She marched up to Bobby, eyeing him rather sternly. To tell the truth, for the first time the young showman quailed.
"Maybe you'd—you'd better not go in, Mrs. Pepper," he mumbled.
"Why not? Ain't it fit for a lady to see?" demanded she, with increasing sternness.
"Oh, yes!" and Bobby had to giggle at that. "But—but—Well, anyway, you mustn't tell, and you can have your money back if you don't like the show."
"Ha!" exclaimed Mrs. Pepper, "as though I was worried about the loss of a penny," and she went into the tent with her back very straight.
She came out shaking with laughter. The tears rolled down her face and she had to sit down on Mr. Martin's steps to get her breath. Miss Prissy Craven demanded, sharply: "What under the sun is the matter with you, Mis' Pepper? I never seen you behave so. What is it in that tent them boys have got? I sh'd think it was a giggle ball full o' tickle!"
"Ha, ha, ha!" chuckled the amused Mrs. Pepper. "You go in yourself, Prissy, and see what you think of it. I can't tell you."
"I'm going!" announced the maiden lady, nodding her head. "But lemme tell you," she added to Bobby, "if it's anything I don't like, you'll hear about it when I come out."
Bobby looked across at Mrs. Pepper doubtfully, but he had to grin. The lady who was laughing nodded to him vigorously, and he let Miss Craven through.
In less than a minute she flounced through the store and demanded, in her high, rasping voice: