There were two long freight trains standing on the railroad track, which was close at hand. Toward these Don bent his steps, intent on getting out of sight as soon as possible; and without pausing to consider the risk he ran in so doing, he crawled under one of the cars to the opposite side of the track. Corporal Mack followed him without loss of time; but when he arose to an upright position, after crawling under the car, Don was not to be seen. He was dodging about among the freight-houses; and after a twenty minutes’ run, having, as he believed, placed a safe distance between himself and his pursuers, he sat down on the edge of the sidewalk to take a rest. Pulling Asa’s big red handkerchief from his pocket and mopping his dripping forehead vigorously, he broke out into a cheery laugh, and was surprised as well as startled to hear it echoed close by.
“Well, my young friend, you seem to be in good humor,” said a pleasant voice.
Don looked up and saw before him an old gentleman leaning on his cane and beaming at him over his gold spectacles.
“Yes, sir,” said he, respectfully, at the same time imitating Asa’s drawl. “I’ve been to the show.”
“Ah! indeed. And you saw the clowns, I suppose?”
“Yes, sir, but I didn’t care for them. I seen the tigers and the elephants and the boy-constructors and all them things; and I seen that there mu-el throw that there nigger——”
Here Don went off into another paroxysm of laughter. The old gentleman laughed too and passed on, marveling greatly at the boy’s innocence, and wondering where in the world he came from.
After taking time to cool off a little and to recover his breath, Don got upon his feet and walked away. All the fun was over now so far as the show was concerned. His disguise being known, it would be dangerous for him to stay about the village, and the only thing he could do was to go back to the home of Asa Peters, where he hoped to find his friend Egan.
“I hope he wasn’t captured,” thought Don, “for I should find it very lonely roaming about the woods all by myself. Besides, I don’t know where those trout-streams are that he said would afford us so much sport. There’s one thing about it: I am out, and I shall not go back until I get ready.”