He wants too much in the divvy. There's
plenty of shows nowadays that don't ask anything off of us. But Brad's
got to have a slice of it. See? I've been thinking a little of Barnum
or Van Amberg."
Ernie spoke up shrilly. "You bet your life he ain't going to leave the
show." Dick turned pink about the ears.
"Never mind that, kid," he said uneasily. David instinctively knew
that there was a girl in the balance.
Dick had the wonderful knack of "spotting" a policeman two blocks
away. At times this quality in him was positively uncanny.
"I can see 'em through a brick wall," he said to David. "I guess it
must be second sight."
"It's second smell," said Ernie briefly.
They came at length to the show grounds. Here, to David's amazement,
every one they met greeted the tall youth with a shout of joy. He
shook hands with all of them, from the hostler to the manager, from
the "butcher" to the highest-priced performer, without any apparent
distinction.
"Hello, Dick, old boy!" was the universal greeting.
"Hello, kid!" was his genial response, to young and old alike. Women,
sunning themselves, waved their hands gayly at him; some of them
wafted kisses--which he gallantly returned.
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