Sarah did not see how he could use a farm in a circus, but she wisely refrained from asking. Richard returning for her at this juncture, she introduced him to the circus agent and explained that he wanted to go back to Rainbow Hill with them.
Richard was surprised, but cordial, and as Solomon, brave in a new shoe and three tightened old ones, trotted them homeward, Sarah and Mr. Robinson together explained their plans.
Sarah's was comparatively simple. She wanted to sell Bony to the circus and give the money to Louisa. The pig was the most valuable possession she owned and would surely bring more money than anything else she might part with—even her five-dollar gold piece. Yes, she admitted, in response to Richard's questioning, she was fond of Bony—but she thought he would like living with a circus.
Mr. Robinson's plan was more complicated. "For some time past," he said to Richard, a little breathlessly, for he was stout and the wagon jolted him considerably, "for some time past, I've been on the lookout for new winter quarters for the circus. My idea has been to get a farm in a good section of the country, but of course we can't afford to pay a price a place in a good state of cultivation would bring; what we want is acreage and buildings in fair shape. This Gay farm the little girl tells me about, may fill the bill, providing they are willing to sell."
"They would sell, all right," Richard declared thoughtfully, "but I don't see where they can go. The place won't bring enough to keep a family of six very long."
"We can talk that over, after I see the place," said Mr. Robinson. "You can trust me to be fair to a parcel of kids—I lived on a farm and I was bound out on a farm."
Eager as Sarah was to exhibit her pig, she had to wait. It was "dinner time" at the farmhouse and lunch time for the Willis family when Richard stopped before the barn. Mrs. Willis and Shirley had returned—Doctor Hugh had dropped them at the crossroads and gone on to the hospital in Bennington—and while at the table Sarah made no mention of her plans. She had a habit of taking no part in the general conversation, unless personally interested, and her silence created no wonderment.
After the hospitable manner of the countryside, the circus agent was asked to dinner by Mr. Hildreth who took it for granted that he had asked a lift of Richard on his way from one town to another. And, the meal over, Richard piloted him to the barn, where Rosemary and Shirley and Sarah and the pig awaited him.
"Come on and watch," said Sarah cordially, but Richard, declaring he was too busy, went on to his work.
Sarah was a little fearful lest Bony develop "temperament," of which he had his share, and refuse to act, but he happened to be in the best of humors, thanks to a peaceful morning free from interruptions, which had allowed him to enjoy a full-length nap.