his mouth puckered up
the way it did when he felt like crying.

He was awfully sorry that Celia Jane didn't have a ticket too. He knew
he would be crying out of sympathy if Celia Jane kept on that way, and
started towards Chris, who had gone halfway towards the entrance to the
tent and then had stopped to wait for him. His joy at the thought of
what he was going to witness was clouded through the fact that Celia
Jane could not see and enjoy it too. He walked very slowly towards Chris
and looked back at Celia Jane.

"Oh, J-J-Jerry!" cried the weeping girl, "I-I-I want to see the circus
too."

At that appeal Jerry felt as though his heart had stopped beating and
was sinking down into his bare feet. He winked hard to keep the tears
from coming. He just couldn't bear to see Celia Jane so heartbroken
about not being able to see the circus.

"You can have my t-t-ticket," he said slowly and pulled the treasured
bit of blue cardboard out of his pocket. There were tears in his eyes
but he walked slowly to Celia Jane, holding out the ticket to her.

"Oh, Jerry!" cried Celia Jane. "Will you really give it to me of your
own free will?"

Jerry couldn't speak at first. He nodded his head, but Celia Jane just
took one end of the ticket between her fingers.

"Do you give it to me, Jerry?" she asked, in a voice in which there was
no trace of weeping. Yet the tears stood on her face.

"Yes," said Jerry at last and let go of the ticket. "You can have it,
Celia Jane."

"Then I give it to Danny," said Celia Jane and straightway handed the
ticket to Danny, who snatched it and ran to the entrance of the main
tent.

Jerry was so surprised at the treachery of Celia Jane after her recent
evidences of affection and at the suddenness of it all that he could not
even cry out,--could do nothing but stare after Danny. He saw the
precious bit of pasteboard taken from Danny's outstretched hand by the
ticket-taker and dropped into a box and then saw Chris give up his
ticket and go in.

"Celia Jane!" he heard Nora cry, "I'm going to tell mother what you did
to Jerry. You'll catch it."

"Danny!" Jerry at last found his voice, and it rose in a forlorn wail.
"The ticket is mine! Danny!"

Jerry had forgotten how easily Celia Jane could make the tears come
whenever she liked, no matter if she didn't really want to cry. He would
show that Celia Jane that she had gone too far this time. He didn't know
what he would do, but turned to go to her