ho were carrying Joe on a stretcher which had been brought
from the first aid tent. The circus was always ready to look after
those hurt in accidents.

"I don't think so--he took the fall pretty well--only partly on his
head," said Bill Watson, who had stopped his laughable antics to rush
over to Joe. "He may be only stunned."

"I hope so," breathed Helen.

"You'd better get back to your ring," suggested Bill. "Finish your
act."

"It was almost over," Helen objected. "I can't go back--now. Not
until I see how he is."

"All right--come along then," said the old clown, sympathetically. He
guessed how matters were between Helen and Joe. "I don't believe the
boss will mind much. There's enough of the show left for 'em to look
at."

He glanced down at Joe, who lay unconscious on the stretcher. They
were now in the canvas screened passage between the dressing tent and
the larger one, where the performance had been resumed. Helen put out
her hand and touched Joe's forehead. He seemed to stir slightly.

"Have they sent for a doctor?" she asked.

"They'll get one from the crowd," replied Bill. "There's always one or
more in a circus audience."

And he was right. As they placed Joe on a cot that had been quickly
made ready for him, a physician, summoned from the audience by the
ring-master, came to see what he could do. Silently Helen, Bill and
the others stood about while the medical man made his examination.

"Will he die?" Helen asked in a whisper.

"Not at once--in fact not for some years to come, I think," replied the
physician with a smile. "He has had a bad fall, and he will be laid up
for a time. But it is not serious."

Helen's face showed the relief she felt.

"He'll have to go to a hospital, though," continued the medical man.
"His neck is badly strained, and so are the muscles of his shoulder.
He won't be able to swing on a trapeze for a week or so."

Bill Watson whistled a low note. He knew what it meant for a circus
performer to be laid up.

"Please take him to a hospital," cried Helen impulsively, "and see that
he has a good physician and a nurse--I mean, you look after him
yourself," she added quickly, as she saw the doctor smiling at her.

"And have a trained nurse for him. I'll pay the bill," she went on.
"I'm so glad that money came to me. I'll use some of it for Joe."

"She just inherited a little fortune," explained Bill in a whispered
aside to the medical man. "They'