THE DINNER PARTY
The invitation was no sooner given than accepted; and in a twinkling
every one of those boys was inside the tent, looking at the skeleton and
the fat woman as though they had been old acquaintances.
Toby had told Mr. and Mrs. Treat of the little circus they were
intending to have, and he introduced to them his partners in the
enterprise.
The fleshy Lilly smiled encouragingly upon them, and the skeleton,
moving his chair slightly to prevent his wife from interrupting him,
said:
"I am pleased to meet you, gentlemen, principally, and I might almost
say wholly, because you are the friends of my old friend, Mr. Tyler.
Whatever business relations you may have with him, whether in the great
profession of the circus, or in the humbler walks of life, I am sure he
will honor the connection."
From appearances Mr. Treat would have continued to talk for some time,
but his wife passed around more doughnuts, and the attention of the
visitors was so distracted that he was obliged to stop.
"And this is Abner," said Toby, taking advantage of the break in the
skeleton's speech to lead forward his crippled friend.
Abner limped blushingly towards the gigantic lady, and when both she and
her thin husband spoke to him kindly, he was so covered with confusion
at the honor thus showered upon him that he was hardly able to say a
word.
But the time was passing rapidly, and as there were many persons
outside, probably, waiting for an opportunity to pay their money to see
the varied attractions of the show, Mrs. Treat gave the signal for the
snake-charmer to begin the entertainment, which was given as a mark of
respect, as the skeleton explained, to their friend Toby Tyler.
[Illustration: MR. AND MRS. TREAT EXHIBIT PRIVATELY]
This private exhibition lasted about fifteen minutes, and when, at its
close, the doors were thrown open to such of the public as were willing
to pay to come in, the boys were not at all anxious to leave.
"Let them stay as long as they want to, Toby," said the skeleton
indulgently.
The boys were only too glad to avail themselves of this permission, and
Toby said to Abner:
"I want to see if I can find Ella, an' you stay here till I come back."
"I'll keep him right here by me," said Mrs. Treat, "and he'll be safe
enough."
Remembering how she had served Job Lord, Toby had no fears for the
safety of his friend; he went at once, therefore, to deliver the
invitation to the last of Aunt Olive's expected guests.
When, after some little time, Toby returned, the boys had satisfied
their curiosity so far as the side-show was concerned, and all except
Abner had left the tent.
That he had found Ella was evident, as that young lady herself skipped
along by his side in the greatest possible delight at having met her
former riding companion; and that she had accepted his invitation to
dinner was shown by the scrupulous care with which she was dressed.
"It's time to go up to Uncle Dan'l's," Toby whispered to Mrs. Treat,
"an' Ben's harnessin' the hosses into your wagon, so's you won't have to
go to the trouble of puttin' on your other clothes."
"I don't know as we ought to go up there in this rig," said Mrs. Treat
doubtfully, as she looked down at her "show dress," made to display her
arms and neck to the greatest advantage, and then at her husband's
costume, which was as scanty as his body. "I wanted to dress up when we
went there; but I don't see how I'll get the chance to do it."
"I wouldn't bother, 'cause Uncle Dan'l will like you jest as well that
way, an' it will take you too long," said Toby impatiently.
The skeleton, on being consulted as to the matter, decided to do as Toby
wished, because by adopting that course they would the sooner get the
dinner about which he had been thinking ever since he had received the
invitation.
But while Mrs. Treat was ready to believe that her costume might be
reasonably fit to wear to a dinner party, she was certain that something
more than tights and a pair of short, red velvet trousers was necessary
for her husband.
Mr. Treat tried to argue with his much larger half, insisting that Uncle
Daniel would understand the matter; but his wife insisted so strongly,
and with such determination to have her own way, that he compromised by
adding to his scanty wardrobe a black frock-coat and a tall silk hat,
which gave him a rather more comical than distinguished appearance.
The audience were dismissed as soon as possible; Abner was helped into
the wagon, perfectly delighted at being allowed to ride in a circus van,
and the party started for Uncle Daniel's.
Toby sat on the box with Ben, to show him the way; and when the gaudily
painted cart stopped in front of the farm-house; it was much as if a
peacock had suddenly alighted amid a flock of demure hens.
Uncle Daniel was out in the yard to receive his strangely assorted
guests, and the greeting they received from both him and Aunt Olive was
as hearty as if they had been old acquaintances.
There was a look of calm satisfaction on the skeleton's face as the odor
of roast lamb was mingled with Uncle Daniel's welcome when he descended
from the wagon; and as the company were ushered into the "fore-room,"
the air of which was pungent with the odors of herbs used to keep the
moths from carpet and furniture, a restful feeling came over them such
as only those whose lives are dreary rounds of travelling can feel.
Uncle Daniel insisted on taking care of the horses himself, for his idea
of the duties of host would not allow that Ben should help him, and
almost as soon as he had finished this work dinner was ready.
When all the guests were at the table, and Uncle Daniel bowed his head
to invoke a blessing on those who had befriended the fatherless, the
look of general discomfort old Ben had worn from the time he reached the
house passed away, and in its place came the peaceful look Toby had seen
on Sundays after the old driver had come from church.
It seemed to Toby that he had never really known Uncle Daniel before, so
jolly was he in his efforts to entertain his guests; and the manner in
which he portioned out the food, keeping the plates well filled all the
time, was in the highest degree pleasing to Mr. Treat.
Of course very much was said about the time when Toby was an unwilling
member of the circus, and Mrs. Treat and Ben told of the boy's
experiences in a way that brought many a blush to his cheeks. Mr. Treat
was too busy with Aunt Olive's lamb, as he affectionately spoke of it,
to be able to say anything; he was wonderfully fortunate in not choking
himself but once, and that was such a trifling matter that it was all
over in a moment.
Old Ben told Toby that night, however, that Treat would not have got on
so well, if his wife had not trodden on his toes frequently, as a hint
to eat more slowly.
Although Abner had spent several hours in the side-show, it seemed as if
he would never tire of gazing at Mrs. Treat's enormous frame, and so
intently did he look at her that he missed a good chance of getting a
second piece of custard pie, though Toby nudged him several times to
intimate that he could have more as well as not.
Ben told a number of stories of circus life; Mrs. Treat related some of
her experiences in trying to prevent her husband from eating too fast;
Ella told Aunt Olive of the home she and her mother lived in during
winter; and the hour which had been devoted to this visit passed so
pleasantly that every one was sorry when it was ended.
"You've got a trim little farm here," said Ben to Uncle Daniel, when the
two went out to harness the horses; "an' I reckon that a man who has got
land enough to support him is fixed jest about as well as he can be. I
don't know of anything I'd rather be than a farmer, if I could only get
away from circus life."
"Whenever you want to leave that business," said Uncle Daniel solemnly
and earnestly, "you come right here, and I'll show you the chance to
become a farmer."
"I'd like to," said Ben, with a sigh of regret that the matter seemed so
impossible; "but I've been with a circus now, man an' boy, goin' on
forty-one years, an' I s'pose I shall always be with one."
Then he changed the conversation, making an arrangement with Uncle
Daniel for pasturing the ponies that were to be left behind, and by the
time the bargain was completed the horses were at the door.
While Uncle Daniel and old Ben had been at the stables, Mr. Treat had
been showing his liberality by giving Aunt Olive tickets for the
side-show and circus, and inducing her to promise that she and Uncle
Daniel would see both shows. He had also given Toby fully a dozen circus
tickets for distribution among his friends; and then, as Uncle Daniel
entered, he said:
"I wish to express thanks--both for myself and my wife Lilly--for the
very kind manner in which you have entertained us to-day."
Before he could say anything more the others came to say good-bye, and
he was disappointed again. Aunt Olive kissed Ella several times, while
the parting with the others was almost as between old friends, and the
guests started for the tent again, more than satisfied with their visit.
"Now, Toby, you look me up jest after the show is out this afternoon,
an' we'll fix it so's you shall have a chance to talk with Mr. Stubbs's
brother," said Ben, as they were driving along.
As a matter of course Toby promised to be there, and to bring Abner with
him.
"You said that little cripple had to live at the poor-farm, didn't you?"
asked Ben, after quite a long pause.
"Yes, an' it's 'cause he hain't got no father or mother, nor no Uncle
Dan'l like I've got," said Toby sadly.
"Hain't he got any relations anywhere?"
"No; Uncle Dan'l said he didn't have a soul that he could go to."
"It must be kinder hard for him to live there alone, an' I don't s'pose
he'll ever be able to walk."
Toby was not at all certain whether or not Abner could ever be cured;
but he told the old driver what he knew of the lonely life the boy led.
Ben did not appear to hear what was said, for he was in one of his deep
studies and seemed unconscious of everything except the fact that his
horses were going in the proper direction.
"I'll tell you what I'll do, Toby," he said, after remaining silent
until they were nearly at the tent. "I hain't got a child or a chick in
the world, an' I'll take care of that boy."
Toby looked up in surprise, as he repeated, in a puzzled way:
"You'll take care of him?"
"I don't mean that I'll take hold an' tote' him 'round; but he shall
have as much as he needs out of every dollar I get. I'll see your Uncle
Dan'l, an' fix it somehow so he'll be taken out of the poorhouse."
"Why, Ben, how good you are!" and Toby looked up at his friend with
sincere admiration imprinted on his face.
"It hain't 'cause I'm good, my lad; but if I didn't help that poor
fellow in some way, I'd see them big eyes an' that pale face of hisn
every night I rode on this box alone; so you see I only do it for the
sake of havin' peace," said Ben, with a forced laugh; and then he
stopped the horses at the rear of Mr. Treat's tent. "Now you jump down,
Toby, so's to see the skeleton don't break himself all to pieces gettin'
out, for I'm kinder 'fraid he will some day. I'd rather drive a hundred
monkeys than one sich slim man as him."
Then Ben had a fit of internal laughter caused by his own remark, and
Uncle Daniel's guests were ready to resume their duties at the circus.