Crime Circus

CHAPTER XI CRIME’S AFTERMATH

“LAST town was a red one. This will be another bloomer.”

Cap Guffy made the statement from the front of the Ten-in-One. The show was on the new lot, outside the town of Hamilcar. Evening had arrived; yet the crowd was straggling.

“There’s an hour yet before the big show starts,” observed Stuffy Dowson. He was standing beside Cap Guffy. “You’ve got to give ‘em a chance to come on the lot.”

“Yeah?” questioned Cap. “On opening night? Say — this midway ought to be jammed. Look at it, though. There ain’t a wheel clicking. Listen, Stuffy; sometimes I’ve squawked because Tex wouldn’t let me start my show until after they got going in the big top. But I ain’t kicking tonight. It won’t need big figures to count up the ‘take’ that’s coming in tonight.”

“Tex wants to see you down in the office, Cap,” remarked Stuffy, in a conciliatory tone. “Thought maybe I’d better tell you a while before you opened.”

“All right by me,” returned Cap. “Say — does Tex think I’m still sore about them roughnecks? I ain’t. This new crew is better than the old one.”

“That’s good, Cap. No, the roughnecks don’t matter with Tex. I guess some of the five that blew are back again. We weren’t short-handed when we set up the big top today.”

“Moving around, eh? Well, that’s the way with roughnecks. You can’t count on them.”

“Hank may have taken on some new ones,” admitted Stuffy. “He’s the guy that keeps tabs. Well — it’s up to him. That’s one job he can keep — watching the roughnecks. I don’t want it.”

As Cap Guffy strolled in the direction of the office, keen eyes spied him from a tent beyond the Ten-in-One. That was Zoda’s tent; but it was a different shape than Zoda’s that moved forth into the thickening gloom.

A blackened shape against the darkening sky, The Shadow was moving toward the truck to which the office trailer was attached. He was choosing that vantage point to observe what happened in the office.

Other forms appeared among the tents after The Shadow had followed Guffy’s path. One was that of Jubo the Geek. Another was the figure of Cleed. Passing roughnecks chanced to observe these prowlers. They paid no attention to them. It was customary for the freaks to stay away from the midway while the crowds were gathering.

CAP GUFFY entered the office with a bang. He let the door slam as he closed it. Tex Larch looked up from one of the desks and gave an affable nod. He laid a newspaper aside. Cap approached and glanced at it.

“Reading about that Almsburg robbery, eh?” questioned Guffy. “Say — those birds pulled something, didn’t they? Got away with about fifty thousand bucks. Almsburg’s near here, ain’t it?”

“About thirty miles away,” responded Tex. “I wasn’t reading about the robbery, though. It don’t interest me. Sit down, Cap. I want to talk to you.”

“Maybe you was reading about this,” chuckled Cap. “More hokum about that missing heiress, Lucy Aldon. Girl out in Cincinnati claims to be the girl, eh? Well, it don’t look like she’s getting away with it. Here’s a statement from the Aldon lawyer — look at the name of the gazebo — Adoniram Towne.”

“Forget the paper,” growled Tex. “It’s the bunk. Here. Give it to me!”

He yanked the newspaper from Cap’s hands. Guffy’s fists began to clench. Tex pulled a cigar from his pocket and began to chew on the end.

“Getting kind of grouchy, eh, Tex?” quizzed Cap. “What’s the idea — grabbing a newspaper while I’m reading it? Hand it back to me. I want to see the rest about the Aldon millions.”

“She ain’t the gal,” returned Tex, crumpling the newspaper and throwing it under a desk. “That lawyer with the funny name said she ain’t. It’s just some more of that bunk you read in the papers. That robbery don’t mean anything to us, either. Almsburg’s thirty miles away. Those fellows that blew the bank safe won’t be over to spend their money on this lot.”

“Guess you’re right about that, Tex,” declared Cap, forgetting his animosity as he grinned. “We’ll be lucky if we pull in a crowd from right here in Hamilcar. Say, Tex — how long have you been in the show business?”

“Thirty years. Why?”

“Well, I just figured it would take experience to pick a bloomer as bad as this one. I couldn’t do it.”

“It’s worse than I expected,” admitted Tex. “It’s mighty bad, Cap. That’s why I wanted to talk to you. It’s no time now for us to keep on being sore. I’ve got to run into New York.”

“You need dough, eh?”

“I will before we finish this stand.”

“Can you get it?”

“Yeah. I’m leaving on the next train. But I’m not telling Stuffy where I’m going.”

“Why not, Tex?”

“Because he don’t know how to keep his mouth shut. He’s all right with the folks on the lot, but he begins to talk if anybody important shows up.”

“Like Jonathan Wilbart?”

“Yeah.”

“I see.” Cap sat down and nodded speculatively. “You’re expecting Wilbart, are you?”

“I am,” announced Tex. “That’s why I’m leaving tonight. I want to be out of here when he comes around. I’m going to tell Stuffy to let him talk to you. Remember that proposition, Cap, that we were talking about when we got sore in Marlborough?”

“About my saying I’d sold out to you, Tex?”

“That’s it. Well — there’s no papers to show it, but you stick to the story, will you? Maybe you’re still sore at me, Cap, but just the same—”

“I know. We’re both showmen and Wilbart ain’t. I get it, Tex. Well, I’m agreeable on that score. If we’ve got a grudge, it ain’t big enough to keep us from helping the other guy kid Wilbart. That’s settled, Tex. What do you want me—”

Cap stopped as the door slid open. It was Stuffy. Another man was following the general agent into the office.

TEX LARCH stared as he saw Jonathan Wilbart. The circus magnate had arrived sooner than Tex had expected.

“Good evening,” greeted Wilbart. “Am I interrupting a conference?”

“No,” growled Tex. “Slide out, Stuffy. Stay here, will you, Cap? Sit down, Wilbart.”

“It doesn’t look so good on the midway,”’ observed Wilbart, as he settled in a seat. “I told you this would be a bad town, Tex.”

“We had a red one,” returned Tex. “We’re due for a bloomer. How about it, Cap?”

“Maybe this town won’t turn out bad,” was Guffy’s comment. “You can’t never tell, Tex.”

“You are both optimists,” decided Wilbart. “Well — if you feel that way, Tex, I suppose there is no use trying to buy your show tonight.”

“Not tonight or any night,” retorted Tex. “I’m staying in the business, Wilbart. With this show, too. In fact” — he shot a look toward Guffy — “I’m doing some buying of my own.”

“What?” exclaimed Wilbart. “Another circus?”

“A sideshow,” answered Tex. “Cap Guffy’s. I’m taking over his Ten-in-One. I’ve got an option on it.”

“Where’s the money coming from?” questioned Wilbart, narrowly.

“I’ve got all I need,” returned Tex.

“It didn’t come in through your turnstiles,” argued Wilbart. “What’s more, you can’t tell me that the concessions are making up the deficit.”

“I’m making money out of this show,” asserted Tex, emphatically. “I’m satisfied with business. If you want to stay around town until we move, you’ll be here to see me hand one thousand dollars to Cap Guffy.”

“So you’re making money, eh?” chuckled Wilbart, wisely. “That’s a good one, Tex. Best I’ve heard yet. All right. I shall take your word for it. The Larch Circus is showing a profit. That is established. That means the other shows are making money, too. Yours, for instance, Guffy.”

“That’s right,” responded Cap.

“You’re making money, are you, Guffy?” questioned Wilbart. “Then why are you selling out to Larch?”

Tex scratched the lobe of his left ear. He looked at Cap Guffy, who had no reply. Then he turned to Jonathan Wilbart.

“Cap’s ready to retire,” explained Tex. “Figures that he’s been in the show business long enough. How about it, Cap?”

“That’s right,” responded Cap. “I’ve made my sock. With what Tex is offering, I won’t need to stay on the road.”

“That is another excellent story,” commented Wilbart. “If you have money, Guffy, it didn’t come through the front of your Ten-in-One. Well” — Wilbart paused to nod — “it’s possible that one of you is right.”

“How do you mean?” questioned Tex, in an uneasy tone.

“Well,” resumed Wilbart, “you may have struck a gold mine on one of the circus lots. Maybe you do have money, Tex. Or” — Wilbart turned to Cap — “perhaps you are the man who has been finding nuggets, Guffy.”

Cap shrugged his shoulders. He did not appear uneasy. Jonathan Wilbart arose. He stepped toward the door and delivered a quiet smile.

“I shall come back, Tex,” he declared. “Perhaps you will have a different decision before you have finished with the town of Hamilcar. Or” — the smile increased — “should I say before Hamilcar has finished with you?”

ALTHOUGH angered by Wilbart’s friendly sarcasm, Tex seemed unable to make a retort. He shifted uneasily by the desk. Cap Guffy said nothing. He seemed to be thinking deeply as Jonathan Wilbart prepared to leave. Before the magnate had reached the door, however, the barrier slid back and a burly, big fisted man stamped into the office.

“I’m Sheriff Howard,” he announced. “Are you Tex Larch?”

He put the gruff question to Jonathan Wilbart, who shook his head. The magnate pointed to Tex and stepped toward the door. The sheriff stopped him.

“Are you going off this lot?” demanded Howard.

“Certainly,” replied Wilbart, in a tone of surprise. “Have you any objection?”

“Who is this gentleman?” questioned the sheriff. He indicated Wilbart as he spoke to Tex. “Does he have anything to do with this show?”

“He wants to buy it, that’s all,” replied Tex. “He’s Jonathan Wilbart. Owns five shows of his own. Just came in here to see me.”

“That’s all right, then,” acknowledged the sheriff. “Sorry to hold you back, Mr. Wilbart. Wait a minute.” He scrawled with a pencil on a slip of paper. “When you get outside the grounds, hand this to one of the men that stops you. That’s all. You’ve got a car, haven’t you?”

“Yes,” said Wilbart. “And a chauffeur.”

“They’ll let you drive by,” declared the sheriff.

Wilbart looked perplexed. Then, seeing that Howard was waiting for him to leave, he nodded to Tex and Cap. Stepping to the ground, the magnate closed the door behind him.

“What’s the trouble, sheriff?” inquired Tex, affably. “You aren’t going to slough the wheels, are you? I thought we were going to be allowed to run all the games in this town.”

“That’s not what I’m here about,” stated the sheriff. “Who is this fellow here with you?”

“Captain Guffy,” introduced Tex. “He runs the Ten-in-One — the sideshow.”

“He’s with the show, then. Helping you run it?”

“He owns the Ten-in-One.”

“All right. He can hear what I have to say. Nobody’s going off this lot tonight without my permission.”

“The customers?” inquired Tex.

“There’s no more coming in. We’ve looked over the ones that are here. They’re mostly folks from Hamilcar. We know them.”

“Who do you mean by ‘we’?”

“The men in my posse. I’ve got sixty of them, all around the grounds. Just posted them.”

“What’s up?” demanded Tex, furrowing his forehead in worried fashion. “I don’t get it, sheriff.”

“There was a bank robbery in Almsburg last night,” explained Howard. “The robbers got away; but a watchman saw them. He took the number of their car. We found it this afternoon, near this lot. We think the crooks are hiding out with your circus.”

“That’s no reason to keep people away from the show,” retorted Tex, hotly.

“No?” queried the sheriff. “Well, I think different. You’ve heard my orders. You can tell your people to stay in bounds.”

“I can’t tell them anything,” pleaded Tex, suddenly. “Listen, sheriff. This show is going broke. I don’t want it to fold. I have to go into New York on the next train to see if I can raise some money. It’s all the more important, now that you’re killing the little business that we might do tonight.”

“Go ahead,” agreed the sheriff. “I’ll let you past. You’re the head man of the outfit. You can leave. Will Captain Guffy be in charge?”

“Yes,” replied Tex. “He and my general manager, Stuffy Dowson. Wait a minute. I’ll call Stuffy.”

He stepped to the door and called for Stuffy. The general manager appeared for instructions. The sheriff looked over Tex’s shoulder to get a view of Stuffy.

“Get my kiesters, Stuffy,” ordered Tex. “They’re all packed. Hurry them up. I’m leaving town.”

“One of my men will drive you to the station,” informed the sheriff. “Come along with your bags. We can get a car out in front of the lot.”

Stuffy showed up with the suitcases. There were two bags; both large and heavy. Tex took one and ordered Stuffy to carry the other. Cap Guffy waited at the door of the office while the sheriff walked with Tex and Stuffy to the entrance of the midway.

INTENT as he watched Tex’s departure, Cap Guffy did not sense a slight motion at the window in the front of the office. Nor did he see the phantom shape that reached the ground beside the truck.

That form was still invisible when it reached the fringe of the circus lot. Enshrouded in gloom, The Shadow watched Tex and Stuffy place the heavy bags into the rear of a parked sedan. Tex took the seat beside the driver. The sheriff gave an order and the car rolled away.

Pacing men with rifles formed a large encircling cordon about the circus lot. The glare of the lights was sufficient for these sentinels to distinguish moving figures. But their eyes failed them when a spectral shape glided noiselessly toward the roadway. In the gloom, that form was nothing more than an elongated splotch of blackness.

A creature of the night, The Shadow was proving his power to pass unseen. His soft laugh was no more than a whispered echo. It marked the end of Zoda. The Shadow had resumed his cloak of blackness.

Finished with his temporary role, informed of the situation which existed, The Shadow was ready for the aftermath of crime. On the lot and off, he was preparing to play his part in the events that were due tonight.

Circling the pacing members of the posse, The Shadow again displayed his uncanny spell. With the glide of a grim ghost, he chose another opening and retraced his course back toward the office where Cap Guffy awaited the return of Sheriff Howard.