ho in the whole deal had
said never a word. "It worked out all right," chuckled the midget.
"Fisheye is saying spells over his bankroll and is kissing some of the
tens and twenties a fond and reluctant farewell. He will offer you
ninety dollars and you take it. It's better than I'd hoped. You see,
Fisheye has his money sewed to him and it makes it hard to acquire.
Some of it will be plastered together, for Fisheye hasn't taken a bath
since part of the Barnum-Jenny Lind Special went off the bridge at
Wheeling. The little bears will always know their Fisheye, day or
night."

At this juncture Fisheye returned and counted down the cash. Two of
the twenties and one ten, were printed in the early twenties.

"And now, Mister Welborn, we will have that cup of coffee and I must
go to work. I want you to see the Kid Show and the Big Show as my
guest. I'll have the boys park your machine and trailer right back of
our show where it will be safe until you want it. After the main
performance we will have dinner, say about four o'clock and we will
call it a day."

"I think you should have this money," said Welborn as they drank their
coffee. He handed Fisheye's keepsakes to David. "I did not expect
anything and I am satisfied that the bears are in good hands."

"Not a cent," said David, waving the money aside. "I still owe you
more than I can ever repay. Besides all this, we've done Fisheye a
good turn. He'll have those cubs doing things before snow flies."

"He has always wanted a Happy Family Act, and now he's got a start.
From time to time he will add native animals like foxes, raccoons,
badgers, and maybe a porky or two and label them 'Native Americans'
and sell them to someone, cage and all, before next season."

"Fisheye is versatile. Every winter he has a bunch of misfit dogs, and
out of the outfit he'll get some smart ones that will train well. He
is good, too, on a dog and pony act. Once a zebra got its leg broke in
swinging one of the big poles in place. It looked like there was
nothing to do but shoot it. But Fisheye salvaged the cripple; he
taught it to get up and down with the leg in splints; cured him,
except for a slight limp, and finally sold the beast as the only zebra
that was ever broken to harness. Fisheye is a grand old liar but he's
a fine animal man."

2

Circuses--the big ones, with menageries--have a tradition: "the show
must go on." Storms, fires, rail disasters, major accidents--even
death