Becoming Billy Dare by Kirsty Murray Page A

had left, the whole troupe gathered around a bonfire set well away from the flammable canvas. Ma Sears stirred a pot of mutton stew on the fire and ladled the dark meat onto tin plates.
    â€˜You were right flashy in the parade today,' said Ma Sears, as she dished up a plate for Paddy. ‘You got a bit of showman's style, you have.’
    She waved her ladle at Jack Ace. ‘Here, Jack, you oughta teach that Paddy a few tricks and get him in the ring.’
    Paddy was excited by the idea. ‘That would be grand.’
    Jack didn't answer. He was sitting off to one side of the fire on a fallen log, taking swigs from a small silver flask. Paddy sat down next to him to eat his dinner.
    â€˜You reckon you'd like to be an acrobat?’ asked Jack Ace.
    â€˜I want to be a bareback rider, like you,' said Paddy, his eyes bright.
    Jack Ace laughed and offered Paddy a swig from his whiskey flask but Paddy shook his head. The smell of it made him think of the wreck of the Lapwing , the drowned sailors, the dark and miserable past. Paddy couldn't bear to dwell on it, not even for a moment.
    â€˜First,’ he said, ‘I want to learn to do that trick where you do a handstand on the horse's back.’
    â€˜So you're good with the horses, then?’ asked Jack.
    â€˜Maybe,’ said Paddy.
    Jack laughed. ‘There's no maybes. You can't be afraid of hurting yourself. You can't be afraid of dying neither. You have to have guts to do what I do.’
    â€˜I'm not afraid.’
    â€˜All right then, I dare you to come along to a training session. I'll go easy on you, you being a beginner like. But if you're gonna stick at it, remember, you gotta be willing to take the dare. Every time.’
    The next morning, as soon as he'd finished his chores, Paddy joined the Sears children for their training session in the big top. Jack was dressed in a close-fitting cotton singlet and leggings and his shoulder muscles gleamed with sweat as he worked through a series of chin-ups at a makeshift bar.
    The smaller children had their own mats that they rolled out and practised tumbling on. Paddy was impressed by their daring and agility, but Jack Ace was hard to please. He prodded them roughly with his riding crop, and pulled them to their feet and shook them whenever they made the smallest mistake.
    â€˜Hopeless, the lot of you, look at those limbs sticking out. Elbows in!’
    When he came to Paddy, he threw a mat towards him.
    â€˜Here, let's see you do a forward roll.’
    Obediently, Paddy tucked his elbows in close to his body, kept his head down and rolled. Jack Ace watched, frowning.
    â€˜Not bad,’ he said, reluctantly. ‘For a first-timer. Now show me a handstand.’
    Paddy flung himself at the mat but when his legs were in the air they just kept going and he landed hard on his back. Jack Ace caught his feet the next time he tried.
    â€˜Your arms are too wide. Keep your hands under your shoulders. And drop into it. Don't throw yourself at the ground,’ he instructed.
    Paddy tried again, and this time it worked perfectly. He kept himself upright until his head started to pound with blood, then slowly lowered his feet to the ground and stood up, grinning.
    â€˜You're not bad,’ said Jack. ‘Your back's a bit long, but you're not bad at all.’
    Without warning, Jack spun around and lashed out at one of the smaller boys, knocking him to the ground. ‘Here, I didn't say you could stop working. All right, you lot. Get over here,’ he said, shouting at the tribe of small children who were scrambling over the bleachers.
    â€˜Time for my box of tricks,’ he said, winking at Paddy. He set a jagged tin in the sawdust and then forced the smallest boy to do a handstand over the tin. Jack kept hold of the boy's ankles for a minute, keeping him clear of the sharp edges but as his grip loosened the boy began to whimper. ‘You hold that for a count of ten,’ said Jack, his