En route to Beaulieu they halted frequently to give performances, with varying success. Sometimes the receipts would hardly be enough to buy food for the animals, and sometimes more than sufficient to provide for them all.
"It is certainly fortunate that we did get such a fine collection at Morainville," said Nadine one night, when a mere handful of small dirty copper coins was all they received for a very tiring performance after a long day's travel, "or I don't know what we should do now. I am using as little of it as I possibly can, but it is getting less and less all the time."
"Oh, never mind, sister!" responded Cæsar, who was of a very hopeful disposition, and did not worry like Nadine, not feeling the same sense of responsibility; "we'll make plenty of money at the fair, see if we don't."
"I hope we will, I'm sure," returned Nadine, letting the anxious look drop from her pretty features; "for you see the summer is coming to an end and the winter will be at hand before very long, and we must have a good deal saved up to carry us through that."
"And we will have it, dear Nadine," cried Cæsar confidently, giving her a brotherly hug, and a smacking kiss that brought the blushes to her cheeks. "Never fear about that. The good God will take care of us," and off he went whistling merrily, Nadine following him with as much love and pride in her look as though she were his mother.
He was really a fine chap, Cæsar—brave, bright, manly, unselfish, and devoted to his sisters and little brother. Not as shrewd and far-seeing as Nadine, but clever enough in his way, and certain to get on in the world, if given a fair chance.
Their worst experience was at Malaventure, a town that had grown up beside a large colliery, whose miners formed the bulk of the inhabitants. Nadine, with her remarkable intuition, had some misgivings about performing there, because the place had rather a bad reputation for rowdyism, the miners being for the most part a rough lot; but Cæsar, having faith in the youth and beauty of his sister to appeal to the chivalry of the men, and insure a warm reception and proper treatment, was strongly in favor of their trying their fortune, and so she assented.
Had they been compelled to rely upon their own accomplishments they would have fared badly in regard to an audience, for the rough miners saw nothing to attract them in the performance of a quartet of children.
The elephant, however, was quite another matter. He was well worth examining at close quarters, and, moreover, it could not fail to be amusing to see so huge and apparently clumsy a creature doing tricks. Accordingly a large number of them gathered, and noisily shouldered and chaffed each other as they crowded close upon the space before the van in which the performance was given.
Nadine was undeniably nervous. The big coarse men frightened her, and she regretted that she had yielded to Cæsar's persuasion. But having once begun they must perforce go through to the end, so she put on a brave face, and went ahead.