As she was led across the ring, the child looked intently at Valentine.
There was terror in her eyes--terror palpable enough to be remarked by
some of the careless people near Mr. Blyth. "Poor little thing! she
seems frightened at the man in the fine green jacket," said one. "And
not without cause, I dare say," added another. "You don't mean that he
could ever be brute enough to ill use a child like that?--it's
impossible!" cried a third.
At this moment the clown entered the ring. The instant before he
shouted the well-known "Here we are!" Valentine thought he heard a
strange cry behind the red curtain. He was not certain about it, but
the mere doubt made his blood run chill. He listened for a minute
anxiously. There was no chance now, however, for testing the
correctness of his suspicion. The band had struck up a noisy jig tune,
and the clown was capering and tumbling wonderfully, amid roars of
laughter.
"This may be my fault," thought Valentine. _"This!_ What?" He was
afraid to pursue that inquiry. His ruddy face suddenly turned pale; and
he left the circus, determined to find out what was really going on
behind the red curtain.
He walked round the outside of the building, wasting some time before
he found a door to apply at for admission.
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