From that time until nine o'clock the crowd increased in numbers, and as Teddy said during a lull in business, "it seemed as if the grounds were so full that no more could get in."
When Mrs. Hargreaves arrived her son could pay little attention to her, but he proposed that she should amuse herself by looking at the different exhibits until nearly noon, when he stated that he would take an hour off, no matter how great a rush of customers might be around his booth.
"I earned sixty dollars yesterday, an' before night I'll have a hundred more, so there's little doubt that this week's work as a fakir will enable me to pay all you owe on the house," he whispered, triumphantly, and his mother walked away, hardly daring to believe what Teddy had told her.
During the next hour it seemed as if a steady stream of money was flowing into the box, and Teddy was feeling confident that Mr. Sweet's prediction would prove to be correct, when the one especial man he wanted to see came up with a folded paper in his hand.
It was the merchant from Waterville, and he said, as he handed the document to the boy:
"Here is the receipted bill, and I am more than glad to see you doing so well."
"Can I talk with you for five minutes?" Teddy asked, hardly noticing the paper as he put it in his pocket.
"As long as you want to. What is the matter? Running out of stock?"
"Oh, no, your clerk made such a good selection for me that I've got all I shall need. This is something more important."
Then Teddy hurriedly told the merchant how and where he had first met Hazelton; explained fully what the latter's business was; of the accusations made by Uncle Nathan; what he and Dan had heard and seen, and concluded by repeating the request made by the fakir as he was led away to jail.