"Tell me about it."
"The storm came up while the aerial acts were on. We all shortened our acts at the direction of the ringmaster, and it was well we did so. We had not all gotten down when a bolt of lightning struck the main center pole."
"You don't say! Here, men, stow those canvas wagons forward! You must learn to trim the boat, giving her an even load all over! Did the bolt do any damage?"
"Slivered the pole."
"Wreck it?"
"Yes. Not worth carrying off the lot."
"What else?"
"Some excitement—"
"Panic?"
"No, but I think there would have been had it not been for my friend, Teddy Tucker. He amused the audience while things were happening up above."