moons--many moons,
ladies and gentlemen. Now he is going to a good home for the rest of his
lazy life where all the work, privations, et cetera of circus life will
be but a memory in his equine mind. Scalawag! Salute your new mistress!"

The fat pony rose on his hind legs and pawed the air, seemingly looking
straight at Dot. It was then the smallest Corner House girl thought
surely she would faint.

CHAPTER XVIII

A LONG LOOK AHEAD

Before the Corner House party and their guests could get away in their
automobile after the show, and before Cap'n Quigg and Louise had, in
their bashful way, thanked the young folks from Milton for helping save
the burning canalboat, Uncle Bill Sorber appeared to bid the party
good-night.

Right then and there the ringmaster made a bargain with the captain of
the _Nancy Hanks_ to transport Scalawag to Milton on this return trip.
The circus had shown at the home town of the Corner House girls while
they were away on their motor trip earlier in the summer; so Mr. Sorber
would not again be in Milton during the open season.

"Old Scalawag has done his last tricks in the ring to-night," the
showman said. "I'd made my mind up to that before you young people
appeared. And now we had a chance to make a little fancy business of it.
I believe in advertising the circus in season and out. The papers will
give us half a column at least to-morrow, what with the fire on that
barge and the presentation of Scalawag to this little girlie here," and
he shook hands again with Dot.

Dot was sound asleep before the car was off the circus field. She and
Sammy slept most of the way home and, it was so late, when they arrived
most of the congratulations and all the punishment due the youngsters
was postponed.

To tell the truth, Dot rose the next morning with a vague feeling that
the venture in piracy, as Luke Shepard for a long time called it, was
something that had happened to her and Sammy in a dream. And the adults
were all so glad that the affair had turned out happily that even
scoldings were mild.

Sammy, however, had an interview with his father that next evening that
made a deep impression upon the boy's mind.

For the first time Sammy began to understand that he had an influence
upon other people--especially small people--that must be for good rather
than ill. He was the older, and he should not have allowed Dot to lead
him astray. Besides, it was not manly for a boy to encourage a li