Philip talked all the time, monotonously and kindly. He thought he could now dare to move, so he lifted one hand slowly, put it into the jar beside him, and then took it out covered with treacle again.
One bear lay down beside him to lick in comfort. Another sigh at once went through the tense crowd. Philip gave the jar to the other bear, and then with his free hand began to fondle the bear lying beside him. It grunted in pleasure.
Now the bears were happy and at peace. They had found someone they liked and trusted. Philip knew that he had them under control-if only the crowd didn’t do something silly-make a sudden noise, or come surging towards him. But the circus-folk knew better than that. They were used to animals.
Philip stood up, doing nothing quickly-all his movements were smooth and slow. He picked up the jar, and with his other hand on one bear’s neck, began to walk to the cage. The bears followed, shambling along quietly, licking their lips.
Philip took them right to the cage, undid the door and let them shuffle in. He put the treacle jar inside, shut the door, and went quietly outside.
And then how the people cheered! ‘He’s a wonder! Who is he? Tell Fank the bears are safe. Who IS this boy?’
Chapter 24
MORNING COMES!
PHILIP called to Jack. ‘Jack-see if you can get some meat-plenty of it-and bring it to me.’
‘I’ll get some,’ said Toni, and raced off. He came back with a basket containing great slabs of horse-meat. Philip took it. He opened the cage door and threw in the meat, talking cheerfully to the hungry bears.
Now, they were ready for their meal. They were no longer sulky, scared or angry. They were just three very hungry bears, and they fell on the meat and gulped it down.
‘Let them have as much as they will eat,’ said Philip. ‘Then they will go to sleep. While they are asleep, someone must mend their cage bars. Keep that light in front now-none of them will venture out of the broken bars while that light is there.’
Everyone gathered round Philip. ‘He’s a friend of Jack,’ they said to one another. ‘ He fetched him here because he is good with bears. He must have come from another circus. Look-the Boss wants him.’
The Boss had watched everything from his caravan window. He was most impressed and extremely thankful. Pedro told Philip that the Boss had sent for him, and he and Jack and Philip went up the steps of the Boss’s big caravan.
The Boss poured out praise and thanks in a mixture of several languages. Pedro interpreted with a grin. ‘He says, what can he do for you? He says you’ve saved the bears from being shot. He says, ask anything you like and you can have it, if he can give it to you!’
Jack answered quickly. ‘There’s only one thing we want. Now that there is this upset in Borken, can we all stay with the circus? Philip will be glad to look after the bears, as long as Fank is ill-but he has girls with him, our sisters-can they stay too? We don’t like to let them go off by themselves, in case civil war starts up in Tauri-Hessia.’
Pedro interpreted. The Boss quite thought that these ‘sisters’ were circus performers too. He nodded his head. ‘Yes-you may let them stay. If they have tricks or shows of their own, they may get a chance here. But we must strike camp tomorrow-it will be dangerous to stay here in Borken any longer. The Count Paritolen owns this land, and as it is probably he who has something to do with the King’s disappearance, it would be best for us to leave before trouble starts.’
‘What does he say?’ asked Jack, anxiously. Pedro translated all this into English, and the two boys were much relieved. Good! They could all stay with the circus, and would leave almost immediately with the circus folk! They would soon be out of the danger zone-and then perhaps they could get a message to Bill.
The boys went down the steps of the van with Pedro. They made their way to Pedro’s own little van, feeling that they simply must have a good long talk. It was about two o’clock in the morning now, but none of the three boys felt tired-they were far too strung up with the happenings of the night.
The circus-folk as they passed clapped Philip on the back. He smiled and nodded, and then at last all three were in the little van with the two girls and Kiki.
‘Shut the door,’ said Kiki at once. ‘Wipe your feet. Fetch the King!’
‘I wish we could, Kiki,’ said Jack, with a laugh, as the parrot flew on to his shoulder. ‘But don’t you start talking about the King. Oh-Lucy-Ann-you nearly had me over! What a hug! It reminds me of the bears!’
‘I can’t help it!’ said Lucy-Ann, and gave Philip a hug too. ‘I was so anxious about you and Philip, with those bears. It all seems like a horrid dream. I was longing for you to come back to us. Gussy’s gone too. Is he really going to be a girl?’
‘He is,’ said Jack, sitting down on the mattress. ‘Now, we’ve got to talk and make plans. First of all, because of Philip’s grand performance with the bears, the Boss has said we can all stay with the circus. We couldn’t have a better hiding-place!’
‘That’s true,’ said Dinah. ‘But suppose the Count makes a search for us-and his men are sent here to look, among other places. Gussy might not be recognized if he’s dressed up as a girl-but what about me and Lucy-Ann and Philip? We’re all dressed in the English way-we’d soon be noticed.’
‘Yes. I hadn’t thought of that,’ said Jack. ‘I’m too English, as well. Pedro-I’ve got some money saved up that I made out of Kiki’s performances-could you buy some Hessian clothes for us early today?’
‘Ma will fix you all up,’ said Pedro. ‘She’s a wonder with her needle! She’ll get some cloth from old Lucia, the woman who’s in charge of the circus clothes. And we’ll borrow some grease-paint from Toni and give you all dark Tauri-Hessian faces! But don’t go speaking English!’
‘No, we won’t. We’ll talk a wonderful gibberish of our own!’ said Philip, with a laugh. ‘We’ll come from Jabberwocky, and talk the Jabberwock language! It goes like this-Goonalillypondicherrytapularkawoonatee!’
Everyone laughed. ‘Good!’ said Pedro. ‘I’ll tell any searchers that you are Jabberwockians, and then you can talk like that if they ask you anything. By the way, where is Jabberwocky?’
Kiki suddenly launched with delight into the Jabberwockian language. They all listened to her and roared. ‘You’re a very fine specimen of a Jabberwockian parrot!’ said Jack, fondling her. ‘Go to the top of the class!’
Dinah gave an enormous yawn, at once copied by Kiki. It made everyone begin to feel terribly sleepy. ‘Come on-we’ll be striking camp fairly early,’ said Pedro, getting up. ‘Sleep in peace, girls. We three boys will be just under the van, on a couple of rugs. As for Gussy, I expect he’s snoring in Ma’s extra bunk, looking like a beautiful little girl!’
Gussy was not asleep, however. He lay in the small bunk, listening to Ma’s deep breathing and sudden snorts. He was very angry and very humiliated. Ma had seen to him properly! She had tried his hair this way and that, and had finally decided that he looked more like a girl with a small bow at each side rather than with one big one on top.
She had also looked out some clothes-a longish skirt, rather dirty, very highly coloured, and decidedly ragged-and a small red blouse with a green scarf tied skittishly round the waist. Gussy could have cried with shame.
It wasn’t the slightest bit of good arguing with Ma. In fact, when Gussy refused to stand still while his bows were being tied, Ma had given him a hefty slap on a very tender place, which had given Gussy such a tremendous shock that he couldn’t even yell,
‘You know I’m a Prince, don’t you?’ he said, fiercely, under his breath.
‘Pah!’ said Ma. ‘You’re just a boy. I’ve no time for Princes.’ And she hadn’t.
Now Gussy was trying to go to sleep, his hair still tied with bows, and a peculiar sort of garment on him that looked half like a night-gown and half like a long coat. He went over the exciting escape in his mind, and shuddered. No-he wouldn’t think about that awful rope and the trapeze swing. He wondered about his uncle and shuddered again. Was he killed? Poor Gussy’s thoughts were not pleasant ones at all.
The morning came all too soon for the five tired children. Philip went across at once to the bears’ cage to see how they were. The bars had been mended and strengthened. The bears, looking extremely well-fed, were half asleep-but as soon as they saw Philip they padded to the bars and grunted amiably. One bear tried to reach him with his paw.