Chapter 5

It was several weeks later in the course of the summer that Joan nearly lost her life. She was feeding two of the lions, Andy and Mae, when she did a very foolish thing.

The two lions were the most tame of the big cats. And because Myrna was a very careful taskmaster she had insisted that Joan learn every aspect of circus life slowly and surely. She taught Joan to feed the lions with a watchful respect; for the first four days she instructed Joan to use a long pole with a hook on the end to shove the slabs of beef between the bars of the cage towards the two hungry lions.

Gradually, as Myrna recognized that the lions were coming to respect Joan themselves and that Joan in her turn was gaining confidence in handling them, she allowed Joan to dispense with the long pole. For a week, she carefully taught the young girl how to use the short training whip, making it snap directions at the lions but at the same time never touching them with its painful sting. During this time, Myrna showed Joan how to keep the lions at a distance while she placed the raw meat before them and allowed them to eat only on her command.

Myrna's patient teaching and at the same time grueling insistence on maintaining the same, careful procedures for dealing with the lions had enabled Joan to become a great help to Myrna in the circus ring.

Myrna's lion taming act was simplicity itself. A pasteboard library front stood at the back of the large, barred performing cage in the middle of the main ring. Andy and Mae, the two biggest of the cats, would come snarling into the cage and Joan would use Myrna's whip to direct them up onto the stands at the sides of the library doors. The two lions then sat still as the bronze statues they were supposed to represent until Myrna entered the cage in a silver flash of her metal studded leather costume. As the lions yawned in trained boredom Myrna stuck her head into their mouths and, with the care of a dentist, inspected their gums and teeth. This oral daring was the signal for the library doors to open and allow six more large cats of various exotic species to come roaring into the performance.

Myrna then jumped them all through hoops and over jungle gyms while Joan learned to hold the hoops and arrange the stands and, perhaps most important, to keep a firm eye on the cats that were not going through their paces with Myrna in the center of the cage. In this way, Myrna was able to add more animals to her act and to include a daring leap of three tigers through a burning hoop.

Joan was well aware of Myrna's gratitude for the expansion of her act in the ring (as well as out of the ring with Clyde!); and therefore, she resented the older woman's continued insistence on mundane details and what Joan now considered menial tasks in her training.

This insistence truly rankled the impatient girl's pride, and by the start of the second week when there still seemed to be no change, Joan had decided to take matters into her own hands.

Instead of feeding the lions in their respective lairs, she would let them both loose into the smaller performing cage that was used for training. She would feed them a trick of her own. She resolved to surprise Myrna into complete respect for her. And since Andy and Mae were the mainstays of Myrna's act, they were therefore the most dependable; Joan simply allowed her eagerness to overcome her good judgment. She was sure she could handle any situation that might arise.

So, with an excited, almost childish, word of caution to herself she set out eagerly this afternoon from her rooming compartment for her usual chore of feeding Andy and Mae.

The walk across the circus grounds usually took her about ten minutes, and she smiled confidently to herself as she decided to go over in her mind the personalities of the two lions and how she would handle them. She thought first of the older lion, Mae.

'Mae' was Myrna's solution to the problem of naming an old trouper that had formerly been called 'Mack'--until another lion had ripped out his intestines in a fight. After saving his life the vet had assured Myrna she could still use him in the act, if he were neutered. They were sure that by neutering the beast they would keep him from nurturing any grievances against the young lion who had beaten him. So, Mack became Mae.

Second, there was Andy. He was a young male in his prime with a full pride of mane that surrounded his handsome face arrogantly. Andy was a friendly rogue who, unlike Mae, genuinely liked people. Joan had fallen in love with him immediately. Now, she told herself that he would probably give her less trouble, if she watched out for this massive playful paws, than Mae. She would just have to make sure that the older lion had enough raw meat to make him agreeable to learning a new trick.

It was really too bad that one had to be an amateur psychologist on top of being a true animal lover in order to teach a lion a simple trick. Joan's mind wandered over the problem as she pictured Andy's sweet noble face. The lion held a curiously sensual resemblance to Justice and Joan felt the comparison enriched them both.

The thought of Justice brought a tingle to her loins and she remembered that night when she had been with Justice and Myrna and the pony, to say nothing of Oliver and the ewe. That had not been the only time of blissfully frenzied sex. There had been many more wonderfully full nights of Justice as they filled her tiny compartment with him on his back and Joan's cock-loving mouth sucking him off. Or times with the pony--without Myrna--when just she and the steel grey horse had fucked for hours.

The summer had been like a roman holiday so far for Joan; everything had been so good so far. Except for the fact that her room had no key, and she had to go in and out of the minuscule train window. That was a bore.

When she bad found Justice the morning after her first wild night, she had asked him if he still had her key. However, he could not remember picking it up. Something in his face made Joan doubt that he was really telling her the truth, but she accepted his words as part of her fate and climbed in and out of the train window without another word.

The only visitor she would entertain was Justice and she kept even Myrna from knowing of the missing key and the foolish consequences of its loss. When Justice asked her why she did not question more people about the key, she said she would rather not discuss it and that she wished to keep the missing key a secret-- just because she wanted it that way.

Joan was becoming a trifle bored having to enter and leave her tiny compartment through the even tinier window. Fortunately however for her, the elephants were washed nearby, and after making a friend with their keeper and with several of the elephants, she took a chance on bucking circus protocol. With a careful dispensation of peanuts, she trained a young female elephant to place a long and heavy ladder near the cat window. Joan had explained to Myrna that sometimes claustrophobia due to the compartment got to her and she needed to get out of it the fastest possible way. Myrna did not question the motives of the ladder any further.

Neither did Joan's neighbors in that section of the circus grounds that Joan and the crew came to call 'Amateurs Ark.' On one side of her was Lawrence, the apprentice sword swallower. He could manipulate the cords of his neck in such a way as to strut like a turkey within a circling crowd and lower a double-edged sword down his throat at the same time.

On the other side of her compartment was Gloria, a blind girl who was training for one of the side shows. She was a genuine seer or psychic prophet, if you will, who still spent all her time with a crystal ball. She claimed she did not need it but the customers always seemed to demand a prop. Rather than exploit the world with her talent, she had chosen to just get along. So, she had joined the exciting but quite anonymous life of the circus.

Joan mused what a truly amazing person Gloria was to know. She did not really have enough time to spend with the blind girl and she regretted it, since Gloria was as beautiful in the flesh as she was spiritually. And besides, Joan thought ironically, I'd like to fuck her.

As she reached the tent Joan heard a lion cough and moan, and she knew Andy had sensed that she was coming.

The sides of the tent had been raised and the late afternoon sun had slanted corridors of light rays filtering through the dusty air. As always the mixed smell of the animals overcame her as she entered the tent. Joan had fallen into a regretful mood as she passed through the square of cages toward the training ring. She did not really have enough time for many things. The other animals, for instance. They passed her by without notice and she felt it was because Myrna would not let up on the dull routine of only allowing her a few responsibilities.

But, Joan knew it was important to form good work habits around something so dangerous as lions--so Myrna was probably right. Joan would just have to cut down on her sex life a little. After all, every night was a bit much.

Andy coughed again, and this time Mae joined in with him. Joan heard the crack of impatience creep into the beasts' moans as she drew near their dens. She had nearly an hour before Myrna would arrive to feed the other cats, so there was plenty of time.

Andy was already on his feet and stretching himself with anticipation when Joan arrived. Mae on the other hand lay diffidently with his face pressed against the cage bars, regarding her with a resigned face. She raised his cage door first on an impulse and while waiting for him to act she talked to Andy.

"How ya doing, guy? Bet the big fella's hungry. But first the trick... That is, if Mae would just once act like Mack again."

The older lion still had not moved and Joan knew with exasperation that she would have to use the whip. She let Andy out then and to her surprise Mae followed. Will I never learn? Joan thought. Mae no longer cares and just does what Andy's doing, stupid girl.

Joan went to the huge refrigerated trailer that served as one wall of the tent. She slipped an apron over her head and hefted two hind quarters of beef off the hooks and onto a cart, then wheeled the meat back to the ring.

"You guys are hungry, aren't you?" she said when the lions growled their approval at the scent of the meat.

She took the training whip from where it hung near the cage door and entered assertively. Back Mae! Andy back! Her mind chanted while the whip sang out the confidence of her orders.

It was so simple. If you wanted to voice a command you called the beast's attention to you with the pop of the whiptip near his ear. Otherwise, you just randomly let him know it was there. Whipspeak, Myrna called it.

The handle of the whip felt big in Joan's hand. She glanced at the carved penis tip of the upside-down ivory dildo. Myrna had frigged herself with this the first night with Clyde. Joan smiled at the remembrance; then, out of the corner of her eye she saw Andy approaching fast.

Pop, crack! "Andy back!" Joan regained control of the situation. Concentrate girl, she told herself. These animals are lions.

As if to reinforce the thought Andy roared his majesty and Mae chimed in. God, what an awful sound their voices made: like a waterfall of bloody roars.

Joan cracked the whip to wipe the snarls off their faces and commanded them to their stands. She wanted to teach Mae to heel, after she had taught Andy to bring her a leash and collar. She was not having much success. Perhaps, her conception of the trick was somehow flawed.

She had tried for nearly a week to get Andy to come to her on call. He would approach her, all right, just out of his good nature and curiosity--but not when she called. If she let it happen, just relaxed the whipped reminders a little and held Mae off, Andy would stroll coolly right up to her.

Once, she had even let Andy rub himself against her while Mae roared his displeasure at the affront. That could be it. For the trick she could let Andy come up to her... and what? Wrestle with him? Well, then how could she use the whip to control Mae? Couldn't be done.

Suddenly Joan had an inspiration. What if she let Mae eat while she played with Andy? How about that? What would she use in an act to distract Mae, though? Well, that could be worked out later. But first she would have to try it. And there was no time like the present.

With several emphatic cracks of the whip, Joan commanded the animals to remain still. Then she hurriedly brought one beef leg into the cage and placed it on the steps between the pair.

While she backed off, she considered what this placement would arouse in the beasts. She knew she could keep Andy from taking the meat simply by popping the whip in his face. She had tried it once. But right after she had tried it, she had fed him. What she hoped would happen this time, however, was that Andy would approach her while Mae ate. And she hoped he would also remember his affection for people.

She held Andy off with the whip snaps while Mae took the hindquarter of meat and sulked off to one side of the cage. Then, instead of feeding Andy as she normally would have, she stopped the whip pops and watched him very carefully.

When she did not move, Andy eyed her with curiosity and roared a question to the air.

Joan answered with a whip pop beside his ear and said commandingly, "Andy, come." One hand gestured stiffly before her pointing at the spot.

The lion grew restless on the stand and dismounted with a cat-quick spring. He prowled once back and forth before his place and then eyed Joan when a whip snap did not come.

"Andy, come!"

The big cat roared and flexed his tawny muscles beneath his golden coat. Like a St. Bernard, Joan thought and wondered why she always compared cats with dogs.

"Andy, come!" She snapped the whip at his hindquarters to let him know which way not to go. He roared his displeasure again and resumed his prowl in a circle to her left. Away from Mae, Joan thought, that's good. She let him amble, then saw that his path would take him to the meat where it lay just outside the cage.

Stupid girl! He can reach it with his paws and then if he drags it in and eats it before the door--why, you're caught between with no where to go. Suddenly she wished Myrna were there.