“Is he dead?”  
“No; you can’t kill a thick-head like that,” snarled¹ the ringmaster.
 
The audience was still roaring.
 
With angry imprecations the members of the band who had fallen through were untangling themselves as rapidly as possible. Teddy, in the meantime, had dragged himself from beneath the heap and slunk out from under the broken platform. He lost no time in escaping to the paddock, but the bandmaster, espying² him, started after the lad, waving his baton³ threateningly.
 
No sooner had Teddy gained the seclusion⁴ of the dressing⁵ tent than James Sparling burst in.
 
“Where’s that boy? Where’s that boy?”
 
“Here he is,” grinned a performer, thrusting Teddy forward, much against the lad’s inclinations⁶.
 
Mr. Sparling surveyed him with narrow eyes.
 
“You young rascal⁷! Trying to break up my show, are you?”
 
“N-no—sir.”
 
“Can you do that again, do you think?”
 
“I—I don’t know.”
 
“That’s the greatest Rube mule⁸ act that ever hit a sawdust ring. I’ll double your salary if you think you can get away with it every performance,” fairly shouted the owner.
 
“I—I’m willing if the mule is,” stammered⁹ Teddy somewhat doubtfully.
 
As a result the lad left his job in the cook tent, never to return to it. After many hard knocks and some heavy falls he succeeded in so mastering the act that he was able to go through with it without great risk of serious injury to himself. The educated mule and the boy became a feature of the Sparling Combined Shows from that moment on, but after that Teddy took good care not to round off his act by a high dive into the big bass¹⁰ horn.
 
No one was more delighted at Teddy Tucker’s sudden leap to fame than was his companion, Phil Forrest. Phil and Dr. Irvine returned to the show, one afternoon, about a week after the accident. They had come on by train.
 
Phil, though somewhat pale after his setback¹¹, was clear-eyed, and declared himself as fit as ever. He insisted upon going on with his act at the evening performance, but Mr. Sparling told him to wait until the day following. In the meantime Phil could get his apparatus¹² in working order.
 
“I’ll look it over myself this time,” announced the showman. “I don’t want any more such accidents happening in this show. Your friend Teddy nearly put the whole outfit¹³ to the bad—he and the fool mule.”
 
That afternoon Phil had an opportunity to witness for himself the exhibition of his companion and the “fool mule.” He laughed until his sides ached.
 
“O Teddy, you’ll break your neck doing that stunt¹⁴ one of these times,” warned Phil, hastening back to the dressing tent after Teddy and the mule had left the ring.
 
“Don’t you think it’s worth the risk?”
 
“That depends.”
 
“For two dollars a day?”
 
“Is that what you are getting?”
 
“Yep. I’m a high-priced performer,” insisted Teddy, snapping his trousers pocket significantly. “I’d jump off the big top, twice every day, for that figure.”
 
“What are you going to do with all your money? Spend it?”
 
“I—rather thought I’d buy a bicycle.”
 
Phil shook his head.
 
“You couldn’t carry it, and, besides, nobody rides bicycles these days. They ride in automobiles¹⁵.”
 
“Then I’ll buy one of them.”
 
“I’ll tell you what you do, Teddy.”
 
“Lend the money to you, eh?”
 
“No; I am earning plenty for myself. But every week, now, I shall send all my money home to Mrs. Cahill. I wrote to her about it while I was sick. She is going to put it in the bank for me at Edmeston, with herself appointed as trustee. That’s necessary, you see, because I am not of age. Then no one can take it away from me.”
 
“You mean your Uncle Abner?” questioned Teddy.
 
“Yes. I don’t know that he would want to; but I’m not taking any chances. Now, why not send your money along at the same time? Mrs. Cahill will deposit it in the same way, and at the end of the season think what a lot of money you will have?”
 
“Regular fortune?”
 
“Yes, a regular fortune.”
 
“What’ll I do with all that money?”
 
“Do what I’m going to do—get an education.”
 
“What, and leave the show business? No, siree!”
 
“I didn’t mean that. You can go to school between seasons. I don’t intend to leave the show business, but I’m going to know something besides that.”
 
“Well, I guess it would be a good idea,” reflected Teddy.
 
“Will you do it?”
 
“Yes; I’ll do it,” he nodded.
 
“Good for you! We’ll own a show of our own, one of these days. You mark me, Teddy,” glowed Phil.
 
“Of our own?” marveled Teddy, his face wreathing in smiles. “Say, wouldn’t that be great?”
 
“I think so. Have you been practicing on the rings since I left?”
 
“No.”
 
“That’s too bad. You and I will begin tomorrow. We ought to be pretty expert on the flying rings in a few weeks, if I don’t get hurt again,” added the boy, a shadow flitting across his face.
 
“Then, you’d better begin by taking some bends,” sugges............