The Project Gutenberg EBook of Toby Tyler, by James Otis

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Title: Toby Tyler

Author: James Otis

Release Date: February, 2005 [EBook #7478]
Posting Date: July 22, 2009

Language: English

Character set encoding: ASCII

*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK TOBY TYLER ***

Produced by Martin Robb

TOBY TYLER

or

TEN WEEKS WITH A CIRCUS

By James Otis

I. TOBY'S INTRODUCTION TO THE CIRCUS

"Wouldn't you give more 'n six peanuts for a cent?" was a question asked
by a very small boy, with big, staring eyes, of a candy vender at a
circus booth. And as he spoke he looked wistfully at the quantity of
nuts piled high up on the basket, and then at the six, each of which now
looked so small as he held them in his hand.

"Couldn't do it," was the reply of the proprietor of the booth, as he
put the boy's penny carefully away in the drawer.

The little fellow looked for another moment at his purchase, and then
carefully cracked the largest one.

A shade--and a very deep shade it was--of disappointment passed over his
face, and then, looking up anxiously, he asked, "Don't you swap 'em when
they're bad?"

The man's face looked as if a smile had been a stranger to it for a long
time; but one did pay it a visit just then, and he tossed the boy two
nuts, and asked him a question at the same time. "What is your name?"

The big brown eyes looked up for an instant, as if to learn whether
the question was asked in good faith, and then their owner said, as he
carefully picked apart another nut, "Toby Tyler."

"Well, that's a queer name."

"Yes, I s'pose so, myself; but, you see, I don't expect that's the
name that belongs to me. But the fellers call me so, an' so does Uncle
Dan'l."

"Who is Uncle Daniel?" was the next question. In the absence of other
customers the man seemed disposed to get as much amusement out of the
boy as possible.

"He hain't my uncle at all; I only call him so because all the boys do,
an' I live with him."

"Where's your father and mother?"

"I don't know," said Toby, rather carelessly. "I don't know much about
'em, an' Uncle Dan'l says they don't know much about me. Here's another
bad nut; goin' to give me