Jim Tracy was head ring-master and one of the owners of the circus.
"Ben's in some kind of a fit," answered Joe. "We've got to get him out of the tank."
"Whew! Great Scott!" exclaimed the ring-master in a low voice. "Can we do it without starting a panic?"
"We've got to," said Joe fiercely. "If the audience knows that he's nearly drowned——"
"They mustn't know," agreed Tracy. "Come on."
They fairly ran toward the glass tank. By now Ben had settled down on the bottom, an inert form. He had been unable to hold his breath under the water, and it was filling his lungs. Joe Strong thought quickly.
He might dive into the tank and pull Benny out, for Joe had more than once on a hot day cooled off in the water in which the "human fish" did his act. But if Joe did that now it would let the people know something was wrong.
"But we've got to get Benny up!" Joe reasoned.
He saw, lying near the tank, one of the elephant goads—"ankus" is the Indian name for the instrument. It is shaped like a boat-hook, but is sharper.
Joe quickly caught this up. Jumping to the platform, on which the tank stood, Joe whispered to Bill Watson and Jim Tracy to stand as near him as possible.