On the way back to the circus, where they were soon to give their evening performance, Joe was unusually quiet.
"What's the matter?" asked Helen. "Are you thinking of that accident on the trapeze?"
"No," was the answer. "It's something different. I've got to get up a new act for the show. That trapeze act, even the way I had to do it this afternoon, isn't sensational enough. I've got to have something new, and I've about decided on it."
"What?" asked Helen.
"I'm going to become a fire-eater!" was the unexpected, reply.
CHAPTER VII
THE PAPER EXPERT
For a moment Helen Morton stared at Joe Strong as though not quite sure whether or not he was in his proper mind. Then, seeing plainly that he was in earnest, she seemed to shrink away from him, as he had noticed her shrink away, for a moment, from the burned man suffering there in the hospital.
"What's the matter, Helen?" asked Joe, trying to speak lightly. "Don't you want to see some more sensational acts in the show?"