He stepped inside the
wagon, called again, and then, lighting a lamp, which stood in a
bracket, looked around inside the van.
"John seems to have gone," the medicine man said. "I guess he finished
washing off the black, and then slipped out the front way to go to the
hotel. He did that once before, without waiting for me to count up my
money and come along. You see I travel only by day, putting up the
horse, that draws my van, at a hotel stable each night.
"Then John, or whomever I have with me to make the music to draw a
crowd, and I, go to the hotel to stay all night. In the morning, after
breakfast, we start out again. Sometimes, in a big city I stay a week,
selling in different places.
"But that boy, whoever he is, has gone. I can see where he's been
washing the black off, and, not wanting to wait when he saw I was
talking to you folks, I guess he just slipped away. John is a bashful
boy."
"Do you know anything about him?" asked Mr. Brown. "Where did he come
from, and where is he going? Did he give any account of himself?"
"Not much, except that he came to me the other day just after my violin
player left me. I had to have somebody musical to draw the crowd, and he
surely can play the banjo.
Pages:
108
109
110
111
112
113
114
115
116
117
118
119
120
121
122
123
124
125
126
127
128
129
130
131
132