MR. STUBBS'S BROTHER
It was so near the time for the circus to begin that Toby was obliged to
hurry considerably in order to distribute among his friends the tickets
the skeleton had given him, and he advised Abner to remain with Mrs.
Treat while he did so, in order to escape the crowd, among which he
might get injured.
Then he gave his tickets to those boys who he knew had no money with
which to buy any, and so generous was he that when he had finished he
had none for himself and Abner.
That he might not be able to witness the performance did not trouble him
very greatly, although it would have been a disappointment not to see
Ella ride; but he blamed himself very much because he had not saved a
ticket for Abner, and he hurried to find Ben that he might arrange
matters for him.
The old driver was easily found, and still more easily persuaded to
grant the favor which permitted Abner to view the wonderful sights
beneath the almost enchanted canvas.
From one menagerie wagon to another Toby led his friend as quickly as
possible, until they stood in front of the monkeys' cage, where Mr.
Stubbs's supposed brother was perched as high as possible, away from the
common herd of monkeys which chatted familiarly with every one who
bribed them.
Toby was in the highest degree excited; it seemed as if his pet that had
been killed was again before him, and he crowded his way up to the bars
of the cage, dragging Abner with him, until he was where he could have a
full view of the noisy prisoners.
Toby called to the monkey as he had been in the habit of calling to Mr.
Stubbs, but now the fellow paid no attention to him whatever; there were
so many spectators that he could not spend his time upon one, unless he
were to derive some benefit in return.
Fortunately, so far as his happiness was concerned, Toby had the means
of inducing the monkey to visit him, for in his pocket yet remained two
of the doughnuts Mrs. Treat had almost forced upon him; and, remembering
how fond Mr. Stubbs had been of such sweet food, he held a piece out to
the supposed brother.
Almost immediately that monkey made up his mind that the freckle-faced
boy with the doughnut was the one particular person whom he should be
acquainted with, and he came down from his perch at a rapid rate.
So long as Toby was willing to feed him with doughnuts he was willing to
remain; but when his companions gathered around in such numbers that
the supply of food was quickly exhausted, he went back to his lofty
perch, much to the boy's regret.
"He looks like Mr. Stubbs, and he acts like him, an' it must be his
brother sure," said Toby to himself as Abner hurried him away to look at
the other curiosities. When he was at some distance from the cage he
turned and said, "Good-bye," as if he were speaking to his old pet.
During the performance that afternoon Abner was in a delightful whirl of
wonder and amazement; but Toby's attention was divided between what was
going on in the ring and the thought of having Mr. Stubbs's brother all
to himself as soon as the performance should be over.
He did, however, watch the boy who sold peanuts and lemonade, but this
one was much larger than himself, and looked rough enough to endure the
hardships of such a life.
Toby was also attentive when Ella was in the ring, and he was envied by
all his acquaintances when she smiled as she passed the place where he
was sitting.
Abner would have been glad if the performance had been prolonged until
midnight; but Toby, still thinking of Mr. Stubbs's brother, was pleased
when it ended.
He and Abner waited by the animal's cages until the crowd had again
satisfied their curiosity; and as the last visitor was leaving the tent
old Ben came in, followed by Mr. and Mrs. Treat, both in exhibition
costume.
Toby was somewhat surprised at seeing them, for he knew their busiest
time was just at the close of the circus, and while he was yet wondering
at their coming he saw Ella approaching from the direction of the
dressing-tent.
He had not much time to spend in speculation, however, for Ben said, as
he came up:
"Now, boy, you shall see Mr. Stubbs's brother, and talk to him just as
long as you want to."
The skeleton and his wife and Ella looked at each other and smiled in a
queer way as Ben said this; but Toby was too much excited at the idea of
having the monkey in his arms to pay any attention to what was going on
around him.
Ben, unlocking the door of the cage, succeeded, after considerable
trouble, in catching the particular inmate he wanted, and, handing him
to Toby, said:
"Now let's see if he knows you as well as Stubbs did."
Toby took the monkey in his arms with a glad cry of delight, and fondled
him as if he really were the pet he had lost.
Whether it was because the animal knew that the boy was petting him, or
because he had been treated harshly, and was willing to make friends
with the first one who was kind to him, it is difficult to say; certain
it is that as soon as he found himself in Toby's arms he nestled down
with his face by the boy's neck, remaining there as contentedly as if
the two had been friends for years.
"There, don't you see he knows me!" cried the boy in delight, and then
he sat down upon the ground, caressing the animal, and whispering all
sorts of loving words in his ear.
"He does seem to act as if he had been introduced to you," said old Ben,
with a chuckle. "It would be kinder nice if you could keep him, wouldn't
it?"
"'Deed it would," replied Toby earnestly. "I'd give everything I've got
if I could have him, for he does act so much like Mr. Stubbs it seems as
if it must be him."
Then Ella whispered something to the old driver, the skeleton bestowed
a very mysterious wink upon him, the fat woman nodded her head till her
cheeks shook like two balls of very soft butter, and Abner looked
curiously on, wondering what was the matter with Toby's friends.
He soon found out what it was, however, for Ben, after indulging in one
of his laughing spasms, asked:
"Whose monkey is that you've got in your arms, Toby?"
"Why, it belongs to the circus, don't it?" And the boy looked up in
surprise.
"No, it don't belong to the circus; it belongs to you--that's who owns
it."
"Me? Mine? Why, Ben--"
Toby was so completely bewildered as to be unable to say a word, and
just as he was beginning to think it some joke, Ben said:
"The skeleton an' his wife, an' Ella and I, bought that monkey this
forenoon, an' we give him to you so's you'll still be able to have a Mr.
Stubbs in the family."
"Oh, Ben!" was all Toby could say; with the monkey tightly clasped in
his arms, he took the old driver by the hand; but just then the skeleton
stepped forward holding something which glistened.
"Mr. Tyler," he said, in his usual speech-making style, "when our friend
Ben told us this morning about your having discovered Mr. Stubbs's
brother, we sent out and got this collar for the monkey, and we take the
greatest possible pride in presenting it to you; although, if it had
been something that my Lilly could have made with her own fair fingers,
I should have liked it better."
As he ceased speaking, he handed Toby a very pretty little dog-collar,
on the silver plate of which was inscribed:
+---------------------------------+
| MR. STUBBS'S BROTHER. |
| PRESENTED TO |
| TOBY TYLER |
| |
| BY |
| |
| THE SKELETON, THE FAT WOMAN, |
| OLD BEN, LITTLE ELLA. |
+---------------------------------+
Toby took the collar, and as he fastened it on the monkey's neck he
said, in a voice that trembled considerably with emotion:
"You've all of you been awful good to me, an' I don't know what to say
so's you'll know how much I thank you. It seems as if ever since I
started with the circus you've all tried to see how good you could be;
an' now you've given me this monkey that I wanted so much. Some time,
when I'm a man, I'll show you how much I think of all you've done for
me."
The tears of gratitude that were gathering in Toby's eyes prevented him
from saying anything more, and then Mrs. Treat and Ella both kissed him,
while Ben said, in a gruff tone:
"Now carry the monkey home, an' get your supper, for you'll want to come
down here this evening, an' you won't have time if you don't go now."
Ella, after making Toby promise that he would see her again that night,
went with Mr. and Mrs. Treat, while old Ben, as if afraid he might
receive more thanks, walked quickly away towards the dressing-rooms, and
there was nothing else for Toby and Abner to do but go home.
It surely seemed as if every boy in the village knew that Toby Tyler had
remained in the tent after the circus was over, and almost all of them
were waiting around the entrance when the two boys came out with the
monkey.
If Toby had stayed there until each one of his friends had looked at and
handled the monkey as much as he wanted to, he and Abner would have
remained until morning, and Mr. Stubbs's brother would have been made
very ill-natured.
He waited until his friends had each looked at the monkey, and then he
and Abner started home, escorted by nearly all the boys in town.
The partners in the amateur-circus scheme were nearly as wild with joy
as Toby was, for now their enterprise seemed an assured success, since
they had two real ponies and a live monkey to begin with. They seemed to
consider it their right to go to Uncle Daniel's with Toby; and when the
party reached the corner that marked the centre of the village, they
decided that the others of the escort should go no farther--a decision
which relieved Toby of an inconvenient number of friends.
As it was, the party was quite large enough to give Aunt Olive some
uneasiness lest they should track dirt in upon her clean kitchen floor,
and she insisted that both the boys and the monkey should remain in the
yard.
Toby had an idea that Mr. Stubbs's brother would be treated as one of
the family; and, had any one hinted that the monkey would not be allowed
to share his bed and eat at the same table with him, he would have
resented it strongly.
But Uncle Daniel soon convinced him that the proper place for his pet
was in the wood-shed, where he could be chained to keep him out of
mischief, and Mr. Stubbs's brother was soon safely secured in as snug a
place as a monkey could ask for.
Not until this was done did the partners return to their homes, or the
centre of attraction--the tenting-grounds--nor did Toby find time to get
his supper and go for the cows.
Not once during the afternoon had Toby said anything to Abner of the
good fortune that might come to him through old Ben; but when he got
back from the pasture and met Uncle Daniel in the barn, he told him what
the old driver had said about Abner.
"Are you sure you heard him rightly, Toby, boy?" asked the old gentleman
as he pushed his glasses up on his forehead, as he always did when he
was surprised or perplexed.
"I know he said that; but it seems as if it was too good to be true,
don't it?"
"The Lord's ways are not our ways, my boy, and if he sees fit to work
some good to the poor cripple, he can do it as well through a circus
driver as through one of his elect," said Uncle Daniel reverentially,
and then he set about milking the cows in such an absent-minded way that
he worried old Short-horn until she kicked the pail over when it was
nearly half full.