s the boy?" asked the old man, as he peered
over his glasses at Toby's well-filled plate, which was usually emptied
so quickly. "Are ye sick, Toby, or what is the matter with ye?"

"No, I hain't sick," said Toby, with a sigh; "but I've been to the
circus, an' I got a good deal to eat."

"Oho, you spent that cent I give ye, eh, an' got so much that it made ye
sick?"

Toby thought of the six pea-nuts which he had bought with the penny
Uncle Daniel had given him; and, amid all his homesickness, he could not
help wondering if Uncle Daniel ever made himself sick with only six
pea-nuts when he was a boy.

As no one paid any further attention to Toby, he pushed back his plate,
arose from the table, and went with a heavy heart to attend to his
regular evening chores. The cow, the hens, and even the pigs, came in
for a share of his unusually kind attention; and as he fed them all the
big tears rolled down his cheeks, as he thought that perhaps never again
would he see any of them. These dumb animals had all been Toby's
confidants; he had poured out his griefs in their ears, and fancied,
when the world or Uncle Daniel had used him unusually hard, that they
sympathized with him. Now he was leaving them forever, and as he locked
the stable door he could hear the sounds of music coming from the
direction of the circus grounds, and he was angry at it, because it
represented that which was taking him away from his home, even though it
was not as pleasant as it might have been.

Still, he had no thought of breaking the engagement which he had made.
He went to his room, made a bundle of his worldly possessions, and crept
out of the back door, down the road to the circus.

Mr. Lord saw him as soon as he arrived on the grounds, and as he passed
another ticket to Toby he took his bundle from him, saying, as he did
so, "I'll pack up your bundle with my things, and then you'll be sure
not to lose it. Don't you want some candy?"

Toby shook his head; he had just discovered that there was possibly some
connection between his heart and his stomach, for his grief at leaving
home had taken from him all desire for good things. It is also more than
possible that Mr. Lord had had experience enough with boys to know that
they might be homesick on the eve of starting to travel with a circus;
and in order to make sure that Toby would keep to his engagement he was
unusually kind.

That evening was the longest Toby ever knew. He wandered from on