is own
show to a point never before reached.

As he had said, Ham Logan proved a valuable helper. The man, a
fire-eater of the old school, knew many valuable secrets, and he held
himself under such obligation to Joe that he revealed many of them to
the young magician.

"Have you learned anything more about who left that bottle of powerful
acid in among my things?" asked Joe of Ham, one afternoon when the fire
banquet had been unusually successful.

"No, not exactly," was the answer. "But I'm on the trail, I think I am
working along the right lines, but it is too early to make any
statement."

"Well, take your time," said Joe. "Only I don't want to get mixed up
with any of the deadly stuff."

"Don't worry. I'm on the watch," declared the old performer.

That night, when the time for Joe to prepare for his acts, including the
fire tricks, came, he did not see Ham in the dressing tent, where the
assistant was usually to be found.

"Have you seen him?" asked Joe of Harry Loper.

"Yes, about half an hour ago," was the answer. "He said he was going in
to town."

"Going in to town--and so near performing time?" cried Joe. "I wonder
what for! He ought to be here!"

Joe was worried, and when his signal for going on came Ham Logan was
still missing. Joe Strong shook his head dubiously. It had been found
necessary to get another man to help with the act.

"I don't like this," he murmured. "I don't like it for a cent!"

CHAPTER XXII

A SUDDEN WARNING

Only the fact that he had strong nerves and that he possessed the
ability of concentrating his mind on whatever was uppermost at the time,
enabled the young circus man to get through his various circus acts with
credit at that performance. He began with the worry over Ham Logan's
disappearance before him. And he was actually worried--a bad state of
affairs for one whose ability to please and deceive critical audiences
depends on his snappy acting, his quickness of hand and mind, and his
skill.

But, as has been said, Joe possessed the ability to concentrate on the
most needful matter, and that, for the time being, was his box trick,
his fire-eating, and his slide on his head down the slanting wire
through the blazing hoops.

Then came the blazing banquet, and this created the usual furor in the
audience. Joe managed to get through it with credit, though his rather
strange manner was noticed and commented on afterward by the young
people associated with h