Mademoiselle Jeannette and
Toby should do an act together in the performance just as soon as the
latter was sufficiently advanced. The boy's costume had been changed
after he could ride without falling off, and now while he was in the
ring he wore the same as that used by the regular performers.

The little girl had, after it was announced that she and Toby were to
perform together, been an attentive observer during the hour that Toby
was under Mr. Castle's direction, and she gave him many suggestions that
were far more valuable, and quicker to be acted upon, than those given
by the teacher himself.

"To-morrow you two will go through the exercise together," said Mr.
Castle to Toby and Ella, at the close of one of Toby's lessons, after he
had become so skilful that he could stand with ease on the pad, and even
advanced so far that he could jump through a hoop without falling more
than twice out of three times.

The little girl appeared highly delighted by this information, and
expressed her joy.

"It will be real nice," she said to Toby, after Mr. Castle had left them
alone. "I can help you lots, and it won't be very long before we can do
an act all by ourselves in the performance, and then won't the people
clap their hands when we come in!"

"It'll be better for you to-morrow than it will for me," said Toby,
rubbing his legs sorrowfully, still feeling the sting of the whip. "You
see Mr. Castle won't dare to whip you, an' he'll make it all count on
me, 'cause he knows Mr. Lord likes to have him whip me."

"But I sha'n't make any mistake," said Ella, confidently, "and so you
won't have to be whipped on my account; and while I am on the horse you
can't be whipped, for he couldn't do it without whipping me, so you see
you won't get only half as much."

Toby brightened up a little under the influence of this argument; but
his countenance fell again as he thought that his chances for getting
away from the circus were growing less each day.

"You see I want to get back to Uncle Dan'l an' Guilford," he said,
confidentially; "I don't want to stay here a single minute."

Ella opened her eyes in wide astonishment as she cried, "Don't want to
stay here? Why don't you go home, then?"

"'Cause Job Lord won't let me," said Toby, wondering if it was possible
that his little companion did not know exactly what sort of a man his
master was.

Then he told her--after making her give him all kinds of promises,
including the c