e boy, and now he almost forgot his
troubles in his wish to find out what was happening on the common. So he
walked towards the large round tent, and the band sounded more loudly
every moment.

By one part of the tent stood a cart, and in this a man was shouting at
the top of his voice. And around the cart a crowd had gathered, chiefly
of rather shabbily-dressed people, and one or two of them stepped out
every minute or so and went inside an opening in the tent, where a stout
woman stood to take their money.

Near the cart was a large picture, and Jimmy stared at it with a great
deal of interest. The picture represented a lion and a clown, and the
clown's head was inside the lion's mouth; whilst a little way off a very
small clown, of about Jimmy's own age, stood laughing.

Jimmy had always an immense liking for lions, and also for clowns, and
when they both came together and the head of the one happened to be in
the mouth of the other, the temptation was almost more than he could
resist.

'Now, ladies and gentlemen, walk up, walk up!' cried the man in the
cart. 'All the wonders of the world now on view. Now's the time, the
very last night; walk up, ladies and gentlemen, walk up.'

Jimmy thought that he really might do worse than to walk up. For one
thing he would be able to sit down inside the tent, and for another he
could take shelter from the rain, which now was falling fast. He put his
hand into his pocket to feel for his purse, and recollected that he had
still two shillings and twopence left out of Aunt Selina's half-crown.

'How much is it?' he asked, going towards the stout woman at the
opening.

'Well,' she answered, 'you can go in for twopence, and you can have a
first-class seat for sixpence. But if you ask me, a young gent like
you'd sooner pay a shilling.'

'Yes, I think I should,' said Jimmy proudly; and, taking out a shilling,
he gave it to the woman and at once entered the tent.

There were so few persons in the best seats that a great many of those
in the cheaper ones turned to look at Jimmy as he walked in. But Jimmy
was quite unaware of this, for no sooner had he sat down than he began
to laugh as if he had not a trouble in the world. He forgot that he had
nowhere to sleep, he forgot the red-faced policeman, he even forgot that
he ought to be at Chesterham.

It was the clown who made Jimmy laugh. He was a little man with a tall,
pointed white felt hat like a dunce's cap; he wore the usual