The Circus Comes to Town

s that o-u-

umes. Once he thought he almost heard again that low, cheerful strumming that had seemed to beat upon his ears when he first saw the poster of the elephant jumpin

special costume to be a rope-walker and that all Jerry needed to be a trained seal was a sort of apron made out of a gunny sack to protect his clothes while he crawled about on his stomach. He did not

s nothing laughable about it. The green wrapper hung most loosely about Danny's small, slim figure, great folds almost touching the ground,

envy in his heart. He was not at all inclined to laugh when the cap with the very floppy palm-leaf-fan-ears att

he back of her dress, at the waist line, was her mother's switch to represent the pony's tail. The strands of gray in the black ha

called. "Let's play

ss I'm the head of this circus. I've got the biggest

the circus "tent" had been set up and began prancing and dancing and preening about. Jerry was torn between desire to watch her graceful whirling and pirouetting and to keep fasci

the circus ahead of the horse. Horses always get scared of el'funts unless they're be

ane and came prancing back i

rst," said

e second!"

and Celia Jane e

where his place would be,-th

out Danny and

at for?" a

is about to begin," replied Danny. "They always have m

then," sug

sly, seeing a threat to diminis

igho, the cherry-o

ir' will be much more app

but the crowd's gettin' restless; I c

t," said Nora

ircus tent, which consisted of a pole in the c

o the an

d the beasts

oon, by the lig

ng his au

ey he go

e elephan

neezed and fel

e of the monke

ay balanced on his nose but kept rolling off to the ground. The rest of the parade was halfway around the ring (marked by a circle of sawdust wh

nny's voice through the circus music. "We c

balloon under a forefoot, and ran until he caught up wi

nose, but it kept rolling off, and Jerry had to scramble after it and the parade was soon away ahead again. In desperation, he held the ba

very step. Jerry felt hurt and out of sorts as he panted from the exertion of trying to crawl on one arm. He had suggested playing circus and he ought to have been allowed to play the part of the elephant. There was no fun in

ied to scramble on faster. Then, of course, the balloon fe

performers were at the main entrance, having marched clear around t

y. "You're spoilin' the circus al

walk," answered Jerry, in a voice

as fast as a man can walk," said Danny,

seal for a time and see how fast you can crawl on your stummick." Jerry rose to his ha

in his teeth?" Danny protested. "I guess his teeth

ined seal," pleaded Je

a trained seal

y, "an' let me be the el'funt. Y

t," proclaimed Danny. "The

and my neck hurts and I've cut my hand on a piece of glass or a splinter or something till it bleeds." He held up one hand

We need an audience to clap their hands and holler so's we'll know the crowd like

erry dismally, seeing that, as the audience,

t out," she said, "and the one who'

Jane had whispered something in his ear, he considered a mo

dly. Then she counted on her fingers again, after a

u count out, Nora." Starting with Danny and pointing to a

ree, four, fiv

hildren go

spells

was pointin

lia Jane, skipping abou

no audience,

" asserted Danny, "

his carpet-rag balloon, took off the gunny-sack apron

en wait to refute that charge, for he knew he was in dang

up the stairs to the room he shared with Danny and Chris. If Mother 'Larkey had been at home and not away sewing for Mrs.

. He looked quickly around, half-fearful, as always, that that man might have learned where he was and be lurking around the corner ready to pounce upon him. The room was empty and he took a long breath. He would run away if it weren't f

g voice, "come on out and play

swer. He did not

lay with us," continu

y replied

won't

n't pla

'll be the-" The voice stopped and th

hat, but he hardened his heart. "I d

I'm sorry I didn'

"He said I could be the e

of playin' it," suggested Nora, without any great f

ld persuade Danny to let him be the elephant part of

ited a long time and then he heard the shouting of the children. They were playing circus without him! Danny wouldn't let him be the elephant. Very well, if they didn't want him around and wouldn't let him pl

r yet the overcoat which she had made for him out of an old coat of her husband's just after Mr. Mullarkey had died. The other things he didn't care much about. Yes, after all, he would take the ragged, fuzzy cloth dog that Kathlee

slipped into the overcoat. Slowly he took up the woolly dog and started down the stairs. Then he remembered the red mittens which a lady had brought him at Christmas,

he would first watch them a minute and perhaps let Danny know what he had driven him into doing. He went down the alley which led past t

got halfway across the rope, the end of the pole was so far behind that she couldn't steady herself with it. She tried to drag it up even

ry!" she cal

d play, after all

t," sai

ed Celia Jane. "What've you

overcoat?"

himed in Chris. "You

indifferently as though it were a matter of everyday occurrence, this running away, but

asped Celia Jane

don't!" pl

him in open-mo

t down on the ground by the fence where h