CHAPTER IV — The Cir­cus Boys Across the Con­ti­nent opens with Ted­dy Tuck­er in trou­ble again—this time drip­ping wet from a stand­pipe inci­dent that left his clothes soaked and his pride bruised. Inter­cept­ed by the local police over the con­fu­sion, he’s quick­ly res­cued by Phil For­rest, who helps him explain the mis­un­der­stand­ing and dif­fuse any fur­ther ten­sion. Grum­bling about Lar­ry, whom he blames for the mess, Ted­dy vows light­heart­ed vengeance. Phil, amused but focused, steers him toward the sleep­er car to clean up so they can rejoin the crew already deep into their morn­ing prepa­ra­tions. The two boys, despite their ear­li­er dis­trac­tion, are eager to jump back into the famil­iar rou­tine, embrac­ing the buzz of a cir­cus gear­ing up for a per­for­mance. They admire the changes in the setup—particularly the intro­duc­tion of the “fly­ing squadron,” a new sys­tem speed­ing up tent con­struc­tion that impress­es both boys with its effi­cien­cy.

Back on the lot, Phil and Ted­dy greet famil­iar faces as they move through the cook tent and past work crews. Their inter­ac­tion with the cook brings a mix of teas­ing and warm nos­tal­gia, remind­ing them just how much the cir­cus has become a sec­ond home. There’s talk of break­fast, missed meals, and jug­gling duties, all wrapped in the scent of cof­fee and saw­dust. Mr. Mia­co, the head clown, shares his insights into the upcom­ing sea­son, men­tion­ing fresh acts like the Fly­ing Four and a trapeze stunt omi­nous­ly dubbed the “Dip of Death.” The boys lis­ten with a mix of admi­ra­tion and ambi­tion, already imag­in­ing how they might be involved—or what they can learn from watch­ing. Even among the jokes, there’s seri­ous­ness in the way Phil watch­es the rig­ging and Ted­dy dreams up future gags. The cir­cus, with all its bus­tle, remains their class­room, stage, and play­ground.

As they roam the grounds, the boys dis­cov­er addi­tions that hint at the cir­cus’s con­tin­ued growth. Larg­er tents rise like tem­po­rary cities, the menagerie grows with new exot­ic ani­mals, and there’s a height­ened ener­gy as crews rush through rehearsals and con­struc­tion. Their tour leads them to Emper­or, Phil’s trust­ed ele­phant com­pan­ion, whose pres­ence imme­di­ate­ly lifts their spir­its. Emper­or greets Phil with a famil­iar trum­pet, and the con­nec­tion between them is unmis­tak­able. For Phil, see­ing the ele­phant isn’t just a reunion—it’s a reminder of his role and the respon­si­bil­i­ties he car­ries. He shares sto­ries with Ted­dy about their past trav­els and the close calls that made them stronger. Their bond with Emper­or and oth­ers on the lot reveals just how deep their roots have sunk into cir­cus life.

With the show just hours away, excite­ment puls­es through the camp. Rehearsals for aer­i­al acts, ani­mal train­ers fine-tun­ing cues, and work­ers adjust­ing rig­ging give the grounds a rhythm of orga­nized chaos. Phil and Ted­dy jump in wher­ev­er needed—helping haul ropes, check­ing gear, and even assist­ing in prep­ping per­form­ers’ props. Their will­ing­ness to pitch in, despite their ris­ing sta­tus, earns them nods of respect from sea­soned crew mem­bers. It’s not just about per­form­ing anymore—it’s about being part of a larg­er whole. As they weave through the tents, Ted­dy spots signs that hint at his next prank, while Phil keeps an eye on safe­ty, not­ing how cru­cial tim­ing and trust are dur­ing set­up. Their con­trast­ing per­son­al­i­ties offer com­ic relief and cau­tion, each bal­anc­ing the oth­er.

Sud­den­ly, ten­sion cuts through the air as a mishap unfolds dur­ing the rais­ing of one of the main tents. A sup­port pole slips from its rig­ging, throw­ing the can­vas off bal­ance and threat­en­ing to col­lapse part of the struc­ture. Work­ers scram­ble, shout­ing for rein­force­ments, and Phil instant­ly grabs a rope to sta­bi­lize one side while call­ing Ted­dy to help. The moment is chaot­ic, yet their response is imme­di­ate. Oth­er per­form­ers rush in, turn­ing poten­tial dis­as­ter into a moment of team­work. The boys’ pres­ence dur­ing the emer­gency demon­strates not just courage but a deep under­stand­ing of the urgency these moments demand. Once the can­vas is secured and the crew regains con­trol, there’s a brief, shared sigh of relief—followed by a round of claps and pats on the back.

The chap­ter clos­es on a note of antic­i­pa­tion, with the tent final­ly stand­ing and per­form­ers lin­ing up for the first grand entry. Phil and Ted­dy, still catch­ing their breath, grin at one anoth­er, know­ing they’ve already earned their keep before the day’s first act has even begun. The cir­cus con­tin­ues to move for­ward, and so do they—eager for new chal­lenges, dri­ven by cama­raderie, and for­ev­er cap­ti­vat­ed by the thrill of the ring. The vibrant scenes and unpre­dictable ener­gy remind read­ers that behind the mag­ic of the per­for­mance lies a world of con­stant motion, where friend­ship, skill, and tim­ing hold every­thing togeth­er.