water. Had he stepped on it without trying it,
he would most likely have been killed for it surely would have
gone down with him on it.

The only way now to get across was for the wagons to drive down
the steep embankment, through the water and up the other side.
This they proceeded to do, but Billy and Betty jumped the space.
Then they scampered on ahead after the horseback riders who had
gone before.

As they ran they could hear the lion's roar and the hyena's laugh
when their cages were driven into the water, and the water rose
on them, while the elephants kept up such a trumpeting that it
awoke all the country folks who were near enough to hear it, and
they thought the Day of Judgment had come and it was Gabriel's
trumpet they heard.

A poor, ignorant Swedish family that lived on the bank of the
stream by the bridge were awakened by the noise but were afraid
to get up and look out of the window to see what all the
commotion was about.

At last the brave husband by coaxing and threatening succeeded in
getting his wife out of bed. As she had never been to a circus in
her life or seen anything but the picture of wild animals, she
was nearly frightened to death at what she saw passing in the
moonlight, and ran back to bed and put her head under the covers
and would not speak a word, though her husband threatened to kick
her out of bed. Poor woman, she could not tell him what she saw,
for she did not know the name of the animals.

At last her husband got up courage enough to go to the window and
look out as his wife had, but he stayed less time than she did
for just as he got there the lions gave a mighty roar and all the
animals followed suit, for the lions' cage was passing through
the water and they did not like the cold water crawling up their
legs and of course they thought they were going to be drowned;
while the Swedish workman thought he was going to be chewed up
alive, and flew back to bed with teeth chattering and held on to
his wife for protection; and had a lion really come after them he
would probably have thrown his wife at the lion's head for him to
eat, while he made good his escape.

All this time Billy and Betty were trotting along side by side
gossiping about people in the circus, and all the time it became
lighter and lighter as it was getting nearer sunrise.

About five o'clock they saw, away in the blue distance, a tall
church steeple and they knew they must be nearing the town where
th