ow large a hole he could tear in the tender
canvas, until it seemed as if the tent would certainly be a wreck before
they could get him down.

Toby coaxed and scolded, and scolded and coaxed, but all to no purpose.
The monkey would clamber down over the end of the tent as if he were
about to allow himself to be made a prisoner, and then, just as Toby was
about to catch the rope, he would spring upon the ridge-pole again,
chattering with joy at the disappointment he had caused.

The visitors fairly roared with delight, and even the proprietors, whose
borrowed property was being destroyed, could not help laughing at times,
although there was not one of them who would not have enjoyed punishing
Mr. Stubbs's brother very severely.

"He'll break the whole show up if we don't get him off," said Bob, as
the monkey tore a larger hole than he had yet made, and the crowd
encouraged him in his mischievous work by their wild cheers.

"I know it; but how can we get him down?" asked Toby, in perplexity,
knowing that it would not be safe for any one of them to climb upon the
decayed canvas, even if there were a chance that the monkey would wait
for them to catch him after they got there.

"Get a long pole, an' scrape him off," suggested Joe; but Toby shook his
head, for he knew that to "scrape" a monkey from such a place would be
an impossibility.

Bob had an idea that if he had a rope long enough to make a lasso, he
could get it around the animal's neck and pull him down; but just as he
set out to find the rope, Mr. Stubbs's brother settled the matter
himself.

He had torn one hole fully five inches long, and commenced on another a
short distance from the first, when the thin fabric gave way, the two
rents were made one, and down fell Mr. Monkey, only saved from falling
to the ground by his chin catching on the edges of the cloth.

There he hung, his little round head just showing above the canvas, with
a bewildered, and, at the same time, discouraged look on his face.

Toby knew that it would be but a moment before the monkey would get his
paws out from under the canvas, and thus extricate himself from his
uncomfortable position. Running quickly inside the tent, he seized Mr.
Stubbs's brother by his long tail, pulling him completely through, and
the mischievous pet was again a prisoner.

It was a great disappointment to the boys on the outside when this
portion of the circus was hidden from view; but it was equally as gre