Bad Grrlz' Guide to Reality: The Complete Novels Wild Angel and Adventures in Time and Space with Max Merriwell (29 page)

“She is going to the hills to hunt,” Sarah said. “She is going because she does not belong here.”

Holding Helen’s hand, Sarah watched the wolf disappear into the brush.

Selby Flat had changed considerably since Max had led his mule down from Grizzly Hill to report the murders of Sarah’s parents. The town now had a blacksmith, a butcher, a baker, a bootmaker, a justice of the peace, a doctor, and a barber, and never mind that the last two were the same man. Though Selby’s was still the largest hotel in town, three rival establishment offered rooms as well. The town included a stagecoach stop, four saloons, two general stores, and a school.

Masons had established a lodge in town, as had the Ancient Order of E Clampus Vitus, an equally secret society. The Masons had constructed a fine brick meeting hall near the center of town. The Clampers, as the members of E Clampus Vitus called themselves, met in an old miners’ log cabin down by Rock Creek.

The Ancient Order of E Clampus Vitus claimed origins in 4004 B.C. Some spoilsports said that the order had been created in the late 1850s as a drunken response to the Masons, the Odd Fellows, and other fraternal orders. Not so, said the Clampers. Adam, the Clampers said, was the Order’s first Noble Grand Humbug, the title given to the leader of a chapter. The society counted among its past members such luminaries as Solomon, George Washington, and Henry Ward Beecher. Since these individuals were conveniently dead, they could neither confirm nor deny their membership in the order.

The Clampers’ motto was
Credo Quia Absurdum
, “I believe because it is absurd.” Their meeting hall was designated the Hall of Comparative Ovations. Their symbol was the Staff of Relief. Upon initiation, all members were given “titles of equal importance.” Their avowed goal was to assist widows and orphans, particularly the widows. Their primary activity was initiating new candidates in extravagant and drunken rituals. They were reputed to do good works, but the truth of that was difficult to ascertain. Since no Clamper could ever recall the events of a meeting on the following day, the activities of the society were assured of remaining secret.

Selby Flat’s main street was the same dirt track that Max had walked along back in 1850—wider to accommodate stagecoaches, but just as dusty in the summer and just as muddy in the winter. The street was occupied by scratching chickens as often as it was by other kinds of traffic.

On the summer day that the circus came to town, a sow and her piglets were asleep in the shade by the barbershop. A couple of hounds had been sleeping there, but the pig had run them off. She outweighed the dogs by a considerable margin and wasn’t about to put up with any nonsense. If she wanted a spot in the shade, she took it. She was sleeping soundly when the distant trumpeting of an elephant disturbed her rest.

“What the hell was that?” asked an idler on the porch of Selby’s Hotel. “I never heard anything like it.”

Ruby led the way, carrying Professor Serunca on her back. The Professor shouted as people poured from the saloons and the hotels to stand on the sidewalks and gape. “The show starts an hour before sunset!” he shouted. “Come one, come all! You’ll be astounded! You’ll be amazed!” An easy promise to make: The crowd was already astounded and amazed by the colorful invasion of their town.

Cassidy was mounted on the white mare. As he rode, he juggled brightly colored balls. The medium-sized poodles rode on the backs of the bay horses that pulled the wagon. Miss Paxon stood on the wagon seat, and whenever she lifted her hand and shouted “Up!” the poodles stood on their hind legs and waved their paws, dancing to stay balanced.

Helen drove the wagon, clutching the reins and watching the horses nervously. She’d never driven a wagon before. From dime novels, smuggled into her aunt’s house and read surreptitiously, she knew that horses were always running off with women so that dashing young men could rescue them. Cassidy had assured her that this would not happen, but she did not quite believe his reassurances. Still, she had enjoyed the time he spent teaching her to drive the wagon.

Sarah sat quietly at Helen’s side, not waving or shouting. She watched the people who thronged the streets, examining their faces with grave interest as she passed. No one paid any attention to the quiet figure on the wagon seat.

So many people, all of them talking and shouting. She wondered how she could ever find Max among them.

“You there!” the Professor called to a farmer gaping from the street. “Is there a barn nearby that we could use for the circus?”

The man looked startled to be singled out. “Well, I reckon I have a barn,” he said. “You could use that.”

“Excellent,” shouted the Professor. “Climb aboard and point out the way.”

Right there in the street, Ruby knelt and the Professor helped the astonished man climb aboard. The crowd cheered, and the parade continued, escorted by shouting children and barking dogs.

Sarah sniffed the air, fascinated by the smells. Hot iron and smoke from the blacksmith shop; baking bread from the bakery; perfumed pomade from the barbershop; saddle soap from the livery stable; beer and whiskey and tobacco and roasting meat from the saloons and restaurants. And everywhere the scents of people, so many people.

She breathed deeply, sorting through the scents and searching for Max’s unique aroma. She could not smell him. So many strangers.

Sarah relaxed a little as they turned off the main street, following a winding track to the man’s farmyard and barn. Though a gang of children accompanied them, most of the crowd stayed in town.

The Professor inspected the barn and negotiated with the farmer for its use, discussing how it might best be set up to accommodate the show. “This is simply splendid,” he said. “Simply splendid.”

Sarah found herself pacing in the barnyard while the Professor made arrangements. In exchange for free admission, he hired three of the older boys to post flyers around the town—in case anyone had missed the parade. “And spread the word,” he told them. “We have a special attraction tonight. The Wild Angel will be performing with us. After that, come back and I’ll give you another job.”

The boys were off in a flurry of noise and dust. The Professor grinned as he turned back to Miss Paxon. “Might as well let them in free,” he said. “They’d have been sneaking in anyway.” He reached an arm out to Sarah. “Stop your pacing, my dear. Come inside the barn and let’s plan tonight’s entertainment.”

Mrs. Selby rushed out of the hotel as soon as she heard that the Wild Angel was with the circus, lingering only long enough to pack a picnic basket. She was sure that Sarah would be hungry.

She was red-faced and out of breath by the time she reached Amos Butterfield’s barn. Billy Johnson and two of his friends were standing guard at the door, keeping the other children out, but she bustled past them, not putting up with any nonsense. “Hallo,” she called to the people in the barn. “I’m Mrs. Selby. I’ve come to see Sarah McKensie.”

As her eyes adjusted to the dim light inside the barn, she studied the people. She saw Sarah’s coppery hair and recognized her delicate features from the sketch Max had shown her years ago.

“There you are!” she cried, her eyes bright with tears. This, at last, was the lost child. A child no longer, she was a young woman. Strangely dressed, to be sure, but Mrs. Selby forgave her that. Mrs. Selby would have forgiven her anything. “Oh, you poor motherless waif.”

She hurried to Sarah’s side. Sarah tensed, alarmed at the speed of the woman’s approach, then relaxed when Mrs. Selby set down her basket and flung her arms open wide, a gesture of such vulnerability that Sarah knew she meant no harm. Sarah did not resist when Mrs. Selby put her arm around Sarah’s shoulders and hugged her close. She liked Mrs. Selby’s smell, a warm scent that reminded Sarah of biscuits baking.

“Mrs. Selby, I am so glad you found us.” The Professor smiled. “Our young friend is eager to find Max, and I thought you might be able to tell us of his whereabouts.”

“I certainly can,” Mrs. Selby said. “But you must be hungry after all your traveling. I’ve brought lemonade and a fresh-baked loaf of bread. Max told me Sarah liked the biscuits that he made over the campfire, so I am certain that she will like my bread.”

They sat in the barn and had a picnic, while Mrs. Selby told them that Max was in San Francisco, fetching Sarah’s aunt. She answered one question and asked half a dozen: How did they meet Sarah? How long were they staying in town? Would they come and stay at Selby’s—it would be her pleasure to provide them with rooms.

“You must come and eat at the hotel,” Mrs. Selby said to Sarah.

“I need to fatten you up. And put some clothes on you, too.”

“I have clothes,” Sarah said, touching her shirt.

Mrs. Selby shook her head. “You were raised by wolves, but you are in civilization now,” Mrs. Selby said. “We’ll get you out of those filthy rags and into a bath and a nice dress. Don’t you worry about a thing.”

Sarah frowned. She did not like the way that Mrs. Selby had dismissed her clothes. She was fond of the shirt that Max had given her; she liked the way it felt, the way it smelled. She thought the trousers were too long, but she could tolerate them. She glanced at Helen, suspecting that this talk of clothing would lead to another discussion of skirts.

“It did my heart such good to see her,” Mrs. Selby told Jasper Davis. “After all those years with the wolves, the poor motherless waif has come back to us at last. She’ll be coming to the hotel after the performance. I insisted.”

Jasper nodded. He had just ridden in from Nevada City, and stopped by Selby’s for a beer to wash the trail dust from his throat. He had missed all the excitement of the circus parade, but Mrs. Selby was happy to share all the news—including the news of Sarah McKensie.

“Isn’t it wonderful?” Mrs. Selby said.

Jasper agreed that it was wonderful that Sarah McKensie had come down from the wilderness at last. Yes, it would be a fine surprise for Max and Sarah’s aunt. He nodded, wondering what the girl remembered, what she had told the circus folks. Clearly, she had said nothing of import to Mrs. Selby, who was reporting with great joy that Sarah had eaten four slices of her fresh bread.

“What is she like?” he asked Mrs. Selby.

“She’s the sweetest girl you could meet,” Mrs. Selby said stoutly. “A bit shy, but well-spoken. ‘Thank you very much,’ she said when I buttered her a slice of bread. Just as plain as could be. Max taught her to speak, she said.”

“He did?” Jasper narrowed his eyes.

“Oh, yes, he certainly did. Max has been visiting with her in the mountains each summer.” Mrs. Selby shook her head, as if reporting on the mischief of a favorite son. “He’s been taking care of her all along, without letting us know. But all that doesn’t matter, now that she’s here. Are you going to the circus tonight?”

“I wouldn’t miss it for the world,” he said.

The sun was low in the sky when he reached Amos Butterfield’s barn. The warm summer day was becoming a balmy summer evening. He made his way through the crowd, smiling and greeting people. He found a place with his cronies, men he knew from the Masons’ lodge, on a bench constructed of hay bales and boards.

Sarah perched in the hayloft on one side of the barn and watched the Professor stroll into the ring, tipping his hat and welcoming the audience to the circus. He talked for a while about reality and illusion and the mysteries of the Orient, but Sarah didn’t pay attention to all that.

She was staring down at the audience, the largest gathering of people she had ever seen. She found Mrs. Selby, sitting in the front row, and that reassured her. She saw Helen and Miss Paxon, far in the back.

It wasn’t much of a circus, but then, it really didn’t have to be. The Professor had a performing elephant, and that was enough in itself to amaze and thrill the people of Selby Flat.

First Cassidy hobbled into the ring and juggled balls and swords and flaming torches, standing carefully on his injured ankle. After he hobbled off, the Professor produced Snowflake, the smallest of the poodles, from his bowler hat. He called the other poodles and they ran out and ran around and around the Professor. At a command, the two big dogs stood still, and the medium-sized dog vaulted over them, continuing to run around and around. The Professor put Snowflake down, and she ran with the other, but rather than vaulting the big dogs, she scampered between their legs when the Professor was looking the other way. In the finale, the poodles formed a pyramid with Snowflake standing on her hind legs at the top.

As the dogs ran off the stage, Miss Paxon led Ruby in the door. The elephant ambled into the ring, lifting her trunk as if saluting the Professor. As she strolled around the ring, he talked about her, telling the audience that she weighed five tons and stood nine feet tall at the shoulder. She could win a tug-of-war against a dozen horses. If she decided to charge, she would be unstoppable, trampling everything in her path. (At this, some members of the audience looked somewhat alarmed.)

“I brought Ruby to California from the exotic kingdom of Siam,” the Professor said. “We have performed together many times. But tonight, she will not perform under my command. Tonight, we have a special guest. You know her as the Wild Angel of the Sierras. Adopted by wolves when she was just a child, Sarah has lived in the wilderness, surviving by her wits and rescuing those who are in need. Just yesterday, she came to the aid of our humble traveling troupe. When we were threatened by a raging cougar, she came to our rescue. She befriended Ruby, and now she and the elephant will perform together. I present—the Wild Angel.”

Sarah hesitated, staring down at the audience. When she had practiced earlier, the barn had been empty. It had been fun to swing down to the floor, fun to ride on Ruby’s back. The Professor had been so happy that she would help them.

She took a firm grip on the rope that Cassidy had suspended from the rafters, pushed off her perch, and swung over the heads of the audience into the center of the barn to land beside Ruby. She wore the Professor’s trousers and her own flannel shirt, preferring these clothes to the glittery dresses he offered her (all castoffs that Lulu had left behind).