It did not occur to San that this was rather a queer way of inviting a young lady to go to an entertainment.
"And what is the price of a reserved seat?" continued Mrs. Williams.
"Eight cents," replied the young ticket seller. "You can see every thing there; and six cents for the next, where you don't see much; and four cents for the places where you can't see anything."
"I don't believe I can go," said Miss Fanny's mother, "but here is the money for a reserved seat for Fanny. Suppose, though, that she should be rather late—she is going to town to-morrow—wouldn't some one else get her seat?"
"No, ma'am!" very emphatically; "Miss Fanny'll have her seat, even if she don't come at all."
Mrs. Williams couldn't see just how this was to be managed; but she thought that to hear San in his capacity of ticket vender was quite worth the money.
The next afternoon was the day of the show, and the weather was bright and pleasant. A great many people came—so many, that they couldn't all get into the tent at once, and those who did get in were politely requested to move about carefully for fear of its coming down.
When the show began it was discovered that the Bearded Lady had a very youthful face, and in spite of the fringe of hair tied under her chin, and her sitting cross-legged upon a high box with a cushion on it, everybody soon recognized Susie Ketchum.
It was mean of people to say that the Dwarf was not small for his age, just because they saw it was Willie Todd dressed up, when he had a little pillow on his back for a hump, and all. And if the Elephant (Mr. Ketchum's hired man on his hands and knees, with a gray blanket thrown over him) did drop his trunk, it was only because it wasn't properly fastened on.
The Giant, though, was superb; he towered up to the very ceiling, and looked so fierce and terrible, with his swarthy skin and huge mustache, that, though the spectators thought they saw Rufe Todd's blue eyes twinkling in the upper story, they didn't dare to believe it. Besides, how could he have lengthened himself out so?