Read Online The Daring Escape of Beatrice and Peabody by Kimberly Newton Fusco - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Kimberly Newton Fusco
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he will stay in our hauling truck.
‘If I find out you know where that idiot farmhand went, you are done for.’ He spits his gum on the ground and stomps on it and I have to snuggle an awful long time with Cordelia to get her to stop shaking.
35
Saturday is the best day of the week for travelling shows like ours. If crowds are going to come, they will come on a Saturday. Not as many folks come on Sunday, on account of it being church day, and the rest of the days of the week everybody is working. But Saturday is show day and Ellis goes all out. It is the worst day to have a birthday. Especially if you are alone.
Every balloon is blown and all the American flags are waving and I get the popcorn started and the taffy for the taffy apples melted. Pete the Alligator Man feeds his alligator extra turkey gizzards so there won’t be any mishaps in the tin tub. Eldora puts on her choir robe and wraps her bright yellow hair in scarves. She shuffles her cards. Ellis walks around and around and around, checking if Sam the Fat Man is sitting where folks can see him and if Silas Meany is sucking in his stomach far enough. I tie Peabody with enough rope so he can lie on our bedroll or go over and sniff around Pauline’s side of our hauling truck. I hide a few hot dogs so he won’t get bored. ‘Don’t make a sound,’ I warn. ‘All we need is for Ellis to find you.’ He whines into his front paws as I closethe curtain behind me and climb down the ladder.
The day starts out fine. There are so many folks waiting for rides on the Tilt-A-Whirl and the merry-go-round and the Ferris wheel that Ellis forgets all about being mad at Bobby. I can’t keep up with all the hot dogs that folks are wanting and the popcorn keeps running out. And just as I am starting my third batch, that’s when the sky opens up and it starts raining bathtubs of water on top of everyone.
It doesn’t take long until the grounds are a soupy mess and folks are screaming and running home. If there’s one thing about travelling shows, no one wants to come in the rain.
We pretty much all stand around the rest of the day, me and Fat Man Sam and Eldora and Peabody. We are on pins and needles because Ellis is so mad. He lowers the ticket price to a nickel just to get someone in to at least have their fortune read, but even that doesn’t do any good and the show is empty. Ellis makes us all stay on the grounds, so I sit in the hot dog cart, thankful for the little canvas roof. I am afraid to go check on Peabody because Ellis keeps checking on me.
By suppertime the rain stops and Ellis yells, ‘Places, everyone!’ and I fire up the grill and pull my hair over my diamond. Fat Man Sam turns the music up as wives, children, sweethearts and mamas and ageing papas start coming through the gates. They wear galoshes on theirfeet and yellow slickers and rain hats. They lift their feet like they are high-stepping and hurry over for a hot dog. All the lights are on and the merry-go-round is making its
dee-dee-da-dee
racket and the Ferris wheel is playing ‘The Farmer in the Dell’ over and over. Ellis tells Fat Man Sam to stop sitting and go over and open the Little Pig Race.
And then thunder rumbles. A crooked bolt of lightning strikes and then another and there is a crackling and a buzzing and all the lights go out. The folks sitting so high on the Ferris wheel start screaming they are stuck at the top and all the folks lined up to see Pete the Alligator Man and Eldora’s Museum of Mystery start running for the entrance and no one can see much except what the stars light up right in front of them so someone knocks into the hot dog cart and all the ketchup and mustard and celery salt go flying. There is another lightning strike and a loud clap of thunder and that’s when I hear my dog start barking.
I throw my apron on the ground and run for my hauling truck, bumping into lots of folks who are running for the road, and they push me and carry me away like I am a
‘If I find out you know where that idiot farmhand went, you are done for.’ He spits his gum on the ground and stomps on it and I have to snuggle an awful long time with Cordelia to get her to stop shaking.
35
Saturday is the best day of the week for travelling shows like ours. If crowds are going to come, they will come on a Saturday. Not as many folks come on Sunday, on account of it being church day, and the rest of the days of the week everybody is working. But Saturday is show day and Ellis goes all out. It is the worst day to have a birthday. Especially if you are alone.
Every balloon is blown and all the American flags are waving and I get the popcorn started and the taffy for the taffy apples melted. Pete the Alligator Man feeds his alligator extra turkey gizzards so there won’t be any mishaps in the tin tub. Eldora puts on her choir robe and wraps her bright yellow hair in scarves. She shuffles her cards. Ellis walks around and around and around, checking if Sam the Fat Man is sitting where folks can see him and if Silas Meany is sucking in his stomach far enough. I tie Peabody with enough rope so he can lie on our bedroll or go over and sniff around Pauline’s side of our hauling truck. I hide a few hot dogs so he won’t get bored. ‘Don’t make a sound,’ I warn. ‘All we need is for Ellis to find you.’ He whines into his front paws as I closethe curtain behind me and climb down the ladder.
The day starts out fine. There are so many folks waiting for rides on the Tilt-A-Whirl and the merry-go-round and the Ferris wheel that Ellis forgets all about being mad at Bobby. I can’t keep up with all the hot dogs that folks are wanting and the popcorn keeps running out. And just as I am starting my third batch, that’s when the sky opens up and it starts raining bathtubs of water on top of everyone.
It doesn’t take long until the grounds are a soupy mess and folks are screaming and running home. If there’s one thing about travelling shows, no one wants to come in the rain.
We pretty much all stand around the rest of the day, me and Fat Man Sam and Eldora and Peabody. We are on pins and needles because Ellis is so mad. He lowers the ticket price to a nickel just to get someone in to at least have their fortune read, but even that doesn’t do any good and the show is empty. Ellis makes us all stay on the grounds, so I sit in the hot dog cart, thankful for the little canvas roof. I am afraid to go check on Peabody because Ellis keeps checking on me.
By suppertime the rain stops and Ellis yells, ‘Places, everyone!’ and I fire up the grill and pull my hair over my diamond. Fat Man Sam turns the music up as wives, children, sweethearts and mamas and ageing papas start coming through the gates. They wear galoshes on theirfeet and yellow slickers and rain hats. They lift their feet like they are high-stepping and hurry over for a hot dog. All the lights are on and the merry-go-round is making its
dee-dee-da-dee
racket and the Ferris wheel is playing ‘The Farmer in the Dell’ over and over. Ellis tells Fat Man Sam to stop sitting and go over and open the Little Pig Race.
And then thunder rumbles. A crooked bolt of lightning strikes and then another and there is a crackling and a buzzing and all the lights go out. The folks sitting so high on the Ferris wheel start screaming they are stuck at the top and all the folks lined up to see Pete the Alligator Man and Eldora’s Museum of Mystery start running for the entrance and no one can see much except what the stars light up right in front of them so someone knocks into the hot dog cart and all the ketchup and mustard and celery salt go flying. There is another lightning strike and a loud clap of thunder and that’s when I hear my dog start barking.
I throw my apron on the ground and run for my hauling truck, bumping into lots of folks who are running for the road, and they push me and carry me away like I am a