"Don't be impudent, boy!"
"Isn't it the truth?"
"Come down and you'll find out."
"I know well enough already."
Another half hour passed, and no one came by. At last the two heard a sound and a man whistling; the same seemed approaching.
"I hope it's a strong, able-bodied man," thought Robert.
When at length the man came in sight, a great tide of joy swept over him. It was the very man whose presence he would have desired above all others. It was Hercules, who had at one time been employed in the same circus with himself, to perform feats of strength.