Chapter IX
A Plunge in the Dark
One of the great bugaboos of the circus man is a railroad wreck.
Nearly every night during the circus season, from one o'clock in the morning until about daylight, the circus trains are on the move.
These trains are always run as specials, and for that reason alone are more liable to accidents. Trains which are run upon regular schedule get to be a part of the system, and almost run themselves, but with specials it is different, for much traffic is often sidetracked to make way for them.
A man who had been twenty years with one of the largest and best-handled cir-
