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BREAKFAST IN THE WOODS.
[See p. 235.
TOBY TYLEE
OR
TEN WEEKS WITH A CIRCUS
BY
JAMES OTIS
ILLUSTRATED
' . , .
NEW YORK
HARPER & BROTHERS, FRANKLIN SQUARE
1881
THE NEW YORK
PUBLIC LIBRARY
ASTCR LENOX AND
HIDE* FOUNDATIONS
O -
Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1881, by
HARPER & BROTHERS,
In the Office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington.
All rights reserved.
*..'. *"
* , fc
..*
CONTENTS.
CHAP. PAGE
I. TOBY'S INTRODUCTION TO THE CIRCUS 9
II. TOBY RUNS AWAY FROM HOME 20
III. THE NIGHT RIDE 31
IV. THE FIRST DAY WITH THE CIRCUS 42
V. THE COUNTERFEIT TEN-CENT PIECE 54
VI. A TENDER-HEARTED SKELETON 66
VII. AN ACCIDENT AND ITS CONSEQUENCES 82
VIII. CAPTURE OF THE MONKEYS 93
IX. THE DINNER-PARTY 102
X. MR. STUBBS AT A PARTY 118
XI. A STORMY NIGHT 131
XII. TOBY'S GREAT MISFORTUNE 143
XIII. TOBY ATTEMPTS TO RESIGN HIS SITUATION 156
XIV. MR. CASTLE TEACHES TOBY TO RIDE 169
XV. TOBY'S FRIENDS PRESENT HIM WITH A COSTUME 184
XVI. TOBY'S FIRST APPEARANCE IN THE RING 197
XVII. OFF FOR HOME! 211
XVIII. A DAY OF FREEDOM 229
XIX. MR. STUBBS'S MISCHIEF, AND HIS SAD FATE 239
XX. HOME AND UNCLE DANIEL 252
TOBY TYLER;
OR,
TEN WEEKS WITH A CIRCUS.
CHAPTER I.
TOBY'S INTRODUCTION TO THE CIRCUS.
9
COULDN'T you give more'n six pea-nuts for a
cent ?" was a question asked by a very small boy,
with big, staring eyes, of a candy vender at a cir-
cus booth. And as he spoke he looked wistfully
at the quantity of nuts piled high up on the basket, and
then at the six, each of which now looked so small as he
held them in his hand.
" Couldn't do it," was the reply of the proprietor of the
booth, as he put the boy's penny carefully away in the
drawer.
The little fellow looked for another moment at his pur-
chase, and then carefully cracked the largest one.
TOBY TYLER;
OR,
TEN WEEKS WITH A CIRCUS.
CHAPTER I.
TOBY'S INTRODUCTION TO THE CIRCUS.
f
COULDN'T you give more'n six pea-nuts for a
cent ?" was a question asked by a very small boy,
with big, staring eyes, of a candy vender at a cir-
cus booth. And as he spoke he looked wistfully
at the quantity of nuts piled high up on the basket, and
then at the six, each of which now looked so small as he
held them in his hand.
" Couldn't do it," was the reply of the proprietor of the
booth, as he put the boy's penny carefully away in the
drawer.
The little fellow looked for another moment at his pur-
chase, and then carefully cracked the largest one.
io Toby Tyler ; or,
A shade and a very deep shade it was of disappoint-
ment passed over his face, and then, looking np anxiously,
he asked, " Don't you swap 'em when they're bad ?"
The man's face looked as if a smile had been a stranger
to it for a long time; but one did pay it a visit just then,
and he tossed the boy two nuts, and asked him a question
at the same time. " What is your name ?"
The big brown eyes looked up for an instant, as if to
learn whether the question was asked in good faith, and
then their owner said, as he carefully picked apart another
nut, " Toby Tyler."
" Well, that's a queer name."
" Yes, I s'pose so, myself ; but, you see, I don't expect
that's the name that belongs to me. But the fellers call
me so, an' so does Uncle Dan'l."
"Who is Uncle Daniel?" was the next question. In
the absence of other customers the man seemed disposed
to get as much amusement out of the boy as possible.
"He hain't my uncle at all; I only call him so because
all the boys do, an' I live with him."
" Where's your father and mother ?"
" I don't know," said Toby, rather carelessly. " I don't
know much about 'em, an' Uncle Dan'l says they don't
know much about me. Here's another bad nut; goin' to
give me two more ?"
rff 'Pt> ^
' x X"' - '/,
TOBY STRIKES A BARGAIN.
Ten Weeks with a Circus. 13
The two nuts were given him, and he said, as he put
them in his pocket, and turned over and over again those
which he held in his hand, " I shouldn't wonder if all of
these was bad. Sposen you give me two for each one of
'em before I crack 'em, an' then they won't be spoiled so
you can't sell 'em again."
As this offer of barter was made, the man looked amused,
and he asked, as he counted out the number which Toby
desired, " If I give you these, I suppose you'll want me to
give you two more for each one, and you'll keep that kind
of a trade going until you get my whole stock ?"
" I won't open my head if every one of 'em's bad."
" All right ; you can keep what you've got, and I'll give
you these besides ; but I don't want you to buy any more,
for I don't want to do that kind of business."
Toby took the nuts offered, not in the least abashed, and
seated himself on a convenient stone to eat them, and at the
same time to see all that was going on around him. The
coming of a circus to the little town of Guilford was an
event, and Toby had hardly thought of anything else since
the highly colored posters had first been put up. It was yet
quite early in the morning, and the tents were just being-
erected by the men. Toby had followed, with eager eyes,
everything that looked as if it belonged to the circus, from
the time the first wao-on had entered the town until the
14 Toby Tyler ; or,
street parade had been made, and everything was being pre-
pared for the afternoon's performance.
The man who had made the losing trade in pea-mi ts
seemed disposed to question the boy still further, probably
owing to the fact that he had nothing better to do.
" Who is this Uncle Daniel you say you live with is he
a farmer?"
" No ; he's a deacon, an' he raps me over the head with
the hymn-book whenever I go to sleep in meetin', an' he
says I eat four times as much as I earn. I blame him for
hittin' so hard when I go to sleep, but I s'pose he's right
about my eatin'. You see," and here his tone grew both
confidential and mournful, " I am an awful eater, an' I
can't seem to help it. Somehow I'm hungry all the time.
I don't seem ever to get enough till carrot-time comes, an'
then I can get all I want without troubling anybody."
" Didn't you ever have enough to eat ?"
" I s'pose I did ; but you see Uncle Dan'l he found me
one mornin' on his hay, an' he says I was cry in' for some-
thing to eat then, an' I've kept it up ever since. I tried to
get him to give me money enough to go into the circus
with ; but he said a cent was all he could spare these hard
times, an' I'd better take that an' buy something to eat with
it, for the show wasn't very good anyway. I wish pea-nuts
wasn't but a cent a bushel."
Ten Weeks witk a Circles. 17
about as fat now as a boy of your age ought to be. But
I've a great mind to give you a chance."
" What !" cried Toby, in amazement, and his eyes opened
to their widest extent, as this possible opportunity of lead-
ing a delightful life presented itself.
" Yes, I've a great mind to give you the chance. You
see," and now it was Mr. Lord's turn to grow confidential,
" I've had a boy with me this season, but he cleared out at
the last town, and I'm running the business alone now."
Toby's face expressed all the contempt he felt for the
boy who would run away from such a glorious life as Mr.
Lord's assistant must lead : but he said not a word, waiting
' O
in breathless expectation for the offer which he now felt
certain would be made him.
" Now I ain't hard on a boy," continued Mr. Lord, still
confidentially, "and yet that one seemed to think that he
was treated worse and made to work harder than any boy
in the world."
"He ought to live with Uncle Dan'l a week," said Toby,
eagerly.
"Here I was just like a father to him," said Mr. Lord,
paying no attention to the interruption, "and I gave him
his board and lodo-ino;, and a dollar a week besides."
O O *
" Could he do what he wanted to with the dollar ?"
" Of course he could. 1 never checked him, no matter
2
1 8 Toby Tyler ; or,
how extravagant he was, an' yet I've seen him spend his
whole week's wages at this very stand in one afternoon.
And even after his money had all gone that way, I've paid
for peppermint and ginger out of my own pocket just to
cure his stomach-ache."
Toby shook his head mournfully, as if deploring that de-
pravity which could cause a boy to run away from such a
tender-hearted employer, and from such a desirable position.
But even as he shook his head so sadly he looked wistfully
at the pea-nuts, and Mr. Lord observed the look.
It may have been that Mr. Job Lord was the tender-
hearted man he prided himself upon being, or it may have
been that he wished to purchase Toby's sympathy ; but, at
all events, he gave him a large handful of nuts, and Toby
never bothered his little round head as to what motive
prompted the gift. Now he could listen to the story of the
boy's treachery and eat at the same time ; therefore he was
an attentive listener.
"All in the world that boy had to do," continued Mr.
Lord, in the same injured tone he had previously used,
" was to help me set things to rights when we struck a town
in the morning, and then tend to the counter till we left the
town at night, and all the rest of the time he had to him-
self. Yet that boy was ungrateful enough to run away."
Mr. Lord paused, as if expecting some expression of sym-
Ten Weeks with a Circus. 19
pathy from his listener; but Toby was so busily engaged
with his unexpected feast, and his mouth was so full, that it
did not seem even possible for him to shake his head.
" Now what should you say if I told you that you looked
to me like a boy that was made especially to help run a
candy counter at a circus, and if I offered the place to
you 2"
Toby made one frantic effort to swallow the very large
mouthful, and in a choking voice he answered, quickly,
" I should say I'd go with you, an' be mighty glad of the
chance."
" Then it's a bargain, my boy, and you shall leave town
with me to-night."
2O Toby Tyler ; or.
CHAPTER II.
TOBY RUNS AWAY FROM HOME.
OBY could scarcely restrain himself at the pros-
pect of this golden future that had so suddenly
opened before him. He tried to express his grati-
tude, but could only do so by evincing his willing-
ness to commence work at once.
"No, no, that won't do," said Mr. Lord, cautiously. "If
your uncle Daniel should see you working here, he might
mistrust something, and then you couldn't get away."
" I don't believe he'd try to stop me," said Toby, confi-
dently ; " for he's told me lots of times that it was a sorry
day for him when he found me."
" We won't take any chances, my son," was the reply, in a
very benevolent tone, as he patted Toby on the head, and at
the same time handed him a piece of pasteboard. " There's
a ticket for the circus, and you come around to see me
about ten o'clock to-night. I'll put you on one of the wag-
ons, and by to-morrow morning your uncle Daniel will have
hard work to find you."
Ten Weeks with a Circus.
21
If Toby had followed his inclinations, the chances are
that he would have fallen on his knees, and kissed Mr.
Lord's hands in the excess of his gratitude. But not know-
ing exactly how such a show of thankfulness might be re-
ceived, he contented himself by repeatedly promising that
he would be punctual to the time and place appointed.
He would have loitered in the vicinity of the candy stand
in order that he might gain some insight into the business;
but Mr. Lord advised that he remain away, lest his uncle
Daniel should see him, and suspect where he had gone when
he was missed in the morning.
O
As Toby walked around the circus grounds, whereon was
so much to attract his attention, he could not prevent him-
self from assuming an air of proprietorship. His interest in
all that was going on was redoubled, and in his anxiety that
everything should be done correctly and in the proper order
he actually, and perhaps for the first time in his life, forgot
that he was hungry. He was really to travel with a circus,
to become a part, as it were, of the whole, and to be able to
see its many wonderful and beautiful attractions every day.
Even the very tent ropes had acquired a new interest for
him, and the faces of the men at work seemed suddenly to
have become those of friends. How hard it was for him to
walk around unconcernedly : and how especially hard to
prevent his feet from straying toward that tempting display
22 Toby Tyler ; or,
of dainties which lie was to sell to those who came to see
and enjoy, and who would look at him with wonder and
curiosity ! It was very hard not to be allowed to tell his
playmates of his wonderfully good fortune ; but silence
meant success, and he locked his secret in his bosom, not
even daring to talk with any one he knew, lest he should
betray himself by some incautious word.
He did not go home to dinner that day, and once or twice
he felt impelled to walk past the candy stand, giving a mys-
terious shake of the head at the proprietor as he did so.
The afternoon performance passed off as usual to all of the
spectators save Toby. He imagined that each one of the
performers knew that he was about to join them ; and even
as he passed the cage containing the monkeys he fancied
that one particularly old one knew all about his intention of
running away.
Of course it was necessary for him to go home at the
close of the afternoon's performance, in order to get one or
two valuable articles of his own such as a boat, a kite, and
a pair of skates and in order that his actions might not
seem suspicious. Before he left the grounds, however, he
stole slyly around to the candy stand, and informed Mr. Job
Lord, in a very hoarse whisper, that he would be on hand at
the time appointed.
Mr. Lord patted him on the head, gave him two large
Ten Weeks with a Circus. 23
sticks of candy, and, what was more kind and surprising,
considering the fact that he wore glasses, and was cross-
eyed, he winked at Toby. A wink from Mr. Lord must
have been intended to convey a great deal, because, owing
to the defect in his eyes, it required no little exertion, and
even then could not be considered as a really first-class
wink.
That wink, distorted as it was, gladdened Toby's heart
immensely, and took away nearly all the sting of the scold-
ing with which Uncle Daniel greeted him when he reached
home.
That night despite the fact that he was going to travel
with the circus, despite the fact that his home was not a
happy or cheerful one Toby was not in a pleasant frame
of mind. He be;an to feel for the first time that he was
~
doing wrong; and as he gazed at Uncle Daniel's stern, for-
bidding-looking face, it seemed to have changed somewhat
from its severity, and caused a great lump of something to
come up in his throat as he thought that perhaps he should
never see it again. Just then one or two kind words would
have prevented him from running away, bright as the pros-
pect of circus life appeared.
It was almost impossible for him to eat anything, and
this very surprising state of affairs attracted the attention
of Uncle Daniel.
24 Toby Tyler ; or,
" Bless my heart ! what ails the boy ?" asked the old man,
as he peered over his glasses at Toby's well-filled plate,
which was usually emptied so quickly. "Are ye sick, Toby,
or what is the matter with ye ?"
" No, I hain't sick," said Toby, with a sigh ; " but I've
been to the circus, an' I got a good deal to eat."
" Oho, you spent that cent I give ye, eh, an' got so much
that it made ye sick ?"
Toby thought of the six pea-nuts which he had bought
with the penny Uncle Daniel had given him ; and, amid
all his homesickness, he could not help wondering if Uncle
Daniel ever made himself sick with only six pea-nuts when
he was a boy.
As no one paid any further attention to Toby, he pushed
back his plate, arose from the table, and went with a heavy
heart to attend to his regular evening chores. The cow, the
hens, and even the pigs, came in for a share of his unusu-
ally kind attention; and as he fed them all the big tears
rolled down his cheeks, as he thought that perhaps never
again would he see any of them. These dumb animals had
all been Toby's confidants ; he had poured out his griefs in
their ears, and fancied, when the world or Uncle Daniel had
used him unusually hard, that they sympathized with him.
T^ow he was leaving them forever, and as he locked the
stable door he could hear the sounds of music coming from
Ten \Veeks with a Circus. 25
the direction of the circus grounds, and he was angry at it,
because it represented that which was taking him away from
his home, even though it was not as pleasant as it might
have been.
Still, he had no thought of breaking the engagement
which he had made. He went to his room, made a bundle
of his worldly possessions, and crept out of the back door,
down the road to the circus.
Mr. Lord saw him as soon as he arrived on the grounds,
and as he passed another ticket to Toby he took his bundle
from him, saying, as he did so, " I'll pack up your bundle
with my things, and then you'll be sure not to lose it. Don't
you want some candy ?"
Toby shook his head; he had just discovered that there
was possibly some connection between his heart and his
stomach, for his grief at leaving home had taken from him
all desire for good things. It is also more than possible
that Mr. Lord had had experience enough with boys to know
that they might be homesick on the eve of starting to travel
with a circus; and in order to make sure that Toby would
keep to his engagement he was unusually kind.
That evening was the longest Toby ever knew. He wan-
dered from one cage of animals to another; then to see the
performance in the ring, and back again to the animals, in
the vain hope of passing the time pleasantly. But it was of
26 Toby Tyler ; or,
no use ; that lump in his throat would remain there, and the
thoughts of what he was about to do would trouble him se-
verely. The performance failed to interest him, and the
animals did not attract until he had visited the monkey-cage
for the third or fourth time. Then he fancied that the same
venerable monkey who had looked so knowing in the after-
noon was gazing at him with a sadness which could only
have come from a thorough knowledge of all the grief and
doubt that was in his heart.
There was no one around the cages, and Toby got just as
near to the iron bars as possible. ISTo sooner had he flat-
tened his little pug-nose against the iron than the aged mon-
key came down from the ring in which he had been swing-
ing, and, seating himself directly in front of Toby's face,
looked at him most compassionately.
It would not have surprised the boy just then if the ani-
mal had spoken ; but as he did not, Toby did the next best
thing, and spoke to him.
" I s'pose you remember that you saw me this afternoon,
an' somebody told you that I was goin' to join the circus,
didn't they "
i The monkey made no reply, though Toby fancied that he
winked an affirmative answer; and he looked so sympa-
thetic that he continued, confidentially,
"Well, I'm the same feller, an' I don't mind telling you
TOBY AND HIS NEW FRIEND.
Ten Weeks with a Circus. 29
that I'm awfully sorry I promised that candy man I'd go
with him. Do you know that I came near crying at the
supper table to-night ; an' Uncle Dan'l looked real good an'
nice, though I never thought so before. I wish I wasn't
goin', after all, 'cause it don't seem a bit like a good time
now ; but I s'pose I must, 'cause I promised to, an' 'cause
the candy man has got all my things."
The big tears had begun to roll down Toby's cheeks, and
as he ceased speaking the monkey reached out one little
paw, which Toby took as earnestly as if it had been done
purposely to console him.
" You're real good, you are," continued Toby ; " an' I
hope I shall see you real often, for it seems to rne now,
when there hain't any folks around, as if you was the only
friend I've got in this great big world. It's awful when a
feller feels the way I do, an' when he don't seem to want
anything to eat. Now if you'll stick to me, I'll stick to you,
an' then it won't be half so bad when we feel this way."
During this speech Toby had still clung to the little
brown paw, which the monkey now withdrew, and contin-
ued to gaze into the boy's face.
" The fellers all say I don't amount to anything," sobbed
Toby, " an' Uncle Dan'l says I don't, an' I s'pose they know ;
but I tell you I feel just as bad, now that I'm goin' away
from them all, as if I was as good as any of them."
30 Toby Tyler ; or,
At this moment Toby saw Mr. Lord enter the tent, and
lie knew that the summons to start was about to be given.
" Good-bye," he said to the monkey, as he vainly tried to
take him by the hand again ; " remember what I've told
yon, an' don't forget that Toby Tyler is feelin' worse to-
night than if he was twice as big an' twice as good."
Mr. Lord had come to summon him away, and he now
told Toby that he would show him with which man he was
to ride that night.
Toby looked another good-bye at the venerable monkey,
who was watching him closely, and then followed his em-
ployer out of the tent, among the ropes and poles and gen-
eral confusion attendant upon the removal of a circus from
one place to another.
Ten Weeks with a Circus. 31
CHAPTEK III.
THE NIGHT RIDE.
i
HE wagon on which Mr. Lord was to send his
new-found employe was, by the most singular
chance, the one containing the monkeys, and Toby
accepted this as a good omen. He would be near
his venerable friend all night, and there was some consola-
tion in that. The driver instructed the boy to watch his
movements, and when he saw him leading his horses around,
" to look lively, and be on hand, for he never waited for any
one.' :
Toby not only promised to do as ordered, but he followed
the driver around so closely that, had he desired, he could
not have rid himself of his little companion.
The scene which presented itself to Toby's view was
strange and weird in the extreme. Shortly after he had
attached himself to the man witli whom he was to ride, the
performance was over, and the work of putting the show
and its belongings into such a shape as could be conveyed
from one town to another was soon in active operation.
32 Toby Tyler ; or,
Toby forgot his grief, forgot that he was running away
from the only home he had ever known in fact, forgot
everything concerning himself so interested was he in that
which was going on about him.
As soon as the audience had got out of the tent and
almost before the work of taking down the canvas was
begun.
Torches were stuck in the earth at regular intervals, the
O s
lights that had shone so brilliantly in and around the ring
had been extinguished, the canvas sides had been taken
off, and the boards that had formed the seats were being
packed into one of the carts with a rattling sound that
seemed as if a regular fusillade of musketry was being in-
dulged in. Men were shouting; horses were being driven
hither and thither, harnessed to the wagons, or drawing
the huge carts away as soon as they were loaded ; and ev-
erything seemed in the greatest state of confusion, while
really the work was being done in the most systematic
manner possible.
Toby had not long to wait before the driver informed
him that the time for starting had arrived, and assisted him
to climb up to the narrow seat whereon he was to ride that
night.
The scene was so exciting, and his efforts to stick to the
narrow seat so great, that he really had no time to attend
'. ! . -^
',
f>
TOBY'S FIRST NIGHT RIDE.
Ten Weeks with a Circus. 35
to the homesick feeling that had crept over him during the
first part of the evening.
The long procession of carts and wagons drove slowly out
of the town, and when the last familiar house had been
passed the driver spoke to Toby for the first time since they
started.
" Pretty hard work to keep on eh, sonny ?"
" Yes," replied the boy, as the wagon jolted over a rock,
bouncing him high in air, and he, by strenuous efforts, bare-
ly succeeded in alighting on the seat again, " it is pretty hard
work ; an' my name's Toby Tyler."
Toby heard a queer sound that seemed to come from the
man's throat, and for a few moments he feared that his
companion was choking. But he soon understood that this
was simply an attempt to laugh, and he at once decided that
it was a very poor style of laughing.
" So you object to being called sonny, do you ?"
" Well, I'd rather be called Toby, for, you see, that's my
name.' 1
" All right, my boy ; we'll call you Toby. I suppose you
thought it was a mighty fine thing to run away an' jine a
circus, didn't you ?"
Toby started in affright, looked around cautiously, and
then tried to peer down through the small square aperture,
guarded by iron rods, that opened into the cage just back
36 Toby Tyler ; or,
of the seat they were sitting on. Then he turned slowly
around to the driver, and asked, in a voice sunk to a whis-
per, " How did you know that I was runnin' away ? Did
he tell you ?" and Toby motioned with his thumb as if he
were pointing out some one behind him.
It was the driver's turn now to look around in search of
the " he " referred to by Toby.
" Who do you mean T asked the man, impatiently.
"Why, the old feller; the one in the cart there. I think
he knew I was runnin' away, though he didn't say anything
about it; but he looked just as if he did."
The driver looked at Toby in perfect amazement for a
moment, and then, as if suddenly understanding the boy, re-
lapsed into one of those convulsive efforts that caused the
blood to rush up into his face, and gave him every appear-
ance of having a fit.
"You must mean one of the monkeys," said the driver,
after he had recovered his breath, which had been almost
shaken out of his body by the silent laughter "So you
thought a monkey had told me what any fool could have
seen if he had watched you for five minutes."
"Well," said Toby, slowly, as if he feared he might pro-
voke one of those terrible laughing spells again, "I saw
him to - night, an' he looked as if he knew what I was
doin' ; so I up an' told him, an' I didn't know but he'd told
Ten Weeks with a Circus. 37
you, though he didn't look to me like a feller that would
be mean."
There was another internal shaking on the part of the
driver, which Toby did not fear so much, since he was get-
ting accustomed to it, and then the man said, " Well, you
are the queerest little cove I ever saw."
" I s'pose I am," was the reply, accompanied by a long-
drawn sio-h. " I don't seem to amount to so much as the
o
other fellers do, an' I guess it's because I'm always hungry ;
you see, I eat awful, Uncle Dan'l says."
The only reply which the driver made to this plaintive
confession was to put his hand down into the deepest re-
cesses of one of his deep pockets, and to draw therefrom a
huge doughnut, which he handed to his companion.
Toby was so much at his ease by this time that the appe-
tite which had failed him at supper had now returned in
full force, and he devoured the doughnut in a most raven-
ous manner.
" You're too small to eat so fast," said the man, in a warn-
ing tone, as the last morsel of the greasy sweetness disap-
peared, and he fished up another for the boy. " Some time
you'll get hold of one of the India-rubber doughnuts that
they feed to circus people, an' choke yourself to death."
Toby shook his head, and devoured this second cake as
quickly as he had the first, craning his neck, and uttering
38 Toby Tyler ; or,
a funny little squeak as the last bit went down, just as a
chicken does when he gets too large a mouthful of dough.
" I'll never choke," he said, confidently : " I'm used to it :
/
and Uncle Dan'l says I could eat a pair of boots an' never
wink at 'em ; but I don't just believe that."
As the driver made no reply to this remark Toby curled
himself up on one corner of the seat, and watched with no
little interest all that was passing on around him. Each
of the wagons had a lantern fastened to the hind axle, and
these lights could be seen far ahead on the road, as if a
party of fire-flies had started in single file on an excursion.
The trees by the side of the road stood out weird and ghost-
ly-looking in the darkness, and the rumble of the carts
ahead and behind formed a musical accompaniment to the
picture that sounded strangely doleful.
Mile after mile was passed over in perfect silence, save
now and then when the driver would whistle a few bars of
some very dismal tune that would fairly make Toby shiver
with its mournfu] ness. Eighteen miles was the distance
from Guilford to the town where the next performance of
the circus was to be given, and as Toby thought of the ride
before them it seemed as if the time would be almost inter-
minable. He curled himself up on one corner of the seat,
and tried very hard to go to sleep; but just as his eyes be-
gan to grow heavy the wagon would jolt over some rock or
Ten Weeks with a Circus. 39
sink deep in some rut, till Toby, the breath very nearly
shaken out of his body, and his neck almost dislocated,
would sit bolt-upright, clinging to the seat with both hands,
as if he expected each moment to be pitched out into the
mud.
The driver watched him closely, and each time that he
saw him shaken up and awakened so thoroughly he would
indulge in one of his silent laughing spells, until Toby
would wonder whether he would ever recover from it. Sev-
eral times had Toby been awakened, and each time he had
seen the amusement his sufferings caused, until he finally
resolved to put an end to the sport by keeping awake.
" What is your name ?" he asked of the driver, thinking
a conversation would be the best way to rouse himself into
wakefulness.
" Waal," said the driver, as he gathered the reins care-
fully in one hand, and seemed to be debating in his mind
how he should answer the question, " I don't know as I
know myself, it's been so long since I've heard it."
Toby was wide enough awake now, as this rather singular
problem was forced upon his mind. He revolved the mat-
ter silently for some moments, and at last he asked, " What
do folks call you when they want to speak to you ?"
" They always call rne Old Ben, an' I've got so used to the
name that I don't need any other."
40 Toby Tyler ; or,
Toby wanted very much to ask more questions, but he
wisely concluded that it would not be agreeable to his com-
panion.
" I'll ask the old man about it," said Toby to himself,
referring to the aged monkey, whom he seemed to feel
acquainted with ; " he most likely knows, if he'll say any-
thing." After this the conversation ceased, until Toby again
ventured to suggest, " It's a pretty long drive, hain't it ?"
"You want to wait till you've been in this business a year
or two," said Ben, sagely, " an' then you won't think much
of it. Why, I've known the show towns to be thirty miles
apart, an' them was the times when we had lively work of
it ; riding all night and working all day kind of wears on a
fellow." ^
" Yes, I s'pose so," said Toby, with a sigh, as he wondered
whether he had got to work as hard as that ; " but I s'pose
you get all you want to eat, don't you ?"
"Now you've struck it!" said Ben, with the air of one
about to impart a world of wisdom, as he crossed one leg
over the other, that his position might be as comfortable as
possible while he was initiating his young companion into
the mysteries of the life. " I've had all the boys ride with
me since I've been with this show, an' I've tried to start
them right; but they didn't seem to profit by it, an' always
got sick of the show an' run away, just because they didn't
Ten Weeks with a Circus. 41
look out for themselves as they ought to. Now listen to me,
Toby, an' remember what I say. You see they put us all
in a hotel together, an' some of these places where we go
don't have any too much stuff on the table. Whenever we
strike a new town you find out at the hotel what time they
have the grub ready, an' you be on hand, so's to get in with
the first. Eat all you can, an' fill your pockets."
" If that's all a feller has to do to travel with a circus,"
said Toby, " I'm just the one, 'cause I always used to do just
that when I hadn't any idea of bein' a circus man."
" Then you'll get along all right," said Ben, as he checked
the speed of his horses, and, looking carefully ahead, said,
as he guided his team to one side of the road, " This is as
far as we're going to-night."
Toby learned that they were within a couple of miles of
the town, and that the entire procession would remain by
the roadside until time to make the grand entree into the
village, when every wagon, horse, and man would be decked
out in the most gorgeous array, as they had been when they
entered Guilford.
Under Ben's direction he wrapped himself in an old
horse-blanket, and lay down on the top of the wagon ; and
he was so tired from the excitement of the day and night,
that he had hardly stretched out at full length before he
was fast asleep.
42 Toby Tyler ; or,
CHAPTER IV.
THE FIRST DAY WITH THE CIRCUS.
Toby awakened and looked around he
could hardly realize where he was or how he came
there. As far ahead and behind on the road as he
could see the carts were drawn up on one side ;
men were hurrying to and fro, orders were being shouted,
and everything showed that the entry into the town was
about to be made. Directly opposite the wagon on which
he had been sleeping were the four elephants and two
camels, and close behind, contentedly munching their break-
fasts, were a number of tiny ponies. Troops of horses were
being groomed and attended to ; the road was littered with
saddles, flags, and general decorations, until it seemed to
Toby that there must have been a smash-up, and that he
now beheld ruins rather than systematic disorder.
How different everything looked now, compared to the
time when the cavalcade marched into Guilford, dazzling
every one with the gorgeous display ! Then the horses
pranced gayly under their gaudy decorations, the wagons
Ten Weeks witJi a Circus. 43
were bright with glass, gilt, and flags, the lumbering ele-
phants and awkward camels were covered with fancifullv
embroidered velvets, and even the drivers of the wagons
were resplendent in their uniforms of scarlet and gold.
Now, in the gray light of the early morning, everything was
changed. The horses were tired and muddy, and wore old
and dirty harness; the gilded chariots were covered with
mud-bespattered canvas, which caused them to look like the
most ordinary of market wagons ; the elephants and camels
looked dingy, dirty, almost repulsive ; and the drivers were
only a sleepy -looking set of men, who, in their shirt-sleeves,
were getting ready for the change which would dazzle the
eyes of the inhabitants of the town.
Toby descended from his lofty bed, rubbed his eyes to
thoroughly awaken himself, and under the guidance of Ben
went to a little brook near by and washed his face. He had
been with the circus not quite ten hours, but now he could
not realize that it had ever seemed bright and beautiful.
O
He missed his comfortable bed, the quiet and cleanliness,
and the well-spread table ; even although he had felt the
lack of parents' care, Uncle Daniel's home seemed the very
abode of love and friendly feeling compared to this condi-
tion, where no one appeared to care even enough for him to
scold at him. He was thoroughly homesick, and heartily
wished that he was back in his old native town.
44 Toby Tyler ; or,
While he was washing his face in the brook he saw some
of the boys who had come out from the town to catch the
first glimpse of the circus, and he saw at once that he was
the object of their admiring gaze. He heard one of the
boys say, when they first discovered him,
" There's one of them, an' he's only a little feller ; so I'm
going to talk to him."
The evident admiration which the boys had for Toby
pleased him, and this pleasure was the only drop of comfort
he had had since he started. He hoped they would come
and talk with him ; and, that they might have the opportu-
nity, he was purposely slow in making his toilet.
The boys approached him shyly, as if they had their
doubts whether he was made of the same material as them-
selves, and when they got quite near to him, and satisfied
themselves that he was only washing his face in much
the same way that any well-regulated boy would do, the
one who had called attention to him said, half timidly,
" Hello !"
" Hello !" responded Toby, in a tone that was meant to
invite confidence.
" Do you belong to the circus ?"
" Yes," said Toby, a little doubtfully.
Then the boys stared at him again as if he were one
of the strange-looking animals, and the one who had been
Ten Weeks with a Circiis. 45
the spokesman drew a long breath of envy as he said, long-
ingly, " My ! what a nice time } 7 ou must have !"
Toby remembered that only yesterday he himself had
thought that boys must have a nice time with a circus, and
he now felt what a mistake that thought was; but he con-
cluded that he would not undeceive his new acquaintance.
" And do they give you frogs to eat, so's to make you
limber ?"
This was the first time that Toby had thought of break-
fast, and the very mention of eating made him hungry. He
was just at that moment so very hungry that he did not
think he w r as replying to the question when he said, quick-
ly, " Eat frogs ! I could eat anything, if I only had the
chance."
The boys took this as an answer to their question, and
felt perfectly convinced that the agility of circus riders and
tumblers depended upon the quantity of frogs eaten, and
they looked upon Toby with no little degree of awe.
Toby might have undeceived them as to the kind of food
lie ate, but just at that moment the harsh voice of Mr. Job
Lord was heard calling him, and he hurried away to com-
mence his first day's work.
Toby's employer was not the same pleasant, kindly-spoken
man that he had been during the time they were in Guil-
ford, and before the boy was absolutely under his control.
46 Toby Tyler ; or,
He looked cross, lie acted cross; and it did not take the boy
very long to find out that he was very cross.
He scolded Toby roundly, and launched more oaths at
his defenceless head than Toby had ever heard in his
life. He was angry that the boy had not been on hand
to help him, and also that he had been obliged to hunt for
him.
Toby tried to explain that he had no idea of what he was
expected to do, and that he had been on the wagon to which
he had been sent, only leaving it to wash his face ; but the
angry man grew still more furious.
" Went to wash your face, did yer ? Want to set yourself
up for a dandy, I suppose, and think that you must souse
that speckled face of yours into every brook you come to ?
I'll soon break you of that ; and the sooner you understand
that I can't afford to have you wasting your time in wash-
ing, the better it will be for you."
Toby now grew angry, and not realizing how wholly he
was in the man's power, he retorted, " If you think I'm
going round with a dirty face, even if it is speckled, for a
dollar a week, you're mistaken, that's all. How many folks
would eat your candy if they knew you handled it over be-
fore you washed your hands ?"
" Oho ! I've picked up a preacher, have I ? Now, I want
you to understand, my bantam, that I do all the preaching
^
.
C&ZL
OLD BEN COMES TO THE RESCUE.
Ten Wrecks with a Circus. 49
as well as the practising myself, and this is about as quick
a way as I know of to make you understand it."
As the man spoke he grasped the boy by the coat-collar
with one hand, and with the other plied a thin rubber cane
with no gentle force to every portion of Toby's body that
he could reach.
Every blow caused the poor boy the most intense pain ;
but he determined that his tormentor should not have the
satisfaction of forcing an outcry from him, and he closed
his lips so tightly that not a single sound could escape from
them.
This very silence enraged the man so much that he re-
doubled the force and rapidity of his blows, and it is im-
possible to say what might have been the consequences had
not Ben come that way just then, and changed the aspect of
affairs.
" Up to your old tricks of whipping the boys, are you,
Job ?" he said, as he wrested the cane from, the man's hand
and held him off at arm's-length, to prevent him from doing
Toby more mischief.
Mr. Lord struggled to release himself, and insisted that,
since the boy was in his employ, he should do with him just
as he saw fit.
" Now look here, Mr. Lord," said Ben, as gravely as if he
was delivering some profound piece of wisdom, " I've never
4
50 Toby Tyler ; or,
interfered with you before ; but now I'm going to stop your
game of thrashing your boy every morning before break-
fast. You just tell this youngster what you want him to do,
and if he don't do it you can discharge him. If I hear of
your flogging him, I shall attend to your case at once. You
hear me ?"
Ben shook the now terrified candy vender much as if he
had been a child, and then released him, saying to Toby as
he did so, " Now, my boy, you attend to your business as
you ought to, and I'll settle his account if he tries the flog-
ging game again."
" You see, I don't know what there is for me to do," sob-
bed Toby, for the kindly interference of Ben had made him
show more feeling than Mr. Lord's blows had done.
" Tell him what he must do," said Ben, sternly.
"I want him to go to work and wash the tumblers, and
fix up the things in that green box, so we can commence to
sell as soon as we get into town," snarled Mr. Lord, as he
motioned toward a large green chest that had been taken
out of one of the carts, and which Toby saw was filled with
dirty glasses, spoons, knives, and other utensils such as were
necessary to carry on the business.
Toby got a pail of water from the brook, hunted around
and found towels and soap, and devoted himself to his work
with such industry that Mr. Lord could not repress a grunt
Ten Weeks with a Cimis. 5 1
of satisfaction as he passed him, however angry he felt be-
cause he could not administer the whipping which would
have smoothed his ruffled temper.
By the time the procession was ready to start for the
town Toby had as much of his work done as he could find
that it was necessary to do, and his master, in his surly way,
half acknowledged that this last boy of his was better than
any he had had before.
Although Toby had done his work so well he was far
from feeling happy ; he was both angry and sad as he
thought of the cruel blows that had been inflicted, and he
had plenty of leisure to repent of the rash step he had
taken, although he could not see very clearly how he was to
get away from it. He thought that he could not go back to
Guilford, for Uncle Daniel would not allow him to come to
his house ao-ain ; and the hot scalding tears ran down his
O j cj
cheeks as he realized that he was homeless and friendless in
this great big world.
It was while he was in this frame of mind that the pro-
cession, all gaudy with flags, streamers, and banners, entered
the town. Under different circumstances this would have
been a most delightful day for him, for the entrance of a
circus into Guilford had always been a source of one day's
solid enjoyment; but now he was the most disconsolate and
unhappy boy in all that crowd.
52 Toby Tyler ; or,
He did not ride throughout the entire route of the pro-
cession, for Mr. Lord was anxious to begin business, and the
moment the tenting ground was reached the wagon contain-
ing Mr. Lord's goods was driven into the enclosure, and
Toby's day's work began.
He was obliged to bring water, to cut up the lemons, fetch
and carry fruit from the booth in the big tent to the booth
on the outside, until he was ready to drop with fatigue, and
having had no time for breakfast, was nearly famished.
It was quite noon before he was permitted to go to the
hotel for something to eat, and then Ben's advice to be one
of the first to get to the tables was not needed.
In the eating line that day he astonished the servants, the
members of the company, and even himself, and by the time
he arose from the table, with both pockets and his stomach
full to bursting, the tables had been set and cleared away
twice while he was making one meal.
" Well, I guess you didn't hurry yourself much," said Mr.
Lord, when Toby returned to the circus ground.
"Oh yes, I did," was Toby's innocent reply : "I ate just
as fast as I could ;" and a satisfied smile stole over the boy's
face as he thought of the amount of solid food he had con-
sumed.
The answer was not one which was calculated to make
Mr. Lord feel any more agreeably disposed toward his new
Ten Weeks with a Circus. 53
clerk, and he showed his ill-temper very plainly as he said,
" It must take a good deal to satisfy you."
"I s'pose it does," calmly replied Toby. "Sam Merrill
used to say that I took after Aunt Olive and Uncle Dan'l :
one ate a good while, an' the other ate awful fast."
Toby could not understand what it was that Mr. Lord said
in reply, but he could understand that his employer was
angry at somebody or something, and he tried unusually
hard to please him. He talked to the boys who had gath-
ered around, to induce them to buy, washed the glasses as
fast as they were used, tried to keep off the flies, and in
every way he could think of endeavored to please his
master.
54 Toby Tyler ; or,
CHAPTER V.
THE COUNTERFEIT TEN-CENT PIECE.
'HEN the doors of the big tent were opened, and
the people began to crowd in, jnst as Toby had
seen them do at GKrilford, Mr. Lord announced to
his young clerk that it was time for him to go into
the tent to work. Then it was that Toby learned for the
first time that he had two masters instead of one, and this
knowledge caused him no little uneasiness. If the other
o
one was anything like Mr. Lord, his lot would be just twice
as bad, and he began to wonder whether he could even
* O
stand it one day longer.
As the boy passed through the tent on his way to the
candy stand, where he- was really to enter upon the duties
for which he had run away from home, he wanted to stop
for a moment and speak with the old monkey who he
thought had taken such an interest in him. But when he
reached the cage in which his friend was confined, there
was such a crowd around it that it was impossible for him
to get near enough to speak without being overheard.
Ten Weeks with a Circus. 55
This was such a disappointment to the little fellow that
the big tears came into his eyes, and in another instant
would have gone rolling down his cheeks if his aged friend
had not chanced to look toward him. Toby fancied that
the monkey looked at him in the most friendly way, and
then he was certain that he winked one eye. Toby felt
that there was no mistake about that wink, and it seemed as
if it was intended to convey comfort to him in his troubles.
He winked back at the monkey in the most emphatic and
grave manner possible, and then went on his way, feeling
wonderfully comforted.
The work inside the tent was far different and much
harder than it was outside. He was obliged to carry around
among the audience trays of candy, nuts, and lemonade for
sale, and he was also expected to cry aloud the description
of that which he offered. The partner of Mr. Lord, who had
charge of the stand inside the tent, showed himself to be
O '
neither better nor worse than Mr. Lord himself. When Toby
first presented himself for work he handed him a tray fill-
ed with glasses of lemonade, and told him to go among the
audience, crying, "Here's your nice cold lemonade, only
five cents a glass !"
Toby started to do as he was bidden ; but when he tried
to repeat the words in anything like a loud tone of voice
they stuck in his throat, and he found it next to impossible
56 Toby Tyler ; or,
to utter a sound above a whisper. It seemed to him that
every one in the audience was looking only at him, and the
very sound of his own voice made him afraid.
He went entirely around the tent once without making a
sale, and when he returned to the stand he was at once con-
vinced that one of his masters was quite as bad as the other.
This one and he knew that his name was Jacobs, for he
heard some one call him so very kindly told him that he
would break every bone in his body if he didn't sell some-
thing, and Toby confidently believed that he would carry
out his threat.
r
It was with a very heavy heart that he started around
again in obedience to Mr. Jacobs's angry command ; but
this time he did manage to cry out, in a very thin and very
squeaky voice, the words which he had been told to repeat.
This time- -perhaps owing to his pitiful and imploring
look, certainly not because of the noise he made he met
with very good luck, and sold every glass of the mixture
which Messrs. Lord and Jacobs called lemonade, and went
back to the stand for more.
He certainly thought he had earned a word of praise, and
fully expected it as he put the empty glasses and money on
the stand in front of Mr. Jacobs. But, instead of the kind
words, he was greeted with a volley of curses ; and the rea-
son for it was that lie had taken in payment for two of the
Ten Weeks with a Circus.
57
glasses a lead ten -cent piece. Mr. Jacobs, after scolding
poor little Toby to his heart's content, vowed that the
amount should be kept from his first week's wages, and
then handed back the coin, with orders to give it to the first
man who gave him money to change, under the penalty of
a severe flogging if he failed to do so.
Poor Toby tried to explain matters by saying, " You
see, I don't know anything about money ; I never had
more'n a cent at a time, an' you mustn't expect me to get
posted all at once."
"I'll post you with a stick if you do it again; an' it won't
be well for you if you bring that ten-cent piece back here !"
Now, Toby was very well aware that to pass the coin,
knowing it to be bad, would be a crime, and he resolved to
take the consequences of which Mr. Jacobs had intimated,
if he could not find the one who had given him the coun-
terfeit, and persuade him to give him good money in its
stead. He remembered very plainly where he had sold
each glass of lemonade, and he retraced his steps, glancing
at each face carefully as he passed. At last he was con-
fident that he saw the man who had gotten him into such
trouble, and he climbed up the board seats, saying, as he
stood in front of him and held out the coin, "Mister, this
money that you gave me is bad. Won't you give me an-
other one for it ?"
58 Toby Tyler ; or,
The man was a rough-looking party who had taken his
girl to the circus, and who did not seem at all disposed to
pay any heed to Toby's request. Therefore he repeated it,
and this time more loudly.
"Get out the way !" said the man, angrily. "How can you
expect me to see the show if you stand right in front of me?"
"You'll like it better," said Toby, earnestly, "if you
give me another ten-cent piece."
" Get out, an' don't bother me !" was the angry rejoinder ;
and the little fellow began to think that perhaps he would
be obliged to "get out" without getting his money.
It was becoming a desperate case, for the man was grow-
ing angry very fast, and if Toby did not succeed in getting
good money for the bad, he would have to take the conse-
quences of which Mr. Jacobs had spoken.
" Please, mister," he said, imploringly for his heart be-
gan to grow very heavy, and he was fearing that he should
not succeed " won't you please give me the money back ?
You know you gave it to me, an' I'll have to pay it if you
don't."
The boy's lip was quivering, and those around began to
be interested in the affair, while several in the immediate
vicinity gave vent to their indignation that a man should
try to cheat a boy out of ten cents by giving him counter-
feit money.
WON'T TOU PLEASE GIVE MR THE MONEY BACK?''
Ten Weeks with a Circus. 61
The man whom Toby was speaking to was about to dis-
miss him with an angry reply, when he saw that those about
him were not only interested in the matter, but were evi-
dently taking sides with the boy against him ; and knowing
well that he had given the counterfeit money, he took an-
other coin from his pocket, and handing it to Toby, said,
"I didn't give you the lead piece; but you're making such
a fuss about it that here's ten cents to make you keep
quiet."
" I'm sure you did give me the money," said Toby, as he
took the extended coin, " an' I'm much obliged to you for
takin' it back. I didn't want to tell you before, 'cause
you'd thought I was beggin' ; but if you hadn't given me
this, I 'xpect I'd have got an awful whippin', for Mr. Ja-
cobs said he'd fix me if I didn't get the money for it."
The man looked sheepish enough as he put the bad mon-
ey in his pocket, and Toby's innocently told story caused
such a feeling in his behalf among those who sat near that
he not only disposed of his entire stock then and there, but
received from one gentleman twenty-five cents for himself.
He was both proud and happy as he returned to Mr. Ja-
cobs with empty glasses, and with the money to refund
the amount of loss which would have been caused by the
counterfeit.
But the worthy partner of Mr. Lord's candy business had
62 Toby Tyler ; or,
no words of encouragement for the boy who was trying so
hard to please.
"Let that make you keep your eyes open," he growled
out, sulkily ; " an' if you get caught in that trap again, you
won't be let off so easy."
Poor little Toby ! his heart seemed ready to break ; but
his few hours' previous experience had taught him that
there was but one thing to do, and that was to work just as
hard as possible, trusting to some good fortune to enable
him to get out of the very disagreeable position in which
he had voluntarily placed himself.
He took the basket of candv that Mr. Jacobs handed
*/
him, and trudged around the circle of seats, selling far
more because of the pitifulness of his face than because
of the excellence of his goods ; and even this worked to
his disadvantage. Mr. Jacobs was keen enough to see
why his little clerk sold so many goods, and each time
that he returned to the stand he said something to him
in an angry tone, which had the effect of deepening the
shadow on the boy's face and at the same time increasing
trade.
By the time the performance was over Toby had in his
pocket a dollar and twenty-five cents which had been given
him for himself by some of the kind-hearted in the audi-
ence, and he kept his hand almost constantly upon it, for
Ten Weeks with a Circus. 63
the money seemed to him like some kind friend who would
help him out of his present difficulties.
After the audience had dispersed, Mr. Jacobs set Toby
at work washing the glasses and clearing up generally, and
then the boy started toward the other portion of the store
that watched over by Mr. Lord. Not a person save the
watchmen was in the tent, and as Toby went toward the
door he saw his friend the monkey sitting in one corner of
the cage, and apparently watching his every movement.
It was as if he had suddenly seen one of the boys from
home, and Toby, uttering an exclamation of delight, ran up
to the cage and put his hand through the wires.
The monkey, in the gravest possible manner, took one of
the lingers in his paw, and Toby shook hands with him very
earnestly.
" I was sorry that I couldn't speak to } T OU when I went
in this noon," said Toby, as if making an apology ; " but,
you see, there were so many around here to see you that I
couldn't get the chance. Did you see me wink at you ?"
The monkey made no reply, but he twisted his face into
such a funny little grimace that Toby was quite as well sat-
isfied as if he had spoken.
" I wonder if YOU hain't some relation to Steve Stubbs ?"
/
Toby continued, earnestly, " for you look just like him, only
he don't have quite so many whiskers. What I wanted to
64 Toby Tyler ; or,
say was, that I'm awful sorry I run away. I used to think
that Uncle Dan'l was bad enough; but he was just a per-
fect good Samarathon to what Mr. Lord an' Mr. Jacobs are ;
an' when Mr. Lord looks at me with that crooked eye of
his, I feel it 'way down in my boots. Do you know " and
here Toby put his mouth nearer to the monkey's head and
whispered " I'd run away from this circus if I could get
the chance ; wouldn't you 2"
Just at this point, as if in answer to the question, the
monkey stood up on his hind-feet, and reached out his paw
to the boy, who seemed to think this was his way of being
more emphatic in saying " Yes."
Toby took the paw in his hand, shook it again earnestly,
and said, as he released it, "I was pretty sure you felt just
about the same way I did, Mr. Stubbs, when I passed you
this noon. Look here ' : and Toby took the money from his
pocket which had been given him " I got all that this af-
ternoon, an' I'll try an' stick it out somehow till I get as
much as ten dollars, an' then we'll run away some night, an'
go 'way off as far as as as out West ; an' we'll stay there
too."
The monkey, probably tired with remaining in one posi-
tion so long, started toward the top of the cage, chattering
and screaming, joining the other monkeys, who had gath-
ered in a little group in one of the swings.
Ten Weeks with a Circus. 65
"Now see here, Mr. Stubbs," said Toby, in alarm, "yen
mustn't go to telling everybody about it, or Mr. Lord will
know, an' then we'll be dished, sure."
The monkey sat quietly in the swing, as if he felt re-
proved by what the boy had said ; and Toby, considerably
relieved by his silence, said, as he started toward the door,
"That's right mum's the word; yon keep quiet, an' so
will I, an' pretty soon we'll get away from the whole
crowd."
All the monkeys chattered ; and Toby, believing that
everything which he had said had been understood by the
animals, went out of the door to meet his other task-
master.
66 Toby Tyler ; or,
CHAPTER VI.
A TENDER-HEARTED SKELETON.
C(
p^OW, then, lazy-bones," was Mr. Lord's warning
cry as Toby came out of the tent, "if you've
EX fooled away enough of your time, you can come
here an' tend shop for me while I go to supper.
You crammed yourself this noon, an' it'll teach you a good
lesson to make you go without anything to eat to-night ; it'll
make you move round more lively in future."
Instead of becoming accustomed to such treatment as he
was receiving from his employers, Toby's heart grew more
tender with each brutal word, and this last punishment
that of losing his supper caused the poor boy more sorrow
than blows would. Mr. Lord started for the hotel as he con-
cluded his cruel speech; and poor little Toby, going behind
the counter, leaned his 4iead upon the rough boards and
cried as if his heart would break.
All the fancied brightness and pleasure of a circus life
had vanished, and in its place was the bitterness of remorse
that he had repaid Uncle Daniel's kindness by the ingrati-
Ten Weeks with a Circus. 67
tude of running away. Toby thought that if he could only
nestle his little red head on the pillows of his little bed in
that rough room at Uncle Daniel's, he would be the hap-
piest and best boy, in the future, in all the great wide world.
While he was still sobbing away at a most furious rate he
heard a voice close at his elbow, and, looking up, saw the
thinnest man he had ever seen in all his life. The man had
flesh-colored tights on, and a spangled red velvet garment-
that was neither pants, because there were no legs to it, nor
a coat, because it did not come above his waist made up
the remainder of his costume. Because he was so wonder-
fully thin, because of the costume which he wore, and be-
cause of a highly colored painting which was hanging in
front of one of the small tents, Toby knew that the Living
Skeleton was before him, and his big brown eyes opened all
the wider as he gazed at him.
"What is the matter, little fellow?" asked the man, in a
kindly tone. " What makes you cry so ? Has Job been up
to his old tricks again ?"
" I don't know what his old tricks are ' : -and Toby sob-
bed, the tears coming again because of the sympathy which
this man's voice expressed for him "but I know that he's
a mean, ugly thing that's what I know; an' if I could only
get back to Uncle Dan'l, there hain't elephants enough in
all the circuses in the world to pull me away again."
68 Toby Tyler ; or,
" Oh, yon run away from home, did you ?"
"Yes, I did," sobbed Toby, "an' there hain't any boy in
any Sunday-school book that ever I read that was half so
sorry he'd been bad as I am. It's awful ; an' now I can't
have any supper, 'cause I stopped to talk with Mr. Stubbs."
" Is Mr. Stubbs one of your friends ?" asked the skeleton
as he seated himself in Mr. Lord's own private chair.
" Yes, he is, an' he's the only one in this whole circus who
'pears to be sorry for me. You'd better not let Mr. Lord see
you sittin' in that chair, or he'll raise a row."
" Job won't raise any row with me," said the skeleton.
" But who is this Mr. Stubbs ? I don't seem to know any-
body by that name."
" I don't think that is his name. I only call him so,
'cause he looks so much like a feller I know who is named
Stubbs."
This satisfied tfie skeleton that this Mr. Stubbs must be
some one attached to the show, and he asked,
"Has Job been whipping you?"
" No ; Ben, the driver on the wagon where I ride, told him
not to do that again ; but he hain't going to let me have
any supper, 'cause I was so slow about my work though I
wasn't slow ; I only talked to Mr. Stubbs when there wasn't
anybody round his cage."
"Sam! Sam! Sam-u-el !"
Ten Weeks with a Circus. 69
This name, which was shouted twice in a quick, loud
voice, and the third time in a slow manner, ending almost
in a screech, did not come from either Toby or the skeleton,
but from an enormously large woman, dressed in a gaudy
red-and-black dress, cut very short, and with low neck and
an apology for sleeves, who had just come out from the tent
whereon the picture of the Living Skeleton hung.
" Samuel," she screamed again, " come inside this minute,
or you'll catch your death o' cold, an' I shall have you
wheezin' around with the phthisic all night. Come in,
Sam-u-el."
" That's her," said the skeleton to Toby, as he pointed his
thumb in the direction of the fat woman, but paying no at-
tention to the outcry she was making " that's my wife Lilly,
an' she's the Fat Woman of the show. She's always yelliu'
after me that way the minute I get out for a little fresh air,
an' she's always sayin' just the same thing. Bless you, I
never have the phthisic, but she does awful; an' I s'pose
'cause she's so large she can't feel all over her, an' thinks it's
me that has it."
" Is is all that is that your wife ?" stammered Toby, in
astonishment, as he looked at the enormously fat woman
who stood in the tent door, and then at the wonderfully
thin man who sat beside him.
"Yes, that's her," said the skeleton. "She weighs pretty
70 Toby Tyler ; or,
nigh four hundred, though of course the show cards says it's
over six hundred, an' she earns almost as much money as I
do. Of course she can't get so much, for skeletons is much
scarcer than fat folks; but we make a pretty good thing
travellin' together."
"Sarn-u-el!" again came the cry from the fat woman,
" are you never coming in ?"
"Not yet, my angel," said the skeleton, placidly, as he
crossed one thin leg over the other and looked calmly at
her. " Come here an' see Job's new boy."
" Your imprudence is wearin' me away so that I sha'n't
be worth five dollars a week to any circus," she said, impa-
tiently, at the same time coming toward the candy stand
quite as rapidly as her very great size would admit.
" This is my wife Lilly Mrs. Treat," said the skeleton,
with a proud wave of his hand, as he rose from his seat and
gazed admiringly at her. " This is my flower my queen,
Mr. Mr. "
" Tyler," said Toby, supplying the name which the skel-
eton or Mr. Treat, as Toby now learned his name was
did not know ; " Tyler is my name Toby Tyler."
" Why, what a little chap you are !" said Mrs. Treat,
paying no attention to the awkward little bend of the
head which Toby intended for a bow. " How small he is,
Samuel !"
Ten Weeks with a Circus. 71
"Yes," said the skeleton, reflectively, as lie looked Toby
over from head to foot, as if he were mentally trying to
calculate exactly how many inches high he was, "he is
small ; but he's got all the world before him to grow in, an'
if he only eats enough There, that reminds me. Job
isn't going to give him any supper, because he didn't work
hard enough."
" He won't, won't he ?" exclaimed the large lady-, savagely.
"Oh, he's a precious one, he is; an' some day I shall just
give him a good shakin'-up, that's what I'll do. I get all
out of patience with that man's ugliness."
" An' she'll do just what she says," said the skeleton to
Toby, with an admiring shake of the head. " That woman
hain't afraid of anybody, an' I wouldn't be a bit surprised if
she did give Job a pretty rough time."
Toby thought, as he looked at her, that she was large
enough to give 'most any one a pretty rough time, but he
did not venture to say so. While he was looking first at her,
and then at her very thin husband, the skeleton told his wife
the little that he had learned regarding the boy's history ;
and when he had concluded she waddled away toward her
tent.
" Great woman that," said the skeleton, as he saw her dis-
appear within the tent.
"Yes," said Toby, "she's the greatest I ever saw."
72 Toby Tyler ;
" I mean that she's got a great head. Now you'll see
about how much she cares for what Job says."
"If I was as big as her," said Toby, with just a shade of
envy in his voice, " I wouldn't be afraid of anybody."
"It hain't so much the size," said the skeleton, sagely
" it hain't so much the size, my boy ; for I can scare that
woman almost to death when I feel like it."
Toby looked for a moment at Mr. Treat's thin legs and
arms, and then he said, warningly, " I wouldn't feel like it
very often if I was yon, Mr. Treat, 'cause she might break
some of your bones if you didn't happen to scare her
enough."
" Don't fear for me, my boy don't fear for me ; you'll
see how I manage her if you stay with the circus long
enough. Now, I often "
If Mr. Treat was about to confide a family secret to Toby,
it was fated that he should not hear it then, for Mrs. Treat
had just come out of her tent, carrying in her hands a large
tin plate piled high with a miscellaneous assortment of pie,
cake, bread, and meat.
She placed this in front of Toby, and as she did so she
handed him two pictures.
" There, little Toby Tyler," she said " there's something
for you to eat, if Mr. Job Lord and his precious partner
Jacobs did say you shouldn't have any supper ; an' I've
TOBY GETS HIS SUPPEK.
Ten Weeks with a Circus. 75
brought you a picture of Samuel an' me. We sell 'em for
ten cents apiece, but I'm going to give them to you, because
I like the looks of you."
Toby was quite overcome with the presents, and seemed
at a loss how to thank her for them. He attempted to
speak, but could not get the words out at first ; and then he
said, as he put the two photographs in the same pocket with
his money, " You're awful good to me, an' when I get to be
a man I'll give you lots of things. I wasn't so very hungry,
if I am such a big eater, but I did want something."
" Bless your dear little heart, and you shall have some-
thing to eat," said the Fat Woman, as she seized Toby,
squeezed him close up to her, and kissed his freckled face
as kindly as if it had been as fair and white as possible.
" You shall eat all you want to ; an' if you get the stomach-
ache, as Samuel does sometimes when he's been eatin' too
much, I'll give you some catnip-tea out of the same dipper
that I give him his. He's a great eater, Samuel is," she
added, in a burst of confidence, " an' it's a wonder to me
what he does with it all sometimes."
" Is he ?" exclaimed Toby, quickly. " How funny that is !
for I'm an awful eater. Why, Uncle Dan'l used to say that
I ate twice as much as I ought to, an' it never made me any
bigger. I wonder what's the reason ?"
" I declare I don't know," said the Fat Woman, thought-
76 Toby Tyler ; or,
fully, "an' I've wondered at it time an' time again. Some
folks is made that way, an' some folks is made different.
Xow, I don't eat enough to keep a chicken alive, an' yet I
grow fatter an' fatter every day don't I, Samuel ?"
" Indeed you do, my love," said the skeleton, with a world
of pride in his voice; "but you mustn't feel bad about it,
for every pound you gain makes you worth just so much
more to the show."
" Oli, I wasn't worry in', I was only wonderin'. But we
must go, Samuel, for the poor child won't eat a bit while
we are here. After you've eaten what there is there, bring
the plate in to me," she said to Toby, as she took her lean
husband by the arm and walked him off toward their own
tent.
Toby gazed after them a moment, and then he com-
menced a vigorous attack upon the eatables which had been
so kindly given him. Of the food which he had taken from
the dinner- table he had eaten some while he w r as in the
tent, and after that he had entirely forgotten that he had
any in his pocket ; therefore, at the time that Mrs. Treat
had brought him such a liberal supply he was really very
hungry.
lie succeeded in eating nearly all the food which had
been brought to him, and the very small quantity which re-
mained he readily found room for in his pockets. Then
Ten Weeks with a Circus. 77
he washed the plate nicely ; and seeing no one in sight, lie
thought he could leave the booth long enough to return the
plate.
He ran with it quickly into the tent occupied by the thin
man and fat woman, and handed it to her, witli a profusion
of thanks for her kindness.
" Did you eat it all ?" she asked.
" Well," hesitated Toby, " there was two doughnuts an' a
piece of pie left over, an' I put them in my pocket. If you
don't care, I'll eat them some time to-night."
" You shall eat it whenever you want to ; an' any time
that you get hungry again, you come right to me."
" Thank you, marm. I must go now, for I left the store
all alone."
" Run, then ; an' if Job Lord abuses you, just let me know
it, an' I'll keep him from cuttin' up any monkey shines."
Toby hardly heard the end of her sentence, so great was
his haste to get back to the booth; and just as he emerged
from the tent, on a quick run, he received a blow on the ear
which sent him sprawling in the dust, and he heard Mr. Job
Lord's angry voice as it said, " So, just the moment my back
is turned, you leave the stand to take care of itself, do yon,
an' run around tryin' to plot some mischief against me, eh ?"
And the brute kicked the prostrate boy twice with his heavy
boat.
78 Toby Tyler ; or,
" Please don't kick me again !" pleaded Toby. " I wasn't
gone bat a minute, an' I wasn't doing anything bad."
" You're lying now, an' you know it, you young cub !"
exclaimed the angry man as he advanced to kick the boy
again. "I'll let you know who you've got to deal with
when you get hold of me !"
" And I'll let you know who you've got to deal with when
you get hold of me!" said a woman's voice; and, just as
Mr. Lord raised his foot to kick the boy again, the Fat
Woman seized him by the collar, jerked him back over one
of the tent ropes, and left him quite as prostrate as he had
left Toby. "Now, Job Lord," said the angry woman, as
she towered above the thoroughly enraged but thoroughly
f rightened man, " I want you to understand that you can't
knock and beat this boy while I'm around. I've seen enough
of your capers, an' I'm going to put a stop to them. That
boy wasn't in this tent more than two minutes, an' he at-
tends to his work better than any one you have ever had ;
so see that you treat him decent. Get up," she said to Toby,
who had not dared to rise from the ground; "and if lie
offers to strike you again, come to me."
Toby scrambled to his feet, and ran to the booth in time
to attend to one or two customers who had just come up.
He could see from out the corner of his eye that Mr. Lord
/
had arisen to his feet also, and was engaged in an angry
' ; ^ ' "'
w ^S*3L \> ft/I
JOB LOED LEAUNS A LESSON.
Ten Weeks with a Circus. 81
conversation with Mrs. Treat, the result of which he very
much feared would be another and a worse whipping for
him.
But in this he was mistaken, for Mr. Lord, after the con-
versation was ended, came toward the booth, and began to
attend to his business without speaking one word to Toby.
When Mr. Jacobs returned from his supper Mr. Lord took
him by the arm and walked him out toward the rear of
the tents; and Toby was very positive that he was to be
the subject of their conversation, which made him not a
little uneasy.
It was not until nearly time for the performance to begin
that Mr. Lord returned, and he had nothing to say to Toby
save to tell him to go into the tent and begin his work there.
The boy was only too glad to escape so easily, and he went
to his work with as much alacrity as if he were about enter-
ing upon some pleasure.
When he met Mr. Jacobs that gentleman spoke ( to him
very sharply about being late, and seemed to think it no ex-
cuse at all that he had just been relieved from the outside
work by Mr. Lord.
6
82 Toby Tyler ; or,
CHAPTER VII.
AN ACCIDENT AND ITS CONSEQUENCES.
JOEY'S experience in the evening was very simi-
lar to that of the afternoon, save that he was so
fortunate as not to take any more bad money in
payment for his goods. Mr. Jacobs scolded and
swore alternately, and the boy really surprised him by his
way of selling goods, though he was very careful not to say
anything about it, but made Toby believe that he was doing
only about half as much work as he ought to do. Toby's
private hoard of money was increased that evening, by
presents, ninety cents, and he began to look upon himself
as almost a rich man.
When the performance was nearly over Mr. Jacobs call-
ed to him to help in packing up ; and by the time the last
spectator had left the tent the worldly possessions of Messrs.
Lord and Jacobs were ready for removal, and Toby allow-
ed to do as he had a mind to, so long as he was careful to
be on hand when Old Ben was ready to start.
Toby thought that he would have time to pay a visit to
Ten Weeks with a Circus. 83
his friends the skeleton and the Fat Woman, and to that end
started toward the place where their tent had been stand-
ing; but to his sorrow he found that it was already being
taken down, and he had only time to thank Mrs. Treat and
to press the fleshless hand of her shadowy husband as they
entered their wagon to drive away.
He was disappointed, for he had hoped to be able to
speak with his new-made friends a few moments before the
weary night's ride commenced ; but, failing in that, he went
hastily back to the monkeys' cage. Old Ben was there, get-
ting things ready for a start; but the wooden sides of the
cage had not been put up, and Toby had no difficulty in
calling the aged monkey up to the bars. He held one of
the Fat Woman's doughnuts in his hand, and said, as he
passed it through to the animal,
"I thought perhaps you might be hungry, Mr. Stubbs,
and this is some of what the skeleton's wife give me. I
hain't got very much time to talk with you now ; but the
first chance I can get away to-morrow, an' when there
hain't anybody 'round, I want to tell you something."
The monkey had taken the doughnut in his hand -like
paws, and was tearing it to pieces, eating small portions of
it very rapidly.
" Don't hurry yourself," said Toby, warningly, " for Un-
cle Dan'l always told me the worst thing a feller could do
84 Toby Tyler ; or,
was to eat fast. If you want any more, after we start, just
put your hand through the little hole up there near the
seat, an' I'll give you all you want."
From the look on his face Toby confidently believed the
monkey was about to make some reply; but just then Ben
shut up the sides, separating Toby and Mr. Stubbs, and the
order was given to start.
Toby clambered up on to the high seat, Ben followed
him, and in another instant the team was moving along
slowly down the dusty road, preceded and followed by the
many wagons, with their tiny swinging lights.
" Well," said Ben, when he had got his team well under
way, and felt that he could indulge in a little conversation,
(t how did you get along to-day ?"
Toby related all of his movements, and gave the driver a
faithful account of all that had happened to him, conclud-
ing his story by saying, " That was one of Mrs. Treat's
doughnuts that I just gave to Mr. Stubbs."
" To whom ?" asked Ben, in surprise.
"To Mr. Stubbs --the old fellow here in the cart, you
know, that's been so good to me."
Toby heard a sort of gurgling sound, saw the driver's
body sway back and forth in a trembling way, and was just
becoming thoroughly alarmed, when he thought of the
previous night, and understood that Ben was only laugh-
ing in his own peculiar way.
Ten Weeks zvith a Circus. 85
" How did you know his name was Stubbs ?" asked Ben,
after he had recovered his breath.
" Oh, I don't know that that is his real name," was the
quick reply; "I only call him that because he looks so
much like a feller with that name that I knew at home.
He don't seem to mind because I call him Stubbs."
Ben looked at Toby earnestly for a moment, acting all
the time as if he wanted to laugh again, but didn't dare to,
for fear he might burst a blood-vessel; and then he said, as
he patted him on the shoulder, " Well, you are the queerest
little fish that I ever saw in all my travels. You seem to
think that that monkey knows all you say to him."
"I'm sure he does," said Toby, positively. "He don't
say anything right out to me, but he knows everything I
tell him. Do you suppose he could talk if he tried to ?"
"Look here, Mr. Toby Tyler" and Ben turned half
around in his seat and looked Toby full in the face, so as to
give more emphasis to his words " are you heathen enough
to think that that monkey could talk if he wanted to?"
" I know I hain't a heathen," said Toby, thoughtfully,
"for if I had been some of the missionaries would have
found me out a good while ago ; but I never saw anybody
like this old Mr. Stubbs before, an' I thought he could
talk if he wanted to, just as the Living Skeleton does,
or his wife. Anyhow, Mr. Stubbs winks at me ; an' how
86 Toby Tyler ; or,
could he do that if he didn't know what I've been sayin'
to him ?"
" Look here, my son," said Ben, in a most fatherly fash-
ion, "monkeys hain't anything but beasts, an' they don't know
how to talk any more than they know what you say to 7 em."
" Didn't you ever hear any of them speak a word ?"
"Never. I've been in a circus, man an' boy, nigh on to
forty years, an' I never seen nothin' in a monkey more'n
any other beast, except their awful mischiefness."
" Well," said Toby, still unconvinced, " I believe Mr.
Stubbs knows what I say to him, anyway."
"Now don't be foolish, Toby," pleaded Ben. "You
can't show me one thing that a monkey ever did because
you told him to."
Just at that moment Toby felt some one pulling at the
back of his coat, and looking round he saw it was a little
brown hand, reaching through the bars of the air-hole of
. the cage, that was tugging away at his coat.
" There !" he said, triumphantly, to Ben. " Look there !
I told Mr. Stubbs if he wanted anything more to eat, to
tell me, an' I would give it to him. Now you can see for
yourself that he's come for it." And Toby took a doughnut
from his pocket and put it into the tiny hand, which was
immediately withdrawn. " Now what do you think of Mr.
Stubbs knowing what I say to him 2"
Ten Weeks with a Circus. 87
" They often stick their paws up through there," said Ben,
m a matter-of-fact tone. " I've had 'em pull my coat in the
night till they made me as nervous as ever any old woman
was. You see, Toby, my boy, monkeys is monkeys ; an' you
mustn't go to gettin' the idea that they're anything else,
for it's a mistake. Yon think this old monkey in here
knows what you say? "Why, that's just the cuteness of the
old fellow: he watches you to see if he can't do just as
you do, an' that's all there is about it."
Toby was more than half convinced that Ben was putting
the matter in its proper light, and he would have believed
all that had been said if, just at that moment, he had not
seen that brown hand reaching through the hole to clutch
him again by the coat.
The action seemed so natural, so like a hungry boy who
gropes in the dark pantry for something to eat, that it would
have taken more arguments than Ben had at his disposal to
persuade Toby that his Mr. Stubbs could not understand all
that was said to him. Toby put another doughnut in the
outstretched hand, and then sat silently, as if in a brown-
study over some difficult problem.
For some time the ride was continued in silence. Ben
was going through all the motions of whistling without ut-
tering a sound a favorite amusement of his and Toby's
thoughts were far away in the humble home he had scorn-
Toby Tyler ; or,
cd, with Uncle Daniel, whose virtues had increased in his
esteem with every mile of distance which had been put be-
tween them, and whose faults had decreased in a corre-
sponding ratio.
Toby's thoughtf ulness had made him sleepy, and his eyes
were almost closed in slumber, when he was startled by a
crashing sound, was conscious of a feeling of being hurled
from his seat by some great force, and then he lay senseless
by the side of the road, while the wagon became a perfect
wreck, from out of which a small army of monkeys was
escaping. Ben's experienced ear had told him at the first
crash that his wagon was breaking down, and, without hav-
ing time to warn Toby of his peril, he had leaped clear of
the wreck, keeping his horses under perfect control, and
thus averting more trouble. It was the breaking of one of
the axles which Toby had heard just before he was thrown
from his seat, and when the body of the wagon came down
upon the hard road.
The monkeys, thus suddenly released from confinement,
had scampered off in every direction, and by a singular
chance Toby's aged friend started for the woods in such a
direction as to bring him directly before the boy's insensi-
ble form. The monkey, on coming up to Toby, stopped,
urged by the well-known curiosity of its race, and began to
examine the boy's person carefully, prying into pockets
THE BREAK-DOWN, AND KSCAPE OF THE MONKEYS.
Ten Weeks with a Cimts. 91
and trying to open the boy's half-closed eyelids. Fortunate-
ly for Toby, he had fallen upon a mud-bank, and was only
stunned for the moment, having received no serious bruises.
The attentions bestowed upon him by the monkey served
the purpose of bringing him to his senses ; and, after he
had looked around him in the gray light of the coming
morning, it would have taken far more of a philosopher
than Old Ben was to persuade the boy that monkeys did
not possess reasoning faculties.
The monkey was busy at Toby's ears, nose, and mouth,
as monkeys will do when they get an opportunity, and the
expression of its face was as grave as possible. Toby firm-
ly believed that the monkey's face showed sorrow at his
fall, and he imagined that the attentions which were be-
stowed upon him were for the purpose of learning whether
he had been injured or not.
" Don't worry, Mr. Stubbs," said Toby, anxious to reassure
his friend, as he sat upright and looked about him. " I
didn't get hurt any ; but I would like to know how I got
'way over here."
It really seemed as if the monkey was pleased to know
that his little friend was not hurt, for he seated himself on
his haunches, and his face expressed the liveliest pleasure
that Toby was well again or at least that was how the
boy interpreted the look.
92 Toby Tyler ; or,
Bv this time the news of the accident had been shouted
t/
ahead from one team to the other, and all hands were hur-
rying to the scene for the purpose of rendering aid. As
Toby saw them coming he also saw a number of small
forms, looking something like diminutive men, hurrying
past him, and for the first time he understood how it was
that the aged monkey was at liberty, and knew that those
little dusky forms were the other occupants of the cage es-
caping to the woods.
"See there, Mr. Stubbs! see there!" he exclaimed, point-
ing toward the fugitives ; " they're all going off into the
woods ! What shall we do ?"
The sight of the runaways seemed to excite the old
monkey quite as much as it did the boy. He sprung to
his feet, chattering in the most excited way, screamed two
or three times, as if he were calling them back, and then
started off in vigorous pursuit.
"Now he's gone too!" said Toby, disconsolately, believing
the old fellow had run away from him. " I didn't think
Mr. Stubbs would treat me this way !"
Ten Weeks with a Circus. 93
CHAPTER VIII.
CAPTURE OF THE MONKEYS.
f HE boy tried to rise to his feet, but his head
whirled so, and he felt so dizzy and sick from the
effects* of his fall, that he was obliged to sit down
a;ain until he should feel able to stand. Mean-
O
while the crowd around the wagon paid no attention to him,
and he lay there quietly enough, until he heard the hateful
voice of Mr. Lord, asking if his boy were hurt.
The sound of his voice affected Toby very much as the
chills-and-fever affect a sufferer, and he shook so with fear,
and his heart beat so loudly, that he thought Mr. Lord must
know where he was by the sound. Seeing, however, that his
employer did not come directly toward him, the thought
flashed upon his mind that now would be a good chance
to run away, and he acted upon it at once. He rolled him-
self over in the mud until he reached a low growth of fir-
o
trees that skirted the road, and when beneath their friend-
ly shade he arose to his feet and walked swiftly toward the
woods, following the direction the monkeys had taken.
94 Toby Tyler ; or,
He no longer felt dizzy and sick : the fear of Mr. Lord
had dispelled all that, and he felt strong and active again.
He had walked rapidly for some distance, and was nearly
beyond the sound of the voices in the road, when he was
startled by seeing quite a procession of figures emerge from
the trees and come directly toward him.
lie could not understand the meaning of this strange
company, and it so frightened him that he attempted to hide
behind a tree, in the hope that they might pass without see-
ing him. But no sooner had he secreted himself than a
strange, shrill chattering came from the foremost of the
group, and in an instant Toby emerged from his place of
concealment.
He had recognized the peculiar sound as that of the old
monkey who had left him a few moments before, and he
knew now what he did not know then, owing to the dark-
ness. The new-comers were the monkeys that had escaped
from the cage, and had been overtaken and compelled to
come back by the old monkey, who seemed to have the most
perfect control over them.
The old fellow was leading the band, and all were linked
"hand -in -hand" with each other, which gave the whole
crowd a most comical appearance as they came up to Toby,
half hopping, half walking upright, and all chattering and
screaming, like a crowd of children out for a holiday.
Ten Weeks with a Circus. 95
Toby stepped toward the noisy crowd, held out his hand
gravely to the old monkey, and said, in tones of heart-felt
sorrow,
" I felt awful bad because I thought you had gone off an'
left me, when you only went off to find the other fellows.
You're awful good, Mr. Stubbs ; an' now, instead of runnin'
a^ay, as I was goin' to do, we'll all go back together."
The old monkey grasped Toby's extended hand with
his disengaged paw, and, clinging firmly to it, the whole
crowd followed in unbroken line, chattering and scolding
at the most furious rate, while every now and then Mr.
Stubbs would look back and scream out something, which
would cause the confusion to cease for an instant.
It was really a comical sight, but Toby seemed to think it
the most natural thing in the world that they should follow
him in this manner, and he chattered to the old monkey
quite as fast as any of the others were doing. He told him
very gravely all that he knew about the accident, explained
why it was that he conceived the idea of running away, and
really believed that Mr. Stubbs understood every word he
was saying.
Yery shortly after Toby had started to run away the pro-
prietor of the circus drove up to the scene of disaster;
and, after seeing that the wagon was being rapidly fixed up
so that it could be hauled to the next town, he ordered that
96 Toby Tyler ; or,
search should be made for the monkeys. It was very impor-
tant that they should be captured at once, and he appeared
to think more of the loss of the animals than of the damage
done to the wagon.
While the men were forming a plan for a search for the
truants, so that in case of a capture they could let each
other know, the noise made by Toby and his party was
heard, and the men stood still to learn what it meant.
The entire party burst into shouts of laughter as Toby
and his companions walked into the circle of light formed
by the glare of the lanterns, and the merriment was by no
means abated at Toby's serious demeanor. The wagon was
now standing upright, with the door open, and Toby there-
fore led his companions directly to it, gravely motioning
them to enter.
The old monkey, instead of obeying, stepped back to
Toby's side, and screamed to the others in such a manner
that they all entered the cage, leaving him on the outside
with the boy.
Toby motioned him to get in too, but he clung to his
hand, and scolded so furiously, that it was apparent he had
no idea of leaving his boy companion. One of the men
stepped up, and was about to force him into the wagon,
when the proprietor ordered him to stop.
"What boy is that?" he asked.
,< T. V-X.
BRINGING BACK THE KUNAWAYS.
Ten Weeks with a Circus. 99
" Job Lord's new boy," said some one in the crowd.
The man asked Toby how it was that he had succeeded in
capturing all the runaways; and he answered, gravely,
" Mr. Stubbs an' I are good friends, an' when he saw the
others runnin' away he just stopped 'em, an' brought 'em
back to me. I wish you'd let Mr. Stubbs ride with me; we
like each other a good deal."
"You can do just what you please with Mr. Stubbs, as
you call him. I expected to lose half the monkeys in that
cage, and you have brought back every one. That monkey
shall be yours, and you may put him in the cage whenever
you want to, or take him with you, just as you choose, for
he belongs entirely to you."
Toby's joy knew no bounds ; he put his arm around the
monkey's neck, and the monkey clung firmly to him, until
even Job Lord was touched at the evidence of affection be-
tween the two.
While the wagon was being repaired Toby and the mon-
key stood hand-in-hand watching the work go on, while
those in the cage scolded and raved because they had been
induced to return to captivity. After a while the old mon-
key seated himself on Toby's arm and cuddled close up to
him, uttering now and then a contented sort of a little
squeak as the boy talked to him.
That night Mr. Stubbs slept in Toby's arms, in the band
ioo Toby Tyler ; or,
wagon, and both boy and monkey appeared very well con-
tented w r ith their lot, which a short time previous had
seemed so hard.
When Toby awakened to his second day's work with the
circus his monkey friend was seated by his side, gravely ex-
ploring his pockets, and all the boy's treasures were being
spread out on the floor of the wagon by his side. Toby re-
monstrated with him on this breach of confidence, but Mr.
Stubbs was more in the mood for sport than for grave con-
versation, and the more Toby talked the more mischievous
did he become, until at length the boy gathered up his little
store of treasures, took the monkey by the paw, and walked
him toward the cage from which he had escaped on the pre-
vious night.
"Now, Mr. Stubbs," said Toby, speaking in an injured
tone, "you must go in here and stay till I have got more
time to fool with you."
He opened the door of the cage, but the monkey strug-
gled as well as he was able, and Toby was obliged to exert
all his strength to put him in.
When once the door was fastened upon him Toby tried
to impress upon his monkey friend's mind the importance of
being more sedate, and he was convinced that the words
had sunk deep into Mr. Stubbs's heart, for, by the time he
had concluded, the old monkey was seated in the corner of
* /
Ten Weeks with a Circus. 101
the cage, looking up from under his shaggy eyebrows in the
most reproachful manner possible.
Toby felt sorry that he had spoken so harshly, and was
about to make amends for his severity, when Mr. Lord's
gruff voice recalled him to the fact that his time was not
his own, and he therefore commenced his day's work, but
with a lighter heart than he had had since he stole away
from Uncle Daniel and Guilford.
This day was not very much different from the preceding
one so far as the manner of Mr. Lord and his partner toward
the boy was concerned ; they seemed to have an idea that
he was doing only about half as much work as he ought to,
and both united in swearing at and abusing him as much as
possible.
So far as his relations with other members of the com-
pany were concerned, Toby now stood in a much better po-
sition than before. Those who had witnessed the scene
told the others how Toby had led in the monkeys on the
night previous, and nearly every member of the company
had a kind word for the little fellow whose head could
hardly be seen above the counter of Messrs. Lord and
Jacobs's booth.
IO2
Toby Tyler ; or,
CHAPTER IX.
THE DINNER-PARTY.
noon Toby was thoroughly tired out, for when-
ever any one spoke kindly to him Mr. Lord seem-
ed to take a malicious pleasure in giving him
extra tasks to do, until Toby began to hope that
no one else would pay any attention to him. On this day
he was permitted to go to dinner first, and after he return-
ed he was left in charge of the booth. Trade beins; dull
o o
as it usually was during the dinner hour he had very little
work to do after he had cleaned the glasses and set things
to rights generally.
When, therefore, he saw the gaunt form of the skeleton
emerge from his tent and come toward him he was partic-
ularly pleased, for he had begun to think very kindly of the
thin man and his fleshv wife.
V
"Well, Toby," said the skeleton, as he came up to the
booth, carefully dusted Mr. Lord's private chair, and sat
down very cautiously in it, as if he expected that it would
break down under his weight, " I hear you've been making
Ten Weeks wit/i a Circus. 103
quite a hero of yourself by capturing the monkeys last
night."
Toby's freckled face reddened with pleasure as he heard
these words, and lie stammered out, with considerable dif-
ficulty, "I didn't do anything; it was Mr. Stubbs that
brought 'em back."
O
" Mr. Stubbs !" And the skeleton laughed so heartily
that Toby was afraid he would dislocate some of his thinly-
covered joints. " When you was tellin' about Mr. Stubbs
yesterday I thought you meant some one belonging to the
company. You ought to have seen my wife Lilly shake
with laughing when I told her who Mr. Stubbs was !"
"Yes," said Toby, at a loss to know just what to say,
"I should think she would shake when she laughs."
"She does," replied the skeleton. "If you could see
her when something funny strikes her you'd think she was
one of those big plates of jelly that they have in the bake-
shop windows." And Mr. Treat looked proudly at the gaudy
picture which represented his wife in all her monstrosity of
flesh. " She's a great woman, Toby, an' she's got a great
head."
Toby nodded his head in assent. He would have liked
to have said something nice regarding Mrs. Treat, but he
really did not know what to say, so he simply contented
himself and the fond husband by nodding.
IO4 Toby Tyler ; or,
" She thinks a good deal of you, Toby," continued the
skeleton, as he moved his chair to a position more favorable
for him to elevate his feet on the edge of the counter, and
placed his handkerchief under him as a cushion ; " she's
talking of you all the time, and if you wasn't such a little
fellow I should begin to be jealous of you I should, upon
my word."
" You're both - - very good," stammered Toby, so
weighted down by a sense of the honor heaped upon him
as to be at a loss for words.
"An' she wants to see more of you. She made me come
out here now, when she knew Mr. Lord would be away, to
tell you that we're goin' to have a little kind of a friendly
dinner in our tent to-morrow she's cooked it all herself,
or she's going to and we want you to come in an' have
some with us."
Toby's eyes glistened at the thought of the unexpected
pleasure, and then his face grew sad as he replied, " I'd like
to come first-rate, Mr. Treat, but I don't s'pose Mr. Lord
would let me stay away from the shop long enough."
" Why, you won't have any work to do to-morrow, Toby
it's Sunday."
" So it is !" said the boy, with a pleased smile, as he
thought of the day of rest which was so near. And then
he added, quickly, "An' this is Saturday afternoon. What
Ten Weeks with a Circus. 105
fun the boys at home are bavin' ! You see there hain't
any school Saturday afternoon, an' all the fellers go out in
the woods."
"And you wish you were there to go with them, don't
you ?" asked the skeleton, sympathetically.
" Indeed I do !" exclaimed Toby, quickly. " It's twice as
good as any circus that ever was."
" But you didn't think so before you came with us, did
you ?"
" I didn't know so much about circuses then as I do
now," replied the boy, sadly.
Mr. Treat saw that be was touching on a sore subject,
and one which was arousing sad thoughts in his little com-
panion's mind, and he hastened to change it at once.
" Then I can tell Lilly that you'll come, can I ?"
" Oh yes, I'll be sure to be there ; an' I want you to
know just bow good I think you both are to me."
" That's all right, Toby," said Mr. Treat, with a pleased
expression on his face ; " an' you may bring Mr. Stubbs
with you, if you want to."
"Thank you," said Toby; "I'm sure Mr. Stubbs will be
just as glad to corne as I shall. But where will we be to-
morrow ?"
" Right here. We always stay over Sunday at the place
where we show Saturday. But I must be fifoing, or Lillv
/ O O' v
io6 Toby Tyler; or,
will worry her life out of her for fear I'm somewhere get-
ting cold. She's aw r ful careful of me, that woman is.
You'll be on hand to-morrow at one o'clock, won't you ?"
" Indeed I will," said Toby, emphatically, " an' I'll bring
Mr. Stubbs with me too."
With a friendly nod of the head, the skeleton hurried
away to reassure his wife that he was safe and well ; and
before he had hardly disappeared within the tent Toby had
another caller, who was none other than his friend Old Ben,
the driver.
" Well, my boy," shouted Ben, in his cheery, hearty tones,
" I haven't seen you since you left the wagon so sudden
last night. Did you get shook up much?"
" Oh no," replied Toby : " you see I hain't very big ; an'
then I struck in the mud ; so I got off pretty easy."
" That's a fact; an' you can thank your lucky stars for it,
too, for I've seen grown-up men get pitched off a wagon
in that way an' break their necks doin' it. But has Job
told you where you was going to sleep to-night? You
know we stay over here till to-morrow."
"I didn't think anything about that; but I s'pose I'll
sleep in the wagon, won't I ?"
"You can sleep at the hotel, if you want to; but the
beds will likely be dirty; an' if you take my advice you'll
crawl into some of the wagons in the tent."
Cs
Ten Weeks with a Circus. 107
Ben then explained to him that, after his work was done
that night, he would not be expected to report for duty
until the time for starting on Sunday night, and concluded
his remarks by saying,
"Now you know what your rights are, an' don't you let
Job impose on you in any way. I'll be round here after
you get through work, an' we'll bunk in somewhere to-
gether."
The arrival of Messrs. Lord and Jacobs put a stop to the
conversation, and was the signal for Toby's time of trial.
It seemed to him, and with good reason, that the chief de-
light these men had in life was to torment him, for neither
ever spoke a pleasant word to him ; and when one was not
giving him some difficult work to do, or finding fault in
some way, the other would be sure to do so ; and Toby had
very little comfort from the time he began work in the
morning until he stopped at night.
It was not until after the evening performance was over
that Toby had a chance to speak with Mr. Stubbs, and then
he was so tired that he simply took the old monkey from
the cage, nestled him under his jacket, and lay down with
him to sleep in the place which Old Ben had selected.
When the morning came Mr. Stubbs aroused his young
master at a much earlier hour than he would have awaken-
ed had he been left to himself, and the two went out for
io8 Toby Tyler ; or,
a short walk before breakfast. They went instinctively
toward the woods; and when the shade of the trees was
once reached, how the two revelled in their freedom ! Mr.
Stubbs climbed into the trees, swung himself from one to
the other by means of his tail, gathered half-ripe nuts,
which he threw at his master, tried to catch the birds,
and had a good time generally.
Toby, stretched at full length on the mossy bank, watch-
ed the antics of his pet, laughing boisterously at times as
Mr. Stubbs would do some one thing more comical than
usual, and forgot there was in this world such a thing as a
circus, or such a man as Job Lord. It was to Toby a morn-
ing without a flaw, and he took no heed of the time, until
the sound of the church bells warned him of the lateness of
the hour, reminding him at the same time of where he
should be --where he would be, if he were at home with
Uncle Daniel.
In the mean time the old monkey had been trying to
attract his young master's attention, and, failing in his ef-
forts, he came down from the tree, crept softly up to Toby,
and nestled his head under the boy's arm.
This little act of devotion seemed to cause Toby's grief
to burst forth afresh, and clasping the monkey around the
neck, hugging him close to his bosom, he sobbed,
" Oh, Mr. Stubbs, Mr. Stubbs, how lonesome we are ! If
Ten Weeks with a Circus. 109
we was only at Uncle Dan'l's we'd be the two happiest
people in all this world. We could play on the hay, or go
tip to the pasture, or go down to the village ; an' I'd work
my fingers off if I could only be there just once more. It
was wicked for me to run away, an' now I'm gettin' paid
for it."
He hugged the monkey closely, swaying his body to and
fro, and presenting a perfect picture of grief. The monkey,
not knowing what to make of this changed mood, cow-
ered whimperingly in his arms, looking up into his face,
and licking the boy's hands whenever he had- the oppor-
tunity.
It was some time before Toby's grief exhausted itself;
and then, still clasping the monkey, he hurried out of the
woods toward the town and the now thoroughly hated cir-
cus tents.
The clocks were just striking one as Toby entered the
enclosure used by the show as a place of performance, and,
remembering his engagement with the skeleton and his
wife, he went directly to their tent. From the odors which
assailed him as he entered, it was very evident that a feast
of no mean proportions was in course of preparation, and
Toby's keen appetite returned in full vigor. Even the
monkey seemed affected by the odor, for he danced about
on his master's shoulder, and chattered so that Toby was
1 1 o Toby Tyler ; or,
obliged to choke him a little in order to make him present
a respectable appearance.
When Toby reached the interior of the tent he was as-
tonished at the extent of the preparations that were being
made, and gazed around him in surprise. The platform on
which the lean man and fat woman were in the habit of
exhibiting themselves now bore a long table, loaded with
eatables ; and, from the fact that eight or ten chairs were
ranged around it, Toby understood that he was not the only
guest invited to the feast. Some little attempt had also
been made at decoration by festooning that end of the tent
where the platform was placed with two or three flags and
some streamers, and the tent -poles also were fringed with
tissue-paper of the brightest colors.
Toby had only time enough to notice this when the
skeleton advanced toward him, and, with the liveliest ap-
pearance of pleasure, said, as he took him by the hands with
a grip that made him wince,
" It gives me great joy, Mr. Tyler, to welcome you at one
of our little home reunions, if one can call a tent, that is
moved every day in the week, home."
Toby hardly knew whom Mr. Treat referred to when he
said "Mr. Tyler;" but by the time his hands were released
from the bony grasp he understood that it was himself who
was spoken to.
TOBY IS INTRODUCED TO THE ALBINOS.
Ten Weeks with a Circus. 1 1 3
The skeleton then formally introduced him to the other
guests present, who were sitting at one end of the tent,
and evidently anxiously awaiting the coming feast.
" These," said Mr. Treat, as he waved his hand toward
two white-haired, pink-eyed young ladies, who sat with their
arms twined around each other's waist, and had been eying
the monkey with some appearance of fear, " are the Miss
Cushings, known to the world as the Albino Children ; they
command a large salary, and form a very attractive feature
of our exhibition."
The young ladies arose at the same time, as if they had
been the Siamese Twins and could not act independently
of each other, and bowed.
Toby made the best bow he was capable of; and the
monkey made frantic efforts to escape, as if he would en-
joy twisting his paws in their perpendicular hair.
"And this," continued Mr. Treat, pointing to a sickly,
sour -looking individual, who was sitting apart from the
others, with his arms folded, and looking as if he was count-
ing the very seconds before the dinner should begin, " is the
wonderful Signer Castro, whose sword-swallowing feats you
have doubtless heard of."
Toby stepped back just one step, as if overwhelmed by
awe at beholding the signer in the guise of a humble in-
dividual; and the gentleman who gained his livelihood by
8
1 1 4 Toby Tyler ; or,
swallowing swords unbent his dignity so far as to unfold
his arms and present a very dirty-looking hand for Toby to
shake. The boy took hold of the outstretched hand, won-
dering why the signor never used soap and water ; and Mr.
Stubbs, apparently afraid of the sour-looking man, retreated
to Toby's shoulder, where he sat chattering and scolding
about the introduction.
Again the skeleton waved his hand, and this time he in-
troduced " Mademoiselle Spelletti, the wonderful snake-
charmer, whose exploits in this country, and before the
crowned heads of Europe, had caused the whole world to
stand aghast at her daring."
o o
Mademoiselle Spelletti was a very ordinary-looking young
lady of about twenty -five years of age, who looked very
much as if her name might originally have been Murphy,
and she too extended a hand for Toby to grasp only her
hand was clean, and she appeared to be a very much more
pleasant acquaintance than the gentleman who swallowed
swords.
This ended the introductions; and Toby was just look-
ing around for a seat, when Mrs. Treat, the fat lady, and
the giver of the feast which w r as about to come, and which
already smelled so invitingly, entered from behind a cur-
tain of canvas, where the cooking -stove was supposed to
be located.
Ten Weeks with a Circus. 1 1 5
She had every appearance of being the cook for the oc-
casion. Her sleeves were rolled up, her hair tumbled and
frowzy, and there were several unmistakable marks of
grease on the front of her calico dress.
o
She waited for no ceremony, but rushed up to Toby, and
taking him in her arms, gave him such a squeeze that there
seemed to be every possibility that she would break all the
bones in his body ; and she kept him so long in this bear-
like embrace that Mr. Stubbs reached his little brown paws
over and got such a hold of her hair that all present, save
Signer Castro, rushed forward to release her from the
monkey's grasp.
" You dear little thing !" said Mrs. Treat, paying but slight
attention to the hair -pulling she had just undergone, and
holding Toby at arm's-length, so that she could look into his
face, " you were so late that I was afraid you wasn't com-
ing ; and my dinner wouldn't have tasted half so good if you
hadn't been here to eat some."
Toby hardly knew w r hat to say for this hearty welcome,
but he managed to tell the large and kind-hearted lady that
he had had no idea of missing the dinner, and that he was
very glad she wanted him to come.
" Want you to come, you dear little thing !" she exclaim-
ed, as she gave him another hug, but careful not to give Mr.
Stubbs a chance of grasping her hair again. "Of course I
1 1 6 Toby Tyler ; or,
wanted yon to come, for this dinner has been got np so that
you conld meet these people here, and so that they could see
yon."
Toby was entirely at a loss to know what to say to
this overwhelming compliment, and for that reason did not
say anything, only submitting patiently to the third hug,
which was all Mrs. Treat had time to give him, as she was
obliged to rush behind the canvas screen again, as there
were unmistakable sounds of something boiling over on
the stove.
"You'll excuse me," said the skeleton, with an air of
dignity, waving his hand once more toward the assembled
company, " bnt, while introducing you to Mr. Tyler, I had
almost forgotten to introduce him to you. This, ladies and
gentlemen ' : -and here he touched Toby on the shoulder, as
if lie were some living curiosity whose habits and mode of
capture he was about to explain to a party of spectators
" is Mr. Toby Tyler, of whom you heard on the night when
the monkey cage was smashed, and who now carries with
him the identical monkey which was presented to him by
the manager of this great show as a token of esteem for his
skill and bravery in capturing the entire lot of monkeys
without a single blow."
By the time that Mr. Treat got through with this long
speech Toby felt very much as if lie were some wonderful
Ten Weeks with a Circus. 1 1 7
creature whom the skeleton was exhibiting; but he man-
aged to rise to his feet and duck his little red head in his
^j
best imitation of a bow. Then he sat down and hugged
Mr. Stubbs to cover his confusion.
One of the Albino Children now came forward, and,
while stroking Mr. Stubbs's hair, looked so intently at Toby
that for the life of him he couldn't say which she regarded
as the curiosity, himself or the monkey ; therefore he hast-
ened to say, modestly,
" I didn't do much toward catchin' the monkeys ; Mr.
Stubbs here did almost all of it, an' I only led 'em in."
" There, there, my boy," said the skeleton, in a fatherly
tone, " I've heard the whole story from Old Ben, an' I
sha'n't let you get out of it like that. We all know what
you did, an' it's no use for you to deny any part of it."
u8 Toby Tyler; or,
CHAPTER X.
MR. STUBBS AT A PARTY.
was about to say that he did not intend to
represent the matter other than it really was, when
a voice from behind the canvas screen arrested fur-
ther conversation.
" Sam-u-el, come an' help me carry these things in."
Something very like a smile of satisfaction passed over
SiVnor Castro's face as he heard this, which told him that
^^ '
the time for the feast was near at hand ; and the snake-
charmer, as well as the Albino Children, seemed quite as
much pleased as did the sword-swallower.
"You will excuse me, ladies and gentlemen," said the
skeleton, in an important tone; "I must help Lilly, and
then I shall have the pleasure of helping you to some of her
cooking, which, if I do say it, that oughtn't, is as good as
can be found in this entire country."
Then he too disappeared behind the canvas screen.
Left alone, Toby looked at the ladies, and the ladies
looked at him, in perfect silence, while the sword-swallower
Ten Weeks with a Circus. 1 1 9
grimly regarded them all, until Mr. Treat reappeared, bear-
ing on a platter an immense turkey, as nicely browned as any
Thanksgiving turkey Toby ever saw. Behind him came his
fat wife, carrying several dishes, each of which emitted a
most fragrant odor; and as these were placed upon the
table the spirits of the sword-swallower seemed to revive,
and he smiled pleasantly ; while even the ladies appeared
animated by the sight and odor of the good things which
they were to be called upon so soon to pass judgment.
Several times did Mr. and Mrs. Treat bustle in and out
from behind the screen, and each time they made some ad-
dition to that which was upon the table, until Toby began to
fear that they would never finish, and the sword-swallower
/ 7
seemed unable to restrain his impatience.
At last the finishing touch had been put to the table, the
last dish placed in position, and then, with a certain kind of
grace, which no one but a man as thin as Mr. Treat could
assume, he advanced to the edge of the platform and said,
" Ladies and gentlemen, nothing gives me greater pleasure
than to invite you all, including Mr. Tyler's friend Stubbs,
to the bountiful repast which my Lilly has prepared for-
At this point, Mr. Treat's speech for it certainly seemed
as if he had commenced to make one was broken off in a
most summary manner. His wife had come up behind him,
and, with as much ease as if he had been a child, lifted him
I2O Toby Tyler; or,
from off the floor and placed him gently in the chair at the
head of the table.
" Come right up and get dinner," she said to her guests.
" If you had waited until Samuel had finished his speech
everything on the table would have been stone-cold."
The guests proceeded to obey her kindly command ; and
it is to be regretted that the sword-swal lower had no better
manners than to jump on to the platform with one bound
and seat himself at the table with the most unseemly haste.
The others, and more especially Toby, proceeded in a lei-
surely and more dignified manner.
A seat had been placed by the side of the one intended
for Toby for the accommodation of Mr. Stubbs, who suf-
fered a napkin to be tied under his chin, and behaved gen-
erally in a manner that gladdened the heart of his young
master.
Mr. Treat cut generous slices from the turkey for each
guest, and Mrs. Treat piled their plates high with all sorts
of vegetables, complaining, after the manner of housewives
generally, that the food was not cooked as she would like to
have had it, and declaring that she had had poor luck with
everything that morning, when she firmly believed in her
heart that her table had never looked better.
After the company had had the edge taken off their appe-
tites which effect was produced on the sword-swallower only
Ten Weeks with a Circus. 1 2 1
after he had been helped three different times, the conver-
sation began by the Fat Woman asking Toby how he got
alone; with Mr. Lord.
O
Toby could not give a very good account of his employ-
er, but he had the good sense not to cast a damper on a
party of pleasure by reciting his own troubles ; so he said,
evasively,
" I guess I shall get along pretty well, now that I have got
so many friends."
Just as he had commenced to speak the skeleton had put
into his mouth a very large piece of turkey very much
larger in proportion than himself and when Toby had
finished speaking he started to say something evidently
not very complimentary to Mr. Lord. But what it was the
company never knew; for just as he opened his mouth to
speak, the food went down the wrong way, his face be-
came a bright purple, and it was quite evident that he was
choking.
Toby was alarmed, and sprung from his chair to assist his
friend, upsetting Mr. Stubbs from his seat, causing him to
scamper up the tent-pole, with the napkin still tied around
his neck, and to scold in his most vehement manner. Before
Tobv could reach the skeleton, however, the Fat Woman had
tj
darted toward her lean husband, caught him by the arm,
and was pounding his back, by the time Toby got there, so
122 Toby Tyler; or,
vigorously, that the boy was afraid her enormous hand would
go through his tissue-paper-like frame.
"I wouldn't," said Toby, in alarm; "you may break
him."
"Don't you get frightened," said Mrs. Treat, turning her
husband completely over, and still continuing the drumming
process. " He's often taken this way ; he's such a glutton
that he'd try to swallow the turkey whole if he could get it
in his mouth, an' he's so thin that 'most anything sticks in
his throat."
" I should think you'd break him all up," said Toby, apol-
ogetically, as he resumed his seat at the table ; " he don't
look as if he could stand very much of that sort of thing."
But apparently Mr. Treat could stand very much more
than Toby gave him credit for, because at this juncture
he stopped coughing, and his face fast assumed its natural
hue.
His attentive wife, seeing that he had ceased struggling,
lifted him in her arms, and sat him down in his chair with
a force that threatened to snap his very head off.
" There !" she said, as he wheezed a little from the effects
of the shock, "now see if you can behave yourself, an' chew
your meat as you ought to ! One of these days w r hen you're
alone you'll try that game, and that '11 be the last of you."
" If he'd try to do one of my tricks long enough he'd get
Ten Weeks with a Circus. 123
so that there wouldn't hardly anything choke him," the
sword-swallower ventured to suggest, mildly, as he wiped a
small stream of cranberry-sauce from his chin and laid a
well-polished turkey-bone by the side of his plate.
" I'd like to see him try it !" said the fat lady, with just a
shade of anger in her voice. Then turning toward her hus-
band, she said, emphatically, " Samuel, don't you ever let me
catch you swallowing a sword !"
" I won't, my love, I won't ; and I will try to chew my
meat more," replied the very thin glutton, in a feeble tone.
Toby thought that perhaps the skeleton might keep the
first part of that promise, but he was not quite sure about
the last.
It required no little coaxing on the part of both Toby and
Mrs. Treat to induce Mr. Stubbs to come down from his lof-
ty perch ; but the task was accomplished at last, and by the
gift of a very large doughnut he was induced to resume his
seat at the table.
The time had now come when the duties of a host, in his
own peculiar way of viewing them, devolved upon Mr. Treat,
and he said, as he pushed his chair back a short distance
from the table, and tried to polish the front of his vest with
his napkin,
" I don't want this fact lost sight of, because it is an im-
portant one : every one must remember that we have gath-
124 Toby Tyler; or,
ered here to meet and become better acquainted with the
latest and best addition to this circus, Mr. Toby Tyler."
Poor Toby ! As the company all looked directly at him,
and Mrs. Treat nodded her enormous head energetically, as
if to say that she agreed exactly with her husband, the poor
boy's face grew very red and the squash-pie lost its flavor.
" Although Mr. Tyler may not be exactly one of us, owing
to the fact that he does not belong to the profession, but is
only one of the adjuncts to it, so to speak," continued the
skeleton, in a voice which was fast being raised to its high-
est pitch, " we feel proud, after his exploits at the time of
the accident, to have him with us, and gladly welcome him
now, through the medium of this little feast prepared by
my Lilly."
Here the Albino Children nodded their heads in approval,
and the sword-swallower gave a grunt of assent; and, thus
encouraged, the skeleton proceeded :
" I feel, when I say that we like and admire Mr. Tyler, all
present will agree with me, and all would like to hear him
say a word for himself."
The skeleton seemed to have expressed the views of those
present remarkably well, judging from their expressions of
pleasure and assent, and all waited for the honored guest to
speak.
Toby knew that he must say something, but he couldn't
Ten Weeks with a Circus. 125
think of a single thing ; he tried over and over again to call
to his mind something which lie had read as to how people
acted and what they said when they were expected to speak
at a dinner-table, but his thoughts refused to go back for
him, and the silence was actually becoming painful. Final-
ly, and with the greatest effort, he managed to say, with a
very perceptible stammer, and while his face was growing
very red :
"I know I ought to say something to pay for this big din-
ner that you said was gotten up for me, but I don't know
what to say, unless to thank you for it. You see I hain't
big enough to say much, an', as Uncle Dan'l says, I don't
amount to very much 'cept for eatin', an' I guess he's right.
You're all real good to me, an' when I get to be a man I'll
try to do as much for you."
Toby had risen to his feet when he began to make his
speech, and while he was speaking Mr. Stubbs had crawled
over into his chair. When he finished he sat down again
O
without looking behind him, and of course sat plump on the
monkey. There was a loud outcry from Mr. Stubbs, a little
frightened noise from Toby, an instant's scrambling, and
then boy, monkey, and chair tumbled off the platform, land-
ing on the ground in an indescribable mass, from which the
monkey extricated himself more quickly than Toby could,
and again took refuge on the top of the tent-pole.
126 Toby Tyler; or,
Of course all the guests ran to Toby's assistance ; and
while the Fat Woman poked him all over to see that none
of his bones were broken, the skeleton brushed the dirt
from his clothes.
All this time the monkey screamed, yelled, and danced
around on the tent-pole and ropes as if his feelings had re-
ceived a shock from which he could never recover.
" I didn't mean to end it up that way, but it was Mr.
Stubbs's fault," said Toby, as soon as quiet had been re-
stored, and the guests, with the exception of the monkey,
were seated at the table once more.
" Of course you didn't," said Mrs. Treat, in a kindly tone.
" But don't you feel bad about it one bit, for you ought to
thank your lucky stars that you didn't break any of your
bones."
" I s'pose I did," said Toby, soberly, as he looked back at
the scene of his disaster, and then up at the chattering mon-
key that had caused all the trouble.
Shortly after this, Mr. Stubbs having again been coaxed
down from his lofty position, Toby took his departure, prom-
ising to call as often during the week as he could get away
from his exacting employers.
Just outside the tent he met Old Ben, who said, as he
showed signs of indulging in another of his internal laugh-
ing spells :
TOBY SITS DOWN ON MR. STUBBS.
Ten Weeks with a Circus. 129
" Hello ! lias the skeleton an' Ins lily of a wife been givin'
a blow-out to you too ?"
" They invited me in there to dinner," said Toby, mod-
estly.
"Of course they did of course they did," replied Ben,
with a chuckle ; " they carries a cookin'-stove along with
'em, so 's they can give these little spreads whenever we stay
over a day in a place. Oh, I've been there !"
" And did they ask you to make a speech ?"
" Of course. Did they try it on you ?"
" Yes," said Toby, mournfully, " an' I tumbled off the
platform when I got through."
"I didn't do exactly that," replied Ben, thoughtfully;
"but I s'pose you got too much steam on, seem' 's how it
was likely your first speech. Now you'd better go into the
tent an' try to get a little sleep, 'cause we've got a long ride
to-night over a rough road, an' you won't get more'n a cat-
nap all night."
" But where are you going ?" asked Toby, as he shifted
Mr. Stubbs over to his other shoulder, preparatory to follow-
ing his friend's advice.
" I'm goin' to church," said Ben, and then Toby noticed
for the first time that the old driver had made some attempt
at dressing-up. " I've been with the circus, man an' boy, for
nigh to forty years, an' I allus go to meetin' once on Sunday.
9
130 Toby Tyler ; or,
It's somethin' I promised my old mother I would do, an' I
hain't broke my promise yet."
" Why don't yon take me with yon ?" asked Toby, wist-
fully, as he thought of the little church on the hill at home,
and wished oh, so earnestly ! that he was there then, even
at the risk of being thumped on the head with Uncle Dan-
iel's book.
" If I'd seen you this mornin' I would," said Ben ; " but
now you must try to bottle up some sleep agin to-night, an'
next Sunday I'll take yon."
With these words Old Ben started off, and Toby proceeded
to carry out his wishes, although he rather doubted the pos-
sibility of "bottling up" any sleep that afternoon.
He lay down on the top of the wagon, after having put
Mr. Stubbs inside, with the others of his tribe, and in a very
few moments the boy was sound asleep, dreaming of a din-
ner-party at which Mr. Stubbs made a speech, and he him-
self scampered up and down the tent-pole.
Ten Weeks with a Circus. 131
CHAPTER XL
A STORMY NIGHT.
Toby awoke it was nearly dark, and the
bustle around him told very plainly that the time
for departure was near at hand. He rubbed
his eyes just enough to make sure that he was
thoroughly awake, and then jumped down from his rather
lofty bed, and ran around to the door of the cage to assure
himself that Mr. Stubbs was safe. This done, his prepara-
tions for the journey were made.
Now, Toby noticed that each one of the drivers was clad
in rubber clothing, and, after listening for a moment, he
learned the cause of their water -proof garments. It was
raining very hard, and Toby thought with dismay of the
long ride that he would have to take on the top of the
monkeys' cage, with no protection whatever save that af-
forded by his ordinary clothing.
While he was standing by the side of the wagon, wonder-
ing how he should get along, Old Ben came in. The water
was pouring from his clothes in little rivulets, and he af-
132 Toby Tyler; or,
forded most unmistakable evidence of the damp state of
the weather.
" It's a nasty night, my boy," said the old driver, in much
the same cheery tone that he would have used had he been
informing Toby that it was a beautiful moonlight evening.
" I guess I'll get wet," said Toby, ruefully, as he looked
up at the lofty seat which he was to occupy.
"Bless me!" said Ben, as if the thought had just come
to him, " it won't do for you to ride outside on a night like
this. You wait here, an' I'll see what I can do for you."
The old man hurried off to the other end of the tent, and
almost before Toby thought he had time to go as far as the
rino- he returned.
o
" It's all right," he said, and this time in a gruff voice,
as if he were announcing some misfortune; "you're to ride
in the women's waff on. Come with me."
o
Toby followed without a question, though he was wholly
at a loss to understand what the " women's wagon ): was,
for he had never seen anything which looked like one.
He soon learned, however, when Old Ben stopped in
front or, rather, at the end of a long covered wagon that
looked like an omnibus, except that it was considerably
longer, and the seats inside were divided by arms, padded,
to make them comfortable to lean against.
"Here's the boy," said Ben, as he lifted Toby up on the
Ten Weeks with a Circus. 133
step, gave him a gentle push to intimate that he was to get
inside, and then left him.
As Toby stepped inside he saw that the wagon was near-
ly full of women and children ; and fearing lest he should
take a seat that belonged to some one else, he stood in the
middle of the wagon, not knowing what to do.
" Why don't you sit down, little boy ?" asked one of the
ladies, after Toby had remained standing nearly five min-
utes and the wagon was about to start.
" Well," said Toby, with some hesitation, as he looked
around at the two or three empty seats that remained, " I
didn't want to get in anybody else's place, an' I didn't
know where to sit."
" Come right here," said the lady, as she pointed to a
seat by the side of a little girl who did not look any older
than Toby ; " the lady who usually occupies that seat will
not be here to-night, and you can have it."
" Thank you, ma'am," said Toby, as he sat timidly down
on the edge of the seat, hardly daring to sit back comfort-
ably, and feeling very awkward meanwhile, but congratu-
lating himself on being thus protected from the pouring
rain.
The wagon started, and as each one talked with her
neighbor, Toby felt a most dismal sense of loneliness, and
almost wished that he was riding on the monkey-cart with
134 Toby Tyler; or,
Ben, where he could have some one to talk with. He grad-
ually pushed himself back into a more comfortable posi-
tion, and had then an opportunity of seeing more plainly
the young girl who rode by his side.
She was quite as young as Toby, and small of her age ;
but there was an old look about her face that made the boy
think of her as beins; an old woman cut down to fit chil-
O
dren's clothes. Toby had looked at her so earnestly that
she observed him, and asked, " What is your name ?"
" Toby, Tyler."
" What do you do in the circus ?"
" Sell candy for Mr. Lord."
"Oh! I thought you was a new member of the company."
Toby knew by the tone of her voice that he had fallen
considerably in her estimation by not being one of the
performers, and it was some little time before he ventured
to speak ; and then he asked, timidly, " What do you do ?"
" I ride one of the horses with mother."
" Are you the little girl that comes out with the lady an'
four horses ?" asked Toby, in awe that he should be con-
versing with so famous a person.
" Yes, I am. Don't I do it nicely T
" Why, you're a perfect little little fairy !" exclaimed
Toby, after hesitating a moment to find some word which
would exactly express his idea.
TOBY IN THE " WOMEN'S WAGON."
Ten Weeks with a Circus. 137
This praise seemed to please the young lady, and in a
short time the two became very good friends, even if Toby
did not occupy a more exalted position than that of candy-
seller. She had learned from him all about the accident
to the monkey-cage, and about Mr. Stnbbs, and in return
had told him that her name was Ella Mason, though on the
bills she was called "Mademoiselle Jeannette."
For a long time the two children sat talking together,
and then Mademoiselle Jeannette curled herself up on the
seat, with her head in her mother's lap, and went to sleep.
Toby had resolved to keep awake and watch her, for he
was struck with admiration at her face ; but sleep got the
better of him in less than five minutes after he had made
the resolution, and he sat bolt-upright, with his little round
head nodding and bobbing until it seemed almost certain
that he would shake it off.
When Toby awoke the wagon was drawn up by the
side of the road, the sun was shining brightly, preparations
were being made for the entree into town, and the harsh
voice of Mr. Job Lord was shouting his name in a tone
that boded no good for poor Toby when he should make
his appearance.
Toby would have hesitated before meeting his angry em-
ployer but that he knew it would only make matters worse
for him when he did show himself, and he mentally braced
j */
138 Toby Tyler; or,
himself for the trouble which he knew was coming. The
little girl whose acquaintance he had made the night pre-
vious was still sleeping ; and, wishing to say good-bye to her
in some way without awakening her, he stooped down and
gently kissed the skirt of her dress. Then he went out to
meet his master.
Mr. Lord was thoroughly enraged when Toby left the
wagon, and saw the boy just as he stepped to the ground.
The angry man gave a quick glance around, to make
sure that none of Toby's friends were in sight, and then
caught him by the coat -collar and commenced to whip
him severely with the small rubber cane that he usually
carried.
Mr. Job Lord lifted the poor boy entirely clear of the
ground, and each blow that he struck could be heard al-
most the entire length of the circus train.
" You've been makin' so many acquaintances here that
you hain't willin' to do any work," he said, savagely, as he
redoubled the force of his blows.
" Oli, please stop ! please stop !" shrieked the poor boy
in his agony. " I'll do everything you tell me to, if you
won't strike me again !"
Tliis piteous appeal seemed to have no effect upon the
cruel man, and he continued to whip the boy, despite his
cries and entreaties, until his arm fairly ached from the
Ten Weeks zvith a Circus. 139
exertion, and Toby's body was crossed and recrossed with
the livid marks of the cane.
"Now, let's see whether you'll 'tend to your work or
not !" said the man as he flung Toby from him with such
force that the boy staggered, reeled, and nearly fell into the
little brook that flowed by the roadside. "I'll make you
understand that all the friends you've whined around in
this show can't save you from a lickin' when I get ready to
give you one! Now go an' do your work that ought to
have been done an hour ago !"
Mr. Lord walked away with the proud consciousness of
a man who has achieved a great victory and Toby was
limping painfully along toward the cart that was used in
conveying Mr. Lord's stock-in-trade, when he felt a tiny
hand slip into his, and heard a childish voice say,
" Don't cry, Toby. Some time, when I get big enough,
I'll make Mr. Lord sorry that he whipped you as he did ;
and I'm big enough now to tell him just what kind of a
man I think he is."
Looking around, Toby saw his little acquaintance of the
evening previous, and he tried to force back the big tears
that were rolling down his cheeks as he said, in a voice
choked with grief, " You're awful good, an' I don't mind
the lickin' when you say you're sorry for me. I s'pose I
deserve it for runnin' away from Uncle Dan'l."
140 Toby Tyler ; or,
" Did it hurt you much ?" she asked, feelingly.
" It did when he was doin' it," replied Toby, manfully,
" but it don't a bit now that you've come."
" Then I'll go and talk to that Mr. Lord, and I'll come
and see you again after we get into town," said the little
miss, as she hurried away to tell the candy vender what
she thought of him.
That day, as on all others since he had been with the
circus, Toby went to his work with a heavy heart, and time
and time again did he count the money which had been
given him by kind-hearted strangers, to see whether he had
enough to warrant his attempting to run away. Three dol-
lars and twenty-five cents was the total amount of his treas-
ure, and, large as that sum appeared to him, he could not
satisfy himself that he had sufficient to enable him to get
back to the home which he had so wickedly left. When-
ever he thought of this home, of the Uncle Daniel who had
t_ '
in charity cared for him a motherless, fatherless boy and
of returning to it, with not even as much right as the Prod-
igal Son, of whom he had heard Uncle Daniel tell, his heart
sunk within him, and he doubted whether he would be al-
lowed to remain even if he should be so fortunate as ever
to reach Guilford again.
This day passed, so far as Toby was concerned, very
much as had the others: he could not satisfy either of his
Ten Weeks with a Circus. 141
employers, try as hard as he might; but, as usual, he met
with two or three kindly-disposed people, who added to the
fund that he was accumulating for his second venture of
O
running away by little gifts of money, each one of which
gladdened his heart and made his trouble a trifle less hard
to bear.
During the entire week he was thus equally fortunate.
Each day added something to his fund, and each night it
seemed to Toby that he was one day nearer the freedom
for which he so ardently longed.
The skeleton, the fat lady, Old Ben, the Albino Children,
little Ella, and even the sword -swallower, all gave him a
kindly word as they passed him while he was at his work,
or saw him as the preparations for the grand entree were
being made.
The time had passed slowly to Toby, and yet Sunday
came again as Sundays always come ; and on this day Old
Ben hunted him up, made him wash his face and hands
until they fairly shone from very cleanliness, and then took
him to church. Toby was surprised to find that it was re-
ally a pleasant thing to be able to go to church after being
deprived of it, and was more light-hearted than he had yet
been since he left Gtiilford when he returned to the tent
at noon.
The skeleton had invited him to another dinner-party;
142 Toby Tyler ; or,
but Toby had declined the invitation, agreeing to present
himself in time for supper instead. He hardly cared to go
through the ordeal of another state dinner ; and besides, he
wanted to go off to the woods with the old monkey, where
he could enjoy the silence of the forest, which seemed like
a friend to him, because it reminded him of home.
Taking the monkey with him as usual, he inquired the
nearest way to a grove, and, without waiting for dinner,
started off for an afternoon's quiet enjoyment.
Ten Weeks with a Circus. 143
CHAPTER XII.
TOBY'S GREAT MISFORTUNE.
HE town in which the circus remained over Sim-
day was a small one, and a brisk walk of ten min-
utes sufficed to take Toby into a secluded portion of
a very thickly-grown wood, where he could lie upon
the mossy ground and fairly revel in freedom.
As he lay upon his back, his hands under his head, and his
eyes directed to the branches of the trees above, where the
birds twittered and sung, and the squirrels played in fearless
sport, the monkey enjoyed himself, in his way, by playing
all the monkey antics he knew r of. He scrambled from tree
to tree, swung himself from one branch to the other by the
aid of his tail, and amused both himself and his master, un-
til, tired by his exertions, he crept down by Toby's side and
lay there in quiet, restful content.
One of Toby's reasons for wishing to be by himself that
afternoon was, that he wanted to think over some plan of
escape, for he believed that he had nearly money enough
to enable him to make a bold stroke for freedom and
144 Toby Tyler ; or,
Uncle Daniel's. Therefore, when the monkey nestled down
by his side he was all ready to confide in him that which
had been occupying his busy little brain for the past three
days.
" Mr. Stubbs," he said to the monkey, in a solemn tone,
" we're goin' to run away in a day or two."
Mr. Stubbs did not seem to be moved in the least at this
very startling piece of intelligence, but winked his bright
eyes in unconcern ; and Toby, seeming to think that every-
thing which he said had been understood by the monkey,
continued : " I've got a good deal of money now, an' I guess
there's enough for us to start out on. We'll get away some
night, an' stay in the woods till they get through hunting for
us, an' then we'll go back to Guilford, an' tell Uncle Dan'l
if he'll only take us back we'll never go to sleep in meetin'
any more, an' we'll be just as good as we know how. Now
let's see how much money we've got."
Toby drew from a pocket, which he had been at a great
deal of trouble to make in his shirt, a small bag of silver,
and spread it upon the ground, where he could count it at
his leisure.
The glittering coin instantly attracted the monkey's atten-
tion, and he tried by every means to thrust his little black
paw into the pile; but Toby would allow nothing of that
sort, and pushed him away quite roughly. Then he grew
Ten Weeks with a Circus. 145
excited, and danced and scolded around Toby's treasure,
until the boy had hard work to count it.
He did succeed, however, and as he carefully replaced it
in the bag he said to the monkey, " There's seven dollars
an' thirty cents in that bag, an' every cent of it is mine.
That ought to take care of us for a good while, Mr. Stubbs ;
an' by the time we get home we shall be rich men."
The monkey showed his pleasure at this intelligence by
putting his hand inside Toby's clothes to find the bag of
treasure that he had seen secreted there, and two or three
times, to the great delight of both himself and the boy, he
drew forth the bag, which was immediately taken away from
him.
The shadows were beginning to lengthen in the woods,
and, heeding this warning of the coming night, Toby took
the monkey on his arm and started for home, or for the tent,
which was the only place he could call home.
As he walked along he tried to talk to his pet in a serious
manner, but the monkey, remembering where he had seen
the bright coins secreted, tried so hard to get at them that
finally Toby lost all patience, and gave him quite a hard
cuff on the ear, which had the effect of keeping him quiet
for a time.
That night Toby took supper with the skeleton and his
wife, and he enjoyed the meal, even though it was made
10
146 Toby Tyler ; or,
from what had been left of the turkey that served as the
noonday feast, more than he did the state dinner, where he
was obliged to pay for what he ate by the torture of making
a speech.
There were no guests but Toby present ; and Mr. and Mrs.
Treat were not only very kind, but so attentive that he \vas
actually afraid he should eat so much as to stand in need of
some of the catnip-tea which Mrs. Treat had said she gave
to her husband when he had been equally foolish. The
skeleton would pile his plate high with turkey-bones from
one side, and the fat lady would heap it up, whenever she
could find a chance, with all sorts of food from the other,
until Toby pushed back his chair, his appetite completely
satisfied, if it never had been so before.
Toby had discussed the temper of his employer with his
host and hostess, and, after some considerable conversation,
confided in them his determination to run away.
" I'd hate awfully to have you go," said Mrs. Treat, reflec-
tively ; " but it's a good deal better for you to get away from
that Job Lord if you can. It wouldn't do to let him know
that you had any idea of goin', for he'd watch you as a cat
watches a mouse, an' never let you go so long as he saw a
chance to keep you. I heard him tellin' one of the drivers
the other day that you sold more goods than any other boy he
ever had, an' he was going to keep you with him all summer."
Ten Weeks with a Circus. 147
" Be careful in what you do, my boy," said the skeleton,
sagely, as he arranged a large cushion in an arm-chair, and
proceeded to make ready for his after-dinner nap; " be sure
that you're all ready before you start, an', when you do go,
get a good ways ahead of him ; for if he should ever catch
you the trouncin' you'd get would be awful."
Toby assured his friends that he would use every endeavor
to make his escape successful when he did start ; and Mrs.
Treat, with an eye to the boy's comfort, said, " Let me know
the night you're goin', an' I'll fix you up something to eat,
so's you won't be hungry before you come to a place where
you can buy something."
As these kind-hearted people talked with him, and were
ready thus to aid him in every way that lay in their power,
Toby thought that he had been very fortunate in thus hav-
ing made so many kind friends in a place where he was
having so much trouble.
It was not until he heard the sounds of preparation for
departure that he left the skeleton's tent, and then, with Mr.
Stubbs clasped tightly to his breast, he hurried over to the
wagon where Old Ben was nearly ready to start.
" All right, Toby," said the old driver, as the boy came in
sight ; " I was afraid you was going to keep me waitin' for
the first time. Jump right up on the box, for there hain't
no time to lose, an' I guess you'll have to carry the monkey
148 Toby Tyler ; or,
in your arms, for I don't want to stop to open the cage
now.'
" I'd just as soon carry him, an' a little rather," said Toby,
as he clambered up on the high seat and arranged a com-
fortable place in his lap for his pet to sit.
In another moment the heavy team had started, and near-
ly the entire circus was on the move. " ISTow tell me what
you've been doin' since I left you," said Old Ben, after they
were well clear of the town, and he could trust his horses to
follow the team ahead. " I s'pose you've been to see the
skeleton an' his mountain of a wife ?"
Toby gave a clear account of where he had been and what
he had done, and when he concluded he told Old Ben of
his determination to run away, and asked his advice on the
matter.
" My advice," said Ben, after he had waited some time, to
give due weight to his words, "is that you clear out from
this show just as soon as you can. This hain't no fit place
for a boy of your age to be in, an' the sooner you get back
where you started from, an' get to school, the better. But
Job Lord will do all he can to keep you from goin', if he
thinks you have any idea of leavin' him."
Toby assured Ben, as he had assured the skeleton and his
wife, that he would be very careful in all he did, and lay his
plans with the utmost secrecy ; and then he asked whether
Ten Weeks with a Circus. 149
Ben thought the amount of money which he had would be
sufficient to carry him home.
" Waal, that depends," said the driver, slowly. " If you
go to spreadin' yourself all over creation, as boys are very
apt to do, your money won't go very far ; but if you look at
your money two or three times afore you spend it, you ought
to get back and have a dollar or two left."
The two talked, and Old Ben offered advice, until Toby
could hardly keep his eyes open, and almost before the
driver concluded his sage remarks the boy had stretched
himself on the top of the wagon, where he had learned to
sleep without being shaken off, and was soon in dream-land.
The monkey, nestled down snug in Toby's bosom, did not
appear to be as sleepy as was his master, but popped his
head in and out from under the coat, as if watching whether
the boy was asleep or not.
Toby was awakened by a scratching on his face, as if the
monkey was dancing a hornpipe on that portion of his body,
and by a shrill, quick chattering, which caused him to as-
sume an upright position instantly.
He was frightened, although he knew not at what, and
looked around quickly to discover the cause of the monkey's
excitement.
Old Ben was asleep on his box, while the horses jogged
along behind the other teams, and Toby failed to see any-
150 Toby Tyler; or,
thing whatever which should have caused his pet to become
so excited.
" Lie down an' behave yourself," said Toby, as sternly as
possible, and as he spoke he took his pet by the collar, to
oblige him to obey his command.
The moment that he did this he saw the monkey throw
something out into the road, and the next instant he also
saw that he held something tightly clutched in his other
paw.
It required some little exertion and active movement on
Toby's part to enable him to get hold of that paw, in order
to discover what it was which Mr. Stubbs had captured ;
but the instant he did succeed, there went up from his heart
such a cry of sorrow as caused Old Ben to start up in alarm,
and the monkey to cower and whimper like a whipped dog.
"What is it, Toby? What's the matter?" asked the old
driver, as he peered out into the darkness ahead, as if he
feared some danger threatened them from that quarter. " I
don't see anything. What is it ?"
" Mr. Stubbs has thrown all my money away," cried Toby,
holding up the almost empty bag, which a short time pre-
vious had been so well filled with silver.
"Stubbs thrown the money away?" repeated Ben,
with a pause between each word, as if he could not under-
stand that which he himself was saying.
MR. STUBBS AND TOBY S MONEY.
Ten Weeks with a Circus. 153
" Yes," sobbed Toby, as he shook out the remaining con-
tents of the bag, " there's only half a dollar, an' all the rest
is gone."
"The rest gone!" again repeated Ben. "But how come
the monkey to have the money ?"
" He tried to get at it out in the woods, an' I s'pose the
moment I got asleep he felt for it in my pockets. This is
all there is left, an' he threw away some just as I woke up."
Again Toby held the bag up where Ben could see it, and
again his grief broke out anew.
Ben could say nothing ; he realized the whole situation :
that the monkey had got at the money-bag while Toby was
sleeping ; that in his play he had thrown it away piece by
piece; and he knew that that small amount of silver repre-
sented liberty in the boy's eyes. He felt that there was
nothing he could say which would assuage Toby's grief, and
he remained silent.
"Don't you s'pose we could go back an' get it?" asked
the boy, after the intensity of his grief had somewhat sub-
sided.
" No, Toby, it's gone," replied Ben, sorrowfully. " You
couldn't find it if it was daylight, an' you don't stand a
ghost of a chance now in the dark. Don't take on so, my
boy. I'll see if we can't make it up to you in some way."
Toby gave no heed to this last remark of Ben's. He
154 Toby Tyler ; or,
hugged the monkey convulsively to his breast, as if he would
seek consolation from the very one who had wrought the
ruin, and, rocking himself to and fro, he said, in a voice full
of tears and sorrow,
" Oh, Mr. Stubbs, why did you do it ? why did you do
it ? That money would have got us away from this hateful
place, an' we'd gone back to Uncle Dan'l's, where we'd have
been so happy, you an' me. An' now it's all gone all
gone. What made you, Mr. Stubbs what made you do such
a bad, cruel thing ? Oh ! what made you T
"Don't, Toby don't take on so," said Ben, soothingly.
" There wasn't so very much money there, after all, an'
you'll soon get as much more."
"But it won't be for a good while, an' we could have
been in the good old home long before I can get so much
again."
" That's true, my boy ; but you must kinder brace up, an'
not give way so about it. Perhaps I can fix it so the fellers
will make it up to you. Give Stubbs a good poundin', an'
perhaps that '11 make you feel better."
" That won't bring back my money, an' I don't want to
whip him," cried Toby, hugging his pet the closer because
of this suggestion. " I know what it is to get a whippin',
an' I wouldn't whip a dog, much less Mr. Stubbs, who didn't
know any better."
Ten Weeks with a Circus. 155
" Then you must try to take it like a man," said Ben, who
could think of no other plan by which the boy might soothe
his feelings. " It hain't half so bad as it might be, an' you
must try to keep a stiff upper lip, even if it does seem hard
at first."
This keeping a stiff upper lip in the face of all the trouble
he was having was all very well to talk about, but Toby
could not reduce it to practice, or, at least, not so soon after
he knew of his loss, and he continued to rock the monkey
back and forth, to whisper in his ear now and then, and to
cry as if his heart was breaking, for nearly an hour.
Ben tried, in his rough, honest way, to comfort him, but
without success ; and it was not until the boy's grief had
spent itself that he would listen to any reasoning.
All this time the monkey had remained perfectly quiet,
submitting to Toby's squeezing without making any effort
to get away, and behaving as if he knew he had done
wrong, and was trying to atone for it. He looked up into
the boy's face every now and then with such a penitent ex-
pression, that Toby finally assured him of forgiveness, and
begged him not to feel so badly.
156 Toby Tyler ; or,
CHAPTER XIII.
TOBY ATTEMPTS TO RESIGN HIS SITUATION.
>
*'T last it was possible for Toby to speak of his loss
with some degree of calmness, and then he imme-
diately began to reckon up what he could have
done with the money if he had not lost it.
" Now see here, Toby," said Ben, earnestly : " don't go to
doin' anything of that kind. The money's lost, an' you can't
get it back by talkin' ; so the very best thing for you is to
stop thinkin' what you could do if you had it, an' just to
look at it as a goner."
" But" persisted Toby.
" I tell you there's no buts about it," said Ben, rather
shirply. "Stop talkin' about what's gone, an' just go to
thinkin' how you'll get more. Do what you've a mind to
the monkey, but don't keep broodin' over what you can't
help."
Toby knew that the advice was good, and he struggled
manfully to carry it into execution, but it was very hard
work. At all events, there was no sleep for his eyes that
Ten Weeks with a Circles. 157
night; and when, just about daylight, the train halted to
wait a more seasonable hour in which to enter the town, the
thought of what he might have done with his lost money
was still in Toby's mind.
Only once did he speak crossly to the monkey, and that
was when he put him into the cage preparatory to com-
mencing his morning's work. Then he said,
" You wouldn't had to go into this place many times more
if you hadn't been so wicked, for by to-morrow night we'd
been away from this circus, an' on the way to home an'
Uncle Dan'l. ISTow you've spoiled my chance an' your own
for a good while to come, an' I hope before the day is over
you'll feel as bad about it as I do."
It seemed to Toby as if the monkey understood just what
he said to him, for he sneaked over into one corner, away
from the other monkeys, and sat there looking very peni-
tent and very dejected.
Then, with a heavy heart, Toby began his day's work.
Hard as had been Toby's lot previous to losing his monejfj
and difficult as it had been to bear the cruelty of Mr. Job
Lord and his precious partner, Mr. Jacobs, it was doubly
hard now while this sorrow was fresh upon him.
Previous to this, when he had been kicked or cursed by
one or the other of the partners, Toby thought exultantly
that the time was not very far distant when he should be
158 Toby Tyler; or,
beyond the reach of his brutal task-masters, and that thought
had given him strength to bear all that had been put upon
him.
Now the time of his deliverance from this bondage
seemed very far off, and each cruel word or blow caused
him the greater sorrow, because of the thought that but for
the monkey's wickedness he would have been nearly free
from that which made his life so very miserable.
If he had looked sad and mournful before, he looked
doubly so now, as he went his dreary round of the tent, cry-
ing, "Here's your cold lemonade," or "Fresh-baked pea-
nuts, ten cents a quart ;" and each day there were some in
the audience who pitied the boy because of the misery
which showed so plainly in his face, and they gave him a
few cents more than his price for what he was selling, or
gave him money without buying anything at all, thereby
aiding him to lay up something again toward making his
escape.
Those few belonging to the circus who knew of Toby's
intention to escape tried their best to console him for the
loss of his money, and that kind-hearted couple, the skeleton
and his fat wife, tried to force him to take a portion of their
scanty earnings in the place of that which the monkey had
thrown away. But this Toby positively refused to do ; and
to the arguments which they advanced as reasons why they
Ten Weeks with a Circus. 159
should help him along he only replied that until he could
get the money by his own exertions he would remain with
Messrs. Lord and Jacobs, and get along as best he could.
Every hour in the day the thought of what might have
been if he had not lost his money so haunted his mind that
finally he resolved to make one bold stroke, and tell Mr.
Job Lord that he did not want to travel with the circus
any longer.
As yet he had not received the two dollars which had
been promised him for his two weeks' work, and another
one was nearly due. If he could get this money it might,
with what he had saved again, suffice to pay his railroad
fare to Guilford ; and if it would not, he resolved to accept
from the skeleton sufficient to make up the amount needed.
He naturally shrunk from the task ; but the hope that he
might possibly succeed gave him the necessary amount of
courage, and when he had gotten his work done, on the
third morning after he had lost his money, and Mr. Lord
appeared to be in an unusually good temper, he resolved
to try the plan.
It was just before the dinner hour. Tade had been unex-
ceptionally good, and Mr. Lord had even spoken in a pleas-
ant tone to Toby when he told him to fill up the lemonade
pail with water, so that the stock might not be disposed of
too quickly and with too little profit.
160 Toby Tyler ; or,
Toby poured in quite as much water as he thought the
already weak mixture could receive and retain any flavor
of lemon ; and then, as his employer motioned him to add
more, he mixed another quart in, secretly wondering what it
would taste like.
"When you're mixin' lemonade for circus trade," said
Mr. Lord, in such a benign, fatherly tone that one would
have found it difficult to believe that he ever spoke harshly,
" don't be afraid of water, for there's where the profit comes
in. Always have a piece of lemon-peel floatin' on the top
of every glass, an' it tastes just as good to people as if it
cost twice as much."
Toby could not agree exactly with that opinion, neither
did he think it wise to disagree, more especially since he
was going to ask the very great favor of being discharged ;
therefore he nodded his head gravely, and began to stir up
what it pleased Mr. Lord to call lemonade, so that the last
addition might be more thoroughly mixed with the others.
Two or three times he attempted to ask the favor which
seemed such a great one, and each time the words stuck in
his throat, until it seemed to him that he should never suc-
ceed in getting them out.
Finally, in his despair, he stammered out,
"Don't you think you could find another boy in this
town, Mr. Lord?"
Ten Weeks with a Circus. 161
Mr. Lord moved round sideways, in order to bring his
crooked eye to bear squarely on Toby, and then there was
a long interval of silence, during which time the boy's color
rapidly came and went, and his heart beat very fast with
suspense and fear.
"Well, what if I could?" he said at length. "Do you
think that trade is so good I could afford to keep two boys,
when there isn't half work enough for one ?"
Toby stirred the lemonade with renewed activity, as if by
this process he was making both it and his courage stronger,
and said, in a low voice, which Mr. Lord could scarcely
hear,
" I didn't think that ; but you see I ought to go home, for
Uncle Dan'l will worry about me ; an', besides, I don't like a
circus very well."
Again there was silence on Mr. Lord's part, and again the
crooked eye glowered down on Toby.
" So," he said and Toby could see that his anger was
rising very fast " you don't like a circus very well, an' you
begin to think that your uncle Daniel will worry about you,
eh ? Well, I want you to understand that it don't make
any difference to me whether you like a circus or not, and I
don't care how much your uncle Daniel worries. You mean
that you want to get away from me, after I've been to all
the trouble and expense of teaching you the business ?"
11
1 62 Toby Tyler ; or,
Toby bent his head over the pail, and stirred away as if
for dear life.
" If you think you're going to get away from here until
you've paid me for all you've eat, an' all the time I've spent
on you, you're mistaken, that's all. You've had an easy
time with me too easy, in fact and that's what ails you.
Now, you just let me hear two words more out of your head
about going away only two more an' I'll show you what
a whipping is. I've only been playing with you before
when you thought you was getting a whipping ; but you'll
find out what it means if I so much as see a thought in your
eyes about goin' away. An' don't you dare to try to give
me the slip in the night an' run awa} 7 ; for if you do I'll
follow you, an' have you arrested. Now, you mind your
eye in the future."
It is impossible to say how much longer Mr. Lord might
have continued this tirade, had not a member of the com-
pany one of the principal riders called him one side to
speak with him.
Poor Toby was so much confused by the angry words
which had followed his very natural and certainly very rea-
sonable suggestion that he paid no attention to anything
around him, until he heard his own name mentioned ; and
then, fearing lest some new misfortune was about to befall
him, he listened intently.
Ten Weeks with a Circus. 163
"I'm afraid you couldn't do much of anything with him,"
he- heard Mr. Lord say. " He's had enough of this kind of
life already, so he says, an' I expect the next thing he does
will be to try to run away."
" I'll risk his getting away from you, Job," he heard the
other say ; " but of course I've got to take my chances. I'll
take him in hand from eleven to twelve each day- -just
your slack time of trade and I'll not only give you half
of what he can earn in the next two years, but I'll pay
you for his time, if he gives us the slip before the season
is out."
Toby knew that they were speaking of him, but what it
all meant he could not imagine.
" What are you going to do with him first ?" Job asked.
" Just put him right into the ring, and teach him what
riding is. I tell you, Job, the boy's smart enough, and be-
fore the season's over I'll have him so that he can do some
of the bare-back acts, and perhaps we'll get some money out
of him before we go into winter-quarters."
Toby understood the meaning of their conversation only
too well, and he knew that his lot, which before seemed
harder than he could bear, was about to be intensified
through this Mr. Castle, of whom he had frequently heard,
and who was said to be a rival of Mr. Lord's, so far as bru-
tality went. The two men now walked toward the large
164 Toby Tyler ; or,
tent, and Toby was left alone with his thoughts and the
two or three little bov customers, who looked at him
/
wonderingly, and envied him because he belonged to the
circus.
During the ride that night he told Old Ben what he
had heard, confidently expecting that that friend at least
would console him ; but Ben was not the champion which
he had expected. The old man, who had been with a
circus, "man and boy, nigh to forty years," did not seem
to think it any calamity that he was to be taught to ride.
" That Mr. Castle is a little rough on boys," Old Ben said,
thoughtfully ; " but it '11 be a good thing for you, Toby. Just
so long as you stay with Job Lord you won't be nothin'
more'n a candy -boy ; but after you know how to ride it '11
be another thing, an' you can earn a good deal of money,
an' be your own boss."
"But I don't want to stay with the circus," whined Toby;
" I don't want to learn to ride, an' I do want to get back to
Uncle Dan'l."
" That may all be true, an' I don't dispute it," said Ben ;
" but you see you didn't stay with your uncle Daniel when
you had the chance, an' you did come with the circus.
You've told Job you wanted to leave, an' he'll be watchin'
you all the time to see that you don't give him the slip.
Now, what's the consequence ? Why, you can't get away
;Y ; 1
^ J>
TOBY AND THE LITTLE BOY CUSTOMERS.
Ten Weeks with a Circus. 167
for a while, anyhow, an' you'd better try to amount to some-
thing while you are here. Perhaps after you've got so yon
can ride you may want to stay ; an' I'll see to it that you
get all of your wages, except enough to pay Castle for
learn in' of you."
" 1 sha'n't want to stay," said Toby. " I wouldn't stay if
I could ride all the horses at once, an' was gettin' a hun-
dred dollars a day."
" But you can't ride one horse, an' you hain't gettin' but a
dollar a week, an' still I don't see any chance of your gettin'
away yet awhile," said Ben, in a matter-of-fact tone, as he
devoted his attention again to his horses, leaving Toby to
his own sad reflections, and the positive conviction that boys
who run away from home do not have a good time, except
in stories.
The next forenoon, while Toby was deep in the excite-
ment of selling to a boy no larger than himself, and with
just as red hair, three cents' worth of pea-nuts and two
sticks of candy, and while the boy was trying to induce him
to " throw in " a piece of gum, because of the quantity pur-
chased, Job Lord called him aside, and Toby knew that his
troubles had begun.
" I want you to go in an' see Mr. Castle ; he's goin' to
show you how to ride," said Mr. Lord, in as kindly a tone
as if he were conferring some favor on the boy.
1 68 Toby Tyler ; or,
If Toby had dared to, he would have rebelled then and
there and refused to go ; but, as he hadn't the courage for
such proceeding, he walked meekly into the tent and to-
ward the ring.
Ten Weeks with a Circus. 169
CHAPTER XIV.
MR. CASTLE TEACHES TOBY TO RIDE.
Toby got within sight of the ring he was
astonished at what he saw. A horse, with a broad
wooden saddle, was being led slowly around the
ring ; Mr. Castle was standing on one side, with a
long whip in his hand ; and on the tent-pole, which stood
in the centre of the ring, was a long arm, from which
dangled a leathern belt attached to a long rope that was
carried through the end of the arm and run down to the
base of the pole.
Toby knew well enough why the horse, the whip, and the
man were there, but the wooden projection from the tent-
pole, which looked so much like a gallows, he could not
understand at all.
" Come, now," said Mr. Castle, cracking his whip omi-
nously as Toby came in sight, " why weren't you here
before ?"
"Mr. Lord just sent me in," said Toby, not expecting that
his excuse would be received, for they never had been since
170 Toby Tyler ; or,
he had arrived at the height of his ambition by joining the
circus.
" Then I'll make Mr. Job understand that I am to have
my full hour of your time ; and if I don't get it there'll be
trouble between us."
It would have pleased Toby very well to have had Mr.
Castle go out with his long whip just then and make trou-
ble for Mr. Lord ; but Mr. Castle had not the time to spare,
because of the trouble which he was about to make for
Toby, and that he commenced on at once.
" Well, get in here, and don't waste any more time," he
11 1
CQ i c\ o \\ n vi~\ I \7
octiU.. bllcll ply
* L. v
Toby looked around curiously for a moment, and, not un-
derstanding exactly what he was expected to get in and do,
asked, "What shall I do?"
" Pull off your boots, coat, and vest."
Since there was no other course than to learn to ride,
Toby wisely concluded that the best thing he could do
would be to obey his new master without question ; so he
began to take off his clothes with as much alacrity as if
learning to ride was the one thing upon which he had long
set his heart.
Mr. Castle was evidently accustomed to prompt obedience,
for he not only took it as a matter of course but endeavored
to hurry Toby in the \vork of undressing.
Ten Weeks with a Circus. 171
With his desire to please, and urged by Mr. Castle's words
and the ominous shaking of his whip, Toby's preparations
were soon made, and he stood before his instructor clad
only in his shirt, trousers, and stockings.
The horse was led around to where he stood, and when
Mr. Castle held out his hand to help him to mount Toby
jumped up quickly without aid, thereby making a good im-
pression at the start as a willing lad.
" Now," said the instructor, as he pulled down the leath-
ern belt which hung from the rope, and fastened it around
Toby's waist, "stand up in the saddle, and try to keep
there. You can't fall, because the rope will hold you up,
even if the horse ^oes out from under YOU : but it isn't hard
^^ \j *
work to keep on, if you mind what you are about ; and if
you don't this whip will help you. Now stand up."
Toby did as he was bid ; and as the horse was led at a
walk, and as he had the long bridle to aid him in keeping
his footing, he had no difficulty in standing during the
time that the horse went once around the ring; but that
was all.
Mr. Castle seemed to think that this was preparation
enough for the boy to be able to understand how to ride,
and he started the horse into a canter. As might have been
expected, Toby lost his balance, the horse went on ahead,
and he was left dangling at the end of the rope, very much
172 Toby Tyler; or,
like a crab that has just been caught by the means of a pole
and line.
Toby kicked, waved his hands, and floundered about gen-
erally, but all to no purpose, until the horse came round
again, and then he made frantic efforts to regain his foot-
ing, which efforts were aided or perhaps it would be more
proper to say retarded by the long lash of Mr. Castle's
whip, that played around his legs with merciless severity.
" Stand up ! stand up !" cried his instructor, as Toby
reeled first to one side and then to the other, now standing
erect in the saddle, and now dangling at the end of the
rope, with the horse almost out from under him.
This command seemed needless, as it was exactly what
Toby was trying to do ; but as it was given he struggled
all the harder, until it seemed to him that the more he tried
the less did he succeed.
And this. first lesson progressed in about the same way
until the hour was over, save that now and then Mr. Castle
would give him some good advice, but oftener he would
twist the long lash of the whip around the boy's legs with
such force that Tobv believed the skin had been taken en-
t>
tirely off.
It may have been a relief to Mr. Castle when this first
lesson was concluded, and it certainly was to Toby, for he
had had all the teaching in horsemanship that he wanted,
THE FIRST LESSON.
Ten Weeks with a Circus. 175
and he thought, with deepest sorrow, that this would be of
daily occurrence during all the time he remained with the
circus.
As he went out of the tent he stopped to speak with his
friend the old monkey, and his troubles seemed to have in-
creased when he stood in front of the cage calling "Mr.
Stubbs ! Mr. Stubbs !" and the old fellow would not even
come down from off the lofty perch where he was engaged
in monkey gymnastics with several younger companions.
It seemed to him, as he afterward told Ben, " as if Mr.
Stubbs had gone back on him because he knew that he
was in trouble."
When he went toward the booth Mr. Lord looked at him
around the corner of the canvas for it seemed to Toby
that his employer could look around a square corner with
much greater ease than he could straight ahead with a
disagreeable leer in his eye, as though he enjoyed the mis-
ery which he knew his little clerk had just undergone.
" Can you ride yet ?" he asked, mockingly, as Toby step-
ped behind the counter to attend to his regular line of
business.
Toby made no reply, for he knew that the question was
only asked sarcastically, and not through any desire for in-
formation. In a few moments Mr. Lord left him to attend
to the booth alone, and went into the tent, where Toby
176 Toby Tyler; or,
rightly conjectured he had gone to question Mr. Castle upon
the result of the lesson j ust given.
That night Old Ben asked him how he had got on while
under the teaching of Mr. Castle ; and Toby, knowing that
the question was asked because of the real interest which
Ben had in his welfare, replied,
" If I was tryin' to learn how to swing round the ring,
strapped to a rope, I should say that I got along first-rate ;
but I don't know much about the horse, for I was only on
his back a little while at a time."
"You'll get over that soon," said Old Ben, patronizingly,
as he patted him on the back. " You remember my words,
now : I say that you've got it in you, an' if you've a mind to
take hold an' try to learn you'll come out on the top of the
heap yet, an' be one of the smartest riders they've got in
this show."
" I don't want to be a rider," said Toby, sadly ; " I only
want to get back home once more, an' then you'll see how
much it '11 take to get me away again."
" Well," said Ben, quietly, " be that as it may, while
you're here the best thing you can do is to take hold an' get
ahead just as fast as yon can ; it '11 make it a mighty sight
easier for you while you're with the show, an' it won't spoil
any of your chances for runnin' away whenever the time
comes.'
Ten Weeks witk a Circiis. 177
Toby fully appreciated the truth of this remark, and he
assured Ben that he should do all in his power to profit by
the instruction given, and to please this new master who
had been placed over him.
And with this promise he lay back on the seat and went
to sleep, not to awaken until the preparations were being
made for the entree into the next town, and Mr. Lord's
harsh voice had cried out his name, with no gentle tone, sev-
eral times.
Toby's first lesson with Mr. Castle was the most pleasant
one he had; for after the boy had once been into the ring
his master seemed to expect that he could do everything
which he was told to do, and when he failed in any lit-
tle particular the long lash of the whip would go curling
around his legs or arms, until the little fellow's body and
limbs were nearly covered with the blue and-black stripes.
For three lessons only was the wooden upright used to
keep him from falling; after that he was forced to ride
standing erect on the broad wooden saddle, or pad, as it is
properly called ; and whenever he lost his balance and fell
there was no question asked as to whether or not he had
hurt himself, but he was mercilessly cut with the whip.
Messrs. Lord and Jacobs gained very much by compari-
son with Mr. Castle in Toby's mind. He had thought that
his lot could not be harder than it was with them ; but
12
178 Toby Tyler; or,
when he had experienced the pains of two or three of Mr.
Castle's lessons in horsemanship he thought that he would
stay with the candy venders all the season cheerfully rather
than take six more lessons of Mr. Castle.
Night after night he fell asleep from the sheer exhaus-
tion of crying, as he had been pouring out his woes in the
old monkey's ears and laying his plans to run away. Now,
more than ever, was he anxious to get away, and yet each
day was taking him farther from home, and consequently
necessitating a larger amount of money with which to start.
As Old Ben did not give him as much sympathy as Toby
thought he ought to give for the old man, while he would
not allow Mr. Job Lord to strike the boy if he was near,
thought it a necessary portion of the education for Mr.
Castle to lash him all he had a mind to he poured out all
his troubles in the old monkey's ears, and kept him with
him from the time he ceased work at night until he was
obliged to commence again in the morning.
The skeleton and his wife thought Toby's lot a hard one,
and tried by every means in their power to cheer the poor
boy. Neither one of them could say to Mr. Castle what
they had said to Mr. Lord, for the rider was a far different
sort of a person, and one whom they would not be allowed
to interfere with in any way. Therefore poor Toby was
obliged to bear his troubles and his whippings as best he
Ten Weeks with a Circus. 179
might, with only the thought to cheer him of the time when
he could leave them all by running away.
But, despite all his troubles, Toby learned to ride faster
than his teacher had expected he would, and in three weeks
he found little or no difficulty in standing erect while his
horse went around the ring at his fastest gait. After that
had been accomplished his progress was more rapid, and he
gave promise of becoming a very good rider a fact which
pleased both Mr. Castle and Mr. Lord very much, as they
fancied that in another year Toby would be the source of
a very good income to them.
The proprietor of the circus took considerable interest
in Toby's instruction, and promised Mr. Castle that Made-
moiselle Jeannette and Toby should do an act together in
the performance just as soon as the latter was sufficiently
advanced. The boy's costume had been changed after he
could ride without falling off, and now while he was in the
ring he wore the same as that used by the regular per-
formers.
The little girl had, after it was announced that she and
Toby were to perform together, been an attentive observer
during the hour that Toby was under Mr. Castle's direction,
and she gave him many suggestions that were far more val-
uable, and quicker to be acted upon, than those given by
the teacher himself.
180 Toby Tyler; or,
"To -morrow you two will go through the exercise to-
gether," said Mr. Castle to Toby and Ella, at the close of
one of Toby's lessons, after he had become so skilful that
he could stand with ease on the pad, and even advanced so
far that he could jump through a hoop without falling
more than twice out of three times.
The little girl appeared highly delighted by this informa-
tion, and expressed her joy.
"It will be real nice," she said to Toby, after Mr. Castle
had left them alone. " I can help you lots, and it won't be
very long before we can do an act all by ourselves in the
performance, and then won't the people clap their hands
when we come in !"
" It'll be better for you to-morrow than it will for me,"
said Toby, rubbing his legs sorrowfully, still feeling the
sting of- the whip. "You see Mr. Castle won't dare to
whip you, an' he'll make it all count on me, 'cause he
knows Mr. Lord likes to have him whip me."
" But I sha'n't make any mistake," said Ella, confidently,
" and so you won't have to be whipped on my account ; and
while I am on the horse you can't be whipped, for he
couldn't do it without whipping me, so you see you won't
get only half as much."
Toby brightened up a little under the influence of this
argument; but his countenance fell again as he thought
Ten Weeks with a Circus. 181
that his chances for getting away from the circus were
growing less each day.
"You see I want to s;et back to Uncle Dan'l an' Guil-
O
ford," he said, confidentially ; " I don't want to stay here a
single minute."
O
Ella opened her eyes in wide astonishment as she cried,
" Don't want to stay here ? Why don't yon go home,
then ?"
" 'Cause Job Lord won't let me," said Toby, wondering
if it was possible that his little companion did not know
exactly what sort of a man his master was.
Then he told her after making her give him all kinds
of promises, including the ceremony of crossing her throat,
that she would never tell a single soul that he had had
many thoughts, and had formed all kinds of plans for run-
*/ O
ning away. He told her about losing his money, about his
friendship for the skeleton and the fat lady, and at last
he confided in her that he was intending to take the old
monkey with him when he should make the attempt.
She listened with the closest attention, and when he told
her that his little hoard had now reached the sum of seven
dollars and ten cents almost as much as he had before
she said, eagerly, " I've got three little gold dollars in my
trunk, an' you shall have them all ; they're my very own,
for mamma gave them to me to do just what I wanted to
1 82 Toby Tyler ; or,
with them. But I don't see how you can take Mr. Stubbs
with yon, for that would be stealing."
"No, it wouldn't, neither," said Toby, stoutly. "Wasn't
he give to me to do just as I wanted to with ? an' didn't
the boss say he was all mine ?"
" Oli, I'd forgotten that," said Ella, thoughtfully. " I sup-
pose you can take him; but he'll be awfully in the way,
won't he ?"
" No," said Toby, anxious to say a good word for his pet ;
"he always does just as I want him to, an' when I tell him
what I'm try in' to do he'll be as good as anything. But I
can't take your dollars."
" Why not ?"
" 'Cause that wouldn't be right for a boy to let a girl
littler than himself help him ; I'll wait till I get money
enough of my own, an' then I'll go."
" But I want you to take my money too ; I want you to
have it."
" No, I can't take it," said Toby, shaking his head reso-
lutely as he put the golden temptation from him; and then,
as a happy thought occurred to him, he said, quickly, " I
tell you what to do with your dollars : you keep them till
you grow up to be a woman, an' when I'm a man I'll come,
an' then we'll buy a circus of our own. I think, perhaps,
I'd like to be with a circus if I owned one myself. We'll
Ten Weeks with a Circus. 183
have lots of money then, an' we can do jnst what we want
to."
This idea seemed to please the little girl, and the two
began to lay all sorts of plans for that time when they
should be man and woman, have lots of money, and be
able to do jnst as they wanted to.
They had been sitting on the edge of the newly-made
ring while they were talking, and before they had half-fin-
ished making plans for the future one of the attendants
came in to put things to order, and they were obliged to
leave their seats, she going to the hotel to get ready for the
afternoon's performance, and Toby to try to do such work
as Mr. Job Lord had laid out for him.
Just ten weeks from the time Toby had first joined the
circus Mr. Castle informed him and Ella that they were to
appear in public on the following day. They had been
practising daily, and Toby had become so skilful that both
Mr. Castle and Mr. Lord saw that the time had come when
he could be made to earn some money for them.
184 Toby Tyler; or,
CHAPTER XV.
TOBY'S FRIENDS PRESENT HIM WITH A COSTUME.
this time Toby's funds had accumulated
rather slower than on the first few days he was in
the business, but he had saved eleven dollars, and
Mr. Lord had paid him five dollars of his salary,
so that he had the to him enormous sum of sixteen dollars;
and he had about made up his mind to make one effort for
liberty, when the news came that he was to ride in public.
He had, in fact, been ready to run away any time within
the past week ; but, as if they had divined his intentions,
both Mr. Castle and Mr. Lord had kept a very strict watch
over him, one or the other keeping him in sight from the
time he got through with his labors at night until they saw
him on the cart with Old Ben.
" I was just gettin' ready to run away," said Toby to Ella,
on the day Mr. Castle gave his decision as to their taking
part in the performance, and while they were walking out
of the tent, " an' I shouldn't wonder now if I got away to-
night."
Ten Weeks with a Circiis. 185
"Oh, Toby !" exclaimed the girl, as she looked reproach-
fully at him, " after all the work we've had to get ready,
you won't go off and leave me before we've had a chance to
see what the folks will say when they see ns together ?"
It was impossible for Toby to feel any delight at the idea
of riding in public, and he would have been willing to have
taken one of Mr. Lord's most severe whippings if he could
have escaped from it ; but he and Ella had become such
firm friends, and he had conceived such a boyish admira-
tion for her, that he felt as if he were willing to bear almost
anything for the sake of giving her pleasure. Therefore he
said, after a few moments' reflection, " Well, I won't go to-
night, anyway, even if I have the best chance that ever was.
I'll stay one day more, anyhow, an' perhaps I'll have to stay
a good many."
"That's a nice boy," said Ella, positively, as Toby thus
gave his decision, " and I'll kiss you for it."
Before Toby fully realized what she was about, almost
before he had understood what she said, she had put her
arms around his neck and given him a good sound kiss
right on his freckled face.
CJ
Toby was surprised, astonished, and just a little bit
ashamed. He had never been kissed by a girl before very
seldom by any one, save the fat lady and he hardly knew
what to do or say. He blushed until his face was almost as
1 86 Toby Tyler; or,
red as his hair, and this color had the effect of making his
freckles stand out with startling distinctness. Then he
looked carefully around to see if any one had seen them.
" I never had a girl kiss me before," said Toby, hesitating-
ly, " an' yon see it made me feel kinder queer to have you
do it out here, where everybody could see."
" Well, I kissed yon because I like you very much, and be-
cause you are going to stay and ride with me to-morrow,"
she said, positively; and then she added, slyly, "I may kiss
you again, if you don't get a chance to run away very soon."
" I wish it wasn't for Uncle Dan'l an' the rest of the
folks at home, an' there wasn't any such men as Mr. Lord
an' Mr. Castle, an' then I don't know but I might want to
stay with the circus, 'cause I like you awful much."
And as he spoke Toby's heart grew very tender toward
the only girl-friend he had ever known.
By this time they had reached the door of the tent, and
as they stepped outside one of the drivers told them that
Mr. Treat and his wife were very anxious to see both of
them in their tent.
" I don't believe I can go," said Toby, doubtfully, as he
glanced toward the booth, where Mr. Lord was busy in
attending to customers, and evidently waiting for Toby to
relieve him, so that he could go to his dinner; "I don't
believe Mr. Lord will let me."
m
\u<i >cT" " - -~ ' L_ /? i*
^^"^e^w^/jfi
'<; //f*
ELLA AND TOBY.
Ten Weeks with a Circus. 189
"Go and ask him," said Ella, eagerly. "We won't be
gone but a minute."
Toby approached his employer with fear and trembling.
He had never before asked leave to be away from his work,
even for a moment, and he had no doubt but that his re-
quest would be refused with blows.
" Mr. Treat wants me to come in his tent for a minute;
can I go?" he asked, in a timid voice, and in such a low
tone as to render it almost inaudible.
Mr. Lord looked at him for an instant, and Toby was sure
that he was making up his mind whether to kick him, or
catch him by the collar and use the rubber cane on him.
But he had no such intention, evidently, for he said, in a
voice unusually mild, " Yes, an' you needn't come to work
again until it's time to go into the tent."
Toby was almost alarmed at this unusual kindness, and it
puzzled him so much that he would have forgotten he had
permission to go away if Ella had not pulled him gently by
the coat.
If he had heard a conversation between Mr. Lord and
Mr. Castle that very morning he would have understood
why it was that Mr. Lord had so suddenly become kind.
Mr. Castle had told Job that the boy had really shown him-
self to be a good rider, and that in order to make him more
contented with his lot, and to keep him from running away,
190 Toby Tyler ; or y
he must be used more kindly, and perhaps be taken from
the candy business altogether, which latter advice Mr. Lord
did not look upon with favor, because of the large sales
which the boy made.
When they reached the skeleton's tent they found to their
surprise that no exhibition was being given at that hour,
and Ella said, with some concern, " How queer it is that the
doors are not open ! I do hope that they are not sick."
Toby felt a strange sinking at his heart as the possibility
suggested itself that one or both of his kind friends might
be ill ; for they had both been so kind and attentive to him
that he had learned to love them very dearly.
But the fears of both the children were dispelled when
they tried to get in at the door, and were met by the smil-
ing skeleton himself, who said, as he threw the canvas aside
as far as if he were admitting his own enormous Lilly,
" Come in, my friends, come in. I have had the exhibi-
tion closed for one hour, in order that I might show my ap-
preciation of my friend Mr. Tyler."
Toby looked around in some alarm, fearing that Mr.
Treat's friendship was about to be displayed in one of his
state dinners, which he had learned to fear rather than en-
joy. But, as he saw no preparations for dinner, he breathed
more freely, and wondered what all this ceremony could
possibly mean.
Ten Weeks with a Circiis. 191
Neither he nor Ella was long left in doubt, for as soon
as they had entered, Mrs. Treat waddled from behind the
screen which served them as a dressing-room, with a bundle
in her arms, which she handed to her husband.
He took it, and, quickly mounting the platform, leaving
Ella and Toby below, he commenced to speak, with very
many flourishes of his thin arms.
" My friends," he began, as he looked down upon his au-
dience of three, who were listening in the following atti-
tudes: Ella and Toby were standing upon the ground at the
foot of the platform, looking up with wide-open, staring
eyes ; and his fleshy wife was seated on a bench which had
evidently been placed in such a position below the speaker's
stand that she could hear and see all that was going on
without the fatigue of standing up, which, for one of her
size, was really very hard work " My friends," repeated the
skeleton, as he held his bundle in front of him with one
hand and gesticulated with the other, " we all of us know
that to-morrow our esteemed and worthy friend Mr. Toby
Tyler makes his first appearance in any ring, and we all of
us believe that he will soon become a bright and shining
light in the profession which he is so soon to enter."
The speaker was here interrupted by loud applause from
his wife, and he profited by the opportunity to wipe a stray
drop of perspiration from his fleshless face. Then, as the
192 Toby Tyler ; or,
fat lady ceased the exertion of clapping her hands, he con-
tinued :
"Knowing that our friend Mr. Tyler was being in-
structed, preparatory to dazzling the public with his talents,
my wife and I began to prepare for him some slight testi-
monial of our esteem; and, being informed by Mr. Castle
some days ago of the day on which he was to make his first
appearance before the public, we were enabled to complete
our little gift in time for the great and important event."
Here the skeleton paused to take a breath, and Toby be-
gan to grow most uncomfortably red in the face. Such
praise made him feel very awkward.
" I hold in this bundle," continued Mr. Treat as he waved
the package on high, " a costume for our bold and worthy
equestrian, and a sash to match for his beautiful and accom-
plished companion. In presenting these little tokens my
wife (who has embroidered every inch of the velvet herself)
and I feel proud to know that, when the great and auspi-
cious occasion occurs to-morrow, the worthy Mr. Tyler will
step into the ring in a costume which we have prepared ex-
pressly for him ; and thus, when he does himself honor by
his performance and earns the applause of the multitude,
he will be doing honor and earning applause for the work
of our hands my wife Lilly and myself. Take them, my
boy ; and when you array yourself in them to-morrow you
Ten Weeks with a Circus. 193
will remember that the only Living Skeleton, and the won-
der of the nineteenth century in the shape of the Mammoth
Lady, are present in their works if not in their persons."
As he finished speaking Mr. Treat handed the bundle to
Toby, and then joined in the applause which was being
given by Mrs. Treat and Ella.
Toby unrolled the package, and found that it contained a
circus-rider's costume of pink tights and blue velvet trunks,
collar and cuffs, embroidered in white and plentifully span-
gled with silver. In addition was a wide blue sash for Ella,
embroidered to correspond with Toby's costume.
The little fellow was both delighted with the gift and at
a loss to know what to say in response. He looked at the
costume over and over again, and the tears of gratitude that
these friends should have been so e-ood to him came into
* J
his eyes. He saw, however, that they were expecting him
to say something in reply, and, laying the gift on the plat-
form, he said to the skeleton and his wife,
"You've been so good to me ever since I've been with
the circus that I wish I was big enough to say somethm'
more than that I'm much obliged, but I can't. One of these
days, when I'm a man, I'll show you how much I like you,
an' then you won't be sorry that you was good to such a
poor little runaway boy as I am."
Here the skeleton broke in with such loud applause and so
13
194 Toby Tyler ; or,
many cries of " Hear ! hear !" that Toby grew still more con-
fused, and forgot entirely what he was intending to say next.
" I want you to know how much obliged I am," he said,
after some hesitation, " an' when I wear 'em I'll ride just
the best I know how, even if I don't want to, an' you sha'n't
be sorry that you gave them to me."
As Toby concluded he made a funny little awkward bow,
and then seemed to be trying to hide himself behind a chair
from the applause which was given so generously.
" Bless your dear little heart !" said the fat lady, after
the confusion had somewhat subsided. " I know you will
>/
do your best, anyway, and I'm glad to know that you're
going to make your first appearance in something that Sam-
uel and I made for you."
Ella was quite as well pleased with her sash as Toby was
with his costume, and thanked Mr. and Mrs. Treat in a pret-
ty little way that made Toby wish he could say anything
half so nicely.
The hour which the skeleton had devoted for the purpose
of the presentation and accompanying speeches having
elapsed, it was necessary that Ella and Toby should go, and
that the doors of the exhibition be opened at once, in order
to give any of the public an opportunity of seeing what the
placards announced as two of the greatest curiosities on the
face of the globe.
Ten Weeks with a Circus. 195
That da} 7 , while Toby performed his arduous labors, his
heart was very light, for the evidences which the skeleton
and his wife had given of their regard for him were very
gratifying. He determined that he would do his very best
to please so long as he was with the circus, and then, when
he got a chance to run away, he would do so, but not until
he had said good-bye to Mr. and Mrs. Treat, and thanked
them again for their interest in him.
When he had finished his work in the tent that night Mr.
Lord said to him, as he patted him on the back in the most
fatherly fashion, and as if he had never spoken a harsh word
to him, " You can't come in here to sell candy now that you
are one of the performers, my boy ; an' if I can find another
boy to-morrow you won't have to work in the booth any
longer, an' your salary of a dollar a week will go on just the
same, even if you don't have anything to do but to ride."
This was a bit of news that was as welcome to Toby as it
was unexpected, and he felt more happy then than he had
for the ten weeks that he had been travelling under Mr.
Lord's cruel mastership.
But there was one thing that night that rather damped
his joy, and that was that he noticed that Mr. Lord was un-
usually careful to watch him, not even allowing him to go
outside the tent without following. He saw at once that, if
he was to have a more easy time, his chances for running
196 Toby Tyler ; or,
away were greatly diminished, and no number of beautiful
costumes would have made him content to stay with the
circus one moment longer than was absolutely necessary.
That night he told Old Ben of the events of the day, and
expressed the hope that he might acquit himself creditably
when he made his first appearance on the following day.
Ben sat thoughtfully for some time, and then, making all
the preparations which Toby knew so well signified a long
bit of advice, he said, " Toby, my boy, I've been with a cir-
cus, man an' boy, nigh to forty years, an' I've seen lots of
youngsters start in just as you're goin' to start in to-morrow;
but the most of them petered out, because they got to know-
in' more'n them that learned 'em did. Now, you remember
what I say, an' you'll find it good advice : whatever busi-
ness you get into, don't think you know all about it before
you've begun. Remember that you can always learn some-
thin', no matter how old } 7 ou are, an' keep your eyes an' ears
open, an' your tongue between your teeth, an' you'll amount
to something or my name hain't Ben."
Ten Weeks with a Circus. 197
CHAPTER XVI.
TOBY'S FIRST APPEARANCE IN THE RING.
the circus entered the town which had
been selected as the place where Toby was to
make his debut as a circus rider the boy no-
ticed a new poster among the many glaring and
gaudy bills which set forth the varied and numerous attrac-
tions that were to be found under one canvas for a trifling
admission fee, and he noticed it with some degree of
interest, not thinking for a moment that it had any refer-
ence to him.
It was printed very much as follows :
MADEMOISELLE JEANNETTE
AND
MONSIEUR AJAX,
two of the youngest equestrians in the world, will perform their
graceful, dashing, and daring act entitled
THE TRIUMPH OF THE INNOCENTS!
This is the first appearance of these daring young riders together
198 Toby Tyler ; or,
since their separation in Europe last season, and their performance
in this town will have a new and novel interest. See
MADEMOISELLE JEANNETTE
AND
MONSIEUR AJAX.
"Look there!" said Toby to Ben, as he pointed out the
poster, which was printed in very large letters, with gor-
geous coloring, and surmounted by a picture of two very
small people performing all kinds of impossible feats on
horseback. " They've got some one else to ride with Ella
to-day. I wonder who it can be ?"
Ben looked at Toby for a moment, as if to assure him-
self that the boy was in earnest in asking' the question, and
then he relapsed into the worst fit of silent laughing that
Toby had ever seen. After he had quite recovered he
asked, " Don't you know who Monsieur Ajax is ? Hain't
you never seen him ?"
" No," replied Toby, at a loss to understand what there
was so very funny in his very natural question. " I thought
that I was goin' to ride with Ella."
"Why, that's you!" almost screamed Ben, in delight.
"Monsieur Ajax means you didn't you know it? You
don't suppose they would go to put 'Toby Tyler' on the
bills, do you ? How it would look ! ' Mademoiselle Jean-
nette an' Monsieur Toby Tyler !' "
Ten Weeks with a Circus. 199
Ben was off in one of his laughing spells again ; and Toby
sat there, stiff and straight, hardly knowing whether to join
in the mirth or to get angry at the sport which had been
made of his name.
" I don't care," he said at length. " I'm sure I think
Toby Tyler sounds just as well as Monsieur Ajax, an' I'm
sure it fits me a good deal better."
" That may be," said Ben, soothingly ; " but you see it
wouldn't go down so well with the public. They want
furriu riders, an' they must have 'em, even if it does spoil
your name."
Despite the fact that he did not like the new name that
had been given him, Toby could not but feel pleased at
the glowing terms in which his performance was set off;
but he did not at all relish the lie that was told about his
having been with Ella in Europe, and he would have been
very much better pleased if that portion of it had been left
off.
During the forenoon he did not go near Mr. Lord nor
his candy stand, for Mr. Castle kept him and Ella busily
engaged in practising the feat which they were to perform
in the afternoon, and it was almost time for the perform-
ance to begin before they were allowed even to go to their
dinner.
Ella, who had performed several years, was very much
2OO Toby Tyler ;
more excited over the coming debut than Toby was, and
the reason why he did not show more interest was, probably,
because of his great desire to leave the circus as soon as
possible, and during that forenoon he thought very much
more of how he should get back to Gnilford and Uncle
Daniel than he did of how he should get along when he
stood before the audience.
Mr. Castle assisted his pupil to dress, and when that was
done to his entire satisfaction he said, in a stern voice,
" Now, you can do this act all right, and if you slip up on
it, and don't do it as you ought to, I'll give you such a whip-
ping when you come out of the ring that you'll think Job
was only fooling with you when he tried to whip you."
Toby had been feeling reasonably cheerful before this,
but these words dispelled all his cheerful thoughts, and he
was looking most disconsolate when Old Ben came into the
dressing-tent.
" All ready are you, my boy ?" said the old man, in his
cheeriest voice. " Well, that's good, an' you look as nice as
possible. Now, remember what I told you last night, Toby,
an' go in there to do your level best an' make a name for
yourself. Come out here with me an' wait for the young
lady."
These cheering words of Ben's did Toby as much good
as Mr. Castle's had the reverse, and as he stepped out of
Ten Weeks with a Circus. 201
the dressing-room to the place where the horses were being
saddled Toby resolved that he would do his very best that
afternoon, if for no other reason than to please his old
friend.
Toby was not naturally what might be called a pretty
boy, for his short red hair and his freckled face prevented
any great display of beauty; but he was a good, honest-
looking boy, and in his tasteful costume looked very nice
indeed so nice that, could Mrs. Treat have seen him just
then, she would have been very proud of her handiwork
and hugged him harder than ever.
He had been waiting but a few moments when Ella came
from her dressing-room, and Toby was very much pleased
when he saw by the expression of her face that she was per-
fectly satisfied with his appearance.
"We'll both do just as well as we can," she whispered to
him, " and I know the people will like us, and make us
come back after we get through. And if they do mamma
says she'll give each one of us a gold dollar."
She had taken hold of Toby's hand as she spoke, and her
manner was so earnest and anxious that Toby was more
excited than he ever had been about his debut ; and, had he
gone into the ring j ust at that moment, the chances are that
he would have surprised even his teacher by his riding.
"I'll do just as well as I can," said Toby, in reply to his
2O2 Toby Tyler ; or,
little companion, " an' if we earn the dollars I'll have a
hole bored in mine, an' you shall wear it around your neck
to remember me by."
" I'll remember you without that," she whispered ; " and
I'll give you mine, so that you shall have so much the more
when you go to your home."
There was no time for further conversation, for Mr.
Castle entered just then to tell them that they must go in
in another moment. The horses were all ready a black
one for Toby, and a white one for Ella and they stood
champing their bits and pawing the earth in their impa-
tience until the silver bells with which they were decorated
rung out quick, nervous little chimes that accorded very
well with Toby's feelings.
Ella squeezed Toby's hand as they stood waiting for the
curtain to be raised that they might enter, and he had just
time to return it when the signal was given, and almost
before he was aware of it they were standing in the ring,
kissing their hands to the crowds that packed the enor-
mous tent to its utmost capacity.
Thanks to the false announcement about the separation
of the children in Europe and their reunion in this particu-
lar town, the applause was long and loud, and before it had
died away Toby had time to recover a little from the queer
feeling which this sea of heads gave him.
Ten Weeks with a Cimis. 203
He had never seen such a crowd before, except as he had
seen them as he walked around at the foot of the seats, and
then they had simply looked like so many human beings ;
but as he saw them now from the ring they appeared like
strange rows of heads without bodies, and he had hard work
to keep from running back behind the curtain from whence
he had come.
Mr. Castle acted as the ring-master this time, and after
he had introduced them very much after the fashion of
the posters and the clown had repeated some funny joke,
the horses were led in, and they were assisted to mount.
" Don't mind the people at all," said Mr. Castle, in a low
voice, " but ride just as if you were alone here with me."
The music struck up, the horses cantered around the
ring, and Toby had really started as a circus rider.
" Remember," said Ella to him, in a low tone, just as the
horses started, "you told me that you would ride just as
well as you could, and we must earn the dollars mamma
promised."
It seemed to Toby at first as if he could not stand up ;
but by the time they had ridden around the ring once, and
Ella had again cautioned him against making any mistake,
for the sake of the money which they were going to earn,
he was calm and collected enough to carry out his part of
the " act " as well as if he had been simply taking a lesson.
204 Toby Tyler ; or,
The act consisted in their riding side by side, jumping
over banners and through hoops covered with paper, and
then the most difficult portion began.
The saddles were taken off the horses, and they were to
ride first on one horse and then on the other, until they con-
cluded their performance by riding twice around the ring
side by side, standing on their horses, each one with a hand
on the other's shoulder.
All this was successfully accomplished without a single
error, and when they rode out of the ring the applause was
so great as to leave no doubt but that they would be recall-
ed, and thus earn the promised money.
In fact, they had hardly got inside the curtain when one
of the attendants called to them, and before they had time
even to speak to each other they were in the ring again, re-
peating the last portion of their act.
When they came out of the ring for the second time
they found Old Ben, the skeleton, the fat lady, and Mr.
Jacob Lord waiting to welcome them ; but before any one
could say a word Ella had stood on tiptoe again and given
Toby just such another kiss as she did when he told her
that he would surely stay long enough to appear in the ring
with her once.
" That's because you rode so well and helped me so
much," she said, as she saw Toby's cheeks growing a fiery
MADEMOISELLE JEANNETTE AND MONSIEUR AJAX.
Ten Weeks with a Circus. 207
red; and then she turned to those who were waiting to
greet her.
Mrs. Treat took her in her enormous arms, and having
kissed her, put her down quickly, and clasped Toby as if
he had been a very small walnut and her arms a very large
pair of nut-crackers.
" Bless the boy !" she exclaimed, as she kissed him again
and a;ain with an energy and force that made her kisses
O O/
sound like the crack of the whip, and caused the horses to
stamp in affright. " I knew he'd amount to something one
of these days, an' Samuel an' I had to come out, when busi-
ness was dull, just to see how he got along."
It was some time before she would unloose him from her
motherly embrace, and when she did the skeleton grasped
him by the hand, and said, in the most pompous and af-
fected manner,
" Mr. Tyler, we're proud of yon, and when we saw that
costume of yours, that my Lilly embroidered with her own
hands, we was both proud of it and what it contained.
You're a great rider, my boy, a great rider, and you'll stand
at the head of the profession some day, if you only stick
to it."
" Thank yon, sir," was all Toby had time to say before
Old Ben had him by the hand, and the skeleton was pour-
ing out his congratulations in little Miss Ella's ear.
208 Toby Tyler ; or,
" Toby, my boy, you did well, an' now you'll amount to
something, if you only remember what I told you last
night," said Ben, as he looked upon the boy whom he had
come to think of as his protege, with pride. " I never seen
anybody of your age do any better; an' now, instead of
bein' only a candy peddler, you're one of the stars of the
show."
" Thank you, Ben," was all that Toby could say, for he
knew that his old friend meant every word that he said,
and it pleased him so much that he could say no more
than " Thank you " in reply.
" I feel as if your triumph was mine," said Mr. Lord,
looking benignly at Toby from out his crooked eye, and as-
suming the most fatherly tone at his command ; " I have
learned to look upon you almost as my own son, and your
success is very gratifying to me."
Toby was not at all flattered by this last praise. If he
had never seen Mr. Lord before, he might, and probably
would, have been deceived by his words ; but he had seen
him too often, and under too many painful circumstances,
to be at all swindled by his words.
Toby was very much pleased with his success and by
the praise he received from all, and when the proprietor of
the circus came along, patted him on the head, and told
him that he rode very nicely, he was quite happy, until he
Ten Weeks witk a Circus. 209
chanced to see the greedy twinkle in Mr. Lord's eye, and
then he knew that all this success and all this praise were
only binding him faster to the show which he was so anx-
ious to escape from ; his pleasure vanished very quickly,
and in its stead came a bitter, homesick feeling which no
amount of praise could banish.
It was Old Ben who helped him to undress after the
skeleton and the fat lady had gone back to their tent, and
Ella had gone to dress for her appearance with her mother,
for now she was obliged to ride twice at each performance.
When Toby was in his ordinary clothes again Ben said,
"Now that you're one of the performers, Toby, you
won't have to sell candy any more, an' you'll have the
most of your time to yourself, so let's you an' I go out an'
see the town."
" Don't you s'pose Mr. Lord expects me to go to work
for him again to-day ?"
" An' s'posin' he does ?" said Ben, with a chuckle. " You
don't s'pose the boss would let any one that rides in the
ring stand behind Job Lord's counter, do you ? You can
do just as you have a mind to, my boy, an' I say to you,
let's go out an' see the town. What do you say to it ?"
" I'd like to go first-rate, if I dared to," replied Toby,
thinking of the many whippings he had received for far
less than that which Ben now proposed he should do.
14
2io Toby Tyler; or,
" Ob, I'll take care that Job don't botber you, so come
along ;" and Ben started out of the tent, and Toby followed,
Peeling considerably frightened at this first act of disobedi-
ence against his old master.
Ten Weeks with a Circus. 211
CHAPTER XVII.
OFF FOR HOME!
URING this walk Toby learned many things that
were of importance to him, so far as his plan for
running away was concerned. In the first place,
he gleaned from the railroad posters that were
stuck up in the hotel to which they went that he could buy
a ticket for Guilford for seven dollars, and also that, by
going back to the town from which they had just come, he
could go to Guilford by steamer for five dollars.
By returning to this last town and Toby calculated that
the fare on the stage back there could not be more than a
dollar he would have ten dollars left, and that surely ought
to be sufficient to buy food enough for two days for the
most hungry boy that ever lived.
When they returned to the circus grounds the perform-
ance was over, and Mr. Lord in the midst of the brisk trade
which he usually had after the afternoon performance, and
yet, so far from scolding Toby for going away, he actually
smiled and bowed at him as he saw him go by with Ben.
212 Toby Tyler; or,
" See there, Toby," said the old driver to the boy, as lie
gave him a vigorous poke in the ribs and then went off into
one of his dreadful laughing spells " see what it is to be a
performer, an' not workin' for such an old fossil as Job is !
He'll be so sweet to you now that sugar won't melt in his
mouth, an' there's no chance of his ever attemptin' to whip
you again."
Toby made no reply, for he was too busily engaged think-
ing of something which had just come into his mind to
know that his friend had spoken.
But as Old Ben hardly knew whether the boy had an-
swered him or not, owing to his being obliged to struggle
with his breath lest he should lose it in the second laughing
spell that attacked him, the boy's though tfulness was not
particularly noticed.
Toby walked around the show-grounds for a little while
with his old friend, and then the two went to supper, where
Toby performed quite as great wonders in the way of eat-
ing as he had in the afternoon by riding.
As soon as the supper was over he quietly slipped away
from Old Ben, and at once paid a visit to Mr. and Mrs.
Treat, whom he found cosily engaged with their supper be-
hind the screen.
They welcomed Toby most cordially, and, despite his as-
sertions that he had just finished a very hearty meal, the fat
Ten Weeks with a Circus. 213
lady made him sit down to the box which served as table,
and insisted on his trying some of her doughnuts.
Under all these pressing attentions it was some time be-
fore Toby found a chance to say that which he had come to
say, and when he did he was almost at a loss how to pro-
ceed; but at last he commenced by starting abruptly on his
subject with the words, " I've made up my mind to leave
to-night."
"Leave to-night?" repeated the skeleton, inquiringly, not
for a moment believing that Toby could think of running
away after the brilliant success he had just made. " What
do you mean, Toby ?"
" Why, you know that I've been wantin' to get away from
the circus," said Toby, a little impatient that his friend
should be so wonderfully stupid, " an' I think that I'll have
as good a chance now as ever I shall, so I'm goin' to try it."
"Bless us!" exclaimed the fat lady, in a gasping way.
" You don't mean to say that you're goin' off just when
you've started in the business so well? I thought you'd
want to stay after you'd been so well received this after-
noon."
" No," said Toby and one quick little sob popped right
up from his heart and out before he was aware of it "I
learned to ride because I had to, but I never give up run-
nin' away. I must see Uncle Dan'l, an' tell him how sorry
214 Toby Tyler; or,
I am for what I did ; an' if he won't have anything to say
to me then I'll come back; but if he'll let me I'll stay
there, an' I'll be so good that by-'n'-by he'll forget that I
run off an' left him without sayin' a word."
There was such a touch of sorrow in his tones, so much
pathos in his way of speaking, that good Mrs. Treat's heart
was touched at once ; and putting her arms around the little
fellow, as if to shield him from some harm, she said, ten-
derly, " And so you shall go, Toby, my boy ; but if you ever
want a home or anybody to love you come right here to us,
and you'll never be sorry. So long as Sam keeps thin and
I fat enough to draw the public, you never need say that
you're homeless, for nothing would please us better than to
have you come to live with us."
For reply Toby raised his head and kissed her on the
cheek, a proceeding which caused her to squeeze him harder
than ever.
During this conversation the skeleton had remained very
thoughtful. After a moment or two he got up from his seat,
went outside the tent, and presently returned with a quan-
tity of silver ten-cent pieces in his hand.
" Here, Toby," he said and it was to be seen that he
was really too much affected even to attempt one of his
speeches " it's right that you should go, for I've known
what it is to feel just as you do. What Lilly said about
Ten Weeks with a Circus. 215
your having a home with us I say, an' here's five dollars
that I want you to take to help you along."
At first Toby stoutly refused to take the money ; but they
both insisted to such a degree that he was actually forced
to, and then he stood up to go.
" I'm goin' to try to slip off after Job packs up the out-
side booth if I can," he said, " an' it was to say good-bye
that I come around here."
Again Mrs. Treat took the boy in her arms, as if it were
one of her own children who was leaving her, and as she
stroked his hair back from his forehead she said, " Don't
forget us, Toby, even if you never do see us again ; try an'
remember how much we cared for you, an' how much com-
fort you're taking away from us when you go ; for it was a
comfort to see you around, even if you wasn't with us very
much. Don't forget us, Toby, an' if you ever get the chance
come an' see us. Good-bye, Toby, good-bye." And the kind-
hearted woman kissed him again and again, and then turned
her back resolutely upon him, lest it should be bad luck to
him if she again saw him after saying good-bye.
The skeleton's parting was not quite so demonstrative.
He clasped Toby's hand with one set of his fleshless fingers,
while with the other he wiped one or two suspicious-looking
drops of moisture from his eyes, as he said, " I hope you'll
get along all right, my boy, and I believe you will. You
216 Toby Tyler; or,
will get home to Uncle Daniel, and be happier than ever,
for now you know what it is to be entirely without a home.
Be a good boy, mind your uncle, go to school, and one of
these days you'll make a good man. Good-bye, my boy."
The tears were now streaming down Toby's face very
rapidly; he had not known, in his anxiety to get home, how
very much he cared for this strangely assorted couple, and
now it made him feel very miserable and wretched that he
was going to leave them. He tried to say something more,
but the tears choked his utterance, and he left the tent
quickly to prevent himself from breaking down entirely.
In order that his grief might not be noticed, and the
cause of it suspected, Toby went out behind the tent, and,
sitting there on a stone, he gave way to the tears which he
could no longer control.
While he was thus engaged, heeding nothing which
passed around him, he was startled by a cheery voice which
cried, "Halloo! down in the dumps again? What is the
matter now, my bold equestrian ?"
Looking up, he saw Ben standing before him, and he
wiped his eyes hastily, for here was another from whom he
must part, and to whom a good-bye must be spoken.
Looking around to make sure that no one was within
hearing, he went up very close to the old driver, and said,
in almost a whisper, " I was feelin' bad 'cause I just come
Ten Weeks with a Circus. 217
from Mr. and Mrs. Treat, an' I've been sayin' good-bye to
them. I'm goin' to run away to-night."
Ben looked at him for a moment, as if he doubted
whether the boy knew exactly what he was talking about,
and then said, " So you still want to go home, do you ?"
" Oh yes, Ben, so much," was the reply, in a tone which
expressed how dear to him was the thought of being in his
old home once more.
" All right, my boy ; I won't say one word agin it, though
it do seem too bad, after you've turned out to be such a
good rider," said the old man, thoughtfully. " It's better
for you, I know ; for a circus hain't no place for a boy,
even if he wants to stay, an' I can't say but I'm glad you're
still determined to go."
Toby felt relieved at the tone of this leave-taking. He
had feared that Old Ben, who thought a circus-rider was al-
most on the topmost round of Fortune's ladder, would have
urged him to stay, since he had made his debut in the ring,
and he was almost afraid that he might take some steps to
prevent his going.
" I wanted to say good-bye now," said Toby, in a choking
voice, " 'cause perhaps I sha'n't see you again."
" Good-bye, my boy," said Ben as he took the boy's hand
in his. " Don't forget this experience you've had in runnin'
away ; an' if ever the time comes that you feel as if you
218 Toby Tyler; or,
wanted to know that you had a friend, think of Old Ben,
an' remember that his heart beats just as warm for you as if
he was your father. Good-bye, my boy, good-bye, an' may
the good God bless you !"
" Good-bye, Ben," said Toby ; and then, as the old driver
turned and walked away, wiping something from his eye
with the cuff of his sleeve, Toby gave full vent to his tears,
and wondered why it was that he was such a miserable
little wretch.
There was one more good-bye to be said, and that Toby
dreaded more than all the others. It was to Ella. He
knew that she would feel badly to have him go, because
she liked to ride the act with him that gave them such
applause, and he felt certain that she would urge him to
stay.
Just then the thought of another of his friends one who
had not yet been warned of what very important matter
was to occur came into his mind, and he hastened toward
the old monkey's cage. His pet was busily engaged in play-
ing with some of the younger members of his family, and
for some moments could not be induced to come to the bars
of the cage.
At last, however, Toby did succeed in coaxing him for-
ward, and then, taking him by the paw, and drawing him
as near as possible, Toby whispered, " We're goin' to run
Ten Weeks with a Circus. 219
away to night, Mr. Stubbs, an' I want you to be all ready to
go the minute I come for you."
The old monkey winked both eyes violently, and then
showed his teeth to such an extent that Toby thought he
was laughing at the prospect, and he said, a little severely,
" If you had as many friends as I have got in this circus
you wouldn't laugh when you was goin' to leave them. Of
course I've got to go, an' I want to go ; but it makes me
feel bad to leave the skeleton, an' the fat woman, an' Old
Ben, an' little Ella. But I mustn't stand here. You be
ready when I come for you, an' by mornin' we'll be so far
off that Mr. Lord nor Mr. Castle can't catch us."
The old monkey went toward his companions, as if he
were in high glee at the trip before him, and Toby went
into the dressing tent to prepare for the evening's perform-
ance which was about to commence.
It appeared to the boy as if every one was unusually kind
to him that night, and, feeling sad at leaving those in the
circus who had befriended him, Toby was unusually atten-
tive to every one around him. He ran on some trifling
errand for one, helped another in his dressing, and in a
dozen kind ways seemed as if trying to atone for leaving
them secretly.
When the time came for him to go into the ring and he
met Ella, bright and happy at the thought of riding with
220 Toby Tyler ; or,
him and repeating her triumphs of the afternoon, nothing
save the thought of how wicked he had been to run away
from good old Uncle Daniel, and a desire to right that
wrong in some way, prevented him from giving up his plan
of going back.
The little girl observed his sadness, and she whispered,
" Has any one been whipping you, Toby ?"
Toby shook his head. He had thought that he would tell
her what he was about to do just before they went into the
ring, but her kind words seemed to make that impossible,
and he had said nothing, when the blare of the trumpets, the
noisy demonstrations of the audience, and the announce-
ment of the clown that the wonderful children riders were
now about to appear, ushered them into the ring.
If Toby had performed well in the afternoon, he accom-
plished wonders on this evening, and they were called back
into the ring, not once, but twice ; and when finally they
were allowed to retire, every one behind the curtain over-
whelmed them with praise.
Ella was so profuse with her kind words, her admiration
for what Toby had done, and so delighted at the idea that
they were to ride together, that even then the boy could not
tell her what he was going to do, but went into his dressing-
room, resolving that he would tell her all when they both
had finished dressing.
~
Ten }\ 7 eeks with a Circus. 221
Toby made as small a parcel as possible of the costume
which Mr. and Mrs. Treat had given him --for he deter-
mined that he would take it with him and, putting it under
his coat, went out to wait for Ella. As she did not come
out as soon as he expected he asked some one to tell her
that he wanted to see her, and he thought to himself that
when she did come she would be in a hurry, and could not
stop long enough to make any very lengthy objections to
his leaving.
But she did not come at all her mother sent out word
that Toby could not see her until after the performance was
over, owing to the fact that it was now nearly time for her
to go into the ring, and she was not dressed yet.
Toby was terribly disappointed. He knew that it would
not be safe for him to wait until the close of the perform-
ance if he were intending to run away that night, and he
felt that he could not go until he had said a few last words
to her.
He was in a great perplexity, until the thought came to
him that he could write a good-bye to her, and by this
means any unpleasant discussion would be avoided.
After some little difficulty he procured a small piece of
not very clean paper and a very short bit of lead -pencil,
and using the top of one of the wagons, as he sat on the
seat, for a desk, he indited the following epistle :
222 Toby Tyler ; or,
"deaK ella I Am goin to Run away two night, & i want two say good by
to yu & your mother, i am Small & unkle Danil says i dont mount two
much, but i am old enuf two know that you have bin good two me, & when i
Am a man i will buy yon a whole cirkus, and we Will ride together, dont
forgit me & I wont yu in haste TOBY TYLER."
Toby had no envelope in which to seal this precious letter,
but he felt that it would not be seen by prying eyes, and
would safely reach its destination, if he intrusted it to Old
Ben.
It did not take him many moments to find the old driver,
and he said, as he handed him the letter, " I didn't see Ella
to tell her I was goin', so I wrote this letter, an' I want to
know if you will give it to her ?"
" Of course I will. But see here, Toby r -and Ben caught
him by the sleeve and led him aside where he would not
be overheard " have you got money enough to take you
home? for if you haven't I can let you have some." And
Ben plunged his hand into his capacious pocket, as if he
was about to withdraw from there the entire United States
Treasury.
Toby assured him that he had sufficient for all his wants ;
but the old man would not be satisfied until he had seen
for himself, and then, taking Toby's hand again, he said,
" Now, my boy, it won't do for you to stay around here any
longer. Buy something to eat before you start, an' go into the
Ten Weeks with a Circus. 223
woods for a day or two before you take the train or steam-
boat. You're too big a prize for Job or Castle to let you
go without a word, an' they'll try their level best to find
you. Be careful, now, for if they should catch you, good-
bye any more chances to get away. There" and here Ben
suddenly lifted him high from the ground and kissed him
" now get away as fast as you can."
Toby pressed the old man's hand affectionately, and then,
without trusting himself to speak, walked swiftly out toward
the entrance.
He resolved to take Ben's advice and go into the woods
for a short time, and therefore he must buy some provisions
before he started.
As he passed the monkeys' cage he saw his pet sitting
near the bars, and he stopped long enough to whisper, " I'll
be back in ten minutes, Mr. Stubbs, an' you be all ready
then."
Then he went on, and just as he got near the entrance
one of the men told him that Mrs. Treat wished to see
him.
Toby could hardly afford to spare the time just then, but
he would probably have obeyed the summons, if he had
known that by so doing he would be caught, and he ran as
fast as his little legs would carry him toward the skeleton's
tent.
224 Toby Tyler ; or,
The exhibition was open, and both the skeleton and his
wife were on the platform when Toby entered ; but he crept
around at the back and up behind Mrs. Treat's chair, tell-
ing her as he did so that he had just received her message,
and that he must hurry right back, for every moment was
important then to him.
"I put up a nice lunch for you," she said as she kissed
him, " and you'll find it on the top of the biggest trunk.
Now go ; and if my wishes are of any good to you, you
will get to your uncle Daniel's house without any trouble.
Good-bye again, little one."
Toby did not dare to trust himself any longer where
every one was so kind to him. He slipped down from the
platform as quickly as possible, found the bundle and a
good-sized one it was too without any difficulty, and went
back to the monkeys' cage.
As orders had been given by the proprietor of the circus
that the boy should do as he had a mind to with the mon-
key, he called Mr. Stubbs ; and as he was in the custom of
taking him with him at night, no one thought that it was
anything strange that he should take him from the cage
now.
Mr. Lord or Mr. Castle might possibly have thought it
queer had either of them seen the two bundles which Toby
carried, but, fortunately for the boy's scheme, they both be-
THK RUNAWAYS.
Ten Weeks with a Circus. 227
licved that lie was in the dressing -tent, and consequently
thought that lie was perfectly safe.
Toby's hand shook so that he could hardly undo the fast-
ening of the cage, and when he attempted to call the mon-
key to him his voice sounded so strange and husky that it
startled him.
The old monkey seemed to prefer sleeping with Toby
rather than with those of his kind in the cage ; and as the
boy took him with him almost every night, he came on this
particular occasion as soon as Toby called, regardless of the
strange sound of his master's voice.
O
With his bundles under his arm, and the monkey on his
i/
shoulder, with both paws tightly clasped around his neck,
Toby made his way out of the tent with beating heart and
bated breath.
Neither Mr. Lord, Castle, nor Jacobs were in sight, and
everything seemed favorable for his flight. During the af-
ternoon he had carefully noted the direction of the woods,
and he started swiftly toward them now, stopping only long
enough, as he was well clear of the tents, to say, in a
whisper,
" Good-bye, Mr. Treat, an' Mrs. Treat, an' Ella, an' Ben.
Some time, when I'm a man, I'll come back, an' bring yon
lots of nice things, an' I'll never forget you never. When
I have a chance to be good to some little boy that felt as
228 Toby Tyler ; or,
bad as I did I'll do it, an' tell him that it was you did it.
Good-bye."
/
Then, turning around, he ran toward the woods as swiftly
as if his escape had been discovered and the entire com-
pany were in pursuit.
Ten Weeks witk a Circus. 229
CHAPTER XVIII.
A DAY OF FREEDOM.
?
'OBY ran at the top of his speed over the rough
road ; and the monkey, jolted from one side to the
other, clutched his paws more tightly around the
boy's neck, looking around into his face as if to
ask what was the meaning of this very singular proceeding.
When he was so very nearly breathless as to be able to
run no more, but was forced to walk, Toby looked behind
him, and there he could see the bright lights of the circus,
and hear the strains of the music as he had heard them on
the night when he was getting ready to run away from
Uncle Daniel ; and those very sounds, which reminded him
forcibly of how ungrateful he had been to the old man
who had cared for him when there was no one else in the
world who would do so, made it more easy for him to leave
those behind who had been so kind to him when he stood
so much in need of kindness.
" We are goin' home, Mr. Stubbs !" he said, exultantly, to
the monkey " home to Uncle Dan'l an' the boys ; an' won't
230 Toby Tyler ; or,
you have a good time when we get there ! You can run
all over the barn, an' up in the trees, an' do just what you
want to, an' there'll be plenty of fellows to play with you.
You don't know half how good a place Guilford is, Mr.
Stubbs."
The monkey chattered away as if he were anticipating
lots of fun on his arrival at Toby's home, and the boy chat-
tered back, his spirits rising at every step which took him
farther away from the collection of tents where he had
spent so many wretched hours.
A brisk walk of half an hour sufficed to take Toby to
the woods, and after some little search he found a thick
clump of bushes in which he concluded he could sleep
without the risk of being seen by any one who might pass
that way before he should be awake in the morning.
He had not much choice in the way of a bed, for it was
so dark in the woods that it was impossible to collect moss
or leaves to make a soft resting-place, and the few leaves
and pine -boughs which he did gather made his place for
sleeping but very little softer.
But during the ten weeks that Toby had been with the
circus his bed had seldom been anything softer than the
seat of the wagon, and it troubled him very little that he
to sleep with nothing but a few leaves between liiin-
the earth,
Ten IVeeks wit/i a Circus. 231
Using the bundle in which was his riding costume fur a
pillow, and placing the lunch Mrs. Treat had given him near
by, where the monkey 6ould not get at it conveniently, he
cuddled Mr. Stubbs up in his bosom and lay down to sleep.
" Mi-. Lord won't wake us up in the mornin' an' swear at
us for not washin' the tumblers," said Toby, in a tone of
satisfaction, to the monkey ; " an' we won't have to go into
the tent to -morrow an' sell sick lemonade an' poor pea-
nuts. But" and here his tone ehano;ed to one of sorrow
~
" there'll be some there that '11 be sorry not to see us in
the mornin', Mr. Stubbs, though they'll be glad to know
that we got away all right. But won't Mr. Lord swear, an'
won't Mr. Castle crack his whip, when they come to look
round for us in the mornin' an' find that we hain't there !"
The only reply which the monkey made to this was to
nestle his head closer under Toby's coat, and to show, in
the most decided manner, that he was ready to go to sleep.
And Toby was quite as ready to go to sleep as he was.
He had worked hard that day, but the excitement of es-
caping had prevented him from realizing his fatigue until
after he had lain down ; and almost before he had got
through congratulating himself upon the ease with which
he had gotten free, both he and the monkey were as sound
asleep as if they had been tucked up in the softest bed
that was ever made.
232 Toby Tyler ; or,
Toby's very weariness was a friend to him that night,
for it prevented him from waking ; which, if he had done
so, might have been unpleasant when he fully realized that
he was all alone in the forest, and the sounds that are al-
ways heard in the woods might have frightened him just
the least bit.
The sun was shining directly in his face when Toby
awoke on the following morning, and the old monkey was
still snugly nestled under his coat. He sat up rather dazed
at first, and then, as he fully realized that he was actually
free from all that had made his life such a sad and hard
one for so many weeks, he shouted aloud, revelling in his
freedom.
The monkey, awakened by Toby's cries, started from his
sleep in affright and jumped into the nearest tree, only to
chatter, jump, and swing from the boughs when he saw
that there was nothing very unusual going on, save*" that he
and Toby were out in the woods again, where they could
have no end of a good time and do just as they liked.
After a few moments spent in a short jubilee at their
escape Toby took the monkey on his shoulder and the
bundles under his arm again, and went cautiously out to
the edge of the thicket, where he could form some idea as
to whether or no they were pursued.
He had entered the woods at the brow of a small hill
Ten Weeks with a Cimis. 233
when he had fled so hastily on the previous evening, and
looking down, he could see the spot whereon the tents of
the circus had been pitched, but not a sign of them was
now visible. He could see a number of people walking
around, and he fancied that the} 7 looked up every now and
then to where he stood concealed by the foliage.
This gave him no little uneasiness, for he feared that
Mr. Lord or Mr. Castle might be among the number, and
he believed that they would begin a search for him at once,
and that the spot where their attention would first be drawn
was exactly where he was then standing.
" This won't do, Mr. Stubbs," he said, as he pushed the
monkey higher up on his shoulder and started into the
thickest part of the woods ; " we must get out of this place,
an' go farther down, where we can hide till to-morrow
mornin'. Besides, we must find some water where we can
wash our faces."
The old monkey would hardly have been troubled if
they had not their faces washed for the next month to
come; but he grinned and talked as Toby trudged along,
attempting to catch hold of the leaves as they were passed,
and in various other ways impeding his master's progress,
until Toby was obliged to give him a most severe scolding
in order to make him behave himself in anything like a
decent manner.
234 Toby Tyler ; or,
At last, after fully half an hour's rapid walking, Toby
found just the place he wanted in which to pass the time
he concluded it would be necessary to spend before he dare
venture out to start for home.
It was a little valley entirely filled by trees, which grew
so thickly, save in one little spot, as to make it almost im-
possible to walk through. The one clear spot was not more
than ten feet square, but it was just at the edge of a swift-
ly running brook ; and a more beautiful or convenient place
for a boy and a monkey to stop who had no tent, nor means
to build one, could not well be imagined.
Toby's first act was to wash his face, and he tried to
make the monkey do the same ; but Mr. Stubbs had no idea
of doing any such foolish tiling. lie would come down
close to the edge of the water and look in ; but the moment
that Toby tried to make him go in he would rush back
among the trees, climb out on some slender bough, and then
swing himself down by the tail, and chatter away as if mak-
ing sport of his young master for thinking that he would
be so foolish as to soil his face with water.
After Toby had made his toilet he unfastened the bun-
dle which the fat lady had given him, for the purpose of
having breakfast. As much of an eater as Toby was, he
could not but be surprised at the quantity of food which
Mrs. Treat called a lunch. There were two whole pies and
Ten Weeks with a Circus. 235
half of another, as many as two dozen doughnuts, several
large pieces of cheese, six sandwiches, with a plentiful
amount of meat, half a dozen biscuits, nicely buttered, and
a large piece of cake.
The monkey had come down from the tree as soon as he
saw Toby untying the bundle, and there w r as quite as much
pleasure depicted on his face, when lie saw the good things
that were spread out before him, as there was on Toby's;
and he showed his thankfulness at Mrs. Treat's foresight by
suddenly snatching one of the doughnuts and running with
it up the tree, where he knew Toby could not follow.
" Now look here, Mr. Stubbs !" said Toby, sternly, " you
can have all you want to eat, but you must take it in a de-
cent way, an' not go to cuttin' up any such shines as that."
And after giving this command which, by-the-way, was
obeyed just about as w r ell as it was understood Toby de-
voted his time to his breakfast, and he reduced the amount
of eatables very considerably before he had finished.
Toby cleared off his table by gathering the food together
and putting it back into the paper as well as possible, and
then he sat down to think over the situation, and to decide
what he had better do.
He felt rather nervous about venturing out when it was
possible for Mr. Lord or Mr. Castle to get hold of him
again ; and as the weather was yet warm during the night,
236 Toby Tyler ; or,
his camping-place everything that could be desired, and the
stock of food likely to hold out, he concluded that he had
better remain there for two days at least, and then he would
be reasonably sure that if either of the men whom he so
dreaded to see had remained behind for the purpose of
catching him, he would have got tired out and gone on.
This point decided upon, the next was to try to fix up
something soft for a bed. He had his pocket-knife -with
him, and in his little valley were pine and hemlock trees in
abundance. From the tips of their branches he knew that
he could make a bed as soft and fragrant as any that could
be thought of, and he set to work at once, while Mr. Stubbs
continued his antics above his head.
After about two hours' steady work he had cut enough of
/ O
the tender branches to make himself a bed into which he
and the monkey could burrow and sleep as comfortably as
if they were in the softest bed in Uncle Daniel's house.
"When Toby first began to cut the boughs he had an idea
that he might possibly make some sort of a hut; but the
two hours' work had blistered his hands, and he was per-
fectly ready to sit down and rest, without the slightest de-
sire for any other kind of a hut than that formed by the
trees themselves.
Toby imagined that in that beautiful place he could,
with the monkey, stay contented for any number of days;
Ten Weeks with a Circus. 237
but after he had rested a time, played with his pet a little,
and eaten just a trifle more of the lunch, the time passed so
slowly that he soon made up his mind to run the risk of
meeting Mr. Lord or Mr. Castle again by going out of the
woods the first thing the next morning.
Very many times before the sun set that day was Toby
tempted to run the risk that night, for the sake of the
change, if no more ; but as he thought the matter over he
saw how dangerous such a course would be, and he forced
himself to wait.
That night he did not sleep as soundly as on the previous
one, for the very good reason that he was not as tired. He
awoke several times; and the noise of the night-birds
alarmed him to such an extent that he was obliged to
awaken the old monkey for company.
But the night passed despite his fears, as all nights will,
whether a boy is out in the woods alone or tucked up in his
own little bed at home. In the morning Toby made all
possible haste to get away, for each moment that he stayed
now made him more impatient to be moving toward home.
He washed himself as quickly as possible, ate his break-
fast with the most unseemly haste, and, taking up his bun-
dles and the monkey, once more started, as he supposed, in
the direction from which he had entered the woods.
Toby walked briskly along, in the best possible spirits,
238 Toby Tyler ; or,
for his running away was now an accomplished fact, and
he was soins toward Uncle Daniel and home iust.as fast
O O *
as possible. He sung " Old Hundred " through five or six
times by way of showing his happiness. It is quite likely
that he would have sung something a little more lively had
lie known anything else; but "Old Hundred" was the ex-
/ ^j
tent of his musical education, and he kept repeating that,
which was quite as satisfactory as if he had been able to
go through with every opera that was ever written.
The monkey would jump from his shoulder into the
branches above, run along on the trees for a short distance,
and then wait until Toby came along, when he would drop
down on his shoulder suddenly, and in every other way of
displaying monkey delight he showed that he was just as
happy as it was possible.
Toby trudged on in this contented w r ay for nearly an
hour, and every moment expected to step out to the edge
of the woods, where he could see houses and men once
more. But instead of doing so the forest seemed to grow
more dense, and nothing betokened his approach to the
village. There was a great fear came into Toby's heart
just then, and for a moment he halted in helpless perplex-
ity. His lips began to quiver, his face grew white, and his
hand trembled so that the old monkey took hold of one of
his fingers and looked at it wonderingly.
Ten Weeks with a Circus. 239
CHAPTER XIX.
MR. STUBBS'S MISCHIEF, AND HIS SAD FATE.
'BY had beonin to realize that he was lost in
o
t^HI the woods, and the thought was sufficient to cause
alarm in the mind of one much older than the
boy. He said to himself that he would keep on in
the direction he was then travelling for fifteen minutes;
and as he had no means of computing the time he sat down
on a log, took out the bit of pencil with which he had
written the letter to Ella, and multiplied sixty by fifteen.
He knew that there were sixty seconds to the minute, and
that he could ordinarily count one to each second ; there-
fore, when he learned that there were nine hundred sec-
onds in fifteen minutes, he resolved to walk as nearly
straight ahead as possible until he should have counted
that number.
He walked on, counting as regularly as he could, and
thought to himself that he never before realized how long
fifteen minutes were. It really seemed to him that an
hour had passed before he finished counting, and then
240 Toby Tyler ; or,
when he stopped there were no more signs that he was
near a clearing than there had been before he started.
"Ah, Mr. Stubbs, we're lost! we're lost!" he cried, as he
laid his cheek on the monkey's head and gave way to the
lonesome grief that came over him. "What shall we do?
o
Perhaps we won't ever find our way out, but will die here,
an' then Uncle Dan'l won't ever know how sorry I was
that I run away."
Then Toby lay right down on the ground and cried so
hard that the monkey acted as if it were frightened, and
tried to turn the boy's face over, and finally leaned down
and licked Toby's ear.
This little act, which seemed so much like a kiss, caused
Toby to feel no small amount of comfort, and he sat up
again, took the monkey in his arms, and began seriously to
discuss some definite plan of action.
"It won't do to keep on the way we've been goin', Mr.
Stubbs," said Toby, as he looked full in his pet's face and
the old monkey sat as still and looked as grave as it was
possible for him to look and sit " for we must be goin'
into the woods deeper. Let's start off this way' : -and Toby
pointed at right angles with the course they had been pur-
suing " an' keep right on that way till we come to some-
thing, or till we drop right down an' die."
It is fair to presume that the old monkey agreed to
Ten Weeks with a Circus. 241
Toby's plan ; for although he said nothing in favor of it he
certainly made no objections to it, which to Toby was the
same as if his companion had assented to it in the plainest
English.
O
Both the bundles and the monkey were rather a heavy
load for a small boy like Toby to carry ; but he clung man-
fully to them, walked resolutely on, without looking to the
right or to the left, glad when the old monkey would take
a run among the trees, for then he would be relieved of his
weight, and glad when he returned, for then he had his
company, and that repaid him for any labor which he might
have to perform.
Toby was in a hard plight as it was ; but without the old
monkey for a companion he would have thought his con-
dition was a hundred times worse, and would hardly have
had the courage to go on as he was going.
On. and on he walked, until it seemed to him that he
could really go no farther, and yet he could see no signs
which indicated the end of the woods, and at last he sunk
upon the ground, too tired to walk another step, saying to
the monkey who was looking as if he would like to know
the reason of this pause " It's no use, Mr. Stubbs, I've got
to sit down here an' rest awhile, anyhow ; besides, I'm aw-
fully hungry."
Then Toby commenced to eat his dinner, and to give the
16
242 Toby Tyler ; or,
monkey his, until the thought came to him that he neither
had any water nor did he know where to find it, and then,
of course, he immediately became so thirsty that it was im-
possible for him to eat any more.
" We can't stand this," moaned Toby to the monkey ;
" we've got to have something to drink, or else we can't eat
all these sweet things, an' I'm so tired that I can't go any
farther. Don't let's eat dinner now, but let's stay here an'
rest, an' then we can keep on an' look for water."
Toby's resting spell was a long one, for as soon as he
stretched himself out on the ground he was asleep from
actual exhaustion, and did not awaken until the sun was
just setting, and then he saw that, hard as his troubles had
been before, they were about to become, or in fact had be-
come, worse.
He had paid no attention to his bundles when he lay
down, and when he awoke he was puzzled to make out
what it was that was strewn around the ground so thickly.
He had looked at it but a very short time when he saw
that it was what had been the lunch he had carried so far.
After having had the sad experience of losing his money
he understood very readily that the old monkey had taken
the lunch while he slept, and had amused himself by picking
it apart into the smallest particles possible, and then strewn
them around on the ground where he now saw them.
Ten Weeks with a Circus. 243
Toby looked at them in almost speechless surprise, and
then he turned to where the old monkey lay, apparently
asleep ; but as the boy watched him intently, he could see
that the cunning animal was really watching him out of
one half-closed eve.
t/
" Now you have killed us, Mr. Stubbs," wailed Toby.
"We never can find our way out of here; an' now we
hain't got anything to eat, and by to-morrow we shall be
starved to death. Oh dear! wasn't you bad enough when
you threw all the money away, so you had to go an' do
this just when we was in awful trouble?"
Mr. Stubbs now looked up as if he had just been awak-
ened by Toby's grief, looked around him leisurely as if to
see what could be the matter, and then, apparently seeing
for the first time the crumbs that were lying around on the
ground, took up some and examined them intently.
"Now don't go to makin' believe that you don't know
how they come there," said Toby, showing anger toward
his pet for the first time. " You know it was you who did
it, for there wasn't any one else here, an' you can't fool me
by lookin' so surprised."
It seemed as if the monkev had come to the conclusion
i/
that his little plan of ignorance wasn't the most perfect suc-
cess, for he walked meekly toward his young master, climb-
ed up on his shoulder, and sat there kissing his ear, or look-
244 Toby Tyler ; or,
ing down into his eyes, until the boy could resist the mute
appeal no longer, but took him into his arms and hugged
him closely as he said,
" It can't be helped now, I s'pose, an' we shall have to
get along the best way we can ; but it was awful wicked
of you, Mr. Stubbs, an' I don't know what we're going to
do for something to eat."
While the destructive fit was on him the old monkey
had not spared the smallest bit of food, but had picked
everything into such minute shreds that none of it could be
gathered up, and everything was surely wasted.
While Toby sat bemoaning his fate, and trying to make
out what was to be done for food, the darkness, which had
just begun to gather when he first awoke, now commenced
to settle around, and he was obliged to seek for some con-
venient place in which to spend the night before it be-
came so dark as to make the search impossible.
Owing to the fact that he had slept nearly the entire
afternoon, and also rendered wakeful by the loss he had
just sustained, Toby lay awake on the hard ground, with
the monkey on his arm, hour after hour, until all kinds of
fancies came to him, and in every sound feared he heard
some one from the circus coming to capture him, or some
wild beast intent on picking his bones.
The cold sweat of fear stood out on his brow, and he
Ten Weeks with a Circus. 245
hardly dared to breathe, much more to speak, lest the sound
of his voice should betray his whereabouts, and thus bring
his enemies down upon him. The minutes seemed like
hours, and the hours like days, as he lay there, listening
fearf nil} 7 to every one of the night-sounds of the forest ; and
it seemed to him that he had been there very many hours
when at last he fell asleep, and was thus freed from his fears.
Bright and early on the following morning Toby was
awake, and as he came to a realizing sense of all the dan-
gers and trouble that surrounded him lie was disposed to
give way again to his sorrow ; but he said resolutely to him-
self, " It might be a good deal worse than it is, an' Mr.
Stubbs an' I can get along one day without anything to eat ;
an' perhaps by night we shall be out of the woods, an' then
what \ve get will taste good to us."
He began his walk which possibly might not end that
day manfully, and his courage was rewarded by soon reach-
ing a number of bushes that were literally loaded down with
blackberries. From these he made a hearty meal, and the
old monkey fairly revelled in them, for he ate all he possibly
could, and then stowed awav enough in his cheeks to make
i/ O
a good-sized luncheon when he should be hungry again.
Refreshed very much by his breakfast of fruit, Toby
again started on his journey with renewed vigor, and the
world began to look very bright to him. He had not
246 Toby Tyler ; or,
thought that he might find berries when the thoughts of
O C3 tJ
starvation came into his mind, and now that his hunger
was satisfied he began to believe that he might possibly be
able to live, perhaps for weeks, in the woods solely upon
what he might find growing there.
Shortly after he had had breakfast he came upon a
brook,' which he thought was the same upon whose banks
he had encamped the first night he spent in the woods,
and, pulling off his clothes, he waded into the deepest part,
and had a most refreshing bath, although the water was
rather cold.
Not having any towels with which to dry himself, he
\\ v as obliged to sit in the sun until the moisture had been
dried from his skin and he could put his clothes on once
more. Then he started out on his walk again, feeling
that sooner or later he would come out all right.
All this time he had been travelling without any guide
to tell him whether he was going straight ahead or around
in a circle, and he now concluded to follow the course of
the brook, believing that that would lead him out of the
forest some time.
During the forenoon he walked steadily, but not so fast
that lie would get exhausted quickly, and when by the
position of the sun he judged that it was noon he lay down
on a mossy bank to rest.
Ten Weeks wit/i a Circus. 247
He was bejnmriiii* to feel sad a^ain. He had found
o o o
no more berries, and the elation which had been caused
by his breakfast and his bath was quickly passing away.
The old monkey was in a tree almost directly above his
head, stretched out on one of the limbs in the most con-
tented manner possible ; and as Toby watched him, and
thought of all the trouble he had caused by wasting the
food, thoughts of starvation again came into his mind, and
o o /
he believed that he should not live to see Uncle Daniel
again.
Just when he was feeling the most sad and lonely, and
when thoughts of death from starvation were most vivid
in his mind, he heard the barking of a dog, which sounded
close at hand.
His first thought was that at last he was saved, and he
was just starting to his feet to shout for help, when he
heard the sharp report of a gun and an agonizing cry
from the branches above, and the old monkey fell to the
ground with a thud that told he had received his death-
wound.
All this had taken place so quickly that Toby did not
at first comprehend the extent of the misfortune which
had overtaken him ; but a groan from the poor monkey,
as he placed one little brown paw to his breast, from
which the blood was flowing freely, and looked up into
248 Toby Tyler ; or,
his master's face with a most piteous expression, showed
the poor little boy what a great trouble it was which had
now come.
Poor Toby uttered a loud cry of agony, which could not
have been more full of anguish had he received the ball
in his own breast, and, flinging himself by the side of the
dying monkey, he gathered him close to his breast, regard-
less of the blood that poured over him, and stroking ten-
derly the little head that had nestled so often in his bosom,
said, over and over again, as the monkey uttered short
moans of agony. " Who could have been so cruel? who
O */ *
could have been so cruel ?"
Toby's tears ran like rain down his face, and he kissed
his dying pet again and again, as if he would take all the
pain to himself.
" Oh, if you could only speak to me !" he cried, as he
took one of the poor monkey's paws in his hand, and,
finding: that it was growing cold with the chill of death,
o o o /
put it on his neck to warm it. " How I love you, Mr.
Stubbs ! An' now you're goin' to die an' leave me ! Oh,
if I hadn't spoken cross to you yesterday, an' if I hadn't
a'most choked you the clay that we went to the skeleton's
to dinner ! Forgive me for ever bein' bad to you, won't
you, Mr. Stubbs "
As the monkey's groans increased in number but dimin-
.
-ff .-.
If.
'HOW I LOVE YOU, MR. STUBBS !"
Ten Weeks with a Circus. 2 5 i
ished in force Toby ran to the brook, tilled his hands with
water, and held it to the poor animal's mouth.
He lapped the water quickly, and looked up with a hu-
man look of gratitude in his eyes, as if thanking his master
for that much relief. Then Toby tried to wash the blood
from his breast; but it flowed quite as fast as he could
wash it away, and he ceased his efforts in that direction,
and paid every attention to making his friend and pet
more comfortable. He took off his jacket and laid it on
the ground for the monkey to lie upon ; picked a quantity
of large green leaves as a cooling rest for his head, and
then sat by his side, holding his paws, and talking to him
with the most tender words his lips quivering with sorrow
as they were could fashion.
252
Toby Tyler; or,
CHAPTER XX.
HOME AND UNCLE DANIEL.
EANWHILE the author of all this misery had
come upon the scene. He was a young man,
whose rifle and well-filled ^ame-bas; showed that
o o
he had been hunting, and his face expressed the
liveliest sorrow for what he had so unwittingly done.
" I didn't know 1 was firing at your pet," he said to Toby
as he laid his hand on his shoulder and endeavored to make
him look up. " I only saw a little patch of fur through the
trees, and, thinking it was some wild animal, I fired. For-
give me, won't you, and let me put the poor brute out of
his misery ?"
Toby looked up fiercely at the murderer of his pet and
asked, savagely, " Why don't you go away ? Don't you see
that you have killed Mr. Stubbs, an' you'll be hung for
murder?"
" I wouldn't have done it under any circumstances," said
the } T oung man, pitying Toby's grief most sincerely. " Come
away, and let me put the poor thing out of its agony."
Ten Weeks witJi a Cimis. 253
" How can YOU do it?" asked Toby, bitterly, "lie's dying
already."
" I know it, and it will be a kindness to put a bullet
through bis head."
If Toby had been big enough perhaps there might
really have been a murder committed, for he looked
up at the man who so coolly proposed to kill the poor
monkey after he had already received his death -wound
that the young man stepped back quickly, as if really
afraid that in his desperation the boy might do him some
injury.
" Go 'way off," said Toby, passionately, " an' don't ever
come here again. You've killed all I ever had in this world
of my own to love me, an' I hate you I hate you !"
Then, turning again to the monkey, he put his hands on
each side of his head, and, leaning down, kissed the little
brown lips as tenderly as a mother would kiss her child.
The monkey was growing more and more feeble, and
when Toby had shown this act of affection he reached up
his tiny paws, grasped Toby's finger, half -raised himself
from the ground, and then with a convulsive struggle fell
back dead, while the tiny fingers slowly relaxed their hold
of the boy's hand.
Toby feared that it was death, and yet hoped that he
was mistaken; he looked into the half -open, fast -glazing
254 Toby Tyler ; or,
eyes, put his hand over his heart, to learn if it were still
beating; and getting no responsive look from the dead eyes,
feeling no heart-throbs from under that gory breast, he
knew that his pet was really dead, and flung himself by
his side in all the childish abandonment of grief.
He called the monkey by name, implored him to look at
him, and finally bewailed that he had ever left the circus,
where at least his pet's life was safe, even if his own back
received its daily flogging.
The young man, who stood a silent spectator of this pain-
ful scene, understood everything from Toby's mourning.
He knew that a boy had run away from the circus, for
Messrs. Lord and Castle had stayed behind one day, in the
hope of capturing the fugitive, and they had told their own
version of Toby's flight.
For nearly an hour Toby lay by the dead monkey's side,
crying as if his heart would break, and the young man
waited until his grief should have somewhat exhausted it-
self, and then approached the boy again.
" Won't you believe that I didn't mean to do this cruel
thing?" he asked, in a kindly voice. "And won't you be-
lieve that I would do anything in rny power to bring your
pet back to life ?"
Toby looked at him a moment earnestly, and then said,
slowly, Yes, I'll try to."
Ten Weeks with a Circus. 255
" Now will you come with me, and let me talk to you ?
for I know who you are, and why you are here."
" How do you know that f
" Two men stayed behind after the circus had left, and
they hunted everywhere for you."
" I wish they had caught me," moaned Toby ; " I wish they
had caught me, for then Mr. Stubbs wouldn't be here dead."
O '
And Toby's grief broke out afresh as he again looked at
the poor little stiff form that had been a source of so much
comfort and joy to him.
" Try not to think of that now, but think of yourself, and
of what you will do," said the man, soothingly, anxious to
divert Toby's mind from the monkey's death as much as
possible.
" I don't want to think of myself, and I don't care what
I'll do," sobbed the boy, passionately.
"But you must; you can't stay here always, and I will
try to help you to get home, or wherever it is you want to
go, if you will tell me all about it."
It was some time before Toby could be persuaded to
speak or think of anything but the death of his pet ; but the
young man finally succeeded in drawing his story from
him, and then tried to induce him to leave that place and
accompany him to the tow r n.
" I can't leave Mr. Stubbs," said the boy, firmly ; " he
256^ Toby Tyler ; or,
never left me the night I got thrown out of the wagon an'
he thought I was hurt."
o
Then came another struggle to induce him to bury his
pet ; and finally Toby, after realizing the fact that he could
not carry a dead monkey anywhere with him, agreed to it;
but he would not allow the young man to help him in any
way, or even to touch the monkey's body.
lie dug a grave under a little fir-tree near by, and
lined it with wild flowers and leaves, and even then hesi-
tated to cover the body with the earth. At last he be-
thought himself of the fanciful costume which the skel-
o
eton and his wife had given him, and in this lie care-
fully wrapped his dead pet. He had not one regret at
leaving the bespangled suit, for it was the best he could
command, and surely nothing could be too good for Mr.
Stubbs.
Tenderly he laid him in the little grave, and, covering
the body with flowers, said, pausing a moment before he
covered it over with earth, and while his voice was choked
with emotion, "Good-bye, Mr. Stubbs, good-bye! I wish
it had been me instead of you that died, for I'm an awful
sorry little boy now that you're dead !"
Even after the grave had been filled, and a little mound
made over it, the young man had the greatest difficulty to
persuade Toby to go with him ; and when the boy did con-
Ten Weeks with a Circus. 257
sent to go at last he walked very slowly away, and kept
turning his head to look back just so long as the little
grave could be seen.
Then, when the trees shut it completely out from sight,
the tears commenced again to roll down Toby's cheeks, and
he sobbed out, " I wish I hadn't left him. Oh, why didn't
I make him lie down by me ? an' then he'd be alive now ;
an' how glad he'd be to know that we was getting out of
the woods at last !"
But the man who had caused Toby this sorrow talked to
him about other matters, thus taking his mind from the
monkey's death as much as possible, and by the time the
boy reached the village he had told his story exactly as it
was, without casting any reproaches on Mr. Lord, and giv-
ing himself the full share of censure for leaving his home
as he did.
Mr. Lord and Mr. Castle had remained in the town but
one day, for they were told that a boy had taken the night
train that passed through the town about t\vo hours after
Toby had escaped, and they had set off at once to act on
that information.
Therefore Toby need have no fears of meeting either of
them just then, and he could start on his homeward journey
in peace.
The young man who had caused the monkey's death
17
258 Toby Tyler ; or,
tried first to persuade Toby to remain a day or two with
him, and, failing in that, he did all he could toward get-
ting the boy home as quickly and safely as possible. He
insisted on paying for his ticket on the steamboat, although
Toby did all he could to prevent him, and he even accom-
panied Toby to the next town, where he was to take the
steamer.
He had not only paid for Toby's ticket, but he had paid
for a state-room for him ; and when the boy said that he
could sleep anywhere, and that there was no need of such
expense, the man replied, " Those men who were hunting
for you have gone down the river, and will be very likely to
search the boat, when they discover that they started on the
wrong scent. They will never suspect that you have got a
state-room ; and if you are careful to remain in it during
the trip, you will get through safely."
Then, when the time came for the steamer to start, the
young man said to Toby, " Now, my boy, you won't feel
hard at me for shooting the monkey, will you? I would
have done anything to have brought him to life ; but, as I
could not do that, helping you to get home was the next
best thing I could do."
"I know you didn't mean to shoot Mr. Stubbs," said
Toby, with moistening eyes as he spoke of his pet, "an 3
I'm sorry I said what I did to you in the woods."
Ten Weeks ivith a Circus. 259
Before there was time to say any more the warning
whistle was sounded, the plank pulled in, the great wheels
commenced to revolve, and Toby was really on his way to
Uncle Daniel and Gnilford.
It was then but five o'clock in the afternoon, and he
could not expect to reach home until two or three o'clock
in the afternoon of the next day ; but he was in a tremor
of excitement as he thought that he should walk through
the streets of Guilford once more, see all the bo} r s, and go
home to Uncle Daniel.
And yet, whenever he thought of that home, of meeting
those boys, of going once more to all those old familiar
places, the memory of all that he had planned when he
should take the monkey with him would come into his
mind and damp even his joy, great as it was.
That night he had considerable difficulty in falling asleep,
but did finally succeed in doing so ; and when he awoke
the steamer was going up the river, whose waters seemed
like an old friend, because they had flowed right down past
Guilford on their way to the sea.
At each town where a landing was made Toby looked
eagerly out on the pier, thinking that by chance some one
from his home might be there and he would see a fa-
miliar face again. But all this time he heeded the advice
given him and remained in his room, where he could see
260 Toby Tyler ; or,
and not be seen ; and it was well for him that he did so, for
at one of the landings he saw both Mr. Lord and Mr. Castle
come on board the boat.
Toby's heart beat fast and furious, and he expected every
moment to hear them at the door demanding admittance,
for it seemed to him that they must know exactly where he
was secreted.
But no such misfortune occurred. The men had evi-
dently only boarded the boat to search for the boy, for they
landed again before the steamer started, and Toby had
the satisfaction of seeing their backs as they walked away
from the pier. It was some time before he recovered
from the fright which the sight of them gave him ; but
when he did his thoughts and hopes far outstripped the
steamer which, it seemed, was going so slowly, and he
longed to see Guilford with an impatience that could
hardly be restrained.
At last he could see the spire of the little church on the
hill, and when the steamer rounded the point, affording a
full view of the town, and sounded her whistle as a signal
for those on the shore to come to the pier, Toby could hard-
ly restrain himself from jumping up and down and shout-
ing in his delight.
He was at the gang-plank ready to land fully five minutes
before the steamer was anywhere near the wharf, and when
Ten Weeks with a Circus. 261
he recognized the first face on the pier what a happy boy
he was !
He was at home ! The dream of the past ten weeks was
at length realized, and neither Mr. Lord nor Mr. Castle had
O '
any terrors for him now.
He ran down the gang-plank before it was ready and
clasped every boy he saw there round the neck, and would
have kissed them, if they had shown an inclination to let
him do so.
Of course he was overwhelmed with questions, but before
he would answer any he asked for Uncle Daniel and the
others at home.
Some of the boys ventured to predict that Toby would
get a jolly good whipping for running away, and the only
reply which the happy Toby made to that was,
" I hope I will, an' then I'll feel as if I had kinder paid
for runnin' away. If Uncle Dan'l will only let me stay
with him again he may whip me every mornin', an' I won't
open my mouth to holler."
The boys were impatient to hear the story of Toby's trav-
els, but he refused to tell it them, saying,
"I'll go home; an' if Uncle Dan'l forgives me for bein'
so wicked I'll sit down this afternoon an' tell you all you
want to know about the circus."
Then, far more rapidly than he had run away from it,
262 Toby Tyler ; or,
Toby ran toward the home which he had called his ever
since he could remember, and his heart was full almost to
bursting as he thought that perhaps he would be told that
he had forfeited all claim to it, and that he could never
more call it " home " again.
When he entered the old familiar sitting-room Uncle
Daniel was seated near the window, alone, looking out
wistfully as Toby thought across the fields of yellow
waving grain.
Toby crept softly in, and, going up to the old man,
knelt down and said, very humbly, and with his whole soul
in the words, " Oh, Uncle Dan'l ! if you'll only forgive me
for bein' so wicked an' runnin' away, an' let me stay here
again for it's all the home I ever had I'll do everything
you tell me to, an' never whisper in meetin' or do anything
bad."
And then he waited for the words which would seal his
fate. They were not long in coming.
" My poor boy," said Uncle Daniel, softly, as he stroked
Toby's refractory red hair, " my love for you was greater
than I knew, and when you left me I cried aloud to the
Lord as if it had been my own flesh and blood that had
gone afar from me. Stay here, Toby, my son, and help to
support this poor old body as it goes down into the dark
valley of the shadow of death ; and then, in the bright light
UNCLE DANIEL'S BLESSING.
Ten Weeks with a Circiis. 265
of that glorious future, Uncle Daniel will wait to go with
you into the presence of Him who is ever a father to the
fatherless."
And in Uncle Daniel's kindly care we may safely leave
Toby Tyler.
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