“Let him go. Emperor won’t hurt me,” laughed Phil as soon as he could get his breath, for he was moving along at a pace which would have meant a tumble to the ground had the elephant not supported the lad with its trunk.  
The audience soon seeing that no harm had come to the boy, set up another roar, which was still loud in Phil’s ears when Emperor set his burden down after reaching the elephant quarters in the menagerie tent.
 
“You’re a bad boy. Get down, sir, and let me off,” chided Phil.
 
The elephant, to his surprise, cautiously let himself down to his knees, his trunk at the same time reaching out surreptitiously for a wisp of fresh grass.
 
Phil slipped off, laughing heartily¹. He had lost all fear of the great, hulking beast.
 
“Don’t punish him, please,” begged the boy when the keeper came hurrying along with Jupiter. “But if you will make him let me alone, I’ll go in the other tent. I want to see the circus.”
 
“Wait a moment. I’ll chain him up.”
 
The keeper soon had Emperor fast. Then after a final affectionate petting Phil ran lightly to the other tent and quickly made his way to his seat. The people were so engrossed² in the acts in the ring that they did not observe the boy particularly this time.
 
“Did I make a show of myself, Mrs. Cahill?” questioned the lad, with sparkling eyes.
 
“You did not. You were as handsome as a picture. There isn’t one of all those people that looks so handsome or so manly³ as—”
 
“Please, please, Mrs. Cahill!” begged the lad, blushing violently. “Have you seen anything of my friend Teddy? I had forgotten all about him.”
 
“That looks like him down there.”
 
“Where?”
 
“There, leaning against that pole,” she pointed⁴.
 
Phil gazed in the direction indicated, and there, sure enough, was Teddy Tucker leaning carelessly against the center pole. He had no right to be there, as Phil well knew, and he watched with amused interest for the moment when the other boy’s presence would be discovered.
 
It came shortly afterwards. All at once the ringmaster fixed⁵ a cold eye on Teddy.
 
“Hey, you!”
 
Teddy gave no heed⁶ to him.
 
“Get out of there! Think you own this show?”
 
The lad made believe that he did not hear.
 
The ringmaster’s long whip lash⁷ curled through the air, going off with a crack that sounded as if a pistol had been fired, and within an inch of Teddy’s nose.
 
Teddy sprang back, slapping a hand to his face, believing that he had been hit. Then there followed a series of disconcerting snaps all around his head as the long lash began to work, but so skillfully was it wielded⁸ that the end of it did not touch him.
 
But Teddy had had enough. He turned and ran for the seats.
 
“Come up here,” cried Phil, laughing immoderately. “Here’s a seat right beside us and there won’t be any ringmaster to bother you.”
 
Considerably⁹ crestfallen¹⁰, the lad climbed up to where Phil and Mrs. Cahill were sitting.
 
“You mustn’t go down there, you know, Teddy. They don’t allow outsiders in the ring while the performance is going on. Someone might get hurt—”
 
“They let you in,” bristled¹¹ Teddy.
 
“That was different. They couldn’t help themselves, and neither could I. Emperor took me in whether I would or not; and, in fact, I didn’t know I was going till I was halfway¹² there.”
 
Phil’s companion surveyed him with admiration¹³.
 
“My, but you did cut a figure up on that elephant’s head! I should have been afraid.”
 
“There was nothing to be afraid of. But let’s watch the performance. There’s a trapeze act going on now.”
 
For a few moments the lads watched the graceful¹⁴ bodies of the performers slipping through the air. One would swing out from his perch¹⁵, flying straight into the arms of his fellow-performer who was hanging head down from another swinging bar. On the return sweep the first performer would catch his own bar and return to his perch.
 
“Looks easy. I’ll bet I could do that,” nodded Teddy.
 
Phil shook his head.
 
“Not so easy as it looks.”
 
“How much do you s............