Page:Dapples of the Circus (1943).pdf/208

 circus riders and their mounts were now sleeping on the sands.

So, to all intents and purposes, s, Freckles and Dapples were alone.

The boy realized, with a great sense of love in his heart, how much more alone he would have been without the little horse. He was as affectionate as a dog, and, although he could not express his love in as many ways as a dog could, yet he managed, by rubbing his nose against his master's cheek, and by caressing his face with his lips, to tell him that he loved him with all the devotion of his horse heart.

From time to time signal rockets went up from the ship, so Freckles knew that she had not yet sunk. He thought of Mr. Williams and all the rest who had stuck by the ship, and wondered vaguely if he would ever see them again.

Truly this life of the circus was a strange one, and his own had been even too full of thrills of late for his comfort.

The booming of the surf on the low