Second Chance Suitor Read online

  Maddie turned to look at her daughter. “What do you think? Should we go to the circus?”

  “Circus!” Tess shouted, clapping her hands.

  “Does she know what that is?” Bill asked.

  “Not that I know of,” Maddie said. “Honey, they might have animals. Should we go see?”

  “Chickens!”

  Bill laughed. “Chickens we have at home, Tess,” he said. “Let’s see if they have anything a little bigger.”

  He drove them over the rise and down to the plain where the tents and wagons were all arranged. After finding a space to leave the wagon, they made their way toward the tent that loomed over the field. Tess rode on Bill’s shoulders, clapping and pointing as they approached the midway, narrating everything in her own way. While they walked around, the ticket hawkers for the sideshow exhibits called to them, trying to entice them to spend a little money to see something before the big show. There were tents for a bearded lady and a bear trained to play the piano. A two-headed cat and a mystic who promised to tell your fortune. A knife thrower, a snake handler, something called the Wheel of Destiny and somebody called the Peruvian Giant.

  “What do you think, Maddie? Any of this look interesting?”

  “Not for ten cents,” she said. “Mrs. Hansen back home had a beard too, and I would have paid not to see that.”

  Bill laughed as he steered them toward the big top. “Maybe we should just go on in, then.”

  Pow-pow-pow.

  Maddie startled a little at the sudden noise. “What was that?”

  Bill looked behind them and saw a pair of blond boys take off running from behind the Peruvian Giant’s tent. “Kids with firecrackers,” he said. “Probably just trying to scare somebody.” He led them toward the ticket booth, just outside the entrance to the tent.

  “When does the show start?” he asked, taking Tess down from his shoulders.

  “It’s just about to,” said the man in the booth. “Ten minutes, give or take. How many?”

  “The two of us, plus the girl.”

  “Sixty cents.”

  Bill handed over the money and placed their tickets in his shirt pocket. While they walked, Tess took each of their hands in hers and lifted her feet suddenly, swinging along as they went.

  “What’s that smell? Reminds me of kerosene,” Maddie said as they neared the canvas.

  “It is kerosene,” he said. “They sometimes mix it with paraffin and use it to waterproof the tents.”

  “Eww. It’s too strong. I hope it doesn’t smell like that inside.”

  “I wouldn’t worry about it. This is a circus. They’ll have a whole new set of smells inside,” he said, grinning as he led them in. The tent may not have been the biggest one she’d ever seen—it was certainly smaller than what she remembered seeing as a girl back East—but it was big enough. It held perhaps three hundred people, and it was packed.

  “Pretty full,” Bill said, eyeing the rows of occupied seats as he looked for space for the three of them. “Looks like we’ll have to sit up in back.” He led them along in front of the benches until they reached an aisle, and then headed up the risers which had been assembled. What they lost in sitting farther from the center ring, they gained in sitting higher, so even though they were among the last to find their seats, they still had a decent view.

  The opening parade was quite a spectacle; or, at least, it was spectacular for Lancaster. It began with a single bugle player who entered the ring riding a speckled pony; the bugler was controlling the pony with only his knees, and as he continued playing, the horse began to trot around the ring. With every pass, another musician entered the ring on horseback, until an entire brass band was circling the ring, all playing their instruments as skillfully atop their horses as any other orchestra would while seated in chairs. Once the entire band was present, a flood of acrobats ran into the center ring, flipping and throwing themselves in seemingly impossible combinations. They were followed by a gaggle of clowns, a man juggling flaming wooden pins, and an incredibly tall, dark-skinned man that Maddie guessed was the Peruvian Giant. Finally, a strongman entered the tent, holding a thick chain, leading what Maddie first thought was an enormous dog. Once she got a better look, however, at the thick legs, the ears as broad as barrel lids, and a twisting, curling trunk, she realized that it was no dog.

  “Oh, my goodness,” she gasped. “Is that an elephant?”

  “Isn’t that something? I’ve never actually seen one,” Bill said. “Let alone one this small. It must be just a baby.”

  Maddie slowly shook her head. “That’s some baby,” she murmured. “Can you imagine what it’ll be like when it’s grown?”

  Pow-pow-pow.

  She couldn’t help jumping again at the noise of the firecrackers. “Darn those boys. They’re going to give me a nervous attack.”

  Bill patted her hand and pointed to the center of the ring, where a man dressed in a top hat and bright red coattails was astride a white mare. “Look, I think it’s about to begin.”

  Still on his horse, the announcer got to his feet, standing on the saddle as steadily as any other man could do on the ground, and lifted a speaking trumpet to his mouth. “Ladies and gentlemen,” he called. “Boys and girls. Children of all ages. Welcome to the Great Western Menagerie!”

  At the mention of the circus’s name, the clowns erupted into action, running around the ring as if fires had been lit beneath them.

  “Before your very eyes today, you’re going to see the most amazing—the most daring—the most incredible feats performed by man and beast,” the announcer called, his voice booming through the trumpet. “You’ll see the finest performers from around the world, both extraordinary and exotic!”

  The clowns again began racing around, whooping and hollering, tumbling and rolling around in the straw that covered the floor of the ring.

  The announcer watched them with feigned amazement for a moment before he went on.

  “Now before we begin with the afternoon’s spectacle, I’m happy to announce that today we have a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for all the children here today,” he said. “For only ten cents they can come down to pet the elephant and get a little treat if they like,” he called.

  “Oh, Lord,” Maddie said, glancing toward Bill, who was already digging in his pocket for a dime.

  “You kids like candy?” the announcer called.

  A chorus arose from the children in the audience, though the announcer made an exaggerated sad face. “I couldn’t hear that,” he said mournfully. “Aren’t there any kids in here who like candy?”

  Even Tess called out this time, letting loose with a long, loud “Candy!” that left her red in the face and almost breathless.

  “All right, then,” the announcer said. “Come line up down here. Don’t run, don’t shove, and don’t forget your money,” he called, already spying a pair of boys who were elbowing each other out of the way as they hurried to the ring. “There’s plenty for everybody, so just wait your turn.”

  “Candy!” Tess cried, leaping to her feet and making for the aisle.

  “Wait a second,” Maddie said, grabbing for her hand. “I’ll go with you.”

  Tess turned and pushed her mother back, putting put all of her thirty pounds into it. “No mama.”

  “What, you want to go alone?”

  Pow-pow-pow.

  Tess nodded and again pushed Maddie back toward her seat.

  “I don’t know about that,” she said, looking down at the children already gathered in line. There were other kids no bigger than Tess, however, and the clowns did seem to be watching them closely. “I guess it’s all right. Then you come right back up here.” She handed the ten cents to Tess, who

  hurried down the steps and found a place at the end of the line.

  “Let’s keep a close eye on her,” Maddie said.

  “I already am. She’ll be fine.”

  There must have been thirty children there in the center ring now, all
being shepherded through the line by the clowns for a quick pat on the elephant’s head and a small, colorful bag, which Maddie presumed was full of the cheapest candy one could buy. Tess would love it. Maddie stood up to get a better look as she watched Tess make her way through the line. She wasn’t at the end, but close to it; there were at least twenty kids in front of her. Maybe even twenty-five, she thought as she began to count.

  Pow-pow-pow-pow-pow-pow.

  Maddie’s eye was drawn for a moment to the flashes of light from the firecrackers, there at the base of the tent on the other side, but she quickly looked back to the line of children. With that many kids around, she was watching Tess like a meadow hawk would watch a mouse.

  A sudden pain shot through her arm, and she looked down to see Bill’s hand on her wrist, gripping her so tightly that she could see the tendons under his skin. “What are you doing?” she cried, but when she glared at him she saw that his gaze was focused on the other side of the tent. His voice was harsh and strained, unlike anything she’d ever heard from him.

  “We have to get out of here,” he barked. “Now!”

  His tone startled her, giving her goose pimples immediately, but it wasn’t until he had leaped to his feet and pulled her toward the aisle that she really felt afraid. He was trying to get her over the next few people, but in turn they had also jumped up and were blocking the way. Maddie stumbled and fell against Bill, and when she reached for the bench to steady herself, she looked over at the far side of the tent. Climbing the canvas, moving along with terrifying speed, was a long, thin tongue of flame.

  Chapter 11

  Of all the beasts that Maddie might have expected to see at the circus—elephants and bears, lions and monkeys and all the rest—the ones that caused the most terrifying stampede were her fellow humans. What had begun as an arrow of flame rising up along a tent seam had indeed flown like an arrow, overtaking a huge area of the canvas in only seconds, and the crowd was seemingly moving as one toward the exit. They were at the top of the risers and the aisle—their way out—was jammed full of people. So many people. Too many to get through. As she stared down toward the center ring, she felt as if her heart was being ripped from her chest. Somewhere down there, unseen, unreachable, and all alone, was her daughter.

  “Go, go, go!” Bill shouted, gripping the shoulder of a short, heavy man who had stopped in front of them to point at the flames as they rose up the tent walls. When the man turned, his face was pale and his eyes were wide, like fright was already about to remove him from this world. Bill shook the man roughly and pointed down the steps, and he finally began to move again.

  “We have to get Tess!” Maddie shouted, hurrying along after Bill.

  Bill said nothing, but pushed on ahead, driving the people in front of them to get down the steps. Tess should have been right ahead, a straight shot from the aisle into the center ring. Nevertheless, when they finally reached the ground, Bill pulled her hard to the left. Toward the exit. Away from Tess.

  “No! She’s over there!” Maddie pulled back, wrestling her hand loose from Bill’s grip, and she turned to go back the way they had come. Immediately, she was knocked off of her feet by the wall of others, who were all intent in running toward the exit. Maddie hit the ground hard, and she felt her breath knocked out of her.

  While she struggled to breathe, she felt like she was drowning in people. So many. Too many. She tried to get to her knees, but she was pummeled by the crowd that flowed around her. Over her. She felt hard knees ramming into her arms as she tried to lift herself from the dirt. Feet that kicked her as they passed. Hands that forced her down and out of the way. A hard boot landed squarely on her back, and she felt the weight of a man as he ran over her. Then another. And another, all stepping on her as if she weren’t even a person. Or, rather, as if she weren’t a person any longer. Like I’m just a body now. Like I’m already dead.

  The fear that she had for Tess found its twin as she screamed out, now as scared for herself as she was for her daughter. She again tried desperately to get to her feet, and again failed to rise. There were just too many people, and she simply wasn’t strong enough to fend them off.

  Bill, however, was. She felt a sudden clearing above her, and she looked up to see him there, his shirt torn and his nose bloodied after fighting his way back to her. He stood like a boulder in a river, forcing the others around, and then in a flash he had scooped her up and thrown her over his shoulder as he turned toward the exit.

  There was nowhere to go. The path to the closest exit was choked; there were too many people and the tunnel leaving the tent was too small. Maddie tried to hold herself up to look over the crowd behind them, but instead of seeing any hint of Tess, she only saw a vision that sunk terror deep in her soul. The tent had been filled with an orange glow as the flames rolled up and across the canvas, illuminating the chaos below. The tent pole’s guy ropes were on fire now, and while Maddie watched, one of them snapped, sending a burning whip hurtling through the air. Anyone who remained inside much longer would be done for. First they would be crushed by the collapsing tent, and then they would be finished off by fire. She was too terrified to scream. She could only reach out one hand toward the center ring. God help my little girl.

  “Hold on tight!” Bill shouted, and he suddenly forced his way to the side, pushing through the crowd until he’d reached the now-empty seats. Rows of overturned benches rose before them, and he leaped from row to row until they were at the top.

  “What are you doing? We have to get Tess!”

  He lowered her from his shoulder and shot a hand into his pocket, pulling out his jackknife. “Stay close,” he said, before unclasping the knife and slashing a huge X in the canvas. Then he pulled her tightly to him and leaped through the tattered canvas, leaving Tess and the rest of the hellish scene behind.

  The distance to the ground was higher than she would have guessed, and with nothing to break their fall, they took a hard tumble to the earth. It was like they had emerged from a nightmare. Outside, the air was cool, the sun was shining, and the grass was green, like nature itself was denying the terrible things happening just behind them. He snatched her up again and began running; she bumped along atop his shoulder for what seemed like forever, hammering her fists into his back, shouting at him to return. Bill kept going. He wove between the screaming people and the frightened animals, all running loose, all terrified of the conflagration behind them which was pouring thick black smoke into the sky. When they were well clear of the fire, Bill lowered her to the ground.

  “Tess!” she screamed, and she took off for the tent. Before she completed two steps, however, Bill caught her around the waist and forced her down to the trampled earth.

  “Stay here!”

  “No!” she screamed, clambering to her feet. Bill grabbed her and pushed her onto the ground again, and she pounded on him with her fists. “I have to get her!”

  He grabbed her wrists and put his face close to hers. “Listen!” he shouted. “You go in there and you’ll both die, don’t you understand? You won’t make it! Now stay here!”

  Then he turned and ran toward the tent, elbowing aside the others who were still escaping. Even from here, Maddie could feel the heat curling her eyelashes, yet Bill went on. With the flames shooting into the sky, the acrid smoke fouling the beautiful clear sky, and the horrible noise of screams amid the roaring fire, it seemed like her husband was racing into the mouth of Hell itself.

  ~

  He never came back. She stayed where he’d left her, watching the exit, waiting to see Bill emerge with Tess in his arms. The flood of people from the exit, however, dried up quickly. There had been too many to count, and then almost before she knew it, hardly anybody was coming out. She watched as a pair of men helped each other along, their faces blackened from smoke and each of them hacking as they went. After them, there was nobody.

  She could only wait, though long minutes passed and the tent was soon entirely consumed by the raging flame
s. Maddie was unable to tear her eyes away from the fire, and unwilling to consider what might be happening to the two of them inside. The walls of the tent soon began to buckle as the seams split and support poles snapped, and the entire thing slowly collapsed on itself. Finally all that was left was the still-burning center pole, rising high above the smoking ruins as if to mark the place for all to see.

  She started walking. They could have made it out another way, she thought. He’s strong and smart and if anybody could save her, it’s him. As she circled the tent—or rather, the place where it had stood—she found nothing but heartbreak. It looked like plenty of people had escaped, if not all, but there were few who had not been touched one way or another. Families that earlier had walked the grounds in happy anticipation of the show were now stumbling along, stunned and grimy with smoke. Everywhere she looked she saw people who had been burned, or trampled by the crowd, or both. Here a boy tended to his father, lifting a cup of water to his blistered lips. There, a father wiped the soot from his baby’s face. Men, women, and children; in the mad rush to leave the tent, neither age nor sex had bought one’s safety. Only survival had mattered.

  And that’s all that matters now. If only they survived. She tried not to look at the burning canvas, but it was impossible to ignore. The remains of the tent were bunched up here and there, shrouding unidentifiable bumps and covering smoking masses all throughout the area. Must be benches hidden under there, she thought. Maybe some equipment. And please, God, no bodies.

  She continued around, circling the grounds, passing the injured where they lay, looking everywhere for one little girl with a mile-wide smile and a man with a tiny scar on his cheek. She saw families loading their injured kin into wagons, families clasping hands and praying in the shadow of the smoke billowing over them, families simply embracing each other while tears poured down their cheeks. Every family but hers.

  Then, there in the grass, far from the fire but untended by anybody, a pair of still bodies. One large, one small. A man. A girl. Maddie felt her heart soar and break at the same time, and she rushed to kneel alongside them.