about amid long, waving, green aquatic grass.

"There's my idea!" exclaimed Joe, aloud. "Or one of them, anyhow."

"Did you speak to me?" asked an old gentleman, who was just coming out
of the drug store as Joe went in.

"No, sir. I beg your pardon. I just thought of something."

"Oh, I see," and with a smile the gentleman passed on, while Joe, still
thinking deeply, went in to get his soda.

"Well?" asked the clerk, suggestively, as Joe paused at the marble
fountain.

"I'll have a goldfish sundae," said Joe, reflectively.

"What? Say, come again, young fellow! This isn't a joke shop," and the
clerk seemed rather angry.

"Oh, I beg your pardon," Joe hastened to say. "I mean a chocolate nut
sundae. I was thinking of goldfish--that's all."

"That's different," laughed the clerk. "I thought you were trying to
jolly me with the name of a new drink."

And while Joe ate his cream his thoughts were busy with the idea which
had suddenly come to him.

"I wonder if Jim Tracy will stand for it," he mused. "I've a good
notion to do it without asking him. If he doesn't like it he can say
so, and no great harm's done. I'll stand the expense myself. If I could
get hold of the inheritance Bill Watson thinks ought to come to me
through my mother, I'd pull off a still bigger stunt in this tank act.
But I guess I'll never get any money from England."

So far Joe's efforts to prove that he was entitled to anything from his
mother's estate had been unavailing.

"Yes," thought our hero, as he finished his cream and went out,
stopping to look at the goldfish in the aquarium, "I'll do it and trust
to luck."

Joe went into the store, which was a place where not only fish, but
dogs, cats and birds were sold. He remained some little time in
conversation with the proprietor, and some money changed hands. Joe was
smiling when he came out.

"At least it will be different, whatever else it is," thought the boy
fish, as he may now be called, for he was destined to be billed as that
later on.

There was so much taking place in the big circus tent, or "main top" as
it is called, that Joe's activities around the glass tank were hardly
noticed. If any of the circus people saw him they probably believed he
was just doing what Benny had often done, looking to see about the
temperature of the water, and to be positive that the joints were not
leaking.

And when, a little later, a circus attendant brought word to Joe that
there was a ma