"Up, Dimples!"
He threw her lightly to his shoulders, on which the woman stood
poised, making as graceful and pretty a picture as had ever been
seen in a circus ring. Fragile as she was, it seemed as if Phil
were all too slender to support her weight.
The act brought a whirlwind of applause.
"You look out for him, Phil. I--"
"Jump, Dimples!"
The ring horse had suddenly stumbled, its nose plowing up the
sawdust in a cloud.
Phil, with rare presence of mind, lifted the feet from his
shoulders and hurled the girl far from him.
"Land on your feet!" he shouted, then Phil plunged off,
head first.
CHAPTER XIII
A NARROW ESCAPE
Thanks to Phil's presence of mind, Dimples had landed lightly on
her feet well outside the ring curbing. Had the lad held to her
ankles even a second too long the result must have been serious,
if not fatal, for Dimples would have been hurled to the ground
head first.
As it was, Phil gave her a lift, enabling her to double and
"ball," a circus term meaning to curl one's feet up under the
body, then straighten them as needed to give the body balance
either in turning a somersault or in falling.
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