them now from the ring they
appeared like strange rows of heads without bodies, and he had hard work
to keep from running back behind the curtain from whence he had come.

Mr. Castle acted as the ring-master this time, and after he had
introduced them--very much after the fashion of the posters--and the
clown had repeated some funny joke, the horses were led in, and they
were assisted to mount.

"Don't mind the people at all," said Mr. Castle, in a low voice, "but
ride just as if you were alone here with me."

The music struck up, the horses cantered around the ring, and Toby had
really started as a circus rider.

"Remember," said Ella to him, in a low tone, just as the horses started,
"you told me that you would ride just as well as you could, and we must
earn the dollars mamma promised."

It seemed to Toby at first as if he could not stand up; but by the time
they had ridden around the ring once, and Ella had again cautioned him
against making any mistake, for the sake of the money which they were
going to earn, he was calm and collected enough to carry out his part of
the "act" as well as if he had been simply taking a lesson.

The act consisted in their riding side by side, jumping over banners and
through hoops covered with paper, and then the most difficult portion
began.

The saddles were taken off the horses, and they were to ride first on
one horse and then on the other, until they concluded their performance
by riding twice around the ring side by side, standing on their horses,
each one with a hand on the other's shoulder.

All this was successfully accomplished without a single error, and when
they rode out of the ring the applause was so great as to leave no doubt
but that they would be recalled, and thus earn the promised money.

In fact, they had hardly got inside the curtain when one of the
attendants called to them, and before they had time even to speak to
each other they were in the ring again, repeating the last portion of
their act.

When they came out of the ring for the second time they found Old Ben,
the skeleton, the fat lady, and Mr. Jacob Lord waiting to welcome them;
but before any one could say a word Ella had stood on tiptoe again and
given Toby just such another kiss as she did when he told her that he
would surely stay long enough to appear in the ring with her once.

[Illustration: MADEMOISELLE JEANNETTE AND MONSIEUR AJAX.]

"That's because you rode so well and helped me so