. - - - - - CHAPTER II - A FIREWORKS FIRE - - -Joe Strong smiled at the puzzled looks on the faces of his chums. They -were eagerly watching him now, as if asking what he would do next. - -“No, I can’t do anything more just now,” he said in answer to the -implied request. “I can’t produce a guinea pig from Tom’s ear, nor a -bowl of gold fish from under my shirt; though I might if I were loaded -for those tricks.” - -“Loaded?” asked Charlie, curiously. - -“Yes, that is what a magician calls it when he comes out on the stage, -with the secret pockets of his dress suit filled with the things he -needs for tricks. He may ‘load’ himself with a bowl of gold fish or a -couple of rabbits.” - -“Alive?” asked Henry. - -“Sure! Wasn’t the rabbit alive Professor Rosello took out of dad’s hat -last night?” asked Tom. - -“How did he do that?” Charlie interrogated “Can you tell us, Joe?” - -“Yes, I can, but——” - -“Say, I’d rather have him tell us how he did this trick with the -figures,” interrupted Harry. “Go on, Joe.” - -“Well, it’s really very simple when you know,” said Joe. “You see the -sum I made appear on the stone wasn’t the sum of the numbers you three -fellows wrote down.” - -“It wasn’t?” cried Tom, surprised. - -“No,” went on Joe Strong, with a twinkle in his bright eyes. “I let -Harry, Charlie and Henry each set down four figures on a piece of paper. -Then I handed a piece of paper to Tom to add up the sum, only it didn’t -happen to be the same piece that you three fellows used,” and Joe -laughed. - -“I just substituted one of my own,” resumed the boy wizard. “I had it in -my pocket all ready, for I thought maybe I’d get a chance to play this -trick to-day. I wadded up in a little ball the paper with the figures -you boys set down, and slipped Tom one of my own. Of course I knew what -my numbers were going to add up to—I had put down the figures myself, so -I ought to know. They were like this:” - - 4,004 - 2,821 - 3,642 - ————— - -Joe showed the little sum, rapidly scribbling it on another piece of -paper. - -“Those figures add up to ten thousand four hundred and sixty-seven,” he -resumed, “and of course I knew that before Tom announced the sum. And I -knew I was safe in letting Tom have the list of figures I wrote, for he -had not seen those you fellows had set down. I made my set of figures -look as though a different person had set down each one, and Tom wasn’t -familiar enough with you boys’ way of making figures to detect the -change. - -“Then, when I took the piece of paper from him, I burned that and with -it the one that Charlie, Henry and Harry had written their figures on, -so there wouldn’t be any chance of being found out later.” - -“But how did you get the sum, ten thousand four hundred and sixty-seven, -on the piece of stone?” asked Charlie. “You didn’t touch that after you -took the paper from Tom, I can vouch for that.” - -“No, I didn’t touch it,” affirmed Joe. - -“Then how did the figures get on? There must have been some magic about -that.” - -“It’s very simple when you know how,” laughed Joe. “When I was talking -here to you fellows, I just put the sum, ten thousand four hundred and -sixty-seven on the flat side of the stone with a pencil. Then I turned -it over and left it lying on the ground until I wanted it. Then it was -easy enough for me to pick it up, cover it with a handkerchief and hand -it to Charlie to hold. The sum was there on it all the while, and when -Tom announced what my three figures added up to, a result that I, of -course, knew beforehand, I simply had Charlie lift the handkerchief, -and—there you were!” - -For a moment there was silence among the boys. Then they burst out with: - -“Well, I’ll be jiggered!” - -“As easy as that!” - -“It’s a wonder we didn’t think of that!” - -“Two papers—one with our numbers on, and one with his!” - -“That’s the whole secret,” explained Joe. “That is, all but the stone. -Of course if I had had a slate to use that would have been a little -different.” - -“That’s what I don’t understand,” observed Charlie. “That professor last -night passed the slate around for inspection, and there wasn’t any -number written on it.” - -“Oh, yes there was,” said Joe with a smile. “Only you didn’t see it. It -was a trick slate. On one side, covered by a piece of black stiff paper, -which looked almost like the slate, was the number written in chalk—a -number that was the sum of three figures previously known to the -professor, and on the piece of paper he gave out to be added up. - -“When he took back the slate, after having passed it around for -inspection, he walked up on to the stage and quietly slipped out the -piece of black paper. That left the chalk sum exposed. He could either -do that before he covered the slate with the handkerchief and gave it to -some one to hold, or afterward, as he took it from the person and raised -the handkerchief covering. In his case he did it before, since he let -the person holding the slate lift the handkerchief.” - -“Then the number was there all the while!” cried Tom. - -“Yes.” - -“And if the one who held the slate had lifted the handkerchief it would -have been seen?” - -“Yes. And for that reason it’s safer to lay the slate on a table or on -the stage in plain sight, but where no one can inspect it. Then the -magician can ask some one to come up and lift the handkerchief, so it -can’t be said he wrote the number down himself. That’s all there is to -it.” - -“Say, it does sound easy now,” commented Charlie. “But how did you ever -figure it out, Joe?” - -“Yes, you surely did the trick smoothly!” was Tom’s compliment. - -“Oh, I’ve studied it a little,” admitted Joe, modestly. “It needs a -little practice in ‘palming,’ that is in holding two or more things in -your hand without letting the audience suspect you have them; or in -changing one thing for another by sleight-of-hand, as I changed the -papers. You see it’s very easy—like this.” - -He picked up a small stone, held it on the back of his left hand, passed -his right quickly over it and closed both fists. - -“In which hand is the stone now?” he asked. - -“There,” said Tom, indicating the right fist. - -“No, there,” said Charlie, quickly, touching the left. - -“Neither one, it’s there on Henry’s knee,” announced Joe with a laugh, -and so it was, the same stone, for it was peculiarly marked. - -“How did you do it?” cried Henry, in frank amazement. - -“Oh, just by making the action of my hands quicker than your eyes,” was -the answer. “I made a couple of false motions, and you followed them -with your eyes instead of watching the stone. That’s how I managed to -substitute the paper with my figures on for the one Tom thought you boys -had prepared. It’s very simple.” - -“Yes, to hear you tell it,” came from Henry. “But say, Joe, how did the -professor do that trick with the live rabbit? I was close to him when he -came down off the platform, and I couldn’t see where he had the bunny. -And yet, in plain view, he pulled it out of somebody’s inside coat -pocket. How in the world did he do it?” - -“It was easy—for him,” Joe stated. “When he finished the hat and egg -trick he went behind the scenes for a second and slipped the live rabbit -in a secret pocket in his coat. - -“After some hocus-pocus work, and a lot of ‘patter,’ or talk made up to -keep you from watching him too sharply, he went close to the man from -whose pocket he was going to produce the rabbit. He held the lapel of -the man’s coat close against his own for a second, and with his other -hand he reached in the secret pocket and got hold of the rabbit’s ears. -Then, when he lifted the bunny up, it looked just as if the animal came -out of the man’s pocket, but, all the while, it came from the -professor’s.” - -“Huh!” exclaimed Tom. “It all sounds very easy.” - -“It is, and again it isn’t,” explained Joe. “It takes lots of practice, -and one’s got to have his nerve with him all the while, to know how to -act in case anything goes wrong.” - -“Then _you_ ought to be a good wizard,” declared Henry, “for you sure -have nerve!” - -“That’s right,” added Harry Martin. “But say now, Joe, in that trick -where the professor took——” - -Harry did not finish his sentence. His words were cut short by an -explosion which came from a group of buildings located near a railroad -siding about a quarter of a mile away. Following the explosion a cloud -of black smoke billowed up to the sky. - -“Look, fellows!” cried Tom. “It’s the fireworks factory!” - -“It’s on fire!” added Henry. - -“It’s blown up!” yelled Charlie. - -“Come on, boys! Come on!” shouted Joe, and he led the way toward the -cloud of smoke, which was now pierced here and there by darting tongues -of fire. As the boys rushed onward there came other and smaller -explosions, like the popping of guns. - - - - - CHAPTER III - TO THE RESCUE - - -For a few moments after the excitement caused by the explosion and fire, -the five boys rushed on together, saying nothing. Their eyes were fixed -on the distant group of burning buildings, which, being of light and -flimsy construction (as is always the case with fireworks factories and -powder mills), were burning rapidly. They occupied quite an extent of -territory, being well separated so that if one blew up or caught fire -there would be less likelihood of all being consumed. - -“She sure is a hummer!” cried Harry, as he raced along beside Charlie -Ford. - -“That’s right!” joined in the red-haired lad. - -“The whole thing’s likely to go up if the wind doesn’t shift,” commented -Henry Blake. “It’s blowing the flames right toward the main building -now.” - -“Yes, and they’re all pretty well filled,” said Joe Strong. “This is -their busy season, getting ready for the Fourth, you know. There’ll -likely be a lot more explosions, and a final big one.” - -“There goes one now!” cried Tom Simpson. - -As he spoke there was a burst of flame and smoke from one of the -buildings that had not before caught fire, and then followed an -explosion louder than any of the previous ones. - -“There she goes!” shouted Harry. - -“And look at the rockets!” added Joe. - -A sheaf of sky rockets, part of a shipment just finished, had become -ignited and now were whizzing up in the air, bursting with loud reports -far above the earth, for they were large-sized pyrotechnics. - -“If this were only night it would be a grand sight!” murmured Charlie, -narrowly missing a fall as he stumbled over a stone. - -“Too bad they couldn’t wait,” commented Joe, grimly. “Say! I wonder if -any one’s hurt. It came so suddenly that a lot of the workers may be -trapped in there.” - -“That’s so,” agreed his chums. They increased their pace. They could now -see others running to the fire—men, boys, and some women and children, -coming from the direction of the town. Others were leaving their work in -fields, gardens, or in houses to view the unusual sight. - -There was not a little alarm, too, for many of the men and some girls -and boys of the town worked in the Universal Fireworks Factory, -particularly at this season of the year. - -The factory was located close to the freight station of the Bedford and -Point Barrow Railroad, a spur, or short track, running in among the -factory buildings. On the sidings were a number of freight cars, which -carried big red signs, marked: “Dangerous! Explosive! Keep all lights -away!” - -But there was plenty of light now, even though the glaring sun took away -the effect that would have prevailed had there been darkness—plenty of -light and fire. - -“She sure is a hummer!” cried Tom. - -“A hum-dinger,” added Harry. “Listen to that!” - -Another explosion occurred, lifting a roof off one of the frail -buildings, and depositing the blazing mass over on the railroad tracks, -and rather dangerously near the passenger depot, which was not far from -the freight station. - -“There goes the fire alarm!” cried Harry. - -“They’ll be here in no time. It’s a general alarm when anything like a -fireworks factory goes up,” said Joe. “There they come,” he added, as he -looked back toward the town, and pointed to an automobile fire-fighting -apparatus coming along the road. The auto-engine was a new purchase for -Bedford. Besides that, there was an old steamer, drawn by hand whenever -horses could not be requisitioned in a hurry. - -The five boys had to cross the small stream, known locally as Bedford -Creek, in order to reach the scene of the fire. As they rushed along -across the fields toward the water, all but Joe bore off to the left. He -kept straight on. - -“Where you going?” asked Harry. - -“To the fire, of course,” was the answer. - -“The bridge is over this way,” stated Tom, indicating a white structure -that crossed the stream some distance to the left of where the boys then -were. - -“Bridge!” cried Joe. “Do you think I’d waste time crossing a bridge when -there’s a fire like this straight ahead of me?” - -“How are you going to get across the creek?” Harry queried. - -“Wade or swim, of course. It’s a hot day!” - -And while Tom, Harry and the others ran on toward the bridge, Joe -Strong, coming to the edge of the creek, which at this point was deeper -and wider than at any other, waded out without a moment’s hesitation. - -For a moment his chums watched him, fascinated. Then they shook their -heads, and kept on toward the bridge. - -“He sure has got nerve!” asserted Henry. - -“Yes, Joe’s there with it every time,” added Tom. “I wish I dared do -that. But if I got wet with all my clothes on, I’d be in for a good -scolding when I got home.” - -“Joe may be, too—or worse,” said Charlie. “I hear that he and Deacon -Blackford don’t get along any too well of late. He’s given Joe several -touches of the whip and strap, and Joe’s not a fellow to stand much of -that sort of treatment.” - -“I wouldn’t blame him for not standing it,” commented Henry. “Deacon -Blackford may mean all right, but we all know he’s totally ashamed to -have it known what Joe’s father and mother were. As if it could be a -disgrace to have had a mother who was a dandy circus rider, and a father -who was a top-notcher when it came to magic. I’d be proud of it if my -folks were that sort.” - -“So would I,” added Harry. - -“That’s where Joe gets his nerve,” remarked Tom. “Nerve to do just what -he did now—swim the creek.” - -“Yes, and that’s where he gets his liking for magic tricks and for his -circus stunts,” added Charlie. “He sure is a great boy, and strong. Why, -say! you ought to have seen him on the trapeze I put up in our barn the -other day. He did one giant swing and then he slid down a rope in a way -that——” - -“Look, there goes another building!” interrupted Henry, and the boys, -racing for the bridge, forgot, for the time, to discuss Joe and his -doings, in watching the progress of the fire, to which they were much -nearer now. They could hear the crackle of the flames and the popping of -small pieces of fireworks. - -Charlie turned back to look at Joe. The young wizard, for such he later -became, had waded out until he found himself getting beyond his depth, -then he plunged into the water, fully clothed as he was, and began to -swim. - -Joe was a good swimmer, and he had on a light summer suit and tennis -shoes, so he was not as hampered as otherwise he might have been. But -swimming in a full suit was nothing for Joe. He had done it before in a -camping contest, and he had plunged in once, in midwinter, in a heavy -suit, to rescue a little girl from the icy stream. - -Joe was a wonderful swimmer, though he could not yet do any fancy -tricks. He was just doing the plain Australian crawl stroke, which puts -one through the water in wonderfully good time. On and on he swam, -gaining the other side, and was very close to the fire before his -companions had reached the bridge. That was where Joe’s nerve and daring -stood him in good stead. - -In the beginning he had no particular object in getting to the fireworks -fire in such a hurry. It was just curiosity on his part, as it was on -the part of his companions. Then another thought came to Joe. - -As he climbed up the bank on the other side, water dripping from every -part of him, the youth thought: - -“I wouldn’t be surprised but what somebody got hurt in this fire. It -came so suddenly they can’t all have escaped. It isn’t going to be any -easy job to put it out, either. They’ll need all the help they can get -together. There go some of the railroad men to give a hand.” - -Joe was out on level ground now, near the railroad tracks, and he -utilized them as the shortest way to the fire. He looked back to see his -chums who had crossed the bridge and were now laboriously racing onward. -Their long run had tired them, whereas the swim Joe had taken had -refreshed him, as the day was warm. - -The shrill sound of the fire apparatus siren could now be heard, -mingling with the whistle of the steamer, for the engineer, seeing the -smoke and blaze from afar, and knowing the need, had started a fire -under the boiler, ready for quick work when he should have reached the -scene of the conflagration. - -Joe joined the running, panting throng of men and boys that now came -swarming from all directions to the fire. The crew of a freight train, -drawn up at the Bedford station, had come over to do what they could, -and the fire-fighting force of the factory itself was busy. They had a -small steamer on the premises, and lines of hose were connected to the -steam pump in the boiler room. Water was soon being poured on the blaze, -and when the auto-apparatus and the old-fashioned steamer arrived, they, -too, were put into service. - -By this time Joe’s chums had joined him. - -“You beat us to it,” panted Charlie. - -“Sure I did!” exclaimed Joe. “Why didn’t you fellows take a chance in -the creek?” - -“We didn’t want to spoil our clothes,” said Charlie. - -“That’s right. It didn’t improve mine any,” admitted the young wizard, -as he looked down at his sodden garments. “I expect dad will ask me to -step out to the woodhouse when I get home,” Joe said grimly. He called -Mr. Blackford “dad,” and, as a matter of fact, up to the time he was -eight years old Joe had not appreciated the fact that “the deacon,” as -he was often called, was only his foster-parent. Joe had but a hazy idea -of his real father and mother, and the change at his early age failed to -impress him. Later he heard the real story, however. - -“Yes, I guess I’ll get a talking to, anyhow,” he went on. “But I -couldn’t wait to come over the bridge. Say, she’s going some! isn’t -she?” - -“That’s what!” commented Tom. “Look, there goes the big building!” - -The main structure, which up to now had suffered neither from explosion -nor from fire, was seen to be smoking on one side. Hoarse orders came -from the fire chief to play streams on that in an effort to save it, and -the fire-fighters drew closer. - -“Anybody hurt, did you hear?” asked Charlie of Joe. - -“No, but some had narrow escapes. A few of the girls had to jump, but it -wasn’t far, for most of the buildings are only two stories high.” - -This was true of all, in fact, save the main structure, where most of -the fireworks were stored. That was four stories high, and constructed -partly of brick. It was an old mill turned into a fireworks factory, the -other structures being built around it. - -“If that main building catches—good-night! I’m going to leave this -spot!” said Henry. - -“Yes, it will be healthier a bit farther on,” agreed Tom. - -“Oh, look!” suddenly cried Harry. “There’s a man on the top floor of the -store-house! Look!” - -He pointed. The others followed the direction of his outstretched -finger. They saw a small door open near the roof of the main building. -It was a door with a projecting beam above it—a beam such as in barns -and mills is used for hoisting bags of grain or bales of hay. And, for -the moment, a man stood outlined in this small, open door. - -Then, suddenly, the man was seen to crumple up and fall in a heap on the -very edge of the opening. So close to the edge did he fall that there -came a gasp of horror from the throng, for it looked for an instant as -if he would topple out and fall to the ground below. - -“Why—why, that’s the professor—Professor Rosello, who did the magic -tricks last night!” cried Harry. - -“So it is!” agreed Tom. They had recognized him in that brief instant. -What he was doing on the top floor of the main building of the fireworks -factory could only be guessed then. - -“If he hadn’t fainted, or been overcome by smoke or flames, or whatever -happened to him,” said Henry, “he might have slid down the rope and been -saved. As it is now, he’s in danger.” - -A rope dangled from the beam above the door to the ground below. It ran -through a pulley, and was evidently used to hoist and lower materials -into and out of the factory. - -Joe Strong, with an exclamation, suddenly darted forward toward the -building, which, in spite of the streams of water poured against it, was -now on fire. - -“What are you going to do?” cried Harry, reaching out his hand to hold -back his chum. - -“Get that man—the professor!” answered Joe. - -“But you—you can’t do it!” protested Henry. - -“Can’t I? You just watch me!” cried Joe, as he broke into a run. He was -headed straight for the dangling rope that hung from the beam. It was -right in front of the open door, where the motionless form of the -magician lay. - -Joe Strong was going to the rescue. - - - - - CHAPTER IV - JOE’S FEAT - - -There was so much going on—firemen and eager volunteers working at the -hose and apparatus, railroad men and factory employees endeavoring to -get out of the danger zone a car loaded with explosives, others removing -from the factory and store-houses some of the powder, still others -rushing here and there, uselessly shouting—there was so much of this -sort of thing going on that, for a moment, no one noticed Joe Strong -except his four chums. - -But the lad had no sooner reached the foot of the dangling rope than -others saw him, among them some firemen. - -“Come back from there!” they shouted. - -“Not just yet!” coolly answered Joe. - -“What are you going to do?” a railroad man inquired. - -“Get him!” replied Joe, briefly, as he pointed to the huddled figure -lying in the low doorway up above. - -“You can’t do it! That place is all on fire inside. It may go up any -minute.” - -“Well, I figure that I’ve got a minute to spare, and a minute is about -all I want,” answered Joe calmly. - -By this time he was going up the rope hand over hand, not an easy feat, -but Joe seemed to make nothing of it. Now, if ever, he blessed the time -he had spent in acrobatic work, in emulating the tricks of circus -performers, his own mother included. Now, if ever, he was glad of his -strong and supple muscles, his cool head and eyes that never faltered. - -Up and up he went, hand over hand, climbing the rope like a veritable -monkey, and with a skill that would have caused applause to break forth -at any other than this critical time. As it was, there was a murmur of -admiration for Joe’s coolness and daring. For it was a daring feat. - -All this while the fighting of the fire was going on at other parts of -the plant. There had been no loud explosions for some time, though small -ones were constantly to be heard. And inside the factory’s flimsy -buildings, most of which were in flames, could be heard the hissing and -spluttering of various forms of pyrotechnics. - -Up and up went Joe until in a very short time he swung in through the -small door, and stood beside the prostrate man, whom some of the boys -had recognized as Peter Crabb, otherwise known as Professor Rosello, the -magician. - -“He’s there!” cried Charlie Ford. - -“Yes, Joe’ll get him down if there’s any way to do it!” chimed in Henry -Blake. - -“And if there isn’t a way, Joe will make one!” declared Tom Simpson. - -Joe’s chums and others in the crowd could see the young wizard now -bending over the huddled form of the professor. They saw Joe hauling up -the rope to get at the free end which was on the ground. - -Just then came a burst of flames and smoke from a window in the second -story, directly past which Joe had climbed a moment before, and past -which he must lower the unconscious form of the magician; for that, -evidently, was his intention. Could it be done? - -“He’ll never do it!” some one said. - -“They’re both goners!” was the general comment. - -“The place is all on fire inside. No chance to save it,” a fireman -remarked. “We’d all better get back, for she’ll explode soon.” - -“Come on down, Joe!” a voice cried. “Save yourself!” - -Joe answered something. What it was no one could hear above the crackle -of the flames and the puffing of the engines. - -“Joe won’t come down without him,” said Henry Blake in a low voice. - -“That’s what he won’t,” agreed Harry Martin. - -But how was Joe to lower the man past that outburst of flame? Even a -momentary passage through it would likely cause death if the man inhaled -the fire. At best, he would be terribly burned. - -But Joe Strong knew what he was doing. As the crowd watched, they saw -him take off his soaking wet coat and trousers, wet from his swim across -the creek. In another instant Joe had wrapped and twisted the sodden -garments around the form of the magician, covering his head and face. - -It was then the work of but an instant for Joe to fasten the rope about -Professor Rosello. Joe was an expert in tying knots, and soon he swung -the form, encased in wet garments, free of the window ledge. Down he -lowered the man, swiftly, right through the outburst of flame. The rope -was charred but not burned through. - -“I knew Joe’d think of a way!” shouted Tom. - -“But how’s he going to get down himself?” gasped Harry. “He can never do -it!” - -This was a puzzling question for his chum. Joe seemed doomed. But the -lad himself never seemed to give this a thought. He stood in the open, -upper doorway, attired in only his wet undergarments. - -The flames, spurting out from the window below him, seemed fiercer than -ever. The rope would never stand another trip past them. And now a -series of small explosions in the building on the upper floor of which -Joe stood indicated that that building soon would go in a burst of fire -and smoke. - -But Joe knew there was a life net carried on the auto fire engine, and -he depended on this. - -The chief of the Bedford department had not lost his head, and Joe had -no sooner lowered the form of the magician to the ground when the quick -mind of the chief was directed to saving the boy. - -“Bring up that life net!” he shouted through his trumpet. It had been -made ready some time before, but had not been used, since most of the -employees had been rescued from the first floors. - -“Stand here with it!” directed the chief, indicating a spot out in front -of, and directly in line with, the open doorway in which Joe still -stood. Now the smoke was swirling more thickly about the lad, and back -of him could be seen dancing tongues of fire. - -“Can you jump it, Joe?” called the chief through his trumpet - -“All right! Hold her steady! I’m coming!” cried Joe, shrilly, above the -crackle of the flames. - -A fire department life net consists of a big iron ring, which can be -folded in half upon itself. Around the circumference of the ring is -woven a strong rope net, sagging toward the middle. Firemen stand in a -circle about the iron ring, grasping it with their hands, and holding it -as high as possible to allow for the recoiling impact of the falling -body. - -“Are you ready down there?” cried Joe. - -“All ready!” answered the chief. “Brace yourselves now, men!” - -Joe poised for an instant on the edge of the doorway. It was a -sixty-foot jump, but he hesitated only an instant. With his hands to his -sides, standing as straight as an arrow, his superb form beautifully -outlined, clad as he was only in his underclothes, Joe jumped. - -Straight as a plummet he came down, feet first, into the life net. It -sagged with his weight, and the men holding it were jerked forward, but -there were so many of them that the elasticity of the apparatus was -preserved, and Joe bounced up like a rubber ball. - -Another bounce and he turned a somersault, landing on the turf at one -side. - -A cheer went up from the rescuers. Joe had been saved, and he had saved -the life of the magician in a thrilling manner. Another cheer rang out. -But there was no time for more. There was still the fire to fight. - -Joe’s chums gathered about him, eager to clasp his hand, to clap him on -the back, to utter words of praise. But he had but one thought—or, -rather, two. - -“Is the professor all right?” he asked eagerly. - -“Yes,” some one answered. “He’d only fainted. He’s all right now, and -not burned a bit, thanks to your wet clothes.” - -“Where are my clothes?” demanded Joe. “This isn’t exactly a bathing -beach.” - -“You can’t wear your things,” a fireman informed our hero. “They’re -badly scorched. Here, wrap yourself in this blanket until you can get -home,” and he extended one of the horse-coverings. Joe accepted it -gratefully. - -“Better get back from here,” another fireman advised. “This place is -going, and it’s full of powder.” - -The crowd, as well as Joe and his chums, took the hint. - -But the main factory did not go up. The fire-fighters rallied in force -around it, seeing that the other buildings were doomed, and the bigger -part of the plant was saved. Luckily enough, too, as had it exploded the -force would have been felt a long distance. The light and flimsy -buildings burned quickly into ashes, and the explosions of fireworks -grew less frequent. The material in the main building was spoiled by -water, but that was better than having the fire reach it. - -Little remained to do now, but to guard against stray sparks in the -building that had been saved at such risk. The crowd began to disperse. - -“Where’s the professor?” asked Joe, moving about in his blanket like -some pale-faced Indian. - -“They took him to the hotel,” said Tom. “Say, Joe, don’t you want to -stop at our house and get some of my clothes? It’s nearer than going to -yours.” - -“Good idea. Thanks. I guess I will. I don’t feel exactly like showing up -at home in this rig.” - -Some one who knew Joe offered to drive him in his automobile to the -Simpson house. Tom, of course, went with his friend, and Joe was soon -clothed in ordinary garments, having first taken a bath at Tom’s house, -for the smoke had made him black and grimy. - - - - - CHAPTER V - JOE’S AMBITION - - -“Where are you going now, Joe?” asked Tom, as his chum, after having -thanked Mrs. Simpson for her hospitality, stood, ready to leave the -house. “Going home?” - -“Not right away,” Joe answered. “I had an idea I’d like to call on the -professor to see if he was all right. It isn’t every day I help rescue a -man that way, you know.” - -“Help rescue him!” exclaimed Tom, with an accent on the first word. -“Why, you did it all, Joe! And, say, I never saw anything done slicker. -Using your wet clothes was just the thing.” - -“It was the _only_ thing,” said Joe. “I knew the fire wouldn’t get -through my soaking wet coat and trousers in the little while he was -exposed to the flames. But say, Tom, are my clothes too badly burned to -wear?” - -“I’m afraid so, Joe. I had a look at them, and they seem to be ruined.” - -“Too bad!” and Joe sighed. Mr. Amos Blackford had the reputation in town -of being rather close, and Joe realized this better than any one else. - -“The professor ought to get you a new suit,” Tom asserted, “since you -ruined yours saving him.” - -“Oh, that wasn’t the reason I wanted to see him,” hastily interposed the -young wizard. “And if you go with me, Tom, don’t you dare mention my -burned clothes.” - -Joe looked so stern as he said this, and Tom so well knew the firmness -of his chum, that he readily promised to do as Joe wished. - -“I think I’ll just give him a call at the hotel,” Joe went on. “There’s -time enough for me to go home—and take what’s coming to me—later,” he -added grimly. “I’ve got another suit, Tom, my best one. I can put that -on and give you back yours.” - -“Oh, I’m not worrying about that, Joe. But come on, we’ll go to the -hotel. I wonder what the professor was doing up on the top floor of that -fireworks factory, anyhow.” - -“That’s one of the things that’s been puzzling me, Tom. And I don’t mind -admitting that it is one of the reasons why I’d like to meet that -prestidigitator.” - -“Come along then,” went on Tom. “I’m with you. You may learn some more -of his tricks, Joe.” - -“Oh, I know quite a few already.” - -“You do? You never told us fellows.” - -“Oh, well, I sort of had to keep them under cover. You know my -foster-parents aren’t any too proud of what my father and mother did for -a living.” - -“So I’ve heard, Joe.” - -“But I’m proud of them!” Joe exclaimed, with flashing eyes. “I wish I -could be such a rider as I’ve heard my mother was, and as good a -magician as my father. But, as I said, I’ve had to sort of keep my -ambitions under cover. - -“I have done a little practicing on the side, though, and I have some -books on magic I’m studying. There’s more to it than most persons -suppose. No, I don’t want to get to the bottom of any of Professor -Rosello’s tricks. I fancy I know most of them anyhow. But I would like -to know what he was doing in that factory, especially up where he was -when the fire broke out.” - -“Maybe he’ll tell us,” said Tom. - -As the two young men went through the town the signs of excitement about -the fire were still pretty much in evidence. On all street corners -little groups were talking about it. Several persons had been overcome -with smoke, and one or two employees were slightly burned, one man -seriously, it was feared. - -As Joe walked along he and Tom heard more than once a murmur of voices, -which could be heard commenting on Joe’s brave act. - -“There he goes now!” some one exclaimed. “The nerviest fellow in seven -counties! I don’t believe there’s a thing Joe Strong doesn’t dare do!” - -“You’re getting famous, Joe,” commented his chum. - -Joe smiled, but said nothing. - -They soon found themselves at the one hotel of Bedford, and, after -stating their errand, a bell-boy came back with the information that -Professor Rosello would see them in his room. - -“He’s a little knocked out,” the clerk informed Joe. “Nothing serious, -though. He’ll be glad to see you.” - -And the professor was. He looked from Joe to Tom as the two lads entered -his room. - -“To whom am I indebted so greatly for the saving of my life?” asked -Professor Rosello, in a rather formal and old-fashioned manner, which -well became him. - -“He did it!” said Tom, quickly, indicating Joe. - -“Then permit me, my dear young sir, to give you my most heartfelt and -sincere thanks.” He shook hands gravely with Joe, and resumed: “I am -well aware that mere words are futile at a time like this, and so I will -refrain from uttering many of them. But, none the less, I do thank you. -I did not realize my danger until after I had been rescued. Then I was -told it was you who had done it. Even yet I hardly realize what I went -through and my escape from a great danger. I dare say it will come to me -as a shock, later.” - -“I hope you’re feeling better,” said Joe, who was anxious to get the -“thanking business,” as he called it, over with. - -“Yes, I am almost myself again, thank you,” was the reply. “I did -swallow a little smoke, but not much. I really had no business to go -where I did. You see it was this way.” - -Tom looked at Joe, as much as to say: - -“Now you’ll get your explanation all right.” - -“I am, as perhaps you know, a sleight-of-hand performer; a magician, as -we are sometimes called. I gave an exhibition in your town last night.” - -“I was there, and liked it first rate!” broke in Tom. “And Joe here—he -showed us——” - -Tom stopped suddenly, for Joe administered an unseen, but none the less -swift, warning kick, under cover of a table. - -“I am glad you liked my little entertainment,” the professor went on, -not appearing to notice the little side-play between Joe and his chum, -if, indeed, he saw it. “As I was saying, I am a modern magician. As you -young gentlemen probably know, we are always on the lookout for new -tricks, new effects, illusions and so on. Perhaps I need not tell you -that there is really no so-called Black Art—nothing really supernatural -in my work, or in that of my fellow artists. We can not overcome nature, -we merely adapt her to our needs. The old truth of the hand being -quicker than the eye still holds good. In fact it is very easy to -deceive the eye, as you doubtless noticed at my little entertainment. -You see——” - -The professor pulled a red handkerchief from his pocket, flourished it -in the air, stuffed it into his clenched fist. Pulled out one end to -disclose a blue flag. Then, with a rapid motion, he stuffed it back into -his clenched fist again, to bring it out pure white, and a moment later, -rolling it up into a ball, he smoothed it out to disclose a miniature -United States flag. - -This he held out to Tom, who, when he took it, found that he was -grasping a lemon. - -“Why—what—how did you——?” he stammered. - -“Merely demonstrating that the hand is quicker than the eye,” said the -professor, smiling. - -“Joe can do——” began Tom, when he was again stopped by a swift kick -under the table. - -“As I said,” resumed the magician, with a smile, “I am always on the -lookout for new effects. This morning, when I was waiting for my train -at the station to take me and my effects on to the next town, where I -show night after to-morrow, I noticed the fireworks factory. It occurred -to me that I might use some simple little piece of fireworks in -demonstrating one of my tricks, so, as I had time enough, I went over to -the office. - -“They had just what I wanted, and the manager took me up to the store -room to show me different styles of it. While we were on the second -floor there was an explosion in one of the distant buildings. The -manager rushed away at once, leaving me there in the factory. - -“I realized that the fire was somewhere near me, but I had no idea that -it might spread to the building in which I then was. Left to myself, I -strolled about, looking at the different pieces of fireworks. I was very -much interested. I even went up to the top story, all alone. Those in -the factory must have rushed out at the first alarm. - -“I realized that there was a fire, but I fairly lost myself in working -out the details of a new illusion that came to me while in the factory. -I sat down amid the store of pyrotechnics and became involved in -thought. Then, before I knew it, I was trapped. I rushed to the opening -and must have fainted. The rest you young gentlemen know better than I.” - -Joe had received the information he wanted. The explanation was a -perfectly natural one. Perhaps, though, no one but a man like Professor -Rosello would have sat down in a fireworks factory, with a blaze near -him, to work out the details of a trick. But, as he said, he fairly lost -himself in a maze of thought, and when he did realize his danger it was -almost too late. - -“And now, once more, permit me to thank you for saving my life. I can -offer you no adequate reward, nor, I imagine, do you want one, Joe -Strong.” - -Joe shook his head negatively. - -“But if ever you are in need of a friend—that is such a friend, with -such limited talents as I possess—don’t fail to call on Peter Crabb, -otherwise known as Professor Rosello,” he added earnestly. “I am going -to travel on to-night,” he resumed. “I shall feel well enough then. I -can not get the fireworks I desired, but they will do later. - -“As I said, if ever you want a friend, don’t forget me. I may not be -able to do much for you, but such as I can do, I will do gladly. I know -many men and women in such lines of public life as I, myself, follow, -and it may be I can help you to gratify some ambition.” - -“I wonder if you could?” asked Joe, boldly. “I have only one -ambition—that is at present—and that is, to be what you are.” - -“A magician?” cried Professor Rosello, somewhat surprised. - -“Yes,” answered Joe. - -The professor was silent a moment. - -“Young man,” he said, “it is not an easy life. There are many hardships, -and not every one can stand them, nor is every one fitted to attempt to -amuse the public as I do. I say that in all modesty, but there is a -certain manual dexterity required, a certain quickness of motion—of the -eye—a certain amount of nerve——” - -“Joe’s got that!” cried Tom, moving away to escape an expected kick. -“And he can do some tricks, too. You ought to see him do the number -trick you worked last night!” - -The professor looked strangely at Joe. - -“You are, perhaps, an amateur?” he asked, slowly. - -“Sort of,” admitted Joe, diffidently. - -“Then perhaps you can master the art, after many years’ practice. If you -like, I will test you. Let me see——” - -“My father was Professor Morretti,” said Joe in a low voice. - -The magician started. - -“Professor Morretti!” he murmured. “Are you his son?” - -“Yes,” said Joe, simply. - -Professor Rosello bowed as to an equal. - -“My dear young man,” he said, “I am greatly interested in you—more so -than before. If you are the true son of Professor Morretti, and if you -have even a small part of his talents, I can predict for you a brilliant -future. He was one of the greatest of us. I never met him, but it was -something even to know him by reputation. I am indeed glad to meet his -son—proud to have been saved by him. - -“And to think I talked to you of years of preparation—that I had an idea -of showing you a few simple tricks, just to discourage you! For I did -not want you to learn by too bitter experience the sorrow of failure. -And you are Professor Morretti’s son! I am proud to know you!” - - - - - CHAPTER VI - A FAMILY JAR - - -The meeting between Joe Strong and the magician had quite a different -result from the one our young wizard had expected. He had not been sure -that his father would be known, even by reputation, to Professor -Rosello, and it was a source of pride and joy to Joe to see the esteem -in which his parent was held. - -“There was no more brilliant performer in the business,” said the -magician. “His box trick is unrivalled to-day, and his mystery of the -ringing bells, while it is done by several, including myself, lacks the -brilliancy and smoothness which he gave it. I wish I had known him, but, -failing in that, I am glad to know his son.” - -“And I am glad to know you,” replied Joe. “It isn’t often I meet any one -who appreciates the profession of a magician, or of a circus rider. My -mother was that, you know.” - -“So I have heard. She, too, was famous in her day. So you are an orphan. -May I inquire with whom you live?” - -Joe gave the details of his bringing up by his foster-parents. Professor -Rosello was much interested, and asked many questions. - -“Are you serious in wishing to adopt the profession, or calling, of a -prestidigitator?” he asked. - -“I certainly am!” answered Joe. “But I know Mr. and Mrs. Blackford will -object to it. They are even ashamed to have folks know what my father -and mother were.” - -“A foolish pride!” murmured the professor. “There are as fine and noble -men and women in the circus, or in any theatrical line, as in any other -calling of life. It is hard that such a prejudice exists against them. I -have met it myself. - -“But, Joe—I am going to call you that, for I feel as if I had known you -a long time. Joe, you realize, perhaps, that you will have to begin at -the bottom of the ladder in this?” - -“Yes,” Joe answered the question eagerly. “Oh, I don’t suppose I could -start in now. I’ve got to work up to it gradually. It’s just my -ambition, that’s all.” - -“Well, I hope you succeed,” said the magician. “I wish I could help you. -Perhaps I can, later. I will give you my card, with the names of the -places where I shall be playing for the next month or two. If you find -that you can begin this life, let me know, and I may find an opening for -you with some of my friends.” - -“Oh, I don’t imagine I can,” and Joe spoke hopelessly. - -“Let me see your hands,” said the professor suddenly. - -Joe held them out. Firm, muscular hands they were, well formed, and -giving an idea of great strength. - -“Good!” murmured the magician. “Here, let me see you palm this,” and -from an unseen portion of his clothing he produced a billiard ball. - -Joe, nothing abashed, at once proceeded to manipulate the ball. He first -exhibited it in one hand, and then in the other. Finally, showing both -hands empty, he reached over and seemingly took the ball from off Tom’s -head! - -“Bravo! Very good! Much better than I expected!” cried the professor. -“You have a natural ability to palm articles. I presume you must have -practiced, also.” - -“A little,” admitted Joe. He did not state that many and many a night, -in his room, he had gone through this and other necessary fundamentals -in the magical art, getting ready for the time when he hoped his -ambition should be realized. Now he was reaping the fruits of his secret -practice. - -“Yes, you are a better palmer than many who are on the stage to-day,” -said the professor. “It would not be fair to you, though, to say that -you have not yet something to learn. But I can see you have great -promise. I sincerely hope I can assist you. I will now write out my -different addresses for you. It may be that, some day, I can help you.” - -The professor sat down at a table, and began making out a list of towns -where he would play in rotation. - -Just here it may be stated for the benefit of readers unacquainted with -the prestidigitator’s art, that “palming,” as it is known in the -profession, is the act of holding an egg, billiard ball, lemon, coin, or -some similar object, in the palm of the hand, by a slight contraction of -the ball of the thumb, in such a manner that the hand, when the back of -it is held out in front of an audience, appears perfectly empty. Passing -of articles from one hand to another, involves palming, as does causing -to “disappear” certain articles apparently taken from a person’s hat, -clothes and so on. - -Palming is the basis of many tricks. The explanation of these tricks is -very simple, involving in most cases the exercise of but three -principles—palming, the use of special and secret apparatus, and the old -trick of deceiving the eye by making certain motions with the hands. - -The professor talked for some little time longer with Joe and Tom, and -did some tricks there, in the hotel room, with simple articles, that -even Joe admitted afterward he could not explain. - -“But I’ll soon learn how they’re done,” he said to Tom, as they came -away. “I’m not going to be stumped by them!” - -“Then your going to keep at this ambition of yours, Joe?” - -“I certainly am! I guess it’s in my blood, Tom.” - -“I wouldn’t be surprised.” - -Professor Rosello had again expressed his profound gratitude to Joe for -saving his life. The magician had almost fully recovered from the shock -and said he would go on that night to the next town where he would, -later, give a performance. Joe left with a list of the succeeding places -where Professor Rosello would “play.” - -“And now I guess I’d better get home,” said Joe to Tom. “The folks may -be worried about me, after hearing about the fire. I’ll send your suit -back as soon as I can.” - -“No hurry about that, Joe.” - -On the way to the residence of his foster-parents Joe heard more talk of -the fire, and his own brave act was often mentioned. How the fire -started was not known, but the conjecture was that spontaneous -combustion was the cause. Fires in factories where Fourth of July -articles are made are not rare occurrences. As a matter of fact, they -are rather to be expected. - -In this case, the saving of the main building prevented what might have -been a calamity with great loss of life. Most of the fire apparatus was -returning as Joe turned down the street where he made his home with Mr. -and Mrs. Blackford. - -“I wonder if he’ll raise a row about my clothes,” thought Joe. To -himself he always thought of Mr. Blackford as “he” and Mrs. Blackford as -“she,” though in conversation with others Joe called them “dad” and -“mother.” - -As has been mentioned before, Mr. and Mrs. Blackford did not intend to -be unkind. They had lived hard and strict lives when they were young, -and they did not see why others should not tread the same path. In -consequence they curtailed Joe’s pleasures, they frowned at every -mention of his parents, and they were, at times, actually harsh and -cruel to him. They excused themselves on the plea that it was “for his -good.” But, undoubtedly, they were very short-sighted. - -Joe would have been much better off had he had kinder treatment and -greater liberty. In fact, at times, he was treated as a child, though he -was, at the opening of this story, nearly eighteen years old. - -“Yes, I reckon I’m in for a wigging,” mused Joe, as he approached the -house. “Might as well get it over with.” - -He vaulted over the gate, landing easily, though it was not a low -barrier by any means. - -“Oh, Joe! Don’t do that!” cried Mrs. Blackford. She had seen him from -the window. “You might spoil your shoes!” - -“Oh, I guess not,” he answered easily. - -“And what has happened to you?” she went on. “That isn’t your suit! -Where have you been? Did you hear about the fire?” - -“Yes. I was there. It was quite a blaze.” - -“And what about your suit?” went on the elderly woman. “This isn’t -yours.” - -“I know it.” - -“Whose is it?” - -“Tom Simpson’s. He lent it to me.” - -“But where’s your own?” - -“Burned.” - -“Burned?” Mrs. Blackford’s voice was shrill. - -“Yes. At the fire. I—er—well, I helped get a man out, and my suit was -scorched. I had to borrow Tom’s to wear home. Couldn’t wear mine.” - -Mrs. Blackford raised her hands in surprise, and pushed her spectacles -to the top of her head in order better to look at Joe. - -“Well, of all things!” she cried. “I never heard tell of such goings on! -The very idea!” - -“What’s the matter? What has happened?” asked the rather harsh voice of -Deacon Blackford, as he came up the walk on his way home from the office -of his feed and grain business. “Has that boy been doing something -again?” he asked. - -“Doing something! I should say he had!” cried Mrs. Blackford. “He’s got -his good suit burned up at the fire!” - -“What?” cried the deacon. - -“I couldn’t help it,” said Joe, in self-defense. “I had to save that -man. It was the only way.” - -Then Joe told briefly and modestly what he had done. He did not bring -out his true worth in the matter of the rescue, and he hardly made it -plain that, had it not been for his soaking wet suit, Professor Rosello -might have been fatally burned. - -“Professor Rosello?” queried Mr. Blackford. “Is he a school teacher, -Joe?” - -“No, sir, he’s a professor of magic.” - -“Magic! You mean one of those worthless characters who go about giving -silly exhibitions, like the one that was here last night?” - -“Yes, he was the one I saved,” Joe answered. “I’m sorry about my suit, -but it couldn’t be helped.” - -“The idea!” cried Mrs. Blackford. - -Mr. Blackford looked stern. - -“A low, public performer!” he murmured. “Was there no one else to save -him—no one who is paid to do such things—firemen with suits that would -not easily burn? Could not one of them save him?” - -“There wasn’t time,” Joe answered. “I just ran in, climbed up the rope, -and lowered him down, after I tied my wet suit about him.” - -“How did you get your suit wet?” the deacon questioned. - -“Swimming the creek.” - -“Swimming the creek! Why did you do that?” - -“To get to the fire quicker. I didn’t want to wait to go around over the -bridge.” - -“Humph!” - -Deacon Blackford fairly grunted out the word. He looked sharply at Joe. - -“Well, I must say,” he exclaimed sharply, “that you have made a pretty -exhibition of yourself! The idea of first spoiling a suit of clothes by -swimming the creek, and then burning it up!” - -“And he had worn that suit only a little over two years!” put in Mrs. -Blackford. “It was his second best. Oh, what a wasteful and careless boy -you are! It’s a shame!” - -“That’s what I say!” thundered the deacon. “And, what’s more, you’ll -suffer for this, Joe! You have some money saved up. I shall take this to -pay for the suit you ruined.” - -“I didn’t ruin it!” Joe retorted, desperately enough. “I had to save the -man’s life. It was the only way!” - -“Stuff and nonsense!” snapped the deacon. - -“No nonsense at all!” cried Joe, his temper now thoroughly aroused. “I -just had to do it!” - -“Don’t talk back to me!” cried his foster-father. “I’ll teach you not to -be impudent to me!” He drew back his hand as though to strike Joe, but -the latter, after an involuntary closing of his fist, stepped back out -of the way. Joe’s face was pale. - -“I’ll not take a blow from you, sir. Not any more,” he said in a quiet -voice. - -“You won’t, eh?” stormed the deacon. “We’ll see what you’ll take and -won’t take! You’ll pay for that suit, that’s sure! And we’ll see who’s -boss here! I’ll strike you if I like! You’re not of age yet! Now go to -your room. I don’t want to act hastily. Go to your room at once, before -I get angry,” and, with a stamp of his foot, the old man raised a stern -hand and pointed to the stairway. - -Joe turned aside without a word. - - - - - CHAPTER VII - MR. BLACKFORD’S TROUBLE - - -Bitter at heart was Joe Strong as he walked slowly into his room and -shut the door. This was a common form of punishment with the deacon, -since he had given up his frequent whippings of Joe. - -Just what effect the old man thought it had on the youth to send him to -his room it is hard to tell. But Joe had often been sent there to sit in -loneliness, often without a meal, or at best with bread and water. At -times the deacon declared bread and water was all Joe could have, but -Mrs. Blackford had a kinder heart, and she would butter the slices she -brought up to Joe. - -“Well, I had the row all right,” mused Joe, as he sat down in the chair -near a window. “It was just as I expected. As if I could help getting my -suit scorched!” - -From his window Joe could look across the fields to the fireworks -factory, now mostly a heap of ruins. He thought of the professor he had -saved, and he also thought of what Mr. Crabb had said of Joe’s father -and mother. - -“If you were only alive now,” thought Joe, with a sigh, “things would be -different. I’d be with you in the circus, and what great times we’d have -together!” - -With shining eyes, in which there was a small trace of tears, Joe gazed -off into the distance. He realized that his feelings were getting the -best of him. - -“Come, come, old man!” he told himself. “This won’t do! Not at all! Not -for a minute! You’ve got to brace up!” - -He arose, raised his arms, and, taking off his coat, began to go through -some simple gymnastic exercises. Even under his shirt one could see the -ripple and play of his superb muscles. Joe was not the sort of athlete -that develops into a “strong man.” He was more of the all-around type, -though he did possess unusual strength for a youth of his age. He could -use it to advantage, too. The trapeze was his favorite, though he could -do some startling feats on the flying rings and the horizontal bars. - -“There, I feel better!” Joe announced, as he sat down, breathing a -little faster because of the rapid exercise he had taken. “But I do wish -I had a regular gym. I could work myself up in better shape. But what’s -the use of wishing.” - -He could hear, from downstairs, the murmur of the voices of his -foster-father and mother. - -“Talking about me, I suppose,” mused Joe. “Trying to decide what -punishment to inflict. Well, I know one thing, and that is if he tries -to give me a whipping I won’t stand it! No, sir! That’s the limit! He -scolded me enough, and he humiliates me by sending me up here, as if I -were some five-year-old child. But that’s as far as I’ll let him go! He -shan’t beat me! - -“If he does—if he does, I’ll——” - -Joe paused in his thinking. Again his gaze wandered off toward the -burned factory, and again he saw, in fancy, the huddled form of the -magician. “That’s what I’ll do!” exclaimed Joe, this time half aloud. “I -won’t wait for him to give me a beating, which I think he’s planning to -do. No, sir, I won’t wait for that. I’m glad I thought of it. It’s about -the only thing left for me to do. I’ve about reached the limit.” - -Joe went to his closet and took out a suit of clothes. It was his -“best,” kept for Sundays and special occasions. Then he went to his -bureau and began to look among the drawers. - -“The only thing is about getting this suit back to Tom,” mused Joe. -“I’ll have to do that. If I left it here they might not give it to him.” - -He paused to listen once more to the murmur of voices below him. The -deacon’s dull and rumbly and his wife’s shriller. - -“Still at it!” said Joe grimly. - -From a far and dark corner of the closet Joe brought out an old valise. -It had not often been used, for Joe seldom traveled. Deacon Blackford -had no money to waste on such “foolishness.” - -“That’ll hold about all I’ll want to take with me,” Joe mused. “Now, the -next question is, can I get out of here without their suspecting? Of -course, I’ll have to do it after dark.” - -Joe went to a window and looked out. What he saw satisfied him. - -“I wouldn’t be much of a climber if I couldn’t get down that,” he -murmured with a smile. - -“It isn’t as if this were the first trouble we’d had,” mused Joe, “nor -the first time he’d punished me unjustly.” - -Joe spoke the truth. Though doing what he thought was the best for his -foster-son, Mr. Blackford was a harsh man. And he did not seem to -realize that Joe was growing up. He made no allowances for that. - -“I’m going to quit,” Joe told himself. “I’m going to light out. I -haven’t much money,” and he looked at the sum in a box that, since he -was a little fellow, had served him as a “bank.” - -“It won’t take me far,” Joe mused. “I can’t travel in a Pullman car, -that’s sure. That is, not one of the regular ones. A side-door Pullman -for mine!” and Joe smiled as he thought of the tramp’s designation of a -freight car. - -“And after I quit here—well, I guess I can find something to do. I ought -to be able to make my living.” - -Joe laid out his money, and then, rather idly, he began palming coins, -doing various tricks with them, sending them spinning up in the air -seemingly to vanish. - -“A little out of order,” Joe said, as he missed one trick. “I’ll have to -practice.” - -As Joe put the money in his pocket his fingers came in contact with a -paper. He drew it out. It was the list of towns where Professor Rosello -would play. - -“That’s what I’ll do,” decided the young wizard. “I’ll go to him. He -said he’d help me if he could. I don’t imagine he is very rich, but he’s -good. And if he can’t give me anything else he can advise me. I need -that, I’m thinking.” - -It was now late afternoon, almost time for supper, and Joe wondered -whether he would get anything to eat. - -“I’ll go whether I do or not,” he said. “I can buy something after I’m -away from here, for I sure am going.” - -He could not hear his foster-parents talking now, and he wondered -whether his fate had been decided on. In such case the deacon might come -upstairs with the whip he occasionally used on Joe. - -“If he comes I won’t let him in,” thought our hero, as he locked his -room door. “He’ll have to break that down to get me, and I don’t believe -he’ll do it—cost him too much for repairs. As soon as it’s dark enough, -I’ll slip out the window. No, I guess I’d better wait until they’re in -bed and asleep. No use taking chances, and I’ve got plenty of time. I’ll -wait until about midnight.” - -Joe went on with his preparations for leaving home. He had no regrets, -for, after all, it had not been much of a home of late. - -“If only my father and mother were alive!” Joe said softly. “It sure -would be great to travel around the country with them. My father could -show me all his new tricks, and my mother would teach me more about -horses. But there’s no use wishing.” - -As Joe stood looking out through the window he saw Deacon Blackford -pass, walking down the street in the direction of the feed and grain -store which he owned. - -“That’s queer,” mused Joe. “I wonder what he’s going back to the store -for at this hour. He never does that so near supper time. He must have -forgotten something. Or maybe he’s got something new in his head about -me. I wonder what he’s going back for?” - -Joe might have wondered still more could he have looked into the feed -store a little later. For Deacon Blackford was in close consultation -with two men—in such close consultation that it was necessary to shut -and lock the office door. - -“Well, you’ve come back, I see,” remarked one of the men. He had shifty -eyes that did not gaze straight at the person with whom he was talking. - -“Yes, Denton, I’ve come back, as I said I would,” replied Mr. Blackford. -“But I tell you now, it’s no use! I’m not going to give up another -cent.” - -“Will you give us the papers then?” asked the man called Denton. He -seemed to be pleading, rather than demanding. - -“Give us the papers,” he went on. “We can get a little back from the -investment then. We won’t lose it all. If you won’t give us the money -give us the papers.” - -“He’ll give us both, Burke, that’s what he’ll give us!” broke in the -other man. This man had a hard face, and his eyes, unlike those of his -companion, met his opponent’s boldly. But they did not have a pleasant -or safe look—those eyes. “He’ll give us both, that’s what he’ll give -us!” said this man again. “If he doesn’t he’ll suffer for it!” and he -banged his fist down on the deacon’s desk. - -“Oh, go easy now, Harrison,” advised Burke Denton. “Go a bit easy.” - -“No, that’s not my way!” exclaimed Jake Harrison. “What I want I’ll get, -if I have to take it out of his hide. He went into this investment with -us and——” - -“But you said it would be successful, and that we’d all make money,” -whined the deacon. “I didn’t think I’d lose.” - -“I told you it wasn’t a dead sure thing,” said Harrison. “You knew it -was a risk when you went into it. Now we’re in a hole, and you will have -to help us out.” - -“And if I refuse?” - -“Then you’ll be in more trouble. What we want is money enough to tide us -over, or else those papers, so we can use ’em to raise money on from -some one else. Come now, you’ve got the money and we know it. We’re -going to have it, too!” And again Harrison banged his fist down on the -desk, so that Mr. Blackford jumped. - -There was a worried look on his face as he looked at the two men—one -shifty, and inclined to temporize, merely through fear of getting into -too-deep water, the other a bolder and more hardened character, it -seemed. - -“Come, what do you say?” asked Harrison. “The papers or the money?” - - - - - CHAPTER VIII - THE RUNAWAY - - -Deacon Blackford did not answer at once. He remained in his seat at his -desk, looking first at one man and then at the other. Often his fingers -would beat a drumming tattoo on the top of the desk, as though he were -too nervous to keep still. - -“Well!” said Harrison, sharply, “what’s it to be? We can’t wait all -night!” - -“Oh, we might give him a little more time,” suggested Denton. “I know -what it is——” - -“You keep still!” fiercely interrupted Harrison. “I know what I’m -talking about! We’ve given him too much time as it is. We need the -papers or the money, and we’re going to get what we want!” - -“Well, I s’pose it’ll have to be as you say,” weakly agreed the other. - -“That’s what it will!” was the prompt comment. “Come now, Blackford, -settle up with us about this investment business. What’s it to be—the -papers or the money?” - -“Neither one!” said the deacon sharply. “I won’t give you any more -money. And if you think I’m going to give up the valuable papers, which -represent the only claim I have on you, you’re very much mistaken. -You’ll get neither, and that’s my last word!” - -This time he banged his fist down on the desk with a sudden energy that -seemed to surprise even Harrison. An ugly look came over the face of the -hardened man. He half closed his bold eyes and leaned forward toward the -deacon, craning his neck forward like some big snake about to strike its -victim. - -“So that’s your answer, is it?” he asked. - -“That’s what it is!” declared Joe’s foster-father. “You’ll get neither -the money nor the papers!” - -“Oh, come now,” began Denton, in rather pleading tones. “You’d better -think again, Deacon. Take a little more time, and——” - -“I’ve had all the time I want,” said Mr. Blackford. “That’s my last -answer—neither the money nor the papers!” - -“Well now, if I were you——” began Denton, when Harrison stopped him with -a fierce gesture. - -“That’s enough,” he cried. “If that’s his last word, it’s ours, too. -Come on, Denton.” - -He arose as if to leave. - -“But I thought we were going to get——” - -“Oh, we’ll get what we want, all right!” broke in Harrison. - -“Not from me, you won’t!” declared the deacon. - -“We’re not through with you yet, and don’t you forget it, Amos -Blackford,” retorted Harrison, and his voice was cool and cutting now. -“You’ll hear from us again, and in a way you least expect. Come on, -Denton,” and, turning, the bold-faced rascal started from the office of -the feed and grain dealer. - -Denton hesitated as though he wanted to stay and argue the matter -further, but Harrison caught him fiercely by the arm and fairly pulled -him outside. - -When the two men were gone, Deacon Blackford sat in the now dim office, -for dusk was falling. The grain dealer sat still for about a minute. -Then he said, aloud: - -“Well, I’m well rid of those rascals. I’m glad I stood out firm against -them, or they’d have made me lose more money. No, indeed, I’ll not give -up those papers, and I won’t sink any more of my hard-earned cash in -their investment schemes. I’m glad I’m through with them, even if I do -lose what I put into their business. Yes, indeed! And I’m glad this talk -is over.” - -The deacon locked his desk, and prepared to leave. He had come down to -his place of business at this unusual hour, when all his employees were -gone, on purpose to be alone with the two men to whom he had granted an -interview. - -“Yes, I’m glad it’s over,” he said again. “Now I can give my mind over -to dealing with Joe. That boy is certainly a trial to me! It’s the bad -blood of his foolish parents cropping out, I suppose. I almost wish I -had not adopted him, but I thought he would outgrow the circus and -magician instincts. But they are coming out, in spite of all we have -done. And to think of burning his suit just to rescue one of those -good-for-nothing sleight-of-hand performers!” - -The deacon shook his head, walked slowly from his office, and, after -locking the door, started down the street in the direction of his home. - -“Yes, I really must punish Joe,” he murmured. “He needs a severe -lesson.” - -“You’re late, Amos,” said Mrs. Blackford, as her husband came in to -supper. “You’re very late. The victuals are all spoiled, but it’s a pity -to cook anything else.” - -“Oh, yes, don’t throw ’em away,” said the old man quickly. “We can’t -afford to waste anything. I don’t mind if the potatoes are dried up. I -can eat ’em. I haven’t much appetite, anyhow.” - -The interview with the two rascals had upset the deacon more than he -thought. He sat heavily down in his place at the table, while his wife -began to serve the meal. - -“What made you so late?” she asked. “And why did you have to go back to -the store? You never did that before.” - -“Oh, I had some business to look after,” Mr. Blackford answered. “It was -important, but it’s all settled now. I won’t have to do it again.” - -He began to eat his supper, and then he happened to think of Joe. -Perhaps the sight of the vacant chair on the opposite side of the table -brought the boy to his mind. - -“Did you take him up anything?” he asked his wife, nodding his head -toward Joe’s upper room. - -“I gave him some bread, just as you told me to.” - -“Anything else?” asked the old man sharply. - -“Well—er—I had plenty of milk so I thought he might as well have a glass -of that instead of water.” - -“Um!” grunted the deacon, but that was all he said just then. Mrs. -Blackford did not add that she had buttered the bread, and that the -slices were unusually thick, and that she had put one extra on the plate -she handed into Joe’s room. Mrs. Blackford was a little afraid of the -deacon, but Joe had, on this occasion, profited by her slight kindness -to him. - -She had taken Joe’s simple meal up to him at the usual supper time, and -he had unlocked his door while taking in the plate of bread and butter -and the glass of milk. He did not speak, nor did Mrs. Blackford. It was -the regular form of procedure on such unpleasant occasions as this. - -Joe was glad when he saw the milk and the extra slice of bread. - -“If I’m going to run away,” he thought, “I’ll need all the food they -give me. I won’t be able to get anything at midnight, which is about the -time I leave. I suppose I might raid the pantry,” he added to himself -after a moment’s thought, “but then they might hear me and stop me. No, -I’ll just have to make this do.” - -He ate the bread and drank the milk, thinking the while of his future. -It was a bold step he was taking, and yet Joe did not regret having -decided on it. He had reached the limit of patience as far as his -foster-parents were concerned. True, he owed something to them, but he -felt he had more than paid the debt. - -For when Joe’s real parents died there was a little sum of money -realized from the sale of Professor Morretti’s effects, and this the -deacon had taken charge of. He used it to clothe and educate Joe, taking -out a certain sum each year for “board and lodging.” - -In consequence the money was all used up, the last of it about two years -prior to the opening of this story, so that Joe’s little inheritance had -paid his way for some years. - -Then, when the lad was old enough, the deacon, before and after school -hours, had called on Joe’s strength in the feed and grain business, Joe -being an efficient helper. - -The deacon was honest in his way, and he allowed Joe money for this -help. But he did not overpay the lad and part of what he gave, the -deacon took back for board and lodging, though allowing Joe a certain -sum each week. Joe had saved most of this, and it was from this horde -that the deacon proposed deducting the money to pay for the burned suit. - -“But he shan’t do it!” said Joe fiercely, as he felt of the money he had -put in the pocket of his best suit. He was going to wear that when he -left, carrying Tom’s suit, which he intended leaving on the door-step of -the Simpson home, with a note explaining the circumstances. - -After his supper, if one could call it that, Joe undressed, and lay down -on the bed. He was tired from the day’s excitement, and he realized that -he had a hard night before him. His plans, as yet, were rather hazy. All -he was sure of was that he was going to run away. - -Deacon Blackford did not eat much supper. His wife was rather nervously -anticipating another scene between him and Joe, but the deacon did not -mention the lad’s name. Mr. Blackford sat in glum silence after the -meal. Finally Mrs. Blackford could stand it no longer. She wanted to -know the worst. - -“What are you going to do to—him?” she finally asked. - -“Who? Joe?” - -“Yes. Are you going to—to whip him?” - -“I think likely I shall,” answered the old man. “He’s got to be taught a -lesson. But I’ll wait until morning to do it. I want to do it without -getting angry at him.” - -Mrs. Blackford breathed a silent sigh of relief. She felt that if the -deacon put off the whipping until the next day he might not do it at -all. And she dreaded to have it happen. She realized, if her husband did -not, that Joe was too big now to be whipped. - -The evening began to lengthen into night, and the deacon prepared for -bed. Joe was listening in his room for a cessation of sounds that would -indicate it would be safe for him to attempt to leave. Finally all was -still. - -Joe cautiously arose and dressed in the dark. There was a half-moon, and -it gave him illumination enough to see without making a light in his -room. Putting on his best suit, Joe made a bundle of Tom’s clothing. The -lad had already packed a valise with his few belongings. - -With a length of strong fish-line he lowered his valise from the window -to the ground below. He was glad the deacon’s bedroom was on the other -side of the house. Next Joe lowered the bundle, and then he prepared to -make his way down to the ground. - -To do this he was going to lower himself, hand over hand, on the -lightning rod. The deacon was old-fashioned enough to have one of these -contrivances on his house, and the twisted, galvanized rod, in its glass -insulating supports, was close to Joe’s window. - -To a youth of Joe’s muscle and ability in gymnastics it was no feat at -all to climb down the lightning rod. On the contrary, Joe thought it -fun—or he would have under pleasanter circumstances. - -“I’ll just give this a pull or two, to make sure it will hold me,” Joe -mused. “I don’t want to come a cropper.” - -Leaning out of his window, he exerted his strength against the lightning -rod. To his dismay it was loose, and a little stronger pull would have -torn it away from the side of the house. - -“Whew!” whistled Joe, softly. “That’s bad. I’ll never dare trust my -weight to that. I’d come down all at once. I wouldn’t mind the fall so -very much, but I’d make a racket, and he’d sure wake up. Now what can I -do? I ought to have tested that rod this afternoon, and then I could -have begun tearing up the sheets into a rope. Maybe I can do that now.” - -Joe was about to do this, then decided on a more straightforward plan. - -“They’re both sound asleep,” he reflected. “I can easily slip down the -stairs and go out the front door. I won’t make any noise, and it will be -safer even than going down by a bed-sheet rope. That might break or slip -off what I tied it to, and I’d fall anyhow. Yes, I’ll go out the front -way, but I’ll have to be very quiet.” - -Joe took off his shoes, unlocked his door with great caution, and went -softly down the stairs. To his delight they did not creak much, and he -soon found himself in the lower hall. - -As he was at the front door turning the key, he heard a sudden noise -behind him in the darkness. - -“Jinks! He’s heard me!” reflected Joe quickly. “I’ve got to run for it!” - -He opened the door and fairly leaped off the steps in his stocking-feet. -It was the work of but an instant to run around the side path, pick up -the bundle of Tom’s clothes and the valise, and then leap over the fence -to the sidewalk. Then, still carrying his shoes and other things, Joe -sped on, running away, fearful lest the awakened deacon should run after -him. - - - - - CHAPTER IX - THE OVERTURNED LAMP - - -The noise which Joe Strong had heard was not caused, as he had feared, -by the rousing of Deacon Blackford. All things considered, it might have -been well for Joe had it been. - -While the youth was running away as fast as he could, considering the -fact that he had on no shoes, but had to carry them, as well as his -valise and a bundle of clothes, something was taking place back in the -deacon’s house that was destined to have quite an effect on Joe’s life. - -He had heard a noise, that was certain, and it had come from the -interior of the dark house. - -But the noise was not made by the deacon. Instead it came from one of -two men who were cautiously entering the Blackford homestead through a -rear door, which they had opened by the simple but effective method of -“nippering the key.” - -That is one of them, with a pair of peculiarly shaped pincers, or -nippers, had reached the little projecting round end of the key that -extends beyond the flat, or ward, part. This is the little end one -sometimes sees sticking partly out of the keyhole, if on the opposite -side of the door from the key itself. - -Grasping this little end in a pair of nippers that held it securely, one -of the men easily turned the key—almost as easily as if he had been on -the other side of the door using his fingers to twist the opener in the -manner intended by law for it to turn. - -As the back door of the deacon’s house softly and slowly swung open, two -men, wearing masks, quietly entered. And then one of them, as he reached -in his pocket for an electric flash lamp, knocked against a chair. - -“Keep still! What’s the matter with you, Denton, banging about in that -way?” demanded the other of the men in a fierce whisper, which, however, -was a most guarded whisper. The sound of it did not carry two feet. -“What are you doing, anyhow?” - -“I couldn’t help it,” answered Denton. “How was I to know, Jake, that -the confounded chair was in the road?” - -“You ought to be able to see in the dark,” was the retort. “You’ve been -up to enough shady work of late.” - -“No more than you!” - -The reply came sharply. The men were on the verge of a quarrel, and at a -time when they needed to work in harmony. All this had passed in a -second, the echo of the noise made by the chair hardly having had time -to die away. - -“Come, this won’t do—scrapping,” remarked Harrison, in more conciliatory -tones. “We’ve got to get busy. Listen and see if you think that racket -roused him.” - -The men stood still in the darkness, tensely waiting. They did not hear -a sound. They did not hear Joe open the front door, close it and run -away. This was because they were at the very back of the house, and also -because Joe moved very softly. Thinking, as he did, that the deacon had -awakened and was coming after him, Joe determined not to betray himself -by any sound. - -So, having made a noise themselves, the intruders, listening to -determine if it had roused the inmates, did not hear Joe’s escape. - -“I guess it’s all right,” came from Denton, still whispering. - -“We can’t afford to take chances on guessing,” was the remark of his -companion. “We’ve got to make sure. We can’t risk being caught, for what -we’re going to do is a state-prison offense.” - -“How? It is? We’re only taking what we have at least half a right to.” - -“Never mind! Wait until we get through.” - -“You’re not going to do anything desperate, are you?” asked Denton, and -he seemed to fear his bolder and rasher companion. - -“Keep still. You’ll see,” was the reply. “Listen for a sound. If we -don’t hear any in three minutes we’ll go on and do the job.” - -The men waited, tense, silent and anxious, standing there in the -darkness, ready to run at the slightest sound. But none came. The noise -made by one of them in the collision with the chair, seemed not to have -aroused any one in the house. - -“All right, come on,” whispered Harrison. “You know where he keeps the -papers, don’t you?” - -“Yes. In his desk. It’s in what he calls the ‘back parlor.’ I was in -there a couple of times when we were putting the deal through, and I -know the very drawer he keeps the papers in. That is, if he hasn’t taken -them out.” - -“Oh, I don’t think he has, Burke.” - -“He might have, Jake. You put it on a bit strong this afternoon, telling -him we’d get the best of him anyhow. He may be expecting something like -this.” - -“Never! He thinks we’ve given up. But of course we won’t!” - -“I should say not! We need those papers.” - -“Yes, and we need cash, too!” - -“You’re not going to do that are you—rob him of money?” - -Burke Denton seemed much alarmed. - -“Oh, keep still and come on,” roughly ordered the other. “We are -chinning away here like a couple of women. There’s work to be done. -Everybody’s asleep, it’s perfectly safe.” - -“Where does that lad sleep—Blackford’s son?” - -“Upstairs on the top floor, I think. But he isn’t Blackford’s son—only -adopted.” - -“Think he’ll make any trouble?” - -“No. We can take care of him.” - -But Joe Strong was then too far off to make any trouble for the -intruders. They were now cautiously moving through the house, one of -them occasionally flashing a beam from his electric torch to show the -way through the rooms. - -“Here’s the back parlor,” announced Denton, who seemed to know the plan -of the house. - -“All right! Now we’ll get busy,” whispered his companion. “Get out your -keys. We may have to try a lot of ’em before we find one that fits.” - -“And I sure hope we do find one,” murmured Denton. “I don’t want to have -to force open the desk. It makes too much noise.” - -“You’re right there.” - -The two criminals seemed on better terms now, and were working in -harmony. Advancing by the intermittent flashes of the electric torch, -they approached a large, old-fashioned desk where Deacon Blackford kept -books, papers and many other things, partly connected with his business, -and partly with his home life. - -The desk was one of those old-fashioned ones, with an upper part made in -the form of a bookcase, with two glass doors. Below this was a sort of -flap, that could be let down. This formed a writing table, and when the -flap was down it disclosed rows of pigeonholes, small drawers and -compartments for books and papers. Still below this section, and on -either side of a hollowed-out place, were more drawers. - -“Come on, get busy!” directed Harrison. “You’re better at opening desks -than I am. Get out your keys. I’ll hold the torch.” - -Denton passed the flashing torch over, and while his companion held it, -having slipped the switch to a permanent place, so that there was a -steady beam of light, the man with the keys proceeded to try one after -another in the keyhole of the desk. He was attempting to lower the -writing flap, to come to the compartments and drawers inside. - -Key after key he tried, making none but the slightest sounds. But the -lock did not give. - -“Guess we’ll have to jimmy it after all,” said Denton. “Hold the light -nearer, can’t you? Can’t see a thing.” - -“The light’s as near as I can get it, and not be in your way,” was the -retort. “Oh, look! Hang it all! the battery’s giving out!” - -As he spoke the light quickly began to fade from a bright, white glow of -the tungsten filament to a dull yellow. From this it became only a -little red streak, and the two men were suddenly left in darkness. - -“This is a nice pickle!” said Harrison, angrily. “Why didn’t you put in -a fresh battery?” - -“I did. You must have been flashing it too often.” - -“Go on! This is the first time I’ve held the light to-night. It’s all -your fault! Now we’ve either got to call it off or work by the use of -matches. We can’t see to get the right papers in the dark.” - -“Wait a minute. I have a scheme,” suggested Denton. “I saw a lamp on the -table right here. I’ll light that.” - -“If it’s got any oil in it,” half-sneered Harrison. - -“Oh, they keep their lamps filled I reckon. Stand still now, and I’ll -light it.” - -Denton struck a match, found the lamp and presently had the wick aglow. - -“Turn it down, you chump!” hoarsely whispered Harrison. “That can be -seen from outside.” - -Denton lowered the wick until the light was dim, but even then it was -better to work by than had been the electric torch, for the illumination -was more diffused. - -Denton went to work with the keys again, and luck seemed to be with him, -for after two trials the desk was opened. It was the work of but a few -minutes for the men to sort over the papers and pick out those they -wanted. - -“Now we’ve got ’em!” exclaimed Denton. “I guess he’ll talk business to -us now!” - -“We won’t bother to talk business, now we’ve got what we want,” answered -Harrison. “We’ll just light out. But before we go we might as well have -this. No use passing up a chance like this.” - -He reached over his companion’s shoulder and took a roll of bills from a -drawer that had been opened in the course of the search for the papers. - -“You’re not going to take that, are you?” asked Denton. “Why, we’ve got -the papers.” - -“Yes; and we’re going to have some money, too. I told the deacon we’d -get even with him, and I’m doing it. This will come in handy.” - -He pocketed the money. The other shook his head. - -“That’s wrong!” he said. “It’s risky, too. We ought to be satisfied with -the papers.” - -“Maybe you are, but I’m not. I’ll take all the cash I can lay my hands -on. And while we’re here we might as well see if there’s any more. -There’s a clock over there. Lots of country folks stick bills in clocks. -I’m going to have a look.” - -Despite the protests of his companion, Harrison went over to a mantel -where stood a large wooden clock. As he opened the door he exclaimed: - -“Talk about luck! Here’s another roll. Say, I’m glad we came!” - -“Put that back!” commanded the other. “We have enough.” - -“Never can have enough cash,” chuckled the other. “This makes the haul -worth while. Now we’ll go!” - -The talk had been done in whispers, and every move of the men was a -silent one. Denton, who was not quite such a rascal as Harrison, -protested against taking the money, but in vain. - -“I’ve got it, and I’m going to keep it!” was the last word of Harrison. - -“Well, it’ll get us into trouble, you see if it won’t,” declared the -more timid of the intruders. - -“If it does, it’ll help us out of trouble, too. I’m going to keep the -money, and you don’t have to take your share if you don’t want to. Now -we’ll just take another look through the desk, for we may have missed -something, and then——” - -But what else Harrison was going to propose was not made manifest, for -at that instant Denton exclaimed: - -“Keep still! I hear a noise!” - -There was no doubt of it. Some one could be heard coming down the front -stairs. - -“Come on!” hoarsely whispered Harrison. “We’ve got to beat it!” - -Denton turned to go out the way they had come in, by the rear door, but -his companion caught him by the arm. - -“Not that way!” he whispered in his ear. “We’d be caught sure! This -window—the one by the desk—come on!” - -It was the work of but an instant to slip the catch and raise the -window. Harrison jumped out followed by Denton, and as the latter -cleared the sill his foot knocked the lamp off the desk to the floor. - -There was a crash of glass, and as Denton and Harrison ran off in the -darkness they saw a flash of flame, and they smelled burning kerosene. - -“What’s that?” asked Harrison, turning for a swift backward glance. - -“I kicked over the lamp—accidental,” gasped Denton. “It’s exploded and -started a fire. We—we’ll have to go back and put it out!” - -Harrison laughed in a low chuckle. - -“Go back nothing!” he whispered fiercely. “Let it burn!” - - - - - CHAPTER X - THE SIDE-DOOR PULLMAN - - -Joe Strong, unaware of the exciting events that were taking place in the -home of his foster-parents—a home he had deserted for what, to him, were -good and sufficient reasons—hurried on down the silent and dark streets -of Bedford. It was unusual in such a small town for any one to be out -after midnight, unless there were some special occasion, and the young -wizard had the place to himself. - -“Well, I got out of that all right,” he said, half aloud, as he stopped, -when safely around the corner, to put on his shoes. “I got away without -the deacon’s seeing me. But he was right after me, and I didn’t think I -made much noise. - -“Let’s see now,” went on our hero, musingly, as he straightened up after -lacing his shoes. “What had I better do? Say, it’s great to feel free to -do just as one pleases for the first time in years!” - -Joe flung up his arms and gazed at the silent, blinking stars which -sprinkled the sky overhead. - -“It sure does feel good to be your own boss! I can go when I please, and -come when I please, and I don’t have to stand the shame of a beating -just because I burned a suit in saving a man’s life! It sure is good to -be free!” - -Joe was to learn that it is not all joy and happiness to be “free,” and -to be one’s “own boss,” but, just at present, he felt only a sense of -exultation. - -“First I’ve got to leave this bundle at Tom’s house,” thought Joe, as he -picked up the suit which had been loaned him. “I’ll leave it there with -a note that will explain. I wish I could see some of the boys to bid ’em -good-bye, but maybe it’s just as well not to. They might laugh at me, -and I wouldn’t want that. Some day, when I’m a well-known magician, I’ll -come back and give ’em a show that will open their eyes!” - -Joe next picked up his valise. It was rather heavy, for he had stuffed -in it belongings that had accumulated for years—little mementos and -keepsakes of younger days. He also had in it what clothes he felt he -would need. But Joe did not feel the weight of his satchel now. It was -as light as a feather to him. - -And to prove it Joe tossed it up in the air, also the bundle of Tom’s -clothes, and there in the darkness of midnight, standing in the middle -of one of Bedford’s principal streets, he juggled the objects in the -most approved style, using a small stone he had picked up for the third -piece to make a symmetrical act. - -“I’ll be able to do some juggling if I have to, when I want to fill in -between tricks,” thought Joe. “I do hope I can get work in some sort of -a show. Professor Rosello ought to be able to give me a letter, -introducing me to some of his friends in the business. - -“Well, standing here juggling and thinking about it won’t get me -anywhere,” said Joe, in a sort of stage whisper. “I’d better be moving -if I’m to get a berth in my side-door Pullman,” and he laughed in a -silent fashion at the idea. - -Joe had made up his mind to go to the town of Lorilard, distant about -fifty miles from Bedford, where Professor Rosello was to give a -performance the next day, and for two or three days following. This much -the magician had told Joe in the interview at the hotel, when he gave -him a list of his stopping places. - -“Yes, I’ll go to see the professor at Lorilard,” decided Joe. “He can’t -any more than turn me down. But he promised to help me, and he was -grateful to me. I believe he’ll be able to do something.” Now for Tom’s -house, and then my ‘berth!’” - -Joe had made up his mind to take the midnight freight that stopped at -Bedford, and which arrived in Lorilard some time in the early morning. -Joe was not particular as to time. - -“I’ll have to save what money I have,” thought the boy, “so I won’t have -any to waste on railroad fare. A freight car will suit me.” - -Joe Strong walked on through the dark and silent streets. He kept on the -grass as much as possible, for his footsteps rang out loudly in the -quietness, and Joe knew that “Hen” Sylvester and Tim Donovan, the two -policemen of Bedford, did not spend quite all the night in sleep. - -“I just wouldn’t like ’em to see me going away like this,” thought Joe. -“They’d be sure to stop and ask me questions. And if I make too much -noise walking on the sidewalks they may hear me. It’s me for the green -grass.” - -And so he went on until he came to the Simpson house. Joe there came to -a pause, and looked at the dwelling. No light showed. - -“Guess they’re all asleep,” he mused. “I wouldn’t want any of the family -to see me sneaking up and leaving a bundle on the steps. They might take -me for a burglar, and raise a row.” - -Silently and cautiously he opened the front gate, and tiptoed up the -brick walk, leaving his valise outside. He laid the suit of clothes, -with a little note he had written, in plain view on the door-step, and -then with a whispered good-bye to Tom, which that sound-sleeping lad did -not hear, Joe set off again. - -“Now I’m really on my way,” he told himself. “The whole world lies -before me, as we used to see in our school readers, and I have my own -fortune to make. And I hope I begin to make it soon,” mused the lad, -whimsically. “At least I hope Dame Fortune allows me to draw a few -dollars a week in advance.” - -As Joe turned into a street that led to the freight station and caught -sight of what was left standing of the fireworks factory, he could but -think of the stirring events in which he had played such a prominent -part—the discussion with his chums of the professor’s tricks, the alarm -of the explosion, the swimming of the creek, and the sensational rescue -of Professor Rosello. - -There was no sign of the fire as Joe passed the scene of it now. It had -all died out, and the main building was surrounded by heaps of ashes -which marked where the smaller structures had stood. - -Two loud, shrill whistles broke the midnight stillness. - -“The freight!” cried Joe, breaking into a run. “She’s getting ready to -leave! I wonder if I can make it. - -“She’s leaving ahead of time,” Joe went on. The freight arrived in -Bedford at midnight and left an hour later, an event which Joe had -counted on in making his calculations to leave by it. But the train was -getting ready to pull out now, fully twenty minutes early, the two -whistles Joe heard being the signal for “off brakes;” though with the -modern air apparatus this was really only a starting signal, the -brakemen being no longer required to run along the tops of the cars to -loosen the wheels. - -“I’ll have to hustle!” Joe told himself, as he increased his pace. - -The youth was in fine physical condition, and he knew he could easily -reach the freight train before it passed entirely beyond the station, -for it was a long one. - -“But I counted on having time to pick out a car,” thought Joe, still -running toward the railroad. “I wonder what I can do now?” - -The matter worried him. It is not easy to “jump” a moving freight train. -There are no cars with steps, such as passenger coaches have, with -convenient hand rails. Jumping a moving freight train is a risky matter, -even for a trained railroad brakeman. - -“And how I’m to do it with this valise I don’t know,” thought Joe. “But -it’s got to be done!” - -He was glad he was in such good physical trim. - -“I see what the trouble is,” Joe went on. “There wasn’t any shipment of -fireworks to-night, and that’s why the freight pulled out earlier. I -didn’t think of that.” - -As he ran on down the street he heard a voice behind him calling: - -“Here! Hold on! Stop! Who are you?” - -“Hen Sylvester!” gasped Joe. “He’s seen me and he’s suspicious. Well, -I’ve no time to stop and explain now. I’d miss the train sure!” - -He ran on, faster than before. He heard the patter of feet behind him, -and again the hail: - -“Hold on, or I’ll shoot!” - -“He’ll only shoot in the air if he does,” Joe told himself. “I’ll take a -chance. I guess he doesn’t know who I am.” - -He was near the freight depot now. Another few steps and he was on the -long covered platform along which the train was moving. None of the -trainmen or depot freight handlers were in sight. It was a “light” -night, and they had gotten through early. - -Joe watched the train gliding along in front of him, rapidly acquiring -speed. The platform was on a level with the floor of the freight cars. - -“If I could only see one with an open door,” mused Joe. “Then I could -dive into it. I don’t dare take a chance of jumping in between two cars. -I might slip down between the buffers.” - -Eagerly he watched the gliding train. Oh, for an open door! - -Joe heard other feet now pounding along the wooden platform. - -“It’s Hen coming to see who I am!” thought Joe. - -He looked for a hiding place. And yet to hide meant to lose the chance -of taking the freight out of town. - -“I saw him come up here!” some one said. - -“We’ll get him,” said another. “He’s probably a burglar!” - -“Tim Donovan is with Hen now,” thought Joe. “They’re both after me—the -whole Bedford police force,” and in spite of his predicament he -chuckled. - -Just then there glided past him a freight car with a wide open door. - -“Here’s my chance!” cried Joe half aloud. And the next second he made a -flying leap into the moving “side-door Pullman.” - -Joe Strong was on his way—whither? - - - - - CHAPTER XI - A SURPRISED DEACON - - -Deacon Blackford had certainly heard a noise. It was not the slight -sound made by Joe Strong, when that young magician made his escape from -the house, but it was the louder noise made by the two rascals in taking -the papers and money. - -“What’s that, Amos?” asked Mrs. Abigail Blackford, as she too heard the -suspicious sound. - -“I don’t know,” he answered sleepily enough. He had lain awake the early -part of the night, tossing restlessly, for the memory of the scene in -the afternoon with the two men had bothered the deacon. - -“But, Amos,” persisted his wife, “it _is_ a noise.” - -“Yes,” he admitted, after listening a moment, “it surely is.” - -“Hadn’t you better get up and see what it is?” she suggested. - -He waited a moment before replying, meanwhile listening intently. The -sound was plainer now. - -“Couldn’t be cats, could it?” the deacon asked, and his voice was -hopeful. He did not like to get up, for he was tired and sleepy. - -“Cats! No, the idea!” his wife exclaimed. “It’s somebody downstairs -inside the house, Amos, and you’ve got to get up and see who it is.” - -“Queer time for anybody to be calling,” grumbled Joe’s foster-father. - -“Calling! It isn’t anybody calling!” exclaimed Mrs. Blackford in a -shrill whisper. “It’s burglars if it’s anybody. Get up, Amos, and drive -’em out. Call Joe to help you. He’s good and strong. He can handle -almost as much as you can.” - -But without waiting to call Joe, Mr. Blackford gave a jump out of bed -and hurried down the stairs in the darkness. As he went down he became -aware of a light in the back parlor—the room where stood his desk, which -was like a safe to him, and the old clock where his wife insisted on -keeping her small roll of bills, on the theory that burglars would never -think of money being in a clock. - -“It is some one,” muttered the deacon. “I’m glad I got up.” - -He hurried on, taking no pains to muffle the “clap-clap” of the heels of -his slippers, into which he had hurriedly thrust his feet. “Clap-clap” -they went, down the stairs. - -Just as he reached the door of the back parlor the deacon saw a form -disappearing through the window. Who it was he could not see, as just -then the heel of the person making an egress in this queer fashion hit -and knocked over the lamp, which exploded with a slight noise, the -burning oil setting fire to the carpet and the lace curtains. - -For the moment the fear of fire was uppermost in the mind of the deacon. -He saw the stream of blazing oil spreading, and he knew that in a few -moments more the whole room would be ablaze. - -But the deacon was quick, and, fortunately did not lose his presence of -mind. He caught up a heavy rug, and, not going near enough the blaze to -let his own thin night garments catch, he tossed the rug over the blaze, -smothering it. - -Then with a quick motion he tore down the burning lace curtains, and -tossed them out of the open window, where they could harmlessly consume -themselves on the grass. The deacon burned his hands slightly in pulling -down the curtains, but he did not notice that in the excitement of the -moment. - -The fire was out almost as soon as it had started, for he had tossed the -rug over burning lamp and all, and now only some dense black smoke -remained to tell what had happened. - -“Whew!” panted the deacon, “that was a close call! It’s a good thing I -got up when I did, or the whole house would have gone! A narrow shave!” - -He got a pail of water to toss on the smouldering carpet. After he had -lifted the smothering rug, and as he doused out the few remaining sparks -his wife called to him. - -“Anybody down there, Amos?” - -“No, nobody now,” grimly answered the old man. - -“Well, it smells like some one was smoking down there. I smell smoke, -Amos. There _must_ be somebody there!” - -“No! They’ve gone,” he answered. “It was the lamp you smelled smoking. -It blew up!” - -“Blew up! Deacon Blackford what ails you? What’s happened, anyhow?” - -“I don’t rightly know yet, myself. Seems quite considerable must have -happened, and it might have been worse. You can come down if you want -to. There’s nobody here now but me, and the fire’s out.” - -“The fire’s out!” cried his wife from the head of the stairs. “What -fire? Who started the fire?” - -“Come down and you’ll see it all,” he answered, looking about to make -sure there were no stray sparks anywhere. - -Mrs. Blackford lost no time in descending, and her surprise was as great -as was the deacon’s. But it was the loss of her curtains, the burned -hole in the carpet, the broken lamp and the charred rug that surprised -Joe’s foster-mother. She had not seen the intruder go out of the window, -as had her husband. - -“What in the world—how did it—who——?” she began, hardly knowing what -question to ask first. But the deacon cut in with: - -“I don’t know any more about it than you do. I came down in time to see -somebody go through the window and kick over the lamp. Then the fire -started and I had to hustle to put it out.” - -“Some one went through the window! Who in the world could it have been? -Did you speak to him?” - -“Burglars don’t generally leave a card, nor stop to talk,” answered the -old man grimly. “But I guess——” - -The deacon did not finish, but crossed the room to his desk. He noticed -that the flap was down, and he knew he had closed and locked it the -night before. Hurriedly he ran through his papers, and then straightened -up with a queer look on his face. - -“They’re gone!” he gasped. “Gone!” - -“What?” asked his wife. “What’s gone?” - -“My investment papers—the securities—the only thing I had to show what -money was due me. They’re gone and whoever has ’em can make use of ’em! -I’ve been robbed!” - -Turning again to the desk he opened a small drawer. - -“He took the money too!” he muttered. “Every cent of it, and there was -nigh on to a hundred dollars there!” - -He fairly moaned out the words, and putting his hand to his head sank -weakly into a chair. Mrs. Blackford regarded her husband pityingly and -darted toward him, fearing he was going to faint, though he had never -done it in his life. Then a sudden idea came to her. - -She rushed over to the clock, opened it and fell back, raising her hands -in the air in astonishment. - -“Mine’s gone too!” she cried! “The thirty-nine dollars I had in the -clock! The burglar took that too! Oh, this is terrible! You must call -the constables, Amos! We’ve been robbed! They took my money! Call Joe, -and send him after Hen Sylvester. I’ll call him,” for the deacon seemed -incapable of action just then. - -Mrs. Blackford hurried upstairs, and called: - -“Joe! Joe! Get up! There’ve been burglars in the house! They’ve robbed -your pa and me, and set fire to the place! Get up and go for the -constables!” - -“Is he coming?” asked the deacon, whose heart was not beating quite so -fast now. - -“I can’t seem to make him hear,” said Mrs. Blackford. - -“I’ll rout him out,” said the old man. “I guess he’d better go after the -constable. He can go quicker than I can.” - -But Joe did not answer to this summons either, and when the door of his -room was opened, showing his undisturbed bed, and when a quick search -revealed that he had taken most of his belongings the deacon jumped to -the most natural conclusion. - -“He’s gone, Abigail!” he cried. “Joe’s run away, and it was him that -robbed us and set fire to the place!” - -“Oh, no, Deacon! _He_ wouldn’t do such a thing!” - -“Woman, I tell you he did!” cried the deacon in his most thundering -tones. “He’s robbed us and run away! I’ll get the law after him! The -thief!” and with a face flushed with wrath the deacon proceeded to -dress, muttering the while: - -“He robbed us! Joe robbed us and ran away! I always knew that the circus -and magician blood in him would tell! Now it’s come out with a -vengeance!” - - - - - CHAPTER XII - THE PROFESSOR’S ASSISTANT - - -Joe Strong slid half-way across the “side-door Pullman,” as he had -called the freight car into which he had jumped from the station -platform. One cause for his sliding was the force of his jump, the -momentum carrying him. Another reason was because the floor of the car -was covered with bits of dried hay, which is always slippery. - -“A hay car!” exclaimed Joe, as his nose caught the odor that was so -familiar to him. “Been loaded with baled hay. I’m glad I struck -something as clean as that. Might just as well have jumped into a car -that had been filled with fertilizer, or something else not nice to -smell all night. Yes, I guess I’m in luck.” - -The train was now swinging along at a good pace, and Joe proceeded to -make himself comfortable for his long ride which, at best, was not going -to be any too easy for him. - -The youth chuckled to himself as he thought of the two town policemen -vainly seeking him. - -“That’s another time I gave Hen Sylvester the slip,” murmured Joe with a -smile in the darkness. - -Though the hay car had been unloaded there still remained on the floor a -quantity of the fodder. With his feet Joe made this into a pile in one -corner, and there he intended to lie down to get some sleep if he could. -The night was warm, and he needed no covering. But he slid the door -partly shut to keep out some of the dirt and cinders. - -“This isn’t going to improve the appearance of my clothes—sleeping in -’em,” he mused. “Guess I’ll take off my coat and vest. I can save them a -little that way, anyhow.” - -Then Joe stretched out on his improvised bed and drew a long breath. - -“Well, so far so good,” he told himself. “I’m on my way. Now the rest is -up to Professor Rosello. I’ll see him in the morning.” - -Joe did not easily go to sleep, though he was tired. He had a burden on -his mind, and he was not a little worried. - -“I wonder what the deacon will think when he wakes up and finds me -gone?” thought Joe. “I guess it will surprise him.” - -If Joe only knew! - -Finally drowsiness came, and he slumbered through the rest of the night. -The train rattled on, stopping now and then at stations to pick up or -leave freight, but Joe knew nothing of this. He had thought that perhaps -he might be put off the car by some brakeman, but he decided he must -take chances on this. And, as it happened, he was not disturbed. - -Joe was awakened by the sudden jolting stop of the train, and, as he -opened his eyes he saw, through the partly shut door, that the sun was -brightly shining. - -“Good-morning—morning!” cried the lad. “I wonder what you have up your -sleeve for me?” - -Though he tried to be jolly with himself, he was not in very good shape -for joking. He was lame and stiff from sleeping on the hay-bed, and he -felt the need of washing, as any one does, even if he travels in a real -Pullman. Then, too, he was hungry. - -“Wonder if we hit anything then?” Joe asked himself, for the train -seemed to have stopped with unusual suddenness. “Guess I’ll take a look -out.” - -He peered from the door, and saw that the train was in a large railroad -yard. On several adjoining tracks were lines of freight cars, and, as -Joe looked out, he saw the engine that had been pulling his train going -off toward the round house. - -“This must be Lorilard,” thought Joe. “It’s the end of the run. That -bump must have been some other cars they switched on to the end of this -train. Well, I’ve arrived, it seems. Now to get busy, find the professor -and——But first I guess I’d better get a wash and have something to eat,” -he reflected. “I can’t look very presentable.” - -Joe put on his vest and coat, picked up his valise and was about to jump -down out of the freight car into the yard, when he saw a trainman -approaching. - -“I’d better wait until he passes,” Joe thought. “He might make it hot -for me.” - -There is a law against unauthorized persons riding on freight trains, -and though some brakemen often let tramps and other persons “steal” a -ride, still most railroad men are not as lenient, and not infrequently -throw off, or “beat-up,” those who “ride the brake-rods,” or crawl into -the empty cars. - -Joe drew back, but the man did not pass on. Instead he busied himself -tacking up shipping cards on several cars near the one Joe was in. - -“I wish he’d go!” reflected our hero. “I want to get out. I’m almost -starved.” - -Finally the man moved farther down the track, and Joe took this chance -to emerge. He dropped to the ground, but, unluckily, just then the -yard-master, for he it was, turned and saw the young wizard. - -“Here, you!” he roared. “What do you mean? Stealing a ride? I’ll fix -you!” and he started to run after Joe. - -But Joe was a good sprinter, and, though he was rather stiff from his -uncomfortable bed, he was more than a match for the yard-master. Seeing -that the “tramp,” as he supposed him to be, was distancing him, the man -caught up an iron coupling pin and threw it at Joe. - -If it had hit the youth it might have hurt him badly, but the -yard-master’s aim was no better than his running, and Joe was soon -safely out of his reach. There came a break in the line of freight cars, -and Joe slipped through this, thus getting out of sight. - -“And I’d better stop running, I reckon,” he thought, “or some other -trainman may think it suspicious to see me in such a hurry.” - -He slowed down to a walk, and presently emerged from the yard into a -street. - -“Will you kindly direct me to a hotel?” asked Joe of the first man he -met. “I’m a stranger in town. I don’t want an expensive place.” - -“There’s the Railroad House, just down at the foot of this street,” the -man said, looking at Joe curiously. “I can’t recommend it, though it’s -cheap enough. Then there’s the Boswell, three blocks up that way and two -over,” and he indicated the directions. “I stop there myself. It’s good -and not expensive.” - -“Thank you,” Joe said. “I’ll try that.” - -“Just get in?” asked the man, and he smiled. - -“Yes,” answered the young magician. “My special car was just switched -off for me!” and he laughed as he turned away. - -He found the Boswell to be just about the kind of hotel that came within -his limited means. He did not want to engage a room until after he had -seen Professor Rosello, and he was not sure where the magician was -stopping. But he could easily inquire. - -The hotel clerk was friendly, and agreed to look after Joe’s valise -while our hero had breakfast. Joe indulged in a good wash and ate a -hearty meal. - -On inquiry at the hotel desk when he claimed his satchel, he found that -the professor was going to give a performance that night. The clerk did -not know where Professor Rosello was staying, but Joe thought he could -find out by inquiring at the Opera House, as the local amusement place -was called. - -As Joe made his way thither he saw, posted in various parts of the town, -large announcements of the “world-wide famous and renowned magician, -prestidigitator and sleight-of-hand artist, Professor Alonzo Rosello.” - -“He’s the one I’m looking for all right,” thought Joe. “Now to see -what’s doing.” - -He inquired his way to the Opera House and entered the lobby. There was -no one in the ticket office, for it was early yet. - -A woman was scrubbing the oilcloth on the floor of the entrance. - -“Is Professor Rosello about?” asked Joe. - -“Who’s he?” inquired the woman, who appeared to be slightly deaf, if her -loud tones counted for anything. - -“He’s the prestidigitator—the magician——” - -The old woman shook her head. - -“I don’t know none of them foreign languages,” she said. “You’ll have to -speak plain English. And my name ain’t Maggie, neither.” - -“I didn’t say Maggie—I said magician,” and Joe spoke louder. “I’m -looking for Professor Rosello. Him!” he exclaimed, as he saw, hanging on -the wall one of the magician’s bills, containing what was supposed to be -a likeness of him in evening clothes, with a little red imp whispering -secrets in his ear. - -“Oh, him! That feller what does tricks? He’s back on the stage,” said -the old woman, resuming her scrubbing. - -Taking this as an invitation to go back, Joe made his way to the rear of -the theatre. There was a single light on the stage, and Joe could see -the professor moving about, arranging some of his apparatus in -anticipation of the evening’s performance. And Joe heard the magician -talking loudly, and as if very much disturbed about something. - -“It couldn’t have happened at a much worse time!” exclaimed the -professor. “I don’t see what possessed him to run away and leave me just -when I needed him. I don’t know what I’m to do. I’ll have to omit some -of my best illusions! It’s too bad!” - -Joe kept on down the aisle, and, passing through one of the boxes, -reached the stage, which was not yet “set” for the performance. - -He then saw Professor Rosello talking to a stage-hand, and went over to -speak to him. - -“Well, what is it?” asked the professor, not recognizing Joe, for the -place was dark. - -“Don’t you remember me?” our hero questioned. “I’m Joe Strong who——” - -“Well met! Say, but I _am_ glad to see you!” cried the magician, -heartily. “Perhaps you’re just the very one who can help me out!” - -“Well, I’ll be very glad if I can,” said Joe. “I came to you to ask you -to help me. I want a place where I can earn my living. I’ve run away -from home, and I’m going to learn to be a magician. I thought perhaps——” - -“Tell me the details later!” cut in the professor. “I’m in a peck of -trouble now. My assistant, whom I always have with me when I play in the -larger towns, left me in a fit of anger, and just when I needed him -most. He wanted more money than I could afford to pay, and I’m left in -the lurch. Now you know something about illusions, so, perhaps, with a -little coaching, you can help me out. Will you do it?” - -“Will I?” Joe cried. “Just give me the chance! It’s what I’ve been -hoping for all along!” - - - - - CHAPTER XIII - JOE’S HELP NEEDED - - -Joe could hardly believe his good luck. When he decided to run away he -had no settled plans in mind. All he expected to do was to seek out -Professor Rosello, and ask him what would be the best means of starting -in on the chosen career. But to be engaged without any delay as an -assistant was beyond Joe’s wildest hopes. - -It had come about by a curious trick of fate, and Joe was very much -pleased. - -“Do you really mean it?” he asked the professor, as they stood on the -dimly lighted stage. - -“Mean it? Of course I do. My assistant who was to help me with -to-night’s performance suddenly left, and I didn’t know what to do. - -“As soon as I recognized you, I remembered that you had some knowledge -of our way of doing things. Then, too, as I told you before, you have in -you naturally, and because of practice, the makings of a magician. So I -think you can very easily fill the shoes of my late assistant. He was -clever, but not reliable. Of course I can not pay you much money. I will -begin on ten dollars a week, and I’ll pay all your expenses. Later on, -if you do well, as I’m sure you will, I’ll increase the amount, for you -may be able to help me do more elaborate tricks, and so we will draw -better houses. Does that satisfy you?” - -“Indeed it does!” cried Joe. - -This was luck in truth, for this, too, was more than he had hoped for. -He would have been glad to work with the professor to earn merely his -expenses for a while, until he learned something of the inside workings -of magic. - -“Now,” said Professor Rosello, “we’ll have to do some quick work, Joe. -I’ll call you that, for I feel as if I had known you a long time. I’ll -never forget how you saved my life, and you will never want a friend as -long as I am alive. Where are you stopping?” - -“No place, just at present,” replied Joe. “I came in on a freight train, -after I ran away from home, and I looked you up as soon as I could after -I had breakfast.” - -Then Joe told the story of how he had left the home of his -foster-parents. - -“You had better put up at my hotel,” said the professor. “I’m stopping -at a boarding house. It’s better for me than a regular hotel. I can get -you a room there. I had planned to give a three nights’ show here, but -when my assistant left I thought I’d have to cut it down to one. Now -I’ll go ahead as originally planned, thanks to you. - -“Now suppose we just run over what I do in the evening’s performance, so -you’ll know what is expected of you.” - -Professor Rosello hastily described to Joe the program—how he came out -on the stage, rolling in his hands a red handkerchief, which he caused -suddenly to vanish. Of course this was done by “palming.” While palming -the handkerchief, which thus seemed to vanish into air, the professor -would keep up a “patter,” or running line of talk, concerning the tricks -he was to show that night. - -“Of course you know,” said the professor to Joe, “that we have to depend -on outside aid in doing what the public calls ‘tricks.’ That is, we have -as our three main helpers, the table, the wand and the clothes we wear. -I need not tell the son of Professor Morretti that the evening dress of -a modern magician has in it many hiding places—_pochettes_, the French -call them. They are secret pockets, placed where the performer finds he -has best use for them. Into these pockets a borrowed watch, ring, -handkerchief—anything not too large, in fact—may be concealed. - -“Of course we bring the hidden things out at the proper time. But, as I -say, the dress of a magician is important. I haven’t time to get you -one, and my assistant took his away with him, so you won’t be able to do -much for me in that line. - -“Another great aid to us is our wand. From time immemorial a wand has -been the symbol of magic. Ordinarily it is but a stick, a bit of ebony -or ivory, and of course with that it is not possible to do any tricks. -But the wand is valuable in that you can wave it in the air, or before a -person’s face. Naturally their eyes follow the motion of the wand, their -attention is taken from your other hand, in which you may have palmed, -or concealed, something. And while their eyes are thus off that hand you -can get rid of the palmed article, or put it in the place where you wish -it next to appear.” - -“Yes, I have read of that in some books treating of magic,” said Joe. - -“The books don’t tell you everything,” said the professor with a smile, -“but of course they are valuable. I want to tell you that nowadays we -have two wands, instead of one. One is an ordinary piece of ebony, -solid, and not prepared in any way. Then we have a combined hollow wand, -in one end of which is concealed a small pistol, so that by a mere -pressure on a spring, which is all but invisible, we can produce a shot. -On the other end of the wand is a concealed claw and spring, so that I -can draw into the hollow a silk handkerchief or light piece of cloth, -making it disappear before the very eyes of the audience. Of course the -substitution of the trick wand for the solid one must be made unseen by -the audience.” - -“Yes, I should think so,” commented Joe. - -“The tall hat is another great aid to us who work in magic,” went on the -professor. “But of late years it is hard to borrow one in an ordinary -audience, so I don’t often use it. Years ago, when more men wore tall, -silk hats, it was easy to borrow one from somebody in the audience, and -do all sorts of tricks with it—or, rather, with one of my own which I -substituted unseen. My hat, of course, was made for my purpose. It had -secret compartments in it and the lining being black, they did not show -when I held it up to show that, apparently, it was empty. - -“I might state, Joe, that of course nothing ever comes out of a tall -hat, or any other kind of a hat, my own, or that of any one else, unless -it has first been put there. ‘Loaded’ is the term we use. That is to -say, I must first put into the hat a live rabbit, a cannon ball, a piece -of cheese, an egg—anything, in fact, that I wish to produce I must first -put in the prepared hat. Then I can bring it out. - -“So much for the hat. Only, as I said, tall hats are rather hard to -borrow, so I often work with an ordinary derby, having one of my own -made with a secret compartment. Only it has to be small, as derbies -haven’t much spare space.” - -“It would be great if we could work with a straw hat—especially if we -gave a show in summer!” exclaimed Joe. - -“Why, it would, yes. I never thought of that!” exclaimed Professor -Rosello. “I believe we could have a trick straw hat made. Say, Joe, I’m -glad to see you taking an interest this way.” - -“Oh, I’m going to be a magician!” cried the youth. “I want to find out -all I can about it.” - -“It’s too bad your father didn’t live to tell you about his tricks,” -said the magician. “He was a real artist, while the most of us are but -imitators. However, it can’t be helped. I will teach you all I know if -you want to learn.” - -“I surely do!” murmured the boy. - -“Now to finish my little preliminary talk,” went on the sleight-of-hand -artist, “I will mention the table. That, or in fact several tables or -little stands, are of great aid to a magician. In the early days the -performers used a big table, all draped about with velvet, and concealed -under this velvet was an assistant. - -“When the magician wanted to cause an object to disappear he would place -it on the table just over a hole, which was not in view because it was -hidden by a trap-door. Then he would put a hollow cone or hollow block -over the object, which would at once drop through the hole in the table, -into the hands of the concealed assistant. - -“But as performers became more clever they used simpler tables. Some, of -course, seemed to be just spindle-legged affairs, but mirrors fitted in -made a place where objects could be concealed, though it seemed as -though the audience could look right through the legs of the table. But -there are some tables which are not at all mechanical, except that they -have a place at the back for a _servante_, or shelf, below the level of -the table, and on this shelf objects can be placed when the performer -has to get rid of them for the time being.” - -“It sounds complicated,” murmured Joe. - -“It’s simple when you understand it,” said the professor. “I sometimes -use as a _servante_ a little mesh bag, which I can fasten to the back of -a chair—that is if the back can’t be seen through. Then of course I have -little tables—_console_ tables they were called in the days of -Robert-Houdin. - -“These tables stand close to the draperies which are back of the stage, -and above the tables is a slit cut in the curtain, the fall of the -draperies concealing it. Through this slit my assistant can thrust his -hand and take away or substitute certain articles. That will be part of -your work. - -“So then, with the wand, with a suit having in it many secret pockets, -and with the help of a _servante_ in one form or another we do most of -our tricks, never forgetting that palming is one vital need. Of course I -have elaborate pieces of apparatus—that is elaborate for me, some -performers carry much more than I do. But the tendency in these days is -to get away from big mechanical effects, since the audience knows there -is some trick about them, even though it can’t be seen. - -“Of course you know some of what I have told you, Joe, but I thought it -no harm to repeat it. Now I’ll give you a little drill, and we’ll be -ready for to-night.” - -The professor told Joe the principal tricks he proposed performing that -night. In comparatively few of them was Joe’s aid needed, except that he -was to be on the stage to hand the professor articles when wanted, or to -remove them—passive sort of work. - -But in one trick—that of making a young man disappear when seated in a -chair on the stage in full view of the audience—Joe took an active part. - -Having gone over as much as he thought necessary, Professor Rosello took -Joe to the boarding house, where they would stay for at least three -nights. There, too, the magician gave Joe more instructions, and had him -practice some palming and card tricks. Joe was naturally good at these. - -“I’m almost glad my regular assistant failed me,” the professor said, -“for I think you are going to be better, Joe. You have a natural -aptitude for learning this art.” - -“I’m glad you think so,” remarked the youth, “for I want very much to -perfect myself in it.” - -That afternoon Joe and the professor went through several tricks for -practice, taking care that no small boys or other unauthorized persons -were secretly in the theatre to see how the tricks were done, and so -reveal them. - -The night of the performance came at last, and Joe went to the Opera -House with the professor. They went back on the stage to see that all -was in readiness for the curtain to rise. - -“A good house,” remarked Professor Rosello, as he peered through the -peep-hole of the curtain. “We’ll make a little money to-night, Joe.” - -“I’m glad of it. I wouldn’t want to bring you bad luck.” - -“Oh, I think you’ll bring me good luck. Now we’re ready, I guess.” - -The curtain went up, the professor came out, bowing and smiling and -making the handkerchief disappear by cleverly palming it, then slipping -it into one of his secret pockets, afterward seeming to draw it from the -end of his wand. To do this, of course, he merely palmed it again, and -let it gradually appear as he wished. - -Then he did several stock tricks; one of them being the bringing forth -of a small jar of goldfish seemingly from a man’s derby hat. - -There was no trick about the hat. The professor went down off the stage -and borrowed it, but, on his way back, while his back was toward the -audience, he slipped into the hat a flat dish filled with water and live -goldfish. This dish Joe had passed to him a moment before from behind -the scenes, through one of the slits in the curtain. - -The professor concealed the flat jar of goldfish, water and all, under -his vest, but the dish had over it a tightly fitting cover, made of a -thin sheet of rubber. - -As he walked back on to the stage Professor Rosello slipped the dish -into the hat, and, as he lifted it out, in full view of the audience, -he, unseen by the spectators, snapped off the rubber cover with his -thumb. Thus he seemed to bring out a jar of fish in real water, and -there was no doubt about the realness of the water, nor the life of the -fish. They could be seen swimming about, and the professor dipped his -hand in the water, sprinkling it about the stage. Then he passed the hat -back to the man. - -The goldfish had been purchased in a store that day, and kept in water -until needed, Joe putting them in the flat dish, and slipping over the -rubber cover just before they were to be used. - -“Now for my next trick,” began Professor Rosello, “I shall want to -borrow a boy or young man. I don’t want one who has any friends, as I am -going to cause him to disappear, and of course no one wants that to -happen to a friend. I am going to make him totally disappear. Who will -lend me a young man for that purpose? - -“Come now,” he went on, as there was a pause. “I see several young -ladies here with young men. Surely one of them can be spared. No? No one -will volunteer?” - -There were smiles and some laughter. - -“I see a nice young man right here,” the professor said, coming down the -steps, and standing close to a young girl and her escort. He laid his -hand on the youth’s shoulder. - -“You haven’t any use for him, have you?” he asked the blushing girl. -“May I not make him disappear?” - -“No!” she laughed. - -“Very well, then I must find some one else.” - -There was a movement in the back of the house as if some one intended to -volunteer, but, as the professor did not want this, he forestalled it by -quickly saying: - -“Never mind. I see you are all afraid. Well, I will call on my young -assistant. He is not of much use to me, or to the world either, so I -will make him disappear.” - -This was Joe’s signal to come forward for one of the more elaborate -tricks. - - - - - CHAPTER XIV - JOE’S DISAPPEARANCE - - -“You’re not afraid to be made to vanish into thin air, are you?” asked -Professor Rosello of Joe, that being part of the “patter” of this trick. -“You don’t mind being made to vanish?” - -“No,” answered Joe, “not if it doesn’t hurt.” The audience laughed. Joe -was getting on surprisingly well. He had feared he would be stricken -with stage fright on this, his first appearance in public. But there was -not the least sign of it, though there was a packed house. One reason -was that, of course, the magician occupied the center of the stage most -of the time, and all eyes were focused on him. Joe had only a minor part -as yet. - -But, also, there must have been something inherited by him from his -parents, who fairly lived in the public eye. Joe took to it naturally. - -“You see he doesn’t mind in the least,” the professor said to the -audience. “He’ll never be missed, and if I used some boy from the -audience this might not be the case.” - -“For this trick,” went on the professor, “I need a young man. I have -this—er—useless specimen——” and he tapped Joe on the shoulder. There was -more laughter from the audience. “I also need,” proceeded Professor -Rosello, “a chair, a sheet and a piece of paper. They are here,” and he -brought forward a chair, a black cloth and a sheet of a newspaper. -“There is nothing extraordinary about any of these articles except about -my young assistant. And he will feel most extraordinary when he starts -to vanish into thin air. - -“The paper, as you can see, is the front page of your local publication, -_The Herald_,” and the performer held up a sheet of paper. Every one in -the audience could see that it was what it purported to be—at least on -one side, and that was the only side held up to the crowd in the Opera -House. - -“This sheet of paper I will place on the stage,” went on the professor, -and he suited the action to the words. “On top of the paper I will place -this chair, on which my young assistant is going to sit,” and seemingly -without any special preparation the magician set the chair on the paper, -one leg being near each of the four corners of the sheet. - -“Now if you will kindly take your seat in the chair, we shall proceed,” -said Mr. Crabb, otherwise Professor Rosello. Joe sat down, his heart -beating a little faster than usual, for he wanted the trick to work -perfectly, and much depended on him. - -“Good-bye,” said the professor with mock solicitude, as he shook hands -with Joe. “This is the last we shall see of you,” and he pretended to be -distressed. Several boys in the gallery shouted their farewells to Joe -in laughing tones. He waved his hands to the audience, which was -curiously expectant. - -“I will now cover my assistant, chair and all with this sheet,” said the -professor. “I do that because the disappearance of a person sometimes is -attended by painful scenes, and I do not wish to make you suffer. This -sheet was once white,” he went on, as he shook out a black cloth, -turning it about so that both sides could be seen. There was nothing -tricky about that, it was evident. - -“It used to be white, but in traveling about the sheet lost its original -color, and, as I do not carry a laundress with me, it has never been -washed.” - -As a matter of fact the cloth had always been black. It had to be, so -the audience could not see through it to witness the details of the -trick. - -“I will now cover my assistant in the chair with this white-black -sheet,” continued Professor Rosello, “and when I raise it he will -be—gone!” - -He draped the cloth over Joe’s head and shoulders, letting it fall to -the floor of the stage on all sides of the chair. He then took up his -“pistol” wand, which fired a blank shot. - -“Are you ready?” he called to Joe, after a dramatic pause. - -“Ready,” was the muffled reply. - -“Then go!” cried the professor. He pointed his wand at the covered -chair, there was a loud report, and a moment later, when the professor -whisked the black sheet off the chair was empty. The professor lifted -the sheet of paper from under the chair. Apparently there was not a -break in it. - -There was a gasp of astonishment from the crowd. - -“You see,” said the professor, bowing and smiling when the applause had -subsided, “he has disappeared—vanished into thin air. I am glad it -happened to none of you, though of course I might be able to reincarnate -you again, as——” - -He appeared greatly astonished at the sight of some one in the back of -the theatre. - -“Why, look who’s here!” he cried, pointing with his wand. “My young -assistant has not waited for me to call him back to life. He came of -himself.” - -The audience turned to behold Joe calmly walking down the middle aisle, -and up the stage by means of the temporary steps which the professor -used to descend and ascend. - -There was more applause at Joe’s unexpected appearance in this fashion, -and the trick made a big hit. - -And now to let you into the secret. - -The trick consisted of several parts. A trap-door was in the stage -through which Joe could disappear. This trap, directly under the chair -and paper, was operated by a theatre employee, who of course would not -tell, at least beforehand, how the trick was done. After Joe had gone -down through the trap, into the room that exists under all theatrical -stages, it was an easy matter for him to slip out through the stage -door, run around an alley, and enter the front of the theatre, to walk -calmly down the aisle. - -But how could he disappear through the seat of the chair, and through -the sheet of paper, without making a break, at least in the paper? - -There was a trick about the paper, although it seemed to be perfectly -ordinary. It was a sheet from the local paper, but it had been prepared -in advance by the professor. On the back was pasted a square of -cardboard, a quarter of an inch smaller each way than the trap-door in -the stage. This paper trap, for such it was, was divided in the middle, -the two flaps being hinged to the sheet of newspaper. The reason the -cardboard did not show when held up to the audience was that the whole -sheet of newspaper was double, one half being folded over the cardboard -trap. - -When Professor Rosello laid the paper down in the stage he was guided by -certain small marks, so that it went exactly over the trap in the floor. -This trap was hinged at the back, opening downward, but kept in place -when not in use by a strong iron bar underneath. Next he placed the -chair over the piece of paper, the legs going into exact positions -previously marked on the paper, but the marks were too small to be seen -by the audience. - -The object in placing the paper on the stage was to get the audience to -believe that there was no hole in the wooden floor through which Joe -could disappear, it being the natural inference that such was the method -used. But when the crowd saw what they thought was the unbroken sheet of -paper, they would not suppose Joe had gone down through that, as he -really had. - -The chair was also a trick one. The seat of it was on hidden hinges so -it could be lifted up and folded back. There were also secret springs on -it which, when released, shot out and extended certain thin steel -projections, which distended the black sheet into such shape that they -made the rough outline of a person sitting on the chair. - -When Joe took his seat on the chair, under cover of the black cloth, he -pressed the secret springs, and a ring appeared above his head to -support the black cloth, exactly as if it were supported by his head. -Other projections appeared at his knees, and as the bottom of the cloth -was arranged by the professor some distance away from the legs of the -chair, Joe was as if he were under a sort of tent, held out and away -from him, so he could move about a little without being seen. - -As soon as he was covered, and had worked the secret springs, he lifted -up the false seat of the chair, supporting himself by his hands on the -framework, into which the seat fitted. - -This seat Joe carefully folded back, taking care to make no noise and -not to disturb the black cloth all around him. Meanwhile the professor -had with his foot given a rap on the floor of the stage. This was a -signal to the man below to open the trap in the floor. - -Joe, hidden under the black cloth, felt for the opening in the floor -with his feet. A stepladder was hurriedly put into place by the -stage-hand, and Joe lowered himself down through the chair, the prepared -hole in the paper and the hole cut in the stage, to the ladder. - -The ladder was quickly taken away, the stage-hand reached up and lowered -the seat of the chair back in place. Also, when this had been done he -closed the trap-door in the stage, and the newspaper with its trap was -in place above it, seemingly unbroken. - -Then the professor fired the shot and whisked off the black cloth, as he -did so touching the secret springs, so that the projections snapped back -out of sight, and when the cloth was lifted off the chair looked as it -did at first, only Joe was not on it. - -Then he came running down the aisle, and persons who suspected that he -had gone down through the stage did not know what to make of the piece -of newspaper. It did not fit their theory. - -That paper, appeared to be an ordinary sheet, and no one, or at least -very few, would have thought of a trap being cut in that. - -And thus was the “disappearing” trick worked. - -“Very good! You did splendidly!” said the professor in a low voice as -Joe came up on the stage. “It went off to perfection!” - -After Joe made his bow in acknowledgment of the applause he received for -his part in the trick, he prepared for the next “experiment,” as the -professor often called his acts. - -That first night of Joe’s assistance went off well, a number of acts -being done after the “disappearance,” all being well received. - -“A very satisfactory evening,” remarked Professor Rosello, as he and Joe -went to their boarding house, after having put away their apparatus. “I -hope we shall do as well the two remaining nights.” - -“So do I,” agreed Joe. - -He was very tired, for he had not rested well in the freight car, but a -good night’s sleep made him feel like a new person. - - - - - CHAPTER XV - INVOKING THE LAW - - -While Joe Strong was thus making his first public appearance as a -wizard, or, rather, as a magician’s assistant, quite different scenes -were being enacted in his home town and at his former residence. - -Deacon Blackford had discovered the fire, found out that he had been -robbed, and noted the disappearance of Joe. With these facts confronting -himself and his wife, the deacon at once began to act. - -“What you going to do?” asked Mrs. Blackford, as he dressed for the -street. - -“I’m going out,” he answered grimly. - -“What! At this time of night?” - -“Can’t help it,” was the reply. “I’m going to get the law after him.” - -“You mean Joe?” - -“I don’t mean anybody else! He robbed me and you, and he’s got to take -the consequences! I’m going to look for the constables. Joe can’t have -gone very far. I saw him jumping out of the window, but at the time I -didn’t know who it was. He robbed me, and he set fire to the place.” - -“But he didn’t mean to do _that_,” said Mrs. Blackford defensively. -“According to your tell, he accidentally kicked the lamp with his foot.” - -“Accident or no accident, he did it, and I’m going to have the law on -him! I’ll get the constables. He’s took a lot of money, and papers worth -more. He may have been in league with those rascals, Denton and -Harrison,” murmured the deacon. “But, no. I don’t hardly believe that. -He didn’t know them. He just did this out of natural badness. Couldn’t -expect much else from the son of a circus performer and a worker of the -black art.” - -He spoke harshly and angrily. - -“Maybe there’s _some_ good circus women, and men too, for that matter, -Deacon,” said his wife softly. - -“No, not one—they’re all dishonest!” Mr. Blackford declared. “But I’ll -get the law after Joe.” - -He made ready for the street, though it was a most unusual hour for -Deacon Blackford to be out. But the occasion was unusual. - -“I’ll be back as soon as I can,” he told his wife. - -Out into the night went the deacon, his brain rather in a whirl over the -recent events. He walked down the silent streets, his footsteps echoing -loudly. He headed for the center of the town where the police station -was located, for the two constables reported at this place once or twice -during the night. - -Hen Sylvester and Tim Donovan had been having adventures of their own in -chasing Joe. But they had missed him, and when they saw him fling -himself, rather rashly, into the open freight car, which quickly bore -him away from them, they turned back much chagrined. - -“He got away!” exclaimed Hen. - -“That’s what he did,” agreed his companion officer. “I wonder who he -was? I wish we could have caught him. He was a burglar.” - -“That’s right,” chimed in Hen. “Now we’ll have to go back to town, and -find out who was robbed.” - -Back to the police station went the two constables, panting somewhat -after their fruitless run. They reached the lockup about the same time -Deacon Blackford did. There were no prisoners in the jail then, so the -services of a watchman were temporarily dispensed with. - -Hen and Tim saw a figure walking along the street near the little -building that contained a few cells. Their previous experience had made -them suspicious of any one abroad at this hour. - -“There’s another one of ’em!” exclaimed Hen. - -“Another who?” asked his fellow officer. - -“Burglar. We’ll get him. Come on!” - -Determined that this second midnight prowler should not get away the two -constables made a rush for him. - -“We’ve got you!” cried Hen. - -“Surrender!” yelled Tim, drawing his revolver. - -“Here! Let me go! What does this mean?” cried Joe’s foster-father. - -At the sound of his voice the two constables released their holds and -stepped back. - -“Deacon Blackford!” they gasped. - -“That’s who I am,” was the response. “But what does this mean?” - -“We—we took you for a burglar,” explained Hen. “We chased one a while -ago, and missed him, and we were suspicious when we saw you.” - -“What are you doing out so late?” asked Tim. - -“I came to report a robbery.” - -“Where?” asked both officers eagerly. - -“At my house. I’ve been robbed of some money and valuable papers. Some -of my wife’s money was also taken.” - -“What did I tell you!” wailed Hen Sylvester. “I knew that burglar who -got away took something! If we had only caught him!” - -“Did you see him?” quickly inquired the deacon. - -“Yes, but we couldn’t see his face—couldn’t tell who he was,” explained -Tim. - -“I can tell you who he was!” announced the deacon, importantly. - -“You?” gasped both constables. - -“Yes! He was Joe Strong!” - -“Joe Strong? What! Not your——” - -“My foster-son,” broke in the deacon. “I regret to say that he has run -away with money and valuable papers belonging to me. I want him -arrested. I’ll swear out a warrant in the morning. But if you look for -him now you may find him. Arrest him on sight!” - -“No use looking now,” said Hen, despondently. - -“Why not?” - -“Because he took the midnight freight. We saw him jump into an empty car -as the train was pulling out of the station. I knew he must have been up -to some mischief, or he wouldn’t have run the way he did.” - -Then Tim and Hen, by turns, told of their fruitless chase after Joe. - -“We didn’t know who he was until you told us,” said Hen to the deacon, -“but we suspected he was a burglar. Did he get much?” - -The deacon told the details of the robbery, the fire and its -extinguishment, and how he had set out to invoke the law on his runaway -foster-son. - -“I want him arrested and locked up,” he told the constables. - -“We’ll have to catch him first,” said Tim, with a shake of his head, -“and there’s no telling where he might jump off the freight. We’ll have -to send out posters with his picture on, same as the regular police do. -Were you thinking of offering a reward?” he asked. - -“No,” answered the deacon. “At least not yet. We’ll try to catch him -without one first. Later on—well, I’ll see.” - -There was nothing more to be done that night, and in the morning Deacon -Blackford swore out a warrant for Joe’s arrest. - - - - - CHAPTER XVI - THE SMASHED WATCH - - -Even larger crowds than attended on the first evening, greeted Joe -Strong and Professor Rosello at the two following performances. The -wonder of the disappearing trick, as well as the marvels of others, had -been well spread throughout Lorilard by the small boys, and by grown -persons as well, and many bought tickets determined to “see how it was -done.” - -But the stage-hand who let Joe down through the trap in the floor kept -his own counsel, and though many persons said they were sure they knew -how the feat was performed and that Joe _must_ go down through the -stage, since it was obvious he did not go up in the air, still they -could not understand how the piece of paper was not broken. - -“Well, you certainly brought me good luck,” said the professor to Joe at -the conclusion of the third night’s performance. “We took in good money. -You have more than earned your salary.” - -“I’m glad to know that,” answered Joe, much gratified. “Do you think I -shall succeed as a magician?” - -“I’m sure of it! You learn quickly, and you have natural and inherited -ability. Practice will make you perfect. I will help you all I can.” - -Joe had worked much more smoothly the third night than on either of the -two previous ones. The “disappearance” trick had gone off well, and the -professor had let Joe do one or two simple mystification acts himself. - -“As we go along I will gradually let you do more and more on the stage,” -said Professor Rosello, “until you get so you can sometimes take my -place.” - -“You are very kind,” returned Joe. - -“I should think I ought to be,” the magician went on. “I owe my life to -you, and it will take a good while to pay that debt.” - -During the next few weeks Joe traveled about from town to town with -Professor Rosello, helping him in many ways aside from on the stage. For -there were many details to look after in hiring theatres, sending on -posters in advance, transporting the baggage and so on. - -Joe’s work was so successful, and his working of what tricks he did so -smooth, that Professor Rosello let him take a certain specified part in -the performances now. - -“We’ll add some new tricks, too,” said the magician. “I can afford to do -that now, as we are taking in a good deal of money.” - -So some new apparatus was bought, and a young man, or rather an -overgrown boy, hired to relieve Joe of some of the detail work. Thus Joe -could devote more time to the tricks and to practice. The professor’s -“show” was not a large one, and he did not play in the big cities, or, -if he did, it was in the small theatres or in halls. But Joe was in good -company, and he was getting valuable experience. He often wondered what -was going on in Bedford, and whether his disappearance had caused any -stir. - -It had. The robbery at the deacon’s house became known, and also the -fact of the accusation against Joe, who was being sought by the police. - -“Well, Joe may have run away, because he couldn’t stand it any longer,” -said Tom Simpson, when he found his suit of clothes and the note the -morning after Joe had left them on the door-step. “Joe Strong may have -run away, but he never stole!” - -“That’s right!” agreed his other chums. - -But of all this Joe knew nothing. - -The young wizard, which he was rapidly becoming in earnest, kept at his -chosen work. He practiced sleight-of-hand at every opportunity. Nor did -he neglect his physical welfare. In many of the places he visited there -were Y. M. C. A. gymnasiums, and there Joe paid a small fee for the -privilege of using the trapeze or the bars. This he did during the day, -while waiting for the night’s performance. He would end his exercise -with a shower bath, and be in fine trim for the evening’s work. He did -the disappearing trick every night of the show, and it always went well. - -Joe also did considerable studying, for the professor had a number of -books on magic. And one evening after a successful performance Joe -approached Professor Rosello, and said: - -“I think I have invented a new trick.” - -“Good!” exclaimed the professor. “Let’s hear about it.” - -“I say _think_,” Joe reminded him, “for, though I haven’t seen you do -it, you may know about it.” - -He then described the feat, explaining what apparatus would be necessary -to have it properly worked. - -“Say, that’s a good one!” cried Professor Rosello. “It’s great, Joe! And -I’ll let you do it yourself, as is your right. I’ll order what you want, -and you can practice it, for remember this: a new trick requires lots of -practice to make it run smoothly. There’s nothing worse for a magician’s -reputation than to have a slip-up when he is working a piece of magic. -So practice the new trick well.” - -Joe promised that he would, and when the three simple pieces of -apparatus were received he devoted much time to perfecting the details -of his little bit of mysticism. - -The evening came on which Joe was to do his new trick. The ones the -professor did were successfully worked, and while Mr. Crabb went behind -the scenes to “load” himself for his next act, Joe stepped forward, and, -addressing the audience, said: - -“For this trick I should like to borrow a gold gentleman’s watch—I -should say a gentleman’s gold watch.” The audience laughed at his -pretended slip, and this is always a good beginning. There was a -moment’s hesitation, and Joe added: “I will return it safely. Come now, -can’t I get one gold watch from some one in this large and -intelligent-looking audience? Ah, thank you, here is a trusting -gentleman,” and he accepted a gold watch which a man in the front row -held up. He was not a confederate. Joe had never seen him before, but he -took this watch because it was an open-faced one, of just the size he -wanted. - -“Now before I go on with this trick,” resumed Joe, as he took his place -in the center of the stage, “I will, for safe keeping, place the watch -in this paper bag.” He held up what seemed to be an ordinary paper bag -such as grocers use. The watch went into it, and Joe then twisted the -bag up around the watch, the paper assuming a circular form the shape of -the watch being plainly visible. - -“I’ll just lay the watch, in the bag, on the floor here for a moment,” -the young wizard went on. “It will be perfectly safe, I’m sure. I just -want to ask a few questions of the owner.” - -Joe then went through some “patter” improvised for the occasion, asking -the man who had lent him the watch, how long he had had it, whether it -kept good time, if it were valuable, and so on. - -In the midst of this talk Joe walked about, and then, seemingly by -accident, he stepped on the paper bag. There was an instant crunch as if -of a broken crystal, and a gasp came from the audience. The man who -owned the watch looked rather startled. - -“Dear me! This is quite too bad!” exclaimed Joe, stooping to pick up the -paper bag and the stepped-on watch. “I am very sorry, sir, but you know -accidents will happen. You should have warned me that I was going to -step on your watch, my dear sir.” - -“I—I—you——” began the man, rather red in the face. - -“Keep still!” his wife cautioned him. “It’s only a trick, you know.” - -The man became silent, but wore a worried look. - -“Well, let us see just how bad the damage is,” Joe went on. He took the -watch from the bag and held it up. The crystal was cracked in all -directions, and a slight pressure from Joe’s thumb sent it into -fragments of glass. - -“Oh, dear! Worse and worse!” Joe exclaimed. “Well, since I have broken -this much of the watch, I might as well finish it. I’ll put it in this -mortar,” and he brought forward a small wooden one, shaped as all -druggists’ mortars are. - -“There’s nothing in it, you see,” he went on holding it so the audience -could look into the interior. “Quite empty,” and Joe rattled his wand -inside. “So it can’t hurt your watch to go in there.” He shook the -fragments of glass on the now smoothed-out paper bag, and carefully -lowered the watch, with its back toward the audience, into the mortar. - -“Now we’ll see what we can do,” Joe went on, taking up the pestle. This, -as you know, is the object with which a druggist grinds up in the mortar -any medicine requiring crushing. - -“We’ll make a thorough job of this while we’re at it,” Joe went on, as -he proceeded to grind away with the pestle on the bottom of the mortar. - -“Come! This is too slow. I shall have to use something heavier, I think, -to make mince-meat of this watch. It is a very tough one. I’ll use this -poker,” and he picked up an iron one, laying aside the pestle on a -table. With the poker Joe jabbed away at the bottom of the mortar, -wherein, a few moments previous, the audience had seen him place the -watch. - -A rattling, grinding sound was heard, a clink of metal, and Joe -exclaimed: - -“Ah, now we are getting on famously! You will hardly know your watch -again, my dear sir. It is all in pieces.” - -The man did not seem to know whether to look amused or angry. - -“There we are!” Joe exclaimed, as he held the mortar slantingly so the -audience could look inside. They, as well as the gentleman who had lent -the watch, saw the crushed and bent wheels, springs and pinions of a -watch, all massed together. - -“Well, I couldn’t do much worse to your watch. I think you’ll agree to -that, my dear sir?” said Joe to the man. - -“That’s right,” he admitted, rather ruefully. - -“And now to try what a little magic will do,” said Joe. “Since I have -destroyed your watch, I’ll do my best to restore it.” - -He poured from the mortar the fragments of a watch, putting them on the -paper bag together with the pieces of glass. He then wadded them all up -together, and crammed them into the mouth of a large, old-fashioned -pistol. - -“Now watch me closely,” Joe said. - -And one may well believe the audience, as well as the man who owned the -watch, did watch. - - - - - CHAPTER XVII - JOE LEARNS SOMETHING - - -The young wizard made a few “magical” passes in the air over the pistol -he held up in front of the audience, which was now keyed up to a point -of nervous anticipation. The man whose watch had been borrowed was half -out of his seat. He seemed about to protest against the liberties being -taken with his property, but his wife, cooler headed than he, whispered -to him: - -“It’s all right. You’ll get your watch back.” - -“But how can I when he——” - -“Hush!” she cautioned him. - -“If agreeable to you,” went on Joe, smiling, “I will fire the fragments -of the watch from this pistol, and cause it to appear, whole, reunited -and undamaged, in that flower.” - -As he spoke he aimed the pistol at a small, potted, flowering plant on a -table at the back of the stage. - -“I’ll cause the watch to appear hanging from a pink ribbon among the -roots of that plant. And here is the ribbon I will use,” and Joe rammed -down the barrel of the pistol a small length of silk ribbon which he -picked up from a table near him. - -He aimed his weapon at the plant and fired. There was the usual jumping -and screaming from some of the women in the audience, as Joe walked over -to the plant. In plain view of the audience he lifted it, roots, earth -and all from the pot, and there, as he had said, dangling from a pink -ribbon, was a watch. - -“I believe this is your property, sir,” he said to the man who had lent -the timepiece, and Joe detached it, ribbon and all, from a short branch -of the plant over which the ribbon was looped. - -“Is it your watch?” Joe asked. - -“Why—er—yes, it is! But I don’t see how in the world you made it whole -again.” - -“That’s one of the secrets of magic,” returned Joe, smiling, and bowing -to the applause that followed. His trick had been a great success, as he -had hoped. - -Professor Rosello now came on the stage to work one of his feats, and -Joe retired to get ready for his part in it. And while he is doing that -the explanation of the watch trick will be given. - -It stands to reason that no one can take a perfectly good watch, step on -it, break the crystal, beat it to pieces, ram it into a pistol and by -firing it at a plant cause the timepiece to appear whole again among the -roots. This is how it is done. - -In the first place Joe had provided himself with the following articles -for his trick: A paper bag, ordinary, except that inside it were some -small lumps of hard sugar, held from rattling about by small strips of -paper pasted over them. Also on one side of the bag was pasted a -triangular piece of paper forming a sort of pocket, which was not -visible when the bag was quickly held up in front of the audience. In a -secret pocket of his suit Joe had a watch crystal which had been scored -in crisscross fashion by a diamond, so that it appeared to be cracked in -every direction. The cuts made by the diamond were so deep in the glass -that a slight pressure would cause the crystal to break into scores of -pieces. - -The other piece of apparatus was a trick mortar and pestle. The mortar -had a false inside bottom which fitted closely but not too tightly. -Below this bottom Joe had placed, beforehand, the fragments of a cheap -watch—wheels, springs and so on. - -The pestle was also a trick one. In the large end there was a hollow, -large enough to hold a watch, and the opening was closed by a piece of -wood exactly the same shape and size as the false inside bottom of the -mortar. The end of the pestle and the bottom of the mortar were -interchangeable. - -The pistol Joe used was the regular stage kind. That is it had two -barrels. Into the larger the objects, in this case the fragments of a -watch, were placed. The other barrel fired a light charge of powder. - -The flowering plant was a real one—there was no trick about that except -that the earth around the roots had been previously made loose, so it -would pull up easily. - -Joe, with all these things, was ready for his trick. He borrowed the -watch and placed it in the paper bag. - -That is, he seemed to do so, but, in reality, he slipped it into the -little outside triangular pocket he had pasted there for it. He could -now hold the bag up, with the side containing the watch away from the -audience, and, as he showed both hands empty, every one thought the -watch was in the bag. It was, in a sense. - -Joe then twisted the bag up, making it conform to the shape of the -watch, and when this point was reached he quietly slipped the watch out -from the pocket into his hand, cleverly “palming” the timepiece. With -the watch safe in his hand, he laid the bag on the floor of the stage. -The paper still retaining its round shape, and no one suspected that the -watch was not in it. - -Then Joe stepped on the paper bag. Of course it sounded as if he had -broken the watch crystal, but, in reality, what the audience heard was -the crunching of the lumps of sugar. - -Joe pretended to be much exercised as he picked up the bag, and as he -did this, he slipped the watch into his secret pocket, and managed to -put over its glass face the crystal he had previously prepared by -scoring and criss-crossing with the diamond. When this was done Joe -again palmed the real watch, but now it had over its face a glass that -seemed to be cracked in all directions. - -Reaching his hand, in which the watch was palmed, inside the bag, Joe -seemingly brought out the cracked watch. Again he manifested much -concern, and more so when a pressure of his thumb really broke the -prepared glass. - -Then he was ready for the mortar and pestle part of the trick. He put -the fragments of glass on the paper bag, and lowered the watch, with its -back toward the audience, into the pestle. This was done so that no one -would see that the crystal was still whole and uncracked, which was the -case. - -The real watch was now in the mortar, but it did not actually rest on -the bottom. Instead it rested on the false piece of wood, and beneath -this wood, in a hollowed-out place, were the pieces of a cheap watch. - -As Joe looked down into the pestle, as though to see that the watch was -all ready to be pounded up, he “palmed” off the false head of the -pestle. This left that instrument with a hollow head, inside which would -fit the real watch, to be concealed from view by the loose false bottom -of the mortar, when the pestle was lifted. - -Joe now put the pestle into the mortar, slipping the opening in the -pestle over the watch and false bottom, and by a slight rotary motion -causing the false bottom of the mortar to fit itself into the pestle and -stick there. The real watch was now concealed in the hollow head of the -pestle, while the fragments of the cheap watch were exposed in the -bottom of the mortar. - -Joe now pretended that the pestle was not strong enough to smash up the -watch as he wanted it, and used a poker. He laid the pestle on the -table, which was a signal for the boy assistant to take it out behind -the scenes. And while he had the pestle there the boy took out the real -watch, quickly tied a pink ribbon through the ring, and then, going to -one of the curtains, in which was a slit, he reached through this slit -and suspended the ribbon on a short branch of the flower, letting it -hang down out of sight behind the pot. Of course the audience did not -see this, for the folds of the curtain concealed the slit. Besides, all -eyes were on Joe. - -The young wizard had now gotten the real watch just where he wanted it, -on the plant, where he could “produce” it whenever he wanted to. But the -trick was not yet finished. Joe ground away with the poker at the pieces -of the cheap watch already in the pestle. He then showed the pieces to -the audience, poured them out on the paper bag, where the pieces of -glass already were. The whole was then wadded up, put into the trick -pistol, and the rest was a mere matter of detail. Joe walked over, -picked up the pot, pulled the plant up by the roots, the watch of course -seeming to have been down in the dirt. And, naturally, the watch was not -in the least damaged, though it seemed to have gone through all sorts of -misfortunes. - -The real secret of the trick, aside from the sleight-of-hand work -necessary, lay in the prepared paper bag and the mortar and pestle, -which were made for just such mystification as this. - -“It went very well, Joe,” said the professor, at the conclusion of the -performance. “That little piece of ribbon added to it.” For Joe had -thought to put into the pistol a bit of ribbon such as that by which the -watch was suspended. Otherwise he could not have accounted for the piece -on the ring of the watch. - -“Do you think they liked it?” Joe asked. - -“I’m sure they did. You may do that trick at each place where we -perform. And if you can work up any new ones, do so.” - -“I will!” promised Joe, much delighted with his progress. - -Inventing new tricks is not as easy as might be supposed, and for the -next few days Joe suggested feats to Professor Rosello only to have them -refused as not being effective enough or as too old. But Joe was not -discouraged. - -At a performance one night in the town of Cardiff, Joe had occasion to -walk down among the audience to exhibit some pieces of apparatus, to -show that there was nothing concealed about it. As he passed one row of -seats he was surprised to hear a boyish voice say: - -“Hello, Joe!” - -He looked around and saw Harry Martin, one of his chums from Bedford. - -“Why, hello, Harry!” Joe ejaculated. “What in the world are you doing -here?” - -“I’m visiting my uncle who lives here. But I never expected to see you -in a show like this. I never was so surprised as when you came out on -the stage. I couldn’t believe my eyes.” - -“Oh, I’ve been with the professor some time,” said Joe quickly. “Ever -since I—er—I came away from home. But come back of the scenes after the -show, Harry. I’d like to have a talk with you.” - -“And I with you, Joe. I want to tell you I don’t believe what they are -saying about you, either.” - -“Saying about me, Harry?” - -“Yes. I’ll tell you later.” - -Joe was puzzled as he went on with the trick, and he eagerly awaited the -advent of his chum behind the scenes after the show was over. - -“What is it they’re saying about me, Harry?” asked the young wizard. “Do -they blame me for leaving a home I couldn’t stand any longer?” - -“Not that so much, Joe. But don’t you know you are accused of robbing -Deacon Blackford and setting fire to his place?” - -“What?” cried Joe. “You don’t mean that!” - -“Yes I do,” said Harry. “I mean that’s what you’re accused of, but I -don’t believe it!” - -Joe sank into a chair. - - - - - CHAPTER XVIII - THE MAGIC EGG - - -“Don’t take it so to heart, Joe,” begged Harry, after a moment’s pause. -“I didn’t mean to spring it on you this way. I thought maybe you knew -something about it.” - -“I didn’t know a thing!” exclaimed Joe. Professor Rosello and the boy -helper were busy putting away their apparatus, so Joe and Harry could -talk together for a time. “How did they come to accuse me?” Joe asked, -after a pause. - -“Well, you ran away, you know,” began Harry. “Of course that wasn’t so -bad, considering what you had to put up with. And the same night you -went off, the deacon was robbed.” - -“Of much?” - -“To hear him tell it you’d think it was. About a hundred dollars of his -money and nearly forty dollars of his wife’s.” - -“She kept hers in the clock and his was in the desk,” said Joe. - -“Better not let any one else hear you say that,” Harry cautioned him. - -“Why not?” - -“Because they’ll only be more suspicious of you, seeing you knew where -the money was kept.” - -“Oh, that isn’t anything. I couldn’t very well help knowing, being in -the house all the while. But was anything else taken?” - -“Yes, some valuable papers.” - -“And what about a fire?” asked Joe. - -“Well, the deacon says he heard a noise, got up to see what it was, and -saw some one getting out of the window near his desk. Whoever it was -kicked over the lamp, which exploded. The deacon says he knows you -didn’t mean to start the fire.” - -“What made him think it was I getting out the window?” - -“He didn’t—that is, not at the time. But when he went to call you, and -found you weren’t in your room, then he jumped to the conclusion that -you had taken the money and papers and climbed out of the window.” - -“I didn’t do either,” Joe said. “I went out the door in a hurry when I -heard the deacon after me. That is, I thought I heard him. I’m beginning -to believe now it was the noise made by the real burglars that -frightened me. But is that all the evidence they have against me?” - -“No, Hen Sylvester and Tim Donovan saw you running away in the middle of -the night, and jump the midnight freight. They chased after you and -fired some shots, but you wouldn’t stop.” - -“By Jove! That’s right!” cried Joe. “That _will_ look suspicious.” - -“Then you _did_ run away from them?” asked Harry. - -“Yes, but not because I had robbed the deacon. I was late for the -freight. You see it pulled out earlier than usual because there wasn’t -so much of the fireworks to load, on account of the fire. I didn’t want -to miss it, and I ran. I wouldn’t stop when the constables called to me. -Yes, that sure will look suspicious;” and Joe shook his head. - -“But we don’t believe you did it,” said Harry. “Tom, Charlie, Henry and -I will stick to you, Joe.” - -“Thanks. Did Tom get his suit all right?” - -“Oh, yes. But I sure was surprised when I saw you come out on the stage -to-night. We hadn’t any idea where you’d gone, though Deacon Blackford -said he guessed you’d join some circus.” - -“This isn’t quite a circus,” said Joe. “But I like it,” and then he told -his chum his experiences since joining his fortunes with those of -Professor Rosello. - -“Say, it’s great!” cried Harry, with sparkling eyes. “I wish I were a -magician.” - -“Oh, I’m not one yet,” replied Joe. “It takes a lot more experience than -I’ve had. But I’m learning. How did you like the show?” - -“Fine! That watch trick of yours was a dandy. You didn’t really smash -the watch and put it together again, did you, Joe?” - -“Of course not. There was a trick about it, but I don’t feel at liberty -to tell you how it’s done. You see the trick, in a way, belongs to -Professor Rosello.” - -“Oh, I don’t want you to tell me. It would spoil it for me when I saw it -again. I’m coming to-morrow night.” - -“Come on,” urged Joe. “Here, I’ll write you out a pass. It isn’t often I -get a chance to do that for a friend.” - -They were showing two nights in this particular town, and Professor -Rosello gladly allowed Joe to give Harry a free ticket. - -“Say, you’re sure making out better than you ever would in Bedford, -Joe,” commented his chum, as they parted that evening. - -“Yes, I couldn’t stand it there. The deacon wasn’t fair to me.” - -“Well, we boys miss you,” Harry said. - -“Give ’em my regards when you go back,” Joe suggested, “and tell the -deacon I never took his money.” - -“I sure will, Joe.” - -A few nights later, Joe, in his capacity as assistant, was helping the -professor, who was doing an egg trick—balancing the egg on the end of a -straw. The straws were genuine ones, as were the eggs. The secret lay in -a little piece of apparatus, so small as to be readily palmed almost -before the very eyes of the audience. It consisted of a little celluloid -cup, so shallow as to be almost flat, but concave enough to hold the end -of an egg. There was a little stem, half an inch long, on the lower side -of this celluloid cup. - -After the professor had invited some one in the audience to make an egg -stand up on end on the point of a straw, which the person, of course, -could not do, the professor did it himself, deftly slipping the -projection of the celluloid cup into the hollow of the straw. The egg -then stood up in the little piece of celluloid, which, being the exact -color of an egg and as thin as the shell, was never noticed. - -As Joe watched this familiar trick being done, there came into his mind -the idea for another one, even more simple, and requiring no apparatus -whatever except an ordinary glass jar. He spoke to the professor about -it the next day, and was given permission to work it. - -Just before he “put on” his watch trick the next night, Joe announced -that he would try a little experiment with an egg. - -“You all know that a perfectly fresh egg will sink in water,” he said. -“In fact, that is a test for a fresh egg. Now I have here three -perfectly good and fresh eggs. I know they are fresh because I bought -them this afternoon from your popular grocer, Mr. McCabe, and he told me -he never sold any _but_ fresh eggs.” - -There was a laugh at this, and every one turned to look at the grocer, -who was in the audience, a fact that Joe knew, for he had really -purchased the eggs at the grocery. Thus he had his audience with him at -the start, a reference to a local personage from the stage by a -traveling performer invariably producing an effect. - -“Now as you all know,” Joe went on, “a fresh egg sinks in water. You can -prove it at home, and I’ll prove it here for you. Just pick out any one -of these eggs,” he said, and, extending them on a plate to a woman in -the audience, he took from her the egg she picked up. - -“The lady looks like a good cook, she ought to know good eggs,” said -Joe, and again there was a laugh. - -“Now I’ll just put this egg in this jar of water,” went on the young -magician; “but instead of sinking, when I speak the magic word, it will -remain floating half-way between the top of the water and the bottom of -the jar. Now watch me closely.” - -Joe gently lowered the egg into the jar of water that stood on a table -near him. Slowly the egg settled through the limpid fluid. - -“By the magic of this wand, I command you to stop!” cried Joe, as the -egg was half-way down, and as he waved his stick the egg did stop -midway. - -“You see how easy it is,” the young performer continued. “I did not -touch the egg after I placed it in the water, nor did I approach the -glass jar. You may examine both in a moment. I will now dissolve the -magic spell I have cast about the egg. With my wand I make some -passes—so——” - -Joe put his wand into the water and stirred it about the egg, but did -not touch it. In a second the egg slowly sank to the bottom of the jar, -to the mystification of the audience. - -“You may think there is some trick about it,” said Joe. “But any one of -you is at liberty to try and make the egg halt half-way down, as I did. -Will you try it?” he said to the woman who had picked out the egg. - -She blushed and shook her head. - -“Then you, please,” and Joe indicated a young man, who, sheepishly -enough, came up on the stage. Joe handed him the jar of water, the young -man reached down into it, got the egg and put it in the jar as Joe had -done. But the egg at once sank to the bottom, and though the young man -tried again, he had no success. - -“You see, it’s magic,” laughed Joe, as he made ready for his smashed -watch trick. - - - - - CHAPTER XIX - THE CIRCUS - - -And now for the explanation of the egg trick. It is so simple that any -of you may do it at home, with just an ordinary egg, a fruit jar and -some salt. Don’t forget the salt. - -You have all heard the story, told to children, about putting salt on a -bird’s tail in order to tame it. Well, a fresh egg that one wishes to -make float half-way submerged in a jar of water, must be treated in the -same way. It must be salted. - -Just as Joe said, a fresh egg will sink in water. But it will float in -strong brine, or salt water, the reason being that salt water is denser, -and has a greater specific gravity, than fresh water. - -But the trick lies in combining fresh and salt water so that the egg -will sink only half-way. - -Make a strong brine solution by dissolving common table salt in water. -It may be necessary to experiment a little before getting the solution -just the right strength. Fill a glass fruit jar, or any jar with a wide -opening, half full of the brine. Now, with a funnel, pour fresh water in -on top of the salt water. Be careful not to let the two kinds of water -mix. The salt water, being heavier, will be on the bottom of the jar, -and the fresh, being lighter, on top. If you do it carefully enough, -pouring in a little fresh water at a time, you will have, as Joe had, a -jar with two layers of different kinds of water—one salt, the other -fresh. The audience, of course, can not see this, as they could if you -had two differently colored fluids, for the salt and fresh water are of -the same color. - -When Joe put the egg in the water he lowered it carefully, so as not to -disturb the two water layers. The egg sank through the strata of fresh -water, but when it came to the layer of dense, salt water, it would not -sink in that, and came to a stop, half-way down, just as Joe, who knew -at what point this would occur, uttered the command to stop. - -And when Joe pretended, to dissolve the “spell,” he merely, with his -wand, stirred together the fresh and salt water. This made a mixture of -salt water, but it was not dense, or heavy, enough to support the egg, -which of course sank to the bottom. - -And, as the waters were well mixed when Joe let the young man try the -experiment, of course the latter could not make the egg float as the boy -wizard had done. - -“That was a good trick, Joe,” was the professor’s compliment when Joe -came off the stage. “In fact I think the simpler the trick is, the -better, but there are very few that can be worked with so little -apparatus as your egg experiment. We’ll keep that on our list.” - -Joe had told his employer about the news brought by Harry, to the effect -that our hero was accused of robbery by his foster-parent. - -“What are you going to do about it, Joe?” asked the professor. - -“I don’t see that I can do anything. I didn’t take a dollar of his -money, or Mrs. Blackford’s either, nor did I touch the valuable papers. -It’s all a mistake, but I’m not going back there to tell him so. I sent -word by Harry. If he won’t believe him, he won’t believe me.” - -“No, perhaps not. And, as you say, you can’t go back there just to -convince your foster-father. You don’t think, do you, that he will make -trouble for you?” - -“I don’t imagine so.” - -When Joe said this he knew nothing of the warrant having been sworn out -for his arrest. Harry had not told his chum of this detail. - -“Then I don’t see that you need do anything,” said Mr. Crabb. “I, -myself, don’t believe the accusation against you. And until you are put -to some real trouble over it you may as well ignore it. We’ll just go on -as usual. You are doing well, and our show is succeeding better than I -hoped for. I am glad you came to me.” - -Joe was grateful for this trust, and resolved to do his best in his -future work. He worked up several new and simple tricks, many of them, -such as dancing cards, the nodding skull and others, being adaptations -from other stage illusions. - -You have, most of you, perhaps, seen a magician suspend a card, -apparently in mid-air, and cause it to go up or down as some one in the -audience requests. Sometimes a metal ball on a rod is used. These tricks -are worked by means of a black thread which is attached to the card or -ball and is pulled by a confederate behind the scenes. - -Indeed, the black silk thread has been called the magician’s best -friend. It is absolutely invisible on the lighted stage against the -proper background, and the right kind is strong enough to lift -considerable weight. - -A card chosen from the pack is made to rise or fall as follows: the -magician gets possession of the card selected by some one in the -audience, either by keeping his finger in the place in the pack into -which it is thrust, or by “forcing” a certain card on the person in the -audience. The performer knows what card he is going to “force” and, -later, can readily pick it out of the pack as he shuffles it. To “force” -a card, the operator rapidly spreads out a pack of cards, face down, in -front of a person, and quickly thrusts one card out farther than the -others, literally “forcing” it into the hand. It is a predetermined -card, but not one in a hundred realizes that. - -At any rate, having the card, the performer goes back to the stage and -adroitly contrives to fasten the card to the unseen black silk thread -with a tiny bit of beeswax. Then, with the card apparently suspended in -mid-air, but in reality hung by an unseen thread, which runs through -screw-eyes on the stage floor, the card is made to go up or down or stop -midway, just as the audience calls for, by the pulling of the thread by -the assistant behind the scenes. When the trick is over the performer -slyly takes the card off the pellet of wax, no trace of which shows, and -passes the card around for examination. Of course it is an ordinary -card. The trick was all in the string. - -Joe made a variation of that trick by using a round-bottomed little -papier-maché figure, bought in a toy store. There was no trick about the -figure. It was one of those which can not be made to lie down, but -continually bob up, because of a weight of lead in the rounded bottom. - -Joe laid a glass shelf across the backs of two chairs, and after passing -the little round-bottomed figure about for inspection, returned with it -to the stage, placing it on the glass shelf. - -“This little figure, by bowing to the right or to the left, will now -answer questions without assistance from me,” Joe announced. “A bow to -the left will mean ‘no,’ and a nod to the right will mean ‘yes.’ Or you -may have it the other way if you like. Which shall it be?” - -The choice being thus left to the audience it seems impossible that -there can be any prearrangement. - -“Right bow for ‘no,’” some one called. - -“Very well,” agreed Joe, smiling. “It’s all the same to me. A bow to the -right will stand for ‘no,’ and the nod to the opposite direction will -mean ‘yes.’” - -All this while the little figure rested on the glass shelf. Not a bit of -mechanism was to be observed, and Joe walked down from the stage and -stood in the audience after placing the figure on the glass. - -“Now we will ask questions,” announced the young performer. “Is the lady -on my right married?” - -“No,” nodded the figure. - -“Is she willing to be?” he went on, amid laughter, while the young lady -blushed. - -“Yes,” nodded the figure, amid still heartier laughter. - -Joe asked many other questions, easily answered by no or yes. He did not -take the trouble to find out if the answers were correct. The questions -followed one another quickly, and the audience was interested in noting -the movements of the figure, with no one on the stage, with Joe far away -from it, and with nothing but a plain glass shelf on which the figure -rested. - -When Joe had caused enough fun and mystification with this trick, he -walked back to the stage, picked up the figure and tossed it to a little -boy in a front seat. - -“Take it home with you, youngster,” he said. “See if you can make it -behave as I did.” - -Several interested ones around the boy examined the figure. There was no -deception about it, and the giving of it away proved this. In fact Joe -found that a good climax to the trick. - -And now—how was it done? - -Beforehand two black threads were passed from behind the scenes up -through the rounds of the chairs, over the backs and up on the glass -shelf, where they met in the middle, each thread ending in a little -pellet of wax. When Joe apparently carelessly placed the figure on the -glass shelf he fastened one of the waxed ends of thread to either side -of the half-rounded bottom. - -He then went entirely away from the stage, and all that remained was for -the assistant behind the scenes to pull one thread to make the figure -bow to the right, and another to cause it to nod to the left. Of course -the assistant heard all that was said, and could govern himself -according to the choice of the audience. It was an effective trick, and -beautifully simple. You might even try it yourself, but be sure the -black threads do not show. It is for this reason that most magicians -have dark draperies for a stage background. - -“Where do we go next?” asked Joe of the professor the night after he had -first introduced his magic figure trick, which had gone so well with the -audience. - -“Hillsburg is the next town, and we ought to make quite some money -there, Joe.” - -“You deserve more money,” proceeded Mr. Crabb, “and I am going to give -it to you. You are certainly a valuable addition to my show, and in time -you will be able to carry on a whole performance yourself. You still -have something to learn in palming, in making substitutions, and in -manipulating cards. But that takes practice and time. I have great hopes -of you.” - -But alas for the hopes of doing a good business in Hillsburg! When they -reached that town, they found that a circus was playing there on the -same date as Professor Rosello’s show. - -“No use trying to compete with a circus,” observed the professor, as he -heard the news at the small hotel where they put up. “We’ll just wait -over a couple of days, Joe, and perhaps we can think up some new tricks -in the meanwhile. A rest will do us no harm. I’ll just cancel to-day’s -engagement here, and put the show on two nights later. By that time we -can get a crowd.” - -“Then you haven’t anything for me to do?” - -“No, Joe.” - -“I guess, then, I’ll go out and see them get ready for the circus. I may -take in the show, too.” - -“Please yourself, Joe,” said the professor, as his young helper went -out. “I didn’t think he could resist the attraction of the sawdust rings -of a circus,” he murmured to himself with a smile. - - - - - CHAPTER XX - SOME TRAPEZE TRICKS - - -Joe did not have to ask his way to the circus grounds. He had only to -follow the crowd, mostly made up of small boys, though with a goodly -sprinkling of young men, all of whom were stringing their way out to the -big, vacant lots where the tents were being put up, and where the big -cages, wagons, horses, and animals were getting ready for the parade -that was to follow. - -“They’ll likely have the horse and animal tents up by this time,” mused -Joe, “but I can see ’em fixing the main top.” - -The largest tent, or the one where the performance is given, is called -in circus language the “main top.” - -Joe knew something of circuses from having read of them and having seen -one or two, but also he remembered a very little, and seemed, too, to -have inherited a certain knowledge. - -It would have been strange had he not had a hankering for a tent show, -for the son of Madame Hortense, one of the greatest circus riders of her -day, ought to have something of a liking for that strange life. - -“I wonder if, by any chance, I’d meet some one who used to know my -mother,” mused Joe, as he walked onward. “It isn’t so very many years -ago that she was with a show, and there might be some old-time -performers who would know her. But it’s hardly likely, though possible. -Of course my father, having been mostly in theatre shows, wouldn’t be so -apt to know circus people. Say, it almost makes me want to be with ’em!” -Joe murmured enthusiastically, as he came in sight of the circus lots on -which lively scenes were being enacted. - -Men were running about, straightening out the big folds of canvas, -lacing up the parts of the big tent preparatory to raising it, for the -“main top” comes in several sections for easier transportation. - -Gay banners were fluttering from the animal tent, already up, and from -the one where the performers were to eat and dress. - -Breakfast had already been served to the now busy workers; and from the -wagons, on which were the big stoves, there arose appetizing odors, as a -second meal was being gotten ready—a breakfast for the performers who -did not have to get up as early as did the laborers. Most of the circus -stuff had been brought from the railroad trains, and was on the grounds. - -“I don’t see how they ever straighten things out,” mused Joe. But -somehow it was done. Every one had a certain part to perform. And while -one gang of men were putting up the tents, others were feeding the -horses and other animals, and those in charge of the parade were getting -that ready to march through the streets in order to entice the small boy -and his parent to come to the show. - -Joe strolled past the place where, outside one of the performers’ tents, -men were pasting paper on the hoops through which the riders would leap -later. He did not stop to peer in at the animals, though many small boys -were feasting their eyes on such glimpses of the sights as they could -see. Joe did not care much for this. - -“I wish I could see some of the trapeze and high wire fellows at -practice,” he mused. “I might pick up a few stunts myself.” - -Joe passed a place where some of the performers’ trunks had been heaped -up in readiness to be taken into the dressing tents. Near them stood a -tall, slim, young fellow, of about Joe’s age. He did not seem very -muscular, and he was tugging away at a heavy trunk, which he could not -move. - -“Shan’t I give you a hand?” asked Joe pleasantly. “That looks pretty -heavy.” - -“It is,” was the answer, given with a smile. “I ought to have some of -the men help me, but they’re all too busy. My trunk is under this one, -and I want to get at it. There’s a hole in my suit I want to get mended -before the show opens.” - -From that Joe knew the lad to be one of the performers. - -“I guess I can get it down for you,” said the young wizard, and with a -heave of his powerful arms he lifted down the top trunk. - -“My, but you’re strong!” exclaimed the other, somewhat enviously. - -“Strong is my last name,” laughed Joe. - -“Is it, really?” - -“It sure is. Can I help you carry it to your dressing room?” - -“Well, if you don’t mind, it would be a favor. I generally have one of -the men help me, but we’re a bit late to-day, on account of a train -wreck that held us up, and everybody is doing double work. My place is -right over there,” and he indicated the tent where he had his dressing -room, or, rather, space, for all do not have separate rooms in a circus. - -As Joe took hold of one end of the trunk he noticed that it bore, in -big, white letters the words: - - HUMAN FISH - -Joe’s face must have showed his surprise, for the circus lad noticed it, -and with a laugh, said: - -“It isn’t an aquarium you’re helping to carry. This just has my clothes -and some other things in it—the suit I wear—I’m the ‘human fish,’ you -know.” - -“You are—a fish?” - -“Yes. Turton’s my right name, Benny Turton, but I’m billed as the ‘human -fish.’ I do an act in a tank of water—swimming, diving, staying under a -long time, picking coins up in my mouth and all that. It isn’t a bad act -they tell me. - -“Last night I ripped the suit I wear—sort of fish-scale arrangement, you -know, and I wanted to get it out of my trunk early, to have it mended. -I’m much obliged to you,” he went on, as Joe set his end of the trunk -down in the dressing tent, which was now becoming thronged with other -performers who were getting ready for the parade. - -“Oh, you’re welcome, I’m sure,” Joe answered. “I guess I’ll come and see -you perform.” - -“I’d be glad to have you. Say, if you’d like to look about a bit now I -can fix it up for you.” - -“I’d like to see the trapeze fellows at practice.” - -“All right. I’ll speak to the ring-master. Oh, I say Jim—Jim Tracy!” -called the “human fish” to a big, red-faced and black-mustached man who -entered the tent just then. - -“Hello, Ben, what is it now?” was the answer. - -“Here’s a friend of mine,” went on the “fish,” with a smile. “His name -is Strong. You ought to see him juggle trunks. He wants to watch the -trapeze fellows doing some try-outs.” - -“All right, Ben. As long as he’s a friend of yours it goes. Make -yourself at home, Strong,” went on the ring-master, “and if anybody asks -you what you’re doing, tell ’em Jim Tracy said it was all right. How you -making out, Benny? Need any help?” His voice seemed to take on a kinder -tone as he spoke to the rather frail looking lad. - -“Oh, I’m all right now. He gave me a hand just when I needed it,” and he -nodded to Joe. “Got to get my suit mended, or I’ll be full of water -before my act’s half over.” - -“That’s right—don’t spoil the act,” admonished the ring-master. “It’s -too good to have that happen. Well, I’ve got about a thousand things to -do. See you later,” and with a nod to the two young men he hurried off. - -“Now you can go about as you like,” said Benny. “He’s the head boss, and -one of the owners of Sampson Brothers’ Gigantic Aggregation of Circus -and Hippodrome,” said Ben with a laugh, as he quoted part of the show -bills. “What he says goes!” - -Benny Turton, the “human fish,” had unlocked his trunk, and was taking -out a queer suit, made, it seemed, of rubber, covered with shimmering -green scales like those of a fish. - -“This is supposed to be water-tight,” Benny explained, “and it is, when -it doesn’t leak. I’ve got to put a patch on one elbow,” and he showed -where a rip would let water in. “I mend it with a rubber cement,” he -added, “and it takes a little time to dry. That’s why I was in a hurry -to get at it. You’ll see some of the trapeze men at work soon, I think. -Come back when you’re through watching them.” - -A little later Joe found himself in the main tent, which was now almost -completely erected, and as soon as this had been done men began putting -in place the trapezes, flying rings and other pieces of apparatus on -which the acrobats performed their feats. - -While this was going on a man came strolling in, and from the anxious -orders he gave, and from the manner in which he watched the arranging of -some of the trapezes, Joe surmised that he was one of the performers. He -made sure of this a little later when the man swung himself up on the -bar, tested it, and then began to go through a few simple exercises in -his street clothes, as though to test the ropes and fastenings. - -“All right,” he called to the workmen. “That’ll do.” - -“The Lascalla Brothers are mighty particular,” murmured one of the -workmen, as the performer went out. - -“I should say so!” was the comment of another. Then Joe knew he had seen -one of the most famous of trapeze performers, whose name was in large -letters on the bills. - -One or two men questioned Joe’s presence, but when he mentioned Jim -Tracy he was made welcome. - -Most of the trapezes were in place, and the workmen had gone to another -part of the big tent. Joe strolled over toward one of the swinging bars. - -“Say, wouldn’t I like to try it just once!” he murmured. “I’ve never -been on a real circus trapeze.” He looked about him. No one seemed to be -noticing him. “Here goes!” he exclaimed. - -Lightly he sprang and grasped the bar. The feel of it seemed natural to -his hands, and he felt his springy muscles contracting for the upward -pull. He swung lightly to the bar, and sat there, moving to and fro. - -Then, in a sort of reckless spirit Joe went through a number of -evolutions, such as he had often practiced alone at home or in some -chum’s barn. - -Joe was hampered by his street shoes and clothes from doing very much, -but what he did he did well. Daring indeed were one or two of the feats -he attempted, for there was no life net below him. He worked rapidly and -then, giving a final swing on the bar he shot off it, turned a -somersault, and landed on his feet on a pile of canvas some distance -off. - -“Say, that wasn’t bad! Better work in a little of that new stuff -to-day,” said a voice behind Joe. The young wizard turned quickly to -behold Jim Tracy looking at him. - -“Hello! Oh, it’s you, is it?” asked the ring-master. “Blessed if I -didn’t think it was one of our regular performers doing a try-out. Say, -Ben didn’t tell me you belonged to the profesh.” - -“I don’t. That is I’m an assistant to Professor Rosello, a magician. I’m -not a circus performer.” - -“Well, it’s too bad you aren’t,” was the comment. “I’ve seen some good -tricks on a trapeze, but you’ve got a few of your own. I don’t s’pose -you’d like to join the show, would you? I could use an extra trapeze and -ring act. Now if you’d like to consider it, I’ll make you an offer.” - -Joe’s heart beat high for a moment. He was almost tempted to accept. -Then he realized that he had not yet perfected himself in the working of -magic, and he wanted to do this. So he shook his head. - -“No, thank you,” he said, gratefully. “I guess I’ll stick to Professor -Rosello for the present.” - -“Well, you know your own business best,” answered the ring-master, “and -I sure don’t want to take you away from the man you’re with. But if ever -you think of joining a circus, why drop me a line. You’ll find us——” - -But the ring-master was suddenly interrupted. - -“Oh, Jim!” cried a voice, and Joe turned to behold, what he afterward -declared was, a “vision in pink,” hurrying into the main tent. The -“vision” was a young girl, with a laughing face, merry brown eyes and a -vivacious manner. - -“Oh, Jim!” she cried. “I am in _such_ trouble!” - -“Well now, Miss Helen, what’s the trouble?” asked Jim in a good-natured -voice, as though he were speaking to some child. “We sure will have to -have it fixed for you.” - -“Oh, thank you, Jim,” and the “vision” turned and gazed full at Joe. - -Joe blushed. - - - - - CHAPTER XXI - ALMOST CAUGHT - - -“Well, now, Miss Helen, what’s the trouble?” asked the ring-master, -while Joe continued to gaze at the “vision.” - -“Oh, I can’t get any lump sugar for Rosebud, and you know he won’t eat -the other kind.” Her lips pouted prettily, and then she smiled—Joe -declared at him, though it may have been at both of them. - -“No lump sugar, eh? Well, that sure _is_ a calamity!” laughed Jim Tracy. -“I’ll have to see to that. Rosebud must have his sugar.” - -“If he doesn’t, you know he won’t do his tricks well,” went on the girl, -now smiling broadly. “Please get some for me, Jim.” - -“I sure will, if I have to rob the breakfast table! I’ll be back in a -minute,” he added to Joe. “You might wait here.” - -Joe was perfectly willing to wait. He hoped the “vision” would return. - -“Is he a new performer?” asked the girl, nodding and smiling at Joe, as -she walked off with the ring-master. - -“Well, no, not exactly, Miss Helen. I’ve made him an offer—I just had -to, after I saw him doing some stunts on a trapeze—but he seems to think -he likes magic better.” - -“Then he doesn’t like our circus?” The girl stopped, and once more she -pouted prettily. - -“Oh, it isn’t that, I assure you!” exclaimed Joe quickly. “But you see I -am under some obligations to Professor Rosello, and I don’t want to -leave him in the middle of the season.” - -“That’s right,” chimed in Jim. “It’s best to play fair. But come along, -Miss Helen, and I’ll see if I can rustle some sugar for Rosebud.” - -“Good-bye!” she called to Joe. “But I should think you’d like a circus -better than doing those queer tricks. Though they _are_ nice,” she -added, with a little nod. - -The sun seemed to have gone under a cloud to Joe as she went out of the -tent. Brightness had vanished. - -“I—I almost wish I had taken his offer,” mused the lad. “I wonder——” he -paused as he remembered the flash of her brown eyes and her smile. “No, -I’d better stick to the professor. Maybe—later——Oh, well, I’ll have to -think about it.” - -He walked about, looking at the preparations still going on to get the -main tent in readiness for the show. He saw Jim coming back, alone. - -“Did you get the sugar?” he asked the ring-master. - -“Yes. Rosebud won’t starve to-day.” - -“Who’s Rosebud?” - -“Her trick horse, and a dandy, too.” Then, though Joe did not ask, Jim -went on. “She’s one of our biggest drawing cards. Her name is Helen -Morton, but she’s billed as Mademoiselle Mortonti. It looks better on -paper.” - -“What does she do?” Joe found himself asking. - -“Fancy riding, and on a trick horse. She makes Rosebud do all sorts of -tricks—amuses the young folks, and some of the old ones too. She makes a -great pet of her horse and gives him lump sugar as a reward. I generally -have a supply on hand for her, but it must have got side-tracked on -account of the mix-up. However, I found some for her. - -“She’s one of the finest little girls in the world,” went on the -ring-master earnestly. “We all love her. She’s an orphan, but she -doesn’t lack friends. Some folks sort of look down on circus -performers,” went on Jim, with a flash of his eyes, “but I want to tell -you, right now, that——” - -“You don’t need to tell _me_ anything,” said Joe in a low voice. “My -mother was a circus performer. Madame Hortense was the name she rode -under.” - -Jim stared at Joe with open mouth. - -“Your mother in the profesh?” he asked. - -“Yes.” - -“Well, I can’t say I ever heard of her—but that’s not strange,” said the -ring-master slowly. “I haven’t been in the business all my life. But if -your mother was a circus rider then you know. Shake!” - -He held out a powerful hand. Joe gripped it none the less powerfully. - -“Say, you’ve got some hold!” exclaimed the ring-master with admiration -in his voice. “Better think my offer over.” - -“I’d like to,” answered Joe, “but I’d better stick where I am for the -present.” - -“Well, you know best. But if you ever decide to join—you can always find -our advance route bookings in one of the theatrical papers. Drop me a -line.” - -Joe promised to do so, and went outside, perhaps hoping for a sight of -Miss Morton. But he did not see her. He did, however, see much that -interested him in the way of circus life, and he understood something of -the fascination it had for his mother, especially as she was such an -accomplished horsewoman; and feats of horsemanship are nowhere better -appreciated than in a circus. - -“Well, did you see all you wanted?” asked Benny Turton, as Joe rejoined -him. - -“Yes, I saw lots. Even got an offer to go with the show.” - -“You didn’t!” - -“Yes I did,” and Joe narrated his experience. - -“Say, I think maybe you’d make out good in a circus,” said Benny, -holding up his scaly suit for a close examination. He wanted no more -leaks in it. - -“No, I’ll stick to magic for a while yet,” Joe answered. “But I think -you’ll be busy soon, getting ready for the performance, so I’ll leave -you. Remember, I’m coming to see you do your stunt.” - -“I hope you do.” - -As Professor Rosello was not going to give a show that evening, Joe was -free. He went to the afternoon and evening circus performances, and he -tried to tell himself that it was to watch the “human fish” and some -other special acts. But though Benny’s act was interesting and -startling, Joe paid more attention to the riding of Miss Helen Morton -and the tricks of her horse, Rosebud, than he did to Benny. And the -performance of Mademoiselle Mortonti was well worth watching. It was a -beautiful exhibition of horsemanship on the part of a refined young -girl, and it brought forth round after round of applause, in which Joe -joined enthusiastically. - -The circus moved out of town after the final performance, and Joe and -the professor gave their show. - -They did not draw as large crowds as they would have done had not the -counter attraction of the circus operated against them, but they did -fairly well. - -Joe introduced a new trick, which made an instant hit. It was very -simple, too. - -When his turn came to occupy the stage he advanced with a candle and a -box of matches in his hand. - -“Fire is a mysterious element,” he stated. “It is a good servant but a -bad master. Well controlled, fire and light are very useful. Now I have -here a candle which is exceptionally well educated. That is it can be -lighted, extinguished and lighted again by the mere movement of my wand. - -“Now I don’t say every one can do this, for you have not all of you -magic wands. But, lest some of you think the trick is easy, I am going -to ask one of you to come up here and light this candle. Will you come?” -and he indicated a young man in a front seat. After some hesitation the -youth ascended the stage. - -“Do you know which end of a match to light?” asked Joe. The youth -grinningly admitted that he did. Joe then handed him a candle and bade -him light it. When it was aglow Joe handed the youth the wand, and told -him to point it at the candle. - -“Just point it at the flame, and order it to go out—vamoose!” Joe -ordered. The youth tried this, but the candle still burned on. “I guess -you’ll have to speak louder,” observed Joe with a smile, “the candle may -be deaf.” - -Accordingly the youth shouted, but still the candle burned. - -“Louder!” urged Joe, and the youth fairly yelled. But still the candle -burned brightly. “You see not every one has the magic power,” stated the -young performer. “Now let me show you how it is done.” - -“Just help this young man down the steps,” Joe directed his assistant, -the boy previously referred to. “I am afraid he may have strained -himself shouting.” - -There was a laugh at this, and the audience watched Joe’s helper -solicitously assisting the volunteer down the steps. - -While this was going on Joe had taken the lighted candle and had walked -back with it to one of his tables, on which he placed it. - -“Now I will show you how it is done,” he said. “Ah, the wind has blown -out the candle, but as the wind can not light it again I will first do -so with a match, and we will then call on the forces of magic to do the -rest.” - -Joe lighted the candle, and then, standing some little distance from the -table on which the glowing taper stood, he pointed his wand at it, and -cried: - -“Out, candle!” - -Immediately the candle was extinguished. - -“No, I didn’t blow it out.” Joe said, pretending that some one in the -audience had said that. “To prove it I will, without moving, light it -from where I stand.” Then he exclaimed: - -“Candle, light!” - -At once the candle leaped into a glow. There were surprised exclamations -at this, and Joe repeated the trick several times. - -“It is very easy when you know how,” he said, “and to prove there is no -trick about it I will pass the candle down to you for examination.” Joe -tossed a candle among the audience. Several examined it. There was no -doubt that it was just an ordinary candle. - -“How did he do it?” every one asked. - -The secret lay in a trick candle. The first one Joe lighted for the -young man was an ordinary taper. Once blown out it could not be lighted -except with a match. - -But when Joe had his helper assist the young man down off the stage, the -young magician took advantage of the fun and confusion over this to -substitute on his table a trick candle for the ordinary one. - -This trick candle consisted of a metal tube, painted white, and made to -look exactly like a candle, with a metal point at the top to represent a -wick. Inside the hollow metal tube was a small wax taper, a miniature -candle, and it was held up near the top by an inside, spiral spring. The -spring was strong enough to carry up the taper as fast as it burned, but -could be pulled down by a black silk thread, coming out at the bottom of -the candle stick, and extending across the stage through the draperies, -where it was held by Professor Rosello, who helped Joe in this illusion. - -Joe quickly substituted the trick candle for the real one and lighted -it, pretending that the wind had blown that one out as he walked to the -table. - -With the trick candle aglow, Joe only had to take his position where he -pleased, and order the candle to go out. At once Professor Rosello, -behind the scenes, pulled the black thread, invisible to the audience. -The taper, still lighted, was pulled down inside the hollow metal candle -stick, and, of course, it seemed just as if it went out. It was still -burning, however, some small air holes on the back of the tube, where -they could not be seen, providing the oxygen. - -When Joe, pointing the other end of his wand at the candle, ordered it -to light, Professor Rosello released the string, and the concealed -spring raised the still lighted taper into view, so that the candle -appeared to light itself in a mysterious manner. - -Thus Joe did the trick, which was received very well, causing quite a -sensation. Professor Rosello complimented him on its success. - -It was toward the close of the performance. Joe was about to step down -off the stage to pass through the audience with a vase for examination, -when he looked to the back of the hall, and there, to his great -surprise, he saw the vindictive face of his foster-father, Deacon -Blackford. Joe gasped, and quickly turned back. Under pretense of -arranging the trick with the professor, Joe whispered: - -“My foster-father is out in the audience. He must have been following me -and he has come here to arrest me. He thinks I stole that money, but I -didn’t. I don’t want to be falsely arrested. What shall I do?” - -The professor thought quickly. - -“It was a narrow escape,” he said. “He almost caught you. He is probably -waiting for you to come down in the crowd so he can grab you. Quick now. -Go behind the scenes. I’ll hold the audience with some patter. Then you -tell the boy to come out and help me with this trick. He can do it as -well as you, as it is very simple. I’ll finish the rest of the show -alone.” - -“But what shall I do?” asked Joe. - -“Slip out by the stage door, go to the hotel, get your things and take -the first train for Seneca. We show there next. I’ll come on as soon as -I can pack up after the show. We’ll fool the deacon. There is no need of -being arrested if you are innocent, and it is evident he came here to -take you into custody. It’s a good thing you saw him in time.” - -Joe hurried back of the scenes, while Professor Rosello held the -attention of the audience, including that of Deacon Blackford. - - - - - CHAPTER XXII - STRANGE NEWS - - -Because of what had happened and the trouble that might be caused to Joe -should his foster-father cause his arrest, Professor Rosello made a -change in the end of his show. He substituted some simple tricks for the -more elaborate feats of magic in which he needed Joe’s help. - -Still he kept the audience amused, and that was the main point. -Professor Rosello even saw Deacon Blackford laughing at some of the -tricks and the “patter” which accompanied them. But immediately after he -smiled, the stern man became more stern, as though ashamed of himself -for having given way to mirth. - -“I guess he’ll find out, if he lives long enough,” thought the -performer, “that circus people and magicians aren’t as black as they are -painted.” - -The professor was thoroughly impressed with the belief in Joe’s -innocence, and he did not want to see him subjected to the humiliation -of an arrest. - -“Innocent as he is, and as I believe him to be,” thought the professor, -“it would take time to prove it, and it would delay my show. It may make -him look guilty to run away in this fashion, but I believe it the best -way. Later on, if necessary, Joe can give himself up and explain.” - -Meanwhile Joe, having the same idea, was making his way out of the stage -door of the theatre. He hurried to the hotel, packed up his belongings -and took a train to the next town. The professor and the baggage would -come by a later train. - -“That was a narrow escape,” mused Joe, as he hurried away. “I wonder how -he found me?” - -The answer to that question was not difficult. - -Professor Rosello went on with the performance. Among other tricks was -the one of making the arithmetic sum appear on the slate—the trick Joe -had explained to his chums the day the fireworks factory burned. - -Another was the producing of hundreds of feet of colored paper, in the -shape of a ribbon, and scores of paper flowers from a hat borrowed from -some one in the audience. The hat was shown empty, and immediately -thereafter the performer, putting in the end of his wand, proceeded to -wind out on it yard after yard of paper ribbon. Next he shook out paper -flowers, so that with the ribbon, they made quite a pile on the table—a -pile much larger than the hat itself. - -“I didn’t know you carried all that stuff with you, sir,” said the -professor to the man whose hat he had borrowed. “You must find it quite -a burden. - -“And that isn’t all, either,” went on the performer. He looked closely -into the hat, a puzzled look came over his face, and he asked: “Have you -a permit to carry live stock about with you?” - -“Live stock?” repeated the man, wonderingly. - -“Yes. I see something alive in here. Here it is,” and, putting in his -hand, which was seen to be empty, while the other grasped the hat by the -brim, the professor pulled out a live and kicking guinea pig. - -The audience laughed heartily at this, and the professor tried to put -back into the hat the heap of paper ribbon, flowers and the live animal. -Of course, they would not fit. - -“Well,” went on the performer, with a puzzled air, “_you_ may be able to -get all those things in your hat, my dear sir, but _I_ can’t, though I -was able to get them out.” - -He then piled the paper ribbon and flowers on the head covering and -passed it to the man. The guinea pig was taken in charge by the young -assistant to be used on the next occasion. - -It need hardly be explained that Professor Rosello put all the articles -in the hat (“loaded” it, to use the magician’s term) as he walked back -with it from where he had borrowed it to the stage. The guinea pig, -which had been used so often in the trick that it was very tame, and -would lie quietly where placed, was first put in the bottom of the hat -while it was held close to the lower part of the performer’s vest. He -had the little animal under there, putting it in its hiding place just -before he was ready to work the trick. - -The paper ribbon and flowers he had concealed in a secret pocket, and -these he slipped into the hat with the pig on his way up the stage -steps. He was now ready for the trick. - -Paper ribbon for this purpose comes wound in tight rolls, and can be -bought in any conjuring-goods store. It rolls up into a very compact -mass, but when unwound, and fluffed up, occupies much greater space, so -that what seems to be a bushel or more can be taken from an ordinary -derby. - -The paper flowers are in the same class. They come in compact form, in -bundles. A bundle, which can easily be palmed, is dropped into the hat. -A pressure of the thumb breaks the binding, and the tiny wire springs in -the petals of the flowers cause them to expand, thus occupying a much -larger space than before, so that the hat seems to be overflowing with -them. Under the paper ribbon and the flowers was the guinea pig. The -outside wrapping of the compact bundles of ribbon and flowers is made -black, so that it is not seen against the dark background of the hat’s -interior. - -And it might be stated here that no matter what trick of this character -is done by a magician, it may be set down as a safe rule that nothing -ever comes out of a hat, a vase, a box or anything else, unless it has -first gone in. So if a magician takes a live pig out of a hat, it is -very certain he first put it there. Of course, how he gets it there is -his trick—he does it so quickly and deftly that one fails to see him. -Certainly, one cannot fold a guinea pig up into a packet the size of a -pill box, as one can yards and yards of paper ribbon, but there are ways -of getting it in a hat which differ with each conjurer. - -The show was over, the audience departed, having passed an enjoyable -evening, and Professor Rosello was putting away his apparatus when he -saw a man walking down the aisle toward the stage. He suspected this was -Joe’s foster-father and the suspicion was made a certainty a moment -later. - -“You had a young man working for you on the stage, didn’t you?” asked -the deacon. “He was here a while ago.” - -“Yes, I have an assistant. Here, boy!” Professor Rosello called. - -“No, I don’t mean that one,” said the deacon, as the small lad came out. -“I mean the other. Joe Strong his name is.” - -“Oh, Joe. Yes,” said the professor slowly. “Well, he’s gone.” - -“Gone?” The deacon looked startled. “I was waiting for him.” - -“Well, he’s gone,” went on the professor. “He’s far away from here now. -Perhaps if he had known you wanted him he would have waited.” - -“Oh, no, he wouldn’t!” exclaimed the deacon. “He knew what I wanted all -right—that is if he saw me, which I didn’t think he did. I want him on a -charge of robbery. He also set fire to my place, though I don’t say he -did that on purpose. However, he’s got to pay for the damage. But where -is he? I’ve got a warrant for him.” - -“He’s gone, I tell you,” insisted the professor. - -“Well, I’ll find him,” stormed the old man. “I traced him here and I’ll -trace him farther. One of the boys from our town saw him a few weeks -ago, and Joe sent a message to me, saying he didn’t take the money. But -I know he did. I made up my mind I’d get him, and I heard your show was -coming here. So I came here to wait for Joe. He may have run away again, -but I’ll get him. I’ll have him locked up for robbing me!” - -“Well, you’ll have to settle that with him,” observed the professor, -coolly. “I know nothing about it, except that I believe Joe is -innocent.” - -“Well, I don’t!” exclaimed the deacon. “And I’ll get him yet! You tell -him that for me!” and he shook his fist as he went out of the now dark -theatre. - -“I think he means trouble,” mused the professor, as he prepared to take -the train. - -As arranged, Joe and the professor met later that night in the town -where they were next to show. Professor Rosello told of his interview -with the deacon. - -“He surely is after you, Joe,” he added. - -“Well, I’ll have to be on the lookout; that’s all,” decided the boy -wizard. “I’m not going to be punished for something I didn’t do.” - -Three days after this, having arrived at a large town where they were to -remain two nights, Professor Rosello came to the theatre in the -afternoon to see if Joe had everything in readiness for the evening’s -show. - -“Joe,” remarked the magician, as he noted that his young helper had left -nothing undone, “Joe, did your foster-father ever have any business -dealings with two men whose first names were Burke and Jake?” - -“Burke and Jake,” repeated Joe, thoughtfully. “I don’t know that he did. -You see he was in the feed business, and lots of men came to sell to -him, or buy. I wouldn’t know half of them, though I often helped about -the store. Why do you ask that, Professor?” - -“Well, it’s a strange sort of thing, and there may be nothing in it,” -went on the professor. “But I was just down at the hotel, having a bit -of lunch, and at the table next to mine were two men. They called each -other Burke and Jake, and in the course of their talk they mentioned -Deacon Blackford’s name several times.” - -“They did?” - -“Yes, and not only that, but they knew about the theft of the money from -him and Mrs. Blackford.” - -“Well, I suppose the deacon has pretty well advertised the loss,” said -Joe, “so there isn’t anything so strange in that.” - -“No, perhaps not,” admitted the professor, slowly. “But here is the -strange part of it, Joe. - -“Those two men—I didn’t catch their last names—not only seemed to know -about the loss, but they laughed over it as though it were a good joke. -In fact, I should say, just from a casual observation and from what I -heard, that they knew more about the theft than even the deacon -himself.” - -“You think they do?” - -“That’s my impression.” - -“Maybe they were detectives,” Joe suggested. “The deacon would call in -the police, and they might be on my trail. I wonder if I had better get -out while I have the chance?” - -“I wouldn’t do that,” said the professor. “These men weren’t detectives, -I’m sure of that. But they certainly laughed about the deacon’s loss in -a knowing way.” - -“I wonder who they are,” mused Joe. - - - - - CHAPTER XXIII - “I’VE GOT YOU!” - - -Joe had been reading a letter when Professor Rosello came in with the -strange news about the two men. The letter was from Benny Turton, the -“human fish,” of Sampson Brothers’ Circus, and was in response to a -souvenir postcard Joe had sent the lad, hardly expecting a reply. Joe -had just done it as a kind remembrance to the lad to whom he had given a -little help. - -But Benny wrote rather a long letter in reply, Joe having given his -future address. In the letter Benny said that he was not feeling well, -but that he still had to go on with his tank act. - - -“I rather wish, some days, that I had your work,” he wrote. “I gave your -regards, as you requested, to Jim Tracy and Miss Morton. They wish to be -remembered to you. Miss Morton wants to know if you are ever going to -join a circus.” - - -Joe smiled in reflective fashion as he folded the letter and put it in -his pocket. So Helen Morton, “Mademoiselle Mortonti,” had not forgotten -him, nor had the ring-master, though their acquaintanceship was of the -briefest. Joe was glad they had remembered him—particularly glad in the -case of Helen. - -But, for the time being, the letter was put aside. Joe’s mind was busy -trying to conjecture who the two men at the hotel could be. - -“I wonder if I’d better go down and see if I can’t get a look at them -without their seeing me?” he asked Professor Rosello. - -“I wouldn’t, Joe,” was the advice. “If I’m any judge they’ll be at the -show to-night, and you can see them then.” - -“What makes you think they’ll be here?” - -“Because I heard one of them ask what sort of show ours was. There are -posters in the hotel you know. The other man said it wasn’t half -bad—quite a compliment to us, Joe. And the first one remarked, as they -had nothing to do to-night, they might as well take in our performance. -So we may see them in the audience.” - -“Do you think they know I’m with you?” - -“I don’t see how they can. You don’t recall them, and it isn’t likely -they’d know you.” - -“All right, then I’ll be on the lookout for them,” Joe decided. “It sure -is queer, though, that they should make a joke about the deacon’s loss.” - -“That’s the way it struck me,” agreed the professor. “Now how about the -tricks to-night? Have you the pigeons and the canary?” - -“Yes,” answered Joe. “But I’m not just sure of what I am to do.” - -“Then we’ll have a little rehearsal.” - -Joe was a little nervous that evening as the time for the performance -drew near and the theatre began to fill. He was not at all alarmed at -the part he was to play on the stage, for he had become used to that -now. But he wanted to see the strange men, to ascertain if, by any -possible chance, they could be some of the customers of his -foster-father—customers he might have seen about the feed and grain -place. - -“I’ll point them out to you if I see them,” said the professor, as he -was getting into his dress suit—the suit that had about it so many -pockets, hidden in various places, so that articles could be gotten rid -of or produced at will. Joe now had a suit like this, since he did -almost as many tricks as Professor Rosello himself. - -“I may not be able to see them very well from the stage,” Joe remarked. - -“Well then, you can invent some excuse to go down in the audience. Work -one of the simple card tricks, or something like that.” For Joe was -becoming adept in manipulating cards, allowing persons to choose cards, -thrust them back into the pack without his seeing them, and picking them -out again. Of course, this was all done either by “forcing” certain -cards, known in advance, or by clever cutting, shuffling the cards -falsely, or by prepared trick cards. - -“Well, that might do,” agreed Joe. “We’ll just have to trust to luck.” - -The curtain went up, and the usual procedure was gone through with. Joe -noticed that the professor was paying more attention than usual to the -audience, carefully scrutinizing every section of the hall. But if he -saw the two suspicious men he gave no sign to Joe. - -There were two new tricks to be performed that evening. One was the -production of two doves in a seemingly empty cage, causing them to -materialize from guinea pigs. - -Another illusion was to seemingly burn up a canary bird, and bring it to -life again. - -The first trick went off well. A large bird cage was shown on a table. -There was nothing in it, as far as could be seen. Professor Rosello took -two small, live guinea pigs, which he said he would put into a tin -cylinder on a second table, and at the firing of a pistol the guinea -pigs would disappear, being changed into doves in the empty cage. - -He did just as he said he would do. The guinea pigs were put in the tin -cylinder and the cover clapped on. The performer aimed a stage pistol at -the tin, fired, and with the flash and report two white doves were seen -fluttering in the cage. The tin cylinder, being opened, was seen to be -empty. - -The trick was mechanical, of course. As soon as the guinea pigs were put -in the cylinder, they slipped down through a false bottom, and through a -trap in the table, to a little box made to receive them. That left the -cylinder empty. - -The bird cage was a trick one. As the audience looked at it while it -stood on the table, it seemed to be an ordinary cage. But behind it was -a black velvet curtain which concealed from view the fact that the back -of the cage was double. It was as if the bottom of the cage had been -folded up against the rear, and in between the false bottom and the -back, was a place large enough to hold two white doves. - -When the pistol was fired Joe, behind the scenes, pulled a black silk -thread that let the false side fall down, and become a second bottom of -the cage. The falling away of the side allowed the doves to flutter from -their concealed hiding place into the cage, where they seemed to appear -so miraculously. - -The trick with the canary was worked differently. A live canary, was -shown. It was placed in a light paper bag, the mouth tied, and the bag -and canary were hung in the center of a target suspended on the stage by -wires. After the usual “patter” a rifle was fired at the suspended bag. -To make the trick more effective some one in the audience was allowed to -shoot at the canary in the bag. As he did so the bag burst into flames, -disappeared and, where the target had been, there suddenly appeared a -bird cage with a live canary in it. - -The trick was worked as follows: - -Two canaries were used. Before the trick was performed one was put into -a trick cage which, when suspended from the stage with its top toward -the audience, seemed to be a target. There was a paper target and -bull’s-eye in fact, but it closed up by springs at the proper time, and -did not show on top of the cage, which contained a live canary in a -secret compartment. - -This piece of apparatus was in place before the trick started. The -professor put a live canary in a paper bag. That is, he seemed to do so. -In reality the canary was safely hidden in a compartment of a table near -which the professor stood with the bag. This was sleight-of-hand work. -The bag was made of a special kind of paper which would burn instantly, -with a flash of fire when ignited, something like flash-light powder. - -Professor Rosello appeared to hang the paper bag, inside of which was -the canary, in front of the bull’s-eye. As a matter of fact, there was -nothing in the paper bag. But it was hung near a little electrical -device, from which ran wires back of the rear stage draperies. Behind -the curtains Joe was concealed. - -When all was ready the professor handed some one in the audience a stage -gun that fired no missile—only making a report. The man was told to aim -at the paper bag in front of the target, and did so. - -“Fire!” called the professor, after some talk in which he professed -uneasiness for the safety of the audience. - -At the sound of the report the paper bag disappeared in a flash of flame -and smoke. The target also disappeared, and there, hanging from its -supporting wires, was a bird cage with a live canary in it. - -When the gun was fired Joe, behind the scenes, pressed the button of the -electrical device. A tiny flame appeared, set fire to the prepared bag, -which at once went up in smoke. At the same time Joe pulled a black silk -thread connected with the birdcage which, with its top presented to the -audience, looked like a target. The target was folded away out of sight, -and the bird cage, which was a collapsible one, expanded to its regular -shape, the second canary fluttering about as soon as released from the -secret compartment where it had been hidden all the while. - -Thus was a bird seemingly burned, only to be reincarnated. It was an -effective illusion. - -It was now time for Joe’s disappearing trick, and while he was taking -his place on the prepared chair over the trap-door in the stage, and -while the professor was putting the black sheet over him, he managed to -whisper to Joe: - -“Look at the two men in the seventh row in the two end seats on your -right.” - -“I see them,” said Joe in a low voice. - -“They are the ones I heard talking at the hotel. Do you know them?” - -The professor asked this in between his “patter” which went with the -disappearing trick. - -“Their faces seem familiar,” Joe said, as the veil went over his head. -“But I’m not sure I know them. I’ll see them after the show.” - -There were a few more illusions, and the performance came to a close. -Joe, not stopping to change his clothes, started down the aisle. - -“I’ll follow those men,” he said to the professor, who nodded a -permission. - -But as Joe reached the lobby of the theatre, intending to question the -men, if he could stop them, he fell back in astonishment at the sight of -his foster-father and Hen Sylvester, one of the Bedford constables. - -“Ha! There he is!” cried the deacon. “I’ve got you now!” and he made a -grab for Joe. - - - - - CHAPTER XXIV - CAUGHT - - -Joe did not know what to do. He could not very well run away through -that crowd. To do so would be such a confession of guilt that almost any -officer would arrest him. And Hen Sylvester certainly would take after -him, creating a scene. - -On the other hand, if Joe was delayed the men would get away. And he -wanted to know more about them. He looked hurriedly around but did not -see them. The deacon misinterpreted this look, for he cried in angry -tones. - -“Look out for him, Hen! He’s trying to escape. Grab him!” - -“Oh, I’ll grab him all right!” cried the constable. “He got away from me -once, on the freight, but he won’t now.” - -The officer made a grab for Joe and an excited crowd gathered about. Joe -made up his mind quickly. - -“Look here, Dad,” he said, giving his foster-parent the name he often -used. “Don’t make a scene here. There’s no use using violence. I’ll go -with you quietly. You’re making a big mistake, for I can explain -everything.” - -“You can’t explain away about my——” - -“Hush,” cautioned Hen. For he liked Joe, and did not want it published -to the crowd that the lad was suspected of theft. - -“Gentlemen, will you come with me?” interrupted Professor Rosello, who -had followed Joe to the lobby. “Come to my dressing room, where we can -talk matters over quietly,” he went on. “It’s all right,” he said to the -crowd and to the theatrical employees who had gathered about. “Just a -mistake, that’s all. This way, gentlemen.” - -“But those men!” exclaimed Joe. “They’ll get away!” - -“We’ll have to take chances on that,” the professor whispered to him. -“Maybe they’ll stay at the hotel all night. But you must take the deacon -and the officer out of this. We’ll talk to them in my room.” - -Joe saw the wisdom of this, and a little later he was facing the angry -dealer and the constable. - -“Now then,” began the professor, “what’s it all about?” - -“It’s about this boy,” said the deacon, sternly. “He robbed me of -considerable money. He robbed my wife, too, and set fire to the place, -but I put it out. That’s what the matter is!” - -“And I have a warrant for his arrest,” went on Hen Sylvester. “He is -charged with robbery.” - -“I never took a cent of yours, nor Mrs. Blackford’s either!” cried Joe, -“and I don’t know anything about a fire. I did run away from your house, -because I could stand it no longer.” - -Then, in impassioned tones, he told the story of that eventful night—how -he had caught the freight and met the professor. He spoke briefly of his -work as a magician. - -“What makes you think he robbed you?” asked the magician of the deacon. - -“Why, I saw him leaving by the window, and right after that I missed the -papers and the money.” - -“Did you see Joe’s face?” - -“No. But I know it was him.” - -“It wasn’t,” said Joe. “I never stole in my life. Listen, Deacon -Blackford. You were robbed—of that there’s no doubt—but it was by some -one else. When you stopped me just now, I was on the trail of some men -who undoubtedly know something about the crime.” - -Rapidly, earnestly, Joe told about the two men—the men who had joked -about the deacon’s loss, the men he had tried to follow from the -theatre. - -“Their names were Burke and Jake,” he said. “Do you know who they were?” -and he turned to his foster-father. - -“Burke and Jake! Burke Denton and Jake Harrison!” murmured the deacon. -“I—I never thought of them! The papers—the investment papers—they were -taken with the money—why—why——” - -He seemed lost in thought for a moment. - -“Look here!” he finally said. “I’m not saying you didn’t rob me, Joe, -but I’m a Christian, and I don’t want to accuse anybody unjustly. It is -true that the men you speak of might have done it. Where can they be -found?” - -“I don’t know—now,” answered Joe. - -Joe pleaded his case earnestly. He went over every detail of his escape -from the deacon’s house that night, and described every movement so -minutely that an unprejudiced listener could not help believing him. - -“You and Jim chased me,” he said to Hem Sylvester. “I didn’t want to -stop for fear of missing the train. I suppose that did look sort of -guilty.” - -“It sure did,” agreed Hen. - -“But you know what time the train left. You saw me jump in the box car,” -went on Joe. “And you,” turning to the deacon, “know what time it was -when you saw some one getting out of the window. Now could I have gotten -from the house to the train in that difference of time?” - -The deacon and the constable thought a moment. The deacon mentioned the -time he had seen the robber escaping, and it was evident that Joe could -not have been in two places at once. - -“Well, I guess that practically clears you,” admitted Sylvester. “I -don’t see as we have any use for this warrant, Deacon,” and he produced -the paper. - -“Save it,” said Joe with a smile. “Maybe you can change the names and -use it on those two men. We’ll see if we can catch them. What kind of -investment papers did they take from you?” he asked the deacon. - -“Some like this,” and the deacon produced a bond. “It’s the only one -they overlooked.” - -“May I borrow it?” asked Joe. - -The deacon let him take it, and then all four of them left the theatre, -it not being necessary to take away any of the “props,” as another -performance was to be given the next night. - -“We’ll go to the hotel,” suggested Joe. “It’s just possible the men may -be there. They haven’t anything to suspect unless they saw you,” he said -to the deacon. - -“No, I don’t believe they saw us,” said Hen. “We didn’t get here until -after dark. The deacon read in the paper that your show was here, so he -got me, and we took the late afternoon train from Bedford.” - -A glance in the hotel lobby did not disclose the two men, but in the -cafe they were seen sitting at a table. A look through the swinging -doors showed this. - -“Have you authority to make arrests here?” asked Joe of the constable. - -“Yes, this is in the same county as Bedford.” - -“Then go in and arrest those two men. I’m sure they’re guilty.” - -“And I am too,” said the deacon. “Take ’em in, Hen. I’ll swear out a -warrant against ’em!” - -That was all the constable needed. He had authority for his act now. He -marched into the cafe, the deacon, Joe and the professor fallowing. - -“I arrest you in the name of the law!” exclaimed Sylvester, laying a -hand each on the two men’s shoulders. “You’re caught and you’ve got to -come with me!” - -Denton and Harrison started up, but at the sight of the deacon sank back -in their chairs. Before they could move the constable had snapped -handcuffs on them. - - - - - CHAPTER XXV - JOE’S CLEVER TRICK - - -“What’s the joke?” demanded Jake Harrison, with a sort of sneer as he -looked at the handcuffs on his wrists. “If this is one of your conjuring -tricks, you’ve come to the wrong shop,” and he glared at the professor. - -“It isn’t any trick,” put in Joe, “except that we’ve turned a trick -against you. You’re both under arrest.” - -“There! What did I tell you!” whined Burke Denton. “I said if we——” - -“Stop your noise!” savagely ordered his companion. “Now then, what does -all this mean?” he went on. “What right have you to arrest us?” - -“The right of the law,” put in Sylvester, who seemed to enjoy the role -he was playing. “I’m constable all over Folsom county, and you’re my -prisoners!” - -“On what charge?” demanded Harrison. “You keep still!” he directed his -companion as he saw Denton about to speak. “I’ll run this end of the -show. What’s the charge against us?” he asked fiercely. - -“Robbing me and my wife of money—about one hundred and forty dollars,” -said the deacon. - -“What proof have you?” asked Harrison, sneeringly. “Did you see us take -the money?” - -“I saw one of you getting out of the window after the money was gone,” -went on the deacon. This was practically admitting that Joe was not -guilty. - -“Which one of us did you see?” asked Harrison. - -“I—er—I er——” the deacon hesitated. He could not positively state which -of the twain it was. He had seen no face, and the room was not well -lighted. - -“It wasn’t only money that was taken, was it, Deacon?” asked Joe, for he -was now ready to take a hand in the proceedings. - -“No. It was securities—papers that you two alone knew the value of,” -said the deacon, quickly. “You took the investment papers, Denton and -Harrison, I’m sure you did!” - -Harrison laughed. - -“You’ll have to have some better proof than just being sure we did it,” -he said. “That won’t go in law. Now you’d better take these ornaments -off us, and let us go,” he ordered Hen Sylvester. “You haven’t a single -bit of evidence against us, and if you persist in arresting us we’ll sue -for false imprisonment. You haven’t a bit of evidence!” - -“Haven’t we? What’s this?” cried Joe Strong, suddenly. - -With a quick motion, he drew from an inner pocket of Burke Denton’s coat -a folded bond paper. At the sight of it Denton’s jaw dropped, and even -Harrison’s eyes opened wide in astonishment. - -“There’s one of the stolen securities now in your possession,” said Joe -calmly. “Isn’t that evidence enough?” - -“How—how did that get in my pocket?” asked Denton. “I thought you had -’em all, Harrison. I told you not to be so careless with ’em, and now——” - -“Keep still, can’t you!” fairly yelled the other. “Do you want to put us -in——” - -Then he himself stopped, as if conscious that he was saying too much. - -Denton had collapsed in his chair. Harrison, also, seemed to have -wilted. There was now practically no doubt of the men’s guilt. Hen -Sylvester locked them up in the local jail until such time as he could -arrange to transfer them to Bedford. Neither of the prisoners protested -any further. - -“Say, Joe, how did you know that investment bond was in his pocket?” -asked the constable a little later. - -“Because I put it there,” was the reply. “It was the one I took from the -deacon. I thought I might have a use for it. It was just a little -sleight-of-hand work, making it seem as if it came from his pocket.” - -“Well, it—it was a good trick,” grudgingly admitted Mr. Blackford. - -“Then you don’t think I’m guilty; do you?” asked Joe. - -The deacon shook his head. He seemed quite ashamed of himself. - -“If I was you, Deacon,” said Hen, in a whisper to the old man, “I’d sort -of beg Joe’s pardon for suspecting him. You know he could make it hot -for you if he wanted to.” - -“How?” - -“Sue you for false arrest, for humiliating him in a crowd, and all that. -You’d better conciliate him.” - -This the deacon did, not altogether willingly. - -“I—I’m sorry I tried to have you arrested, Joe,” he said. “I admit I was -wrong in thinking you robbed me.” - -“Oh, that’s all right,” said Joe, easily. He could afford to forgive -now. “It did look a bit suspicious against me for a while. But I’m glad -you have the right men. I don’t want to be in fear of arrest as I travel -about with the professor. And I don’t suppose you want to take me home, -do you?” - -“Well, no, perhaps not, under the circumstances,” replied the deacon, -slowly. “I admit that maybe I wasn’t altogether right in the way I -treated you, Joe. But I meant it for the best. You can stay with the -professor, if you like. You seem to be doing well.” - -“Indeed he is!” exclaimed Mr. Crabb. “He’s a wonder!” - -“Then stay,” the deacon said. The truth was he felt he would be made fun -of if he brought Joe back, after having stated as publicly as he had in -Bedford that he believed his foster-son guilty of the robbery. Besides, -the deacon had to admit that Joe was doing better away from him than -with him. - -“Yes, I guess you’d better stay and be one of them trick performers, -though I don’t think much of——” - -There is little more to tell of this story. The next morning the deacon -and Hen Sylvester went back to Bedford, taking the two prisoners with -them. Eventually the rascals were convicted of the crime and sent to -jail. The deacon recovered his valuable papers, but not the money. That -had been spent. - -“Well, I suppose you will avail yourself of your foster-father’s -permission and remain with me, won’t you?” asked Professor Rosello, at -the conclusion of the next night’s performance, when they were getting -ready to move on to the next town. - -“Oh, yes, I’ll stay for a while,” said Joe. “I still have much to -learn.” But, as he said this, he saw in fancy a certain pretty face, and -he beheld a girl riding about a circus ring on a beautiful horse. Joe -thought of Helen Morton, of Benny Turton, the “human fish,” and of the -kind ring-master. Joe was beginning to feel a new and strange pull at -his heart strings. - -And how it resulted may be learned by reading the next volume of this -series, to be entitled: “Joe Strong on the Trapeze; or, The Daring Feats -of a Young Circus Performer.” - -“What are you thinking of, Joe?” asked the professor as they sat in the -train that night. - -“A new trick,” was the answer. “You take a horse named Rosebud and -you——” - -“What! A horse on the stage?” cried the professor, in wonder. - -“Oh—er—I—I was thinking of something else,” murmured Joe. And so for a -while we will take leave of Joe Strong. - - - The End - ------------------------------------------------------------------------- - - - - - TRANSCRIBER’S NOTES - - - 1. Silently corrected obvious typographical errors and variations in - spelling. - 2. Retained archaic, non-standard, and uncertain spellings as printed. - 3. 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If you -are not located in the United States, you will have to check the laws of the -country where you are located before using this eBook. -</div> - -<p style='display:block; margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:0; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em'>Title: Joe Strong, the boy wizard</p> -<p style='display:block; margin-left:2em; text-indent:0; margin-top:0; margin-bottom:1em;'>or The mysteries of magic exposed</p> -<p style='display:block; margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:0; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em'>Author: Vance Barnum</p> -<p style='display:block; text-indent:0; margin:1em 0'>Release Date: December 4, 2022 [eBook #69477]</p> -<p style='display:block; text-indent:0; margin:1em 0'>Language: English</p> - <p style='display:block; margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:0; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em; text-align:left'>Produced by: Richard Tonsing and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net (This book was produced from images made available by the HathiTrust Digital Library.)</p> -<div style='margin-top:2em; margin-bottom:4em'>*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK JOE STRONG, THE BOY WIZARD ***</div> - -<div class='tnotes covernote'> - -<p class='c000'><strong>Transcriber’s Note:</strong></p> - -<p class='c000'>The cover image was created by the transcriber and is placed in the public domain.</p> - -</div> - -<div class='titlepage'> - -<div> - <h1 class='c001'>JOE STRONG<br> <span class='xlarge'>THE BOY WIZARD</span><br> <span class='small'>OR</span><br> <span class='large'><i>THE MYSTERIES OF MAGIC EXPOSED</i></span></h1> -</div> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c002'> - <div>BY</div> - <div><span class='large'>VANCE BARNUM</span></div> - <div class='c003'>Author of “Joe Strong on the Trapeze,” “Joe Strong, the Boy Fish,” “Joe Strong on the High Wire,” “Joe Strong and His Wings of Steel,” etc.</div> - <div class='c002'><span class='large'>WHITMAN PUBLISHING CO.</span></div> - <div>RACINE, WISCONSIN</div> - </div> -</div> - -</div> - -<div class='double'> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c004'> - <div><span class='xlarge'>BOOKS FOR BOYS</span></div> - <div><span class='xlarge'>BY</span></div> - <div><span class='xlarge'>VANCE BARNUM</span></div> - <div class='c002'>THE JOE STRONG SERIES</div> - </div> -</div> - -<div class='lg-container-b'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>JOE STRONG, THE BOY WIZARD</div> - <div class='line in2'><i>Or, The Mysteries of Magic Exposed</i></div> - </div> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>JOE STRONG ON THE TRAPEZE</div> - <div class='line in2'><i>Or, The Daring Feats of a Young Circus Performer</i></div> - </div> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>JOE STRONG, THE BOY FISH</div> - <div class='line in2'><i>Or, Marvelous Doings in a Big Tank</i></div> - </div> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>JOE STRONG ON THE HIGH WIRE</div> - <div class='line in2'><i>Or, Motor-Cycle Perils of the Air</i></div> - </div> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>JOE STRONG AND HIS WINGS OF STEEL</div> - <div class='line in2'><i>Or, A Young Acrobat in the Clouds</i></div> - </div> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>JOE STRONG—HIS BOX OF MYSTERY</div> - <div class='line in2'><i>Or, The Ten Thousand Dollar Prize Trick</i></div> - </div> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>JOE STRONG, THE BOY FIRE EATER</div> - <div class='line in2'><i>Or, The Most Dangerous Performance on Record</i></div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -</div> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> - <div class='nf-center'> - <div>COPYRIGHT, 1916</div> - <div>GEORGE SULLY & COMPANY</div> - <div class='c003'>Printed by</div> - <div>WESTERN PRINTING & LITHOGRAPHING CO.</div> - <div>Racine, Wisconsin</div> - <div class='c003'>Printed in U. S. A.</div> - </div> -</div> - -<div class='chapter ph1'> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c004'> - <div>JOE STRONG, THE BOY WIZARD</div> - </div> -</div> - -</div> -<div> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_1'>1</span> - <h2 class='c005'>CHAPTER I<br> <span class='large'>JOE SOLVES A PUZZLE</span></h2> -</div> - -<p class='c006'>“How did he do it? That’s what I’d like to -know.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“So would I. It sure was a queer trick all right—and -it looked so easy, too.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Well, I’ve tried to guess, but I can’t. The more -I think of it the more I believe that the professor -really is a magician, in a certain way.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Pooh! It couldn’t be anything like that! It -was just a trick, like all the others he did. But I’d -like to know how to do it.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>Four boys sat under the shade of a big willow -tree in a grassy meadow on the bank of a stream. -They were earnestly discussing something, the import -of which may be gathered from their talk.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“I tried to do the trick after I got home last -night,” confessed Harry Martin.</p> - -<p class='c007'><span class='pageno' id='Page_2'>2</span>“You didn’t do it, did you?” asked Charlie Ford, -rumpling up his red hair. Charlie was not at all -ashamed of his red hair. His sister Mazie called -it “auburn,” but Charlie himself stuck to plain -“red.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Do it? I should say not!” cried Harry. “I -didn’t come within a mile of it, and our folks just -laughed at me.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“And yet how easy Professor Rosello did it,” -observed Henry Blake.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Yes, and he didn’t have any machinery or truck -on the stage to do it with, as he had for his other -tricks,” remarked Tom Simpson. “All he had was -a plain slate, same as the little kids use in our -school.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“It must have been a trick slate,” said Harry. -“That’s the only way I can account for the figures -getting on it.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“No, there wasn’t any trick about the slate,” -declared Charlie Ford. “I was sitting right up -front, and he passed the slate to me first, to look -at. There wasn’t a sign of a number on it when I -had it.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“And you handed it right over to Mr. Burton to -hold, didn’t you?” asked Tom.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Yes; and Mr. Burton held it until the figures -came out on it—under the handkerchief, of course. -It sure was a good trick.” Charlie shook his head -in wonderment.</p> - -<p class='c007'><span class='pageno' id='Page_3'>3</span>“I’d like to know how it was done,” said Henry -Blake. “But I don’t s’pose he’d tell us if we asked -him. He’s in town yet. I saw him around the -hotel when I came past a little while ago.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“It isn’t very likely he’d tell us how he did it,” -said Harry. “That’s the way he makes his living—by -doing magical tricks—and it isn’t to be supposed -that he’d give away his secrets. But all the -same——”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Hello, fellows! What’s up now?” asked a new -voice. “Talking secrets that you don’t want me to -hear?”</p> - -<p class='c007'>The four boys, gathered under the willow tree, -looked up quickly. Looks of welcome accompanied -by smiles greeted the newcomer.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Hello, Joe!” shouted Charlie Ford.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Say, you’re looking good!” added Tom.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“I’m feeling good,” was the response. “What’s -up?”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Oh, we’re just talking about the show last -night. You were there, weren’t you?”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Yes, I saw the great Professor Alonzo Rosello -give his world-mystifying exhibition of black and -allied arts,” and Joe smiled as he quoted from the -circulars that had been scattered broadcast over the -town of Bedford, advertising the exhibition given in -the Opera House the previous evening.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“What did you think of him?” asked Henry -Blake.</p> - -<p class='c007'><span class='pageno' id='Page_4'>4</span>“Why, he was pretty fair in some things,” said -Joe, slowly.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Pretty fair? Why, say! he was great!” cried -Tom Simpson. “I’d like to see you do even the -simplest trick that he did!”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Perhaps I can,” replied Joe, quietly.</p> - -<p class='c007'>His chums looked curiously at him. And, for -the moment, we can do no better than to observe -this boy, who had sunk down in an easy position -on the grass. A moment’s study of him now will -help greatly in understanding the nature of a youth -destined to have many curious and thrilling adventures. -And he was a lad well adapted by nature -for a life of daring excitement.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Briefly, Joe Strong was a remarkable boy. From -the time of his early infancy he had never known -what it was to be ill or ailing. Even the simplest -childish diseases seemed to pass him by as one too -strong and sturdy to try to weaken. He had a -superb physical form, and as soon as he was old -enough to take regular exercise he added to his -suppleness and strength in a systematic way.</p> - -<p class='c007'>There was no better runner, jumper, swimmer, -diver or all-around athlete in Bedford than Joe -Strong. Added to this he could ride any horse he -ever saw; he could climb to the roof of the church -and walk the ridge pole, with never a qualm of dizziness; -he was an excellent shot with a rifle; and -he could juggle with stones, baseball bats, balls—in -<span class='pageno' id='Page_5'>5</span>fact with almost anything that he could handle. -Taking it all in all, Joe was rather remarkable.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Another point in his favor, and one that was destined -to stand him in good stead in after life, was -the fact that he seemed absolutely without nerves. -Rather be it said that his nerves were under such -perfect control that he was their master, not their -slave. It took high-strung but perfectly controlled -nerves to do some of the things Joe did.</p> - -<p class='c007'>The secret of his abilities, if secret it was, lay -in the fact that his mother, now dead some years, -had been one of the most daring bareback riders -in any circus that ever toured the country. She -was billed as Madame Hortense, though her name -was Mrs. Janet Strong. She was an English -woman, and Joe dimly remembered hearing that -before her marriage her name had been Willoughby. -Beyond that fact he knew little of his mother’s -early history.</p> - -<p class='c007'>But it was not alone from his mother that Joe -inherited certain health, nerve, daring, ability to ride -a horse and to take risks higher up off this solid -earth than most persons care to go. He also was -indebted to his father for many of his talents and -abilities.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Professor Morretti—known in private life as -Alexander Strong—had been in his day, one of the -best-known and best-drawing (from a theatrical -standpoint) magicians that ever brought a live rabbit -<span class='pageno' id='Page_6'>6</span>out of a silk hat, or locked himself up in a solid -box, only to be found missing when the box was -opened, the professor himself afterward walking -coolly down the aisle of the playhouse.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Thus Joe inherited two totally different sets of -talents. And that was about all he had inherited -from his parents. For they had both died when he -was about five years old, the professor first, following -a severe attack of pneumonia contracted when -one of his water tricks went wrong, and he received -a drenching on a zero night.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Mrs. Strong did not long survive her husband. -Perhaps she lost her nerve, following news of his -sudden death. At that they were traveling in different -shows, Joe being with his mother. Usually, -however, Professor Morretti and Madame Hortense -went about together, caring for little Joe between -them.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Only a few months after the professor died, -Madame Hortense had a bad fall from a new horse -she was trying, and she received injuries which -resulted in her death in a few weeks.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Joe was left alone in the world, with only an inheritance -of a superb set of muscles, nerves, hawklike -eyes and an active brain.</p> - -<p class='c007'>The circus people were kind to him, and did what -they could, but a circus is not the best place in the -world for an orphan boy, and the manager soon -realized this.</p> - -<p class='c007'><span class='pageno' id='Page_7'>7</span>Consequently he was glad to read an advertisement -of a couple who wanted to adopt a strong, -healthy boy of about Joe’s age. Letters were written, -and Mr. Amos Blackford came on with his wife -to have a look at Joe.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Mr. Beeze, the circus manager, had artfully -neglected to state, in his early letters, the fact that -Joe was the orphan of a bareback rider and a “Professor -of Black Art and Magic”; and when Mr. and -Mrs. Blackford discovered this they were well-nigh -horrified. For they were old-fashioned persons, -with very strict ideas about right and wrong, and -to them a woman who rode a horse in a circus was -a person not to be admitted to the best society, and -they regarded the dead Professor Morretti in about -the same light as they would an outlaw.</p> - -<p class='c007'>At first they were going back without Joe. But -Mrs. Blackford could not resist the heart-appeal of -the attractive little chap, and so he was taken, -and carried to the Blackford home in Bedford by -his foster-parents, who had since brought him up.</p> - -<p class='c007'>They had done well by Joe, as far as their rather -narrow minds let them. They treated Joe harshly -at times, without understanding that they did so. -They wanted him to forget that he was ever in a -circus, that his mother ever rode bareback, and -that his father juggled Indian clubs and produced -live rabbits from the vest pockets of innocent persons -in the audience.</p> - -<p class='c007'><span class='pageno' id='Page_8'>8</span>But Joe could not forget those things. He had -been born in a circus, and the smell of the sawdust, -the jungle odor from the animal tent, always -brought back to him, most vividly, his early days.</p> - -<p class='c007'>He had not lived long in Bedford before he -became known as a daring little fellow. Mrs. -Blackford nearly fainted when once she saw him -walking the back fence like a tight rope, with a -clothes pole as a balancer in his chubby hands.</p> - -<p class='c007'>And from then on, by gradual stages, Joe advanced -to more and more daring tricks, until one -day on a challenge he walked the ridgepole of the -church.</p> - -<p class='c007'>His foster-father whipped him for that—whipped -him cruelly—and from that time Joe came to dislike, -with a dislike that never ceased, the man who -had brought him up. From then on his life was -more or less miserable. But he did not give up what -was born to him in his blood. In secret he imitated -the acts of circus performers, remembering some -of them from his childhood days, seeing pictures -of others on the gaudy fence bills, and, rarely, -getting into a show himself. That was his seventh -heaven of delight.</p> - -<p class='c007'>As the years went on, Joe gained in health, -strength, nerve and daring. Joe was not a paragon—far -from it. But he was certainly a remarkable -youth, and perhaps “daring” is the best word to use -in describing him. He seemed never to be afraid -<span class='pageno' id='Page_9'>9</span>to take a chance, but, if the truth were known, his -keen eye and active brain had already figured the -chances out in his favor before he undertook any -feat.</p> - -<p class='c007'>And now, on this sunny day, he was sitting under -a willow tree with his companions, discussing a -show given the night before by Professor Rosello.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Do you mean to tell me, Joe,” asked Tom Simpson, -“that you can do <i>any</i> of those tricks the professor -did?”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Some of ’em, yes,” answered Joe. “Of course -I can’t do those that need a whole lot of trick apparatus, -a darkened stage, and all that. I could if -I had the stuff. But I think I can do the one you -were talking about as I came up,” and Joe regarded -his companions with sparkling eyes.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“You mean the slate trick?” asked Harry.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Yes. Adding up a sum and making the answer -come on the slate. I could do that now, if I had the -slate. That was the only trick thing about it all.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Was that slate a trick one?” asked Charlie, -rumpling up his red hair.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Yes. It was a trick slate, but not very complicated. -Now just watch a moment and I’ll do -the trick, as nearly like the professor as is possible. -I guess I’ve got some papers and a pencil.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>From his pocket Joe brought out some white slips -and a stub of a pencil.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Now you fellows just sit in a row a little way -<span class='pageno' id='Page_10'>10</span>apart, and I’ll pretend this is the stage,” went on -Joe, as he stood beside a flat stump near the willow -tree. “Here, Charlie, you put down a number on -this slip of paper. Any number of four figures, -say 1,876, or anything you like.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“All right,” said Charlie, and he wrote a number.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Now, Harry, you set down a number under -Charlie’s,” directed Joe, “and then it will be -Henry’s turn. This is the way the professor did it, -isn’t it?”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Yes, only he talked more,” replied Tom.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Well, I could sling the ‘patter,’ as they call it, -if I wanted to,” said Joe. “Only as I’m going -to show you how the trick is worked I don’t need -a lot of talk.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Are you really going to show us?” asked Harry.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Sure I am! Now, Harry, if you’ve got your -number written pass the paper to Henry. You set -down a number of four figures, Henry, and draw -a line under the sum. Tom, you’re pretty good -at addition, aren’t you?”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Pretty fair, yes.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Well, I don’t want any mistake made,” Joe, -with a smile, warned them. “Here you go now. -Add up those figures Tom, and get ’em right,” -and he passed a slip of paper to the boy who had -not set down any of the numbers. “Add ’em up, -and set the result down in pencil under the line -Henry drew. When you’ve done that I’ll make the -<span class='pageno' id='Page_11'>11</span>answer appear on this flat piece of stone. Here, -you hold it, Charlie,” and picking up a flat stone -from the ground, Joe threw his handkerchief over -it and passed it to Charlie to hold. “Don’t take -off the handkerchief until I tell you to,” he warned -the lad.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Is the sum added, Tom?” asked Joe, a moment -later.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Yes.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“What is it?”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Ten thousand, four hundred and sixty-seven.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Good!” cried Joe, and, unconsciously perhaps, -he imitated the language, manner and gestures of -Professor Rosello. “Now then,” went on the -boy wizard, “you three boys each set down a -separate number. None of you knew what the -others wrote, and Tom, who didn’t write any figures, -announces the sum of the other three fellows’ -numbers to be ten thousand four hundred and sixty-seven. -Am I right, Tom?”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“That’s right Here’s the paper. I’m sure I -added ’em up right.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Well, I’ve no doubt but you did, Tom. Now -then, I think you’ll agree that I didn’t know beforehand -what numbers you fellows were going to -write, so, of course, I couldn’t tell what they’d -add up to. Could I?”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“I don’t see how you could,” admitted Henry, -but a little doubtfully.</p> - -<p class='c007'><span class='pageno' id='Page_12'>12</span>“Well, now comes the magic part. I’m going, -without touching it, to cause this sum, which Tom -announces as ten thousand four hundred and sixty-seven, -to appear on that flat stone Charlie holds -under the handkerchief. I won’t touch the stone, -which answers the same purpose as the professor’s -slate. But I’ll take the paper you have, Tom, -with the sum of ten thousand four hundred and -sixty-seven on it,” and Joe did so.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Now to make the trick more simple I’ll just -burn this paper with the sum on, where you can all -see it,” Joe went on. He held up the paper in -plain sight and set fire to it with a match.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“I will now pronounce the magic words: <i>oshkalaloolu -presto, smacko!</i> The sum has now vanished -in smoke, and will appear on the flat stone. -Charlie, lift the handkerchief and hold up the stone -so we can all see it.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>Charlie did so, and there, in black pencil on the -gray surface of the stone, was the answer to the -little sum—10,467!</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Whew!” whistled Charlie. “How under the -sun did you do it, Joe?”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“And right under our very noses, too!” added -Tom, in amazement.</p> - -<div class='chapter'> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_13'>13</span> - <h2 class='c005'>CHAPTER II<br> <span class='large'>A FIREWORKS FIRE</span></h2> -</div> -<p class='c006'>Joe Strong smiled at the puzzled looks on the faces of his chums. They were eagerly watching -him now, as if asking what he would do next.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“No, I can’t do anything more just now,” he -said in answer to the implied request. “I can’t -produce a guinea pig from Tom’s ear, nor a bowl -of gold fish from under my shirt; though I might -if I were loaded for those tricks.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Loaded?” asked Charlie, curiously.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Yes, that is what a magician calls it when he -comes out on the stage, with the secret pockets of -his dress suit filled with the things he needs for -tricks. He may ‘load’ himself with a bowl of gold -fish or a couple of rabbits.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Alive?” asked Henry.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Sure! Wasn’t the rabbit alive Professor -Rosello took out of dad’s hat last night?” asked -Tom.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“How did he do that?” Charlie interrogated -“Can you tell us, Joe?”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Yes, I can, but——”</p> - -<p class='c007'><span class='pageno' id='Page_14'>14</span>“Say, I’d rather have him tell us how he did this -trick with the figures,” interrupted Harry. “Go -on, Joe.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Well, it’s really very simple when you know,” -said Joe. “You see the sum I made appear -on the stone wasn’t the sum of the numbers you -three fellows wrote down.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“It wasn’t?” cried Tom, surprised.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“No,” went on Joe Strong, with a twinkle in his -bright eyes. “I let Harry, Charlie and Henry each -set down four figures on a piece of paper. Then -I handed a piece of paper to Tom to add up the -sum, only it didn’t happen to be the same piece -that you three fellows used,” and Joe laughed.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“I just substituted one of my own,” resumed the -boy wizard. “I had it in my pocket all ready, for -I thought maybe I’d get a chance to play this trick -to-day. I wadded up in a little ball the paper with -the figures you boys set down, and slipped Tom one -of my own. Of course I knew what my numbers -were going to add up to—I had put down the figures -myself, so I ought to know. They were -like this:”</p> - -<div class='lg-container-b'> - <div class='linegroup'> - <div class='group'> - <div class='line'>4,004</div> - <div class='line'>2,821</div> - <div class='line'>3,642</div> - <div class='line'>—————</div> - </div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c007'>Joe showed the little sum, rapidly scribbling it -on another piece of paper.</p> - -<p class='c007'><span class='pageno' id='Page_15'>15</span>“Those figures add up to ten thousand four hundred -and sixty-seven,” he resumed, “and of course -I knew that before Tom announced the sum. And -I knew I was safe in letting Tom have the list of -figures I wrote, for he had not seen those you fellows -had set down. I made my set of figures look -as though a different person had set down each -one, and Tom wasn’t familiar enough with you -boys’ way of making figures to detect the change.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Then, when I took the piece of paper from -him, I burned that and with it the one that Charlie, -Henry and Harry had written their figures on, -so there wouldn’t be any chance of being found out -later.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“But how did you get the sum, ten thousand four -hundred and sixty-seven, on the piece of stone?” -asked Charlie. “You didn’t touch that after you -took the paper from Tom, I can vouch for that.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“No, I didn’t touch it,” affirmed Joe.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Then how did the figures get on? There must -have been some magic about that.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“It’s very simple when you know how,” laughed -Joe. “When I was talking here to you fellows, I -just put the sum, ten thousand four hundred and -sixty-seven on the flat side of the stone with a -pencil. Then I turned it over and left it lying -on the ground until I wanted it. Then it was easy -enough for me to pick it up, cover it with a handkerchief -and hand it to Charlie to hold. The sum -<span class='pageno' id='Page_16'>16</span>was there on it all the while, and when Tom announced -what my three figures added up to, a result -that I, of course, knew beforehand, I simply -had Charlie lift the handkerchief, and—there you -were!”</p> - -<p class='c007'>For a moment there was silence among the boys. -Then they burst out with:</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Well, I’ll be jiggered!”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“As easy as that!”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“It’s a wonder we didn’t think of that!”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Two papers—one with our numbers on, and -one with his!”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“That’s the whole secret,” explained Joe. “That -is, all but the stone. Of course if I had had a slate -to use that would have been a little different.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“That’s what I don’t understand,” observed -Charlie. “That professor last night passed the slate -around for inspection, and there wasn’t any number -written on it.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Oh, yes there was,” said Joe with a smile. -“Only you didn’t see it. It was a trick slate. On -one side, covered by a piece of black stiff paper, -which looked almost like the slate, was the number -written in chalk—a number that was the sum -of three figures previously known to the professor, -and on the piece of paper he gave out to be added -up.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“When he took back the slate, after having -passed it around for inspection, he walked up on to -<span class='pageno' id='Page_17'>17</span>the stage and quietly slipped out the piece of black -paper. That left the chalk sum exposed. He -could either do that before he covered the slate -with the handkerchief and gave it to some one to -hold, or afterward, as he took it from the person -and raised the handkerchief covering. In his case -he did it before, since he let the person holding -the slate lift the handkerchief.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Then the number was there all the while!” -cried Tom.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Yes.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“And if the one who held the slate had lifted -the handkerchief it would have been seen?”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Yes. And for that reason it’s safer to lay the -slate on a table or on the stage in plain sight, but -where no one can inspect it. Then the magician -can ask some one to come up and lift the handkerchief, -so it can’t be said he wrote the number -down himself. That’s all there is to it.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Say, it does sound easy now,” commented -Charlie. “But how did you ever figure it out, -Joe?”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Yes, you surely did the trick smoothly!” was -Tom’s compliment.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Oh, I’ve studied it a little,” admitted Joe, modestly. -“It needs a little practice in ‘palming,’ that -is in holding two or more things in your hand without -letting the audience suspect you have them; or -in changing one thing for another by sleight-of-hand, -<span class='pageno' id='Page_18'>18</span>as I changed the papers. You see it’s very -easy—like this.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>He picked up a small stone, held it on the back of -his left hand, passed his right quickly over it and -closed both fists.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“In which hand is the stone now?” he asked.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“There,” said Tom, indicating the right fist.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“No, there,” said Charlie, quickly, touching the -left.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Neither one, it’s there on Henry’s knee,” announced -Joe with a laugh, and so it was, the same -stone, for it was peculiarly marked.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“How did you do it?” cried Henry, in frank -amazement.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Oh, just by making the action of my hands -quicker than your eyes,” was the answer. “I made -a couple of false motions, and you followed them -with your eyes instead of watching the stone. -That’s how I managed to substitute the paper with -my figures on for the one Tom thought you boys -had prepared. It’s very simple.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Yes, to hear you tell it,” came from Henry. -“But say, Joe, how did the professor do that trick -with the live rabbit? I was close to him when he -came down off the platform, and I couldn’t see where -he had the bunny. And yet, in plain view, he pulled -it out of somebody’s inside coat pocket. How in -the world did he do it?”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“It was easy—for him,” Joe stated. “When he -<span class='pageno' id='Page_19'>19</span>finished the hat and egg trick he went behind the -scenes for a second and slipped the live rabbit in -a secret pocket in his coat.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“After some hocus-pocus work, and a lot of -‘patter,’ or talk made up to keep you from watching -him too sharply, he went close to the man from -whose pocket he was going to produce the rabbit. -He held the lapel of the man’s coat close against -his own for a second, and with his other hand he -reached in the secret pocket and got hold of the -rabbit’s ears. Then, when he lifted the bunny up, -it looked just as if the animal came out of the -man’s pocket, but, all the while, it came from the -professor’s.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Huh!” exclaimed Tom. “It all sounds very -easy.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“It is, and again it isn’t,” explained Joe. “It -takes lots of practice, and one’s got to have his -nerve with him all the while, to know how to act -in case anything goes wrong.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Then <i>you</i> ought to be a good wizard,” declared -Henry, “for you sure have nerve!”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“That’s right,” added Harry Martin. “But say -now, Joe, in that trick where the professor -took——”</p> - -<p class='c007'>Harry did not finish his sentence. His words -were cut short by an explosion which came from -a group of buildings located near a railroad siding -about a quarter of a mile away. Following the -<span class='pageno' id='Page_20'>20</span>explosion a cloud of black smoke billowed up to -the sky.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Look, fellows!” cried Tom. “It’s the fireworks -factory!”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“It’s on fire!” added Henry.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“It’s blown up!” yelled Charlie.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Come on, boys! Come on!” shouted Joe, and -he led the way toward the cloud of smoke, which -was now pierced here and there by darting tongues -of fire. As the boys rushed onward there came -other and smaller explosions, like the popping of -guns.</p> - -<div class='chapter'> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_21'>21</span> - <h2 class='c005'>CHAPTER III<br> <span class='large'>TO THE RESCUE</span></h2> -</div> - -<p class='c006'>For a few moments after the excitement caused -by the explosion and fire, the five boys rushed on -together, saying nothing. Their eyes were fixed -on the distant group of burning buildings, which, -being of light and flimsy construction (as is always -the case with fireworks factories and powder mills), -were burning rapidly. They occupied quite an -extent of territory, being well separated so that -if one blew up or caught fire there would be less -likelihood of all being consumed.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“She sure is a hummer!” cried Harry, as he -raced along beside Charlie Ford.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“That’s right!” joined in the red-haired lad.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“The whole thing’s likely to go up if the wind -doesn’t shift,” commented Henry Blake. “It’s -blowing the flames right toward the main building -now.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Yes, and they’re all pretty well filled,” said -Joe Strong. “This is their busy season, getting -ready for the Fourth, you know. There’ll likely -be a lot more explosions, and a final big one.”</p> - -<p class='c007'><span class='pageno' id='Page_22'>22</span>“There goes one now!” cried Tom Simpson.</p> - -<p class='c007'>As he spoke there was a burst of flame and smoke -from one of the buildings that had not before -caught fire, and then followed an explosion louder -than any of the previous ones.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“There she goes!” shouted Harry.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“And look at the rockets!” added Joe.</p> - -<p class='c007'>A sheaf of sky rockets, part of a shipment just -finished, had become ignited and now were whizzing -up in the air, bursting with loud reports far -above the earth, for they were large-sized pyrotechnics.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“If this were only night it would be a grand -sight!” murmured Charlie, narrowly missing a fall -as he stumbled over a stone.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Too bad they couldn’t wait,” commented Joe, -grimly. “Say! I wonder if any one’s hurt. It -came so suddenly that a lot of the workers may -be trapped in there.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“That’s so,” agreed his chums. They increased -their pace. They could now see others running to -the fire—men, boys, and some women and children, -coming from the direction of the town. -Others were leaving their work in fields, gardens, -or in houses to view the unusual sight.</p> - -<p class='c007'>There was not a little alarm, too, for many of -the men and some girls and boys of the town -worked in the Universal Fireworks Factory, particularly -at this season of the year.</p> - -<p class='c007'><span class='pageno' id='Page_23'>23</span>The factory was located close to the freight station -of the Bedford and Point Barrow Railroad, a -spur, or short track, running in among the factory -buildings. On the sidings were a number of freight -cars, which carried big red signs, marked: “Dangerous! -Explosive! Keep all lights away!”</p> - -<p class='c007'>But there was plenty of light now, even though -the glaring sun took away the effect that would -have prevailed had there been darkness—plenty -of light and fire.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“She sure is a hummer!” cried Tom.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“A hum-dinger,” added Harry. “Listen to -that!”</p> - -<p class='c007'>Another explosion occurred, lifting a roof off -one of the frail buildings, and depositing the blazing -mass over on the railroad tracks, and rather -dangerously near the passenger depot, which was -not far from the freight station.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“There goes the fire alarm!” cried Harry.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“They’ll be here in no time. It’s a general alarm -when anything like a fireworks factory goes up,” -said Joe. “There they come,” he added, as he -looked back toward the town, and pointed to an -automobile fire-fighting apparatus coming along the -road. The auto-engine was a new purchase for -Bedford. Besides that, there was an old steamer, -drawn by hand whenever horses could not be requisitioned -in a hurry.</p> - -<p class='c007'>The five boys had to cross the small stream, -<span class='pageno' id='Page_24'>24</span>known locally as Bedford Creek, in order to reach -the scene of the fire. As they rushed along across -the fields toward the water, all but Joe bore off to -the left. He kept straight on.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Where you going?” asked Harry.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“To the fire, of course,” was the answer.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“The bridge is over this way,” stated Tom, indicating -a white structure that crossed the stream -some distance to the left of where the boys then -were.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Bridge!” cried Joe. “Do you think I’d waste -time crossing a bridge when there’s a fire like this -straight ahead of me?”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“How are you going to get across the creek?” -Harry queried.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Wade or swim, of course. It’s a hot day!”</p> - -<p class='c007'>And while Tom, Harry and the others ran on -toward the bridge, Joe Strong, coming to the edge -of the creek, which at this point was deeper and -wider than at any other, waded out without a moment’s -hesitation.</p> - -<p class='c007'>For a moment his chums watched him, fascinated. -Then they shook their heads, and kept -on toward the bridge.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“He sure has got nerve!” asserted Henry.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Yes, Joe’s there with it every time,” added Tom. -“I wish I dared do that. But if I got wet with all -my clothes on, I’d be in for a good scolding when -I got home.”</p> - -<p class='c007'><span class='pageno' id='Page_25'>25</span>“Joe may be, too—or worse,” said Charlie. “I -hear that he and Deacon Blackford don’t get along -any too well of late. He’s given Joe several -touches of the whip and strap, and Joe’s not a fellow -to stand much of that sort of treatment.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“I wouldn’t blame him for not standing it,” -commented Henry. “Deacon Blackford may mean -all right, but we all know he’s totally ashamed to -have it known what Joe’s father and mother were. -As if it could be a disgrace to have had a mother -who was a dandy circus rider, and a father who -was a top-notcher when it came to magic. I’d be -proud of it if my folks were that sort.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“So would I,” added Harry.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“That’s where Joe gets his nerve,” remarked -Tom. “Nerve to do just what he did now—swim -the creek.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Yes, and that’s where he gets his liking for -magic tricks and for his circus stunts,” added -Charlie. “He sure is a great boy, and strong. -Why, say! you ought to have seen him on the -trapeze I put up in our barn the other day. He -did one giant swing and then he slid down a rope -in a way that——”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Look, there goes another building!” interrupted -Henry, and the boys, racing for the bridge, -forgot, for the time, to discuss Joe and his doings, -in watching the progress of the fire, to which they -were much nearer now. They could hear the -<span class='pageno' id='Page_26'>26</span>crackle of the flames and the popping of small -pieces of fireworks.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Charlie turned back to look at Joe. The young -wizard, for such he later became, had waded out -until he found himself getting beyond his depth, -then he plunged into the water, fully clothed as -he was, and began to swim.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Joe was a good swimmer, and he had on a light -summer suit and tennis shoes, so he was not as -hampered as otherwise he might have been. But -swimming in a full suit was nothing for Joe. He -had done it before in a camping contest, and -he had plunged in once, in midwinter, in a -heavy suit, to rescue a little girl from the icy -stream.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Joe was a wonderful swimmer, though he could -not yet do any fancy tricks. He was just doing the -plain Australian crawl stroke, which puts one -through the water in wonderfully good time. On -and on he swam, gaining the other side, and was -very close to the fire before his companions had -reached the bridge. That was where Joe’s nerve -and daring stood him in good stead.</p> - -<p class='c007'>In the beginning he had no particular object in -getting to the fireworks fire in such a hurry. It -was just curiosity on his part, as it was on the part -of his companions. Then another thought came -to Joe.</p> - -<p class='c007'>As he climbed up the bank on the other side, -<span class='pageno' id='Page_27'>27</span>water dripping from every part of him, the youth -thought:</p> - -<p class='c007'>“I wouldn’t be surprised but what somebody got -hurt in this fire. It came so suddenly they can’t all -have escaped. It isn’t going to be any easy job to -put it out, either. They’ll need all the help they can -get together. There go some of the railroad men -to give a hand.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>Joe was out on level ground now, near the railroad -tracks, and he utilized them as the shortest -way to the fire. He looked back to see his chums -who had crossed the bridge and were now laboriously -racing onward. Their long run had tired -them, whereas the swim Joe had taken had refreshed -him, as the day was warm.</p> - -<p class='c007'>The shrill sound of the fire apparatus siren could -now be heard, mingling with the whistle of the -steamer, for the engineer, seeing the smoke and -blaze from afar, and knowing the need, had started -a fire under the boiler, ready for quick work when -he should have reached the scene of the conflagration.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Joe joined the running, panting throng of men -and boys that now came swarming from all directions -to the fire. The crew of a freight train, -drawn up at the Bedford station, had come over to -do what they could, and the fire-fighting force of -the factory itself was busy. They had a small -steamer on the premises, and lines of hose were -<span class='pageno' id='Page_28'>28</span>connected to the steam pump in the boiler room. -Water was soon being poured on the blaze, and -when the auto-apparatus and the old-fashioned -steamer arrived, they, too, were put into service.</p> - -<p class='c007'>By this time Joe’s chums had joined him.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“You beat us to it,” panted Charlie.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Sure I did!” exclaimed Joe. “Why didn’t you -fellows take a chance in the creek?”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“We didn’t want to spoil our clothes,” said Charlie.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“That’s right. It didn’t improve mine any,” admitted -the young wizard, as he looked down at his -sodden garments. “I expect dad will ask me to -step out to the woodhouse when I get home,” Joe -said grimly. He called Mr. Blackford “dad,” and, -as a matter of fact, up to the time he was eight -years old Joe had not appreciated the fact that -“the deacon,” as he was often called, was only his -foster-parent. Joe had but a hazy idea of his real -father and mother, and the change at his early age -failed to impress him. Later he heard the real -story, however.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Yes, I guess I’ll get a talking to, anyhow,” he -went on. “But I couldn’t wait to come over the -bridge. Say, she’s going some! isn’t she?”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“That’s what!” commented Tom. “Look, there -goes the big building!”</p> - -<p class='c007'>The main structure, which up to now had suffered -neither from explosion nor from fire, was seen -<span class='pageno' id='Page_29'>29</span>to be smoking on one side. Hoarse orders came -from the fire chief to play streams on that in an -effort to save it, and the fire-fighters drew closer.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Anybody hurt, did you hear?” asked Charlie -of Joe.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“No, but some had narrow escapes. A few of -the girls had to jump, but it wasn’t far, for most -of the buildings are only two stories high.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>This was true of all, in fact, save the main structure, -where most of the fireworks were stored. -That was four stories high, and constructed partly -of brick. It was an old mill turned into a fireworks -factory, the other structures being built around -it.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“If that main building catches—good-night! I’m -going to leave this spot!” said Henry.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Yes, it will be healthier a bit farther on,” agreed -Tom.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Oh, look!” suddenly cried Harry. “There’s -a man on the top floor of the store-house! Look!”</p> - -<p class='c007'>He pointed. The others followed the direction -of his outstretched finger. They saw a small door -open near the roof of the main building. It was a -door with a projecting beam above it—a beam such -as in barns and mills is used for hoisting bags of -grain or bales of hay. And, for the moment, a -man stood outlined in this small, open door.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Then, suddenly, the man was seen to crumple up -and fall in a heap on the very edge of the opening. -<span class='pageno' id='Page_30'>30</span>So close to the edge did he fall that there came a -gasp of horror from the throng, for it looked for -an instant as if he would topple out and fall to the -ground below.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Why—why, that’s the professor—Professor Rosello, -who did the magic tricks last night!” cried -Harry.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“So it is!” agreed Tom. They had recognized -him in that brief instant. What he was doing on -the top floor of the main building of the fireworks -factory could only be guessed then.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“If he hadn’t fainted, or been overcome by smoke -or flames, or whatever happened to him,” said -Henry, “he might have slid down the rope and -been saved. As it is now, he’s in danger.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>A rope dangled from the beam above the door -to the ground below. It ran through a pulley, and -was evidently used to hoist and lower materials -into and out of the factory.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Joe Strong, with an exclamation, suddenly darted -forward toward the building, which, in spite of the -streams of water poured against it, was now on -fire.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“What are you going to do?” cried Harry, -reaching out his hand to hold back his chum.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Get that man—the professor!” answered Joe.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“But you—you can’t do it!” protested Henry.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Can’t I? You just watch me!” cried Joe, as -he broke into a run. He was headed straight for -<span class='pageno' id='Page_31'>31</span>the dangling rope that hung from the beam. It -was right in front of the open door, where the -motionless form of the magician lay.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Joe Strong was going to the rescue.</p> - -<div class='chapter'> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_32'>32</span> - <h2 class='c005'>CHAPTER IV<br> <span class='large'>JOE’S FEAT</span></h2> -</div> - -<p class='c006'>There was so much going on—firemen and -eager volunteers working at the hose and apparatus, -railroad men and factory employees endeavoring -to get out of the danger zone a car loaded with -explosives, others removing from the factory and -store-houses some of the powder, still others rushing -here and there, uselessly shouting—there was -so much of this sort of thing going on that, for a -moment, no one noticed Joe Strong except his four -chums.</p> - -<p class='c007'>But the lad had no sooner reached the foot of -the dangling rope than others saw him, among them -some firemen.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Come back from there!” they shouted.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Not just yet!” coolly answered Joe.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“What are you going to do?” a railroad man -inquired.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Get him!” replied Joe, briefly, as he pointed to -the huddled figure lying in the low doorway up -above.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“You can’t do it! That place is all on fire inside. -It may go up any minute.”</p> - -<p class='c007'><span class='pageno' id='Page_33'>33</span>“Well, I figure that I’ve got a minute to spare, -and a minute is about all I want,” answered Joe -calmly.</p> - -<p class='c007'>By this time he was going up the rope hand over -hand, not an easy feat, but Joe seemed to make -nothing of it. Now, if ever, he blessed the time he -had spent in acrobatic work, in emulating the tricks -of circus performers, his own mother included. -Now, if ever, he was glad of his strong and supple -muscles, his cool head and eyes that never faltered.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Up and up he went, hand over hand, climbing -the rope like a veritable monkey, and with a skill -that would have caused applause to break forth at -any other than this critical time. As it was, there -was a murmur of admiration for Joe’s coolness and -daring. For it was a daring feat.</p> - -<p class='c007'>All this while the fighting of the fire was going -on at other parts of the plant. There had been -no loud explosions for some time, though small -ones were constantly to be heard. And inside the -factory’s flimsy buildings, most of which were in -flames, could be heard the hissing and spluttering -of various forms of pyrotechnics.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Up and up went Joe until in a very short time -he swung in through the small door, and stood beside -the prostrate man, whom some of the boys had -recognized as Peter Crabb, otherwise known as -Professor Rosello, the magician.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“He’s there!” cried Charlie Ford.</p> - -<p class='c007'><span class='pageno' id='Page_34'>34</span>“Yes, Joe’ll get him down if there’s any way -to do it!” chimed in Henry Blake.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“And if there isn’t a way, Joe will make one!” -declared Tom Simpson.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Joe’s chums and others in the crowd could see -the young wizard now bending over the huddled -form of the professor. They saw Joe hauling up -the rope to get at the free end which was on the -ground.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Just then came a burst of flames and smoke from -a window in the second story, directly past which -Joe had climbed a moment before, and past which -he must lower the unconscious form of the magician; -for that, evidently, was his intention. Could -it be done?</p> - -<p class='c007'>“He’ll never do it!” some one said.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“They’re both goners!” was the general comment.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“The place is all on fire inside. No chance to -save it,” a fireman remarked. “We’d all better -get back, for she’ll explode soon.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Come on down, Joe!” a voice cried. “Save -yourself!”</p> - -<p class='c007'>Joe answered something. What it was no one -could hear above the crackle of the flames and the -puffing of the engines.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Joe won’t come down without him,” said Henry -Blake in a low voice.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“That’s what he won’t,” agreed Harry Martin.</p> - -<p class='c007'><span class='pageno' id='Page_35'>35</span>But how was Joe to lower the man past that -outburst of flame? Even a momentary passage -through it would likely cause death if the man -inhaled the fire. At best, he would be terribly -burned.</p> - -<p class='c007'>But Joe Strong knew what he was doing. As -the crowd watched, they saw him take off his soaking wet -coat and trousers, wet from his swim -across the creek. In another instant Joe had -wrapped and twisted the sodden garments around -the form of the magician, covering his head and -face.</p> - -<p class='c007'>It was then the work of but an instant for Joe -to fasten the rope about Professor Rosello. Joe -was an expert in tying knots, and soon he swung -the form, encased in wet garments, free of the -window ledge. Down he lowered the man, swiftly, -right through the outburst of flame. The rope was -charred but not burned through.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“I knew Joe’d think of a way!” shouted Tom.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“But how’s he going to get down himself?” -gasped Harry. “He can never do it!”</p> - -<p class='c007'>This was a puzzling question for his chum. -Joe seemed doomed. But the lad himself never -seemed to give this a thought. He stood in the -open, upper doorway, attired in only his wet undergarments.</p> - -<p class='c007'>The flames, spurting out from the window below -him, seemed fiercer than ever. The rope would -<span class='pageno' id='Page_36'>36</span>never stand another trip past them. And now a -series of small explosions in the building on the -upper floor of which Joe stood indicated that that -building soon would go in a burst of fire and smoke.</p> - -<p class='c007'>But Joe knew there was a life net carried on -the auto fire engine, and he depended on this.</p> - -<p class='c007'>The chief of the Bedford department had not -lost his head, and Joe had no sooner lowered the -form of the magician to the ground when the quick -mind of the chief was directed to saving the boy.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Bring up that life net!” he shouted through his -trumpet. It had been made ready some time -before, but had not been used, since most of the -employees had been rescued from the first floors.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Stand here with it!” directed the chief, indicating -a spot out in front of, and directly in line -with, the open doorway in which Joe still stood. -Now the smoke was swirling more thickly about -the lad, and back of him could be seen dancing -tongues of fire.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Can you jump it, Joe?” called the chief through -his trumpet</p> - -<p class='c007'>“All right! Hold her steady! I’m coming!” -cried Joe, shrilly, above the crackle of the flames.</p> - -<p class='c007'>A fire department life net consists of a big iron -ring, which can be folded in half upon itself. -Around the circumference of the ring is woven a -strong rope net, sagging toward the middle. Firemen -stand in a circle about the iron ring, grasping -<span class='pageno' id='Page_37'>37</span>it with their hands, and holding it as high as -possible to allow for the recoiling impact of the -falling body.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Are you ready down there?” cried Joe.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“All ready!” answered the chief. “Brace yourselves -now, men!”</p> - -<p class='c007'>Joe poised for an instant on the edge of the -doorway. It was a sixty-foot jump, but he hesitated -only an instant. With his hands to his sides, -standing as straight as an arrow, his superb form -beautifully outlined, clad as he was only in his -underclothes, Joe jumped.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Straight as a plummet he came down, feet first, -into the life net. It sagged with his weight, and -the men holding it were jerked forward, but there -were so many of them that the elasticity of the apparatus -was preserved, and Joe bounced up like -a rubber ball.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Another bounce and he turned a somersault, -landing on the turf at one side.</p> - -<p class='c007'>A cheer went up from the rescuers. Joe had -been saved, and he had saved the life of the magician -in a thrilling manner. Another cheer rang -out. But there was no time for more. There was -still the fire to fight.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Joe’s chums gathered about him, eager to clasp -his hand, to clap him on the back, to utter words of -praise. But he had but one thought—or, rather, -two.</p> - -<p class='c007'><span class='pageno' id='Page_38'>38</span>“Is the professor all right?” he asked eagerly.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Yes,” some one answered. “He’d only fainted. -He’s all right now, and not burned a bit, thanks -to your wet clothes.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Where are my clothes?” demanded Joe. “This -isn’t exactly a bathing beach.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“You can’t wear your things,” a fireman informed -our hero. “They’re badly scorched. Here, -wrap yourself in this blanket until you can get -home,” and he extended one of the horse-coverings. -Joe accepted it gratefully.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Better get back from here,” another fireman advised. -“This place is going, and it’s full of powder.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>The crowd, as well as Joe and his chums, took -the hint.</p> - -<p class='c007'>But the main factory did not go up. The fire-fighters -rallied in force around it, seeing that the -other buildings were doomed, and the bigger part -of the plant was saved. Luckily enough, too, as -had it exploded the force would have been felt a -long distance. The light and flimsy buildings -burned quickly into ashes, and the explosions of -fireworks grew less frequent. The material in the -main building was spoiled by water, but that was -better than having the fire reach it.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Little remained to do now, but to guard against -stray sparks in the building that had been saved -at such risk. The crowd began to disperse.</p> - -<p class='c007'><span class='pageno' id='Page_39'>39</span>“Where’s the professor?” asked Joe, moving -about in his blanket like some pale-faced Indian.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“They took him to the hotel,” said Tom. “Say, -Joe, don’t you want to stop at our house and get -some of my clothes? It’s nearer than going to -yours.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Good idea. Thanks. I guess I will. I don’t -feel exactly like showing up at home in this rig.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>Some one who knew Joe offered to drive him in -his automobile to the Simpson house. Tom, of -course, went with his friend, and Joe was soon -clothed in ordinary garments, having first taken -a bath at Tom’s house, for the smoke had made -him black and grimy.</p> - -<div class='chapter'> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_40'>40</span> - <h2 class='c005'>CHAPTER V<br> <span class='large'>JOE’S AMBITION</span></h2> -</div> - -<p class='c006'>“Where are you going now, Joe?” asked Tom, -as his chum, after having thanked Mrs. Simpson -for her hospitality, stood, ready to leave the house. -“Going home?”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Not right away,” Joe answered. “I had an idea -I’d like to call on the professor to see if he was -all right. It isn’t every day I help rescue a man -that way, you know.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Help rescue him!” exclaimed Tom, with an accent -on the first word. “Why, you did it all, Joe! -And, say, I never saw anything done slicker. Using -your wet clothes was just the thing.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“It was the <i>only</i> thing,” said Joe. “I knew the -fire wouldn’t get through my soaking wet coat and -trousers in the little while he was exposed to the -flames. But say, Tom, are my clothes too badly -burned to wear?”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“I’m afraid so, Joe. I had a look at them, and -they seem to be ruined.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Too bad!” and Joe sighed. Mr. Amos Blackford -had the reputation in town of being rather -<span class='pageno' id='Page_41'>41</span>close, and Joe realized this better than any one -else.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“The professor ought to get you a new suit,” -Tom asserted, “since you ruined yours saving -him.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Oh, that wasn’t the reason I wanted to see him,” -hastily interposed the young wizard. “And if you -go with me, Tom, don’t you dare mention my -burned clothes.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>Joe looked so stern as he said this, and Tom so -well knew the firmness of his chum, that he readily -promised to do as Joe wished.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“I think I’ll just give him a call at the hotel,” -Joe went on. “There’s time enough for me to go -home—and take what’s coming to me—later,” he -added grimly. “I’ve got another suit, Tom, my -best one. I can put that on and give you back -yours.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Oh, I’m not worrying about that, Joe. But -come on, we’ll go to the hotel. I wonder what -the professor was doing up on the top floor of that -fireworks factory, anyhow.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“That’s one of the things that’s been puzzling -me, Tom. And I don’t mind admitting that it is -one of the reasons why I’d like to meet that prestidigitator.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Come along then,” went on Tom. “I’m with -you. You may learn some more of his tricks, -Joe.”</p> - -<p class='c007'><span class='pageno' id='Page_42'>42</span>“Oh, I know quite a few already.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“You do? You never told us fellows.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Oh, well, I sort of had to keep them under -cover. You know my foster-parents aren’t any too -proud of what my father and mother did for a living.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“So I’ve heard, Joe.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“But I’m proud of them!” Joe exclaimed, with -flashing eyes. “I wish I could be such a rider as -I’ve heard my mother was, and as good a magician -as my father. But, as I said, I’ve had to sort -of keep my ambitions under cover.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“I have done a little practicing on the side, -though, and I have some books on magic I’m studying. -There’s more to it than most persons suppose. -No, I don’t want to get to the bottom of any of -Professor Rosello’s tricks. I fancy I know most -of them anyhow. But I would like to know what -he was doing in that factory, especially up where -he was when the fire broke out.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Maybe he’ll tell us,” said Tom.</p> - -<p class='c007'>As the two young men went through the town -the signs of excitement about the fire were still -pretty much in evidence. On all street corners little -groups were talking about it. Several persons -had been overcome with smoke, and one or two -employees were slightly burned, one man seriously, -it was feared.</p> - -<p class='c007'>As Joe walked along he and Tom heard more -<span class='pageno' id='Page_43'>43</span>than once a murmur of voices, which could be heard -commenting on Joe’s brave act.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“There he goes now!” some one exclaimed. -“The nerviest fellow in seven counties! I don’t -believe there’s a thing Joe Strong doesn’t dare do!”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“You’re getting famous, Joe,” commented his -chum.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Joe smiled, but said nothing.</p> - -<p class='c007'>They soon found themselves at the one hotel of -Bedford, and, after stating their errand, a bell-boy -came back with the information that Professor Rosello -would see them in his room.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“He’s a little knocked out,” the clerk informed -Joe. “Nothing serious, though. He’ll be glad -to see you.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>And the professor was. He looked from Joe -to Tom as the two lads entered his room.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“To whom am I indebted so greatly for the saving -of my life?” asked Professor Rosello, in a -rather formal and old-fashioned manner, which -well became him.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“He did it!” said Tom, quickly, indicating Joe.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Then permit me, my dear young sir, to give you -my most heartfelt and sincere thanks.” He shook -hands gravely with Joe, and resumed: “I am well -aware that mere words are futile at a time like this, -and so I will refrain from uttering many of them. -But, none the less, I do thank you. I did not -realize my danger until after I had been rescued. -<span class='pageno' id='Page_44'>44</span>Then I was told it was you who had done it. Even -yet I hardly realize what I went through and my -escape from a great danger. I dare say it will -come to me as a shock, later.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“I hope you’re feeling better,” said Joe, who -was anxious to get the “thanking business,” as he -called it, over with.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Yes, I am almost myself again, thank you,” was -the reply. “I did swallow a little smoke, but not -much. I really had no business to go where I did. -You see it was this way.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>Tom looked at Joe, as much as to say:</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Now you’ll get your explanation all right.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“I am, as perhaps you know, a sleight-of-hand -performer; a magician, as we are sometimes called. -I gave an exhibition in your town last night.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“I was there, and liked it first rate!” broke in -Tom. “And Joe here—he showed us——”</p> - -<p class='c007'>Tom stopped suddenly, for Joe administered an -unseen, but none the less swift, warning kick, under -cover of a table.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“I am glad you liked my little entertainment,” -the professor went on, not appearing to notice the -little side-play between Joe and his chum, if, indeed, -he saw it. “As I was saying, I am a modern -magician. As you young gentlemen probably -know, we are always on the lookout for new tricks, -new effects, illusions and so on. Perhaps I need -not tell you that there is really no so-called Black -<span class='pageno' id='Page_45'>45</span>Art—nothing really supernatural in my work, or -in that of my fellow artists. We can not overcome -nature, we merely adapt her to our needs. The -old truth of the hand being quicker than the eye -still holds good. In fact it is very easy to deceive -the eye, as you doubtless noticed at my little entertainment. -You see——”</p> - -<p class='c007'>The professor pulled a red handkerchief from -his pocket, flourished it in the air, stuffed it into his -clenched fist. Pulled out one end to disclose a blue -flag. Then, with a rapid motion, he stuffed it back -into his clenched fist again, to bring it out pure -white, and a moment later, rolling it up into a ball, -he smoothed it out to disclose a miniature United -States flag.</p> - -<p class='c007'>This he held out to Tom, who, when he took it, -found that he was grasping a lemon.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Why—what—how did you——?” he stammered.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Merely demonstrating that the hand is quicker -than the eye,” said the professor, smiling.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Joe can do——” began Tom, when he was again -stopped by a swift kick under the table.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“As I said,” resumed the magician, with a smile, -“I am always on the lookout for new effects. This -morning, when I was waiting for my train at the -station to take me and my effects on to the next -town, where I show night after to-morrow, I noticed -the fireworks factory. It occurred to me that I -<span class='pageno' id='Page_46'>46</span>might use some simple little piece of fireworks in -demonstrating one of my tricks, so, as I had time -enough, I went over to the office.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“They had just what I wanted, and the manager -took me up to the store room to show me different -styles of it. While we were on the second floor -there was an explosion in one of the distant buildings. -The manager rushed away at once, leaving -me there in the factory.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“I realized that the fire was somewhere near me, -but I had no idea that it might spread to the building -in which I then was. Left to myself, I strolled -about, looking at the different pieces of fireworks. -I was very much interested. I even went up to the -top story, all alone. Those in the factory must -have rushed out at the first alarm.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“I realized that there was a fire, but I fairly lost -myself in working out the details of a new illusion -that came to me while in the factory. I sat down -amid the store of pyrotechnics and became involved -in thought. Then, before I knew it, I was trapped. -I rushed to the opening and must have fainted. -The rest you young gentlemen know better than I.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>Joe had received the information he wanted. The -explanation was a perfectly natural one. Perhaps, -though, no one but a man like Professor Rosello -would have sat down in a fireworks factory, with -a blaze near him, to work out the details of a trick. -But, as he said, he fairly lost himself in a maze -<span class='pageno' id='Page_47'>47</span>of thought, and when he did realize his danger it -was almost too late.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“And now, once more, permit me to thank you -for saving my life. I can offer you no adequate -reward, nor, I imagine, do you want one, Joe -Strong.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>Joe shook his head negatively.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“But if ever you are in need of a friend—that -is such a friend, with such limited talents as I possess—don’t -fail to call on Peter Crabb, otherwise -known as Professor Rosello,” he added earnestly. -“I am going to travel on to-night,” he resumed. “I -shall feel well enough then. I can not get the fireworks -I desired, but they will do later.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“As I said, if ever you want a friend, don’t -forget me. I may not be able to do much for you, -but such as I can do, I will do gladly. I know many -men and women in such lines of public life as I, -myself, follow, and it may be I can help you to -gratify some ambition.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“I wonder if you could?” asked Joe, boldly. “I -have only one ambition—that is at present—and -that is, to be what you are.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“A magician?” cried Professor Rosello, somewhat -surprised.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Yes,” answered Joe.</p> - -<p class='c007'>The professor was silent a moment.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Young man,” he said, “it is not an easy life. -There are many hardships, and not every one can -<span class='pageno' id='Page_48'>48</span>stand them, nor is every one fitted to attempt to -amuse the public as I do. I say that in all modesty, -but there is a certain manual dexterity required, a -certain quickness of motion—of the eye—a certain -amount of nerve——”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Joe’s got that!” cried Tom, moving away to -escape an expected kick. “And he can do some -tricks, too. You ought to see him do the number -trick you worked last night!”</p> - -<p class='c007'>The professor looked strangely at Joe.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“You are, perhaps, an amateur?” he asked, -slowly.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Sort of,” admitted Joe, diffidently.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Then perhaps you can master the art, after -many years’ practice. If you like, I will test you. -Let me see——”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“My father was Professor Morretti,” said Joe -in a low voice.</p> - -<p class='c007'>The magician started.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Professor Morretti!” he murmured. “Are you -his son?”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Yes,” said Joe, simply.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Professor Rosello bowed as to an equal.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“My dear young man,” he said, “I am greatly -interested in you—more so than before. If you -are the true son of Professor Morretti, and if -you have even a small part of his talents, I can predict -for you a brilliant future. He was one of the -greatest of us. I never met him, but it was something -<span class='pageno' id='Page_49'>49</span>even to know him by reputation. I am indeed -glad to meet his son—proud to have been saved -by him.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“And to think I talked to you of years of preparation—that -I had an idea of showing you a few -simple tricks, just to discourage you! For I did -not want you to learn by too bitter experience the -sorrow of failure. And you are Professor Morretti’s -son! I am proud to know you!”</p> - -<div class='chapter'> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_50'>50</span> - <h2 class='c005'>CHAPTER VI<br> <span class='large'>A FAMILY JAR</span></h2> -</div> - -<p class='c006'>The meeting between Joe Strong and the magician -had quite a different result from the one our -young wizard had expected. He had not been sure -that his father would be known, even by reputation, -to Professor Rosello, and it was a source of pride -and joy to Joe to see the esteem in which his parent -was held.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“There was no more brilliant performer in the -business,” said the magician. “His box trick is -unrivalled to-day, and his mystery of the ringing -bells, while it is done by several, including myself, -lacks the brilliancy and smoothness which he gave -it. I wish I had known him, but, failing in that, -I am glad to know his son.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“And I am glad to know you,” replied Joe. “It -isn’t often I meet any one who appreciates the profession -of a magician, or of a circus rider. My -mother was that, you know.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“So I have heard. She, too, was famous in her -day. So you are an orphan. May I inquire with -whom you live?”</p> - -<p class='c007'><span class='pageno' id='Page_51'>51</span>Joe gave the details of his bringing up by his -foster-parents. Professor Rosello was much interested, -and asked many questions.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Are you serious in wishing to adopt the profession, -or calling, of a prestidigitator?” he asked.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“I certainly am!” answered Joe. “But I know -Mr. and Mrs. Blackford will object to it. They are -even ashamed to have folks know what my father -and mother were.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“A foolish pride!” murmured the professor. -“There are as fine and noble men and women in -the circus, or in any theatrical line, as in any other -calling of life. It is hard that such a prejudice -exists against them. I have met it myself.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“But, Joe—I am going to call you that, for I -feel as if I had known you a long time. Joe, you -realize, perhaps, that you will have to begin at the -bottom of the ladder in this?”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Yes,” Joe answered the question eagerly. “Oh, -I don’t suppose I could start in now. I’ve got to -work up to it gradually. It’s just my ambition, -that’s all.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Well, I hope you succeed,” said the magician. -“I wish I could help you. Perhaps I can, later. I -will give you my card, with the names of the places -where I shall be playing for the next month or two. -If you find that you can begin this life, let me know, -and I may find an opening for you with some of -my friends.”</p> - -<p class='c007'><span class='pageno' id='Page_52'>52</span>“Oh, I don’t imagine I can,” and Joe spoke hopelessly.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Let me see your hands,” said the professor suddenly.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Joe held them out. Firm, muscular hands they -were, well formed, and giving an idea of great -strength.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Good!” murmured the magician. “Here, let -me see you palm this,” and from an unseen portion -of his clothing he produced a billiard ball.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Joe, nothing abashed, at once proceeded to -manipulate the ball. He first exhibited it in one -hand, and then in the other. Finally, showing both -hands empty, he reached over and seemingly took -the ball from off Tom’s head!</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Bravo! Very good! Much better than I expected!” -cried the professor. “You have a natural -ability to palm articles. I presume you must have -practiced, also.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“A little,” admitted Joe. He did not state that -many and many a night, in his room, he had gone -through this and other necessary fundamentals in -the magical art, getting ready for the time when he -hoped his ambition should be realized. Now he -was reaping the fruits of his secret practice.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Yes, you are a better palmer than many who -are on the stage to-day,” said the professor. “It -would not be fair to you, though, to say that you -have not yet something to learn. But I can see you -<span class='pageno' id='Page_53'>53</span>have great promise. I sincerely hope I can assist -you. I will now write out my different addresses -for you. It may be that, some day, I can help -you.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>The professor sat down at a table, and began -making out a list of towns where he would play -in rotation.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Just here it may be stated for the benefit of readers -unacquainted with the prestidigitator’s art, that -“palming,” as it is known in the profession, is the -act of holding an egg, billiard ball, lemon, coin, or -some similar object, in the palm of the hand, by a -slight contraction of the ball of the thumb, in such -a manner that the hand, when the back of it is held -out in front of an audience, appears perfectly empty. -Passing of articles from one hand to another, involves -palming, as does causing to “disappear” certain -articles apparently taken from a person’s hat, -clothes and so on.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Palming is the basis of many tricks. The explanation -of these tricks is very simple, involving -in most cases the exercise of but three principles—palming, -the use of special and secret apparatus, -and the old trick of deceiving the eye by making -certain motions with the hands.</p> - -<p class='c007'>The professor talked for some little time longer -with Joe and Tom, and did some tricks there, in -the hotel room, with simple articles, that even Joe -admitted afterward he could not explain.</p> - -<p class='c007'><span class='pageno' id='Page_54'>54</span>“But I’ll soon learn how they’re done,” he said -to Tom, as they came away. “I’m not going to be -stumped by them!”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Then your going to keep at this ambition of -yours, Joe?”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“I certainly am! I guess it’s in my blood, Tom.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“I wouldn’t be surprised.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>Professor Rosello had again expressed his profound -gratitude to Joe for saving his life. The -magician had almost fully recovered from the shock -and said he would go on that night to the next town -where he would, later, give a performance. Joe -left with a list of the succeeding places where Professor -Rosello would “play.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“And now I guess I’d better get home,” said -Joe to Tom. “The folks may be worried about -me, after hearing about the fire. I’ll send your suit -back as soon as I can.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“No hurry about that, Joe.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>On the way to the residence of his foster-parents -Joe heard more talk of the fire, and his own brave -act was often mentioned. How the fire started was -not known, but the conjecture was that spontaneous -combustion was the cause. Fires in factories where -Fourth of July articles are made are not rare occurrences. -As a matter of fact, they are rather -to be expected.</p> - -<p class='c007'>In this case, the saving of the main building -prevented what might have been a calamity with -<span class='pageno' id='Page_55'>55</span>great loss of life. Most of the fire apparatus was -returning as Joe turned down the street where he -made his home with Mr. and Mrs. Blackford.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“I wonder if he’ll raise a row about my clothes,” -thought Joe. To himself he always thought of -Mr. Blackford as “he” and Mrs. Blackford as -“she,” though in conversation with others Joe called -them “dad” and “mother.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>As has been mentioned before, Mr. and Mrs. -Blackford did not intend to be unkind. They had -lived hard and strict lives when they were young, -and they did not see why others should not tread -the same path. In consequence they curtailed Joe’s -pleasures, they frowned at every mention of his -parents, and they were, at times, actually harsh and -cruel to him. They excused themselves on the -plea that it was “for his good.” But, undoubtedly, -they were very short-sighted.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Joe would have been much better off had he had -kinder treatment and greater liberty. In fact, at -times, he was treated as a child, though he was, at -the opening of this story, nearly eighteen years -old.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Yes, I reckon I’m in for a wigging,” mused Joe, -as he approached the house. “Might as well get -it over with.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>He vaulted over the gate, landing easily, though -it was not a low barrier by any means.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Oh, Joe! Don’t do that!” cried Mrs. Blackford. -<span class='pageno' id='Page_56'>56</span>She had seen him from the window. “You -might spoil your shoes!”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Oh, I guess not,” he answered easily.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“And what has happened to you?” she went on. -“That isn’t your suit! Where have you been? -Did you hear about the fire?”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Yes. I was there. It was quite a blaze.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“And what about your suit?” went on the elderly -woman. “This isn’t yours.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“I know it.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Whose is it?”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Tom Simpson’s. He lent it to me.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“But where’s your own?”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Burned.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Burned?” Mrs. Blackford’s voice was shrill.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Yes. At the fire. I—er—well, I helped get a -man out, and my suit was scorched. I had to borrow -Tom’s to wear home. Couldn’t wear mine.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>Mrs. Blackford raised her hands in surprise, and -pushed her spectacles to the top of her head in -order better to look at Joe.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Well, of all things!” she cried. “I never heard -tell of such goings on! The very idea!”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“What’s the matter? What has happened?” -asked the rather harsh voice of Deacon Blackford, -as he came up the walk on his way home from the -office of his feed and grain business. “Has that -boy been doing something again?” he asked.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Doing something! I should say he had!” cried -<span class='pageno' id='Page_57'>57</span>Mrs. Blackford. “He’s got his good suit burned up -at the fire!”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“What?” cried the deacon.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“I couldn’t help it,” said Joe, in self-defense. “I -had to save that man. It was the only way.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>Then Joe told briefly and modestly what he had -done. He did not bring out his true worth in the -matter of the rescue, and he hardly made it plain -that, had it not been for his soaking wet suit, Professor -Rosello might have been fatally burned.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Professor Rosello?” queried Mr. Blackford. -“Is he a school teacher, Joe?”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“No, sir, he’s a professor of magic.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Magic! You mean one of those worthless characters -who go about giving silly exhibitions, like -the one that was here last night?”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Yes, he was the one I saved,” Joe answered. -“I’m sorry about my suit, but it couldn’t be helped.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“The idea!” cried Mrs. Blackford.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Mr. Blackford looked stern.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“A low, public performer!” he murmured. “Was -there no one else to save him—no one who is paid -to do such things—firemen with suits that would -not easily burn? Could not one of them save him?”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“There wasn’t time,” Joe answered. “I just ran -in, climbed up the rope, and lowered him down, -after I tied my wet suit about him.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“How did you get your suit wet?” the deacon -questioned.</p> - -<p class='c007'><span class='pageno' id='Page_58'>58</span>“Swimming the creek.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Swimming the creek! Why did you do that?”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“To get to the fire quicker. I didn’t want to wait -to go around over the bridge.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Humph!”</p> - -<p class='c007'>Deacon Blackford fairly grunted out the word. -He looked sharply at Joe.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Well, I must say,” he exclaimed sharply, “that -you have made a pretty exhibition of yourself! The -idea of first spoiling a suit of clothes by swimming -the creek, and then burning it up!”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“And he had worn that suit only a little over -two years!” put in Mrs. Blackford. “It was his -second best. Oh, what a wasteful and careless -boy you are! It’s a shame!”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“That’s what I say!” thundered the deacon. -“And, what’s more, you’ll suffer for this, Joe! -You have some money saved up. I shall take this -to pay for the suit you ruined.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“I didn’t ruin it!” Joe retorted, desperately -enough. “I had to save the man’s life. It was the -only way!”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Stuff and nonsense!” snapped the deacon.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“No nonsense at all!” cried Joe, his temper now -thoroughly aroused. “I just had to do it!”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Don’t talk back to me!” cried his foster-father. -“I’ll teach you not to be impudent to me!” He -drew back his hand as though to strike Joe, but -the latter, after an involuntary closing of his fist, -<span class='pageno' id='Page_59'>59</span>stepped back out of the way. Joe’s face was pale.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“I’ll not take a blow from you, sir. Not any -more,” he said in a quiet voice.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“You won’t, eh?” stormed the deacon. “We’ll -see what you’ll take and won’t take! You’ll pay -for that suit, that’s sure! And we’ll see who’s boss -here! I’ll strike you if I like! You’re not of age -yet! Now go to your room. I don’t want to act -hastily. Go to your room at once, before I get -angry,” and, with a stamp of his foot, the old man -raised a stern hand and pointed to the stairway.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Joe turned aside without a word.</p> - -<div class='chapter'> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_60'>60</span> - <h2 class='c005'>CHAPTER VII<br> <span class='large'>MR. BLACKFORD’S TROUBLE</span></h2> -</div> - -<p class='c006'>Bitter at heart was Joe Strong as he walked -slowly into his room and shut the door. This was -a common form of punishment with the deacon, -since he had given up his frequent whippings of -Joe.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Just what effect the old man thought it had on -the youth to send him to his room it is hard to tell. -But Joe had often been sent there to sit in loneliness, -often without a meal, or at best with bread -and water. At times the deacon declared bread -and water was all Joe could have, but Mrs. Blackford -had a kinder heart, and she would butter the -slices she brought up to Joe.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Well, I had the row all right,” mused Joe, as -he sat down in the chair near a window. “It was -just as I expected. As if I could help getting my -suit scorched!”</p> - -<p class='c007'>From his window Joe could look across the fields -to the fireworks factory, now mostly a heap of -ruins. He thought of the professor he had saved, -and he also thought of what Mr. Crabb had said -of Joe’s father and mother.</p> - -<p class='c007'><span class='pageno' id='Page_61'>61</span>“If you were only alive now,” thought Joe, with -a sigh, “things would be different. I’d be with -you in the circus, and what great times we’d have -together!”</p> - -<p class='c007'>With shining eyes, in which there was a small -trace of tears, Joe gazed off into the distance. He -realized that his feelings were getting the best of -him.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Come, come, old man!” he told himself. “This -won’t do! Not at all! Not for a minute! You’ve -got to brace up!”</p> - -<p class='c007'>He arose, raised his arms, and, taking off his -coat, began to go through some simple gymnastic -exercises. Even under his shirt one could see the -ripple and play of his superb muscles. Joe was -not the sort of athlete that develops into a “strong -man.” He was more of the all-around type, though -he did possess unusual strength for a youth of -his age. He could use it to advantage, too. The -trapeze was his favorite, though he could do some -startling feats on the flying rings and the horizontal -bars.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“There, I feel better!” Joe announced, as he sat -down, breathing a little faster because of the rapid -exercise he had taken. “But I do wish I had a -regular gym. I could work myself up in better -shape. But what’s the use of wishing.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>He could hear, from downstairs, the murmur -of the voices of his foster-father and mother.</p> - -<p class='c007'><span class='pageno' id='Page_62'>62</span>“Talking about me, I suppose,” mused Joe. -“Trying to decide what punishment to inflict. -Well, I know one thing, and that is if he tries to -give me a whipping I won’t stand it! No, sir! -That’s the limit! He scolded me enough, and he -humiliates me by sending me up here, as if I were -some five-year-old child. But that’s as far as I’ll -let him go! He shan’t beat me!</p> - -<p class='c007'>“If he does—if he does, I’ll——”</p> - -<p class='c007'>Joe paused in his thinking. Again his gaze wandered -off toward the burned factory, and again he -saw, in fancy, the huddled form of the magician. -“That’s what I’ll do!” exclaimed Joe, this time half -aloud. “I won’t wait for him to give me a beating, -which I think he’s planning to do. No, sir, I -won’t wait for that. I’m glad I thought of it. It’s -about the only thing left for me to do. I’ve about -reached the limit.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>Joe went to his closet and took out a suit of -clothes. It was his “best,” kept for Sundays and -special occasions. Then he went to his bureau and -began to look among the drawers.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“The only thing is about getting this suit back to -Tom,” mused Joe. “I’ll have to do that. If I -left it here they might not give it to him.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>He paused to listen once more to the murmur -of voices below him. The deacon’s dull and rumbly -and his wife’s shriller.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Still at it!” said Joe grimly.</p> - -<p class='c007'><span class='pageno' id='Page_63'>63</span>From a far and dark corner of the closet Joe -brought out an old valise. It had not often been -used, for Joe seldom traveled. Deacon Blackford -had no money to waste on such “foolishness.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“That’ll hold about all I’ll want to take with -me,” Joe mused. “Now, the next question is, can -I get out of here without their suspecting? Of -course, I’ll have to do it after dark.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>Joe went to a window and looked out. What -he saw satisfied him.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“I wouldn’t be much of a climber if I couldn’t -get down that,” he murmured with a smile.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“It isn’t as if this were the first trouble we’d had,” -mused Joe, “nor the first time he’d punished me -unjustly.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>Joe spoke the truth. Though doing what he -thought was the best for his foster-son, Mr. Blackford -was a harsh man. And he did not seem to -realize that Joe was growing up. He made no -allowances for that.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“I’m going to quit,” Joe told himself. “I’m going -to light out. I haven’t much money,” and he -looked at the sum in a box that, since he was a little -fellow, had served him as a “bank.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“It won’t take me far,” Joe mused. “I can’t -travel in a Pullman car, that’s sure. That is, not -one of the regular ones. A side-door Pullman for -mine!” and Joe smiled as he thought of the tramp’s -designation of a freight car.</p> - -<p class='c007'><span class='pageno' id='Page_64'>64</span>“And after I quit here—well, I guess I can find -something to do. I ought to be able to make my -living.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>Joe laid out his money, and then, rather idly, he -began palming coins, doing various tricks with -them, sending them spinning up in the air seemingly -to vanish.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“A little out of order,” Joe said, as he missed -one trick. “I’ll have to practice.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>As Joe put the money in his pocket his fingers -came in contact with a paper. He drew it out. It -was the list of towns where Professor Rosello -would play.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“That’s what I’ll do,” decided the young wizard. -“I’ll go to him. He said he’d help me if he could. -I don’t imagine he is very rich, but he’s good. And -if he can’t give me anything else he can advise me. -I need that, I’m thinking.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>It was now late afternoon, almost time for supper, -and Joe wondered whether he would get anything -to eat.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“I’ll go whether I do or not,” he said. “I can -buy something after I’m away from here, for I -sure am going.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>He could not hear his foster-parents talking now, -and he wondered whether his fate had been decided -on. In such case the deacon might come upstairs -with the whip he occasionally used on Joe.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“If he comes I won’t let him in,” thought our -<span class='pageno' id='Page_65'>65</span>hero, as he locked his room door. “He’ll have to -break that down to get me, and I don’t believe he’ll -do it—cost him too much for repairs. As soon as -it’s dark enough, I’ll slip out the window. No, I -guess I’d better wait until they’re in bed and -asleep. No use taking chances, and I’ve got plenty -of time. I’ll wait until about midnight.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>Joe went on with his preparations for leaving -home. He had no regrets, for, after all, it had -not been much of a home of late.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“If only my father and mother were alive!” Joe -said softly. “It sure would be great to travel -around the country with them. My father could -show me all his new tricks, and my mother would -teach me more about horses. But there’s no use -wishing.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>As Joe stood looking out through the window -he saw Deacon Blackford pass, walking down the -street in the direction of the feed and grain store -which he owned.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“That’s queer,” mused Joe. “I wonder what -he’s going back to the store for at this hour. He -never does that so near supper time. He must have -forgotten something. Or maybe he’s got something -new in his head about me. I wonder what -he’s going back for?”</p> - -<p class='c007'>Joe might have wondered still more could he -have looked into the feed store a little later. For -Deacon Blackford was in close consultation with -<span class='pageno' id='Page_66'>66</span>two men—in such close consultation that it was -necessary to shut and lock the office door.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Well, you’ve come back, I see,” remarked one -of the men. He had shifty eyes that did not gaze -straight at the person with whom he was talking.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Yes, Denton, I’ve come back, as I said I would,” -replied Mr. Blackford. “But I tell you now, it’s -no use! I’m not going to give up another cent.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Will you give us the papers then?” asked the -man called Denton. He seemed to be pleading, -rather than demanding.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Give us the papers,” he went on. “We can get -a little back from the investment then. We won’t -lose it all. If you won’t give us the money give us -the papers.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“He’ll give us both, Burke, that’s what he’ll give -us!” broke in the other man. This man had a -hard face, and his eyes, unlike those of his companion, -met his opponent’s boldly. But they did -not have a pleasant or safe look—those eyes. -“He’ll give us both, that’s what he’ll give us!” said -this man again. “If he doesn’t he’ll suffer for it!” -and he banged his fist down on the deacon’s desk.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Oh, go easy now, Harrison,” advised Burke Denton. -“Go a bit easy.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“No, that’s not my way!” exclaimed Jake Harrison. -“What I want I’ll get, if I have to take it -out of his hide. He went into this investment with -us and——”</p> - -<p class='c007'><span class='pageno' id='Page_67'>67</span>“But you said it would be successful, and that -we’d all make money,” whined the deacon. “I -didn’t think I’d lose.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“I told you it wasn’t a dead sure thing,” said -Harrison. “You knew it was a risk when you -went into it. Now we’re in a hole, and you will -have to help us out.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“And if I refuse?”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Then you’ll be in more trouble. What we want -is money enough to tide us over, or else those -papers, so we can use ’em to raise money on from -some one else. Come now, you’ve got the money -and we know it. We’re going to have it, too!” -And again Harrison banged his fist down on the -desk, so that Mr. Blackford jumped.</p> - -<p class='c007'>There was a worried look on his face as he -looked at the two men—one shifty, and inclined to -temporize, merely through fear of getting into too-deep -water, the other a bolder and more hardened -character, it seemed.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Come, what do you say?” asked Harrison. -“The papers or the money?”</p> - -<div class='chapter'> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_68'>68</span> - <h2 class='c005'>CHAPTER VIII<br> <span class='large'>THE RUNAWAY</span></h2> -</div> - -<p class='c006'>Deacon Blackford did not answer at once. He -remained in his seat at his desk, looking first at -one man and then at the other. Often his fingers -would beat a drumming tattoo on the top of the -desk, as though he were too nervous to keep still.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Well!” said Harrison, sharply, “what’s it to -be? We can’t wait all night!”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Oh, we might give him a little more time,” suggested -Denton. “I know what it is——”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“You keep still!” fiercely interrupted Harrison. -“I know what I’m talking about! We’ve given him -too much time as it is. We need the papers or the -money, and we’re going to get what we want!”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Well, I s’pose it’ll have to be as you say,” -weakly agreed the other.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“That’s what it will!” was the prompt comment. -“Come now, Blackford, settle up with us about -this investment business. What’s it to be—the -papers or the money?”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Neither one!” said the deacon sharply. “I -won’t give you any more money. And if you think -<span class='pageno' id='Page_69'>69</span>I’m going to give up the valuable papers, which -represent the only claim I have on you, you’re very -much mistaken. You’ll get neither, and that’s my -last word!”</p> - -<p class='c007'>This time he banged his fist down on the desk -with a sudden energy that seemed to surprise even -Harrison. An ugly look came over the face of the -hardened man. He half closed his bold eyes and -leaned forward toward the deacon, craning his -neck forward like some big snake about to strike its -victim.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“So that’s your answer, is it?” he asked.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“That’s what it is!” declared Joe’s foster-father. -“You’ll get neither the money nor the papers!”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Oh, come now,” began Denton, in rather pleading -tones. “You’d better think again, Deacon. -Take a little more time, and——”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“I’ve had all the time I want,” said Mr. Blackford. -“That’s my last answer—neither the money -nor the papers!”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Well now, if I were you——” began Denton, -when Harrison stopped him with a fierce gesture.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“That’s enough,” he cried. “If that’s his last -word, it’s ours, too. Come on, Denton.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>He arose as if to leave.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“But I thought we were going to get——”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Oh, we’ll get what we want, all right!” broke -in Harrison.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Not from me, you won’t!” declared the deacon.</p> - -<p class='c007'><span class='pageno' id='Page_70'>70</span>“We’re not through with you yet, and don’t you -forget it, Amos Blackford,” retorted Harrison, and -his voice was cool and cutting now. “You’ll hear -from us again, and in a way you least expect. Come -on, Denton,” and, turning, the bold-faced rascal -started from the office of the feed and grain dealer.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Denton hesitated as though he wanted to stay -and argue the matter further, but Harrison caught -him fiercely by the arm and fairly pulled him outside.</p> - -<p class='c007'>When the two men were gone, Deacon Blackford -sat in the now dim office, for dusk was falling. -The grain dealer sat still for about a minute. Then -he said, aloud:</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Well, I’m well rid of those rascals. I’m glad -I stood out firm against them, or they’d have made -me lose more money. No, indeed, I’ll not give up -those papers, and I won’t sink any more of my hard-earned -cash in their investment schemes. I’m glad -I’m through with them, even if I do lose what I put -into their business. Yes, indeed! And I’m glad -this talk is over.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>The deacon locked his desk, and prepared to -leave. He had come down to his place of business -at this unusual hour, when all his employees were -gone, on purpose to be alone with the two men to -whom he had granted an interview.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Yes, I’m glad it’s over,” he said again. “Now -I can give my mind over to dealing with Joe. That -<span class='pageno' id='Page_71'>71</span>boy is certainly a trial to me! It’s the bad blood -of his foolish parents cropping out, I suppose. I -almost wish I had not adopted him, but I thought -he would outgrow the circus and magician instincts. -But they are coming out, in spite of all we -have done. And to think of burning his suit just -to rescue one of those good-for-nothing sleight-of-hand -performers!”</p> - -<p class='c007'>The deacon shook his head, walked slowly from -his office, and, after locking the door, started down -the street in the direction of his home.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Yes, I really must punish Joe,” he murmured. -“He needs a severe lesson.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“You’re late, Amos,” said Mrs. Blackford, as -her husband came in to supper. “You’re very late. -The victuals are all spoiled, but it’s a pity to cook -anything else.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Oh, yes, don’t throw ’em away,” said the old -man quickly. “We can’t afford to waste anything. -I don’t mind if the potatoes are dried up. I can -eat ’em. I haven’t much appetite, anyhow.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>The interview with the two rascals had upset the -deacon more than he thought. He sat heavily -down in his place at the table, while his wife began -to serve the meal.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“What made you so late?” she asked. “And why -did you have to go back to the store? You never -did that before.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Oh, I had some business to look after,” Mr. -<span class='pageno' id='Page_72'>72</span>Blackford answered. “It was important, but it’s all -settled now. I won’t have to do it again.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>He began to eat his supper, and then he happened -to think of Joe. Perhaps the sight of the vacant -chair on the opposite side of the table brought the -boy to his mind.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Did you take him up anything?” he asked his -wife, nodding his head toward Joe’s upper room.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“I gave him some bread, just as you told me to.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Anything else?” asked the old man sharply.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Well—er—I had plenty of milk so I thought he -might as well have a glass of that instead of water.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Um!” grunted the deacon, but that was all he -said just then. Mrs. Blackford did not add that -she had buttered the bread, and that the slices -were unusually thick, and that she had put one -extra on the plate she handed into Joe’s room. -Mrs. Blackford was a little afraid of the deacon, -but Joe had, on this occasion, profited by her slight -kindness to him.</p> - -<p class='c007'>She had taken Joe’s simple meal up to him at the -usual supper time, and he had unlocked his door -while taking in the plate of bread and butter and -the glass of milk. He did not speak, nor did Mrs. -Blackford. It was the regular form of procedure -on such unpleasant occasions as this.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Joe was glad when he saw the milk and the -extra slice of bread.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“If I’m going to run away,” he thought, “I’ll -<span class='pageno' id='Page_73'>73</span>need all the food they give me. I won’t be able -to get anything at midnight, which is about the -time I leave. I suppose I might raid the pantry,” -he added to himself after a moment’s thought, “but -then they might hear me and stop me. No, I’ll -just have to make this do.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>He ate the bread and drank the milk, thinking -the while of his future. It was a bold step he -was taking, and yet Joe did not regret having decided -on it. He had reached the limit of patience -as far as his foster-parents were concerned. True, -he owed something to them, but he felt he had more -than paid the debt.</p> - -<p class='c007'>For when Joe’s real parents died there was a little -sum of money realized from the sale of Professor -Morretti’s effects, and this the deacon had -taken charge of. He used it to clothe and educate -Joe, taking out a certain sum each year for “board -and lodging.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>In consequence the money was all used up, the -last of it about two years prior to the opening of -this story, so that Joe’s little inheritance had paid -his way for some years.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Then, when the lad was old enough, the deacon, -before and after school hours, had called on Joe’s -strength in the feed and grain business, Joe being -an efficient helper.</p> - -<p class='c007'>The deacon was honest in his way, and he allowed -Joe money for this help. But he did not -<span class='pageno' id='Page_74'>74</span>overpay the lad and part of what he gave, the deacon -took back for board and lodging, though allowing -Joe a certain sum each week. Joe had saved -most of this, and it was from this horde that the -deacon proposed deducting the money to pay for -the burned suit.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“But he shan’t do it!” said Joe fiercely, as he -felt of the money he had put in the pocket of his -best suit. He was going to wear that when he -left, carrying Tom’s suit, which he intended leaving -on the door-step of the Simpson home, with a -note explaining the circumstances.</p> - -<p class='c007'>After his supper, if one could call it that, Joe -undressed, and lay down on the bed. He was tired -from the day’s excitement, and he realized that he -had a hard night before him. His plans, as yet, -were rather hazy. All he was sure of was that he -was going to run away.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Deacon Blackford did not eat much supper. His -wife was rather nervously anticipating another scene -between him and Joe, but the deacon did not mention -the lad’s name. Mr. Blackford sat in glum -silence after the meal. Finally Mrs. Blackford -could stand it no longer. She wanted to know -the worst.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“What are you going to do to—him?” she finally -asked.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Who? Joe?”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Yes. Are you going to—to whip him?”</p> - -<p class='c007'><span class='pageno' id='Page_75'>75</span>“I think likely I shall,” answered the old man. -“He’s got to be taught a lesson. But I’ll wait until -morning to do it. I want to do it without getting -angry at him.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>Mrs. Blackford breathed a silent sigh of relief. -She felt that if the deacon put off the whipping -until the next day he might not do it at all. And -she dreaded to have it happen. She realized, if -her husband did not, that Joe was too big now to be -whipped.</p> - -<p class='c007'>The evening began to lengthen into night, and -the deacon prepared for bed. Joe was listening in -his room for a cessation of sounds that would -indicate it would be safe for him to attempt to -leave. Finally all was still.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Joe cautiously arose and dressed in the dark. -There was a half-moon, and it gave him illumination -enough to see without making a light in his -room. Putting on his best suit, Joe made a bundle -of Tom’s clothing. The lad had already packed -a valise with his few belongings.</p> - -<p class='c007'>With a length of strong fish-line he lowered his -valise from the window to the ground below. He -was glad the deacon’s bedroom was on the other -side of the house. Next Joe lowered the bundle, -and then he prepared to make his way down to the -ground.</p> - -<p class='c007'>To do this he was going to lower himself, hand -over hand, on the lightning rod. The deacon was -<span class='pageno' id='Page_76'>76</span>old-fashioned enough to have one of these contrivances -on his house, and the twisted, galvanized -rod, in its glass insulating supports, was close to -Joe’s window.</p> - -<p class='c007'>To a youth of Joe’s muscle and ability in gymnastics -it was no feat at all to climb down the lightning -rod. On the contrary, Joe thought it fun—or -he would have under pleasanter circumstances.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“I’ll just give this a pull or two, to make sure it -will hold me,” Joe mused. “I don’t want to come -a cropper.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>Leaning out of his window, he exerted his -strength against the lightning rod. To his dismay -it was loose, and a little stronger pull would have -torn it away from the side of the house.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Whew!” whistled Joe, softly. “That’s bad. -I’ll never dare trust my weight to that. I’d come -down all at once. I wouldn’t mind the fall so very -much, but I’d make a racket, and he’d sure wake -up. Now what can I do? I ought to have tested -that rod this afternoon, and then I could have begun -tearing up the sheets into a rope. Maybe I can do -that now.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>Joe was about to do this, then decided on a more -straightforward plan.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“They’re both sound asleep,” he reflected. “I -can easily slip down the stairs and go out the front -door. I won’t make any noise, and it will be safer -even than going down by a bed-sheet rope. That -<span class='pageno' id='Page_77'>77</span>might break or slip off what I tied it to, and I’d -fall anyhow. Yes, I’ll go out the front way, but -I’ll have to be very quiet.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>Joe took off his shoes, unlocked his door with -great caution, and went softly down the stairs. To -his delight they did not creak much, and he soon -found himself in the lower hall.</p> - -<p class='c007'>As he was at the front door turning the key, -he heard a sudden noise behind him in the darkness.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Jinks! He’s heard me!” reflected Joe quickly. -“I’ve got to run for it!”</p> - -<p class='c007'>He opened the door and fairly leaped off the -steps in his stocking-feet. It was the work of but -an instant to run around the side path, pick up the -bundle of Tom’s clothes and the valise, and then -leap over the fence to the sidewalk. Then, still -carrying his shoes and other things, Joe sped on, -running away, fearful lest the awakened deacon -should run after him.</p> - -<div class='chapter'> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_78'>78</span> - <h2 class='c005'>CHAPTER IX<br> <span class='large'>THE OVERTURNED LAMP</span></h2> -</div> - -<p class='c006'>The noise which Joe Strong had heard was not -caused, as he had feared, by the rousing of Deacon -Blackford. All things considered, it might have -been well for Joe had it been.</p> - -<p class='c007'>While the youth was running away as fast as -he could, considering the fact that he had on no -shoes, but had to carry them, as well as his valise -and a bundle of clothes, something was taking place -back in the deacon’s house that was destined to have -quite an effect on Joe’s life.</p> - -<p class='c007'>He had heard a noise, that was certain, and it -had come from the interior of the dark house.</p> - -<p class='c007'>But the noise was not made by the deacon. Instead -it came from one of two men who were cautiously -entering the Blackford homestead through -a rear door, which they had opened by the simple -but effective method of “nippering the key.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>That is one of them, with a pair of peculiarly -shaped pincers, or nippers, had reached the little -projecting round end of the key that extends beyond -the flat, or ward, part. This is the little end -<span class='pageno' id='Page_79'>79</span>one sometimes sees sticking partly out of the keyhole, -if on the opposite side of the door from the -key itself.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Grasping this little end in a pair of nippers that -held it securely, one of the men easily turned the -key—almost as easily as if he had been on the other -side of the door using his fingers to twist the -opener in the manner intended by law for it to turn.</p> - -<p class='c007'>As the back door of the deacon’s house softly -and slowly swung open, two men, wearing masks, -quietly entered. And then one of them, as he -reached in his pocket for an electric flash lamp, -knocked against a chair.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Keep still! What’s the matter with you, Denton, -banging about in that way?” demanded the -other of the men in a fierce whisper, which, however, -was a most guarded whisper. The sound -of it did not carry two feet. “What are you doing, -anyhow?”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“I couldn’t help it,” answered Denton. “How -was I to know, Jake, that the confounded chair -was in the road?”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“You ought to be able to see in the dark,” was -the retort. “You’ve been up to enough shady -work of late.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“No more than you!”</p> - -<p class='c007'>The reply came sharply. The men were on the -verge of a quarrel, and at a time when they needed -to work in harmony. All this had passed in a -<span class='pageno' id='Page_80'>80</span>second, the echo of the noise made by the chair -hardly having had time to die away.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Come, this won’t do—scrapping,” remarked -Harrison, in more conciliatory tones. “We’ve got -to get busy. Listen and see if you think that racket -roused him.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>The men stood still in the darkness, tensely -waiting. They did not hear a sound. They did -not hear Joe open the front door, close it and run -away. This was because they were at the very -back of the house, and also because Joe moved -very softly. Thinking, as he did, that the deacon -had awakened and was coming after him, Joe determined -not to betray himself by any sound.</p> - -<p class='c007'>So, having made a noise themselves, the intruders, -listening to determine if it had roused the -inmates, did not hear Joe’s escape.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“I guess it’s all right,” came from Denton, still -whispering.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“We can’t afford to take chances on guessing,” -was the remark of his companion. “We’ve got to -make sure. We can’t risk being caught, for what -we’re going to do is a state-prison offense.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“How? It is? We’re only taking what we have -at least half a right to.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Never mind! Wait until we get through.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“You’re not going to do anything desperate, are -you?” asked Denton, and he seemed to fear his -bolder and rasher companion.</p> - -<p class='c007'><span class='pageno' id='Page_81'>81</span>“Keep still. You’ll see,” was the reply. “Listen -for a sound. If we don’t hear any in three minutes -we’ll go on and do the job.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>The men waited, tense, silent and anxious, standing -there in the darkness, ready to run at the slightest -sound. But none came. The noise made by one -of them in the collision with the chair, seemed not -to have aroused any one in the house.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“All right, come on,” whispered Harrison. “You -know where he keeps the papers, don’t you?”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Yes. In his desk. It’s in what he calls the -‘back parlor.’ I was in there a couple of times -when we were putting the deal through, and I -know the very drawer he keeps the papers in. That -is, if he hasn’t taken them out.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Oh, I don’t think he has, Burke.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“He might have, Jake. You put it on a bit -strong this afternoon, telling him we’d get the best -of him anyhow. He may be expecting something -like this.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Never! He thinks we’ve given up. But of -course we won’t!”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“I should say not! We need those papers.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Yes, and we need cash, too!”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“You’re not going to do that are you—rob him -of money?”</p> - -<p class='c007'>Burke Denton seemed much alarmed.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Oh, keep still and come on,” roughly ordered -the other. “We are chinning away here like a -<span class='pageno' id='Page_82'>82</span>couple of women. There’s work to be done. -Everybody’s asleep, it’s perfectly safe.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Where does that lad sleep—Blackford’s son?”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Upstairs on the top floor, I think. But he -isn’t Blackford’s son—only adopted.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Think he’ll make any trouble?”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“No. We can take care of him.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>But Joe Strong was then too far off to make any -trouble for the intruders. They were now cautiously -moving through the house, one of them -occasionally flashing a beam from his electric torch -to show the way through the rooms.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Here’s the back parlor,” announced Denton, -who seemed to know the plan of the house.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“All right! Now we’ll get busy,” whispered his -companion. “Get out your keys. We may have -to try a lot of ’em before we find one that fits.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“And I sure hope we do find one,” murmured -Denton. “I don’t want to have to force open the -desk. It makes too much noise.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“You’re right there.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>The two criminals seemed on better terms now, -and were working in harmony. Advancing by the -intermittent flashes of the electric torch, they approached -a large, old-fashioned desk where Deacon -Blackford kept books, papers and many other -things, partly connected with his business, and -partly with his home life.</p> - -<p class='c007'>The desk was one of those old-fashioned ones, -<span class='pageno' id='Page_83'>83</span>with an upper part made in the form of a bookcase, -with two glass doors. Below this was a sort -of flap, that could be let down. This formed a -writing table, and when the flap was down it disclosed -rows of pigeonholes, small drawers and compartments -for books and papers. Still below this -section, and on either side of a hollowed-out place, -were more drawers.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Come on, get busy!” directed Harrison. “You’re -better at opening desks than I am. Get out your -keys. I’ll hold the torch.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>Denton passed the flashing torch over, and while -his companion held it, having slipped the switch -to a permanent place, so that there was a steady -beam of light, the man with the keys proceeded to -try one after another in the keyhole of the desk. -He was attempting to lower the writing flap, to -come to the compartments and drawers inside.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Key after key he tried, making none but the -slightest sounds. But the lock did not give.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Guess we’ll have to jimmy it after all,” said -Denton. “Hold the light nearer, can’t you? Can’t -see a thing.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“The light’s as near as I can get it, and not be -in your way,” was the retort. “Oh, look! Hang -it all! the battery’s giving out!”</p> - -<p class='c007'>As he spoke the light quickly began to fade -from a bright, white glow of the tungsten filament -to a dull yellow. From this it became only a little -<span class='pageno' id='Page_84'>84</span>red streak, and the two men were suddenly left in -darkness.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“This is a nice pickle!” said Harrison, angrily. -“Why didn’t you put in a fresh battery?”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“I did. You must have been flashing it too -often.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Go on! This is the first time I’ve held the light -to-night. It’s all your fault! Now we’ve either -got to call it off or work by the use of matches. -We can’t see to get the right papers in the dark.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Wait a minute. I have a scheme,” suggested -Denton. “I saw a lamp on the table right here. -I’ll light that.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“If it’s got any oil in it,” half-sneered Harrison.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Oh, they keep their lamps filled I reckon. Stand -still now, and I’ll light it.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>Denton struck a match, found the lamp and -presently had the wick aglow.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Turn it down, you chump!” hoarsely whispered -Harrison. “That can be seen from outside.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>Denton lowered the wick until the light was -dim, but even then it was better to work by than -had been the electric torch, for the illumination -was more diffused.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Denton went to work with the keys again, and -luck seemed to be with him, for after two trials -the desk was opened. It was the work of but a -few minutes for the men to sort over the papers -and pick out those they wanted.</p> - -<p class='c007'><span class='pageno' id='Page_85'>85</span>“Now we’ve got ’em!” exclaimed Denton. “I -guess he’ll talk business to us now!”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“We won’t bother to talk business, now we’ve -got what we want,” answered Harrison. “We’ll -just light out. But before we go we might as well -have this. No use passing up a chance like this.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>He reached over his companion’s shoulder and -took a roll of bills from a drawer that had -been opened in the course of the search for the -papers.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“You’re not going to take that, are you?” asked -Denton. “Why, we’ve got the papers.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Yes; and we’re going to have some money, too. -I told the deacon we’d get even with him, and I’m -doing it. This will come in handy.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>He pocketed the money. The other shook his -head.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“That’s wrong!” he said. “It’s risky, too. We -ought to be satisfied with the papers.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Maybe you are, but I’m not. I’ll take all the -cash I can lay my hands on. And while we’re -here we might as well see if there’s any more. -There’s a clock over there. Lots of country folks -stick bills in clocks. I’m going to have a look.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>Despite the protests of his companion, Harrison -went over to a mantel where stood a large wooden -clock. As he opened the door he exclaimed:</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Talk about luck! Here’s another roll. Say, -I’m glad we came!”</p> - -<p class='c007'><span class='pageno' id='Page_86'>86</span>“Put that back!” commanded the other. “We -have enough.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Never can have enough cash,” chuckled the -other. “This makes the haul worth while. Now -we’ll go!”</p> - -<p class='c007'>The talk had been done in whispers, and every -move of the men was a silent one. Denton, who -was not quite such a rascal as Harrison, protested -against taking the money, but in vain.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“I’ve got it, and I’m going to keep it!” was the -last word of Harrison.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Well, it’ll get us into trouble, you see if it -won’t,” declared the more timid of the intruders.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“If it does, it’ll help us out of trouble, too. I’m -going to keep the money, and you don’t have to -take your share if you don’t want to. Now we’ll -just take another look through the desk, for we -may have missed something, and then——”</p> - -<p class='c007'>But what else Harrison was going to propose -was not made manifest, for at that instant Denton -exclaimed:</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Keep still! I hear a noise!”</p> - -<p class='c007'>There was no doubt of it. Some one could be -heard coming down the front stairs.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Come on!” hoarsely whispered Harrison. -“We’ve got to beat it!”</p> - -<p class='c007'>Denton turned to go out the way they had come -in, by the rear door, but his companion caught him -by the arm.</p> - -<p class='c007'><span class='pageno' id='Page_87'>87</span>“Not that way!” he whispered in his ear. “We’d -be caught sure! This window—the one by the desk—come -on!”</p> - -<p class='c007'>It was the work of but an instant to slip the -catch and raise the window. Harrison jumped out -followed by Denton, and as the latter cleared the -sill his foot knocked the lamp off the desk to the -floor.</p> - -<p class='c007'>There was a crash of glass, and as Denton and -Harrison ran off in the darkness they saw a flash -of flame, and they smelled burning kerosene.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“What’s that?” asked Harrison, turning for a -swift backward glance.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“I kicked over the lamp—accidental,” gasped -Denton. “It’s exploded and started a fire. We—we’ll -have to go back and put it out!”</p> - -<p class='c007'>Harrison laughed in a low chuckle.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Go back nothing!” he whispered fiercely. “Let -it burn!”</p> - -<div class='chapter'> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_88'>88</span> - <h2 class='c005'>CHAPTER X<br> <span class='large'>THE SIDE-DOOR PULLMAN</span></h2> -</div> - -<p class='c006'>Joe Strong, unaware of the exciting events that -were taking place in the home of his foster-parents—a -home he had deserted for what, to him, were -good and sufficient reasons—hurried on down the -silent and dark streets of Bedford. It was unusual -in such a small town for any one to be out after -midnight, unless there were some special occasion, -and the young wizard had the place to himself.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Well, I got out of that all right,” he said, half -aloud, as he stopped, when safely around the corner, -to put on his shoes. “I got away without the -deacon’s seeing me. But he was right after me, and -I didn’t think I made much noise.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Let’s see now,” went on our hero, musingly, -as he straightened up after lacing his shoes. “What -had I better do? Say, it’s great to feel free to do -just as one pleases for the first time in years!”</p> - -<p class='c007'>Joe flung up his arms and gazed at the silent, -blinking stars which sprinkled the sky overhead.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“It sure does feel good to be your own boss! I -can go when I please, and come when I please, and -<span class='pageno' id='Page_89'>89</span>I don’t have to stand the shame of a beating just -because I burned a suit in saving a man’s life! It -sure is good to be free!”</p> - -<p class='c007'>Joe was to learn that it is not all joy and happiness -to be “free,” and to be one’s “own boss,” but, -just at present, he felt only a sense of exultation.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“First I’ve got to leave this bundle at Tom’s -house,” thought Joe, as he picked up the suit which -had been loaned him. “I’ll leave it there with a -note that will explain. I wish I could see some of -the boys to bid ’em good-bye, but maybe it’s just -as well not to. They might laugh at me, and I -wouldn’t want that. Some day, when I’m a well-known -magician, I’ll come back and give ’em a -show that will open their eyes!”</p> - -<p class='c007'>Joe next picked up his valise. It was rather -heavy, for he had stuffed in it belongings that had -accumulated for years—little mementos and keepsakes -of younger days. He also had in it what -clothes he felt he would need. But Joe did not feel -the weight of his satchel now. It was as light -as a feather to him.</p> - -<p class='c007'>And to prove it Joe tossed it up in the air, also -the bundle of Tom’s clothes, and there in the darkness -of midnight, standing in the middle of one of -Bedford’s principal streets, he juggled the objects -in the most approved style, using a small stone he -had picked up for the third piece to make a symmetrical -act.</p> - -<p class='c007'><span class='pageno' id='Page_90'>90</span>“I’ll be able to do some juggling if I have to, -when I want to fill in between tricks,” thought Joe. -“I do hope I can get work in some sort of a show. -Professor Rosello ought to be able to give me a -letter, introducing me to some of his friends in the -business.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Well, standing here juggling and thinking -about it won’t get me anywhere,” said Joe, in a -sort of stage whisper. “I’d better be moving if -I’m to get a berth in my side-door Pullman,” and -he laughed in a silent fashion at the idea.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Joe had made up his mind to go to the town of -Lorilard, distant about fifty miles from Bedford, -where Professor Rosello was to give a performance -the next day, and for two or three days following. -This much the magician had told Joe in the interview -at the hotel, when he gave him a list of his -stopping places.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Yes, I’ll go to see the professor at Lorilard,” decided -Joe. “He can’t any more than turn me -down. But he promised to help me, and he was -grateful to me. I believe he’ll be able to do something.” -Now for Tom’s house, and then my -‘berth!’”</p> - -<p class='c007'>Joe had made up his mind to take the midnight -freight that stopped at Bedford, and which arrived -in Lorilard some time in the early morning. -Joe was not particular as to time.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“I’ll have to save what money I have,” thought -<span class='pageno' id='Page_91'>91</span>the boy, “so I won’t have any to waste on railroad -fare. A freight car will suit me.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>Joe Strong walked on through the dark and silent -streets. He kept on the grass as much as possible, -for his footsteps rang out loudly in the quietness, -and Joe knew that “Hen” Sylvester and Tim Donovan, -the two policemen of Bedford, did not spend -quite all the night in sleep.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“I just wouldn’t like ’em to see me going away -like this,” thought Joe. “They’d be sure to stop -and ask me questions. And if I make too much -noise walking on the sidewalks they may hear me. -It’s me for the green grass.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>And so he went on until he came to the Simpson -house. Joe there came to a pause, and looked at the -dwelling. No light showed.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Guess they’re all asleep,” he mused. “I wouldn’t -want any of the family to see me sneaking up and -leaving a bundle on the steps. They might take me -for a burglar, and raise a row.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>Silently and cautiously he opened the front gate, -and tiptoed up the brick walk, leaving his valise -outside. He laid the suit of clothes, with a little -note he had written, in plain view on the door-step, -and then with a whispered good-bye to Tom, which -that sound-sleeping lad did not hear, Joe set off -again.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Now I’m really on my way,” he told himself. -“The whole world lies before me, as we used to -<span class='pageno' id='Page_92'>92</span>see in our school readers, and I have my own -fortune to make. And I hope I begin to make it -soon,” mused the lad, whimsically. “At least I -hope Dame Fortune allows me to draw a few dollars -a week in advance.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>As Joe turned into a street that led to the freight -station and caught sight of what was left standing -of the fireworks factory, he could but think of the -stirring events in which he had played such a -prominent part—the discussion with his chums of -the professor’s tricks, the alarm of the explosion, -the swimming of the creek, and the sensational -rescue of Professor Rosello.</p> - -<p class='c007'>There was no sign of the fire as Joe passed the -scene of it now. It had all died out, and the main -building was surrounded by heaps of ashes which -marked where the smaller structures had stood.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Two loud, shrill whistles broke the midnight -stillness.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“The freight!” cried Joe, breaking into a run. -“She’s getting ready to leave! I wonder if I can -make it.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“She’s leaving ahead of time,” Joe went on. The -freight arrived in Bedford at midnight and left -an hour later, an event which Joe had counted on -in making his calculations to leave by it. But the -train was getting ready to pull out now, fully -twenty minutes early, the two whistles Joe heard -being the signal for “off brakes;” though with the -<span class='pageno' id='Page_93'>93</span>modern air apparatus this was really only a starting -signal, the brakemen being no longer required to -run along the tops of the cars to loosen the wheels.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“I’ll have to hustle!” Joe told himself, as he -increased his pace.</p> - -<p class='c007'>The youth was in fine physical condition, and he -knew he could easily reach the freight train before -it passed entirely beyond the station, for it was -a long one.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“But I counted on having time to pick out a car,” -thought Joe, still running toward the railroad. “I -wonder what I can do now?”</p> - -<p class='c007'>The matter worried him. It is not easy to “jump” -a moving freight train. There are no cars with -steps, such as passenger coaches have, with convenient -hand rails. Jumping a moving freight -train is a risky matter, even for a trained railroad -brakeman.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“And how I’m to do it with this valise I don’t -know,” thought Joe. “But it’s got to be done!”</p> - -<p class='c007'>He was glad he was in such good physical trim.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“I see what the trouble is,” Joe went on. “There -wasn’t any shipment of fireworks to-night, and -that’s why the freight pulled out earlier. I didn’t -think of that.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>As he ran on down the street he heard a voice -behind him calling:</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Here! Hold on! Stop! Who are you?”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Hen Sylvester!” gasped Joe. “He’s seen me -<span class='pageno' id='Page_94'>94</span>and he’s suspicious. Well, I’ve no time to stop and -explain now. I’d miss the train sure!”</p> - -<p class='c007'>He ran on, faster than before. He heard the -patter of feet behind him, and again the hail:</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Hold on, or I’ll shoot!”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“He’ll only shoot in the air if he does,” Joe told -himself. “I’ll take a chance. I guess he doesn’t -know who I am.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>He was near the freight depot now. Another -few steps and he was on the long covered platform -along which the train was moving. None of the -trainmen or depot freight handlers were in sight. -It was a “light” night, and they had gotten through -early.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Joe watched the train gliding along in front of -him, rapidly acquiring speed. The platform was -on a level with the floor of the freight cars.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“If I could only see one with an open door,” -mused Joe. “Then I could dive into it. I don’t -dare take a chance of jumping in between two cars. -I might slip down between the buffers.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>Eagerly he watched the gliding train. Oh, for -an open door!</p> - -<p class='c007'>Joe heard other feet now pounding along the -wooden platform.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“It’s Hen coming to see who I am!” thought Joe.</p> - -<p class='c007'>He looked for a hiding place. And yet to hide -meant to lose the chance of taking the freight out -of town.</p> - -<p class='c007'><span class='pageno' id='Page_95'>95</span>“I saw him come up here!” some one said.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“We’ll get him,” said another. “He’s probably -a burglar!”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Tim Donovan is with Hen now,” thought Joe. -“They’re both after me—the whole Bedford police -force,” and in spite of his predicament he chuckled.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Just then there glided past him a freight car with -a wide open door.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Here’s my chance!” cried Joe half aloud. And -the next second he made a flying leap into the moving -“side-door Pullman.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>Joe Strong was on his way—whither?</p> - -<div class='chapter'> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_96'>96</span> - <h2 class='c005'>CHAPTER XI<br> <span class='large'>A SURPRISED DEACON</span></h2> -</div> - -<p class='c006'>Deacon Blackford had certainly heard a noise. -It was not the slight sound made by Joe Strong, -when that young magician made his escape from -the house, but it was the louder noise made by the -two rascals in taking the papers and money.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“What’s that, Amos?” asked Mrs. Abigail Blackford, -as she too heard the suspicious sound.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“I don’t know,” he answered sleepily enough. -He had lain awake the early part of the night, tossing -restlessly, for the memory of the scene in the -afternoon with the two men had bothered the -deacon.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“But, Amos,” persisted his wife, “it <i>is</i> a noise.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Yes,” he admitted, after listening a moment, “it -surely is.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Hadn’t you better get up and see what it is?” -she suggested.</p> - -<p class='c007'>He waited a moment before replying, meanwhile -listening intently. The sound was plainer now.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Couldn’t be cats, could it?” the deacon asked, -and his voice was hopeful. He did not like to get -up, for he was tired and sleepy.</p> - -<p class='c007'><span class='pageno' id='Page_97'>97</span>“Cats! No, the idea!” his wife exclaimed. “It’s -somebody downstairs inside the house, Amos, and -you’ve got to get up and see who it is.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Queer time for anybody to be calling,” grumbled -Joe’s foster-father.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Calling! It isn’t anybody calling!” exclaimed -Mrs. Blackford in a shrill whisper. “It’s burglars -if it’s anybody. Get up, Amos, and drive ’em out. -Call Joe to help you. He’s good and strong. He -can handle almost as much as you can.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>But without waiting to call Joe, Mr. Blackford -gave a jump out of bed and hurried down the stairs -in the darkness. As he went down he became -aware of a light in the back parlor—the room -where stood his desk, which was like a safe to him, -and the old clock where his wife insisted on keeping -her small roll of bills, on the theory that -burglars would never think of money being in a -clock.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“It is some one,” muttered the deacon. “I’m -glad I got up.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>He hurried on, taking no pains to muffle the -“clap-clap” of the heels of his slippers, into which -he had hurriedly thrust his feet. “Clap-clap” they -went, down the stairs.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Just as he reached the door of the back parlor -the deacon saw a form disappearing through the -window. Who it was he could not see, as just -then the heel of the person making an egress in -<span class='pageno' id='Page_98'>98</span>this queer fashion hit and knocked over the lamp, -which exploded with a slight noise, the burning oil -setting fire to the carpet and the lace curtains.</p> - -<p class='c007'>For the moment the fear of fire was uppermost -in the mind of the deacon. He saw the stream of -blazing oil spreading, and he knew that in a -few moments more the whole room would be -ablaze.</p> - -<p class='c007'>But the deacon was quick, and, fortunately did -not lose his presence of mind. He caught up a -heavy rug, and, not going near enough the blaze -to let his own thin night garments catch, he tossed -the rug over the blaze, smothering it.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Then with a quick motion he tore down the -burning lace curtains, and tossed them out of the -open window, where they could harmlessly consume -themselves on the grass. The deacon burned -his hands slightly in pulling down the curtains, -but he did not notice that in the excitement of the -moment.</p> - -<p class='c007'>The fire was out almost as soon as it had started, -for he had tossed the rug over burning lamp and -all, and now only some dense black smoke remained -to tell what had happened.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Whew!” panted the deacon, “that was a close -call! It’s a good thing I got up when I did, or the -whole house would have gone! A narrow shave!”</p> - -<p class='c007'>He got a pail of water to toss on the smouldering -carpet. After he had lifted the smothering rug, -<span class='pageno' id='Page_99'>99</span>and as he doused out the few remaining sparks his -wife called to him.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Anybody down there, Amos?”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“No, nobody now,” grimly answered the old -man.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Well, it smells like some one was smoking down -there. I smell smoke, Amos. There <i>must</i> be somebody -there!”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“No! They’ve gone,” he answered. “It was -the lamp you smelled smoking. It blew up!”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Blew up! Deacon Blackford what ails you? -What’s happened, anyhow?”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“I don’t rightly know yet, myself. Seems quite -considerable must have happened, and it might -have been worse. You can come down if you want -to. There’s nobody here now but me, and the fire’s -out.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“The fire’s out!” cried his wife from the head of -the stairs. “What fire? Who started the fire?”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Come down and you’ll see it all,” he answered, -looking about to make sure there were no stray -sparks anywhere.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Mrs. Blackford lost no time in descending, and -her surprise was as great as was the deacon’s. But -it was the loss of her curtains, the burned hole in -the carpet, the broken lamp and the charred rug -that surprised Joe’s foster-mother. She had not -seen the intruder go out of the window, as had her -husband.</p> - -<p class='c007'><span class='pageno' id='Page_100'>100</span>“What in the world—how did it—who——?” -she began, hardly knowing what question to ask -first. But the deacon cut in with:</p> - -<p class='c007'>“I don’t know any more about it than you do. -I came down in time to see somebody go through -the window and kick over the lamp. Then the fire -started and I had to hustle to put it out.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Some one went through the window! Who in -the world could it have been? Did you speak to -him?”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Burglars don’t generally leave a card, nor stop -to talk,” answered the old man grimly. “But I -guess——”</p> - -<p class='c007'>The deacon did not finish, but crossed the room -to his desk. He noticed that the flap was down, -and he knew he had closed and locked it the night -before. Hurriedly he ran through his papers, and -then straightened up with a queer look on his face.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“They’re gone!” he gasped. “Gone!”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“What?” asked his wife. “What’s gone?”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“My investment papers—the securities—the -only thing I had to show what money was due -me. They’re gone and whoever has ’em can make -use of ’em! I’ve been robbed!”</p> - -<p class='c007'>Turning again to the desk he opened a small -drawer.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“He took the money too!” he muttered. “Every -cent of it, and there was nigh on to a hundred dollars -there!”</p> - -<p class='c007'><span class='pageno' id='Page_101'>101</span>He fairly moaned out the words, and putting -his hand to his head sank weakly into a chair. Mrs. -Blackford regarded her husband pityingly and -darted toward him, fearing he was going to faint, -though he had never done it in his life. Then a -sudden idea came to her.</p> - -<p class='c007'>She rushed over to the clock, opened it and fell -back, raising her hands in the air in astonishment.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Mine’s gone too!” she cried! “The thirty-nine -dollars I had in the clock! The burglar took that -too! Oh, this is terrible! You must call the constables, -Amos! We’ve been robbed! They took -my money! Call Joe, and send him after Hen -Sylvester. I’ll call him,” for the deacon seemed -incapable of action just then.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Mrs. Blackford hurried upstairs, and called:</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Joe! Joe! Get up! There’ve been burglars -in the house! They’ve robbed your pa and me, and -set fire to the place! Get up and go for the constables!”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Is he coming?” asked the deacon, whose heart -was not beating quite so fast now.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“I can’t seem to make him hear,” said Mrs. -Blackford.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“I’ll rout him out,” said the old man. “I guess -he’d better go after the constable. He can go -quicker than I can.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>But Joe did not answer to this summons either, -and when the door of his room was opened, showing -<span class='pageno' id='Page_102'>102</span>his undisturbed bed, and when a quick search -revealed that he had taken most of his belongings -the deacon jumped to the most natural conclusion.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“He’s gone, Abigail!” he cried. “Joe’s run away, -and it was him that robbed us and set fire to the -place!”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Oh, no, Deacon! <i>He</i> wouldn’t do such a thing!”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Woman, I tell you he did!” cried the deacon -in his most thundering tones. “He’s robbed us and -run away! I’ll get the law after him! The thief!” -and with a face flushed with wrath the deacon proceeded -to dress, muttering the while:</p> - -<p class='c007'>“He robbed us! Joe robbed us and ran away! -I always knew that the circus and magician blood -in him would tell! Now it’s come out with a -vengeance!”</p> - -<div class='chapter'> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_103'>103</span> - <h2 class='c005'>CHAPTER XII<br> <span class='large'>THE PROFESSOR’S ASSISTANT</span></h2> -</div> - -<p class='c006'>Joe Strong slid half-way across the “side-door -Pullman,” as he had called the freight car into -which he had jumped from the station platform. -One cause for his sliding was the force of his jump, -the momentum carrying him. Another reason was -because the floor of the car was covered with bits -of dried hay, which is always slippery.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“A hay car!” exclaimed Joe, as his nose caught -the odor that was so familiar to him. “Been loaded -with baled hay. I’m glad I struck something as -clean as that. Might just as well have jumped into -a car that had been filled with fertilizer, or something -else not nice to smell all night. Yes, I guess -I’m in luck.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>The train was now swinging along at a good -pace, and Joe proceeded to make himself comfortable -for his long ride which, at best, was not going -to be any too easy for him.</p> - -<p class='c007'>The youth chuckled to himself as he thought of -the two town policemen vainly seeking him.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“That’s another time I gave Hen Sylvester the -<span class='pageno' id='Page_104'>104</span>slip,” murmured Joe with a smile in the darkness.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Though the hay car had been unloaded there still -remained on the floor a quantity of the fodder. -With his feet Joe made this into a pile in one corner, -and there he intended to lie down to get some sleep -if he could. The night was warm, and he needed -no covering. But he slid the door partly shut to -keep out some of the dirt and cinders.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“This isn’t going to improve the appearance of -my clothes—sleeping in ’em,” he mused. “Guess -I’ll take off my coat and vest. I can save them -a little that way, anyhow.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>Then Joe stretched out on his improvised bed -and drew a long breath.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Well, so far so good,” he told himself. “I’m -on my way. Now the rest is up to Professor -Rosello. I’ll see him in the morning.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>Joe did not easily go to sleep, though he was -tired. He had a burden on his mind, and he was -not a little worried.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“I wonder what the deacon will think when he -wakes up and finds me gone?” thought Joe. “I -guess it will surprise him.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>If Joe only knew!</p> - -<p class='c007'>Finally drowsiness came, and he slumbered -through the rest of the night. The train rattled -on, stopping now and then at stations to pick up or -leave freight, but Joe knew nothing of this. He -had thought that perhaps he might be put off the -<span class='pageno' id='Page_105'>105</span>car by some brakeman, but he decided he must -take chances on this. And, as it happened, he was -not disturbed.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Joe was awakened by the sudden jolting stop of -the train, and, as he opened his eyes he saw, through -the partly shut door, that the sun was brightly -shining.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Good-morning—morning!” cried the lad. “I -wonder what you have up your sleeve for me?”</p> - -<p class='c007'>Though he tried to be jolly with himself, he -was not in very good shape for joking. He was -lame and stiff from sleeping on the hay-bed, and he -felt the need of washing, as any one does, even -if he travels in a real Pullman. Then, too, he was -hungry.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Wonder if we hit anything then?” Joe asked -himself, for the train seemed to have stopped -with unusual suddenness. “Guess I’ll take a look -out.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>He peered from the door, and saw that the train -was in a large railroad yard. On several adjoining -tracks were lines of freight cars, and, as Joe looked -out, he saw the engine that had been pulling his -train going off toward the round house.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“This must be Lorilard,” thought Joe. “It’s the -end of the run. That bump must have been some -other cars they switched on to the end of this train. -Well, I’ve arrived, it seems. Now to get busy, find -the professor and——But first I guess I’d better -<span class='pageno' id='Page_106'>106</span>get a wash and have something to eat,” he reflected. -“I can’t look very presentable.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>Joe put on his vest and coat, picked up his valise -and was about to jump down out of the freight -car into the yard, when he saw a trainman approaching.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“I’d better wait until he passes,” Joe thought. -“He might make it hot for me.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>There is a law against unauthorized persons riding -on freight trains, and though some brakemen -often let tramps and other persons “steal” a ride, -still most railroad men are not as lenient, and not -infrequently throw off, or “beat-up,” those who -“ride the brake-rods,” or crawl into the empty -cars.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Joe drew back, but the man did not pass on. Instead -he busied himself tacking up shipping cards -on several cars near the one Joe was in.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“I wish he’d go!” reflected our hero. “I want -to get out. I’m almost starved.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>Finally the man moved farther down the track, -and Joe took this chance to emerge. He dropped to -the ground, but, unluckily, just then the yard-master, -for he it was, turned and saw the young -wizard.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Here, you!” he roared. “What do you mean? -Stealing a ride? I’ll fix you!” and he started to -run after Joe.</p> - -<p class='c007'>But Joe was a good sprinter, and, though he was -<span class='pageno' id='Page_107'>107</span>rather stiff from his uncomfortable bed, he was -more than a match for the yard-master. Seeing -that the “tramp,” as he supposed him to be, was distancing -him, the man caught up an iron coupling -pin and threw it at Joe.</p> - -<p class='c007'>If it had hit the youth it might have hurt him -badly, but the yard-master’s aim was no better than -his running, and Joe was soon safely out of his -reach. There came a break in the line of freight -cars, and Joe slipped through this, thus getting out -of sight.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“And I’d better stop running, I reckon,” he -thought, “or some other trainman may think it suspicious -to see me in such a hurry.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>He slowed down to a walk, and presently -emerged from the yard into a street.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Will you kindly direct me to a hotel?” asked -Joe of the first man he met. “I’m a stranger in -town. I don’t want an expensive place.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“There’s the Railroad House, just down at the -foot of this street,” the man said, looking at Joe -curiously. “I can’t recommend it, though it’s cheap -enough. Then there’s the Boswell, three blocks up -that way and two over,” and he indicated the directions. -“I stop there myself. It’s good and not -expensive.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Thank you,” Joe said. “I’ll try that.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Just get in?” asked the man, and he smiled.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Yes,” answered the young magician. “My -<span class='pageno' id='Page_108'>108</span>special car was just switched off for me!” and he -laughed as he turned away.</p> - -<p class='c007'>He found the Boswell to be just about the kind -of hotel that came within his limited means. He -did not want to engage a room until after he had -seen Professor Rosello, and he was not sure where -the magician was stopping. But he could easily -inquire.</p> - -<p class='c007'>The hotel clerk was friendly, and agreed to look -after Joe’s valise while our hero had breakfast. -Joe indulged in a good wash and ate a hearty -meal.</p> - -<p class='c007'>On inquiry at the hotel desk when he claimed his -satchel, he found that the professor was going to -give a performance that night. The clerk did not -know where Professor Rosello was staying, but -Joe thought he could find out by inquiring at the -Opera House, as the local amusement place was -called.</p> - -<p class='c007'>As Joe made his way thither he saw, posted in -various parts of the town, large announcements of -the “world-wide famous and renowned magician, -prestidigitator and sleight-of-hand artist, Professor -Alonzo Rosello.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“He’s the one I’m looking for all right,” thought -Joe. “Now to see what’s doing.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>He inquired his way to the Opera House and -entered the lobby. There was no one in the ticket -office, for it was early yet.</p> - -<p class='c007'><span class='pageno' id='Page_109'>109</span>A woman was scrubbing the oilcloth on the floor -of the entrance.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Is Professor Rosello about?” asked Joe.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Who’s he?” inquired the woman, who appeared -to be slightly deaf, if her loud tones counted for -anything.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“He’s the prestidigitator—the magician——”</p> - -<p class='c007'>The old woman shook her head.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“I don’t know none of them foreign languages,” -she said. “You’ll have to speak plain English. -And my name ain’t Maggie, neither.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“I didn’t say Maggie—I said magician,” and Joe -spoke louder. “I’m looking for Professor Rosello. -Him!” he exclaimed, as he saw, hanging on the -wall one of the magician’s bills, containing what -was supposed to be a likeness of him in evening -clothes, with a little red imp whispering secrets in -his ear.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Oh, him! That feller what does tricks? He’s -back on the stage,” said the old woman, resuming -her scrubbing.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Taking this as an invitation to go back, Joe made -his way to the rear of the theatre. There was a -single light on the stage, and Joe could see the -professor moving about, arranging some of his -apparatus in anticipation of the evening’s performance. -And Joe heard the magician talking -loudly, and as if very much disturbed about something.</p> - -<p class='c007'><span class='pageno' id='Page_110'>110</span>“It couldn’t have happened at a much worse -time!” exclaimed the professor. “I don’t see what -possessed him to run away and leave me just when -I needed him. I don’t know what I’m to do. I’ll -have to omit some of my best illusions! It’s too -bad!”</p> - -<p class='c007'>Joe kept on down the aisle, and, passing through -one of the boxes, reached the stage, which was not -yet “set” for the performance.</p> - -<p class='c007'>He then saw Professor Rosello talking to a stage-hand, -and went over to speak to him.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Well, what is it?” asked the professor, not -recognizing Joe, for the place was dark.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Don’t you remember me?” our hero questioned. -“I’m Joe Strong who——”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Well met! Say, but I <i>am</i> glad to see you!” -cried the magician, heartily. “Perhaps you’re just -the very one who can help me out!”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Well, I’ll be very glad if I can,” said Joe. “I -came to you to ask you to help me. I want a place -where I can earn my living. I’ve run away from -home, and I’m going to learn to be a magician. -I thought perhaps——”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Tell me the details later!” cut in the professor. -“I’m in a peck of trouble now. My assistant, whom -I always have with me when I play in the larger -towns, left me in a fit of anger, and just when I -needed him most. He wanted more money than I -could afford to pay, and I’m left in the lurch. Now -<span class='pageno' id='Page_111'>111</span>you know something about illusions, so, perhaps, -with a little coaching, you can help me out. Will -you do it?”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Will I?” Joe cried. “Just give me the chance! -It’s what I’ve been hoping for all along!”</p> - -<div class='chapter'> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_112'>112</span> - <h2 class='c005'>CHAPTER XIII<br> <span class='large'>JOE’S HELP NEEDED</span></h2> -</div> - -<p class='c006'>Joe could hardly believe his good luck. When -he decided to run away he had no settled plans in -mind. All he expected to do was to seek out Professor -Rosello, and ask him what would be the best -means of starting in on the chosen career. But -to be engaged without any delay as an assistant was -beyond Joe’s wildest hopes.</p> - -<p class='c007'>It had come about by a curious trick of fate, and -Joe was very much pleased.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Do you really mean it?” he asked the professor, -as they stood on the dimly lighted stage.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Mean it? Of course I do. My assistant who -was to help me with to-night’s performance suddenly -left, and I didn’t know what to do.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“As soon as I recognized you, I remembered that -you had some knowledge of our way of doing -things. Then, too, as I told you before, you have -in you naturally, and because of practice, the makings -of a magician. So I think you can very easily -fill the shoes of my late assistant. He was clever, -but not reliable. Of course I can not pay you much -<span class='pageno' id='Page_113'>113</span>money. I will begin on ten dollars a week, and -I’ll pay all your expenses. Later on, if you do well, -as I’m sure you will, I’ll increase the amount, for -you may be able to help me do more elaborate -tricks, and so we will draw better houses. Does -that satisfy you?”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Indeed it does!” cried Joe.</p> - -<p class='c007'>This was luck in truth, for this, too, was more -than he had hoped for. He would have been glad -to work with the professor to earn merely his expenses -for a while, until he learned something of -the inside workings of magic.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Now,” said Professor Rosello, “we’ll have to do -some quick work, Joe. I’ll call you that, for I feel -as if I had known you a long time. I’ll never forget -how you saved my life, and you will never -want a friend as long as I am alive. Where are -you stopping?”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“No place, just at present,” replied Joe. “I came -in on a freight train, after I ran away from home, -and I looked you up as soon as I could after I had -breakfast.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>Then Joe told the story of how he had left the -home of his foster-parents.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“You had better put up at my hotel,” said the -professor. “I’m stopping at a boarding house. It’s -better for me than a regular hotel. I can get you a -room there. I had planned to give a three nights’ -show here, but when my assistant left I thought I’d -<span class='pageno' id='Page_114'>114</span>have to cut it down to one. Now I’ll go ahead as -originally planned, thanks to you.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Now suppose we just run over what I do in -the evening’s performance, so you’ll know what is -expected of you.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>Professor Rosello hastily described to Joe the -program—how he came out on the stage, rolling -in his hands a red handkerchief, which he caused -suddenly to vanish. Of course this was done by -“palming.” While palming the handkerchief, which -thus seemed to vanish into air, the professor -would keep up a “patter,” or running line of -talk, concerning the tricks he was to show that -night.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Of course you know,” said the professor to -Joe, “that we have to depend on outside aid in doing -what the public calls ‘tricks.’ That is, we have -as our three main helpers, the table, the wand and -the clothes we wear. I need not tell the son of -Professor Morretti that the evening dress of a -modern magician has in it many hiding places—<i>pochettes</i>, -the French call them. They are secret -pockets, placed where the performer finds he has -best use for them. Into these pockets a borrowed -watch, ring, handkerchief—anything not too large, -in fact—may be concealed.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Of course we bring the hidden things out at -the proper time. But, as I say, the dress of a -magician is important. I haven’t time to get you -<span class='pageno' id='Page_115'>115</span>one, and my assistant took his away with him, so -you won’t be able to do much for me in that line.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Another great aid to us is our wand. From -time immemorial a wand has been the symbol of -magic. Ordinarily it is but a stick, a bit of ebony -or ivory, and of course with that it is not possible -to do any tricks. But the wand is valuable in that -you can wave it in the air, or before a person’s -face. Naturally their eyes follow the motion of -the wand, their attention is taken from your other -hand, in which you may have palmed, or concealed, -something. And while their eyes are thus off that -hand you can get rid of the palmed article, or put -it in the place where you wish it next to appear.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Yes, I have read of that in some books treating -of magic,” said Joe.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“The books don’t tell you everything,” said the -professor with a smile, “but of course they are -valuable. I want to tell you that nowadays we have -two wands, instead of one. One is an ordinary -piece of ebony, solid, and not prepared in any way. -Then we have a combined hollow wand, in one end -of which is concealed a small pistol, so that by a -mere pressure on a spring, which is all but invisible, -we can produce a shot. On the other end of the -wand is a concealed claw and spring, so that I can -draw into the hollow a silk handkerchief or light -piece of cloth, making it disappear before the very -eyes of the audience. Of course the substitution of -<span class='pageno' id='Page_116'>116</span>the trick wand for the solid one must be made -unseen by the audience.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Yes, I should think so,” commented Joe.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“The tall hat is another great aid to us who -work in magic,” went on the professor. “But of -late years it is hard to borrow one in an ordinary -audience, so I don’t often use it. Years ago, -when more men wore tall, silk hats, it was easy -to borrow one from somebody in the audience, and -do all sorts of tricks with it—or, rather, with one -of my own which I substituted unseen. My hat, -of course, was made for my purpose. It had secret -compartments in it and the lining being black, they -did not show when I held it up to show that, apparently, -it was empty.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“I might state, Joe, that of course nothing ever -comes out of a tall hat, or any other kind of a -hat, my own, or that of any one else, unless it has -first been put there. ‘Loaded’ is the term we -use. That is to say, I must first put into the hat -a live rabbit, a cannon ball, a piece of cheese, an -egg—anything, in fact, that I wish to produce I -must first put in the prepared hat. Then I can -bring it out.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“So much for the hat. Only, as I said, tall hats -are rather hard to borrow, so I often work with an -ordinary derby, having one of my own made with -a secret compartment. Only it has to be small, as -derbies haven’t much spare space.”</p> - -<p class='c007'><span class='pageno' id='Page_117'>117</span>“It would be great if we could work with a -straw hat—especially if we gave a show in summer!” -exclaimed Joe.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Why, it would, yes. I never thought of that!” -exclaimed Professor Rosello. “I believe we could -have a trick straw hat made. Say, Joe, I’m glad -to see you taking an interest this way.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Oh, I’m going to be a magician!” cried the -youth. “I want to find out all I can about it.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“It’s too bad your father didn’t live to tell you -about his tricks,” said the magician. “He was a -real artist, while the most of us are but imitators. -However, it can’t be helped. I will teach you all -I know if you want to learn.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“I surely do!” murmured the boy.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Now to finish my little preliminary talk,” went -on the sleight-of-hand artist, “I will mention the -table. That, or in fact several tables or little -stands, are of great aid to a magician. In the -early days the performers used a big table, all -draped about with velvet, and concealed under this -velvet was an assistant.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“When the magician wanted to cause an object -to disappear he would place it on the table just -over a hole, which was not in view because it was -hidden by a trap-door. Then he would put a hollow -cone or hollow block over the object, which -would at once drop through the hole in the table, -into the hands of the concealed assistant.</p> - -<p class='c007'><span class='pageno' id='Page_118'>118</span>“But as performers became more clever they used -simpler tables. Some, of course, seemed to be -just spindle-legged affairs, but mirrors fitted in -made a place where objects could be concealed, -though it seemed as though the audience could look -right through the legs of the table. But there are -some tables which are not at all mechanical, except -that they have a place at the back for a <i>servante</i>, -or shelf, below the level of the table, and on this -shelf objects can be placed when the performer -has to get rid of them for the time being.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“It sounds complicated,” murmured Joe.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“It’s simple when you understand it,” said the -professor. “I sometimes use as a <i>servante</i> a little -mesh bag, which I can fasten to the back of a chair—that -is if the back can’t be seen through. Then -of course I have little tables—<i>console</i> tables they -were called in the days of Robert-Houdin.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“These tables stand close to the draperies which -are back of the stage, and above the tables is a -slit cut in the curtain, the fall of the draperies concealing -it. Through this slit my assistant can thrust -his hand and take away or substitute certain -articles. That will be part of your work.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“So then, with the wand, with a suit having in -it many secret pockets, and with the help of a -<i>servante</i> in one form or another we do most of our -tricks, never forgetting that palming is one vital -need. Of course I have elaborate pieces of apparatus—that -<span class='pageno' id='Page_119'>119</span>is elaborate for me, some performers -carry much more than I do. But the tendency in -these days is to get away from big mechanical -effects, since the audience knows there is some -trick about them, even though it can’t be seen.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Of course you know some of what I have -told you, Joe, but I thought it no harm to repeat -it. Now I’ll give you a little drill, and we’ll be -ready for to-night.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>The professor told Joe the principal tricks he -proposed performing that night. In comparatively -few of them was Joe’s aid needed, except that he -was to be on the stage to hand the professor articles -when wanted, or to remove them—passive sort of -work.</p> - -<p class='c007'>But in one trick—that of making a young man -disappear when seated in a chair on the stage in -full view of the audience—Joe took an active -part.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Having gone over as much as he thought necessary, -Professor Rosello took Joe to the boarding -house, where they would stay for at least three -nights. There, too, the magician gave Joe more -instructions, and had him practice some palming -and card tricks. Joe was naturally good at these.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“I’m almost glad my regular assistant failed -me,” the professor said, “for I think you are going -to be better, Joe. You have a natural aptitude for -learning this art.”</p> - -<p class='c007'><span class='pageno' id='Page_120'>120</span>“I’m glad you think so,” remarked the youth, -“for I want very much to perfect myself in it.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>That afternoon Joe and the professor went -through several tricks for practice, taking care that -no small boys or other unauthorized persons were -secretly in the theatre to see how the tricks were -done, and so reveal them.</p> - -<p class='c007'>The night of the performance came at last, and -Joe went to the Opera House with the professor. -They went back on the stage to see that all was in -readiness for the curtain to rise.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“A good house,” remarked Professor Rosello, as -he peered through the peep-hole of the curtain. -“We’ll make a little money to-night, Joe.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“I’m glad of it. I wouldn’t want to bring you -bad luck.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Oh, I think you’ll bring me good luck. Now -we’re ready, I guess.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>The curtain went up, the professor came out, -bowing and smiling and making the handkerchief -disappear by cleverly palming it, then slipping it -into one of his secret pockets, afterward seeming -to draw it from the end of his wand. To do this, -of course, he merely palmed it again, and let it -gradually appear as he wished.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Then he did several stock tricks; one of them being -the bringing forth of a small jar of goldfish -seemingly from a man’s derby hat.</p> - -<p class='c007'>There was no trick about the hat. The professor -<span class='pageno' id='Page_121'>121</span>went down off the stage and borrowed it, -but, on his way back, while his back was toward -the audience, he slipped into the hat a flat dish -filled with water and live goldfish. This dish Joe -had passed to him a moment before from behind -the scenes, through one of the slits in the curtain.</p> - -<p class='c007'>The professor concealed the flat jar of goldfish, -water and all, under his vest, but the dish had -over it a tightly fitting cover, made of a thin sheet -of rubber.</p> - -<p class='c007'>As he walked back on to the stage Professor -Rosello slipped the dish into the hat, and, as he -lifted it out, in full view of the audience, he, unseen -by the spectators, snapped off the rubber cover -with his thumb. Thus he seemed to bring out a -jar of fish in real water, and there was no doubt -about the realness of the water, nor the life of the -fish. They could be seen swimming about, and the -professor dipped his hand in the water, sprinkling -it about the stage. Then he passed the hat back to -the man.</p> - -<p class='c007'>The goldfish had been purchased in a store that -day, and kept in water until needed, Joe putting -them in the flat dish, and slipping over the rubber -cover just before they were to be used.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Now for my next trick,” began Professor -Rosello, “I shall want to borrow a boy or young -man. I don’t want one who has any friends, as -I am going to cause him to disappear, and of course -<span class='pageno' id='Page_122'>122</span>no one wants that to happen to a friend. I am -going to make him totally disappear. Who will -lend me a young man for that purpose?</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Come now,” he went on, as there was a pause. -“I see several young ladies here with young men. -Surely one of them can be spared. No? No one -will volunteer?”</p> - -<p class='c007'>There were smiles and some laughter.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“I see a nice young man right here,” the professor -said, coming down the steps, and standing -close to a young girl and her escort. He laid his -hand on the youth’s shoulder.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“You haven’t any use for him, have you?” he -asked the blushing girl. “May I not make him -disappear?”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“No!” she laughed.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Very well, then I must find some one else.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>There was a movement in the back of the house -as if some one intended to volunteer, but, as the -professor did not want this, he forestalled it by -quickly saying:</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Never mind. I see you are all afraid. Well, I -will call on my young assistant. He is not of much -use to me, or to the world either, so I will make -him disappear.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>This was Joe’s signal to come forward for one of -the more elaborate tricks.</p> - -<div class='chapter'> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_123'>123</span> - <h2 class='c005'>CHAPTER XIV<br> <span class='large'>JOE’S DISAPPEARANCE</span></h2> -</div> - -<p class='c006'>“You’re not afraid to be made to vanish into -thin air, are you?” asked Professor Rosello of Joe, -that being part of the “patter” of this trick. “You -don’t mind being made to vanish?”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“No,” answered Joe, “not if it doesn’t hurt.” -The audience laughed. Joe was getting on surprisingly -well. He had feared he would be stricken -with stage fright on this, his first appearance in -public. But there was not the least sign of it, -though there was a packed house. One reason was -that, of course, the magician occupied the center of -the stage most of the time, and all eyes were focused -on him. Joe had only a minor part as yet.</p> - -<p class='c007'>But, also, there must have been something inherited -by him from his parents, who fairly lived -in the public eye. Joe took to it naturally.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“You see he doesn’t mind in the least,” the professor -said to the audience. “He’ll never be missed, -and if I used some boy from the audience this -might not be the case.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“For this trick,” went on the professor, “I need -<span class='pageno' id='Page_124'>124</span>a young man. I have this—er—useless specimen——” -and he tapped Joe on the shoulder. -There was more laughter from the audience. “I -also need,” proceeded Professor Rosello, “a chair, -a sheet and a piece of paper. They are here,” -and he brought forward a chair, a black cloth and a -sheet of a newspaper. “There is nothing extraordinary -about any of these articles except about -my young assistant. And he will feel most extraordinary -when he starts to vanish into thin air.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“The paper, as you can see, is the front page of -your local publication, <cite>The Herald</cite>,” and the performer -held up a sheet of paper. Every one in the -audience could see that it was what it purported to -be—at least on one side, and that was the only side -held up to the crowd in the Opera House.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“This sheet of paper I will place on the stage,” -went on the professor, and he suited the action to -the words. “On top of the paper I will place this -chair, on which my young assistant is going to sit,” -and seemingly without any special preparation the -magician set the chair on the paper, one leg being -near each of the four corners of the sheet.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Now if you will kindly take your seat in the -chair, we shall proceed,” said Mr. Crabb, otherwise -Professor Rosello. Joe sat down, his heart beating -a little faster than usual, for he wanted the trick -to work perfectly, and much depended on him.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Good-bye,” said the professor with mock -<span class='pageno' id='Page_125'>125</span>solicitude, as he shook hands with Joe. “This is -the last we shall see of you,” and he pretended to -be distressed. Several boys in the gallery shouted -their farewells to Joe in laughing tones. He waved -his hands to the audience, which was curiously expectant.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“I will now cover my assistant, chair and all with -this sheet,” said the professor. “I do that because -the disappearance of a person sometimes is attended -by painful scenes, and I do not wish to make you -suffer. This sheet was once white,” he went on, as -he shook out a black cloth, turning it about so that -both sides could be seen. There was nothing tricky -about that, it was evident.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“It used to be white, but in traveling about the -sheet lost its original color, and, as I do not carry -a laundress with me, it has never been washed.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>As a matter of fact the cloth had always been -black. It had to be, so the audience could not see -through it to witness the details of the trick.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“I will now cover my assistant in the chair with -this white-black sheet,” continued Professor Rosello, -“and when I raise it he will be—gone!”</p> - -<p class='c007'>He draped the cloth over Joe’s head and shoulders, -letting it fall to the floor of the stage on -all sides of the chair. He then took up his “pistol” -wand, which fired a blank shot.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Are you ready?” he called to Joe, after a dramatic -pause.</p> - -<p class='c007'><span class='pageno' id='Page_126'>126</span>“Ready,” was the muffled reply.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Then go!” cried the professor. He pointed his -wand at the covered chair, there was a loud report, -and a moment later, when the professor whisked -the black sheet off the chair was empty. The professor -lifted the sheet of paper from under the -chair. Apparently there was not a break in it.</p> - -<p class='c007'>There was a gasp of astonishment from the -crowd.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“You see,” said the professor, bowing and smiling -when the applause had subsided, “he has disappeared—vanished -into thin air. I am glad it happened -to none of you, though of course I might be -able to reincarnate you again, as——”</p> - -<p class='c007'>He appeared greatly astonished at the sight of -some one in the back of the theatre.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Why, look who’s here!” he cried, pointing with -his wand. “My young assistant has not waited for -me to call him back to life. He came of himself.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>The audience turned to behold Joe calmly walking -down the middle aisle, and up the stage by -means of the temporary steps which the professor -used to descend and ascend.</p> - -<p class='c007'>There was more applause at Joe’s unexpected appearance -in this fashion, and the trick made a big -hit.</p> - -<p class='c007'>And now to let you into the secret.</p> - -<p class='c007'>The trick consisted of several parts. A trap-door -was in the stage through which Joe could disappear. -<span class='pageno' id='Page_127'>127</span>This trap, directly under the chair and -paper, was operated by a theatre employee, who of -course would not tell, at least beforehand, how the -trick was done. After Joe had gone down through -the trap, into the room that exists under all theatrical -stages, it was an easy matter for him to slip -out through the stage door, run around an alley, -and enter the front of the theatre, to walk calmly -down the aisle.</p> - -<p class='c007'>But how could he disappear through the seat of -the chair, and through the sheet of paper, without -making a break, at least in the paper?</p> - -<p class='c007'>There was a trick about the paper, although it -seemed to be perfectly ordinary. It was a sheet -from the local paper, but it had been prepared in -advance by the professor. On the back was pasted -a square of cardboard, a quarter of an inch smaller -each way than the trap-door in the stage. This -paper trap, for such it was, was divided in the -middle, the two flaps being hinged to the sheet of -newspaper. The reason the cardboard did not show -when held up to the audience was that the whole -sheet of newspaper was double, one half being -folded over the cardboard trap.</p> - -<p class='c007'>When Professor Rosello laid the paper down in -the stage he was guided by certain small marks, -so that it went exactly over the trap in the floor. -This trap was hinged at the back, opening downward, -but kept in place when not in use by a strong -<span class='pageno' id='Page_128'>128</span>iron bar underneath. Next he placed the chair over -the piece of paper, the legs going into exact positions -previously marked on the paper, but the marks -were too small to be seen by the audience.</p> - -<p class='c007'>The object in placing the paper on the stage was -to get the audience to believe that there was no -hole in the wooden floor through which Joe -could disappear, it being the natural inference that -such was the method used. But when the crowd -saw what they thought was the unbroken sheet of -paper, they would not suppose Joe had gone down -through that, as he really had.</p> - -<p class='c007'>The chair was also a trick one. The seat of -it was on hidden hinges so it could be lifted up and -folded back. There were also secret springs on it -which, when released, shot out and extended certain -thin steel projections, which distended the black -sheet into such shape that they made the rough outline -of a person sitting on the chair.</p> - -<p class='c007'>When Joe took his seat on the chair, under cover -of the black cloth, he pressed the secret springs, and -a ring appeared above his head to support the black -cloth, exactly as if it were supported by his head. -Other projections appeared at his knees, and as the -bottom of the cloth was arranged by the professor -some distance away from the legs of the chair, -Joe was as if he were under a sort of tent, held -out and away from him, so he could move about -a little without being seen.</p> - -<p class='c007'><span class='pageno' id='Page_129'>129</span>As soon as he was covered, and had worked -the secret springs, he lifted up the false seat of -the chair, supporting himself by his hands on the -framework, into which the seat fitted.</p> - -<p class='c007'>This seat Joe carefully folded back, taking care -to make no noise and not to disturb the black cloth -all around him. Meanwhile the professor had with -his foot given a rap on the floor of the stage. This -was a signal to the man below to open the trap in -the floor.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Joe, hidden under the black cloth, felt for the -opening in the floor with his feet. A stepladder -was hurriedly put into place by the stage-hand, and -Joe lowered himself down through the chair, the -prepared hole in the paper and the hole cut in the -stage, to the ladder.</p> - -<p class='c007'>The ladder was quickly taken away, the stage-hand -reached up and lowered the seat of the chair -back in place. Also, when this had been done he -closed the trap-door in the stage, and the newspaper -with its trap was in place above it, seemingly -unbroken.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Then the professor fired the shot and whisked -off the black cloth, as he did so touching the secret -springs, so that the projections snapped back out of -sight, and when the cloth was lifted off the chair -looked as it did at first, only Joe was not on it.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Then he came running down the aisle, and persons -who suspected that he had gone down through -<span class='pageno' id='Page_130'>130</span>the stage did not know what to make of the piece -of newspaper. It did not fit their theory.</p> - -<p class='c007'>That paper, appeared to be an ordinary sheet, and -no one, or at least very few, would have thought -of a trap being cut in that.</p> - -<p class='c007'>And thus was the “disappearing” trick worked.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Very good! You did splendidly!” said the professor -in a low voice as Joe came up on the stage. -“It went off to perfection!”</p> - -<p class='c007'>After Joe made his bow in acknowledgment of -the applause he received for his part in the trick, -he prepared for the next “experiment,” as the professor -often called his acts.</p> - -<p class='c007'>That first night of Joe’s assistance went off well, -a number of acts being done after the “disappearance,” -all being well received.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“A very satisfactory evening,” remarked Professor -Rosello, as he and Joe went to their boarding -house, after having put away their apparatus. -“I hope we shall do as well the two remaining -nights.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“So do I,” agreed Joe.</p> - -<p class='c007'>He was very tired, for he had not rested well in -the freight car, but a good night’s sleep made him -feel like a new person.</p> - -<div class='chapter'> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_131'>131</span> - <h2 class='c005'>CHAPTER XV<br> <span class='large'>INVOKING THE LAW</span></h2> -</div> - -<p class='c006'>While Joe Strong was thus making his first -public appearance as a wizard, or, rather, as a -magician’s assistant, quite different scenes were being -enacted in his home town and at his former -residence.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Deacon Blackford had discovered the fire, found -out that he had been robbed, and noted the disappearance -of Joe. With these facts confronting -himself and his wife, the deacon at once began to -act.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“What you going to do?” asked Mrs. Blackford, -as he dressed for the street.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“I’m going out,” he answered grimly.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“What! At this time of night?”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Can’t help it,” was the reply. “I’m going to -get the law after him.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“You mean Joe?”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“I don’t mean anybody else! He robbed me and -you, and he’s got to take the consequences! I’m -going to look for the constables. Joe can’t have -gone very far. I saw him jumping out of the -<span class='pageno' id='Page_132'>132</span>window, but at the time I didn’t know who it was. -He robbed me, and he set fire to the place.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“But he didn’t mean to do <i>that</i>,” said Mrs. Blackford -defensively. “According to your tell, he accidentally -kicked the lamp with his foot.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Accident or no accident, he did it, and I’m going -to have the law on him! I’ll get the constables. -He’s took a lot of money, and papers worth more. -He may have been in league with those rascals, -Denton and Harrison,” murmured the deacon. -“But, no. I don’t hardly believe that. He didn’t -know them. He just did this out of natural badness. -Couldn’t expect much else from the son of -a circus performer and a worker of the black art.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>He spoke harshly and angrily.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Maybe there’s <i>some</i> good circus women, and -men too, for that matter, Deacon,” said his wife -softly.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“No, not one—they’re all dishonest!” Mr. Blackford -declared. “But I’ll get the law after Joe.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>He made ready for the street, though it was a -most unusual hour for Deacon Blackford to be out. -But the occasion was unusual.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“I’ll be back as soon as I can,” he told his wife.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Out into the night went the deacon, his brain -rather in a whirl over the recent events. He walked -down the silent streets, his footsteps echoing loudly. -He headed for the center of the town where the -police station was located, for the two constables -<span class='pageno' id='Page_133'>133</span>reported at this place once or twice during the -night.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Hen Sylvester and Tim Donovan had been having -adventures of their own in chasing Joe. But -they had missed him, and when they saw him fling -himself, rather rashly, into the open freight car, -which quickly bore him away from them, they -turned back much chagrined.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“He got away!” exclaimed Hen.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“That’s what he did,” agreed his companion officer. -“I wonder who he was? I wish we could -have caught him. He was a burglar.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“That’s right,” chimed in Hen. “Now we’ll have -to go back to town, and find out who was -robbed.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>Back to the police station went the two constables, -panting somewhat after their fruitless run. -They reached the lockup about the same time -Deacon Blackford did. There were no prisoners in -the jail then, so the services of a watchman were -temporarily dispensed with.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Hen and Tim saw a figure walking along the -street near the little building that contained a few -cells. Their previous experience had made them -suspicious of any one abroad at this hour.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“There’s another one of ’em!” exclaimed Hen.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Another who?” asked his fellow officer.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Burglar. We’ll get him. Come on!”</p> - -<p class='c007'>Determined that this second midnight prowler -<span class='pageno' id='Page_134'>134</span>should not get away the two constables made a rush -for him.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“We’ve got you!” cried Hen.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Surrender!” yelled Tim, drawing his revolver.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Here! Let me go! What does this mean?” -cried Joe’s foster-father.</p> - -<p class='c007'>At the sound of his voice the two constables -released their holds and stepped back.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Deacon Blackford!” they gasped.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“That’s who I am,” was the response. “But -what does this mean?”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“We—we took you for a burglar,” explained -Hen. “We chased one a while ago, and missed -him, and we were suspicious when we saw you.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“What are you doing out so late?” asked Tim.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“I came to report a robbery.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Where?” asked both officers eagerly.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“At my house. I’ve been robbed of some money -and valuable papers. Some of my wife’s money -was also taken.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“What did I tell you!” wailed Hen Sylvester. -“I knew that burglar who got away took something! -If we had only caught him!”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Did you see him?” quickly inquired the deacon.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Yes, but we couldn’t see his face—couldn’t tell -who he was,” explained Tim.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“I can tell you who he was!” announced the -deacon, importantly.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“You?” gasped both constables.</p> - -<p class='c007'><span class='pageno' id='Page_135'>135</span>“Yes! He was Joe Strong!”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Joe Strong? What! Not your——”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“My foster-son,” broke in the deacon. “I regret -to say that he has run away with money and valuable -papers belonging to me. I want him arrested. -I’ll swear out a warrant in the morning. But if you -look for him now you may find him. Arrest him -on sight!”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“No use looking now,” said Hen, despondently.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Why not?”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Because he took the midnight freight. We saw -him jump into an empty car as the train was pulling -out of the station. I knew he must have been up -to some mischief, or he wouldn’t have run the way -he did.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>Then Tim and Hen, by turns, told of their fruitless -chase after Joe.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“We didn’t know who he was until you told -us,” said Hen to the deacon, “but we suspected he -was a burglar. Did he get much?”</p> - -<p class='c007'>The deacon told the details of the robbery, the -fire and its extinguishment, and how he had set -out to invoke the law on his runaway foster-son.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“I want him arrested and locked up,” he told the -constables.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“We’ll have to catch him first,” said Tim, with -a shake of his head, “and there’s no telling where -he might jump off the freight. We’ll have to send -out posters with his picture on, same as the regular -<span class='pageno' id='Page_136'>136</span>police do. Were you thinking of offering a reward?” -he asked.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“No,” answered the deacon. “At least not yet. -We’ll try to catch him without one first. Later -on—well, I’ll see.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>There was nothing more to be done that night, -and in the morning Deacon Blackford swore out a -warrant for Joe’s arrest.</p> - -<div class='chapter'> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_137'>137</span> - <h2 class='c005'>CHAPTER XVI<br> <span class='large'>THE SMASHED WATCH</span></h2> -</div> - -<p class='c006'>Even larger crowds than attended on the first -evening, greeted Joe Strong and Professor Rosello -at the two following performances. The wonder of -the disappearing trick, as well as the marvels of -others, had been well spread throughout Lorilard -by the small boys, and by grown persons as well, -and many bought tickets determined to “see how it -was done.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>But the stage-hand who let Joe down through -the trap in the floor kept his own counsel, and -though many persons said they were sure they knew -how the feat was performed and that Joe <i>must</i> go -down through the stage, since it was obvious he did -not go up in the air, still they could not understand -how the piece of paper was not broken.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Well, you certainly brought me good luck,” -said the professor to Joe at the conclusion of the -third night’s performance. “We took in good -money. You have more than earned your salary.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“I’m glad to know that,” answered Joe, much -gratified. “Do you think I shall succeed as a -magician?”</p> - -<p class='c007'><span class='pageno' id='Page_138'>138</span>“I’m sure of it! You learn quickly, and you -have natural and inherited ability. Practice will -make you perfect. I will help you all I can.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>Joe had worked much more smoothly the third -night than on either of the two previous ones. The -“disappearance” trick had gone off well, and the -professor had let Joe do one or two simple mystification -acts himself.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“As we go along I will gradually let you do more -and more on the stage,” said Professor Rosello, -“until you get so you can sometimes take my place.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“You are very kind,” returned Joe.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“I should think I ought to be,” the magician -went on. “I owe my life to you, and it will take -a good while to pay that debt.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>During the next few weeks Joe traveled about -from town to town with Professor Rosello, helping -him in many ways aside from on the stage. For -there were many details to look after in hiring -theatres, sending on posters in advance, transporting -the baggage and so on.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Joe’s work was so successful, and his working -of what tricks he did so smooth, that Professor -Rosello let him take a certain specified part in the -performances now.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“We’ll add some new tricks, too,” said the -magician. “I can afford to do that now, as we are -taking in a good deal of money.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>So some new apparatus was bought, and a young -<span class='pageno' id='Page_139'>139</span>man, or rather an overgrown boy, hired to relieve -Joe of some of the detail work. Thus Joe could -devote more time to the tricks and to practice. The -professor’s “show” was not a large one, and he -did not play in the big cities, or, if he did, it was -in the small theatres or in halls. But Joe was -in good company, and he was getting valuable experience. -He often wondered what was going on -in Bedford, and whether his disappearance had -caused any stir.</p> - -<p class='c007'>It had. The robbery at the deacon’s house became -known, and also the fact of the accusation -against Joe, who was being sought by the police.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Well, Joe may have run away, because he -couldn’t stand it any longer,” said Tom Simpson, -when he found his suit of clothes and the note the -morning after Joe had left them on the door-step. -“Joe Strong may have run away, but he never -stole!”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“That’s right!” agreed his other chums.</p> - -<p class='c007'>But of all this Joe knew nothing.</p> - -<p class='c007'>The young wizard, which he was rapidly becoming -in earnest, kept at his chosen work. He practiced -sleight-of-hand at every opportunity. Nor -did he neglect his physical welfare. In many of the -places he visited there were Y. M. C. A. gymnasiums, -and there Joe paid a small fee for the -privilege of using the trapeze or the bars. This -he did during the day, while waiting for the night’s -<span class='pageno' id='Page_140'>140</span>performance. He would end his exercise with a -shower bath, and be in fine trim for the evening’s -work. He did the disappearing trick every night -of the show, and it always went well.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Joe also did considerable studying, for the professor -had a number of books on magic. And one -evening after a successful performance Joe approached -Professor Rosello, and said:</p> - -<p class='c007'>“I think I have invented a new trick.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Good!” exclaimed the professor. “Let’s hear -about it.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“I say <i>think</i>,” Joe reminded him, “for, though -I haven’t seen you do it, you may know about it.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>He then described the feat, explaining what apparatus -would be necessary to have it properly -worked.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Say, that’s a good one!” cried Professor Rosello. -“It’s great, Joe! And I’ll let you do it yourself, -as is your right. I’ll order what you want, and -you can practice it, for remember this: a new trick -requires lots of practice to make it run smoothly. -There’s nothing worse for a magician’s reputation -than to have a slip-up when he is working a piece -of magic. So practice the new trick well.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>Joe promised that he would, and when the three -simple pieces of apparatus were received he devoted -much time to perfecting the details of his -little bit of mysticism.</p> - -<p class='c007'>The evening came on which Joe was to do his -<span class='pageno' id='Page_141'>141</span>new trick. The ones the professor did were successfully -worked, and while Mr. Crabb went behind -the scenes to “load” himself for his next act, -Joe stepped forward, and, addressing the audience, -said:</p> - -<p class='c007'>“For this trick I should like to borrow a gold -gentleman’s watch—I should say a gentleman’s -gold watch.” The audience laughed at his pretended -slip, and this is always a good beginning. -There was a moment’s hesitation, and Joe added: -“I will return it safely. Come now, can’t I get one -gold watch from some one in this large and intelligent-looking -audience? Ah, thank you, here is -a trusting gentleman,” and he accepted a gold -watch which a man in the front row held up. He -was not a confederate. Joe had never seen him -before, but he took this watch because it -was an open-faced one, of just the size he -wanted.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Now before I go on with this trick,” resumed -Joe, as he took his place in the center of the stage, -“I will, for safe keeping, place the watch in this -paper bag.” He held up what seemed to be an -ordinary paper bag such as grocers use. The watch -went into it, and Joe then twisted the bag up around -the watch, the paper assuming a circular form -the shape of the watch being plainly visible.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“I’ll just lay the watch, in the bag, on the floor -here for a moment,” the young wizard went on. “It -<span class='pageno' id='Page_142'>142</span>will be perfectly safe, I’m sure. I just want to -ask a few questions of the owner.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>Joe then went through some “patter” improvised -for the occasion, asking the man who had lent -him the watch, how long he had had it, whether it -kept good time, if it were valuable, and so on.</p> - -<p class='c007'>In the midst of this talk Joe walked about, and -then, seemingly by accident, he stepped on the paper -bag. There was an instant crunch as if of a broken -crystal, and a gasp came from the audience. The -man who owned the watch looked rather startled.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Dear me! This is quite too bad!” exclaimed -Joe, stooping to pick up the paper bag and the -stepped-on watch. “I am very sorry, sir, but you -know accidents will happen. You should have -warned me that I was going to step on your watch, -my dear sir.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“I—I—you——” began the man, rather red in -the face.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Keep still!” his wife cautioned him. “It’s only -a trick, you know.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>The man became silent, but wore a worried look.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Well, let us see just how bad the damage is,” -Joe went on. He took the watch from the bag and -held it up. The crystal was cracked in all directions, -and a slight pressure from Joe’s thumb sent -it into fragments of glass.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Oh, dear! Worse and worse!” Joe exclaimed. -“Well, since I have broken this much of the watch, -<span class='pageno' id='Page_143'>143</span>I might as well finish it. I’ll put it in this mortar,” -and he brought forward a small wooden one, shaped -as all druggists’ mortars are.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“There’s nothing in it, you see,” he went on holding -it so the audience could look into the interior. -“Quite empty,” and Joe rattled his wand inside. -“So it can’t hurt your watch to go in there.” He -shook the fragments of glass on the now smoothed-out -paper bag, and carefully lowered the watch, -with its back toward the audience, into the -mortar.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Now we’ll see what we can do,” Joe went on, -taking up the pestle. This, as you know, is the object -with which a druggist grinds up in the mortar -any medicine requiring crushing.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“We’ll make a thorough job of this while we’re -at it,” Joe went on, as he proceeded to grind away -with the pestle on the bottom of the mortar.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Come! This is too slow. I shall have to use -something heavier, I think, to make mince-meat of -this watch. It is a very tough one. I’ll use this -poker,” and he picked up an iron one, laying aside -the pestle on a table. With the poker Joe jabbed -away at the bottom of the mortar, wherein, a few -moments previous, the audience had seen him place -the watch.</p> - -<p class='c007'>A rattling, grinding sound was heard, a clink of -metal, and Joe exclaimed:</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Ah, now we are getting on famously! You -<span class='pageno' id='Page_144'>144</span>will hardly know your watch again, my dear sir. -It is all in pieces.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>The man did not seem to know whether to look -amused or angry.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“There we are!” Joe exclaimed, as he held the -mortar slantingly so the audience could look inside. -They, as well as the gentleman who had lent -the watch, saw the crushed and bent wheels, springs -and pinions of a watch, all massed together.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Well, I couldn’t do much worse to your watch. -I think you’ll agree to that, my dear sir?” said Joe -to the man.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“That’s right,” he admitted, rather ruefully.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“And now to try what a little magic will do,” -said Joe. “Since I have destroyed your watch, I’ll -do my best to restore it.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>He poured from the mortar the fragments of a -watch, putting them on the paper bag together with -the pieces of glass. He then wadded them all up -together, and crammed them into the mouth of a -large, old-fashioned pistol.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Now watch me closely,” Joe said.</p> - -<p class='c007'>And one may well believe the audience, as well -as the man who owned the watch, did watch.</p> - -<div class='chapter'> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_145'>145</span> - <h2 class='c005'>CHAPTER XVII<br> <span class='large'>JOE LEARNS SOMETHING</span></h2> -</div> - -<p class='c006'>The young wizard made a few “magical” passes -in the air over the pistol he held up in front of the -audience, which was now keyed up to a point of -nervous anticipation. The man whose watch had -been borrowed was half out of his seat. He seemed -about to protest against the liberties being taken -with his property, but his wife, cooler headed than -he, whispered to him:</p> - -<p class='c007'>“It’s all right. You’ll get your watch back.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“But how can I when he——”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Hush!” she cautioned him.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“If agreeable to you,” went on Joe, smiling, “I -will fire the fragments of the watch from this pistol, -and cause it to appear, whole, reunited and undamaged, -in that flower.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>As he spoke he aimed the pistol at a small, -potted, flowering plant on a table at the back of -the stage.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“I’ll cause the watch to appear hanging from a -pink ribbon among the roots of that plant. And -here is the ribbon I will use,” and Joe rammed -<span class='pageno' id='Page_146'>146</span>down the barrel of the pistol a small length of silk -ribbon which he picked up from a table near him.</p> - -<p class='c007'>He aimed his weapon at the plant and fired. -There was the usual jumping and screaming from -some of the women in the audience, as Joe walked -over to the plant. In plain view of the audience -he lifted it, roots, earth and all from the pot, and -there, as he had said, dangling from a pink ribbon, -was a watch.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“I believe this is your property, sir,” he said to -the man who had lent the timepiece, and Joe detached -it, ribbon and all, from a short branch of the -plant over which the ribbon was looped.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Is it your watch?” Joe asked.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Why—er—yes, it is! But I don’t see how in -the world you made it whole again.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“That’s one of the secrets of magic,” returned -Joe, smiling, and bowing to the applause that followed. -His trick had been a great success, as he -had hoped.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Professor Rosello now came on the stage to -work one of his feats, and Joe retired to get ready -for his part in it. And while he is doing that the -explanation of the watch trick will be given.</p> - -<p class='c007'>It stands to reason that no one can take a perfectly -good watch, step on it, break the crystal, beat -it to pieces, ram it into a pistol and by firing it at -a plant cause the timepiece to appear whole again -among the roots. This is how it is done.</p> - -<p class='c007'><span class='pageno' id='Page_147'>147</span>In the first place Joe had provided himself with -the following articles for his trick: A paper bag, -ordinary, except that inside it were some small -lumps of hard sugar, held from rattling about by -small strips of paper pasted over them. Also on -one side of the bag was pasted a triangular piece -of paper forming a sort of pocket, which was not -visible when the bag was quickly held up in front -of the audience. In a secret pocket of his suit -Joe had a watch crystal which had been scored in -crisscross fashion by a diamond, so that it appeared -to be cracked in every direction. The cuts -made by the diamond were so deep in the glass -that a slight pressure would cause the crystal to -break into scores of pieces.</p> - -<p class='c007'>The other piece of apparatus was a trick mortar -and pestle. The mortar had a false inside bottom -which fitted closely but not too tightly. Below -this bottom Joe had placed, beforehand, the fragments -of a cheap watch—wheels, springs and so on.</p> - -<p class='c007'>The pestle was also a trick one. In the large -end there was a hollow, large enough to hold a -watch, and the opening was closed by a piece of -wood exactly the same shape and size as the false -inside bottom of the mortar. The end of the pestle -and the bottom of the mortar were interchangeable.</p> - -<p class='c007'>The pistol Joe used was the regular stage kind. -That is it had two barrels. Into the larger the -objects, in this case the fragments of a watch, were -<span class='pageno' id='Page_148'>148</span>placed. The other barrel fired a light charge of -powder.</p> - -<p class='c007'>The flowering plant was a real one—there was no -trick about that except that the earth around the -roots had been previously made loose, so it would -pull up easily.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Joe, with all these things, was ready for his trick. -He borrowed the watch and placed it in the paper -bag.</p> - -<p class='c007'>That is, he seemed to do so, but, in reality, he -slipped it into the little outside triangular pocket -he had pasted there for it. He could now hold the -bag up, with the side containing the watch away -from the audience, and, as he showed both hands -empty, every one thought the watch was in the bag. -It was, in a sense.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Joe then twisted the bag up, making it conform -to the shape of the watch, and when this point -was reached he quietly slipped the watch out from -the pocket into his hand, cleverly “palming” the -timepiece. With the watch safe in his hand, he -laid the bag on the floor of the stage. The paper -still retaining its round shape, and no one suspected -that the watch was not in it.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Then Joe stepped on the paper bag. Of course -it sounded as if he had broken the watch crystal, -but, in reality, what the audience heard was the -crunching of the lumps of sugar.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Joe pretended to be much exercised as he picked -<span class='pageno' id='Page_149'>149</span>up the bag, and as he did this, he slipped the watch -into his secret pocket, and managed to put over -its glass face the crystal he had previously prepared -by scoring and criss-crossing with the diamond. -When this was done Joe again palmed -the real watch, but now it had over its face a glass -that seemed to be cracked in all directions.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Reaching his hand, in which the watch was -palmed, inside the bag, Joe seemingly brought out -the cracked watch. Again he manifested much -concern, and more so when a pressure of his thumb -really broke the prepared glass.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Then he was ready for the mortar and pestle part -of the trick. He put the fragments of glass on the -paper bag, and lowered the watch, with its back -toward the audience, into the pestle. This was -done so that no one would see that the crystal -was still whole and uncracked, which was the -case.</p> - -<p class='c007'>The real watch was now in the mortar, but it -did not actually rest on the bottom. Instead it -rested on the false piece of wood, and beneath -this wood, in a hollowed-out place, were the pieces -of a cheap watch.</p> - -<p class='c007'>As Joe looked down into the pestle, as though to -see that the watch was all ready to be pounded up, -he “palmed” off the false head of the pestle. This -left that instrument with a hollow head, inside -which would fit the real watch, to be concealed from -<span class='pageno' id='Page_150'>150</span>view by the loose false bottom of the mortar, when -the pestle was lifted.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Joe now put the pestle into the mortar, slipping -the opening in the pestle over the watch and false -bottom, and by a slight rotary motion causing the -false bottom of the mortar to fit itself into the pestle -and stick there. The real watch was now concealed -in the hollow head of the pestle, while the fragments -of the cheap watch were exposed in the bottom of -the mortar.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Joe now pretended that the pestle was not strong -enough to smash up the watch as he wanted it, and -used a poker. He laid the pestle on the table, which -was a signal for the boy assistant to take it out behind -the scenes. And while he had the pestle there -the boy took out the real watch, quickly tied a pink -ribbon through the ring, and then, going to one of -the curtains, in which was a slit, he reached through -this slit and suspended the ribbon on a short branch -of the flower, letting it hang down out of sight behind -the pot. Of course the audience did not see -this, for the folds of the curtain concealed the slit. -Besides, all eyes were on Joe.</p> - -<p class='c007'>The young wizard had now gotten the real watch -just where he wanted it, on the plant, where he -could “produce” it whenever he wanted to. But the -trick was not yet finished. Joe ground away with -the poker at the pieces of the cheap watch already -in the pestle. He then showed the pieces to the audience, -<span class='pageno' id='Page_151'>151</span>poured them out on the paper bag, where -the pieces of glass already were. The whole was -then wadded up, put into the trick pistol, and the -rest was a mere matter of detail. Joe walked over, -picked up the pot, pulled the plant up by the roots, -the watch of course seeming to have been down in -the dirt. And, naturally, the watch was not in the -least damaged, though it seemed to have gone -through all sorts of misfortunes.</p> - -<p class='c007'>The real secret of the trick, aside from the -sleight-of-hand work necessary, lay in the prepared -paper bag and the mortar and pestle, which were -made for just such mystification as this.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“It went very well, Joe,” said the professor, at -the conclusion of the performance. “That little -piece of ribbon added to it.” For Joe had thought -to put into the pistol a bit of ribbon such as that -by which the watch was suspended. Otherwise he -could not have accounted for the piece on the ring -of the watch.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Do you think they liked it?” Joe asked.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“I’m sure they did. You may do that trick at -each place where we perform. And if you can -work up any new ones, do so.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“I will!” promised Joe, much delighted with his -progress.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Inventing new tricks is not as easy as might be -supposed, and for the next few days Joe suggested -feats to Professor Rosello only to have them refused -<span class='pageno' id='Page_152'>152</span>as not being effective enough or as too old. -But Joe was not discouraged.</p> - -<p class='c007'>At a performance one night in the town of Cardiff, -Joe had occasion to walk down among the audience -to exhibit some pieces of apparatus, to show -that there was nothing concealed about it. As he -passed one row of seats he was surprised to hear -a boyish voice say:</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Hello, Joe!”</p> - -<p class='c007'>He looked around and saw Harry Martin, one -of his chums from Bedford.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Why, hello, Harry!” Joe ejaculated. “What in -the world are you doing here?”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“I’m visiting my uncle who lives here. But I -never expected to see you in a show like this. I -never was so surprised as when you came out on -the stage. I couldn’t believe my eyes.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Oh, I’ve been with the professor some time,” -said Joe quickly. “Ever since I—er—I came away -from home. But come back of the scenes after the -show, Harry. I’d like to have a talk with you.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“And I with you, Joe. I want to tell you I don’t -believe what they are saying about you, either.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Saying about me, Harry?”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Yes. I’ll tell you later.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>Joe was puzzled as he went on with the trick, and -he eagerly awaited the advent of his chum behind -the scenes after the show was over.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“What is it they’re saying about me, Harry?” -<span class='pageno' id='Page_153'>153</span>asked the young wizard. “Do they blame me for -leaving a home I couldn’t stand any longer?”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Not that so much, Joe. But don’t you know -you are accused of robbing Deacon Blackford and -setting fire to his place?”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“What?” cried Joe. “You don’t mean that!”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Yes I do,” said Harry. “I mean that’s what -you’re accused of, but I don’t believe it!”</p> - -<p class='c007'>Joe sank into a chair.</p> - -<div class='chapter'> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_154'>154</span> - <h2 class='c005'>CHAPTER XVIII<br> <span class='large'>THE MAGIC EGG</span></h2> -</div> - -<p class='c006'>“Don’t take it so to heart, Joe,” begged Harry, -after a moment’s pause. “I didn’t mean to spring -it on you this way. I thought maybe you knew -something about it.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“I didn’t know a thing!” exclaimed Joe. Professor -Rosello and the boy helper were busy putting -away their apparatus, so Joe and Harry could talk -together for a time. “How did they come to accuse -me?” Joe asked, after a pause.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Well, you ran away, you know,” began Harry. -“Of course that wasn’t so bad, considering what -you had to put up with. And the same night you -went off, the deacon was robbed.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Of much?”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“To hear him tell it you’d think it was. About -a hundred dollars of his money and nearly forty -dollars of his wife’s.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“She kept hers in the clock and his was in the -desk,” said Joe.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Better not let any one else hear you say that,” -Harry cautioned him.</p> - -<p class='c007'><span class='pageno' id='Page_155'>155</span>“Why not?”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Because they’ll only be more suspicious of you, -seeing you knew where the money was kept.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Oh, that isn’t anything. I couldn’t very well -help knowing, being in the house all the while. But -was anything else taken?”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Yes, some valuable papers.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“And what about a fire?” asked Joe.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Well, the deacon says he heard a noise, got up -to see what it was, and saw some one getting out -of the window near his desk. Whoever it was -kicked over the lamp, which exploded. The deacon -says he knows you didn’t mean to start the -fire.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“What made him think it was I getting out the -window?”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“He didn’t—that is, not at the time. But when -he went to call you, and found you weren’t in your -room, then he jumped to the conclusion that you -had taken the money and papers and climbed out -of the window.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“I didn’t do either,” Joe said. “I went out the -door in a hurry when I heard the deacon after me. -That is, I thought I heard him. I’m beginning to -believe now it was the noise made by the real burglars -that frightened me. But is that all the evidence -they have against me?”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“No, Hen Sylvester and Tim Donovan saw you -running away in the middle of the night, and jump -<span class='pageno' id='Page_156'>156</span>the midnight freight. They chased after you and -fired some shots, but you wouldn’t stop.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“By Jove! That’s right!” cried Joe. “That <i>will</i> -look suspicious.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Then you <i>did</i> run away from them?” asked -Harry.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Yes, but not because I had robbed the deacon. -I was late for the freight. You see it pulled out -earlier than usual because there wasn’t so much of -the fireworks to load, on account of the fire. I -didn’t want to miss it, and I ran. I wouldn’t stop -when the constables called to me. Yes, that sure -will look suspicious;” and Joe shook his head.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“But we don’t believe you did it,” said Harry. -“Tom, Charlie, Henry and I will stick to you, Joe.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Thanks. Did Tom get his suit all right?”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Oh, yes. But I sure was surprised when I -saw you come out on the stage to-night. We hadn’t -any idea where you’d gone, though Deacon Blackford -said he guessed you’d join some circus.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“This isn’t quite a circus,” said Joe. “But I -like it,” and then he told his chum his experiences -since joining his fortunes with those of Professor -Rosello.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Say, it’s great!” cried Harry, with sparkling -eyes. “I wish I were a magician.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Oh, I’m not one yet,” replied Joe. “It takes a -lot more experience than I’ve had. But I’m learning. -How did you like the show?”</p> - -<p class='c007'><span class='pageno' id='Page_157'>157</span>“Fine! That watch trick of yours was a dandy. -You didn’t really smash the watch and put it together -again, did you, Joe?”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Of course not. There was a trick about it, but -I don’t feel at liberty to tell you how it’s done. You -see the trick, in a way, belongs to Professor Rosello.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Oh, I don’t want you to tell me. It would spoil -it for me when I saw it again. I’m coming to-morrow -night.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Come on,” urged Joe. “Here, I’ll write you -out a pass. It isn’t often I get a chance to do that -for a friend.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>They were showing two nights in this particular -town, and Professor Rosello gladly allowed Joe to -give Harry a free ticket.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Say, you’re sure making out better than you -ever would in Bedford, Joe,” commented his chum, -as they parted that evening.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Yes, I couldn’t stand it there. The deacon -wasn’t fair to me.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Well, we boys miss you,” Harry said.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Give ’em my regards when you go back,” Joe -suggested, “and tell the deacon I never took his -money.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“I sure will, Joe.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>A few nights later, Joe, in his capacity as assistant, -was helping the professor, who was doing an -egg trick—balancing the egg on the end of a straw. -<span class='pageno' id='Page_158'>158</span>The straws were genuine ones, as were the eggs. -The secret lay in a little piece of apparatus, so -small as to be readily palmed almost before the very -eyes of the audience. It consisted of a little celluloid -cup, so shallow as to be almost flat, but concave -enough to hold the end of an egg. There was a -little stem, half an inch long, on the lower side of -this celluloid cup.</p> - -<p class='c007'>After the professor had invited some one in the -audience to make an egg stand up on end on the -point of a straw, which the person, of course, could -not do, the professor did it himself, deftly slipping -the projection of the celluloid cup into the hollow -of the straw. The egg then stood up in the little -piece of celluloid, which, being the exact color of -an egg and as thin as the shell, was never noticed.</p> - -<p class='c007'>As Joe watched this familiar trick being done, -there came into his mind the idea for another one, -even more simple, and requiring no apparatus whatever -except an ordinary glass jar. He spoke to -the professor about it the next day, and was given -permission to work it.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Just before he “put on” his watch trick the next -night, Joe announced that he would try a little -experiment with an egg.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“You all know that a perfectly fresh egg will -sink in water,” he said. “In fact, that is a test for -a fresh egg. Now I have here three perfectly good -and fresh eggs. I know they are fresh because I -<span class='pageno' id='Page_159'>159</span>bought them this afternoon from your popular grocer, -Mr. McCabe, and he told me he never sold any -<i>but</i> fresh eggs.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>There was a laugh at this, and every one turned -to look at the grocer, who was in the audience, a -fact that Joe knew, for he had really purchased -the eggs at the grocery. Thus he had his audience -with him at the start, a reference to a local personage -from the stage by a traveling performer -invariably producing an effect.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Now as you all know,” Joe went on, “a fresh -egg sinks in water. You can prove it at home, and -I’ll prove it here for you. Just pick out any one of -these eggs,” he said, and, extending them on a plate -to a woman in the audience, he took from her the -egg she picked up.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“The lady looks like a good cook, she ought to -know good eggs,” said Joe, and again there was a -laugh.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Now I’ll just put this egg in this jar of water,” -went on the young magician; “but instead of sinking, -when I speak the magic word, it will remain -floating half-way between the top of the water -and the bottom of the jar. Now watch me -closely.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>Joe gently lowered the egg into the jar of water -that stood on a table near him. Slowly the egg -settled through the limpid fluid.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“By the magic of this wand, I command you to -<span class='pageno' id='Page_160'>160</span>stop!” cried Joe, as the egg was half-way down, and -as he waved his stick the egg did stop midway.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“You see how easy it is,” the young performer -continued. “I did not touch the egg after I placed -it in the water, nor did I approach the glass jar. -You may examine both in a moment. I will now -dissolve the magic spell I have cast about the egg. -With my wand I make some passes—so——”</p> - -<p class='c007'>Joe put his wand into the water and stirred it -about the egg, but did not touch it. In a second -the egg slowly sank to the bottom of the jar, to -the mystification of the audience.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“You may think there is some trick about it,” said -Joe. “But any one of you is at liberty to try and -make the egg halt half-way down, as I did. Will -you try it?” he said to the woman who had picked -out the egg.</p> - -<p class='c007'>She blushed and shook her head.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Then you, please,” and Joe indicated a young -man, who, sheepishly enough, came up on the stage. -Joe handed him the jar of water, the young -man reached down into it, got the egg and put it -in the jar as Joe had done. But the egg at once -sank to the bottom, and though the young man -tried again, he had no success.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“You see, it’s magic,” laughed Joe, as he made -ready for his smashed watch trick.</p> - -<div class='chapter'> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_161'>161</span> - <h2 class='c005'>CHAPTER XIX<br> <span class='large'>THE CIRCUS</span></h2> -</div> - -<p class='c006'>And now for the explanation of the egg trick. It -is so simple that any of you may do it at home, -with just an ordinary egg, a fruit jar and some -salt. Don’t forget the salt.</p> - -<p class='c007'>You have all heard the story, told to children, -about putting salt on a bird’s tail in order to tame -it. Well, a fresh egg that one wishes to make float -half-way submerged in a jar of water, must be -treated in the same way. It must be salted.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Just as Joe said, a fresh egg will sink in water. -But it will float in strong brine, or salt water, the -reason being that salt water is denser, and has a -greater specific gravity, than fresh water.</p> - -<p class='c007'>But the trick lies in combining fresh and salt -water so that the egg will sink only half-way.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Make a strong brine solution by dissolving common -table salt in water. It may be necessary to -experiment a little before getting the solution just -the right strength. Fill a glass fruit jar, or any -jar with a wide opening, half full of the brine. -Now, with a funnel, pour fresh water in on top of -<span class='pageno' id='Page_162'>162</span>the salt water. Be careful not to let the two kinds -of water mix. The salt water, being heavier, will -be on the bottom of the jar, and the fresh, being -lighter, on top. If you do it carefully enough, -pouring in a little fresh water at a time, you will -have, as Joe had, a jar with two layers of different -kinds of water—one salt, the other fresh. The -audience, of course, can not see this, as they could -if you had two differently colored fluids, for the -salt and fresh water are of the same color.</p> - -<p class='c007'>When Joe put the egg in the water he lowered it -carefully, so as not to disturb the two water layers. -The egg sank through the strata of fresh water, -but when it came to the layer of dense, salt water, -it would not sink in that, and came to a stop, half-way -down, just as Joe, who knew at what point -this would occur, uttered the command to stop.</p> - -<p class='c007'>And when Joe pretended, to dissolve the “spell,” -he merely, with his wand, stirred together the fresh -and salt water. This made a mixture of salt water, -but it was not dense, or heavy, enough to support -the egg, which of course sank to the bottom.</p> - -<p class='c007'>And, as the waters were well mixed when Joe -let the young man try the experiment, of course the -latter could not make the egg float as the boy wizard -had done.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“That was a good trick, Joe,” was the professor’s -compliment when Joe came off the stage. “In fact -I think the simpler the trick is, the better, but there -<span class='pageno' id='Page_163'>163</span>are very few that can be worked with so little apparatus -as your egg experiment. We’ll keep that -on our list.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>Joe had told his employer about the news brought -by Harry, to the effect that our hero was accused -of robbery by his foster-parent.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“What are you going to do about it, Joe?” asked -the professor.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“I don’t see that I can do anything. I didn’t take -a dollar of his money, or Mrs. Blackford’s either, -nor did I touch the valuable papers. It’s all a mistake, -but I’m not going back there to tell him so. -I sent word by Harry. If he won’t believe him, he -won’t believe me.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“No, perhaps not. And, as you say, you can’t -go back there just to convince your foster-father. -You don’t think, do you, that he will make trouble -for you?”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“I don’t imagine so.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>When Joe said this he knew nothing of the warrant -having been sworn out for his arrest. Harry -had not told his chum of this detail.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Then I don’t see that you need do anything,” -said Mr. Crabb. “I, myself, don’t believe the accusation -against you. And until you are put to some -real trouble over it you may as well ignore it. -We’ll just go on as usual. You are doing well, and -our show is succeeding better than I hoped for. I -am glad you came to me.”</p> - -<p class='c007'><span class='pageno' id='Page_164'>164</span>Joe was grateful for this trust, and resolved to -do his best in his future work. He worked up -several new and simple tricks, many of them, such -as dancing cards, the nodding skull and others, being -adaptations from other stage illusions.</p> - -<p class='c007'>You have, most of you, perhaps, seen a magician -suspend a card, apparently in mid-air, and cause it -to go up or down as some one in the audience requests. -Sometimes a metal ball on a rod is used. -These tricks are worked by means of a black thread -which is attached to the card or ball and is pulled -by a confederate behind the scenes.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Indeed, the black silk thread has been called the -magician’s best friend. It is absolutely invisible -on the lighted stage against the proper background, -and the right kind is strong enough to lift considerable -weight.</p> - -<p class='c007'>A card chosen from the pack is made to rise or -fall as follows: the magician gets possession of -the card selected by some one in the audience, either -by keeping his finger in the place in the pack into -which it is thrust, or by “forcing” a certain card -on the person in the audience. The performer -knows what card he is going to “force” and, later, -can readily pick it out of the pack as he shuffles it. -To “force” a card, the operator rapidly spreads out -a pack of cards, face down, in front of a person, -and quickly thrusts one card out farther than the -others, literally “forcing” it into the hand. It is a -<span class='pageno' id='Page_165'>165</span>predetermined card, but not one in a hundred -realizes that.</p> - -<p class='c007'>At any rate, having the card, the performer goes -back to the stage and adroitly contrives to fasten -the card to the unseen black silk thread with a tiny -bit of beeswax. Then, with the card apparently -suspended in mid-air, but in reality hung by an unseen -thread, which runs through screw-eyes on the -stage floor, the card is made to go up or down or -stop midway, just as the audience calls for, by the -pulling of the thread by the assistant behind the -scenes. When the trick is over the performer slyly -takes the card off the pellet of wax, no trace of -which shows, and passes the card around for examination. -Of course it is an ordinary card. The -trick was all in the string.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Joe made a variation of that trick by using a -round-bottomed little papier-maché figure, bought -in a toy store. There was no trick about the figure. -It was one of those which can not be made to lie -down, but continually bob up, because of a weight -of lead in the rounded bottom.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Joe laid a glass shelf across the backs of two -chairs, and after passing the little round-bottomed -figure about for inspection, returned with it to the -stage, placing it on the glass shelf.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“This little figure, by bowing to the right or to -the left, will now answer questions without assistance -from me,” Joe announced. “A bow to the -<span class='pageno' id='Page_166'>166</span>left will mean ‘no,’ and a nod to the right will mean -‘yes.’ Or you may have it the other way if you -like. Which shall it be?”</p> - -<p class='c007'>The choice being thus left to the audience it -seems impossible that there can be any prearrangement.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Right bow for ‘no,’” some one called.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Very well,” agreed Joe, smiling. “It’s all the -same to me. A bow to the right will stand for -‘no,’ and the nod to the opposite direction will mean -‘yes.’”</p> - -<p class='c007'>All this while the little figure rested on the glass -shelf. Not a bit of mechanism was to be observed, -and Joe walked down from the stage and stood in -the audience after placing the figure on the glass.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Now we will ask questions,” announced the -young performer. “Is the lady on my right married?”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“No,” nodded the figure.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Is she willing to be?” he went on, amid laughter, -while the young lady blushed.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Yes,” nodded the figure, amid still heartier -laughter.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Joe asked many other questions, easily answered -by no or yes. He did not take the trouble to find -out if the answers were correct. The questions followed -one another quickly, and the audience was interested -in noting the movements of the figure, -with no one on the stage, with Joe far away from it, -<span class='pageno' id='Page_167'>167</span>and with nothing but a plain glass shelf on which -the figure rested.</p> - -<p class='c007'>When Joe had caused enough fun and mystification -with this trick, he walked back to the stage, -picked up the figure and tossed it to a little boy in -a front seat.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Take it home with you, youngster,” he said. -“See if you can make it behave as I did.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>Several interested ones around the boy examined -the figure. There was no deception about it, and -the giving of it away proved this. In fact Joe -found that a good climax to the trick.</p> - -<p class='c007'>And now—how was it done?</p> - -<p class='c007'>Beforehand two black threads were passed from -behind the scenes up through the rounds of the -chairs, over the backs and up on the glass shelf, -where they met in the middle, each thread ending -in a little pellet of wax. When Joe apparently -carelessly placed the figure on the glass shelf he -fastened one of the waxed ends of thread to either -side of the half-rounded bottom.</p> - -<p class='c007'>He then went entirely away from the stage, -and all that remained was for the assistant behind -the scenes to pull one thread to make the figure -bow to the right, and another to cause it to nod -to the left. Of course the assistant heard all that -was said, and could govern himself according to -the choice of the audience. It was an effective -trick, and beautifully simple. You might even try -<span class='pageno' id='Page_168'>168</span>it yourself, but be sure the black threads do not -show. It is for this reason that most magicians -have dark draperies for a stage background.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Where do we go next?” asked Joe of the professor -the night after he had first introduced his -magic figure trick, which had gone so well with the -audience.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Hillsburg is the next town, and we ought to -make quite some money there, Joe.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“You deserve more money,” proceeded Mr. -Crabb, “and I am going to give it to you. You -are certainly a valuable addition to my show, and -in time you will be able to carry on a whole performance -yourself. You still have something to -learn in palming, in making substitutions, and in -manipulating cards. But that takes practice and -time. I have great hopes of you.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>But alas for the hopes of doing a good business -in Hillsburg! When they reached that town, they -found that a circus was playing there on the same -date as Professor Rosello’s show.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“No use trying to compete with a circus,” observed -the professor, as he heard the news at the -small hotel where they put up. “We’ll just wait -over a couple of days, Joe, and perhaps we can -think up some new tricks in the meanwhile. A rest -will do us no harm. I’ll just cancel to-day’s engagement -here, and put the show on two nights -later. By that time we can get a crowd.”</p> - -<p class='c007'><span class='pageno' id='Page_169'>169</span>“Then you haven’t anything for me to do?”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“No, Joe.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“I guess, then, I’ll go out and see them get ready -for the circus. I may take in the show, too.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Please yourself, Joe,” said the professor, as his -young helper went out. “I didn’t think he could -resist the attraction of the sawdust rings of a circus,” -he murmured to himself with a smile.</p> - -<div class='chapter'> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_170'>170</span> - <h2 class='c005'>CHAPTER XX<br> <span class='large'>SOME TRAPEZE TRICKS</span></h2> -</div> - -<p class='c006'>Joe did not have to ask his way to the circus -grounds. He had only to follow the crowd, mostly -made up of small boys, though with a goodly -sprinkling of young men, all of whom were stringing -their way out to the big, vacant lots where the -tents were being put up, and where the big cages, -wagons, horses, and animals were getting ready -for the parade that was to follow.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“They’ll likely have the horse and animal tents -up by this time,” mused Joe, “but I can see ’em -fixing the main top.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>The largest tent, or the one where the performance -is given, is called in circus language the “main -top.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>Joe knew something of circuses from having -read of them and having seen one or two, but also -he remembered a very little, and seemed, too, to -have inherited a certain knowledge.</p> - -<p class='c007'>It would have been strange had he not had a -hankering for a tent show, for the son of Madame -Hortense, one of the greatest circus riders of her -<span class='pageno' id='Page_171'>171</span>day, ought to have something of a liking for that -strange life.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“I wonder if, by any chance, I’d meet some one -who used to know my mother,” mused Joe, as he -walked onward. “It isn’t so very many years ago -that she was with a show, and there might be some -old-time performers who would know her. But it’s -hardly likely, though possible. Of course my father, -having been mostly in theatre shows, wouldn’t -be so apt to know circus people. Say, it almost -makes me want to be with ’em!” Joe murmured enthusiastically, -as he came in sight of the circus lots -on which lively scenes were being enacted.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Men were running about, straightening out the -big folds of canvas, lacing up the parts of the big -tent preparatory to raising it, for the “main top” -comes in several sections for easier transportation.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Gay banners were fluttering from the animal tent, -already up, and from the one where the performers -were to eat and dress.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Breakfast had already been served to the now -busy workers; and from the wagons, on which -were the big stoves, there arose appetizing odors, -as a second meal was being gotten ready—a -breakfast for the performers who did not have to -get up as early as did the laborers. Most of the -circus stuff had been brought from the railroad -trains, and was on the grounds.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“I don’t see how they ever straighten things out,” -<span class='pageno' id='Page_172'>172</span>mused Joe. But somehow it was done. Every -one had a certain part to perform. And while one -gang of men were putting up the tents, others were -feeding the horses and other animals, and those -in charge of the parade were getting that ready -to march through the streets in order to entice -the small boy and his parent to come to the -show.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Joe strolled past the place where, outside one of -the performers’ tents, men were pasting paper on -the hoops through which the riders would leap -later. He did not stop to peer in at the animals, -though many small boys were feasting their eyes -on such glimpses of the sights as they could see. -Joe did not care much for this.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“I wish I could see some of the trapeze and high -wire fellows at practice,” he mused. “I might pick -up a few stunts myself.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>Joe passed a place where some of the performers’ -trunks had been heaped up in readiness to -be taken into the dressing tents. Near them stood -a tall, slim, young fellow, of about Joe’s age. He -did not seem very muscular, and he was tugging -away at a heavy trunk, which he could not move.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Shan’t I give you a hand?” asked Joe pleasantly. -“That looks pretty heavy.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“It is,” was the answer, given with a smile. “I -ought to have some of the men help me, but they’re -all too busy. My trunk is under this one, and I -<span class='pageno' id='Page_173'>173</span>want to get at it. There’s a hole in my suit I want -to get mended before the show opens.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>From that Joe knew the lad to be one of the -performers.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“I guess I can get it down for you,” said the -young wizard, and with a heave of his powerful -arms he lifted down the top trunk.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“My, but you’re strong!” exclaimed the other, -somewhat enviously.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Strong is my last name,” laughed Joe.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Is it, really?”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“It sure is. Can I help you carry it to your dressing -room?”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Well, if you don’t mind, it would be a favor. -I generally have one of the men help me, but we’re -a bit late to-day, on account of a train wreck that -held us up, and everybody is doing double work. -My place is right over there,” and he indicated the -tent where he had his dressing room, or, rather, -space, for all do not have separate rooms in a circus.</p> - -<p class='c007'>As Joe took hold of one end of the trunk he -noticed that it bore, in big, white letters the words:</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> - <div class='nf-center'> - <div>HUMAN FISH</div> - </div> -</div> - -<p class='c007'>Joe’s face must have showed his surprise, for the -circus lad noticed it, and with a laugh, said:</p> - -<p class='c007'>“It isn’t an aquarium you’re helping to carry. -This just has my clothes and some other things -<span class='pageno' id='Page_174'>174</span>in it—the suit I wear—I’m the ‘human fish,’ you -know.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“You are—a fish?”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Yes. Turton’s my right name, Benny Turton, -but I’m billed as the ‘human fish.’ I do an act in -a tank of water—swimming, diving, staying under -a long time, picking coins up in my mouth and all -that. It isn’t a bad act they tell me.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Last night I ripped the suit I wear—sort of -fish-scale arrangement, you know, and I wanted to -get it out of my trunk early, to have it mended. -I’m much obliged to you,” he went on, as Joe set -his end of the trunk down in the dressing tent, -which was now becoming thronged with other performers -who were getting ready for the parade.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Oh, you’re welcome, I’m sure,” Joe answered. -“I guess I’ll come and see you perform.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“I’d be glad to have you. Say, if you’d like to -look about a bit now I can fix it up for you.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“I’d like to see the trapeze fellows at practice.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“All right. I’ll speak to the ring-master. Oh, I -say Jim—Jim Tracy!” called the “human fish” -to a big, red-faced and black-mustached man who -entered the tent just then.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Hello, Ben, what is it now?” was the answer.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Here’s a friend of mine,” went on the “fish,” -with a smile. “His name is Strong. You ought -to see him juggle trunks. He wants to watch the -trapeze fellows doing some try-outs.”</p> - -<p class='c007'><span class='pageno' id='Page_175'>175</span>“All right, Ben. As long as he’s a friend of -yours it goes. Make yourself at home, Strong,” -went on the ring-master, “and if anybody asks you -what you’re doing, tell ’em Jim Tracy said it was -all right. How you making out, Benny? Need -any help?” His voice seemed to take on a kinder -tone as he spoke to the rather frail looking -lad.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Oh, I’m all right now. He gave me a hand just -when I needed it,” and he nodded to Joe. “Got to -get my suit mended, or I’ll be full of water before -my act’s half over.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“That’s right—don’t spoil the act,” admonished -the ring-master. “It’s too good to have that happen. -Well, I’ve got about a thousand things to do. -See you later,” and with a nod to the two young -men he hurried off.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Now you can go about as you like,” said Benny. -“He’s the head boss, and one of the owners of -Sampson Brothers’ Gigantic Aggregation of Circus -and Hippodrome,” said Ben with a laugh, as he -quoted part of the show bills. “What he says -goes!”</p> - -<p class='c007'>Benny Turton, the “human fish,” had unlocked -his trunk, and was taking out a queer suit, made, it -seemed, of rubber, covered with shimmering green -scales like those of a fish.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“This is supposed to be water-tight,” Benny explained, -“and it is, when it doesn’t leak. I’ve got -<span class='pageno' id='Page_176'>176</span>to put a patch on one elbow,” and he showed where -a rip would let water in. “I mend it with a rubber -cement,” he added, “and it takes a little time to -dry. That’s why I was in a hurry to get at it. -You’ll see some of the trapeze men at work soon, -I think. Come back when you’re through watching -them.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>A little later Joe found himself in the main tent, -which was now almost completely erected, and as -soon as this had been done men began putting in -place the trapezes, flying rings and other pieces of -apparatus on which the acrobats performed their -feats.</p> - -<p class='c007'>While this was going on a man came strolling in, -and from the anxious orders he gave, and from the -manner in which he watched the arranging of some -of the trapezes, Joe surmised that he was one of -the performers. He made sure of this a little -later when the man swung himself up on the bar, -tested it, and then began to go through a few simple -exercises in his street clothes, as though to test the -ropes and fastenings.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“All right,” he called to the workmen. “That’ll -do.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“The Lascalla Brothers are mighty particular,” -murmured one of the workmen, as the performer -went out.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“I should say so!” was the comment of another. -Then Joe knew he had seen one of the most famous -<span class='pageno' id='Page_177'>177</span>of trapeze performers, whose name was in large -letters on the bills.</p> - -<p class='c007'>One or two men questioned Joe’s presence, but -when he mentioned Jim Tracy he was made welcome.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Most of the trapezes were in place, and the -workmen had gone to another part of the big tent. -Joe strolled over toward one of the swinging bars.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Say, wouldn’t I like to try it just once!” he -murmured. “I’ve never been on a real circus -trapeze.” He looked about him. No one seemed to -be noticing him. “Here goes!” he exclaimed.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Lightly he sprang and grasped the bar. The -feel of it seemed natural to his hands, and he felt -his springy muscles contracting for the upward -pull. He swung lightly to the bar, and sat there, -moving to and fro.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Then, in a sort of reckless spirit Joe went -through a number of evolutions, such as he had -often practiced alone at home or in some chum’s -barn.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Joe was hampered by his street shoes and clothes -from doing very much, but what he did he did -well. Daring indeed were one or two of the feats -he attempted, for there was no life net below him. -He worked rapidly and then, giving a final swing -on the bar he shot off it, turned a somersault, and -landed on his feet on a pile of canvas some distance -off.</p> - -<p class='c007'><span class='pageno' id='Page_178'>178</span>“Say, that wasn’t bad! Better work in a little -of that new stuff to-day,” said a voice behind Joe. -The young wizard turned quickly to behold Jim -Tracy looking at him.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Hello! Oh, it’s you, is it?” asked the ring-master. -“Blessed if I didn’t think it was one of our -regular performers doing a try-out. Say, Ben -didn’t tell me you belonged to the profesh.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“I don’t. That is I’m an assistant to Professor -Rosello, a magician. I’m not a circus performer.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Well, it’s too bad you aren’t,” was the comment. -“I’ve seen some good tricks on a trapeze, -but you’ve got a few of your own. I don’t s’pose -you’d like to join the show, would you? I could -use an extra trapeze and ring act. Now if you’d -like to consider it, I’ll make you an offer.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>Joe’s heart beat high for a moment. He was almost -tempted to accept. Then he realized that he -had not yet perfected himself in the working of -magic, and he wanted to do this. So he shook his -head.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“No, thank you,” he said, gratefully. “I guess -I’ll stick to Professor Rosello for the present.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Well, you know your own business best,” answered -the ring-master, “and I sure don’t want to -take you away from the man you’re with. But -if ever you think of joining a circus, why drop -me a line. You’ll find us——”</p> - -<p class='c007'>But the ring-master was suddenly interrupted.</p> - -<p class='c007'><span class='pageno' id='Page_179'>179</span>“Oh, Jim!” cried a voice, and Joe turned to behold, -what he afterward declared was, a “vision in -pink,” hurrying into the main tent. The “vision” -was a young girl, with a laughing face, merry -brown eyes and a vivacious manner.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Oh, Jim!” she cried. “I am in <i>such</i> trouble!”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Well now, Miss Helen, what’s the trouble?” -asked Jim in a good-natured voice, as though he -were speaking to some child. “We sure will have -to have it fixed for you.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Oh, thank you, Jim,” and the “vision” turned -and gazed full at Joe.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Joe blushed.</p> - -<div class='chapter'> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_180'>180</span> - <h2 class='c005'>CHAPTER XXI<br> <span class='large'>ALMOST CAUGHT</span></h2> -</div> - -<p class='c006'>“Well, now, Miss Helen, what’s the trouble?” -asked the ring-master, while Joe continued to gaze -at the “vision.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Oh, I can’t get any lump sugar for Rosebud, and -you know he won’t eat the other kind.” Her lips -pouted prettily, and then she smiled—Joe declared -at him, though it may have been at both of them.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“No lump sugar, eh? Well, that sure <i>is</i> a calamity!” -laughed Jim Tracy. “I’ll have to see to that. -Rosebud must have his sugar.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“If he doesn’t, you know he won’t do his tricks -well,” went on the girl, now smiling broadly. -“Please get some for me, Jim.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“I sure will, if I have to rob the breakfast table! -I’ll be back in a minute,” he added to Joe. “You -might wait here.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>Joe was perfectly willing to wait. He hoped the -“vision” would return.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Is he a new performer?” asked the girl, nodding -and smiling at Joe, as she walked off with the ring-master.</p> - -<p class='c007'><span class='pageno' id='Page_181'>181</span>“Well, no, not exactly, Miss Helen. I’ve made -him an offer—I just had to, after I saw him -doing some stunts on a trapeze—but he seems to -think he likes magic better.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Then he doesn’t like our circus?” The girl -stopped, and once more she pouted prettily.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Oh, it isn’t that, I assure you!” exclaimed Joe -quickly. “But you see I am under some obligations -to Professor Rosello, and I don’t want to leave -him in the middle of the season.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“That’s right,” chimed in Jim. “It’s best to play -fair. But come along, Miss Helen, and I’ll see if -I can rustle some sugar for Rosebud.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Good-bye!” she called to Joe. “But I should -think you’d like a circus better than doing those -queer tricks. Though they <i>are</i> nice,” she added, -with a little nod.</p> - -<p class='c007'>The sun seemed to have gone under a cloud to -Joe as she went out of the tent. Brightness had -vanished.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“I—I almost wish I had taken his offer,” mused -the lad. “I wonder——” he paused as he remembered -the flash of her brown eyes and her smile. -“No, I’d better stick to the professor. Maybe—later——Oh, -well, I’ll have to think about -it.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>He walked about, looking at the preparations -still going on to get the main tent in readiness for -the show. He saw Jim coming back, alone.</p> - -<p class='c007'><span class='pageno' id='Page_182'>182</span>“Did you get the sugar?” he asked the ring-master.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Yes. Rosebud won’t starve to-day.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Who’s Rosebud?”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Her trick horse, and a dandy, too.” Then, -though Joe did not ask, Jim went on. “She’s one -of our biggest drawing cards. Her name is Helen -Morton, but she’s billed as Mademoiselle Mortonti. -It looks better on paper.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“What does she do?” Joe found himself asking.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Fancy riding, and on a trick horse. She makes -Rosebud do all sorts of tricks—amuses the young -folks, and some of the old ones too. She makes -a great pet of her horse and gives him lump sugar -as a reward. I generally have a supply on hand -for her, but it must have got side-tracked on account -of the mix-up. However, I found some for -her.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“She’s one of the finest little girls in the world,” -went on the ring-master earnestly. “We all love -her. She’s an orphan, but she doesn’t lack friends. -Some folks sort of look down on circus performers,” -went on Jim, with a flash of his eyes, “but I -want to tell you, right now, that——”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“You don’t need to tell <i>me</i> anything,” said Joe -in a low voice. “My mother was a circus performer. -Madame Hortense was the name she rode -under.”</p> - -<p class='c007'><span class='pageno' id='Page_183'>183</span>Jim stared at Joe with open mouth.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Your mother in the profesh?” he asked.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Yes.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Well, I can’t say I ever heard of her—but -that’s not strange,” said the ring-master slowly. -“I haven’t been in the business all my life. But if -your mother was a circus rider then you know. -Shake!”</p> - -<p class='c007'>He held out a powerful hand. Joe gripped it -none the less powerfully.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Say, you’ve got some hold!” exclaimed the ring-master -with admiration in his voice. “Better think -my offer over.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“I’d like to,” answered Joe, “but I’d better stick -where I am for the present.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Well, you know best. But if you ever decide -to join—you can always find our advance -route bookings in one of the theatrical papers. -Drop me a line.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>Joe promised to do so, and went outside, perhaps -hoping for a sight of Miss Morton. But he -did not see her. He did, however, see much that -interested him in the way of circus life, and he -understood something of the fascination it had for -his mother, especially as she was such an accomplished -horsewoman; and feats of horsemanship -are nowhere better appreciated than in a circus.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Well, did you see all you wanted?” asked Benny -Turton, as Joe rejoined him.</p> - -<p class='c007'><span class='pageno' id='Page_184'>184</span>“Yes, I saw lots. Even got an offer to go with -the show.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“You didn’t!”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Yes I did,” and Joe narrated his experience.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Say, I think maybe you’d make out good in a -circus,” said Benny, holding up his scaly suit for -a close examination. He wanted no more leaks -in it.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“No, I’ll stick to magic for a while yet,” Joe -answered. “But I think you’ll be busy soon, getting -ready for the performance, so I’ll leave -you. Remember, I’m coming to see you do your -stunt.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“I hope you do.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>As Professor Rosello was not going to give a -show that evening, Joe was free. He went to the -afternoon and evening circus performances, and he -tried to tell himself that it was to watch the -“human fish” and some other special acts. But -though Benny’s act was interesting and startling, -Joe paid more attention to the riding of Miss Helen -Morton and the tricks of her horse, Rosebud, -than he did to Benny. And the performance of -Mademoiselle Mortonti was well worth watching. -It was a beautiful exhibition of horsemanship on -the part of a refined young girl, and it brought -forth round after round of applause, in which Joe -joined enthusiastically.</p> - -<p class='c007'>The circus moved out of town after the final -<span class='pageno' id='Page_185'>185</span>performance, and Joe and the professor gave their -show.</p> - -<p class='c007'>They did not draw as large crowds as they would -have done had not the counter attraction of the -circus operated against them, but they did fairly -well.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Joe introduced a new trick, which made an instant -hit. It was very simple, too.</p> - -<p class='c007'>When his turn came to occupy the stage he advanced -with a candle and a box of matches in -his hand.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Fire is a mysterious element,” he stated. “It -is a good servant but a bad master. Well controlled, -fire and light are very useful. Now I -have here a candle which is exceptionally well -educated. That is it can be lighted, extinguished -and lighted again by the mere movement of my -wand.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Now I don’t say every one can do this, for you -have not all of you magic wands. But, lest some -of you think the trick is easy, I am going to ask -one of you to come up here and light this candle. -Will you come?” and he indicated a young man in -a front seat. After some hesitation the youth ascended -the stage.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Do you know which end of a match to light?” -asked Joe. The youth grinningly admitted that -he did. Joe then handed him a candle and bade -him light it. When it was aglow Joe handed the -<span class='pageno' id='Page_186'>186</span>youth the wand, and told him to point it at the -candle.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Just point it at the flame, and order it to go -out—vamoose!” Joe ordered. The youth tried this, -but the candle still burned on. “I guess you’ll have -to speak louder,” observed Joe with a smile, “the -candle may be deaf.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>Accordingly the youth shouted, but still the candle -burned.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Louder!” urged Joe, and the youth fairly yelled. -But still the candle burned brightly. “You see not -every one has the magic power,” stated the young -performer. “Now let me show you how it is done.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Just help this young man down the steps,” Joe -directed his assistant, the boy previously referred -to. “I am afraid he may have strained himself -shouting.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>There was a laugh at this, and the audience -watched Joe’s helper solicitously assisting the -volunteer down the steps.</p> - -<p class='c007'>While this was going on Joe had taken the lighted -candle and had walked back with it to one of his -tables, on which he placed it.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Now I will show you how it is done,” he said. -“Ah, the wind has blown out the candle, but as the -wind can not light it again I will first do so with -a match, and we will then call on the forces of -magic to do the rest.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>Joe lighted the candle, and then, standing some -<span class='pageno' id='Page_187'>187</span>little distance from the table on which the glowing -taper stood, he pointed his wand at it, and cried:</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Out, candle!”</p> - -<p class='c007'>Immediately the candle was extinguished.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“No, I didn’t blow it out.” Joe said, pretending -that some one in the audience had said that. -“To prove it I will, without moving, light it from -where I stand.” Then he exclaimed:</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Candle, light!”</p> - -<p class='c007'>At once the candle leaped into a glow. There -were surprised exclamations at this, and Joe repeated -the trick several times.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“It is very easy when you know how,” he said, -“and to prove there is no trick about it I will pass -the candle down to you for examination.” Joe -tossed a candle among the audience. Several examined -it. There was no doubt that it was just -an ordinary candle.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“How did he do it?” every one asked.</p> - -<p class='c007'>The secret lay in a trick candle. The first one -Joe lighted for the young man was an ordinary -taper. Once blown out it could not be lighted except -with a match.</p> - -<p class='c007'>But when Joe had his helper assist the young -man down off the stage, the young magician took -advantage of the fun and confusion over this to -substitute on his table a trick candle for the ordinary -one.</p> - -<p class='c007'>This trick candle consisted of a metal tube, -<span class='pageno' id='Page_188'>188</span>painted white, and made to look exactly like a -candle, with a metal point at the top to represent -a wick. Inside the hollow metal tube was a small -wax taper, a miniature candle, and it was held up -near the top by an inside, spiral spring. The spring -was strong enough to carry up the taper as fast as -it burned, but could be pulled down by a black -silk thread, coming out at the bottom of the candle -stick, and extending across the stage through the -draperies, where it was held by Professor Rosello, -who helped Joe in this illusion.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Joe quickly substituted the trick candle for the -real one and lighted it, pretending that the wind -had blown that one out as he walked to the table.</p> - -<p class='c007'>With the trick candle aglow, Joe only had to take -his position where he pleased, and order the candle -to go out. At once Professor Rosello, behind the -scenes, pulled the black thread, invisible to the audience. -The taper, still lighted, was pulled down -inside the hollow metal candle stick, and, of course, -it seemed just as if it went out. It was still burning, -however, some small air holes on the back of -the tube, where they could not be seen, providing -the oxygen.</p> - -<p class='c007'>When Joe, pointing the other end of his wand at -the candle, ordered it to light, Professor Rosello -released the string, and the concealed spring raised -the still lighted taper into view, so that the candle -appeared to light itself in a mysterious manner.</p> - -<p class='c007'><span class='pageno' id='Page_189'>189</span>Thus Joe did the trick, which was received very -well, causing quite a sensation. Professor Rosello -complimented him on its success.</p> - -<p class='c007'>It was toward the close of the performance. Joe -was about to step down off the stage to pass -through the audience with a vase for examination, -when he looked to the back of the hall, and there, -to his great surprise, he saw the vindictive face of -his foster-father, Deacon Blackford. Joe gasped, -and quickly turned back. Under pretense of arranging -the trick with the professor, Joe whispered:</p> - -<p class='c007'>“My foster-father is out in the audience. He -must have been following me and he has come here -to arrest me. He thinks I stole that money, but -I didn’t. I don’t want to be falsely arrested. -What shall I do?”</p> - -<p class='c007'>The professor thought quickly.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“It was a narrow escape,” he said. “He almost -caught you. He is probably waiting for you to -come down in the crowd so he can grab you. -Quick now. Go behind the scenes. I’ll hold the -audience with some patter. Then you tell the boy -to come out and help me with this trick. He can -do it as well as you, as it is very simple. I’ll finish -the rest of the show alone.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“But what shall I do?” asked Joe.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Slip out by the stage door, go to the hotel, get -your things and take the first train for Seneca. -We show there next. I’ll come on as soon as I can -<span class='pageno' id='Page_190'>190</span>pack up after the show. We’ll fool the deacon. -There is no need of being arrested if you are innocent, -and it is evident he came here to take you -into custody. It’s a good thing you saw him in -time.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>Joe hurried back of the scenes, while Professor -Rosello held the attention of the audience, including -that of Deacon Blackford.</p> - -<div class='chapter'> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_191'>191</span> - <h2 class='c005'>CHAPTER XXII<br> <span class='large'>STRANGE NEWS</span></h2> -</div> - -<p class='c006'>Because of what had happened and the trouble -that might be caused to Joe should his foster-father -cause his arrest, Professor Rosello made a -change in the end of his show. He substituted -some simple tricks for the more elaborate feats -of magic in which he needed Joe’s help.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Still he kept the audience amused, and that was -the main point. Professor Rosello even saw Deacon -Blackford laughing at some of the tricks and -the “patter” which accompanied them. But immediately -after he smiled, the stern man became -more stern, as though ashamed of himself for having -given way to mirth.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“I guess he’ll find out, if he lives long enough,” -thought the performer, “that circus people and magicians -aren’t as black as they are painted.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>The professor was thoroughly impressed with -the belief in Joe’s innocence, and he did not want -to see him subjected to the humiliation of an arrest.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Innocent as he is, and as I believe him to be,” -thought the professor, “it would take time to prove -<span class='pageno' id='Page_192'>192</span>it, and it would delay my show. It may make him -look guilty to run away in this fashion, but I believe -it the best way. Later on, if necessary, Joe -can give himself up and explain.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>Meanwhile Joe, having the same idea, was making -his way out of the stage door of the theatre. -He hurried to the hotel, packed up his belongings -and took a train to the next town. The professor -and the baggage would come by a later train.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“That was a narrow escape,” mused Joe, as he -hurried away. “I wonder how he found me?”</p> - -<p class='c007'>The answer to that question was not difficult.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Professor Rosello went on with the performance. -Among other tricks was the one of making the -arithmetic sum appear on the slate—the trick Joe -had explained to his chums the day the fireworks -factory burned.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Another was the producing of hundreds of feet -of colored paper, in the shape of a ribbon, and -scores of paper flowers from a hat borrowed from -some one in the audience. The hat was shown -empty, and immediately thereafter the performer, -putting in the end of his wand, proceeded to wind -out on it yard after yard of paper ribbon. Next he -shook out paper flowers, so that with the ribbon, -they made quite a pile on the table—a pile much -larger than the hat itself.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“I didn’t know you carried all that stuff with -you, sir,” said the professor to the man whose hat -<span class='pageno' id='Page_193'>193</span>he had borrowed. “You must find it quite a burden.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“And that isn’t all, either,” went on the performer. -He looked closely into the hat, a puzzled -look came over his face, and he asked: “Have -you a permit to carry live stock about with you?”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Live stock?” repeated the man, wonderingly.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Yes. I see something alive in here. Here it -is,” and, putting in his hand, which was seen to be -empty, while the other grasped the hat by the brim, -the professor pulled out a live and kicking guinea -pig.</p> - -<p class='c007'>The audience laughed heartily at this, and the -professor tried to put back into the hat the heap -of paper ribbon, flowers and the live animal. Of -course, they would not fit.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Well,” went on the performer, with a puzzled -air, “<i>you</i> may be able to get all those things in your -hat, my dear sir, but <i>I</i> can’t, though I was able -to get them out.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>He then piled the paper ribbon and flowers on -the head covering and passed it to the man. The -guinea pig was taken in charge by the young assistant -to be used on the next occasion.</p> - -<p class='c007'>It need hardly be explained that Professor -Rosello put all the articles in the hat (“loaded” -it, to use the magician’s term) as he walked back -with it from where he had borrowed it to the -stage. The guinea pig, which had been used so -often in the trick that it was very tame, and would -<span class='pageno' id='Page_194'>194</span>lie quietly where placed, was first put in the bottom -of the hat while it was held close to the lower -part of the performer’s vest. He had the little -animal under there, putting it in its hiding place -just before he was ready to work the trick.</p> - -<p class='c007'>The paper ribbon and flowers he had concealed in -a secret pocket, and these he slipped into the hat -with the pig on his way up the stage steps. He -was now ready for the trick.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Paper ribbon for this purpose comes wound in -tight rolls, and can be bought in any conjuring-goods -store. It rolls up into a very compact mass, -but when unwound, and fluffed up, occupies much -greater space, so that what seems to be a bushel or -more can be taken from an ordinary derby.</p> - -<p class='c007'>The paper flowers are in the same class. They -come in compact form, in bundles. A bundle, which -can easily be palmed, is dropped into the hat. A -pressure of the thumb breaks the binding, and the -tiny wire springs in the petals of the flowers cause -them to expand, thus occupying a much larger space -than before, so that the hat seems to be overflowing -with them. Under the paper ribbon and the flowers -was the guinea pig. The outside wrapping of the -compact bundles of ribbon and flowers is made -black, so that it is not seen against the dark background -of the hat’s interior.</p> - -<p class='c007'>And it might be stated here that no matter -what trick of this character is done by a magician, -<span class='pageno' id='Page_195'>195</span>it may be set down as a safe rule that nothing -ever comes out of a hat, a vase, a box or anything -else, unless it has first gone in. So if a magician -takes a live pig out of a hat, it is very certain he -first put it there. Of course, how he gets it there -is his trick—he does it so quickly and deftly that -one fails to see him. Certainly, one cannot fold a -guinea pig up into a packet the size of a pill box, -as one can yards and yards of paper ribbon, but -there are ways of getting it in a hat which differ -with each conjurer.</p> - -<p class='c007'>The show was over, the audience departed, having -passed an enjoyable evening, and Professor -Rosello was putting away his apparatus when he -saw a man walking down the aisle toward the stage. -He suspected this was Joe’s foster-father and the -suspicion was made a certainty a moment later.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“You had a young man working for you on -the stage, didn’t you?” asked the deacon. “He -was here a while ago.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Yes, I have an assistant. Here, boy!” Professor -Rosello called.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“No, I don’t mean that one,” said the deacon, as -the small lad came out. “I mean the other. Joe -Strong his name is.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Oh, Joe. Yes,” said the professor slowly. -“Well, he’s gone.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Gone?” The deacon looked startled. “I was -waiting for him.”</p> - -<p class='c007'><span class='pageno' id='Page_196'>196</span>“Well, he’s gone,” went on the professor. “He’s -far away from here now. Perhaps if he had -known you wanted him he would have waited.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Oh, no, he wouldn’t!” exclaimed the deacon. -“He knew what I wanted all right—that is if he -saw me, which I didn’t think he did. I want him -on a charge of robbery. He also set fire to my -place, though I don’t say he did that on purpose. -However, he’s got to pay for the damage. But -where is he? I’ve got a warrant for him.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“He’s gone, I tell you,” insisted the professor.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Well, I’ll find him,” stormed the old man. “I -traced him here and I’ll trace him farther. One -of the boys from our town saw him a few weeks -ago, and Joe sent a message to me, saying he -didn’t take the money. But I know he did. I made -up my mind I’d get him, and I heard your show -was coming here. So I came here to wait for -Joe. He may have run away again, but I’ll get him. -I’ll have him locked up for robbing me!”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Well, you’ll have to settle that with him,” observed -the professor, coolly. “I know nothing -about it, except that I believe Joe is innocent.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Well, I don’t!” exclaimed the deacon. “And I’ll -get him yet! You tell him that for me!” and he -shook his fist as he went out of the now dark -theatre.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“I think he means trouble,” mused the professor, -as he prepared to take the train.</p> - -<p class='c007'><span class='pageno' id='Page_197'>197</span>As arranged, Joe and the professor met later -that night in the town where they were next to -show. Professor Rosello told of his interview with -the deacon.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“He surely is after you, Joe,” he added.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Well, I’ll have to be on the lookout; that’s all,” -decided the boy wizard. “I’m not going to be -punished for something I didn’t do.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>Three days after this, having arrived at a large -town where they were to remain two nights, Professor -Rosello came to the theatre in the afternoon -to see if Joe had everything in readiness for -the evening’s show.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Joe,” remarked the magician, as he noted that -his young helper had left nothing undone, “Joe, -did your foster-father ever have any business dealings -with two men whose first names were Burke -and Jake?”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Burke and Jake,” repeated Joe, thoughtfully. -“I don’t know that he did. You see he was in the -feed business, and lots of men came to sell to him, -or buy. I wouldn’t know half of them, though I -often helped about the store. Why do you ask that, -Professor?”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Well, it’s a strange sort of thing, and there -may be nothing in it,” went on the professor. -“But I was just down at the hotel, having a bit of -lunch, and at the table next to mine were two -men. They called each other Burke and Jake, -<span class='pageno' id='Page_198'>198</span>and in the course of their talk they mentioned -Deacon Blackford’s name several times.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“They did?”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Yes, and not only that, but they knew about -the theft of the money from him and Mrs. Blackford.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Well, I suppose the deacon has pretty well advertised -the loss,” said Joe, “so there isn’t anything -so strange in that.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“No, perhaps not,” admitted the professor, -slowly. “But here is the strange part of it, Joe.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Those two men—I didn’t catch their last -names—not only seemed to know about the loss, -but they laughed over it as though it were a good -joke. In fact, I should say, just from a casual -observation and from what I heard, that they -knew more about the theft than even the deacon -himself.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“You think they do?”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“That’s my impression.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Maybe they were detectives,” Joe suggested. -“The deacon would call in the police, and they -might be on my trail. I wonder if I had better -get out while I have the chance?”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“I wouldn’t do that,” said the professor. “These -men weren’t detectives, I’m sure of that. But they -certainly laughed about the deacon’s loss in a knowing -way.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“I wonder who they are,” mused Joe.</p> - -<div class='chapter'> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_199'>199</span> - <h2 class='c005'>CHAPTER XXIII<br> <span class='large'>“I’VE GOT YOU!”</span></h2> -</div> - -<p class='c006'>Joe had been reading a letter when Professor -Rosello came in with the strange news about the -two men. The letter was from Benny Turton, -the “human fish,” of Sampson Brothers’ Circus, and -was in response to a souvenir postcard Joe had sent -the lad, hardly expecting a reply. Joe had just -done it as a kind remembrance to the lad to whom -he had given a little help.</p> - -<p class='c007'>But Benny wrote rather a long letter in reply, -Joe having given his future address. In the letter -Benny said that he was not feeling well, but that -he still had to go on with his tank act.</p> -<p class='c006'>“I rather wish, some days, that I had your work,” -he wrote. “I gave your regards, as you requested, -to Jim Tracy and Miss Morton. They wish to be -remembered to you. Miss Morton wants to know -if you are ever going to join a circus.”</p> - -<p class='c006'>Joe smiled in reflective fashion as he folded the -letter and put it in his pocket. So Helen Morton, -<span class='pageno' id='Page_200'>200</span>“Mademoiselle Mortonti,” had not forgotten him, -nor had the ring-master, though their acquaintanceship -was of the briefest. Joe was glad they had -remembered him—particularly glad in the case of -Helen.</p> - -<p class='c007'>But, for the time being, the letter was put aside. -Joe’s mind was busy trying to conjecture who the -two men at the hotel could be.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“I wonder if I’d better go down and see if I -can’t get a look at them without their seeing me?” -he asked Professor Rosello.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“I wouldn’t, Joe,” was the advice. “If I’m any -judge they’ll be at the show to-night, and you can -see them then.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“What makes you think they’ll be here?”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Because I heard one of them ask what sort of -show ours was. There are posters in the hotel -you know. The other man said it wasn’t half -bad—quite a compliment to us, Joe. And the -first one remarked, as they had nothing to do to-night, -they might as well take in our performance. -So we may see them in the audience.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Do you think they know I’m with you?”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“I don’t see how they can. You don’t recall -them, and it isn’t likely they’d know you.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“All right, then I’ll be on the lookout for them,” -Joe decided. “It sure is queer, though, that they -should make a joke about the deacon’s loss.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“That’s the way it struck me,” agreed the professor. -<span class='pageno' id='Page_201'>201</span>“Now how about the tricks to-night? Have -you the pigeons and the canary?”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Yes,” answered Joe. “But I’m not just sure -of what I am to do.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Then we’ll have a little rehearsal.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>Joe was a little nervous that evening as the -time for the performance drew near and the theatre -began to fill. He was not at all alarmed at -the part he was to play on the stage, for he had -become used to that now. But he wanted to see -the strange men, to ascertain if, by any possible -chance, they could be some of the customers of his -foster-father—customers he might have seen about -the feed and grain place.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“I’ll point them out to you if I see them,” said -the professor, as he was getting into his dress suit—the -suit that had about it so many pockets, hidden -in various places, so that articles could be gotten -rid of or produced at will. Joe now had a suit like -this, since he did almost as many tricks as Professor -Rosello himself.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“I may not be able to see them very well from -the stage,” Joe remarked.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Well then, you can invent some excuse to go -down in the audience. Work one of the simple -card tricks, or something like that.” For Joe was -becoming adept in manipulating cards, allowing -persons to choose cards, thrust them back into the -pack without his seeing them, and picking them -<span class='pageno' id='Page_202'>202</span>out again. Of course, this was all done either by -“forcing” certain cards, known in advance, or by -clever cutting, shuffling the cards falsely, or by -prepared trick cards.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Well, that might do,” agreed Joe. “We’ll just -have to trust to luck.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>The curtain went up, and the usual procedure -was gone through with. Joe noticed that the professor -was paying more attention than usual to the -audience, carefully scrutinizing every section of the -hall. But if he saw the two suspicious men he -gave no sign to Joe.</p> - -<p class='c007'>There were two new tricks to be performed that -evening. One was the production of two doves in -a seemingly empty cage, causing them to materialize -from guinea pigs.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Another illusion was to seemingly burn up a -canary bird, and bring it to life again.</p> - -<p class='c007'>The first trick went off well. A large bird cage -was shown on a table. There was nothing in it, -as far as could be seen. Professor Rosello took -two small, live guinea pigs, which he said he would -put into a tin cylinder on a second table, and at the -firing of a pistol the guinea pigs would disappear, -being changed into doves in the empty -cage.</p> - -<p class='c007'>He did just as he said he would do. The guinea -pigs were put in the tin cylinder and the cover -clapped on. The performer aimed a stage pistol -<span class='pageno' id='Page_203'>203</span>at the tin, fired, and with the flash and report -two white doves were seen fluttering in the cage. -The tin cylinder, being opened, was seen to be -empty.</p> - -<p class='c007'>The trick was mechanical, of course. As soon as -the guinea pigs were put in the cylinder, they -slipped down through a false bottom, and -through a trap in the table, to a little box -made to receive them. That left the cylinder -empty.</p> - -<p class='c007'>The bird cage was a trick one. As the audience -looked at it while it stood on the table, it seemed -to be an ordinary cage. But behind it was a black -velvet curtain which concealed from view the fact -that the back of the cage was double. It was -as if the bottom of the cage had been folded -up against the rear, and in between the false bottom -and the back, was a place large enough to -hold two white doves.</p> - -<p class='c007'>When the pistol was fired Joe, behind the scenes, -pulled a black silk thread that let the false side -fall down, and become a second bottom of the -cage. The falling away of the side allowed the -doves to flutter from their concealed hiding place -into the cage, where they seemed to appear so -miraculously.</p> - -<p class='c007'>The trick with the canary was worked differently. -A live canary, was shown. It was placed in a light -paper bag, the mouth tied, and the bag and canary -<span class='pageno' id='Page_204'>204</span>were hung in the center of a target suspended on -the stage by wires. After the usual “patter” a -rifle was fired at the suspended bag. To make the -trick more effective some one in the audience was -allowed to shoot at the canary in the bag. As he -did so the bag burst into flames, disappeared and, -where the target had been, there suddenly appeared -a bird cage with a live canary in it.</p> - -<p class='c007'>The trick was worked as follows:</p> - -<p class='c007'>Two canaries were used. Before the trick was -performed one was put into a trick cage which, -when suspended from the stage with its top toward -the audience, seemed to be a target. There was -a paper target and bull’s-eye in fact, but it closed -up by springs at the proper time, and did not show -on top of the cage, which contained a live canary -in a secret compartment.</p> - -<p class='c007'>This piece of apparatus was in place before the -trick started. The professor put a live canary in a -paper bag. That is, he seemed to do so. In reality -the canary was safely hidden in a compartment of -a table near which the professor stood with the bag. -This was sleight-of-hand work. The bag was made -of a special kind of paper which would burn instantly, -with a flash of fire when ignited, something -like flash-light powder.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Professor Rosello appeared to hang the paper -bag, inside of which was the canary, in front of -the bull’s-eye. As a matter of fact, there was -<span class='pageno' id='Page_205'>205</span>nothing in the paper bag. But it was hung near a -little electrical device, from which ran wires back -of the rear stage draperies. Behind the curtains -Joe was concealed.</p> - -<p class='c007'>When all was ready the professor handed some -one in the audience a stage gun that fired no -missile—only making a report. The man was told -to aim at the paper bag in front of the target, and -did so.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Fire!” called the professor, after some talk in -which he professed uneasiness for the safety of the -audience.</p> - -<p class='c007'>At the sound of the report the paper bag disappeared -in a flash of flame and smoke. The target -also disappeared, and there, hanging from its supporting -wires, was a bird cage with a live canary in -it.</p> - -<p class='c007'>When the gun was fired Joe, behind the scenes, -pressed the button of the electrical device. A tiny -flame appeared, set fire to the prepared bag, which -at once went up in smoke. At the same time Joe -pulled a black silk thread connected with the birdcage -which, with its top presented to the audience, -looked like a target. The target was folded away -out of sight, and the bird cage, which was a collapsible -one, expanded to its regular shape, the -second canary fluttering about as soon as released -from the secret compartment where it had been -hidden all the while.</p> - -<p class='c007'><span class='pageno' id='Page_206'>206</span>Thus was a bird seemingly burned, only to be -reincarnated. It was an effective illusion.</p> - -<p class='c007'>It was now time for Joe’s disappearing trick, -and while he was taking his place on the prepared -chair over the trap-door in the stage, and while -the professor was putting the black sheet over him, -he managed to whisper to Joe:</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Look at the two men in the seventh row in the -two end seats on your right.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“I see them,” said Joe in a low voice.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“They are the ones I heard talking at the hotel. -Do you know them?”</p> - -<p class='c007'>The professor asked this in between his “patter” -which went with the disappearing trick.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Their faces seem familiar,” Joe said, as the veil -went over his head. “But I’m not sure I know -them. I’ll see them after the show.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>There were a few more illusions, and the performance -came to a close. Joe, not stopping to -change his clothes, started down the aisle.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“I’ll follow those men,” he said to the professor, -who nodded a permission.</p> - -<p class='c007'>But as Joe reached the lobby of the theatre, -intending to question the men, if he could stop -them, he fell back in astonishment at the sight -of his foster-father and Hen Sylvester, one of the -Bedford constables.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Ha! There he is!” cried the deacon. “I’ve -got you now!” and he made a grab for Joe.</p> - -<div class='chapter'> - <span class='pageno' id='Page_207'>207</span> - <h2 class='c005'>CHAPTER XXIV<br> <span class='large'>CAUGHT</span></h2> -</div> - -<p class='c006'>Joe did not know what to do. He could not -very well run away through that crowd. To do -so would be such a confession of guilt that almost -any officer would arrest him. And Hen Sylvester -certainly would take after him, creating a scene.</p> - -<p class='c007'>On the other hand, if Joe was delayed the men -would get away. And he wanted to know more -about them. He looked hurriedly around but did -not see them. The deacon misinterpreted this look, -for he cried in angry tones.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Look out for him, Hen! He’s trying to escape. -Grab him!”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Oh, I’ll grab him all right!” cried the constable. -“He got away from me once, on the freight, but -he won’t now.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>The officer made a grab for Joe and an excited -crowd gathered about. Joe made up his mind -quickly.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Look here, Dad,” he said, giving his foster-parent -the name he often used. “Don’t make a scene -here. There’s no use using violence. I’ll go with -you quietly. You’re making a big mistake, for I can -explain everything.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“You can’t explain away about my——”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Hush,” cautioned Hen. For he liked Joe, and -did not want it published to the crowd that the -lad was suspected of theft.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Gentlemen, will you come with me?” interrupted -Professor Rosello, who had followed Joe -<span class='pageno' id='Page_208'>208</span>to the lobby. “Come to my dressing room, where -we can talk matters over quietly,” he went on. -“It’s all right,” he said to the crowd and to the -theatrical employees who had gathered about. -“Just a mistake, that’s all. This way, gentlemen.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“But those men!” exclaimed Joe. “They’ll get -away!”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“We’ll have to take chances on that,” the professor -whispered to him. “Maybe they’ll stay at -the hotel all night. But you must take the deacon -and the officer out of this. We’ll talk to them -in my room.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>Joe saw the wisdom of this, and a little later he -was facing the angry dealer and the constable.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Now then,” began the professor, “what’s it all -about?”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“It’s about this boy,” said the deacon, sternly. -“He robbed me of considerable money. He robbed -my wife, too, and set fire to the place, but I put -it out. That’s what the matter is!”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“And I have a warrant for his arrest,” went -on Hen Sylvester. “He is charged with robbery.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“I never took a cent of yours, nor Mrs. Blackford’s -either!” cried Joe, “and I don’t know anything -about a fire. I did run away from your -house, because I could stand it no longer.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>Then, in impassioned tones, he told the story of -that eventful night—how he had caught the freight -and met the professor. He spoke briefly of his -work as a magician.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“What makes you think he robbed you?” asked -the magician of the deacon.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Why, I saw him leaving by the window, and -right after that I missed the papers and the money.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Did you see Joe’s face?”</p> - -<p class='c007'><span class='pageno' id='Page_209'>209</span>“No. But I know it was him.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“It wasn’t,” said Joe. “I never stole in my life. -Listen, Deacon Blackford. You were robbed—of -that there’s no doubt—but it was by some one else. -When you stopped me just now, I was on the trail -of some men who undoubtedly know something -about the crime.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>Rapidly, earnestly, Joe told about the two men—the -men who had joked about the deacon’s loss, -the men he had tried to follow from the theatre.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Their names were Burke and Jake,” he said. -“Do you know who they were?” and he turned -to his foster-father.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Burke and Jake! Burke Denton and Jake Harrison!” -murmured the deacon. “I—I never thought -of them! The papers—the investment papers—they -were taken with the money—why—why——”</p> - -<p class='c007'>He seemed lost in thought for a moment.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Look here!” he finally said. “I’m not saying -you didn’t rob me, Joe, but I’m a Christian, and -I don’t want to accuse anybody unjustly. It is true -that the men you speak of might have done it. -Where can they be found?”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“I don’t know—now,” answered Joe.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Joe pleaded his case earnestly. He went over -every detail of his escape from the deacon’s house -that night, and described every movement so minutely -that an unprejudiced listener could not help -believing him.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“You and Jim chased me,” he said to Hem Sylvester. -“I didn’t want to stop for fear of missing -the train. I suppose that did look sort of guilty.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“It sure did,” agreed Hen.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“But you know what time the train left. You -saw me jump in the box car,” went on Joe. “And -you,” turning to the deacon, “know what time it -<span class='pageno' id='Page_210'>210</span>was when you saw some one getting out of the -window. Now could I have gotten from the house -to the train in that difference of time?”</p> - -<p class='c007'>The deacon and the constable thought a moment. -The deacon mentioned the time he had seen the -robber escaping, and it was evident that Joe could -not have been in two places at once.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Well, I guess that practically clears you,” admitted -Sylvester. “I don’t see as we have any -use for this warrant, Deacon,” and he produced the -paper.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Save it,” said Joe with a smile. “Maybe you -can change the names and use it on those two men. -We’ll see if we can catch them. What kind of -investment papers did they take from you?” he -asked the deacon.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Some like this,” and the deacon produced a -bond. “It’s the only one they overlooked.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“May I borrow it?” asked Joe.</p> - -<p class='c007'>The deacon let him take it, and then all four of -them left the theatre, it not being necessary to -take away any of the “props,” as another performance -was to be given the next night.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“We’ll go to the hotel,” suggested Joe. “It’s -just possible the men may be there. They haven’t -anything to suspect unless they saw you,” he said -to the deacon.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“No, I don’t believe they saw us,” said Hen. -“We didn’t get here until after dark. The deacon -read in the paper that your show was here, so he -got me, and we took the late afternoon train from -Bedford.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>A glance in the hotel lobby did not disclose the -two men, but in the cafe they were seen sitting at -a table. A look through the swinging doors showed -this.</p> - -<p class='c007'><span class='pageno' id='Page_211'>211</span>“Have you authority to make arrests here?” -asked Joe of the constable.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Yes, this is in the same county as Bedford.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Then go in and arrest those two men. I’m -sure they’re guilty.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“And I am too,” said the deacon. “Take ’em -in, Hen. I’ll swear out a warrant against ’em!”</p> - -<p class='c007'>That was all the constable needed. He had authority -for his act now. He marched into the -cafe, the deacon, Joe and the professor fallowing.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“I arrest you in the name of the law!” exclaimed -Sylvester, laying a hand each on the two men’s -shoulders. “You’re caught and you’ve got to come -with me!”</p> - -<p class='c007'>Denton and Harrison started up, but at the sight -of the deacon sank back in their chairs. Before -they could move the constable had snapped handcuffs -on them.</p> - -<div class='chapter'> - <h2 class='c005'>CHAPTER XXV<br> <span class='large'>JOE’S CLEVER TRICK</span></h2> -</div> - -<p class='c006'>“What’s the joke?” demanded Jake Harrison, -with a sort of sneer as he looked at the handcuffs -on his wrists. “If this is one of your conjuring -tricks, you’ve come to the wrong shop,” and he -glared at the professor.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“It isn’t any trick,” put in Joe, “except that we’ve -turned a trick against you. You’re both under -arrest.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“There! What did I tell you!” whined Burke -Denton. “I said if we——”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Stop your noise!” savagely ordered his companion. -“Now then, what does all this mean?” -he went on. “What right have you to arrest us?”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“The right of the law,” put in Sylvester, who -<span class='pageno' id='Page_212'>212</span>seemed to enjoy the role he was playing. “I’m -constable all over Folsom county, and you’re my -prisoners!”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“On what charge?” demanded Harrison. “You -keep still!” he directed his companion as he saw -Denton about to speak. “I’ll run this end of the -show. What’s the charge against us?” he asked -fiercely.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Robbing me and my wife of money—about one -hundred and forty dollars,” said the deacon.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“What proof have you?” asked Harrison, sneeringly. -“Did you see us take the money?”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“I saw one of you getting out of the window -after the money was gone,” went on the deacon. -This was practically admitting that Joe was not -guilty.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Which one of us did you see?” asked Harrison.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“I—er—I er——” the deacon hesitated. He could -not positively state which of the twain it was. He -had seen no face, and the room was not well -lighted.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“It wasn’t only money that was taken, was it, -Deacon?” asked Joe, for he was now ready to take -a hand in the proceedings.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“No. It was securities—papers that you two -alone knew the value of,” said the deacon, quickly. -“You took the investment papers, Denton and Harrison, -I’m sure you did!”</p> - -<p class='c007'>Harrison laughed.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“You’ll have to have some better proof than just -being sure we did it,” he said. “That won’t go in -law. Now you’d better take these ornaments off -us, and let us go,” he ordered Hen Sylvester. “You -haven’t a single bit of evidence against us, and if -you persist in arresting us we’ll sue for false imprisonment. -<span class='pageno' id='Page_213'>213</span>You haven’t a bit of evidence!”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Haven’t we? What’s this?” cried Joe Strong, -suddenly.</p> - -<p class='c007'>With a quick motion, he drew from an inner -pocket of Burke Denton’s coat a folded bond paper. -At the sight of it Denton’s jaw dropped, and even -Harrison’s eyes opened wide in astonishment.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“There’s one of the stolen securities now in -your possession,” said Joe calmly. “Isn’t that evidence -enough?”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“How—how did that get in my pocket?” asked -Denton. “I thought you had ’em all, Harrison. I -told you not to be so careless with ’em, and now——”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Keep still, can’t you!” fairly yelled the other. -“Do you want to put us in——”</p> - -<p class='c007'>Then he himself stopped, as if conscious that he -was saying too much.</p> - -<p class='c007'>Denton had collapsed in his chair. Harrison, -also, seemed to have wilted. There was now practically -no doubt of the men’s guilt. Hen Sylvester -locked them up in the local jail until such time as -he could arrange to transfer them to Bedford. -Neither of the prisoners protested any further.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Say, Joe, how did you know that investment -bond was in his pocket?” asked the constable a -little later.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Because I put it there,” was the reply. “It -was the one I took from the deacon. I thought I -might have a use for it. It was just a little sleight-of-hand -work, making it seem as if it came from -his pocket.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Well, it—it was a good trick,” grudgingly admitted -Mr. Blackford.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Then you don’t think I’m guilty; do you?” -asked Joe.</p> - -<p class='c007'><span class='pageno' id='Page_214'>214</span>The deacon shook his head. He seemed quite -ashamed of himself.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“If I was you, Deacon,” said Hen, in a whisper -to the old man, “I’d sort of beg Joe’s pardon for -suspecting him. You know he could make it hot -for you if he wanted to.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“How?”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Sue you for false arrest, for humiliating him in -a crowd, and all that. You’d better conciliate him.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>This the deacon did, not altogether willingly.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“I—I’m sorry I tried to have you arrested, Joe,” -he said. “I admit I was wrong in thinking you -robbed me.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Oh, that’s all right,” said Joe, easily. He could -afford to forgive now. “It did look a bit suspicious -against me for a while. But I’m glad you have -the right men. I don’t want to be in fear of arrest -as I travel about with the professor. And I don’t -suppose you want to take me home, do you?”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Well, no, perhaps not, under the circumstances,” -replied the deacon, slowly. “I admit that maybe -I wasn’t altogether right in the way I treated you, -Joe. But I meant it for the best. You can stay -with the professor, if you like. You seem to be -doing well.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Indeed he is!” exclaimed Mr. Crabb. “He’s a -wonder!”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Then stay,” the deacon said. The truth was -he felt he would be made fun of if he brought -Joe back, after having stated as publicly as he had -in Bedford that he believed his foster-son guilty -of the robbery. Besides, the deacon had to admit -that Joe was doing better away from him than -with him.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Yes, I guess you’d better stay and be one of -<span class='pageno' id='Page_215'>215</span>them trick performers, though I don’t think much -of——”</p> - -<p class='c007'>There is little more to tell of this story. The -next morning the deacon and Hen Sylvester went -back to Bedford, taking the two prisoners with -them. Eventually the rascals were convicted of the -crime and sent to jail. The deacon recovered his -valuable papers, but not the money. That had been -spent.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Well, I suppose you will avail yourself of your -foster-father’s permission and remain with me, -won’t you?” asked Professor Rosello, at the conclusion -of the next night’s performance, when they -were getting ready to move on to the next town.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Oh, yes, I’ll stay for a while,” said Joe. “I -still have much to learn.” But, as he said this, he -saw in fancy a certain pretty face, and he beheld -a girl riding about a circus ring on a beautiful -horse. Joe thought of Helen Morton, of Benny -Turton, the “human fish,” and of the kind ring-master. -Joe was beginning to feel a new and -strange pull at his heart strings.</p> - -<p class='c007'>And how it resulted may be learned by reading -the next volume of this series, to be entitled: “Joe -Strong on the Trapeze; or, The Daring Feats of -a Young Circus Performer.”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“What are you thinking of, Joe?” asked the professor -as they sat in the train that night.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“A new trick,” was the answer. “You take a -horse named Rosebud and you——”</p> - -<p class='c007'>“What! A horse on the stage?” cried the professor, -in wonder.</p> - -<p class='c007'>“Oh—er—I—I was thinking of something else,” -murmured Joe. And so for a while we will take -leave of Joe Strong.</p> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c002'> - <div>The End</div> - </div> -</div> - -<div class='pbb'> - <hr class='pb c003'> -</div> -<div class='tnotes x-ebookmaker'> - -<div class='chapter ph2'> - -<div class='nf-center-c0'> -<div class='nf-center c004'> - <div>TRANSCRIBER’S NOTES</div> - </div> -</div> - -</div> - - <ol class='ol_1 c002'> - <li>Silently corrected obvious typographical errors and variations in spelling. - - </li> - <li>Retained archaic, non-standard, and uncertain spellings as printed. - </li> - </ol> - -</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin-top:4em'>*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK JOE STRONG, THE BOY WIZARD ***</div> -<div style='text-align:left'> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -Updated editions will replace the previous one—the old editions will -be renamed. -</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright -law means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works, -so the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United -States without permission and without paying copyright -royalties. 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