THE CIRCUS BOY IS RECOGNIZED
Giving the wrist of his prisoner a sharp twist, Phil snatched away the small handful of bills that the fellow had stolen, returning them to the woman.
By this time the thief had suddenly recovered his wits and sought to jerk his hand away, seeing that it was merely a boy who had grabbed him.To the surprise of the crook he found it was not an easy matter to free himself from that grip.After making several desperate efforts the fellow adopted other methods.
"Let go of me, I tell you.I'll have you put away for this.""I'll let go of you when a policeman has hold of you, and not before," retorted Phil."You are a thief.I saw you steal that woman's money."The man suddenly uttered an angry exclamation and launched a blow at Phil's head, which the lad avoided, allowing it to pass over his shoulder."Hurry!Get a policeman!This man is a thief," urged Phil, as heclosed with his antagonist.
"Thief! Thief," cried several voices at once.It was a cry that had been heard before about the Sully shows.
Phil had not struck back at his enemy.Instead the lad, by a skillful twist, had whirled the fellow about until his back was toward the boy.Then Phil suddenly let go his hold on the wrist, clasping the man around the body and pinioning his arms to his sides.
"You might as well stand still," said the lad coolly."You can't get away until I permit you to, and that won't be until something that looks like a policeman comes along."In the meantime the captive was struggling and threatening.All at once he raised his voice in a peculiar, wailing cry.The Circus Boy felt sure that it was some sort of a signal, though it was new to him.But he was not to be cowed.
"Police!" shouted Phil."Police!" cried many voices.
Half a dozen men came rushing into the crowd, thrusting the peopleaside as they ran, looking this way and that to learn from where the cry for assistance had come.
Phil's captive uttered a sharp cry, and the lad realized what was going to happen.At first he had thought it was the police coming, but he was undeceived the moment he caught his prisoner's appeal to them.The men dashed toward the two, and as they rushed in Phil whirled his man so that the latter collided violently with the newcomers.That checked the rush briefly.He knew, however, that he could not hope to stand off his assailants for more than a few seconds.Yet the lad calculated that in those few seconds the police might arrive.He did not know that they had been well bribed neither to see nor to hear what occurred on the circus grounds.
A moment more and the lad had been roughly jerked from his captive and hurled violently to the ground.
Phil sprang up full of fight while the angry fellows closed in on him.He saw that they were showmen.A sudden idea occurred to him.
"Hey, Rube!" he shouted at the top of his voice, hoping that the rest of the show people within reach of his voice might crowd in and in the confusion give him a chance to get away.
And they did crowd in.They came on like a company of soldiers, sweeping everything before them.Phil, in that brief instant, while he was sparring to keep his opponents off, found time to smile grimly.
The fellow he had first made captive now attacked Phil viciously, the lad defending himself as best he could, while the people who had come to attend the show got out of harm's way as rapidly as possible.Phil could hope for no assistance from that quarter.
"I guess I have gotten myself into a worse scrape by calling the rest of the gang," he muttered, noting that he was being surrounded as some of the first comers pointed him out to the others.
Suddenly they fell upon Phil with one accord.He was jerked this way and that, but succeeded pretty well in dodging the blows aimed at his head, though his clothes were torn and he was pretty badly used.
Suddenly a voice roared out close behind him."Stop it!"Turning his head a little Phil recognized Sully, the owner of the show.Sully's face was redder than ever.
