Across the table from them sat a man eating his meal in a fatigued sort of way that caught their attention.
"Good evening, Colonel," said a gentleman, coming up to him. The colonel was not himself, that was plain. His eyes looked dreamy, and he had the appearance of a man who was under the influence of some strong and very pleasurable excitement. When the friend saluted him he did not reply with marked courtesy. He did not even look at him. He continued to gaze unmeaningly at his plate, and to murmur "Irene-te-raddle, fol de-rol.
I"ll niver go there anny more."
"What"s the matter with you?" asked the gentleman, testily.
"Well, sir, it do beat the d.i.c.kens," said the colonel, irreverently, "I"ve lived a long toime an" seen manny a queer soight in circuses an"
dime musooms an" hanky-panky shows, but niver till to-day--oh! Naha-a, it"s a bright eyes an"--a bonny locks--" here the colonel began to thrum the table.
The friend came over impatiently and shook his fist under the colonel"s nose.
"You weak-minded old gazabo, is it to hear ye singin" topical songs thot Oi came down from Archery road? What ails ye?"
The colonel remarked easily: "Don"t git gay, George; don"t git gay.
Because Oi chuse to sing a little is no reason why ye should take liberties." Then he went on, half-musing: "Oi don"t give annything for the Fair itsilf. O"Connor tuk me in there first, but what do Oi ca-are for show cases full uv dhried prunes, ould r-rocks an" silk handkerchers? I was f"r goin" over to see Buffalo Willie shootin" Injuns an" rescuin" Annie Oakley frum the red divvels, but O"Connor sez: "No,"
he sez, "come on an" see the Midway," he sez. "So over we goes to the Midway, an", George, Oi haven"t been well since. There"ll be a trolley in me hed to me dhyin" dhay, there will, there will. We had no more than got in the strate when a n.i.g.g.e.r in a mother Hubbard comes up an" sez: "Little mon."
""Yis," sez I, "an" dom ye little mon till ye do go home an" put on ye"re pants, ye bould thing."
""Hugh-h!" sez O"Connor; "that"s a Turk."
""Thin there"s a pair of us," I sez; "let"s go."
""Well," he sez, "come into the Turkish village."
""An" see more n.i.g.g.e.rs? I"ll not," I sez.
""Will you go to the Irish village, thin?"
""No," I sez, "aint I seen you?"
""Well, where will you go?"
""If you know a place where they keep beer," I sez, "I"m convenient."
[Ill.u.s.tration: "Dom ye, little mon," says I, "Till ye do go home an" put on yer pants."]
"He shoots me into a hole in the ground. George, ye should a seen it! At one table sat a lot of black fellows with red towels around their heads an" knives stickin" out of their yellow cloaks. At another table was half-a-dozen gurrls with earrings as big as barrelhoops in their ears.
""Come on back," sez O"Connor.
""No," I sez, "this is good enough for a poor man," an" we sat down at the next table to th" gurrls. Well, sir, from that time my mind"s a blank. I was like the feller in the story-books. I knew no more. I dunno what happened at all, at all, with dancin" gurrls an" snake cha-armers an" Boolgarian club swingers an" foreign men goin" around with their legs in mattesses. All I know is this, that I was carried to a ca-ar in a seedin" chair by two men with room enough in the seat of their pants to dhrive a street sweeper. Did y"r never ride in a seedin" chair, George? Then, faith, ye"re not in my cla.s.s. Fol-der-rol, de-rol de raddle, fol----"
"An" what did ye do with O"Connor?"
"How do I know? The last time I remimber him he was askin" a girl in the Turkish theayter whether she liked vanilla or rawsburry in her soda wather, the droolin jackanapes. Ah, na-ha, the girls of Limerick city----." The colonel resumed his thrumming.
"And is that all you see of the fair."
"Yis," said the colonel, "an" faith! if you had me hed you"d think it was enough. An", George, to be in earnest wid ye, that I"ve known since you was a little dirty boy, go to the fair, ride around in the boats, luk at the canned tomatties an" the table-clothes, ride in the electric cars, but beware of that Midway. It"ll no do for young men at all, at all. You"d lose your head. You would, you would. Oh, fol-de-rol, de raddle rol."
After this amusing experience just related before them, Uncle thought it very advisable to give Johnny "a good talkin" to about doin" nothin"
wrong in that heathen exhibition of furriners."
But Johnny could afford to finish that Sat.u.r.day walking demurely around with the rest, for the next Monday morning Louis, the train-boy, was to be guard and guide through the mysteries of Midway Plaisance.
_CHAPTER X_
PLAISANCE SOCIETY
When Monday morning came the family were promptly at the 60th street gate at nine o"clock. Johnny espied Louis with his eye over a knot hole that seemed designed by providence to let the hungry outsiders have a morsel of the Midway Plaisance scenery. Inside of the grounds Johnny determinedly led the way at once to the great Ferris go-round. They stood before it measuring their chances of living through such a revolution. It did not take much to persuade f.a.n.n.y to accompany the venturesome boys; Uncle positively refused to discuss such a piece of folly, but Aunt decided at last that if f.a.n.n.y went she must go also.
Like a forbidden specter the skeleton of the Ferris Wheel stands out gaunt and fleshless. All around is full of light and gayety.
A devout Moslem may be pardoned if, as he pa.s.ses, he touches his forehead with three fingers of his right hand and murmurs: "Allah il Allah!" Some such exorcism seems to be needed to ward off the evil spirits that one would think must cl.u.s.ter around the ponderous structure, perching, perhaps, like the broomstick riders of Salem, on its spare metal ribs.
They entered the car of the great wheel, and when the signal to start was given they found that another old lady with her dudish son were to be their companions in the aerial flight.
The earth was dropping away. Higher and higher they went. Johnny was holding with a death-like grip on to the car. f.a.n.n.y"s whole life was pa.s.sing before her like a procession of spectres. In a few minutes they had gone more than one hundred and fifty feet, and the sky seemed to be falling upon them.
"Stop her!" shouted the dude, accompanying his words with a frantic waving of his hands. Higher yet they ascended and his face a.s.sumed the look depicted in the features of Dante"s characters when about to enter the infernal regions.
[Ill.u.s.tration: "HIS PLANS IN LIFE WERE INTERFERED WITH."]
"Now, if the good Lord ever permits me to get back to the earth safely,"
said the old woman, "I promise never to leave it again till I am called to die."
They had reached the top and pa.s.sed the crisis of going up. Now they began to fall. The sky was leaving them, and the earth was coming after them. They had no time to think. The coming down was worse than the going up. When they stepped out on the earth at the bottom of their descent it was with a sensation of thankfulness never experienced before.
The wheel is 275 feet high, and requires over 500 horse power to turn it. The axle is the largest piece of steel ever forged, and it was a great triumph of engineering skill to put it in place 150 feet from the ground.
Hagenbeck"s animal show was naturally the next attraction. Some distance ahead of them there was quite a commotion. Johnny and his companion were, as usual, ahead. In another minute Johnny came running back to f.a.n.n.y and caught her by the hand. Without a word he started forward with her at a rapid pace. Quite a crowd was following some strange object, and Johnny hurried f.a.n.n.y around to the front, where she saw Mr.
Hagenbeck coming leisurely toward them with a lion walking by his side.
This was the object which was attracting such a large crowd of people, and it indeed took some courage to stand there as he came by. So completely did they all acknowledge the superiority of the animal that there was no jostling about him. The Columbian guards did not have to form a line--in fact, even they gave way to the distinguished walker who held his head high in the air and enjoyed the bright sunshine without deigning to look at the crowd of different races around him. He was a native of India, and was born to be a king, but his plans in life were interfered with, and the forest in which he was to have ruled was invaded and he was captured. For some time he had not been feeling well, and the proprietor determined to let the captive see the sunshine. So they started out together, the lion walking along as quietly as a spaniel. When the six lions in the cage saw their comrade out for a stroll they gave a chorus of roars which made the windows rattle. It was answered from the roadway, and six guards who stood by thought discretion the better part of valor, and started on a run for the viaduct. Mr. Hagenbeck called them back and told them it was all right, but they still kept a safe distance. The lion seemed to enjoy the outing, yet when his trainer started to come back the monarch of the jungle followed him.
The crowd parted as the pair came toward it with more haste than grace, and the lion licked his companion"s hand and went back to his cage. Mr.
Hagenbeck explained that the lion is one of the largest in the world, and is not yet full grown. It is perfectly gentle, and at his home in Hamburg it is not kept in a cage, but plays in the yard with his children like a cat.
In front of Hagenbeck"s building there were a.s.sembled a motley crowd of people gazing into a small room over the entrance way. There were a number of lions jumping about at the crack of the master"s whip and giving the people a sample show of what could be seen inside. It caught the crowd, for there was a rush to the ticket office when the keeper disappeared from among the lions.
In the center of the building was a circular cage that looked like an old fashioned wire rat trap greatly enlarged. Into this cage the animals were introduced to go through with their performance.
"Well for that bear to walk on that globe and roll it along beats anything I ever seed," said Uncle. "He"s got more agility in him than I ever had even at my best. Johnny, you couldn"t walk a log across the creek as well as that bear walks that pole, and just look at him walking backwards. If you will notice, Johnny, you will see that the trainer gives all that acts bad a lump of sugar and the ones that act good don"t get nothing. That"s the way of lots of things, but if you will notice it the good ones will live the longest."
Aunt admired the dogs very much and observed that they didn"t have to be told what to do as the others did and they were more willing and more grateful for attention. It was really pathetic and comical to see how they seemed to appreciate applause.