me in
a minute."

Luke seized and pulled at a lock of his hair as if it was a sprouting
idea.

"You came from Fairville," he resumed.

"Fairview."

"Then you're the same. Yes, you must be the fellow--Andy Wildwood, the
heir."

CHAPTER XXIII

FACING THE ENEMY

The young acrobat stared hard at Luke Belding. He wondered if the embryo
lion tamer was crazy--or had he not heard him aright?

Instantly Andy's mind ran back to the encounter with Jim Tapp on the
streets of Tipton the evening previous.

This made the second time, then, within twenty-four hours that an
allusion had been made to the fact that he was "an heir."

Andy knew of no reason why a sudden mystery should come into his life.
The coincidence of the double reference to the same thing, however,
namely, an alleged heirship, struck him as peculiar.

"Heir," he spoke in a bewildered tone--"me an heir?"

"Yes," said Luke.

"Heir to what?"

"Why--oh, something, I don't know what. But the thing you're heir to is
there."

"Where?" persisted Andy.

"I don't know that, either--Fairview, I reckon."

"Nonsense. I've got nothing at Fairview excepting a lot of debts. I wish
you'd explain yourself, Luke. There can't be anything to your absurd
statement."

"Can't there?" cried Luke excitedly. "Well, you just listen and see--"

"Oh, Wildwood--been looking for you," interrupted some one, just there.

Andy looked up to recognize Marco. The latter nodded to Luke, and
proceeded to lead Andy away with him.

"Hold on," demurred Luke.

"You'll have to excuse your friend just now," said Marco. "Very
important, Wildwood," he added.

"What is it, Mr. Marco?" inquired Andy.

Marco showed two folded sheets of writing paper in his hand.

"Your contract with the circus," he explained. "There's a bad hitch in
this business. Hope to straighten it out, but we'll have to get right at
it. Come to Billy Blow's tent. I want to have a private talk with you."

Andy traced a seriousness in Marco's manner that oppressed him.
Instantly all his mind was fixed on the matter of the contracts.

"I'll see you a little later, Luke," he said to his young friend.

"All right," nodded Luke. "I've got a good deal to tell you. But it will
keep."

When they reached the clown's tent Marco sat down on the bench beside
Andy.

"Business, Wildwood," he spoke, briskly tapping the papers in his hand.
"I wanted to get you fixed right, and started right in to get a contract
fr