Then came the sudden revival of youthful spirits, carrying with them
the reckless bravado that all boys possess to the verge of folly. The
band was playing, the show had begun. In his mind's eye he could see
the "_grand entree._" A fierce desire to brave detection and boldly
enter the charmed pavilion took possession of him. First, he would buy
of the pieman's wares; then he would calmly present himself before the
ticket wagon window, after which--But he got no farther in his dream of
audacity. The placard on the fence seemed to smite him in the face. He
drew farther back into the darkness, shuddering. With his arms clasped
tightly across his chest, shivering in the chill that had returned
triumphant, he dragged himself wearily away from the place of
temptation.

Circling the dressing-tent, he came upon men at work. They were
drawing stakes with the old-fashioned chains. For a while he dully
watched them. They passed on. He crept from his place of hiding and,
attracted by the lights as a moth is drawn by the candle, made his way
to the sheltered spot at the joining of the tents.

After a few moments of restless vigil an overpowering sense of
lassitude fell upon him. His eyes closed in abrupt surrender to
exhaustion. The rhythmic beat of the quickstep leaped off into great
distances; the champing and snorting of horses in the dressing-tent
died away as if by magic; the subdued voices of the men and women who
waited their turn to bound into the merry ring faded into
indistinguishable whispers; the crack of the ring master's whip and
the responsive yelp of the clown trailed off into silence. His head
fell back, his body relaxed, and he slipped off into sweet
unconsciousness.