So Chipchase’s Travelling Circus had a showstopper once more. It took some getting used to. Yet my dreams hadn’t changed because of Gabriel Swift, or ‘The Great Fun Ambler’ as he was now known. If anything it made things clearer.
The next day wasn’t a moving on day, so there was time to practise. Pip and me got up at dawn. Once I’d seen to all the horses, I grabbed my rope and headed to the river. On the edge of our camp sat Gabriel’s small green tent. I tiptoed past, trying hard not to think of him asleep inside. It felt better to dislike him; that way things stayed simpler in my head.
Down at the river’s edge a mist hung over the water. The stone bridge leading to the village curved prettily from bank to bank. It looked fairy-tale magical, a day for being brave and fighting off villains. Not that Gabriel was a villain exactly – more of a fly in my soup. And his lack of tricks on the tightrope had given me a plan.
It took longer than usual to set up the rope. Finally, after a hot half-hour of climbing trees, I stood back to admire my handiwork. Pip gave a little high-pitched yelp. It was his way of saying he liked it too. The rope went from one bank to the other. It ran fifteen feet above the water, slightly higher on the left than the right. The distance looked about forty feet across. I’d never walked over a river before. It was a smart-looking trick indeed.
Could I do it?
The sun shone through the trees, making the river’s surface twinkle like hundreds of gold sovereigns.
Could I really do it?
There was only one way to find out.
Spreading my shawl on the bank, I told Pip to lie down on it. He pretended not to hear, until I gave him a bread crust. ‘Good boy,’ I said, fussing his ears. ‘Now stay right there and watch.’
I climbed the tree once more. The bark scraped my hands and bare feet. For a moment, I couldn’t find the blasted rope. Then, there it was. I pulled myself into position, and inched along it. I kept one hand on the tree trunk until I found my balance.
My heart steadied. I focused up ahead. Emptied my thoughts. Now it was just me and a long, thin stretch of rope. My feet tingled. I let go of the tree and walked forwards.
A few steps out, I felt a breeze against my cheek. The rope began to sway. I bent my knees, moved my arms just a little, and kept looking forwards. Another few steps and the rope went quiet. The stillness of it made me brave. Halfway across I crouched down, dangling my leg just like Gabriel had done, and peered at the river below.
After a bit, I got to my feet, but the balance wasn’t right. Gabriel had lifted one foot to steady himself; it was a tip I knew well. Doing it now, I grew still again all down my back and into my legs. When I was ready I took a step. And another.
Before I knew it I’d reached the other side.
Grinning like a lunatic I let out a great ‘WHOOP!’, which frightened a bird from the tree. Below on the bank, Pip blinked sleepily.
‘What d’you think of that, then?’ I said to him.
He yawned.
‘Ta very much, Pip!’
It made me laugh, but only a bit. For it wasn’t enough, not anymore. I wanted cheering and clapping and faces grinning back at me. I wanted music and fireworks. I wanted sensational headlines of the kind Blondin got. The bigger the crowd, the better.
Yet my only crowd so far had been Pip and Ned. And one of them was in a sulk with me. The other was half asleep.
Crossing back over the river was easy enough. My feet had the measure of the rope now. That stillness stayed strong all down my back and I felt sure I wouldn’t wobble. Once I reached the middle, I walked backwards. I sat down and stood up again, and stretched out my arms and one leg like a ballerina. But when I got to the other side I didn’t want to stop.
So I set off back across the rope. I went faster now, twirling my arms above my head, and turning once, twice, three times, before stepping onwards. I felt so sure, so calm. It was heaven.
Suddenly, from the riverbank, Pip started barking. Sharp manic barks they were. I tried to shut it out but he kept going. Without thinking, I turned round, too fast, too off balance. My feet slipped.
I hit the water with a thwack. One moment I was completely under, the next I’d bobbed up again like a cork. My mouth filled with water. Spluttering and cussing, I swam for the bank. What a fool I’d been to practise here. Thank heck no one had seen me.
I’d almost reached the bank when I stopped dead. At eye level I saw a pair of feet, done up in decent brown shoes. Uneasily, I looked upwards.
‘Hullo Louie,’ said a smart-sounding voice.
Gabriel Swift stood on the bank.
I sank back into the water. Drat! Drat! Drat!
There was no point in hiding; so I stood up. Jasper’s old tunic stuck to me like skin. As I tugged at the fabric it made slurping noises like an animal farting. Not that Gabriel appeared to notice.
‘Sorry about my cap,’ he said.
‘Cap? What . . . cap?’
He held up a cloth object. ‘Your dog took against it.’ And he actually laughed.
Well, it wasn’t funny to me. ‘Pip doesn’t like strangers,’ I said, which was obviously a lie since he was laying at Gabriel’s feet, paws in the air as Gabriel tickled his tummy. ‘Especially strangers who sneak about at the crack of dawn.’
Gabriel’s hand slowed. ‘It’s not a crime to get up early,’ he said.
Grabbing at the grass, I heaved myself out of the river. Gabriel didn’t offer to help. Not that I’d have accepted it. I wanted to be as far away from him as possible.
Up on the bank, I reached for my shawl. ‘Come on, you,’ I said to Pip. ‘We’re going home.’
He shut his eyes blissfully as Gabriel carried on stroking him. It was like I didn’t exist.
‘Get up, Pip! Come on!’ As I went to grab his collar Gabriel stopped me.
‘You’re a funambulist too,’ he said, as if he’d spoken of the weather.
‘And you’re the Great Fun Ambler,’ I shot back.
‘Yes, but why on earth did Mr Chipchase hire me when he’s already got you?’
I pulled my shawl tight around me. Was he joking? Something told me he wasn’t, that he wanted to talk. Suddenly, it seemed, so did I.
‘Those stupid do-gooders ruined my chances,’ I said. ‘So now Pip and me do a buffer act and we’re useless. At the rate we’re going I’ll soon have no job at all.’
‘Have you told him you can walk the tightrope?’
‘’Course I have! But he turned me down flat. Says no one wants to see children doing tricks anymore.’
‘Poppycock! You’d be worth the risk.’
I glanced at him sideways. He sounded like he meant it, but I still wasn’t sure. ‘But you’ve come from Wellbeloved’s,’ I said. ‘They can afford to be risky.’
Gabriel’s face changed. ‘Wellbeloved’s? That doesn’t count for much.’
‘It does to Mr Chipchase.’
It did to me too. Truth told, I was a bit dazzled by Wellbeloved’s.
‘Why?’ said Gabriel. ‘It’s nothing special, believe me. Half the time he forgets to even pay us. It’s just a bigger show, that’s all.’
‘Try telling Mr Chipchase. He’s got this “thing” about Wellbeloved’s.’
Gabriel’s hand on Pip’s chest went still. ‘What sort of “thing”?’
I shrugged. ‘He sees them as competition, I s’pose.’ Though there were other big circuses out there and he never went on about them.
Gabriel didn’t seem convinced either. He got to his feet. ‘Perhaps I should leave,’ he said. ‘I don’t want any trouble.’
‘Bit late for that,’ I said, then felt I’d been a bit unkind. ‘But I’m sure you’ll bring in the crowds.’
Gabriel fiddled with his cap. ‘Yes. I hope so.’ Then he took a deep breath. ‘Well, whatever Mr Chipchase says, you are good.’
‘How good?’ I said, for I was curious despite myself.
‘You’ve got a natural ability. Though for your next big performance, I’d leave the dog at home.’
I glared at him. ‘And what big performances would those be, now you’re here?’
‘I wasn’t mocking you, Louie. I mean it. You do have a talent.’
I dug at the ground with my toe.
‘We could practise together if you like,’ he said.
‘What . . . you . . . and . . . me?’
‘Why not? It’d help us both. Of course, if you’d rather not.’
I could think of a hundred reasons why not. Gabriel Swift had swanned into our circus and stolen my chance right from under my nose. And walking the rope with someone else was bound to be harder.
Still, I felt strangely excited.
Gabriel knew the tightrope. Lived the tightrope. Just like Blondin. Only unlike Blondin, he wasn’t pictures stuck in a scrapbook. He was here in front of me, talking and breathing and wanting us to train together.
‘Ask me again when I’m dry,’ I said.
Quick as I could I took down the rope. Gabriel helped me hide it in the bushes. Then I whistled for Pip. This time he came, all waggly tailed and happy. Together, we walked back towards the camp. Once we’d rounded the corner and Gabriel was out of sight, I did my own little dance for joy.
Ned was sitting on his wagon steps as I went past. He was wrapped in a blanket, drinking coffee. ‘Should’ve woken me,’ he said, then looked at my wet clothes and grinned. ‘What have you been up to?’
So he wasn’t sulking anymore. I grinned back. ‘Brand new tricks.’
Ned glanced over my shoulder. His face hardened.
‘What’s the matter?’ I said.
I turned to see Gabriel going to his tent. It did look a bit of a coincidence, us both arriving back at the showground moments apart.
‘Ned,’ I said in a rush. ‘We were just . . .’
He spoke over me. ‘I’ve been thinking, remember that man yesterday in the village?’
I frowned. ‘What man?’
‘The fancy gent in the carriage.’
‘Oh, him.’
‘He was looking for someone about Gabriel’s age. Said the person walked the tightrope. He was offering a big reward.’
‘So?’
Ned emptied his cup. ‘I wonder if Mr Chipchase knows?’
‘Don’t be daft,’ I said. ‘Gabriel’s a tightrope walker, not a runaway.’
‘If you say so. You’re the expert.’
And he got up and went inside.