He did so, and was at once seized upon by one of the men, who badly needed assistance; and for half an hour Dene was kept hard at work.

There was a fearful din; but presently he heard the warning whistle, and was making his way for the gangway when he was stopped by the fur coat and waved back again.
"No time to go ashore, my man," said the dwarf, speaking for the first time in Dene's hearing.
Dene paused for just one moment, then, with a shrug of the shoulders, he turned and went back to the horses.

He heard the snorting and panting of the tug, felt the vessel move, heard some cheers from the deck, and knew the tug was towing the vessel from the quay.
For the next hour Dene was convinced that he was the most-needed man on earth; for everybody wanted him.

He helped to get the horses into their stables; he bore a hand in putting the cages into position; he carried hay to the elephants and shins of beef to the lions; and while he was doing these and innumerable other tasks, someone was perpetually shouting in his ear, "'Ere, matey, lend a hand, will you ?" But at last the confusion simmered down, and, wiping his face, Dene went with the other men below, where a meal had been hastily prepared for them.
The insufficient light of a waving lamp fell upon a group of men and women he had seen on the quay.

They were of the usual types which go to make up a circus company, and they all seemed merry and bright, and utterly indifferent to the noise and the discomfort.