OR, TEN WEEKS WITH A CIRCUS.
BY JAMES OTIS.
Chapter XII.
TOBY'S GREAT MISFORTUNE.
The town in which the circus remained over Sunday was a small one, and a brisk walk of ten minutes sufficed to take Toby into a secluded portion of a very thickly grown wood, where he could lie upon the mossy ground, and fairly revel in freedom.
As he lay upon his back, his hands under his head, and his eyes directed to the branches of the trees above, where the birds twittered and sang, and the squirrels played in fearless sport, the monkey enjoyed himself, in his way, by playing all the monkey antics he knew of. He scrambled from tree to tree, swung himself from one branch to the other by the aid of his tail, and amused both himself and his master, until, tired by his exertions, he crept down by Toby's side, and lay there in quiet, restful content.
One of Toby's reasons for wishing to be by himself that afternoon was that he wanted to think over some plan of escape, for he believed that he had nearly money enough to enable him to make a bold stroke for freedom and Uncle Daniel's. Therefore, when the monkey nestled down by his side, he was all ready to confide in him that which had been occupying his busy little brain for the past three days.
"Mr. Stubbs," he said to the monkey, in a solemn tone, "we're goin' to run away in a day or two."
Mr. Stubbs did not seem to be moved in the least at this very startling piece of intelligence, but winked his bright eyes in unconcern, and Toby, seeming to think that everything which he said had been understood by the monkey, continued: "I've got a good deal of money now, an' I guess there's enough for us to start out on. We'll get away some night, an' stay in the woods till they get through hunting for us, an' then we'll go back to Guilford, an' tell Uncle Dan'l if he'll only take us back, we'll never go to sleep in meetin' any more, an' we'll be just as good as we know how. Now let's see how much money we've got."
Toby drew from a pocket, which he had been to a great deal of trouble to make in his shirt, a small bag of silver, and spread it upon the ground where he could count it at his leisure.