they make him
noticeable; besides, his face is not handsome. Sometimes, when he
raises his head, you can see his face, the lines of which are regular,
perhaps too regular, and somewhat rigid, as if carved from marble. The
low forehead, with the hair falling on it, like the mane of a horse,
straight and black, inherited from his squaw mother, gives to his face
a gloomy and threatening expression. He has a similarity to both the
bull and the bear, and he personifies a terrible and somewhat evil
force. He is not of a good disposition.

When Jenny passes by the horses, those gentle creatures turn their
heads and look at her with intelligent eyes, and neigh and whinny, as
if wishing to say: "How do you do, darling?" while at the sight of
Orso they shudder with fear. He is a reticent and gloomy youth. Mr.
Hirsch's negroes, who are his hostlers, clowns, minstrels, and
rope-walkers, do not like Orso and tease him as much as they dare, and
because he is half-Indian they think nothing of him, and plague and
mock him. Truly, the manager, who offers the hundred dollars to any
one who can defeat him, does not risk much; he dislikes and fears him,
as the tamer of the wild animals fears a lion, and whips him on the
slightest provocation.

Mr. Hirsch feels that, if he does not keep the youth in subjection by
constantly beating him, he will be beaten himself, and he follows the
principle of the Creole woman, who considered beating a punishment,
and no beating a reward.

Such was Orso. Recently he began to be less sullen, because little
Jenny had a good influence over him. It happened about a year ago that
when Orso, who was then the attendant of the wild animals, was
cleaning the cage of the puma, the beast put its paws through the bars
of the cage and wounded his head severely. Then he entered the cage,
and after a terrible fight between them, he alone remained alive. But
he was so badly hurt that he fainted from loss of blood. He was ill a
long time, which was greatly aggravated by a severe whipping which the
manager gave him for breaking the spine of the puma.

When he was ill Jenny took great care of him, and dressed his wounds,
and when she had leisure, read the Bible to him. That is a "good book"
which speaks of love, of forgiveness, of mercy--in a word, of things
that are never mentioned in Mr. Hirsch's circus. Orso, listening to
this book, pondered long in his Indian head and at last came to the
conclusion that if it would