"I only keep one," he said, "and I don't exactly keep that, myself. It's one of the children's pets. It used to belong to my Uncle Toby, and we just brought Jack home this afternoon. We put him in the barn with the white mice and the alligator——"
"Don't tell me there's an alligator running around loose!" cried Mrs. Blake. "Oh, a monkey is bad enough, but an alligator——"
"It's only a little one," said Mr. Martin. "And I'm sorry Jack got loose and frightened you. I'll see, after this, that the pets don't get out at night."
"Oh, I'm sure I don't want to spoil the children's pleasure in the least," went on Mrs. Blake. "But I didn't know you had such a menagerie next door to me, Mr. Martin."
"We didn't have until to-day—or rather, yesterday, for it is now past midnight," Mr. Martin explained. "My Uncle Toby left me his collection of animals when he went away suddenly, and Ted and Janet say they are going to have a circus."
"Save me a ticket!" cried Mr. Hanson, who lived two or three houses down the street.
"And I want one," added Mr. Fenton. "If the Curlytops give a circus I want to come to it!"
"So do it!" cried several other neighbors, who had turned out to see what all the excitement was about.
"I'll tell Teddy and Janet," promised Mr. Martin, as he carried Jack out of Mrs. Blake's house, much to the relief of that lady, though she was rather fond of animals in general.
So the excitement quieted down, and after it was all over a policeman came along, one of the neighbors having telephoned in the first alarm. But there was nothing for the officer to do.