THE SCRATCHED BOY
"What's that? What's the matter?" asked Mrs. Brown. In the darkness she had slipped to her husband's side. She, too, looked out on the crowd of men and boys rushing past in the moonlight. "What has happened?" she asked again, as Mr. Brown did not appear to have heard what she said.
"As nearly as I could understand," he said slowly, speaking in a low voice, "one of the men who ran past said a lion had broken loose from the circus."
"Oh, how dreadful!" exclaimed Mrs. Brown. "What shall we do? Did Uncle Tad bring his gun with him?"
"Hush! Don't wake the children," said Mr. Brown. "They might be frightened if they heard that a lion was loose."
"Frightened? I should think any one would be frightened!" exclaimed Mrs. Brown. "A savage lion raging around at night, trying to get something to eat——"
"Now please don't get excited," begged Mr. Brown. "There is no danger—at least I believe there isn't."
"No danger? And with a lion loose—a hungry lion!"
"That's where I think you're wrong," said her husband. "The circus people usually keep their lions and other wild animals well fed. They know the danger a hungry beast might be if he should get loose. And I dare say they often do get loose, for all sorts of things may happen when the cages are taken to so many different places.
"But though this lion has broken loose, I don't believe it would bite even a rooster if it crowed at him. I mean he won't be hungry, because he'll have been well fed before the circus started away."