There was a decided drawing down of faces, when Mrs. Page informed the excited group that she did not consider the circus a suitable place for them to visit, and could not consent to their going. Some of them were even disposed to question her position.
“Why,” said Otis, “mother would let us go, if she were here.”
“I do not know about that,” replied Mrs. Page; “and therefore I must act according to my own judgment.”
“I don’t see what harm there could be in our going just once,” remarked Kate.
“We ought not to go to an improper place even ‘just once,’” replied Mrs. Page. “Circus performers are generally a low class of men and women; their entertainments are low and degrading; and the dregs of the community usually gather around them. Those are the reasons why I do not wish you to go to such a place.”
“You’ve been to the circus, haven’t you, Oscar?” inquired Ronald.
“Yes, I have been a good many times,” replied Oscar.
“And you agree with me, in your opinion of it, don’t you?” inquired Mrs. Page.
“I don’t know—I always liked to go pretty well,” replied Oscar.
This remark gave Mrs. Page much uneasiness, and she took the first opportunity, when Oscar was alone, to caution him against saying anything in the presence of the children that would excite their desires to go to the circus; a request which he promised to comply with.