now we're not mistaken."

"All right," he said; "but I want you to let me do the talking. All I know
about this savage beast is the twinkle in his eye. Twinkles are good
things; you can usually bank on a twinkle. But you kids leave it to me;
understand?"

I said, "It'll be so still you'll be able to hear the silence."

"Because this is a pretty delicate business," Harry said. "Even if Jib
comes across all right, there's still Gaylong. Our fingers mustn't be seen
in this pie. We're going to try to make something _happen,_ that's all. If
he knows that we had anything to do with it, he wouldn't _touch_ the
reward. Gaylong is as white as a snowstorm."

I said, "Take it from me a snowstorm is dark brown compared to him. I know
that fellow."

"Well, if we can just handle this wild _what-is-it,_ we'll put one over on
Gaylong all right," Harry said. "We'll buy that cane for what's-his-name
and we'll build that scout meeting-place. I'm getting kind of interested
myself now. I haven't been so worked up since I sold a phonograph to a king
over there in the Cannibal Islands. As soon as he heard it talk, he wanted
to eat it. Come on, get a hustle."

When we got to Costello's Mammoth Show, the people were crowding out. Harry
went up to the wagon where they sold tickets and said, "Hello, Mr.
Costello, how's business?"

"Marvelous, magnificent!" he said in that big voice of his. "The town is
spellbound by our sumptuous show. How are the young scouts?"

Harry told him we were all well, and asked him if I might go in and say
good-bye to my friends.

"They will be proud to receive the young hero and his companions," he said.
And he waved his whip toward the door of the small tent. I kind of liked
that man. You can like a person, even if he's a kind of a faker.

In the side show tent, Lemuel Long was playing checkers with Judge Dot.
Over in the corner, Jib Jab sat with his feet up on one of the platforms,
smoking a cigarette. He had his bathrobe on and his face was all clean. I
guess he was tired after pulling at that chain all day. He turned his head
and said, "Hello, Scouty, glad to see you."

I said, "Jib Jab, this is the fellow who's looking after us on our hike;
its Mr. Donnelle. I thought I'd come and see you before we go away and I
brought him, too. He wouldn't tell anybody about you being human."

Harry Donnelle put out his hand in that nice off hand way he had, to shake
hands with him, and Jib Jab started to reach out