Page:Dapples of the Circus (1943).pdf/149

 There were tears in his eyes, and he had to stop more than once.

"Friends," he said, "I am more sorry than I have words to tell, for what has happened. I myself have several times warned the young man against trying this dangerous experiment. We did not even dream of what he had in mind, or we would have stopped him. The lives of our performers we value much higher than any new and daring stunt."

There was an incident that occurred during the parade in a small New England city which Freckles and Dapples never forgot. The dappled Shetland and the shiny phaeton always went just in front of the wagon carrying the lion cage. On this particular morning everything was going off just as usual. The bands were blaring, the calliopes shrieking, and clowns were shouting to make the people laugh, when of a sudden Freckles noticed a great commotion on the sidewalk just behind him. The disturbance was of such