He helped to get the horses into their
stables; he bore a hand in putting the cages into position; he carried
hay to the elephants and shins of beef to the lions; and while he was
doing these and innumerable other tasks, someone was perpetually
shouting in his ear, "'Ere, matey, lend a hand, will you?" But at last
the confusion simmered down, and, wiping his face, Dene went with the
other men below, where a meal had been hastily prepared for them.
The insufficient light of a waving lamp fell upon a group of men and
women he had seen on the quay. They were of the usual types which go to
make up a circus company, and they all seemed merry and bright, and
utterly indifferent to the noise and the discomfort. There were some
nice-looking girls amongst them, and they were laughing and talking
excitedly, their eyes flashing merrily as they crowded round the
trestles which bore the steaming coffee, the chunks of bread, and the
slabs of meat.
With a not-unnatural shyness, Dene stood aside for a moment or two; but
feeling that, at any rate, he had earned his supper, he drew near the
board. As he did so, one of the men he had seen in the coffee-house
caught sight of him, scanned him curiously, and said:--
"New hand, eh? What's your line?"
This was a somewhat awkward question, and Dene temporized.
"Well, I don't quite know," he said.
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