"Spriggins," he said, "I'll buy two tickets, and we'll go in together."
The constable would have preferred to go in alone. He wanted to see the show, and if he had been unaccompanied he could have done so without any troublesome duties disturbing his enjoyment.
"Jest as you say," he answered, a little nervously.
Mr. Tarbox joined the line, and gradually worked his way to the ticket office.
"A couple of tickets," he said, handing a dollar bill to the ticket agent.
Two tickets were immediately passed to him, and he and the constable entered the tent.
Opposed as he was to the circus, Tarbox could not forbear looking about him with considerable curiosity. They were not yet in the main room, but were in an outer lobby where were ranged the cages of animals. Mr. Tarbox started as an African lion, whose cage he was passing, roared, and he regarded with some apprehension the gratings of the cage.
"It's rather resky," he said. "Suppose the lions or tigers should break out."
The constable trembled at the suggestion, but still seemed interested in looking about him.