rd the end of her sentence, so great was his haste to get
back to the booth; and just as he emerged from the tent, on a quick run,
he received a blow on the ear which sent him sprawling in the dust, and
he heard Mr. Job Lord's angry voice as it said, "So, just the moment my
back is turned, you leave the stand to take care of itself, do you, an'
run around tryin' to plot some mischief against me, eh?" And the brute
kicked the prostrate boy twice with his heavy boot.

"Please don't kick me again!" pleaded Toby. "I wasn't gone but a minute,
an' I wasn't doing anything bad."

"You're lying now, an' you know it, you young cub!" exclaimed the angry
man as he advanced to kick the boy again. "I'll let you know who you've
got to deal with when you get hold of me!"

"And I'll let you know who you've got to deal with when you get hold of
me!" said a woman's voice; and, just as Mr. Lord raised his foot to kick
the boy again, the Fat Woman seized him by the collar, jerked him back
over one of the tent ropes, and left him quite as prostrate as he had
left Toby. "Now, Job Lord," said the angry woman, as she towered above
the thoroughly enraged but thoroughly frightened man, "I want you to
understand that you can't knock and beat this boy while I'm around. I've
seen enough of your capers, an' I'm going to put a stop to them. That
boy wasn't in this tent more than two minutes, an' he attends to his
work better than any one you have ever had; so see that you treat him
decent. Get up," she said to Toby, who had not dared to rise from the
ground; "and if he offers to strike you again, come to me."

Toby scrambled to his feet, and ran to the booth in time to attend to
one or two customers who had just come up. He could see from out the
corner of his eye that Mr. Lord had arisen to his feet also, and was
engaged in an angry conversation with Mrs. Treat, the result of which he
very much feared would be another and a worse whipping for him.

[Illustration: JOB LORD LEARNS A LESSON.]

But in this he was mistaken, for Mr. Lord, after the conversation was
ended, came toward the booth, and began to attend to his business
without speaking one word to Toby. When Mr. Jacobs returned from his
supper Mr. Lord took him by the arm and walked him out toward the rear
of the tents; and Toby was very positive that he was to be the subject
of their conversation, which made him not a little uneasy.

It was not until nearly time for the performance to beg