“Young man, is there anything in this show that you can’t do?” demanded Mr. Sparling, with an attempt at sternness.
“A great many things, sir. Then, again, there are some others that I have confidence enough in myself to believe I can do. You see, I have been practicing on the rings ever since I joined out.”
“But you are only one. We shall need two performers,” objected the owner.
“Teddy Tucker has been working with me. He is fully as good on the flying rings as I am, if not better.”
“H-m-m-m!” mused the showman. “Come over to the big top and let’s see what you really can do,” he said, starting up.
Phil ran in search of Teddy and in a few minutes the two boys appeared in the arena, ready for the rehearsal.
Mr. Miaco, who had been called on and informed of the news, accompanied them. It was he who hauled the boys up to the rings far up toward the top of the tent.
“Get a net under there! We don’t want to lose any more performers this season,” the clown commanded.
After some little delay the net was spread and the showman motioned for the performance to proceed, walking over and taking his seat on the boards so that he might watch the performance from the viewpoint of the audience.
With the utmost confidence the boys went through the act without a slip. They did everything that Signor Navaro had done in his performance, adding some clever feats of their own that had been devised with the help of Mr. Miaco. Mr. Sparling looked on with twinkling eyes and frequent nods of approval.