"Well, Joe, it went all right!" said Jim Tracy when the performers had left the stage and the young fire-eater was alone on the platform. "It went like a house afire!"
"Yes," said Joe, "it seemed to. I guess it went better than if we had made a lot of preliminary notices. The suddenness of it took them by surprise."
"But we can advertise it big now," said the ringmaster. "We don't need to specify exactly what it is. Of course those who have seen it will tell their friends who are coming and who haven't seen it. But the big majority of the audiences will be as much surprised as this one was. It went big."
"Yes," agreed Joe, "it did. And I'm glad of it. This is the sensation I was planning, but I didn't want to go into details until I was sure it would work. I had to engage my helpers in the dark, so to speak, and I didn't even tell you what I was planning until the last minute."
"No, you didn't," said Jim.
Helen Morton came slowly across the arena. Her act was over, and she had seen the blazing banquet and Joe's part in it.
Her cheeks were unusually red as she approached holding out her hand, and there was a rather misty look about her eyes as she said:
"Will you forgive me, Joe?"
"For what?" he asked tantalizingly.
"Oh, you know perfectly well!" she exclaimed. "It was very silly of me, but—"