Chapter Thirteen

The Big Show

The train chugged toward Ames, Iowa, as Charles Glover gazed in disbelief at Simon, who was sleeping soundly in the seat across the aisle from Ethan. This was the place the boy usually occupied, but everyone knew that he hadn’t been there last night when the lights were extinguished. Where had he come from, and how had he gotten there?

Charles returned to his seat to ponder the situation. There would now be no need to make arrangements for leaving the Orphan Train in Ames while he made his way back to Cedar Rapids to search for Simon. Glancing at his watch, Charles saw that they would be arriving at their destination soon. But it wasn’t necessary to awaken anyone yet.

However, in a very few minutes, Bert awoke. When he saw Simon curled up on the seat, he shouted, “Hey, Ethan! God brought him back! Simon’s here!”

It didn’t take long for the news to reach the girls’ car, and soon everyone was gathered around the little boy, demanding to know what had happened.

Simon’s answers to their questions were brief and straightforward.

“Where were you?”

“I was out there.” Simon pointed out the window.

“How did you get back on here?”

“A man lifted me up.”

“What man?”

“Rudy. He lives back there.” Again Simon pointed, this time toward the back of the train. “The little lady lives back there too. She didn’t have a hat on, but she gave me some supper. Rudy showed me some big animals on this train. El’phants and lions and tigers, and they made a lot of noise. Then Rudy opened our door and let me in here. I couldn’t reach my blanket, and I’m hungry.”

Further questioning revealed nothing more about Simon’s adventure. He had told all he knew, and everyone had to be satisfied with that.

It was a mystery indeed, and Charles continued to ponder it.

With the excitement of finding Simon, everyone was awake much earlier than usual. So Matron decided they might as well get breakfast over with. Since it was barely light, they had a long day ahead of them.

“We’ll be in Ames until evening,” Charles Glover told them. “I understand that the cars ahead of us are going on north, and the ones behind us will be going south. We’ll keep on west toward Nebraska.”

“Miss Carmen said we can come and see her,” Simon announced between bites of breakfast roll.

Everyone stopped eating to look at him.

“Who’s Miss Carmen?”

“The little bitty lady with ...”

“... the hat and purse!” Ethan finished the sentence for him. “Simon, I told you to cut it out! Nobody’s going to believe you saw anyone like that. I’m not even sure you saw all those animals, either.”

“Did.” Simon continued his breakfast calmly. “Rudy will tell you.”

“We didn’t see any Rudy, either,” Bert reminded him.

“He had to get back here some way,” Riley put in. “There wasn’t anyplace to hide when we were looking for him last night. He couldn’t have made all that up.”

“Children,” Matron broke in to end the argument, “we’ll believe what Simon told us until we know otherwise. Now we must decide what we’ll do today if we stay in town. We simply cannot have anyone else almost missing the train or getting lost. Mr. Glover will make plans for us.”

“We’ll stay on the train until we’re switched to a siding,” Charles said. “You can watch from the windows. I’m going to do some shopping, and when I get back, we’ll see about going to a park in town, together. No one will go off by himself. Is that understood?”

Heads nodded.

Shala stared at the boys with disdain. “The girls always stay together. You don’t see us running off and getting lost. Some of us know that Matron doesn’t need any more work than she already has.”

“Thank you, Shala,” Matron said, “but we don’t need a sermon. I’m sure the boys will be more careful today. How about getting our dishes washed up before the cars start banging back and forth?”

By the time the train arrived in Ames, everyone was ready for the day. This time the children gathered around the windows on the back of the car where Simon stood.

“Just in case he really did see something we haven’t seen,” Bert said.

Thus, no one observed the tall man who stopped Charles Glover as he stepped from the train. No one could have heard their voices anyway, as Rudy made arrangements for the group to attend the afternoon’s entertainment.

When the noon meal ended, Matron gave directions for leaving the car. “Everyone walk with your partner. Simon will go with me this time, and Will can stay with Mr. Glover. The rest of you follow right behind us. If I turn around, I want to see fourteen of you there. Are we ready?”

They were, and the parade down the platform began. When they reached the end of the last coach, Charles Glover turned toward the tracks.

“Isn’t town the other way, Mr. Glover?” Riley called from the back of the line.

Before Charles could answer, a clown ran across the rails toward them. The children stopped, and their mouths dropped open in surprise.

“Welcome! Welcome, everybody, to the circus,” he called. “Right this way, ladies and gentlemen. Come to the big top for the grandest show on earth!”

“Maybe Simon did see something,” Bert whispered to Ethan. “We better keep a closer eye on him from now on.”

The children rounded the railroad coach and were met with an astonishing sight. The sides of the freight cars were lifted, and rows of cages revealed the animals that Simon had seen last night. In front of the cages stood another clown and two very small ladies dressed in tights and little skirts.

“Meet Jacko the Clown, Madame Mona, and Miss Carmen,” their escort said. “I am Rudolfo, your ringmaster. Now, on with the show!”

Never in their most fantastic dreams could the children have imagined the things they saw before them. These amazing circus folks made a pyramid by standing on each other’s shoulders, rode a bicycle through a burning hoop, found coins behind the children’s ears, and performed every kind of acrobatic trick imaginable. The animals roared and trumpeted and growled to add to the noise and circus atmosphere.

When the show ended, every child shook hands with the performers and received a bag of peanuts and candy. They walked back to the Orphan Train dizzy with excitement.

“They’ll not sleep tonight,” Matron predicted, smiling. “Wasn’t that the nicest thing that could have happened?”

“It was,” Charles agreed. “They’ll never forget it. Now we’ll have to watch to see that no one runs away to join the circus!”

Simon was the hero of the evening.

“I’m sorry. I should have believed you,” Ethan said to his brother. “You never told stories before. But it’s hard to believe something you didn’t see yourself ... and couldn’t imagine.”

The children waved good-bye to the circus train after supper.

A short time later, the Orphan Train headed west again, carrying sixteen children toward lives as unimaginable to them as a circus train.