Chapter 4 - Running Away from the Circus

Music boomed out of the loud speakers. Larry covered his ears. He felt Senndle pop some ear plugs into his ears. Larry made a gesture as if to say thank you and then worked on attempting to tap dance to the rhythm.

It was syncopated, very difficult to do. Eventually, he got the hang of it. He decided that the audience would like him better if he tap danced down the aisles. He tap danced down the aisles, and even down rows! When the music ended, the crowd cheered so much, they were more vociferous than the music!

Larry bowed and bowed and bowed until Senndle came to get him.

"Ya did a very good job!" He said " I'm proud of ya. Let me take ya back to ya' cage."

Senndle led Larry into the room in which his cage was placed and Larry crawled into the cage.

"G' night, " Senndle whispered as he closed the cage. "G' night."

Then the invisible force struck again. Larry all of a sudden was knocked out. In other words, he fell fast asleep, not because he was tired. It was because Senndle said so.

Then in the middle of the night, Larry woke up, remembering something that was said to him.

"Only the special substance can stop it... Only the special substance can stop it..."

That was all that went through his head. He could not forget it, get it out of his mind. Was he out of his mind?

And then it clicked! Earlier that day, Senndle had told him to eat his food. "So the medicine is kicking in, eh?" the clown said. "Only the special substance can stop it."

That was it! Larry had to get " the special substance"!

Larry pushed open the door to the cage. It opened. What luck! Senndle had forgotten to lock the cage that night.

Larry quietly jumped out of the cage. Then he listened. Not a sound. Where to look first? Larry remembered. Senndle had almost given away where they keep it.

"It's in the front,"he had said.

Larry searched and searched and searched. He looked at the names on the doors. Janitors office, Lighting booth, sound booth, theater, balcony, elephant room, lion room, horse room, Emergency room, Secretary's office. He then came to the last door. It was right next to the front doors. The label on the door was "Front Offices".

"This is it!" Larry thought "My muscle problems are over!"