"That's the way to do it.You've got the other fellow skinned forty ways!" he cried.
"In some ways," replied Phil significantly."Otherwise not."The ring was in excellent shape, much to the boy's surprise, and the horse was the best he ever had ridden.In a few moments Phil began to feel very much at home and to enjoy himself thoroughly.
The ring attendants brought out strips of bright yellow cloth, which two clowns held across the ring for the Circus Boy to leap over as his horse passed under.This did not bother him in the least, though he had never tried the act before.It was a relic of the old circus days that few shows had retained.
But Phil was on the point of balking when a clown came out with a handful of hoops covered with paper.
"You want me to jump through those things?" he questioned, during a brief intermission.
"Sure."
"Does the other man do that?" "He does."
"Then I can do it, I guess."
"I reckon you can do anything on a horse that you happen to feel like," said the showman.
The band started up again and Phil sprang to his feet.A paper hoopwas raised on the opposite side of the ring, the lad eyeing it hesitatingly."I'll go through it if I break my neck trying," he muttered, shutting hislips tightly together.
Smash!
The Circus Boy hurled himself through the tender paper, but the breaking paper stung his face like the crack of a whip lash, and Phil, instead of landing on his feet as he should have done, struck the back of his ring horse on all fours.
Sully growled angrily.
"You make a blunder like that again, and you'll be sorry for it," he bullied, shaking an angry fist at Phil, who turned a pair of surprised eyes on the showman.
"See here," retorted the lad with rising color, "I'm not in the habit of being talked to like that.If you don't like my riding I'll end the act right here.I'm not obliged to ride for you, you know.""Go on, go on!" snapped the owner.
The next hoop Phil took as easily as if he had been doing that very same thing all through the season.
"Fine!" chuckled Sully."He's a star performer, even if he does give me as good as I send."Phil was hurling himself through a succession of hoops now.Then all at once, to his surprise and disapproval, five hoops of fire flared up before him and on all sides of him.
"Go through them!" shouted the showman."I won't!""You can't stop now.Are you going to let a little thing like that give you an attack of cold feet?" demanded Sully.
Thus appealed to, Phil Forrest thought better of it.
"Yip!--yip!" he cried sharply to the ring horse, riding straight at the first ring which he took without difficulty, though the hot flame on his cheeks made him shrink himself into a smaller compass than had been the case with the paper rings.
The audience was applauding him wildly, for somehow this slender, youthful figure appealed to them more strongly than had any otherperformer in the show thus far.One after another Phil took the flaming rings until he came to the last one which he approached with more confidence than he had any of the others.
He hurled himself at it with less caution than before.As he entered the hoop of fire his elbows caught it, and instantly the lad felt the fire burning through his silk ring shirt.
Without an instant's hesitation the boy leaped up into the air, clearing his horse by a full two feet.
The force of his throw sent the ring of fire soaring through the air, as he had, with quick intuition, imagined that it would.
Phil threw a splendid backward somersault almost slipping off the hips of the ring horse.
"Great!" exploded the owner.The audience applauded wildly.
But the next instant Sully was not shouting approving words.The burning ring had slipped neatly over his own head and before he could throw it off, his clothes, as well, were on fire.Throwing himself down in the sawdust the showman rolled and rolled, uttering loud imprecations and threats, while audience and performers fairly screamed with delight.
He was up in a flash, expecting to find Phil making a dash for freedom.
"Stop him!" he bellowed.
Phil Forrest sat on the rump of the ring horse, grinning broadly at the predicament of the owner of the Sully Hippodrome Circus.
