owner of Woodville, had so much money; and of
course it was nothing to him.

The constables got out of patience at last; and though they showed no
signs of anger or malice, they exhibited an intention to catch him,
which was much worse. One of them commenced the ascent of the pole in
the centre of the tent. The circus people, who seemed to be in full
sympathy with Noddy, remained neutral, for the intruders were officers
of the law, and it was not prudent to oppose them.

Noddy perceived the object of his pursuers, and grasping one of the
tent-ropes, he scrambled up to the very apex of the canvas structure,
and crawled through the aperture around the pole. From this point he
slid down to the short poles, and then dropped upon the ground, before
the man in the ring could pass round to the outside of the tent. Dodging
under the curtains, he reached the place which served as a
dressing-room. Removing his "trunks," he hurried on his clothes, and
rushed out into the open air again.

His persecutors were not in sight, and he did not lose a moment in
putting a safe distance between himself and them. Precisely as a
well-educated duck or other water-fowl would have done, he hastened to
the river, as his most natural element. He had made a complete circuit
of the town in his flight. He did not dare to show himself to a living
being; for it seemed to him just as though the whole country was after
him. When he reached the river, he sat down on the bank, exhausted by
his efforts and by the excitement of the afternoon.

"I reckon I've got about circus enough," said he to himself,--for there
was no one else to whom he could say it. "That Whippleby is worse than a
heathen. I don't like any of them."

He rubbed his legs, which were not yet done smarting; and the pain
seemed to be an emphatic protest against circuses in general, and the
"Great Olympian Circus" in particular. But whether he liked the circus
or not, it was no longer safe for him to remain with the company. He had
taken "French leave" of the manager, and had cheated him out of the
tights which enveloped his body from neck to heels. This thought
reminded him that they did not feel at all comfortable, and he wished
the manager had his own again.

Having abandoned the circus profession in disgust, he wondered what he
should do next. It was useless for him to stay in the vicinity of
Woodville; and the only safe plan for him to adopt was, to go away to
some other part of