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 instantly 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, an' 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-by," 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 pea-nuts 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 animals' 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, Toby, 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. It is
certain 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 until 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 an' 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."
[Illustration: "'OH, BEN!' WAS ALL TOBY COULD SAY."]
"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: