Andy lifted himself to the seat beside Ripley, the latter
made a peculiar, purring: "Z-rr-rp, Lute!"

He did not even take up the reins. The horse, with a neigh and a frisky
dance movement of the forefeet, started up.

"Right, left, slow, Lute. Turn--now go"--Ripley gave a dozen directions
within the next five minutes. He was showing off for Andy's benefit. The
latter was, in fact, pleased. The animal obeyed every direction with a
precision and intelligence that fairly amazed the boy.

Finally getting to a clear course outside the circus tangle, Ripley took
up the reins.

He set his lips and uttered two sharp whistles, ending in a kind of
hiss.

Andy was very nearly jerked out of his seat He had to hold on to its
side bar. For about five hundred yards the horse took a sprint that
knocked off his cap and fairly took his breath away.

"Say, he's great!" Andy exclaimed irrepressibly, as Ripley slowed down
again.

"I guess so," nodded the latter, aroused out of his crustiness by Andy's
enthusiasm. "That Lucille was famous, once. Past her prime a little now,
but when her old driver has the reins, she don't forget, does she?"

Ripley took a turn into a side street and finally halted, giving Andy
the reins.

"Got to order something," he said.

Andy saw him enter a store, but only to leave it by a side door and
cross an alley into a saloon.

Ripley tried to appear very business-like when he came back to the
wagon, but Andy caught the taint of liquor in his breath.

Twice again the circus veteran made stops in the same manner. He became
quite chatty and confidential.

Ripley explained to Andy that he went regularly for the circus mail at
each town where the show stopped.

"Postmasters kick, with five hundred strangers calling for their mail,"
he explained, "so we always forward a list of the employees. This mail,
just before pay day, when the crowd is usually hard up, brings a good
many money letters from friends. That rubber stamp you saw the manager
give me O.K.'s all the registered cards at the post office. Once the
wagon was robbed. The looters made quite a haul. Not when I was on
duty, though."

At a drug store Ripley got several packages and some more at a general
merchandise store. Finally they reached the post office, and Ripley
drove around to a sort of hitching alley at its side.

"Come with me to see how we do things," he invited Andy. "Bring along
those two mail bags."

Andy had already notice