ere half a dozen of the tubs to
be filled, and before the third one was full Jerry's arms and back
ached, but he gritted his teeth and kept on. He would show them that he
wasn't too little to carry water for the elephants.
Under the ache in his arms and back, his exhilaration at the possession
of the dime and the prospect of a ticket to the circus wilted but did
not die. When the fourth tub was about full he sat down on the pump
platform while Sam filled their pail with water.
"El'funts must drink a nawful lot of water," he said.
"Gettin' tired, ain't you?" asked Sam.
"No, I could carry water all day, I guess. It makes my back ache some
because I ain't used to it."
"You kids have made more trips than the other boys," said Sam, "and I
ain't going to fill your pail clear full any more. Don't try to go so
fast with it. There's plenty of time."
"We want to carry enough for two tickets," said Jerry quickly. "Chris
wants to see the circus, too, don't you, Chris?"
"You bet," replied Chris.
"You'll get a ticket apiece, all right, as long as I'm on the job," said
Sam, giving them the pail not much more than half full of water.
"That's a whole lot easier to carry," Jerry assured Sam, as they started
for the tub.
It seemed to Jerry that he and Chris had been carrying water for hours
by the time the last tub was full. He felt almost starving. The sun
seemed to be 'way up and he was so tired and hot that he was about ready
to drop; but he found that when the work was done and Sam gave each boy
a ticket it wasn't very late, after all.
"It's just nine o'clock," said Sam, "and you kids'd better scoot home
and get some breakfast. Just show your mothers them tickets if they
scold you for stayin' so long and I guess they'll hush right up. The
matinee starts at 2:15, but if you want to see the menagerie, you'd
better come about half-past one or right after the parade."
Those magic pieces of paper, which Jerry and Chris held tightly in their
hands for fear of losing them, made them forget their hunger and
weariness and they set off for home at full speed. They raced breathless
into the house and found that Mrs. Mullarkey and Nora had finished
washing the breakfast dishes.
"Look, mother!" cried Chris, panting for breath after almost every word,
"we've got tickets for the circus for helpin' carry water for the
el'funts!"
"Oh, how nice!" said Mrs. Mullarkey. "They will be tickets to paradise
to you. Now you'll g
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