“N-no—sir.”
“Can you do that again, do you think?”
“I—I don’t know.”
“That’s the greatest Rube mule act that ever hit a sawdust ring. I’ll double your salary if you think you can get away with it every performance,” fairly shouted the owner.
“I—I’m willing if the mule is,” stammered Teddy somewhat doubtfully.
As a result the lad left his job in the cook tent, never to return to it. After many hard knocks and some heavy falls he succeeded in so mastering the act that he was able to go through with it without great risk of serious injury to himself. The educated mule and the boy became a feature of the Sparling Combined Shows from that moment on, but after that Teddy took good care not to round off his act by a high dive into the big bass horn.
No one was more delighted at Teddy Tucker’s sudden leap to fame than was his companion, Phil Forrest. Phil and Dr. Irvine returned to the show, one afternoon, about a week after the accident. They had come on by train.
Phil, though somewhat pale after his setback, was clear-eyed, and declared himself as fit as ever. He insisted upon going on with his act at the evening performance, but Mr. Sparling told him to wait until the day following. In the meantime Phil could get his apparatus in working order.
“I’ll look it over myself this time,” announced the showman. “I don’t want any more such accidents happening in this show. Your friend Teddy nearly put the whole outfit to the bad—he and the fool mule.”
That afternoon Phil had an opportunity to witness for himself the exhibition of his companion and the “fool mule.” He laughed until his sides ached.