“I don’t know. It was a gift.”
“Will a ten-dollar bill cover it?”
“I think so.”
“Then here is a twenty—ten for your loss and ten for your ingenuity in helping us capture the bull.”
Bob pocketed the cash with thanks. The adventure had been rather a perilous one, but on the whole he had enjoyed it.
Buying himself a pocketful of peanuts, Bob strolled around the grounds. He was not much interested in the display of prize fruit and vegetables, having seen too much of this stuff while working on the farm.
But the side-shows attracted his attention. They had big paintings hung outside, and Bob had seen very little of anything like it before.
“Walk up, ladies and gentlemen, and see the most marvellous exhibition on the face of the globe!” cried out one of the side-show spouters. “The bearded lady from Georgia, the four-legged man from California, and the celebrated glass-eater, Mazzati, from the Island of Borneo. Admission but a dime, and if you are not satisfied we will refund you your money.”
Bob listened for a while, and during the time he was doing so he saw a tall figure walk up to the stand, buy a ticket, and enter the dirty tent.
It was Joel Carrow.