of the cage, but the monkey struggled as well as he
was able, and Toby was obliged to exert all his strength to put him in.

When once the door was fastened upon him Toby tried to impress upon his
monkey friend's mind the importance of being more sedate, and he was
convinced that the words had sunk deep into Mr. Stubbs's heart, for, by
the time he had concluded, the old monkey was seated in the corner
of the cage, looking up from under his shaggy eyebrows in the most
reproachful manner possible.

Toby felt sorry that he had spoken so harshly, and was about to make
amends for his severity, when Mr. Lord's gruff voice recalled him to the
fact that his time was not his own, and he therefore commenced his day's
work, but with a lighter heart than he had had since he stole away from
Uncle Daniel and Guilford.

This day was not very much different from the preceding one so far as
the manner of Mr. Lord and his partner toward the boy was concerned;
they seemed to have an idea that he was doing only about half as much
work as he ought to, and both united in swearing at and abusing him as
much as possible.

So far as his relations with other members of the company were
concerned, Toby now stood in a much better position than before. Those
who had witnessed the scene told the others how Toby had led in the
monkeys on the night previous, and nearly every member of the company
had a kind word for the little fellow whose head could hardly be seen
above the counter of Messrs. Lord and Jacobs's booth.

IX. THE DINNER PARTY

At noon Toby was thoroughly tired out, for whenever anyone spoke kindly
to him Mr. Lord seemed to take a malicious pleasure in giving him extra
tasks to do, until Toby began to hope that no one else would pay any
attention to him. On this day he was permitted to go to dinner first,
and after he returned he was left in charge of the booth. Trade being
dull--as it usually was during the dinner hour--he had very little
work to do after he had cleaned the glasses and set things to rights
generally.

When, therefore, he saw the gaunt form of the skeleton emerge from his
tent and come toward him he was particularly pleased, for he had begun
to think very kindly of the thin man and his fleshy wife.

"Well, Toby," said the skeleton, as he came up to the booth, carefully
dusted Mr. Lord's private chair, and sat down very cautiously in it, as
if he expected that it would break down under his weight, "I hear